Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SwiftAnalytics: Optimizing Object Storage for Big Data Analytics

Due to their scalability and low cost, object-based storage systems are an attractive storage solution and widely deployed. To gain valuable insight from the data residing in object storage but avoid expensive copying to a distributed filesystem (e.g. HDFS), it would be natural to directly use them as a storage backend for data-parallel analytics frameworks such as Spark or MapReduce. Unfortunately, executing data-parallel frameworks on object storage exhibits severe performance problems, reducing average job completion times by up to 6.5x. We identify the two most severe performance problems when running data-parallel frameworks on the OpenStack Swift object storage system in comparison to the HDFS distributed filesystem: (i) the fixed mapping of object names to storage nodes prevents local writes and adds delay when objects are renamed, (ii) the coarser granularity of objects compared to blocks reduces data locality during reads. We propose the SwiftAnalytics object storage system to address them: (i) it uses locality-aware writes to control an object's location and eliminate unnecessary I/O related to renames during job completion, speeding up analytics jobs by up to 5.1x, (ii) it transparently chunks objects into smaller sized parts to improve data-locality, leading to up to 3.4x faster reads.
Validity of prognostic models: when is a model clinically useful?

Prognostic models combine patient characteristics to predict medical outcomes. Unfortunately, such models do not always perform as well for other patients as those from whose data the models were derived. Therefore, validity of prognostic models needs to be assessed in new patients. Predicted probabilities can be calculated with the model and compared with the actually observed outcomes. We may distinguish several aspects of validity: (1) agreement between predicted probabilities and observed probabilities (calibration), (2) ability of the model to distinguish subjects with different outcomes (discrimination), and (3) ability of the model to improve the decision-making process (clinical usefulness). We discuss those aspects and show some measures by using models for testicular and prostate cancer. We conclude that good calibration and discriminative ability are not sufficient for a model to be clinically useful. Application of a prognostic model is sensible, if the model is able to provide useful additional information for clinical decision making.
Students’ Perception of Co‐operative Learning in Earth Science Fieldwork

Abstract This paper reports on a small‐scale study of students’ perceptions of selected aspects concerning the organisation of, and learning from, fieldwork. Two main findings emerge. (a) In the choke of working partners, students either seek partners whom they regard as capable of making positive contributions to the fulfilment of the learning tasks, or they opt for friendship groups. In the case of the former, the qualities looked for are predominantly subject knowledge and subject‐related skills: competence in the management of group learning does not appear as a major consideration. (b) Although the outcomes from group work were invariably judged to be positive, a large minority of students appeared to regard themselves as contributors to, rather than beneficiaries from, such work. These students judged the extent of their learning from group work as low or very low.
A Probe Into Three Chinese Boys' Self-Efficacy Beliefs Learning English as a Second Language

Abstract In this case study, we investigate three Chinese boys' self-efficacy beliefs learning English as a second language across English language learning tasks and home-based and school-based contexts. Participants reported higher self-efficacy to complete listening and speaking activities than during reading and writing activities. All participants claimed limited vocabulary and reported low self-efficacy for reading tasks that demanded advanced vocabulary. Our analyses provide descriptive evidence for associations between the participants' self-efficacy beliefs and various factors, such as content area expertise, English proficiency self-perceptions, task difficulty level, social persuasion, interest, attitude toward the English language and the English-speaking community, as well as the social and cultural context in which development is occurring.
Satisfaction with job security as a predictor of organizational commitment and job performance in a multicultural environment

The study explores the role of satisfaction with job security in predicting organizational commitment and job performance in a multicultural non‐Western environment. It also examines factors contributing to the variations in satisfaction with job security among employees. Results indicate that satisfaction with job security is positively correlated with both organizational commitment and job performance. Furthermore, employees’ age, educational level, job level, monthly income, marital status, tenure in present job, tenure in present organization and an organization’s activity contribute significantly to the variations in satisfaction with job security among employees. Finally, the relationship between satisfaction with job security, and both organizational commitment and job performance vary across national cultures.
Distance, Power and Ideology: Diplomatic Representation in a World of Nation-States

Sending diplomatic missions abroad and receiving foreign missions at home is in the political and economic interests of countries. But such missions depend on domestic and foreign political will and they also cost scarce resources. This article demonstrates that the global pattern of diplomatic representation is significantly determined by geographical distance between countries, by the power of both sending and recipient countries and by the degree of their ideological affinity. The pattern of diplomatic representation is both a reflection of and a contributor to a world of nation-states dominated by geographical distance, unequal power and ideological division.
Considerações sobre o diagnóstico precoce na clínica do autismo e das psicoses infantis

Este artigo se refere a uma pesquisa de Iniciacao Cientifica. Esta se baseou na teoria de Marie-Christine Laznik para investigar, por meio do estudo de prontuarios, como aconteceu em um Centro de Atencao Psicossocial Infantil, localizado no municipio de Sao Paulo, o diagnostico precoce do autismo e das psicoses infantis e como se deu a trajetoria destas familias ate a chegada a instituicao. A pesquisa revelou que o inicio do tratamento de criancas autistas e psicoticas se da de maneira tardia em consequencia da nao realizacao da deteccao precoce, da demora por parte de profissionais e/ou instituicoes de saude em dar um diagnostico formal e realizar um encaminhamento e da inseguranca dos profissionais da saude para lidar com estas psicopatologias graves. Os resultados desse trabalho ajudam a pensar acoes futuras e necessidades de maior concentracao de esforcos para que o tratamento do autismo e das psicoses infantis possa acontecer de maneira cada vez mais precoce, frente a quadros nao cronificados.
Understanding Everyday Hands in Action from RGB-D Images

We analyze functional manipulations of handheld objects, formalizing the problem as one of fine-grained grasp classification. To do so, we make use of a recently developed fine-grained taxonomy of human-object grasps. We introduce a large dataset of 12000 RGB-D images covering 71 everyday grasps in natural interactions. Our dataset is different from past work (typically addressed from a robotics perspective) in terms of its scale, diversity, and combination of RGB and depth data. From a computer-vision perspective, our dataset allows for exploration of contact and force prediction (crucial concepts in functional grasp analysis) from perceptual cues. We present extensive experimental results with state-of-the-art baselines, illustrating the role of segmentation, object context, and 3D-understanding in functional grasp analysis. We demonstrate a near 2X improvement over prior work and a naive deep baseline, while pointing out important directions for improvement.
Approaches to Learning at Work

Learning and development are taking up a central role in the human resource policies of organizations because of their crucial contribution to the competitiveness of those organizations. The present study investigates the relationship of work motivation, perceived workload, and choice independence with employees’ approaches to learning at work. Participants in this study were 358 Belgian employees who completed the Approaches to Learning at Work Questionnaire, the Workplace Climate Questionnaire, and the Motivation at Work Scale. Results show that both autonomous and controlled motivation relate positively to employees’ deep approaches to learning. In addition, an interaction effect of perceived workload and choice independence on a deep approach to learning was found. The results concerning a surface-disorganized approach to learning showed a negative relationship with autonomous motivation and a positive relationship with perceived workload. None of the predictors related significantly to a surface-rational approach.
The Influence of Parental Beliefs on the Development of Chinese Adolescents Experiencing Economic Disadvantage

Based on the data collected from 275 Chinese families experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong, the influence of parental beliefs (Chinese cultural beliefs about adversity, attribution of children’s success and failure to effort, and expectations of children’s future) and parental control on adolescent development was examined. It was found that paternal expectations of children’s future predicted adolescents’ perceived maternal control and positive youth development. Furthermore, perceived maternal control mediated the effect of parental beliefs on adolescent positive development. This is the first scientific research that clarified the pathway through which parental beliefs influenced adolescent positive development via maternal control in Chinese families experiencing economic disadvantage. The research findings underscore the importance of understanding the triadic interactions among fathers, mothers, and adolescents in families experiencing economic disadvantage.
Beliefs-practice and spiritual-religious coping and demographic characteristics in chronic patients

The aim of the study was to identify differences in the beliefs-practice and spiritual-religious coping in terms of sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, education, marital status, live with, occupation, socioeconomic status and time of diagnosis of the disease in 121 patients diagnosed with chronic illness from the city of medellin, colombia. was used as measure the systems of beliefs inventory SBI-15R y spiritual coping scale SCS. The results showed statistically significant differences between the beliefs-practice and spiritual-religious coping in terms of age, education, occupation and socioeconomic status, while gender and time of diagnosis of the disease were not variable significant. In conclusion, regardless of time of disease diagnosis and gender for the chronically ill are more spiritual and religious when are being elderly, not have a work activity and have low educational and socio-economic level.
Observation in Training Parents of Handicapped Children: A Review

Research and service-oriented studies are reviewed to indicate issues and promising strategies for evaluation of field-based parent-training. The main areas which professionals and researchers must address themselves to are indicated. A variety of multiple-outcome measures are used. Skill development and transfer of skills to the natural environment remains a poorly evaluated area. Professional workers need to attempt more control in methodology, reporting practice and using research analyses. Researchers will have to direct study to assessing realiability and validity and developing practical instruments for widespread use. The implications of previous work are discussed. The emphasis of the paper is that direct observations of parents working in their natural settings should be the preferred means of evaluation.
The influence of part‐time work on student placement

An increasing amount of research now relates to students who work part‐time during third level study. The advantages and disadvantages of this situation have been widely discussed in the literature and positive aspects of part‐time work relating to graduate employment are given in several recent reports. Almost nothing has been done, however, to view part‐time working as a preparation for placement, either from a student or employer perspective. This paper attempts to rectify this failing and reports on surveys of pre‐ and post‐placement students in the academic year 2002–2003. In addition, many of the employer partners who take our placement students were questioned about their attitude to part‐time work appearing on curriculum vitae and their comments have proved both interesting and revealing.
Plasmid-free CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in Plasmodium falciparum confirms mutations conferring resistance to the dihydroisoquinolone clinical candidate SJ733

Genetic manipulation of the deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum remains challenging, but the rise of CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing tools is increasing the feasibility of altering this parasite’s genome in order to study its biology. Of particular interest is the investigation of drug targets and drug resistance mechanisms, which have major implications for fighting malaria. We present a new method for introducing drug resistance mutations in P. falciparum without the use of plasmids or the need for cloning homologous recombination templates. We demonstrate this method by introducing edits into the sodium efflux channel PfATP4 by transfection of a purified CRISPR/Cas9-guide RNA ribonucleoprotein complex and a 200-nucleotide single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide (ssODN) repair template. Analysis of whole genome sequencing data with the variant-finding program MinorityReport confirmed that only the intended edits were made, and growth inhibition assays confirmed that these mutations confer resistance to the antimalarial SJ733. The method described here is ideally suited for the introduction of mutations that confer a fitness advantage under selection conditions, and the novel finding that an ssODN can function as a repair template in P. falciparum could greatly simplify future editing attempts regardless of the nuclease used or the delivery method.
Fast and Efficient Black Box Optimization Using the Parameter-less Population Pyramid

The parameter-less population pyramid (P3) is a recently introduced method for performing evolutionary optimization without requiring any user-specified parameters. P3’s primary innovation is to replace the generational model with a pyramid of multiple populations that are iteratively created and expanded. In combination with local search and advanced crossover, P3 scales to problem difficulty, exploiting previously learned information before adding more diversity. Across seven problems, each tested using on average 18 problem sizes, P3 outperformed all five advanced comparison algorithms. This improvement includes requiring fewer evaluations to find the global optimum and better fitness when using the same number of evaluations. Using both algorithm analysis and comparison, we find P3’s effectiveness is due to its ability to properly maintain, add, and exploit diversity. Unlike the best comparison algorithms, P3 was able to achieve this quality without any problem-specific tuning. Thus, unlike previous parameter-less methods, P3 does not sacrifice quality for applicability. Therefore we conclude that P3 is an efficient, general, parameter-less approach to black box optimization which is more effective than existing state-of-the-art techniques.
Assessing mother‐to‐infant attachment: the Italian adaptation of a self‐report questionnaire

The mother‐to‐infant relationship is usually assessed by behavioural observation. In order to evaluate mothers' emotional and cognitive response to their infants, Condon and Corkindale [(1998) The assessment of parent‐to‐infant attachment: development of a self‐report questionnaire instrument, Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 16, 57–76] have developed a self‐administered questionnaire. The aim of the present study is the Italian validation of the scale. The questionnaire contains 19 items each rated on a 5‐point scale. A sample of women with infants between 2 and 4 months of age were recruited at two postnatal wards in Genoa (Italy). Construct validity was assessed by administering two additional questionnaires: the Symptom Rating Test by Kellner and Sheffield and the Early Infancy Temperament Questionnaire by Medoff‐Cooper, Carey and Mc Devitt. A total of 210 women were evaluated. The distribution of scores tended to be skewed towards higher attachment scores and the range was 59 to 95. The mean of the total scale was 81.5 (SD=6.5) and Cronbach's alpha was 0.77. Attachment scores were negatively correlated with all the Symptom Rating Test subscales (r between −0.23 and −0.37; p<0.01). Mothers of children with difficult temperament had lower attachment scores (t=−2.780; p<0.01). Factor analysis revealed six factors which accounted for 57% of the variance. The psychometric properties of the Italian version of the scale were similar to those of the original version. The three‐factor structure found by Condon and Corkindale was not confirmed in the Italian version. The scores on the scale relate to other variables in a way that is consistent with attachment literature.
Gender, Diversity and Working Styles

Presents evidence from a research study into the impact of gender on management styles, using repertory grid as a methodology. Generalized differences were identified in the approaches of women and men to definition of the job, overall style, decision making and interpersonal relationships. Men had greater visibility to other men, while a broader insight was offered by women interviewees into the women managers′ approaches. In the context of patriarchal power relations, in which masculinity is defined as opposite and superior to femininity, feminine working styles are perceived as less effective in organizations, while masculine attributes tend to be regarded as normatively the way to manage. Such values can imbue recruitment, selection and development practices with gender bias. Recent management and leadership theory has advocated the value of a people‐centred approach, which traditionally and stereotypically has been associated with women. This might appear to open up opportunity for women. Concludes t.
Cerebral diffusion tensor imaging and in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in patients with fulminant hepatic failure

Background and Aim: Cerebral edema is a major complication in patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolite alterations and cerebral edema in patients with FHF using in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and diffusion tensor imaging, and to look for its reversibility in survivors.
HRS/EHRA expert consensus statement on the state of genetic testing for the channelopathies and cardiomyopathies: this document was developed as a partnership between the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA).

This international consensus statement provides the state of genetic testing for the channelopathies and cardiomyopathies. It summarizes the opinion of the international writing group members based on their own experience and on a general review of the literature with respect to the use and role of genetic testing for these potentially heritable cardiac conditions. This document focuses primarily on the state of genetic testing for the 13 distinct entities detailed and the relative diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic impact of the genetic test result for each entity. It does not focus on the therapeutic management of the various channelopathies and cardiomyopathies. Treatment/management issues are only discussed for those diseases (i.e., LQTS, HCM, DCM + CCD, RCM) in which the genetic test result could potentially influence treatment considerations. Writing recommendations for genetic diseases require adaptation of the methodology normally adopted to prepare guidelines for clinical practice. Documents produced by other scientific societies have acknowledged the need to define the criteria used to rank the strength of recommendation for genetic diseases.1 The most obvious difference is that randomized and/or blinded studies do not exist. Instead, most of the available data are derived from registries that have followed patients and recorded outcome information. The authors of this statement have therefore defined specific criteria for Class I, Class IIa or b, and Class III recommendations and have used the conventional language adopted by AHA/ACC/ESC Guidelines to express each class. All recommendations are level of evidence (LOE) C (i.e., based on experts' opinions). A Class I recommendation ( “is recommended” ) was applied for genetic testing in index cases with a sound clinical suspicion for the presence of a channelopathy or a cardiomyopathy when the positive predictive value of a genetic test is high (likelihood of positive result >40% and signal/noise ratio >10; Table 3), AND/OR when …
Protecting Mammalian Hair Cells from Aminoglycoside-Toxicity: Assessing Phenoxybenzamine’s Potential

Aminoglycosides (AGs) are widely used antibiotics because of their low cost and high efficacy against gram-negative bacterial infection. However, AGs are ototoxic, causing the death of sensory hair cells in the inner ear. Strategies aimed at developing or discovering agents that protect against aminoglycoside ototoxicity have focused on inhibiting apoptosis or more recently, on preventing antibiotic uptake by the hair cells. Recent screens for ototoprotective compounds using the larval zebrafish lateral line identified phenoxybenzamine as a potential protectant for aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death. Here we used live imaging of FM1-43 uptake as a proxy for aminoglycoside entry, combined with hair-cell death assays to evaluate whether phenoxybenzamine can protect mammalian cochlear hair cells from the deleterious effects of the aminoglycoside antibiotic neomycin. We show that phenoxybenzamine can block FM1-43 entry into mammalian hair cells in a reversible and dose-dependent manner, but pre-incubation is required for maximal inhibition of entry. We observed differential effects of phenoxybenzamine on FM1-43 uptake in the two different types of cochlear hair cell in mammals, the outer hair cells (OHCs) and inner hair cells (IHCs). The requirement for pre-incubation and reversibility suggests an intracellular rather than an extracellular site of action for phenoxybenzamine. We also tested the efficacy of phenoxybenzamine as an otoprotective agent. In mouse cochlear explants the hair cell death resulting from 24 h exposure to neomycin was steeply dose-dependent, with 50% cell death occurring at ~230 μM for both IHC and OHC. We used 250 μM neomycin in subsequent hair-cell death assays. At 100 μM with 1 h pre-incubation, phenoxybenzamine conferred significant protection to both IHCs and OHCs, however at higher concentrations phenoxybenzamine itself showed clear signs of ototoxicity and an additive toxic effect when combined with neomycin. These data do not support the use of phenoxybenzamine as a therapeutic agent in mammalian inner ear. Our findings do share parallels with the observations from the zebrafish lateral line model but they also highlight the necessity for validation in the mammalian system and the potential for differential effects on sensory hair cells from different species, in different systems and even between cells in the same organ.