Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Citizenship education in the United Kingdom and the adult migrant

This article explores the policy reasons behind Adult ESOL Citizenship Education in the United Kingdom and then examines whether Adult ESOL Citizenship Education adequately prepares migrants for active citizenship in T.H. McLaughlin’s ‘maximal’ sense: involving active political participation premised upon a shared concept of democratic culture underpinned by rights and obligations. It argues that Adult ESOL Citizenship Education, as envisaged by Bernard Crick and Terence McLaughlin, has fallen short of its maximal conceptualisation due to the watering down of citizenship education and Adult ESOL Citizenship Education in preference to Fundamental British Values, and the Crick reports’ ‘light touch’ to their implementation. The article calls for a need to reassert the reality of the modern nation as pluralistic and rejects the current drive towards monism. It also argues that Adult ESOL Citizenship Education is unlikely to deliver social cohesion and integration, or an actively participatory citizenry, unless issues of social justice and equity are addressed.
Fenestrations of the Anterior Communicating Artery: Incidence on 3D Angiography and Relationship to Aneurysms

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Demonstration of fenestrations of the anterior communicating artery (AcomA) with conventional digital subtraction angiography is very uncommon. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence of visible fenestrations of the AcomA on 3D rotational angiography (3DRA) and to evaluate the relationship between fenestrations of the AcomA and aneurysms of the AcomA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically reviewed 305 datasets of 3DRA of the internal carotid artery in 305 patients with aneurysms of the anterior circulation on a dedicated workstation for the presence of fenestrations on the AcomA. RESULTS: In 78 of 305 3DRAs, only the ipsilateral A2 segment was visible; thus, the AcomA could not be evaluated. Of the remaining 227 3DRAs, a fenestration of the AcomA was present in 12 (5.3%; 95% CI, 3.0%–9.1%). Of 12 fenestrations of the AcomA, 10 (83%) were associated with 1 or more aneurysms of the AcomA. Of 305 patients, 133 had an aneurysm on the AcomA, and in 127 of these, the AcomA was visible. Of 127 AcomA aneurysms with a visible AcomA, 10 were associated with fenestration, which accounted for an incidence of AcomA fenestrations with AcomA aneurysms of 7.9% (95% CI, 4.2%–14.0%). The proportion of fenestrations of the AcomA with aneurysms of the AcomA was 4.4% (10/227), and the proportion of AcomA fenestration with an aneurysm at another location was 0.9% (2/227). This difference was statistically significant (P = .040). Even in retrospect, 11 of 12 fenestrations were not visible on 2D DSA images. CONCLUSION: In selected patients with aneurysms of the anterior circulation, fenestrations in the AcomA were found with 3DRA in 5.3% of datasets. Most fenestrations were associated with 1 or more aneurysms of the AcomA.
Demandable Debt as a Means of Payment: Banknotes versus Checks

We examine the question of whether transactable forms of privately issued, demandable debt are better used as "banknotes" or "checks. " The distinction between the two is that a check must be redeemed by the issuing bank with each use, whereas a banknote can circulate. We find that the answer to the question depends critically on the cost of early redemption. If this cost is small, banknotes will not circulate, so the question is moot. If this cost is large, incentive problems will prevent the issue of banknotes. For intermediate values of the early redemption cost, the option of early redemption limits the bank's risk-taking behavior, so that banknotes will be preferred over checks.
The Role of Institutional Trust in Estonians’ Privacy Concerns

In this study, we attempted to contribute to previous discussions of the importance of emerging novel data sources in shaping new forms of inequalities and trust culture related to perceived privacy concerns. Our study was based on a representative survey data collected in Estonia in 2014 (n=1503). Two underlying dimensions of privacy were revealed in the analysis: (1) perceived dangers to personal privacy and, (2) perceived dangers to institutional privacy. The analysis of associations only partially confirms the assumption of structural differences in privacy concerns, social groups being somewhat more divided regarding their concerns about institutional rather than personal privacy. Groups more concerned about regarding privacy issues had more frequent social media use as well as higher social activity. The analysis also showed that trust in institutions was related to privacy concerns of different groups and may be one of the key variables explaining the adoption of new technology in Estonia. Thus, besides new structural inequalities related to data practices online, new forms of data activisms are about to emerge, based on perceptions of personal and institutional privacy.
Two-Shell Ionospheric Model for Indian Region: A Novel Approach

In the U.S. Wide Area Augmentation System, European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, and Indian Global Positioning System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation, a near real-time grid-based single-shell model is proposed to correct the ionospheric delay at the user aircrafts. The single-shell model is based on the assumption that the whole ionosphere is compressed at a fixed altitude at 350 km. This assumption may not be appropriate for the Indian region, which falls in the Equatorial Ionospheric Anomaly belt. In this paper, a two-shell model which incorporates two different shells, at 300- and 500-km altitudes, having different weights at different time domains has been implemented. A statistical comparison between single- and two-shell models has been done for all quiet days of year 2005. Based on the results, it is observed that there is at least 60% improvement in the performance of the two-shell model in comparison to the single-shell model for the Indian region.
Two-stream emotion recognition for call center monitoring

Wepresent a technique for two-stream processing of speech signals for emotion detection. The first stream recognises emotion from acoustic features while the second stream recognises emotion from the semantics of the conversation. A probabilistic measure is derived for each of the individual streams and the emotion category from the two streams is recognised. The output of the two streams is combined to generate a score for a particular emotion category. The confidence level of each stream is used to weigh the scores from the two streams while generating the final score. This technique is extremely significant for call-center data that have some semantics associated with the speech. Theproposed technique is evaluated on theLDC corpus and on the real-word call-center data. Experiments suggest that use of a two-stream process provides better results than the existing techniques of extracting emotion only from acoustic features. Index Terms: emotion detection, text analytics, speech recognition
Instant Level-of-Detail

Highly detailed models are commonly used in computer games and other interactive rendering applications. In this context, static levels-of-detail are frequently used to achieve real-time frame rates. While this is a simple solution to improve the rendering performance, the additional geometry needs to be stored and loaded into graphics memory. This is especially problematic in online applications, where the data needs to be transmitted over a possibly slow connection. On the other hand, consumer level computers are usually equipped with a graphics card that can be used for general purpose parallel computing. Based on this observation, we propose a high-quality parallel mesh simpliﬁcation algorithm based on the quadric error metric. The simpliﬁcation performance can compete with the time required to load additional meshes from a local hard disk.
The development and validation of “preference diversity” and “openness to novelty” scales for movie goers

This paper reports the results of an ongoing research to develop and validate scales for two psychological constructs: “preference diversity” and “openness to novelty”, that we believe to be important factors in users' responses to movie recommendations. Question items were created based on literature review and the results of a focus group interview. A questionnaire interview that consists of the candidate question items were performed so the validation and purification of the scales can be performed (N=191). Through exploratory factor analysis, five items were eventually selected for each construct. A user study (N=293) were subsequently followed which collected both users' responses to the scales and their actual movie viewing history of a sample of 220 movies. The scales were shown to possess both stability and internal consistency. Results showed that the participants' preference diversity score were correlated with the diversity of the movies seen, as measured by the number of movies, the number of movie genres, and the average dissimilarity of the movies seen. Furthermore, those who have higher openness to novelty also tended to watch and appreciate more obscure films.
A Scientific Assessment of the Role of Distiller’s Grains (DGS) and Predictions of the Impact of Corn Co-Products Produced by Front-End Fractionation and Back-End Oil Extraction Technologies on Indirect Land Use Change

The purpose of this report is to provide the Renewable Fuels Association an independent, scientific evaluation of the assumptions used in the Texas A&M “FASOM” model and the Iowa State University “FAPRI/CARD” system of models, involving the impact of distillers grains (DGS) on the Indirect Land Use Change analysis being conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In addition, the EPA lifecycle assessments of biofuels are based on 2022-era assumptions involving the level of new fractionation and corn oil separation technology adoption in the corn ethanol industry, and the impact of the resulting corn ethanol co-products in animal feeds on indirect land use change. The EPA is assuming that 20% of dry grind corn ethanol plants will be employing “front end” fractionation processes in 2022, with an additional 22% of corn ethanol plants employing “back end” corn oil separation technologies. Unfortunately, up to this point in time, the EPA has not considered the impact of these assumptions on the feed markets and land use, and has not adjusted the FASOM and FAPRI/CARD model assumptions to account for this significant level of production and market penetration of these distinctly different corn co-products. Therefore, another key section of this report involves estimating displacement ratios of new fractionated corn co-products in livestock and poultry feeds, based upon the limited scientific information available.
Code-Switching Event Detection by Using a Latent Language Space Model and the Delta-Bayesian Information Criterion

This paper proposes a new paradigm for code-switching event detection based on latent language space models (LLSMs) and the delta-Bayesian information criterion (ΔBIC). A phone-based Mandarin-English speech recognizer was first employed for obtaining the senone sequence of a speech utterance. For each senone, acoustic features and the posterior probability of the articulatory features (AFs) were extracted and applied to an eigenspace transformation, based on principal component analysis (PCA). Latent semantic analysis (LSA) was then adopted for constructing a matrix to model the importance of each principal component in the eigenspace for the senones and AFs in each language. The spatial relationships among the senones (or AFs) represented by the PCA-transformed eigenvalues in the LSA-based matrix were employed to construct an LLSM for characterizing a language. In code-switching event detection, the language likelihood between the input speech LLSM and each of the language-dependent LLSMs was estimated. The Euclidian-distance-based similarities and cosine-angle-distance-based similarities were adopted for estimating the language likelihood for senones and AFs. The ΔBIC was then used for estimating the language transition score for each hypothesized code-switching event. Finally, the dynamic programming algorithm was employed for obtaining the most likely code-switching language sequence. The proposed approach was evaluated using a Mandarin-English code-switching speech database and outperformed other conventional methods. A duration accuracy of 72.45% can be obtained from the proposed system with optimized parameters.
Carotid Plaque Enhancement and Symptom Correlations: An Evaluation by Using Multidetector Row CT Angiography

CT offers the possibility of obtaining CTA and at the same time evaluating the substance of carotid artery plaques. In this investigation, 97 patients underwent CTA and their plaques were assessed for contrast enhancement and correlated with symptoms. Plaque contrast enhancement was seen in nearly 75% of noncalcified lesions and its presence strongly correlated with neurologic symptoms. Contrast enhancement was more common in fatty than in mixed density plaques. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The identification of plaque characteristics that determine its vulnerability is extremely important. The purpose of this work was to evaluate CPE after administration of contrast material and to assess whether there is a statistical association between CPE and cerebrovascular symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-seven consecutive patients (69 men, 28 women; mean age, 62 years; age range, 39–82 years), studied by using an MDCT scanner, were retrospectively analyzed. Examinations were performed before and after administration of contrast medium. Plaque enhancement was analyzed, and the obtained data were compared with the patient's symptoms. Patients were classified as symptomatic (TIA or stroke with a temporal window of 6 months) or asymptomatic according to neurologic assessment and the TOAST criteria. The ROC curve and Az were calculated, and multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were excluded because they had calcified plaques (40.2%). CPE was observed in 74% of the remaining 58 patients. A statistically significant difference was observed between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients for the presence of CPE (P = .0013; OR = 7.5). Moreover, we observed that CPE was higher in fatty plaques (P = .035) than in mixed ones and more frequent in the former (P = .0119). The ROC curve demonstrated that a threshold of 15 HU is associated with a specificity and sensitivity of 83.33% and 76.47%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression showed that CPE and symptoms are associated (P = .0315). CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggest that for noncalcified carotid plaques, the presence of CPE is associated with cerebrovascular symptoms. Fatty plaques are more likely to have CPE compared with mixed plaques.
PHOXEL-SPACE: an interface for exploring volumetric data with physical voxels

Three-dimensional datasets (voxel datasets), generated by different types of sensing or computer simulations, are quickly becoming crucial to various disciplines - from biomedicine to geophysics. Phoxel-Space is an interface that enables the exploration of these datasets through physical materials. It aims at overcoming the limitations of traditional planar displays by allowing users to intuitively navigate and understand complex 3-dimensional datasets. The system works by allowing the user to manipulate a freeform geometry whose surface intersects a voxel dataset. The intersected voxel values are projected back onto the surface of the physical material to reveal a non-planar section of the dataset. The paper describes how the interface can be used as a representational aid in several example application domains, overcoming many limitations of conventional planar displays.
Ripening of Sudanese Braided (Muddaffara) Cheese Manufactured from Raw or Pasteurized Milk: Effect of Heat Treatment and Salt Concentration on the Physicochemical Properties

The objective of the study was to investigate the interactive effect of heat treatment (raw or pasteurized milk), ripening in salted whey (SW) and storage period for up to 3 months on the physicochemical properties of Sudanese braided cheese (SBC). Braided cheeses were manufactured from raw (BCRM) and pasteurized (BCPM) milk and ripened in SW (0%, 5%, and 10% salt) for up to 90 days. All the treatments significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected the physicochemical characteristics of SBC. The total solid, protein, and fat contents of BCRM or BCPM decreased (P ≤ 0.05), whereas their TA, SN, and salt contents increased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) as storage period and the salt level of the whey were elevated. Both FRI and SRI of BCRM and BCPM increased with the increase in storage period and the salt level of the whey. For SN, FRI, SRI, pH, and moisture contents the magnitude of the change was more pronounced in BCRM than in BCPM, while for protein, fat, salt, and TS contents, the opposite was true; that is, the magnitude of the change was more pronounced in BCPM than in BCRM. Further studies are required to standardize muddaffara cheese manufacturing procedure particularly in rural areas.
Understanding Video Sharing Propagation in Social Networks: Measurement and Analysis

Modern online social networking has drastically changed the information distribution landscape. Recently, video has become one of the most important types of objects spreading among social networking service users. The sheer and ever-increasing data volume, the broader coverage, and the longer access durations of video objects, however, present significantly more challenges than other types of objects. This article takes an initial step toward understanding the unique characteristics of video sharing propagation in social networks. Based on realworld data traces from a large-scale online social network, we examine the user behavior from diverse aspects and identify different types of users involved in video propagation. We closely investigate the temporal distribution during propagation as well as the typical propagation structures, revealing more details beyond stationary coverage. We further extend the conventional epidemic models to accommodate diverse types of users and their probabilistic viewing and sharing behaviors. The model, effectively capturing the essentials of the propagation process, serves as a valuable basis for such applications as workload synthesis, traffic prediction, and resource provision of video servers.
Co-movement of Index linked bonds and conventional bonds in France: Subprime crisis and Structural Break, 2003-01, 2012-04

This paper investigates the existence of arbitrage between index linked bonds and conventional ones. Then in a second part we move to study empirically the long-run equilibrium relationship among two French bonds yields (The OAT yields and OATi ). In practice we estimated different VAR-based cointegration tests using the methodology developed in Johansen (1991, 1995). We also move to discuss the presence of a structural break due to the subprime crisis. So, we can reach two main results: First, the cointegration test indicates the existence of a long run relationship between the OAT and OATi return, and then the co-movement of this latter is confirmed, a result which I believe to be important to understand the bond market’s mechanism. Second, the structural break test shows the presence of structural change in the relation between the two types of bonds. This structural break is due to an increase of volatility in the OAT and OATi returns in the subprime crisis period.
Innovations in Practice: CUES‐Ed: an in‐service evaluation of a new universal cognitive behavioural early mental health intervention programme for primary school children

BACKGROUND Earlier childhood interventions to reduce mental health vulnerability are a global health priority yet poorly implemented. Barriers include negotiating health/education interfaces, and mixed outcomes, particularly for vulnerable children. CUES-Ed aimed to address these barriers, comprising a cognitive behavioural early intervention targeting mental health vulnerability in 7-10 year-olds, with integrated evaluation, delivered through close liaison with stakeholders. Following 2 years of ad hoc delivery, relationship-building, and refining the intervention and evaluation, we report on implementation and in-service outcomes for local schools completing the standardised CUES-Ed programme. METHOD We evaluated delivery from 01/2017 to 07/2017 across n = 12 schools (n = 23 classes, n = 638 pupils, n = 35 teachers). Eight one-hour weekly sessions (S1-S8) were delivered by mental health professionals with teachers present. Pupil-reported wellbeing/distress and emotional/behavioural difficulties were assessed at S1 and S8; pupil free text feedback/ratings and teacher ratings at S8. Two classes (n = 60) completed outcomes whilst awaiting CUES-Ed, forming a naturalistic waitlist. RESULTS At S8, pupil-reported outcome data were obtained from 535 and feedback/ratings from 577 pupils, respectively. Thematic analysis of feedback indicated positive subjective impact. Vulnerable children (defined as self-rated borderline/clinical cut-off baselines scores on the wellbeing/distress and emotional/behavioural difficulties measures) improved with medium pre-post effect sizes (d = 0.46-0.65), and small, but consistent, effects compared to waitlist. CONCLUSION In-service evaluation suggests a feasible model of delivery, good acceptability and potential to improve outcomes for vulnerable children. Controlled evaluation is now indicated.
Binomial option pricing model

The pricing of options is a very important problem encountered in financial engineering since the creation of organized option trading in 1973. As more computation has been applied to finance-related problems, finding efficient ways to implement option pricing models on modern architectures has become more important. This sample shows an implementation of the binomial model in CUDA.
An Evaluation of Publicly Accessible Geographic Information Websites

The availability of web-based geographic (GeoWeb) applications has increased. It is therefore important to understand user’s needs and gauge their ability to effectively use such tools. This paper describes a usability study carried out on publicly accessible web-based geographical applications with a group of 36 non-specialist users. A combination of techniques was used to gather user’s requirements and satisfaction with using a range of popular tools in a task-based evaluation. Results suggested that non-specialist users tended to associate accuracy and reliability of underlying geographic data with the usability of a GeoWeb application, even when inaccuracies in spatial data exist.
Adaptive Threshold Determination for Spectral Peak Classification

A new approach to adaptive threshold selection for classification of peaks of audio spectra is presented. We here extend the previous work on classification of sinusoidal and noise peaks based on a set of spectral peak descriptors in a twofold way: on one hand we propose a compact sinusoidal model where all the modulation parameters are defined with respect to the analysis window. This fact is of great importance as we recall that the STFT spectra are closely related to the analysis window properties. On the other hand, we design a threshold selection algorithm that allows us to control the decision thresholds in an intuitive manner. The decision thresholds calculated from the relationships established between the noise power in the signal and the distributions of sinusoidal peaks assures that all peaks described as sinusoidal will be correctly classified. We also show that the threshold selection algorithm can be used for different types of analysis windows with only a slight parameter readjustment.