Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Boys, Writing, And The Literacy Gender Gap: What We Know, What We Think We Know

The existence of a persistent gender gap in literacy achievement, and particularly in writing, is not in dispute: boys trail girls in every assessment at state, national, and international levels. Yet although this basic fact is not in dispute, nearly everything else concerning the gender gap in literacy achievement—its causes, consequences, and potential solutions—remains hotly contested, particularly in the public and professional discourse. Scholarly research offers insights that frequently challenge the prevailing public discourse, but this research has been conducted primarily in the U.K., Australia, and Canada, leaving the experiences of U.S. students largely unexplored. Herein lies the problem: an inadequate (or worse, inaccurate) understanding of the context, causes, and realities of boys’ writing experiences can lead to proposed policy and pedagogy solutions that range from the ineffective to the potentially harmful, with unintended consequences for both boys and girls that may worsen the underlying conditions implicated in boys’ literacy underachievement. Equity demands that we address, in particular, the poor writing achievement of boys of low socioeconomic backgrounds. It is important that policy-makers consider the question of “which boys,” as the writing achievement gap is far more dramatic for boys from a background of poverty than for middle-class boys. This study employed qualitative methods and a phenomenological lens to explore the writing experiences, attitudes, and beliefs of 21 young men currently enrolled in four colleges and universities in two New England states, including first-year and senior-year college students. The data collected from interviews and writing samples contradicted a number of the generalizations about boys prevalent in the public discourse, and offered a more nuanced view of the role of gender in boys’ writing experiences than that presented in much of the scholarly discourse. The results of this study also challenge a number of commonly held beliefs about boys’ and young men’s writing motivations and preferences. The study’s findings can contribute toward the ultimate goal of improving educators’ and policy-makers’ responses to the gender gap in writing by offering a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the writing experiences of boys and young men.
Self‐evaluations of police performance

This study examines whether police officers’ level of education is associated with their perceptions of performance of duties and delivery of services. Using self report survey methodology 110 officers with different levels of education (high school, some college education but not a degree, and college degree) evaluated themselves on 40 performance categories. The results indicate that officers with some college education and college degree report themselves performing better on several of the performance categories than officers with no college education. Even when years of experience with the law enforcement department are controlled for, officers with higher education reported performing significantly better than their counterparts with lower education.
Multimodal speaker localization in a probabilistic framework

A multimodal probabilistic framework is proposed for the problem of finding the active speaker in a video sequence. We localize the current speaker's mouth in the image by using the video and the audio channels together. We propose a novel visual feature that is well-suited for the analysis of the movement of the mouth. After estimating the joint probability density of the audio and visual features, we can find the most probable location of the current speaker's mouth in a sequence of images. The proposed method is tested on the CUAVE audio-visual database, yielding improved results, compared to other approaches from the literature.
Some aspects of extreme value theory under serial dependence

On the occasion of Laurens de Haan's 70th birthday, we discuss two aspects of the statistical inference on the extreme value behavior of time series with a particular emphasis on his important contributions. First, the performance of a direct marginal tail analysis is compared with that of a model-based approach using an analysis of residuals. Second, the importance of the extremal index as a measure of the serial extremal dependence is discussed by the example of solutions of a stochastic recurrence equation.
Distribution of serotonin in the central nervous system of the blood‐feeding heteropteran, Triatoma infestans (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)

The distribution of serotonin was studied in the Triatoma infestans central nervous system by using immunocytochemistry. Serotonin immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers were observed in the brain, subesophageal ganglion, and thoracic ganglia. In the brain, serotonin‐like immunoreactivity was detected in a limited number of somata, which gave rise to an extensive network of labeled neurites in patterned as well as in nonglomerular neuropils. Immunolabeled perikarya were observed in the optic lobe and in the anteromedial and caudolateral soma rinds of the protocerebrum. Deutocerebral immunoreactive somata were mainly found in the medial layer surrounding the antennal lobe glomeruli, as well as in relationship to the antennal mechanosensory and motor center. The subesophageal ganglion contained serotonin immunoreactive perikarya of variable sizes and moderate to low density of positive fibers. In the prothoracic ganglion, immunoreactive somata were detected near the cephalic connectives as well as in its caudal end. Serotonin immunoreactive somata and fibers were observed in the posterior ganglion of the thorax, with the abdominal neuromeres harboring the highest number of immunolabeled perikarya. These results show that there is a widespread unique serotonergic system in the CNS of Triatoma infestans and suggest that the indolamine could act as a neuromodulator or as a neurohormone. J. Morphol. 260:21–32, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Paired Associative Stimulation Targeting the Tibialis Anterior Muscle using either Mono or Biphasic Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Paired associative stimulation (PAS) protocols induce plastic changes within the motor cortex. The objectives of this study were to investigate PAS effects targeting the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle using a biphasic transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulse form and, to determine whether a reduced intensity of this pulse would lead to significant changes as has been reported for hand muscles using a monophasic TMS pulse. Three interventions were investigated: (1) suprathreshold PAbi-PAS (n = 11); (2) suprathreshold PAmono-PAS (n = 11) where PAS was applied using a biphasic or monophasic pulse form at 120% resting motor threshold (RMT); (3) subthreshold PAbi-PAS (n = 10) where PAS was applied as for (1) at 95% active motor threshold (AMT). The peak-to-peak motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were quantified prior to, immediately following, and 30 min after the cessation of the intervention. TA MEP size increased significantly for all interventions immediately post (61% for suprathreshold PAbi-PAS, 83% for suprathreshold PAmono-PAS, 55% for subthreshold PAbi-PAS) and 30 min after the cessation of the intervention (123% for suprathreshold PAbi-PAS, 105% for suprathreshold PAmono-PAS, 80% for subthreshold PAbi-PAS. PAS using a biphasic pulse form at subthreshold intensities induces similar effects to conventional PAS.
A Novel Multipath Estimation and Tracking Algorithm for Urban GNSS Navigation Applications

It is recognized that multipath remains as a dominant source of ranging error in CDMA and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) positioning. Given the limitations of the traditional multipath code delay estimation techniques, this work considers another class of code tracking algorithm wherein the GNSS receive endeavors to characterize the propagation channel by estimating the relative delay of LOS signal and each individual reflection. Within this class there are two kinds of algorithm, those which require a-priori knowledge of the channel, and those which do not. Without a-priori information, the receiver must perform a full multipath estimation procedure, a process which can be computationally expensive. When provided with an initial estimate of the multipath channel, however, the receiver need only incur a small computational overhead to track changes in the channel. In this work, both of these cases are considered and a receiver design is proposed which adaptively alternates between full channel characterization and recursive channel refinement, depending on the severity of the variations of the channel to provide a robust and efficient multipath mitigating GNSS receiver.
Low grade gastric B‐cell lymphoma of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue in immunocompromised patients

An increased incidence of non‐Hodgkin‘s lymphoma is seen in patients with immunodeficiency from any cause. The majority of these are high grade B‐cell lymphoma and most are associated with the Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV). In post‐transplant lymphoma/lymphoproliferative disorders the tumour may regress following reduction of immunosuppression but in AIDS the lymphomas show a characteristic aggressive course and poor prognosis. We describe low grade B‐cell gastric lymphoma of mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) in three immunocompromised patients (two post‐transplant, one HIV positive). In each case, the tumour showed classical morphological features of gastric MALT lymphoma and was not associated with EBV. Helicobacter pylori was identified in each case. Clinical follow‐up suggests that the behaviour in these tumours is similar to that seen in MALT lymphomas in immunocompetent patients and not typical of the lymphomas usually associated with immunosuppression. Although the finding of MALT lymphoma in immunosuppressed patients might be coincidental, the association of some MALT lymphomas with autoimmune disease suggests that dysregulation of the immune system might play a role in the pathogenesis of these tumours.
Managing effective knowledge transfer: an integrative framework and some practice implications

One of the major challenges an organization faces is to manage its knowledge assets. Increasingly, the use of knowledge is seen as a basis for competitive advantage. This paper explores the key factors that have been cited as significant influences on the ability to transfer knowledge, an important area of knowledge management. Each of these factors is discussed separately and then integrated into a conceptual framework to explain how effective knowledge transfer can be managed in an organization. A set of managerial implications, or a qualitative assessment approach, is also discussed. It is framed as organizational characteristics and managerial practices required to establish an effective knowledge transfer process in an organization. Conclusions are drawn about the complexity of managing knowledge transfer and the need to take a balanced approach to the process.
Psychology for Teachers

Professor Tracy's The Psychology of Adolescence. ' As the author states, the aim of this book is not to present the results of original investigations, but to put into the hands of the teacher of moral or religious education a comprehensive survey of this important period of life. The aim is avowedly a practical one, and the earlier chapters, which are the occasion for the title "Psychology," are by way of introduction to the conclusions in the fields of esthetic, moral, and religious valuation and of pedagogical procedure, which constitute the last four chapters. That the author is a faithful disciple of Plato is obvious throughout, and the ideal of life which dominates the presentation may be termed the Greek ideal of all-around self-realization. While it is apparently the author's desire to give a dynamic and functional account of mental life as a whole, and more specifically of the adolescent years, the treatment is not at all free from the structuralistic terminology and implications so common a generation ago, e.g., "Intellect is the organ of cognition" (p. 84). The critical reader will complain of the frequent descriptions of the "powers" and "faculties" in contexts and language which, in spite of precautionary statements which indicate the author's realization of the danger of this sort of thing, too easily imply that these functional abstractions are semiindependent dynamic agencies. The book makes no real contribution to the literature of adolescence, either by way of new data or new interpretations; nor, perhaps, does it pretend to. While the reader who is even slightly versed in this literature will find nothing new, yet it may be that the description of the adolescent, with his characteristic emotional instability, his idealism and romanticism, and his susceptibility to social stimuli, will be enlightening to the novice who gets from its pages his first introduction to the subject; and it is perhaps just the novice for whom the author is writing. Indeed, the novice it is who bears altogether the disproportionate share of the burden of moral and religious education.
Amino Acid Availability of Four Practical Feed Ingredients Fed to Striped Bass Morone saxatilis

Four dietary protein sources were bio-assayed for amino acid availability, as estimated by true digestibility, when fed to striped bass Morone suxutilis. Diets were formulated to contain either herring fish meal, soybean meal, corn gluten meal or peanut meal as the sole source of dietary protein. A fifth diet, containing no protein, was fed to estimate the level of endogenous amino acids for calculation of true digestibility. The five dietary treatments were randomly assigned to ten tanks of striped bass having an average weight of 150 g per fish. All fish received the assigned diet fed at a rate 1.5% of the biomass per day for a period of 10 d. Fecal samples were collected from anesthetized fish by gentle, manual stripping of the lower digestive tract. Diets and feces were analyzed for dry matter, chromium, nitrogen and amino acid concentrations. There were no statistical differences (P > 0.05) among the protein sources for apparent dry matter digestibility or availability of arginine, threonine, valine and nonessential amino acids with the exception of cysteine. Corn gluten meal had a significantly lower availability coefficient for lysine, and peanut meal had significantly lower availability coefficients for histidine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine when compared to herring fish meal and soybean meal. Statistically there were no differences between soybean meal and herring fish meal for any nutrient tested. These data suggest that in terms of amino acid availability and overall protein quality, soybean meal could be used to spare herring fish meal in striped bass diets, with corn gluten meal being equally as useful when supplemented with lysine or complemented with other proteins.
Controlling Prejudice and Stereotyping: Antecedents, Mechanisms, and Contexts

With a depressing degree of regularity, national attention in the United States becomes focused on prominent individuals who are caught in the act of making racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise prejudiced remarks, “jokes,” or tirades. Such exposés are frequently paired with adamant assertions by the purveyors of these commentaries that they are not prejudiced people; indeed, they hold themselves to be good people, and they sometimes even seem to experience a sense of surprise at their own behavior, being unsure about the origins of their prejudiced remarks. However, they are quite sure that, whatever the origins of their unsavory comments, they do not reflect any personal endorsement of prejudice or derogatory stereotypes. To judge by the flurry of apologies that typically follow such incidents, it seems reasonable to infer that the people involved would have wished that they could have stopped themselves from making the remarks they made, not only because it landed them in hot water, but presumably also because it threatened their identities as civilized, unbigoted persons. In this chapter we review research on the psychology of controlling prejudice and stereotyping. As a starting point, we discuss the central problem of the automatic activation of prejudice and stereotyping. In other words, we begin by describing what it is that is in need of control. Then, we consider the motivational antecedents of control—the psychological forces that lead people to want to control the prejudice and stereotypes that arise in their own minds. Next, we survey the cognitive mechanisms of self-regulation by which people attempt to control their prejudices, and we evaluate their adequacy for meeting the challenges posed by the operation of automatic or reflexive stereotypes and prejudice. Finally, we consider how these processes play out in a variety of personal, interpersonal, and societal contexts.
Abnormal functional connectivity in focal hand dystonia: Mutual information analysis in EEG

The aim of the present study was to investigate functional connectivity in focal hand dystonia patients to understand the pathophysiology underlying their abnormality in movement. We recorded EEGs from 58 electrodes in 15 focal hand dystonia patients and 15 healthy volunteers during rest and a simple finger‐tapping task that did not induce any dystonic symptoms. We investigated mutual information, which provides a quantitative measure of linear and nonlinear coupling, in the alpha, beta, and gamma bands. Mean mutual information of all 58 channels and mean of the channels of interest representative of regional functional connectivity over sensorimotor areas (C3, CP3, C4, CP4, FCz, and Cz) were evaluated. For both groups, we found enhanced mutual information during the task compared with the rest condition, specifically in the beta and gamma bands for mean mutual information of all channels, and in all bands for mean mutual information of channels of interest. Comparing the focal hand dystonia patients with the healthy volunteers for both rest and task, there was reduced mutual information in the beta band for both mean mutual information of all channels and mean mutual information of channels of interest. Regarding the properties of the connectivity in the beta band, we found that the majority of the mutual information differences were from linear connectivity. The abnormal beta‐band functional connectivity in focal hand dystonia patients suggests deficient brain connectivity. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society
Fresh and healthy?: Well-being, health and performance of young employees with intermediate education

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to gain more insight into the well-being, health and performance of young intermediate educated employees. First, employees with low education (9 years or less), intermediate education (10-14 years of education), and high education (15 years or more) are compared on a number of factors related to well-being, health, and performance at work. Second, determinants of well-being, health and performance are examined for the intermediate educated group, based on the Job Demands-Resources model. Design/methodology/approach - Data from The Netherlands Working Conditions Survey 2007 are used: The largest working conditions survey in The Netherlands. ANOVAs with post hoc Bonferroni corrections and linear regression analyses are used for the analyses. Findings - Young intermediate educated employees differ from high educated employees with regard to job demands, job resources and health. They report less demands, but these demands still have an effect on well-being and performance. They also report less resources, while these resources are important predictors of their health and performance: Both directly and indirectly via job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Limitations/implications - Cross-sectional data are used and the theoretical model is tested using regression analyses. In a follow-up study, longitudinal data and structural equation modelling will be used. Originality/value - The study adds to the limited knowledge on young employees with intermediate education and gives insight into the processes that are important for their well-being, health, and performance. The study shows that this group deserves the attention of both researchers and professionals. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Mutations of DNAH11 in patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia with normal ciliary ultrastructure

Rationale Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is an autosomal recessive, genetically heterogeneous disorder characterised by oto-sino-pulmonary disease and situs abnormalities (Kartagener syndrome) due to abnormal structure and/or function of cilia. Most patients currently recognised to have PCD have ultrastructural defects of cilia; however, some patients have clinical manifestations of PCD and low levels of nasal nitric oxide, but normal ultrastructure, including a few patients with biallelic mutations in dynein axonemal heavy chain 11 (DNAH11). Objectives To test further for mutant DNAH11 as a cause of PCD, DNAH11 was sequenced in patients with a PCD clinical phenotype, but no known genetic aetiology. Methods 82 exons and intron/exon junctions in DNAH11 were sequenced in 163 unrelated patients with a clinical phenotype of PCD, including those with normal ciliary ultrastructure (n=58), defects in outer and/or inner dynein arms (n=76), radial spoke/central pair defects (n=6), and 23 without definitive ultrastructural results, but who had situs inversus (n=17), or bronchiectasis and/or low nasal nitric oxide (n=6). Additionally, DNAH11 was sequenced in 13 subjects with isolated situs abnormalities to see if mutant DNAH11 could cause situs defects without respiratory disease. Results Of the 58 unrelated patients with PCD with normal ultrastructure, 13 (22%) had two (biallelic) mutations in DNAH11; and two patients without ultrastructural analysis had biallelic mutations. All mutations were novel and private. None of the patients with dynein arm or radial spoke/central pair defects, or isolated situs abnormalities, had mutations in DNAH11. Of the 35 identified mutant alleles, 24 (69%) were nonsense, insertion/deletion or loss-of-function splice-site mutations. Conclusions Mutations in DNAH11 are a common cause of PCD in patients without ciliary ultrastructural defects; thus, genetic analysis can be used to ascertain the diagnosis of PCD in this challenging group of patients.