Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examination of teacher–child interactions in early childhood education programmes in the United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT Teacher–child interactions provide an important context for children’s development and learning. The study explored how teacher- and classroom-level factors were associated with quality of teacher–child interactions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We also investigated associations between teacher–child interactions and child outcomes. Teacher–child interactions were observed in 60 kindergarten classrooms using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, for the first time with this population. Pre-academic skills (letter and number knowledge), behavioural regulation (assessed with the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task), and stress response physiology (assessed with salivary cortisol levels) were measured in a sample of 115 five-year-old children, recruited from 22 of the 60 classrooms. Results provided moderate evidence for a three-domain structure of teacher–child interactions. Some differences in the quality of teacher–child interactions were related to teachers’ years of experience. Correlational findings suggest links between quality of emotional support with children’s pre-academic skills and behavioural regulation. Results are also discussed in relation to similar international studies to highlight any unique findings to the UAE context.
Relative Handgrip Strength Is a Simple Indicator of Cardiometabolic Risk among Middle-Aged and Older People: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Taiwan

Background Muscle strength may play an important role in cardiovascular health. The study was intended to evaluate the association between cardiometabolic risk, risk of coronary artery disease and handgrip strength by using the relative handgrip strength. Materials and Methods Data of 927 Taiwanese aged 53 years and older (510 men and 417 women) were retrieved from a nationwide representative population-based cohort cross-sectional study in 2006. All participants were interviewed face-to-face and received measures of anthropometry, dominant handgrip strength, relative handgrip strength (summation of both handgrip strength divided by body mass index) and serum biomarkers. Results Multivariate linear regression analysis showed the significant association between relative handgrip strength and favorable cardiometabolic risk factors including blood pressure, triglyceride, total cholesterol to high density cholesterol(HDL-C) ratio, glycohemoglobin (HbA1c), uric acid, Framingham risk score in men, and HDL-C, fasting glucose, HbA1c, log hsCRP in women. Dominant hand grip strength was only associated with log hsCRP in women. (p<0.05 for all), but was not significant associated with all cardiovascular biomarkers and FRS in both sex. Conclusions Joint with handgrip strength and body size, as relative handgrip strength, may be a better tool to capture conceptual concomitant health, which may be a simple, inexpensive, and easy-to-use tool when targeting cardiovascular health in public health level.
A Method Based on Wavelet Transforms for Source Detection in Photon-counting Detector Images. I. Theory and General Properties

We have developed a method based on wavelet transforms (WTs) to detect sources in astronomical images obtained with photon-counting detectors, such as X-ray images. The WT is a multiscale transform that is suitable for detection and analysis of interesting image features (sources) spanning a range of sizes. This property of the WT is particularly well suited to the case in which the point-spread function is strongly varying across the image, and it is also effective in the detection of extended sources. The method allows one to measure source count rates, sizes, and ellipticity, with their errors. Care has been taken in the assessment of thresholds for detection, in the WT space, at any desired confidence level, through a detailed semianalytical study of the statistical properties of noise in wavelet-transformed images. The method includes the use of exposure maps to handle sharp background gradients produced by a nonuniform exposure across the detector, which would otherwise yield many spurious detections. The same method is applied to evaluate upper limits to the count rate of undetected objects in the field of view, allowing a sensitivity map for each observation to be constructed.
Business models for Serious Games developers - transition from a product centric to a service centric approach

In the context of the serious games industry, up to now the most commonly used BM among developers representing SMEs consists in offering an individual product to the customer, based on tailored one-of a kind production. Such production has high costs and low re-usability and leads to a long time-to-market. For an industry dealing with products highly dependent on technological advances, this implies high risks for failure and thus being put out of business. Consequently, an increasing number of Serious Games developers are struggling to survive. These trends are not specific for the SG development sector, but can actually be observed in several others, like software industry as well as the manufacturing industry, where a transition to less product-oriented BM can be observed. This article is based on an analysis of cases studies to outline how such a transition might be possible also within serious game industry, but also to discuss the threats and opportunities of the transition, both based on case studies as well as on comparison with experiences in other industries
Investment and firm value: an analysis using panel data

This study develops a model in order to study in depth the relationship between investment and firm value. This model is estimated by using panel data methodology, obtaining results for Spanish firms. These results indicate a direct but inversely proportional relationship between the volume of investment and firm value. In addition, the empirical evidence shows that the creation of value persists over the long run, although no distinction is found between firms that announce their investments (divestments) and those that do not. When investment opportunities are introduced into the analysis, results indicate that the creation of value is greater for those firms with valuable investment opportunities. Finally, our results corroborate the free cash flow theory, since there is a decrease in value for investing firms with a high level of free cash flow.
Levitation in Physics

Several physical effects allow free floatation of solid and even liquid matter. Materials may be levitated by a jet of gas, by intense sound waves, or by beams of laser light. In addition, conductors levitate in strong radio-frequency fields, charged particles in alternating electric fields, and magnets above superconductors or vice versa. Although levitation by means of ferromagnets is unstable, supper-conductors may be suspended both above and below a magnet as a result of flux pinning. Levitation is used for containerless processing and investigation of materials, for frictionless bearings and high-speed ground transportation, for spectroscopy of single atoms and microparticles, and for demonstrating superconductivity in the new oxide superconductors.
The Evolution of the Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) for Rainfall Estimation from Passive Microwave Sensors

Abstract This paper describes the latest improvements applied to the Goddard profiling algorithm (GPROF), particularly as they apply to the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Most of these improvements, however, are conceptual in nature and apply equally to other passive microwave sensors. The improvements were motivated by a notable overestimation of precipitation in the intertropical convergence zone. This problem was traced back to the algorithm's poor separation between convective and stratiform precipitation coupled with a poor separation between stratiform and transition regions in the a priori cloud model database. In addition to now using an improved convective–stratiform classification scheme, the new algorithm also makes use of emission and scattering indices instead of individual brightness temperatures. Brightness temperature indices have the advantage of being monotonic functions of rainfall. This, in turn, has allowed the algorithm to better define the uncertainties needed by the sc.
Teacher Video Clubs: A Method for Creating a Mathematical Discourse Community through Collective Reflection

TEACHER VIDEO CLUBS: A METHOD FOR CREATING A MATHEMATICAL DISCOURSE COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLECTIVE REFLECTION by Nancy Jo Schafer Although the reform movement in mathematics education has been very influential within colleges of education and among researchers, it has had less of an effect on mathematics education at the K-12 level (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1999). As a part of the reform movement, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1991) recommends that teachers engage students in mathematical discourse. Given that situated learning theory suggests that reflection, particularly collective reflection, is necessary for professional development (Borko & Putnam, 1998; Lave & Wenger, 1991), this study examined the use of teacher video clubs as a space in which novice teachers can publicly and collectively reflect on ways to create productive mathematical discourse communities within their elementary classrooms. This study advances prior research by using teacher video clubs as a tool for enhancing mathematical discourse communities among novice teachers who facilitate video club sessions. This mixed-methods study examines (a) video club teacher-to-teacher discourse around teaching mathematics by using qualitative comparative analysis, (b) elementary students’ mathematical discourse in a case study of one video club member’s classroom by diagramming and coding classroom discourse, and (c) teachers’ (video-club group vs. traditional-coaching group) specialized content knowledge and reform beliefs measured by Teachers’ Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics Survey (Ball, Hill, Rowan, & Schilling, 2002) and Elementary Teacher’s Commitment to Mathematical Education Reform (Ross, McDougall, Hogaboam-Gray, & LeSage, 2003) respectively. The main findings are: (a) Teacher-to-teacher discourse focused of pedagogical issues across all video club session, but changes in later video club sessions to include questioning of goals and authority. Analysis of the discourse also reveal three possible affordances of video club participation: noticing, encouragement, and alternative ideas and strategies; (b) Classroom discourse became increasingly more horizontal and students increased initiation of discourse topics; and (c) As a group, video club members’ specialized content knowledge of students and content was found to be marginally significant over the traditional coaching group. No group difference was found in reform beliefs between the two groups. This study shows that video clubs have promising potential as an approach to professional development for the implementation of reform initiatives. TEACHER VIDEO CLUBS: A METHOD FOR CREATING A MATHEMATICAL DISCOURSE COMMUNITY THROUGH COLLECTIVE REFLECTION by Nancy Jo Schafer
Assessing test-driven development at IBM

In a software development group of IBM Retail Store Solutions, we built a non-trivial software system based on a stable standard specification using a disciplined, rigorous unit testing and build approach based on the test-driven development (TDD) practice. Using this practice, we reduced our defect rate by about 50 percent compared to a similar system that was built using an ad-hoc unit testing approach. The project completed on time with minimal development productivity impact. Additionally, the suite of automated unit test cases created via TDD is a reusable and extendable asset that will continue to improve quality over the lifetime of the software system. The test suite will be the basis for quality checks and will serve as a quality contract between all members of the team.
Native-mode ATM in FreeBSD: Experience and Performance

We describe our experience in porting a native-mode ATM protocol stack from Plan 9 to the FreeBSD operating system. We discuss problems with implementing: (a) in-kernel locks, (b) a lightweight task scheduler, (c) burst and cell-level smoothing, and (d) user-kernel communication, and present a number of techniques to work around de(cid:12)ciencies in the FreeBSD kernel. Our performance results are comparable to that achieved with high-end workstations, but at a fraction of the cost: a user-to-user latency of 650 microseconds for small messages, and an end-to-end throughput of over 54 Mbps with reliable service.
Protecting cells by protecting their vulnerable lysosomes: Identification of a new mechanism for preserving lysosomal functional integrity upon oxidative stress

Environmental insults such as oxidative stress can damage cell membranes. Lysosomes are particularly sensitive to membrane permeabilization since their function depends on intraluminal acidic pH and requires stable membrane-dependent proton gradients. Among the catalog of oxidative stress-responsive genes is the Lipocalin Apolipoprotein D (ApoD), an extracellular lipid binding protein endowed with antioxidant capacity. Within the nervous system, cell types in the defense frontline, such as astrocytes, secrete ApoD to help neurons cope with the challenge. The protecting role of ApoD is known from cellular to organism level, and many of its downstream effects, including optimization of autophagy upon neurodegeneration, have been described. However, we still cannot assign a cellular mechanism to ApoD gene that explains how this protection is accomplished. Here we perform a comprehensive analysis of ApoD intracellular traffic and demonstrate its role in lysosomal pH homeostasis upon paraquat-induced oxidative stress. By combining single-lysosome in vivo pH measurements with immunodetection, we demonstrate that ApoD is endocytosed and targeted to a subset of vulnerable lysosomes in a stress-dependent manner. ApoD is functionally stable in this acidic environment, and its presence is sufficient and necessary for lysosomes to recover from oxidation-induced alkalinization, both in astrocytes and neurons. This function is accomplished by preventing lysosomal membrane permeabilization. Two lysosomal-dependent biological processes, myelin phagocytosis by astrocytes and optimization of neurodegeneration-triggered autophagy in a Drosophila in vivo model, require ApoD-related Lipocalins. Our results uncover a previously unknown biological function of ApoD, member of the finely regulated and evolutionary conserved gene family of extracellular Lipocalins. They set a lipoprotein-mediated regulation of lysosomal membrane integrity as a new mechanism at the hub of many cellular functions, critical for the outcome of a wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases. These results open therapeutic opportunities by providing a route of entry and a repair mechanism for lysosomes in pathological situations.
A Simple Explanation of Stock Price Behavior in the Long Run: Evidence for Denmark *

Using Danish data for the post-World War II-period, we estimate a simple model for the long-run behavior of stock prices. We find a stable and strong cointegrating relation between stock prices and two macroeconomic “fundamentals” variables, firm profits and the nominal bond rate. Both “fundamentals” are highly significant. Growth in profits drives the long-run trend in stock prices while the bond rate explains the observed large deviations from trend growth. The behavior of the bond rate accounts for the evident split of the Danish stock market into a bearish period before the early 1980s and a subsequent bullish period. Likewise, a decline in the bond rate explains a major part of the large capital gains realized in recent years.
Machine Learning Methods Without Tears: A Primer for Ecologists

Machine learning methods, a family of statistical techniques with origins in the field of artificial intelligence, are recognized as holding great promise for the advancement of understanding and prediction about ecological phenomena. These modeling techniques are flexible enough to handle complex problems with multiple interacting elements and typically outcompete traditional approaches (e.g., generalized linear models), making them ideal for modeling ecological systems. Despite their inherent advantages, a review of the literature reveals only a modest use of these approaches in ecology as compared to other disciplines. One potential explanation for this lack of interest is that machine learning techniques do not fall neatly into the class of statistical modeling approaches with which most ecologists are familiar. In this paper, we provide an introduction to three machine learning approaches that can be broadly used by ecologists: classification and regression trees, artificial neural networks, and evolutionary computation. For each approach, we provide a brief background to the methodology, give examples of its application in ecology, describe model development and implementation, discuss strengths and weaknesses, explore the availability of statistical software, and provide an illustrative example. Although the ecological application of machine learning approaches has increased, there remains considerable skepticism with respect to the role of these techniques in ecology. Our review encourages a greater understanding of machine learning approaches and promotes their future application and utilization, while also providing a basis from which ecologists can make informed decisions about whether to select or avoid these approaches in their future modeling endeavors.
Computational Prediction of O-linked Glycosylation Sites That Preferentially Map on Intrinsically Disordered Regions of Extracellular Proteins

O-glycosylation of mammalian proteins is one of the important posttranslational modifications. We applied a support vector machine (SVM) to predict whether Ser or Thr is glycosylated, in order to elucidate the O-glycosylation mechanism. O-glycosylated sites were often found clustered along the sequence, whereas other sites were located sporadically. Therefore, we developed two types of SVMs for predicting clustered and isolated sites separately. We found that the amino acid composition was effective for predicting the clustered type, whereas the site-specific algorithm was effective for the isolated type. The highest prediction accuracy for the clustered type was 74%, while that for the isolated type was 79%. The existence frequency of amino acids around the O-glycosylation sites was different in the two types: namely, Pro, Val and Ala had high existence probabilities at each specific position relative to a glycosylation site, especially for the isolated type. Independent component analyses for the amino acid sequences around O-glycosylation sites showed the position-specific existences of the identified amino acids as independent components. The O-glycosylation sites were preferentially located within intrinsically disordered regions of extracellular proteins: particularly, more than 90% of the clustered O-GalNAc glycosylation sites were observed in intrinsically disordered regions. This feature could be the key for understanding the non-conservation property of O-glycosylation, and its role in functional diversity and structural stability.
The Information and Wealth Effects of Earnings Surprises in the U.S. Insurance Industry

This study examines the role of information asymmetry on insurer price adjustments in response to earnings surprises and the effects of competing measures of earnings surprises on the value of insurers during 1998–2007. Using the surprise portfolio approach, we find that investors in insurance stocks react to “street earnings” rather than accounting earnings. Our results support the differential information hypothesis that smaller-size insurers, those with higher residuals in daily stock returns, and those followed by fewer analysts convey more information to market participants, generating higher cumulative abnormal returns in response to earnings surprises. In addition, we find that property-casualty insurers with lower asset transparency and life-health insurers with extensive use of reinsurance have more informative earnings announcements.
Hypocretins Regulate the Anxiogenic-Like Effects of Nicotine and Induce Reinstatement of Nicotine-Seeking Behavior

Emerging evidence suggests that the hypocretinergic system is involved in addictive behavior. In this study, we investigated the role of these hypothalamic neuropeptides in anxiety-like responses of nicotine and stress-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking behavior. Acute nicotine (0.8 mg/kg, s.c.) induced anxiogenic-like effects in the elevated plus-maze and activated the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) as revealed by c-Fos expression. Pretreatment with the hypocretin receptor 1 (Hcrtr-1) antagonist SB334867 or preprohypocretin gene deletion blocked both nicotine effects. In the PVN, SB334867 also prevented the activation of corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) neurons, which expressed Hcrtr-1. In addition, an increase of the percentage of c-Fos-positive hypocretin cells in the perifornical and dorsomedial hypothalamic (PFA/DMH) areas was found after nicotine (0.8 mg/kg, s.c.) administration. Intracerebroventricular infusion of hypocretin-1 (Hcrt-1) (0.75 nmol/1 μl) or footshock stress reinstated a previously extinguished nicotine-seeking behavior. The effects of Hcrt-1 were blocked by SB334867, but not by the CRF1 receptor antagonist antalarmin. Moreover, SB334867 did not block CRF-dependent footshock-induced reinstatement of nicotine-seeking while antalarmin was effective in preventing this nicotine motivational response. Therefore, the Hcrt system interacts with CRF and AVP neurons in the PVN and modulates the anxiogenic-like effects of nicotine whereas Hcrt and CRF play a different role in the reinstatement of nicotine-seeking. Indeed, Hcrt-1 reinstates nicotine-seeking through a mechanism independent of CRF activation whereas CRF mediates the reinstatement induced by stress.
Conditionals as Definite Descriptions (A Referential Analysis)

Lewis 1973 observed that his logic for counterfactuals could be applied to definite descriptions. His generalization was that the latter display the same non-monotonic patterns as the former, contrary to what Russellian or Strawsonian accounts would predict. We take Lewis's suggestion literally and suggest that ‘if' should be analyzed as the word ‘the' applied to a description of possible worlds. We do not follow Lewis's own implementation, however, for it entails that definite descriptions do not refer. Rather, we use von Heusinger's Choice Function theory of definiteness to analyze both ‘if p' and ‘the P' as referential terms: ‘if p' denotes the closest p-world(s), while ‘the P' denotes the most salient P-individual(s).
Time-recursive maximum likelihood based sequence estimation for unknown ISI channels

In this paper MLSE (maximum likelihood sequence estimation) is applied to unknown ISI (inter-symbol interference) fast time-varying channels. Assuming a probabilistic model for an FIR channel, a maximum a-posterior (MAP) or ML cost function for the communication symbols is obtained by integration over the channel FIR parameters. A time-recursive (i.e. on-line) sequence estimation algorithm is then identified.