Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental Literacy in Science and Society: From

contributes to the scientific understanding and sustainability-oriented management of Human–Environment Systems (HES) based on processes of transdisciplinarity and mutual learning. It presents a historical analysis, and modern explanations, of crucial concepts and developments regarding environmental literacy in science and society. In addition, it presents an original framework for the analysis of HES in which these are seen as inextricably coupled transactional systems. This framework is applied in the book to sustainability learning and decision making in real-world problem-solving processes with respect to complex, ill-defined problems that pose threads to the balance of certain aspects of HES or to the anthroposphere as a whole. The assumption of a distinctive and complementary relationship between “reality” and its functional (re)construction in human systems based on perceptual, cognitive and communicative epistemic processes referring to Egon Brunswik’s lens model and theory of probabilistic functionalism [1], which also entails possibilities for profound misconceptions of reality, is a central cornerstone of the HES framework. Therefore, applying this framework requires the integration of multiple epistemic sources and facets through inter- and transdisciplinary processes of mutual learning between science and society. This is meant to maximise the potential for an appropriate analysis, an adequate conceptualisation and an in depth understanding of sustainability issues. Thus, the potential for generating viable strategies and options, as well as for having functional decision making or transition management, shall be maximised. The manifold forms of synthesis that can contribute to this goal include integrating varying perspectives of scientific disciplines (e.g., the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences), modes of thought (e.g., analytic thinking and intuitive thinking), forms of knowledge (qualitative and quantitative, scientific and experiential), interests (e.g., mediation between stakeholder groups, population), values (monetary, ethics) and both human (e.g., legal, political, economic, educational) and environmental systems (e.g., water, air, soil). Perception, awareness, communication
Bridging the Gap Between Politics and Techniques: On the next practices of participatory design

This paper discusses how we in the participatory design (PD) research community may contribute to the evolution of ICT design 1 practices into something that is much more attuned to people using ICT and to their interests. The main idea is that to do so we need to focus more on issues in the gap between politics and techniques, e.g., project funding, types of users and of use settings, the role of companies and of Intellectual Property Rights and the types of projects we work on. The paper presents material illustrating that impor - tant changes are going on in the dimensions outlined by these issues and argues that these changes create important, new opportunities for PD to contribute to the 'next practices' of ICT design—as well as serious problems. Thus to exploit these new opportunities we need to improve our understanding of the issues involved and to develop new ways of taking them into account when we design and do research projects.
Subdomain and Access Pattern Privacy - Trading off Confidentiality and Performance

Homomorphic encryption and secure multi-party computation enable computations on encrypted data. However, both techniques suffer from a large performance overhead. While advances in algorithms might reduce the overhead, we show that achieving perfect (or even computational) confidentiality is not possible without increasing the running time compared to computations on plaintext more than exponentially in some cases. In practice, however, perfect confidentiality is not always required. The paper discusses mechanisms to trade off confidentiality and performance for computing on ciphertexts. It introduces a fine-grained approach to define security levels for variables called (statistical) subdomain privacy. This concept differs substantially from prior work because it treats a variable as confidential or non-confidential depending on the actual value. We further propose privacy-preserving methods for memory access patterns. We apply our techniques to improve performance of control flow logic (loops, if-then-else logic) and arithmetic operations such as multiplications. The evaluation shows that the resulting speedup can be in the order of several magnitudes depending on the privacy needs.
Free Will Without Metaphysics

Free will is the ability to transform thoughts and desires into actions, and this ability to act freely is presumed to underlie people’s practice of moral praise and blame, as well society’s practice of legal punishment. However, many scholars believe that people’s concept of free will is hopelessly corrupted by metaphysical assumptions, such as a belief in the soul or a belief in magical causation. Scientific explanations of human behavior and the physical universe contradict such metaphysical assumptions. This raises the concern that science also invalidates the ordinary concept of free will and thereby unseats a key requisite for moral and legal responsibility. Such a concern, however, turns on the exact content of people’s concept of free will. Here we discuss a program of research that seeks to clarify the folk concept of free will and its role in moral judgment. We also examine possible challenges to the concept and their impact on moral judgment. Our data show that people have a psychological concept of free will—they assume that “free actions” are based on choices that fulfill one’s desires and are relatively free from internal and external constraints. Moreover, we argue that these components—choice, desires, and constraints—lie at the heart of people’s moral judgments. Once these components are accounted for, the abstract concept of free will contributes very little to people’s moral judgments, and challenges to the concept have little impact on those judgments.
Musculoskeletal measurement tools from the International Prophylaxis Study Group (IPSG)

B. M. FELDMAN,* S. FUNK, B. LUNDIN, A. S. DORIA,§ R. LJUNG– and V. BLANCHETTE** *Division of Rheumatology, The Hospital for Sick Children, and the Departments of Pediatrics, Health Policy Management & Evaluation, and Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, Mountain States Regional Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO, USA; Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Lund, Sweden; §Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; –Departments of Paediatrics and Coagulation Disorders, University Hospital of Malmö, Sweden and **Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, and the Departments of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Texture Features from Gray level Gap Length Matrix

sever& texture features are introduced from a proposed higher-order statistical matrix, the gray level gap length matrix (GLGLM). The GLGLM measures the gray level variations in an image. It complements the gray level run length matrix (GLRLM) and is more superior when the number of gray level is large. Features extracted from the weighted GLGLM can be used to estimate the size distribution of the subpatterns. It works much faster than the commonly used K statistic based on gray level cooccurrence matrices, and provides additional quasi-periodicities. The GLGLM and its features seem very useful in texture segmentation and classification.
Small-Animal PET Imaging of Pancreatic Cancer Xenografts Using a 64Cu-Labeled Monoclonal Antibody, MAb159

Overexpression of the GRP78 receptor on cell surfaces has been linked with tumor growth, metastasis, and resistance to therapy. We developed a 64Cu-labeled probe for PET imaging of tumor GRP78 expression based on a novel anti-GRP78 monoclonal antibody, MAb159. Methods: MAb159 was conjugated with the 64Cu-chelator DOTA through lysines on the antibody. DOTA–human IgG was also prepared as a control that did not bind to GRP78. The resulting PET probes were evaluated in BXPC3 pancreatic cancer xenografts in athymic nude mice. Results: The radiotracer was synthesized with a specific activity of 0.8 MBq/μg of antibody. In BXPC3 xenografts, 64Cu-DOTA-MAb159 demonstrated prominent tumor accumulation (4.3 ± 1.2, 15.4 ± 2.6, and 18.3 ± 1.0 percentage injected dose per gram at 1, 17, and 48 after injection, respectively). In contrast, 64Cu-DOTA–human IgG had low BXPC3 tumor accumulation (4.8 ± 0.5, 7.5 ± 0.7, and 4.6 ± 0.8 percentage injected dose per gram at 1, 17, and 48 h after injection, respectively). Conclusion: We demonstrated that GRP78 can serve as a valid target for pancreatic cancer imaging. The success of this approach will be valuable for evaluating disease course and therapeutic efficacy at the earliest stages of anti-GRP78 treatment. Moreover, these newly developed probes may have important applications in other types of cancer overexpressing GRP78.
Some Considerations in Structuring a Terminological Knowledge Base

Exploiting the computational instruments of ItalWordNet (IWN), we built a terminological Database containing about 3000 lemmas. This allowed us to outgo the concept of “dictionary”, and obtain data not only described (by the definition), but also codified (by relations), easily managed automatically and linked to the corresponding closest concepts in English through the Inter-Lingual Index (ILI). We started to design the terminological data base top level, identifying the most relevant and representative domain concepts. The users demand has determined the need of managing the ever-increasing new technical terminology which includes also very different domains as the juridical or the economic one. Up to now our database is connected, by means of the ’plug_in’ relations, to the general ontology which IWN inherited from EuroWordNet. Now we outline a new domain ontology design, for better defining the boundary of this research, setting the base of the terminological concepts and gaining more functional information. Before defining the ontology, a reflection is preliminary about the concept of ’term’ and ‘domain’, the ’relevance’ of each term, the knowledge potential of the terminological lexicon, together with the possibility of manipulating this knowledge with huge cognitive effects, specifying how to represent it as a concrete (suitable to be instantiated) data structure. The set of characteristics recognized in our terminological Database and verified, lead us to qualify it a Knowledge Base System, that is a body of represented knowledge, based on a conceptualized view of the world, with axioms and inference rules productive of new knowledge generated from existing one.
The Foundation Phase in Wales – a play-based curriculum that supports the development of physical literacy

ABSTRACT In 2008, the Welsh Assembly Government began the implementation of a new holistic play-based learning continuum for children aged three to seven called the Foundation Phase. Areas of learning replaced subjects and consequently pupils in Wales under the age of seven no longer study Physical Education in its traditional form. With growing recognition of the importance of physical literacy and the role that Physical Education plays in its development, a three-phase complementarity mixed methods study explored the impact of this new curriculum on pupils’ physical literacy, finding that the Foundation Phase makes a positive contribution to the development of physical literacy. This paper reports on two phases of that study to examine what the Foundation Phase is and how it is enacted in schools that have been identified as showing good practice. Phase one used documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews to gain an in-depth analysis of the curriculum. Phase two used mixed methods to ascertain fidelity of curriculum implementation. Findings suggest that the schools in the study were implementing the Foundation Phase with fidelity to the original aims of the policy makers and as such pupils were independent, motivated active learners making good progress in the development of physical literacy.
Refined BCF-type boundary conditions for mesoscale surface step dynamics

Deposition on a vicinal surface with alternating rough and smooth steps is described by a solid-on-solid model with anisotropic interactions. Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations of the model reveal step pairing in the absence of any additional step attachment barriers. We explore the description of this behavior within an analytic Burton-Cabrera-Frank (BCF)-type step dynamics treatment. Without attachment barriers, conventional kinetic coefficients for the rough and smooth steps are identical, as are the predicted step velocities for a vicinal surface with equal terrace widths. However, we determine refined kinetic coefficients from a two-dimensional discrete deposition-diffusion equation formalism which accounts for step structure. These coefficients are generally higher for rough steps than for smooth steps, reflecting a higher propensity for capture of diffusing terrace adatoms due to a higher kink density. Such refined coefficients also depend on the local environment of the step and can even become negative (corresponding to net detachment despite an excess adatom density) for a smooth step in close proximity to a rough step. Incorporation of these refined kinetic coefficients into a BCF-type step dynamics treatment recovers quantitatively the mesoscale step-pairing behavior observed in the KMC simulations.
The Study on the Determinants of the Online Consumers' Intention to Return

This study integrates Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and flow theory to explore the relationship among online consumers’ internal and external perceptive factors, and intention to return. This study examines the online consumers from Taiwan’s biggest B to C website, and questionnaire-based empirical study is used to collect data. There are 1254 valid surveys and structure equation model (SEM) is used to test the research model. We conclude that: (1) Both TAM and flow theory can be successfully integrated to explain online consumer behaviors. (2) TAM perceptive factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use) are positively associated with internal perceptive factors of flow theory (perceived control, perceived enjoyment). (3) Perceived enjoyment of flow theory also has positive impact on intention to return, and perceived usefulness of TAM is positively associated with intention to return. (4) Finally, we build a best-fitted model for online consumer behavior.
The Impact of Common Genetic Variations in Genes of the Sex Hormone Metabolic Pathways on Steroid Hormone Levels and Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness

Our previous work suggested that there was no significant association between plasma steroid hormone levels and prostate cancer tumor grade at diagnosis. In this study, we systematically tested the hypothesis that inherited variations in the androgen and estrogen metabolic pathways may be associated with plasma levels of steroid hormones, or prostate cancer aggressiveness at diagnosis. Plasma hormone levels including total testosterone, total estradiol, and sex hormone–binding globulin were measured in a cohort of 508 patients identified with localized prostate cancer. D'Amico risk classification at diagnosis was also determined. A total of 143 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 30 genes that are involved in androgen and estrogen metabolism were selected for analysis. The global association of genotypes with plasma hormone levels and prostate cancer aggressiveness (D'Amico risk classification) was statistically analyzed. Q values were estimated to account for multiple testing. We observed significant associations between plasma testosterone level and SNPs in HSD17B2 (rs1424151), HSD17B3 (rs9409407), and HSD17B1 (rs12602084), with P values of 0.002, 0.006, and 0.006, respectively. We also observed borderline significant associations between prostate aggressiveness at diagnosis and SNPs in AKR1C1 (rs11252845; P = 0.005), UGT2B15 (rs2045100; P = 0.007), and HSD17B12 (rs7932905; P = 0.008). No individual SNP was associated with both clinical variables. Genetic variants of genes in hormone metabolic pathways may influence plasma androgen levels or prostate cancer aggressiveness. However, it seems that the inherited variations affecting plasma hormone levels differ from those affecting disease aggressiveness. Cancer Prev Res; 4(12); 2044–50. ©2011 AACR.
PATHOLOGY OF EXPERIMENTAL RESPIRATORY ANTHRAX IN MACACA MULATTA.

THE prinicipal lesioins of terminal intradermal anthrax in the unmodified Macaca mnulatta observed were haemorrhage and necrosis involving a wide variety of organs and systems, cutaneous, lymphatic, vascular, hepatic, endocrine and central nervous (Berdjis, Gleiser and Hartman, 1963). Experimental respiratory anthrax has been studied in a wide variety of animal hosts in an attempt to elucidate the pathogenesis of respiratory anthrax in man. reported studies in guinea-pigs, mice, dogs, rats and monkeys but omitted any pathology for the monkey. and described pathology of respiratory anthrax in 3 chimpanzees and Ross reported on the pathogenesis in guinea-pigs, rabbits aind mice. with crystal violet, and examined for the presence of bacilli. In those rare instances when gross bacteraemia was not evident upon examination of a stained blood smear, blood cultures were made by plating approximately 0-2 ml. of blood on duplicate nutrient agar plates; these were incubated at 350 for 24 hr. and examined for typical colonial growth. Tissues were collected in 10 per cent saline-formalin neutralized with precipitated CaC03. Tissue sections cut at 6 ,u were routinely stained with haematoxylin and eosin. This stain was usually satisfactory for demonstration of bacilli in sections, although when necessary the Brown and Brenn stain was employed.
Monitoring respiratory rate based on tracheal sounds. First experiences

The objective was to develop a non-invasive method for continuously monitoring respiratory rate (RR) based on tracheal sounds. 25 volunteers and 36 patients with chronic pulmonary diseases were enrolled in a clinical study. Tracheal sounds were acquired using a contact piezoelectric sensor placed on the examinee's throat and analyzed using a combined investigation of the sound envelope and frequency content. RR estimates were compared to reference measurements taken from a pneumotachometer coupled to a face mask worn by the examinee. RR was also manually counted by a respiratory technician. Two types of breathing (mouth and nose) and three different positions were studied (fowler, semi-fowler and supine). RR estimated in volunteers had a success rate (SR) of 96%, a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.99 and a standard error of the estimate (SEE) of 0.56. The RR estimated in patients was comparable or slightly better (SR = 85%, r = 0.93 and SEE = 1.49) than those obtained by manual count (SR = 82%, r = 0.91, SEE = 1.58), which is the method widely used in clinical settings. No significant difference in the capacity to estimate RR was found related to posture and breathing type, making this method useful for continuous monitoring.
Kernel Scatter-difference Based Discriminant Locality Preserving Projection for Image Recognition ?

Locality preserving projection (LPP) aims at finding an embedded subspace that preserves the local structure of data. Though LPP can provide intrinsic compact representation for image data, it has limitations on image recognition. In this paper, an improved algorithm called kernel scatter-difference based discriminant locality preserving projection (KSDLPP) is proposed. KSDLPP uses kernel trick method to map the input data into an implicit feature space where a scatter-difference discriminant rule based LPP is employed to seek a low-dimensional manifold subspace. Not only does KSDLPP describe complex nonlinear structure of the images, but it also avoids the singularity problem of high-dimensional data matrix and offers better classification capability. Experiment results on public face and palmprint databases also demonstrate the effective recognition performance of the KSDLPP algorithm.
A Novel Technique for SNMP Bandwidth Reduction : Simulation and Evaluation

One of the most popular and widely used Network Management Protocols (NMP) is SNMP. SNMP is extremely simple and versatile but it has scalability problems. A number of alternative NMPs such as RMI interfaces, CORBA [1] and RMON [2] have been attempted to overcome the problems with SNMP. However, these interfaces lack the standardization effort and simplicity of the usage that SNMP provides. So currently, every application develops models to achieve the desired level of scalability on its own. In this paper, we demonstrate a new technique to decrease a number of messages between manager and agent in the SNMP (i.e. traffic reduction). The base idea of our technique is to make a system manager keeps the MIB objects that are frequently required. We simulate our proposed technique using a network simulator called NS2. We compare our proposed technique with the Kwang Sik Shin attempt [3] and general polling technique
Gain optimization in RLSAs with lossy substrates by the slot coupling control

This paper studies the operation of Radial Line Slot Antennas (RLSAs) having lossy substrates as waveguide-filled materials. Based on the operating mechanism of the conventional lossless RLSAs, new formulations to optimize the antenna gain are derived theoretically and partly confirm by measurement. As the result, at 32GHz, a 90cm diameter RLSA with material loss factor of 0.014~0.018dB/mm, about 0.25~0.35dBi gain enhancement is expected by using newly defined coupling.
Late-intervention study with ebselen in an experimental model of type 1 diabetic nephropathy

Abstract Background and aim. Previous studies have shown that preventive treatment with the antioxidant, ebselen, in experimental models of type 1 diabetic nephropathy resulted in an attenuation of structural and functional damage in the kidney. However, evidence for the effectiveness of ebselen in late-intervention studies is lacking. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effects of ebselen in attenuating established renal injury in type 1 diabetic nephropathy using the Akita mouse model. Methods. Baseline blood glucose and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) were measured in wild-type (WT) and heterozygous Akita mice at 9 weeks of age. At 10 weeks of age, WT and Akita mice were randomized to receive either vehicle (5% carboxymethyl cellulose) or ebselen by oral gavage at 10mg/kg twice daily. Kidney and urine were collected after 16 weeks of treatment with ebselen for histological and functional analyses. Results. At 9 weeks of age, Akita mice displayed well-established renal dysfunction with significant increases in ACR and urinary 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels when compared with WT controls. After 16 weeks of treatment with ebselen, oxidative stress, as measured by nitrotyrosine immunostaining and urinary 8-OHdG levels, was significantly reduced in the Akita mice. Furthermore, gene expression of the major reactive oxygen species-producing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate enzyme, Nox4, was also reduced by ebselen. However, ebselen had no effect on ACR and glomerulosclerosis. Conclusion. Chronic treatment with ebselen significantly reduced oxidative stress in the Akita mice. However, ebselen failed to attenuate functional or structural kidney damage in this late-intervention study using the Akita mouse model.