Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of life in Turkish university students and its relationship to levels of state-trait anxiety

The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of life (QOL) of students and to determine the relationship between state-trait anxiety levels and QOL. This research was done with ½ sampling method of 276 students at Erciyes University. The data were gathered via the WHOQOL-100 Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL Group, 1998) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushelle, 1970). The lowest scoring area in our study was the social impression facet. The area scoring highest was the personal belief area. Negative correlations were found between level of state anxiety and physical health, psychological well-being, and level of independence. Positive correlations were found between level of trait anxiety and physical health, psychological well-being, social relationships, environment, overall QOL and general health perceptions.
Political Blogosphere Meets Off-Line Public Sphere: Framing the Public Discourse on the Greek Crisis

This study, based on a selection of four popular Greek political blogs expressing the main ideological directions in the Greek political public sphere, undertakes a qualitative content analysis of the blog discourses to make intelligible how the deep Greek financial, political, and social crisis is framed by these blogs. After sketching the theoretical debates on the sociopolitical origins of the Greek crisis, we focus on blog participants’ perceptions of democratic principles and institutions. We conclude that what dominates in the debates of the far left and far right blogs belongs to the same rigid ideological raster that excludes an understanding of the principles and grounds of democracy. The right-wing blog’s ideological orientation includes antidemocratic strands of the far-right and far-left blogs, while the center-left blog is characterized by a liberal democratic stance.
A Decade of Psychiatric Consultation with Elderly Patients in a Dutch General Hospital

A retrospective case study of ten years of psychiatric consultation with elderly in a Dutch general hospital is presented. The number of psychiatric consultations is increasing more than would be expected from admission rates or demographic changes. Of these, 24.4% were diagnosed as suffering from mood disorder and 34.1% from organic mental disorder. Somatic and psychiatric diagnoses alone seem inadequate to describe the severe problems of this specific group of patients.
Complete high-frequency thermal noise modeling of short-channel MOSFETs and design of 5.2-GHz low noise amplifier

Taking a velocity saturation effect and a carrier heating effect in the gradual channel region, complete thermal noise modeling of short-channel MOSFETs including the induced gate noise and its correlation coefficients is presented and verified extensively with experimentally measured data. All of the four noise models have excellently predicted experimental data with maximal error less than 10% for the deep-submicron MOSFETs. Using these models and a simultaneous matching technique for both optimal noise and power, a low noise CMOS amplifier optimized for 5.2-GHz operation has been designed and fabricated. Experiments using an external tuner show that both NF/sub 50/ and NF/sub min/ are very close to 1.1 dB, which is an excellent figure of merit among reported LNAs.
Principal Quality: A Virginia Study Connecting Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards With Student Achievement

Investigators randomly selected principals from Virginia's public schools to investigate the sign4ifcant relationship that exists between principal quality and student achievement. Two persons supervising each principal were asked to complete the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC)-based questionnaire about the principal. State achievement test data were entered for each principal's school. Those principals who had been in their schools fewer than 5 years were dropped from the study to better control for principals' effect on student achievement. Results find that principals who were rated higher on school leadership standards have schools with higher student achievement than comparable schools headed by lower-rated principals. Implications for increasing student achievement, professional development, and evaluation are discussed.
Learning from Worked-Out Examples and Problem Solving

One of the classic instructional effects associated with the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) is the worked-example effect in cognitive skill acquisition (see Chapters 2 and 3, this volume; Paas & van Gog, 2006). Worked-out examples consist of a problem formulation, solution steps, and the final solution itself. They are commonplace in the instructional material pertaining to well-structured domains such as mathematics or physics (see Figure 5.1 for an exemplary worked-out example). When CLT researchers discuss “learning from worked-out examples,” they typically mean that after the introduction of one or more domain principles (e.g., mathematical theorem, physics law), learners should be presented with several examples rather than a single example, as it is commonly the case. Despite this emphasis on learning from examples, researchers working in this area acknowledge the importance of requiring learners to solve problems later on in cognitive skill acquisition so that they can reach proficiency in the domain they are studying. In this chapter, we elaborate the theoretical assumptions and empirical findings involving the studying of worked-out examples and learning by problem solving in different phases of cognitive skill acquisition. Rather than summarizing the extensive literature on example-based learning and its implications for instructional design (for overviews, see Atkinson, Derry, Renkl, & Wortham, 2000, and Renkl, 2005), we instead focus on addressing the issues of: (a) when it is best to study worked-out solutions, (b) when it is best to solve problems, and (c) how the transition between these two learning methods should be structured.
Pearl millet and sorghum improvement in India.

The spread of modern varieties and hybrids of pearl millet and sorghum that began in the mid-1960s has had an important impact on small farmer welfare in India. The success and sustainability of these improved cultivars resulted from three types (or periods) of interventions by the Indian government: (1) increased investments in crop improvement by national and international agricultural systems during the 1970s; (2) development of efficient seed systems, with the gradual inclusion of the private sector in the 1980s; and (3) the liberalization of the Indian seed industry in the late 1990s. In addition to increased overall production levels of sorghum and millet, there have been substantial yield gains in semi-arid regions as well as improved cultivars adopted in some of the poorest areas of India. The innovations of new, hybrid technology have not been limited to the Green Revolution crops; they have also had significant impact on the productivity of small-farmer households growing dryland crops, such as millet and sorghum in India.
Message-Passing Algorithms: Reparameterizations and Splittings

The max-product algorithm, a local message-passing scheme that attempts to compute the most probable assignment (MAP) of a given probability distribution, has been successfully employed as a method of approximate inference for applications arising in coding theory, computer vision, and machine learning. However, the max-product algorithm is not guaranteed to converge, and if it does, it is not guaranteed to recover the MAP assignment. Alternative convergent message-passing schemes have been proposed to overcome these difficulties. This paper provides a systematic study of such message-passing algorithms that extends the known results by exhibiting new sufficient conditions for convergence to local and/or global optima, providing a combinatorial characterization of these optima based on graph covers, and describing a new convergent and correct message-passing algorithm whose derivation unifies many of the known convergent message-passing algorithms. While convergent and correct message-passing algorithms represent a step forward in the analysis of max-product style message-passing algorithms, the conditions needed to guarantee convergence to a global optimum can be too restrictive in both theory and practice. This limitation of convergent and correct message-passing schemes is characterized by graph covers and illustrated by example.
A Cross-layer Relay Selection Algorithm for Infrastructure-Based Two-hop Relay Networks

Relay selection is a key issue in multihop relay networks. This paper proposes a cross-layer design relay selection algorithm for the infrastructure-based two-hop relay networks by introducing a novel utility function as the relay selection criterion. The proposed algorithm considers both channel state information(CSI) at physical layer and queue state informance(QSI) at data link layer, the goal is to guarantee the diverse QoS requirements for different services. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can decrease packet transmission time delay and packet dropping probability significantly while make a slight penalty on system spectrum efficiency. Moreover, it can exploit multiuser diversity gain.
Characteristics of Older At-Risk Drinkers Who Drive After Drinking and Those Who Do Not Drive After Drinking

Objective: To describe and compare characteristics of older adults who drive after drinking and those who do not, whether an intervention addressing at-risk drinking reduces risk among those reporting driving after drinking, and reasons reported for driving after drinking. Methods: Secondary data analysis of a randomized trial testing the efficacy of a multifaceted intervention to reduce at-risk drinking among adults with a mean age of 68 years in primary care (N = 631). Results: Almost a quarter of at-risk drinkers reported driving after drinking (N = 154). Compared to those who did not drive after drinking, those who did were more likely to be younger, male, and working. They consumed a higher average number of drinks per week, had more reasons they were considered at-risk drinkers, and were more likely to meet at-risk drinking criteria due to amount of drinking and binge drinking. Those driving after drinking at baseline reduced the frequency of this behavior at 3 and 12 months and there were no statistically significant differences in the proportions of persons still engaging in driving after drinking among those who were assigned to intervention or control groups. Reasons for driving after drinking included not thinking that it was a problem and having to get home. Conclusions: Driving after drinking is common in this population of older, at-risk drinkers recruited in primary care settings and, like younger adults, men and those reporting binge drinking are more likely to engage in this behavior. Given that this behavior is dangerous and the population of older adults is fast growing, interventions addressing driving after drinking are needed.
Bearing fault diagnosis using Wavelet analysis

One-dimensional discrete wavelet transform is used to process the bearing fault signal in this paper. Firstly, the bearing fault data is decomposed to multi-layer. Then the fault feature signal is reconstructed. In order to detect the bearing failure and determine the area of it, the reconstructed signal is processed by the Hilbert transform demodulation and spectrum refining. The results show that the frequency of failure point matches well with theoretical one using this method. This method is simple and reliable and thus provides a scientific method for early warning and exclusion of failure.
Supporting English Language Learners in Content-Reading

Content area reading is extremely challenging for English language learners (ELLs). Although their English is not fully developed, they are faced with reading subject matter content in English that is typically written in academic language. Reading academic discourse is very challenging for ELLs because it is characterized with complex syntax, technical vocabulary, and a lack of helpful context. This article illustrates the difficult nature of content area reading through examples from social studies, and suggests that there are ways subject matter teachers can help make these demanding texts more comprehensible for ELLs. The subject matter teacher, it is argued, need not wait until ELLs complete the long and arduous task of fully acquiring academic language. This article offers specific strategies for content area teachers to assist ELLs' reading comprehension and thereby improve their leaming of subject matter.
The treatment of psychopathic sexual offenders : Exploring the influence of risk, change, subtype, and adaptation on recidivism

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi LIST OF TABLES. ix LIST OF FIGURES. x LIST OF APPENDICES. xi 1. Chapter 1: The Treatment of Psychopathic Sexual Offenders: Exploring the Influence of Risk, Change, Subtype, and Adaptation on Recidivism. 1 1. LITERATURE REVIEW. 1 1.
Mentoring in primary schools: ethos, structures and workloads

Abstract This research examined the concept of mentoring new entrants to the teaching profession within the context of primary schools. It sought the perceptions of mentors, new entrants and head teachers concerning formal and informal support structures for mentoring, and balanced this with evidence of actual practice in schools. Significant differences were found between the amount and type of mentoring support given to newly qualified teachers, and that given to students in training. Mentoring represents a substantial workload for primary teachers and was judged to be most successful when the ethos of the primary school was such that there were genuine support systems for all staff. If the role of mentor is given status within the school structure then the resultant support for new entrants will be effective.
Does it matter who you see to help you stop smoking? Short-term quit rates across specialist stop smoking practitioners in England.

AIMS A network of Stop Smoking Services has been set up within the National Health Service (NHS) in England. The services deliver a combination of behavioural support and medication. It is important to establish the degree of variability in quit rates attributable to differences between individual practitioners, to gauge the scope for improvement by training and professional support. The aim of the present analysis was to examine how far short-term quit rates depend on the practitioner delivering the intervention after adjusting for potential confounding variables. DESIGN Observational study using routinely collected data. SETTING Thirty-one NHS Stop Smoking Services in England. PARTICIPANTS Data from 46,237 one-to-one treatment episodes (supported quit attempts) delivered by specialist practitioners. MEASUREMENTS Three-level logistic regression models were fitted for carbon monoxide (CO)-validated short-term (4-week) quit rates. Models adjusted for age, gender, exemption from prescription charges, medication and intervention setting for each treatment episode, number of clients for each practitioner and economic deprivation at the level of the Stop Smoking Service. Secondary analyses included (i) the heaviness-of-smoking index (HSI) as predictor and (ii) 4-week quit rates whether or not confirmed by CO. FINDINGS Differences between individual specialist practitioners explained 7.6% of the variance in CO-verified quit rates after adjusting for client demographics, intervention characteristics and practitioner and service variables (P < 0.001). HSI had little impact on this figure; in quits not necessarily validated by CO, practitioners explained less variance. CONCLUSIONS Individual stop smoking practitioners appear to differ to a significant degree in effectiveness. It is important to examine what underlies these differences in order to improve selection, training and professional development.
Use of Cassette Dosing to Enhance the Throughput of Rat Brain Microdialysis Studies

This study was designed to increase the throughput of rat brain microdialysis studies by administration of compounds as a cassette as opposed to discrete study. Eight compounds (carbamazepine, citalopram, desmethylclozapine, diphenhydramine, gabapentin, metoclopramide, naltrexone, and stavudine) were selected and administered as an intravenous bolus dose at 0.5–3.3 mg/kg each followed by an intravenous infusion at 1 mg/kg per hour for 6 hours in rats in a cassette or discrete dosing. The dialysate, plasma, brain, and cerebrospinal fluid were collected and analyzed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The microdialysis probe recovery was determined by an in vitro gain method. The recovery between the cassette and discrete dosing was similar, with an average of 1.0 ± 0.10–fold difference. The stavudine interstitial fluid (ISF) concentration, as measured by brain microdialysis, was below the low limit of quantitation and was excluded from the analyses. The ratios of ISF concentration to unbound plasma concentration were within 2-fold for six of the remaining seven compounds, with an average of 0.92 ± 0.51–fold difference between the cassette and discrete methods. The ratios of ISF concentration to unbound brain concentration, as measured by the brain homogenate method, were also similar, with a 1.1 ± 0.7–fold difference. In addition, the ratios of ISF to cerebrospinal fluid concentrations were similar, with a 1.5 ± 0.6–fold difference. The results from this study support the use of a cassette dosing approach to enhance the throughput of rat brain microdialysis studies in drug discovery.
Linux Adoption in the Public Sector: An Economic Analysis

The Linux operating system offers information technology managers in both the private and public sectors an increasingly attractive option as a computing platform to run the powerful computer servers that are at the heart of computer networks, including the Internet itself. Platform software adoption decisions typically have lasting implications for subsequent adoption of application software as well as additional platform software itself. The significance of the Linux adoption decision is further magnified, and made more complex, by the fact that Linux is open source software, in contrast to commercial software. On top of all that, widespread publicsector adoption of open source platform software can greatly affect the economic development of a country’s entire software industry, a critically important consideration for public-sector decision makers.
A Stochastic Model for a Pseudo Affine Projection Algorithm

This paper presents a statistical analysis of a Pseudo Affine Projection (PAP) algorithm, obtained from the Affine Projection algorithm (AP) for a step size alpha < 1 and a scalar error signal in the weight update. Deterministic recursive equations are derived for the mean weight and for the mean square error (MSE) for a large number of adaptive taps N compared to the order P of the algorithm. Simulations are presented which show good to excellent agreement with the theory in the transient and steady states. The PAP learning behavior is of special interest in applications where tradeoffs are necessary between convergence speed and steady-state misadjustment.
Human Agency Revisited: The Paradoxical Experiences of Victims of Crime

Victims of violent crime often complain of feeling powerless. In some respects this represents a psychological aftereffect of the crime — an experience in which something was done to them against their will that they were powerless either to prevent or to stop. However, focusing attention on the psychological aftereffects of such experiences often overshadows other important considerations. For example, there is the possibility that an accumulation of subsequent social and institutional interactions may serve to minimize their ability actively to cope with their experiences. This paper seeks to address these issues head on by reframing victimization in terms of the interplay between victims' social and institutional interactions, on the one hand, and their agency to cope on the other.1 Following a brief review of the critical literature on victims' problematic institutional positions and a discussion of agency, data will be presented from a qualitative study of individuals who have suffered the murder of a loved one.2 As will be seen, the differing experiences of these individuals in a variety of social contexts have much to teach us about institutional influences, therapeutic ideologies, and human agency.
The More the Worse: the Grade of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Associates with the Severity of Tinnitus

Tinnitus disturbs lives and negatively affects the quality of life of about 2% of the adult world population. Research has shown that the main cause of tinnitus is hearing loss. To analyze a possible association of the degree of hearing loss with the severity of tinnitus, we have performed a retrospective study using admission data on 531 patients suffering from chronic tinnitus. We have found that 83% of our tinnitus patients had a high frequency hearing loss corresponding to a noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). There was a significant correlation between the mean hearing loss and the tinnitus loudness (p < 0.0001). Interestingly, patients suffering from decompensated chronic tinnitus had a greater degree of hearing loss than the patients with compensated form of tinnitus. In addition, we demonstrate that the degree of hearing loss positively correlates with the two subscales (“intrusiveness” and “auditory perceptional difficulties”) of the Tinnitus Questionnaire. Our retrospective study provides indirect evidence supporting the hypothesis that the degree of noise-induced hearing loss influences the severity of tinnitus.
Collection of villous tissue under ultrasound guidance to improve the cytogenetic study of early pregnancy failure.

BACKGROUND The cytogenetic study of spontaneous miscarriage has been limited by poor karyotype success rates obtained from cell culture after surgical evacuation of retained products of conception. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of improving the method of collection of villous tissues at the time of surgery on the karyotype success rate of cell culture. METHODS Villous samples were obtained prospectively from a cohort of 170 spontaneous miscarriages at the beginning of the surgical procedure using small biopsy forceps guided into the placenta by ultrasound imaging. This was compared with a retrospective series of 1191 spontaneous miscarriages, cultured in the same laboratory, following conventional collection of the sample from the aspiration recipient after surgery. RESULTS In the prospective series, six (3.5%) of the original samples were classified by the laboratory as 'decidua only' as compared with 162 (13.6%) in the retrospective series. The karyotype success rate was 94.5% in the prospective series compared with 83.7% in the retrospective series. The karyotype results revealed a chromosome abnormality rate of 65.8% in the prospective group and 64% in the retrospective group with a similar distribution in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Our data show that a karyotype can be obtained from clean villous material collected at the time of surgical evacuation of miscarriage. Thus, it is not justified to subject women to transabdominal chorionic villus sampling to achieve a high karyotype success rate.