Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The identification of child neglect in social work practice

Statistics highlight child neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment within the United Kingdom. The research described here was an exploratory study which used the pragmatic approach of a survey design to explore how social workers identify child neglect. Social workers complete assessments of children in need of help and protection and this assessment process determines whether a referral should be responded to as a child in need of support (as per Section 17, Children Act 1989) or as a child in need of protection (as per Section 47, Children Act 1989). The definition of child neglect is provided by the Department for Education for use by social workers in its assessment. However, the usefulness of the definition of child neglect is questioned within the literature due to differences in the breath and scope of what is considered a basic need and differences in what are considered to be adequate standards of provision to meet them. The study used an online survey directed at members of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and social workers from one Local Authority in the North West of England. There were five sections in the online survey: information on participants’ demographics, the second category focussed on caseloads, identification of child neglect, resources to support the identification of child neglect resources and finally the health and wellbeing of social workers. The major findings were that factors relating to the child were most salient when assessing neglect. This is in clear contrast to previous studies using the same criteria which found that factors relating to the parent were the most significant. The definition of child neglect provided by the Department for Education was highlighted as being problematic with approximately two thirds of participants reporting that the definition was helpful but over a third of participants found it unhelpful. Challenges in defining child neglect appear to be exacerbated by a lack of agreement among professionals from the same group on the nature of neglect. Up to one third of participants reported that they did not feel equipped to work with families in cases of neglect, and approximately half of participants reported that they were not able to follow up on concerns due to their workload. The implication of the findings is that whilst neglect continues to be a primary reason for social work intervention, social work practitioners appear to be working with a definition which the majority find helpful yet acknowledge that there is much less consensus on the nature of neglect. This is a concerning matter as social work practitioners are working with ambiguity yet are agents of the state protecting children from harm when they are unclear about thresholds and level of need.
A Novel Compact Split Ring Slotted Electromagnetic Bandgap Structure for Microstrip Patch Antenna Performance Enhancement

A novel design of an electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structure based on the uniplanar compact EBG (UCEBG) concept is proposed in this paper. The structure is realized by inserting split- ring slots inside two reversely connected rectangular patches, which is known as a split-ring slotted electromagnetic bandgap (SRS-EBG) structure. The bandgap properties of the EBG structure are examined by the suspended microstrip line and flnite element methods (FEM). The achieved bandgaps have widths of 4.3 (59.31%) and 5.16GHz (38.88%), which are centered at 7 and 13GHz, respectively. The SRS-EBG is applied to enhance the performance of a single-element microstrip patch antenna (at 7GHz) and a two-element array (at 13GHz) conflguration. A wider bandwidth is obtained with a better re∞ection coe-cient level for the single element antenna; a reduction in mutual coupling of more than 20.57dB is obtained for the array design. In both cases, the gain and radiation characteristics are improved. The results are verifled by measuring the fabricated lab prototype, and a comparison with the computed results showed good agreement.
Impaired Olfactory Associative Behavior of Honeybee Workers Due to Contamination of Imidacloprid in the Larval Stage

The residue of imidacloprid in the nectar and pollens of the plants is toxic not only to adult honeybees but also the larvae. Our understanding of the risk of imidacloprid to larvae of the honeybees is still in a very early stage. In this study, the capped-brood, pupation and eclosion rates of the honeybee larvae were recorded after treating them directly in the hive with different dosages of imidacloprid. The brood-capped rates of the larvae decreased significantly when the dosages increased from 24 to 8000 ng/larva. However, there were no significant effects of DMSO or 0.4 ng of imidacloprid per larva on the brood-capped, pupation and eclosion rates. Although the sublethal dosage of imidacloprid had no effect on the eclosion rate, we found that the olfactory associative behavior of the adult bees was impaired if they had been treated with 0.04 ng/larva imidacloprid in the larval stage. These results demonstrate that a sublethal dosage of imidacloprid given to the larvae affects the subsequent associative ability of the adult honeybee workers. Thus, a low dose of imidacloprid may affect the survival condition of the entire colony, even though the larvae survive to adulthood.
Classification and Learning for Character Recognition: Comparison of Methods and Remaining Problems

Classification methods based on learning from examples have been widely applied to character recognition from the 1990s and have brought forth significant improvements of recognition accuracies. This class of methods includes statistical methods, artificial neural networks, support vector machines, multiple classifier combination, etc. In this paper, we discuss the characteristics of the classification methods that have been successfully applied to character recognition, and show the remaining problems that can be potentially solved by learning methods.
Competitive non-preemptive call control

We deal with randomized competitive algorithms for non-preemptive call control on tree-like switching networks. We give an optimal O(logn) competitive algorithm for non-preemptive call scheduling on trees. We then extend the problem to include variable call rates, call durations, and arbitrary call benefits, and obtain a polylog competitive algorithm. We also show that many similar algorithms for different problems that can deal with constant values of parameters such as rates and benefits can be transformed into randomized algorithms that can deal with varying values of the parameters. Using randomization, this extends the work of Garay et al. on call control for the line network [GGKMY] to tree networks, while avoiding the preemption requirement, and while allowing arbitrary benefits and arbitrary rates. Alternately, this can be viewed as a generalization of the work of Awerbuch, Azar and Plotkin for throughput competitive routing [AAP], limited to trees, but without the limitation of requiring communication rates to be a small fraction of the link bandwidth. In common to all our results is an algorithmic paradigm “Classify and Randomly Select”. This algorithmic tool seems useful for a variety of on-line problems in addition to those presented in this paper.
Interpreting Spectral Energy Distributions from Young Stellar Objects. II. Fitting Observed SEDs Using a Large Grid of Precomputed Models

We present a method to analyze the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of young stellar objects (YSOs). Our approach is to fit data with precomputed two-dimensional (2D) radiation transfer models spanning a large region of parameter space. This allows us to determine not only a single set of physical parameter values but the entire range of values consistent with the multiwavelength observations of a given source. In this way we hope to avoid any overinterpretation when modeling a set of data. We have constructed spectral energy distributions from optical to submillimeter wavelengths, including new Spitzer IRAC and MIPS photometry, for 30 young and spatially resolved sources in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. We demonstrate fitting model SEDs to these sources and find that we correctly identify the evolutionary stage and physical parameters found from previous independent studies, such as disk mass, disk accretion rate, and stellar temperature. We also explore how fluxes at various wavelengths help to constrain physical parameters and show examples of degeneracies that can occur when fitting SEDs. A Web-based version of this tool is available to the community.
Combined shaping and precoding for interference cancellation at low SNR

We consider multi dimensional dirty paper coding at low SNR, and propose a low rate precoding scheme which combines MMSE estimation, dithering and a variant of nested codes, based on concatenation of a "syndrome dilution" code and a "syndrome-to-coset" modulation code.
Urbanization drives the evolution of parallel clines in plant populations

Urban ecosystems are an increasingly dominant feature of terrestrial landscapes. While evidence that species can adapt to urban environments is accumulating, the mechanisms through which urbanization imposes natural selection on populations are poorly understood. The identification of adaptive phenotypic changes (i.e. clines) along urbanization gradients would facilitate our understanding of the selective factors driving adaptation in cities. Here, we test for phenotypic clines in urban ecosystems by sampling the frequency of a Mendelian-inherited trait—cyanogenesis—in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) populations along urbanization gradients in four cities. Cyanogenesis protects plants from herbivores, but reduces tolerance to freezing temperatures. We found that the frequency of cyanogenic plants within populations decreased towards the urban centre in three of four cities. A field experiment indicated that spatial variation in herbivory is unlikely to explain these clines. Rather, colder minimum winter ground temperatures in urban areas compared with non-urban areas, caused by reduced snow cover in cities, may select against cyanogenesis. In the city with no cline, high snow cover might protect plants from freezing damage in the city centre. Our study suggests that populations are adapting to urbanization gradients, but regional climatic patterns may ultimately determine whether adaptation occurs.
Decision models: some lessons from the field

Studies of decision-making in such environments as nuclear power plants, urban fire departments, command-and-control centers, and courtrooms are discussed. The studies provide a different perspective on decision strategies from laboratory studies that rely on naive subjects performing relatively context-free tasks under little time pressure and static task conditions. The field research paradigms generate a description of proficient decision making that emphasizes recognitional rather than analytical processes and challenges the decision tree representation of decision problems-that is, failure to use analytical methods is not a sign of incompetence since the recognitional strategies shown by decision makers seem reasonable and effective. Implications of these models for decision-support systems and for training are discussed. >
A FPGA Coprocessor for the Cryptographic Tate Pairing over Fp

Identity based cryptography offers a number of functional advantages over traditional public key cryptosystems and has attracted much research interest in the last few years. The computational costs demanded for such functionalities result to be significantly greater than those bounded to other methods. The overall efficiency of identity based protocols and applications is dominated by the computation of the main used primitive, namely the Tate pairing. The paper focuses on the design of a parallel hardware accelerator for the computation of the Tate pairing that makes use of arithmetics over finite fields with a large prime characteristic. Performance measurements are discussed and compared with previous solutions based on different definitions and algorithms.
Why Beauty Matters ∗

We decompose the beauty premium in an experimental labor market where ‘employers’ determine wages of ‘workers’ who perform a maze-solving task. This task requires a true skill which we show to be unaffected by physical attractiveness. We find a sizable beauty premium and can identify three transmission channels. (1) Physically-attractive workers are more confident and higher confidence increases wages. (2) For a given level of confidence, physically-attractive workers are (wrongly) considered more able by employers. (3) Controlling for worker confidence, physically-attractive workers have oral skills (such as communication and social skills) that raise their wages when they interact with employers. Our methodology can be adopted to study the sources of discriminatory pay differentials in other settings. JEL Classification: C91, J31
Arginine behaviour after arginine or citrulline administration in older subjects

Abstract Arginine (ARG) and its precursor citrulline (CIT) are popular dietary supplements, especially for the elderly. However, age-related reductions in lean body mass and alterations in organ functions could change their bioavailability. Pharmacokinetics and tolerance to amino acid (AA) loads are poorly documented in elderly subjects. The objective here was to characterise the plasma kinetics of CIT and ARG in a single-dosing study design. Eight fasting elderly men underwent two separate isomolar oral loading tests (10 g of CIT or 9·94 g of ARG). Blood was withdrawn over an 8-h period to measure plasma AA concentrations. Only CIT, ornithine and ARG plasma concentrations were changed. Volume of distribution was not dependent on AA administered. Conversely, parameters related to ARG kinetics were strongly dependent on AA administered: after ARG load, elimination was higher (ARG>CIT; P=0·041) and admission period+time at peak concentration was lower (ARG<CIT; P=0·033), and the combination of both phenomena results in a marked increase in ARG availability when CIT was administered (ARG<CIT; P=0·033) compared with ARG administration itself. In conclusion, a single CIT administration in the elderly is safe and well tolerated, and CIT proves to be a better in vivo ARG precursor than ARG itself in healthy elderly subjects.
Adaptive Polling for Information Aggregation

The flourishing of online labor markets such as Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) makes it easy to recruit many workers for solving small tasks. We study whether information elicitation and aggregation over a combinatorial space can be achieved by integrating small pieces of potentially imprecise information, gathered from a large number of workers through simple, one-shot interactions in an online labor market. We consider the setting of predicting the ranking of $n$ competing candidates, each having a hidden underlying strength parameter. At each step, our method estimates the strength parameters from the collected pairwise comparison data and adaptively chooses another pairwise comparison question for the next recruited worker. Through an MTurk experiment, we show that the adaptive method effectively elicits and aggregates information, outperforming a naive method using a random pairwise comparison question at each step.
Localization of mobile users using trajectory matching

We present an algorithm enabling localization of moving wireless devices in an indoor setting. The method uses only RF signal strength and can be implemented without specialized hardware. The mobility of the users is modeled by learning a function mapping a short history of signal strength values to a 2D position. We use radial basis function (RBF) fitting to learn a reliable estimate of a mobile node's position given its past signal strength measurements. Even though we deal with extremely noisy measurements in a cluttered indoor setting, nodes are not required to be stationary during measurement or learning. We evaluate our algorithm in a real indoor setting using MicaZ motes, achieving an average localization accuracy of 1.3 m. In our experiments, using historical data improves the localization accuracy by almost a factor of two compared to using only the most current measurements.
INTERLEUKIN-1 BETA AND INTERLEUKIN-8 IN HEALTHY AND INFLAMED DENTAL PULPS

After aggression to the dental pulp, some cells produce cytokines in order to start and control the inflammatory process. Among these cytokines, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) emerge as important ones. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the location, distribution and concentration of these cytokines in healthy and inflamed dental pulps. Material and methods: Twenty pulps, obtained from healthy third molars (n=10) and from pulpectomies (n=10) were used for the study, with half of each group used for immunohistochemistry and half for protein extraction and ELISA assays. Fibroblasts obtained from healthy dental pulps, stimulated or not by Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in order to simulate aggression on the cell cultures, were also used and analyzed by ELISA for IL-1ß and IL-8 as complementary information. Data obtained from immunohistochemistry were qualitatively analyzed. Data obtained from ELISA assays (tissue and cells) were statistically treated by the t-test (p<0.05). Results: Immunohistochemically, it was observed that inflamed pulps were strongly stained for both cytokines in inflammatory cells, while healthy pulps were not immunolabeled. ELISA from tissues quantitatively confirmed the higher presence of both cytokines. Additionally, cultured pulp fibroblasts stimulated by LPS also produce more cytokines than the control cells. Conclusions: It may be concluded that inflamed pulps present higher amounts of IL-1ß and IL-8 than healthy pulps and that pulp fibroblasts stimulated by bacterial LPS produce higher levels of IL-1ß and IL-8 than the control group.
Integration of direction signals of image motion in the superior temporal sulcus of the macaque monkey

Using anesthetized and paralyzed monkeys, we have studied the visual response properties of neurons in the cortical area surrounding the middle temporal area (MT) in the superior temporal sulcus (STS). Systematic electrode penetrations revealed that there is a functionally distinct region where three classes of directionally selective cells with large receptive fields cluster. This region is anteriorly adjoined to the dorsal two-thirds of MT, has a width of 4–5 mm mediolaterally, and therefore may correspond to the dorsal part of the medial superior temporal area (MST), which was previously defined as a MT-recipient zone. One class of cells responded to a straight movement of patterns in the frontoparallel plane with directional selectivity (D cells: 217/422, 51.4%). The second class of cells selectively responded to an expanding or contracting size change of patterns (S cells: 66/422, 15.7%). These cells responded neither to a change in width of a slit of any orientation or any length, nor to a change in brightness. The third class of cells responded only to a rotation of patterns in one direction (R cells: 58/422, 13.7%). A majority of these cells (41/58) responded to the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of patterns in the frontoparallel plane (Rf cells), while the rest responded to a rotation of patterns in depth (Rd cells). We will suggest that these cells acquire the ability to discover whole events of visual motion-- i.e., unidirectional straight movement, size change (radial movement), and rotation--by integrating elemental motion information extracted by MT cells. The receptive fields of D, S, and Rf cells can be constructed by converging signals of MT cells, the preferred directions of which are arranged in parallel (D cells), radially (S cells), and circularly (Rf cells). The receptive fields of Rd cells can be constructed, in turn, by the convergence of signals of S cells.
Adventures in Semantic Publishing: Exemplar Semantic Enhancements of a Research Article

Scientific innovation depends on finding, integrating, and re-using the products of previous research. Here we explore how recent developments in Web technology, particularly those related to the publication of data and metadata, might assist that process by providing semantic enhancements to journal articles within the mainstream process of scholarly journal publishing. We exemplify this by describing semantic enhancements we have made to a recent biomedical research article taken from PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, providing enrichment to its content and increased access to datasets within it. These semantic enhancements include provision of live DOIs and hyperlinks; semantic markup of textual terms, with links to relevant third-party information resources; interactive figures; a re-orderable reference list; a document summary containing a study summary, a tag cloud, and a citation analysis; and two novel types of semantic enrichment: the first, a Supporting Claims Tooltip to permit “Citations in Context”, and the second, Tag Trees that bring together semantically related terms. In addition, we have published downloadable spreadsheets containing data from within tables and figures, have enriched these with provenance information, and have demonstrated various types of data fusion (mashups) with results from other research articles and with Google Maps. We have also published machine-readable RDF metadata both about the article and about the references it cites, for which we developed a Citation Typing Ontology, CiTO (http://purl.org/net/cito/). The enhanced article, which is available at http://dx.doi. org/10.1371/journal.pntd. 0000228.x001, presents a compelling existence proof of the possibilities of semantic publication. We hope the showcase of examples and ideas it contains, described in this paper, will excite the imaginations of researchers and publishers, stimulating them to explore the possibilities of semantic publishing for their own research articles, and thereby break down present barriers to the discovery and re-use of information within traditional modes of scholarly communication.
A call-by-value lambda-calculus with lists and control

Calculi with control operators have been studied to reason about control in programming languages and to interpret the computational content of classical proofs. To make these calculi into a real programming language, one should also include data types. As a step into that direction, this paper defines a simply typed call-by-value lambda calculus with the control operators catch and throw, a data type of lists, and an operator for primitive recursion (a la Goedel's T). We prove that our system satisfies subject reduction, progress, confluence for untyped terms, and strong normalization for well-typed terms.
Using an ASR database to design a pronunciation evaluation system in Basque

This paper presents a method to build CAPT systems for under resourced languages, as Basque, using a general purpose ASR speech database. More precisely, the proposed method consists in automatically determine the threshold of GOP (Goodness Of Pronunciation) scores, which have been used as pronunciation scores in phone-level. Two score distributions have been obtained for each phoneme corresponding to its correct and incorrect pronunciations. The distribution of the scores for erroneous pronunciation has been calculated inserting controlled errors in the dictionary, so that each changed phoneme has been randomly replaced by a phoneme from the same group. These groups have been obtained by means of a phonetic clustering performed using regression trees. After obtaining both distributions, the EER (Equal Error Rate) of each distribution pair has been calculated and used as a decision threshold for each phoneme. The results show that this method is useful when there is no database specifically designed for CAPT systems, although it is not as accurate as those specifically designed for this purpose.