Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Delay and Jitter Closed-Form Expressions for Cross-Layer Hybrid ARQ Schemes

New ARQ or HARQ schemes taking into account the link between the MAC and IP layers have been recently introduced. In this paper, we analyze these new schemes in terms of delay and jitter by deriving these metrics in closed- form expressions at the IP level. As the framework developed for obtaining such terms in closed-form is generic, we show that the proposed expressions hold for any standard ARQ or HARQ scheme (ARQ, Incremental Redundancy HARQ, Chase Combining HARQ without cross-layer optimization) at any level (MAC or IP).
Planning and Conflict: Critical Perspectives on Contentious Urban Development

Planning and Conflict: Critical Perspectives on Contentious Urban Development, Enrico Gualini (ed.), Abingdon, Routledge, 2015, 316 pp, £36.99 (paperback), ISBN9780415835855Conflict has been one of the most discussed subjects in contemporary planning practices. It has been placed at the heart of urban politics because of its relevance to local democracy. While cities are undergoing a severe economic crisis, the significance of conflict becomes more important day by day as institutions fail to serve the expectations and needs of local communities. Planning and Conflict: Critical Perspectives on Contentious Urban Development, under the editorship of Enrico Gualini, provides theoretically rich forwardlooking perspectives on engaging with cities and their inhabitants.The individual papers are full of insight, with informative and contemporary debates that make an excellent contribution to the ongoing discussions concerning planning and conflict. The first part of the book provides a theoretical framework for the concept of conflict in the city and contemporary debates. To cite an instance, in the first chapter, Gualini argues how situated policy practices can contribute to redefining democracy in 'post-politics'. He calls for governance and planning actors to engage with the nature and evolution of forms of social contention as they arise in the field of urban policy and planning. In the second chapter, Gualini and Irene Bianchi illustrate the main contributions to urban research and planning theory that have emerged in the last decade in relation to urban conflicts. They discuss the potential role of conflicts for planning theory and planning studies.The second part focuses on the dynamics of contention and collective mobilisation in planning conflicts. There are three chapters in this part and they highlight the constitutive role of planning practices in defining the way conflicts are expressed. Chapter 3, by Samuel Mossner and Luis del Romero Renau, focuses on the absence of protest in contentious planning processes. Drawing on Mouffe and Ranciere, they reflect on the cultural and institutional factors influencing the emergence and dynamics of collective mobilisation via case studies from Valencia and Frankfurt. In Chapter 4, Carolina Pacchi and Gabriele Pasqui discuss the institutional, social and political conditions that are required to have a public discussion about the spatial development of a city. They show the differences of planning contexts in Milan, where different typologies of conflicts are developed in relation to changing urban politics and policy frameworks. In Chapter 5, Barbara Pizzo and Giacomina Di Salvo adopt an interpretive policy-analysis approach to explore planning as a practice of disguising conflict. …
Novel Molecular Strategies and Targets for Opioid Drug Discovery for the Treatment of Chronic Pain

Opioid drugs like morphine and fentanyl are the gold standard for treating moderate to severe acute and chronic pain. However, opioid drug use can be limited by serious side effects, including constipation, tolerance, respiratory suppression, and addiction. For more than 100 years, we have tried to develop opioids that decrease or eliminate these liabilities, with little success. Recent advances in understanding opioid receptor signal transduction have suggested new possibilities to activate the opioid receptors to cause analgesia, while reducing or eliminating unwanted side effects. These new approaches include designing functionally selective ligands, which activate desired signaling cascades while avoiding signaling cascades that are thought to provoke side effects. It may also be possible to directly modulate downstream signaling through the use of selective activators and inhibitors. Separate from downstream signal transduction, it has also been found that when the opioid system is stimulated, various negative feedback systems are upregulated to compensate, which can drive side effects. This has led to the development of multi-functional molecules that simultaneously activate the opioid receptor while blocking various negative feedback receptor systems including cholecystokinin and neurokinin-1. Other novel approaches include targeting heterodimers of the opioid and other receptor systems which may drive side effects, and making endogenous opioid peptides druggable, which may also reduce opioid mediated side effects. Taken together, these advances in our molecular understanding provide a path forward to break the barrier in producing an opioid with reduced or eliminated side effects, especially addiction, which may provide relief for millions of patients.
Criteria of Citizenship and Social Inclusion in Immigrants’ Discourse in Greece

Naturalization criteria play an important role in who can be accepted as a member of a national polity. In the political and social sciences often a distinction is drawn between the right of blood—jus sanguinis—and the right of soil—jus soli—as guiding principles for naturalization. This distinction corresponds to the 2 different types of nationalism and national belonging identified by Kohn (1945, 1955) namely ethnic nationalism and civic nationalism. In social psychology, this distinction has been used to examine which type of national belonging is more often associated to prejudice against immigrants and their exclusion. Recent approaches informed by social constructionism and discourse analysis examine how citizenship and the exclusion of immigrants are articulated in talk and what interactional goals seem to serve in each occasion. In this article, we examine how immigrants in Greece construct naturalization criteria in talk and how these may relate to the inclusion or exclusion of immigrants. Participants were 25 immigrants who participated in an interview on the current situation in Greece and the new naturalization law. Analyzing the interviews using rhetorical psychology, ideological dilemmas, and discursive psychology we argue that participants legitimized their own presence within Greece through the ridicule of citizenship criteria. At the same time, they seemed to exclude other immigrant groups using discourses of legality/illegality. A possible reason for this dilemma, we maintain, is the diverse ideological background of the notion of citizenship, which allows its mobilization toward different ends.
Self-Grading and Peer-Grading for Formative and Summative Assessments in 3rd Through 12th Grade Classrooms: A Meta-Analysis

The “assessment for learning” movement in education has increased attention to self-grading and peer-grading practices in primary and secondary schools. This research synthesis examined several questions pertaining to the use of self-grading and peer-grading in conjunction with criterion-referenced testing in 3rd- through 12th-grade-level classrooms. We investigated (a) the effects of students’ participation in grading on subsequent test performance, (b) the difference between grades when assigned by students or teachers, and (c) the correlation between grades assigned by students and teachers. Students who engaged in self-grading performed better (g = .34) on subsequent tests than did students who did not. Moderator analyses suggested that the benefits of self-grading were estimated to be greater when the study controlled for group differences through random assignment. Students who engaged in peer-grading performed better on subsequent tests than did students who did not (g = .29). On average, students did not grade themselves or peers significantly differently than teachers (self-grades, g = .04; peer-grades, g = .04) and showed moderate correlation (self-grading, r = .67; peer-grading, r = .68) with teacher grades. Further, other moderator analyses and examination of studies suggested that self- and peer-grading practices can be implemented to positive effect in primary and secondary schools with the use of rubrics and training for students in a formative assessment environment. However, because of a limited number of studies, these mediating variables need more research to allow more conclusive findings.
Definition of Planned and Unplanned Transfer of Public Transport Service and User Decisions to Use Routes with Transfers

In the literature, there is a lack of clarity on attributes that classify a planned transfer as being a connection designed by policy makers and public transport network planners. This calls for a proper guideline to be developed to support policy makers and planners in designing "seamless" transfers. The present study has two main objectives. The first is to determine the attributes that define a connection as being planned transfer. The second is to understand the difference in transit users' perceptions between planned and unplanned transfers and, thus, their decision to use routes with transfers. The proposed definition of planned transfer consist of five attributes: network integration, integrated timed-transfer, integrated physical connection of transfers, information integration, and fare and ticketing integration. A survey was conducted at two major public transport terminals in Auckland, New Zealand. Results support the attributes identified for the definition. Findings suggest that transit users' willingness to use transfer routes increases when attributes of the connections are more closely aligned to being planned. The study provides a guide-line for policy makers and public transport network planners to serve as a basis for planning new and improving existing connections to be planned transfers.
Effects of Lactobacillus johnsonii and Lactobacillus reuteri on gut barrier function and heat shock proteins in intestinal porcine epithelial cells

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a set of highly conserved proteins that can serve as intestinal gate keepers in gut homeostasis. Here, effects of a probiotic, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), and two novel porcine isolates, Lactobacillus johnsonii strain P47‐HY and Lactobacillus reuteri strain P43‐HUV, on cytoprotective HSP expression and gut barrier function, were investigated in a porcine IPEC‐J2 intestinal epithelial cell line model. The IPEC‐J2 cells polarized on a permeable filter exhibited villus‐like cell phenotype with development of apical microvilli. Western blot analysis detected HSP expression in IPEC‐J2 and revealed that L. johnsonii and L. reuteri strains were able to significantly induce HSP27, despite high basal expression in IPEC‐J2, whereas LGG did not. For HSP72, only the supernatant of L. reuteri induced the expression, which was comparable to the heat shock treatment, which indicated that HSP72 expression was more stimulus specific. The protective effect of lactobacilli was further studied in IPEC‐J2 under an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) challenge. ETEC caused intestinal barrier destruction, as reflected by loss of cell–cell contact, reduced IPEC‐J2 cell viability and transepithelial electrical resistance, and disruption of tight junction protein zonula occludens‐1. In contrast, the L. reuteri treatment substantially counteracted these detrimental effects and preserved the barrier function. L. johnsonii and LGG also achieved barrier protection, partly by directly inhibiting ETEC attachment. Together, the results indicate that specific strains of Lactobacillus can enhance gut barrier function through cytoprotective HSP induction and fortify the cell protection against ETEC challenge through tight junction protein modulation and direct interaction with pathogens.
Factors Influencing Preventive Behaviors for Dengue Infection Among Housewives in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Dengue is an infectious disease prevalent in Sri Lanka. Some factors may influence preventive behaviors. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and preventive behaviors associated with dengue and analyzed the factors influencing preventive behaviors among housewives in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The analytical study was designed, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The χ2 test and binary logistic regression were used to analyze data. The mean age of housewives was 39.41 years, 91% were married, 52% were Buddhist, and 46.5% had a family monthly income of 15 000 to 25 000 rupees. The knowledge of dengue preventive behaviors was 69.2%. The majority (91.5%) had a positive attitude toward dengue prevention. Only 39.3% used a mosquito net, and 89.3% had water storage container covers. Overall, 58.5% were knowledgeable about preventive measures. Age, religion, family income, education, knowledge, and attitude were associated with preventive behaviors. These findings are useful for dengue control in Colombo.
Using Unplanned Fires to Help Suppressing Future Large Fires in Mediterranean Forests

Despite the huge resources invested in fire suppression, the impact of wildfires has considerably increased across the Mediterranean region since the second half of the 20th century. Modulating fire suppression efforts in mild weather conditions is an appealing but hotly-debated strategy to use unplanned fires and associated fuel reduction to create opportunities for suppression of large fires in future adverse weather conditions. Using a spatially-explicit fire–succession model developed for Catalonia (Spain), we assessed this opportunistic policy by using two fire suppression strategies that reproduce how firefighters in extreme weather conditions exploit previous fire scars as firefighting opportunities. We designed scenarios by combining different levels of fire suppression efficiency and climatic severity for a 50-year period (2000–2050). An opportunistic fire suppression policy induced large-scale changes in fire regimes and decreased the area burnt under extreme climate conditions, but only accounted for up to 18–22% of the area to be burnt in reference scenarios. The area suppressed in adverse years tended to increase in scenarios with increasing amounts of area burnt during years dominated by mild weather. Climate change had counterintuitive effects on opportunistic fire suppression strategies. Climate warming increased the incidence of large fires under uncontrolled conditions but also indirectly increased opportunities for enhanced fire suppression. Therefore, to shift fire suppression opportunities from adverse to mild years, we would require a disproportionately large amount of area burnt in mild years. We conclude that the strategic planning of fire suppression resources has the potential to become an important cost-effective fuel-reduction strategy at large spatial scale. We do however suggest that this strategy should probably be accompanied by other fuel-reduction treatments applied at broad scales if large-scale changes in fire regimes are to be achieved, especially in the wider context of climate change.
A Practice-Based Professional Development Program to Support Scientific Argumentation From Evidence in the Elementary Classroom

ABSTRACT Considerable evidence suggests that dialogical interaction in the classroom promotes students’ scientific knowledge building and reasoning. Hence, scientific argumentation is recognized as a central component of the Next Generation Science Standards. A focus on argumentation, however, requires teachers to adopt instructional practices that facilitate this type of discourse. Therefore, the study reported here examined the impact of a practice-based professional development (PD) program on the scientific discourse practices of teachers and their students. Two cohorts of elementary school teachers attended different versions of the PD: 1 cohort attended the full program (institute, practicum, and follow-up sessions), whereas the other took part in the institute and follow-up days but did not take part in the practicum. We found that all teachers and their students, regardless of the cohort, made statistically significant improvements in their science discourse practices after attending the PD. An unexpected finding was that teachers who attended the full PD (with practicum) did not outperform the teachers who did not attend the practicum. However, students of teachers who did attend the practicum made improvements that approached statistical significance compared to students of teachers who did not attend the practicum. Thus, we report research that provides evidence of an effective model of practice-based PD that helps teachers to address the goals of the Next Generation Science Standards and equips them with instructional practices that promote student learning in science.
-1 - Contractual Design: Formalisation vs. Implicit Safeguards

This paper studies the adoption of formal contracts in subcontracting agreements in the Spanish electronic industry, examining its relation with specificity, uncertainty, size, and the existence of implicit safeguards. The analysis of 74 contracts has confirmed that the probability of writing a formal subcontracting agreement is positively related to the contractor's size, and negatively related to the subcontracted activity specificity, to the degree of previous knowledge and confidence between firms, and to the contractor's capacity for substituting the subcontractor. Furthermore, statistically significant differences in the use of formal contracts are also detected, depending on the electronic subsector considered and the nature of the subcontracted activity (goods or services).
Of policies, policing and provision: compliance and productivity in welfare-to-work programmes in the USA and Europe

How different are European welfare-to-work schemes from American ‘workfare’? This paper sets up a distinction between ‘compliance’ and ‘productivity’ orientations in programme design. It analyses communications between politics and administration in the conduct of schemes in the US, the UK and the Netherlands, identifying for each scheme the configuration of legal rights, performance management systems and financial arrangements. It is shown how institutional factors can explain why US ‘workfare’ is compliance-oriented, an orientation achieved by distinctive performance targets and budgetary structures. Different institutional possibilities and constraints characterise the development of schemes in the UK and the Netherlands, which mainly have a productivity orientation, reflected in performance targets and financial incentives which reward placement in employment.
The Relationship between Vitamin D and Glaucoma: A Kangbuk Samsung Health Study

Purpose To investigate the relationship between vitamin D and glaucoma. Methods This retrospective, cross-sectional study included subjects who underwent a health screening at the Health Screening Center of Kangbuk Samsung Hospital from August 2012 to July 2013. All fundus photographs were reviewed by ophthalmologists. The ophthalmologists determined if an eye was glaucomatous based on the criteria set forth by the International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology and by the appearance of the retinal nerve fiber layer and optic disc. If the subjects previously underwent an ophthalmologic examination, they were enrolled based on the documented history. In addition to fundus photographs, each participant underwent a systemic examination including blood sampling and sociodemographic and behavioral questionnaires. The subjects were divided into five groups according to serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess possible associations between elevated glaucoma risk and systemic factors with a p < 0.2 on univariate analysis. Results Of the 169,208 subjects older than 20 years, 123,331 were eligible for the study. There was no difference in the prevalence of glaucoma according to quintile of serum 25(OH)D level based on sex (p = 0.412 for males, p = 0.169 for females). According to the multivariable-adjusted logistic analysis, the odds ratio of glaucoma for the fourth quintile was significantly lower than that of the first quintile in females (odds ratio, 0.713; 95% confidence interval, 0.520 to 0.979). Conclusions Lower 25(OH)D level was significantly associated with an elevated risk of glaucoma in females compared with higher 25(OH)D level. Further evaluation is needed to investigate the relationship between glaucoma and vitamin D.
Do-not-resuscitate Order: The Experiences of Iranian Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Team Members

Background: One dilemma in the end-of-life care is making decisions for conducting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This dilemma is perceived in different ways due to the influence of culture and religion. This study aimed to understand the experiences of CPR team members about the do-not-resuscitate order. Methods: CPR team members were interviewed, and data were analyzed using a conventional content analysis method. Results: Three categories and six subcategories emerged: “The dilemma between revival and suffering” with the subcategories of “revival likelihood” and “death as a cause for comfort;” “conflicting situation” with the subcategories of “latent decision” and “ambivalent order;” and “low-quality CPR” with the subcategories of “team member demotivation” and “disrupting CPR performance. ” Conclusion: There is a need for the development of a contextual guideline, which is required for respecting the rights of patients and their families and providing legal support to health-care professionals during CPR.
Recovering Capitalization and Punctuation Marks on Speech Transcriptions

This work addresses two metadata annotation tasks, involved in the production of rich transcripts: automatic capitalization, and punctuation marks recovery. The main focus concerns broadcast news, using both manual and automatic speech transcripts. Different capitalization models were analysed and compared, and results support the ideia that generative approaches capture the structure of written corpora better, while the discriminative approaches are robust to ASR errors and suitable for dealing with speech transcripts. The so-called language dynamics has been addressed, and results indicate that the capitalization performance is affected by the temporal distance between the training and testing data. In what concerns the punctuation task, this study covers the three most frequent marks: full stop, comma, and question mark, combining lexical, acoustic, and prosodic information. Much of the research described here is language independent, but a special focus is given to the Portuguese language. This work provides the first evaluation results of these two tasks over European Portuguese broadcast news data.