Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Poorer Children Study Better”: How Urban Chinese Young Adults Perceive Relationships between Wealth and Academic Achievement

This article examines how Chinese citizens perceived the relationship between wealth and achievement among their former middle school classmates. It draws on a survey of 503 respondents in their late twenties and early thirties (who have been followed since 1999, when they were eighth or ninth graders in Dalian City, China) and on interviews with 60 of them. Most believed their former classmates from “poorer” families “studied better” than those from “wealthier” families. Interviewees elaborated that wealthier classmates were more likely than poorer classmates to lack motivation, have poor study habits, and be distracted by material pursuits. Interviewees also suggested that parental involvement was a key factor in shaping achievement, with more involved and educated “poorer” parents’ children doing better than children of “wealthier” business-owner parents who were too busy to get involved in their children’s education. Among these young adults, associations between wealth and achievement differ from those documented in Western societies.
RNA-binding protein HuR interacts with thrombomodulin 5 ’ UTR and represses IRES-mediated translation under IL-1 treatment

Reduction in host activated protein C levels and resultant microvascular thrombosis highlight the important functional role of protein C anticoagulant system in the pathogenesis of sepsis and septic shock. Thrombomodulin (TM) is a critical factor to activate protein C in mediating the anticoagulation and anti-inflammation effects. However, TM protein content is decreased in inflammation and sepsis, and the mechanism is still not well defined. In this report, we identified that the TM 5'UTR bearing the internal ribosome entry site (IRES) element controls TM protein expression. Using RNA probe pull-down assay, HuR was demonstrated to interact with the TM 5'UTR. Overexpression of HuR protein inhibited the activity of TM IRES, while on the other hand, reducing the HuR protein level reversed this effect. When cells were treated with IL-1, the IRES activity was suppressed and accompanied by an increased interaction between HuR and TM 5'UTR. In the animal model of sepsis, we found the TM protein expression level to be decreased while concurrently observing the increased interaction between HuR and TM mRNA in liver tissue. In summary, HuR plays an important role in suppression of TM protein synthesis in IL-1 treatment and sepsis.
Tonal Assignment in English Loanwords in Mandarin Chinese - eScholarship

English words borrowed into Mandarin Chinese must be assigned tones. This thesis investigates which properties of the English form influence the tones English loanwords receive in Mandarin. The investigation is two-pronged, consisting of a corpus study of English borrowings in Mandarin and an online loanword adaption experiment with Mandarin speakers. The two approaches yield different results. The corpus study, which builds on earlier work by Wu (2006), points to English voicing as the primary determinant of tone in Mandarin: English sonorant and voiced obstruent onsets tend to trigger rising tone assignment while English voiceless obstruents tend to trigger high tone assignment. This is hypothesized to be due to the F0 perturbations caused by voiced and voiceless onsets. In the corpus study, English stress plays only a minor role in Mandarin tonal assignment. In contrast, stress is the most important determinant of tone in the loanword adaptation experiment. Stressed syllables are most often adapted with high tone, with final stressed syllables also showing a strong preference for falling tone. The voicing effect found in the corpus is not found in the experiment. These results suggest that tonal adaptation depends on overall English intonation rather than small F0 perturbations. I discuss possible reasons for the two studies’ conflicting results, as well as what they reveal about the broader picture of Mandarin tonal adaptation.
Causal Model for Depression Based on Psychological Capital by Mediating of Hospital Stress and Anxiety in Woman Nurses

Background: In modern societies, nurses’ issues and investigation of their problems has found a vital importance. Objectives : The present study investigated the mediating role of hospital stress and anxiety in relationship between psychological capital and depression in women nurses. Methods: This research was a correlational study. Data was analyzed by the path analyze method and by using Amos (v. 22). Participants included 178 nurses (females) in hospitals from Borujerd city, Lorestan Province, that were selected by the accidental sampling method. Participants completed the hospital stress scale, psychological capital scale, as well as they negative emotions scale. To examine reliability of measures, cronbach coefficient, and to determine validity, internal consistency was used. The results showed an acceptable reliability and validity of the instruments. Results: Results showed that: (1) the variables of self-efficacy (β = -0.041, P = 0.007), resilience (β = -0.071, P = 0.008), hope (β = -0.067, P = 0.004), and optimism (β = -0.087, P= 0.003), had a negative and indirect effect on depression; (2) the variables of self-efficacy (β = -0.025, P = 0.014), resilience (β = -0.155, P= 0.006), hope (β = -0.040, P = 0.007), and optimism (β = -0.245, P = 0.006), had a negative and indirect effect on anxiety; (3) hospital stress (β = 0.175, P = 0.006) had a positive and indirect effect on depression. Conclusions: According to these results, increasing of dimensions of psychological capital leads to reduction of hospital stress, anxiety, and depression in female nurses.
An Automated Design Flow to Prototype Simulink Models on MPSoC

Simulink is a modeling environment suitable to model embedded systems at system-level. However, there is no standard to prototype Simulink models onto modern multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC). In this demonstration we show how our NoC System Generator tool can be used as part of an automated platform-based design flow to synthesize a Simulink model onto a network-on-chip based MPSoC implementation on FPGA. The performance of the generated prototype scales with the number of processors.
A Middleware Database Replication Protocol Providing Different Isolation Levels

Database replication protocols have been usually designed in order to support a single isolation level. This paper proposes a middleware protocol able to manage three different isolation levels over multi-version DBMSs: GSI, SI, and serializable. This ensures a better support for applications that demand different isolation levels for their transactions. Additionally, this protocol is also able to merge the coordination of the replicas for each isolation level, using a weak voting approach for all of them, whilst other recent protocols need a certifying technique for GSI and SI, or a 2PC rule for serializable level.
Implication of E-Health and IT Governance on Healthcare Expenditure: An Econometrics Approach (Case Study Middle East Countries)

This paper analyzes the public healthcare expenditure of Middle Eastern countries in relation to different exogenous explanatory variables, through a panel study involving twelve 12 Middle East countries. More specifically, the study methodology uses panel cointegration, and panel-based error correction models derived from annual data covering the period of 2000 to 2010. The empirical results support a short-run co-integration relationship after allowing for the heterogeneous country effect. The long-run relationship is estimated using a full-modified OLS. The results of a ten-year panel study have been interpreted and commented. The public healthcare expenditure of our countries is explicated to a great extent by the single country GDP. Other strong correlation variables were found also to be statistically significant. The research reveals that e-health programming and e-health governance could lead to a decrease in unnecessary health care expenditure.
A plausible model of phyllotaxis

A striking phenomenon unique to the kingdom of plants is the regular arrangement of lateral organs around a central axis, known as phyllotaxis. Recent molecular-genetic experiments indicate that active transport of the plant hormone auxin is the key process regulating phyllotaxis. A conceptual model based on these experiments, introduced by Reinhardt et al. [Reinhardt, D. , Pesce, E. R. , Stieger, P., Mandel, T. , Baltensperger, K. , et al. (2003) Nature 426, 255–260], provides an intuitively plausible interpretation of the data, but raises questions of whether the proposed mechanism is, in fact, capable of producing the observed temporal and spatial patterns, is robust, can start de novo, and can account for phyllotactic transitions, such as the frequently observed transition from decussate to spiral phyllotaxis. To answer these questions, we created a computer simulation model based on data described previously or in this paper and reasonable hypotheses. The model reproduces, within the standard error, the divergence angles measured in Arabidopsis seedlings and the effects of selected experimental manipulations. It also reproduces distichous, decussate, and tricussate patterns. The model thus offers a plausible link between molecular mechanisms of morphogenesis and the geometry of phyllotaxis.
Aesthetic quality classification of photographs based on color harmony

Aesthetic quality classification plays an important role in how people organize large photo collections. In particular, color harmony is a key factor in the various aspects that determine the perceived quality of a photo, and it should be taken into account to improve the performance of automatic aesthetic quality classification. However, the existing models of color harmony take only simple color patterns into consideration–e.g., patches consisting of a few colors–and thus cannot be used to assess photos with complicated color arrangements. In this work, we tackle the challenging problem of evaluating the color harmony of photos with a particular focus on aesthetic quality classification. A key point is that a photograph can be seen as a collection of local regions with color variations that are relatively simple. This led us to develop a method for assessing the aesthetic quality of a photo based on the photo's color harmony. We term the method ‘bags-of-color-patterns. ’ Results of experiments on a large photo collection with user-provided aesthetic quality scores show that our aesthetic quality classification method, which explicitly takes into account the color harmony of a photo, outperforms the existing methods. Results also show that the classification performance is improved by combining our color harmony feature with blur, edges, and saliency features that reflect the aesthetics of the photos.
ICI cancellation method for OFDM systems using compressed sensing based channel estimation

The time-varying multipath fading causes the intercarrier interference (ICI) that destroys the orthogonality between the subcarriers for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. In this paper, we propose an iterative equalization method using channel estimation based on compressed sensing (CS) that can be used to optimize and reconstruct the channel state information (CSI) for sparse channel. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the system performance, comparing with the conventional Least Square (LS) methods.
Fuzzy Sliding Mode with Region Tracking Control for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

This paper presents fuzzy sliding mode control with region tracking control for a single autonomous underwater vehicle. The vehicle is needed to track a certain moving region whilst under the influence of wave current. The fuzzy logic is used to tune the gain and to reduce the effect of chattering effect, the signum function is replaced by saturation function. Simulation result is presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed tracking control of the AUV.
Rural Cross-Sector Collaboration

Schools throughout the United States apply comprehensive community partnership strategies to address students’ in- and out-of-school needs. Drawing from models like the Harlem Children’s Zone, Promise Neighborhoods, and full-service community schools, such strategies call for diverse professionals to reach beyond their own organizations to collaborate with complementary partners. Extant research on cross-sector collaboration focuses disproportionately on urban settings. This qualitative study examined three years of cross-sector collaboration in “Midvale,” a rural community in the western United States. Applying the conceptual framework of social frontiers, it illuminates how issues of difference, competition, and resource constraint impacted cross-sector collaboration in Midvale’s rural context.
The algorithmic randomness of quantum measurements

This paper is a comment on the paper "Quantum Mechanics and Algorithmic Randomness" was written by Ulvi Yurtsever \cite{Yurtsever} and the briefly explanation of the algorithmic randomness of quantum measurements results. There are differences between the computability of probability sources, ( which means there is an algorithm that can define the way that random process or probability source generates the numbers ) and the algorithmic randomness of the sequences or strings which are produced by a source. We may have the source without a computable algorithm for that but it can produce compressible or incompressible strings. For example, so far there is no computable algorithm that can define the abstract meaning of randomness even the easiest one, Bernoulli probability distribution. Historically and philosophically there many scientist believe the existence of the algorithm for a random process is a contradiction because in their opinion, in the definition of a random variable, implicitly assumed that there is no reason for the happening of an event and we just know the probabilities. There is however no need to enter into this matter here. As in the paper mentioned, all the algorithms for simulating a random process try to pass the statistical tests and be close to the abstract meaning of it.
Optimum design of overlapping discrete multitone filter banks for digital subscriber line channels

A new approach to the design of optimum transmultiplexer filter banks for overlapping discrete multitone (ODMT) multicarrier modulation is presented. ODMT has been proposed for use in high-speed data communications over twisted pair copper wires such as digital subscriber lines (DSL), due to its ability to cope well with channel degradations and noise. We propose a new design technique which minimizes the overall interference. We consider the effect of the time domain overlap between successive symbol waveforms by considering each modulation filter as a series of filter components in time. We explicitly incorporate some knowledge of the digital subscriber line channel into our design technique, to account for the effects of time dispersion and frequency distortion. Numerical simulations show that the optimisation of the components in the mixed time-frequency domain leads to an increase in the signal-to-interference ratio of the order of 0.2-0.3 dB.
Grid-based Localization and Online Mapping with Moving Object Detection and Tracking

: In this paper, we present a real-time algorithm for local simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) with detection and tracking of moving objects (DATMO) in dynamic outdoor environments from a moving vehicle equipped with laser sensor, radar and odometry. To correct vehicle location from odometry we introduce a new fast implementation of incremental scan matching method that can work reliably in dynamic outdoor environments. After a good vehicle location is estimated, the surrounding map of the vehicle is updated incrementally and moving objects are detected without a priori knowledge of the targets. Detected moving objects are ﬁnally tracked by a Multiple Hypothesis Tracker (MHT) coupled with an adaptive Interacting Multiple Models ﬁl-ter. The experimental results on datasets collected from different scenarios such as: urban streets, country roads and highways demonstrate the efﬁciency of the proposed algorithm.
Multiple patterns of gradient magnitudes for face recognition

Describing efficiently faces is a task of mounting importance. Most of existing algorithms do not address all the three criteria, i.e., robustness, distinctiveness and low computational cost. Inspired by recent features so-called POEM (Patterns of Oriented Edge Magnitudes) which is argued balancing well the three concerns, we first provide an improvement to it and then propose novel features so-called self-POEM considering the relations between edge distributions along different directions of one region itself. Self-POEM provides the complementary strength which is not present in POEM. Combining them together, a more robust algorithm is obtained and by experiments we prove that our approach is more efficient than contemporary ones.
Scaling the circulation shed by a pitching panel

Abstract A new scaling parameter is developed for the circulation shed by a rigid, rectangular panel pitching periodically about its leading edge. This parameter is the product of a kinematic and a geometric component. The kinematic component describes the relationship between the mean vorticity flux from the panel surface and the panel motion. The geometric component depends on the ratio of pitching amplitude to the span of the panel. The kinematic component is developed based on the connection between the surface pressure distribution and the resulting surface vorticity flux, which are supported in a stroke-averaged sense by pressure measurements on the surface of the panel. The parameter gives a robust scaling for the total spanwise circulation shed in a half-cycle by the panel. It provides a useful predictive tool, in that it can be either complementary to the formation number or provide an alternative scaling parameter when vortex saturation and pinch-off do not occur.
Analysis of stochastic reaction networks with Markov reward models

This paper considers Markov chains describing stochastic reaction networks. These Markov chains often have a huge state space which make their analysis unfeasible. We show that there exist cases when the original Markov chain can be transformed into a Markov reward model with a smaller state space and whose analysis gives information on the moments of the quantity of the involved species. We derive the necessary mathematics and provide numerical examples to illustrate the approach.
Privacy Risks to Straddlers in Recommender Systems

We explore the conflict between personalization and privacy that arises from the existence of straddlers in a recommender system. A straddler is a person with eclectic tastes who rates products across several different types or domains. While straddlers enable serendipitous recommendations, information about their existence could be used in conjunction with other sources of data to uncover identities and reveal personal details. In this article, we use a graph-theoretic model to study the benefit from and risk to straddlers.
Medical image classification by supervised machine learning

In this paper, Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used to learn image feature characteristics for image classification. Several image visual features describe the shape, edge, and texture of image (including histogram, spatial layout, coherence moment and gabor features) have been employed in this paper to categorize the 500 test images into 46 classes. The result shows that the spatial relationship of pixels is a very important feature in medical image data, because medical image data always have similar anatomic regions (lung, liver, head, and so on).
A peripheral endocannabinoid mechanism contributes to glucocorticoid-mediated metabolic syndrome

Significance Obesity and associated metabolic disorders (e.g., cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes) are major public health concerns. These disorders result, in part, from hormonal dysregulation, particularly of glucocorticoids (GCs; central regulators of metabolism and adipogenesis). The specific mechanisms by which GCs modulate these processes remain largely unknown, but GCs increase production of endocannabinoids—potent central and peripheral regulators of appetite, energy balance, and metabolism. Our results show that sustained exposure to GCs produces obesity and metabolic syndrome through a peripheral endocannabinoid mechanism. These data further our understanding of the role of endocannabinoid signaling to promote not only diet-induced, but also, hormonal-mediated obesity and support the argument that peripheral blockade of endocannabinoid signaling could be a potential treatment for obese conditions. Glucocorticoids are known to promote the development of metabolic syndrome through the modulation of both feeding pathways and metabolic processes; however, the precise mechanisms of these effects are not well-understood. Recent evidence shows that glucocorticoids possess the ability to increase endocannabinoid signaling, which is known to regulate appetite, energy balance, and metabolic processes through both central and peripheral pathways. The aim of this study was to determine the role of endocannabinoid signaling in glucocorticoid-mediated obesity and metabolic syndrome. Using a mouse model of excess corticosterone exposure, we found that the ability of glucocorticoids to increase adiposity, weight gain, hormonal dysregulation, hepatic steatosis, and dyslipidemia was reduced or reversed in mice lacking the cannabinoid CB1 receptor as well as mice treated with the global CB1 receptor antagonist AM251. Similarly, a neutral, peripherally restricted CB1 receptor antagonist (AM6545) was able to attenuate the metabolic phenotype caused by chronic corticosterone, suggesting a peripheral mechanism for these effects. Biochemical analyses showed that chronic excess glucocorticoid exposure produced a significant increase in hepatic and circulating levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide, whereas no effect was observed in the hypothalamus. To test the role of the liver, specific and exclusive deletion of hepatic CB1 receptor resulted in a rescue of the dyslipidemic effects of glucocorticoid exposure, while not affecting the obesity phenotype or the elevations in insulin and leptin. Together, these data indicate that glucocorticoids recruit peripheral endocannabinoid signaling to promote metabolic dysregulation, with hepatic endocannabinoid signaling being especially important for changes in lipid metabolism.
Contribution of garbage burning to chloride and PM 2.5 in Mexico City

Abstract. The contribution of garbage burning (GB) emissions to chloride and PM2.5 in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) has been investigated for the period of 24 to 29 March during the MILAGRO-2006 campaign using the WRF-CHEM model. When the MCMA 2006 official emission inventory without biomass burning is used in the simulations, the WRF-CHEM model significantly underestimates the observed particulate chloride in the urban and the suburban areas. The inclusion of GB emissions substantially improves the simulations of particulate chloride; GB contributes more than 60% of the observation, indicating that it is a major source of particulate chloride in Mexico City. GB yields up to 3 pbb HCl at the ground level in the city, which is mainly caused by the burning of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in the garbage. GB is also an important source of PM2.5, contributing about 3–30% simulated PM2.5 mass on average. More modeling work is needed to evaluate the GB contribution to hazardous air toxics, such as dioxin, which is found to be released at high level from PVC burning in laboratory experiments.