Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detecting Preschool Language Impairment and Risk of Developmental Dyslexia

ABSTRACT This study assessed and compared results from evidence-based screening tools to be filled out by caregivers to identify preschool children at risk of language impairment (LI) and dyslexia. Three different tools were used: one assessing children’s communicative abilities, one assessing risk of developmental dyslexia, and one assessing early language skills. Caregivers of 79 children filled out the schemes. A typical group (n = 51) and a risk group (n = 28) were established on the background of the cutoff scores of all three tools. As expected, there was a significant difference between the typical and the risk groups, with a moderate correlation between the tool scores. Only four children from the risk group were identified by all three tools; seven were identified by two tools, and 17 children were identified by one tool alone. These subgroups varied as to risk severity, gender, and heredity. The variations seen in the risk group are in line with large-scale studies pointing to persistent and late-onset LI. This should encourage evidence-based preschool screening by caretakers to detect early risks of LI and dyslexia. However, a longitudinal design with individual follow-up during literacy training in school would validate the use of these tools.
Mycobacterium genavense Infections in a Tertiary Hospital and Reviewed Cases in Non-HIV Patients

Mycobacterium genavense is a relatively new species of nontuberculous mycobacterium reported to cause disseminated infections in patients with AIDS and later on in non-HIV immunosuppressed patients. We describe clinical and laboratory features and response to therapy in 7 patients, three of them with HIV infection and four non-HIV—three organ transplant recipients and one with hyper-IgE syndrome—in Valencia, Spain, in a ten years period. We then summarize the published cases of M. avium complex infection, with invasion of peripheral blood, liver, spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes, and lungs. In clinical samples a large number of acid-fast bacilli were observed. M. genavense grew only from liquid media and after a prolonged incubation period. Its identification was accomplished through molecular methods. Patients were treated with prolonged combinations of antimicrobial agents. There was clinical favourable outcome in 4 patients.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper Series Endogenous Skill Bias in Technology Adoption: City-level Evidence from the It Revolution Endogenous Skill Bias in Technology Adoption: City-level Evidence from the It Revolution

1 — Abstract — This paper focuses on the bi-directional interaction between technology adoption and labor market conditions. We examine cross-city differences in PC-adoption, relative wages, and changes in relative wages over the period 1980-2000 to evaluate whether the patterns conform to the predictions of a neoclassical model of endogenous technology adoption. Our approach melds the literature on the effect of the relative supply of skilled labor on technology adoption to the often distinct literature on how technological change influences the relative demand for skilled labor. Our results support the idea that differences in technology use across cities and its effects on wages reflect an equilibrium response to local factor supply conditions. The model and data suggest that cities initially endowed with relatively abundant and cheap skilled labor adopted PCs more aggressively than cities with relatively expensive skilled labor, causing returns to skill to increase most in cities that adopted PCs most intensively. Our findings indicate that neo-classical models of endogenous technology adoption can be very useful for understanding where technological change arises and how it affects markets.
Annual and spatial variation in shoot demography associated with masting in Betula grossa: comparison between mature trees and saplings.

BACKGROUNDS AND AIMS Shoot demography affects the growth of the tree crown and the number of leaves on a tree. Masting may cause inter-annual and spatial variation in shoot demography of mature trees, which may in turn affect the resource budget of the tree. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of masting on the temporal and spatial variations in shoot demography of mature Betula grossa. METHODS The shoot demography was analysed in the upper and lower parts of the tree crown in mature trees and saplings over 7 years. Mature trees and saplings were compared to differentiate the effect of masting from the effect of exogenous environment on shoot demography. The fate of different shoot types (reproductive, vegetative, short, long), shoot length and leaf area were investigated by monitoring and by retrospective survey using morphological markers on branches. The effects of year and branch position on demographic parameters were evaluated. KEY RESULTS Shoot increase rate, production of long shoots, bud mortality, length of long shoots and leaf area of a branch fluctuated periodically from year to year in mature trees over 7 years, in which two masting events occurred. Branches within a crown showed synchronized annual variation, and the extent of fluctuation was larger in the upper branches than the lower branches. Vegetative shoots varied in their bud differentiation each year and contributed to the dynamic shoot demography as much as did reproductive shoots, suggesting physiological integration in shoot demography through hormonal regulation and resource allocation. CONCLUSIONS Masting caused periodic annual variation in shoot demography of the mature trees and the effect was spatially variable within a tree crown. Since masting is a common phenomenon among tree species, annual variation in shoot demography and leaf area should be incorporated into resource allocation models of mature masting trees.
Evaluation of intelligent agent frameworks for human learning

Pedagogical Agents are intelligent agents supporting learning in virtual learning environments, VLE. The use of the multi-agent society model inhabited with intelligent virtual agents has shown to provide several benefits to learning. This paper reviews intelligent agents for learning and shows their educational value while demonstrating the new learning possibilities supported by them. Towards the objective of efficiently utilizing the agents in a distributed learning platform, the paper provides an evaluation of intelligent agent development frameworks. This evaluation will provide valuable information to those employing and integrating intelligent agents for different types of VLE with a view towards creating new learning scenarios.
Factors limiting hybridization between Penstemon spectabilis and Penstemon centranthifolius

Speciation involves the formation of reproductive isolating mechanisms such as a difference in pollinators, incompatibility between pollen tubes and stylar tissue, hybrid seed abortion, or poor growth of hybrid seedlings. We studied reproductive isolating mechanisms in naturally sympatric populations of Penstemon spectabilis Thurber and Penstemon centranthifolius (Benth.) Benth. where F1 hybrids occurred at very low frequency. We compared conspecific crosses, backcrosses, and heterospecific crosses in terms of pollen grain germination, pollen tube growth, fruit set, seed set, and offspring performance. We found several postpollination barriers to hybridization. When P. spectabilis was the ovule parent, the lack of natural hybridization was partially explained by the presence of two isolating factors: reduced pollen tube growth and reduced seed set. When P. centranthifolius was the recipient, the barrier to hybridization was nearly 100% effective and occurred primarily at the stages of pollen grain germination and fruit set. The success of backcrossing was generally intermediate between conspecific and heterospecific crossing. For these two species, it is likely that partial pollinator specificity in addition to strong postpollination reproductive isolating mechanisms contrib - ute to maintaining the species boundary.
Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative behavior : The moderating role of psychological empowerment

Innovative behavior is increasingly important for organizations' survival. Transformational leadership, in contrast to transactional leadership, has been argued to be particularly effective in engendering follower innovative behavior. However, empirical evidence for this relationship is scarce and inconsistent. Addressing this issue, we propose that follower psychological empowerment moderates the relationship of transformational and transactional leadership with follower innovative behavior. In a field study with 230 employees of a government agency in the Netherlands combining multisource ratings, we show that transformational leadership is positively related to innovative behavior only when psychological empowerment is high, whereas transactional leadership has a negative relationship with innovative behavior only under these conditions. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Clinical and Genetic Features in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis in Southwestern Iran

Objective Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by a mutation in the CF transmembrane conductance regulatory (CFTR) gene. This study attempted to identify the most common CFTR mutations and any correlations between certain mutations and the clinical presentation of the disease in CF patients in southwestern Iran. Methods Twenty nine common CFTR gene mutations were examined in 45 CF patients. Findings Chronic cough, intestinal obstruction, dehydration, heat exhaustion and steatorrhea were the most common early clinical symptoms among our patients. The most common mutation was ΔF508, with an allele frequency of 21%. The homozygous ΔF508 mutation was observed in eight patients (18%), and three patients (7%) were ΔF508 carriers. The 2183AA > G mutation was observed in four patients, one of whom was also a ΔF508 carrier. The R1162X mutation was detected in two patients. The G542X, R334W and N1303K mutations were detected each in one patient, the first of whom was also a ΔF508 carrier. Conclusion Out of 45 patients, 27 (60%) had none of the CFTR gene mutations we tested for. The most frequent mutations in southwestern Iranian patients with CF should be identified by sequencing the entire CFTR gene in order to optimize the design of a diagnostic kit for common regional mutations.
The Teen Years Explained A Guide To Healthy Adolescent Development

The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development describes the normal physical, cognitive, emotional and social, sexual, identity formation, and spiritual changes that happen during adolescence and how adults can promote healthy development. Understanding these changes—developmentally, what is happening and why—can help both adults and teens enjoy the second decade of life. The Guide is an essential resource for all people who work with young people.
Characterization of ambient aerosols in Mexico City during the MCMA-2003 campaign with Aerosol Mass Spectrometry: results from the CENICA Supersite

An Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) was deployed at the CENICA Supersite, during the Mexico City Metropolitan Area field study (MCMA-2003) from 31 March-4 May 2003 to investigate particle concentrations, sources, and processes. The AMS provides real time in- formation on mass concentration and composition of the non-refractory species in particulate matter less than 1 µm (NR-PM1) with high time and size-resolution. In order to account for the refractory material in the aerosol, we also present estimates of Black Carbon (BC) using an aethalome- ter and an estimate of the aerosol soil component obtained from Proton-Induced X-ray Emission Spectrometry (PIXE) analysis of impactor substrates. Comparisons of AMS + BC + soil mass concentration with other collocated particle instruments (a LASAIR Optical Particle Counter, a PM2.5 Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM), and a PM2.5 DustTrak Aerosol Monitor) show that the AMS + BC + soil mass concentration is consistent with the total PM2.5 mass concentration during MCMA-2003 within the combined uncertainties. In Mexico City, the organic fraction of the estimated PM2.5 at CENICA represents, on average, 54.6% (standard deviation =10%) of the mass, with the rest consisting of inorganic compounds (mainly ammonium ni- trate and sulfate/ammonium salts), BC, and soil. Inorganic compounds represent 27.5% of PM2.5 ( =10%); BC mass concentration is about 11% ( =4%); while soil represents
Learning on Probabilistic Labels

Classification is a fundamental topic in the literature of data mining and all recent hot topics like active learning and transfer learning all rely on the concept of classification. Probabilistic information becomes more prevalent nowadays and can be found easily in many applications like crowdsourcing and pattern recognition. In this paper, we focus on a dataset which contains probabilistic information for classification. Based on this probabilistic dataset, we propose a classifier and give a theoretical bound linking the error rate of our classifier and the number of instances needed for training. Interestingly, we find that our theoretical bound is asymptotically at least no worse than the previously best-known bounds developed based on the traditional dataset. Furthermore, our classifier guarantees a fast rate of convergence compared with traditional classifiers. Experimental results show that our proposed algorithm has a higher accuracy than the traditional algorithm. We believe that this work is influential since it opens a new topic on the probabilistic dataset, allowing researchers to study all topics related to classification like active learning and transfer learning under this new probabilistic setting.
REPORT FROM THE FIELD : ACADEMIC PRESSURE AND IMPACT ON JAPANESE STUDENTS

ABSTRACT. This paper explores the intense pressure endured by ]apanese students, according to much published evidence, in the pursuit of academic achievement, especially in the university entrance examination. The paper provides a discussion of the literature and examines cultural, social, and economic factors for such pressure. lt then considers the impact of academic pressure on students' psychological and physical well-being, including the serious problems of bullying and school-related suicide. In sum, the paper calls attention to the overwhelming pressures faced by ]apanese students and seeks to provide a basis of understanding for further research. RESUME Cet article porte sur les vives tensions que les imperatifs de la reussite scolaire imposent, selon de nombreuses publications, aux etudiants japonais et particulierement aux candidats qui se presentent aux examens d'entree a l'universite. L'auteur analyse les publications consacrees a cette question et examine les facteurs culturels, sociaux et economiques qui renforcent ces tensions. Il examine egalement les repercussions de ces tensions sur le bien-etre psychologique et physique des etudiants et notamment les graves problemes que sont l'intimidation et le suicide lie a des pressions scolaires. En bref, l'article met en lumiere les tensions enormes que vivent les etudiants japonais et tente de jeter les fondements de recherches plus fouillees.
2 M ay 2 00 6 Formation of ultracold LiCs molecules

We present the first observation of ultracold LiCs molecules. The molecules are formed in a two-species magneto-optical trap and detected by two-photon ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The production rate coefficient is found to be in the range 10 −18 cm 3 s −1 to 10 −16 cm 3 s −1 , at least an order of magnitude smaller than for other heteronuclear diatomic molecules directly formed in a magneto-optical trap.
IGFBP-3, a sensitive marker of physical training and overtraining

Objective: To investigate the response of the somatotrope axis (insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3)) to intense exercise in relation to tiredness. Methods: The study involved 11 rugby players who completed a questionnaire intended to evaluate fitness or, conversely, overtraining and who agreed to plasma samples being taken before and after an international rugby match. Results: The main finding of our study is that we observed strong negative correlations between IGF-1 (r = 0.652) and IGFBP-3 (r = 0.824) levels and the overtraining state estimated using the French Society of Sport Medicine questionnaire. In particular, there was a fall (of up to 25%) in IGFBP-3 levels after the match in the more fatigued subjects compared to an increase (of up to 40%) in fit subjects. Conclusions: A fall in IGFBP-3 in response to an intense bout of exercise may represent an index of tiredness in highly trained sportsmen, as indicated by the scores obtained from the overtraining questionnaire.
Characterization of myelin of chick sciatic nerve during development

Myelin was isolated from the sciatic nerves of chicks of ages 18-day embryonic, l-day, May, 7-day post- hatch, and adult to study developmental changes in lipid composition of this structure. The yield of myelin increased throughout the early stages of development and the prepara- tions were of high purity. Although the lipid content of the myelin did not change, significant changes took place in lipid composition during development. The most significant changes were a relative increase in cerebrosides, phosphatidal- ethanolamine and long-chain fatty acids of cerebrosides, and a relative decrease in the content of phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine. A second fraction ("lower band") was obtained during the isolation procedure. This "lower band" was present at all developmental stages and layered consistently at the inter- face of 1.2 and 0.8 M sucrose on a discontinuous gradient. The quantity of this fraction did not change during develop- ment and it differed from myelin in electron microscopic appearance. Its lipid composition, which did not change, resembled that of lgday embryonic myelin in its high phos- pho1ipid:cholesterol ratio and low galactolipid content. The enzyme, 2': 3'-cyclic-nucleosidemonophosphate phos- phodiesterase was found to be present in both the myelin and "lower band" fractions; however there was no enrichment of this enryme in purified myelin.
Hybrid Excitation Synchronous Machines: Energy Efficient Solution for Vehicle Propulsion

In this paper the suitability of a class of electric machines for vehicle traction application is discussed. These machines, known as hybrid excitation synchronous machines, combine a permanent magnet excitation with wound field excitation. The goal behind the principle of hybrid excitation is to combine advantages of PM excited machines and wound field synchronous machines. It is shown that these machines have good flux weakening capability compared to PM machines, and that they constitute an energy efficient solution for vehicles propulsion
Why and how might genetic and phylogenetic diversity be reflected in the identification of key biodiversity areas?

‘Key biodiversity areas' are defined as sites contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity. The identification of these sites builds from existing approaches based on measures of species and ecosystem diversity and process. Here, we therefore build from the work of Sgró et al. (2011 Evol. Appl. 4, 326–337. (doi:10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00157.x)) to extend a framework for how components of genetic diversity might be considered in the identification of key biodiversity areas. We make three recommendations to inform the ongoing process of consolidating a key biodiversity areas standard: (i) thresholds for the threatened species criterion currently consider a site's share of a threatened species' population; expand these to include the proportion of the species' genetic diversity unique to a site; (ii) expand criterion for ‘threatened species' to consider ‘threatened taxa’ and (iii) expand the centre of endemism criterion to identify as key biodiversity areas those sites holding a threshold proportion of the compositional or phylogenetic diversity of species (within a taxonomic group) whose restricted ranges collectively define a centre of endemism. We also recommend consideration of occurrence of EDGE species (i.e. threatened phylogenetic diversity) in key biodiversity areas to prioritize species-specific conservation actions among sites.
A New Class of Generative Models for Burst-Error Characterization in Digital Wireless Channels

Accurate and efficient generative models are significant for the design and performance evaluation of wireless communication protocols as well as error-control schemes. In this paper, deterministic processes are used to derive a new class of hard and soft generative models for simulation of digital wireless channels with hard and soft decision outputs, respectively. The proposed deterministic-process-based generative models (DPBGMs) are all based on a properly parameterized and sampled deterministic process followed by a threshold detector and two parallel mappers. The target hard and soft error sequences are provided by computer simulations of uncoded enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) systems with typical urban and rural area channels. Simulation results indicate that the proposed DPBGMs enable us to approximate very closely all the interested burst-error statistics of the target hard and soft error sequences. The validity of the suggested DPBGMs is further confirmed by the excellent match of the simulated frame-error rates and residual bit-error rates of coded EGPRS systems obtained from the target and generated error sequences
London and New York's Advertising and Law Clusters and Their Networks of Learning: Relational Analyses with a Politics of Scale?

A preoccupation in cluster literatures has been with theorising the way learning occurs and knowledge is produced. Studies have highlighted the complementary local and global learning networks involved. This paper engages with this debate through empirical examination of the networks of learning that exist within and between the clusters of advertising and law firms in London and New York. Based on data gained from interviews, the paper shows that existing literatures devalue and differentiate local versus global learning networks, ignoring the ways the organization and nature of learning and knowledge production at local and global scales can be similar and equally valuable. It therefore suggests using relational conceptualisations to understand and describe the trans-local relational learning networks. It also shows, however, that a politics of scale influences the behaviours of actors in these networks, suggesting recent calls to completely jettison scale from geographers analytical toolkits might be too hasty.
B-sub-manifolds and Their Stability

In this paper, we introduce a concept of B-minimal sub-manifolds and discuss the stability of such a sub-manifold in a Riemannian manifold (M, g). Assume B(x) is a smooth function on M . By definition, we call a sub-manifold Σ B-minimal in (M, g) if the product sub-manifold Σ × S1 is a minimal sub-manifold in a warped product Riemannian manifold (M ×S1, g+ e2B(x)dt2), so its stability is closely related to the stability of solitons of mean curvature flows as noted earlier by G. Huisken , S. Angenent, and K. Smoczyk. We can show that the ”grim reaper” in the curve-shortening problem is stable in the sense of ”symmetric stable” defined by K. Smoczyk. We also discuss the graphic B-minimal sub-manifold in Rn+k .