Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions, practices, and potential: An exploration of school choice for academically gifted students

This thesis explores the experiences academically gifted students and their families are having within a Catholic education system of schools and the impact that these experiences are having on the choice of future schooling. Parents are making the decision to commence their academically gifted child at a Catholic school and throughout the child’s schooling, choices are being considered as to whether to continue with Catholic schooling or seek an alternative. This Australian study investigates the interconnection between gifted education, school systems, school practices, families, and student experiences when deliberating the choice of school. The literature review considers the place of gifted education in the wider field of school education and sets a context for considering the educational learning experiences of the academically gifted students in this study. The review considers: characteristics of academically gifted students, theories of human development, beliefs about giftedness and gifted education, Catholic school ethos, school leadership, pedagogical practices, and school choice. Case study data from 14 primary and secondary school students, including 55 interviews, surveys and extensive document investigation, are presented and analysed. Based on Gagné’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (2008) two major themes are guiding this analysis: intrapersonal factors and environmental factors. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System Theory (1977) is used in bringing the findings together. Key strengths of the Catholic schooling system in supporting academically gifted students are detailed. These strengths are: the obvious Catholic identity and ethos of the schools; the pastoral and nurturing care exhibited; and, the Newman Gifted Program for students of high ability generally in the top 15% of the population. Directions for future development are suggested. These directions are: ongoing professional learning for school leaders and classroom teachers around academic giftedness and gifted education; system resource support; and, making a clear distinction between the provision for students who are the top 15% of the population and students who are in or close to the top 1% of the population, based on a psychometric test. This research contributes to the literature about school choice, specifically for academically gifted students. The research also answers questions of why some academically gifted students are choosing to stay with the Catholic education system, and others are choosing to leave.
Proposed role of phosphatidic acid in the extracellular control of the transition from G2 phase to mitosis exerted by epidermal growth factor in A431 cells.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been shown to cause an inhibition of A431 cells in G2 phase within approximately 10 min, i.e., shortly before mitosis (Kinzel et al., Cancer Res., 50: 7932-7936, 1990). This system has been used to study the proposed role phospholipid metabolites, particularly phosphatidic acid (PA), may play (Kaszkin et al., Cancer Res., 51: 4328-4335, 1991) in the extracellular control of cells at the physiological restriction site in G2 phase. A431 cells responded to EGF with a dose-dependent formation of phosphatidic acid (PA) which correlated with the dose-dependent G2 delay as well as with their time courses. The G2 delay induced by EGF as well as PA mobilization were effected in conditioned medium or in fresh medium containing bovine serum albimun instead of serum, i.e., under the conditions necessary for precursor studies to be carried out. The major pathway of PA formation was probably via phospholipase C-mediated breakdown of phosphatidylinositol and diacylglycerol kinase: (a) the dose response of PA formation correlated with that of total inositol phosphate accumulation; (b) little diacylglycerol was found and then only at a high EGF concentration; (c) prelabeling with [1-14C]arachidonic acid resulting in a large specific labeling of phosphatidylinositol led to an EGF-induced, dose-dependent formation of radioactive arachidonyl-PA (correlated with that of total PA and inositol phosphate), but in the presence of a primary alcohol not to the formation of radioactive phosphatidylalcohol; (d) prelabeling with [1-14C]oleic acid led to the EGF-induced formation of labeled PA, which in the presence of a primary alcohol was only slightly reduced to the advantage of very low levels of labeled phosphatidyl alcohol, thus demonstrating that an EGF-effected activation of phospholipase D did occur but contributed little to the general PA level. An alternative mobilization of PA was attempted with the phorbolester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), which was shown to activate phospholipase D in A431 cells and to elicit PA from a phospholipid pool which was not significantly labeled with radioactive arachidonic acid. The TPA-induced degree of PA formation and of the G2 delay correlated. Both phenomena were considerably larger with fresh medium containing 0.5% bovine serum albumin instead of serum than in conditioned medium. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Accretion and galactic dynamos

We show that radial flows (directed either inward or outward) suppress mean-field dynamo action in a thin disc. Under conditions typical of spiral galaxies, the reduction in the growth rate of the large-scale magnetic field can reach 25-30%. The dynamo-generated galactic magnetic fields themselves can drive radial flows at a rate of order 0:1 M yr 1 . These radial flows can contribute to the saturation of the dynamo action to- gether with other nonlinear effects. We also present arguments, and an illustrative computation, to support the view that in the inner regions of barred galaxies the magnetically driven mass accretion rate may be substantially larger than the above esti- mate due to deviations of magnetic field from axial symmetry. The magnetically driven inflow rate in barred galaxies can reach about 3 M yr 1 .
Asymmetric Rendezvous Search at Sea

In this paper we address the rendezvous problem between an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and a passively floating drifter on the sea surface. The AUV's mission is to keep an estimate of the floating drifter's position while exploring the underwater environment and periodically attempting to rendezvous with it. We are interested in the case where the AUV loses track of the drifter, predicts its location and searches for it in the vicinity of the predicted location. We parameterize this search problem with respect to both the uncertainty in the drifter's position estimate and the ratio between the drifter and the AUV speeds. We examine two search strategies for the AUV, an inward spiral and an outward spiral. We derive conditions under which these patterns are guaranteed to find a drifter, and we empirically analyze them with respect to different parameters in simulation. In addition, we present results from field trials in which an AUV successfully found a drifter after periods of communication loss during which the robot was exploring.
Olumlu Değerlendirilme Korkusu Ölçeği Türkçe Formu’nun Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması

Objective: The Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES) is 8 item self-report scale developed by Weeks and et al. (2008) to assess fear of positive evaluation. The purpose of this study was to adapt the FPES to Turkish and examine its factorial structure, validity and reliability. Method: The study included 532 university students (343 female, 188 male) from Dokuz Eylul and Sakarya Universities. Psychometric properties of FPES was investigated by test re-test, Cronbach alpha, split-half, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and criterion validity methods. Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and The Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale Short Form was used for the criterion validity. Results: In order to determine the construct validity of The Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES), exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. The exploratory factor analysis resulted in a factor and confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the model was well fit with the original scale. The Cronbach’s alpha for the FPES was . 73. the computed test-retest reliability coefficient was . 75 and split-half coefficent was . 67. Conclusion: According to these results FPES had a satisfactory level of reliability and validity in Turkish university students.
Combined chemoimmunostimulation therapy against murine leukemia.

The effect of combining chemotherapy and immunostimulation against a murine lymphoid leukemic line designated as LSTRA was investigated. Inoculation of 1 × 104 ascites cells s.c. resulted in the death of all animals within 12 to 15 days. Treatment of infected mice with 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, 20 mg/kg, increased the range of death to 20 to 28 days with a significant number of long-term survivors (12%). The parameters utilized to determine the appearance of disease, induction of remission, and relapse following drug therapy were based on the bioassay of donor tissue at specified time intervals. When Bacillus Calmette-Guerin and Corynebacterium granulosum were used following 1 administration of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, 20 mg/kg, a high percentage of long-term survivors occurred in contrast to the groups of animals treated with immunostimulants or drug alone. The most important variable in these studies was the time in which immunostimulants were given following drug therapy. C. granulosum , when given 3 days after 1,3-bis(2-chlorethyl)-1-nitrosourea therapy, resulted in 76% complete remissions, while B. Calmette-Guerin was most effective 12 days after drug treatment, yielding approximately 68% long-term survivors. The implications of these results to cancer therapy are discussed.
New results on absolute stability of lur’e systems with time-varying delay

This paper considers the problem of the absolute stability of lurpsilae systems with time-varying delay and sector-bounded nonlinearity. By using the Lyapunov functional method, and by resorting to new technique to estimate the upper bound of the derivative of Lyapunov functional, the new less conservative absolute stability criteria are obtained in linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Numerical example is presented to show the effectiveness and the less conservativeness of the proposed method.
Lentivirus-based RNA Silencing of Nemo-like Kinase (NLK) Inhibits the CAL 27 Human Adenosquamos Carcinoma Cells Proliferation and Blocks G0/G1 Phase to S Phase

Background: The Nemo-like kinase (NLK) is a serine/threonine-protein kinase that involved in a number of signaling pathways regulating cell fate. Variation of NLK has been shown to be associated with the risk of cancer. However, the function of NLK in oral adenosquamous carcinoma cells line CAL-27 is unknown. Methods: In this study, we evaluated the function of NLK in CAL-27 cells by using lentivirus-mediated RNA silence. The targeted gene expression, cell proliferation and cell cycle are investigated by RT-PCR, western-blot, MTT method, colony forming assay and flow cytometry analysis respectively. Results: After NLK silencing, the number of colonies was significantly reduced (54±5 colonies/well compared with 262±18 colonies/well in non-infected or 226±4 colonies/well in negative control group (sequence not related to NLK sequence with mismatched bases). Using crystal violet staining, we also found that the cell number per colony was dramatically reduced. The RNA silencing of NLK blocks the G0/G1 phase to S phase progression during the cell cycle. Conclusions: These results suggest that NLK silencing by lentivirus-mediated RNA interference would be a potential therapeutic method to control oral squamous carcinoma growth.
Optimizing lock protocols for native XML processing q

Processing XML documents in multi-user database management environments requires a suitable storage model, support of typical XML document processing (XDP) interfaces, and concurrency control mechanisms tailored to the XML data model. In this paper, we sketch our prototype native XML database system called XML Transaction Coordinator (XTC) and specify the operations for accessing and modifying stored documents. The key contribution is the design and optimization of fine-grained lock protocols supporting collaborative processing of XML documents. For this reason, we introduce four XML lock protocols of growing sophistication and complexity, which are based on a tree-structured DOM storage model. The lock modes of these protocols, called taDOM* lock protocols, are tailor-made for the operations of the DOM API. Because of the protocols’ complexity, their correctness is not obvious; hence, we present the ideas to prove the lock protocol correctness guaranteeing the specified data processing behavior of the given XDP operations. Finally, using XTC as our testbed system, we run extensive performance measurements to empirically evaluate our lock protocols and to compare their performance behavior against all known fine-grained competitor protocols under the same benchmark in an identical system setting. It turns out that tailor-made optimization pays off and that the taDOM* protocols are the clear winners in our lock protocol contest. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The Plaintiffs' Attorney's Role in Class Action and Derivative Litigation: Economic Analysis and Recommendations for Reform

Introduction . 3 I. The Role of the Entrepreneurial Attorney . 7 A. The Economic Rationale for Class Action and Shareholder's Derivative Litigation . 8 B. The Role of the Entrepreneurial Attorney in Class Action and Shareholder's Derivative Suits 12 1. The economic theory of agency and its applidation to standard litigation . 12 a) M onitoring . 13 b) Bonding . 15 c) Incentives . 17 d) Residual loss . 19 2. Application of agency cost theory to class and derivative cases . 19
Ticket-to-talk-television: designing for the circumstantial nature of everyday social interaction

In this paper we discuss a particular perspective on interactivity and sociability in the design of new TV technologies for social interaction. We will argue that current research on Social TV builds on a too narrow conception of interaction in everyday social life. In consequence, rather than turning the TV media itself into an arena for peer-to-peer synchronous interaction amongst TV viewers we will discuss the idea of Social TV as a resource that when part of a larger socio-material fabric can help accommodate the circumstantial nature of social interactions as they emerge and play out on a moment-to-moment basis throughout everyday life beyond the TV screens. We take the phenomenon of ticket-to-talk as our point of departure when analyzing observations made during a study of the ways senior citizens go about socializing in everyday face-to-face situations. We then discuss how this analysis in combination with a series of design-oriented workshops with a group of senior citizens, have guided the design of our Ticket-to-Talk-Television example concept. We will reflect upon the overall approach as well as the design activities that were undertaken in relation to the concept developed.
Dangerous Prediction by Case-Based Approach on Expressways

The purpose of this system is to reduce the rate of dangerous events caused by various driving factors. We compose a driving relational map as the system inputs factors of driver behavior, nearby vehicles and roadway factors, and then put this driving relational map into the matching process with dangerous driving relational maps. If the similarity between the driving relational map and one of the dangerous driving relational maps is high, a dangerous event may occur. At this time the system will warn the driver to watch out for this dangerous event. Along with the learning process based on case-base reasoning, the system will become a flawless danger prediction system.
Infrastructure, Transport Costs and Trade: A New Approach

This paper investigates the impact of the quality of infrastructure on exports, with a specific focus on Sub-Sahara Africa. Improving the quality of infrastructure has a positive effect on exports by lowering the transport costs faced by the exporter. This paper provides a new specification on how to model transport costs in the gravity model. Specifically, minimum and maximum infrastructure variables are included in the model rather than exporter and importer infrastructure variables. The gravity model forms part of a Heckman selection model, which is used to deal with the biases induced by excluding zero bilateral exports in the gravity model. The results suggest that it is the minimum quality of infrastructure between two trading countries that matters most for transport costs and therefore trade. This result also holds when using disaggregated export data and specific infrastructure variables. No robust evidence was found that Sub-Sahara Africa exports less than expected or that improving the quality of infrastructure has a significantly different effect on SubSaharan exports. However, using disaggregated trade data it was found that Sub-Saharan countries, given its characteristics, export more primary products and less manufactured goods (although the findings for manufactured goods are not robust).
Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Presenting with Heart Failure and Intraventricular Thrombosis

1Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China 2Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West Hospitals, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA 3Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
Induction of Type I and Type III Interferons by Borrelia burgdorferi Correlates with Pathogenesis and Requires Linear Plasmid 36

The capacity for Borrelia burgdorferi to cause disseminated infection in humans or mice is associated with the genotype of the infecting strain. The cytokine profiles elicited by B. burgdorferi clinical isolates of different genotype (ribosomal spacer type) groups were assessed in a human PBMC co-incubation model. RST1 isolates, which are more frequently associated with disseminated Lyme disease in humans and mice, induced significantly higher levels of IFN-α and IFN-λ1/IL29 relative to RST3 isolates, which are less frequently associated with disseminated infection. No differences in the protein concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 or TNF-α were observed between isolates of differing genotype. The ability of B. burgdorferi to induce type I and type III IFNs was completely dependent on the presence of linear plasmid (lp) 36. An lp36-deficient B. burgdorferi mutant adhered to, and was internalized by, PBMCs and specific dendritic cell (DC) subsets less efficiently than its isogenic B31 parent strain. The association defect with mDC1s and pDCs could be restored by complementation of the mutant with the complete lp36. The RST1 clinical isolates studied were found to contain a 2.5-kB region, located in the distal one-third of lp36, which was not present in any of the RST3 isolates tested. This divergent region of lp36 may encode one or more factors required for optimal spirochetal recognition and the production of type I and type III IFNs by human DCs, thus suggesting a potential role for DCs in the pathogenesis of B. burgdorferi infection.
An event-driven compiling technique

Due to the linear structure of source text, difficulties may arise in a one-pass compilation process. These difficulties occur when an entity cannot be processed because of a forward reference to information only obtainable from subsequent entities. Classic solutions ask for data structures appropriate for each case. A technique is presented here which uses instead control structures, namely events and processes. The work of the compiler-writer becomes easier both conceptually and in practice because he can forget these problems at the outset and he avoids special processing for each problem. This technique has been applied to the construction of an Algol 68 compiler. Three examples from that implementation are described and discussed here.
Socio-economic status and cardiovascular risk factors in rural and urban areas of Vellore, Tamilnadu, South India.

BACKGROUND We examined associations between socio-economic status (SES) indicators and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among urban and rural South Indians. METHODS Data from a population-based birth cohort of 2218 men and women aged 26-32 years from Vellore, Tamilnadu were used. SES indicators included a household possessions score, attained education and paternal education. CVD risk factors included obesity, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes, plasma total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio and triglyceride levels and consumption of tobacco and alcohol. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess associations between SES indicators and risk factors. RESULTS Most risk factors were positively associated with possessions score in urban and rural men and women, except for tobacco use, which was negatively associated. Trends were similar with the participants' own education and paternal education, though weaker and less consistent. In a concurrent analysis of all the three SES indicators, adjusted for gender and urban/rural residence, independent associations were observed only for the possessions score. Compared with those in the lowest fifth of the score, participants in the highest fifth had a higher risk of abdominal obesity [odds ratio (OR) =6.4, 95% CI 3.4-11.6], high total cholesterol to HDL ratio (OR=2.4, 95% CI 1.6-3.5) and glucose intolerance (OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.9-4.1). Their tobacco use (OR=0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.6) was lower. Except for hypertension and glucose intolerance, risk factors were higher in urban than rural participants independently of SES. CONCLUSION In this young cohort of rural and urban south Indians, higher SES was associated with a more adverse CVD risk factor profile but lower tobacco use.
On the recursive generation of parametric types

For efficiency reasons, the typical implementations of parametric polymorphism in modern languages are built so as to prepare all the information about the instantiations of the parametric types an application use before its actual execution. In some situations however, a program may recursively refer an infinite set of such instantiations, causing the compilation failing to terminate. Most current C++ compilers and proposals for adding parametric polymorphism in Java suffer from this problem. In this paper we introduce a formal framework for reasoning about parametric types, type variables and their dependency. Using this, we analyze in a formal way this non-termination issue and give a necessary and sufficient condition for a program not to cause this inconvenience. By testing this condition future versions of all the compilers may provide for early detection of the problem.