Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of parental homework involvement: Predictors and reciprocal relations with academic functioning in the reading domain.

This study examined predictors of the quality of parental homework involvement and reciprocal relations between the quality of parental homework involvement and students’ reading achievement and academic functioning in a reading-intensive subject (German). Data from 2,830 students in nonacademic tracks and their parents who were surveyed in both Grades 5 and 7 were analyzed. The quality of parental homework involvement was assessed via student reports. It was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct and measured by 3 dimensions proposed by self-determination theory: parental control, parental responsiveness, and parental structure. Whereas students’ academic functioning in Grade 5 predicted the way parents became involved in the homework process in Grade 7, the quality of parents’ help with homework did not depend on their socioeconomic background. Reciprocal relations between the quality of parental homework involvement and children’s academic functioning were observed: Low academic functioning of students in Grade 5 resulted in more parental control in Grade 7, and more parental control in Grade 5 was associated with lower academic functioning in Grade 7. Similarly, high academic functioning in Grade 5 resulted in more parental responsiveness and structure in Grade 7, and more parental responsiveness and structure in Grade 5 were associated with better academic functioning in Grade 7.
Plasma Levels of Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein and the Risk of Future Coronary Artery Disease in Apparently Healthy Men and Women: The Prospective EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition)–Norfolk Population Study

Background—Low plasma levels of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) are associated with elevated levels of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), but it remains unclear whether this translates into a concomitant reduction in the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Evidence exists that the effect of CETP depends on metabolic context, in particular on triglyceride levels. Methods and Results—A nested case-control study was performed in the prospective EPIC-Norfolk cohort study. Cases were apparently healthy men and women aged 45 to 79 years who developed fatal or nonfatal CAD during follow-up. Control subjects were matched by age, sex, and enrollment time. CETP levels were not significantly different between cases and controls (4.0±2.2 versus 3.8±2.1 mg/L, P=0.07). CETP levels were significantly related to plasma levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL-C. The risk of CAD increased with increasing CETP quintiles (P for linearity=0.02), such that subjects in the highest quintile had an adjusted OR of 1.43 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.99, P=0.03) versus those in the lowest. Among individuals with triglyceride levels below the median (1.7 mmol/L), no relationship between CETP levels and CAD risk was observed (P for linearity=0.5), but this relationship was strong among those with high triglyceride levels (P for linearity=0.02), such that those in the highest CETP quintile had an OR of 1.87 (95% CI 1.06 to 3.30, P=0.02). Conclusions—Elevated CETP levels are associated with an increasing risk of future CAD in apparently healthy individuals, but only in those with high triglyceride levels.
Inter-modality non-rigid breast image registration using finite-element method

We have investigated a new approach for co-registration of functional PET images with anatomical MR images for breast-cancer detection. This registration is required for multimodality PET-MRI breast image fusion, an approach that could prove useful as an alternative to surgical breast biopsy, following equivocal or difficult-to-interpret mammograms. Our method uses fiducial skin markers placed on the breast that can be observed in PET and MRI. The intermodal geometrical displacements (i.e. differences between PET and MRI marker locations) are estimated from tomographic images. A finite-element-method (FEM) model of breast tissue, based upon an analogy between the orthogonal components of the displacement field and a steady-state heat transfer (SSHT) problem was implemented. This equivalence is valid in that the displacement distribution problem is analogous to the SSHT in solids. The material properties of the breast appear here as coefficients of "thermal conductivity. " Our model considers the observed marker displacements as FEM "temperature loads" and distributes them linearly (stepwise) over the entire breast volume. To test the performance of our method, an elastic breast phantom with simulated internal "lesions" and external markers placed on four meridians was imaged with PET and MRI. We estimated fiducial-registration errors and target-registration errors in the PET-MRI co-registration. The effects of the number, location, and distribution of the markers on the accuracy of the procedure were also investigated. We have established that multimodality breast-image co-registration using our SSHT FEM approach with external fiducial markers is accurate to within /spl sim/5 mm.
Automated map generalization with multiple operators: a simulated annealing approach

This paper explores the use of the stochastic optimization technique of simulated annealing for map generalization. An algorithm is presented that performs operations of displacement, size exaggeration, deletion and size reduction of multiple map objects in order to resolve graphic conflict resulting from map scale reduction. It adopts a trial position approach in which each of n discrete polygonal objects is assigned k candidate trial positions that represent the original, displaced, size exaggerated, deleted and size reduced states of the object. This gives rise to a possible kn distinct map configurations; the expectation is that some of these configurations will contain reduced levels of graphic conflict. Finding the configuration with least conflict by means of an exhaustive search is, however, not practical for realistic values of n and k. We show that evaluation of a subset of the configurations, using simulated annealing, can result in effective resolution of graphic conflict.
H/sub /spl infin// filtering for fuzzy singularly perturbed systems with pole placement constraints: an LMI approach

This paper addresses the problem of designing an H/sub /spl infin// filter for a class of nonlinear singularly perturbed systems described by a Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy model. Based on a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, we develop a fuzzy H/sub /spl infin// controller that guarantees that i) the L/sub 2/-gain from an exogenous input to a filter error is less than or equal to a prescribed value and ii) the poles of each local filter are within a prespecified region. In order to alleviate the ill-conditioning resulting from the interaction of slow and fast dynamic modes, solutions to the problem are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities, which are independent of the singular perturbation /spl epsiv/, when /spl epsiv/ is sufficiently small. The proposed approach does not involve the separation of states into slow and fast ones, and it can be applied not only to standard but also to nonstandard singularly perturbed nonlinear systems. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the design developed in this paper.
Collaborations that promote growth: music student teachers as peer mentors

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of four music student teachers engaged in peer mentoring. This was an intrinsic case study with a focus on the peer-mentoring programme. Data included reflections on peer-mentoring activities and individual and focus group interviews. Five themes resulted from data analysis: expanding professional knowledge, support, contextual awareness, multiple mentors, and future colleagues. Participants experienced professional growth through sharing ideas with one another. The support received from their peers seemed especially valuable to the student teachers. They became aware of the saliency of context within their teaching situations and appreciated the opportunity to learn from multiple individuals as part of the experience. Participants had different expectations for peer mentoring with future colleagues. Music teacher educators may want to consider promoting collaborative peer relationships through their preparation programmes. Suggestions for further research on peer mentoring in music student teaching are provided.
Design and control of an inchworm-inspired soft robot with omega-arching locomotion

This paper presents an inchworm inspired soft robot composed of the soft body, the front foot as well as the back foot. Compared to the traditional inchworm-type robot consisting of rigid components, the driven mode for the soft robot is more simple. The soft robot inspired by the inchworm has higher locomotion efficiency than the other bionic soft robot. The main idea of this paper is to imitate the “Ω” motion shape of biology inchworm based on a silicone square tube with strain-limiting layers. Besides, each foot of the robot made through 3D printing technology together with metal sheet can produce different friction coefficients to achieve the anchor-motion movement. Then, the robot realizes an inchworm-like locomotion under certain actuation patterns. Experimental results show that the proposed robot has excellent performance.
Portable Computers: Applications to Increase Salesforce Productivity

As the cost per sales call continues to rise, sales and marketing managers are under increasing pressure to develop techniques to improve the productivity of the field salesforce. Recent developments in microcomputer technology hold the promise of contributing to that goal. The portable computer, in conjunction with recently developed software systems, represents one of the most significant developments in this field. This article looks at specific examples of available technology and several applications of this technology in the field of personal selling and sales management.
Designing a residential hybrid electrical energy storage system based on the energy buffering strategy

Due to severe variation in load demand over time, utility companies generally raise electrical energy price during periods of high load demand. A grid-connected hybrid electrical energy storage (HEES) system can help residential users lower their electric bills by storing energy during low-price hours and releasing the stored energy during high-price hours. A HEES system consists of different types of electrical energy storage (EES) elements, utilizing the benefits of each type while hiding their weaknesses. This paper presents a residential energy management system to maximize the annual profits on residential electric bills, based on a HEES system comprised of a lead-acid battery bank as the main storage bank and a Li-ion battery bank as the energy buffer. We first derive the optimal daily energy management policy based on energy buffering to minimize the daily energy cost. Next, we find the near-optimal design specifications of the energy management system, aiming at maximizing the amortized annual profits under practical constraints. We show that this system achieves averagely 11.10% more profits compared to the none-buffering HEES system.
Pediatric esophageal motility disorders: studies on (patho)physiology, diagnosis and management

Pediatric esophageal motility disorders cover a wide spectrum of disorders, varying in prevalence, severity and symptom burden. This thesis comprises of studies on the (patho)physiology, diagnosis and management underlying gastroesophgeal reflux (GER) episodes, (presumed) GER related extraesophageal symptoms and the motility disorder achalasia. The value of novel diagnostic techniques in pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and motility disorders and the treatment of pediatric GERD with acid suppression are explored. The final part of the thesis describes a study on the prevalence, characteristics and management of pediatric achalasia in the Netherlands. The results of the presented studies in this thesis indicate the need to rethink our current diagnostic and treatment approach towards pediatric GERD and the need to develop novel diagnostic tools and treatment strategies. We provided a basis for more clinical and laboratory-based research, looking further into the mechanisms behind triggering of the main mechanism underlying GERD: transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations. Furthermore, we identified a relationship between protonpump inhibitor treatment and respiratory complications in patients admitted at the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Acid suppression therapy in pediatric patients might not prevent extra-esophageal reflux symptoms and potentially increases the risk of (secondary) respiratory infections, especially in PICU patients. Finally, the data on diagnosis and clinical management of a Dutch pediatric achalasia shows there is a need to internationally cooperate and ensure optimal management of this severe motility disorder at a pediatric age.
The kinetics of protein‐protein recognition

We examine a simple kinetic model for association that incorporates the basic features of protein‐protein recognition within the rigid body approximation, that is, when no large conformation change occurs. Association starts with random collision at the rate kcoll predicted by the Einstein‐Smoluchowski equation. This creates an encounter pair that can evolve into a stable complex if and only if the two molecules are correctly oriented and positioned, which has a probability pr. In the absence of long‐range interactions, the bimolecular rate of association is pr kcoll. Long‐range electrostatic interactions affect both kcoll and pr. The collision rate is multiplied by qt, a factor larger than 1 when the molecules carry net charges of opposite sign as coulombic attraction makes collisions more frequent, and less than 1 in the opposite case. The probability pr is multiplied by a factor qr that represents the steering effect of electric dipoles, which preorient the molecules before they collide. The model is applied to experimental data obtained by Schreiber and Fersht (Nat. Struct. Biol. 3:427–431, 1996) on the kinetics of barnase‐barstar association. When long‐range electrostatic interactions are fully screened or mutated away, qtqr ≈1, and the observed rate of productive collision is pr kcoll ≈105 M−1 · s−1. Under these conditions, pr ≈1.5 · 10−5 is determined by geometric constraints corresponding to a loss of rotational freedom. Its value is compatible with computer docking simulations and implies a rotational entropy loss ΔSrot ≈ 22 e.u. in the transition state. At low ionic strength, long‐range electrostatic interactions accelerate barnase‐barstar association by a factor qtqrof up to 105 as favorable charge‐charge and charge‐dipole interactions work together to make it much faster than free diffusion would allow. Proteins 28:153–161, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
Multilocus Sequence Typing of Streptococcus pneumoniae by Use of Mass Spectrometry

ABSTRACT Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is an important tool for the global surveillance of bacterial pathogens that is performed by comparing the sequences of designated housekeeping genes. We developed and tested a novel mass spectrometry-based method for MLST of Streptococcus pneumoniae. PCR amplicons were subjected to in vitro transcription and base-specific cleavage, followed by analysis of the resultant fragments by using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Comparison of the cleavage fragment peak patterns to a reference sequence set permitted automated identification of alleles. Validation experiments using 29 isolates of S. pneumoniae revealed that the results of MALDI-TOF MS MLST matched those obtained by traditional sequence-based MLST for 99% of alleles and that the MALDI-TOF MS method accurately identified two single-nucleotide variations. The MADLI-TOF MS method was then used for MLST analysis of 43 S. pneumoniae isolates from Papua New Guinean children. The majority of the isolates present in this population were not clonal and contained seven new alleles and 30 previously unreported sequence types.
Virtual whiskers — Highly responsive robot collision avoidance

All mammals but humans use whiskers in order to rapidly acquire information about objects in the vicinity of the head. Collisions of the head and objects can be avoided as the contact point is moved from the body surface to the whiskers. Such a behavior is also highly desirable during many robot tasks such as for human-robot interaction. Using novel capacitive proximity sensors, robots sense when they approach a human (or an object) and react before they actually collide with it. We propose a sensor and control concept that mimics the behavior of whiskers by means of capacitive sensors. Major advantages are the absence of physical whiskers, the absence of blind spots and a very short response time. The sensors are flexible and thin so that they feature skin-like properties and can be attached to various robotic link and joint shapes. In comparison to capacitive proximity sensors, the proposed virtual whiskers offer better sensitivity towards small conductive as well as non conductive objects. Equipped with the new proximity sensors, a seven-joint robot for human-robot interaction tasks shows the efficiency and responsiveness of our concept.
Involvement of MicroRNAs in the Cytotoxic Effects Exerted by Proinflammatory Cytokines on Pancreatic β-Cells

OBJECTIVE Pancreatic β-cells exposed to proinflammatory cytokines display alterations in gene expression resulting in defective insulin secretion and apoptosis. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs emerging as key regulators of gene expression. Here, we evaluated the contribution of microRNAs to cytokine-mediated β-cell cytotoxicity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We used global microarray profiling and real-time PCR analysis to detect changes in microRNA expression in β-cells exposed to cytokines and in islets of pre-diabetic NOD mice. We assessed the involvement of the microRNAs affected in cytokine-mediated β-cell failure by modifying their expression in insulin-secreting MIN6 cells. RESULTS We found that IL-1β and TNF-α induce the expression of miR-21, miR-34a, and miR-146a both in MIN6 cells and human pancreatic islets. We further show an increase of these microRNAs in islets of NOD mice during development of pre-diabetic insulitis. Blocking miR-21, miR-34a, or miR-146a function using antisense molecules did not restore insulin-promoter activity but prevented the reduction in glucose-induced insulin secretion observed upon IL-1β exposure. Moreover, anti–miR-34a and anti–miR-146a treatment protected MIN6 cells from cytokine-triggered cell death. CONCLUSIONS Our data identify miR-21, miR-34a, and miR-146a as novel players in β-cell failure elicited in vitro and in vivo by proinflammatory cytokines, notably during the development of peri-insulitis that precedes overt diabetes in NOD mice.
Distributed Binary Decision-Based Collaborative Spectrum Sensing in Infrastructure-less Cognitive Radio Network

Individual scanning of channel for the presence or absence of primary user does not give accurate sensing result in cognitive radio network. Thus, collaborative spectrum sensing is employed to get a more accurate spectrum sensing result. This paper proposes a distributed binary decision-based collaborative spectrum sensing, in which a node uses the binary decisions of its h hop neighbors for making its decision. The proposed scheme is for an infrastucture-less cognitive radio network where secondary users collaborate based on the local information exchanged without requiring a fusion center. Instead of using consensus algorithm, this paper focuses on message passing, i.e., exchanging the local sensing decision. Simulation result showed that the proposed scheme can give a significant good detection rate with low false detection rate.
A New Analytical-Approximation Formula for the Optimal Exercise Boundary of American Put Options

In this paper, a new analytical formula as an approximation to the value of American put options and their optimal exercise boundary is presented. A transform is first introduced to better deal with the terminal condition and, most importantly, the optimal exercise price which is an unknown moving boundary and the key reason that valuing American options is much harder than valuing its European counterparts. The pseudo-steady-state approximation is then used in the performance of the Laplace transform, to convert the systems of partial differential equations to systems of ordinary differential equations in the Laplace space. A simple and elegant formula is found for the optimal exercise boundary as well as the option price of the American put with constant interest rate and volatility. Other hedge parameters as the derivatives of this solution are also presented.
Bioconcentration of the intense sweetener sucralose in a multitrophic battery of aquatic organisms

Reports of the intense (artificial) sweetener sucralose (1,6‐dichloro‐1,6‐dideoxy‐β‐D‐fructo‐furanosyl 4‐chloro‐4‐deoxy‐α‐D‐galactopyranoside) in various environmental compartments have led to speculations about biological effects in nontarget species living in areas receiving discharges from anthropogenic activities. We have, as the first step in the risk assessment of this compound, conducted bioaccumulation studies in the freshwater alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, the crustacean Daphnia magna, and zebrafish (Danio rerio). The freshwater algae and the daphnid tests were performed using a 48‐h static exposure system, whereas the zebrafish test was performed using a 48‐h semi static exposure system followed by 48 h flow‐through of clean water for the depuration phase. All three studies were conducted with two exposure concentrations (10 and 100 mg/L), and the concentrations of sucralose in water and biota were verified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The studies showed that uptake of sucralose was assumed to achieve a steady state within the first 48 h, and the bioconcentration factor at the assumed steady state (BCFSS) was calculated to be less than 1 for algae and between 1.6 to 2.2 for the daphnids. The fish BCFSS, assumed to occur between 24 to 48 hours, were calculated to be less than 1 for both concentrations tested. A first‐order one‐compartment (uptake phase) and a first‐order two‐compartment (elimination phase) model characterized the uptake and depuration kinetics in zebrafish (k1 = 0.027–0.038/h and k2 = 0.206–0.222/h, t95 = 13.5 to 14.6 h, t50 = 3.1 to 3.3 h, and BCFkinetic = 0.4 to 0.9). The current study shows that sucralose does not bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms from different tiers of the food web, and that the BCF's obtained were considerably lower than the criteria set to identify persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances (i.e., BCF ≥ 2,000). Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011; 30:673–681. © 2011 SETAC
The Moderating Role of Peer Problems on the Relationship Between Substance Use and Mental Health

ABSTRACT Understanding the interaction of peer problems with substance use influence on psychiatric symptoms has important clinical implications. We tested the hypothesis that peer problems moderate the relationship between substance use and psychiatric symptoms on a sample of 280 adolescents receiving psychiatric treatment. Age, race, and gender served as covariates. Our model accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in psychiatric symptoms (R2 = .379, p < .001). A significant moderating effect of peer problems x substance use on psychiatric symptoms was found (p < .05). Next, we estimated the conditional effect of substance use on psychiatric symptoms as a function of low, moderate, and high levels of peer problems. Significant effects for low-level peer problems emerged, such that as peer problems increase by one unit, the effect of substance use on psychiatric symptoms increases by one half unit. Implications for peer-based interventions are discussed.