Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
College Bound Friends: A Study of Racial and Ethnic Differences

During the formative adolescent years, peers’ influence on students’ educational outcomes and are among the most powerful social forces affecting youth behavior. Adolescent friendships are arguably even more important than parents, teachers, or counselors in guiding student behavior during this critical period and can have profound impacts on their educational trajectories. However, most studies assume that the influence of peers is uniform across groups, even though youth tend to self-segregate by race and ethnicity and empirical evidence suggests substantial heterogeneity in outcomes between groups. Using data from the Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project, we conduct a multilevel analysis of peer effects on the college applications of high school seniors of different racial and ethnic groups. We find that, compared to Black and White students, Latino students do not reap the same benefits from college bound friends and may face even greater obstacles to college attainment than previously expected. We discuss possible explanations for the weaker influence of peers on Latino students’ college application and attainment outcomes as well as implications for school integration policies. INTRODUCTION Peer groups are among the most influential social forces affecting adolescent behavior – from mundane decisions concerning clothing, hairstyle, music, and entertainment, to more significant decisions concerning short and long-term education plans. During the formative adolescent years, peers are arguably even more important than parents, teachers, and counselors, and the peer-influenced decisions of youth can have long-lasting consequences (Coleman et al. 1966; Sewell, Haller and Portes 1969; Sewell, Haller and Ohlendorf 1970). Parents recognize the importance of peer groups and – through their choice of neighborhoods, schools, and activities (Haynie, South and Bose 2006; Lareau 2003; Mouw and Entwisle 2006) – attempt to guide and direct their children’s friendship selections, which can be increasingly challenging during adolescence. Regardless of socioeconomic status, parents want their children to be surrounded by the best possible social networks, especially during adolescence, when youth are increasingly independent from parents. During these formative years, educational goals take form, and youth make a series of decisions that shape their educational trajectories, even as their friendship networks gain influence upon these decisions. Unfortunately, the peer effects literature is lacking in two main areas. The first is that peer effects are assumed to be uniform across class, gender, and race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity is especially likely to be important because adolescents are more likely to choose friends of the same racial and ethnic group (Hamm, Brown and Heck 2005; Haynie, South and Bose 2006; Quillian and Campbell 2003), introducing the possibility that peers have differing effects by race and ethnicity. The second problem is
Plant glyco-biotechnology on the way to synthetic biology

Plants are increasingly being used for the production of recombinant proteins. One reason is that plants are highly amenable to glycan engineering processes and allow the production of therapeutic proteins with increased efficacies due to optimized glycosylation profiles. Removal and insertion of glycosylation reactions by knock-out/knock-down approaches and introduction of glycosylation enzymes have paved the way for the humanization of the plant glycosylation pathway. The insertion of heterologous enzymes at exactly the right stage of the existing glycosylation pathway has turned out to be of utmost importance. To enable such precise targeting chimeric enzymes have been constructed. In this short review we will exemplify the importance of correct targeting of glycosyltransferases, we will give an overview of the targeting mechanism of glycosyltransferases, describe chimeric enzymes used in plant N-glycosylation engineering and illustrate how plant glycoengineering builds on the tools offered by synthetic biology to construct such chimeric enzymes.
The Everyday Experience of Satisfaction, Conflict, Anger, and Violence for Women in Love Relationships

The problem of this study addressed how women experience the conflict variables of beliefs about conflict, anger arousal, conflict styles, and received and expressed violence as partners in love relationships and how these factors affect their reported satisfaction. Graduate women (M = 186) from University of North Texas completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), a subscale of Relationship Beliefs Inventory (RBI), the Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI), and Interpersonal Conflict Tactics and Strategies Scale (ICTAS), and the Severity of Violence Against Women scale (SVAW). Data were analyzed using MANOVAs with ANOVAs to examine significant differences. Multiple regression procedures were used for the exploratory questions. Women reporting less satisfied relationships were expected to believe that disagreement was more destructive and to report higher anger arousal than those who were more satisfied. The hypotheses were supported. Women who were less satisfied also reported using less constructive conflict tactics and more destructive and avoidant tactics as well as receiving some forms of violence. Expressed violence was not significantly related to low satisfaction. Results suggested that these conflict variables are highly interrelated. Strong feedback loops may develop. Strongly held conflict beliefs may affect the use of destructive and avoidant conflict strategies and increase anger which may reinforce the conflict beliefs. Women who have received violence may use both destructive and avoidant tactics. Use of tactics that escalate then de-escalate conflict suggests that conflict strategies may not be mutually exclusive. However, when a woman is low in anger and has previously received violence from a partner, she may use more avoidant tactics. In contrast women who express violence to their partners may use all three conflict tactics including constructive tactics. This finding suggested that women may express violence as a last resort to get a reaction from their partners.
A Scalable Solution for Interactive Near Video-on-Demand Systems

The required real-time and high-rate transfer of multimedia data limits the numbers of requests that can be concurrently serviced by video-on-demand (VOD) systems. Resource-sharing techniques can be used to address this scalability challenge, but they greatly complicate the efficient support for interactive operations. We develop an overall solution for interactive near VOD systems that employ resource sharing. The proposed solution supports user interactions with short response times and low rejection probabilities. The solution includes a novel stream provisioning policy, which dynamically determines the best number of I-Streams (unicast streams for supporting interactive requests) and the maximum I-Stream length that can be allocated by the server. Furthermore, we use a sophisticated client-side cache management policy to maximize the percentage of interactive requests serviced from the client's own cache. We study the system using realistic workload through extensive simulation.
Minimum Fill-In: Inapproximability and Almost Tight Lower Bounds

Given an $n*n$ sparse symmetric matrix with $m$ nonzero entries, performing Gaussian elimination may turn some zeroes into nonzero values. To maintain the matrix sparse, we would like to minimize the number $k$ of these changes, hence called the minimum fill-in problem. Agrawal et al.~[FOCS'90] developed the first approximation algorithm, based on early heuristics by George [SIAM J Numer Anal 10] and by Lipton et al.~[SIAM J Numer Anal 16]. The objective function they used is $m+k$, the number of nonzero elements after elimination. An approximation algorithm using $k$ as the objective function was presented by Natanzon et al.~[STOC'98]. These two versions are incomparable in terms of approximation. Parameterized algorithms for the problem was first studied by Kaplan et al.~[FOCS'94]. Fomin & Villanger [SODA'12] recently gave an algorithm running in time $2^{O(\sqrt{k} \log k)}+n^{O(1)}$. Hardness results of this problem are surprisingly scarce, and the few known ones are either weak or have to use nonstandard complexity conjectures. The only inapproximability result by Wu et al.~[IJCAI'15] applies to only the objective function $m+k$, and is grounded on the Small Set Expansion Conjecture. The only nontrivial parameterized lower bounds, by Bliznets et al.~[SODA'16], include a very weak one based on ETH, and a strong one based on hardness of subexponential-time approximation of the minimum bisection problem on regular graphs. For both versions of the problem, we exclude the existence of PTASs, assuming P$\ne$NP, and the existence of $2^{O(n^{1-\delta})}$-time approximation schemes for any positive $\delta$, assuming ETH. It also implies a $2^{O(k^{1/2-\delta})} n^{O(1)}$ parameterized lower bound. Behind these results is a new reduction from vertex cover, which might be of its own interest: All previous reductions for similar problems are from some kind of graph layout problems.
On temporal-spatial realism in the virtual reality environment

The Polhemus Isotrak is often used as an orientation and position tracking device in virtual reality environments. When it is used to dynamically determine the user’s viewpoint and line of sight ( e.g. in the case of a head mounted display) the noise and delay in its measurement data causes temporal-spatial distortion, perceived by the user as jittering of images and lag be-tween head movement and visual feedback. To tackle this problem, we first examined the major cause of the distortion, and found that the lag felt by the user is mainly due to the delay in orientation data, and the jittering of images is caused mostly by the noise in position data. Based on these observations, a predictive Kalman filter was designed to compensate for the delay in orientation data, and an anisotropic low pass filter was devised to reduce the noise in position data. The effectiveness and limitations of both approaches were then studied, and the results shown to be satisfactory.
Developmentally Regulated Non-coding RNAs in the Social Amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are RNAs that do not encode proteins but instead carry out their functions at the RNA level. During the past decade, ncRNAs have been recognized as major regulators in organisms representing all kingdoms of life. Despite their recent discovery, these ncRNAs are involved in vital processes ranging from cell differentiation and organism development to virulence and stress responses. To exert these important functions, ncRNAs affect e.g. chromatin modification, RNA destabilization, inhibition of translation, RNA modification, and protein translocation. Their sizes are as diverse as their functions, varying from ~20 nucleotides up to several thousands of nucleotides. The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum has for many years been an appreciated model system for e.g. organism development, infection, and chemotaxis, but its ncRNAs have been largely unexplored. In this thesis, experimental as well as computational approaches were employed to investigate the ncRNA profile of this genetically tractable model organism. The identified RNAs include RNA classes with homologs in other organisms, such as small nucleolar RNAs, spliceosomal RNAs, and small interfering RNAs, as well as a large number of entirely novel RNAs. Many of the D. discoideum ncRNAs are developmentally regulated, indicating a function in organism development. Although many ncRNAs are now known to play crucial roles in biology, the functions of most ncRNAs are yet to be discovered. In this quest, easily manipulated model organisms will be invaluable. This thesis further establishes D. discoideum as an attractive model system for discerning ncRNA function and regulation.
Antiviral Effects of an Iminosugar Derivative on Flavivirus Infections

ABSTRACT Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) α-glucosidase inhibitors, which block the trimming step of N-linked glycosylation, have been shown to eliminate the production of several ER-budding viruses. Here we investigated the effects of one such inhibitor, N-nonyl-deoxynojirimycin (NN-DNJ), a 9-carbon alkyl iminosugar derivative, on infection by Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) and dengue virus serotype 2 (DEN-2). In the presence of NN-DNJ, JEV and DEN-2 infections were suppressed in a dose-dependent manner. This inhibitory effect appeared to influence DEN-2 infection more than JEV infection, since lower concentrations of NN-DNJ substantially blocked DEN-2 replication. Secretion of the flaviviral glycoproteins E and NS1 was greatly reduced, and levels of DEN-2 viral RNA replication measured by fluorogenic reverse transcription-PCR were also decreased, by NN-DNJ. Notably, the viral glycoproteins, prM, E, and NS1 were found to associate transiently with the ER chaperone calnexin, and this interaction was affected by NN-DNJ, suggesting a potential role of calnexin in the folding of flaviviral glycoproteins. Additionally, in a mouse model of lethal challenge by JEV infection, oral delivery of NN-DNJ reduced the mortality rate. These findings show that NN-DNJ has an antiviral effect on flavivirus infection, likely through interference with virus replication at the posttranslational modification level, occurring mainly in the ER.
Foreign Language Teaching: An International Comparison of Teacher Beliefs

Recent research has reported professional agreement among foreign language (L2) teachers with respect to the beliefs and behaviors associated with effective L2 teaching. While such research may contribute to an emerging professional consensus, it must be acknowledged that the participating teachers in the related studies were all living and working in the United States. To better understand if the teaching beliefs agreed upon by hundreds of American L2 teachers are supported by L2 teachers in other countries, the researchers used a mixed methodology to compare the beliefs of over 250 L2 teachers and L2 teacher candidates in the United States and Germany to investigate the extent to which the two groups shared similar beliefs about L2 teaching. The study's results suggested there to be a core set of fundamental beliefs associated with effective L2 teaching held by both groups. However, they also underscored the influence of contextual factors in each country on the degree to which various beliefs and behaviors associated with L2 teaching are deemed appropriate. These results serve to inform all teachers currently teaching or planning to teach an L2 abroad.
Violence Prevention

Violence happens by and to people of all socioeconomic statuses, races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, and gender expressions. Most commonly, research indicates it's men perpetrating violence on women or transgender people, yet it also occurs between same genders and by women in heterosexual relationships. And folks who are marginalized are more likely to experience violence.
Levels of Specific Peptide-HLA Class I Complex Predicts Tumor Cell Susceptibility to CTL Killing1

Recognition of tumor-associated Ags (TAAs) on tumor cells by CTLs and the subsequent tumor cell death are assumed to be dependent on TAA protein expression and to correlate directly with the level of peptide displayed in the binding site of the HLA class I molecule. In this study we evaluated whether the levels of Her-2/neu protein expression on human tumor cell lines directly correlate with HLA-A*0201/Her2/neu peptide presentation and CTL recognition. We developed a TCR mimic (TCRm) mAb designated 1B8 that specifically recognizes the HLA-A2.1/Her2/neu peptide (369–377) (Her2(369)-A2) complex. TCRm mAb staining intensity varied for the five human tumor cell lines analyzed, suggesting quantitative differences in levels of the Her2(369)-A2 complex on these cells. Analysis of tumor cell lines pretreated with IFN-γ and TNF-α for Her2/neu protein and HLA-A2 molecule expression did not reveal a direct correlation between the levels of Her2/neu Ag, HLA-A2 molecule, and Her2(369)-A2 complex expression. However, compared with untreated cells, cytokine-treated cell lines showed an increase in Her2(369)-A2 epitope density that directly correlated with enhanced tumor cell death (p = 0.05). Although a trend was observed between tumor cell lysis and the level of the Her2(369)-A2 complex for untreated cells, the association was not significant. These findings suggest that tumor cell susceptibility to CTL-mediated lysis may be predicted based on the level of specific peptide-MHC class I expression rather than on the total level of TAA expression. Further, these studies demonstrate the potential of the TCRm mAb for validation of endogenous HLA-peptide epitopes on tumor cells.
Quasi-Factorial Prior for i-vector Extraction

We analyze the i-vector extraction from the perspective of the prior distribution exerted on the mean supervector of Gaussian mixture model (GMM). To this end, we start off with the analysis of the subspace prior which leads to the compressed representation in the standard i-vector extraction. We then propose the use of quasi-factorial prior and show how it impacts the total variability space and its application for i-vector extraction. The quasi-factorial prior could be used in a standalone manner, or in combination with a subspace prior. In the latter context, we found that the performance of the standard i-vector can be greatly improved with the use of quasi-factorial prior followed by a subspace prior. This assertion is confirmed through experiments conducted on the NIST 2010 Speaker Recognition Evaluation (SRE10) dataset.
Performance estimation of a cell-to-cell-type active balancing circuit for lithium-ion battery systems

Active charge balancing is an approved technique to implement more energy-efficient and eco-friendly lithium-ion battery systems. The theoretical analysis presented in this paper provides a method to estimate the benefits of a cell-to-cell-type active charge balancing circuit in comparison to a passive balancing solution concerning energy savings and capacity gain. The calculation's variable parameters are the battery system configuration and the cell capacity distribution properties. Their validity is limited to applications with normally distributed cell capacities, limited maximum and minimum cell capacity and full cycle usage. The losses related to passive balancing in an nSmP battery system are calculated as well as the overall energy savings achievable with cell-to-cell based active balancing. The capacity gain factor of an actively balanced battery system related to a passive one is found to be in a range between 1.06 and 1.01 depending on the cell parameters and the system configuration. The derived formulas are verified by numeric simulations. Based on the results, several options are identified to increase the energy efficiency of conventional passive balancing systems. The findings can be used during the design process of new battery systems or to analyze and optimize any existing lithium-ion battery system.
Restoring STM images via Sparse Coding: noise and artifact removal

In this article, we present a denoising algorithm to improve the interpretation and quality of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images. Given the high level of self-similarity of STM images, we propose a denoising algorithm by reformulating the true estimation problem as a sparse regression, often termed sparse coding. We introduce modifications to the algorithm to cope with the existence of artifacts, mainly dropouts, which appear in a structured way as consecutive line segments on the scanning direction. The resulting algorithm treats the artifacts as missing data, and the estimated values outperform those algorithms that substitute the outliers by a local filtering. We provide code implementations for both Matlab and Gwyddion.
Subthalamic nucleus stimulation: improvements in outcome with reprogramming.

BACKGROUND Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently the most effective surgical treatment for advanced Parkinson disease (PD). Even when the electrode is well positioned in the target, the optimization of clinical results depends on careful programming of electrical parameters and changes in antiparkinsonian drug dosages. OBJECTIVE To determine whether stable outcomes from subthalamic nucleus DBS for PD can be improved by revising stimulation parameters and drug dosages through "hands-on" involvement of a neurologist expert in both movement disorders and DBS programming. METHODS In 44 consecutive patients with PD with long-term stable response to subthalamic nucleus DBS (mean +/- SD, 3.5 +/- 1.7 years), we compared scores from the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale parts II through IV obtained immediately before and following a formal reprogramming of their stimulation. The reprogramming was performed by a neurologist expert in both PD and DBS and accompanied by further medication adjustments. The patients were subsequently followed up for as long as 14 months. RESULTS In 24 patients (54.6%), the scores on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale parts II and III significantly improved by 15.0% and 25.9%, respectively. Anti-PD drugs were significantly reduced (by 25.9%). No improvement was observed in 16 patients (36.4%), and the conditions of 4 patients (9.1%) worsened. CONCLUSIONS Further improvement of parkinsonian signs can be achieved in the majority of patients even after long-term stable stimulation. Improved patient outcomes from subthalamic nucleus DBS are obtained when postoperative care is personally managed by a neurologist expert in movement disorders and DBS who is directly responsible for stimulation programming and simultaneous drug adjustments based on observed clinical responses to changing stimulation parameters.
Using the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI) to examine the relationship between teaching perspectives and disciplines in higher education

Abstract This study examined the relationship between different views of teaching and dimensions that differentiate academic disciplines. A total of 114 academics within Greece and 127 academics from similar disciplines but other countries were compared using the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI). Distinctions among disciplines for both groups were based on Biglan’s 3-dimensional classification (Pure/Applied; Hard/Soft; Life/non-Life). The objective of this study was to examine to what extent the teaching perspectives of the academics differ from one classification category to another. Greek academics represented participants in 15 departments across 9 universities throughout Greece, while the international sample was drawn from the TPI database. Statistical analysis indicated better differentiation of Biglan’s classification for its Life/non-Life dimension than for Pure/Applied or Hard/Soft between the combined samples for four Teaching Perspectives: Transmission, Developmental, Nurturing and Social Reform. No perspectives differences existed for Biglan’s Hard/Soft categorisation, although Greek professors were significantly higher in Soft rather than Hard disciplines in the Developmental, Nurturing and Social Reform perspectives compared to their global counterparts. They also demonstrated overall higher ‘Transmission’ scores. The authors conclude that disciplinary differences are real, but that they are small compared to the interpersonal ones or even to the international ones. The relationships between the teaching perspectives and Biglan’s classifications are further discussed.