Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Semantic Clustering and Processing Speed in Suzuki Violinists

ABSTR ACT The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of Suzuki violin instruction on verbal memory performance, memory strategy usage, and visual processing speed performance in child musicians and non-musicians, ages 8–12. Thirty-five participants, 18 musicians with four or more years of musical training and 17 non-musicians, completed measures of music aptitude, motor speed, music reading, intelligence, verbal memory, and processing speed. Results indicate significantly (p < .05) enhanced performance by musicians compared to non-musicians in verbal memory performance, including distraction list items, short-delay free recall trials, semantic clustering scores, and overall processing speed. These data support the hypothesis that Suzuki violin instruction leads to the development of semantic and syntactical knowledge to categorize words assisting in memory retrieval. Results underscore the role of auditory skills in early music instruction, the impact of musical training in cognitive development, and importance of providing musical training at an early age.
Stiction in surface micromachining

Due to the smoothness of the surfaces in surface micromachining, large adhesion forces between fabricated structures and the substrate are encountered. Four major adhesion mechanisms have been analysed: capillary forces, hydrogen bridging, electrostatic forces and van der Waals forces. Once contact is made adhesion forces can be stronger than the restoring elastic forces and even short, thick beams will continue to stick to the substrate. Contact, resulting from drying liquid after release etching, has been successfully reduced. In order to make a fail-safe device stiction during its operational life-time should be anticipated. Electrostatic forces and acceleration forces caused by shocks encountered by the device can be large enough to bring structures into contact with the substrate. In order to avoid in-use stiction adhesion forces should therefore be minimized. This is possible by coating the device with weakly adhesive materials, by using bumps and side-wall spacers and by increasing the surface roughness at the interface. Capillary condensation should also be taken into account as this can lead to large increases in the contact area of roughened surfaces.
Creating the Conditions for Classroom and Teacher Development

Abstract The research on ‘classroom conditions’ reported in this paper forms a strand of the research and development activities undertaken as part of the ‘Improving the Quality of Education for All’ (IQEA) school improvement project. The ‘IQEA approach’ to school improvement emphasises the importance of enhancing the internal conditions of the school whilst undertaking innovations in curriculum and instruction in the pursuit of enhanced levels of student achievement. The rationale for the emphasis on ‘internal conditions’ in this approach to school improvement is first described, as well as the established set of school level conditions already identified through work on the project. Research that led to a set of complementary ‘classroom conditions’ is reviewed, and the conditions articulated using examples from project schools. The classroom conditions posited are: authentic relationships; rules and boundaries; planning, resources and preparation; teacher's repertoire; pedagogic partnerships; and reflec.
Supporting New Parents Through Home Visits

In a study of family support through home visiting, paraprofessionals provided informal social support to low income parents during pregnancy and for 1 year afterward. Most infants were normal, but cases involving neurologic disorders are described as examples of the helping role of paraprofessional home visitors. Mother-infant interaction was better at 4 months in home-visited families than in controls, especially with teen and Hispanic mothers and other subgroups. Paraprofessionals can help families with developmentally disabled children in a variety of ways.
Exhibit Design and Visitor Behavior

Measurements of visitor behavior were collected at selected exhibits in 13 zoos throughout the United States. Percentage of visitors who stopped at each exhibit and the duration of visitor viewing time were obtained at exhibits of various species. Visitor behavior was found to correlate with both the characteristics of animals (animal activity, size of species, presence of infant) and the architectural characteristics of the exhibits (presence of visually competing exhibits, proximity of visitor to animal, visibility of animals, physical features of the exhibit). These finding have several implications for designing zoo exhibits.
The Validity of the Handwriting Scale From the Test of Written Language

AbstractWe investigated the validity of using the Handwriting Scale from the Test of Written Language (Ham-mill & Larsen, 1983) to measure the general legibility of learning disabled students’ writing. The use of the scale with the learning disabled students was supported: Elements considered central to effective handwriting combined to account for approximately two thirds of the variance in learning disabled students’ scores on the scale, and three elements (letter formation, spacing, and neatness) contributed significantly in the prediction of scores. The study also provided a much-needed description of learning disabled students’ handwriting. As a group, the legibility of the writing of the learning disabled students was generally poor, and they received low scores on all elements except slant.
On features ordering for rapid object detection

Consider a real time classification problem which requires testing the value of a large number of features. Let Tj be the average computation time of the jth feature, and let Rj be its average rejection probability. In many real-world problems, such as defect detection on printed circuits or plasma screens, minimizing classifier execution time is of paramount importance because of its effect on the entire productions and QA process. We show that if features are independent, the best way to arrange them is according to the ratio Rj=Tj. This yields a minimal-time algorithm for features ordering in object detection framework when feature values are independent of each other, and motivates a simple algorithm for ordering features that are not independent. The algorithm obtains comparable classification results to [15], but is twice as fast.
Near- and mid-infrared colours of star-forming galaxies in European Large Area ISO Survey fields

We present J- and K-band near-infrared (near-IR) photometry of a sample of mid-infrared (mid-IR) sources detected by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) as part of the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS) and study their classification and star-forming properties. We have used the Preliminary ELAIS Catalogue for the 6.7-mum (LW2) and 15-mum (LW3) fluxes. All of the high-reliability LW2 sources and 80 per cent of the LW3 sources are identified in the near-IR survey reaching K~ 17.5 mag. The near-IR/mid-IR flux ratios can effectively be used to separate stars from galaxies in mid-IR surveys. The stars detected in our survey region are used to derive a new accurate calibration for the ELAIS ISOCAM data in both the LW2 and LW3 filters. We show that near- to mid-IR colour-colour diagrams can be used to classify galaxies further, as well as to study star formation. The ELAIS ISOCAM survey is found mostly to detect strongly star-forming late-type galaxies, possibly starburst-powered galaxies, and it also picks out obscured active galactic nuclei. The ELAIS galaxies yield an average mid-IR flux ratio LW2/LW3 = 0.67 +/- 0.27. We discuss the fnu(6.7 mu m)/fnu(15 mu m) ratio as a star formation tracer using ISO and IRAS data of a local comparison sample. We find that the fnu(2.2 mu m)/fnu(15 mu m) ratio is also a good indicator of activity level in galaxies and conclude that the drop in the fnu(6.7 mu m)/fnu(15 mu m) ratio seen in strongly star-forming galaxies is a result of both an increase of 15-mum emission and an apparent depletion of 6.7-mum emission. Near-IR together with the mid-IR data make it possible to estimate the relative amount of interstellar matter in the galaxies.
Inter- Firm Information Sharing in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: a call for timely but limited access to customer information

Current trends in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suggest that supply chain management and tight control over scheduling jobs within the supply chain are key tactical planning issues. Modern ERP software packages, in conjunction with the World Wide Web, allow for automated exchange of information within a company and also between two or more companies (i.e., conveyance of customer information to suppliers) of parts and components) for the purposes of effective planning and control. While ease of information exchange between a customer and supplier is increasingly critical to the success of modern-day planning and control efforts, the issue of information security is also a very real concern. Suppliers can benefit from gaining access to a customer's dispatch list and material requirements plan (MRP) in order to determine real-time priority of jobs in queue at various work centers within their own organization. Other customer information, however, should remain secure and unavailable to supplier firms for competitive reasons such as threat of forward integration. This paper presents a previously tested priority-sequencing rule that explicitly considers downstream shop conditions in determining which job to run next The rule proves to perform well on mean flow time and lateness as well as on variability of these measures. The rule is extended here to incorporate the case where a downstream work center is outside official corporate boundaries. With the call for free exchange of information comes the threat of other, perhaps proprietary, information being accessed by vendors or others outside the official corporate boundaries. The paper will propose information that should be freely exchanged between customers and suppliers and information that should remain secure. Finally, practical measures to manage access to web-enabled ERP information will be proposed.
The impact of cultural patterns on cognition and intention in Singapore.

Ethnicity of models used in advertisements and the advertised product's country of origin are manipulated experimentally to study how attitudes toward advertising and products lead to behavioral intention. A sample of Singaporean students' traditional Eastern values about family and conformity are also examined. Patterns of results for three products are consistent with theoretical predictions of cognitive processes, and attitude-intention links appear stronger than do those in similar tests in the West. Culture has mixed effect.
Sara, A Social Phobia Client with Sudden Change After Exposure Exercises in Intensive Cognitive-Behavior Group Therapy: A Case-Based Analysis of Mechanisms of Change

This case study deals with Sara, a 37-year-old social phobic woman who suffered from a primary fear of blushing as well as comorbid disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and spider phobia. The client was treated in an intensive, one-week group cognitive-behavioral therapy program in an educational university clinic in Aarhus, Denmark. She achieved a remarkable and durable change in her longstanding social phobia after two in-session behavioral experiments conducted during the third and fourth days of the program. After treatment, the client was interviewed about her sudden gain, and she read and commented on the case study report. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the micro-level mechanisms of change for this particular client, and thereby illustrate the prospects of pragmatic case studies in meticulous process research focusing on one of the most intricate problems in psychotherapy: how does treatment work.
Cardiac and electrophysiological responses to valid and invalid feedback in a time-estimation task

This study investigated the cardiac and electrophysiological responses to feedback in a time-estimation task in which feedback-validity was manipulated. Participants across a wide age range had to produce 1 s intervals followed by positive and negative feedback that was valid or invalid (i.e., related or unrelated to the preceding time estimate). Performance results showed that they processed the information provided by the feedback. Negative feedback was associated with a transient cardiac slowing only when feedback was valid. Correct adjustments after valid negative feedback were associated with a more pronounced cardiac slowing. Validity did not affect the feedback-related negativity (FRN), except when remedial action was taken into account. The FRN and cardiac response to feedback decreased with advancing age, but performance did not. The current pattern of findings was interpreted to suggest that the FRN and cardiac response signal “alert” and that the cardiac response, but not the FRN, is implicated.
Human macrophages synthesize type VIII collagen in vitro and in the atherosclerotic plaque

Type VIII collagen is a short‐chain collagen that is present in increased amounts in atherosclerotic lesions. Although the physiological function of this matrix protein is unclear, recent data suggest an important role in tissue remodeling. Type VIII collagen in the atherosclerotic lesion is mainly derived from smooth muscle cells. We now show that macrophages in the atherosclerotic vessel wall and monocytes in adjacent mural thrombi also express type VIII collagen. We demonstrated this using a novel combined fluorescence technique that simultaneously stains, within the same tissue section, specific RNAs by in situ hybridization and proteins by indirect immunofluorescence. In culture, human monocyte/macrophages expressed type VIII collagen at all time points from1 h to 3 wk after isolation. Western blotting and immunoprecipitation also revealed secretion of type VIII collagen into the medium of 14‐day‐old macrophages. Because this is the first report of secretion of a collagen by macrophages, we tested the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon γ, substances that stimulate macrophages to secrete lytic enzymes, on macrophage expression of type VIII collagen. LPS and interferon γ decreased expression of type VIII collagen. By contrast, secretion of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP 1) was increased, indicating a switch from a collagen‐producing to a degradative phenotype. Double in situ hybridization studies of expression of type VIII collagen and MMP 1 in human coronary arteries showed that in regions important for plaque stability, the ratio of MMP 1 RNA to macrophage type VIII collagen RNA varies widely, indicating that the transition from one phenotype to the other that we observed in vitro may also occur in vivo. —Weitkamp, B. , Cullen, P., Plenz, G. , Robenek, H. , Rauterberg, J. Human macrophages synthesize type VIII collagen in vitro and in the atherosclerotic plaque. FASEB J. 13, 1445–1457 (1999)
Maternal Influences on Early IQ Scores

In recent years considerable effort has been exerted toward evaluating the factors determining the development of intellectual abilities (2, 3, 5 , 9, 10). Many of these efforts were concerned with either the degree to which intelligence was a reflection of environmental experiences or the unfolding of hereditary potential. The present status of this literature is essentially equivocal. The current consensus among psychologists is that hereditary and environmental variables interact in determining intellectual abilities. However, recognition that both of these variables contribute to intelligence test performance does not provide us with information about the developmental processes that influence the acquisition of intellectual abilities. A number of recent studies have investigated the relationships among more specific variables that seem functionally related to intelligence test performance. Sontag, Baker, and Nelson ( 11 ), in a recent monograph, reported a positive relationship between a child's aggressive and competitive behavior and increases in IQ during the years six through ten. Kagan, Sontag, Nelson, and Baker ( 7 ) found that IQ increase was positively correlated with the frequency of TAT achievement stories. These two studies attempted to relate the individual's motive states to his intellectual performance. The purpose of the present investigation was to add a new dimension to this recent body of research. Specifically, this study was concerned with the influence of early maternal encouragement of intellectual development on the child's IQ score. The major hypothesis was that maternal concern with a child's early achievement and development would be positively related to the child's intelligence test performance. This hypothesis was investigated initially with a pilot sample (Study A) and was repeated with a larger, independent sample (Study B ) .
The Status of Tenured Faculty Evaluation in the Community College

Widespread attention has been directed recently to examining effective ways to measure student learning and curricular outcomes within the two-year college sector. This clamor for accountability extends also across institutional operations and encompasses measures of faculty effectiveness. Research alerts us to the facts that the percentage of tenured faculty nationwide is high; the modal age of tenured faculty is on the rise; faculty report feeling severely limited in terms of career mobility and are experiencing an erosion of job satisfaction (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1985). In short, faculty seem to be staying at institutions longer but are not experiencing an attendant sense of fulfillment and creative excitement. Such revelations beg the question of how institutional quality will be sustained and nourished if these perceived realities pervade our campuses. It is against these dynamics that some in the field call for attention to how well we deal with the performance and developmental needs of faculty and, most particularly, with those of tenured faculty (Andrews, 1985; Bennett & Chater, 1984; Olswang & Fantel, 1980-81; Licata, 1986, 1987). The National Commission on Higher Education issues (1982) identified post-tenure evaluation as one of the most pressing needs facing higher education in the next decade and urged campus administrators to develop appropriate periodic review systems. How well have we heeded this call? It is difficult to assess, because the literature provides scant information on institutional practices and responses to the notion of reviewing tenured faculty. We do know, however, that the majority of those who publicly support such review do so convinced that such review should be of a formative nature aimed at growth and development, rather than for purposes of reprimand or revocation of tenure (Bennett & Chater, 1984; Chait and Ford, 1982; Licata, 1986, 1987). Notwithstanding, equally vocal and persuasive have been those who oppose such reviews. The reasons for opposition include the belief that the traditional procedures for assessing tenured faculty already in operation on campuses (i.e., promotion process, sabbatical determinations, etc.) are satisfactory
Homeostatic Lymphoid Chemokines Synergize with Adhesion Ligands to Trigger T and B Lymphocyte Chemokinesis1

Homeostatic chemokines such as CCL19, CCL21, and CXCL13 are known to elicit chemotaxis from naive T and B cells and play a critical role in lymphocyte homing to appropriate zones within secondary lymphoid organs (SLO). Here we tested whether CCL21 and CXCL13 modulate murine lymphocyte motility in the absence of concentration gradients, using videomicroscopy to directly observe the migration of single cells. CCL21 treatment of T cells induced rapid polarization and sustained random migration with average speeds of 5.16 ± 2.08 μm/min; B cell migration (average velocity 4.10 ± 1.58 μm/min) was similarly induced by CXCL13. Migration required the presence of both chemokine and adhesion ligands and was sustained for >24 h. Furthermore, in in vitro assays modeling the relative infrequency of Ag-specific T cell-dendritic cell (DC) encounters during primary immune responses, we found that CCL21 addition to T-DC cocultures accelerated the kinetics of CD69 up-regulation and enhanced by 2-fold the proliferation of Ag-specific T cells in a manner dependent on G-protein-coupled receptor signaling in T cells. These results suggest that homeostatic chemokines could substantially impact the dynamics and priming of lymphocytes within SLO even in the absence of significant concentration gradients.
An Examination of Perceived Corporate Citizenship, Job Applicant Attraction, and CSR Work Role Definition

Recent perspectives on corporate social responsibility (CSR) have called for increased research on how CSR affects individuals. Research is needed to examine whether individual differences affect the relationship between CSR and individual reactions to CSR. In response, this experimental study examined how perceptions of corporate citizenship influence job applicant attraction and work role definitions. Personal values and education concerning CSR are considered as interactive factors affecting the influence of perceptions of corporate citizenship. Results indicate that perceived corporate citizenship had a greater impact on job applicant attraction for those individuals who received prior education regarding CSR and for those who were higher in other-regarding value orientation. Furthermore, perceived corporate citizenship had a positive impact on the extent to which participants defined CSR as a personal work role responsibility. The authors also discuss the practical implications of these results for job applicant attraction and employee socialization.
Do the Static-99 and Static-99R Perform Similarly for White, Black, and Latino Sexual Offenders?

The Static-99 is the most widely used sex offender risk assessment measure in the world, but predictive effects for the Static-99 have been relatively low in several U.S. samples, particularly in states with high levels of racial or ethnic diversity. The current study uses data from one of the largest predictive validity studies of Static-99 in the U.S. to examine whether Static-99 and Static-99R scores predict recidivism similarly for White (n = 912), Black (n = 411), and Latino (n = 588) offenders. Although predictive effects with both measures were, at times, large enough to reach statistical significance for White and Black offenders, they were never large enough to reach significance for Latino offenders. On the Static-99R, the measure recommended for use in practice, AUC values ranged from . 62 to . 69 (d = .43 to .71) for Black offenders, . 59 to . 65 (d = .33 to .56) for White offenders, but only . 56 to . 58 (d = .17 to .33) for Latino offenders. Findings have implications for fairness in testing and highlight the need for continued research regarding the potentially moderating role of offender race/ethnicity in risk research.