Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Female Success in STEM: How Self-Efficacy Drives Effort

HALPER, LEAH R. , Ph.D., August 2017, Experimental Psychology Female Success in STEM: How Self-Efficacy Drives Effort Director of Dissertation: Jeffrey B. Vancouver There is a shortage of STEM (science/technology/engineering/mathematics)trained individuals in the United States, and entire groups of individuals (e.g., females) are underrepresented in the STEM fields. The majority of research focuses on why females do not pursue STEM as careers, with researchers agreeing that a key component is self-efficacy, which is one’s belief in one’s capability of achieving a goal. Moreover, research demonstrates that self-efficacy or self-confidence in one’s abilities leads to an increased chance of pursuing a career in STEM. For this reason interventions have been developed to increase self-efficacy for STEM careers, and often these interventions are targeted towards females. However, there is disagreement about the effect of self-efficacy once one begins pursuing the goal of obtaining a career in STEM. Social cognitive theory proponents argue that self-efficacy will promote effort; whereas, control theory proponents argue that self-efficacy might undermine effort. STEM majors provide a unique population in which to study the relationships among the variables in a real world setting. In particular, this study investigates the relationship among gender, self-efficacy, effort, and performance in STEM-focused college courses. To develop a set of hypotheses, the literatures on self-efficacy, which is a type of expectancy, were reviewed with a focus on the differences between social cognitive theory and control theory. Due to the theoretical and empirical evidence, control theory
Coordinated deployment of mobile sensing networks with limited-range interactions

This paper presents coordination algorithms for groups of mobile agents performing deployment and coverage tasks. As an important modeling constraint, we assume that each mobile agent has a limited sensing or communication radius. We focus on (1) a comprehensive smoothness analysis of a class of locational optimization functions (including a generalized statement of the conservation-of-mass law), and (2) a discrete-time convergence result based on a recently-developed generalized statement of LaSalle invariance principle. Our coordination algorithms have convergence guarantees and are spatially distributed with respect to appropriate proximity graphs. Numerical simulations illustrate the results.
Clinical Inertia in People With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To determine time to treatment intensification in people with type 2 diabetes treated with one, two, or three oral antidiabetes drugs (OADs) and associated levels of glycemic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study based on 81,573 people with type 2 diabetes in the U.K. Clinical Practice Research Datalink between January 2004 and December 2006, with follow-up until April 2011. RESULTS In people with HbA1c ≥7.0, ≥7.5, or ≥8.0% (≥53, ≥58, or ≥64 mmol/mol), median time from above HbA1c cutoff to intensification with an additional OAD was 2.9, 1.9, or 1.6 years, respectively, for those taking one OAD and >7.2, >7.2, and >6.9 years for those taking two OADs. Median time to intensification with insulin was >7.1, >6.1, or 6.0 years for those taking one, two, or three OADs. Mean HbA1c at intensification with an OAD or insulin for people taking one, two, or three OADs was 8.7, 9.1, and 9.7%. In patients taking one, two, or three OADs, median time from treatment initiation to intensification with an OAD or insulin exceeded the maximum follow-up time of 7.2 years. The probability of patients with poor glycemic control taking one, two, or three OADs, intensifying at end of follow-up with an OAD, was 21.1–43.6% and with insulin 5.1–12.0%. CONCLUSIONS There are delays in treatment intensification in people with type 2 diabetes despite suboptimal glycemic control. A substantial proportion of people remain in poor glycemic control for several years before intensification with OADs and insulin.
Dynamic Service Provisioning in Elastic Optical Networks With Hybrid Single-/Multi-Path Routing

Empowered by the optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (O-OFDM) technology, flexible online service provisioning can be realized with dynamic routing, modulation, and spectrum assignment (RMSA). In this paper, we propose several online service provisioning algorithms that incorporate dynamic RMSA with a hybrid single-/multi-path routing (HSMR) scheme. We investigate two types of HSMR schemes, namely HSMR using online path computation (HSMR-OPC) and HSMR using fixed path sets (HSMR-FPS). Moreover, for HSMR-FPS, we analyze several path selection policies to optimize the design. We evaluate the proposed algorithms with numerical simulations using a Poisson traffic model and two mesh network topologies. The simulation results have demonstrated that the proposed HSMR schemes can effectively reduce the bandwidth blocking probability (BBP) of dynamic RMSA, as compared to two benchmark algorithms that use single-path routing and split spectrum. Our simulation results suggest that HSMR-OPC can achieve the lowest BBP among all HSMR schemes. This is attributed to the fact that HSMR-OPC optimizes routing paths for each request on the fly with considerations of both bandwidth utilizations and lengths of links. Our simulation results also indicate that the HSMR-FPS scheme that use the largest slots-over-square-of-hops first path-selection policy obtains the lowest BBP among all HSMR-FPS schemes. We then investigate the proposed algorithms' impacts on other network performance metrics, including network throughput and network bandwidth fragmentation ratio. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to consider dynamic RMSA based on both online path computation and offline path computation with various path selection policies for multipath provisioning in O-OFDM networks.
STABILITY OF RELATIVISTIC FORCE-FREE JETS

We consider a two-parameter family of cylindrical force-free equilibria, modeled to match numerical simulations of relativistic force-free jets. We study the linear stability of these equilibria, assuming a rigid impenetrable wall at the outer cylindrical radius Rj. Equilibria in which the Lorentz factor γ(R) increases monotonically with increasing radius R are found to be stable. On the other hand, equilibria in which γ(R) reaches a maximum value at an intermediate radius and then declines to a smaller value γj at Rj are unstable. A feature of these unstable equilibria is that poloidal field line curvature plays a prominent role in maintaining transverse force balance. The most rapidly growing mode is an m = 1 kink instability which has a growth rate ∼(0.4/γj)(c/Rj). The e-folding length of the equivalent convected instability is ∼2. 5γjRj. For a typical jet with an opening angle θj ∼ few/γj, the mode amplitude grows only weakly with increasing distance from the base of the jet. The growth is much slower than one might expect from a naive application of the Kruskal–Shafranov stability criterion.
Reelin Deficiency and Displacement of Mature Neurons, But Not Neurogenesis, Underlie the Formation of Granule Cell Dispersion in the Epileptic Hippocampus

Mesio-temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is often accompanied by granule cell dispersion (GCD), a widening of the granule cell layer. The molecular determinants of GCD are poorly understood. Here, we used an animal model to study whether GCD results from an increased dentate neurogenesis associated with an abnormal migration of the newly generated granule cells. Adult mice were given intrahippocampal injections of kainate (KA) known to induce focal epileptic seizures and GCD, comparable to the changes observed in human MTLE. Ipsilateral GCD progressively developed after KA injection and was paralleled by a gradual decrease in the expression of doublecortin, a marker of newly generated granule cells, in the dentate subgranular layer. Staining with Fluoro-Jade B revealed little cell degeneration in the subgranular layer on the KA-injected side. Labeling with bromodeoxyuridine showed an early, transient increase in mitotic activity in the dentate gyrus of the KA-injected hippocampus that gave rise to microglial cells and astrocytes but not to new neurons. Moreover, at later time points, there was a virtually complete cessation of mitotic activity in the injected hippocampus (where GCD continued to develop), but not on the contralateral side (where no GCD was observed). Finally, a significant decrease in reelin mRNA synthesis in the injected hippocampus paralleled the development of GCD, and neutralization of reelin by application of the CR-50 antibody induced GCD. These results show that GCD does not result from increased neurogenesis but reflects a displacement of mature granule cells, most likely caused by a local reelin deficiency.
The Reactive Keyboard: a predictive typing aid

The Reactive Keyboard, a device that accelerates typewritten communication with a computer system by predicting what the user is going to type next is described. The version described is designed for entering free text and runs on any Apple Macintosh computer with at least 1 MB of memory (though 2 MB is preferred). It makes full use of the Macintosh mouse-and-window environment to give users convenient control over display and acceptance of predictions, and it requires no physical keyboard. The interface increases the speed and ease of communicating with a computer, especially for physically disabled people. <<ETX>>
Multi-Objective Model Checking of Markov Decision Processes

We study and provide efficient algorithms for multi-objective model checking problems for Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). Given an MDP, M, and given multiple linear-time (ω-regular or LTL) properties ϕi, and probabilities ri ∈ [0, 1], i = 1, . , k, we ask whether there exists a strategy α for the controller such that, for all i, the probability that a trajectory of M controlled by α satisfies ϕi is at least ri. We provide an algorithm that decides whether there exists such a strategy and if so produces it, and which runs in time polynomial in the size of the MDP. Such a strategy may require the use of both randomization and memory. We also consider more general multi-objective ω-regular queries, which we motivate with an application to assume-guarantee compositional reasoning for probabilistic systems. Note that there can be trade-offs between different properties: satisfying property ϕ1 with high probability may necessitate satisfying ϕ2 with low probability. Viewing this as a multi-objective optimization problem, we want information about the "trade-off curve" or Pareto curve for maximizing the probabilities of different properties. We show that one can compute an approximate Pareto curve with respect to a set of ω-regular properties in time polynomial in the size of the MDP. Our quantitative upper bounds use LP methods. We also study qualitative multi-objective model checking problems, and we show that these can be analysed by purely graph-theoretic methods, even though the strategies may still require both randomization and memory.
Object saliency using a background prior

What makes an object salient? Almost all the works so far determine object saliency based on the amount of the contrast of a patch or super pixel with it's surrounding. Due to this approach, objects consisting of multiple colors, which is usually the case with a majority of natural objects, are allocated varying saliency values. Hence, post-processing for it's application is another problem. Taking note of this and keeping in mind the ease of extension to different applications, we provide a new perspective to this problem. We propose a simple yet powerful method for modelling the background for salient object detection. As a corollary of "Rule of Thirds" we model the background as the most occurring super pixels lying along the image border. Saliency is determined based on the distance of other super pixels from the background super pixels. Comparison of the proposed approach with the state of the art shows how our approach can provide more consistent saliency values throughout an object.
New Technologies to Aid in Evaluation of Alternative Feedstuffs

High corn and soybean meal prices, and in some cases, reduced availability, are causing nutritionists to use more by-products and co-products than ever before in order to minimize diet costs. The three most common by-products being used in swine diets are DDGS, wheat midds, and bakery by-product. Managing nutrient variability among by-product sources is the primary challenge to obtaining accurate nutrient loading values for use in feed formulation. Significant research has been conducted recently regarding nutrient variability among DDGS sources and the use of various “nutritional tools” to estimate ME and digestible amino acid content among sources. Unfortunately, very little research has been conducted to develop similar “tools” for use with wheat midds and bakery by-product. Energy prediction equations for DDGS provide the capability for estimating actual energy value for specific sources but there are several concerns affecting their accuracy that must be considered when using them. Use of an in vitro digestible energy procedure resulted in accurate prediction of apparent total tract energy digestibility among single samples of 8 feedstuffs, but resulted in poor predictions within canola meal and corn DDGS sources. Use of NIR is becoming a popular method for assessing nutrient content of feed ingredients and calibrations have been developed for DDGS. There is considerable interest in using NIR to estimate ME and digestible amino acid content in by-products, but there are several challenges that must be overcome before this is a viable “tool”. Several equations have been developed to estimate amino acid content from crude protein content in corn, soybean meal, DDGS, and wheat midds, but accuracy of lysine estimation is poor. Digestible lysine in DDGS can be estimated relatively accurately from total or reactive lysine content in DDGS. Use of in vitro “tools” such as IDEA ® and AMINORED ® do not appear to provide a high degree of accuracy in digestible amino acid estimates in DDGS for swine. Color of DDGS may be a general indicator of lysine digestibility among DDGS sources, but optical density and front face fluorescence may provide more accurate prediction of digestible amino acids in DDGS if some of their challenges can be overcome. In summary, several “nutritional tools” have been developed to estimate ME and digestible amino acid content in DDGS for swine, but more refinements and validation are needed. Efforts are needed to develop similar “tools” for other common by-product ingredients used in swine diets.
Synapsin- and Actin-Dependent Frequency Enhancement in Mouse Hippocampal Mossy Fiber Synapses

The synapsin proteins have different roles in excitatory and inhibitory synaptic terminals. We demonstrate a differential role between types of excitatory terminals. Structural and functional aspects of the hippocampal mossy fiber (MF) synapses were studied in wild-type (WT) mice and in synapsin double-knockout mice (DKO). A severe reduction in the number of synaptic vesicles situated more than 100 nm away from the presynaptic membrane active zone was found in the synapsin DKO animals. The ultrastructural level gave concomitant reduction in F-actin immunoreactivity observed at the periactive endocytic zone of the MF terminals. Frequency facilitation was normal in synapsin DKO mice at low firing rates (∼0.1 Hz) but was impaired at firing rates within the physiological range (∼2 Hz). Synapses made by associational/commissural fibers showed comparatively small frequency facilitation at the same frequencies. Synapsin-dependent facilitation in MF synapses of WT mice was attenuated by blocking F-actin polymerization with cytochalasin B in hippocampal slices. Synapsin III, selectively seen in MF synapses, is enriched specifically in the area adjacent to the synaptic cleft. This may underlie the ability of synapsin III to promote synaptic depression, contributing to the reduced frequency facilitation observed in the absence of synapsins I and II.
Tree Kernel-based Relation Extraction with Various Entity-Related Features

This paper proposes a convolution tree kernel-based approach for relation extraction where parse trees are expanded with various entity-related features, such as entity type, subtype, and mention level. Our study indicates that not only can our method effectively capture both syntactic structure and entity information of relation instances in a single tree kernel, but also can avoid the difficulty with tuning the parameters in composite kernels. Moreover, we apply several linguistic rules to further prune out noisy information from the parse trees representing relation instances. Empirical evaluation on the ACE 2004 benchmark corpus shows that our system works well and achieves promising performance compared with other kernel-based systems.
Shared Lunch: An Ethnography of Food Sovereignty in Whaingaroa and Beyond

ii List of images . vii Preface: researcher positioning . ix Stories and solutions . xiii Raranga kete . xv Aknowlegments: he koha, he taonga . xviii 1.0 Introduction . 1 1.1 Research objectives . 5 1.2 Theorising ontologies: ecology, connectedness, complexity and creativity . 8 1.3 Method(ology) . 18 Site as siteless, Site as Whakapapa. 20 Ethnography as process: . 23 Permaculture as method . 27 1.4 Ethical statement . 31 1.5 Summarising the chapters . 34 2.0 Food sovereignty and Aotearoa . 38 2.1 Explaining food sovereignty . 38 2.2 Kiwifood . 49 2.3 Food, privilege and poverty in New Zealand . 51 2.4 Food sovereignty in Aotearoa . 51 Food democracy initiatives . 59 2.5 Urban food . 61 Jono . 61 Kora . 65 2.6 Wilderland . 68 Tensions – scarcity . 74 Josh . 75
Three v-SNAREs and Two t-SNAREs, Present in a Pentameric cis-SNARE Complex on Isolated Vacuoles, Are Essential for Homotypic Fusion

Vacuole SNAREs, including the t-SNAREs Vam3p and Vam7p and the v-SNARE Nyv1p, are found in a multisubunit “cis” complex on isolated organelles. We now identify the v-SNAREs Vti1p and Ykt6p by mass spectrometry as additional components of the immunoisolated vacuolar SNARE complex. Immunodepletion of detergent extracts with anti-Vti1p removes all the Ykt6p that is in a complex with Vam3p, immunodepletion with anti-Ykt6p removes all the Vti1p that is complexed with Vam3p, and immunodepletion with anti-Nyv1p removes all the Ykt6p in complex with other SNAREs, demonstrating that they are all together in the same cis multi-SNARE complex. After priming, which disassembles the cis-SNARE complex, antibodies to any of the five SNARE proteins still inhibit the fusion assay until the docking stage is completed, suggesting that each SNARE plays a role in docking. Furthermore, vti1 temperature-sensitive alleles cause a synthetic fusion-defective phenotype in our reaction. Our data show that vacuole-vacuole fusion requires a cis-SNARE complex of five SNAREs, the t-SNAREs Vam3p and Vam7p and the v-SNAREs Nyv1p, Vti1p, and Ykt6p.
Planning and the user interface: the effects of lockout time and error recovery cost

This paper reports three experiments which, through simple user-interface manipulations, examine a prediction derived from a rational analysis of problem solving: that increasing the cost of performing a problem-solving operator will increase the level of planning during problem solving and reduce the level of action in the world. The first experiment uses the slide-jump puzzle to look at the effects of imposing an implementation cost only on the undo operator of the interface to a task. The second experiment looks at problem solving with the eight-puzzle and imposes a system lockout delay after every operator application. In line with the predictions of the rational analysis model, both experiments demonstrate how these different manipulations of implementation cost result in more planning and shorter solution lengths when the operator implementation cost is high. The final experiment again uses a manipulation of lockout time and replicates the effects within the domain of a non-puzzle-like office administration type task.
The social experience of volunteering for young adult volunteers: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Volunteering is known to benefit not only recipients of services but also the volunteers themselves. Such benefits are especially important in volunteering young adults, who are undergoing a period of rapid transition and psychosocial development. Whilst the impact of volunteering is reasonably well studied in student groups, there is relatively little research on young adult volunteers outside the ‘student as volunteer’ context, despite the fact that this group may present different motivations towards, and benefits from, volunteering. We conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the lived experience of young volunteers. Using the experiential qualitative approach of interpretive phenomenological analysis, prominent themes relating to the social experience of volunteering were explored. These were selected as the topic of this article and are explored under three subthemes: Social belonging; Social motivation to volunteer; Social effects of volunteering on wellbeing and development. Interpretations of the participant’s verbatim are offered and discussed in relation to identity fusion theory and positive youth development.This study was supported through a Carnegie Undergraduate Student Summer Scholarship (2016).
Economic Preferences 2.0: Connecting Competition, Cooperation and Inter-Temporal Preferences

This paper presents a 'second generation' theory on the nature of social preferences. Incorporating an inter-temporal ingredient, we generate an outcome-based model which focuses on the conflict between cooperation towards social efficiency and competition for the individual relative standing. We build on the argument that cooperative (competitive) patterns are more likely to arise when the future is perceived as secure and predictable (unsecure and unpredictable). In order to accommodate this argument with recent experimental results showing a relationship between individualsâ€™ inter-temporal preferences and social behavior in one-shot games, social efficiency is assumed to trigger long-run satisfaction whereas relative standing is linked to short-run satisfaction. In so doing, we add a dynamic component to social preferences. This feature of the model implies that more patient individuals are more willing to get involved in cooperative affairs while more impatient individuals are more likely to display competitive patterns. Yet, an individualâ€™s inter-temporal preferences interact with contextual factors (cues of future (un)predictability) to determine her course of action. The theory is then tested to shed new light on individualsâ€™ decisions in different games used in experimental research where a relationship between game play and inter-temporal preferences has been found. We show that our new combination of social and inter-temporal preferences adds well to the explanatory power of economic theory on human decision making.