Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Identification of Preschoolers with Special (Needs in Head Start

The implementation of P.L. 99-457 represents a new phase in the evolution of service delivery to preschool-age children with special needs. Head Start has long been the largest program to integrate and mainstream preschool children with disabilities. In conjunction with this recent legislation, Head Start is certifying children with more-severe and multiple impairments into their special needs program. The present study describes the joint efforts of a UCLA/Head Start Diagnostic Team to provide individual assessment services to 159 Head Start children from 1989 to 1992. Prevalence rates within the various diagnostic areas were somewhat discrepant with earlier research. Using cluster analysis techniques, three clinical clusters emerged that described the profiles of children along demographic, developmental/medical, family/home, and academic dimensions. Chi-square tests evaluated the relationship between categorical diagnoses, cluster membership, and the need for special education kindergarten placement. Implications of early identification of children with special needs in Head Start on later school functioning were discussed.
Journals at risk

Interviews and a questionnaire survey have been used to investigate the characteristics of journals which are most likely to be cancelled by British universities when faced with cuts. The number of journals which have been cancelled has also been looked at and the way in which cancellation exercises have been carried out. High prices, large price increases and foreign-language contents play a role in decisions on cancellations. Library and academic staff are in overall agreement on the types of journal to cancel. One difference is that library staff often prefer to weed cheaper journals first, whereas academic staff prefer to cancel fewer, but more expensive, journals.
Developing Children's Oral Language Skills through Dialogic Reading

public prekindergarten classroom where slightly more than half of her students were eligible for special education services due to a developmental delay (DD), language impairment (LI), or some other diagnosed disability. The remaining students qualified for public prekindergarten via the Title I School Readiness program based on their families’ poverty status. Thus, Mrs. Thomas was aware of the at-risk nature of her students and their varying levels of ability. Despite having students with DD and/or LI in her classroom, the district did not provide additional speech and language therapy for these children, even if they had language goals on their individualized education programs (IEPs). Although Mrs. Thomas had over 20 years of experience with prekindergarten and kindergarten children and certifications for both early childhood education and K-12, she did not have special education certification. However, she was very familiar with the IEP process and had worked with a number of students with varying disabilities. Concerned about her students’ language development and how to handle their varying levels of language ability, she turned to the What Works Clearinghouse, the online web site of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) for evidencebased practices. She learned that dialogic reading has had very positive effects for language development in young children in a variety of settings (U.S. Department of Education, 2007), so she decided to implement the strategy in her classroom.
The Attribute Hierarchy Method for Cognitive Assessment: A Variation on Tatsuoka's Rule-Space Approach

A cognitive item response theory model called the attribute hierarchy method (AHM) is introduced and illustrated. This method represents a variation of Tatsuoka's rule-space approach. The AHM is designed explicitly to link cognitive theory and psychometric practice to facilitate the development and analyses of educational and psychological tests. The following are described: cognitive properties of the AHM; psychometric properties of the AHM, as well as a demonstration of how the AHM differs from Tatsuoka's rule-space approach; and application of the AHM to the domain of syllogistic reasoning to illustrate how this approach can be used to evaluate the cognitive competencies required in a higher-level thinking task. Future directions for research are also outlined.
Investigation on the toxic potential of Tribulus terrestris in vitro

Abstract Context: Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) has been commonly used to energize, vitalize, and improve sexual function and physical performance in men. Objective: This study investigates the potential cytotoxic and genotoxic, and endocrine disrupting activities of T. terrestris in vitro. Materials and methods: The whole T. terrestris plant was extracted with water, methanol, and chloroform. The genotoxic potential of T. terrestris extracts at 3–2400 µg/mL was assessed by Comet assay in a rat kidney cell line (NRK-52E) and by Ames assay in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains. Endocrine disrupting effects of the extracts at concentrations of 0.22–25 000 µg/mL were assessed by YES/YAS assay in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cytotoxic activity of the extracts was determined by the MTT test in NRK-52E cells. The different exposure times were used for four tests (3–48 h). Results: The methanol extract of T. terrestris IC50 value was 160 µg/mL. The other extracts did not show cytotoxic effects. In the Comet and Ames genotoxicity assays, none of the extracts possessed genotoxic activities at concentrations of 0–2400 µg/mL. Only the water extract of T. terrestris induced frame shift mutations after metabolic activation. The water extract also showed estrogenic activity by YES/YAS assay in S. cerevisiae at concentrations ≥27 µg/mL (≥2.6-fold), while the other T. terrestris extracts had anti-estrogenic properties. Conclusion: Tribulus terrestris had estrogenic and genotoxic activities. The study was useful in determining its toxicological effects and the precautions regarding consumption.
Effect of a Computer Mediated Systems Teaching Approach on Attitude Towards Mathematics of Engineering Students

This paper reports a study which investigated the effect of a Computer Mediated Systems Teaching Approach (CMSTA), used to teach mathematics to engineering students in a Nigerian Polytechnic, on the students’ attitude towards the subject. Specifically, the study determined (a) the Attitude Towards Mathematics (ATM) disposition of the students taught mathematics using the CMSTA and those not taught with the same approach and (b) which gender’s ATM dispositions is more favourable amongst the students taught mathematics using the CMSTA. From a sample of 485 subjects (with 274 in the experimental and 211 in control groups) initially targeted to be used, 470 subjects (with 267 in the experimental and 203 in control groups) and 445 subjects (with 256 in the experimental and 189 in control groups) were eventually used for the pretest and posttest respectively. A four stage procedure was adopted for the experiment where treatment administration lasted for 12 weeks. Pretest and posttest administration of the Attitude Towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) on the subjects yielded the data used. While significant difference was found between the ATM disposition of the experimental and control groups, none was found between the male and female students taught mathematics using the CMSTA. It was concluded that the CMSTA was able to foster the subjects’ ATM positively. It was therefore recommended that mathematics teacher/lectures in Nigerian Polytechnics in particular and other tertiary institutions in general should (a) adopt/adapt the CMSTA to teach and (b) endeavor to understand how Information and Communication Technologies help the goals of teaching mathematics in their institutions so as to enable them take advantage of it. Keywords: Computer Mediated Systems Teaching Approach, Attitude Towards Mathematics.
Induction of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Release from Subtypes of T Cells by Agonists of Proteinase Activated Receptors

Serine proteinases have been recognized as playing an important role in inflammation via proteinase activated receptors (PARs). However, little is known about the influence of serine proteinases and PARs on TNF secretion from highly purified T cells. We challenged T cells from human peripheral blood with serine proteinases and agonist peptides of PARs and measured the levels of TNF in culture supernatants by ELISA. The results showed that thrombin and trypsin, but not tryptase, stimulated approximately up to 2.5-fold increase in TNF release from T cells following 16 h incubation. Proteinase inhibitors and PAR-1 antagonist SCH 79797 almost completely abolished thrombin- and trypsin-induced TNF release from T cells. Agonist peptides of PAR-1, but not PAR-2 induced TNF release from T cells. Moreover, trypsin- and thrombin-induced upregulated expression of TNF was observed in CD4+, IL-4+, or CD25+ T cells, but not in IFN+ or IL-17+ T cells. The signaling pathways MAPK/ERK and PI3K/Akt are involved in the thrombin- and trypsin-induced TNF release from T cells. In conclusion, thrombin and trypsin can induce TNF release from IL-4+ and CD25+ T cells through activation of PAR-1 and therefore contribute to regulation of immune response and inflammation of the body.
Time-bounded based password authentication scheme

Most computers are linked together such that facilities can be shared through the connection of networks. However, resources provided by remote servers over the Internet are not free for all users. If someone wants to access facilities from certain remote server, he/she has to pay for the access request. On the other hand, providers of the facilities have to make their resources accessible under appropriate protection. The combination of password authentication scheme and key agreement mechanism is a practical solution for validating remote users and providing secure communications between a remote system and login users. Without loss of generality, users who want to access a remote server must pass several examinations in the process of authentication. Only after users are authorized by the remote system, they can have the access right to resources provided by the remote server and share a session key with the remote system to ensure the following communications; otherwise, the remote system can reject their access requests. Researchers have proposed lots of password authentication schemes to improve the authentication efficiency and security, so that password authentication has become a popular research topic recently. Employing a time-bounded mechanism, this article describes a novel version which not only achieves the requirements of general password authentication schemes but also allows the remote system to effectively conduct the valid access phase of each legitimate user
Relação de apego entre crianças institucionalizadas que vivem em situação de abrigo

The present study had as propose to identify the attachment relationships among institutionalized infants. Fourteen infants, living in a shelter, of both sexes, aged between 3 and 9 years old, took part in this study. For the recording of the behaviors, the observational technique known as "focal-subject" was used. The main results permit us to identify: a) eldest brothers demonstrate responsive affect and care solicitations to the youngest brothers; it was registered significant interaction among older girls and younger boys; b) the play social showed to be a favorable situation for the settlement of the affective interactions; c) family image appears represented by the mother figure. Therefore, it is concluded that, when the absence of a significant adult occurs, children living in a shelter situation can development attachment relationships among themselves and that a social support network represents an important aspect in the resilience of these children.
Social Engagement With Peers and Stereotypic Behavior of Children With Autism

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between engagement in social interaction with peers and stereotypic behavior. Three children with autism with relatively high rates of stereotypic behavior and low rates of social engagement with peers participated in the study. Two typically developing peers learned to direct social initiations to each participant during structured play activities, which increased the frequency of peer social engagement for the children with autism. Collateral decreases in stereotypic behavior occurred for all three participants when the peer-mediated intervention was implemented, and the results generalized to a proximal play setting. Conditional probability analyses further documented this inverse relationship between social and stereotypic behavior. Simultaneous (i.e., motor and oral/vocal) and motor stereotypic behaviors were the most directly affected by the increase in social engagement. Social validity ratings documented the social importance of the changes in both social engagement and stereotypic behavior for the children with autism.
Building aggregate timber supply models from individual harvest choice

Timber supply has traditionally been modelled using aggregate data. In this paper, we build aggregate supply models for four roundwood products for the US state of North Carolina from a stand-level harvest choice model applied to detailed forest inventory. The simulated elasticities of pulpwood supply are much lower than reported by previous studies. Cross price elasticities indicate a dominant influence of sawtimber markets on pulpwood supply. This approach allows predicting the supply consequences of exogenous factors and supports regular updating of supply models.
OBESITY INDICATORS AND CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS IN OBESE AND NON-OBESE SUBJECTS

Background: Sedentary life style and faulty dietary habits result in obesity. Although, extensive studies are available on the effects of obesity on anthropometric (ANPP) and cardiovascular parameters (CVP) their statistical correlations between obese and non-obese persons are very few. This study was aimed to find the correlation between different ANPP and CVP with BMI and their correlation in obese and non-obese individuals. Methods: This cross-sectional data obtained from 30 non-obese and 30 obese individuals (age 21–60 year) was used to determine the Pearson’s correlation of BMI with ANPP such as height, weight, Triceps Skin Girth (TSG), waist circumference (WC), and CVP such as pulse rate (PR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP). Results: Significantly greater mean values were found for weight, BMI, TSG and WC in obese group except for height, in order of Height>Weight>WC>TSG for correlation with BMI. Significantly higher mean values found for SBP, DBP, MAP and PP in obese except for PR being non-significantly different between two groups. The CVP fell in order of PR>MAP>DBP>SBP> PP for correlation with BMI. This correlation was positive for all the parameters except for height (both obese and non-obese), TSG and PP (only non-obese) being negatively correlated with BMI. Conclusion: On the basis of the order determined for ANPP and CVP, the short height and higher PR have better correlation in obese group representing the best indicators of obesity, involving greater risk for cardiovascular diseases.
Neuroprotection Offered by Majun Khadar, a Traditional Unani Medicine, during Cerebral Ischemic Damage in Rats

Stroke results in damages to many biochemical, molecular and behavioral deficits. Present study provides evidence of the protective efficacy of a Unani herbal medicine, Majun Khadar (MK), against cerebral ischemia-induced behavioral dysfunctions and neurochemical alterations in the hippocampus (HIP). Transient focal cerebral ischemia was induced for 2 h followed by reperfusion for 22 h in a rat model. Rats were divided into four groups: sham, middle cerebral artery occluded (MCAO), drug sham (MK; 0.816 g kg−1 orally for 15 days) and MK pre-treated ischemic group (MK + MCAO). Levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were estimated in HIP along with behavioral testing. MK pre-treatment significantly (P < .05–.001) restored the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GP×), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and decreased the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and H2O2 content in HIP in the MK + MCAO group which were severely altered in the MCAO group. The content of glutathione (GSH), total thiols (TT) and ascorbic acid (AsA) was significantly depleted in the MCAO group; pretreatment with MK was able to restore its levels. Also in the MK + MCAO group, significant (P < .5–.001) recovery in behavioral testing by rota rod and open-field activities was seen as compared with the MCAO group. MK alone did not show any change neither in the status of various antioxidants nor behavioral functions over sham values. Although detailed studies are required for the evaluation of exact neuroprotective mechanism of MK against cerebral ischemia these preliminary experimental findings conclude that MK exhibits neuroprotective effect in cerebral ischemia by potentiating the antioxidant defense system of the brain.
Train-the-Trainer Intervention to Increase Nursing Teamwork and Decrease Missed Nursing Care in Acute Care Patient Units

Background:Teamwork is essential for patient safety and results in less missed nursing care. Objectives:The aim of this study was to test the impact of a train-the-trainer intervention on the level of satisfaction with nursing teamwork and the amount of missed nursing care. Methods:This study used a quasiexperimental design with repeated measures taken at pretest, posttest, and 2 months after completion of the intervention. The sample for this study was the nursing staff on three medical–surgical units in three separate acute care hospitals (one unit in each hospital). Three nurses from each unit underwent a training program and then taught the skills and knowledge they acquired to the staff members on their units in three-hour-long sessions. The training involved staff role-playing scenarios based on teamwork problems that occur regularly on inpatient units in acute care hospitals followed by debriefing, which focused on teamwork behaviors (e.g., leadership, team orientation, backup, performance monitoring) and missed nursing care. Four measures were used to test the efficacy of this intervention: The Nursing Teamwork Survey, the MISSCARE Survey, and questions about the knowledge of and satisfaction with teamwork. Return rates for the surveys ranged from 73% to 84%. Follow-up tests individually comparing pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest were conducted within the mixed model and used the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Results:Teamwork increased (F = 6.91, df = 259.01, p = .001) and missed care decreased (F = 3.59, df = 251.29, p = .03) over time. Nursing staff also reported a higher level of satisfaction with teamwork and an increase of teamwork knowledge after the intervention. Discussion:The intervention tested in this study shows promise of being an effective and efficient approach to increase nursing teamwork and decrease missed nursing care.
Perceived Parental and Peer Support in Relation to Canadian, Cuban, and Spanish Adolescents’ Valuing of Academics and Intrinsic Academic Motivation

The aim of this study was to explore possible parent and peer influences on adolescents’ valuing of academics and intrinsic academic motivation in cultures varying in traditional emphasis on the family unit (Cuba, Canada, and Spain). Perceived parent and peer support, parents’ expectations, and valuing of academics significantly predicted adolescents’ valuing of education and motivation. Spanish adolescents were less motivated than members of the other ethnic groups. The Spanish participants also reported lower perceived parental expectations than Chinese Canadians and less perceived peer support than did Cubans and Chinese Canadians. Perceived social support from same- and opposite-sex friends predicted adolescents’ valuing of academics and intrinsic motivation most strongly in the Canadian sample. Cuban parents’ perceived valuing of academics predicted adolescents’ intrinsic academic motivation more strongly than in the other cultures sampled.
MINIMAL SURFACES WITH CATENOID ENDS

A substantive part of the recent activity in the field of minimal surface theory has been the construction of new complete minimal surfaces immersed in E3. One approach in constructing new examples is to increase the genus of known minimal surfaces. In this paper, we do precisely this for certain minimal surfaces of finite total curvature whose ends are asymptotic to catenoids. We prove existence of surfaces of positive genus based on those in genus zero, with the feature that these higher genus examples maintain all the symmetry of their genus-zero counterparts. In these proofs we use the conjugate minimal surface construction and the maximum principle for minimal surfaces.
Possible improvements in human ovarian grafting by various host and graft treatments.

BACKGROUND Anticancer treatment poses a high risk of ovarian failure. In many cases cryopreservation of ovarian tissue is the only option for fertility preservation. Although autologous transplantation of cryopreserved-thawed ovarian tissue has resulted in live births, slow graft revascularization and ischemia after transplantation leads to substantial follicular loss. Therefore, methods to improve and hasten graft vascularization are needed. The aim of the study was to examine the benefits of host and graft treatments with melatonin, hyaluronan (HA), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) and vitamin E with regard to the outcome of human ovarian tissue grafting. METHODS Five young cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic ovarian surgery for fertility preservation donated ovarian tissue. Thawed ovarian samples were transplanted into immunodeficient mice divided into seven groups: (A) no treatment; (B) host treatment with melatonin before and after grafting; (C) graft incubation with HA-rich biological glue before transplantation; (D) host as in (B), graft as in (C); (E) host as in (B), graft incubation with VEGF-A and vitamin E; (F) graft as in (C) combined with VEGF-A and vitamin E; (G) host as in (B), graft as in (F). Graft survival was assessed by follicle counts, apoptosis assay and immunohistochemical staining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen and VEGF-A expression. RESULTS Only grafts implanted in melatonin-treated hosts and grafts incubated with HA-rich biological glue retained their original size. Apoptosis was significantly lower after host treatment with melatonin and graft incubation with HA-rich biological glue plus VEGF-A and vitamin E than in untreated grafts; apoptosis was specifically low in Group G. There were significantly more atretic follicles in the untreated group than in most treated groups. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that host treatment with melatonin or graft incubation with HA-rich biological glue, especially when combined with VEGF-A and vitamin E improves graft survival. This protocol can be applied and holds promise in ovarian autotransplantation for fertility restoration.