Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Segregation effects on Australian Indigenous primary school achievement

ABSTRACT Australia and its Indigenous peoples have experienced what one commentator has called “a juxtaposition of first and third worlds”, manifest, among other aspects, in lower levels of education achievement compared with other Australians. Specifically, profound levels of educational inequality have been observed for Aboriginal Australians because of the colonial experience, and this has resulted in on-going challenges in terms of their collective histories. This paper examines the interrelationship between Indigeneity and socioeconomic status (SES) in the primary school years, and analyzes the association between a school’s location, levels of segregation, school SES and literacy and numeracy achievement. I argue that relatively high levels of school segregation and clustering structure and maintain Indigenous children’s inequality in schooling outcomes in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Characteristics of low SES neighbourhoods and schools are examined, using 2011 Population Census and National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data to assess the effect on reading and numeracy mean achievement levels of Year 5 students in schools across several states. Analyzes of the data demonstrate relationships between school socioeconomic composition and school segregation, and have important implications for Indigenous people in a majority of low SES communities.
Survival and regeneration of adult human and other mammalian photoreceptors in culture.

PURPOSE Fully mature neurons of central nervous system origin generally are considered unable to survive for extended periods of time in simple culture conditions. The authors report that adult and aged human, porcine, and rodent retinal neurons, including rod and cone photoreceptors, constitute an exception to this idea. METHODS Cells were dissociated from human postmortem retinas, adult mammalian retinas, and selected brain regions and were seeded into tissue culture plates and left to develop as monolayer cultures for up to 2 months. A battery of antibody markers was used to identify the nature and morphology of the cells in vitro. RESULTS Photoreceptor cell survival of rods and cones was observed routinely when the delay between the time of death until culture preparation was 50 hours or less, compatible with current eye bank practice. Two-week-old cultures were formed of rod photoreceptors, representing approximately 50% of neuronal cell types; cone photoreceptors, representing 5% to 30% of neuronal cell types; other retinal neurons (especially amacrine cells approximately 20%); and retinal glial cells, present in variable numbers. Glial cells were essential for long-term photoreceptor survival and neurite outgrowth. Adult mammalian brain neurons isolated under the same conditions did not survive. CONCLUSIONS Fully adult human and other mammalian retinal neurons, including photoreceptors, exhibit remarkable plasticity in vitro, and such monolayer models may have applications in physiological, pharmacologic, and toxicologic studies of human and other mammalian retina.
Very High Redshift X-Ray-selected Active Galactic Nuclei in the Chandra Deep Field-North

Deep Chandra X-ray exposures provide an efficient route for locating optically faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at high redshifts. We use deep multicolor optical data to search for z > 5 AGNs in the 2 Ms X-ray exposure of the Chandra Deep Field-North. Of the 423 X-ray sources bright enough (z′ < 25.2) for a color-color analysis, at most one lies at z = 5-6, and none at z > 6. The one z > 5 object is spectroscopically confirmed at z = 5.19. Only 31 of the 77 sources with z′ > 25.2 are undetected in the B or V bands at the 2 σ level and could lie at z > 5. There are too few moderate-luminosity AGNs at z = 5-6.5 to ionize the intergalactic medium.
Multi-Center Study on the Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Herpes Simplex Virus Type-2 Co-Infection among Pregnant Women in Nigeria

MATTHEW et al. Int J Virol AIDS 2019, 6:052 • Page 1 of 7 • Citation: MATTHEW O, NDOMB T, ONAKEWHOR J, MATAWAL B, OSAGIE E, et al. (2019) Multi-Center Study on the Prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Herpes Simplex Virus Type-2 Co-Infection among Pregnant Women in Nigeria. Int J Virol AIDS 6:052. doi.org/10.23937/2469-567X/1510052 Accepted: March 28, 2019: Published: March 30, 2019 Copyright: © 2019 MATTHEW O, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract
A model-driven approach to performability analysis of dynamically reconfigurable component-based systems

Dynamic reconfiguration techniques appear promising to build component-based (C-B) systems for application domains that have strong adaptability requirements, like the mobile and the service-oriented computing domains. However, introducing dynamic reconfiguration features into a C-B application makes even more challenging the design and verification of functional and non functional requirements. Our goal is to support the model-based analysis of the effectiveness of reconfigurable C-B applications, with a focus on the assessment of the non-functional performance and reliability attributes. As a first step towards this end, we address the issue of selecting suitable analysis models for reconfigurable systems, suggesting to this end the use of joint performance and reliability (performability) models. Furthermore, we propose a model-driven approach to automatically transform a design model into an analysis model. For this purpose, we build on the existence of intermediate languages that have been proposed to facilitate this transformation and we extend one of them, to capture the core features (from a performance/reliability viewpoint) of a dynamically reconfigurable C-B system. Finally, we illustrate by a simple application example the main steps of the proposed approach.
What Can You Do with a Rock? Affordance Extraction via Word Embeddings

Autonomous agents must often detect affordances: the set of behaviors enabled by a situation. Affordance detection is particularly helpful in domains with large action spaces, allowing the agent to prune its search space by avoiding futile behaviors. This paper presents a method for affordance extraction via word embeddings trained on a Wikipedia corpus. The resulting word vectors are treated as a common knowledge database which can be queried using linear algebra. We apply this method to a reinforcement learning agent in a text-only environment and show that affordance-based action selection improves performance most of the time. Our method increases the computational complexity of each learning step but significantly reduces the total number of steps needed. In addition, the agent's action selections begin to resemble those a human would choose.
Statistical analysis of problem-based learning in theory of computation

Problem-based learning method has been applied to studying theory of computability in University of Joensuu during the last two years. In this paper, we analyze the data collected from two successive classes in 2003 and 2004 by common statistical measures. We compare the overall performance and satisfaction of problem-based and traditional learners, and analyze the influence of students’ mathematical knowledge and gender in both methods.
Mice are not little rats: species differences in a one‐day water maze task

The present study examined species differences in spatial and non-spatial memory in the Morris water maze. Male Wistar rats and C57BL/6 mice were tested in a one-day water maze task in which spatial learning, retention, and non-spatial learning were assessed within 3 h. Rats and mice appeared to use different strategies for locating the hidden escape platform. Whereas rats evinced a clear spatial strategy, mice appeared to rely less on spatial cues and more on alternative non-spatial strategies. The sensitivity of this behavioral protocol to subtle species differences highlights the potential use of this one-day water maze task as a tool for evaluating rapidly learning and memory in rodents.
Teaching Word Stress Patterns Of English Using A Musically-Simulated Technique

The correct placement of word-level stress is a main concern in EFL speech intelligibility training. It is particularly important for EFL learners who have a drastically different stress system in their L1 (e.g. Persian). These learners usually misplace the primary stress in their L2 which subsequently may interrupt the flow of communication and leads to unintelligibility. Therefore, the present study explored the effect of musically-simulated patterns, as a new teaching technique, on the learning of word stress patterns of English. Musically-simulated patterns were defined in the context of the study as impressionistic patterns which were acoustically similar to word stress patterns of English. 30 Iranian EFL elementary learners at a language institute participated in the study. The new technique was used to teach four stress patterns of two- and three-syllable English words. The results of the posttest indicated that the participants in the experimental group (who listened to musically-simulated patterns) obtained significantly higher scores. Moreover, two-syllable words appeared to be more positively influenced by these musical patterns. It is suggested that L1 negative transfer and the inherent cognitive complexity of the stress patterns may contribute to the varying effect of these musical patterns. Finally, the possible applications of using this technique at both levels of material development and classroom practice are discussed.
The nature of peer sexual health communication among college students enrolled in a human sexuality course

Abstract Most young people go to their friends for information on sexuality-related topics, thus it is important to understand the context of these communications so that we may gather insight into sexual values and the underlying emotions and styles of communication. We conducted qualitative weekly surveys regarding discussion of sexual health topics among peers with students enrolled in an undergraduate human sexuality course. A four-stage inductive analysis process was utilized to examine a total number of 824 survey submissions from 102 college students who agreed to participate. Seven relevant common themes emerged: safer sex, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, feelings about sex, sexual acts, peer support, and peer communication norms. Some perspectives varied between males and females. Life events create opportunities for peers to discuss sexual health with each other. The connection between life events and peer sexual health communication has numerous implications for both research and education.
Targeting the p53 Pathway in Ewing Sarcoma

The p53 tumour suppressor plays a pivotal role in the prevention of oncogenic transformation. Cancers frequently evade the potent antitumour surveillance mechanisms of p53 through mutation of the TP53 gene, with approximately 50% of all human malignancies expressing dysfunctional, mutated p53 proteins. Interestingly, genetic lesions in the TP53 gene are only observed in 10% of Ewing Sarcomas, with the majority of these sarcomas expressing a functional wild-type p53. In addition, the p53 downstream signaling pathways and DNA-damage cell cycle checkpoints remain functionally intact in these sarcomas. This paper summarizes recent insights into the functional capabilities and regulation of p53 in Ewing Sarcoma, with a particular focus on the cross-talk between p53 and the EWS-FLI1 gene rearrangement frequently associated with this disease. The development of several activators of p53 is discussed, with recent evidence demonstrating the potential of small molecule p53 activators as a promising systemic therapeutic approach for the treatment of Ewing Sarcomas with wild-type p53.
Impact of triplet correlations on neural population codes

Which statistical features of spiking activity matter for how stimuli are encoded in neural populations? A vast body of work has explored how firing rates in individual cells and correlations in the spikes of cell pairs impact coding. But little is known about how higher-order correlations, which describe simultaneous firing in triplets and larger ensembles of cells, impact encoded stimulus information. Here, we take a first step toward closing this gap. We vary triplet correlations in small (~10 cell) neural populations while keeping single cell and pairwise statistics fixed at typically reported values. For each value of triplet correlations, we estimate the performance of the neural population on a two-stimulus discrimination task. We identify a predominant way that such triplet correlations can strongly enhance coding: if triplet correlations differ for the two stimuli, they skew the response distributions of the two stimuli apart from each other, separating them and making them easier to distinguish. This coding benefit does not occur when both stimuli elicit similar triplet correlations. These results indicate that higher-order correlations could have a strong effect on population coding. Finally, we calculate how many samples are necessary to accurately measure spiking correlations of this type, providing an estimate of the necessary recording times in experiments.
Soil salinization and ecological remediation by planting trees in China

With world population growth, the demand for food, vegetable and so on is increasing. However, arable land area cannot expand. Moreover it would decrease owing to land use change with socio-economic development. Especially in China that is the most populated country in the world, while its cultivated land area could not match with the population, farmland is gradually declining with urbanization progress. In order to meet the demand to grain production and alleviate the pressure on current arable land, wasteland must be reclaimed. Forestation is not only one way for saline-alkali soil utilization, but also can improve soil property and maintain ecological balance. Salt-affected soils extensively distribute on the earth. Although the causes are various for salinization occurrence, generally spoken it results from the accumulation of free salts to an extent that causes degradation of vegetation and soils. On the other hand, irrational human practices have increased soil salinity by changing the natural balance of the water cycle in the landscape by allowing excess recharging of groundwater. This reduces suitability to plant growth and increases the potential for other forms of land degradation such as soil erosion and structural decline. Thus salinization is one of the most serious long-term threats to the sustainability of land and water resources in the world. Trees can tolerant a certain level of salinity thanks of the nature. Therefore in the viewpoint of biological amelioration of salt-affected soil, planting trees is necessary and significant. After trees are established in saline land, the watertable could be declined through increasing discharge and decreasing recharge. Additionally total salt content could be decreased, especially in soil surface profile and topsoil as well as soil physical & chemical state could be ameliorated.
Market Pricing of Banks’ Fair Value Assets Reported under Sfas 157 During the 2008 Economic Crisis

Our paper presents early evidence on how investors rely on the fair value estimates of assets reported by banks as required by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157 (SFAS 157) in 2008. We observe significant variation in the pricing of different levels of fair value assets, with the pricing being less for mark-to-model assets (i.e., assets with lower liquidity and greater information risk) than for mark-to-market assets. We also find that the pricing of mark-to-model assets declined over the course of 2008, consistent with increasing market concerns about illiquidity and information risk associated with these assets. In the cross-section, we find evidence that mark-to-model assets are priced higher by investors for banks with greater capital adequacy. We also find that the pricing of fair value assets, especially the mark-to-model assets, is higher when banks are audited by better auditors. Overall, our paper uses both time-series and cross-sectional analyses to provide insights on investors’ valuation of the fair value estimates of assets as reported by banks during the economic crisis.
Assessment of the enhancement potential of Halloysite Nanotubes for echographic imaging

Halloysite Nanotubes (HNTs) are nanomaterials composed of double layered aluminosilicate minerals with a predominantly hollow tubular structure in submicron range. HNTs are characterized by a wide range of applications in anticancer therapy, sustained agent delivery, being particularly interesting because of their tunable release rates and fast adsorption rates. However systematic investigations of their acoustic properties are still poorly documented. This paper shows a quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of HNTs as scatterers at conventional ultrasonic frequencies (5.7 - 7 MHz) in low range of concentrations (1.5-5 mg/mL). Different samples of HNT (diameter: 40-50 nm; length: 0.5 to 2 microns, empty lumen diameter: 15-20 nm) containing agarose gel were imaged through a commercially available echographic system and acquired data were processed through a dedicated prototypal platform in order to extract the average ultrasonic signal amplitude associated to the considered sample. Relationships have been established among backscatter, HNT concentration and the employed echographic frequency. Our results demonstrated that improvement in image backscatter could be achieved incrementing HNT concentration, determining a non-linear signal enhancement due to the fact that they are poly-disperse in length. On the other hand the effect of different echographic frequencies used was almost constant at all concentrations, specifically using higher values of echographic frequency allows yielding a signal enhanced of a factor 1.75±0.26.
Does Money Illusion Matter?

This paper shows that a small amount of individual-level money illusion may cause considerable aggregate nominal inertia after a negative nominal shock. In addition, our results indicate that negative and positive nominal shocks have asymmetric effects because of money illusion. While nominal inertia is quite substantial and long lasting after a negative shock, it is rather small after a positive shock.
Why Issue Tracking Stock? Insights from a Comparison with Spin-Offs and Carve-Outs

In recent years, tracking stocks, which amount to a new form of corporate restructuring, have been gaining in popularity. In 1999 alone, 17 companies announced new tracking stock issues, and by February 2000 there were 40 tracking stocks trading in the U.S. equity markets. Why have tracking stocks become so popular in recent years? In this article, the authors present new evidence on the effectiveness of tracking stock issues in creating shareholder value as compared to the record of two other closely related forms of corporate restructuring-spin-offs and equity carve-outs. 2001 Morgan Stanley.
Effect of Intra-Muscular Administration of Dexamethasone on the Duration of Induction of Labor in Primigravida Full-Term Pregnancy

Background: induction of labor refers to the process of artificially initiating uterine contractions prior to their spontaneous onset to effects progressive effacement and dilatation of the cervix and ultimately, delivery of the baby. Aim of the Work: to establish whether a single dose of dexamethasone (8mg) intra-muscularly plays a role in shorting the duration interval between initiation of labor induction and beginning of the active phase of labor in primigravida full-term pregnancy. Patients and Methods: this clinical interventional randomized case-controlled trial was conducted at El Hussien University Hospital during the period from July 2017 to March 2018. One hundred twenty full term & post-term (≥ 40 weeks) nulliparous women were included in this study and divided into the following: Group I (Dexamethasone group) injected with 2 ml (8 mg) of the product (dexamethasone) 6 hours before initiation of labor induction and Group II (Control group) was not receive dexamethasone or any other cervical ripening agent. Results: our results showed that the intramuscular administration of dexamethasone appears to shorten labor duration. Conclusion: single intra-muscular injection of two ml. (8mg.) of dexamethasone before induction of labour appears to shorten labor duration
Alcohol-Attributable Fraction of Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality in Russia

Objective. The aim of the present study was to estimate the premature ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality attributable to alcohol abuse in Russia on the basis of aggregate-level data of mortality and alcohol consumption. Method. Age-standardized sex-specific male and female IHD mortality data for the period 1980–2005 and data on overall alcohol consumption were analyzed by means of autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series analysis. Results. The results of the analysis suggest that 41.1% of all male deaths and 30.7% of female deaths from IHD in Russia could be attributed to alcohol. The estimated alcohol-attributable fraction for men ranged from 24.0% (75+ age group) to 62.0% (15–29 age group) and for women from 20.0% (75+ age group) to 64.0% (30–44 age group). Conclusions. The outcomes of this study provide indirect support for the hypothesis that the high rate of IHD mortality in Russia may be related to alcohol, as indicated by a close aggregate-level association between number of deaths from IHD and overall alcohol consumption per capita.
XMM-Newton Observes Cl J0152.7–1357: A Massive Galaxy Cluster Forming at Merger Crossroads at z = 0.83

We present an analysis of a 50 ks XMM-Newton observation of the merging galaxy cluster Cl J0152.7-1357 at z = 0.83. In addition to the two main subclusters and an infalling group detected in an earlier Chandra observation of the system, XMM-Newton detects another group of galaxies possibly associated with the cluster. This group may be connected to the northern subcluster by a filament of cool (1.4 keV) X-ray-emitting gas and lies outside the estimated virial radius of the northern subcluster. The X-ray morphology agrees well with the projected galaxy distribution in new K-band imaging data presented herein. We use detailed spectral and imaging analysis of the X-ray data to probe the dynamics of the system and find evidence that another subcluster or group has recently passed through the northern subcluster. Cl J0152.7-1357 is an extremely dynamically active system, with mergers at different stages occurring along two perpendicular merger axes.
‘What’s the point when you only lose a pound?’ Reasons for attrition from a multi-component childhood obesity treatment intervention: a qualitative inquiry

Abstract This study explored the causes of drop-out from a community-based multi-component childhood obesity treatment intervention (MCTI), considering parent and child perspectives in order to develop future interventions which manage potential attrition more effectively. Semi-structured interviews explored attrition amongst a sample of children (n = 10) and their parents (n = 10) who dropped out of a community-based MCTI. Parents and children highlighted psychological and motivational issues (e.g. misaligned expectations, lack of desire to make behaviour changes and perceived costs of change outweigh the perceived gains) as the driving factor for their attrition alongside attitudinal, environmental, interpersonal and treatment variables. The complexity and interaction of factors associated with attrition identified in this study points to the challenges associated with reducing drop-out in MCTI’s. The views of families’ should be a key consideration in the design and implementation of treatment interventions to harness and sustain commitment to the treatment process.