Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Turkish EFL Learners’ Attributions for Success and Failure in Speaking English

This study aims to investigate Turkish EFL learners’ attributions for success and failure in speaking English, and to find out whether gender and department variables exert any impact on their attributions. The attributions were analyzed and compared in terms of the four dimensions: locus of causality, external control, stability and personal control. The data were gathered through Causal Dimensions Scale adapted to Turkish by Kocyigit (2011). The sample consisted of 104 tertiary EFL students studying one-year-long English in the preparatory program of a state university. Descriptive statistics were utilized to analyze the emergent data as well as independent samples T-tests and ANOVA to test significance between/among the variables. The results indicated that personal controllability and internal reasons—a lot more apparent in attributions for success than for failure though—were the two leading factors which were ascribed to both success and failure in speaking English. In addition, the students’ attributions for failure tended to be less stable and more externally controllable in comparison to success. The gender variable had no significant effect on attributions for success and failure. With reference to the department variable, a significant difference was observed not in the attributions for success but those for failure, and only between English language teaching and Civil aviation management departments, in terms of locus of causality dimension.
Measure of Global Specialization and Spatial Clustering for the Identification of "Specialized" Agglomeration

The intensity of regional specialization in specific activities, and conversely, the level of industrial concentration in specific locations, has been used as a complementary evidence for the existence and significance of externalities. Additionally, economists have mainly focused the debate on disentangling the sources of specialization and concentration processes according to three vectors: natural advantages, internal, and external scale economies. The arbitrariness of partitions plays a key role in capturing these effects, while the selection of the partition would have to reflect the actual characteristics of the economy. Thus, the identification of spatial boundaries to measure specialization becomes critical, since most likely the model will be adapted to different scales of distance, and be influenced by different types of externalities or economies of agglomeration, which are based on the mechanisms of interaction with particular requirements of spatial proximity. This work is based on the analysis of the spatial aspect of economic specialization supported by the manufacturing industry case. The main objective is to propose, for discrete and continuous space: i) a measure of global specialization; ii) a local disaggregation of the global measure; and iii) a spatial clustering method for the identification of specialized agglomerations.
Structure of Staphylococcus aureus adenylosuccinate lyase (PurB) and assessment of its potential as a target for structure-based inhibitor discovery

The 2.5 Å resolution structure of S. aureus adenylosuccinate lyase is reported and compared with those of orthologues to assess its potential as a template for early stage drug discovery. AMP and a putative assignment of oxalate, the latter an artefact possibly arising from an impurity in the PEG used for crystallization, occupy the active site.
The interstellar environment of our galaxy

This article reviews the current knowledge and understanding of the interstellar medium of our galaxy. The author first presents each of the three basic constituents\char22{}ordinary matter, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields\char22{}of the interstellar medium, with emphasis on their physical and chemical properties as inferred from a broad range of observations. The interaction of these interstellar constituents, both with each other and with stars, is then discussed in the framework of the general galactic ecosystem.
Paired Burst Stimulation Causes GABAA Receptor-Dependent Spike Firing Facilitation in CA1 of Rat Hippocampal Slices

The theta oscillation (4–8 Hz) is a pivotal form of oscillatory activity in the hippocampus that is intermittently concurrent with gamma (25–100 Hz) burst events. In in vitro preparation, a stimulation protocol that mimics the theta oscillation, theta burst stimulation (TBS), is used to induce long-term potentiation. Thus, TBS is thought to have a distinct role in the neural network of the hippocampal slice preparation. However, the specific mechanisms that make TBS induce such neural circuit modifications are still unknown. Using electrophysiology and voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI), we have found that TBS induces augmentation of spike firing. The augmentation was apparent in the first couple of brief burst stimulation (100 Hz four pulses) on a TBS-train in a presence of NMDA receptor blocker (APV 50 μM). In this study, we focused on the characterizes of the NMDA independent augmentation caused by a pair of the brief burst stimulation (the first pair of the TBS; paired burst stimulation-PBS). We found that PBS enhanced membrane potential responses on VSDI signal and intracellular recordings while it was absent in the current recording under whole-cell clamp condition. The enhancement of the response accompanied the augmentation of excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) to spike firing (E-S) coupling. The paired burst facilitation (PBF) reached a plateau when the number of the first burst stimulation (priming burst) exceeds three. The interval between the bursts of 150 ms resulted in the maximum PBF. Gabazine (a GABAA receptor antagonist) abolished PBF. The threshold for spike generation of the postsynaptic cells measured with a current injection to cells was not lowered by the priming burst of PBS. These results indicate that PBS activates the GABAergic system to cause short-term E-S augmentation without raising postsynaptic excitability. We propose that a GABAergic system of area CA1 of the hippocampus produce the short-term E-S plasticity that could cause exaggerated spike-firing upon a theta-gamma activity distinctively, thus making the neural circuit of the CA1 act as a specific amplifier of the oscillation signal.
Oligopoly in Advertiser-supported Media

In this article advertiser supported media, such as television, are analyzed as an industry selling audiences to advertisers. A simple stylized model is used to demonstrate that increased competition leads to less of a price decline (in extreme cases, maybe even a price increase) than would be expected in other industries. This arises because audience diversion introduces terms similar to conjectural variations in equilibrium output. Further, in this model, it is shown that if greater competition makes advertisers better off, it makes media consumers worse off and vice versa. The extension to mixed subscriber-advertiser supported media is demonstrated to lead to similar, albeit attenuated, conclusions.
A Single Word is not Enough: Ranking Multiword Expressions Using Distributional Semantics

We present a new unsupervised mechanism, which ranks word n-grams according to their multiwordness. It heavily relies on a new uniqueness measure that computes, based on a distributional thesaurus, how often an n-gram could be replaced in context by a single-worded term. In addition with a downweighting mechanism for incomplete terms this forms a new measure called DRUID. Results show large improvements on two small test sets over competitive baselines. We demonstrate the scalability of the method to large corpora, and the independence of the measure of shallow syntactic filtering.
Growing Up in the Digital Age: Early Learning and Family Media Ecology

Media is so pervasive that it should no longer be considered a nuisance variable that could affect development; rather, it should be seen as a fundamental part of the context in which development occurs. Despite the rapid growth in access to digital media, there is a scarcity of research examining changes in the family media ecology and the subsequent effects of early media exposure on sociocognitive development. Early research was erroneously focused on the absolute amount of exposure by the child. Current research now considers the entire household, including both intentional exposure to child-directed content and unintended exposure to background media sources. Such research demonstrates that young children can and do learn from well-designed media, particularly when they engage with other people during digital play.
Rapid Radiations and the Race to Redundancy: An Investigation of the Evolution of Australian Elapid Snake Venoms

Australia is the stronghold of the front-fanged venomous snake family Elapidae. The Australasian elapid snake radiation, which includes approximately 100 terrestrial species in Australia, as well as Melanesian species and all the world’s true sea snakes, may be less than 12 million years old. The incredible phenotypic and ecological diversity of the clade is matched by considerable diversity in venom composition. The clade’s evolutionary youth and dynamic evolution should make it of particular interest to toxinologists, however, the majority of species, which are small, typically inoffensive, and seldom encountered by non-herpetologists, have been almost completely neglected by researchers. The present study investigates the venom composition of 28 species proteomically, revealing several interesting trends in venom composition, and reports, for the first time in elapid snakes, the existence of an ontogenetic shift in the venom composition and activity of brown snakes (Pseudonaja sp.). Trends in venom composition are compared to the snakes’ feeding ecology and the paper concludes with an extended discussion of the selection pressures shaping the evolution of snake venom.
Competitive Effects of Means-Tested School Vouchers

We study the effects of private school competition on public school students' test scores in the wake of Florida's Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program, now known as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which offered scholarships to eligible low-income students to attend private schools. Specifically, we examine whether students in schools that were exposed to a more competitive private school landscape saw greater improvements in their test scores after the introduction of the scholarship program, than did students in schools that faced less competition. The degree of competition is characterized by several geocoded variables that capture students' ease of access to private schools, and the variety of nearby private school options open to students. We find that greater degrees of competition are associated with greater improvements in students' test scores following the introduction of the program; these findings are robust to the different variables we use to define competition. These findings are not an artifact of pre-policy trends; the degree of competition from nearby private schools matters only after the announcement of the new program, which makes nearby private competitors more affordable for eligible students. We also test for several moderating factors, and find that schools that we would expect to be most sensitive to competitive pressure see larger improvements in their test scores as a result of increased competition.
Predicting Self-Initiated Marijuana Use Cessation among Youth at Continuation High Schools

The current article reports a large scale study of the prediction of marijuana use cessation among individuals attending alternative high schools who were regular users at baseline. Based on the Triadic Influence Theory, predictors of marijuana use cessation at 1-year follow-up were organized by type of influence (e.g., interpersonal, cultural and attitudinal, and intrapersonal) and level of influence (e.g., distal and ultimate). Among the 522 students who were past 30-day marijuana users at baseline, quitting was defined as having not used marijuana in the last 30 days at 1-year follow-up (43% of baseline users). To account for the level of influence we employed a theory-based analytic strategy, hierarchical regression. In the final multivariate model, lower level of baseline marijuana use and less of a likelihood to endorse pro-drug-use myths remained predictors of marijuana use cessation 1-year later. Implications of these findings include the need to develop cessation programs that reduce psychological dependence on marijuana use, and correct cognitive misperceptions about drug use in order to help adolescents make decisions that lead to health-promoting behaviors.
Enhancing Student Motivation in Secondary School Mathematics Courses: A Methodological Approach

In this paper, a teaching experience carried out within the framework of the subject of mathematics is presented. This subject is taught at several levels in secondary schools. In addition to some specific content related with mathematics (percentages, fractions, graphics, and bank interest), the methodology is designed in order to enhance the development of transversal skills (e.g., oral exposition, poster design and presentation, the analysis of social inequalities, etc.). Survey results based on the responses from over 110 students across four consecutive years, as well as the teacher’s self-assessment, indicate that the proposed methodology enhanced the students’ motivation and was helpful for developing mathematical content in a more pleasant way than in a conventional class based on a master class and problem-solving class.
A new waveform enabling enhanced QAM-FBMC systems

Multiple filter-banks enable QAM transmission and reception in filter-bank multi-carrier (FBMC) systems. In this paper, we propose a new method to design a set of simultaneously used base filters for QAM-FBMC by optimizing the trade-off between spectrum confinement and self-interference. The increased freedom in multiple base filter designs brings merits of a tailor-made spectrum confinement and desirable bit error performance simultaneously. Simulations results show the superiority of the proposed QAM-FBMC systems to other post-OFDM waveform candidates.
Estimating suspended sediment concentration using neural differential evolution (NDE), multi layer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function (RBF) models

Sediment transport has attracted the attention of engineers from various aspects and different methods have been used for its estimation. So, several experimental equations have been submitted by experts. Though the results of these methods have considerable differences with each other and with experimental observations, because the sediment measures have some limits, these equations can be used in estimating sediment load. With regard to the fact that Givichay River has high sediment production in the region, it is chosen as the study area. This river is one of the Qezeuzan River branches and through this river it joins to the Sefidrud River. Sefidrud dam is one of the most sediment receiver dams in the world and now more than half of the dam capacity has been filled with sediment. With regard to the fact that there are not enough sediment measure stations in this region, therefore different methods have been used. In this study, neural differential evolution (NDE) models are proposed to estimate suspended sediment concentration. NDE models are improved by combining two methods, neural networks and differential evolution. In the first part of the study, NDE model is trained using daily river flow and suspended sediment data belonging to Givi Chay River in northwest of Iran and various combinations of current daily stream flow and past daily stream flow, suspended sediment data are used as inputs to the NDE model so as to estimate current suspended sediment. In the second part of the study, the suspended sediment estimations provided by NDE model are compared with multi layer perceptron (MLP), radial basis function (RBF) and sediment rating curves (SRC) results. The Root mean squared error (RMSE) and the determination coefficient (R2) are used as comparison criteria. Obtained results demonstrate that NDE are in good agreement with the observed suspended sediment concentration; while they depict better results than RBF, MLP and SRC methods. For example, in Givi Chay River station, the determination coefficient (R2) is 0.9621 for NDE model, while it is 0.9114, 0.90 and 0.8447 for RBF, MLP and SRC models, respectively. However, for the estimation of maximum sediment peak, the NDE was mostly found to be better than the RBF and the other techniques. The results also indicate that the NDE may provide better performance than the RBF, MLP and SRC in the estimation of the total sediment load (Re = -26%). Key words: Givi Chay River, neural differential evolution, multi-layer perceptron model,radial basis function, sediment rating curves.
Benefits of Combined Mental and Physical Training in Learning a Complex Motor Skill in Basketball

Previous research in sport psychology and rehabilitation suggests that training with motor imagery (mental practice) is a potentially effective strategy to improve motor performance. The goal of the present study was to investigate the benefits of combining mental and physical training in learning a complex motor skill in basketball (the lay-up shot). To this end, sixty female university students were randomly assigned to either mental practice with physical training, or physical training alone. Motor performance was assessed before and after a four-week training period. To assess motor learning performance, a video analysis was carried out by three independent raters on the motor task before and after the training in both conditions. Results showed that mental practice condition improved coordination and movement accuracy, suggesting the potential effectiveness of this approach in training complex motor skills; furthermore, findings indicate the feasibility and accuracy of using video-based analysis of movement in the assessment of motor performance improvements.
Risk, discretion, accountability and control: Police perceptions of sex offender risk management policy in England and Wales

This article argues that understanding current approaches to sex offender risk management and its operationalization must account for front line situational decision-making practices and the culture from which they develop and operate. The research utilizes a mixed-methods approach, combining an online questionnaire survey (N = 227) with a series of semi-structured interviews (N = 27) with members of the police service of England and Wales. Analysis identifies ambivalence about the effectiveness of the current system of categorizing sex offenders and suggests concerns about accountability and a lack of resources results in discretion being used to engage with but also negotiate policy in practice. The article suggests that the task for sex offender risk management is to create classification tools that work with this discretion rather than against it.
Surviving a Boundaryless Creative Career

Previous research has examined how mobility and career competencies influence success in boundaryless careers. In this study, we flip the direction of those relationships and we explore how the interplay between success and failure relates to subsequent mobility, career competencies, and career evolution through the life span. Using a biographical design, we conceptualize success and failure as critical moments that influence the unfolding of the boundaryless careers of Oscar-nominated film directors. While the dominant metaphors of boundaryless careers are those of “paths,” “ladders,” “trajectories,” and “plateaus,” our findings suggest a new metaphor: the roller coaster.
Bone cement product and failure in total knee arthroplasty

Background and purpose — The bone cement market for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Norway has been dominated by a few products and distributors. Palacos with gentamicin had a market share exceeding 90% before 2005, but it was then withdrawn from the market and replaced by new slightly altered products. We have compared the survival of TKAs fixated with Palacos with gentamicin with the survival of TKAs fixated with the bone cements that took over the market. Patients and methods — Using data from the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register for the period 1997–2013, we included 26,147 primary TKAs in the study. The inclusion criteria were TKAs fixated with the 5 most used bone cements and the 5 most common total knee prostheses for that time period. 6-year Kaplan-Meier survival probabilities were established for each cement product. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the association between bone cement product and revision risk. Separate analyses were performed with revision for any reason and revision due to deep infection within 1 year postoperatively as endpoints. Adjustments were made for age, sex, diagnosis, and prosthesis brand. Results — Survival was similar for the prostheses in the follow-up period, between the 5 bone cements included: Palacos with gentamicin, Refobacin Palacos R, Refobacin Bone Cement R (Refobacin BCR), Optipac Refobacin Bone Cement R (Optipac Refobacin BCR), and Palacos R + G. Interpretation — According to our findings, the use of the new bone cements led to a survival rate that was as good as with the old bone cement (Palacos with gentamicin).
A SPACE-TIME CERTIFIED REDUCED BASIS METHOD FOR BURGERS' EQUATION

We present a space-time certified reduced basis method for Burgers’ equation over the spatial interval (0, 1) and the temporal interval (0, T ] parametrized with respect to the Peclet number. We first introduce a Petrov-Galerkin space-time finite element discretization, which enjoys a favorable inf-sup constant that decreases slowly with Peclet number and final time T . We then consider an hp interpolation-based space-time reduced basis approximation and associated Brezzi-Rappaz-Raviart a posteriori error bounds. We detail computational procedures that permit offline-online decomposition for the three key ingredients of the error bounds: the dual norm of the residual, a lower bound for the inf-sup constant, and the space-time Sobolev embedding constant. Numerical results demonstrate that our space-time formulation provides improved stability constants compared to classical L2-error estimates; the error bounds remain sharp over a wide range of Peclet numbers and long integration times T , unlike the exponentially growing estimate of the classical formulation for high Peclet number cases.