Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Opportunities to Strengthen Academic Readiness: Effects of Summer Learning on Mathematics Achievement

Students who come from low-income backgrounds tend to be underidentified and underserved in gifted education. Early interventions with learners of high potential from underserved groups, including exposure to challenging curriculum and summer opportunities, are important for nurturing these students’ talents and preparing them for advanced learning opportunities in later school years. Project SPARK, based on the Young Scholars model, focuses on recognizing and responding to high-potential learners from underserved populations in the early grades. In this study, we examined the effects on mathematics achievement of participation in a summer program as part of Project SPARK in schools with substantial populations of students in poverty, as demonstrated by percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. We examined summer program effects on achievement for the sample overall and specifically for students from low-income backgrounds. Students who participated in the summer program made moderately larger mathematics achievement gains than students who did not participate, with Cohen’s d-type effect sizes of 0.92. Students who qualified for free or reduced lunch saw similar gains over the summer if they participated in the summer program, indicating that the summer program experience was supportive for students across a range of income backgrounds.
Model checking service compositions under resource constraints

When enacting a web service orchestration defined using the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) we observed various safety property violations. This surprised us considerably as we had previously established that the orchestration was free of such property violations using existing BPEL model checking techniques. In this paper, we describe the origins of these violations. They result from a combination of design and deployment decisions, which include the distribution of services across hosts, the choice of synchronisation primitives in the process and the threading configuration of the servlet container that hosts the orchestrated web services. This leads us to conclude that model checking approaches that ignore resource constraints of the deployment environment are insufficient to establish safety and liveness properties of service orchestrations specifically, and distributed systems more generally. We show how model checking can take execution resource constraints into account. We evaluate the approach by applying it to the above application and are able to demonstrate that a change in allocation of services to hosts is indeed safe, a result that we are able to confirm experimentally in the deployed system. The approach is supported by a tool suite, known as WS-Engineer, providing automated process translation, architecture and model-checking views.
New perspectives on language and gender: Linguistic prescription and compliance in call centres

Abstract Despite a shift to service-based economies, male-dominated, high-status workplaces have been the predominant focus of research into language and gender in the workplace. This study redresses this shortcoming by considering one female-dominated, low-status, highly regimented workplace that is emblematic of the globalized service economy: call centres. Drawing on 187 call centre service interactions, institutional documents, interviews, and observations from call centres in two national contexts, the study employs an innovative combination of quantitative and qualitative discourse-analytic techniques to compare rule compliance of male and female workers. Female agents in both national contexts are found to comply more with the linguistic prescriptions despite managers and agents emphatically denying the relevance of gender. The study offers a new perspective on language and gender, pointing to the need to expand the methodologies and theories currently favoured to understand how language perpetuates occupational segregation in twenty-first-century workplaces. (Call centres, language and gender, new perspectives, male/female differences, globalized service economy)*
Access to Care for U.S. Health Center Patients and Patients Nationally: How Do the Most Vulnerable Populations Fare?

This study examined access to care for uninsured and Medicaid-insured community health center patients in comparison to nonhealth center patients nationally. Using nationally representative data from 2 major surveys in 2002, there was a positive association between seeking care in community health centers and self-reported access to care for both uninsured and Medicaid patients. This suggests that health centers may fill a critical gap in access to care for patients who use their services. Given recent budget cuts to the Medicaid program, health centers remain an important policy option to assure access to care for vulnerable populations.
Knowledge mining for cognitive agents through path based forward checking

The Cognitively Enhanced Complex Event Processing (CECEP) architecture is an autonomous decision support tool that reasons and learns like humans and enables enhanced agent-based decision making. This architecture has applications in both military and civilian domains, including operations research and data mining. One of the most computationally challenging aspects of CECEP is mining domain knowledge captured in cognitive domain ontologies (CDOs). This requires massively linked knowledge databases to be searched based on a large set of constraints to generate intelligent decisions. The solution search for CDOs is a kind of Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP). Due to the unique nature of the CDO-to-CSP mapping, generic constraint solvers are inefficient. We introduce a novel high performance path based forward checking CSP algorithm to solve CDOs and compare it to a commonly utilized CSP solving application. Additionally our approach enables a very compact and efficient representation of the entire solution space to allow fast processing and give agents key ideas on how to further reduce the solution space. The proposed algorithm provided a speedup of about 10-25 times for generating the first solution and about half a million times for all the solutions over a Choco based conventional CSP approach.
Robustness of DTN against routing attacks

In this work, we study robustness of DTN routing in the absence of authentication. We identify conditions for an attack to be effective and present an attack based on a combination of targeted flooding and acknowledgement counterfeiting that is highly effective even with only a small number of attackers. Simulation results show that delivery ratio decrease by 30% to 50% using only 2 attackers for the two mobility patterns studied (Haggle and DieselNet). We observe that minimum hop count for packet delivery has a strong influence on the robustness of the DTN routing protocols. Generally, attacks become increasingly effective when the minimum hop count required increases. Further, use of global routing metadata in the routing protocol also increases attack effectiveness. Our study provides insights to the robustness of routing attacks in different DTNs settings and can be useful to DTN designers who want to choose the appropriate level of security that is needed for their respective scenarios.
Does employees’ subjective well-being affect workplace performance?

This article uses linked employer–employee data to investigate the relationship between employees’ subjective well-being and workplace performance in Britain. The analyses show a clear, positive and statistically significant relationship between the average level of job satisfaction at the workplace and workplace performance. The relationship is present in both cross-sectional and panel analyses and is robust to various estimation methods and model specifications. In contrast, we find no association between levels of job-related affect and workplace performance. Ours is the first study of its kind for Britain to use nationally representative data and it provides novel findings regarding the importance of worker job satisfaction in explaining workplace performance. The findings suggest that there is a prima facie case for employers to maintain and raise levels of job satisfaction among their employees. They also indicate that initiatives to raise aggregate job satisfaction should feature in policy discussions around how to improve levels of productivity and growth.
Nuclear DNA Methylation and Chromatin Condensation Phenotypes Are Distinct Between Normally Proliferating/Aging, Rapidly Growing/Immortal, and Senescent Cells

This study reports on probing the utility of in situ chromatin texture features such as nuclear DNA methylation and chromatin condensation patterns — visualized by fluorescent staining and evaluated by dedicated three-dimensional (3D) quantitative and high-throughput cell-by-cell image analysis — in assessing the proliferative capacity, i.e. growth behavior of cells: to provide a more dynamic picture of a cell population with potential implications in basic science, cancer diagnostics/prognostics and therapeutic drug development. Two types of primary cells and four different cancer cell lines were propagated and subjected to cell-counting, flow cytometry, confocal imaging, and 3D image analysis at various points in culture. Additionally a subset of primary and cancer cells was accelerated into senescence by oxidative stress. DNA methylation and chromatin condensation levels decreased with declining doubling times when primary cells aged in culture with the lowest levels reached at the stage of proliferative senescence. In comparison, immortal cancer cells with constant but higher doubling times mostly displayed lower and constant levels of the two in situ-derived features. However, stress-induced senescent primary and cancer cells showed similar levels of these features compared with primary cells that had reached natural growth arrest. With regards to global DNA methylation and chromatin condensation levels, aggressively growing cancer cells seem to take an intermediate level between normally proliferating and senescent cells. Thus, normal cells apparently reach cancer-cell equivalent stages of the two parameters at some point in aging, which might challenge phenotypic distinction between these two types of cells. Companion high-resolution molecular profiling could provide information on possible underlying differences that would explain benign versus malign cell growth behaviors.
IgG Leakage May Contribute to Neuronal Dysfunction in Drug-Refractory Epilepsies With Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption

Abstract Focal epilepsies are often associated with blood-brain barrier disruption. In 4 entorhinal cortex tissue samples and 13 hippocampal samples from patients with pharmacoresistent temporal lobe epilepsy, we observed immunoglobulin G (IgG) leakage in the parenchyma and IgG-positive neurons that had evidence of neurodegeneration, such as shrinkage and eosinophilia. These findings were not present in samples from 12 nonepileptic control subjects. To complement these findings, we used a rat in vivo model that mimics the development of limbic epilepsy with blood-brain barrier disruption. During epileptogenesis, IgG leakage and neuronal IgG uptake increased concomitantly with the occurrence of seizures. Immunoglobulin G accumulation in neurons was selective, particularly for interneurons and pyramidal neurons. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy showed that IgG uptake in the rat neurons was associated with eosinophilia, shrinkage, and ultrastructural degenerative changes. Moreover, IgG-positive neurons lost their NeuN immunohistochemical staining. Together, these observations suggest that IgG leakage is related to neuronal impairment and may be a pathogenic mechanism in epileptogenesis and chronic epilepsy.
Continuous Occupancy Mapping with Integral Kernels

We address the problem of building a continuous occupancy representation of the environment with ranging sensors. Observations from such sensors provide two types of information: a line segment or a beam indicating no returns along them (free-space); a point or return at the end of the segment representing an occupied surface. To model these two types of observations in a principled statistical manner, we propose a novel methodology based on integral kernels. We show that integral kernels can be directly incorporated into a Gaussian process classification (GPC) framework to provide a continuous non-parametric Bayesian estimation of occupancy. Directly handling line segment and point observations avoids the need to discretise segments into points, reducing the computational cost of GPC inference and learning. We present experiments on 2D and 3D datasets demonstrating the benefits of the approach.
Women Experience Higher Rates of Adverse Events During Hepatitis C Virus Therapy in HIV Infection: A Meta-Analysis

Background:In HIV/ hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection, adverse events (AEs) during HCV therapy account for 12%-39% of treatment discontinuations. It is unknown whether sex influences complications. Methods:Meta-analysis to study the effect of sex and other predictors of AEs in 3 randomized trials, ACTG 5071, APRICOT, and ANRSHCO2-RIBAVIC of Interferon (IFN) and Pegylated IFN (PEG), both with and without Ribavirin, in HIV/HCV coinfection. Primary endpoints were AEs requiring treatment discontinuation (AETD) or first dose modification (AEDM). Multi-covariate stratified logistic regression was used to study predictors and assess interactions with sex. Results:Twenty-one percent of 1376 subjects were women; 61% had undetectable HIV RNA; 14% were antiretroviral (ARV) therapy naive at entry; median CD4 was 485 cells per cubicmillimeter. Seventeen percent had an AETD and 50% AEDM; women had more AETD than men (24% vs. 16% P = 0.003) and AEDM (61% vs. 48% P < 0.0001). AETD and AEDM occurred earlier in women; but the types of AETD and AEDM were similar between sexes. Seventy-four percent of AETDs and 49% of AEDMs involved constitutional AEs; 18% of AETD depression; and 26% of AEDM neutropenia. We identified interactions with sex and body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.04, continuous) and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (P = 0.03); more AETDs were seen in men with lower BMI (P = 0.01) and in women on nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (P = 0.009). More AEDMs were seen with PEG [odds ratio (OR) = 2.07]; older age (OR = 1.48 per 10 years); decreasing BMI (OR = 1.04 per kg/m2); HCV genotype 1, 4 (OR = 1.31); Ishak 5, 6 (OR = 1.42); decreasing Hgb (OR = 1.23 per g/dL); and decreasing absolute neutrophil count (1.04 per 500 cells/mm3). Interactions between sex and ARV-naive status (P = 0.001) and zidovudine (P = 0.001) were identified: There were more AEDMs in ARV-naive women (P = 0.06) and ARV-experienced men (P = 0.001) and higher AEDMs in women with zidovudine (P = 0.0002). Conclusions:Although there was no difference in type of AE, AETD and AEDM were more frequent and occurred earlier in women. In women, ARV regimen may be an important predictor of AETDs during HCV therapy and should be explored as a predictor of AEs in HIV/HCV coinfection trials.
Approximation Algorithms for the Incremental Knapsack Problem via Disjunctive Programming

In the incremental knapsack problem (IK), we are given a knapsack whose capacity grows weakly as a function of time. There is a time horizon of T periods and the capacity of the knapsack is Bt in period t for t = 1,. ,T. We are also given a set S of N items to be placed in the knapsack. Item i has a value of vi and a weight of wi that is independent of the time period. At any time period t, the sum of the weights of the items in the knapsack cannot exceed the knapsack capac- ity Bt. Moreover, once an item is placed in the knapsack, it cannot be removed from the knapsack at a later time period. We seek to maximize the sum of (discounted) knapsack values over time subject to the capac- ity constraints. We first give a constant factor approximation algorithm for IK, under mild restrictions on the growth rate of Bt (the constant factor depends on the growth rate). We then give a PTAS for IIK, the special case of IK with no discounting, when T = O( p log N).
Tracking control of a harmonic drive actuator with sliding-mode disturbance observers

This paper describes the tracking control of a harmonic drive actuator that features flexible transmission with significant torque ripples. The plant is modeled as a flexible-joint mechanism, and a design approach superior to the conventional integrator backstepping design is demonstrated to obtain a nominal controller. To deal with the torque ripples, internal model principle-based sliding-mode disturbance observers (IMP-SDOBs) are designed by incorporating the disturbance model into the SDOB design. Experimental studies on a harmonic drive actuator equipped with a torque sensor are conducted, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed controller/observer structure.
Digit ratio (2D:4D) comparison between competitive age group swimmers and non-athletes

Background. The ratio of the second to the fourth digit length (2D:4D) could have an important role in sport performance. Aims. The aim of the study was to determine the 2D:4D ratio in age group swimmers and to compare them with non-athletes of both genders. Methods. 30 female and 35 male age group swimmers and 34 females and 40 male non-athlete volunteers participated in the study. Non-athletic volunteers were selected from the healthy volunteer subjects without sport activities. The lengths of the index and ring fingers of both hands from the proximal bend of the metacarpophalangeal joint up to the fingertips were measured with digital calipers, and the index-ring finger ratio was determined. The height, weight and body mass index of the age group swimmers and non-athlete volunteers were evaluated. Results were processed with SPSS 20.0. Results. There were significant differences between the age group swimmers and the non-athlete volunteers in terms of the right-hand finger ratio. When the right-hand finger ratio of the female swimmer and non-athlete groups were compared, statistically significant differences were found between the groups. Conclusion. Right hand 2D:4D ratio was an important indicator of success for swimming performance (especially short-distance sprint performance). This could be used as an additional criterion for talent identification in female swimmers.
Mapping the Abundance and Distribution of Adélie Penguins Using Landsat-7: First Steps towards an Integrated Multi-Sensor Pipeline for Tracking Populations at the Continental Scale

The last several years have seen an increased interest in the use of remote sensing to identify the location of penguin colonies in Antarctica, and the estimation of the abundance of breeding pairs contained therein. High-resolution (sub-meter) commercial satellite imagery (e.g., Worldview-1, Quickbird) is capable of colony detection and abundance estimation for both large and small colonies, and has already been used in a continental-scale survey of Adélie penguins. Medium-resolution Landsat imagery has been used successfully to detect the presence of breeding penguins, but has not been used previously for abundance estimation nor evaluated in terms of its minimum colony size detection threshold. We report on the first comprehensive analysis of the performance of these two methods for both detection and abundance estimation, identify the sensor-specific failure modes that can lead to both false positives and false negatives, and compare the abundance estimates of each method over multiple spatial scales. We find that errors of omission using Landsat imagery are low for colonies larger than ∼10,000 breeding pairs. Both high-resolution and Landsat imagery can be used to obtain unbiased estimates of abundance, and while Landsat-derived abundance estimates have high variance for individual breeding colonies relative to estimates derived from high-resolution imagery, this difference declines as the spatial domain of interest is increased. At the continental scale, abundance estimates using the two methods are roughly equivalent. Our comparison of these two methods represents a bridge between the more developed high-resolution imagery, which can be expensive to obtain, and the medium-resolution Landsat-7 record, which is freely available; this comparison of methodologies represents an essential step towards integration of these disparate sources of data for regional assessments of Adélie population abundance and distribution.
Rational Laboratory Diagnostics of Antiphospholipid Antibodies: Anti-Cardiolipin, Anti-β2-Glycoprotein I, Anti-Prothrombin and Anti-Annexin V Antibodies

A possible co-appearance of anticardiolipin (aCL), anti-β2-glycoprotein I (anti-β2-GPI), anti-prothrombin (aPT) and anti-annexin V (aANXV) antibodies of IgG, IgM and IgA class were studied in 58 patients with SLE alone and 32 patients APS in the view of rational laboratory diagnostics. The presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies (aPL) were defined by our in-house ELISA methods. Out of 17 aCL negative SLE patients 6 had other antigenically defined aPL antibodies. In 13 patients only IgA but not IgG and IgM anti-β2GPI were detected. Different combinations of aPL subsets were equally distributed in APS and SLE groups. The prevalence of aANXV were similar in APS and SLE patients which was not the case with other aPL. Our findings support the idea of measuring additional subsets of aPL (aPT and aANXV) in unclear cases. IgA (either aCL or anti-β2-GPI) improved neither the diagnostic specificity nor diagnostic sensitivity, but only increased the frequency of the total anti-β2-GPI.
Comparative perspectives on professionalism and professional development: An exploratory case study of Greek primary school teachers’ perceptions

This paper, which is of comparative interest in professionalism and professional development, reports on Greek primary school teachers’ views on specific aspects of the aforementioned issues. A total of 234 participants provided survey data, using anonymously filled-in questionnaires during the school year 2011–2012. More specifically, by examining teachers’ responses to five parameters of each case, we found out that, regarding professionalism, most teachers tended to score highly the importance of collaboration with their colleagues, parents and students, as well as their pedagogical concern for the students and their achievement. Regarding professional development, the demand for lifelong education and training, and for studying specific educational topics, was underlined. The teachers of our sample highlighted the great contribution of professionalism and professional development in their school routine. Moreover, they were aware of the complexities of professionalism and professional development and they closely related them with their personal development and the quality of their work at school. This survey confirmed that teachers’ professionalism and professional development is a universal phenomenon.