Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Innovative Teaching Approach for Decreasing Anxiety and Enhancing Performance in L2 Reading and Writing

Research has shown that L2 (second/foreign language) learners with higher anxiety tend to have weaker L2 reading and writing performance. This paper presents an innovative approach of teaching: the combination of extensive reading and writing blogs, which aims at reducing students’ anxiety and promoting students’ performance in L2 reading and writing. It also discusses the theoretical framework that supports the use of extensive reading and the reasons for using blogs as writing tools. Relative research on extensive reading and the use of blogs is synthesized. A design for one course that showcases the innovation is also presented. Finally, some suggestions are provided for teachers to help teachers successfully implement the innovative practices.
Does friendship play a moderating role between bullying and classroom concentration

Previous studies have shown that being bullied can have negative consequences for the victim. Boulton et al. (2008) report that being bullied can affect classroom concentration and the aim of the present study was to expand on this by including cyberbullying which to date has not been examined at the primary school level. Research has also shown that friendships can provide some level of protection from possible negative outcomes related to bullying. The present study therefore also examined the moderating role of friendship between bullying and disrupted classroom concentration. Participants consisted of 130 children aged 9 to 11 years from 4 primary schools in North Yorkshire. Self reports of incidences of direct physical, direct verbal, indirect bullying and cyberbullying were collected via a questionnaire which also included questions relating to recent classroom concentration and questions about their relationship with their best or closest friend. The results showed that cyberbullying is a phenomenon found within this age group and not just in adolescence. It was also found that being bullied in more than one way predicted disrupted classroom concentration. This was also true for the chronicity of bullying. Overall, the quality of the friendship between the participant and their best or closest friend was found to moderate this association. Further analysis revealed that this was significant for boys but not for girls. Suggestions are made for practical applications of these findings as well as suggestions for future research.
Improving the Access and Quality of Public Health Services for Bisexuals

ABSTRACT Although sharing some common concerns with gay, lesbian and heterosexual persons, bisexuals also have specific experiences and needs regarding health and wellness that need to be researched and addressed. This paper outlines a wide range of these specific experiences and needs based on the results of a community consultation which was undertaken with bisexual communities and individuals in Ontario, Canada. The social context of bisexual lives is addressed, including unique issues facing bisexuals, LGBT and bisexual community involvement, and social support, as well as health and wellness issues such as disclosure to health care providers, experiences using services (including LBGT services), barriers to care, and suggestions for change. The paper concludes with recommendations for action in the areas of additional research, service and program development designed to include bisexuals, public education, and education for providers.
Estimating Aggregates over Multiple Sets

Many datasets, including market basket data, text or hypertext documents, and measurement data collected in different nodes or time periods, are modeled as a collection of sets over a ground set of (weighted) items. We consider the problem of estimating basic aggregates such as the weight or selectivity of a subpopulation of the items. We extend classic summarization techniques based on sampling to this scenario when we have multiple sets and selection predicates based on membership in particular sets.
Cultural Expectations of Thinness in Women

The cultural pressures on women to be thin and diet have been linked to the expression of serious eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. The current study attempts to document and quantify the shift toward a thinner ideal shape for females in our culture over the last 20 years. Data from Playboy centerfolds and Miss America Pageant contestants indicated a significant trend toward a thinner standard. Over the same period there was a significant increase in diet articles in six popular women's magazines. These changes occurred within the context of increasing population weight norms for young women. Biosocial implications including the apparent recent increase in anorexia nervosa are discussed.
Cracks Faster than the Shear Wave Speed

Classical dynamic fracture theories predict the surface wave speed to be the limiting speed for propagation of in-plane cracks in homogeneous, linear elastic materials subjected to remote loading. This report presents experimental evidence to the contrary. Intersonic shear-dominated crack growth featuring shear shock waves was observed along weak planes in a brittle polyester resin under far-field asymmetric loading. When steady-state conditions were attained , the shear cracks propagated at speeds close to ͌ 2 times the material shear wave speed. These observations have similarities to shallow earthquake events where intersonic shear rupture speeds have been surmised. Over the past 50 years, fracture mechanics theories have had enormous success in predicting the failure of brittle materials, a class of materials that exhibit a linear elastic con-stitutive response up to failure. Cracks or fractures are displacement discontinuities in an otherwise intact material. On the basis of the nature of the displacement discontinuity near the crack tip, three distinct fracture modes can be defined: mode I, the in-plane opening mode resulting from normal separation of the crack faces (opening displacement discontinuity); mode II, the in-plane shearing mode resulting from relative sliding of crack faces perpendicular to the crack edge (sliding displacement discontinuity); and mode III, the anti-plane shearing mode resulting from relative out-of-plane sliding of the crack faces (tearing displacement discontinuity). Griffith's energy balance criterion states that if the body can supply sufficient energy per unit crack advance to the crack tip to create new surfaces, then crack initiation will take place. However, if a crack starts to propagate rapidly, inertial effects come into play and the kinetic energy of the material particles must be taken into account. Griffith's energy criterion is then appropriately modified to include the net flux of kinetic energy and elastic strain energy into a vanishingly small contour around the crack tip. As the crack tip speed is increased to the free surface or Rayleigh wave speed of the material, c R , the net flux of energy into the propagating crack tip vanishes, thus making c R the theoretical limiting crack tip speed (1). This speed is an upper bound for in-plane cracks in idealized continuum models without local length scales and structure. In real materials, experimentally observed crack tip speeds seldom exceed 40 to 50% of the Rayleigh wave speed even in the most brittle materials (2, 3). A variety of explanations, ranging from high strains (4) …
Frequency of mental disturbances in HTLV-1 patients in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

Viral infections and chronic diseases have been associated with psychiatric disorders. Among these, increased depression has been reported in HTLV-1 patients. However, no studies on the prevalence of other mental disturbances have been carried out in these patients. Salvador is the city with the highest rate of infection with HTLV-1 in Brazil and it is estimated that approximately 40,000 inhabitants are infected. In our cross sectional study, we examined the frequency of mental disturbances in 50 HTLV-1 seropositive patients followed at the Centro Integrativo e Multidisciplinar de HTLV e Hepatites Virais (CHTLV) of the Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saude Pública (EBMSP) in Salvador from January to November 2007. We used a questionnaire to collect clinical-epidemiologic data and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Brazilian Version 5.0. 0 (M.I.N.I.) to evaluate the psychiatric disorders. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analyses. Twenty-one (42%) HTLV-1 patients had a psychiatric co-morbidity; 17(34%) had mood disorders, 11 (22%) were anxious and one (2%) was an alcoholic. We found a high frequency of mental disturbances among HTLV-1 infected individuals, suggesting a possible association of this infection with psychiatric diseases.
Production responses of Holstein dairy cows when fed supplemental fat containing saturated free fatty acids: a meta-analysis

Objective A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplemental fat containing saturated free fatty acids (FA) on milk performance of Holstein dairy cows. Methods A database was developed from 21 studies published between 1991 and 2016 that included 502 dairy cows and a total of 29 to 30 comparisons between dietary treatment and control without fat supplementation. Only saturated free FA (>80% of total FA) was considered as the supplemental fat. Concentration of the supplemental fat was not higher than 3.5% of diet dry matter (DM). Dairy cows were offered total mixed ration, and fed individually. Statistical analysis was conducted using random- or mixed-effects models with Metafor package in R. Results Sub-group analysis showed that there were no differences in studies between randomized block design and Latin square/crossover design for dry matter intake (DMI) and milk production responses to the supplemental fat (all response variables, p≥0.344). The supplemental fat across all studies improved milk yield, milk fat concentration and yield, and milk protein yield by 1.684 kg/d (p<0.001), 0.095 percent unit (p = 0.003), 0.072 kg/d (p<0.001), and 0.036 kg/d (p<0.001), respectively, but tended to decrease milk protein concentration (mean difference = −0.022 percent unit; p = 0.063) while DMI (mean difference = 0.061 kg/d; p = 0.768) remained unchanged. The assessment of heterogeneity suggested that no substantial heterogeneity occurred among all studies for DMI and milk production responses to the supplemental fat (all response variables, I2≤24.1%; p≥0.166). Conclusion The effects of saturated free FA were quantitatively evaluated. Higher milk production and yields of milk fat and protein, with DMI remaining unchanged, indicated that saturated free FA, supplemented at ≤3.5% dietary DM from commercially available fat sources, likely improved the efficiency of milk production. Nevertheless, more studies are needed to assess the variation of production responses to different saturated free FA, either C16:0 or C18:0 alone, or in combination with potentially optimal ratio, when supplemented in dairy cow diets.
Comparison and Combination of Dual-Energy- and Iterative-Based Metal Artefact Reduction on Hip Prosthesis and Dental Implants

Purpose To compare and combine dual-energy based and iterative metal artefact reduction on hip prosthesis and dental implants in CT. Material and Methods A total of 46 patients (women:50%,mean age:63±15years) with dental implants or hip prostheses (n = 30/20) were included and examined with a second-generation Dual Source Scanner. 120kV equivalent mixed-images were derived from reconstructions of the 100/Sn140kV source images using no metal artefact reduction (NOMAR) and iterative metal artefact reduction (IMAR). We then generated monoenergetic extrapolations at 130keV from source images without IMAR (DEMAR) or from source images with IMAR, (IMAR+DEMAR). The degree of metal artefact was quantified for NOMAR, IMAR, DEMAR and IMAR+DEMAR using a Fourier-based method and subjectively rated on a five point Likert scale by two independent readers. Results In subjects with hip prosthesis, DEMAR and IMAR resulted in significantly reduced artefacts compared to standard reconstructions (33% vs. 56%; for DEMAR and IMAR; respectively, p<0.005), but the degree of artefact reduction was significantly higher for IMAR (all p<0.005). In contrast, in subjects with dental implants only IMAR showed a significant reduction of artefacts whereas DEMAR did not (71%, vs. 8% p<0.01 and p = 0.1; respectively). Furthermore, the combination of IMAR with DEMAR resulted in additionally reduced artefacts (Hip prosthesis: 47%, dental implants 18%; both p<0.0001). Conclusion IMAR allows for significantly higher reduction of metal artefacts caused by hip prostheses and dental implants, compared to a dual energy based method. The combination of DE-source images with IMAR and subsequent monoenergetic extrapolation provides an incremental benefit compared to both single methods.
Ideological Bias in Social Psychological Research

“Getting it right” is the sine qua non of science (Funder et al., 2013 ). Science can tolerate individual mistakes and fl awed theories, but only if it has reliable mechanisms for correction. Unfortunately, science is not always selfcorrecting (e.g., Ioannidis, 2012 ; MacCoun, 1998 ; Nickerson, 1998 ). Equally unfortunately, although the potential political distortion of psychology has been recognized for some time (MacCoun, 1998 ; Redding, 2001 ; Tetlock, 1994 ), calls for corrective action have gone largely unheeded. This chapter reviews and critically evaluates the evidence suggesting that: (1) liberals are disproportionately represented in social psychology; (2) pernicious factors (hostile environment, discrimination) contribute to that disproportion; (3) conclusions in political social psychology are consistently biased in ways that fl atter liberals. We also identify possible solutions to the problems of political bias in social psychology.
A Probabilistic Classifier for Transformer Dissolved Gas Analysis With a Particle Swarm Optimizer

This paper presents a Parzen-Windows (PW)-based classifier for transformer fault diagnosis, which is able to interpret transformer dissolved gas analysis (DGA) with a probabilistic scheme. A global optimizer, particle swarm optimizer (PSO), is employed to optimize the parameters of PW to improve fault classification accuracies. First, the essential concept of PW-based classification using PSO is introduced. This probabilistic classification approach is then extended from a simple PW method to classifying fault types on the evidence of various gas ratios. The proposed approach not only allows an intuitive interpretation of the transformer diagnosis, but also provides a DGA reviewer with quantified confidence to support decision making. It can be seen from the results that both the diagnosis accuracy and computational efficiency are improved compared with a number of fault classification techniques.
Partitioning of unstructured meshes for load balancing

Many large-scale engineering and scientific calculations involve repaired updating of variables on an unstructured mesh. To do these types of computations on distributed memory parallel computers, it is necessary to partition the mesh among the processors so that the load balance is maximized and inter-processor communication time is minimized. This can be approximated by the problem of partitioning a graph so as to obtain a minimum cut, a well-studied combinatorial optimization problem. Graph partitioning is NP complete, so for real world applications, one resorts to heuristics, i.e., algorithms that give good but not necessarily optimum solutions. These algorithms include local search method such as Kerninghan-Lin, recursive spectral bisection, and more general purpose methods such as simulated annealing. We show that a general procedure enables us to combine simulating annealing with Kerninghan-Lin. The resulting algorithm is both very fast and extremely effective.
Clinical implications of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of procedural sedation agents in children

Purpose of review Procedural sedation has become the standard of care for managing pain and anxiety in children in the emergency department. Recent findings Numerous articles have been published on pediatric procedural sedation with, however, little in-depth discussion of the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of the sedation agents utilized. Summary We review the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the pediatric procedural sedation pharmacopeia from a clinical perspective with emphasis on the practical implications for drug titration and dosing.
Parallel and Overlapping Hepatitis B and C Virus Infection Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal in a Rural Clinic in Northern Nigeria

A B S T R A C T Infections due to hepatitis B and C viruses in pregnant women, a group known to have depressed immunity and capable of vertical viral transmission resulting in neonatal ill health or death is a public health concern. This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence and possible predisposing factors for hepatitis B and C viruses among pregnant women registered for antenatal care between May and December 2014 in a rural clinic. Rapid diagnostic test kits were used to screen for HBsAg and anti-HCV antibody from blood samples of 300 consenting pregnant women. Information of their sociodemographic parameters and clinical history were obtained through oral interviews. The overall prevalence of HBV and HCV in the study population was 11.0% while HBV was 8.7%, HCV 3.0% and HBV-HCV coinfection was 1.0%. Of all the possible risk factors studied for both viruses none was statistically associated with their prevalence. Based on the World Health Organization standard, HBV had a low endemicity while HCV had a low endemicity in this population. This is a cause for alarm, therefore requiring the inclusion for routine screening of these viruses at the point of registration for antenatal care and also before delivery.
The match between everyday technology in public space and the ability of working-age people with acquired brain injury to use it

Introduction In today's society, the access to and use of everyday technology, such as cell phones and internet-based services, can be claimed as a condition for participation in many tasks in everyday life. This study aims to determine and compare levels of perceived access to and difficulties in the use of common everyday technologies in public space, among people with acquired brain injury compared with controls. Methods The perceived access to and difficulty in the use of 14 everyday technologies were investigated in a sample with acquired brain injury (n = 59; returned to work, n = 28; not returned to work, n = 31) and matched controls (n = 52) using the everyday technology use questionnaire. Findings Perceived access to the everyday technologies was generally high. The potential to use each of the everyday technologies independently or with minor difficulties significantly differed between controls and persons with acquired brain injury in eight of the 14 everyday technologies. In particular, difficulties were found among those persons with acquired brain injury who had not returned to work. Conclusion People with acquired brain injury perceive that they have access to everyday technologies commonly used in public space, but the everyday technology difficulty is not always satisfactorily matched to their ability to use it. To enable participation in society, it is important to consider both the accessibility and usability of everyday technology.
Research report EEG evidence for mirror neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are largely characterized by deficits in imitation, pragmatic language, theory of mind, and empathy. Previous research has suggested that a dysfunctional mirror neuron system may explain the pathology observed in ASD. Because EEG oscillations in the mu frequency (8–13 Hz) over sensorimotor cortex are thought to reflect mirror neuron activity, one method for testing the integrity of this system is to measure mu responsiveness to actual and observed movement. It has been established that mu power is reduced (mu suppression) in typically developing individuals both when they perform actions and when they observe others performing actions, reflecting an observation/execution system which may play a critical role in the ability to understand and imitate others’ behaviors. This study investigated whether individuals with ASD show a dysfunction in this system, given their behavioral impairments in understanding and responding appropriately to others’ behaviors. Mu wave suppression was measured in ten high-functioning individuals with ASD and ten age- and gender-matched control subjects while watching videos of (1) a moving hand, (2) a bouncing ball, and (3) visual noise, or (4) moving their own hand. Control subjects showed significant mu suppression to both self and observed hand movement. The ASD group showed significant mu suppression to self-performed hand movements but not to observed hand movements. These results support the hypothesis of a dysfunctional mirror neuron system in high-functioning individuals with ASD. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Theme: Disorders of the nervous system Topic: Developmental disorders
Reproducibility of R‐fMRI metrics on the impact of different strategies for multiple comparison correction and sample sizes

Concerns regarding reproducibility of resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R‐fMRI) findings have been raised. Little is known about how to operationally define R‐fMRI reproducibility and to what extent it is affected by multiple comparison correction strategies and sample size. We comprehensively assessed two aspects of reproducibility, test–retest reliability and replicability, on widely used R‐fMRI metrics in both between‐subject contrasts of sex differences and within‐subject comparisons of eyes‐open and eyes‐closed (EOEC) conditions. We noted permutation test with Threshold‐Free Cluster Enhancement (TFCE), a strict multiple comparison correction strategy, reached the best balance between family‐wise error rate (under 5%) and test–retest reliability/replicability (e.g., 0.68 for test–retest reliability and 0.25 for replicability of amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuations (ALFF) for between‐subject sex differences, 0.49 for replicability of ALFF for within‐subject EOEC differences). Although R‐fMRI indices attained moderate reliabilities, they replicated poorly in distinct datasets (replicability < 0.3 for between‐subject sex differences, < 0.5 for within‐subject EOEC differences). By randomly drawing different sample sizes from a single site, we found reliability, sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) rose as sample size increased. Small sample sizes (e.g., < 80 [40 per group]) not only minimized power (sensitivity < 2%), but also decreased the likelihood that significant results reflect “true” effects (PPV < 0.26) in sex differences. Our findings have implications for how to select multiple comparison correction strategies and highlight the importance of sufficiently large sample sizes in R‐fMRI studies to enhance reproducibility. Hum Brain Mapp 39:300–318, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Phenols and Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Chimney Emissions from Traditional and Modern Residential Wood Burning

The emissions from a traditional tiled stove consisted mainly of lignin-related methoxyphenols with antioxidant properties, and 1,6-anhydroglucose from cellulose degradation. A wood stove of presently introduced energy-efficient design for residential heating and hot-water supply was shown to emit small amounts of methoxyphenols and anhydrosugars from primary wood pyrolysis. Secondary harmful components like benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons constituted a major portion of the organic emissions. It is concluded that differences in smoke composition are essential to consider in recommendations and rules for proper choices of wood burning devices.