Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship between attendance and academic performance in further education college A/S psychology students

This investigation examined the relationship between attendance and examination performance. Psychology students (179) took A/S psychology modules; their results were correlated with their attendance up to the examination date. The data were subjected to a Pearson Product Moment Correlation and a statistically significant result was found. (p =.221**, significant at 0.01). The influence of an Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) on attendance and performance was also assessed. Generally it was found that EMA students do attend classes more regularly than non‐EMA students. However, there was little difference between EMA and non‐EMA students' examination performance rates. Serious concerns are raised about the overall effectiveness of EMA as a means of promoting student examination performance.
Air sampling filtration media: Collection efficiency for respirable size-selective sampling

ABSTRACT The collection efficiencies of commonly used membrane air sampling filters in the ultrafine particle size range were investigated. Mixed cellulose ester (MCE; 0.45, 0.8, 1.2, and 5 μm pore sizes), polycarbonate (0.4, 0.8, 2, and 5 μm pore sizes), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE; 0.45, 1, 2, and 5 μm pore sizes), polyvinyl chloride (PVC; 0.8 and 5 μm pore sizes), and silver membrane (0.45, 0.8, 1.2, and 5 μm pore sizes) filters were exposed to polydisperse sodium chloride (NaCl) particles in the size range of 10–400 nm. Test aerosols were nebulized and introduced into a calm air chamber through a diffusion dryer and aerosol neutralizer. The testing filters (37 mm diameter) were mounted in a conductive polypropylene filter-holder (cassette) within a metal testing tube. The experiments were conducted at flow rates between 1.7 and 11.2 l min−1. The particle size distributions of NaCl challenge aerosol were measured upstream and downstream of the test filters by a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS). Three different filters of each type with at least three repetitions for each pore size were tested. In general, the collection efficiency varied with airflow, pore size, and sampling duration. In addition, both collection efficiency and pressure drop increased with decreased pore size and increased sampling flow rate, but they differed among filter types and manufacturer. The present study confirmed that the MCE, PTFE, and PVC filters have a relatively high collection efficiency for challenge particles much smaller than their nominal pore size and are considerably more efficient than polycarbonate and silver membrane filters, especially at larger nominal pore sizes.
High expression of PSM‐E correlated with tumor grade in prostate cancer: A new alternatively spliced variant of prostate‐specific membrane antigen

Prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) overexpressed in prostate cancer (PCa) has been targeted for therapy and diagnosis of PCa. In the current study, PSMA cDNA was cloned from PCa tissue by RT‐PCR. After sequencing, a new spliced variant of PSMA (PSM‐E) was discovered and its specificity in PCa was evaluated.
Involute of Cubic Pythagorean-Hodograph Curve

Since the mode of Pythagorean-Hodograph curve’s derivate is a polynomial, its involute should be a rational polynomial. We study the expression form of PH cubic’s involute, discovering that its control points and weights are all constructed by corresponding PH cubic’s geometry property. Moreover, we prove that cubic PH curves have neither cusp nor inflection; there are two points coincidence in the six control points of cubic PH curves’ involute; the control polygon of cubic PH curve has two edges which are perspectively vertical with two edges in the control polygon of corresponding involute, and we compute the length of the two edge in the involute control polygon; So if we give the cubic PH curve, then we can decide five control points of the six, and we give the vector about the remaining point and another point. When the cubic PH curve is a symmetry curve, its two involute are symmetry, other cases are not.
RESPONDING TO MAJOR THREATS TO SELF-ESTEEM: A PRELIMINARY, NARRATIVE STUDY OF EGO-SHOCK

Abstract The present research examined individuals' responses to major self-esteem threat. It was predicted that following a major threat to self-esteem individuals would experience ego-shock—a temporary “freezing” of consciousness and emotional numbness. Fifty-two participants wrote a narrative describing a situation where they received a major threat to their self-esteem and a situation where they received a minor threat to their self-esteem. They then answered questions regarding the experience of ego-shock following the event described in each narrative. Ego-shock was reported following major self-esteem threats to a greater degree than following minor self-esteem threats. Additional analyses revealed that ego-shock is an immediate and automatic process. The long-term effects of major self-esteem threats to the individual are discussed.
The betula prospective cohort study: Memory, health, and aging

Abstract The objective of this article is to present an overview of a prospective cohort study involving a total of 3,000 subjects whose ages were 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, and 80 years when first tested. the design of the study includes three waves of data collection. the first of these waves was conducted in 1988-1990, the second in 1993-1995, and the third will be conducted in 1998-2000. One sample of 1,000 subjects in these age cohorts underwent testing in 1988-1990 (100 subjects per cohort). This sample and two additional samples were tested in 1993-1995 and will be tested again in 1998-2000. Subjects take part in extensive health and memory examinations, and interviews about social factors. the memory testing covers a wide range of memory functions. the chief objectives of the study are to (a) examine the development of health and memory in adulthood and old age; (b) determine early preclinical signs of dementia; (c) determine risk factors for dementia; and (d) assess premorbid memory func.
Modeling of Seismic Data in the Downward Continuation Approach

Seismic data are commonly modeled by a high-frequency single scattering approximation. This amounts to a linearization in the medium coefficient about a smooth background. The discontinuities are contained in the medium perturbation. The high-frequency part of the wavefield in the background medium is described by a geometrical optics representation. It can also be described by a one-way wave equation. Based on this we derive a downward continuation operator for seismic data. This operator solves a pseudodifferential evolution equation in depth, the so-called double-square-root equation. We consider the modeling operator based on this equation. If the rays in the background that are associated with the reflections due to the perturbation are nowhere horizontal, the singular part of the data is described by the solution to an inhomogeneous double-square-root equation.
The fibronectin receptor is organized by extracellular matrix fibronectin: implications for oncogenic transformation and for cell recognition of fibronectin matrices

Cells interact with extracellular fibronectin (FN) via adhesive fibronectin receptors (FNRs) that are members of the very late antigens (VLAs) subgroup of the integrin family. In stationary fibroblasts, the FNR is highly organized and distributed identically to extracellular FN fibrils. However, in highly migratory neural crest cells and embryonic somatic fibroblasts, this organization is lost and the FNR appears diffuse. Similarly, oncogenic transformation typically leads to disorganization of the FN receptor and loss of matrix FN. Two models can account for these observations. First, the FN matrix may organize the FN receptor at extracellular matrix contacts on the cell surface. Motile cells not depositing FN matrices thus lack organized receptors. Alternatively, as the FNR is required for optimal FN matrix assembly, (McDonald, J. A., B. J. Quade, T. J. Broekelmann, R. LaChance, K. Forseman, K. Hasegawa, and S. Akiyama. 1987. J. Biol. Chem. 272:2957- 2967; Roman, J. R. M. LaChance, T. J. Broekelmann, C. J. R. Kennedy, E. A. Wayner, W. G. Carter, J. A. McDonald. 1989. J. Cell Biol. 108:2529- 2543) and has putative cytoskeletal links, it could be organized from within the cell helping to position newly forming FN fibrils. To study this question, we developed peptide antibodies specifically recognizing the alpha 5 subunit of the FNR. Using these antibodies, we examined the organization of FN and of the FNR in normal, matrix assembly inhibited, and SV40-transformed human fibroblasts. On FN-coated substrates, the FNR is found in focal contacts rather than diffusely on the basal cell surface, suggesting FNR interaction with intracellular components. However, when FN fibrils are deposited, the FNR is co-distributed with these fibrils. Preventing FN matrix assembly prevents organization of the FNR. Moreover, when fibroblasts with well established FN matrices and co-distributed FNR are incubated briefly with monoclonal antibodies that block FNR binding to FN, the FNR is no longer co-distributed with the FN matrix. Thus, the FN receptor is organized in fibrils on the cell surface in response to extracellular FN. Because exogenous FN restores a FN matrix and receptor organization to SV40-transformed cells, the diffuse FN receptor phenotype appears to be related to loss of the FN matrix rather than to impaired FNR function. These results explain diffusely distributed FNRs in migratory neural crest and embryonic fibroblasts lacking well organized FN matrices and emphasize the existence of separate but related systems controlling FN deposition and recognition by receptor-armed cells.
Evaluation of Patients With Suspected Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Best Practice Advice From the Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians.

DESCRIPTION Pulmonary embolism (PE) can be a severe disease and is difficult to diagnose, given its nonspecific signs and symptoms. Because of this, testing patients with suspected acute PE has increased dramatically. However, the overuse of some tests, particularly computed tomography (CT) and plasma d-dimer measurement, may not improve care while potentially leading to patient harm and unnecessary expense. METHODS The literature search encompassed studies indexed by MEDLINE (1966-2014; English-language only) and included all clinical trials and meta-analyses on diagnostic strategies, decision rules, laboratory tests, and imaging studies for the diagnosis of PE. This document is not based on a formal systematic review, but instead seeks to provide practical advice based on the best available evidence and recent guidelines. The target audience for this paper is all clinicians; the target patient population is all adults, both inpatient and outpatient, suspected of having acute PE. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 1 Clinicians should use validated clinical prediction rules to estimate pretest probability in patients in whom acute PE is being considered. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 2 Clinicians should not obtain d-dimer measurements or imaging studies in patients with a low pretest probability of PE and who meet all Pulmonary Embolism Rule-Out Criteria. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 3 Clinicians should obtain a high-sensitivity d-dimer measurement as the initial diagnostic test in patients who have an intermediate pretest probability of PE or in patients with low pretest probability of PE who do not meet all Pulmonary Embolism Rule-Out Criteria. Clinicians should not use imaging studies as the initial test in patients who have a low or intermediate pretest probability of PE. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 4 Clinicians should use age-adjusted d-dimer thresholds (age × 10 ng/mL rather than a generic 500 ng/mL) in patients older than 50 years to determine whether imaging is warranted. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 5 Clinicians should not obtain any imaging studies in patients with a d-dimer level below the age-adjusted cutoff. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 6 Clinicians should obtain imaging with CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in patients with high pretest probability of PE. Clinicians should reserve ventilation-perfusion scans for patients who have a contraindication to CTPA or if CTPA is not available. Clinicians should not obtain a d-dimer measurement in patients with a high pretest probability of PE.
On Detection of Distributed STBC-OFDM system with Multiple Carrier Frequency Offsets

In this paper, the performance of distributed space-time block coded (DSTBC) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) system (DSTBC-OFDM) with the presence of carrier frequency offsets is investigated. Since the transmit antennas belong to different nodes that are distributed, there may exist multiple carrier frequency offsets to the transmitters at the receiver of DSTBC-OFDM system. The system model of DSTBC-OFDM with multiple carrier frequency offsets is given. Then we propose a frequency-domain detector to cancel the inter-symbol interference and the inter-carrier interference when detecting the symbols. The proposed detector has a reasonable performance and a moderate computational complexity. Simulation results show that the detector works very well when the carrier frequency difference between the distributed transmitters is small
Pathological voice recognition by deep neural network

The deep neural network(DNN) is used for the identification and classification of pathological voice. Time domain characteristics and frequency domain characteristics are selected. Compared with the traditional recognition algorithm. The result of experimental shows that the DNN method can effectively improve the recognition rate in both normal-pathological voice of vocal cords recognition and pathological voice of vocal cords segmentation.
Persuasion Strategies for Reducing Refusal Rates in Telephone Surveys

Des stratégies de persuasion en vue de réduire le taux de réponse dans les enquêtes par téléphone. Les interactions verbales entre l'interviewer et l'interrogé lors de la phase initiale de 85 interviews par téléphone ont été enregistrées et analysées afin de voir si le refus de participation de l'interrogé pouvait être mis en rapport avec des différences de comportement de l'interviewer. Une analyse de contenu montre que, entre autres chases, le comportement de refus apparait &re en rapport avec le type de demande fait par l'interviewer ainsi qu'avec I'ampleur des informations fournies par lui.
Minimum Sensor Placement for Robust Observability of Structured Complex Networks

This paper addresses problems on the robust structural design of complex networks. More precisely, we address the problem of deploying the minimum number of dedicated sensors, i.e., those measuring a single state variable, that ensure the network to be structurally observable under disruptive scenarios. The disruptive scenarios considered are as follows: (i) the malfunction/loss of one arbitrary sensor, and (ii) the failure of connection (either unidirectional or bidirectional communication) between a pair of agents. First, we show these problems to be NP-hard, which implies that efficient algorithms to determine a solution are unlikely to exist. Secondly, we propose an intuitive two step approach: (1) we achieve an arbitrary minimum sensor placement ensuring structural observability; (2) we develop a sequential process to find minimum number of additional sensors required for robust observability. This step can be solved by recasting it as a weighted set covering problem. Although this is known to be an NP-hard problem, feasible approximations can be determined in polynomial-time that can be used to obtain feasible approximations to the robust structural design problems with optimality guarantees.
Low‐density lipoproteins from embryonic cerebrospinal fluid are required for neural differentiation

During development, embryonic cerebrospinal fluid(E‐CSF) is involved in cell survival, proliferation, and neurogenesis of the neuroepithelial progenitor cells. We have recently identified a complex pattern of proteins in chick and rat E‐CSF, which include apolipoproteins. Apolipoproteins play a critical role in the function of lipoproteins by interacting with receptors to deliver the lipid cargo to target cells. However, the function of these E‐CSF apolipoproteins is unclear. Here, we characterized the chick E‐CSF lipoprotein profile and analyzed the role of its lipoprotein fractions in neural differentiation. We found that the lipoprotein pattern of chick E‐CSF differed significantly from that of adult plasma, with a major proportion of apoB‐containing lipoproteins. Further, supplementation of lipoprotein‐depleted fraction with E‐CSF very low‐density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) resulted in 25% and 60%, respectively, of the neurogenesis induced by the whole E‐CSF in chick neuroepithelium explants, whereas high‐density lipoproteins caused the lowest induction. We further investigated the potential role of E‐CSF LDL in vivo by analyzing neural differentiation in the neuroepithelium of wild‐type (WT) and LDL receptor–knockout (LDLR KO) mouse embryos. E‐CSF lipids were mainly associated with LDL in both WT and LDLR KO mice, and the latter exhibited a substantial increase in LDL lipids compared with WT mice. Externally, LDLR KO embryos were apparently normal, and they exhibited up to 26% reduction in the number of neural differentiating cells in comparison with WT mice, although this finding was not statistically significant. These data strongly suggest that E‐CSF LDL plays a critical role during early neural differentiation. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adult age differences in impressio change processes.

Three experiments examined the factors influencing impression change in young and older adults. In each study, Ss formed an impression of a fictitious target person and then read additional behavioral information that varied in its consistency with this initial impression. On the basis of previous work, older adults were expected to be less likely than younger adults to integrate new, inconsistent information in the schema-based memory representation, which would result in less impression change. No support for this prediction was found; instead, young and older adults varied in their weighting of different types of information (e.g., negative behaviors), which subsequently affected their impressions and memory for specific behavioral information. These results highlight the importance of considering the impact of age differences in implicit theories about behavior on social cognition.
Attributions for Memory Performance in Adulthood: Age Differences and Mediation Effects

We examined age differences in attributions to internal (controllable and uncontrollable), external (uncontrollable), and unstable factors for performance on a free recall memory task in 149 young, middle-aged, and older adults. Attributions varied by age and by level of memory performance. Middle-aged and older adults rated internal, uncontrollable factors (ability and genes) as more influential for high performance than for low performance, and they were less likely than young adults to attribute low performance to these factors. Within age groups, only the older adults rated memory ability as more influential than strategy use, even though they were as likely as the other age groups to use a categorization strategy. Attributions to both internal controllable (strategy use) and uncontrollable (ability) factors as well as to health were associated with better memory performance. These attributions partially mediated the relationship between age and memory performance. Thus, attributions may provide some insight into sources of age differences in memory performance.
Collaborative filtering of color aesthetics

This paper investigates individual variation in aesthetic preferences, and learns models for predicting the preferences of individual users. Preferences for color aesthetics are learned using a collaborative filtering approach on a large dataset of rated color themes/palettes. To make predictions, matrix factorization is used to estimate latent vectors for users and color themes. We also propose two extensions to the probabilistic matrix factorization framework. We first describe a feature-based model using learned transformations from feature vectors to a latent space, then extend this model to non-linear transformations using a neural network. These extensions allow our model to predict preferences for color themes not present in the training set. We find that our approach for modelling user preferences outperforms an average aesthetic model which ignores personal variation. We also use the model for measuring theme similarity and visualizing the space of color themes.
Category Modeling from Just a Single Labeling: Use Depth Information to Guide the Learning of 2D Models

An object model base that covers a large number of object categories is of great value for many computer vision tasks. As artifacts are usually designed to have various textures, their structure is the primary distinguishing feature between different categories. Thus, how to encode this structural information and how to start the model learning with a minimum of human labeling become two key challenges for the construction of the model base. We design a graphical model that uses object edges to represent object structures, and this paper aims to incrementally learn this category model from one labeled object and a number of casually captured scenes. However, the incremental model learning may be biased due to the limited human labeling. Therefore, we propose a new strategy that uses the depth information in RGBD images to guide the model learning for object detection in ordinary RGB images. In experiments, the proposed method achieves superior performance as good as the supervised methods that require the labeling of all target objects.
Context and Structure in Social Interaction and Cognitive Development

Introductory textbooks, and indeed a great many researchers in child development, have typically portrayed Piaget as not being interested in the influence of social interaction on the development of cognitive operations. For Piaget, the social and the intellectual were two sides of the same coin, which is why he never studied the effect of social interaction on cognitive development [Psaltis, Duveen, & PerretClermont, this issue]. However, the question of how social interaction might function in the development of Piagetian cognitive operations is an important empirical issue that is of great interest to researchers in psychology and education; it could also be of interest to those in language socialization, sociolinguistics, and other fields. This kind of process research requires several definitions, including how we define cognitive or social development and how we define social influence. Carefully defined social interactions can be manipulated in specific contexts, which require unpackaging the variables of interest and then controlling for them or attempting to isolate them for study. This can be done by experimental or quasi-experimental studies in the lab, sociolinguistic analysis of conversations, or, after careful ethnographic fieldwork, examination of live interactions situated in their natural contexts. In the push to understand the influence of social contexts on children’s development, researchers interested in culture and developmental pathways have engaged in just these kinds of studies, albeit not usually with a link to Piagetian operations, and moreover, with very little attention to individual differences and their influence on behavior and social interactions. The issue of individual differences is one that cultural psychologists could better address. Psaltis et al. [this issue] endeavored to develop the idea of the development of individual children’s operativity-in-context, that is, the ways that cognitive opera-