Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in Recruiting and Engaging Rural and Urban Families in Home-Based Parenting Programs

Home-based parenting programs designed to prevent child abuse and neglect have become wide-spread with efforts to reach families of young children at risk. Rural and urban communities likely differ in strategies to access and recruit families. This study examined rural and urban community differences from a sample of over 1,300 parents referred for home-based parenting services designed to prevent child abuse and neglect. Rural families were much more likely to be self-referred (35%), compared to urban families (7.5%). Urban families were more likely to be referred by health/medical agencies (35.4%) and basic needs support programs (26.1%), than rural families (16.7% and 5.2%), respectively. After controlling for demographic factors, referral sources of self and child welfare did not predict enrollment or completion. However, both rural and urban families were almost 21 times more likely to complete the child abuse prevention program if they were provided referrals to outside goods and services while participating in the child abuse prevention program (odds ratio = 20.85; 95% confidence interval [12.98, 35.01]; p < .001). Implications for recruitment and engagement of families in home-based child abuse prevention programs are discussed.
Reassignment methods for robust time-frequency representations

In this paper, the reassignment method is extended to the robust local polynomial periodogram to process the nonstationary signals corrupted by impulse noise. Performance comparisons between robust spectrogram, the reassigned robust spectrogram, the robust local polynomial periodogram and the reassigned robust local polynomial periodogram (RrLPP) are presented. During computation of the local polynomial Fourier transforms, the length of overlap between the adjacent data segments is reduced to minimize the computational complexity. It shows that under the environment of impulse noise, with reduced overlap, the RrLPP and the reassigned robust local polynomial periodogram along frequency direction (RfrLPP) achieve much better signal concentrations than their counterparts without reassignment. It is also observed that the RfrLPP can achieve comparable results as the RrLPP, with reduced computational time.
English as a foreign language: Speech acts and greetings by saudi learners

This study aims to explore the correlation between learners’ pragmatic competence performance and language proficiency. It further aims to determine the degree to which pragmatic shifts take place from L1 to L2 in relation to usage and interpretation of speech acts of greeting. The study focused on the identification of speech acts, especially by Saudi students of English as a Foreign Language, providing a comparison between the greeting strategies of intermediate– and advanced–level students, in order to determine pragmatic transfer in their responses. Based on research questions and hypotheses, a personal information survey together with a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) were conducted among female participants between 20–25 years old, comprising 200 respondents from four different groups: Saudi Arabic Speakers (SAS), American English Speakers (AES), Intermediate English Learners (IEL) and Advanced English Learners (AEL). Analysing the data collected from the stated sources, it was found that AEL and AES used a higher number of words compared to the native Arabic speakers and IEL. Moreover, all four groups were found to use strategies of greeting (oral speech, body language and other strategies) in different situations. It was also observed that pragmatic transfer was present in the AEL and IEL groups in some of the provided situations, which, furthermore, showed results somehow similar to those of the AES group. Finally, it could be concluded that AEL participants need a certain amount of socio–cultural understanding of the new strategies of greeting of the L2, in this case English, while IEL respondents also need to realise and understand them.
Mining sequential patterns by PrefixSpan algorithm with approximation

We want to find sequential patterns in a long continues noisy DNA sequence. Sequential pattern mining, which discovers frequent subsequences as patterns in a sequence database, is an important data mining problem with broad applications, including the analysis of customer purchase patterns or Web access patterns and analysis of DNA sequences, and so on. We investigated sequential pattern mining algorithms for long continues DNA sequences. Most previously proposed mining algorithms follow the exact matching with a sequential pattern definition. They are not able to work in noisy environments and inaccurate data in practice. We investigated approximate matching method to deal with those cases. In this paper, we develop and apply Pattern-Growth PrefixSpan algorithm to find most repeated patterns, for example, motifs in DNA sequence. Our algorithm gains its efficiency by using pattern growth and approximation methodologies. The algorithm is based on the observation that all occurrences of a frequent pattern can be classified into groups, which we call approximated pattern. We developed algorithms to quickly find out all relative frequents by a pattern growth method and to determine approximated patterns from those frequents. Our experimental studies demonstrate that our algorithm is efficient in mining repeated approximate sequential patterns that would have been missed by existing methods.
Penerapan Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi dalam Pengajaran Karangan UPSR oleh Guru Bahasa Melayu: Satu Kajian Kes

The purpose of this research is to survey the reaction of Malay Language teachers in normal primary schools towards the application of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) from the aspect of execution of HOTS in essay writing, confidence in delivery, difficulties experienced during delivery, the level used during delivery and the steps taken to overcome said problems after the teaching process of essay writing. Two male and female teachers teaching at a school in the district of Petaling Jaya were involved as participants in this research. This research was carried out using qualitative methods i.e. the case study and findings were elicit through conversation. Using conversation, the findings of the research show that the main method used by the participants in the application of HOTS were I-Think maps, Question & Answer (Q&A) sessions and high level difficulty questions. Meanwhile, the least used methods were brainstorming and project-based discussions. The participants of the research also displayed high level confidence in the usage of HOTS, but some problems did arise caused by varied intelligence of the students in a certain class causing some disturbance. The problem could be overcame by diversifying methods in delivering HOTS during teaching essay writing. Through this research also, it is found that the teachers use different standards between weak and excellent students, depending on the level of maturity in thinking. This research is significant in order to increase the application of higher order thinking skills in teaching Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) level essays by Bahasa Melayu teachers.
Social ecological predictors of longitudinal HIV treatment adherence in youth with perinatally acquired HIV.

OBJECTIVE To apply a social ecological model to explore the psychosocial factors prospectively associated with longitudinal adherence to antiretroviral treatment in youth perinatally infected with HIV. METHODS Randomly selected youth, age 8 to <19 years old, completed cognitive testing and psychosocial questionnaires at baseline as part of a multisite protocol (N = 138). A validated caregiver-report measure of adherence was completed at baseline and 24 and 48 weeks after baseline. RESULTS In multivariate analysis, youth awareness of HIV status, caregiver not fully responsible for medications, low caregiver well-being, adolescent perceptions of poor caregiver-youth relations, caregiver perceptions of low social support, and African American ethnicity were associated with nonadherence over 48 weeks. CONCLUSIONS Interventions focusing on caregivers and their interactions with the individual youth and extrafamilial system should be prioritized for prevention and treatment efforts to address nonadherence during the transition into adolescents.
Do Female Executives Make a Difference? The Impact of Female Leadership on Gender Gaps and Firm Performance

We investigate the effects of female executives on gender-specific wage distributions and firm performance. Female leadership has a positive impact at the top of the female wage distribution and a negative impact at the bottom. The impact of female leadership on firm performance increases with the share of female workers. We account for the endogeneity induced by non-random executives’ gender by including firm fixed-effects, by generating controls from a two-way fixed-effects regression and by using instruments based on regional trends. The findings are consistent with a model of statistical discrimination in which female executives are better at interpreting signals of productivity from female workers. This suggests substantial costs of women under-representation among executives.
Phase liquid turbulence as novel quantum approach

In this paper we consider a nonlinear stochastic approach to the description of quantum systems. It is shown that a possibility to derive quantum properties - spectrum quantization, zero point positive energy and uncertainty relations, exists in frame of Zaslavsky phase liquid. This liquid is considered as a projection of continuous turbulent medium into a Hilbert phase space.It has isotropic minimal diffusion defined by Planck constant.Areas of probability condensation may produce clustering centers: quasi stable particles-attractors which preserve boundaries and scale-free fractal transport properties.The stability of particles has been shown in frame of the first order perturbation theory. Quantum peculiarities of considered systems have been strictly derived from markovian Fokker-Planck equation. It turned out that the positive zero point energy has volumetric properties and grows for higher time resolutions. We have shown that a quasi stable attractor may be applied as a satisfactory model of an elementary quantum system. The conditions of attractor stability are defined on the basis of Nonlinear Prigogine Theorem. Finally the integrity of classical and quantum approaches is recovered: existence of particles is derived in terms of Zaslavsky quantum fluid.
The p250GAP Gene Is Associated with Risk for Schizophrenia and Schizotypal Personality Traits

Background Hypofunction of the glutamate N-Methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. p250GAP is a brain-enriched NMDA receptor-interacting RhoGAP. p250GAP is involved in spine morphology, and spine morphology has been shown to be altered in the post-mortem brains of patients with schizophrenia. Schizotypal personality disorder has a strong familial relationship with schizophrenia. Several susceptibility genes for schizophrenia have been related to schizotypal traits. Methods We first investigated the association of eight linkage disequilibrium-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that cover the p250GAP gene with schizophrenia in a Japanese sample of 431 schizophrenia patients and 572 controls. We then investigated the impact of the risk genetic variant in the p250GAP gene on schizotypal personality traits in 180 healthy subjects using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Results We found a significant difference in genotype frequency between the patients and the controls in rs2298599 (χ2 = 17.6, p = 0.00015). The minor A/A genotype frequency of rs2298599 was higher in the patients (18%) than in the controls (9%) (χ2 = 15.5, p = 0.000083). Moreover, we found that subjects with the rs2298599 risk A/A genotype, compared with G allele carriers, had higher scores of schizotypal traits (F1,178 = 4.08, p = 0.045), particularly the interpersonal factor (F1,178 = 5.85, p = 0.017). Discussion These results suggest that a genetic variation in the p250GAP gene might increase susceptibility not only for schizophrenia but also for schizotypal personality traits. We concluded that the p250GAP gene might be a new candidate gene for susceptibility to schizophrenia.
Antenna subset diversity with non-ideal channel estimation

In modern wireless systems employing diversity techniques, combining all the available diversity branches may not be feasible due to complexity and resource constraints. To alleviate these issues, subset diversity (SSD) systems have been proposed. Here, we develop a framework for evaluating the symbol error probability for antenna SSD, where the signals from a subset of antenna elements are selected and combined in the presence of channel estimation error. We consider independent identically distributed Rayleigh fading channels and use an estimator structure based on the maximum likelihood (ML) estimate which arises naturally as the sample mean of Np pilot symbols. The analysis is valid for arbitrary two-dimensional signaling constellations. The expressions give insight into the performance losses of non-ideal SSD when compared to ideal SSD. Due to estimation error, these losses occur in branch combining as well as in branch selection. However, our analytical results show that the practical ML channel estimator still preserves the diversity order of an ideal SSD system with Nd branches. Finally, we investigate the asymptotic signal-to-noise ratio penalty due to estimation error.
Evolution of Levers and Linkages in the Feeding Mechanisms of Fishes1

Abstract The evolution of feeding mechanisms in the ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) is a compelling example of transformation in a musculoskeletal complex involving multiple skeletal elements and numerous muscles that power skull motion. Biomechanical models of jaw force and skull kinetics aid our understanding of these complex systems and enable broad comparison of feeding mechanics across taxa. Mechanical models characterize how muscles move skeletal elements by pulling bones around points of rotation in lever mechanisms, or by transmitting force through skeletal elements connected in a linkage. Previous work has focused on the feeding biomechanics of several lineages of fishes, but a broader survey of skull function in the context of quantitative models has not been attempted. This study begins such a survey by examining the diversity of mechanical design of the oral jaws in 35 species of ray-finned fishes with three main objectives: (1) analyze lower jaw lever models in a broad phylogenetic range of taxa, (2) identify the origin and evolutionary patterns of change in the linkage systems that power maxillary rotation and upper jaw protrusion, and (3) analyze patterns of change in feeding design in the context of actinopterygian phylogeny. The mandibular lever is present in virtually all actinopterygians, and the diversity in lower jaw closing force transmission capacity, with mechanical advantage ranging from 0.04 to 0.68, has important functional consequences. A four-bar linkage for maxillary rotation arose in the Amiiformes and persists in various forms in many teleost species. Novel mechanisms for upper jaw protrusion based on this linkage for maxillary rotation have evolved independently at least five times in teleosts. The widespread anterior jaws linkage for jaw protrusion in percomorph fishes arose initially in Zeiformes and subsequently radiated into a wide range of premaxillary protrusion capabilities.
Pressure Routing for Underwater Sensor Networks

A SEA Swarm (Sensor Equipped Aquatic Swarm) is a sensor "cloud" that drifts with water currents and enables 4D (space and time) monitoring of local underwater events such as contaminants, marine life and intruders. The swarm is escorted at the surface by drifting sonobuoys that collect the data from underwater sensors via acoustic modems and report it in real-time via radio to a monitoring center. The goal of this study is to design an efficient anycast routing algorithm for reliable underwater sensor event reporting to any one of the surface sonobuoys. Major challenges are the ocean current and the limited resources (bandwidth and energy). In this paper, we address these challenges and propose HydroCast, a hydraulic pressure based anycast routing protocol that exploits the measured pressure levels to route data to surface buoys. The paper makes the following contributions: a novel opportunistic routing mechanism to select the subset of forwarders that maximizes greedy progress yet limiting co-channel interference; and an efficient underwater "dead end" recovery method that outperforms recently proposed approaches. The proposed routing protocols are validated via extensive simulations.
Pushing the Limits of Instance Matching Systems: A Semantics-Aware Benchmark for Linked Data

The architectural choices behind the Data Web have led to the publication of large interrelated data sets that contain different descriptions for the same real-world objects. Due to the mere size of current online datasets, such duplicate instances are most commonly detected (semi-)automatically using instance matching frameworks. Choosing the right framework for this purpose remains tedious, as current instance matching benchmarks fail to provide end users and developers with the necessary insights pertaining to how current frameworks behave when dealing with real data. In this poster, we present the Semantic Publishing Instance Matching Benchmark (SPIMBENCH) which allows the benchmarking of instance matching systems against not only structure-based and value-based test cases, but also against semantics-aware test cases based on OWL axioms. SPIMBENCH features a scalable data generator and a weighted gold standard that can be used for debugging instance matching systems and for reporting how well they perform in various matching tasks.
Plasma Lactate Dehydrogenase Levels Predict Mortality in Acute Aortic Syndromes

AbstractIn acute aortic syndromes (AAS), organ malperfusion represents a key event impacting both on diagnosis and outcome. Increased levels of plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a biomarker of malperfusion, have been reported in AAS, but the performance of LDH for the diagnosis of AAS and the relation of LDH with outcome in AAS have not been evaluated so far.This was a bi-centric prospective diagnostic accuracy study and a cohort outcome study. From 2008 to 2014, patients from 2 Emergency Departments suspected of having AAS underwent LDH assay at presentation. A final diagnosis was obtained by aortic imaging. Patients diagnosed with AAS were followed-up for in-hospital mortality.One thousand five hundred seventy-eight consecutive patients were clinically eligible, and 999 patients were included in the study. The final diagnosis was AAS in 201 (20.1%) patients. Median LDH was 424 U/L (interquartile range [IQR] 367–557) in patients with AAS and 383 U/L (IQR 331–460) in patients with alternative diagnoses (P < 0.001). Using a cutoff of 450 U/L, the sensitivity of LDH for AAS was 44% (95% confidence interval [CI] 37–51) and the specificity was 73% (95% CI 69–76). Overall in-hospital mortality for AAS was 23.8%. Mortality was 32.6% in patients with LDH ≥ 450 U/L and 16.8% in patients with LDH < 450 U/L (P = 0.006). Following stratification according to LDH quartiles, in-hospital mortality was 12% in the first (lowest) quartile, 18.4% in the second quartile, 23.5% in the third quartile, and 38% in the fourth (highest) quartile (P = 0.01). LDH ≥ 450 U/L was further identified as an independent predictor of death in AAS both in univariate and in stepwise logistic regression analyses (odds ratio 2.28, 95% CI 1.11–4.66; P = 0.025), in addition to well-established risk markers such as advanced age and hypotension. Subgroup analysis showed excess mortality in association with LDH ≥ 450 U/L in elderly, hemodynamically stable and in nonsurgically treated patients.Plasma LDH constitutes a biomarker of poor outcome in patients with AAS. LDH is a rapid and universally available assay that could be used to improve risk stratification and to individualize treatment in patient groups where options are controversial.
Model-based Answer Selection

Obtaining informative answer passages and ranking them appropriately has previously been error prone for complex, non-factoid questions related to action and event occurrences, causes, and spatiotemporal attributes. A fundamental problem that has hampered the efforts to date has been the inability to extract relations of interest that determine the search for relevant answer passages. We report on a model-based approach to answer selection based on the idea that relations relevant to a question are best captured by an expressive model of events. We outline the essential attributes of the model and report on its application to the AQUAINT focused data corpus for Question Answering.
Generic method for crafting deformable interfaces to physically augment smartphones

Though we live in the era of the touchscreen (tablet PCs and smart phones providing a rigid and flat interface) people and the industry are getting excited about the world of tangible 3D interfaces. This may be explained for two reasons: first, the emergence of cheap vision-based gestural interfaces conquering the space above and below the screen (but without haptic feedback), and second - and perhaps more important for the present discussion - the explosion of the 3D printing industry and the possibility for the end user to not only customise the layout of icons on a screen, but also of designing their own physical, deformable interface from scratch. Mass-produced smartphones could then be seen as bare-bone electronics devices whose shape can be physically augmented, personalised and crafted. Now, in order to introduce DIY techniques in the world of deformable input-output interfaces, it is necessary to provide a generic manufacturing/sensing method for such arbitrarily designed shapes. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate a minimally invasive method (i.e. no wiring) to physically augment rigid tablet PCs or smartphones. By putting a deformable object over the front or rear camera - this 'object' can be part of the smartphone case itself - and by making the inside of the object partially transparent, the complex light reflections can be used to recognise patterns of deformation/grasping and map them to different UI actions. A machine learning algorithm allows object shape and deformation to be designed arbitrarily, bringing the device physical personalisation at a level never reached before, with minimal interference with its original hardware.
Serological and Molecular Characteristics of the First Korean Case of Echinococcus multilocularis

In December 2011, we reported an autochthonous case of Echinococcus multilocularis infection in a 42-year-old woman in Korea. The diagnosis was based on histopathological findings of the surgically resected liver cyst. In the present study, we evaluated the serological and molecular characteristics of this Korean E. multilocularis case. The patient's serum strongly reacted with affinity-purified native Em18 and recombinant Em18 antigens (specific for E. multilocularis) but negative for recombinant antigen B8/1 (reactive for Echinococcus granulosus). In immunoaffinity chromatography, the serum also strongly reacted with E. multilocularis and only weakly positive for E. granulosus. We determined the whole nucleotide sequence of cox1 (1,608 bp) using the paraffin-embedded cystic tissue which was compared with E. multilocularis isolates from China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Austria, France, and Slovakia. The Korean case showed 99.8-99.9% similarity with isolates from Asia (the highest similarity with an isolate from Sichuan, China), whereas the similarity with European isolates ranged from 99.5 to 99.6%.