Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social Structure and Political Participation: Developmental Relationships, Part I

Economic development has consequences for many aspects of social life. Some of these social consequences, in turn, have an impact on a nation's political life. Studies of social mobilization, for example, have demonstrated that economic development is associated with sharp increases in the general level of political participation. These studies report strong relationships between aggregate socio-economic measures such as per capita income, median level of education, and percentage of the population in urban areas, on one hand, and aggregate measures of political participation, such as voting turnout, on the other. Simultaneously, scholars conducting surveys of individual political participation consistently have reported that an individual's social status, education, and organizational memberships strongly affect the likelihood of his engaging in various types of political activities. In spite of the consistency of both sets of findings across many studies and although the findings appear frequently in analysis of political stability, democracy, and even strategies of political growth, we know little about the connections between social structure and political participation. With few exceptions the literature on individual participation is notable for low level generalizations (the better educated citizen talks about politics more regularly), and the absence of systematic and comprehensive theory. While the literature on the growth of national political participation has been more elaborate theoretically, the dependence on aggregate measures has made it difficult to determine empirically how these macro social changes structure individuals' life experiences in ways which alter their political behavior.
Positive Communication and Human Needs: A Review and Proposed Organizing Conceptual Framework

Drawing on research in positive psychology, this review examines emerging research on positive communication and proposes a new organizing conceptual framework using hierarchies of human needs. The conceptual framework draws on psychological and economic models of human needs to frame positive communication as message processes that facilitate human needs-satisfaction as contrasted to the dark side of communication as message processes that inhibit needs-satisfaction. The proposed conceptual framework expands the study of positive communication by calling attention to its vital role in assisting individuals, groups, and organizations to reach the heights of their potentialities. An agenda for future positive communication research is offered.
Classifying forest stands based on multi-scale structure features using Quickbird image

Forest stands classification is the precondition of stand inventory and forest management. It is also the primary task and main content of the inventory and dynamic monitoring of forest resources. With the improvements of the spatial resolution of remotely sensed image and the development of GEOgraphic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) technologies, the precision of stand division had increased. However, the current methods can only classify forest stand coarsely, and they are difficult to classify the stands with different spatial structures. In this study, three indices describing multi-scale structure features, trees crown coverage (TCC), trees cluster index (TCI) and ratio of shadows and trees (RST), were derived from high spatial resolution image by GEOBIA technology. The indices can well indicate the diversities of stand density, structure, size and differences in the spatial distribution. With Quickbird image, we tested the method in Tekesi forest farm of Xinjiang province, P. R. China. The result showed that the stands with the difference spatial distribution could be classified according to these indices. Using the method to extract stands, can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and keep consistency of the results, which are essential for dynamic monitoring and changing detection of forest resources. The methods of indices extraction and classification are also suitable for similar applications that need the structural features accounting for the density and aggregation of the objects and their shadows, such as the urban area division.
Asymmetric Synaptic Depression in

Synaptic depression is essential for controlling the balance between excitation and inhibition in cortical networks. Several studies have shown that the depression of intracortical synapses is asymmetric, that is, inhibitory synapses depress less than excitatory ones. Whether this asymmetry has any impact on cortical function is unknown. Here we show that the differential depression of intracortical synapses provides a mechanism through which the gain and sensitivity of cortical circuits shifts over time to improve stimulus coding. We examined the functional consequences of asymmetric synaptic depression by modeling recurrent interactions between orientation-selective neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) that adapt to feedforward inputs. We demonstrate analytically that despite the fact that excitatory synapses depress more than inhibitory synapses, excitatory responses are reduced less than inhibitory ones to increase the overall response gain. These changes play an active role in generating selective gain control in visual cortical circuits. Specifically, asymmetric synaptic depression regulates network selectivity by amplifying responses and sensitivity of V1 neurons to infrequent stimuli and attenuating responses and sensitivity to frequent stimuli, as is indeed observed experimentally.
A Linked Data approach to evaluate Open Education Resources

The social environments based on the Web 2.0 paradigm have modified the way people behave on the Web. One of the direct consequences of this change is that the amount of online resources produced and shared by users has increased considerably. Amongst them, it is possible to find materials that can be exploited for educational purposes. For example, YouTube, Flickr, Slideshare, more and more often collect resources that can be used in educational contexts. In this scenario, finding methods to support the evaluation of the educational relevance of online resources is becoming one of the greatest challenges faced by the educational technologists today. In this paper we propose an approach for the evaluation of the relevance of educational resources based on recent advancements of Linked Open Data.
Implicit person theories and change in teacher evaluation: A longitudinal field study

Adopting a longitudinal field study, this paper investigates whether entity theorists (students who believe human attributes are fixed) are less likely than incremental theorists (students who believe human attributes are malleable) to change their evaluations of a teacher in accordance with his behavioral changes. An instructor exhibited some forgetful behaviors in the first half of a course, and ceased doing so in the second half. Consistent with our hypothesis, incremental theorists adjusted their perceptions of the instructor. They rated him as less forgetful accordingly at the end of the course than at the middle. Entity theorists, however, did not show this change. With improved ecological validity, this study extends previous laboratory studies to teacher evaluation.
CROSS-COUNTRY STUDY ON THE DETERMINANTS OF BANK FINANCIAL DISTRESS

Falencias bancarias afetam proprietarios, funcionarios e clientes, e tem potencial para causar crises economicas de grande escala. Portanto, os bancos devem avaliar os riscos operacionais e desenvolver sistemas de alerta preventivo. O presente estudo investiga falencias bancarias na Organizacao para a Cooperacao e Desenvolvimento Economico, nos paises integrantes do Tratado de Livre Comercio da America do Norte (NAFTA, na sigla em ingles), na Associacao de Nacoes do Sudeste Asiatico, na Uniao Europeia, em paises recentemente industrializados, no G20 e no G8. Utilizamos indicadores financeiros para analisar e explorar a adequacao de modelos preditivos. Os resultados demonstram que indices de capital, juros ativos comparados a despesas com juros, receitas excluindo juros comparadas a despesas excluindo juros, rentabilidade sobre o patrimonio e provisoes para prejuizos sobre emprestimos tem correlacoes significantemente negativas com falencias bancarias. No entanto, indices de emprestimos, creditos de liquidacao duvidosa e ativos fixos tem correlacoes significantemente positivas com falencias bancarias. Alem disso, a exatidao do modelo logistico para os bancos dos paises que fazem parte do NAFTA fornece melhor precisao em termos de previsao no que diz respeito a falencia bancaria.
Ontological knowledge representation for avionics decision-making support

Air Traffic Management (ATM) incorporates demanding decision-making processes that combine information of diverse characteristics. ATM challenges aviators and airspace controllers with unprecedented workloads to maintain safety and cross-checking of multi-source information, including data from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The challenge for future ATM Decision-Support Systems (DSS) is not only autonomous and reliable complex decision-making with minimal human intervention but also dealing with UAV ATM (UTM). This paper proposes the implementation of Ontologies for NextGen Avionics Systems (ONAS) for UTM. ONAS presents an operation framework and an ontology-based tool to support decision making in advanced ATM/UTM systems. The proposed ONAS approach includes a cognitive ATM/UTM architecture for avionics analytics. An ontological database captures information related to weather, flights, and airspace. Inference over the ontology is provided by a reasoner. The decision-making process is underpinned by the concept of Situation AWareness (SAW) as well as Situation Assessment (SA). The SAW approach proposed is intended to be initially used in civil aviation. A case study is presented based on different scenarios for an ATM/UTM system. The scenarios represent flight situations where the decisions made are supported by the proposed ONAS approach.
Immunobiochemical analysis of paraoxonase1 (anti‐oxidant), xanthine oxidase (oxidant) enzymes and lipid profile of cardiac disease patients in Lahore Metropolitan, Pakistan

Cardiac diseases are the major cause of death. Paraoxonase1 (PON1) is known as free radicals scavenger/anti‐atherosclerosis, whereas xanthine oxidase (XO) is a free radicals generator. This study was undertaken to determine and compare the Paraoxonase and arylesterase activities of PON1 enzyme and activity of XO enzyme. The concentration of XO and PON1 enzymes along with lipid profile, lipid peroxides, and thiol level in plasma of cardiac patients (n=200) and healthy persons (n=200) of Lahore metropolitan, Pakistan was also determined. Anti‐PON1 and anti‐XO antibodies were developed, purified, and used to measure the concentration of PON1 and XO by competitive ELISA. It is observed that low paraoxonase (P=0.0073)/arylesterase activity (P=0.0038) of PON1 enzyme and its low concentration (P=0.0049) were observed in cardiac patients, whereas elevated level of XO activity (P=0.0129) and its concentration (P=0.0097) was observed in cardiac patients as compared with healthy persons. Low levels of HDL (P=0.0013), thiol (P=0.0014) and high level of cholesterol (P=0.0025), triglycerides (P=0.0018), LPO (P=0.0014), and LDL level (P=0.05) were observed in cardiac patients admitted in intensive care unit as compared with hypertensive patients and control subjects. It is concluded that overall low PON1 and high XO activities do cause imbalance of free radical system which ultimately leads to or enhance the cardiac pathological conditions. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 24:348–356, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Motion estimation for non-overlapping cameras by improvement of feature points matching based on urban 3D structure

We propose a method of ego-motion estimation for a self-driving vehicle using multiple cameras. By finding corresponding points between the multi-camera images, we aim to enhance the accuracy of the ego-motion estimation. However since the viewing directions are very different from one camera to the other, a conventional algorithm such as SURF cannot detect a sufficient number of correspondences. We propose a novel matching algorithm by warping feature patches detected in different cameras based on urban 3D structure. We assume that detected features exist on the surface of buildings or roads and the patch around the feature is planar. Based on this assumption, we can warp the patches so that the feature descriptors are similar for the corresponding feature points. We apply Bundle Adjustment to the found correspondences to optimizes the odometry. The result shows higher estimation accuracy when compared to other matching method.
Relationship and lead-lag effect between Asian Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) performance and Malaysian REIT market: Cointegration modelling

Against a plethora of justifications on the importance of work on the relationship between investment instruments in different markets context, there is still gap of knowledge on the relationship between a regional Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) market and a particular REIT of a country. This study is pursued with the objective of revealing the relationship between two markets, namely the Malaysian REIT and the Asian REITs market. This was investigated using monthly data from March 2005 until September 2009. Japan and Singapore are chosen to represent the Asian REITs because the two dominate the Asian REIT market in terms of market capitalization. The study employs Engle-Granger Cointegration test to examine the variables' long-run relationship, while vector autoregression (VAR) is deployed to explore the variables' dynamic interactions. The empirical findings of the study show an absence of long-run relationship between Malaysian REIT market and the Asian REITs market. With regard to their dynamic interactions, the two markets are found to be positively correlated and short-term relationship can be established between them. The Malaysian REIT is found to be lagging against the Asian REITs for up to two months.
The Yarrowia lipolytica Gene PAY5 Encodes a Peroxisomal Integral Membrane Protein Homologous to the Mammalian Peroxisome Assembly Factor PAF-1*

Pay mutants of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica fail to assemble functional peroxisomes. One mutant strain, pay5-1, lacks normal peroxisomes and instead contains irregular vesicular structures surrounded by multiple unit membranes. The pay5-1 mutant is not totally deficient in peroxisomal matrix protein targeting, as a subset of matrix proteins continues to localize to a subcellular fraction enriched for peroxisomes. The functionally complementing gene PAY5 encodes a protein, Pay5p, of 380 amino acids (41,720 Da). Pay5p is a peroxisomal integral membrane protein homologous to mammalian PAF-1 proteins, which are essential for peroxisome assembly and whose mutation in humans results in Zellweger syndrome. Pay5p is targeted to mammalian peroxisomes, demonstrating the evolutionary conservation of the targeting mechanism for peroxisomal membrane proteins. Our results suggest that in pay5 mutants, normal peroxisome assembly is blocked, which leads to the accumulation of the membranous vesicular structures observed.
Development of a hybrid-electric power-system model for a small surveillance aircraft

A power-system model was created in the Matlab/Simulink environment to investigate potential performance benefits for tactical unmanned aircraft achievable with hybrid-electric power. Initially, the model was validated against a hardware-in-the-loop simulation including a fuel cell and a battery. The results from the model compared well with the measurements, despite the model’s use of simplified input parameters. Photovoltaic cells were then introduced into the model and were found to significantly improve the performance of the power system. For a basic surveillance mission, the solar cells were estimated to provide an energy saving of 59%, despite an increase in aircraft weight.
Increased Traffic Flow Through Node-Based Bottleneck Prediction and V2X Communication

Transport delays due to traffic jams are manifested in many urban areas worldwide. To make road traffic networks more efficient, intelligent transport services are currently being developed and deployed. In order to mitigate (or even avoid) congestion, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications provide a means for cooperation and intelligent route management in transport networks. This paper introduces the novel predictive congestion minimization in combination with an A*-based router (PCMA*) algorithm, which provides a comprehensive framework for detection, prediction, and avoidance of traffic congestion. It assumes utilization of vehicle-to-X communication for transmission of contemporary vehicle data such as route source and destination or current position, as well as for provision of the routing advice for vehicles. PCMA* further contains a component for intelligent selection of vehicles to be rerouted in case of a congestion, as well as an A*-based routing algorithm, taking into consideration the current road conditions and predicted future congestion. We prove the performance by dynamic microscopic traffic simulations in a real-world and an artificial road network scenario. Due to the well-performing prediction, the results reveal substantial advantages in terms of time and fuel consumption compared not only with situations with no active rerouting system but also with simple rerouting algorithms and more sophisticated approaches from literature.
Prevention for Genitourinary Tract Infection among Female Adolescents Students

Genitourinary tract infections (GUTI) are serious health problems affecting millions of people each year, especially among females' adolescents and women. This study aimed to evaluate prevention program on knowledge and habitual practices regarding prevention of urinary tract infection among female adolescents.A quasi experimental design used in this study conducted in three preparatory girls' schools in North Ismailia administration at El Ismailia governorate in Egypt. Sample, multistage random technique used in this study, it consisted of 462 female students in age group (12-15 year) randomly selected. Tools, Data were collected by using interviewing questionnaire which covers socio-demographic data and all items related knowledge of genitourinary tract infection and habitual practices of personal hygienealso medical record for their females' students. Results of this study showed that there was improve knowledge related to prevention of genitourinary infection and improve habitual practices among females adolescents regarding personal hygiene related to prevention of genitourinary infection . Conclusion, there was statistical improvement concerning knowledge related to prevention of genitourinary infection among students regarding personal hygiene items in pre and posttest. Recommendations the study findings the followings are recommended to students counseling during periodic medical examination about personal hygiene, and their important during menstruation.
Endogenous Trade Participation with Incomplete Exchange Rate Pass-Through

This paper investigates the implications of endogenous trade participation for international business cycles, trade flow dynamics and exchange rate pass-through when price adjustments are staggered across firms. I develop a two-country dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model wherein firms make state-dependent decisions on entry and exit in the export market and the frequency of price adjustment is time-dependent. Consistent with recent empirical findings, producers of traded goods in this model differ in their productivities, trade status and prices. At the aggregate level, quantitative properties of the model successfully reproduce some important characteristics of international business cycle moments in data. In contrast to previous findings in the literature, my model reveals that the inclusion of exporter entry and exit generates large, immediate responses in the number of exporters, export volumes and the export price index following aggregate shocks. I trace this result to the micro-level price stickiness present in my model but absent in existing models of endogenous trade participation. Moreover, I show that productivity heterogeneity rather than price age differences plays a dominant role in firms’ export decisions, and hence the additional realism of endogenous trade participation in the model does not mitigate incomplete exchange rate pass-through arising from nominal rigidity. This suggests that exporter characteristics, market structure and pricing conventions may be critical in analyzing the role of endogenous trade participation for international business cycles and exchange rate pass-through.
Matrix2png: a utility for visualizing matrix data

UNLABELLED We describe a simple software tool, 'matrix2png', for creating color images of matrix data. Originally designed with the display of microarray data sets in mind, it is a general tool that can be used to make simple visualizations of matrices for use in figures, web pages, slide presentations and the like. It can also be used to generate images 'on the fly' in web applications. Both continuous-valued and discrete-valued (categorical) data sets can be displayed. Many options are available to the user, including the colors used, the display of row and column labels, and scale bars. In this note we describe some of matrix2png's features and describe some places it has been useful in the authors' work. AVAILABILITY A simple web interface is available, and Unix binaries are available from http://microarray.cpmc. columbia.edu/matrix2png. Source code is available on request.
Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of the Escherichia coli common pilus chaperone EcpB

In Escherichia coli, the common pilus (Ecp) belongs to an alternative chaperone–usher pathway that plays a major role in both early biofilm formation and host-cell adhesion. Initial attempts at crystallizing the chaperone EcpB using natively purified protein from the bacterial periplasm were not successful; however, after the isolation of EcpB under denaturing conditions and subsequent refolding, crystals were obtained at pH 8.0 using the sitting-drop method of vapour diffusion. This is the first time that this refolding strategy has been used to purify CU chaperones.
Predictable multithreading of embedded applications using PRET-C

We propose a new language called Precision Timed C (PRET-C), for predictable and lightweight multi-threading in C. PRET-C supports synchronous concurrency, preemption, and a high-level construct for logical time. In contrast to existing synchronous languages, PRET-C offers C-based shared memory communications between concurrent threads that is guaranteed to be thread safe. Due to the proposed synchronous semantics, the mapping of logical time to physical time can be achieved much more easily than with plain C, thanks to a Worst Case Reaction Time (WCRT) analyzer (not presented here). Associated to the PRET-C programming language, we present a dedicated target architecture, called ARPRET, which combines a hardware accelerator associated to an existing softcore processor. This allows us to improve the throughput while preserving the predictability. With extensive benchmarking, we then demonstrate that ARPRET not only achieves completely predictable execution of PRET-C programs, but also improves the throughput when compared to the pure software execution of PRET-C. The PRET-C software approach is also significantly more efficient in comparison to two other light-weight concurrent C variants (namely SC and Protothreads), as well as the well-known Esterel synchronous programming language.