Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Middle School Students' Perceptions, Persistence, and Performance in Mathematical Problem Solving

The purpose of this study was to explore middle school students' (N = 54) perceptions of problem difficulty, persistence, and knowledge and use of problem-solving strategies in solving mathematical word problems. Students identified as learning disabled, average achieving, or gifted were tested individually as they solved six word problems classified as 1-, 2-, or 3-step problems. After the examiner read each problem, the student rated the problem's difficulty on a 1-to-6 scale (very easy to very hard) and then solved the problem. Results indicated that students with learning disabilities rated problems as significantly more difficult and had a significantly lower total word problem score than both average and gifted students. In comparison, average students rated problems as significantly more difficult than gifted students but did not differ significantly on total word problem score. There was no significant difference between students with learning disabilities and average achievers in the length of time they spent solving problems, but both groups took significantly longer than the gifted students. Students with learning disabilities used significantly fewer problem-solving strategies on the two- and three-step problems than both the average and the gifted students, who did not differ. Findings suggest that although students with learning disabilities perceive problems as more difficult than do their more successful peers, they do not spend more time solving problems. Even with greater persistence, however, they would still be at a serious disadvantage compared with better problem solvers because they seem to lack important problem-solving strategies for effective and efficient mathematical problem solving.
THE REQUIREMENT FOR HYDROCORTISONE IN ANTIBODY-FORMING TISSUE CULTIVATED IN SERUM-FREE MEDIUM

It was previously reported from this laboratory that the secondary antibody response can regularly be elicited in vitro from fragments of rabbit lymph node node cultured in Eagle's medium supplemented with normal rabbit serum. Evidence is now presented that physiological levels of hydrocortisone (0.01 to 1.0 µM) can substitute for serum in the culture medium. However, with the omission of serum, serine (0.1 mM) must be included among Eagle's "essential" amino acids for consistent optimal antibody production. In some experiments the addition of insulin (0.5 unit/ml) and vitamin B12 (0.5 µg/ml) has further enhanced the secondary response in this serum-free medium.
Functions of Christian Prayer in the Coping Process

This research project sought to examine the multiple functions that prayer serves in the coping process for members of Christian groups. We used concept mapping to describe and organize a small group of participants' perceptions concerning the functions of prayer when coping with personal difficulties, as well as examined the frequency and perceived effectiveness of these prayer functions. The number and variety of items generated by participants indicates that player can be used in multiple ways to deal with personal problems, inspection of these utems and the resulting concept map yielded three bipolar dimensions that describe a variety of prayer functions. approach/avoidance; internal focus/external focus: and deferring/self-directing. The arrangement of items also corresponded roughly to a three-factor structure found in several existing coping measures. Participants reported that the most effective prayer functions involve seeking guidance and expressing gratitude.
A Specific and Rapid Neural Signature for Parental Instinct

Darwin originally pointed out that there is something about infants which prompts adults to respond to and care for them, in order to increase individual fitness, i.e. reproductive success, via increased survivorship of one's own offspring. Lorenz proposed that it is the specific structure of the infant face that serves to elicit these parental responses, but the biological basis for this remains elusive. Here, we investigated whether adults show specific brain responses to unfamiliar infant faces compared to adult faces, where the infant and adult faces had been carefully matched across the two groups for emotional valence and arousal, as well as size and luminosity. The faces also matched closely in terms of attractiveness. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in adults, we found that highly specific brain activity occurred within a seventh of a second in response to unfamiliar infant faces but not to adult faces. This activity occurred in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), an area implicated in reward behaviour, suggesting for the first time a neural basis for this vital evolutionary process. We found a peak in activity first in mOFC and then in the right fusiform face area (FFA). In mOFC the first significant peak (p<0.001) in differences in power between infant and adult faces was found at around 130 ms in the 10–15 Hz band. These early differences were not found in the FFA. In contrast, differences in power were found later, at around 165 ms, in a different band (20–25 Hz) in the right FFA, suggesting a feedback effect from mOFC. These findings provide evidence in humans of a potential brain basis for the “innate releasing mechanisms” described by Lorenz for affection and nurturing of young infants. This has potentially important clinical applications in relation to postnatal depression, and could provide opportunities for early identification of families at risk.
Participatory Action Research: A Theoretical and Practical Framework for EE

Abstract Four student-led investigations conducted as part of the NSF-funded Explorations from an Aerial Perspective program demonstrate how participatory action research can provide a framework for realizing environmental education goals. Students conducted the investigations–which focused on community land-use issues–in cooperation with teachers, nonformal educators, and community members. On the basis of the results of their research, the students organized activities that engendered positive changes in their local environments.
Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among Nonclinical College Women

This article presents a qualitative study that explored nonsuicidal self-injury among relatively psychologically healthy college women. It examines the phenomenon of self-injury through a social theoretical perspective using Foucault's concepts. Key arguments are that self-injury in women may be a reaction to an insidious form of social control and a reflection of the social pressures for productivity that are enacted on the body. Self-injury may regulate socially unacceptable affects and modify states of the ego so that women can regain their capacity to produce within a competitive and capitalist society. Implications for social work practice are discussed.
Why do people present late with advanced glaucoma? A qualitative interview study

Objective To explore the presentation behaviours and pathways to detection of adults who first presented to UK hospital eye services with severe glaucoma. Design Semistructured interviews, based on models of diagnostic delay, to obtain a descriptive self-reported account of when and how participants’ glaucoma was detected. Results 11 patients participated (five in Aberdeen, six in Huddersfield). Four participants reported that the optometry appointment at which their glaucoma was detected was their first ever eye test or their first for over 10 years. Seven participants reported attending regular routine optometrist appointments. Their self-reported experiences and pathways to detection describe a variety of missed detection opportunities and delayed referral and treatment. Conclusions The qualitative data suggest that late detection of glaucoma can result from delays at the patient level but, although based on a small sample, delays also occurred at the healthcare provider (system) level both in terms of accuracy of case detection and effective referral. We suggest that current attempts to address the significant burden of over-referral of glaucoma suspects to hospital eye services (a large proportion of which are false positives) must also focus on the issue of false negatives and on reducing missed detection and service delays.
Factor reliability analyses of the YSEX? in a sample of women with same-sex attraction

The “Why Have Sex? ” questionnaire (YSEX? ) is a comprehensive research tool developed to provide an organized taxonomy of reasons for engaging in sex for men and women. The measure has been empirically validated and has shown high internal reliability in general samples. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of the YSEX? in a sample of 146 women with same-sex attraction. The questionnaire was completed by women considering motivations for casual sex and sex in a committed relationship with a female partner. Cronbach's alphas were calculated for each of the factors and subfactors of the YSEX? and overall reliability was excellent. Additionally, principal component analyses were conducted to determine if the previously established four-factor structure of the YSEX? could be replicated in this sample. While the four-facture structure accounted for much of the observed variance (79.0% for motivations for casual sex; 71.2% for motivations for sex in a committed relationship), results suggest that a three-factor structure may be more representative of the data, likely due to characteristics of the current sample. Based on the results of the analyses conducted, the YSEX? measure is reliable for women with same-sex attraction considering casual sex and sex in a committed relationship with a female partner.
Major Depression and Mental Health Care Utilization in Canada: 1994 to 2000

Background: Major depression makes an important contribution to disease burden in Canada. In principle, the burden of major depression can be reduced by the provision of treatment within the health care system. In a previous data analysis, the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) reported an increase in antidepressant (AD) use between 1994 and 1998. In this paper, the analysis is extended to 2000, and additional aspects of health care utilization are described. Methods: The NPHS provides a unique source of longitudinal data concerning major depression and its treatment in Canada. In this survey, probable cases of major depression were identified using a brief predictive instrument; health care utilization was evaluated using additional survey items; and the latest data release from Statistics Canada (that is, 2000) was used to make weighted estimates of the frequency of health care utilization in relation to major depression status. Results: The use of ADs has continued to escalate. These increases have been largest in men and in persons aged under 35 years. There has been an increase in polypharmacy: in 2000, almost 9% of persons taking an AD reported taking more than 1 AD medication—a tripling since 1994. The frequency of consultations with alternative practitioners has also grown. Although the overall proportion of persons with major depression who report consulting with health professionals about their mental health has not increased, the number of persons with major depressive disorder reporting 6 or more visits to nurses, social workers, and psychologists may have. Conclusion: The provision of AD treatment continues to expand in Canada. This probably represents a changing pattern of practice, because the frequency of professional consultation has not increased. More detailed data are required to evaluate the extent to which treatment needs are being met.
Strange Couples: Mood Effects on Judgments and Memory about Prototypical and Atypical Relationships

Do feelings have a disproportionate impact on the way we perceive and remember unusual, atypical people? Based on the author's recent Affect Infusion Model (AIM), four experiments found that extended processing recruited by atypical targets significantly enhanced both negative and positive mood effects on judgments (Experiment 1) as well as on memory (Experiment 2). Furthermore, the degree of a typicality was directly related to the size of mood effects (Experiment 3), and a path analysis showed that these greater mood effects were consistently mediated by longer processing latencies (Experiment 4). Consistent with the AIM, these counterintuitive results suggest that longer and more elaborate processing elicited by atypical targets facilitates the infusion of mood primed associations into judgments. The findings are discussed in terms of the role of processing strategies in mood effects on judgments, and the implications for everyday social judgments and memory are considered.
Academic-Centered Peer Interactions and Retention in Undergraduate Mathematics Programs

Peer interactions are a critical component of students' academic success and retention in undergraduate programs. Scholars argue that peer interactions influence students' cognitive development, identity development, self-confidence and self-efficacy, and social and academic integration into the university environment (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980, 1991, 2005). Research shows that reasonable levels of social interactions along with interactions that are academically-centered support students' persistence in undergraduate study (Bank, Slavings, & Biddle, 1990; Liu & Liu, 2000; Loo & Rolison, 1986). While both social and academic interactions among students shape undergraduate learning experiences, these interactions can differentially influence students' academic success and retention in undergraduate education. This study examined the ways first-year students supported their academic success in undergraduate mathematics-based programs by exploring the types of academic-centered peer interactions (ACPIs) in which students engaged both inside and outside of the classroom setting, and the relationship between participation in ACPIs to retention in undergraduate mathematics-based programs.
Encountering Development : The Making and Unmaking of the Third World

Preface to the 2012 Edition vii Preface xlv CHAPTER 1: Introduction: Development and the Anthropology of Modernity 3 CHAPTER 2: The Problematization of Poverty: The Tale of Three Worlds and Development 21 CHAPTER 3: Economics and the Space of Development: Tales of Growth and Capital 55 CHAPTER 4: The Dispersion of Power: Tales of Food and Hunger 102 CHAPTER 5: Power and Visibility: Tales of Peasants, Women, and the Environment 154 CHAPTER 6: Conclusion: Imagining a Postdevelopment Era 212 Notes 227 References 249 Index 275
Efficient Energy Harvesting With Electromagnetic Energy Transducers Using Active Low-Voltage Rectification and Maximum Power Point Tracking

This paper reports on efficient interfacing of typical vibration-driven electromagnetic transducers for micro energy harvesting. For this reason, an adaptive charge pump for dynamic maximum power point tracking is compared with a novel active full-wave rectifier design. For efficient ultra-low voltage rectification, the introduced active diode design uses a common-gate stage in conjunction with supply-independent biasing. While this active rectifier offers low voltage drops, low complexity and ultra-low power consumption, the adaptive charge pump allows dynamic maximum power point tracking with implicit voltage up-conversion. Hence, efficient energy harvesting with high-resistive transducers, e.g., electromagnetic generators, becomes possible even at buffer voltage levels far above actual transducer output voltages. Both interfaces are fully-integrated in a standard 0.35 μm twin-well CMOS process. The designs are optimized for sub-mW transducer power levels and wide supply voltage ranges. Thus, these presented transducer interfaces are particularly suitable for compact micro energy harvesting systems, such as wireless sensor nodes or medical implants. The active diode rectifier achieves efficiencies over 90% at a wide range of input voltage amplitudes of 0.48 V up to 3.3 V. The adaptive charge pump can harvest with a total efficiency of close to 50%, but very independent of the actual buffer voltage. This charge pump starts operating at a supply voltage of 0.8 V, and has an input voltage range of 0.5 V-2.5 V . Finally, results of harvesting from an actual electromagnetic generator prototype are presented.
Membrane thickness and PROM—high‐frequency ultrasound measurements

Premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) is still an unsolved problem in obstetrics. Neither prevention nor diagnosis nor therapy is readily available. The amniotic sac is stabilized mechanically by a dense network of collagenous fibres; in the event of PROM, the collagenous mesh is dissolved and the thickness of the amniotic sac is reduced. In a prospective study involving 32 patients, we measured the thickness of the membranes in vitro by high‐frequency ultrasound and by light microscopy of histological sections, between gestational weeks 28 and 32. We compared 18 patients with premature rupture of the amnio‐chorionic membrane with 14 patients following induction of labour, with intact membranes at the same gestational age in vitro. We were able to show that the membrane in the PROM group (0·54±0·9 mm) was markedly thinner with fewer collagenous fibres than in the control group (0·74±1·01 mm). The application of high‐frequency ultrasound in vivo in PROM may become helpful for the prediction of PROM; further studies are therefore desirable. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Role of the Liberal Arts College: A Historical Overview of the Debates.

The free-standing liberal arts colleges and the university-based liberal arts colleges have been placed increasingly on the defensive over the past decade as study in professional and more applied fields has become more attractive to postsecondary students and as the more traditional outlets for graduates of liberal arts colleges have become limited. The free-standing colleges in particular have been challenged. In 1977 Henry Steele Commager asked, "Can the American college survive? ," and used the generic term "college" to apply to freestanding liberal arts colleges. He answered his own question by stating that "the college is in trouble" and that it is "having both an identity crisis and a financial crisis. " He asked whether the college could "extricate itself from these troubles which now underlie its prosperity and imperil its existence" [16]. Commager's voice is but one among many that has raised questions about the future of the liberal arts college. The 1980 edition of Conditions of Education, the annual publication of the National Center for Education Statistics, estimated that as many as 200 small, private liberal arts institutions would close their doors in the 1980s [19]. The National Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities identified 141 colleges, including branch campuses, that had closed during the 1970s. Out of this group, 57 were four-year colleges, although most enrolled five hundred or fewer students [30]. The most gloomy estimate of 1980 was that of Ira Winn, who said that as many as "500 small colleges of the liberal tradition are at or near the financial brink" [51].
School Expansion in Tanzania: Private Initiatives and Public Policy

In much of Africa, as elsewhere in the Third World, education is the most prominent public policy arena. A large percentage of the population, a substantial portion of the annual national budget, and a good deal of the foreign assistance are all involved in education. Education policy is necessarily very political in its effect and therefore in its specification. This most prominent of public policies, however, has distinctly private dimensions.
Neural Networks for Optimal Approximation of Smooth and Analytic Functions

We prove that neural networks with a single hidden layer are capable of providing an optimal order of approximation for functions assumed to possess a given number of derivatives, if the activation function evaluated by each principal element satisfies certain technical conditions. Under these conditions, it is also possible to construct networks that provide a geometric order of approximation for analytic target functions. The permissible activation functions include the squashing function (1 ex)1 as well as a variety of radial basis functions. Our proofs are constructive. The weights and thresholds of our networks are chosen independently of the target function; we give explicit formulas for the coefficients as simple, continuous, linear functionals of the target function.
Incretin Therapies in the Management of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Renal Impairment

Abstract Renal impairment (RI) is common among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and these patients also experience an age-related decline in renal function. At the same time, treatment options are more limited and treatment is more complex, particularly in patients with moderate or severe RI due to contraindications, need for dose adjustment and/or regular monitoring, and side effects, such as fluid retention and hypoglycemia, which are a more serious concern in this patient population. Incretin therapies, consisting of the injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and the oral dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, are a promising new class of antihyperglycemic drugs. In the overall population, they improve glycemic control in a glucose-dependent manner and are not likely to cause hypoglycemia, representing a clear advantage in at-risk populations. Data regarding use of these agents in renally impaired patients have started to emerge, and the objective of this article is to provide an overview of the currently available data and the potential role of these novel agents in the management of patients with T2DM and RI. Data for the GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients with moderate or severe RI are still limited, with no trials dedicated to these populations currently published. In addition, their potential to cause gastrointestinal side effects may limit use in patients with RI due to the risk of dehydration and hypovolemia. The use of GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients with moderate or severe RI is therefore, at present, underlying caution and/or restrictions. On the other hand, data from specific trials in patients with moderate or severe RI are now becoming available for most of the DPP-4 inhibitors. These studies demonstrate good efficacy and tolerability of the DPP-4 inhibitors in patients with moderate or severe RI, thus opening a place for these therapies in the treatment of populations with T2DM and RI. Several of the DPP-4 inhibitors are already approved for use in patients with moderate or severe RI, including for those with end-stage renal disease. While discussing the advantages related to their common mechanism of action, this article also describes differences among the DPP-4 inhibitors (eg, related to their pharmacokinetic properties and the available clinical data). In conclusion, while initial data for these new therapies are promising, further experience is needed to fully assess the risk-benefit balance and clinical positioning of these agents in RI populations.