Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nordic Experiences: Participants' Expectations and Experiences of Short-Term Study Abroad Programs

The purpose of this study was to investigate Finnish high school students' and teachers' perceptions of the effects of short-term Nordic study abroad programs in which they had participated. The data presented were based on a mixed-methods strategy. The data set consisted of responses from 158 students and 92 teachers to a specifically developed Study Abroad Assessment (SAA) instrument. These data were analyzed quantitatively and, in part, also qualitatively. Additional qualitative data in the form of interviews with six participants were also analyzed. Four factors emerged from the analysis which represented dimensions of what a short-term study abroad (SA) program may offer to its participants. These dimensions were named “Personal growth,” “Social connectedness,” “Development of Nordic awareness,” and “Impact on career or study opportunities. ” Composite variables were created on the basis of these factors. The analysis revealed some statistically significant differences between the groups (Period Scholars; Scholars to Sweden; Teachers) concerning the composite variables. The qualitative part of the study provided information on the benefits and challenges of short-term study abroad that were compatible with previous studies. There is evidence that even short-term study abroad programs in a Nordic context provide participants with some core skills needed later in life, and the benefits of SA were perceived to be greater by those who spent more time in the new environment.
MemPick: A tool for data structure detection

Most current techniques for data structure reverse engineering are limited to low-level programming constructs, such as individual variables or structs. In practice, pointer networks connect some of these constructs, to form higher level entities like lists and trees. The lack of information about the pointer network limits our ability to efficiently perform forensics and reverse engineering. To fill this gap, we propose MemPick, a tool that detects and classifies high-level data structures used in stripped C/C++ binaries. By analyzing the evolution of the heap during program execution, it identifies and classifies the most commonly used data structures, such as singly-or doubly-linked lists, many types of trees (e.g., AVL, red-black trees, B-trees), and graphs. We evaluated MemPick on a wide variety of popular libraries and real world applications with great success.
Mathematical Modeling of the Effectiveness of Facemasks in Reducing the Spread of Novel Influenza A (H1N1)

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of novel influenza A (H1N1) a pandemic. With limited supplies of antivirals and vaccines, countries and individuals are looking at other ways to reduce the spread of pandemic (H1N1) 2009, particularly options that are cost effective and relatively easy to implement. Recent experiences with the 2003 SARS and 2009 H1N1 epidemics have shown that people are willing to wear facemasks to protect themselves against infection; however, little research has been done to quantify the impact of using facemasks in reducing the spread of disease. We construct and analyze a mathematical model for a population in which some people wear facemasks during the pandemic and quantify impact of these masks on the spread of influenza. To estimate the parameter values used for the effectiveness of facemasks, we used available data from studies on N95 respirators and surgical facemasks. The results show that if N95 respirators are only 20% effective in reducing susceptibility and infectivity, only 10% of the population would have to wear them to reduce the number of influenza A (H1N1) cases by 20%. We can conclude from our model that, if worn properly, facemasks are an effective intervention strategy in reducing the spread of pandemic (H1N1) 2009.
El giro a la izquierda en América Latina: ¿una política post-liberal?

Cuando Hugo Chavez fue electo como presidente de Venezuela la izquierda gobernaba solo en Cuba. En el tiempo transcurrido desde entonces otra media docena de paises se sumaron a la lista y muchos comentaristas han comenzado a hablar de una ola rosada o del giro a la izquierda en la region. Este articulo intenta conceptualizar lo ocurrido. Propone un marco analitico para caracterizar a la izquierda y el giro a la izquierda en la politica latinoamericana. El exito electoral sigue siendo el criterio habitual para determinar donde ha habido un giro a la izquierda, y esta bien que asi sea. Pero se trata de un criterio restrictivo dado que los procesos en curso en la region parecen ir mas alla de las vicisitudes electorales. Por eso propongo suplementar el criterio electoral con otros. Entre ellos, la capacidad de la izquierda para confi gurar la agenda politica y el hecho de que ella esta redefiniendo el centro politico e ideologico. En la seccion final abordo lo que me parece ser el aspecto mas innovador de estos giros, a saber, su incipiente desafio al esquema liberal de la politica. Un escenario post-liberal esta surgiendo a medida en que los actores experimentan con formatos y lugares de intercambio politico paralelos a los de la esfera liberal de la representacion electoral. No se trata de proponer un maniqueismo de lo uno o lo otro pues las insurgencias en curso son criticas de la politica liberal pero no dejan de estar contaminadas por ella. Mi conclusion es que el escenario post-liberal esta caracterizado por la hibridacion politica. Palabras clave: izquierda politica, America Latina, politica post-liberal.
The Impact of Cultural Values on Maori Information Behaviour

Abstract Traditional information seeking behaviour models are not representative of indigenous values and customs. This article outlines research undertaken with New Zealand Māori secondary school students aged between 16-18 years to ascertain how they seek information in the Maori and the mainstream society cultural worlds in which they participate. The research outcomes indicate that these students primarily seek information from other people and in the process of doing so draw on tikanga Māori (Māori customs) to guide their behaviour. The research has resulted in the development of a new framework that describes these cultural behaviours and how they assist in the information seeking process.
On the minimum effective dose of noradrenaline for causing the increase of the blood sugar content in non-anesthetized dogs.

In non-anesthetized and non-fastened dogs, DL-noradrenaline was in-jected intravenously in a dose varying from 3μg. to 30μg. per kg. of body weight per minute for 10 minutes at a uniform rate and blood sugar con-tent before and after noradrenaline injection was estimated. The minimum effective dose of DL-noradrenaline for causing the in-crease of blood sugar content was found to be 15μg. per kg. per minute. My thanks are due to Prof. T. Suzuki for his helpful advice.
Multiple cell types form the VIP amacrine cell population

Amacrine cells are a heterogeneous group of interneurons that form microcircuits with bipolar, amacrine and ganglion cells to process visual information in the inner retina. This study has characterized the morphology, neurochemistry and major cell types of a VIP‐ires‐Cre amacrine cell population. VIP‐tdTomato and ‐Confetti (Brainbow2.1) mouse lines were generated by crossing a VIP‐ires‐Cre line with either a Cre‐dependent tdTomato or Brainbow2.1 reporter line. Retinal sections and whole‐mounts were evaluated by quantitative, immunohistochemical, and intracellular labeling approaches. The majority of tdTomato and Confetti fluorescent cell bodies were in the inner nuclear layer (INL) and a few cell bodies were in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). Fluorescent processes ramified in strata 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the inner plexiform layer (IPL). All tdTomato fluorescent cells expressed syntaxin 1A and GABA‐immunoreactivity indicating they were amacrine cells. The average VIP‐tdTomato fluorescent cell density in the INL and GCL was 535 and 24 cells/mm2, respectively. TdTomato fluorescent cells in the INL and GCL contained VIP‐immunoreactivity. The VIP‐ires‐Cre amacrine cell types were identified in VIP‐Brainbow2.1 retinas or by intracellular labeling in VIP‐tdTomato retinas. VIP‐1 amacrine cells are bistratified, wide‐field cells that ramify in strata 1, 4, and 5, VIP‐2A and 2B amacrine cells are medium‐field cells that mainly ramify in strata 3 and 4, and VIP‐3 displaced amacrine cells are medium‐field cells that ramify in strata 4 and 5 of the IPL. VIP‐ires‐Cre amacrine cells form a neuropeptide‐expressing cell population with multiple cell types, which are likely to have distinct roles in visual processing.
The Effects of Leucine, Zinc, and Chromium Supplements on Inflammatory Events of the Respiratory System in Type 2 Diabetic Rats

Diabetes mellitus is a major cause of serious micro- and macrovascular diseases that affect nearly every system in the body, including the respiratory system. Non-enzymatic protein glycation due to hyperglycaemic stress has fundamental implications due to the large capillary network and amount of connective tissue in the lung. The current study was designed to determine whether leucine, zinc, and chromium supplementations influence the function and histological structure of the respiratory tract in a rat model of type 2 diabetes. Seventy-seven rats were divided into eleven groups, consisting of 7 animals each. One group served as negative control and insulin and glibenclamide were used as positive control drugs. Thus, eight groups received the nutritional supplements alone or in combination with each other. Nutritional supplements and glibenclamide were added to the drinking water and neutral protamine Hagedorn insulin was subcutaneously injected during the 4 weeks of treatment period. The induction of type 2 diabetes in the rats caused an infiltration of mononuclear cells and edema in the submucosa of the trachea and lung, severe fibrosis around the vessels and airways, and perivascular and peribronchial infiltration of inflammatory cells and fibrin. In the diabetic group, the total inflammation score and Reid index significantly increased. Diabetes induction significantly reduced the total antioxidant status and elevated the lipid peroxidation products in the serum, lung lavage and lung tissue of the diabetic animals. Treatment with nutritional supplements significantly decreased the histopathological changes and inflammatory indices in the diabetic animals. Supplementation of diabetic rats with leucine, zinc, and chromium, alone and in combination, significantly increased the total antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation level in the diabetic animals. The nutritional supplements improved the enzymatic antioxidant activity of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, myeloperoxidase, and superoxide dismutase in the diabetic rats. The present results demonstrate beneficial effects and amelioration of inflammation in the respiratory system of type 2 diabetic rats by leucine, zinc, and chromium supplements, probably due to their hypoglycaemic and antioxidant properties. Using safe and effective nutritional supplements, such as leucine, chromium and zinc, to replace proven conventional medical treatments may help to control diabetes and/or its complications.
Inferring the Forces Controlling Metaphase Kinetochore Oscillations by Reverse Engineering System Dynamics

Kinetochores are multi-protein complexes that mediate the physical coupling of sister chromatids to spindle microtubule bundles (called kinetochore (K)-fibres) from respective poles. These kinetochore-attached K-fibres generate pushing and pulling forces, which combine with polar ejection forces (PEF) and elastic inter-sister chromatin to govern chromosome movements. Classic experiments in meiotic cells using calibrated micro-needles measured an approximate stall force for a chromosome, but methods that allow the systematic determination of forces acting on a kinetochore in living cells are lacking. Here we report the development of mathematical models that can be fitted (reverse engineered) to high-resolution kinetochore tracking data, thereby estimating the model parameters and allowing us to indirectly compute the (relative) force components (K-fibre, spring force and PEF) acting on individual sister kinetochores in vivo. We applied our methodology to thousands of human kinetochore pair trajectories and report distinct signatures in temporal force profiles during directional switches. We found the K-fibre force to be the dominant force throughout oscillations, and the centromeric spring the smallest although it has the strongest directional switching signature. There is also structure throughout the metaphase plate, with a steeper PEF potential well towards the periphery and a concomitant reduction in plate thickness and oscillation amplitude. This data driven reverse engineering approach is sufficiently flexible to allow fitting of more complex mechanistic models; mathematical models of kinetochore dynamics can therefore be thoroughly tested on experimental data for the first time. Future work will now be able to map out how individual proteins contribute to kinetochore-based force generation and sensing.
Interacting personality traits? Smoking as a test case

We question whether it is profitable to look at smoking (both smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked a day): (1) in terms of the personality traits of Extraversion, Neuroticism and Psychoticism; (2) in terms of their pairwise interactions; (3) with respect, rather, to impulsivity or sensation seeking; or (4) taking into consideration both these levels of analysis. Our sample comprised 121 smokers and 111 non‐smokers (mostly students). No interactions were predictive of smoking. Both Psychoticism and impulsivity were found to be central traits—thereby providing support for the notion that it is a better strategy to look at smoking in terms of both these levels of analysis. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of freezing temperature on the color of frozen salmon.

UNLABELLED New freezing methods developed with the purpose of improved product quality after thawing can sometimes be difficult to get accepted in the market. The reason for this is the formation of ice crystals that can give the product a temporary color loss and make it less appealing. We have here used microscopy to study ice crystal size as a function of freezing temperature by investigating the voids in the cell tissue left by the ice crystals. We have also investigated how freezing temperature affects the color and the visible absorption spectra of frozen salmon. Freezing temperatures previously determined to be the best for quality after thawing (-40 to -60 °C) were found to cause a substantial loss in perceived color intensity during frozen state. This illustrated the conflict between optimal freezing temperatures with respect to quality after thawing against visual appearance during frozen state. Low freezing temperatures gave many small ice crystals, increased light scattering and an increased absorption level for all wavelengths in the visible region. Increased astaxanthin concentration on the other hand would give higher absorption at 490 nm. The results showed a clear potential of using visible interactance spectroscopy to differentiate between poor product coloration due to lack of pigmentation and temporary color loss due to light scattering by ice crystal. This type of measurements could be a useful tool in the development of new freezing methods and to monitor ice crystal growth during frozen storage. It could also potentially be used by the industry to prove good product quality. PRACTICAL APPLICATION In this article we have shown that freezing food products at intermediate to low temperatures (-40 to -80 °C) can result in paler color during frozen state, which could affect consumer acceptance. We have also presented a spectroscopic method that can separate between poor product color and temporary color loss due to freezing.
Blinding Us to the Obvious? The Effect of Statistical Training on the Evaluation of Evidence

Statistical training helps individuals analyze and interpret data. However, the emphasis placed on null hypothesis significance testing in academic training and reporting may lead researchers to interpret evidence dichotomously rather than continuously. Consequently, researchers may either disregard evidence that fails to attain statistical significance or undervalue it relative to evidence that attains statistical significance. Surveys of researchers across a wide variety of fields (including medicine, epidemiology, cognitive science, psychology, business, and economics) show that a substantial majority does indeed do so. This phenomenon is manifest both in researchers’ interpretations of descriptions of evidence and in their likelihood judgments. Dichotomization of evidence is reduced though still present when researchers are asked to make decisions based on the evidence, particularly when the decision outcome is personally consequential. Recommendations are offered. This paper was accepted by Yuval Rot.
The efficacy of periarticular drug infiltration for postoperative pain after total hip arthroplasty

Background: The ability of intraoperative periarticular drug infiltration (PDI) to control pain after total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been studied for many times, but it still remains controversial. Therefore, we undertook a meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PDI on postoperative pain after THA. Methods: Databases, including Pubmed, Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane library, were searched to identify randomized controlled trials concerning PDI for pain management in patients undergoing THA. The primary outcomes included pain score with rest or activity and opioid consumption. Secondary outcomes were length of hospital stay and complications (nausea or vomiting). Results: A total of 666 THA patients from 8 randomized controlled trials were subjected to meta-analysis. The results showed that the PDI group had better pain relief, less opioid consumption, and less length of hospital, when compared with the placebo group (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in regard to visual analog score with activity and complications between the 2 groups. Conclusion: PDI may be recommended for the pain management after THA. However, due to the variations in the included studies, additional studies are still needed to validate these conclusions.
Cognitive Findings in Benign Childhood Epilepsy with Occipital Paroxysms

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cognitive and visual perceptive functions in children with childhood epilepsy with occipital paroxysms (CEOP). Material and Method: Hospital charts of children ages 1 to 18 years who admitted to pediatric neurology out-patient clinic between 2009 and 2010 were reviewed. Twenty one children with a diagnosis of CEOP were identified. Sixteen of these children who accepted to include the study were evaluated with neuropsychological tests. Results: Two of five patients who were evaluated with Denver developmental screening test were found to have lower scores than their reference standards. Remaining 11 patients were evaluated with Wechsler Scales of Intelligence tests, 4 were mildly mental retarded and 1 had null intelligence. Eleven patients were also evaluated with Bender Gestalt Visual Motor Test and 7of them had disturbances in visual perception. Reading speed and writing norm tests were applied to 9 literate patients and 7 of them showed slower reading ability and writing ability was found worse in 6 patients. Discussion: The absence of neurological and neuropsylogical deficits has long been considered as a prerequisite for diagnosis of benign childhood partial epilepsies. However, only a few studies describing the cognitive profile of patients with CEOP have been published. The present study has demonstrated that the patients with CEOP had varying degree of cognitive dysfunction and disturbance in visual perception. In order to provide appropriate intervention, cognitive functions should be assessed in children with CEOP.
Overlapping Coalition Formation in Multi-sensor Networks

We investigate overlapping coalition formation in multi-sensor networks where sensor agents can track multiple targets within their overlapping fields of view simultaneously. We employ a game-theoretic approach to model the problem of sensors coordination as that of an overlapping coalition formation problem. Our model seeks to find the minimum-sized overlapping coalition structure that maximizes the overall social welfare of sensor networks, i.e., ensuring targets coverage maximization while also minimizing the number of sensors needed. We then show that finding the optimal overlapping coalition structure of a set of agents in this type of environment is NP-complete.
Airborne measurements of forest and agricultural land surface emissivity at millimeter wavelengths

Passive microwave radiometers have been operated on an aircraft over the an area of Sweden, near Uppsala in September 1995 and March 1997 as part of the Northern Processes Experiment (NOPEX). Their measurements have allowed the calculation of the emissivity of boreal forest and agricultural land surfaces at 24, 50, 89, and 157 GHz over a range of incidence angles and polarizations. These results show consistent differences between dense forestry, where the emissivity is close to 1 and open land, where it is approximately 0.96. These differences are examined and a model is presented to parameterize these surfaces by use of a Debye-like effective permittivity and Fresnel's reflection coefficients. This will allow retrievals of atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles to be made by satellite microwave sounders, such as the advanced microwave sounding unit (AMSU) over similar land surfaces.
Presidential Address: The Wounded Healer

This paper deals with the emergence, elaboration, and use of the concept of "the wounded healer. " The term refers to a person whose personal experience of illness and/or trauma has left lingering effects on him—in the form of lessons learned that later served him in ministering to other sufferers, or in the form of symptoms or characteristics that usefully influenced his therapeutic endeavors. While such persons and their actions have been noted across the ages, in other cultures, and in many contexts, it was not until the early twentieth century that the patterns in the behaviors of such persons were recognized, named, explained, and categorized as "healing. " Early in the century, the concept was commonly used in the fields of pastoral counseling and analytical psychology; by the end of the century it had been vastly expanded and extended and no longer referred mainly to a healer of psychological suffering. The term wounded healer is now in common use in areas such as rehabilitation medicine, medical-career choice, Alcoholics Anonymous and the self-help movement, and chronic-illness support groups, as well as in the original areas of psychotherapy and pastoral care.