Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is There a Place for Cultural Studies in Colleges of Education?1

1. This essay draws, in part, from two previous essays of mine on cultural studies: “Doing Cultural Studies: Youth and the Challenge of Pedagogy,” Harvard Educational Review (Fall 1994, in press); “Doing Cultural Studies in Colleges of Education,” in Joyce Canaan and Debbie Epstein, Eds. Teaching Cultural Studies (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, forthcoming).
Transition between cultures? Beliefs and attitudes of British and Chinese young adults living in China and the UK towards mental health disorders

Students not studying psychology or mental health issues participated in a study in which they identified the characteristics of, and attitudes towards, three widely prevalent mental health problems: anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. Participants were equally divided into indigenous UK (n=106) and Chinese students (n=111) and Chinese students studying in the UK (n=101). Participants completed a questionnaire measuring their beliefs about the symptoms (divided into psychological, physical and Chinese medical), time-course, severity, causes, consequences and perceived personal and treatment control) and their attitudes towards mental health problems (the Opinion about Mental Illness in Chinese Community Scale). Detailed findings are reported for each condition separately. However, general findings were: (1) contrary to our hypotheses, there was no evidence that the Chinese students living in the UK held more western views of the conditions than those living in China, (2) both Chinese appeared to hold a model of mental health incorporating both western and traditional Chinese concepts, the UK students held almost uniquely western models of the disorders, (3) the Chinese participants held more negative views about mental health problems, but also tended to consider them to be more treatable.
Some methodological considerations for the study of development news: An examination of three Indian daily newspapers

development. Development news should examine critically, evaluate and interpret the relevance of development plans, projects, policies, problems and issues. It should indicate the disparities between plans and actual accomplishments, and include comparisons with how development is progressing in other countries and regions. It also should provide contextual and background information about the development process, discuss the impact of plans, projects, policies, problems and issues on people, and speculate about the future of development. And development news should refer to the needs of people, which may vary from country to country or from region to region, but generally include primary needs, such as food, housing and employ-
Local site differences in survival and parasitism of periwinkles (Littorina sitkana Philippi, 1846)

Abstract The periwinkle, Littorina sitkana, is found throughout the intertidal zone, often in isolated subpopulations. The majority of trematode parasites use snails as intermediate hosts, and decreased survivorship is often observed in snails infected with trematodes. Sampling L. sitkana from four sites in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada, we test the effects of parasitic infection on snail survival using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches using the software MARK and WinBUGS. We found that survival of periwinkles and trematode community composition differed among sites, but survival and trematode prevalence were uncorrelated. WinBUGS performed better than MARK in two ways: (1) by allowing the use of information on known mortality, thus preventing survival overestimation; and (2) by giving more stable estimates while testing the effect of body size on snail survival. Our results suggest that snail survival depends heavily on local environmental factors that may vary greatly within a small geographical region. These findings are important because the majority of experimental studies on survival are done on snails from a single location.
Who Cares About Diversity? A Preliminary Investigation of Diversity Exposure in Teacher Preparation Programs

The existing literature has extensively documented the urgency for educators to raise their cultural awareness and become more culturally responsive; yet the importance placed on cultural competence in teacher education programs has been surprisingly weak. The present study, therefore, provides a preliminary investigation of diversity exposure, through course curriculum, for preservice teachers. Using state-level data, a content analysis of course descriptions was conducted to assess what types of undergraduate courses were being offered on diversity and/or multiculturalism for education majors. The results indicate that while teacher education programs are, indeed, offering some form of multicultural education/diversity curriculum, the content focus varies significantly between institutions.
Sketching of Mirror-Symmetric Shapes

This paper presents a system to create mirror-symmetric surfaces from free-form sketches. The system takes as input a hand-drawn sketch and generates a surface whose silhouette approximately matches the input sketch. The input sketch typically consists of a set of curves connected at their endpoints, forming T-junctions and cusps. Our system is able to identify the skewed-mirror and translational symmetry between the hand-drawn curves and uses this information to reconstruct the occluded parts of the surface and its 3D shape.
SQL-Like Language for Database Mining

Datamining, also referred to as databasemining or knowledge discovery in databases (KDD), is a new research area that aims at the discovery of useful information from large datasets. One of the most interesting and important research problems is discovering of different types of rules (e.g. association, characteristic, discriminant, etc.) from data. In this work we propose the new SQL-like language for datamining in relational databases, called MineSQL, developed within the scope of the data mining research project led in Poznan University of Technology. MineSQL is the extension of industry standard SQL language developed for expressing rule queries and assisting a user in rule generation, storage and retrieval. We focus on the main features of the language, its syntax and semantics, illustrated by practical examples.
Visual touchpad: a two-handed gestural input device

This paper presents the Visual Touchpad, a low-cost vision-based input device that allows for fluid two-handed interactions with desktop PCs, laptops, public kiosks, or large wall displays. Two downward-pointing cameras are attached above a planar surface, and a stereo hand tracking system provides the 3D positions of a user's fingertips on and above the plane. Thus the planar surface can be used as a multi-point touch-sensitive device, but with the added ability to also detect hand gestures hovering above the surface. Additionally, the hand tracker not only provides positional information for the fingertips but also finger orientations. A variety of one and two-handed multi-finger gestural interaction techniques are then presented that exploit the affordances of the hand tracker. Further, by segmenting the hand regions from the video images and then augmenting them transparently into a graphical interface, our system provides a compelling direct manipulation experience without the need for more expensive tabletop displays or touch-screens, and with significantly less self-occlusion.
3-D imaging using row-column-addressed arrays with integrated apodization - part i: apodization design and line element beamforming

This paper investigates the effect of transducerintegrated apodization in row-column-addressed arrays and presents a beamforming approach specific for such arrays. Row-column addressing 2-D arrays greatly reduces the number of active channels needed to acquire a 3-D volume. A disadvantage of row-column-addressed arrays is an apparent ghost effect in the point spread function caused by edge waves. This paper investigates the origin of the edge waves and the effect of introducing an integrated apodization to reduce the ghost echoes. The performance of a λ/2-pitch 5-MHz 128 + 128 row-column-addressed array with different apodizations is simulated. A Hann apodization is shown to decrease imaging performance away from the center axis of the array because of a decrease in main lobe amplitude. Instead, a static roll-off apodization region located at the ends of the line elements is proposed. In simulations, the peak ghost echo intensity of a scatterer at (x, y, z) = (8, 3, 30) mm was decreased by 43 dB by integrating roll-off apodization into the array. The main lobe was unaffected by the apodization. Simulations of a 3-mm-diameter anechoic blood vessel at 30 mm depth showed that applying the transducer-integrated apodization increased the apparent diameter of the vessel from 2.0 mm to 2.4 mm, corresponding to an increase from 67% to 80% of the true vessel diameter. The line element beamforming approach is shown to be essential for achieving correct time-of-flight calculations, and hence avoid geometrical distortions. In Part II of this work, experimental results from a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer with integrated roll-off apodization are given to validate the effect of integrating apodization into the line elements.
Bipolar Depression: Issues in Diagnosis and Treatment

&NA; Although bipolar affective disorder is defined by the history of manic or hypomanic episodes, depression is arguably a more important facet of the illness. Depressive episodes, on average, are more numerous and last longer than manic or hypomanic episodes, and most suicides occur during these periods. Misdiagnosis of major depressive disorder delays initiation of appropriate therapy, further worsening prognosis. Distinguishing features of bipolar depression include earlier age of onset, a family history of bipolar disorder, presence of psychotic or reverse neurovegetative features, and antidepressant‐induced switching. Bipolar I depressions should initially be treated with a mood stabilizer (carbamazapine, divalproex, lamotrigine, lithium, or an atypical antipsychotic); antidepressant monotherapy is contraindicated. More severe or “breakthrough” episodes often require a concomitant antidepressant, such as bupropion or a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). The first treatment specifically approved for bipolar depression is a combination of the SSRI fluoxetine and the atypical antipsychotic olanzapine. For refractory depressive episodes, venlafaxine, the monoamine oxidase inhibitor tranylcypromine, and ECT are most widely recommended. The optimal duration of maintenance antidepressant therapy has not been established empirically and, until better evidence‐based guidelines are established, should be determined on a case‐by‐case basis.
Israeli counsellors facing terrorism: coping and professional development

ABSTRACT The current study examined the characteristics and functioning of 12 Israeli school counsellors located at different stages of professional development who worked in schools affected by terrorist attacks. Semi-structured interviews explored the counsellors’ professional behaviour, activities, and coping with terror and its effects. Consensual qualitative research analysis revealed five major domains: role definition, organisational characteristics, affective reactions, dilemmas, and barriers and resources. Counsellors at different stages of professional development demonstrated different patterns of behaviour across the domains’ categories and subcategories. Implications for research and supervision are discussed.
Adoptive transfer of BALb/c mouse splenocytes reduces lesion severity and induces intestinal pathophysiologic changes in the Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis beige/scid mouse model.

Successful immune reconstitution would enhance resistance of beige/scid mice to chronic infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, but may cause damage to intestinal tissue. Therefore, we investigated the effect of adoptive transfer of BALB/c mouse splenocytes on lesion severity and intestinal physiology in beige/scid mice infected with M. paratuberculosis. Mice were inoculated intraperitoneally (i.p.) with M. paratuberculosis, and two weeks later were inoculated i.p. with viable spleen cells from immune-competent BALB/c mice. Mice were necropsied 12 weeks after infection when engraftment of lymphocytes, clinical disease, pathologic lesions, and intestinal electrophysiologic parameters were evaluated. Lymphocytes were rare in control beige/scid mice not inoculated with spleen cells. In contrast, high numbers of CD4+, CD8+, and B220+ lymphocytes were detected in the spleen of all beige/scid mice (n = 24) inoculated with spleen cells, indicating that adoptive transfer resulted in successful engraftment of donor lymphocytes (immune reconstitution). Immune reconstitution of M. paratuberculosis-infected beige/ scid mice significantly reduced the severity of clinical disease and pathologic lesions, and numbers of bacteria in the liver. However, intestinal electrophysiologic parameters studied in vitro indicated that intestinal tissues from reconstituted beige/scid mice had reduced short-circuit current responses (due to reduced ion secretion) following electrical, glucose, and forskolin stimulation. These abnormal responses suggested that neural or epithelial cells in the intestine were damaged. We conclude that successful immune reconstitution of beige/scid mice enhance their resistance to M. paratuberculosis infection, but may cause pathophysiologic changes associated with intestinal inflammation.
Absence of Perilipin 2 Prevents Hepatic Steatosis, Glucose Intolerance and Ceramide Accumulation in Alcohol-Fed Mice

Background Perilipin 2 (Plin2) is a lipid droplet protein that has roles in both lipid and glucose homeostasis. An increase in Plin2 in liver is associated with the development of steatosis, glucose intolerance, and ceramide accumulation in alcoholic liver disease. We investigated the role of Plin2 on energy balance and glucose and lipid homeostasis in wildtype and Plin2 knockout (Plin2KO) mice chronically fed a Lieber-DeCarli liquid ethanol or control diet for six weeks. Methods We performed in vivo measurements of energy intake and expenditure; body composition; and glucose tolerance. After sacrifice, liver was dissected for histology and lipid analysis. Results We found that neither genotype nor diet had a significant effect on final weight, body composition, or energy intake between WT and Plin2KO mice fed alcohol or control diets. Additionally, alcohol feeding did not affect oxygen consumption or carbon dioxide production in Plin2KO mice. We performed glucose tolerance testing and observed that alcohol feeding failed to impair glucose tolerance in Plin2KO mice. Most notably, absence of Plin2 prevented hepatic steatosis and ceramide accumulation in alcohol-fed mice. These changes were related to downregulation of genes involved in lipogenesis and triglyceride synthesis. Conclusions Plin2KO mice chronically fed alcohol are protected from hepatic steatosis, glucose intolerance, and hepatic ceramide accumulation, suggesting a critical pathogenic role of Plin2 in experimental alcoholic liver disease.
Can social work intervention increase organizational effectiveness?

Introduction In recent years, client participation in community organizations has re-emerged as a solution to many of society’s problems (Martinez-Brawley, 1991). Published work about this intervention covers case studies and research projects in Europe, Canada, America and the third world. The rich and developed literature regarding client participation (Bernstein, 1960; McDermott, 1975; Wandersman, 1979: Freedberg, 1989; Rothman, 1989; Spicker, 1990; York and Itzhaky, 1991; Bavely and York, 1995) has assumed that involvement makes for a more effective social work intervention, that is the higher the degree of client participation the more effective is the community organization. This assumption has yet to be tested empirically. Unfortunately, much of the literature on client participation and organizational effectiveness has not used variables such as sense of community belonging (CB). Bavely and York (1995) found that there is a correlation between CB and client participation, but they did not examine whether CB has a connection to organizational outputs as well. Since this research relates to social agency, we postulate such a correlation. This article will report the findings of a study that sought to examine the differences between clients of two models of Israeli community centres. In the first, the policy of the community centre
A Service Oriented Framework for Natural Language Text Enrichment

This paper describes a text enrichment framework and the corresponding document representation model that integrates natural language processing, information extraction, entity resolution, automatic document categorization and summarization. We also describe the implementation of the framework and give several illustrative use cases where the service-oriented approach has proven to be useful. Povzetek: Opisan je okvir za obogatitev naravnega besedila.
Visual Place Recognition in Changing Environments with Time-Invariant Image Patch Descriptors

Feature descriptors for images are a mature area of study within computer vision, and as a result, researchers now have access to many attribute-invariant features (e.g. scale, shift, rotation). However, changes to environments caused by changes in time, ie. weather and season, still pose a serious problem for current image matching systems. As the use of detailed 3D maps and visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) for robotics becomes more widespread, the ability to match image points across different weather conditions, illumination, seasons, and vegetation growth becomes a more important problem to solve. In this paper, we propose a method to learn a timeinvariant image patch descriptor that can reliably match regions in images across the large-scale scenery changes caused by different weather and seasons. We use Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to learn representations of image patches and in particular train a Siamese network with pairs of (non-)matching patches to enforce descriptor (dis)similarity. We enforce this by (maximizing)minimizing the Euclidean distance between descriptors of (non-)matching patches during training. To improve representation generalization, we work with the seldomused, large-scale Archive of Many Outdoor Scenes (AMOS) dataset.
Efficient and resilient key discovery based on pseudo-random key pre-deployment

Summary form only given. A distributed wireless sensor network (WSN) is a collection of n sensors with limited hardware resources and multihop message exchange capabilities. Due to the scarceness of resources, the distributed paradigm required, and the threats to the security, a challenging problem is how to implement secure pair-wise communications among any pair of sensors in a WSN. In particular, storage memory and energy saving as well as resilience to physical compromising of a sensor are the more stringent requirements. The contributions are twofold: (1) we describe a new threat model to communications confidentiality in WSNs (the smart attacker model); under this new, more realistic threat model, the security features of the previous schemes proposed in the literature drastically decrease; (2) we provide a new pseudo-random key predeployment strategy that assures: (a) a key discovery phase that requires no communications; (b) high resilience against the smart attacker model. We provide both analytical evaluations and extensive simulations of the proposed scheme. The results indicate that our pseudo-random key predeployment proposal achieves a provably efficient assignment of keys to sensors, an energy preserving key discovery phase, and is resilient against the smart attacker model.
Generating Event Sequence-Based Test Cases Using GUI Runtime State Feedback

This paper presents a fully automatic model-driven technique to generate test cases for graphical user interfaces (GUIs)-based applications. The technique uses feedback from the execution of a ¿seed test suite,¿ which is generated automatically using an existing structural event interaction graph model of the GUI. During its execution, the runtime effect of each GUI event on all other events pinpoints event semantic interaction (ESI) relationships, which are used to automatically generate new test cases. Two studies on eight applications demonstrate that the feedback-based technique 1) is able to significantly improve existing techniques and helps identify serious problems in the software and 2) the ESI relationships captured via GUI state yield test suites that most often detect more faults than their code, event, and event-interaction-coverage equivalent counterparts.
Social Desirability in Personality Testing of Military Officers

The tendency among Swedish military officers to answer in a socially desirable way when taking some personality tests was investigated. Participants were 216 Army, Navy, and Air Force captains. The test used for measuring social desirability was the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale (M-C SDS; Crowne & Marlowe, 1960) and a subset of those test items. Data revealed a strong tendency among the officers to answer in a socially desirable manner compared to earlier data from testing with the M-C SDS and compared to data from a sample of Swedish students of economics. M-C SDS correlated significantly with all 3 of the personality tests used. The comparably strong tendency to answer in a socially desirable way could be due to in part a need for many individuals to “look good” and in part due to difficulties of applying a 5-step Likert scale to the items of the M-C SDS.
Governor Rate-Constrained OPF for Primary Frequency Control Adequacy

The integration of non-dispatchable generation has led to a change in the dynamics of primary frequency response. This change, mostly driven by the limited contribution of non-dispatchable generation to both total system inertia and governor response, may deteriorate the performance of current practices for determining primary reserves to the extend that real time operation reliability may no longer be ensured. This work establishes sufficient conditions for ensuring primary response adequacy through ex-ante dispatch instructions. A simplified dynamic model of primary frequency response (including system inertia, system governors' ramp rates, and dead bands) is developed to formulate a constraint suitable for an OPF framework. A simulation of ERCOT is presented to test the proposed formulation.
The bacterial chromosome: architecture and action of bacterial SMC and SMC-like complexes

Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes (SMC) protein complexes are found in all three domains of life. They are characterized by a distinctive and conserved architecture in which a globular ATPase ‘head’ domain is formed by the N- and C-terminal regions of the SMC protein coming together, with a c. 50-nm-long antiparallel coiled-coil separating the head from a dimerization ‘hinge’. Dimerization gives both V- and O-shaped SMC dimers. The distinctive architecture points to a conserved biochemical mechanism of action. However, the details of this mechanism are incomplete, and the precise ways in which this mechanism leads to the biological functions of these complexes in chromosome organization and processing remain unclear. In this review, we introduce the properties of bacterial SMC complexes, compare them with eukaryotic complexes and discuss how their likely biochemical action relates to their roles in chromosome organization and segregation.