Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of Peer Assessment Online Discussions within a Course that uses Project-based Learning

In recent years project-based learning (PBL) incorporating online discussions has gradually been applied to courses that focus on writing projects. Past studies have shown that learners in PBL often face the difficulties of not having in-depth data analysis and peer discussions and how teachers design the rules and methods for online discussions has a significant influence on the quality of discussion. Since using a peer assessment strategy in the classroom could facilitate learners' critical thinking and meta-cognitive skills, this study conducts an empirical observational study in order to analyse the content and process of the discussion activities based on peer assessment without teacher intervention and tries to explore students' knowledge construction of the discussion. Sequential analysis and content analysis were conducted to observe the scale of each aspect of knowledge construction and the sequential pattern of students' knowledge construction during the discussions. Teachers didn't provide any guidance or intervention during the activity. Based on the results of the observations, this study discusses the possible difficulties that students may encounter when conducting peer assessment online discussions. Finally, this study also proposes suggestions about the timing and methods for teacher interventions.
Integration of augmented reality into the CAD process

The enhancement of visualization skills of engineering students is essential for their development of design skills in many fields of engineering. Based on studies of visualization skills of entering first year engineering students, some of them have difficulties in dealing with orthographic applications (projections, orthographic to isometric transformations, etc.). They seem to lack sufficient geometric and/or trigonometric relational skills, both of which are essential when modeling even simple geometric objects. Augmented Reality (AR) technology could provide a solution to this problem. The potential benefits of AR are improvements in the students’ abilities with respect to spatial cognition, concept development, decision making as well as design modifications and refinements due to the support for viewing and ‘touching’ the design. This paper will explore the integration of AR into the Computer Aided Design (CAD) process with SolidWorks software in order to provide an interactive learning experience, in which abstract thinking is supported and concept visualization, exploration and evaluation are facilitated during the various stages of the design process. Such an AR system will permit the students to visualize virtual representations of their 3D CAD models in real-world settings by mixing the 3D CAD model with a webcam view of the students and facilitating real-time interactions between the students and the designed objects.
Do ‘Good Governance’ Codes Enhance Financial Accountability? Evidence from Managerial Pay in Dutch Charities

This paper examines the initial impact of a ‘good governance’ code for charitable organizations that was promulgated in the Netherlands in 2005. Data are gathered from publicly available annual reports of 138 charities in the post-implementation phase of the code (2005-2008). We first examine whether the code altered charities’ governance structures. Next, we investigate managerial pay as a key aspect of discharging financial accountability because prior literature focused on ‘excessive’ compensation. The findings indicate that a strengthened governance structure positively affects the likelihood of disclosing information concerning managerial pay, as well it mitigates managerial pay level.
Subconjunctival administration of bucillamine suppresses choroidal neovascularization in rat.

PURPOSE Bucillamine is an antirheumatic drug with antiangiogenic properties that is currently used in clinical practice. Because bucillamine inhibits the production of VEGF, it is possible that this drug may inhibit choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Thus, the effect of bucillamine on the eyes of rats with experimental CNV was investigated in vivo by subconjunctival injection or oral intake. METHODS CNV was induced in rat eyes by diode laser photocoagulation. The intensity of fluorescein leakage from the photocoagulated lesions was studied 7 and 14 days after photocoagulation. The areas of CNV lesions were measured histologically and studied immunohistochemically at days 4, 7, and 14. In addition, the concentration of the drug in ocular tissue and blood was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry after the drug was delivered orally or subconjunctivally. RESULTS After subconjunctival injection, fluorescein leakage from the CNV lesions decreased significantly compared with the control eyes throughout the study period. Histologic and immunohistochemical analyses 4, 7, and 14 days after photocoagulation demonstrated that the average size of the CNV lesions was reduced in the bucillamine-treated eyes compared with the control eyes. Subconjunctival injection maximized the ocular drug concentration while minimizing the blood concentration of the drug compared with oral intake. CONCLUSIONS Subconjunctival injection of bucillamine significantly reduced the leakage and size of experimental CNV. These results suggest that bucillamine may be beneficial in treating CNV and that further studies can be considered to evaluate this possibility.
Syntax-based Concept Extraction for Question Answering Using SEMEX

The SEMEX tool for question answering is presented. Its architecture and features for extracting from input text a network of concept nodes that index syntax-based logical forms, are described. Methods are shown for decomposing questions into boolean combinations of question patterns and for using the concept network and logical forms together with WordNet for question answering. SEMEX’s encouraging performance against the TREC 2005 question answering test set is discussed.
Two baselines for unsupervised dependency parsing

Results in unsupervised dependency parsing are typically compared to branching baselines and the DMV-EM parser of Klein and Manning (2004). State-of-the-art results are now well beyond these baselines. This paper describes two simple, heuristic baselines that are much harder to beat: a simple, heuristic algorithm recently presented in Sogaard (2012) and a heuristic application of the universal rules presented in Naseem et al. (2010). Our first baseline (RANK) outperforms existing baselines, including PR-DVM (Gillenwater et al., 2010), while relying only on raw text, but all submitted systems in the Pascal Grammar Induction Challenge score better. Our second baseline (RULES), however, outperforms several submitted systems.
Advances in Formal Models of Search and Search Behaviour

Searching is performed in the context of a task and as such the value of the information found is with respect to the task. Recently, there has been a drive to developing formal models of information seeking and retrieval that consider the costs and benefits arising through the interaction with the interface/system and the information surfaced during that interaction. In this full day tutorial we will focus on describing and explaining some of the more recent and latest formal models of Information Seeking and Retrieval. The tutorial is structured into two parts. In the first part we will present a series of models that have been developed based on: (i) economic theory, (ii) decision theory (iii) game theory and (iv) optimal foraging theory. The second part of the day will be dedicated to building models where we will discuss different techniques to build and develop models from which we can draw testable hypotheses from. During the tutorial participants will be challenged to develop various formals models, applying the techniques learnt during the day. We will then conclude with presentations on solutions followed by a summary and overview of challenges and future directions. This tutorial is aimed at participants wanting to know more about the various formal models of information seeking, search and retrieval, that have been proposed. The tutorial will be presented at an intermediate level, and is designed to support participants who want to be able to understand and build such models.
Two-point correlation functions to characterize microgeometry and estimate permeabilities of synthetic and natural sandstones

We have developed an image-processing method for characterizing the microstructure of rock and other porous materials, and for providing a quantitative means for understanding the dependence of physical properties on the pore structure. This method is based upon the statistical properties of the microgeometry as observed in scanning electron micrograph (SEM) images of cross sections of porous materials. The method utilizes a simple statistical function, called the spatial correlation function, which can be used to predict bounds on permeability and other physical properties. We obtain estimates of the porosity and specific surface area of the material from the two-point correlation function. The specific surface area can be related to the permeability of porous materials using a Kozeny-Carman relation, and we show that the specific surface area measured on images of sandstones is consistent with the specific surface area used in a simple flow model for computation of permeability. In this paper, we discuss the two-point spatial correlation function and its use in characterizing microstructure features such as pore and grain sizes. We present estimates of permeabilities found using SEM images of several different synthetic and natural sandstones. Comparison of the estimates to laboratory measurements shows good agreement. Finally, we brieflymore » discuss extension of this technique to two-phase flow. « less
Formation of ultrathin silicon layers by PECVD and their modification for nanoelectronic and nanophotonic applications

Nanoelectronic and nanophotonic applications have created a pressure on methods of fabrication double dielectric barriers stacks with ultrathin silicon layer located between dielectric layers. Among numerous possible methods, PECVD seems to be very promising. In order to increase possible number of applications, however, the ability to transform continuous silicon layer into nanocrystalline form in dielectric matrix is required. The work described below reports on experimental efforts to form such a structure by controlled high temperature recrystallization and oxidation of ultrathin PECVD silicon layer in the stack. The effects if high temperature annealing has been studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The applied model allowed for identification of composition and structural changes within the silicon PECVD layer due to different high temperature annealing processes applied. As a result of this study, it has been proved that it is feasible to fabricate complete two barrier stack consisting of ultrathin dielectric and silicon layers in one PECVD system without exposing samples to the ambient atmosphere. In order to reduce the PECVD silicon layer thickness to approximately 3 nm, we proposed using plasma oxidation in PECVD instead of PECVD oxide deposition. High temperature (especially in 1100°C) annealing in argon proved to allow formation of silicon nanocrystals in oxide matrix. Other effects resulting from high temperature annealing of fabricated stacks are also studied.
Rolling window time series prediction using MapReduce

Prediction of time series data is an important application in many domains. Despite their advantages, traditional databases and MapReduce methodology are not ideally suited for this type of processing due to dependencies introduced by the sequential nature of time series. We present a novel framework to facilitate retrieval and rolling-window prediction of irregularly sampled large-scale time series data. By introducing a new index pool data structure, processing of time series can be efficiently parallelised. The proposed framework is implemented in R programming environment and utilises Hadoop to support parallelisation and fault tolerance. Experimental results indicate our proposed framework scales linearly up to 32-nodes.
Tyrosine phosphorylation of annexin A2 regulates Rho-mediated actin rearrangement and cell adhesion

Cell adhesion and motility require a dynamic remodelling of the membrane-associated actin cytoskeleton in response to extracellular stimuli that are primarily transmitted through receptor tyrosine kinases. In a cellular model system for tyrosine phosphorylation-based growth factor signaling, we observed that annexin A2 is tyrosine-phosphorylated upon insulin receptor activation. The phosphorylation precedes peripheral actin accumulations and subsequent cell detachment. These morphological changes are inhibited by annexin A2 depletion and require Rho/ROCK signaling downstream of tyrosine-phosphorylated annexin A2. A phospho-mimicking annexin A2 mutant is sufficient to drive peripheral actin accumulation and the resulting cell detachment in the absence of insulin stimulation. Thus, a tyrosine phosphorylation switch in annexin A2 is an important event in triggering Rho/ROCK-dependent and actin-mediated changes in cell morphology associated with the control of cell adhesion.
FUZZY EVOLUTIONARY CELLULAR AUTOMATA

The invention is applicable to heat exchangers, eg. the radiator of a water-cooled internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle. Said radiator is of the type having a bundle of tubes with a water box fixed to each end thereof. One of the water boxes (20) has a passage (36) for degassing the cooling liquid. The passage comprises an internal partition (40) in the water box (20) and a conduit (50) leading to an expansion chamber (26). The water box (20), the passage partition (40) and the conduit (50) are all parts of the same single piece moulding. The expansion chamber (26) is advantageously part of the same moulding also. Effective degassing is thus provided without there being any need to add a specific degassing tube to the water box. Cost is thus reduced.
A strong neuroprotective effect of the autonomous C‐terminal peptide of IGF‐1 Ec (MGF) in brain ischemia

The ischemic stroke is the third leading cause of death in developed countries. The C‐terminal peptide of mechano‐growth factor (MGF), an alternatively spliced variant of insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1), was found to function independently from the rest of the molecule and showed a neuroprotective effect in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, in a gerbil model of transient brain ischemia, treatment with the synthetic MGF C‐terminal peptide provided very significant protection to the vulnerable neurons. In the same model, ischemia evoked increased expression of endogenous MGF in the ischemia‐resistant hippocampal neurons, suggesting that the endogenous MGF might have an important neuroprotective function. In an in vitro organotypic hippocampal culture model of neurodegeneration, the synthetic peptide was as potent as the full‐length IGF‐1 while its effect lasted significantly longer than that of recombinant IGF‐1. While two peptides showed an additive effect, the neuroprotective action of the C‐terminal MGF was independent from the IGF‐1 receptor, indicating a new mode of action for this molecule. Although MGF is known for its regenerative capability in skeletal muscle, our findings demonstrate for the first time a neuroprotective role against ischemia for this specific IGF‐1 isoform. Therefore, the C‐terminal MGF peptide has a potential to be developed into a therapeutic modality for the prevention of neuronal damage.
Computing political preference among twitter followers

There is great interest in understanding media bias and political information seeking preferences. As many media outlets create online personas, we seek to automatically estimate the political preferences of their audience, rather than of the outlet itself. In this paper, we present a novel method for computing preference among an organization's Twitter followers. We present an application of this technique to estimate political preference of the audiences of U.S. media outlets. We also discuss how these results may be used and extended.
The Neurobiology of Imagination: Possible Role of Interaction-Dominant Dynamics and Default Mode Network

This work aims at presenting some hypotheses about the potential neurobiological substrate of imagery and imagination. For the present purposes, we will define imagery as the production of mental images associated with previous percepts, and imagination as the faculty of forming mental images of a novel character relating to something that has never been actually experienced by the subject but at a great extent emerges from his inner world. The two processes appear intimately related and imagery can arguably be considered as one of the main components of imagination. In this proposal, we argue that exaptation and redeployment, two basic concepts capturing important aspects of the evolution of biological structures and functions (Anderson, 2007), could also be useful in explaining imagery and imagination. As far as imagery is concerned it is proposed that neural structures originally implicated in performing certain functions, e.g., motor actions, can be reused for the imagery of the virtual execution of that function. As far as imagination is concerned we speculate that it can be the result of a “tinkering” that combines and modifies stored perceptual information and concepts leading to the creation of novel “mental objects” that are shaped by the subject peculiar inner world. Hence it is related to his self-awareness. The neurobiological substrate of the tinkering process could be found in a hierarchical model of the brain characterized by a multiplicity of functional modules (FMs) that can be assembled according to different spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is surmised that a possible mechanism for the emergence of imagination could be represented by modulatory mechanisms controlling the perviousness of “modifiers” along the communication channels within and between FMs leading to their dynamically reassembling into novel configurations.
Generalized curved beam on elastic foundation solved by transfer matrix method

A solution of space curved bars with generalized Winkler soil found by means of Transfer Matrix Method is presented. Distributed, concentrated loads and imposed strains are applied to the beam as well as rigid or elastic boundaries are considered at the ends. The proposed approach gives the analytical and numerical exact solution for circular beams and rings, loaded in the plane or perpendicular to it. A well-approximated solution can be found for general space curved bars with complex geometry. Elastic foundation is characterized by six parameters of stiffness in different directions: three for rectilinear springs and three for rotational springs. The beam has axial, shear, bending and torsional stiffness. Numerical examples are given in order to solve practical cases of straight and curved foundations. The presented method can be applied to a wide range of problems, including the study of tanks, shells and complex foundation systems. The particular case of box girder distortion can also be studied through the beam on elastic foundation (BEF) analogy.
Walter Moreira Russian Options for a Difusion with Negative Jumps

Closed solutions to the problem of pricing a Russian option when the stock is modeled by a diffusion with negative jumps are obtained. The Russian option is a perpetual American option on the maximum value of the stock. That stock is assumed to have the form of a Wiener process with drift and negative mixed–exponentially distributed jumps driven by a Poisson process. This result generalizes those of Shepp and Shiryaev (1993) for the Wiener process and Gerber, Michaud and Shiu (1995) for pure–jumps process. JEL Classification: G13
Condensation Energy for a Two-Gap Superconducting State in Nanoparticles

Recent technology and experiments have fabricated high-quality superconducting MgB2 nanoparticles. We investigate properties of two-gap superconductivity in nanosized systems by using a two-sublevel model. In the present work, we analyze the results obtained for superconducting granules in the case of multiband superconductivity. We discuss the finite size effect in multiband superconductors. A definition of the critical level spacing of two-gap superconductivity is also presented, and we discuss the condensation energy and the parity gap of two-gap superconductivity in relation to the size dependence of those properties with two bulk gaps and the effective pair scattering process between two sublevels.
Stochastic Binding of Ca2+ Ions in the Dyadic Cleft; Continuous versus Random Walk Description of Diffusion

Ca2+ signaling in the dyadic cleft in ventricular myocytes is fundamentally discrete and stochastic. We study the stochastic binding of single Ca2+ ions to receptors in the cleft using two different models of diffusion: a stochastic and discrete Random Walk (RW) model, and a deterministic continuous model. We investigate whether the latter model, together with a stochastic receptor model, can reproduce binding events registered in fully stochastic RW simulations. By evaluating the continuous model goodness-of-fit for a large range of parameters, we present evidence that it can. Further, we show that the large fluctuations in binding rate observed at the level of single time-steps are integrated and smoothed at the larger timescale of binding events, which explains the continuous model goodness-of-fit. With these results we demonstrate that the stochasticity and discreteness of the Ca2+ signaling in the dyadic cleft, determined by single binding events, can be described using a deterministic model of Ca2+ diffusion together with a stochastic model of the binding events, for a specific range of physiological relevant parameters. Time-consuming RW simulations can thus be avoided. We also present a new analytical model of bimolecular binding probabilities, which we use in the RW simulations and the statistical analysis.
Control Flow Analysis for Reverse Engineering of Sequence Diagrams

Reverse engineering of UML sequence diagrams plays an important role in iterative development and in software maintenance. In static analysis for such reverse engineering, an open question is how to map control-(cid:13)ow graphs to the control-(cid:13)ow primitives of the recently-introduced new generation of UML. Our work presents the (cid:12)rst algorithm that solves this problem. We also propose transformations of the reverse-engineered diagrams in order to improve diagram comprehension. Our extensive experiments show that these techniques are e(cid:14)cient and e(cid:11)ective. We also describe a test coverage tool based on the sequence diagrams, and discuss its use for the evaluation of a real-world test suite.
A Study of the Relationship between Weather Variables and Electric Power Demand inside a Smart Grid/Smart World Framework

One of the main challenges of today's society is the need to fulfill at the same time the two sides of the dichotomy between the growing energy demand and the need to look after the environment. Smart Grids are one of the answers: intelligent energy grids which retrieve data about the environment through extensive sensor networks and react accordingly to optimize resource consumption. In order to do this, the Smart Grids need to understand the existing relationship between energy demand and a set of relevant climatic variables. All smart “systems” (buildings, cities, homes, consumers, etc.) have the potential to employ their intelligence for self-adaptation to climate conditions. After introducing the Smart World, a global framework for the collaboration of these smart systems, this paper presents the relationship found at experimental level between a range of relevant weather variables and electric power demand patterns, presenting a case study using an agent-based system, and emphasizing the need to consider this relationship in certain Smart World (and specifically Smart Grid and microgrid) applications.