Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Poly[propane‐1,3‐diammonium [diaquatetrakis(μ4‐benzene‐1,2,4,5‐tetracarboxylato)nickelate(II)] hemihydrate]

The reaction of nickel(II) nitrate hexa­hydrate with the proton-transfer compound (pnH2)2(btc)·2H2O (where pn = propane-1,3-diamine and btcH4 = benzene-1,2,4,5-tetra­carboxylic acid) in aqueous solution resulted in the formation of the title compound, {(C3H12N2)[Ni(C10H2O8)(H2O)2]·0.5H2O}n. Each Ni2+ ion is situated on a crystallographic twofold rotation axis and is coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral geometry by six O atoms [Ni—O = 2.0540 (15)–2.0804 (11) A] from two water mol­ecules and four btc4− ligands, which also act as bridging ligands between Ni2+ ions. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯π inter­actions contribute to the formation of a three-dimensional supra­molecular structure. The crystal studied was an inversion twin.
Preferential placental transfer of Helicobacter pylori specific IgG

Objective: To evaluate the placental transfer of Helicobacter pylori-specific IgG in Iranian mothers. Method: The antibodies were measured in sera of 156 mother/newborn pairs using a commercially available indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The study population was among healthy pregnant women who attended to the Zeinabieh hospital of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 1999. Results: In total 74.7% of mothers were seropositive and more than 82% of seropositive mothers transferred Helicobacter pylori-specific IgG antibodies to their fetuses. The mean maternal Helicobacter pylori-specific IgG was significantly higher than that of the newborns (104.01 vs. 68.30 IU/ml, p < 0.001), however, there was a good correlation between maternal and neonatal antibodies. The level of maternal Helicobacter pylori-specific IgG was significantly lower in carriers of blood group B + compared to carriers of blood groups A + and O + . However, the cord/maternal ratio of Helicobacter pylori-specific IgG was significantly higher in blood group B + phenotype compared to blood group phenotypes A + and O + . Conclusion: The high rate of seropositivity among mothers highlights the risk of acquisition of Helicobacter pylori infection in early infancy for Iranian children. Our results also suggest that mothers having blood group B + are more likely to transfer Helicobacter pylori-specific IgG to their neonates.
SIR-C/X-SAR observations of soil moisture over the CCRS Altona, Manitoba test site

Since the late 1970s a variety of satellite missions have used imaging radar to study the Earth. The joint U.S./German/Italian Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is the next step in that program. SIR-C/X-SAR flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in April and October 1994 as part of the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL). This paper describes the SIR-C/X-SAR data acquisition over the CCRS Altona, Manitoba test site. In addition to the SIR-C instrument, data were also acquired by the JPL AIRSAR operating at C-, L-and P-Band and the CCRS CV-580 operating at C- and X-Band.
Putting it all together: Information visualizations, display arrangements, and sales transactions

Computer networks offer powerful ways of integrating and coordinating information so that it can be more effectively accessed and used. Often, the focus is on the back end: the systems infrastructure, applications and standards which will enable this. However, with diversification in the range of activities networked information now supports, growth in numbers and types of user, and the appearance of new technologies, new challenges arise. As well as the issue of back end information design, creating networked information systems increasingly involves the issue of how to coordinate this, across a range of activities both single‐user and collaborative, with a host of front‐end design problems concerning information representation and visualization, display arrangements, interactivity, and human factors. We tackle these issues through a case study of the analysis and redesign of user interfaces used by the travel industry during sales transactions. This involved the development and evaluation of an interactive trip planner, featuring linked information visualizations and multiple displays, which represents networked information in innovative ways, and allows new kinds of access, configuration and discussion.
Perceived benefits and drawbacks of synchronous voice-based computer-mediated communication in the foreign language classroom

This study explored the benefits and drawbacks of synchronous voice-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) in a blended course of English for specific purposes. Quantitative and qualitative data from two groups following the same syllabus, except for the oral component, were compared. Oral tasks were carried out face-to-face with same L1 partners in the control group and through synchronous voice-based CMC with different L1 partners in the experimental group. The analysis included data from general proficiency pre- and post-test scores, oral Power Point presentation grades, students' questionnaires and students' and teachers' diaries. The results showed that achievements were significantly better in the experimental group and that there was also an increase of other positive factors which may effectively contribute both to second language acquisition (SLA) and to solving many of the problems which make speaking skills the weakest skill in foreign language contexts.
Mathematics, curriculum and assessment: The role of taxonomies in the quest for coherence

A challenge encountered when monitoring mathematics teaching and learning at high school is that taxonomies such as Bloom’s, and variations of this work, are not entirely adequate for providing meaningful feedback to teachers beyond very general cognitive categories that are difficult to interpret. Challenges of this nature are also encountered in the setting of examinations, where the requirement is to cover a range of skills and cognitive domains. The contestation as to the cognitive level is inevitable as it is necessary to analyse the relationship between the problem and the learners’ background experience. The challenge in the project described in this article was to find descriptive terms that would be meaningful to teachers. The first attempt at providing explicit feedback was to apply the assessment frameworks that include a content component and a cognitive component, namely knowledge, routine procedures, complex procedures and problem solving, currently used in the South African curriculum documents. The second attempt investigated various taxonomies, including those used in international assessments and in mathematics education research, for constructs that teachers of mathematics might find meaningful. The final outcome of this investigation was to apply the dimensions required to understand a mathematical concept proposed by Usiskin (2012): the s kills-algorithm, property-proof, use-application and representation-metaphor dimension. A feature of these dimensions is that they are not hierarchical; rather, within each of the dimensions, the mathematical task may demand recall but may also demand the highest level of creativity. For our purpose, we developed a two-way matrix using Usiskin’s dimensions on one axis and a variation of Bloom’s revised taxonomy on the second axis. Our findings are that this two-way matrix provides an alternative to current taxonomies, is more directly applicable to mathematics and provides the necessary coherence required when reporting test results to classroom teachers. In conclusion we discuss the limitations associated with taxonomies for mathematics.
Trialling an Indicator of the Impact of Two Library Induction Models

The impact of two models of induction into library services, a “one stop” orientation model and an “active learning” model with task-specific coaching, was assessed. The study was conducted with participants on a Continuing Professional Development course and a pre-Initial Teacher Education course. Questionnaire data showed differences between the groups in terms of information seeking behaviors and the sources they used A simple indicator of efficacy of information retrieval and evaluation was derived from participants’ assessed work reference lists, which was indicative of different outcomes from the two induction processes.
Testosterone suppression in men with prostate cancer leads to an increase in arterial stiffness and hyperinsulinaemia

The role of androgens in cardiovascular disease is uncertain. We aimed to determine the vascular effects of androgen suppression in men with prostate cancer. Arterial stiffness (or 'compliance') was measured in 16 men (71+/-9 years, mean+/-S.D.) prior to, and 3 months after, complete androgen suppression with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues as treatment for prostate cancer. Fifteen control men (70+/-7 years) also had arterial stiffness studies at baseline and 3 months later. Two measures of arterial stiffness were employed: systemic arterial compliance (SAC) was measured by simultaneous recording of aortic flow and carotid artery pressure ('area method'), and pulse wave velocities (PWVs) were recorded with the 'Complior' system. The 16 cases underwent glucose-tolerance and fasting-lipids tests on both visits. After 3 months of testosterone suppression, there was a significant fall in SAC, which was not seen in the controls [mean change+/-S.E. M. , -0.26+/-0.09 a.c. u. (arbitrary compliance unit) in the cases versus +0.06+/-0.11 in the controls; P =0.03). Central, but not peripheral, PWVs tended to increase in the cases (mean change+/-S.E.M. for aorto-femoral PWV, +0.5+/-0.4 m/s for cases versus -0.3+/-0.3 m/s for controls; P =0.08). After testosterone suppression, fasting insulin levels increased from 6.89+/-4.84 m-units/l to 11.34+/-8.16 m-units/l (mean+/-S.D.), total cholesterol increased from 5.32+/-0.77 mmol/l to 5.71+/-0.82 mmol/l and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased from 1.05+/-0.24 mmol/l to 1.26+/-0.36 mmol/l; P <0.005 for all. No significant change occurred in body-mass index, serum glucose, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triacylglycerol (triglyceride) levels. Our results indicate that loss of androgens in men leads to an increase in aortic stiffness and serum insulin levels, and may therefore adversely affect cardiovascular risk.
Directionally Adaptive Aliasing and Noise Removal Using Dictionary Learning and Space-Frequency Analysis

In this paper, we propose a directionally adaptive aliasing and noise removal using dictionary learning based on space-frequency analysis. The proposed aliasing and noise removal algorithm consists of two modules; i) aliasing and noise detection using dictionary learning and analysis of frequency characteristics from the combined wavelet-Fourier transform and ii) aliasing removal with suppressing noise based on the directional shrinkage in the detected regions. The proposed method can preserve the high-frequency details because aliasing and noise region is detected. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can efficiently reduce aliasing and noise while minimizing losses of high-frequency details and generation of artifacts comparing with the conventional methods. The proposed algorithm is suitable for various applications such as image resampling, super-resolution image, and robot vision.
Office Design and Organizations: 1. Theoretical Basis

This paper is the first of two which taken together will give an account of some research on the relationship between one kind of designed environment, the office interior, and one kind of social group, the office organization. This first paper reviews some attempts to describe the nature of this kind of relationship. The question of criticality is discussed and doubt is cast on the advisability of seeking direct evidence of effects of the environment on behaviour. Instead, a simpler approach is advocated which, by giving equal attention to people and buildings and by measuring both in a quantitative way, attempts to test whether correspondences exist between them. To this general approach is added an important idea from organization theory—that structural variations make it possible to categorize types of organization. Two current idees regus in office design—that layout should reflect patterns of interaction and be as egalitarian as possible—are attacked in the light of this view of organization theory. It is argued that not only is it likely that there will be variations in, for example, degrees of interaction and of power sharing, but that these organizational variations will be reflected in corresponding variations in layout design. This is the theoretical basis for the empirical test of a hypothetical model relating two aspects of organizational structure and two kinds of variation in office layout design which will be described in the second paper.
Combining Probability Distributions: A Critique and an Annotated Bibliography

This paper addresses the problem of aggregating a number of expert opinions which have been expressed in some numerical form in order to reflect individual uncertainty vis-a-vis a quantity of interest. The primary focus is consensus belief formation and expert use, although some relevant aspects of group decision making are also reviewed. A taxonomy of solutions is presented which serves as the framework for a survey of recent theoretical developments in the area. A number of current research directions are mentioned and an extensive, current annotated bibliography is included.
Signed language classifier predicates: Linguistic structures or schematic visual representation?

It is argued that signed communication systems differ from spoken ones in having not one but two structured systems of representation. In addition to the linguistic mode (which is shared with spoken communication, and which appears to be fundamentally identical across spoken and signed modalities), signers also command distinctive, formal systems of schematic visual representation. These are the forms of signing known as classifier predicates. For the past two decades, signed classifier predicates have been modeled as linguistic. However, the basic formal units of such signing, the combination of these units, and their breakdown, all differ both from patterns seen in other signed forms that have long been recognized as linguistic, and from the classic patterns of language in general. Classifier predicates continue to be modeled as linguistic mostly on the basis of assumptions about alternatives, specifically about the form and acquisition of systems of visual-spatial representation. These assumptions are shown to be incorrect. Signed classifiers are shown to correspond in many respects not merely to visual representation, but to a particular strategy of depiction known as schematic visual representation. This is the mode of depiction that appears to be most natural for both children and adults to master, and that is commonly seen in drawing. There is thus strong evidence that in signed language classifiers we have what, from the point of view of traditional (spoken-language based) linguistics, is a qualitatively new communication mode: formal, structured systems of visual representation that exist side-by-side with linguistic modalities, within the total signed communication system.
Does Set for Variability Mediate the Influence of Vocabulary Knowledge on the Development of Word Recognition Skills?

This study investigated the hypothesis that vocabulary influences word recognition skills indirectly through set for variability, the ability to determine the correct pronunciation of approximations to spoken English words. One hundred forty children participating in a 3-year longitudinal study were administered reading and reading-related measures at four time points. Hierarchical regression and path analyses indicated that vocabulary and phonemic awareness made independent contributions to variance in set for variability; that vocabulary directly influenced future reading comprehension and indirectly influenced future decoding and word recognition through set for variability; and that set for variability influenced future reading comprehension indirectly through both decoding and word recognition, controlling for autoregressive effects.
Teachers’ changing practices with information and communication technologies: an up-close, longitudinal analysis

While digital technology has become a significant resource for contemporary schooling, we still have little understanding of how these resources shape teachers’ scholarly practices and what support is needed to improve and move forward. This paper reports on a 5-year qualitative, longitudinal study on the scholarly practices of a small number of Australian primary and secondary school teachers in their use of digital technology. The study aimed to understand the complexity of their changing practices. Four categories of change were evident in the teachers’ practice with digital technology over time: knowledge, learning organisation, pedagogy and core approaches to teaching. The changes each teacher demonstrated reflected their distinct knowledge sets and beliefs. Tracing their changes longitudinally showed that some teachers demonstrated faster and more consistent change in their practices with digital technology than others and that visible change in their practices was not evident over the short term. This study highlights that change in digital scholarship is a personal and complex process and worthy changes are those that meaningfully respond to the context and also contribute to the teachers’ commitment to reflection and renewal of practice. Significant support is therefore that which provides the space and opportunity for teachers’ individualised professional understandings and aspirations to be acknowledged and built on. Keywords: digital technology; teachers; change; longitudinal; digital scholarship (Published: 8 August 2014) Citation : Research in Learning Technology 2014, 22 : 21354 - http://dx.doi. org/10.3402/rlt.v22. 21354
Adaptive control of nonlinear systems using neural networks

Layered neural networks are used in a nonlinear adaptive control problem. The plant is an unknown feedback-linearizable discrete-time system, represented by a input-output model. A state space model of the plant is obtained to define the zero dynamics, which are assumed to be stable. A linearizing fedback control is derived in terms of some unknown nonlinear functions. To identify these functions, it is assumed that they can be modeled by layered neural networks. The weights of the networks are updated and used to generate the control. A local convergence result is given. Computer simulations verify the theoretical result. <<ETX>>
Designing Personalized Learning Products for Middle School Mathematics: The Case for Networked Learning Games

Middle school mathematics education is subject to ongoing reform based on advances in digital instructional technologies, especially learning games, leading to recent calls for investment in personalized learning. Through an extensive literature review, this investigation identified three priority areas that should be taken into account when adopting learning games for the classroom: providing students with personalized feedback, assessing student learning, and promoting deeper learning. Demonstrating how The CandyFactory App can be harnessed to support personalized learning by collecting data from these three priority areas, we intend to make a case for how school decision-makers (supervisors, principals, and teachers) can decide which learning tools to use to best help students have personalized learning experiences. Through a series of three participatory design workshops, partnering teachers (n = 6) confirmed that these data areas, which help to define personalized learning, are key to implementing successfully learning games in the classroom.
Intelligent Driver Mobility Model and Traffic Pattern Generation based Optimization of Reactive Protocols for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks

Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) is the special type of MANET (Mobile Ad Hoc Network) where the mobile nodes are vehicles that move on roads at very high speed following traffic rules; they provide communication between vehicle and vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle and Road side infrastructural unit (V 2 I). A number of mobility models have been presented and their impact on the performance on the routing protocols has been tested by the researchers. In this paper vehicle to vehicle communication is analysed by integrating clustering of different areas and traffic lights into the Intelligent Driver Model with Intersection Management (IDM-IM). The performance of above model using AODV and AOMDV protocols with different traffic patterns is evaluated using VanetMobisim and NS-2.
Performance analysis of distributed real-time databases

In a distributed process control system, information about the behavior of physical processes is usually collected and stored in a real-time database which can be remotely accessed by human operators. In this paper we propose an analytic approach to compute the response time distribution of operator consoles in a distributed process control environment. The technique we develop is based on Markov regenerative processes and described with the assistance of deterministic and stochastic Petri nets. We construct exact models for performance analysis of centralized and decentralized database architectures. However, due to limitations on the exact solution, we also propose an approximate solution which is then used to study response time distributions of large systems.
Are the reductions in triacylglycerol and insulin levels after exercise related

Moderate exercise improves insulin sensitivity and reduces triacylglycerol (triglyceride; TG) concentrations. We hypothesized that changes in insulin sensitivity are an important determinant of exercise-induced changes in postprandial TG concentrations. Altogether, 38 men and 43 women, all of whom were normotriglyceridaemic and normoglycaemic, each underwent two oral fat tolerance tests with different pre-conditions: control (no exercise) and prior exercise (90min of exercise at 60% of maximal O 2 uptake the day before). Venous blood samples were obtained in the fasting state and for 6h after a high-fat mixed meal. In the control trial there were significant correlations between log fasting TG concentration and log fasting insulin concentration ( r = 0.42, P r = 0.48, P P P P P r = 0.08, P = 0.50), nor between the exercise-induced changes in log postprandial TG response and log postprandial insulin response ( r = 0.04, P = 0.70). These data suggest that the reductions in fasting and postprandial TG levels elicited by a session of moderate-intensity exercise are not mediated by an increase in insulin sensitivity.
Interactive explorations in speech and hearing

As part of an ongoing action research study, we have appraised our traditional techniques for the teaching of speech and computational hearing and found them to be inadequate in some respects. In particular, they offer little opportunity for students to experiment interactively with concepts in these fields. As a result, students cannot reflect upon their own experiences nor learn from them. In this paper, we discuss a more interactive approach based on software applications which allow the student to explore the parameter space of the phenomena under discussion. Several examples (chosen from a range of more than twenty MATLAB applications) which illustrate the philosophical and pedagogical elements of this ongoing project are discussed.