Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating ICT Adoption in Rural Brazil: A Quantitative Analysis of Telecenters as Agents of Social Change

This quantitative study surveyed 538 adults in isolated rural settings in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, to examine whether telecenters operated by the non-profit organization Gems of the Earth improve digital literacy and promote social change. Using multivariate logistic regression, the study examined how individuals use information and communication technologies (ICTs) at the telecenter, and tested for predictors of their use. The findings confirm that these rural communities use ICTs for entertainment, to engage in civic participation, and to practice professional skills. The findings suggest that digital inclusion impacts these isolated communities by creating opportunities that may foster human development. This quantitative study surveyed 538 adults in isolated rural settings in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in order to examine whether telecenters operated by the non-profit organization Gems of the Earth in the area improve digital literacy and promote social change in those remote mountain communities. Using multivariate logistic regression, the study examined how individuals use information and communication technologies (ICTs) at the telecenter, and tested for predictors of their use. The findings confirm that these rural communities use ICTs for entertainment, to engage in civic participation, and to practice professional skills. Results also indicate greater odds of ICT use among individuals aged 18 to 24 and among those who seek diversion. The findings suggest that digital inclusion impacts these isolated communities by creating opportunities for entertainment, civic engagement, professional development, and education in ways that may positively impact human development.
A Web 2.0 Case Tool Supporting Packaged Software Implementation

Companies increasingly rely on implementing packaged software instead of developing custom solutions. Packaged software implementation (PSI) is the process to solve business problems by customizing and integrating an off-the-shelf software package. However, there has been a lack of CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) tools to support PSI. This paper presents a Web 2.0 based tool that supports casebased reasoning in PSI. The tool helps users explore past design cases, find a similar case, and reuse the design for that case in new problem situations. Our belief is that by utilizing the social power of a large group of users, better designs can be achieved at lower risks and lower costs.
Time-efficient power-aware scheduling for periodic real-time tasks

In this paper, we pay attention to the inter-task dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) algorithms for periodic real-time task systems. We propose a fast dynamic reclaiming scheme for power-aware hard real-time systems and discuss their performances and time complexities against other inter-task DVS algorithms. The time complexity of our off-line and on-line algorithms are O(nlogn) and O(n), respectively, where n denotes the number of task.
Aiding MEMS IMU with building heading for indoor pedestrian navigation

Heading drift error remains a problem in a standalone navigation system that uses only low cost MEMS IMU due to yaw error unobservability. This paper therefore proposes a shoe mounted IMU approach, integrated with ZUPT and building heading information in Kalman filter environment to reduce heading drift for pedestrian navigation application. There were no additional sensors used except MEMS IMU that contains accelerometers and gyros. Two trials; represented by regular and irregular walking trials, were undertaken in a typical public building. The results were then compared with HSGPS solution and IMU+ZUPT solution. Based on these trials, return position error of 0.1% from total distance travelled was achieved using a low cost MEMS IMU only.
Research Motives of Faculty in Academic STEM

The authors examined the psychometric properties of the Research Motivation Scale (RMS) in a sample of faculty members (N = 337) in university science departments. It was hypothesized that the RMS would evidence partial measurement invariance across tenure status and noninvariance across gender, given the different sociocultural factors (e.g., gender role bias) that regulate the research behavior of men and women. Gender was thus predicted to moderate the relations between the latent RMS factors and their defining items. Results of confirmatory factor analytic testing yielded support for the hypotheses, while post hoc probing of sources of noninvariance indicated that men and women differed mostly on measures of extrinsic reward and failure avoidance. Implications for motivation measurement and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career development are discussed.
Face alignment using cascade Gaussian process regression trees

In this paper, we propose a face alignment method that uses cascade Gaussian process regression trees (cGPRT) constructed by combining Gaussian process regression trees (GPRT) in a cascade stage-wise manner. Here, GPRT is a Gaussian process with a kernel defined by a set of trees. The kernel measures the similarity between two inputs as the number of trees where the two inputs fall in the same leaves. Without increasing prediction time, the prediction of cGPRT can be performed in the same framework as the cascade regression trees (CRT) but with better generalization. Features for GPRT are designed using shape-indexed difference of Gaussian (DoG) filter responses sampled from local retinal patterns to increase stability and to attain robustness against geometric variances. Compared with the previous CRT-based face alignment methods that have shown state-of-the-art performances, cGPRT using shape-indexed DoG features performed best on the HELEN and 300-W datasets which are the most challenging dataset today.
The Function and Significance of SELENBP1 Downregulation in Human Bronchial Epithelial Carcinogenic Process

Background Our quantitative proteomic study showed that selenium-binding protein 1 (SELENBP1) was progressively decreased in human bronchial epithelial carcinogenic process. However, there is little information on expression and function of SELENBP1 during human lung squamous cell cancer (LSCC) carcinogenesis. Methods iTRAQ-tagging combined with 2D LC-MS/MS analysis was used to identify differentially expressed proteins in the human bronchial epithelial carcinogenic process. SELENBP1, member of selenoproteins family and progressively downregulated in this process, was selected to further study. Both Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were performed to detect SELENBP1 expression in independent sets of tissues of bronchial epithelial carcinogenesis, and ability of SELENBP1 for discriminating NBE (normal bronchial epithelium) from preneoplastic lesions from invasive LSCC was evaluated. The effects of SELENBP1 downregulation on the susceptibility of benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P)-induced human bronchial epithelial cell transformation were determined. Results 102 differentially expressed proteins were identified by quantitative proteomics, and SELENBP1 was found and confirmed being progressively decreased in the human bronchial epithelial carcinogenic process. The sensitivity and specificity of SELENBP1 were 80% and 79% in discriminating NBE from preneoplastic lesions, 79% and 82% in discriminating NBE from invasive LSCC, and 77% and 71% in discriminating preneoplastic lesions from invasive LSCC, respectively. Furthermore, knockdown of SELENBP1 in immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE cells significantly increased the efficiency of B[a]P-induced cell transformation. Conclusions The present data shows for the first time that decreased SELENBP1 is an early event in LSCC, increases B[a]P-induced human bronchial epithelial cell transformation, and might serve as a novel potential biomarker for early detection of LSCC.
Distributed changes in default-mode resting-state connectivity in multiple sclerosis

Background: The default-mode network (DMN) has been increasingly recognized as relevant to cognitive status. Objectives: To explore DMN changes in patients with relapsing–remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) and to relate these to the cognitive status. Methods: Eighteen cognitively impaired (CI) and eighteen cognitively preserved (CP) RRMS patients and eighteen healthy controls (HCs), matched for age, sex and education, underwent neuropsychological evaluation and anatomical and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). DMN functional connectivity was evaluated from rs-fMRI data via independent component analysis. T2 lesion load (LL) was computed by a semi-automatic method and global and local atrophy was estimated by SIENAX and SPM8 voxel-based morphometry analyses from 3D-T1 images. Results: When the whole group of RRMS patients was compared with HCs, DMN connectivity was significantly weaker in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas it was significantly weaker in the core but stronger at the periphery of the posterior cingulate cortex. These findings were more evident in CP than CI patients. Observed DMN changes did not correlate with global atrophy or T2-LL, but were locally associated with regional grey matter loss. Conclusion: Relapsing–remitting multiple sclerosis patients show a consistent dysfunction of DMN at the level of the anterior node. DMN distribution changes in the posterior node may reflect a possible compensatory effect on cognitive performance.
Co-evolutionary Dynamics of Information Diffusion and Network Structure

Information diffusion in online social networks is obviously affected by the underlying network topology, but it also has the power to change that topology. Online users are constantly creating new links when exposed to new information sources, and in turn these links are alternating the route of information spread. However, these two highly intertwined stochastic processes, information diffusion and network evolution, have been predominantly studied separately, ignoring their co-evolutionary dynamics. In this project, we propose a probabilistic generative model, COEVOLVE, for the joint dynamics of these two processes, allowing the intensity of one process to be modulated by that of the other. This model allows us to efficiently simulate diffusion and network events from the co-evolutionary dynamics, and generate traces obeying common diffusion and network patterns observed in real-world networks. Furthermore, we also develop a convex optimization framework to learn the parameters of the model from historical diffusion and network evolution traces. We experimented with both synthetic data and data gathered from Twitter, and show that our model provides a good fit to the data as well as more accurate predictions than alternatives.
Network Anomaly Detection Using Time Series Analysis

This paper presents a method of detecting network anomalies by analyzing the abrupt change of time series data obtained from management information base (MIB) variables. The method applies the auto-regressive (AR) process to model the abrupt change of time series data, and performs sequential hypothesis test to detect the anomalies. With time correlation and location correlation, the method determines not only the presence of anomalous activity, but also its occurring time and location. The experimental results show that the proposed method performs well in detecting the traffic-related anomalies
Some (but still insufficient) evidence exists for language interventions for school-age children with developmental speech and language impairments

Data sources: A combination of computer searches of electronic databases and hand searches of other sources was used. In total, 18 electronic databases were searched, a list of which was provided in the appendix, together with the search terms used. The electronic databases used include: Campbell Collaboration; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literatures (CINAHL); Education Abstracts; Education Resources Information Clearinghouse (ERIC); Exceptional Child Education Resources; Health Source: Nursing, Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts; Medline (CSA); Medline (EBSCO); MEDLINE (PubMed); Pre-CINAHL; PsycARTICLES; PsycINFO; Science Citation Index; ScienceDirect; Social Science Citation Index; and What Works Clearinghouse. In addition, the Bamford–Lahey Children Foundation’s (2004) database on evidencebased practice in child language disorders was consulted. Hand searches were also conducted for appropriate studies in the following journals: Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, American Journal of Speech–Language Pathology. Reference lists from the selected studies were also examined.
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolite Profiling of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Differentiates between Biofilm and Planktonic Phenotypes

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to utilize gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to compare and identify patterns of biochemical change between Salmonella cells grown in planktonic and biofilm phases and Salmonella biofilms of different ages. Our results showed a clear separation between planktonic and biofilm modes of growth. The majority of metabolites contributing to variance between planktonic and biofilm supernatants were identified as amino acids, including alanine, glutamic acid, glycine, and ornithine. Metabolites contributing to variance in intracellular profiles were identified as succinic acid, putrescine, pyroglutamic acid, and N-acetylglutamic acid. Principal-component analysis revealed no significant differences between the various ages of intracellular profiles, which would otherwise allow differentiation of biofilm cells on the basis of age. A shifting pattern across the score plot was illustrated when analyzing extracellular metabolites sampled from different days of biofilm growth, and amino acids were again identified as the metabolites contributing most to variance. An understanding of biofilm-specific metabolic responses to perturbations, especially antibiotics, can lead to the identification of novel drug targets and potential therapies for combating biofilm-associated diseases. We concluded that under the conditions of this study, GC-MS can be successfully applied as a high-throughput technique for “bottom-up” metabolomic biofilm research.
Trauma and Violent Delinquent Behavior among Males: The Moderating Role of Social Support

ABSTRACT This study investigated the moderating role of social support (i.e., “having anyone to count on”) on the relationship between male youths' exposure to violence and other stressful life events and their violent behavior. Self-report interviews from a nationally representative sample of male adolescents aged 12 to 17 and their caretakers were used to assess youths' lifetime exposure to violence (i.e., being a victim and/or witness to physically abusive punishment, physical assault, sexual assault, and witnessing violence), past-year stressful life events (i.e., the loss of positively valued stimuli and the blockage of positively valued goals), levels of social support, and their violent offending behavior. Having someone to count on buffered the impact of being a victim of physical abuse and witnessing violence on violent offending. Potentially confounding variables, such as age, race/ethnicity, social class, family structure, geographic location, negative affect, and delinquent peer exposure were controlled. These findings underscore the significant role that social support may have on decreasing the likelihood that adolescent males who experienced trauma would engage in violent offending. Implications for intervention and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Behaviorally Based Masculine- and Feminine-Activity-Preference Scales for Preschoolers: Correlates with Other Classroom Behaviors and Cognitive Tests.

CONNOR, JANE M. , and SERBIN, LISA A. Behaviorally Based Masculineand Feminine-ActivityPreference Scales for Preschoolers: Correlates with Other Classroom Behaviors and Cognitive Tests. CmLD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 1411-1416. 2 sets of scales were developed designed to measure the strength of sex typing in children's play patterns in a naturalistic setting. Over a 12-week observational period, the scales based upon those activities showing a sex difference in play preferences appeared to be more stable than those scales based upon adult ratings of masculine and feminine activities. Masculine and feminine activity preferences, as measured by the more stable scales, were correlated with observational measures of other classroom behavior and performance on 3 cognitive tests. These results suggested that (a) many children have already learned to avoid opposite-sex activities by the time they enter nursery school; (b) sex-role learning during the preschool period appears to involve increasing attention to samesex activities; and (c) the development of visual-spatial ability in boys is related to involvement in masculine activities. The advantages of a behaviorally based definition of masculine and feminine activity preference are discussed.
Atomic Instruction Translation Towards A Multi-Threaded QEMU

In the context of system emulation, the sophistication of the emulator usually grows with the complexity of the target system model. Particularly, emulating precisely a certain CPU architecture can introduce many challenges that have to be properly explored and somehow solved to reach an accurate emulation of the target system. In this paper we present an implementation design of ARM atomic instructions for a multi-threaded version of QEMU (the Quick EMUlator), currently under development [1]. To prove the correctness and performance of such an implementation, some tests have been performed showcasing a high degree of accuracy and fidelity of the emulated instructions. While this paper does not cover all possible guest architectures that QEMU supports, the described new approach results in a reliable infrastructure that eventually can address all target architectures in QEMU.
An Argumentativist Point of View in Cognitive Sociology

Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice Theory (broadly understood) can integrate various research programmes in cognitive sociology (itself broadly understood). This article sets out two different but closely related conceptions, depending on the focus of the analysis (macro-sociological or micro-sociological) and the goals, although both deal — to some extent — with the bridge between these levels. Raymond Boudon's programme is relevant when the focus is the macro-sociological level but can be considered as weakly `cognitive'. Alban Bouvier presents a slightly stronger cognitive programme — the argumentativist programme — that makes sense when the focus is on the micro-sociological level. This new programme leads to integrating cognitive psychology and recent argumentation theory more and, as well, the philosophy of mind and social philosophy. Examples here are borrowed from historical sociology.
Inhibitory effect of a copper-dipeptide complex on the establishment of a Clostridium perenne strain in the intestinal tract of gnotobiotic mice

A semisynthetic diet fed to axenic mice was found to prevent the establishment of a Clostridium perenne strain in their intestinal tract. This inhibitory effect did not occur when axenic mice were preinoculated with a strain of Clostridium difficile. The inhibitory effect was related to the presence in the intestinal contents of axenic mice of both dietary copper and a dipeptide, aspartic-epsilon-lysine. When C. difficile was inoculated into axenic mice, the dipeptide disappeared from the digesta, and C. perenne became established even in the presence of high concentrations of copper.
The Hope and Promise of Career Life-Span Counselor and Therapist Development

The counseling and therapy professions focus on one of mankind’s most important tasks—human development. Counseling and therapy can be remarkably powerful ways to reduce the severe emotional anguish and intense suffering experienced by people throughout the world-wide human community. Practitioners of the helping professions are also skilled at promoting and nurturing optimal human functioning within its many forms and roles. How can this wonder of counseling and therapy bring on great results? What really matters? There are many research and practicebased answers to these questions (Luborsky et al., 1999). Favored explanations focus on client resourcefulness and motivation, counselor/ therapist competence, method used, match between client and counselor/therapist and qualities of the working alliance. The recent emphasis on empirically validated treatments has been the force behind an intense search for the effects of counseling/therapy method. Surprising for many, research has shown that counseling/therapy method, defined as treatment packages, contributes modestly to treatment outcome (Wampold, 2001). Several studies point to large variations in practitioner effectiveness and how much outcome variance is attributed to the practitioner. Summarizing an exhaustive review of therapy research, Wampold (2001 writes: “. the particular treatment
Three Decades of Educational Progress (and Continuing Barriers) for Women and Girls

In the spring of 1998 the Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA) Equity Resource Center undertook a research effort to examine the ways education equity programs and efforts have played out for women and girls throughout the United States. In the creation of this first comprehensive national report, WEEA examined over 450 published research documents and conducted many new interviews. Although there are too many documents to provide a full bibliography here, the breadth of the research included: The National Council on Research on Women's The Girls'Report; Metropolitan Life Insurance's The American Teacher: Examining Gender Issues in the Public Schools; and the Missouri Symposium on Research and Educational Policy's Gender Equity and Schooling: Policy and Practice; as well as data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics and other state and federal data sources.
May I be excused? Why teachers leave the profession

Considerable research has been conducted into teacher retention. Less is known of ex-teachers' circumstances: salary, workload, working conditions, “job prestige”. For this study, telephone interviews were used to ask 21 ex-teachers about their journey from teaching, and views on their current working conditions by comparison. This paper focuses on the events surrounding these people's decisions to leave the profession; these ex-teachers are in a privileged position to comment on teaching by comparison with their subsequent work. Few regret their decision to leave the profession. The findings have implications for teacher recruitment, education, provision of working conditions, and for the promotion of teaching.
Advance Consent in Japanese During Prenatal Care for Epidural Anesthesia During Childbirth

The authors developed advance consent in Japanese for epidural anesthesia for pregnant Japanese-speaking women. Their explanatory, sequential mixed methods design involved a survey (QUAN) and telephone interviews with Japanese women (QUAL). An e-mail survey of health professionals (quan/ qual) was conducted concurrently to the QUAL arm. Japanese women and health professionals found advance consent as helpful, though minor problems were identified. Advance consent helped lower communication barriers, and the women wanted more information about pain control. This mixed methods study of Japanese women suggests that bilingual advance consent offers an innovative tool to help overcome the language barrier for non-English-proficient women who predictably needed interventions (e.g., epidurals) under unpredictable circumstances.