Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trying To Stay Ahead of the Game: Superintendents and Principals Talk about School Leadership.

F ounded in 1975 by social scientist and author Daniel Yankelovich and former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Public Agenda works to help the nation's leaders better understand the public's point of view and to help average citizens better understand critical policy issues. Public Agenda's particular expertise lies in crafting research studies that explore different points of view with empathy and that probe beneath surface responses to capture the public's concerns and assumptions. Our in-depth research on how citizens think about policy forms the basis for extensive citizen education work. Our citizen education materials, used by the National Issues Forums and media outlets across the country, have won praise for their credibility and fairness from elected officials from both political parties and from experts and decision-makers across the political spectrum. Our Web site, Public Agenda Online, provides comprehensive information on a wide range of public opinion and public policy issues. T he Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds seek to create opportunities for people to enrich themselves through better schools, enhanced community activities, and participation in the arts. The focus of the Wallace Funds' education work is LEADERS Count, a national initiative aimed at strengthening the ability of principals and superintendents to improve student learning and building a new field of knowledge that helps improvements spread on a broad scale. Public Agenda's Online Department – for producing a unique and highly informative online version of this report. Alan Lecker for his careful eye and assistance in the editing of this report. Jim Robinson and the staff of Robinson and Muenster Associates, for their professionalism, flexibility and attentiveness. Daniel Yankelovich, who joined with Cyrus Vance more than two decades ago to found Public Agenda. Dan's thinking on public opinion remains at the core of our work. And Public Agenda's President, Deborah Wadsworth, whose dedication to the issues and remarkable insight guide our organization. 5 T he job is "almost overwhelming," wrote one public school principal responding to Public Agenda's most recent study on public education. "My desk is never clear of obligations…Constant interruptions from parents, teachers…Principals do not have a lunch hour. " Few would expect a principal's day to be leisurely and contemplative, but the sheer sensory overload experienced by many school leaders is a key theme of Trying to Stay Ahead of the Game: Superintendents and Principals Talk about School Leadership. This new Public Agenda report is based on in-depth surveys of …
Associations between respiratory arrhythmia and fundamental frequency of spontaneous crying in preterm and term infants at term‐equivalent age

ABSTRACT This study investigated whether lower vagal function in preterm infants is associated with increased fundamental frequency (F 0; frequency of vocal fold vibration) of their spontaneous cries. We assessed respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) during quiet sleep as a measure of vagal function, and its relationship with the F 0 of spontaneous cries in healthy preterm and term infants at term‐equivalent age. The results showed that preterm infants have significantly lower RSA, and higher overall F 0 than term infants. Moreover, lower RSA was associated with higher overall F 0 in preterm infants, whereas higher RSA was positively associated with mean and maximum F 0, and a larger F 0 range in term infants. These results suggest that individual differences in vagal function may be associated with the F 0 of spontaneous cries via modulation of vocal fold tension in infants at an early developmental stage. © 2016 The Authors. Developmental Psychobiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 58:724–733, 2016.
Buruli Ulcer Disease and Its Association with Land Cover in Southwestern Ghana

Background Buruli ulcer (BU), one of 17 neglected tropical diseases, is a debilitating skin and soft tissue infection caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. In tropical Africa, changes in land use and proximity to water have been associated with the disease. This study presents the first analysis of BU at the village level in southwestern Ghana, where prevalence rates are among the highest globally, and explores fine and medium-scale associations with land cover by comparing patterns both within BU clusters and surrounding landscapes. Methodology/Principal Findings We obtained 339 hospital-confirmed BU cases in southwestern Ghana between 2007 and 2010. The clusters of BU were identified using spatial scan statistics and the percentages of six land cover classes were calculated based on Landsat and Rapid Eye imagery for each of 154 villages/towns. The association between BU prevalence and each land cover class was calculated using negative binomial regression models. We found that older people had a significantly higher risk for BU after considering population age structure. BU cases were positively associated with the higher percentage of water and grassland surrounding each village, but negatively associated with the percent of urban. The results also showed that BU was clustered in areas with high percentage of mining activity, suggesting that water and mining play an important and potentially interactive role in BU occurrence. Conclusions/Significance Our study highlights the importance of multiple land use changes along the Offin River, particularly mining and agriculture, which might be associated with BU disease in southwestern Ghana. Our study is the first to use both medium- and high-resolution imagery to assess these changes. We also show that older populations (≥ 60 y) appear to be at higher risk of BU disease than children, once BU data were weighted by population age structures.
Efficacy Comparison of Tenofovir and Entecavir in HBeAg-Positive Chronic Hepatitis B Patients with High HBV DNA

Objectives. To compare entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) effects in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with high HBV DNA. Method. 96 patients treated initially with tenofovir (TDF group) or entecavir (ETV group) were included in this retrospective study. The following parameters were assessed: HBeAg and hepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe) status, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and HBV-DNA levels at weeks 4, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, and 96; time to ALT normalization, undetectable HBV-DNA levels, and HBeAg seroconversion; total duration of follow-up and adverse reactions. Results. The patients included 66 (69%) and 30 (31%) individuals administered ETV and TDF, respectively, comprising 75% males. They were 35.1 ± 4.5 and 33.7 ± 4.6 years old in ETV and TDF groups, respectively. At 36 weeks, the response rate was significantly higher in the TDF group than in ETV treated patients (90% versus 69.7%, p = 0.03). At 48 weeks, less patients administered ETV showed undetectable HBV-DNA levels compared with the TDF group (86.4% versus 96.7%), a non-statistically significant difference (p = 0.13). Only 1 ETV treated patient developed virological breakthrough at 48–96 w. No adverse reactions were found. Conclusion. ETV and TDF are comparable in efficacy and safety to suppress HBV-DNA replication in HBeAg-positive CHB patients with high HBV DNA.
Fast and Flexible Monotonic Functions with Ensembles of Lattices

For many machine learning problems, there are some inputs that are known to be positively (or negatively) related to the output, and in such cases training the model to respect that monotonic relationship can provide regularization, and makes the model more interpretable. However, flexible monotonic functions are computationally challenging to learn beyond a few features. We break through this barrier by learning ensembles of monotonic calibrated interpolated look-up tables (lattices). A key contribution is an automated algorithm for selecting feature subsets for the ensemble base models. We demonstrate that compared to random forests, these ensembles produce similar or better accuracy, while providing guaranteed monotonicity consistent with prior knowledge, smaller model size and faster evaluation.
Accommodation Request Strategies Among Employees With Disabilities: Impacts and Associated Factors

The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of different workplace accommodation request strategies, the effectiveness of different request approaches, and situational and individual factors associated with different request strategies for individuals with disabilities. Common action plans of accommodation requests may vary depending on decisions about mentioning the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) (or not) and whether a formal (or informal) request is submitted, though past literature has focused primarily on formal accommodation requests made under the auspices of the ADA. Participants (n = 408) were recruited from rehabilitation agencies and organizations serving people with disabilities in the United States. The results indicated that informal requests without mentioning the ADA were found most often, followed by formal requests while not mentioning the ADA, formal requests while mentioning the ADA, and informal requests while mentioning the ADA. The odds of acquiring the requested accommodation were significantly higher, relative to other strategies, for requests made informally without mentioning the ADA. A variety of individual attributes capable of discerning when participants chose one strategy over another were observed; these included self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, negative affect, and an array of situational and personal attributes. Implications for research and practice were discussed.
Diabetes mortality in Panama and related biological and socioeconomic risk factors.

OBJECTIVE To estimate mortality from diabetes mellitus (DM) for the period 2001-2011 in the Republic of Panama, by province/indigenous territory, and determine its relationship with biological and socioeconomic risk factors. METHODS Cases for the years 2001-2011 with DM listed as the principal cause of death were selected from Panama's National Mortality Registry. Crude and adjusted mortality rates were generated by sex, age, and geographic area. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between DM mortality and biological and socioeconomic risk factors. A composite health index (CHI) calculated from biological and socioeconomic risk factors was estimated for each province/indigenous territory in Panama. RESULTS DM mortality rates did not increase for men or women during 2001-2011. Of the biological risk factors, being overweight had the strongest association with DM mortality. Of the socioeconomic risk factors, earning less than US$ 100 per month had the strongest association with DM mortality. The highest socioeconomic CHI scores were found in a province that is predominantly rural and in areas with indigenous populations. The highest biological CHI scores were found in urban-rural provinces and those with the highest percentage of elderly people. CONCLUSIONS Regional disparities in the association between DM mortality and DM risk factors reaffirm the heterogeneous composition of the Panamanian population and the uneven distribution of biological and social determinant risk factors in the country and point to the need to vary management strategies by geographic area for this important cause of disability and death in Panama.
Comparable Outcome of Allogeneic versus Autologous Hematopoietic Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients with Normal Karyotype and FLT3-ITD Negative

Introduction: Optimal post-remission treatment for acute myeloid leukemia patients with normal karyotype (AMLNK) in first complete remission (CR1) who lacks an HLA identical donor is still not well-defined. Aim of the Work: To compare the outcome of allogeneic versus autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) in adult AML patients regarding toxicities of transplant procedure, transplant-related mortality (TRM), disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients and Methods: 43 AML patients were included; 34 patients (with a median age 28 years) received myeloablative allogeneic PBSCT from a matched sibling donor while 9 patients (with a median age 36 years) received PBSC autograft. All patients had a normal karyotype (NK), FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3 ITD) negative and were in CR1. Results: After a median follow up of 21.5 months (0.3- 46.5), the cumulative 2-year OS and DFS in the allogeneic group were 73.5% and 70.6% respectively, compared to 74.1% and 64.8%, respectively in the autologous group (p=0.690 and 0.768). Increasing number of consolidation cycles (>3) and lower CD34 stem cell dose were associated with lower relapse rates and higher DFS in the autologous group. Conclusion: Preliminary data show a comparable outcome of autologous compared to allogeneic PBSCT in patients with AML-NK and FLT3 ITD negative in CR1. In absence of matched sibling donor, autologous PBSCT may provide an acceptable post remission therapy for patients with low risk molecular profile.
Efficient Tomlinson-Harashima precoding for spatial multiplexing on flat MIMO channel

Nonlinear minimum mean square error Tomlinson-Harashima precoding considered in this paper is an attractive solution for a scenario where a transmitter serves spatially separated receivers and no cooperation among them is possible. Unfortunately, the large performance gain against linear precoding comes along with significantly higher complexity than linear filters in the case of a large number of receivers. We show that superior performance of the nonlinear minimum mean square error Tomlinson-Harashima precoding can be obtained with complexity equivalent to linear precoding. Our proposed algorithm reduces the complexity by a factor of N/sub R/ which is the number of receivers.
An Extended Semidefinite Relaxation for Satisfiability

This paper proposes a new semidefinite programming relaxation for the satisfiability problem. This relaxation is an extension of previous relaxations arising from the paradigm of partial semidefinite liftings for 0/1 optimization problems. The construction of the relaxation depends on a choice of permutations of the clauses, and different choices may lead to different relaxations. We then consider the Tseitin instances, a class of instances known to be hard for certain proof systems, and prove that for any choice of permutations, the proposed relaxation is exact for these instances, meaning that a Tseitin instance is unsatisfiable if and only if the corresponding semidefinite programming relaxation is infeasible.
A matrix representation of the Bercovici-Pata bijection Electron

Let $\mu$ be an infinitely divisible law on the real line, $\Lambda(\mu)$ its freely infinitely divisible image by the Bercovici-Pata bijection. The purpose of this article is to produce a new kind of random matrices with distribution $\mu$ at dimension 1, and with its empirical spectral law converging to $\Lambda(\mu)$ as the dimension tends to infinity. This constitutes a generalisation of Wigner's result for the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble.
Small-scale woodland-based enterprises with outstanding economic potential: the case of honey in Zambia

In some countries, honey and beeswax are so important the term ‘beekeeping' appears in the titles of some government ministries. The significance of honey and beeswax in local livelihoods is nowhere more apparent than in the Miombo woodlands of southern Africa. Bee-keeping is a vital source of income for many poor and remote rural producers throughout the Miombo, often because it is highly suited to small scale farming. This detailed Non-Timber Forest Product study from Zambia examines beekeeping's livelihood role from a range of perspectives, including market factors, production methods and measures for harnessing beekeeping to help reduce poverty.The key aim of the study is to generate sufficient information and discussion on the bee-keeping or honey and beeswax industry to support efforts by government of Zambia to develop a beekeeping policy. The report presents initial findings from the beekeeping sector review. The report is structured as follows: Section 1 provides a general introduction, briefly describes the methodology used in the study, and outlines the critical questions, hypotheses and methodology. Section 2 discusses the bio-physical conditions for beekeeping and its relation to forest management. Section 3 provides an overview of the history of beekeeping, the commodity system, sector stakeholders and summarises the characteristics of the beekeeping industry in four case study Provinces, North-Western, Luapula, Central and Eastern Provinces. Section 4 gives insights into the honey marketing chain, from the primary producer to the exporter. Conclusions and recommendations are discussed in Section 5 and 6 respectively.
A Hybrid Coupled-Resonator Bandpass Filter Topology Implemented on Lossy Semiconductor Substrates

The Q of filter resonators formed on lossy substrates depends on their mode of excitation. Modifying the circuit design such that the voltage signals on resonator coils is predominantly differential can result in substantially higher Q. Band-pass filter resonator topologies that exploit this difference are discussed, and experimental results are presented for 802.11 b band-pass filters implemented in a thin-film technology on silicon substrates.
GIS-Based Spatial Mapping of Flash Flood Hazard in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia

Flash floods occur periodically in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia, due to several factors including its rugged to-pography and geological structures. Hence, precise assessment of floods becomes a more vital demand in development planning. A GIS-based methodology has been developed for quantifying and spatially mapping the flood characteristics. The core of this new approach is integrating several topographic, metrological, geological, and land use datasets in a GIS environment that utilizes the Curve Number (CN) method of flood modelling for ungauged arid catchments. Additionally, the computations of flood quantities, such as depth and volume of runoff, are performed in the attribute tables of GIS layers, in order to assemble all results in the same environment. The accomplished results show that the runoff depth in Makkah, using a 50-years re-turn period, range from 128.1 mm to 193.9 mm while the peak discharge vary from 1063 m3/s to 4489 m3/s. The total flood volume is expected to reach 172.97 million m3 over Makkah metropolitan area. The advan-tages of the developed methodology include precision, cost-effective, digital outputs, and its ability to be re-run in other conditions.
A Practical Guide to Volatility Forecasting through Calm and Storm

We present a volatility forecasting comparative study within the ARCH class of models. Our goal is to identify successful predictive models over multiple horizons and to investigate how predictive ability is influenced by choices for estimation window length, innovation distribution, and frequency of parameter re-estimation. Test assets include a range of domestic and international equity indices and exchange rates. We find that model rankings are insensitive to forecast horizon and suggestions for estimation best practices emerge. While our main sample spans 1990-2008, we take advantage of the near-record surge in volatility during the last half of 2008 to ask if forecasting models or best practices break down during periods of turmoil. Surprisingly, we find that volatility during the 2008 crisis was well approximated by predictions one-day ahead, and should have been within risk managers' 1% confidence intervals up to one month ahead.
Objective video quality assessment system based on human perception

The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) has developed an objective video quality assessment system that emulates human perception. The perception-based system was developed and tested for a broad range of scenes and video technologies. The 36 test scenes contained widely varying amounts of spatial and temporal information. The 27 impairments included digital video compression systems operating at line rates from 56 kbits/sec to 45 Mbits/sec with controlled error rates, NTSC encode/decode cycles, VHS and S-VHS record/play cycles, and VHF transmission. Subjective viewer ratings of the video quality were gathered in the ITS subjective viewing laboratory that conforms to CCIR Recommendation 500-3. Objective measures of video quality were extracted from the digitally sampled video. These objective measurements are designed to quantify the spatial and temporal distortions perceived by the viewer. This paper presents the following: a detailed description of several of the best ITS objective measurements, a perception-based model that predicts subjective ratings from these objective measurements, and a demonstration of the correlation between the model's predictions and viewer panel ratings.
Efficient asynchronous interrupt handling in a full-system instruction set simulator

Instruction set simulators (ISS) have many uses in embedded software and hardware development and are typically based on dynamic binary translation (DBT), where frequently executed regions of guest instructions are compiled into host instructions using a just-in-time (JIT) compiler. Full-system simulation, which necessitates handling of asynchronous interrupts from e.g. timers and I/O devices, complicates matters as control flow is interrupted unpredictably and diverted from the current region of code. In this paper we present a novel scheme for handling of asynchronous interrupts, which integrates seamlessly into a region-based dynamic binary translator. We first show that our scheme is correct, i.e. interrupt handling is not deferred indefinitely, even in the presence of code regions comprising control flow loops. We demonstrate that our new interrupt handling scheme is efficient as we minimise the number of inserted checks. Interrupt handlers are also presented to the JIT compiler and compiled to native code, further enhancing the performance of our system. We have evaluated our scheme in an ARM simulator using a region-based JIT compilation strategy. We demonstrate that our solution reduces the number of dynamic interrupt checks by 73%, reduces interrupt service latency by 26% and improves throughput of an I/O bound workload by 7%, over traditional per-block schemes.
3 . 2 Resting-state connectivity in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer ’ s disease

Departments of Neurology, Physics and Medical Technology, Radiology and Clinical Neurophysiology, VU University Medical Center, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Department of Psychology, Leiden University, postzone C2-S, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. † Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), University Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, United Kingdom.