Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potential Predictors of Child Progress as Measured by the Early Intervention Developmental Profile

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which various factors (demographics, intervention, and test score derivatives) were associated with observed developmental gains in a sample of 83 developmentally delayed children. The Early Intervention Developmental Profile (Rogers et al.,1981) was used to measure child progress. The differences between the pre- and posttest ratio scores (developmental age divided by chronological age) on each scale were the dependent variables in six regression analyses, one for each developmental domain (perceptual/fine motor, cognition, language, social, feeding, and gross motor). Each developmental domain generated a unique set of significant predictors. Potential predictors of overall child progress Included the two test score derivatives, the number of assessments and home visits, the mother's age, and the child's age at initial testing and medical risk status.
Decidability Results for Soundness Criteria of Resource-Constrained Workflow Nets

This paper focuses on the decidability status of various forms of behavioral correctness criteria for resource-constrained workflow (RCWF) nets (Petri net models of RCWF systems). These behavioral correctness criteria, usually called soundness criteria, are natural extensions of similar correctness criteria for workflow nets (Petri net models of workflow systems). While all forms of soundness are known to be decidable for workflow nets, only soundness for RCWF nets with just one resource type is known to be decidable. In this paper, we show that if we limit the number of cases, then soundness for RCWF nets with arbitrarily many resource types is decidable. Moreover, we show that some “intermediate” forms of soundness, as well as a restrictive form of structural soundness for RCWF nets, are decidable too. The proof technique is based on instantiation nets as a general tool for dealing with arbitrarily many cases and arbitrarily large resources in workflow nets and RCWF nets. It is also shown why this technique cannot be extended to the most general form of soundness.
The interaction between leader–member exchange and perceived job security in predicting employee altruism and work performance.

This study investigated the relationships among leader–member exchange (LMX), perceived job security, and employee performance. Drawing on the job demands–resources model and conservation of resources theory, we expected both LMX and perceived job security would affect employee altruism and work performance in a positive manner. In addition, LMX and perceived job security were expected to interact to predict the two outcome variables. The hypotheses were tested with a sample of 184 employees in a state-owned enterprise in China. Our results showed that LMX, but not perceived job security, was positively related to employee altruism and work performance. Additionally, the effect of LMX on altruism was stronger for employees perceiving less job security. The findings indicated that LMX as a job resource becomes more impactful to altruistic performance when employees feel less secure at work.
Hypertonic saline dextran resuscitation of thermal injury.

Burn treatment requires large volumes of crystalloid, which may exacerbate burn-induced cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Small-volume hypertonic saline dextran (HSD) resuscitation has been used for effective treatment of several types of shock. In this study isolated coronary perfused guinea pig hearts were used to determine if HSD improved left ventricular contractile response to burn injuries. Parameters measured included left ventricular pressure (LVP) and maximal rate of LVP rise (+dP/dt max) and fall (-dP/dt max) at a constant preload. Third-degree scald burns comprising 45% of total body surface area (burn groups, N = 75), or 0% for controls (group 1, N = 25) were produced using a template device. In group 2, 25 burned guinea pigs were not fluid resuscitated and served as untreated burns; 20 burns were resuscitated with 4 mL lactated Ringer's (LR) solution/kg/% burn for 24 hours (group 3); additional burn groups were treated with an initial bolus of HSD (4 mL/kg, 2400 mOsm, sodium chloride, 6% dextran 70) followed by either 1, 2, or 4 mL LR/kg/% burn over 24 hours (groups 4, 5, and 6, respectively). Untreated burn injury significantly impaired cardiac function, as indicated by a fall in LVP (from 88 +/- 3 to 68 +/- 4 mmHg; p = 0.01) and +/- dP/dt max (from 1352 +/- 50 to 1261 +/- 90 and from 1150 +/- 35 to 993 +/- 59; p = 0.01, respectively) and a downward shift of LV function curves from those obtained from control hearts. Compared to untreated burns, hearts from burned animals treated with LR alone showed no significant improvement in cardiac function. However hearts from burned animals treated with HSD + 1 mL LR/kg/% burn had significantly higher LVP (79 +/- 4 vs. 68 +/- 4 mmHg, p = 0.01) and +/- dP/dt max (+dP/dt: 1387 +/- 60 vs. 1261 +/- 90 mmHg/sc, p = 0.01; -dP/dt: 1079 +/- 50 vs. 993 +/- 59 mmHg/sc, p = 0.01) than hearts from untreated burned animals and generated left ventricular function curves comparable to those calculated for hearts from control animals. Mortality 24 hours after burn was 29% for untreated burns was 0% for control animals, as well as for groups treated with the Parkland formula or HSD plus 1 or 2 mL/kg/% burn lactated Ringer's. The only deaths after treatment occurred in those animals given HSD plus 4 mL/kg/% burn, Parkland formula (17% mortality). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Developing Absorptive Capacity in Mature Organizations

A considerable amount of research into how organizations absorb new knowledge was prompted by the work of Cohen and Levinthal. In a recent literature review Zahra and George identify two distinct elements of absorptive capacity (potential and realized). This article contributes to the study of managerial agency in the absorption of new knowledge and skills. Zahra and George’s model is extended to incorporate key roles associated with knowledge transfer, including gatekeepers, boundary spanners and change agents. Empirical data are drawn from a longitudinal study of a mature manufacturing firm based in North Wales. Change was initiated by the owner in response to the loss of the company’s major customer—the Ministry of Defence. The main change agent was a recently recruited middle manager who used his mass production experience to improve managerial communications and introduce more efficient working practices to the shopfloor.
THE ORIGINS OF INDIVIDUAL MEDIA-SYSTEM DEPENDENCY

Prior theory and research that has demonstrated the consequences of individuals' media-system dependencies upon selective exposure and message effects has not, however, addressed the equally important question of the determinants of individuals' media-system dependencies. The aim of this article is to present a sociological framework for the analysis of the macro and micro determinants of those media-system dependencies. The configuration of determinants that constitute this framework includes structural dependencies between the media and other social systems, characteristics of the social environs, media-system activity, interpersonal discourse networks, the sociostructural location of individuals, and personal goals.
De Novo Meningitis Caused by Propionibacterium acnes in a Patient with Metastatic Melanoma

ABSTRACT Propionibacterium acnes is a known cause of postneurosurgical meningitis; however, it is rarely implicated in de novo meningitis. Herein we report a case of a 49-year-old male with de novo meningitis caused by P. acnes with metastatic melanoma as the only identified risk factor for his infection.
Results of POLDER in-flight calibration

POLDER is a CNES instrument on board NASDA's ADEOS polar orbiting satellite, which was successfully launched in August 1996. On October 30, 1996, POLDER entered its nominal acquisition phase and worked perfectly until ADEOS's early end of service on June 30, 1997. POLDER is a multispectral imaging radiometer/polarimeter designed to collect global and repetitive observations of the solar radiation reflected by the Earth/atmosphere system, with a wide field of view (2400 km) and a moderate geometric resolution (6 km). The instrument concept is based on telecentric optics, on a rotating wheel carrying 15 spectral filters and polarizers, and on a bidimensional charge coupled device (CCD) detector array. In addition to the classical measurement and mapping characteristics of a narrow-band imaging radiometer, POLDER has a unique ability to measure polarized reflectances using three polarizers (for three of its eight spectral bands, 443 to 910 nm) and to observe target reflectances from 13 different viewing directions during a single satellite pass. One of POLDER's original features is that its in-flight radiometric calibration does not rely on any on-board device. Many calibration methods using well-characterized calibration targets have been developed to achieve a very high calibration accuracy. This paper presents the various methods implemented in the in-flight calibration plan and the results obtained during the instrument calibration phase: absolute calibration over molecular scattering, interband calibration over sunglint and clouds, multiangular calibration over deserts and clouds, intercalibration with Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS), and water vapor channels calibration over sunglint using meteorological analysis. A brief description of the algorithm and of the performances of each method is given.
Ethnic Affirmation by Chinese Bilinguals

What is the effect on the response of bilinguals when they are presented with a questionnaire in their first or their second languages? To examine this question 121 university students completed a survey on their identification with Chinese or Western practices. The questionnaire was written in Chinese or English and administered in small groups by one of four investigators-two Chinese, two Western. Results showed higher levels of Chinese identification in response to the English version of the attitude survey. It was proposed that this ethnic affirmation depends on the respondent's level of identification with the first culture and the availability of behaviors to affirm or deny that first culture. The phenomenon of ethnic affirmation extends beyond questionnaire responding and would seem applicable to any situation where one's ethnic salience is heightened. Cross-cultural interaction, particularly in a research context, is a prime example.
Does lengthening the school day increase students’ academic achievement? Evidence from a natural experiment

Mexican educational authorities face a significant and challenging problem of low achievement in standardized tests applied to pupils in primary schools. This research looks at a Full-Time Primary Schools Program implemented in 2007, to work out if changing the time pupils spend at school and a modification in the structure of teaching can enhance skills in language and mathematics. The results of Differences in Differences (DiD) and Propensity Score Match plus DiD, point to a significant impact of the program with an improvement of 0.11 SD on mathematics and Spanish test scores after four years of treatment. More importantly, these improvements are significantly higher in schools located in deprived areas, ranging from 0.12 SD to 0.29 SD on both subjects after two and four years of treatment, respectively. The impacts also show a significant average decrease in the proportion of students graded as ‘insufficient’, combined with an increase of those graded as ‘excellent’. Further analysis on causal channels shows that policy effects do not come from changes in the composition of pupils in treated schools. These findings are of strong significance when laced into the wider education debate about what works best in schools for improving pupil performance.
When a New Tool Is Introduced in Different Cultural Contexts

What will happen if a new tool is introduced to different cultures? What if the tool can potentially bridge those cultures? Will it be used in the same way across cultures and contribute to a decrease in cultural differences? Or will it be used in culturally appropriate ways and eventually integrated into preexisting cultural practices? To answer these questions, we predicted and examined cultural differences in the use of Facebook focusing on social networks. In support of the prediction, the present work found that users in individualistic cultures had more ego-centric networks (i.e., members of networks were connected via the self) than users in collectivistic cultures. The results were consistent across a two-culture comparison and a multicultural analysis across 49 nations. Additional findings suggest that (a) living in individualistic/collectivistic cultures are closely linked to these differences in social networks and (b) the individualism–collectivism may have stronger influences than ecological factors that gave rise to it.
Inheritance of Hippocampal Place Fields Through Hebbian Learning: Effects of Theta Modulation and Phase Precession on Structure Formation

A place cell is a neuron that fires whenever the animal traverses a particular location of the environment—the place field of the cell. Place cells are found in two regions of the rodent hippocampus: CA3 and CA1. Motivated by the anatomical connectivity between these two regions and by the evidence for synaptic plasticity at these connections, we study how a place field in CA1 can be inherited from an upstream region such as CA3 through a Hebbian learning rule, in particular, through spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). To this end, we model a population of CA3 place cells projecting to a single CA1 cell, and we assume that the CA1 input synapses are plastic according to STDP. With both numerical and analytical methods, we show that in the case of overlapping CA3 input place fields, the STDP learning rule leads to the formation of a place field in CA1. We then investigate the roles of the hippocampal theta modulation and phase precession on the inheritance process. We find that theta modulation favors the inheritance and leads to faster place field formation whereas phase precession changes the drift of CA1 place fields over time.
Apical sealing ability of Resilon/Epiphany versus gutta-percha/AH Plus: immediate and 16-months leakage.

AIM To compare the long-term apical sealing ability of gutta-percha/AH Plus and Resilon/Epiphany. METHODOLOGY The root canals of 90 single-rooted human mandibular premolars with single narrow root canals were prepared with ProFile 0.4 taper instruments to apical size 40. After each instrument, the canals were irrigated with 1% sodium hypochlorite. Subsequently, the teeth were randomly divided into four groups containing 20 teeth each. Additionally, 10 prepared premolars served as positive and 10 counterparts with intact crowns as negative controls. The root canals were filled with gutta-percha/AH Plus or Resilon/Epiphany using lateral or vertical compaction. Specimens were allowed to set for 7 days at 37 degrees C and 100% humidity. Subsequently, the root fillings were removed down to the apical 4 mm. Fluid movement was then assessed using a fluid transportation model and re-evaluated after 16 months of water storage. Leakage within and between groups was compared using nonparametric tests. RESULTS Negative controls revealed no fluid movement and positive controls displayed gross fluid movement at both times of observation. At the immediate measurement, there were no significant differences between the experimental groups (Kruskal-Wallis, P > 0.05). Gutta-percha/AH Plus fillings retained their seal after 16-months storage (Wilcoxon, P > 0.05), whilst the Resilon/Epiphany groups lost their sealing capacity (Wilcoxon, P < 0.001). In these groups, 29 of the 40 specimens exhibited gross leakage similar to positive controls. CONCLUSION Initially, Resilon/Epiphany root fillings prevented fluid movement to the same degree as gutta-percha/AH Plus counterparts, but showed more fluid movement when tested at 16 months.
The influence of tutorials on the improvement of tertiary students’ academic literacy

This paper describes a study which explored whether attending tutorials facilitated by senior students improves tertiary students’ marks in an academic literacy course. Data were drawn from the academic literacy test marks and essay assignment marks of students who took a year-long academic literacy course at the University of Pretoria. A statistical analysis was done to determine whether there was any improvement in the test marks and the essay assignments of students who attended tutorials at least 10 times, in addition to regular lectures. Findings suggest that attending extra academic literacy tutorials has little effect on students’ TALL (Test of Academic Literacy Levels) marks, but it does seem to have an influence on students’ writing ability. Because of the number of problems encountered in doing the research, it also illustrates the complex and problematic nature of research into language performance.
Lamivudine treatment during pregnancy to prevent perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus infection

Summary. Vertical transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) can occur occasionally despite vaccination of the child. This vaccination breakthrough has been associated with high maternal viraemia. We treated eight highly viraemic (HBV‐DNA ≥ 1.2 × 109 geq/mL) mothers with 150 mg of lamivudine daily during the last month of pregnancy. HBV‐DNA, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti‐HBs and anti‐HBc of their offspring were measured at birth and at 3, 6 and 12 months, respectively. Twenty‐four children, born to untreated HBsAg‐positive mothers with HBV‐DNA levels ≥1.2 × 109 geq/mL served as historical controls. All children received passive‐active immunization at birth and were followed‐up for 12 months. In the lamivudine group one of the eight children (12.5%) was still HBsAg and HBV‐DNA positive at the age of 12 months. All other children seroconverted to anti‐HBs and maintained seroprotection. In three children, HBV‐DNA was temporarily detected by polymerase chain reaction. In the untreated historical control group, perinatal transmission occurred in seven of 25 children (28%). In highly viraemic HBsAg‐positive mothers, reduction of viraemia by lamivudine therapy in the last month of pregnancy may be an effective and safe measure to reduce the risk of child vaccination breakthrough. This approach should be evaluated in a large controlled trial.
Dependability models for Eucalyptus infrastructure clouds considering VM life-cycle

Managing a cloud computing provider is a difficult task, which involves the control and maintenance of several components, such as computers, network infrastructures and software components. In these environments, availability, security and low costs are important requirements to achieve high quality of service. Therefore, the evaluation of these systems is important to find a configuration that meets the constraints of users and provider. A widely adopted strategy to evaluate cloud computing systems consists by the utilization of stochastic models (e.g., stochastic Petri nets - SPN) to assess the concern metrics. In this context, Eucalyptus is an open source private cloud software for building private and hybrid clouds. This work presents dependability models for evaluation on Eucalyptus clouds. These models focus on the user point of view metrics (e.g., number of running virtual machines) to assess the dependability metrics. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed models, we evaluate a real world environment and validate the presented models by using Eucabomber tool version 2.0.
Social Support Resources

Although considerable research effort has been spent in documenting the beneficial effects of social support to individual well-being, little is known about the determinants of this resource or its distribution across sociocultural groups. The present study assessed the influence among college students of sex and sex role on three levels of social support resources: network characteristics, availability of several modes of support, and perceived supportiveness of family and friends. On a composite measure of overall support resources, females were superior to males, and feminine and androgynous individuals were superior to masculine and undifferentiated individuals. Only some specific social support variables differed across these groups specifically, network size and homogeneity, emotional support, and perceived supportiveness of family for sex role.
Fitting tree metrics: Hierarchical clustering and phylogeny

Given dissimilarity data on pairs of objects in a set, we study the problem of fitting a tree metric to this data so as to minimize additive error (i.e. some measure of the difference between the tree metric and the given data). This problem arises in constructing an M-level hierarchical clustering of objects (or an ultrametric on objects) so as to match the given dissimilarity data - a basic problem in statistics. Viewed in this way, the problem is a generalization of the correlation clustering problem (which corresponds to M = 1). We give a very simple randomized combinatorial algorithm for the M-level hierarchical clustering problem that achieves an approximation ratio of M+2. This is a generalization of a previous factor 3 algorithm for correlation clustering on complete graphs. The problem of fitting tree metrics also arises in phylogeny where the objective is to learn the evolution tree by fitting a tree to dissimilarity data on taxa. The quality of the fit is measured by taking the l/sub p/ norm of the difference between the tree metric constructed and the given data. Previous results obtained a factor 3 approximation for finding the closest tree tree metric under the l/spl infin/ norm. No nontrivial approximation for general l/sub p/ norms was known before. We present a novel LP formulation for this problem and obtain an O((log n log log n)/sup 1/p/) approximation using this. Enroute, we obtain an O((log n log log n)/sup 1/p/) approximation for the closest ultrametric under the l/sub p/ norm. Our techniques are based on representing and viewing an ultrametric as a hierarchy of clusterings, and may be useful in other contexts.
Peopling Skilled International Migration: Indian Doctors in the UK

This article uses a case-study approach in relation to the migration of Indian doctors to the UK in order to illustrate the complexity and multi-levelled nature of explanations for international migration. It argues that whereas, at the level of discursive consciousness, the movement of Indian doctors to the UK appears an economically driven and shapedphenomenon akin to other examples of highly skilled international migration, when the practical consciousness of participants is investigated through qualitative methods, the migration can also be seen as a cultural and social phenomenon. Although migrants move to “better themselves”, they also make choices based on factors such as the kind of novels they read as children or “taken for granted” familial obligations rooted in the everyday life of their culture.