Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends of School Effects on Student Achievement: Evidence from NLS:72, HSB:82, and NELS:92

The impact of schools on student achievement has been of great interest in school effects research the last four decades. This study examines trends of school effects on student achievement, employing three national probability samples of high school seniors: NLS:72, HSB:82, and NELS:92. Hierarchical linear models are used to investigate school effects. The findings reveal that the substantial proportion of the variation in student achievement lies within schools, not between schools. There is also considerable between-school variation in achievement, which becomes larger over time. Schools are more diverse and more segregated in the 1990s than in the 1970s. In addition, school characteristics such as school region, school socioeconomic status, and certain characteristics of the student body of the school, such as students’ daily attendance, students in college preparatory classes, and high school graduates enrolled in colleges are important predictors of average student achievement. The school predictors explained consistently more than 50% of the variation in average student achievement across surveys. We also find considerable teacher heterogeneity in achievement within schools, which suggests important teacher effects on student achievement. Teacher heterogeneity in student achievement was larger than school heterogeneity, which may indicate that teacher effects have a relatively larger impact on mathematics and science student achievement than do school effects.
Free and Charitable Clinic Telehealth Adoption and Utilization During the COVID-19 Era: The North Carolina Experience

Purpose: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led health care systems and providers worldwide to rapidly adopt telehealth solutions to minimize risk and comply with isolation mandates. This article explores telehealth utilization trends in North Carolina (NC) free and charitable clinics—an ambulatory health care delivery setting where traditional third-party reimbursement policies are not a primary consideration. Methods: We surveyed NC free and charitable clinic administrators regarding clinic decisions to adopt an externally sponsored telehealth system, what services are provided by telehealth, clinic implementation processes, which populations used telehealth, how telehealth was incorporated into current clinic workflows, and perceptions of telehealth outcomes. Findings: Telehealth was rapidly adopted among free and charitable clinics after the COVID-19 outbreak. Reasons for implementing telehealth included the ability to continue providing services during a public health emergency and to increase access to patients. However, clinics report that telehealth utilization has dropped significantly since the initial pandemic surge. Patient and provider preferences for in-person services are a common reason cited for this drop. Free and charitable clinics report a strong interest in continuing to deliver services through telehealth. The majority reported continuing to offer telehealth services, but primarily as a supplement to in-person visits rather than as a replacement. They perceive that implementing telehealth has increased access to care but are less certain about the impact on cost of care and patient satisfaction. However, clinic administrators believe improvements in interoperability with other data systems, workflows, scheduling, and care delivery approaches are needed to achieve telehealth's fullest utilization. Conclusion: Telehealth can play a significant role in expanding access to services in the free and charitable clinic setting. However, continued refinements in the technology to facilitate integration with other systems and workflow processes are needed to reach its full potential.
Morphometric analysis confirms the presence of the Plains-wanderer (Aves: Pedionomus torquatus) in fossil deposits at Naracoorte Caves, South Australia

ABSTRACT The Plains-wanderer (Pedionomidae: Pedionomus torquatus) is a species of Australian shorebird that exclusively inhabits open grasslands. The reported presence of this species in the fossil deposits of Naracoorte Caves suggests that it once inhabited a wooded environment. It was therefore important to assess whether the fossils are indeed conspecific with P. torquatus before inferences on the past palaeoecological preferences of the species are made. This study reassessed the identity of fossils identified as P. torquatus using both qualitative observations and morphometric analyses to test for proportional differences of fossil specimens which might indicate taxonomic distinction. Measurements were collected from fossils attributed to Pedionomus from Blanche Cave (45–15 ka) and Victoria Fossil Cave (>400–220 ka), and compared with modern skeletal specimens through univariate and principal component analyses. Fossil elements were significantly larger than the modern specimens, although marked overlap was consistently observed, precluding unambiguous differentiation on size. No qualitative traits distinguishing the two groups could be identified. The Naracoorte fossil Pedionomus are therefore considered to represent a population of P. torquatus, wherein birds were slightly larger than extant ones. The Naracoorte deposits sampled a forest and woodland-dominated environment over the last 400,000 years, one which would be deemed unsuitable for modern Plains-wanderers, indicating that P. torquatus may have formerly occupied a much broader range of habitats than its present distribution suggests. It is inferred that the Plains-wanderer underwent a marked contraction in occupied habitat during the Holocene.
Utilization of local therapeutic food in preventing and treating nutrition problems in the dry land area of the islands of east nusa tenggara province

The research aims to produce a local Pemberian makanan tambahan (PMT) biscuit formula that is nutritious, acceptable and has a good shelf life. Experimental research with RAL design used two factors and two treatments, namely the addition of anchovy flour (20% and 30%) and moringa leaf flour (20% and 30%) to 100 g of corn flour. The research was conducted in April–November 2022 with an analysis of nutritional content, and acceptability. Data were processed using SPSS with a statistical test One Way analysis of variance Test. The results of the analysis showed that the P4 product had a higher nutritional content difference, namely: 17.976 g of protein; fat 20.106 g; carbohydrates 60.644 g; minerals 3.632 μg; water content 3.999 aw; and energy 490.9 kcal with acceptance scores: Like-really like for 7 days at room temperature without standard packaging. Each serving portion for children of 2 pieces of biscuits or as much as 25 g/day gets a protein nutritional intake of 2.26 g or 11.3% of the Recommended dietary allowance (RDA); Fat of 2.66 or 5.9% of the RDA; Carbohydrates are 14.3 or 6.7% of the RDA and Energy is 615.23 kcal or 45.6% of the RDA. Product combination of 100 g of corn flour; 20 g of moringa flour; and 20 g of anchovy flour into the local therapeutic food “Iman” biscuit formulation which is very popular.
Triglyceride-glucose index predicts death in patients with stroke younger than 65

Background The triglyceride-glucose index (TGI), a reliable surrogate indicator of insulin resistance (IR), has been proven to be a predictor of the incidence of ischemic stroke. The role of TGI in predicting the outcomes of stroke patients remains controversial. Susceptibility to IR-related diseases varies among patients of different ages. The study aims to evaluate the predictive value of TGI levels on clinical outcomes of patients with ischemic stroke of different ages. Method This was a retrospective cohort study including patients with ischemic stroke in the Department of Neurology at West China Hospital. TGI was calculated as ln [fasting triglyceride (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2]. The patients were subdivided into 3 tertiles according to TGI levels. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the association between TGI levels and post-stroke outcomes among the whole patients, younger patients (<65), and older patients (>=65). The outcomes included death and unfavorable functional outcome (modified Rankin scale score 3–6) at 3 and 12 months after stroke. Results A total of 3,704 patients (men, 65.08%, mean age, 61.44 ± 14.15; women 34.92%, mean age, 65.70 ± 13.69) were enrolled in this study. TGI levels were not associated with 3 month or 12 month death in the whole patients. Patients with higher TGI levels (T2 and T3) had a higher risk of 3 month death than those had lower TGI levels (T1) in the younger group (T2 vs. T1: OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.03–6.79, p = 0.043; T3 vs. T1: OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.00–7.10, p = 0.049) but not in the older group. Additionally, Kaplan–Meier estimate analysis illustrated that the 12 month death risk was significantly higher in the group with the highest TGI among younger patients (p for log-rank test = 0.028) but not among older patients. There was an interactive effect between TGI and age on 3 month death (p for interaction = 0.013) and 12 month death (p for interaction = 0.027). However, TGI was not associated with unfavorable functional outcome at 3 month or 12 month after stroke. Conclusion Elevated TGI independently predicts death at 3 months and 12 months in patients under 65 with ischemic stroke. Regulating TGI is expected to be an approach to enhance prognosis in young individuals affected by ischemic stroke.
A study of indoor positioning systems using iBeacons with different transmission power levels

Abstract The prevalence of smartphones has increased the demand for and application of location-based services. However, the Global Positioning System, currently the most widely used positioning technology, cannot provide accurate positioning services when obstructed by obstacles. Consequently, this system can only provide outdoor application services such as outdoor navigation and tracking. In 2013, Apple Inc. released iBeacon, a positioning technology based on Bluetooth low energy (BLE). This device transmits Bluetooth signals within a specific range, in which the signals are received by other smartphones to calculate distances for providing indoor positioning-related services. In this study, the iBeacon transmission power level is adjusted to significantly increase Bluetooth signal differences in indoor environments. Therefore, it can reduce received signal strength indicators (RSSI) similarity for some reference points by adjusting the power level. Subsequently, radio frequency signals are filtered using a modified moving average filter to reduce signal variations after reception. Next, pattern matching and the K-Nearest Neighbors (KNNs) algorithm are integrated to facilitate positioning. The integration of the modified moving average filter with the KNNs algorithm increases the positioning accuracy by 23.08% during the online phase. This finding can thus improve location-based services.
A formula for computing (1,2,3)-inverses of g-circulants

ABSTRACT Recent work on generalized inverses of linear operators centres around the construction of efficient algorithms for their computation. Here invariably structural properties of the operators and matrices involved are very convenient. As a contribution we obtain a rapidly evaluable explicit expression for (1, 2, 3)-inverses of singular g-circulants that originate in a nonsingular 1-circulant.
COOLING INJECTION EFFECT ON A TRANSONIC SQUEALER TIP - PART 1: EXPERIMENTAL HEAT TRANSFER RESULTS AND CFD VALIDATION

Recent studies have demonstrated that the aerothermal characteristics of turbine rotor blade tip under a transonic condition are qualitatively different from those under a lowspeed subsonic condition. The cooling injection adds further complexity to the over-tipleakage (OTL) transonic flow behavior and aerothermal performance, particularly for commonly studied shroudless tip configurations such as a squealer tip. However there has been no published experimental study of a cooled transonic squealer. The present study investigates the effect of cooling injection on a transonic squealer through a closely combined experimental and CFD effort. Part I of this two-part paper presents the first of the kind tip cooling experimental data obtained in a transonic linear cascade environment (exit Mach number 0.95). Transient thermal measurements are carried out for an uncooled squealer tip and six cooling configurations with different locations and numbers of discrete holes. High-resolution distributions of heat transfer coefficient and cooling effectiveness are obtained. ANSYS FLUENT is employed to perform numerical simulations for all the experimental cases. The mesh and turbulence modeling dependence is first evaluated before further computational studies are carried out. Both the experimental and computational results consistently illustrate strong interactions between the OTL flow and cooling injection. When the cooling injection (even with a relatively small amount) is introduced, distinctive series of stripes in surface heat transfer coefficient are observed with an opposite trend in the chordwise variations on the squealer cavity floor and on the suction surface rim. Both experimental and CFD results have also consistently shown interesting signatures of the strong OTL flow–cooling interactions in terms of the net heat flux reduction distribution in areas seemingly unreachable by the coolant. Further examinations and analyses of the related flow physics and underlining vortical flow structures will be presented in Part II. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4035175]
Cavity quantum electrodynamics with quantum dots in microcavities

We demonstrate polarization degenerate solid-state cavity QED systems with charge control [1-3]. Our systems comprise InAs self-assembled quantum dots (Qdots) inside high-finesse oxide-apertured AlGaAs micropillars. Electronic contacts enable voltage tuning of the Qdot, via the quantum-confined Stark effect, while the micropillar geometry enables polarization-degenerate operation and the use of arbitrary polarizations. We investigate both neutral and singly-charged quantum dots.
Instability of a binary liquid film flowing down a slippery heated plate

In this paper, we study the stability of a binary liquid film flowing down a heated slippery inclined surface. It is assumed that the heating induces concentration differences in the liquid mixture (Soret effect), which together with the differences in temperature affects the surface tension. A mathematical model is constructed by coupling the Navier-Stokes equations governing the flow with equations for the concentration and temperature. A Navier slip condition is applied at the liquid-solid interface. We carry out a linear stability analysis in order to obtain the critical conditions for the onset of instability. We use a Chebyshev spectral collocation method to obtain numerical solutions to the resulting Orr-Sommerfeld-type equations. We also obtain an asymptotic solution that yields an expression for the state of neutral stability of long perturbations as a function of the parameters controlling the problem. A weighted residual approximation is employed to derive a reduced model that is used to analys.
Evaluation of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens for control of potato blackleg caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum

Potato is an important crop in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Blackleg disease is one of the constraints of potato production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of antagonistic bacteria to control the causal pathogen. Diseased potato stems were collected in Chai Prakan District, Chiang Mai Province. The symptoms included black stem lesions, vascular discoloration, and foliar yellowing and wilting. The pathogen was identified as the bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum CK3-2 by morphological characteristics and sequencing the 16S rDNA gene. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens isolates BB06, BB18, BB23 and NSB4 recovered from the rhizosphere of a number of different plants species, and identified by 16S rDNA sequence, were provided by the Bacteria Plant Disease Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University. These B. amyloliquefaciens isolates produced zones of inhibition of P. carotovorum CK3-2 of 6.80, 5.80, 6.60 and 8.20 mm, respectively. Co-inoculation experiments on potato tubers indicated that B. amyloliquefaciens BB06 was the most effective treatment in inhibiting invasion of wounds.
Gravitational Waves and Gamma-rays from a Binary Neutron Star Merger: GW170817 and GRB 170817A

On 2017 August 17, the gravitational-wave event GW170817 was observed by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, and the gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 170817A was observed independently by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, and the Anticoincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory. The probability of the near-simultaneous temporal and spatial observation of GRB 170817A and GW170817 occurring by chance is $5.0\times 10^{-8}$. We therefore confirm binary neutron star mergers as a progenitor of short GRBs. The association of GW170817 and GRB 170817A provides new insight into fundamental physics and the origin of short gamma-ray bursts. We use the observed time delay of $(+1.74 \pm 0.05)\,$s between GRB 170817A and GW170817 to: (i) constrain the difference between the speed of gravity and the speed of light to be between $-3\times 10^{-15}$ and $+7\times 10^{-16}$ times the speed of light, (ii) place new bounds on the violation of Lorentz invariance, (iii) present a new test of the equivalence principle by constraining the Shapiro delay between gravitational and electromagnetic radiation. We also use the time delay to constrain the size and bulk Lorentz factor of the region emitting the gamma rays. GRB 170817A is the closest short GRB with a known distance, but is between 2 and 6 orders of magnitude less energetic than other bursts with measured redshift. A new generation of gamma-ray detectors, and subthreshold searches in existing detectors, will be essential to detect similar short bursts at greater distances. Finally, we predict a joint detection rate for the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors of 0.1--1.4 per year during the 2018-2019 observing run and 0.3--1.7 per year at design sensitivity.
A Mathematical Analysis of Technical Analysis

ABSTRACT In this paper, we investigate trading strategies based on exponential moving averages (ExpMAs) of an underlying risky asset. We study both logarithmic utility maximization and long-term growth rate maximization problems and find closed-form solutions when the drift of the underlying is modelled by either an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process or a two-state continuous-time Markov chain. For the case of an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck drift, we carry out several Monte Carlo experiments in order to investigate how the performance of optimal ExpMA strategies is affected by variations in model parameters and by transaction costs.
scanning electron microscopy analysis of the growth of dental plaque on the surfaces of removable orthodontic aligners after the use of different cleaning methods

Background: Advances in orthodontics are leading to the use of minimally invasive technologies, such as transparent removable aligners, and are able to meet high demands in terms of performance and esthetics. However, the most correct method of cleaning these appliances, in order to minimize the effects of microbial colonization, remains to be determined. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to identify the most effective method of cleaning removable orthodontic aligners, analyzing the growth of dental plaque as observed under scanning electron microscopy. Methods: Twelve subjects were selected for the study. All were free from caries and periodontal disease and were candidates for orthodontic therapy with invisible orthodontic aligners. The trial had a duration of 6 weeks, divided into three 2-week stages, during which three sets of aligners were used. In each stage, the subjects were asked to use a different method of cleaning their aligners: 1) running water (control condition); 2) effervescent tablets containing sodium carbonate and sulfate crystals followed by brushing with a toothbrush; and 3) brushing alone (with a toothbrush and toothpaste). At the end of each 2-week stage, the surfaces of the aligners were analyzed under scanning electron microscopy. Results: The best results were obtained with brushing combined with the use of sodium carbonate and sulfate crystals; brushing alone gave slightly inferior results. Conclusion: On the basis of previous literature results relating to devices in resin, studies evaluating the reliability of domestic ultrasonic baths for domestic use should be encouraged. At present, pending the availability of experimental evidence, it can be suggested that dental hygienists should strongly advise patients wearing orthodontic aligners to clean them using a combination of brushing and commercially available tablets for cleaning oral appliances. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dentistry is an international, peer-reviewed, open access, online journal focusing on the latest clinical and experimental research in dentistry with specific emphasis on cosmetic interventions. Innovative developments in dental materials, techniques and devices outcomes and patient satisfac-tion
Development of a DNA-Based Vaccine for Treatment of an Intracerebral Tumor

1.1 Treatment limitations of patients with breast cancer metastatic to the brain Although technical advances have resulted in marked improvement in the ability to diagnose and treat primary breast cancer, brain metastases constitute a common and increasing occurrence associated with considerable morbidity and mortality [Lin et al., 2008; Smedby et al., 2009]. The present standard treatment modalities including surgical resection, cranial irradiation and systemic chemotherapy each have serious adverse side effects and limits in efficacy. The few long-term survivors are inevitably left with cognitive deficits and other disabilities [Heimans & Taphoorn, 2002]. The existence of blood-brain and bloodtumor barriers impedes drug delivery to the tumor. Finally the low therapeutic index between tumor sensitivity and toxicity to normal brain severely limits the ability to systemically deliver therapeutic doses of drugs or administer focal radiation therapy to the tumor. New treatment strategies are urgently needed.
Caspases as Putative Biomarkers of Cervical Cancer Development

Resistance to apoptosis is commonly accepted as the principal hallmark of a cancer cell, while caspases are recognized as the key molecular players of the apoptosis regulatory network. Since the level of caspase activity is thought to be directly coupled with aggres‐ sive features of cancer cells (such as ability to withstand immune reactions, invasiveness, drug resistance, etc.), these proteases could serve as objective diagnostic markers espe‐ cially for those types of cancer where early differential diagnosis is needed. Cervical can‐ cer develops through morphologically well-described stages—from intraepithelial lesions of 1/2/3 grade including carcinoma in situ to microinvasive and invasive cancer with pre‐ cancerous lesions known to be potentially reversible. The percentage of cervical neo‐ plasms diagnosed at early stages is relatively high, providing a basis for the use of cervical cancer as an in vivo model to investigate the mechanisms of apoptosis modula‐ tion in malignant cells. The existing diagnostic criteria, despite their usefulness, have sub‐ stantial limitations with respect to cervical cancer and preneoplastic lesions, so caspases may be helpful in improving them, but there is insufficient data regarding the involve‐ ment of these enzymes in cervical cancer development. In this chapter, we report on spe‐ cific patterns of activity of caspases revealed in tissue biopsies and blood lymphocytes in association with different stages of cervical cancer development. The data indicate that caspases are pivotal components of the in vivo molecular “portrait” of cervical cancer and have the potential of being used as biomarkers.