Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Use of the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) To Identify Academically Talented Elementary School Students

Based on the results of two pilot testing projects, the Secondary School Admission Test appears to be an acceptable instrument for identifying academically talented students of elementary school age. In trials consistent with the Talent Search Identification Model developed at The Johns Hopkins University, an above-level form of the SSAT was administered to two samples of fifth and sixth graders. Mean scores for eighth-and ninth-grade normative samples are recommended as cutoffs for identifying highly able fifth-and sixth- grade students who could benefit from academically challenging programming.
Coded path protection: Efficient conversion of sharing to coding

Link failures in wide area networks are common and cause significant data losses. Mesh-based protection schemes offer high capacity efficiency but they are slow and require complex signaling. Additionally, real-time reconfiguration of a crossconnect threatens their transmission integrity. On the other hand, coding-based protection schemes are proactive. Therefore, they have higher restoration speed, lower signaling complexity, and higher transmission integrity. This paper introduces a coding-based protection scheme, named Coded Path Protection (CPP). In CPP, a backup copy of the primary data is encoded with other data streams, resulting in capacity savings. This paper presents an optimal and simple capacity placement and coding group formation algorithm. The algorithm converts the sharing structure of any solution of a Shared Path Protection (SPP) technique into a coding structure with minimum extra capacity. W e conducted quantitative and qualitative comparisons of our technique with the SPP and, another technique, known as p-cycle protection. Simulation results confirm that the CPP is significantly faster than the SPP and p-cycle techniques. CPP incurs marginal extra capacity on top of SPP. Its capacity efficiency is lower than the p-cycle technique for dense networks but can be higher for sparse networks. In addition, unlike p-cycle protection, CPP is inherently suitable for the wavelength continuity constraint in optical networks.
Evaluation of “no touch” extubation technique on airway-related complications during emergence from general anesthesia

Background and Objectives: Awake “no touch” extubation requires performing extubations only when the patient spontaneously wakes up without any kind of stimulation during emergence from general anesthesia. The aim of this study was to evaluate absolutely awake extubation “no touch” technique in adult patients, scheduled for elective nasal and paranasal sinus surgeries under general anesthesia as regard to emergence airway complications. Methods: A total of 60 adult patients were randomly allocated into one of two equal groups according to the method of extubation: Group I: Standard fully awake, Group II: Absolutely “no touch” awake extubation (absolutely no stimulation no touch was allowed until patients were able to open their eyes). The incidence of laryngospasm and its grade according to a four-point scale was reported. Occurrence of airway events (excessive secretions, breath-holding, coughing, hoarseness, biting, as well as the number and severity of any desaturation episodes), oozing from the wound, and postoperative sore throat were also recorded. The heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure measured at the end of surgery served as baseline values, and subsequent measurements were taken within 30 minutes after the end of surgery. Results: There was absolutely no case of laryngeal spasm or episode of desaturation among patients who were extubated with the “no touch” technique. On the other hand, there were 3 cases of laryngeal spasm in standard fully awake group. Severity of coughing, excessive secretions and breath holding, hoarseness, biting, and occurrence of non-purposeful movements of the limbs were significantly less in the absolutely “no touch” technique awake technique. The changes in HR, SBP, and DBP during emergence extubation were significantly less in “no touch” technique technique group. However, oozing from the wound was significantly higher with standard fully awake extubation. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups regarding the incidence of postoperative sore throat (39 and 36%, respectively). Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that awake “no touch” technique technique for tracheal extubation produces less airway-related complications, as well as minimal hemodynamic response during emergence from general anesthesia in nasal and paranasal surgeries. It could be a safe alternative for tracheal extubation in airway surgery.
The cDNA Sequence Encoding an Annexin from Medicago sativa

Annexins are a family of at least 13 calcium-binding proteins in higher eukaryotes. They share the common features of binding phospholipids in a Ca2+-dependent manner and contain a 4or 8-fold repeated sequence of about 70 amino acid residues termed the annexin repeat. An N-terminal domain is of greater variability and may confer specific functions for each type. At least some of the annexins seem to be differentially expressed with respect to cell proliferation (Schlaepfer and Haigler, 1990). However, the biological function of the annexins is still not clearly defined. Proposed roles include exocytosis and membrane trafficking (Creutz, 1992; Gruenberg and Emans, 1993), inhibition of phospholipase Az (Haigler et al., 1987), and mitogenic signaling (Haigler et al., 1987). Until now, plant annexins have been characterized biochemically and by partial protein sequences (Boustead et al., 1989; Smallwood et al., 1990; Blackbourn et al., 1992; Andrawis et al., 1993). In cotton, an annexin-containing protein fraction was found to inhibit callose synthase in vitro (Andrawis et al., 1993). In addition, a 95-bp PCR fragrnent was isolated from tomato that was used as a probe in northern analysis to detect varying transcript levels in different plant organs (Smallwood et al., 1992). To obtain protein phosphatase genes (Pirck et al., 1993) from a Medicago sativa somatic embryo cDNA library (Hirt et al., 1991), we found that one of the cDNA inserts (AnnMs, see Table I) potentially encoded a protein with similarity to different animal annexins. A homology search at the NCBI with the BLAST net service showed 30 to 37% identity with AnnMs to various animal annexins. Considerable similarity (74%) was obtained between AnnMs and an unpublished Arabidopsis cDNA fragment potentially encoding an annexinlike protein (accession no. 218518). Comparisons with the published plant partial protein sequences revealed significant similarities between the single annexin repeat units. The tomato 28-kD fragment of p35.5 (Smallwood et al., 1990), for example, has 51% identity with repeat I1 of AnnMs. In contrast, comparison of the four AnnMs intemal repeat sequences showed only approximately 20% identity. Similar results were obtained when various animal annexins were analyzed.
CMAC neural networks structures

Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller (CMAC) NN is a computational model of cerebellum introduced as an alternative to backpropagated multilayer networks to control robot arms. From then it has seen many improvements and has been applied in many other areas as a general NN. These improvements have been in the context of generalization, learning techniques, differentiability, memory size, fuzzification and hardware implementation. This paper is a systematic review of CMAC's different structures and applications.
Perigalactic Distances of Globular Clusters

Luminosities and tidal radii of globular clusters have been used to estimate the perigalactic distances P of well-observed Galactic globulars that do not have collapsed cores. It is found that the cluster metallicity [Fe/H] correlates somewhat more strongly with P than it does with the present Galactocentric distances R of globular clusters. It is also found that both P and R correlate more strongly with the cluster half-light radii rh than they do with [Fe/H]. This suggests that cluster radii are mainly determined by global parameters of the (proto)Galaxy, whereas [Fe/H] may have been more strongly affected by local evolutionary effects. The strong correlation (P) = 0.70 +/- 0.05 between the perigalactic distances and half-light radii of globular clusters is particularly striking. The half-light radii rh of globular clusters in the outer halo of the Galaxy are found to correlate with R, and even more strongly with P. It is not yet clear how this result is to be reconciled with the Searle-Zinn scenario for the formation of the outer halo of the Galaxy. The tidal radii of clusters with collapsed cores appear to have been systematically over-estimated, resulting in perigalactic distances that are too large. Halo globulars with P > 15 kpc are (with the exception of NGC 2419) typically an order of magnitude less luminous than the clusters with P 15 kpc have ages in the range 9 - 16 Gyr, whereas globulars with P < 15 kpc all appear to have ages that are restricted to the narrower range 13 < T < 16 Gyr.
Believing Is Seeing

Empirical research on both whiteness and masculinity has paid little attention to how white men actually see race and gender. This article combines data gathered from a set of twenty-six intensive interviews and three photoethnographic interviews, along with poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory, to explore the different ways white men visually interpret race and gender within particular social contexts. From the data, I offer a theoretical model called “the matrix of vision” that addresses how the visual field is constructed within discursive, structural, interactive, and geographic contexts. This article highlights how the field of vision is especially susceptible to making white men feel racialized and/or gendered. It contributes to more recent research on whiteness that presents the constructed character of white identity formation. It also adds to visual sociology literature by highlighting photographic work done by the respondents themselves and how visual sociology can contribute to nonvisual data.
Are Latin America's corporate elites transnationally interconnected? A network analysis of interlocking directorates

Conflicting perspectives appear when thinking about the emergence of a cohesive transnational corporate network in Latin America. On the one hand, regional political integration, foreign investment growth, increased cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and cultural and linguistic homogeneity may have fostered transnational networks among Latin America's corporate elites. On the other hand, domestic-based business groups, family control and trade orientation to the USA may have hindered the emergence of a cohesive transnational corporate network in Latin America. Based on a network analysis of interlocking directorates among the 300 largest corporations in Latin America, I ask whether the region's corporate elites interconnect at the transnational level and form a cohesive transnational corporate network. I found few transnational interlocks, a lack of cohesion in the transnational corporate network and no regional leaders. Corporate elites in Latin America are not transnationally interconnected and so a cohesive transnational corporate network has not emerged. I discuss implications and avenues of future research.
COMT rs4680 Met is not always the ‘smart allele’: Val allele is associated with better working memory and larger hippocampal volume in healthy Chinese

Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met (rs4680) polymorphism plays a crucial role in regulating brain dopamine level. Converging evidence from Caucasian samples showed that, compared with rs4680 Val allele, the Met allele was linked to lower COMT activity, which in turn was linked to better cognitive performance such as working memory (WM) and to a larger hippocampus (a brain region important for WM). However, some behavioral studies have shown that the function of rs4680 appears to vary across different ethnic groups, with Chinese subjects showing an opposite pattern as that for Caucasians (i.e. the Val allele is linked to better cognitive functions related to WM in Chinese). Using a sample of healthy Han Chinese college students (ages from 19 to 21 years), this study investigated the association of COMT Val158Met genotype with behavioral data on a two‐back WM task (n = 443, 189M/254F) and T1 MRI data (n = 320, 134M/186F). Results showed that, compared to the Met allele, the Val allele was associated with larger hippocampal volume (the right hippocampus: β = −0.118, t = −2.367, P = 0.019, and the left hippocampus: β = −0.099, t = −1.949, P = 0.052) and better WM performance (β = −0.110, t = −2.315, P = 0.021). These results add to the growing literature on differentiated effects of COMT rs4680 polymorphism on WM across populations and offer a brain structural mechanism for such population‐specific genetic effects.
The Two Lefts? Occupation and Party Choice in France, Italy, and the Netherlands

It has recently been argued that class divisions in politics are being altered by the emergence of conflicts over nonmaterial issues. Since the main support for the new ("postmaterialist") left is in the midle class, segments of the middle class are attracted to the left, while more traditionalist working-class voters move to the right. This paper uses long-linear association models to test this argument, examining occupation and party choice in France, Italy, and the Netherlands from 1973 to 1985. While there is evidence of a post materialist dimension, its importance is generally stable across time and cohorts. The conclusions still hold when education is taken into account. Recent political developments are better understood as a general shift in attitudes among all classes than as a change in the relative importance of different class divisions.
PDL with intersection and converse: satisfiability and infinite-state model checking

Abstract We study satisfiability and infinite-state model checking in ICPDL, which extends Propositional Dynamic Logic (PDL) with intersection and converse operators on programs. The two main results of this paper are that (i) satisfiability is in 2ΕΧΡΤΙΜΕ, thus 2ΕΧΡΤΙΜΕ-complete by an existing lower bound, and (ii) infinite-state model checking of basic process algebras and pushdown systems is also 2ΕΧΡΤΙΜΕ-complete. Both upper bounds are obtained by polynomial time computable reductions to ω-regular tree satisfiability in ICPDL, a reasoning problem that we introduce specifically for this purpose. This problem is then reduced to the emptiness problem for alternating two-way automata on infinite trees. Our approach to (i) also provides a shorter and more elegant proof of Danecki's difficult result that satisfiability in IPDL is in 2ΕΧΡΤΙΜΕ. We prove the lower bound(s) for infinite-state model checking using an encoding of alternating Turing machines.
Do the Swedes really aspire to sense and the Portuguese to status? Cultural activity and income gap in the member states of the European Union

This article aims at verifying the findings of Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) which point to a strong correlation between the income gap and the escalation of social problems. Wilkinson and Pickett’s thesis states that all kinds of social problems are directly connected to the scale of social inequality in a given country. This article tests this concept by analysing the relation between the income gap in a particular country and the cultural activity of its citizens. The study assumes that low cultural activity can be defined as a social problem in modern European knowledge societies that are based on cultural industry. This relation is investigated in 22 European Union countries. The study demonstrates that there is a strong correlation between cultural activity and the scale of social inequality. In egalitarian countries the cultural activity is high, in highly stratified countries it is low.
Development of a Versatile Expression Plasmid Construction System for Aspergillus oryzae and Its Application to Visualization of Mitochondria

We report here a development of the MultiSite GatewayTM-based versatile plasmid construction system applicable for the rapid and efficient preparation of Aspergillus oryzae expression plasmids. This system allows the simultaneous connection of the three DNA fragments inserted in entry clones along with a destination vector in a defined order and orientation. We prepared a variety of entry clones and destination vectors containing promoters, genes encoding carrier-proteins and fusion tags, and selectable markers, which makes it possible to generate 80 expression plasmids for each target protein. Using this system, plasmids for expression of the EGFP fused with the mitochondrial-targeting signal of citrate synthase (AoCit1) were generated. Tubular structures of mitochondria were visualized in the transformants expressing the AoCit1-EGFP fusion protein. This plasmid construction system allows us to prepare a large number of expression plasmids without laborious DNA manipulations, which would facilitate molecular biological studies on A. oryzae.
How Communicative is the Communicative Approach? – The German Teacher’s Experience

This study mainly focused on exploring the efficacy of applying the communicative approach to teaching German at the Goethe Institute in Bangladesh. A qualitative approach was used to collect data by using journal writing by the teacher as well as informal feedback from students. The students comprised 11 schoolteachers from a number of Bangladeshi English-medium schools. Since emphasis was given on testing reading and writing rather than on evaluation of all four skills, applying CLT was tailored to teaching reading and writing rather than speaking and listening with the effect that students at the end of the course had elementary knowledge of reading and writing but poor knowledge of speaking and listening. The question that follows is how communicative is the communicative approach if testing clashes with pedagogy? This article explores the limitations of applying CLT to the German language class and the dilemma that comes with it as to which approach is the best approach to teach a foreign language. Journal of NELTA, Vol. 17 No. 1-2, December 2012, Page 83-92 DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/nelta.v17i1-2.8095
Intense interval training in healthy older adults increases skeletal muscle [3H]ouabain‐binding site content and elevates Na+,K+‐ATPase α2 isoform abundance in Type II fibers

Young adults typically adapt to intense exercise training with an increased skeletal muscle Na+,K+‐ATPase (NKA) content, concomitant with reduced extracellular potassium concentration [K+] during exercise and enhanced exercise performance. Whether these changes with longitudinal training occur in older adults is unknown and was investigated here. Fifteen older adults (69.4 ± 3.5 years, mean ± SD) were randomized to either 12 weeks of intense interval training (4 × 4 min at 90–95% peak heart rate), 3 days/week (IIT, n = 8); or no exercise controls (n = 7). Before and after training, participants completed an incremental cycle ergometer exercise test until a rating of perceived exertion of 17 (very hard) on a 20‐point scale was attained, with measures of antecubital venous [K+]v. Participants underwent a resting muscle biopsy prior to and at 48–72 h following the final training session. After IIT, the peak exercise work rate (25%), oxygen uptake (16%) and heart rate (6%) were increased (P < 0.05). After IIT, the peak exercise plasma [K+]v tended to rise (P = 0.07), while the rise in plasma [K+]v relative to work performed (nmol.L−1.J−1) was unchanged. Muscle NKA content increased by 11% after IIT (P < 0.05). Single fiber measurements, increased in NKA α2 isoform in Type II fibers after IIT (30%, P < 0.05), with no changes to the other isoforms in single fibers or homogenate. Thus, intense exercise training in older adults induced an upregulation of muscle NKA, with a fiber‐specific increase in NKA α2 abundance in Type II fibers, coincident with increased muscle NKA content and enhanced exercise performance.
Sigma-Delta Stable Matching for Computational Stereopsis ( Version 1 . 5 ) Radim Šára

In this paper we explore stability principle applied to the problem of stereoscopic matching. Stability is based on competition among candidate matches. It is not an optimality condition, it is a matching property, much like ordering or uniqueness. Unlike the latter two it guarantees the existence of a unique solution to a matching problem. Very roughly speaking, stable matching is one in which each selected match dominates its potential competitors in some property. Great versatility is possible since the choice of the property is only very weakly constrained. The simplest property of matches, explored in this paper, is their similarity measure computed over small rectangular image neighborhoods as in standard area-based matching. We define stability, give the existence and uniqueness theorem, and suggest a simple and fast algorithm. We then show how stable matching copes with wide disparity search range, half-occluded regions, very thin objects, and featureless areas. We will show how stability property extends naturally to the case when confidence intervals instead of single-valued match similarities are given. This allows for guaranteed high accuracy in stereoscopic matching. In a ground-truth experiment we compare various matchings in terms of false positives, false negatives, mismatches, and bias towards large objects.
Systemic Innovation in a Distributed Network Paradox or Pinnacle

Previous research has suggested that there is a dichotomy of organisational practices: companies involved in autonomous or modularised innovations, it is argued, benefit from decentralised approaches where coordination primarily takes place through the marketplace, whereas the benefits of systemic innovation are said to be appropriated best by centralised organisations. However, case studies of subcontractors to the Danish wind turbine industry suggest that the ability to meet heterogeneous demands plays an important role for the success of different forms of organisational practices in relation to innovation. The modularised versus systemic architecture approach therefore appears to be a too sweeping dichotomy for describing what can better be perceived as an array of different practices for balancing innovation contribution with the ability of individual firms to appropriate innovation benefits – and a heterogeneous market perception is a core element in building and sustaining this ability.