Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vocal Fold Augmentation with Injectable Polycaprolactone Microspheres/Pluronic F127 Hydrogel: Long-Term In Vivo Study for the Treatment of Glottal Insufficiency

There is increasing demand for reconstruction of glottal insufficiency. Several injection materials have been examined for this purpose, but all had limitations, such as poor long-term durability, migration from the injection site, inflammation, granuloma formation, and interference with vocal fold vibration due to viscoelastic mismatch. Here, we developed a novel injection material, consisting of polycaprolactone (PCL) microspheres, which exhibits better viscoelasticity than conventional materials, and Pluronic F127 carrier, which decreases the migration of the injection materials. The material was injected into rabbits with glottal insufficiency and compared with the FDA-approved injection material, calcium hydroxylapatite (CaHA). Endoscopic and histological examinations indicated that PCL/Pluronic F127 remained at the injection site with no inflammatory response or granuloma formation, whereas CaHA leaked out and migrated from the injection site. Therefore, vocal fold augmentation was almost completely retained during the 12-month follow-up period in this study. Moreover, induced phonation and high-speed recording of vocal fold vibration showed decreased vocal fold gap area in the PCL/Pluronic F127 group. Our newly developed injection material, PCL/Pluronic F127, permits efficient augmentation of paralyzed vocal fold without complications, a concept that can be applied clinically, as demonstrated by the successful long-term follow-up.
School Level and Other Differences in Illinois Teachers' Use of Data to Inform Instruction.

Using data to inform classroom decision-making is a salient facet of teachers’ professional practice. However, some evidence suggests that teacher data use practices are unevenly distributed within and across school contexts. In response, the present study examined school-level (elementary, middle, and high) differences in four categories of data use practices among public school teachers (N=303) from at least 68 schools and 52 districts in Illinois, USA. Concomitantly investigated were differences in data use practices by school locale (city, town, suburban, rural), school socioeconomic status, teacher experience, and teacher primary position. Multiple regression analyses revealed school-level differences for two categories of data use practices, namely using data for ordinary classroom instructional decision making, and using data for programmatic instructional decision making. In both cases, elementary teachers were more likely to use data than middle and high school teachers. Some data use practices also varied as a function school locale, teacher experience, and teacher primary position. Implications for practitioners, researchers, and future directions are discussed.
Perceived quality and bandwidth characterization of layered MPEG-2 video encoding

The current Internet is not well suited for the transmission of high quality video such as MPEG-2 because of severe quality degradation during network congestion episodes. One possible solution is the combination of layered video coding with the Differentiated Services (DiffServ) architecture; different video layers are mapped into different priority levels, and packets with different priorities receive a different dropping treatment in the network. It is expected that with layering and priority dropping, graceful degradation of video quality will be experienced during congestion episodes. We consider various layering mechanisms defined in the MPEG-2 standards; namely, temporal scalability, data partitioning (DP) and Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) scalability. The main issue in this paper is how layers should be created to maximize perceived video quality over a given range of network conditions. Key to our study is the use of real life video sequences and a video quality measure consisting of a perceptual distortion metric based on the Human Visual System (VHS). Our results show that video quality is sensitive to how layering is accomplished, and that there is an optimum layering that maximizes the quality for a given network condition. Our results also show that layering can achieve higher network loading for a given minimum quality target than non-layered video, and can achieve graceful degradation over a wider range of network conditions. We have also seen that the wider the range of network conditions is, the higher is the number of layers required in order to remain at the highest possible quality level for each network condition. In particular, we demonstrate how three or four layers achieve better results than two layers; however, additional layers beyond four provide marginal improvement. Therefore, from a practical point of view, three or four layers are sufficient to attain most of the benefits of layering. We compare the various scalability techniques in terms of complexity and video quality. Temporal scalability, which restricts the layering to be done at frame boundaries, is the simplest to implement and introduces no overhead, but performs poorly compared to data partitioning, which allows the grouping of coefficients into layers independent of the frames they belong to. This shows that, contrary to customary belief, dropping data in B frames prior to dropping data in P or I frames is a poor layering technique. DP is much simpler to implement and introduces significantly lower overhead than SNR scalability. However, SNR scalability provides higher quality than DP when network conditions are particularly poor.
Cognitive Consistency, the Endowment Effect and The Preference Reversal Phenomenon

We exhibit three non-standard cases of preference reversal (PR) between choices and valuations of bets. The endowment effect arises as a surprising consequence of the WTA/WTP disparity when the probabilities of winning get close to certainty. We consider a new theory of choice under risk, cognitive consistency (CC) theory, which can predict both standard and non-standard cases of PR, the WTA/WTP disparity and the endowment effect in the context of single choices. The experimental results strongly support CC predictions with a single parameter added to risk aversion, reject the regret theory explanation for PR and the loss aversion explanation for the endowment effect. (JEL C91, D81)
Estimating VDT Mental Fatigue Using Multichannel Linear Descriptors and KPCA-HMM

The impacts of prolonged visual display terminal (VDT) work on central nervous system and autonomic nervous system are observed and analyzed based on electroencephalogram (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV). Power spectral indices of HRV, the P300 components based on visual oddball task, and multichannel linear descriptors of EEG are combined to estimate the change of mental fatigue. The results show that long-term VDT work induces the mental fatigue. The power spectral of HRV, the P300 components, and multichannel linear descriptors of EEG are correlated with mental fatigue level. The cognitive information processing would come down after long-term VDT work. Moreover, the multichannel linear descriptors of EEG can effectively reflect the changes of θ, α, and β waves and may be used as the indices of the mental fatigue level. The kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) and hidden Markov model (HMM) are combined to differentiate two mental fatigue states. The investigation suggests that the joint KPCA-HMM method can effectively reduce the dimensions of the feature vectors, accelerate the classification speed, and improve the accuracy of mental fatigue to achieve the maximum 88%. Hence KPCA-HMM could be a promising model for the estimation of mental fatigue.
Korean Pre-Service Teachers’ Knowledge of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Comparison with the German Sample

The aim of this study was to investigate Korean pre-service teachers’ knowledge of ADHD and to compare it with a previous German study (Lee, Lammers, & Witruk, 2015). Pre-service teachers’ characteristics (e.g. demographics and ADHD-related experiences) were compared by differentiating between their sub-groups. In total, 441 pre-service teachers participated in this study. Data collection took place from January to March in 2015, and SPSS 22.0 was applied for data analysis. The results showed that Korean pre-service teachers’ overall knowledge is rather low (42.28%). They are highly aware of ADHD characteristics (e.g. Students from any walk of life have ADHD; correct answer: true; accuracy: 79.8%), but lack knowledge of the cause of ADHD (e.g. Family dysfunction can increase the likelihood that a student will be diagnosed with ADHD; correct answer: true; inaccuracy: 68.9%), and have less knowledge of the prevalence of ADHD (e.g. Approximately 5% Korean school-aged students have ADHD; correct answer: true; no information rate: 56.7%). Moreover, their level of knowledge differs depending on ADHD-related experiences (e.g. whether training on ADHD has been provided in university). When compared with German pre-service teachers’ situation, the results of this research were remarkably similar to those from the Korean pre-service teachers’ sample. In conclusion, this study emphasized the importance of ADHD-related experiences, which can be a positive outlook on how to improve pre-service teachers’ accurate knowledge of ADHD. The more such experiences pre-service teachers have, the higher the level of their knowledge of ADHD will be. These experiences can help pre-service teachers to successfully prepare themselves to manage students with ADHD in the future. Keywords: knowledge of ADHD, pre-service teachers, Korea, Germany. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.15823/up.2017. 04
A Synchronizing Technique for Syntactic Model-Code Round-Trip Engineering

The introduction of UML class diagrams has not raised the abstraction level of development to the extent that was intended: class diagrams are only the visual representations of source class skeletons implemented in a programming language. To improve the productivity, domain-specific languages are applied, which cover a narrow domain, and their high abstraction makes use of the domain experts easier. The simultaneous evolution of the source code and the software models causes the loss of synchronization. Round-tripping the domain-specific models is not supported by model-driven development tools, because the abstraction gap between the models and the generated code prevents the use of general approaches. However, developers should have the opportunity of choosing between the artifacts that are more efficient for applying the modifications. This paper introduces how different tools achieve the preservation of manually written code while the model is evolving. In contrast, we present our approach that allows the customization of the generated code. The abstraction gap is closed by performing model transformations and an incremental merge.
Modeling and Analysis of Bulk Bundle Release Schemes in Two-Hop Vehicular DTNs

The use of vehicular infrastructure to establish connectivity between isolated stationary Information Relay Sta- tions is an appealing application of Terrestrial Delay-Tolerant Networking. A source opportunistically releases data bundles to vehicles that randomly enter its range. In turn, those vehicles store the received bundles, carry and deliver them to their intended destination. It follows that a contemporaneous source- destination end-to-end path does not exist. Consequently, bundles experience longer queueing periods at the source. Under such circumstances, the end-to-end bundle delivery delays become several orders of magnitude higher than those experienced in traditional wireless networks. In this context, bundle delivery delay minimization emerges as a challenging problem that has not been adequately addressed in the open literature. This paper proposes a simple Probabilistic Bundle Relay Strategy with Bulk Bundle Release (PBRS-BBR) that aims at minimizing the average end-to-end bundle delivery delay while capturing the essence of vehicular delay-tolerant networking in that it revolves around minimal network information knowledge. A queueing model is formulated to represent stationary sources operating under PBRS-BBR. This model is mathematically analyzed and validated through extensive simulations that gauge its merit.
Nitric acid phase partitioning and cycling in the New England coastal atmosphere

[1] During summer 2004, HNO 3 and size-resolved aerosols were measured in parallel, and corresponding dry-deposition fluxes were modeled at Appledore Island, Maine, as part of the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) field program. HNO 3 concentrations varied widely on the timescale of hours; however, all days were characterized by a minimum near sunrise. Mixing ratios normally peaked in the early afternoon; maximum and median concentrations of HNO 3 during the campaign were 337 and 22.8 nmol m -3 , respectively. Aerosol NO - 3 exhibited a bimodal size distribution with a primary peak associated with sea salt at ∼4 μm and a secondary sub-μm peak. The median NO - 3 concentrations in sub-and super-μm diameter size fractions were 3.3 and 7.7 nmol m -3 , respectively. Peak HNO 3 and super-μm NO - 3 concentrations were associated with westerly and southwesterly flow regimes respectively. The multiphase cycling of HNO 3 was evaluated as a function of transport sector. Although median total nitrate (HNO 3 + NO - 3 ) concentrations were higher under westerly flow, higher median dry-deposition rates of total nitrate were associated with southwesterly flow. Sea-salt concentrations were ∼3 times greater during southwesterly flow, which shifted the phase partitioning toward particulate NO - 3 . Consequently, under westerly flow, HNO 3 deposited more quickly than aerosol NO - 3 , while for southwesterly flow, the fluxes from the two phases were comparable. On the basis of all data, the median dry-deposition fluxes for HNO 3 and aerosol NO - 3 were 8.2 and 5.6 μmol m -2 d -1 ; super-μm size fractions dominated the NO - 3 flux.
The relationship between intrinsic/extrinsic religiosity and meaning in life

Diane Woyciechowski THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTRINSIC/EXTRINSIC RELIGIOSITY AND MEANING IN LIFE 2006/07 Dr. Roberta Dihoff Master of Arts in School Psychology The purpose of the following study was to determine whether there is a significant relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and the presence of and search for meaning in one's life. Since religion has previously been found to play a role in one's physical and mental health, the present study offers additional evidence to religion's role in the mental health field. Three measures were used to collect the data for this study, including a demographic form, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) and the Intrinsic/ Extrinsic Religiosity Revised Scale (I/E-R). Sixty-eight students were recruited for this study, 31 males and 37 females, from a suburban, public, college and had a mean age of 19.6. The majority of participants were Caucasian (75%) and Catholic (57.4%). A correlational design was used to determine whether religiosity was significantly related to meaning in life. The present study concluded that intrinsic religiosity, regardless of gender, is positively correlated with the presence of meaning in one's life. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures CHAPTER
Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy is Associated with Reduced Depressive Symptoms: A One-Year Follow-Up Study

Nowadays obesity is considered to be one of the most important health issues worldwide, and is associated not only with signifi cant physical disorders but also with psychosocial morbidity. Many studies have shown that bariatric surgeries are a proven, eff ective therapeutic intervention in cases of severe obesity. However, because the surgery is considered to be an invasive method, some concerns rise about its potential negative eff ect on patient’s psychological health. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the possible positive eff ect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on reducing depression symptoms. The results showed that the point prevalence of depressive disorders decreased signifi cantly after surgery (p<0.01). The score on the depression scale we used signifi cantly decreased after the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. In summary, our fi ndings speak in favor of a considerable improvement in a psychological aspect such as depressive symptoms in the course of the 1st year after the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
Centrosome loss or amplification does not dramatically perturb global gene expression in Drosophila

Summary Centrosome defects are a common feature of many cancers, and they can predispose fly brain cells to form tumours. In flies, centrosome defects perturb the asymmetric division of the neural stem cells, but it is unclear how this might lead to malignant transformation. One possibility is that centrosome defects might also perturb cellular homeostasis: for example, stress pathways are often activated in response to centrosome defects in cultured cells, and stress contributes to tumourigenesis in some fly models. Here we attempt to assess whether centrosome loss or centrosome amplification perturbs cell physiology in vivo by profiling the global transcriptome of Drosophila larval brains and imaginal discs that either lack centrosomes or have too many centrosomes. Surprisingly, we find that centrosome loss or amplification leads to few changes in the transcriptional profile of these cells, indicating that centrosome defects are surprisingly well tolerated by these cells. These observations indicate that centrosome defects can predispose fly brain cells to form tumours without, at least initially, dramatically altering their physiology.
Vocabulary Mastery by Using Storytelling

Abstract: This research investigated 80 students of Diploma III Architecture of Samarinda State Polytechnic to see their vocabularies mastery trough storytelling. Telling the stories is one of the best way to find out the students' English Mastery. Some obstacles are also found in learning English trough performing storytelling in the class such as the suitable material and text for the students, the lack of ability of the students and the teacher in conducting story as well as the readiness and the nervousness of the storytellers. As an English lecturer, the researcher also finds that how to improve vocabularies is one of the students' problems in learning English. It is proved when the students are asked to tell a story in front of the class. In this research, the students needed telling stories before they had the English vocabulary test. From the test, it could be concluded that the highest score was 92 got by one (1) student while the lowest score was 46 got by one (1) student. Meanwhile, the average score was 78 that classified fair (B). There were two (2) students who got below 50 that classified Fail. The results show that even the students' English mastery were satisfied but the students still need to practice how to tell the story in a good way so that they will master in all aspects. Keywords: Samarinda State Polytechnic, Students' Mastery, Storytelling
Shared Cultural Characteristics Similarities in Malaysia’s Multi-ethnic Society*

Abstract The dimension of cultural characteristics is essentially ignored by the growing literature on organizational diversity, focusing on demographic diversity and general perceived similarity instead. This study aims to identify the similarities in cultural characteristics among ethnic groups in Malaysia. Ergo, conducted within the context of interethnic relations in Malaysia based on a phenomenographic approach; thence, found four categories namely the community embeddedness, the survival culture, the conformity culture and the respect culture. These exemplify the interethnic relations based on cultural characteristics and norms similarities. The cultural characteristics similarities between major ethnics in Malaysia in this study are indications of dynamic and interactive exchange occurring between ethnics. The consequences of these findings are discussed and elaborated in this article.
Attentional modulation of emotional stimulus processing: An fMRI study using emotional expectancy

We used emotional expectancy to study attentional modulation in the processing of emotional stimuli. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), volunteers saw emotional and neutral expectancy cues signaling the subsequent presentation of corresponding emotional or neutral pictorial stimuli. As a control, emotional and neutral pictures were presented without preceding expectancy cue, resulting in a 2 × 2 factorial design with the factors “expectancy” and “emotion. ” Statistical analysis revealed a significant positive interaction effect between these factors in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC, Brodmann area [BA] 9/10), amygdala, and dorsal midbrain. In all these regions, expectancy augmented the neural response to emotional but not to neutral pictures. Time course analysis of raw data suggests that this augmented activation was not preceded by baseline increases in MPFC and amygdala during the period of emotional expectancy. In a post‐scanning session, the paradigm was presented for a second time to allow emotional intensity rating. Again, a significant interaction between expectancy and emotion was observed, with intensity ratings specifically enhanced in emotional photographs preceded by expectancy. There was a positive correlation between intensity ratings and blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) signals in the left amygdala. We conclude that specific components of the emotion network show enhanced activation in response to emotional stimuli when these are preceded by expectancy. This enhancement effect is not present in neutral pictures and might parallel accentuated subjective feeling states. Hum. Brain Mapp 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.