Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nanoparticle-Surface Interactions in Geometrical Separation Devices

This study sought to demonstrate the impact of surface-target interactions in a device bearing geometrical features through evaluations of chemical modification to the surface and alteration of the charge state of both surface and targets. The movement of commercial fluorescent nanoparticles through a field of geometric features was monitored based on the output of the field measured at different points transverse to the direction of flow. Modification of the device surfaces using carboxylate, amine, phenyl, and fluorinated groups was considered. The functional group on the surface was found to significantly impact biased particle movement in the device with amine groups leading to the greatest differences. Other factors, such as flow rate, pH, and initial particle concentration, were also found to have a significant impact on particle concentrations across the feature field.
Higher education students' learning and knowledge sharing : a grounded theory study of blog use

In the 21st century, higher education is under increasing pressure to take advantage of new technologies. Recently, the blog has emerged as an online publishing tool increasingly being used by students and staff within education for communicating and sharing information. Since 2002, although a growing number of studies have been conducted into this phenomenon, there is an urgent need for further research in this area, particularly from the studentsâ point of view, to conceptualise the new generation web-based learning and sharing. This research study therefore is not about blog technology itself but to explore the nature of blogging, and how blogging and reading blogs would facilitate individual learning and knowledge sharing practice in a network environment. For the purpose of this study, the researcher adopted a user-oriented, process-based, exploratory and grounded theory study. In particular, the research questions were developed over the conceptualisation process by using theoretical sampling, in-depth interviewing, and three-step coding, constant comparison data analysis methods to generate a theory towards interpreting the studied phenomenon. Forty eight higher education students who had blog use experience were interviewed. The emerged theory is illuminated by interpreting key findings about what elements (drives), how (contextual conditions, strategies), and why (consequences) students use blogs. It sheds light on the role of experiential learning theory and narcissism theory in this field and adds to our understanding of the ways in which learning is conceptualised, tacit knowledge can be made explicit, communicated and shared within different contexts of using blogs (e.g., self-therapy, interpersonal skills development, and intellectual abilities development). Furthermore, this thesis summarises the implications and limitations of the study, and suggests some further work. It provides an important step towards providing educators and educational organisations with real data that defines good practice in the use of blog technology.
Association between Physical Fitness and Successful Aging in Taiwanese Older Adults

Population aging is escalating in numerous countries worldwide; among them is Taiwan, which will soon become an aged society. Thus, aging successfully is an increasing concern. One of the factors for achieving successful aging (SA) is maintaining high physical function. The purpose of this study was to determine the physical fitness factors associated with SA in Taiwanese older adults (OAs), because these factors are intervenable. Community-dwelling OAs aged more than 65 years and residing in Northern Taiwan were recruited in this study. They received a comprehensive geriatric assessment, which includes sociodemographic data, health conditions and behaviors, activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) function, cognitive and depressive status, and quality of life. Physical fitness tests included the grip strength (GS), 30-second sit-to-stand (30s STS), timed up-and-go (TUG), functional reach (FR), one-leg standing, chair sit-and-reach, and reaction time (drop ruler) tests as well as the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). SA status was defined as follows: complete independence in performing ADL and IADL, satisfactory cognitive status (Mini-Mental State Examination ≥ 24), no depression (Geriatric Depression Scale < 5), and favorable social function (SF subscale ≥ 80 in SF-36). Adjusted multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. Among the total recruited OAs (n = 378), 100 (26.5%) met the aforementioned SA criteria. After adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and health condition and behaviors, some physical fitness tests, namely GS, 30s STS, 6MWT, TUG, and FR tests, were significantly associated with SA individually, but not in the multivariate model. Among the physical fitness variables tested, cardiopulmonary endurance, mobility, muscle strength, and balance were significantly associated with SA in Taiwanese OAs. Early detection of deterioration in the identified functions and corresponding intervention is essential to ensuring SA.
Performance of Bootstrapping Approaches to Model Test Statistics and Parameter Standard Error Estimation in Structural Equation Modeling

Though the common default maximum likelihood estimator used in structural equation modeling is predicated on the assumption of multivariate normality, applied researchers often find themselves with data clearly violating this assumption and without sufficient sample size to utilize distribution-free estimation methods. Fortunately, promising alternatives are being integrated into popular software packages. Bootstrap resampling, which is offered in AMOS (Arbuckle, 1997), is one potential solution for estimating model test statistic p values and parameter standard errors under nonnormal data conditions. This study is an evaluation of the bootstrap method under varied conditions of nonnormality, sample size, model specification, and number of bootstrap samples drawn from the resampling space. Accuracy of the test statistic p values is evaluated in terms of model rejection rates, whereas accuracy of bootstrap standard error estimates takes the form of bias and variability of the standard error estimates themselves.
A naturalistic study of the effects of synchronous online chat counselling on young people's psychological distress, life satisfaction and hope

Background Online individual chat counselling is an emerging treatment modality that appears to be an effective method of providing single sessions of counselling to young people. Aims This study aimed to investigate the effects of online counselling over a 6-week period and whether this was affected by the number of sessions attended or having sought additional help. Furthermore, this study aimed to explore the effects of congruent and incongruent client hopes and expectations upon treatment outcomes. Method This study used a naturalistic prospective design, measuring online clients’ levels of psychological distress, life satisfaction, hopes, and expectations and tracking the number of sessions they attended or whether they sought additional help during the 6-week period. Complete data were collected for 152 young people aged between 16 and 25 years. Results After 6 weeks, participant levels of psychological distress and life satisfaction were not significantly affected by the amount of online counselling received or by having sought additional treatment. However, participants who attended one or more online sessions reported significantly higher levels of hope 6 weeks later than those with no online counselling. Furthermore, participants with low hope but high expectations at the commencement of counselling reported significantly increased hope after 6 weeks. Conclusions The implications of these findings are discussed.
Challenging learning journeys in the classroom: Using mental model theory to inform how pupils think when they are generating solutions

This paper presents a discussion about the interplay between Mental Model Theory and the generation of solutions to learning challenges in the primary classroom. It explores how pupils negotiate the problem solving spaces that can arise in the two learning areas of Mathematics and Design and Technology although the cross-curricula nature of learning in the primary classroom can conflate the two domains. Learning challenges engage thinking. Teachers will think about, and subsequently design, challenging scenarios that will stimulate their pupils to generate a range of possible solutions. In turn, pupils will think about how they will meet the challenges. Mental Model Theory informs teachers’ knowledge about thinking: it explains how mental models arise from the idiosyncratic methods of developing the dialogue and relationships necessary to guide thinking. Mental models are purposeful cognitive structures that have a process/product nature. They also have several functions that enable them to store data and enact strategies to generate outcomes. The theory explains how pupils engage in the thinking process to assimilate memory, new data and personalised strategies to find solutions to challenges. When faced with a novel challenge, pupils retrieve, restructure and/or create, and store useable mental models in accordance with their perceived relevance to generate an acceptable outcome. This paper explores how a challenge, be it finding a solution to a mathematical conundrum or creating a response to a brief in Design and Technology, stimulates thinking processes. The discussion will consider how an understanding of the functions of mental models, through the use of the Mental Model Mode, can enhance constructive and inventive thinking in classrooms. It proposes implications for pedagogical practice and some key considerations for teachers as reflective practitioner – and designer of learning challenges.
Nonparametric Bounds on Causal Effects from Partial Compliance Data

[Holland 88] P a u l W . H o l l a n d . Causal inference, path analysis, and recursive struc- tural equations models. In C. Clogg, editor, Sociological Methodology, pages 449-484. A m e r i c a n Sociological Association, Washington, D C , 1988. [Lipid Research C l i n i c Program 84] L i p i d Research C l i n i c Program. The L i p i d Re- search Clinics Coronary P r i m a r y Prevention T r i a l results, parts I and II. Journal of the American Medical Association, 251 (3) :351—374, January 1984. [Manski 90] Charles F . M a n s k i . Nonparametric bounds on treatment effects. Amer- ican Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 80:319-323, M a y 1990. [Pearl 88] Judea Pearl. Probabilistic Reasoning in Intelligent Systems: Networks of Plausible Inference. Morgan K a u f m a n Publishers, San Mateo, C A , 1988. [Pearl 93] Judea Pearl. Aspects of graphical models connected w i t h causality. Tech- nical Report R - 1 9 5 - L L , Cognitive Systems Laboratory, U C L A , June 1993. Submitted to B i o m e t r i k a (June 1993). Short version i n Proceedings of the J 9th Session of the International Statistical Institute: Invited papers, F l o - rence, Italy, August 1993, Tome L V , Book 1, pp. 391-401. f [Pearl and V e r m a 91] Judea Pearl and Thomas V e r m a . A theory of inferred causa- tion. In James A l l e n , R i c h a r d Fikes, and E r i k Sandewall, editors, Princi- ples of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Proceedings of the Second International Conference. Morgan K a u f m a n n Publishers, San Mateo, C A , [Rosenbaum and R u b i n 83] P. Rosenbaum and D . R u b i n . The central role of propen- sity score i n observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, [Rubin 74] Donald B . R u b i n . E s t i m a t i n g causal effects of treatments i n randomized and nonrandomized studies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 66(5):688— [Spirtes et al. 91] Peter Spirtes, Clark G l y m o u r , and R i c h a r d Scheines. F r o m proba- bility to causality. Philosophical Studies, 6 4 ( l ) : l - 3 6 , October 1991.
Determining the Effect of Guessing on Test Scores

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of guessing on test scores. The population used for this study consists of twenty (20) pupils of a primary school randomly selected from a total of one hundred (100) primary six pupils in Calabar, Nigeria. Ten (10) multiple choice Chemistry test items were constructed and pilot tested on five (5) primary school pupils of the same grade and age. The result of the study fails to agree with the Perfect Guttman Scale rather it tends to agree with the opinion of Lord (1977). The tests were constructed and applied in the classical test theory pattern and the pupils do not possess the ability demanded by the test items. It is suggested that examiners should give appropriate and clear instructions to the examinees to avoid guessing. In order to assign scores to the responses of the examinees, it is recommended that examiners should adopt the correction of guessing formul a. Key Words: Academic Achievement, Classical Test Theory, Electrolysis, Item Difficulty, Item Discrimination, Test score, True Test Theory
Robot Gesture Generation from EnvironmentalSounds Using Inter-modality Mapping

We propose a motion generation model in which robots presume the sound source of an environmental sound and imitate its motion. Sharing environmental sounds between humans and robots enables them to share environmental information. It is difficult to transmit environmental sounds in human-robot communications. We approached this problem by focusing on the iconic gestures. Concretely, robots presume the motion of the sound source object and map it to the robot motion. This method enabled robots to imitate the motion of the sound source using their bodies.
Melanosome transfer to and translocation in the keratinocyte

Abstract Complexion coloration in humans is primarily regulated by the amount and type of melanin synthesized by the epidermal melanocyte. However, additional and equally contributing factors consist of (1) efficient transfer of melanin from the melanocytes to the neighboring keratinocytes and (2) distribution and degradation of the transferred melanosomes by the recipient keratinocytes. Once synthesized in the cell body of the epidermal melanocyte, pigmented melanosomes are translocated down the dendrites and captured at the dendritic tips via various cytoskeletal elements. Molecules recently identified that participate in this process consist of Rab27a, myosin‐Va and melanophilin. Eventually, these peripherally localized melanosomes are transferred to keratinocytes by a presently undefined mechanism. The protease‐activated receptor‐2 (PAR‐2) and unidentified surface lectins and glycoproteins facilitate this transfer process. Once incorporated into the keratinocytes, melanosomes are distributed individually or as clusters, aggregated towards the apical pole of the nucleus, and degraded as the keratinocytes undergo terminal differentiation and desquamation. Ultraviolet irradiation (UVR) can modulate the process of melanosome transfer from the melanocytes to the keratinocytes. UVR can upregulate expression of PAR‐2 and lectin‐binding receptors and increase phagocytic activity of cultured keratinocytes. Therefore, many cellular and molecular events that occur after melanogenesis contribute to skin color.
A Decade Trend of Total Factor Productivity of Key State-Owned Forestry Enterprises in China

State-owned forestry enterprises are important elements of the forestry economy in China. The operational efficiency of such enterprises depends on technological progress and other input factors. Total factor productivity (TFP) is an important means to evaluate the efficiency of technical elements. The growth of production efficiency can be classified into efficiency variation and technical variation. The TFP of 135 key state-owned forestry enterprises in the northeast, southwest, and northwest regions of China in 2001–2011 was measured through Malmquist–data envelopment analysis. The technological progress of the state-owned forestry enterprises positively affected TFP variation, but technical efficiency only slightly increased and scale efficiency even negatively affected TFP variation. The average growth rate of TFP in the northwest region is higher than those in the northeast and southwest regions. The Western Development Program of China increasingly contributes to the economic development of western areas. The increasing investment of the government in science and technology accelerates the development of forestry economy in China.
Blur image segmentation using iterative super-pixels grouping method

Image segmentation is a fundamental technology for image processing and image understanding. Images are partitioned into many regions with the same color, intensity, or texture homogeneity. However conventional image segmentation methods can make the segmentation on blur images inaccurate. Recently, superpixels have become an essential and fundamental preprocess in many computer vision algorithms. By using the superpixels, the accurate region boundaries in the blur images can be obtained. However, the region completeness is still a problem to overcome. In this study, by extending the superpixel segmentation method, the method of Iterative Super Pixels Grouping (ISPG) is proposed to overcome the inaccurate segmentation problem and guarantee the region completeness on the blur images. Furthermore, the proposed ISPG method can partition the image flexibly according to the region completeness measures. Experimental results show that the performance of ISPG method outperforms the conventional methods in terms of subjective and quantitative measures.
The Predictive Validity of Assessment Centers in German-Speaking Regions

As previous meta-analyses have focused almost solely on English-speaking regions, this study presents the first systematic meta-analytical examination of the predictive validity of assessment centers (ACs) conducted in German-speaking regions. It summarizes 24 validity coefficients taken from 19 studies (N = 3,556), yielding a mean corrected validity of ρ = . 396 (80% credibility interval .235 ≤ ρ ≤ .558). ACs with different purposes and different kinds of criterion measures were analyzed separately. Furthermore, target group (internal vs. external candidates), average age of the assessees, inclusion of intelligence measures, number of instruments used, AC duration, as well as time elapsed between AC and criterion assessment were found to moderate the validity.
Female gender and mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention: Results from a large registry

Objectives: To investigate if previously reported gender‐based outcome disparities following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are applicable in a large and racially‐diverse cohort in the drug eluting stent (DES) era. Background: It is generally believed that women suffer inferior outcomes compared to men after PCI. However, various strategies have evolved that may have mitigated this imbalance, including improved medical therapy, attention to risk‐factors, and procedural advances of PCI including DES. Methods: We identified 13,752 patients (4,761 female, 34.6%) with complete follow‐up data who underwent de novo lesion PCI from 04/2003 to 04/2009. Relevant data were extracted from an IRB‐approved registry. Results: Compared to males, females were significantly older (69.0 vs. 64.8 years) and more frequently from a minority or non‐Caucasian background. Females smoked less, but more were hypertensive and/or diabetic. Women had higher HDL, but also higher LDL cholesterol levels. More women presented with an unstable coronary syndrome and required left anterior descending artery PCI. While unadjusted post‐PCI mortality rates were higher in females versus males (30 days, 1.3 vs. 0.8%, P = 0.009; 1 year, 6.1 vs. 4.8%, P = 0.001; 3 year, 10.4 vs. 8.4%, P < 0.0001), multivariable regression analyses failed to identify female gender as an independent predictor of mortality. Propensity‐adjusted modeling confirmed that females were not at intrinsically higher risk for mortality after PCI. Conclusions: Females undergoing PCI exhibit more comorbidities and adverse prognostic factors than males. However, risk‐adjusted analyses identified that gender is not an independent predictor of mortality after PCI in the DES era. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Graph Drawing Based Spatial Mapping Algorithm for Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architectures

Recently coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures (CGRAs) have drawn increasing attention due to their efficiency and flexibility. While many CGRAs have demonstrated impressive performance improvements, the effectiveness of CGRA platforms ultimately hinges on the compiler. Existing CGRA compilers do not model the details of the CGRA, and thus they are i) unable to map applications, even though a mapping exists, and ii) using too many processing elements (PEs) to map an application. In this paper, we model several CGRA details, e.g., irregular CGRA topologies, shared resources and routing PEs in our compiler and develop a graph drawing based approach, split-push kernel mapping (SPKM), for mapping applications onto CGRAs. On randomly generated graphs our technique can map on average 4.5times more applications than the previous approach, while generating mappings which have better qualities in terms of utilized CGRA resources. Utilizing fewer resources is directly translated into increased opportunities for novel power and performance optimization techniques. Our technique shows less power consumption in 71 cases and shorter execution cycles in 66 cases out of 100 synthetic applications, with minimum mapping time overhead. We observe similar results on a suite of benchmarks collected from Livermore loops, Mediabench, Multimedia, Wavelet and DSPStone benchmarks. SPKM is not a customized algorithm only for a specific CGRA template, and it is demonstrated by exploring various PE interconnection topologies and shared resource configurations with SPKM.
Activity recognition using conditional random field

Activity Recognition is an integral component of ubiquitous computing. Recognizing an activity is a challenging task since activities can be concurrent, interleaved or ambiguous and can consist of multiple actors (which would require parallel activity recognition). This paper investigates how the discriminative nature of Conditional Random Fields (CRF) can be exploited to enhance the accuracy of recognizing activities when compared to that achieved using generative models. It aims to apply CRF to recognize complex activities, analyze the model trained by CRF and evaluate the performance of CRF against existing models using Stochastic Gradient Descent (which is suitable for online learning).