Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Literacy instruction for young children with severe speech and physical impairments: A systematic review

ABSTRACT Children with severe speech and physical impairment who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) present unique challenges in literacy development. Traditional reading instruction has not met these students’ needs. Occupational therapy and speech therapy provide supports to mediate limitations to literacy instruction. A systematic review of 286 articles identified six reporting improvement in emergent literacy and child participation. These articles are synthesized here, offering instructional strategies including modeling AAC use, adapting materials, subvocal rehearsal of words/phonemes, contextual learning, and differentiated instruction. Recommendations for future research include quality outcome measures, dosing clarification, and participation in motivating social interactions during literacy activities.
On the Impossibility of Black-Box Truthfulness Without Priors

We consider the problem of converting an arbitrary approximation algorithm for a singleparameter social welfare problem into a computationally efficient incentive compatible mechanism. We ask for reductions that are black-box, meaning that they require only oracle access to the given algorithm and (in particular) do not require explicit knowledge of the problem constraints. We demonstrate that, while such transformations are known to exist in Bayesian settings of partial information, any computationally efficient transformation that guarantees deterministic ex post incentive compatibility or universal truthfulness must sometimes incur a polynomially large loss in worst-case performance.
Psychometric properties of the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery.

OBJECTIVE The Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (CNB) was designed to measure performance accuracy and speed on specific neurobehavioral domains using tests that were previously validated with functional neuroimaging. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the neuropsychological theory used to construct the CNB by confirming the factor structure of the tests composing it. METHOD In a large community sample (N = 9,138; age range 8-21), we performed a correlated-traits confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multiple exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) on the 12 CNB measures of Efficiency (which combine Accuracy and Speed). We then performed EFAs of the Accuracy and Speed measures separately. Finally, we performed a confirmatory bifactor analysis of the Efficiency scores. All analyses were performed with Mplus using maximum likelihood estimation. RESULTS RESULTS strongly support the a priori theory used to construct the CNB, showing that tests designed to measure executive, episodic memory, complex cognition, and social cognition aggregate their loadings within these domains. When Accuracy and Speed were analyzed separately, Accuracy produced 3 reliable factors: executive and complex cognition, episodic memory, and social cognition, while speed produced 2 factors: tests that require fast responses and those where each item requires deliberation. The statistical "Fit" of almost all models described above was acceptable (usually excellent). CONCLUSIONS Based on the analysis from these large-scale data, the CNB offers an effective means for measuring the integrity of intended neurocognitive domains in about 1 hour of testing and is thus suitable for large-scale clinical and genomic studies.
Examining Differences in Bias Homicide Across Victim Groups

Little is known about how situations of bias homicide might vary dependent upon who is targeted. Drawing from doing difference theory, we comparatively examine several event-level variables for bias homicide involving three different target groups. Data on bias homicide occurring in the United States come from the U.S. Extremist Crime Database (ECDB). Our findings reveal significant differences across bias victim groups, specifically regarding weapon use, location of incidents, victim–offender relationships, and victim and offender demographics. The results of this study have important implications for the theoretical and methodological advancement of empirical research on bias crime and for law enforcement responsible for identifying and investigating bias crimes.
Splitting the Unsupervised and Supervised Components of Semi-Supervised Learning

In this paper we investigate techniques for semi-supervised learning that split their unsupervised and supervised components — that is, an initial unsupervised phase is followed by a supervised learning phase. We first analyze the relative value of labeled and unlabeled data. We then present methods that perform “split” semi-supervised learning and show promising empirical results.
Level 2 Screening With the PDD Behavior Inventory: Subgroup Profiles and Implications for Differential Diagnosis

The PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI) has recently been shown, in a large multisite study, to discriminate well between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other groups when its scores were examined using a machine learning tool, Classification and Regression Trees (CART). Discrimination was good for toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children; generalized across clinical diagnostic sites; and agreed well with Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) classifications. Results also revealed three subtypes of ASD: minimally verbal, verbal, and atypical that differed in developmental history, behavior profiles, and biomedical findings. Seven subtypes of Not-ASD children were identified, two of which were relatively common. Three of the remaining five relatively rare Not-ASD subgroups had highly atypical profiles marked either by extreme aggressiveness or by extreme ritualistic behaviors. PDDBI profiles of these rare subgroups were not previously characterized. In this study, profiles of all CART subgroups based on parent and teacher PDDBIs are described, along with their implications for diagnosis and assessment.
Small fiber neuropathy in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

UNLABELLED The aim of this study was to investigate small myelinated (Adelta) and unmyelinated (C) fiber function in patients with CMT1A and CMTX polyneuropathy. 17 CMT1A and 10 Cx32 polyneuropathy patients were investigated with warm and cold threshold to evaluate small myelinated (Adelta) an unmyelinated (C) somatic fiber function and with sympathetic skin responses (SSR) to evaluate postganglionic sympathetic fiber function. Median age and disease duration did not differ between the two groups. Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy score was higher in CMTX patients. Mean MCV differed significantly between the two groups in both Median and Ulnar nerve. In CMT1A patients warm threshold was abnormal in 72% and cold threshold in 53%. On the contrary, in Cx32 patients group warm and cold threshold was abnormal in 10 and 20% respectively. SSR was also abnormal in only a small number of both CMT1A and Cx32 patients (24% and 10% respectively). CONCLUSION Small fiber function is frequently impaired in CMT1A polyneuropathy patients.
The Association between Religiosity and the Purpose-in-Life Test: Does it Reflect Purpose or Satisfaction?

There has been both theory and research to suggest that conservative religiosity is associated with a sense of life purpose. Much of this research has utilized the Purpose-in-Life (PIL) test. There has been some debate, however, regarding the homogeneity of this measure. The present study found that the PIL test consists of two factors, one reflecting life purpose and another reflecting life satisfaction. Conservative religiosity was associated with high scores on the PIL (as a whole), as well as on both purpose and life satisfaction items. Implications for both future use of the PIL and for past research on life purpose are discussed.
Fostering Creativity in the Classroom for High Ability Students: Context Does Matter.

Researchers have argued for the importance of the classroom context in developing students’ creative potential. However, the emphasis on a performative learning culture in the classroom does not favour creativity. Thus, how creative potential can be realised as one of the educational goals in the classrooms remains a key question. This study measured creativity across three secondary schools using the Wallach-Kogan Creative Thinking Test (WKCT). A total of 283 students enrolled in the Express programme and 290 students enrolled in the Integrated Programme (IP) volunteered in the study. The same cohort of students took the 38-item WKCT twice; once at the beginning of Secondary One and then at the end of Secondary Three. Four aspects of creativity, namely fluency, flexibility, unusualness, and uniqueness, were investigated. Our analyses showed that (i) IP students showed a greater increase in scores over time when compared to Express students; (ii) when Programme and PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) were used to predict creativity scores in a multiple regression, the predictive power of Programme increased from Secondary 1 to Secondary 3 while that of PSLE decreased; and (iii) flexibility scores were more resistant to change than fluency scores. These findings suggest that the classroom context matters and that the removal of high-stakes examination can provide room for the development of creative potential.
Language-dependent knowledge acquisition: investigating bilingual arithmetic learning

Previous studies revealed language-switching costs (LSC) in bilingual learning settings, consisting of performance decreases when problems are solved in a language different from that of instruction. Strong costs have been found for arithmetic fact knowledge. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether LSC in arithmetic also emerge in an auditory learning task and in pure fact learning. Furthermore, we tested whether LSC are influenced by the direction of language-switching. Thirty-three university students learned arithmetic facts of three different operations (i.e., multiplication, subtraction, artificial facts) over a period of four days. The training was either in German or English. On day five, participants solved problems in both languages. Results revealed LSC in response latencies for all three types of problems, independent of the direction of language-switching. These findings suggest that LSC are modality-unspecific and occur independent of the type of arithmetic fact knowledge.
Diet quality, nutrition and physical activity among adolescents: the Web-SPAN (Web-Survey of Physical Activity and Nutrition) project

Abstract Objective To assess the overall diet quality of a sample of adolescents living in Alberta, Canada, and evaluate whether diet quality, nutrient intakes, meal behaviours (i.e. meal skipping and consuming meals away from home) and physical activity are related. Design A cross-sectional study design. Students completed the self-administered Web-Survey of Physical Activity and Nutrition (Web-SPAN). Students were classified as having poor, average or superior diet quality based on Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating (CFGHE). Setting One hundred and thirty-six schools (37 %) within forty-four public and private school boards (75 %) in Alberta, Canada. Subjects Grade 7 to 10 Alberta students (n 4936) participated in the school-based research. Results On average, students met macronutrient requirements; however, micronutrient and fibre intakes were suboptimal. Median CFGHE food group intakes were below recommendations. Those with poor diet quality (42 %) had lower intakes of protein, fibre and low-calorie beverages; higher intakes of carbohydrates, fat and Other Foods (e.g. foods containing mostly sugar, high-salt/fat foods, high-calorie beverages, low-calorie beverages and high-sugar/fat foods); a lower frequency of consuming breakfast and a higher frequency of consuming meals away from home; and a lower level of physical activity when compared with students with either average or superior diet quality. Conclusions Alberta adolescents were not meeting minimum CFGHE recommendations, and thus had suboptimal intakes and poor diet quality. Suboptimal nutritional intakes, meal behaviours and physical inactivity were all related to poor diet quality and reflect the need to target these health behaviours in order to improve diet quality and overall health and wellness.
The BioSCWG Project: Understanding the Trade-Offs in the Process and Thermal Design of Hydrogen and Synthetic Natural Gas Production

This article presents a summary of the main findings from a collaborative research project between Aalto University in Finland and partner universities. A comparative process synthesis, modelling and thermal assessment was conducted for the production of Bio-synthetic natural gas (SNG) and hydrogen from supercritical water refining of a lipid extracted algae feedstock integrated with onsite heat and power generation. The developed reactor models for product gas composition, yield and thermal demand were validated and showed conformity with reported experimental results, and the balance of plant units were designed based on established technologies or state-of-the-art pilot operations. The poly-generative cases illustrated the thermo-chemical constraints and design trade-offs presented by key process parameters such as plant organic throughput, supercritical water refining temperature, nature of desirable coproducts, downstream indirect production and heat recovery scenarios. The evaluated cases favoring hydrogen production at 5 wt. % solid content and 600 °C conversion temperature allowed higher gross syngas and CHP production. However, mainly due to the higher utility demands the net syngas production remained lower compared to the cases favoring BioSNG production. The latter case, at 450 °C reactor temperature, 18 wt. % solid content and presence of downstream indirect production recorded 66.5%, 66.2% and 57.2% energetic, fuel-equivalent and exergetic efficiencies respectively.
Watershed Land Cover/Land Use Mapping Using Remote Sensing and Data Mining in Gorganrood, Iran

The Gorganrood watershed (GW) is experiencing considerable environmental change in the form of natural hazards and erosion, as well as deforestation, cultivation and development activities. As a result of this, different types of Land Cover/Land Use (LCLU) change are taking place on an intensive level in the area. This research study investigates the LCLU conditions upstream of this watershed for the years 1972, 1986, 2000 and 2014, using Landsat MSS, TM, ETM+ and OLI/TIRS images. LCLU maps for 1972, 1986, and 2000 were produced using pixel-based classification methods. For the 2014 LCLU map, Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) in combination with the data-mining capabilities of Gini and J48 machine-learning algorithms were used. The accuracy of the maps was assessed using overall accuracy, quantity disagreement and allocation disagreement indexes. The overall accuracy ranged from 89% to 95%, quantity disagreement from 2.1% to 6.6%, and allocation disagreement from 2.1% for 2014 to 2.7% for 2000. The results of this study indicate that a significant amount of change has occurred in the region, and that this has as a consequence affected ecosystem services and human activity. This knowledge of the LCLU status in the area will help managers and decision makers to develop plans and programs aimed at effectively managing the watershed into the future.
A scaling algorithm for weighted matching on general graphs

This paper presents an algorithm for maximum matching on general graphs with integral edge weights, running in time O(n3/4m lg N), where n, m and N are the number of vertices, number of edges, and largest edge weight magnitude, respectively. The best previous bound is O(n(mlg lg lgd n + n lg n)) where d is the density of the graph. The algorithm finds augmenting paths in batches by scaling the weights. The algorithm extends to degree-constrained subgraphs and hence to shortest paths on undirected graphs, the Chinese postman problem and finding a maximum cut of a planar graph. It speeds up Christofides' travelling salesman approximation algorithm from O(n3) to O(n2.75 lg n). A list splitting problem that arises in Edmonds' matching algorithm is solved in O(mα(m,n)) time, where m is the number of operations on a universe of n elements; the list splitting algorithm does not use set merging. Applications are given to update problems for red-green matching, the cardinality Chinese postman problem and the maximum cardinality plane cut problem; also to the all-pairs shortest paths problem on undirected graphs with lengths plus or minus one.
Multifunctional organic–inorganic hybrid nanoparticles and nanosheets based on chitosan derivative and layered double hydroxide: cellular uptake mechanism and application for topical ocular drug delivery

To study the cellular uptake mechanism of multifunctional organic–inorganic hybrid nanoparticles and nanosheets, new chitosan–glutathione–valine–valine-layered double hydroxide (CG-VV-LDH) nanosheets with active targeting to peptide transporter-1 (PepT-1) were prepared, characterized and further compared with CG-VV-LDH nanoparticles. Both organic–inorganic hybrid nanoparticles and nanosheets showed a sustained release in vitro and prolonged precorneal retention time in vivo, but CG-VV-LDH nanoparticles showed superior permeability in the isolated cornea of rabbits than CG-VV-LDH nanosheets. Furthermore, results of cellular uptake on human corneal epithelial primary cells (HCEpiC) and retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells indicated that both clathrin-mediated endocytosis and active transport of PepT-1 are involved in the internalization of CG-VV-LDH nanoparticles and CG-VV-LDH nanosheets. In summary, the CG-VV-LDH nanoparticle may be a promising carrier as a topical ocular drug delivery system for the treatment of ocular diseases of mid-posterior segments, while the CG-VV-LDH nanosheet may be suitable for the treatment of ocular surface diseases.
Multivoxel Pattern Analysis Reveals Auditory Motion Information in MT+ of Both Congenitally Blind and Sighted Individuals

Cross-modal plasticity refers to the recruitment of cortical regions involved in the processing of one modality (e.g. vision) for processing other modalities (e.g. audition). The principles determining how and where cross-modal plasticity occurs remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate these principles by testing responses to auditory motion in visual motion area MT+ of congenitally blind and sighted individuals. Replicating previous reports, we find that MT+ as a whole shows a strong and selective responses to auditory motion in congenitally blind but not sighted individuals, suggesting that the emergence of this univariate response depends on experience. Importantly, however, multivoxel pattern analyses showed that MT+ contained information about different auditory motion conditions in both blind and sighted individuals. These results were specific to MT+ and not found in early visual cortex. Basic sensitivity to auditory motion in MT+ is thus experience-independent, which may be a basis for the region's strong cross-modal recruitment in congenital blindness.
Dissection of cell cycle–dependent dynamics of Dnmt1 by FRAP and diffusion-coupled modeling

DNA methyltransferase 1 (Dnmt1) reestablishes methylation of hemimethylated CpG sites generated during DNA replication in mammalian cells. Two subdomains, the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-binding domain (PBD) and the targeting sequence (TS) domain, target Dnmt1 to the replication sites in S phase. We aimed to dissect the details of the cell cycle–dependent coordinated activity of both domains. To that end, we combined super-resolution 3D-structured illumination microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments of GFP-Dnmt1 wild type and mutant constructs in somatic mouse cells. To interpret the differences in FRAP kinetics, we refined existing data analysis and modeling approaches to (i) account for the heterogeneous and variable distribution of Dnmt1-binding sites in different cell cycle stages; (ii) allow diffusion-coupled dynamics; (iii) accommodate multiple binding classes. We find that transient PBD-dependent interaction directly at replication sites is the predominant specific interaction in early S phase (residence time Tres ≤10 s). In late S phase, this binding class is taken over by a substantially stronger (Tres ∼22 s) TS domain-dependent interaction at PCNA-enriched replication sites and at nearby pericentromeric heterochromatin subregions. We propose a two-loading-platform-model of additional PCNA-independent loading at postreplicative, heterochromatic Dnmt1 target sites to ensure faithful maintenance of densely methylated genomic regions.
Time series forecasting using neural networks

Artificial neural networks are suitable for many tasks in pattern recognition and machine learning. In this paper we present an APL system for forecasting univariate time series with artificial neural networks. Unlike conventional techniques for time series analysis, an artificial neural network needs little information about the time series data and can be applied to a broad range of problems. However, the problem of network “tuning” remains: parameters of the backpropagation algorithm as well as the network topology need to be adjusted for optimal performances. For our application, we conducted experiments to find the right parameters for a forecasting network. The artificial neural networks that were found delivered a better forecasting performance than results obtained by the well known ARIMA technique.
Young adults’ sibling relationships: Italian adaptation and validation of the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale

To deepen our understanding of young adults’ sibling relationships in the Italian context, this study examines the psychometric properties of the Italian adaptation and validation of the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale (LSRS) in a sample of 350 Italian university students (68.6% females, 31.4% males; ages 19–30 year, M = 23.6, SD = 3.2). Confirmatory factor analysis showed the expected six-factor structure and a close correlation between factors and scales. Internal consistency was adequate and correlation analysis with the Adult Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (ASRQ) confirmed the theoretical relations among the constructs. The findings confirm the transcultural validity of the LSRS. Moreover, results are consistent with research findings, indicating that women show a more positive attitude toward sibling relationships, especially when reporting their relationship with sisters, older siblings show a more positive attitude toward sibling relationships, and perception of current maternal and paternal partiality is related to negative attitudes toward sibling relationships.
Women’s entrepreneurship policy : A 13 nation cross-country comparison

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Henry, C. , Orser, B. & Coleman, S. & Foss, L. (2017). Women's entrepreneurship policy: a 13 nation cross-country comparison. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship , 9(3), 206-228. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-07-2017-0036, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-07-2017-0036 .