Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Research in Learning Style and Reading: Implications for Instruction.

The improvement of reading instruction is a top national priority of the 1980s. A major recommendation from the President's Commission for a National Agenda for the 1980s was "a renewed commitment to basic skills proficiency" (Reisler, 1981, p. 413). This recommendation is based upon the severity and pervasiveness of reading problems in the United States. In 1975, as many as 20 percent of all American 17-year-olds were functionally illiterate (Lerner, 1981) and, in 1981, New York City flunked 24,000 fourth and seventh graders for poor reading scores. Many states now find it necessary to require evidence of achievement of minimum competencies in reading before students can pass grade levels and/or graduate. Another problem more subtle than illiteracy is the apparent growing number of "aliterates"-youngsters who can but consistently choose not to read (Maeroff, 1982). Of the various solutions offered to raise reading achievement levels, one of the most promising is the use of learning style diagnosis and prescription in designing reading programs. The importance of teaching through individual learning styles is gaining widespread recognition. Notably, the International Reading Association issued the following position statement in 1979: "Differences in the learning styles and abilities of children emphasize the need for a variety of approaches to meet those needs"
Transnationalism, economic transfers and families’ ties: Intercontinental contacts of older Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis in Birmingham with families abroad

This article examines the intercontinental contacts of South Asian migrants living in Birmingham (UK) with relatives abroad. A sample of 300 elders (aged 55+) were interviewed in the UK: 100 each of Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis. The study refers to contact with children, siblings and other relatives abroad. It examines contact through letters, phone calls, sending or receiving money and gifts and visiting. We hypothesize that (i) most remittances would be sent to relatives abroad (rather than received from relatives abroad) due to the expectations in the sending countries; (ii) that the frequency of visits to relatives abroad would be greater than the frequency of visits to the UK; (iii) that all types of contact would be greater between children and parents than between siblings, and other relatives. None of the hypotheses was supported in full, and highlight important distinctions between the South Asian groups in the study.
Coloured lenses and reading: A review of research into reading achievement, reading strategies and causal mechanisms

The paper reviews investigations on the use of coloured filters in relation to possible causal mechanisms, effects on reading achievement and effects on eye movement. Studies of causes suggest a retinal ‐ sensory after‐imaging problem, possibly related to the magnocellular visual neurological pathway. Studies of reading achievement suggest this disability may be one causal factor in reading problems but improvement will be influenced by prior word attack skill and willingness to be involved in reading. Investigation of reading strategies suggest that the claimed reductions in print distortions could allow more reading fluency and enable attention to be directed to meaning rather than word identification, which in turn facilitates access to text context as a supplement to word recognition.
Genetics and Molecular Biology of Industrial Organisms Glucokinase Contributes to Glucose Phosphorylation in D-lactic Acid Production by Sporolactobacillus Inulinus Y2-8

Sporolactobacillus inulinus, a homofermenta-tive lactic acid bacterium, is a species capable of efficient industrial D-lactic acid production from glucose. Glucose phosphorylation is the key step of glucose metabolism, and fine-tuned expression of which can improve D-lactic acid production. During growth on high-concentration glucose, a fast induction of high glucokinase (GLK) activity was observed, and paralleled the patterns of glucose consumption and D-lactic acid accumulation, while phospho-enolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS) activity was completely repressed. The transmembrane proton gradient of 1.3–1.5 units was expected to generate a large proton motive force to the uptake of glucose. This suggests that the GLK pathway is the major route for glucose utilization , with the uptake of glucose through PTS-independent transport systems and phosphorylation of glucose by GLK in S. inulinus D-lactic acid production. The gene encoding GLK was cloned from S. inulinus and expressed in Escherichia coli. The amino acid sequence revealed significant similarity to GLK sequences from Bacillaceae. The recombinant GLK was purified and shown to be a homodimer with a subunit molecular mass of 34.5 kDa. Strikingly, it demonstrated an unusual broad substrate specificity, catalyzing phosphorylation of 2-deoxyglucose, mannitol, maltose, galactose and glucosamine, in addition to glucose. This report documented the key step concerning glucose phosphorylation of S. inulinus, which will help to understand the regulation of glucose metabolism and D-lactic acid production.
Class Formation, Politics, and Institutions: Schooling in the United States

Recent studies of education in the United States have explained schooling as a consequence of either capitalist class domination or class conflict. What is distinctive about the structure of U.S. schooling is its limited degree of stratification. The ways in whih class analyses have explained this pattern are reviewed critically. Class anlayses have failed because (1) they neglect the role of the political process in transforming class interests into institutional patterns, and (2) they neglect the process by which political structures themselves become important determinants of class formation. The role of class forces on U.S. schooling has been very limited when compared with Europe. This minimal effect of class has been a function of the political system, which has operated to limit the extent to which class interests and conflicts could be politically transformed into those political decisions that shaped schooling. The American "exceptionalism" in Schooling is traced to the "exceptionalism" of its class formation, and then back to the character of the political process in the United States.
MIMO physical layer network coding based on VBLAST detection

For MIMO two-way relay channel, this paper proposes a novel scheme, VBLAST-PNC, to transform the two superimposed packets received by the relay to their network coding form. Different from traditional schemes, which tries to detect each packet before network coding them, VBLAST-PNC detects the summation of the two packets before network coding. In particular, after firstly detecting the second layer signal in 2-by-2 MIMO system with VBLAST, we only cancel part of the detected signal, rather than canceling all the components, from the first layer. Then we directly map the obtained signal, which is a weighted summation of the first layer and the second layer, to the network coding form. With such partial interference cancellation, the error propagation effect is significantly mitigated and the performance is thus improved as shown in simulations.
Electronic sport and its impact on future sport

The mere mentioning of computer gaming (E-sport) as a form of sports is subversive, according to public health and media discourses. As a matter of fact, the two practices are considered to be oppositional. Sports are often regarded as a virtue, whereas computer gaming is looked upon as a vice. In this light, the basic aim of this essay is to discuss and analyse the ‘sporting qualities’ of competitive computer gaming in relation to the definition of sport. The reasoning will also forecast the future of competitive computer gaming. How might this new form of ‘sport’ develop and what impact will it have on future sports in general? We answer the question by presenting three possible futuristic scenarios. Might it even be that we are standing on the threshold of a new phase in the evolution of sports?
A Strategy to Decide Whether to Move the Last Case of the Day in an Operating Room to Another Empty Operating Room to Decrease Overtime Labor Costs

We examined how to program an operating room (OR) information system to assist the OR manager in deciding whether to move the last case of the day in one OR to another OR that is empty to decrease overtime labor costs. We first developed a statistical strategy to predict whether moving the case would decrease overtime labor costs for first shift nurses and anesthesia providers. The strategy was based on using historical case duration data stored in a surgical services information system. Second, we estimated the incremental overtime labor costs achieved if our strategy was used for moving cases versus movement of cases by an OR manager who knew in advance exactly how long each case would last. We found that if our strategy was used to decide whether to move cases, then depending on parameter values, only 2.0 to 4.3 more min of overtime would be required per case than if the OR manager had perfect retrospective knowledge of case durations. The use of other information technologies to assist in the decision of whether to move a case, such as real-time patient tracking information systems, closed-circuit cameras, or graphical airport-style displays can, on average, reduce overtime by no more than only 2 to 4 min per case that can be moved. Implications The use of other information technologies to assist in the decision of whether to move a case, such as real-time patient tracking information systems, closed-circuit cameras, or graphical airport-style displays, can, on average, reduce overtime by no more than only 2 to 4 min per case that can be moved.
Longitudinal Changes in Bone Lead Levels: The VA Normative Aging Study

Objective:Bone lead is a cumulative measure of lead exposure that can also be remobilized. We examined repeated measures of bone lead over 11 years to characterize long-term changes and identify predictors of tibia and patella lead stores in an elderly male population. Methods:Lead was measured every 3 to 5 years by k-x-ray fluorescence and mixed-effect models with random effects were used to evaluate change over time. Results:A total of 554 participants provided up to four bone lead measurements. Final models predicted a −1.4% annual decline (95% CI: −2.2 to −0.7) for tibia lead and piecewise linear model for patella with an initial decline of 5.1% per year (95% CI: −6.2 to −3.9) during the first 4.6 years but no significant change thereafter (–0.4% [95% CI: −2.4 to 1.7]). Conclusions:These results suggest that bone lead half-life may be longer than previously reported.
Homonegative Microaggressions and Identity in Bisexual Men and Women

Homonegative microaggressions are small verbal, behavioral, or environmental slights, intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile or derogatory messages toward sexual minorities. This is an exploratory attempt to investigate how bisexual men and women experience these microaggressions, compared to gay men and lesbians. Bisexual men and women were found to experience the microaggression Alien in Own Land and report more identity confusion than gay men or lesbians. Using a hierarchy of four linear regression models, experience of the microaggression Alien in Own Land was found to mediate the relationship between a bisexual orientation and feelings of identity confusion. These results have implications for future research and for clinicians with bisexual clients.
PERCEPTUAL DISTORTIONS OF VISUAL ILLUSIONS IN CHILDREN WITH HIGH-FUNCTIONING AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

This study examined perceptual distortion of visual illusions in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and age-, sex- and IQ-matched typically developing children to determine whether local bias exists in low-level visual processing in ASD as the weak central coherence (WCC) theoretical account predicts. To explore whether higher-level contextual information can be integrated with low-level information in ASD, the perception with and without perspective cues was also examined. The children with ASD succumbed to illusions to a lesser degree than did the comparison group, and the degree of perceptual distortion was negatively correlated with Block Design score, a marker of WCC. The presence of perspective cues did not increase perceptual distortion among both groups to a statistically significant degree. The results support the WCC account suggesting abnormalities in integrating visual information in low-level processing in individuals with ASD when they perceived illusory figures.
Sanctioning Systems, Decision Frames, and Cooperation

Three studies are used to examine how surveillance and sanctioning systems affect cooperative behavior in dilemma situations. The first two studies demonstrate that a weak sanctioning system results in less cooperation than no sanctioning system; furthermore, results from the second study suggest that sanctions affect the type of decision people perceive they are making, prompting them to see it as a business rather than an ethical decision. The results from these studies are used to develop a theoretical model that postulates that the relationship between sanctions and cooperation is due to both a signaling effect, in which sanctions influence the type of decision that is perceived to be made, and a processing effect, in which the decision processing, including whether or not the strength of the sanction is considered, depends on the decision frame evoked. A third study provides support for the processing-effect hypothesis.
Security problems in the TCP/IP protocol suite

The TCP/IP protocol suite, which is very widely used today, was developed under the sponsorship of the Department of Defense. Despite that, there are a number of serious security flaws inherent in the protocols, regardless of the correctness of any implementations. We describe a variety of attacks based on these flaws, including sequence number spoofing, routing attacks, source address spoofing, and authentication attacks. We also present defenses against these attacks, and conclude with a discussion of broad-spectrum defenses such as encryption.
Evaluation of reclamation technologies for wastewater reuse

Reclamation and reuse of wastewater require the use of tools that minimize risks to health and natural ecosystems. There are various types of such tools, among which HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) and barrier systems are gaining importance. The research reported here aims to determine and evaluate the most efficient combinations of different treatment systems—barriers—for the reclamation of secondary effluents from urban sewage treatment plants, and for obtaining water of sufficient quality for reuse in accordance with existing legislation, in which water disinfection has become one of the keys to compliance. Several conventional and non-conventional reclamation technologies are evaluated. The results lead us to recommend treatment lines for the different reclaimed water uses established in the Spanish legislation.
Non-Metric Space Library Manual

This document describes a library for similarity searching. Even though the library contains a variety of metric-space access methods, our main focus is on search methods for non-metric spaces. Because there are fewer exact solutions for non-metric spaces, many of our methods give only approximate answers. Thus, the methods are evaluated in terms of efficiency-effectiveness trade-offs rather than merely in terms of their efficiency. Our goal is, therefore, to provide not only state-of-the-art approximate search methods for both non-metric and metric spaces, but also the tools to measure search quality. We concentrate on technical details, i.e., how to compile the code, run the benchmarks, evaluate results, and use our code in other applications. Additionally, we explain how to extend the code by adding new search methods and spaces.
Lost Talent

Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the extent to which demographic variables, students’personal resources, and family resources were predictive of stable or lowered educational expectations across the time period from eighth grade to 2 years post-high school. The sample was limited to U.S. students who (a) indicated in the eighth grade that they later expected at least a bachelor’s degree, and (b) achieved above the median score on eighth-grade reading and math tests. Therefore, students had high early expectations and showed early signs of academic talent. Lowered educational expectations across time have been described in the research literature as lost talent. For male and female adolescents, low socioeconomic status was most strongly related to lost talent. Racial group membership was also predictive of lost talent. For females, external locus of control was predictive of lost talent; whereas for males, family resources were protective factors.
Edoxaban versus warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND Edoxaban is a direct oral factor Xa inhibitor with proven antithrombotic effects. The long-term efficacy and safety of edoxaban as compared with warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation is not known. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy trial comparing two once-daily regimens of edoxaban with warfarin in 21,105 patients with moderate-to-high-risk atrial fibrillation (median follow-up, 2.8 years). The primary efficacy end point was stroke or systemic embolism. Each edoxaban regimen was tested for noninferiority to warfarin during the treatment period. The principal safety end point was major bleeding. RESULTS The annualized rate of the primary end point during treatment was 1.50% with warfarin (median time in the therapeutic range, 68.4%), as compared with 1.18% with high-dose edoxaban (hazard ratio, 0.79; 97.5% confidence interval [CI], 0.63 to 0.99; P<0.001 for noninferiority) and 1.61% with low-dose edoxaban (hazard ratio, 1.07; 97.5% CI, 0.87 to 1.31; P=0.005 for noninferiority). In the intention-to-treat analysis, there was a trend favoring high-dose edoxaban versus warfarin (hazard ratio, 0.87; 97.5% CI, 0.73 to 1.04; P=0.08) and an unfavorable trend with low-dose edoxaban versus warfarin (hazard ratio, 1.13; 97.5% CI, 0.96 to 1.34; P=0.10). The annualized rate of major bleeding was 3.43% with warfarin versus 2.75% with high-dose edoxaban (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.91; P<0.001) and 1.61% with low-dose edoxaban (hazard ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.55; P<0.001). The corresponding annualized rates of death from cardiovascular causes were 3.17% versus 2.74% (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.77 to 0.97; P=0.01), and 2.71% (hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.96; P=0.008), and the corresponding rates of the key secondary end point (a composite of stroke, systemic embolism, or death from cardiovascular causes) were 4.43% versus 3.85% (hazard ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.96; P=0.005), and 4.23% (hazard ratio, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.05; P=0.32). CONCLUSIONS Both once-daily regimens of edoxaban were noninferior to warfarin with respect to the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism and were associated with significantly lower rates of bleeding and death from cardiovascular causes. (Funded by Daiichi Sankyo Pharma Development; ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00781391.).
Identification and characterization of a novel mutation c.1090G>T (G325W) and nine common mutant alleles leading to Gaucher disease in Spanish patients.

BACKGROUND Gaucher disease is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting from mutations in the glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA). The lack of full genotype/phenotype correlation complicates counseling regarding clinical outcome and treatment recommendations. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Several mutations in the human beta-glucosidase gene associated with Gaucher disease in 16 Spanish families were identified utilizing a combination of methods: enzymatic restriction, PCR-SSCP, and sequence analyses. Expression studies were performed following the introduction of the mutagenized human acid beta-glucosidase cDNA into COS-1 cells, and the residual enzyme activities of the mutant protein were measured and compared with the normal cDNA. RESULTS The identified mutations and corresponding residual enzyme activities of the expressed protein are as follows: c.517A>C (T134P), 1%; c.721G>A (G202R), 17%; c.1090G>T (G325W), 13.9%; c.1093G>A (E326K), 26%; c.1208G>A (S364N), 4.1%; c.1226A>G (N370S), 17,8%; c.1246G>A (G377S), 17.6%; c.1289C>T (P391L), 8.5%; c.1448T>C (L444P), 3%; and c.1504C>T (R463C), 24.5%. CONCLUSIONS Site-directed mutagenesis and expression in COS-1 cells are useful methods to increase our understanding of causality in Gaucher disease and the correlation between disease severity, gene defects, and residual enzyme activity. Our study demonstrates the functional consequences of the identified human beta-glucosidase mutations (T134P, S364N, G377S, P391L, and G325W) and provide evidence for the molecular and biochemical basis of Gaucher disease, among patients of Spanish ancestry.
Pragmatics meets ideology: Digraphia and non-standard orthographic practices in Serbian online news forums

Serbian is a unique example of active digraphia, that is, the use of two scripts by the same speech community. Writers of Serbian use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets in various domains. Moreover, the Internet has brought to the fore competing orthographic variants within the Serbian Latin writing system. Technology-driven and ideologically motivated, non-standard de facto orthographic norms emerge as a result of the medium’s affordances embedded in a given socio-political context. This paper presents a case study on alphabet choice and the use of non-standard orthographic variants on two Serbian news websites, Politika Online and B92. The results show that a two-fold process occurs in Serbian orthographic practices, emerging from Internet discourses from below, including online commentaries: the dominance of the Latin alphabet over Cyrillic; and the stabilization of non-standard Latin orthographic variants. Metalinguistic commentaries of online posters illustrate the tension between pragmatic concerns and language ideologies. Keywords: Serbian; digraphia; Cyrillic; latinization; Internet Slavic; pragmatics of computer-mediated communication; language ideology
Loneliness in Late Adolescence: A Social Skills Training Study

A social deficit hypothesis has been advanced to predict loneliness during adolescence. As a test of this hypothesis, two studies were completed. The first investigation involved the factor analysis of the UCLA Loneliness Scale to assess for unidimensionality versus multidimensionality. Three forms of loneliness were derived-psychological, psychosocial and social loneliness. Internal consistency and predictive validity were estimated for the three subscales. In the second investigation a social skills training study was completed with females who reported high levels of loneliness and inadequate or marginal social skills. A standard pretest posttest experimental and control group design was utilized. Acquisition of social skills was observed to be associated with decreased psychosocial and social loneliness but not psychological loneliness. However, no effects were observed on self-perceived social inhibition.