Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influences on children’s environmental cognition: a comparative analysis of New Zealand and Mexico

This paper investigates Mexican and New Zealand children’s conception of the environment and their understandings of environmental issues, focusing on how personal experiences, culture and school-based environmental education (EE) programmes influence their perspectives. Sixty Year 5 children (age 9–11) from three schools in Dunedin (New Zealand) and three schools from Ensenada (Mexico), their teachers and school principals were interviewed. The study found that children from both cities had limited opportunities for contact with nature. Most children understood the environment as nature, and did not typically link environmental problems to human activities or social causes. Rarely were children critical of the effect of socio-economic structure on the environment. The analysis shows that children’s understandings of the environment are connected to their personal experiences and mediated by culture. Children from Ensenada had a more global perspective on environmental issues but a more passive attitude towards their local environment, participating in fewer environmental activities than children from Dunedin. In both countries, children from schools with an EE programme did translate environmental practices learnt at school into environmental practices at home. Based on our results, EE could be improved by considering the cultural context, enhancing children’s contact with nature, encouraging critical thinking and more environmental activities.
Experiencing the city: Urban Studies students and service learning

Service-learning represents a method of learning in which students learn through volunteering, while at the same time being asked to reflect on their experiences and tie together experience with classroom-based material, thereby developing their learning through service activities. This paper explores the role and value of service learning in Urban Studies and is based on a review of student reflective journals written following a service-learning experience in which undergraduate students were given the opportunity to volunteer outside the classroom as part of their coursework in an introductory Urban Studies course at the University of Toronto. Evaluating student learning through service learning-based reflection enables further understanding of how students learn through exploration of the urban realm.
Exploring Residual Career Length and Residual Number of Offenses for Two Generations of Repeat Offenders

Very few studies have explored residual career length (RCL) and residual number of offenses (RNO), that is, the remaining time and number of offenses in criminal careers. This study uses conviction data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development to investigate RCL and RNO, for a sample of British males and their fathers. The sons were followed up to age 40 and the fathers up to age 70. Distributions of RCL and RNO according to six different criteria are presented (age on offense, conviction number, time since the last conviction, age of onset, offense type, and number of co-offenders). There was a general decline in RCL and RNO with age. Although RCL declined steadily with each successive conviction for both sons and fathers, RNO did not decline with conviction number for fathers. Over and above age on conviction, age of onset predicted RCL and RNO for sons, but less so for fathers. The type of offense and the number of co-offenders did not predict RCL or RNO. Risk scores showed that the predictive power of these variables for RCL and RNO was statistically significant but not very high. This finding highlights the difficulties associated with predictions of criminal career outcomes based on information available in official records, which is the main source of information available to decision-makers in the criminal justice system.
Predicting lane keeping behavior of visually distracted drivers using inverse suboptimal control

Driver distraction strongly contributes to crash-risk. Therefore, assistance systems that warn drivers if their distraction poses a hazard to road safety, promise a great safety benefit. Current approaches either seek to detect critical situations using environmental sensors or estimate a driver's attention state solely from his/her behavior. However, this neglects that driving situation, driver deficiencies and compensation strategies altogether determine the risk of an accident. This work proposes to use inverse suboptimal control to predict these aspects in visually distracted lane keeping. In contrast to other approaches, this allows a situation-dependent assessment of the risk posed by distraction. Real traffic data of seven drivers are used for evaluation of the predictive power of our approach. For comparison, a baseline was built using established behavior models. In the evaluation our method achieves a consistently lower prediction error over speed and track-topology variations. Additionally, our approach generalizes better to driving speeds unseen in training phase.
Restoration of intestinal continuity following Hartmann's procedure: The Lothian experience 1987–1992

Sir I am impressed by the report from Mr Wigmore and colleagues (Br J Surg 1995; 82: 27-30) of low rates for mortality, intestinal leakage and stricturing following reversal of Hartmann’s procedure. They attribute their excellent results to the high level of operator experience in this potentially challenging procedure and they may well be correct. Can the authors comment on the potential for avoiding the need for many of these procedures? A total of 345 Hartmann’s procedures were performed over a 5-year period, 52 per cent for malignancy. Many of these patients will have been suitable for on-table lavage and primary anastomosis1. Only 52 per cent of all patients underwent reversal, from which one died, seven leaked and 12 developed strictures (1 1 per cent major complications). The data suggest a persistent stoma or poor function in 186 of the original 345 (54 per cent). The second procedure resulted in other important complications in 44 patients. Failure of reversal or other complications were seen in 36 per cent of patients who underwent an attempted reversal of Hartmann’s. On-table lavage and primary anastomosis in obstruction or local perforation would avoid many stomas that will never be reversed. The mortality, morbidity and cost of a second procedure are high and may be avoided by a restorative primary procedure’. To achieve this aim a high level of operator experience is required in the primary procedure.
Exploring relationships between audio features and emotion in music

In this paper, we present an analysis of the associations between emotion categories and audio features automatically extracted from raw audio data. This work is based on 110 excerpts from film soundtracks evaluated by 116 listeners. This data is annotated with 5 basic emotions (fear, anger, happiness, sadness, tenderness) on a 7 points scale. Exploiting state-of-the-art Music Information Retrieval (MIR) techniques, we extract audio features of different kind: timbral, rhythmic and tonal. Among others we also compute estimations of dissonance, mode, onset rate and loudness. We study statistical relations between audio descriptors and emotion categories confirming results from psychological studies. We also use machine-learning techniques to model the emotion ratings. We create regression models based on the Support Vector Regression algorithm that can estimate the ratings with a correlation of 0.65 in average.
Non-symmetric Nash bargaining solution for resource allocation in wireless networks and connection to interference calculus

Proportional fair resource allocation can be interpreted as a symmetric Nash bargaining game associated with a framework of axioms. However, the assumption of symmetry is not always appropriate, especially for users with different service and priority classes. Also, the axiom "scale transformation covariance" is quite restrictive in a wireless context. In this paper we take a different approach. We investigate different degrees of cooperation based on individual user requirements. A new axiomatic framework is proposed, which leads to the asymmetric weighted Nash bargaining solution. This strategy corresponds to the known concept of weighted proportional fairness. Different aspects of this problem are discussed and connections with a recently proposed interference calculus are derived.
Personality Disorders, Parasuicide, and Culture

The notion that there are distinctive variations in temperament, character or personality in human populations has a venerable history in Western medicine. Greek and Arabic humoral theory for example held that character was determined by the four humors : &dquo;Phlegmatic persons are for the most part blockish and lubberlike, having a slow judgement, and all the noblest powers of the minde, as it were asleepe, because the substance of their braine is too thicke, and the spirits laboured therein too grosse . The sanguine persons are borne for to be sociable and lovers of companie: they are as it were alwaies in love, they love to laugh and bee pleasant . Cholerike persons being hote and drie, have a quicke understanding abounding with many sleight inventions . they cannot bee at leisure . The melan-
Clinical and molecular characterization of the bladder exstrophy‐epispadias complex: analysis of 232 families

Authors from John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore present their study into the identifying genetic and non‐genetic factors contributing to the risk of bladder exstrophy‐epispadias complex. They found it to occur most commonly as an isolated sporadic birth defect, and found no evidence of a single‐gene effect or a common environmental factor.
A hardware design for an online Active Noise Control System

In this paper a design for implementation of an ANC system with online secondary path modeling on FPGA devices is proposed. There are two adaptive units in this ANC system, the adaptive main control filter with the FxLMS algorithm and the adaptive modeling filter with the LMS algorithm for updating the adaptive coefficients array. Computer simulations show that the proposed design achieves the same performance as the existing methods.
Adoption with Contact

Developments in adoption and in general child care policy and practice are moving so fast that some of yesterday's certainties become today's dilemmas. Research itself cannot catch up with all these developments. As an example, we are only just beginning to obtain the results of mainly small scale studies monitoring and evaluating some of the developments of the 1970s.One issue which has been increasingly in the forefront in the last couple of years concerns the desirability or otherwise of providing access facilities to a member of the original family after the child is adopted. In a previous article in this Journal (Triseliotis, 1983), I put forward the suggestion that adoption with a condition of access should be an option to take account of a few children's meaningful attachments to members of their biological family. The current paper aims to explore further the arguments and evidence for and against 'access' or 'contact'.
A Rational Drug Combination Design to Inhibit Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in a Three-Dimensional Microenvironment

Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a major player of tumor invasiveness whose inhibition is challenged by redundancy of multiple inducing factors. We applied a systems-pharmacology approach by integrating network-based analyses with multiple bioinformatic resources to design a drug combination regimen reversing EMT phenotype in aggressive cancers. We observed that histone deacetylases were critical targets to tune expression of multiple epithelial versus mesenchymal genes. Moreover, SRC and IKBK were the principal intracellular kinases regulating multiple signaling pathways. To validate the anti-EMT efficacy of the target combinations, we inhibited the pinpointed proteins with already prescribed drugs and observed that whereas low dose mono-therapy failed to limit cell dispersion from collagen spheroids in a microfluidic device as a metric of EMT, the combination fully inhibited dissociation and invasion of cancer cells toward co-cultured endothelial cells. Given the approval status and safety profiles of the suggested drugs, the proposed combination set can be considered in clinical trials.
State of the Art Unit Root Tests and Purchasing Power Parity

Although the question of whether Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) holds in the long run has been extensively studied, the answer is still controversial. Some of the strongest evidence is provided by Taylor (The Review of Economics and Statistics 84[[2002] 139-150), who concludes that long-run PPP held over the 20th century. We argue that this conclusion is quite sensitive to the use of sub-optimal lag selection in unit root tests. Using superior lag selection methods, we find that long-run PPP held for the real exchange rates of only 9 out of the 16 industrialized countries in Taylor's sample with the U.S. dollar as the base currency.
Positron Emission Tomography Quantification of [11C]-DASB Binding to the Human Serotonin Transporter: Modeling Strategies

[11C]-DASB, namely [11C]-3-amino-4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenylsulfanyl)-benzonitrile, is a new highly selective radioligand for the in vivo visualization of the serotonin transporter (SERT) using positron emission tomography (PET). The current study evaluates different kinetic modeling strategies for quantification of [11C]-DASB binding in five healthy humans. Kinetic analyses of tissue data were performed with a one-tissue (1CM) and a two-tissue (2CM) compartment model. Time-activity curves were well described by a 1CM for all regions. A 2CM model with four parameters failed to converge reliably. Reliable fits of the data were obtained only if no more than three parameters were allowed to vary. However, even then, the rate constants k3 and k4 were estimated with poor precision. Only the ratio k3/k4 was stable. Goodness of fit was not improved by using a 2CM as compared with a 1CM. The minimal study duration required to obtain stable k3/k4 estimates was 80 minutes. For routine use of [11C]-DASB, several simplified methods using the cerebellum as a reference region to estimate nonspecific binding were also evaluated. The transient equilibrium, the linear graphical analysis, the ratio of target to reference region, and the simplified reference tissue methods all gave binding potential values consistent with those obtained with the 2CM. The suitability of [11C]-DASB for research on the SERT using PET is thus supported by the observations that tissue data can be described using a kinetic analysis and that simplified quantitative methods, using the cerebellum as reference, provide reliable estimates of SERT binding parameters.
Dissociating Contributions of the Motor Cortex to Speech Perception and Response Bias by Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Recent studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have demonstrated that disruptions of the articulatory motor cortex impair performance in demanding speech perception tasks. These findings have been interpreted as support for the idea that the motor cortex is critically involved in speech perception. However, the validity of this interpretation has been called into question, because it is unknown whether the TMS-induced disruptions in the motor cortex affect speech perception or rather response bias. In the present TMS study, we addressed this question by using signal detection theory to calculate sensitivity (i.e., d′) and response bias (i.e., criterion c). We used repetitive TMS to temporarily disrupt the lip or hand representation in the left motor cortex. Participants discriminated pairs of sounds from a “ba”–“da” continuum before TMS, immediately after TMS (i.e., during the period of motor disruption), and after a 30-min break. We found that the sensitivity for between-category pairs was reduced during the disruption of the lip representation. In contrast, disruption of the hand representation temporarily reduced response bias. This double dissociation indicates that the hand motor cortex contributes to response bias during demanding discrimination tasks, whereas the articulatory motor cortex contributes to perception of speech sounds.
Protein synthesis and the expression of growth-related genes are altered by running in human vastus lateralis and soleus muscles.

Recent evidence suggests aerobic exercise may help preserve soleus muscle mass during unloading. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the muscle-specific metabolic response to running as it relates to muscle growth. Mixed-muscle protein synthesis [fractional synthetic rate (FSR)] and gene expression (GE) were examined in the vastus lateralis (VL) and soleus (SOL) muscles from eight men (26 +/- 2 yr; Vo(2max) 63 +/- 2 ml.kg(-1). min(-1)) before and after a 45-min level-grade treadmill run at 77 +/- 1% intensity. Muscle glycogen utilization was similar between muscles. Resting FSR was similar between the VL (0.080 +/- 0.007 %/h) and SOL (0.086 +/- 0.008 %/h) and was higher (P < 0.05) 24 h postexercise compared with rest for both muscles. The absolute change in FSR was not different between muscles (0.030 +/- 0.007 vs. 0.037 +/- 0.012 %/h for VL and SOL). At baseline, myostatin GE was approximately twofold higher (P < 0.05) in SOL compared with VL, while no other muscle-specific differences in GE were present. After running, myostatin GE was suppressed (P < 0.05) in both muscles at 4 h and was higher (P < 0.05) than baseline at 24 h for VL only. Muscle regulatory factor 4 mRNA was elevated (P < 0.05) at 4 h in both SOL and VL; MyoD and peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) were higher (P < 0.05) at 4 h, and forkhead box [FOXO]3A was higher at 24 h in SOL only, while muscle-RING-finger protein-1 (MuRF-1) was higher (P < 0.05) at 4 h in VL only. Myogenin and atrogin-1 GE were unaltered. The similar increases between muscles in FSR support running as part of the exercise countermeasure to preserve soleus mass during unloading. The subtle differences in GE suggest a potential mechanism for muscle-specific adaptations to chronic run training.
Motivation and Commitment to Volunteering in a Sample of Argentinian Adults: What is the Role of Generativity?

This study explores the motivations and commitment to volunteering in a sample of Argentinian adults, and it analyzes the role of generativity. The sample consisted of 200 volunteers who were purposively selected from five volunteer organizations in the city of Córdoba (Argentina). Participants were assigned to three age groups: young volunteers (18–39 years old), middle-aged volunteers (40–59 years old), and older volunteers (60 or plus years old). The motivations of “values” and “understanding” obtained the highest scores. No relevant differences were found between age groups in the motivations and commitment to volunteering. Generative concern showed more predictive value for motivations and commitment to volunteering than any of the sociodemographic variables considered in the study. The results are discussed at the light of considering volunteering as an expression of generativity in different stages of the life cycle.
Reunification of Foster Children Before and After Welfare Reform

This article reports the results of a descriptive study of the speed with which foster children are returned home before and after welfare reform. The study relies on administrative data, has a prospective multiple‐cohort design, and includes a sample of 903 children. Event history analysis identifies several factors that are associated with reunification speed. The analysis shows that mothers’ incomes have a greater effect on the speed of reunification after welfare reform than before.
ON THE RELATIONS AMONG EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH PARADIGMS: FROM DISDAIN TO DETENTE'

To the extent, as significant as it is incomplete, that two scientific schools disagree about what is a problem and what a solution, they will inevitably talk through each other when debating the relative merits of their respective paradigms. In the partially circular arguments that regularly result, each paradigm will be shown to satisfy more or less the criteria that it dictates for itself and to fall short of a few of those dictated by its opponent. Since no paradigm ever solves all the problems it defines and since no two paradigms leave all the same problems unsolved, paradigm debates always involve the question: Which problems is it more significant to have solved?
Communicating Price Information through Semantic Cues: The Moderating Effects of Situation and Discount Size

While several studies have examined how the specific wording (i.e., semantic cue) used to communicate a price offer affects consumers' perceptions of value, this area of research has not produced a set of consistent findings. To resolve the apparent inconsistencies, the current article builds on past research and explains why a consumer's response to a semantic cue depends on the situation (or decision context) and the discount size. The results of two studies are reported. The first experiment provides evidence that the relative effectiveness of two widely used types of semantic cues depends on both consumers' decision context and the level of processing evoked by the discount size. The second experiment replicates the semantic cue by situation interaction and demonstrates the robustness of this effect across store familiarity. Copyright 1996 by the University of Chicago.
Linguistic politeness in Igbo

This paper examines the concept of linguistic politeness and the various strategies the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria adoptfor its achievement. It is shown that socio-cultural perceptions of politeness and impoliteness, decency and indecency andpropriety have reflexes which are expressed in the language. The Igbo accomplish linguistic politeness by various devices but mainly by indirectness through the use of euphemisms andproverbs. A crosscultural approach is adopted in order to highlight the specific occurrence of the phenomenon among the Igbo. Finally, it is suggested that linguistic politeness is pari of a Speaker's competence in his language.
Pauses and pause fillers in Mandarin monologue speech: The effects of sex and proficiency

In this study, we investigate the use of pauses and pause fillers in Mandarin Chinese. Our analysis is based on 267 spoken monologues from a Mandarin proficiency test. We identify two basic pause fillers in Mandarin: e and en. We find that males use more e than females, but there is no difference between them on the frequency of en. Therefore, the proportion of nasal-final pause fillers is higher in female than in male speakers, as was found in the studies of Germanic languages. Proficiency, on the other hand, does not affect the frequency of either e or en. With respect to the use of unfilled pauses, both sex and proficiency have a significant effect. Males and less proficient speakers use more medium and long, but not brief, pauses. Males tend to speak faster than females, they have a shorter en, but there is no difference between the two sexes on the duration of e. Un-proficient speakers produce shorter pause fillers, both e and en, than proficient ones. Finally, en is longer than e, it also precedes and follows a longer pause than e.