Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Training Teachers in Special Needs Education in Tanzania: A Long and Challenging Ordeal to Inclusion

This study examined the training of special education teachers in Tanzania. Specifically it aimed at providing in brief, the history and the challenges that Tanzania is facing in the training of special education teachers. Fifteen special education teachers, five females and ten males, were interviewed. The results showed that Tanzania faced a plethora of challenges in the area of teacher training in special education. The challenges include lack of teaching and learning materials, few trained teachers, teacher attrition, negative attitudes, barrier to information, and inaccessible environment. The participants provided some recommendations to the government, which included training more teachers, removal of barriers to accessibility, curricular modification and motivating teachers in various ways.
Efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy or surgery in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head-and-neck

Objectives Long-term locoregional control following intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head-and-neck (SCCHN) remains challenging. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and toxicity of IMRT with and without chemotherapy or surgery in locally advanced SCCHN. Materials and methods Between January 2007 and January 2011, 61 patients with locally advanced SCCHN were treated with curative IMRT in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University; 28% underwent definitive IMRT and 72% postoperative IMRT, combined with simultaneous cisplatin-based chemotherapy in 58%. The mean doses of definitive and postoperative IMRT were 70.8 Gy (range, 66–74 Gy). Outcomes were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier curves. Acute and late toxicities were graded according to Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer radiation morbidity scoring criteria. Results At a median follow-up of 35 months, 3-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) were 83.8%, 86.1%, 82.4%, 53.2%, and 62%, respectively. Postoperative IMRT (n = 44, 72%) had significantly higher LRFS/OS/DMFS than definitive IMRT (n = 17, 28%; P < 0.05). IMRT combined with chemotherapy (n = 35, 58%) had significantly higher LRFS/OS/DMFS than IMRT alone (n = 26, 42%; P < 0.05). One year after radiotherapy, the incidence of xerostomia of grade 1, 2, or 3 was 13.1%, 19.7%, and 1.6%, respectively. No grade 4 acute or late toxicity was observed. Conclusion IMRT combined with surgery or chemotherapy achieved excellent long-term locoregional control and OS in locally advanced SCCHN, with acceptable early toxicity and late side-effects.
Fall movements of Red-headed Woodpeckers in South Carolina

Fall migration of Red-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) can be erratic, with departure rates, directions, and distances varying among populations and individuals. We report fall migration departure dates, rates, and routes, and the size of fall home ranges of 62 radio-tagged Red-headed Woodpeckers in western South Carolina. Rates of fall migration differed among years; all radio-tagged woodpeckers migrated in 2005 (15 of 15), none (0 of 23) migrated in 2006, and 54.2% (13 of 24) migrated in 2007. Of 28 woodpeckers that left their breeding territories, we relocated eight either en route or on their fall home ranges. These woodpeckers migrated short distances (4.3-22.2 km) south along the floodplain forest of a large creek. The variable migration patterns we observed indicate that Red-headed Woodpeckers may best be described as facultative migrants. We determined the home range sizes of 13 woodpeckers in both seasons, regardless of whether they migrated, and fall homerangesweresmaller(mean =1.12ha)thansummerhomeranges(mean =3.23ha). Fall-wintermovementsof Red-headed Woodpeckers were concentrated on mast-producing oak (Quercusspp.) trees, which may have restricted home range sizes. The partial migration we observed in 2007 suggests that factors other than mast crop variability may also influence migration patterns because woodpeckers that year responded to the same annual mast crop in different ways, with some migrating and some remaining on breeding season home ranges during the fall. RESUMEN. Movimientos de Melanerpes erythrocephalus durante el oto˜ no en Carolina
Temporal Probabilistic Object Bases

There are numerous applications where we have to deal with temporal uncertainty associated with objects. The ability to automatically store and manipulate time, probabilities, and objects is important. We propose a data model and algebra for temporal probabilistic object bases (TPOBs), which allows us to specify the probability with which an event occurs at a given time point. In explicit TPOB-instances, the sets of time points along with their probability intervals are explicitly enumerated. In implicit TPOB-instances, sets of time points are expressed by constraints and their probability intervals by probability distribution functions. Thus, implicit object base instances are succinct representations of explicit ones; they allow for an efficient implementation of algebraic operations, while their explicit counterparts make defining algebraic operations easy. We extend the relational algebra to both explicit and implicit instances and prove that the operations on implicit instances correctly implement their counterpart on explicit instances.
Irrational risk aversion on probabilities : Experimental evidence of deciding between lotteries

In experiments individual risk attitudes can be induced by applying the binary lottery-technique (one can achieve a high or low payoff and influence only the probability of winning the high payoff). This also seems to be the only way to guarantee common knowledge of idiosyncratic risk attitudes, assumed in most economic game models involving risk. We report on experiments whose results support the hypothesis that behavior does not change much when playing for money or probability. When comparing decision alternatives one often seems to substitute final goals like monetary expectation by more easily accessible sub-goals like winning probability. JEL Classification D14, D18, C3
AUTONOMOUS ROCK DETECTION FOR MARS TERRAIN

In this paper we introduce a general framework for an image based autonomous rock detection process for Martian terrain. A rock detection algorithm, based on this framework, is described and demonstrated on examples of real Mars Rover data. An attempt is made to produce a system that is independent of parameters to ease on-board implementation for real time insitu operation. The process utilizes unsupervised hierarchical approaches for object detection and is easily expandable to more complex data sets. Currently, it uses intensity information to detect small rocks and range information (derived from a pair of intensity images) to detect large rocks in the image. The range-based and intensity-based algorithms tend to be complimentary, with one working when the other fails, together they detect most of the rocks in Mars images. The Rock Detection System presented in this paper is one module in autonomous exploration system. This module closes the loop between data acquisition, data analysis and decision-making in situ. It can be used to prioritize what information will be sent back to Earth, where to take more scientific measurements using more time-consuming instrumentation, and which surface regions to explore further. In this manner the system contributes to reducing data downlink and maximizing science return per bit of data.
Optimal leader allocation in UAV formation pairs under no-cost switching

This paper considers a group of UAVs that travel from origin to destination locations. Individual agents can choose to either fly directly to their destination or pair with other agents into a leader-follower formation to conserve fuel. In the latter case, only the follower experiences a cost benefit, and hence UAVs must negotiate how to fairly allocate the task of leading. We show that selfish agents cannot reach satisfactory collaboration agreements, which leads us to propose the notion of ϵ-cooperativeness. For this class of UAVs, we introduce the partition refinement algorithm to strategically schedule alternating leading and following intervals that induce cooperation. We show that the proposed strategy is guaranteed to find leader allocations with the minimum number of leader-follower switches. Moreover, these allocations are optimal with regards to the cost that UAVs can attain while collaborating with other UAVs. Several simulations illustrate our results.
Financial Structure and Economic Development: Firm, Industry, and Country Evidence

The authors explore the relationship between financial structure - the degree to which a financial system is market- or bank-based - and economic development. They use three methodologies: 1) The cross-country approach uses cross-country data to assess whether economies grow faster with market- or bank-based systems. 2) The industry approach uses a country-industry panel to assess whether industries that depend heavily on external financing grow faster in market- or ban-based financial systems, and whether financial structure influences the rate at which new firms are created. 3) The firm-level approach uses firm-level data across a broad selection of countries to test whether firms are more likely to grow beyond the rate predicted by internal resources, and short-term borrowings in market- or bank-based financial systems. The cross-country regressions, the industry panel estimations, and the firm-level analyses, provide remarkably consistent conclusions: a) Financial structure is not an analytically useful way to distinguish financial systems. b) Financial structure does not help us understand economic growth, industrial performance, or firm expansion. c) The results are inconsistent with both market-based and bank-based views. In other words, economies do not grow faster, industries dependent on external financing do not expand faster, new firms are not created more easily, firms' access to external finance is not greater, and, firms do not grow faster in either market- or bank-based financial systems. The authors find overwhelming evidence that the overall level of financial development, and the legal environment in which financial intermediaries, and markets operate, critically influence economic development.
Consumer reactions to unfamiliar technologies: mental and social formation of perceptions and attitudes toward nano and GM products

Abstract Using focus groups, the research analyses the mental and social processes through which consumers form perceptions and opinions about unfamiliar technologies and the derived products, taking the perception of nanotechnology and nano-products, GM and GM products as example. Our findings suggest that limited understanding of the technological principles and lack of (visible) products prevent the formation of experience-based attitudes and behavioral intentions. In this context, consumers interpret and assess cognitive interventions such as product labels or product information, as well as the trustworthiness of unfamiliar information sources, based on heuristic clues, association, mutual reassurance and previous attitudes. The established determinants of technology risk perception (e.g. knowledge, social norms, perceived risks and benefits and controllability) were the subject of constant deliberation and negotiation among participants. Consequently, the perception of risk and technology communication interventions might vary greatly across different locations and segments of the public, complicating risk communication and trust-building.
Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in urine samples by nucleic acid tests: comparison with culture and enzyme immunoassay of genital swab specimens

Two commercially available nucleic acid-based tests, ligase chain reaction (LCR; Abbott Laboratories) and PCR (Roche Diagnostics), for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in male and female urine samples were compared with culture and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (Microtrak; Syva) for C. trachomatis detection in genital samples. The samples were collected from 1,005 patients who attended a sexually transmitted disease clinic. In this study population, the prevalence of the infection was 4%. Specimens which were reactive in any of the tests were retested with a different PCR test using primers directed against the major outer membrane protein gene. With a "gold standard" of a positive culture, or any other positive test result if it was confirmed by an independent test, the Roche PCR (95% sensitive, 99.9% specific) was more sensitive than the LCR (75% sensitive, 100% specific) (chi2, P < 0.0001) while both tests were more sensitive than culture (58% sensitive, 100% specific) or EIA (45% sensitive, 100% specific) (chi2, P < 0.001). The Roche PCR and Abbott LCR tests of urine identified 65% and 30% more positive patients, respectively, than did testing by culture of urethral or cervical specimens. Nucleic acid testing of urine specimens for C. trachomatis is a more sensitive and convenient method for the detection of genital infection.
An exploration into the motivations, barriers, and benefits associated with volunteering among final year full-time undergraduate students

Semi-structured interviews were adopted for this research. This form of interview provides structure while also offering the participants the opportunity to expand on any topics and issues that arise over the course of the interview. “The semi-structured interview provides the best of both worlds as far as interviewing is concerned, combining the structure of a list of issues to be covered together with the freedom to follow up points as necessary” (Thomas, 2009, p. 164).
Spectral-timing evidence for a very high state in the narrow-line Seyfert 1 Ark 564

We use a 100 ks long XMM-Newton observation of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ark 564 and combine it with the month-long monitoring of the same source produced by ASCA, to calculate the phase lags and coherence between different energy bands, over frequencies from ∼10 -6 to 10 -3 Hz. This is the widest frequency range for which these spectral-timing properties have been calculated accurately for any active galactic nuclei (AGN). The 0.7-2 and 2-10 keV ASCA light curves, and the XMM-Newton light curves in corresponding energy bands, are highly coherent (∼0.9) over most of the frequency range studied. We observe time lags between the energy bands, increasing both with time-scale and with energy separation of the bands. The time lag spectrum shows a broad peak in the 10 -5 to 5 x 10 -4 Hz frequency range, where the time lags follow a power-law slope ∼- 0.7. Above ∼5 x 10 -4 Hz the lags drop below this relation significantly. This change in slope resembles the shape of the lag spectra of black hole X-ray binaries (BHXRB) in the very high or intermediate state. The lags increase linearly with the logarithm of the separation of the energy bands, which poses one more similarity between this AGN and BHXRBs.
Recipient Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen 4 +49 Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Is Not Associated with Acute Rejection after Liver Transplantation in Chinese Population

Objective: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) gene have been detected and proved to associate with the incidence of rejection after transplantation. However, previous studies gained inconsistent results about the association between CTLA-4 +49 single-nucleotide polymorphism and susceptibility of allograft rejection. Therefore we sought to clarify whether CTLA-4 +49 SNP influences the incidence of acute rejection after liver transplantation in Chinese population. Methods: Genomic DNA from 335 liver transplant recipients was genotyped for CTLA-4 +49 SNP by DNA sequencing. Acute rejection was confirmed by pathologic evidences. The association between CTLA-4 +49 SNP and incidence of acute rejection was then analyzed by dominant, recessive, codominant and overdominant models. Results: The incidence of acute rejection within the first 3 months was 11.9%. In acute rejectors, the frequency was 45% for G/G, 10% for A/A and 45% for A/G respectively, compared with 47.5% for G/G, 10.8% for A/A and 41.7% for A/G in non-acute rejectors. And no significant difference of allele distribution between these 2 groups was detected. Conclusions: This study suggests that CTLA-4 +49 SNP is not associated with acute rejection after liver transplantation in Chinese population.
Modelling the Demand for Water Entitlements in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District of Australia

Average monthly prices paid for water entitlements from 1997 to 2007 in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District are analysed to estimate price elasticities. Demand for permanent water entitlements appears to be most influenced by demand for such entitlements in the previous month and seasonal factors. No statistically significant relationship was found between the prices of water entitlements and demand, making price elasticity estimates unreliable. We conclude that other variables that could not be modelled play a more important role in influencing the trade of water entitlements than previously thought. Further research in this area, using individual irrigator surveys, will be needed.
Analysis of multilayer planar circuits by a hybrid method

This letter proposes a hybrid method for the modeling of multilayer planar structures with locally inhomogeneous penetrable objects. By using the equivalence principle, the original problem can be decomposed into external and internal problems, which are formulated by the mixed-potential integral equation (MPIE) method and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, respectively. Instead of directly implementing the continuity boundary conditions, an iterative approach is used to solve the hybrid FDTD-MPIE problem. Numerical results are presented to validate the hybrid method.
An improved keyword extraction method using graph based random walk model

Keywords can be considered as condensed versions of documents, which can play important role in some text processing tasks such as text indexing, summarization and categorization. However, there are many digital documents especially on the Internet that do not have a list of assigned keywords. Assigning keywords to these documents manually is a difficult task and requires appropriate knowledge of the topic. Automatic keyword extraction process can solve this problem. In this paper, we introduce a new improved method for keyword extraction using random walk model by considering position of terms within the document and information gain of terms corresponds to the whole set of documents. We also incorporate mutual information (MI) of terms with random walk model to extract keywords from documents. The experiments on standard test collections show that our method outperforms the previously proposed methods.
Subsidizing Charitable Contributions in the Field: Evidence from a Non-Secular Charity

This paper reports results from a field study comparing the effects of rebates and matching subsidies for charitable contributions. The study was conducted in conjunction with Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, a religiously affiliated social services charity. The field experiment has three main treatments: a baseline with no subsidy, a rebate to donors of a portion of their contribution to the charity, and an equivalent matching contribution. Within each subsidy treatment there are two rates of subsidy: 20 and 25 percent rebates and 25 and 33 percent matches. We report results that for the most part validate prior laboratory experiments. These results suggest that replacing the current tax rebate system with a matching program of equal cost could increase total giving to charitable organizations.
Reframing development and accountability: the influence of sovereign credit ratings on policy making in developing countries

At a time of increased financial volatility, understanding ‘development’ requires that we trace spheres of accountability in order to detect the consequences of shifts in power structures from the public to the private sectors, especially. By focusing on the business of sovereign credit ratings, I argue that ratings have been particularly influential in this context not only because of their function as a benchmark for private investment, but because they now also enter into the calculations of policy makers in developing countries who are increasingly compelled to implement policies that reduce their countries' sovereign risk at possibly high costs for sustained economic growth. I explain that governments' eagerness to signal their potential as reliable capital recipients allows for credit ratings to become a powerful site of governance. This outcome is not justified by the quality of rating agencies' output, but by the subjective power of the notion of risk in a crisis prone environment that shifts accountability—through this disproportional influence of credit rating agencies—from the public to the private realm. The Argentine crisis of 2001 is presented here as a case study that illustrates these dynamics.
NAD+ Activates KNa Channels in Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons

Although sodium-activated potassium channels (KNa) have been suggested to shape various firing patterns in neurons, including action potential repolarization, their requirement for high concentrations of Na+ to gate conflicts with this view. We characterized KNa channels in adult rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Using immunohistochemistry, we found ubiquitous expression of the Slack KNa channel subunit in small-, medium-, and large-diameter DRG neurons. Basal KNa channel activity could be recorded from cell-attached patches of acutely dissociated neurons bathed in physiological saline, and yet in excised inside-out membrane patches, the Na+ EC50 for KNa channels was typically high, ∼50 mm. In some cases, however, KNa channel activity remained considerable after initial patch excision but decreased rapidly over time. Channel activity was restored in patches with high Na+. The channel rundown after initial excision suggested that modulation of channels might be occurring through a diffusible cytoplasmic factor. Sequence analysis indicated that the Slack channel contains a putative nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-binding site; accordingly, we examined the modulation of native KNa and Slack channels by NAD+. In inside-out-excised neuronal patch recordings, we found a decrease in the Na+ EC50 for KNa channels from ∼50 to ∼20 mm when NAD+ was included in the perfusate. NAD+ also potentiated recombinant Slack channel activity. NAD+ modulation may allow KNa channels to operate under physiologically relevant levels of intracellular Na+ and hence provides an explanation as to how KNa channel can control normal neuronal excitability.