Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Lesson Organization on Achievement

This study identified two low-inference variables comprising lesson organization and determined their effect on student achievement. For each of the two main effect variables, two conditions were defined: proper sequence versus manipulated sequence, and explicit organization behaviors present versus explicit organization behaviors absent. Four treatment groups (equated on mathematical ability) were formed by the possible combinations of these conditions. A single lesson on numeration systems was taught to the four groups (67 university students), and achievement was evaluated using an investigator-designed posttest. Although the data indicated no significant effect for sequence, the study did yield a significant effect (p < .01) for explicit organization. No significant aptitude-treatment interaction was found, either for explicit organization or for sequence.
Discrete sliding mode control of inverted pendulum

This paper presents a treatment of variable structure discrete systems. Firstly, in order to control nonlinear single-input single-output (SISO) systems, the first sliding mode controller using the classical surface is considered. Then, a robust discrete second order sliding mode controller is investigated to overcome the effect of the chattering phenomenon. The controllers designed using the above techniques are completely insensitive to parametric uncertainty and external disturbance. This approach was simulated on the inverted pendulum system and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control to reject disturbances.
Translocation of Diacylglycerol Kinase θ from Cytosol to Plasma Membrane in Response to Activation of G Protein-coupled Receptors and Protein Kinase C*

Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) phosphorylates the second messenger diacylglycerol (DAG) to phosphatidic acid. We previously identified DGKθ as one of nine mammalian DGK isoforms and reported on its regulation by interaction with RhoA and by translocation to the plasma membrane in response to noradrenaline. Here, we have investigated how the localization of DGKθ, fused to green fluorescent protein, is controlled upon activation of G protein-coupled receptors in A431 cells. Extracellular ATP, bradykinin, or thrombin induced DGKθ translocation from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane within 2–6 min. This translocation, independent of DGK activity, was preceded by protein kinase C (PKC) translocation and was blocked by PKC inhibitors. Conversely, activation of PKC by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate induced DGKθ translocation. Membrane-permeable DAG (dioctanoylglycerol) also induced DGKθ translocation but in a PKC (staurosporin)-independent fashion. Mutations in the cysteine-rich domains of DGKθ abrogated its hormone- and DAG-induced translocation, suggesting that these domains are essential for DAG binding and DGKθ recruitment to the membrane. We show that DGKθ interacts selectively with and is phosphorylated by PKCϵ and -η and that peptide agonist-induced selective activation of PKCϵ directly leads to DGKθ translocation. Our data are consistent with the concept that hormone-induced PKC activation regulates the intracellular localization of DGKθ, which may be important in the negative regulation of PKCϵ and/or PKCη activity.
Computer Mediated Communication in Elementary Social Studies Methods: An Examination of Students' Perceptions and Perspectives

Abstract What are the benefits and results of using computer mediated communication (CMC) in preservice social studies methods courses across universities? This question is being explored through an analysis of preservice social studies teachers' web-based asynchronous dialogue. This inquiry involved an investigation of perceptions and perspectives of social studies methods students from two universities following their participation in a semester-long online dialogue exchange. A number of research studies have concluded that CMC substantially increases communication between teachers and students and among class participants (Hartman, & Zuvbrow, 1994; Schrum, 1995). CMC also empowers students to accept greater control and facilitates the construction of a shared knowledge base. This qualitative study examines current research in the field of educational telecommunications through the lens of the social studies methods course. The findings reveal the benefits and drawbacks of using CMC in methods courses between two universities and provide recommendations for effective future implementation.
Quantifying the Burden of Writing Research Articles in a Second Language

This article provides quantitative data to establish the relative, perceived burden of writing research articles in English as a second language. Previous qualitative research has shown that scientists writing English in a second language face difficulties but has not established parameters for the degree of this difficulty. A total of 141 Mexican, Spanish-speaking scientists from a range of scientific disciplines participated in a survey which directly compared writing scientific research articles in Spanish and English as a second language. The survey questions defined burden in relation to perceived difficulty, dissatisfaction, and anxiety. The results revealed that the experience of writing a scientific research article in English as a second language is significantly different than the experience writing in a first language and that this writing process was perceived as 24% more difficult and generated 11% more dissatisfaction and 21% more anxiety. The findings suggest that the use of English as a second language is the cause of this increased burden.
Pattern Mining over Star Schemas in the Onto4AR Framework

Storing data according to the multidimensional model, in particular following star schemas, has demonstrated to be one of the most adequate forms to ease the exploration of data. However, this exploration has been limited to be query-based, leaving the discovery of hidden information to a second plan. The main reason for this, relates to the inability of traditional mining techniques to deal with several data tables at the same time. In this paper, we propose a new approach to mine patterns among data stored as a star schema, based in a domain driven framework, where available knowledge is represented in a domain ontology. Pattern mining is performed by an apriori-based algorithm - the D2Apriori, but more efficient algorithms are being implemented and tested, in order to solve performance issues related with the large amount of data stored in data warehouses.
Application specific processor design: Architectures, design methods and tools

In this tutorial paper, we will outline a solution for prototyping, programming and implementing Application Specific Instruction-set Processors (ASIPs). A general introduction into this class of processor architectures and their characteristics is provided. The Synopsys Processor Designer tool suite and the LISA language for ASIP design are jointly introduced in the context of a H.264 design example. Finally, implementation results are presented.
Geographies of production III

In this final report I offer a review of recent work in labour geography (broadly defined), a blossoming and increasingly mature subfield of economic geography. The review covers three areas: theoretical work on the nature and constitution of labour agency; research into issues of precarity, migration and intermediation in contemporary labour markets; and studies on the geographical strategies employed by the union movement. The report concludes that theorizing worker agency effectively is central to the further development of labour geography.
Keystroke Dynamics Authentication

Everybody needs to authenticate himself on his computer before using it, or even before using different applications (email, e-commerce, intranet, . . . ). Most of the times, the adopted authentication procedure is the use of a classical couple of login and password. In order to be efficient and secure, the user must adopt a strict management of its credentials (regular changing of the password, use of different credentials for different services, use of a strong password containing various types of characters and no word contained in a dictionary). As these conditions are quite strict and difficult to be applied for most users, they do not not respect them. This is a big security flaw in the authentication mechanism (Conklin et al., 2004). According to the 2002 NTA Monitor Password Survey1, a study done on 500 users shows that there is approximately 21 passwords per user, 81% of them use common passwords and 30% of them write their passwords down or store them in a file. Hence, password-based solutions suffer from several security drawbacks. A solution to this problem, is the use of strong authentication. With a strong authentication system, you need to provide, at least, two different authenticators among the three following: (a) what you know such as passwords , (b) what you own such as smart cards and (c) what you are which is inherent to your person, such as biometric data. You can adopt a more secure password-based authentication by including the keystroke dynamics verification (Gaines et al., 1980; Giot et al., 2009c). In this case, the strong authentication is provided by what we know (the password) and what we are (the way of typing it). With such a scheme, during an authentication, we verify two issues: (i) is the credential correct ? (ii) is the way of typing it similar ? If an attacker is able to steal the credential of a user, he will be rejected by the verification system because he will not be able to type the genuine password in a same manner as its owner. With this short example, we can see the benefits of this behavioral modality. Figure 1 presents the enrollment and verification schemes of keystroke dynamics authentication systems. We have seen that keystroke dynamics allows to secure the authentication process by verifying the way of typing the credentials. It can also be used to secure the session after its opening by detecting the changing of typing behavior in the session (Bergadano et al., 2002; Marsters, 2009). In this case, we talk about continuous authentication (Rao, 2005), the computer knows how the user interacts with its keyboard. It is able to recognize if another individual uses the
MMSE-based source extraction using position-based posterior probabilities

A scenario with multiple talkers and additive background noise is considered, where some talkers are active simultaneously and the activity of the talkers changes with time. We propose an MMSE-based method to blindly extract any talker using bin-wise position estimates obtained from distributed microphone arrays. In order to distinguish between different talkers, the position estimates are clustered using the expectation maximization algorithm. The resulting posterior probabilities allow to estimate the PSD matrices of the talkers and compute an MMSE-optimal linear filter for extracting each talker. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method in terms of noise and interference reduction and distortion of the desired speech signal at the output of a multichannel Wiener filter.
Laminin induces the stable expression of surface galactosyltransferase on lamellipodia of migrating cells

We have previously shown that cell surface galactosyltransferase (GalTase) mediates cell spreading and migration on basal lamina matrices by binding N-linked oligosaccharide substrates within laminin. In this study we have examined the distribution and expression of cell surface GalTase during mesenchymal cell migration on various extracellular matrices. Antisera raised against affinity-purified beta 1,4 GalTase, as well as anti-GalTase Fab fragments, inhibited cell migration on laminin-containing matrices, whereas under identical conditions, anti-GalTase IgG had no effect on the rate of cell migration on fibronectin substrates. Cells migrating on laminin had three times the level of surface GalTase, assayed by 125I-antibody binding and by direct enzyme assay, than similar cells migrating on fibronectin. On the other hand, total cellular GalTase, assayed either enzymatically or by Northern blot analysis, was similar when cells were grown on laminin or fibronectin. The laminin-dependent increase in surface GalTase was due to its expression onto the leading and trailing edges of migrating cells in association with actin-containing microfilaments assayed by double-label indirect immunofluorescence. On stationary cells, surface GalTase levels were low, but as cells began to migrate on laminin GalTase became polarized to the growing lamellipodia. GalTase was not detectable on lamellipodia or filopodia when cells migrated on fibronectin substrates. These results show that laminin-containing matrices induce the stable expression of GalTase onto cell lamellipodia and filopodia where it mediates subsequent cell spreading and migration. Since fibronectin was unable to induce GalTase expression onto lamellipodia, these studies also suggest that the extracellular matrix can selectively influence which intracellular components are maintained on the cell surface.
A Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition

Older, part-time, and commuter students have composed an increasingly larger portion of college student bodies. The reasons why these students drop out of school are not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to describe the rise in nontraditional enrollments, define the nontraditional undergraduate student, and develop a conceptual model of the attrition process for these students. The chief difference between the attrition process of traditional and nontraditional students is that nontraditional students are more affected by the external environment than by the social integration variables affecting traditional student attrition.
Prescription of Walking Exercise Intensity from the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test in People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

ObjectiveThis study determined the intensity of walking exercise prescribed from 70% of peak speed achieved during the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and whether a steady-state response was achieved when exercising at this intensity. DesignEach participant performed lung function tests, an incremental cycle test, two ISWTs, and a 10-min continuous walking exercise at 70% peak ISWT speed. Oxygen consumption (V˙O2) was collected using a portable system (Cosmed K4b2, Rome, Italy). The V˙O2 from the 10-min walking exercise was compared with V˙O2peak from the better ISWT as a measure of walking exercise intensity. ResultsThirty-four participants completed the study. The mean intensity achieved during the 10-min walking exercise was 76% (11%) V˙O2peak. Steady-state V˙O2 was achieved by minute 5 in the 10-min walking exercise. ConclusionsPrescription of walking exercise at 70% of the peak ISWT speed provided an intensity appropriate for achieving physiologic training responses.
Illumination-insensitive face recognition using symmetric shape-from-shading

Sensitivity to variations in illumination is a fundamental and challenging problem in face recognition. In this paper, we describe a new method based on symmetric shape-from-shading (SSFS) to develop a face recognition system that is robust to changes in illumination. The basic idea of this approach is to use the SSFS algorithm as a tool to obtain a prototype image which is illumination-normalized. It has been shown that the SSFS algorithm has a unique point-wise solution. But it is still difficult to recover accurate shape information given a single real face image with complex shape and varying albedo. In stead, we utilize the fact that all faces share a similar shape making the direct computation of the prototype image from a given face image feasible. Finally, to demonstrate the efficacy of our method, we have applied it to several publicly available face databases.
Synthetic Effect between Envelope Stress and Lack of Outer Membrane Vesicle Production in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are composed of outer membrane and periplasmic components and are ubiquitously secreted by Gram-negative bacteria. OMVs can disseminate virulence factors for pathogenic bacteria as well as serve as an envelope stress response. From a transposon mutant screen for OMV phenotypes, it was discovered that an nlpA mutant of Escherichia coli produces fewer OMVs than the wild type, whereas a degP mutant produces higher levels of OMVs. NlpA is an inner-membrane-anchored lipoprotein that has a minor role in methionine import. DegP is a periplasmic chaperone/protease for misfolded envelope proteins that is critical when cells are heat shocked. To reveal how these proteins contribute to OMV production, the mutations were combined and the double mutant analyzed. The ΔnlpA ΔdegP strain displayed a high-temperature growth defect that corresponded to the production of fewer OMVs than produced by the ΔdegP strain. This phenotype also pertained to other undervesiculation mutations in a ΔdegP background. The hypovesiculation phenotype of ΔnlpA in the wild-type strain as well as in the degP deletion strain was found to be a stationary-phase phenomenon. The periplasm of the ΔnlpA ΔdegP strain was determined to contain significantly more protein in stationary phase than the wild type. Additionally, misfolded DegP substrate outer membrane porins were detected in ΔdegP mutant-derived OMVs. These data suggest that an accumulation of envelope proteins resulting from decreased vesiculation was toxic and contributed to the growth defect. We conclude that OMV production contributes to relieve the envelope of accumulated toxic proteins and that NlpA plays an important role in the production of vesicles in stationary phase.
Perceived parental control and psychological well-being in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

Chinese secondary school students (N=2,758) responded to measures of perceived parental behavioral control (parental knowledge, expectation, monitoring, discipline and demandingness), parental psychological control, and adolescent psychological well-being (hopelessness, mastery, life satisfaction and self-esteem). Results showed that composite parental behavioral control was weakly related to parental psychological control, whereas discrete aspects of parental behavioral control were differentially related to parental psychological control. Although parental psychological control was negatively related to adolescent psychological well-being, parental behavioral control was positively related to adolescent adjustment. The present findings underscore the role of parental control in the psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents at Secondary 2 level in Hong Kong. The implications of the findings for the development of positive youth development programs in Hong Kong are discussed.
Group Dominant Strategies ( Extended Abstract )

We introduce a new solution concept for complete information games, which we call equilibrium in group dominant strategies. This concept is the strongest of all known solution concepts so far, since it encompasses both the ideas behind the concepts of dominant strategies and strong equilibrium. Because of its strength, a solution in group dominant strategies does not exist in any interesting game; however, as we show, such solutions can be achieved in various rich settings with the use of mediators.
Precise Measurement of One-Way Delay and Analysis of Synchronization Issues

When implementing networks with QoS guarantees, precise measurement of all network QoS characteristics is necessary. We need to observe behaviour of various traffic handling mechanisms on different patterns of data, for example, to see influence of handling a traffic aggregate on a microflow behaviour, which is the case in diffserv networks and to check if the agreed Service Level Specification (SLS) is adhered to by both the user and the network. We need a tool that can generate a set of data streams of a specified shape and rate, capture these streams as they pass through a network and computes experienced QoS characteristics. To verify behaviour of scheduling mechanisms, precision around 4 microseconds is needed. This is the time to submit one minimum-length packet on a Gigabit Ethernet network.
Estratégias de resolução de conflito em crianças em desenvolvimento normal de linguagem: cooperação ou individualismo?

PURPOSE: To verify the conflict resolution abilities of 7- and 8-year-old children with normal language development. METHODS: Participants were 40 children with normal language development, with ages ranging from 7 to 8 years and 11 months. To evaluate conflict resolution abilities, five hypothetical conflict contexts were presented. After each story presentation, children were asked the following question: "If you were him [examiner points to the story character], what would you do? ". The answers were arranged into five levels and scored as it follows: level 0 (solutions that do not match the other levels) - score 0; level 1 (physical solutions) - score 1; level 2 (unilateral solutions) - score 2; level 3 (cooperative solutions) - score 3, and level 4 (mutual solutions) - score 4. RESULTS: Most of the proposed strategies were placed at levels 2 (M=2.55±0.34) and 3 (M=1.53±1.26). Significant but weak positive correlation was found between children's age and their scores on the conflict resolution test (p=0.03, r=0.34). These results suggest that unilateral strategies are still frequently used by 7- and 8-year-olds, although they are already capable of dialoguing efficiently to solve problems. CONCLUSION: At 7 and 8 years of age, children with normal language development frequently use unilateral and cooperative strategies to solve problems.
Depletion of non specific esterase activity in the colonic mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis

Background Non specific esterases (NSE) are a group of cellular carboxylesterases, enzyme markers of monocytes/macrophages, whose tissue distribution in the human body and changes in various disease states have not been adequately studied. We investigate the presence and localization of NSE, in the normal and inflamed human colonic mucosa.
Single Subject Designs: Current Methodologies and Future Directions

Knowledge of the best uses, limitations, and quality criteria for single subject design (SSD) research has grown over the decades. High-quality SSDs provide replicable results and advance knowledge. Using modern technology, meta-analysis and systematic review methods can be applied to synthesize results of SSDs to provide best evidence on numerous important interventions (e.g., those involving assistive technology). Larger numbers of SSDs are needed.