Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing Supplementary Ethnic Schools and the Academic Achievement of Chinese Immigrant Students in Quebec and Flanders

Supplementary or extra-curricular ethnic schools have been neglected in the research literature, especially in non-English speaking contexts such as Quebec and Flanders. Yet they are important for understanding the influence of ethnic social structures on the educational integration and academic achievement of immigrant students. From a comparative perspective, this paper focuses on the response of Chinese language schools to the educational needs of Chinese youth. Data were collected through ethnographic observations in Chinese schools in Quebec and Flanders,1 as well as in semi-structured interviews with students of Chinese origin, their parents, and school personnel. The findings demonstrate that the influence of ethnic social structures on the progression of minority/immigrant students through schooling is related to the particular profile of their ethnic community, as well as to the larger socio-economic and political environment of the host society.
Effective Connectivity within the Mesocorticolimbic System during Resting-State in Cocaine Users

Objective: Although effective connectivity between brain regions has been examined in cocaine users during tasks, no effective connectivity study has been conducted on cocaine users during resting-state. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we examined effective connectivity in resting-brain, between the brain regions within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, implicated in reward and motivated behavior, while the chronic cocaine users and controls took part in a resting-state scan by using a spectral Dynamic causal modeling (spDCM) approach. Method: As part of a study testing cocaine cue reactivity in cocaine users (Ray et al., 2015b), 20 non-treatment seeking cocaine-smoking (abstinent for at least 3 days) and 17 control participants completed a resting state scan and an anatomical scan. A mean voxel-based time series data extracted from four key brain areas (ventral tegmental area, VTA; nucleus accumbens, NAc; hippocampus, medial frontal cortex) within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system during resting-state from the cocaine and control participants were used as input to the spDCM program to generate spDCM analysis outputs. Results: Compared to the control group, the cocaine group had higher effective connectivity from the VTA to NAc, hippocampus and medial frontal cortex. In contrast, the control group showed a higher effective connectivity from the medial frontal cortex to VTA, from the NAc to medial frontal cortex, and on the hippocampus self-loop. Conclusions: The present study is the first to show that during resting-state in abstaining cocaine users compared to controls, the VTA initiates an enhanced effective connectivity to NAc, hippocampus and medial frontal cortex areas within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, the brain’s reward system. Future studies of effective connectivity analysis during resting-state may eventually be used to monitor treatment outcome.
Quantitative comparison of FBP, EM, and Bayesian reconstruction algorithms, including the impact of accurate system modeling, for the IndyPET scanner

We quantitatively compare filtered backprojection (FBP), expectation maximization (EM), and Bayesian reconstruction algorithms as applied to the IndyPET scanner, a small to intermediate field of view dedicated research scanner. A key feature of our investigation is the use of an empirical system kernel determined from scans of line source phantoms. This kernel is incorporated into the forward operator of EM and the Bayesian reconstruction algorithms. Our results indicate that, particularly when an accurate system kernel is used, Bayesian methods can significantly improve reconstruction quality over FBP and EM.
Bayesian estimation of line segments

A popular approach when tracking extended objects with elongated shapes, such as ships or airplanes, is to approximate them as a line segment. Despite its simple shape, the distribution of measurement sources on a line segment can be characterized in many radically different ways. The spectrum ranges from Spatial Distribution Models that assume a distinct probability for each individual source, to Greedy Association Models as used in curve fitting, which do not assume any distribution at all. In between these border cases, Random Hypersurface Models assume a distribution over subsets of all sources. In this paper, we compare Bayesian estimators based on these different models. We point out their advantages and disadvantages and evaluate their performance by means of illustrative examples with synthetic and real data using a Linear Regression Kalman Filter.
The Transcription Factor EGR1 Localizes to the Nucleolus and Is Linked to Suppression of Ribosomal Precursor Synthesis

EGR1 is an immediate early gene with a wide range of activities as transcription factor, spanning from regulation of cell growth to differentiation. Numerous studies show that EGR1 either promotes the proliferation of stimulated cells or suppresses the tumorigenic growth of transformed cells. Upon interaction with ARF, EGR1 is sumoylated and acquires the ability to bind to specific targets such as PTEN and in turn to regulate cell growth. ARF is mainly localized to the periphery of nucleolus where is able to negatively regulate ribosome biogenesis. Since EGR1 colocalizes with ARF under IGF-1 stimulation we asked the question of whether EGR1 also relocate to the nucleolus to interact with ARF. Here we show that EGR1 colocalizes with nucleolar markers such as fibrillarin and B23 in the presence of ARF. Western analysis of nucleolar extracts from HeLa cells was used to confirm the presence of EGR1 in the nucleolus mainly as the 100 kDa sumoylated form. We also show that the level of the ribosomal RNA precursor 47S is inversely correlated to the level of EGR1 transcripts. The EGR1 iseffective to regulate the synthesis of the 47S rRNA precursor. Then we demonstrated that EGR1 binds to the Upstream Binding Factor (UBF) leading us to hypothesize that the regulating activity of EGR1 is mediated by its interaction within the transcriptional complex of RNA polymerase I. These results confirm the presence of EGR1 in the nucleolus and point to a role for EGR1 in the control of nucleolar metabolism.
Democracy and leadership in the educational system of Cyprus

Life is lived in an era characterised by complexity and instability. Pedagogical ideals or educational goals are usually determined based on the socio‐political and cultural period in which people find themselves at a specific point in its history. Then, in what ways do people train their principals to be models of and act in line with those democratic values and ideals that aim at fostering good citizens? Furthermore, how do these goal statements fare in relation to the moral purpose of schools and especially focus on the social goals of schools? These and similar issues are dealt with in this paper. More specifically, there is a description of the major restructuring initiatives towards school empowerment and democracy introduced in the Cyprus education system. Further, an attempt is made in order to show how these changes have affected (or not) the education system with respect to personnel management, the power of the centre, democracy and the curriculum, and democracy and inspection.
Lifestyle correlates of musical preference: 1. Relationships, living arrangements, beliefs, and crime

Several studies indicate that musical preferences provide a means of discriminating between social groups, and suggest indirectly that musical preferences should correlate with a variety of different lifestyle choices. In this study, 2532 participants responded to a questionnaire asking them to state their musical preference and also to provide data on various aspects of their lifestyle (namely interpersonal relationships, living arrangements, moral and political beliefs, and criminal behaviour). Numerous associations existed between musical preference and these aspects of participants' lifestyle. The nature of these associations was generally consistent with previous research concerning a putative liberal–conservative divide between differing groups of fans. It is concluded that participants' musical preferences provided a meaningful way of distinguishing different lifestyle choices.
Reassessment of the Role of Phrase Extraction in PBSMT

In this paper we study in detail the relation between word alignment and phrase extraction. First, we analyze different word alignments according to several characteristics and compare them to hand-aligned data. Secondly, we analyzed the phrase-pairs generated by these alignments. We observed that the number of unaligned words has a large impact on the characteristics of the phrase table. A manual evaluation of phrase pair quality showed that the increase in the number of unaligned words results in a lower quality. Finally, we present translation results from using the number of unaligned words as features from which we obtain up to 2BP of improvement.
Immigrants, Ethnicity, and Earnings in 1901: Revisiting Canada’s Vertical Mosaic

The relationship among ethnicity, occupation, and class has been a major focus of Canadian historical sociology. This article uses a national sample of the 1901 nominal census of Canada to test specific hypotheses about immigrants, ethnicity, occupation, and earnings. The evidence suggests that a simplified version of the ‘vertical mosaic’ hypothesis cannot be applied to Canada in 1901. First-generation immigrants were not streamed disproportionately into low-wage, unskilled occupations; nor were they more likely than the Canadian-born to begin or end their working lives at the lowest end of the earnings distribution. Regression analysis reveals that ethnicity was significantly related to earnings, and that most ethnic groups earned less than the English and Scots. Nevertheless, wage discrimination did not create an ethnic occupational hierarchy, and the class structure was not built on ethnic differences.
Equational Reasoning on Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

We provide an equational theory for Restricted Broadcast Process Theory to reason about ad hoc networks. We exploit an extended algebra called Computed Network Theory to axiomatize restricted broadcast. It allows one to define the behavior of an ad hoc network with respect to the underlying topologies. We give a sound and ground-complete axiomatization for CNT terms with finite-state behavior, modulo what we call rooted branching computed network bisimilarity.
Laboratory evaluation of molluscicidal & mosquito larvicidal activities of leaves of Solanum nigrum L.

Background & objectives: Indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides has created serious problem for the aquatic flora and fauna, and also resulted in appearance of pesticide resistance in vector population. This study was designed to evaluate the biocontrol efficacy of aqueous and solvent extracts of mature leaves of Solanum nigrum L. , against fresh water snail Lymnaea acuminata f. rufescens (Gray) (an intermediate host of parasites causing fasciolopsiasis) and larvae of Culex vishnui group (Reuben) (vector of Japanese encephalitis). Methods: Aqueous and solvent extracts of fresh, mature, green/shed dried leaves of S. nigrum were tested against adult L. acuminata and larvae of Cx. vishnui group. The lethal concentration was determined and the appropriate lethal concentration at 24 h of benzene extract was also studied on non target organisms such as Daphnia sp, Diplonychus annulatum and Chironomus circumdatus. A qualitative phytochemical analysis was carried out in search of active ingredient and the chemical nature of the active substance was also evaluated by infrared (IR) analysis. Results: In a 72 h bioassay experiment with the aqueous extract, the highest mortality was recorded in 0.5 and 3 per cent extract against larvae of Cx. vishnui group and L. acuminata, respectivela. In the benzene solvent extract, the maximum mortality was recorded at a concentration of 150 ppm against L. acuminata and at 50 ppm against larvae of Cx. vishnui group with LC50 values of 55.45 and 11.59 ppm, respectively at 72 h. The log probit analysis (95% confidence level) recorded lowest value at 72 h of exposure. Qualitative phytochemical analysis reported the presence of some biochemical compounds, such as saponin, flavonoids, steroid and tannin. Among these, the toxic compound was detected by IR analysis having Rf = 0.87 (showed 66.70% and 76.70% mortality of L. acuminata and larvae of Cx. vishnui group, respectively). IR analysis provided preliminary information about the aliphatic amide nature of the active ingredient. Interpretation & conclusions: The study results provide considerable scope in exploiting local indigenous plant resources for molluscicidal and mosquito larvicidal activities.
Two-dimension tissue growth model based on circular granular cells for cells with small overlap

Tissue growth can be modeled in two dimension by only using circular granular cells, which can grow and produce child. Linear spring-dashpot model is used to bind the cells with a cut-off interaction range of 1.1 times sum of radii of interacted cells. Simulation steps must be divided into explicit and implicit ones due to cell growing stage and cell position rearrangement. This division is aimed to avoid simulation problem. Only in the explicit steps time changes is performed. Large cells overlap is chosen as termination condition of tissue growth. Only some cells configuration can growth to infinite time without encountering the large cells overlap. These configurations, and the other also, are presented in this work.
Spherical Harmonics Based Intrasubject 3-D Kidney Modeling/Registration Technique Applied on Partial Information

This paper presents a three-dimensional (3-D) shape reconstruction/intrapatient rigid registration technique used to establish a Nephron-Sparing Surgery preoperative planning. The usual preoperative imaging system is the Spiral CT Urography, which provides successive 3-D acquisitions of complementary information on kidney anatomy. Because the kidney is difficult to demarcate from the liver or from the spleen only limited information on its volume or surface is available. In this paper, we propose a methodology allowing a global kidney spatial representation on a spherical harmonics basis. The spherical harmonics are exploited to recover the kidney 3-D shape and also to perform intrapatient 3-D rigid registration. An evaluation performed on synthetic data showed that this technique presented lower performance then expected for the 3-D shape recovering but exhibited registration results slightly more accurate as the iterative closest point technique with faster computation time
Software cache coherence for large scale multiprocessors

Shared memory is an appealing abstraction for parallel programming. It must be implemented with caches in order to perform well, however and caches require a coherence mechanism to ensure that processors reference current data. Hardware coherence mechanisms for large-scale machines are complex and costly, but existing software mechanisms for message-passing machines have not provided a performance-competitive solution. We claim that an intermediate hardware option-memory-mapped network interfaces that support a global physical address space-can provide most of the performance benefits of hardware cache coherence. We present a software coherence protocol that runs on this class of machines and greatly narrows the performance gap between hardware and software coherence. We compare the performance of the protocol to that of existing software and hardware alternatives and evaluate the tradeoffs among various cache-write policies. We also observe that simple program changes can greatly improve performance. For the programs in our test suite and with the changes in place, software coherence is often faster and never more than 55% slower than hardware coherence. <<ETX>>
Pyramidal Cells, Patches, and Cortical Columns: a Comparative Study of Infragranular Neurons in TEO, TE, and the Superior Temporal Polysensory Area of the Macaque Monkey

The basal dendritic arbors of layer III pyramidal neurons are known to vary systematically among primate visual areas. Generally, those in areas associated with "higher" level cortical processing have larger and more spinous dendritic arbors, which may be an important factor for determining function within these areas. Moreover, the tangential area of their arbors are proportional to those of the periodic supragranular patches of intrinsic connections in many different areas. The morphological parameters of both dendritic and axon arbors may be important for the sampling strategies of cells in different cortical areas. However, in visual cortex, intrinsic patches are a feature of supragranular cortex, and are weaker or nonexistent in infragranular cortex. Thus, the systematic variation in the dendritic arbors of pyramidal cells in supragranular cortex may reflect intrinsic axon projections, rather than differences in columnar organization. The present study was aimed at establishing whether cells in the infragranular layers also vary in terms of dendritic morphology among different cortical areas, and whether these variations mirror the ones demonstrated in supragranular cortex. Layer V pyramidal neurons were injected with Lucifer yellow in flat-mounted cortical slices taken from cytoarchitectonic areas TEO and TE and the superior polysensory area (STP) of the macaque monkey. The results demonstrate that cells in STP were larger, had more bifurcations, and were more spinous than those in TE, which in turn were larger, had more bifurcations and were more spinous than those in TEO. These results parallel morphological variation seen in layer III pyramidal neurons, suggesting that increasing complexity of basal dendritic arbors of cells, with progression through higher areas of the temporal lobe, is a general organizational principle. It is proposed that the differences in microcircuitry may contribute to the determination of the functional signatures of neurons in different cortical areas. Furthermore, these results provide evidence that intrinsic circuitry differs across cortical areas, which may be important for theories of columnar processing.
Temporal Variations in the Experience of Custodial Grandparenting: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study

To explore the experience of custodial grandparenting over time, 54 of 78 grandparents in a previous study of custodial grandparenting were reassessed during a 6-month time frame. Results suggested that grandparent group differences were maintained over time in terms of role strain, satisfaction with the relationship with the grandchild, perceptions of the grandchild, and life disruption, which favored traditional over both groups of custodial grandparents. Those persons raising problem grandchildren continued to be the most negatively affected by the resumption of the parent role. Findings also suggested that there were temporal shifts for all grandparents in the extent to which their relationships with their grandchildren were characterized by mutual respect, fairness, trust, and affection. Despite such changes, however, the overwhelming pattern over time for the grandparents in this study was one of stability. The implications of these data for research and public policy regarding grandparents raising their grandchildren are discussed.
Object Tracking via Dynamic Feature Selection Processes

DFST proposes an optimized visual tracking algorithm based on the real-time selection of locally and temporally discriminative features. A feature selection mechanism is embedded in the Adaptive colour Names (CN) tracking system that adaptively selects the top-ranked discriminative features for tracking. DFST provides a significant gain in accuracy and precision allowing the use of a dynamic set of features that results in an increased system flexibility. DFST is based on the unsupervised method "Infinite Feature Selection" (Inf-FS), which ranks features according with their "redundancy" without using class labels. By using a fast online algorithm for learning dictionaries the size of the box is adapted during the processing. At each update, we use multiple examples around the target (at different positions and scales). DFST also improved the CN by adding micro-shift at the predicted position and bounding box adaptation.
Self‐Regulated Learning in Technology‐Enhanced Learning Environments: lessons of a European peer review

This article first describes the state-of-the-art of model building and empirical research in the field of self-regulated learning (SRL) and then focuses on self-regulated learning in Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments (TELEs). We present recent research results obtained in a European project (TELEPEERS) in the context of which we evaluated TELEs in a peer review manner with respect to their potential for supporting self-regulated learning. In addition, data were obtained on a sample of TELEPEERS students working in these environments and comparative analyses were made across the European project partners.
Live, Runtime Phase Monitoring and Prediction on Real Systems with Application to Dynamic Power Management

Computer architecture has experienced a major paradigm shift from focusing only on raw performance to considering power-performance efficiency as the defining factor of the emerging systems. Along with this shift has come increased interest in workload characterization. This interest fuels two closely related areas of research. First, various studies explore the properties of workload variations and develop methods to identify and track different execution behavior, commonly referred to as "phase analysis". Second, a large complementary set of research studies dynamic, on-the-fly system management techniques that can adaptively respond to these differences in application behavior. Both of these lines of work have produced very interesting and widely useful results. Thus far, however, there exists only a weak link between these conceptually related areas, especially for real-system studies. Our work aims to strengthen this link by demonstrating a real-system implementation of a runtime phase predictor that works cooperatively with on-the-fly dynamic management. We describe a fully-functional deployed system that performs accurate phase predictions on running applications. The key insight of our approach is to draw from prior branch predictor designs to create a phase history table that guides predictions. To demonstrate the value of our approach, we implement a prototype system that uses it to guide dynamic voltage and frequency scaling. Our runtime phase prediction methodology achieves above 90% prediction accuracies for many of the experimented benchmarks. For highly variable applications, our approach can reduce mispredictions by more than 6X over commonly-used statistical approaches. Dynamic frequency and voltage scaling, when guided by our runtime phase predictor, achieves energy-delay product improvements as high as 34% for benchmarks with non-negligible variability, on average 7% better than previous methods and 18% better than a baseline unmanaged system