Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Graph Partitioning Algorithm for Parallel Agent-Based Road Traffic Simulation

A common approach of parallelising an agent-based road traffic simulation is to partition the road network into sub-regions and assign computations for each subregion to a logical process (LP). Inter-process communication for synchronisation between the LPs is one of the major factors that affect the performance of parallel agent-based road traffic simulation in a distributed memory environment. Synchronisation overhead, i.e., the number of messages and the communication data volume exchanged between LPs, is heavily dependent on the employed road network partitioning algorithm. In this paper, we propose Neighbour-Restricting Graph-Growing (NRGG), a partitioning algorithm which tries to reduce the required communication between LPs by minimising the number of neighbouring partitions. Based on a road traffic simulation of the city of Singapore, we show that our method not only outperforms graph partitioning methods such as METIS and Buffoon, for the synchronisation protocol used, but also is more resilient than stripe spatial partitioning when partitions are cut more ? nely.
Teachers' and Students' Cognitive Styles in Early Childhood Education

Background Information Cognitive Style: Its Importance in Teaching and Learning Field Dependence Independence: An Important Dimension of Cognitive Style Assessment Instruments Students' Learning Portraits of Field Dependent Independent Children Students' Learning Behaviors The Role of Field Dependence Independence in the Early Childhood Curriculum Field Dependent Independent Characteristics in Young Children's Social Behaviors Teachers' Instruction Portraits of Field Dependent Independent Teachers Teachers' Instructional Behaviors Matching Teachers and Students Future Directions Preparation of Early Childhood Teachers Potential Roles of Cognitive Style in Educational Practice References Index
ICEMST 2014 : International Conference on Education in Mathematics , Science & Technology ARGUMENTATION IN PEER-GUIDED VERSUS TEACHER-GUIDED GROUP DISCUSSIONS

This study investigated argumentation patterns resulting in teacher-guided and peer-guided group discussions on four socioscientific-issues (SSI). Two groups, each including five students from grade 7, studied on a different SSI during four weeks. Discussions within both groups were observed, videotaped, and analyzed qualitatively. After four weeks, group interviews were conducted. The results showed that teacherguided group presented more complex argumentation patterns than peer-guided group. Both groups supported their claims with scientific and non-scientific evidence. But teacher-guided group presented the evidence deeply. The results suggested that teachers should have the related pedagogical skills to put argumentation into practice and to explore the students’ skills in constructing arguments in the context of SSI. The implications for science educators and researchers were discussed.
Cultural Learning Environment of Non-Government Secondary Science Students in Brunei

The aims of this research were to cross-validate the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire (CLEQ) in the local context of Brunei and to evaluate culturallysensitive factors (gender equity, collaboration, deference, competition, teacher authority, modelling and congruence) in secondary science students’ learning environments. Data were collected from 1417 secondary science students enrolled at non-government schools in Brunei and their 49 science teachers by administering the CLEQ (Fisher & Waldrip, 1997). Factor, validity and reliability analyses supported the instrument’s suitability to evaluate the culturally-sensitive factors associated with the cultural learning environment of these students. The students generally believed that both genders are treated equally and that they are independent learners, although, to some extent, they were reluctant to give their independent views in their classes. The perceived, predicted and observed mean values by students, teachers and researcher, respectively, were comparable for all these scales except for teacher authority and modelling scales, where differences were highly significant. The data revealed no gender, regional, or grade level differences in students’ perceptions. However, perceptions of students from different race groups were different. Implications of the research are discussed.
Examination of the Macroeconomic Variables affecting Credit Default Swaps

Many investors, money authority and reputable institutions closely follow credit default swaps while they regard them as reliable tool of measuring country credibility, since credit default swaps (CDS) come into prominence as an important indicator for country risks in recent years. Therefore, this phenomenon creates itself an area in academics, and examination of countries’ default spreads and determining the macroeconomic variables affecting them become an important academic area. For these reasons, there are lots of researches have been made in this subject in Turkey and world recently. In this research, the macroeconomic variables, which affect country default swaps of developing countries, including Turkey, are determined and examined; moreover, the effects of chosen macroeconomic variables on country default swaps are analyzed. The subject of the research is not a static case, thus Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator method from dynamic panel data methods and Residual Linear Regression Model are used. According to the results of the analyses, it is found out that the selected variables which are (i) increase in current account balance, (ii) real interest rates, (iii) GDP growth rates, (iv) inflation rates and (v) annual positive changes in S&P Global Reit Index have important effects on CDS spreads.
Institutional Investment and Commonality in Liquidity: Evidence from Transaction Data

This paper investigates the direct link between institutional investors' trading activity and comovement in stock liquidity using data on actual institutional investors' trades. We fi nd strong empirical evidence that stocks that are highly traded by institutions exhibit commonality in liquidity. This result appears to be the consequence of correlated trading, as pairs of stocks connected through common institutional trading covary more together. Using the mutual fund scandal of 2003, we nd some evidence of a causal link between institutional investors' trades and stock liquidity covariation.
BD +59°224: A New ζ Aurigae System

The star BD +59°224 has an interesting history of spectroscopic classification, having been described in the literature variously as a composite G‐ and F‐type star with helium, a K5 star, an O‐type star, and an emission‐line object similar to a planetary nebula. We present new spectra of this object that clearly show the star to be a binary with a K4.5 Ib primary and a B3 V secondary. We also calculate a reddening and distance [E(B - V) ≈ 0.75, d ≈ 2.1 kpc] and point out similarities between this object and the class of ζ Aurigae stars.
Development and evaluation of psychometric properties of an inventory of teachers' perceptions on socio-emotional needs

The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of an assessment instrument on teachers' perceptions regarding the development of socio-emotional skills. Results revealed a consistent four-factor structure (School/teachers' needs for socio-emotional skills promotion; Needs regarding teaching-learning process; Difficulties in dealing with students' socio-emotional deficits, Socio-emotional needs related to teacher's initial training) with internal consistency values above . 79. Confirmatory analyses revealed a good fit of the model to the data. Teachers reported having more needs at the school/ teachers conditions for the promotion of social and emotional needs, and less needs at the level of their Teachers' initial training. The instrument also showed to be sensitive in capturing teachers' perception of schooling social and emotional needs in terms of teachers' gender, pedagogic group and school level.
Coexistence of neuronal and glial precursor cells in the cerebral ventricular zone of the fetal monkey: an ultrastructural immunoperoxidase analysis

The cytological composition of the proliferative zones in the fetal monkey occipital lobe was examined at the light and electron microscopic levels by immunoperoxidase localization of glial fibrillary acid protein (GFA), a protein that is present in astrocytes and radial glial cells but not neurons. During the peak of neurogenesis at embryonic day 80, two distinct classes of proliferative cells, GFA- positive and GFA-negative, are intermixed in the ventricular and subventricular zones. Both cell types are readily recognized in different phases of the mitotic cycle along the ventricular surface. The results indicate that, contrary to prevailing views, (1) glial and neuronal cell lines coexist within the fetal proliferative zones and (2) the onset of glial phenotypic expression occurs prior to the last cell division.
Studies on the Presence of Mycotoxins in Biological Samples: An Overview

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites with bioaccumulation levels leading to their carry-over into animal fluids, organs, and tissues. As a consequence, mycotoxin determination in biological samples from humans and animals has been reported worldwide. Since most mycotoxins show toxic effects at low concentrations and considering the extremely low levels present in biological samples, the application of reliable detection methods is required. This review summarizes the information regarding the studies involving mycotoxin determination in biological samples over the last 10 years. Relevant data on extraction methodology, detection techniques, sample size, limits of detection, and quantitation are presented herein. Briefly, liquid-liquid extraction followed by LC-MS/MS determination was the most common technique. The most analyzed mycotoxin was ochratoxin A, followed by zearalenone and deoxynivalenol—including their metabolites, enniatins, fumonisins, aflatoxins, T-2 and HT-2 toxins. Moreover, the studies were classified by their purpose, mainly focused on the development of analytical methodologies, mycotoxin biomonitoring, and exposure assessment. The study of tissue distribution, bioaccumulation, carry-over, persistence and transference of mycotoxins, as well as, toxicokinetics and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) were other proposed goals for biological sample analysis. Finally, an overview of risk assessment was discussed.
How Does Work Engagement Mediate the Association between Human Resources Management and Organizational Performance?

The aim of this paper is to understand how workers’ perceptions and behaviors contribute to understanding the association between human resources management (HRM) and organizational performance (OP). Over the past few decades, theory construction has lagged the intermediate linkages between HRM and OP, and, therefore, there are still many unanswered questions with regards to such an association. To sustain the HRM-OP link, the authors highlight the potential influence of employees’ work engagement (WE), with the aim of exploring some of the intermediating variables, focusing on the perceptions of employees’ attitudes and behaviors. This research emphasizes that line managers have a crucial role to play in stimulating employees’ efforts and in shaping HR-related outcomes. Line managers act as crucial intermediaries in determining how HR policies that lead to OP can be designed and administered. Nevertheless, line managers have the capability to disrupt or stimulate the system, which has a significant impact on employees’ engagement with the organization. The empirical research is based on a sample of 1,609 employees and 40 organizations and was carried out in two settings. Results suggest that line managers and employees’ perceptions of HR policies were positively related to line managers’ perceptions of OP. The results also support a path model, whereby WE strengthens HR systems’ association with enhanced levels of OP. The discussion reviews the implications of these results and suggests future directions for research.
Effect of Ambroxol on Pneumonia Caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Biofilm Formation in an Endotracheal Intubation Rat Model

Background:Pseudomonas aeruginosa, especially the mucoid phenotype, is responsible for most of the morbidity and mortality in ventilator-associated pneumonia. Although ambroxol is widely used in neonatal lung problems as a mucolytic as well as an antioxidant agent, its anti-infective role is not well demonstrated by studies in vivo. Objective: To explore the effect of ambroxol on the biofilms of mucoid P. aeruginosa and on the associated lung infection using a rat model. Methods: We developed a rat model of acute lung infection by endotracheal intubation with a tube covered with mucoid P. aeruginosa biofilm. Then, we studied the effect of ambroxol on the biofilm using saline treatment as a control. Subsequently, we studied the microstructure of the biofilm, bacterial count in the tubes and lungs, pathological changes that occurred in the lungs, and the cytokine response. Results: Alteration of the microstructure of the biofilm with ambroxol treatment was demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy. The bacterial counts on the biofilm-covered tube in the ambroxol-treated group were significantly lower than those in the saline-treated group on both post-bacterial challenge days 4 and 7 (p < 0.05). The bacterial counts in lungs of the ambroxol-treated group and of the saline-treated group on post-bacterial challenge day 7 were not significantly different (p > 0.05). The pathological changes in lungs were milder with the effect of ambroxol. The cytokine responses, namely the level of IFN-γ and the ratio of IFN-γ and IL-10, were also reduced with the effect of ambroxol. Conclusion: We demonstrated that the ambroxol treatment could destroy the structure of the biofilm on the tube used for intubation and decrease the bacterial load. Further, the reduced cytokine response and milder pathological changes in lungs in an endotracheal intubation rat model indicate that ambroxol can attenuate the damage caused by biofilm-associated infection in the lung.
Fisheries Centre The University of British Columbia Working Paper Series Working Paper # 2015-27 Rise and fall of Venezuelan industrial and artisanal marine fisheries : 1950-2010

Venezuelan fisheries account for a substantial proportion of fisheries catches in the Caribbean Sea and adjacent waters, as well as tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean. High productivity within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is associated with an extensive continental shelf, a coastal upwelling and the runoff of large rivers. Statistical data from national and international sources, publications, grey literature and expert opinions were used to reconstruct Venezuelan fisheries catches during the period 1950-2010 by estimating reported and unreported landings, unreported catches and discards at the lowest taxonomic resolution possible. Total reported landings by all fisheries increased from 50,000 t·year-1 in 1950 to a maximum of 513,600 t·year-1 in 2004 and later declined to 167,600 t·year-1 by 2010. On the other hand, total estimated catch (reported, unreported, and discards) increased from around 82,000 t·year-1 in 1950 to a maximum of 688,000 t·year-1 in 2004 and then declined steadily to about 221,000 t·year-1 by 2010. Total discards reached a maximum of 74,000 t·year-1 in 1989 at the height of the trawl fishery, but later declined to just under 1,000 t in 2010 after the closure of the trawl fishery in early 2009. Small-scale fisheries (artisanal, subsistence, and recreational) represented 74% of total catches for the period 1950-2010. Data showed a sequential rise and decline of the industrial (trawl and tuna) and artisanal fisheries during the study period, a result of sequential overfishing. At present, the most pressing problem for the Venezuelan fisheries administration is regulating the complex and diverse artisanal sector in order to recover overfished populations and prevent further overfishing.
Nucleolin Regulates Gene Expression in CD34-positive Hematopoietic Cells*

CD34 glycoprotein in human hematopoiesis is expressed on a subset of progenitor cells capable of self-renewal, multilineage differentiation, and hematopoietic reconstitution. Nucleolin is an abundant multifunctional phosphoprotein of growing eukaryotic cells, involved in regulation of gene transcription, chromatin remodeling, and RNA metabolism, whose transcripts are enriched in murine hematopoietic stem cells, as opposed to differentiated tissue. Here we show that, in human CD34-positive hematopoietic cells, nucleolin activates endogenous CD34 and Bcl-2 gene expression, and cell surface CD34 protein expression is thereby enhanced by nucleolin. Nucleolin-mediated activation of CD34 gene transcription results from direct sequence-specific interactions with the CD34 promoter region. Nucleolin expression prevails in CD34-positive cells mobilized into peripheral blood (PB), as opposed to CD34-negative peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Therefore, in intact CD34-positive mobilized PB cells, a recruitment of nucleolin to the CD34 promoter region takes place, accompanied by nucleosomal determinants of gene activity, which are absent from the CD34 promoter region in CD34-negative PBMCs. Our data show that nucleolin acts as a component of the gene regulation program of CD34-positive hematopoietic cells and provide further insights into processes by which human CD34-positive hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells are maintained.
How Robust Is the n-Cube? (Extended Abstract)

The n-cube network is called faulty if it contains any faulty processor or any faulty link. For any number k we are interested in the minimum number f(n, k) of faults, necessary for an adversary to make any (n-k)-dimensional subcube faulty. Reversely formulated: The existence of a (n-k)- dimensional nonfaulty subcube can be guaranteed, unless there are at least f(n,k) faults in the n-cube. In this paper several lower and upper bounds for f(n, k) are derived such that the resulting gaps are "small". For instance if k ≥ 2 is constant, then f(n, k) = θ(log n). Especially for k = 2 and large n: f(n, 2) ∈ [⌈αn⌉ : ⌈αn⌉ + 2] where αn = log n + 1/2 log log n + 1/2. Or if k = ω(log log n) then 2k ≪ f(n, k) ≪ 2(1+e)k, with e chosen arbitrarily small. The above upper bounds are obtained by analysing the behaviour of an adversary, who makes "worst-case" distributions of a given number of faulty processors. For k = 2 the distribution is obtained constructively, whereas in the general case only the existence is shown using probabilistic arguments. The above bounds change if the notions are relativized with respect to some given parallel faultchecking procedure P. In this case only those subcubes must be made faulty by the adversary, which are possible outputs of P. In the case k = 2 the notion of directed chromatic index is defined to analyse this situation. Relations between the directed chromatic index and the chromatic number are derived, which are of interest in their own right.
Friedreich ataxia: an overview

Friedreich ataxia, an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disease, is the most common of the inherited ataxias. The recent discovery of the gene that is mutated in this condition,FRDA, has led to rapid advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis of Friedreich ataxia. About 98% of mutant alleles have an expansion of a GAA trinucleotide repeat in intron 1 of the gene. This leads to reduced levels of the protein, frataxin. There is mounting evidence to suggest that Friedreich ataxia is the result of accumulation of iron in mitochondria leading to excess production of free radicals, which then results in cellular damage and death. Currently there is no known treatment that alters the natural course of the disease. The discovery of theFRDA gene and its possible function has raised hope that rational therapeutic strategies will be developed.
Crystal Structure of the Japanese Encephalitis Virus Envelope Protein

ABSTRACT Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is the leading global cause of viral encephalitis. The JEV envelope protein (E) facilitates cellular attachment and membrane fusion and is the primary target of neutralizing antibodies. We have determined the 2.1-Å resolution crystal structure of the JEV E ectodomain refolded from bacterial inclusion bodies. The E protein possesses the three domains characteristic of flavivirus envelopes and epitope mapping of neutralizing antibodies onto the structure reveals determinants that correspond to the domain I lateral ridge, fusion loop, domain III lateral ridge, and domain I-II hinge. While monomeric in solution, JEV E assembles as an antiparallel dimer in the crystal lattice organized in a highly similar fashion as seen in cryo-electron microscopy models of mature flavivirus virions. The dimer interface, however, is remarkably small and lacks many of the domain II contacts observed in other flavivirus E homodimers. In addition, uniquely conserved histidines within the JEV serocomplex suggest that pH-mediated structural transitions may be aided by lateral interactions outside the dimer interface in the icosahedral virion. Our results suggest that variation in dimer structure and stability may significantly influence the assembly, receptor interaction, and uncoating of virions.
Individual Differences in Web-Based Learning

As the Web becomes as an important means to disseminate information, a growing number of education settings are developing Web-based learning (WBL). Unlike traditional computer-based instructional programs, WBL systems are used by a diverse population of learners, in terms of their background, skills, and needs (Chen & Macredie, 2004). Therefore, individual differences are becoming an important consideration. In the past decade, many studies have found that individual differences have significant effects on WBL. In particular, gender differences (e.g., Roy & Chi, 2003), prior knowledge (e.g., Calisir & Gurel, 2003), to cognitive styles (e.g., Chen & Macredie, 2004) are the most critical individual differences elements. In this vein, this article will present a comprehensive review on their influences on Web-based learning. The reader of this article is expected to get an overview of the state of the art research associated with these individual differences elements.
Optimization of treatment parameters for Foscan®‐PDT of basal cell carcinomas

Basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) are the most common form of skin cancers with high and increasing incidence rates. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with mTHPC (Foscan®) has shown to be a promising treatment alternative with good cosmetic results. The current study was aimed to determine optimal treatment parameters for this indication.