Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE NATURE OF SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING IN SELF-MANAGING BIPOLAR DISORDER TO STAY WELL

Experiences in learning to stay well with bipolar disorder were explored. Participants’ descriptions illustrated how self-directed learning and transformational learning transpired in self-management. Acceptance and making meaning of bipolar disorder prompted learning autonomy. Adult learning experiences, learning resources, taking ownership, and taking action facilitated the dynamics of learning. Exploring the Nature of Adult Learning Experiences The purpose of my dissertation research was to explore the nature of self-directed learning and transformational learning experiences among adults with bipolar disorder learning to self-manage to stay well. When learning, individuals do not passively appropriate knowledge. They learn as active participants in the process of constructing meaning and transforming understanding (Candy, 1991). A central tenet of constructivism is individuals trying to give meaning to or to construe perplexing events or circumstances in their lives. Constructivism identifies the source of meaning as existing within individuals rather than emerging from external sources such as books or the media (Mezirow, 1991). This tenet underlies the theoretical frameworks of transformational learning theory and self-directed learning theory. Literature Review A review of previous research highlighted how personal experiences with self-directed learning and transformational learning facilitated individuals’ learning to self-manage HIV, Methicillan-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), prostate cancer, and breast cancer to maintain their health (Baumgartner , 2001; Courtenay, Merriam, & Reeves, 1998; Courtenay, Merriam, Reeves, & Baumgartner, 2000; Rager, 2003; Rager, 2004; Rager, 2006; Rhode & Ross-Gordon, 2012). In addition, participants in a study examining self-management of bipolar disorder identified educating one’s self as important for staying well (Russell & Browne, 2005). Methodology Through my research, I explored how self-directed learning and transformational learning experiences came about among persons self-managing bipolar disorder. Three research questions focused on those experiences prompting individuals to learn about their diagnosis of bipolar disorder, personal experiences with learning to self-manage their illness, and personal learning experiences contributing to strategies for staying well. Purposeful sampling with criteria enabled selecting a homogeneous sample of participants to ensure recruitment of individuals. I sent recruitment letters to 67 licensed psychologists and psychiatrists in Central Texas, from whom I requested assistance in distributing a recruitment flyer to their clients with bipolar disorder meeting the research inclusion criteria. As a result, I recruited 12 potential participants, among of whom 7 individuals and I voluntarily participated in an audio-taped interview. These male and female participants’ ages ranged from 25 to 67. Seven participants (including myself) were Non-Hispanic White and one participant was Hispanic.
Tapering for triathlon competition

The taper is a phase of reduced training before major competitions. Training intensity should be maintained to retain or enhance training-induced adaptations during tapering, but reductions in other training variables should allow for sufficient recovery to optimize performance. Lowering training volume by about 41-60% induces positive physiological, psychological and performances adaptations in highly trained triathletes, but performance benefits could be attained with somewhat smaller or bigger volumes. A final increase of 20-30% of the training load during the last days before a race may be beneficial. High training frequencies (>80%) seem to be necessary to avoid detraining and "loss of feel" in highly trained triathletes. The optimal duration of the taper varies widely, and tapers lasting 4 to 28 days may be ideal for individual athletes. If a temporary increase of about 20% over the normal training load is planned during the month preceding the taper, the duration of the taper should be extended. Particular attention should be given during the taper to recovery strategies, which may help to induce parasympathetic reactivation and muscle fatigue reduction. Adequate hydration, nutrition and carbohydrate loading strategies are recommended to help triathletes perform at their best. Travel, heat and altitude are environmental factors that often need to be integrated within the taper plan, and the need for multiple peaking is another issue that needs to be addressed by coaches and triathletes.
The periodicity transform in algebraic decoding of Reed-Solomon codes

The computationally most expensive part of the Guruswami-Sudan algorithm for list-decoding of Reed-Solomon codes beyond half their minimum distance is its interpolation step. The latter requires solving a linear system of equations whose size is a multiple of the code length n. This results in time complexity cubic in n. Using an interpretation due to Gemmell and Sudan, the Welch-Berlekamp algorithm can be considered as a special case of the Guruswami-Sudan algorithm. We propose a new transform (a special case of the re-encoding transform), prove that it allows to shrink the size of the linear system in this case to a factor of n, and provide the detailed steps of the corresponding decoding algorithm. It is hinted that the reduced coefficient matrix can easily be converted into block Hankel form, which allows for further improvements up to the time complexity of widely used decoding algorithms for Reed-Solomon codes, i.e., O [d2], where d is the minimum distance. We conjecture that these techniques can be applied to the linear system in the general Guruswami-Sudan case as well in order to derive an O [d2] decoding algorithm and give first results in this direction.
Western perceptions of Hong Kong ten years on: A corpus-driven critical discourse study

This article studies the Western perceptions of and relations with Hong Kong a decade after the reversion of the sovereignty from Britain to China in 1997. Previous studies have demonstrated that the West had a significantly negative view on the future of Hong Kong with respect to the handover. According to recent observations, however, the perceptions of the West have undergone a noticeable change. This article aims at investigating the West's understanding, opinions and positions regarding Hong Kong today compared with those in 1997. The possible reasons for any changes are also investigated. Through the integration of the theories and methods of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis and the use of two corpus linguistic software, ConcGram and Wmatrix, the present article examines a range of Western public discourse of Hong Kong concerning the handover. The purpose of the article is to yield insights into the New Hong Kong in the eyes of the West, which in turn contributes to a re-examination of the relations and power balance between the West and China.
Multichannel image restoration based on optimization of the structural similarity index

In this paper a framework for multichannel image restoration based on optimization of the structural similarity (SSIM) index is presented. The SSIM index describes the similarity of images more appropriately for the human visual system than the mean square error (MSE). It has not yet been explored for the multi channel restoration task. The construction of an optimization algorithm is difficult due to the non-linearity of the SSIM measure. The existing solution based on a quasi-convex problem formulation is successfully extended for the multichannel image restoration. The correctness of the algorithm is verified on sample images and it is shown that multi-view information can significantly improve the restoration results.
Minimum degree thresholds for bipartite graph tiling

Given a bipartite graph H and a positive integer n such that v(H) divides 2n, we define the minimum degree threshold for bipartite H‐tiling, δ2(n, H), as the smallest integer k such that every bipartite graph G with n vertices in each partition and minimum degree δ(G)≥k contains a spanning subgraph consisting of vertex‐disjoint copies of H. Zhao, Hladký‐Schacht, Czygrinow‐DeBiasio determined δ2(n, Ks, t) exactly for all s⩽t and suffi‐ciently large n. In this article we determine δ2(n, H), up to an additive constant, for all bipartite H and sufficiently large n. Additionally, we give a corresponding minimum degree threshold to guarantee that G has an H‐tiling missing only a constant number of vertices. Our δ2(n, H) depends on either the chromatic number χ(H) or the critical chromatic number χcr(H), while the threshold for the almost perfect tiling only depends on χcr(H). These results can be viewed as bipartite analogs to the results of Kuhn and Osthus [Combinatorica 29 (2009), 65–107] and of Shokoufandeh and Zhao [Rand Struc Alg 23 (2003), 180–205]. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory
Developing inclusive policy and practice in diverse contexts: A South African experience

Pre-1994, South Africa was a country riddled with inequality and discrimination stemming from the policy of ‘apartheid’. Since 1994, there have been considerable efforts made to enable the country to move toward becoming non-racial and democratic, with a culture of human rights and social justice. One of the primary tasks of the new democratically elected government was a reform of the education system. Specialized Education was initially neglected, but then in 1996 a National Commission was appointed to investigate Special Needs in Education and Education Support Services, of which the author was one of the co-ordinators. The timeline for the full implementation of the resulting White Paper 6 on Inclusive Education is 20 years. Inclusive Education in South Africa aims to meet the needs of all learners by addressing barriers to learning, welcoming diversity and fostering maximum participation by all in the culture of the school. This article, based on the author’s experience, will discuss the challenges for implementation of the policy in one of the South African districts which field-tested the recommendations in White Paper 6, a district with diverse contexts, the emerging promising practice, and the implications for specialized support professionals, in particular the role of school psychologists.
COLA: a cross organisational learning approach within UK industry

"The construction industry struggles with its ability to capture the 'lessons learned' from its projects and activities for the benefit of future, similar work". Introduction In this paper we set out to describe some of the findings of the B-Hive (Building a High Value Construction Environment) research project. The project has been jointly funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Department for the Environment, Trade and the Regions (DETR). Our research, centred on the construction industry, seeks to integrate cross organisational functions and build an environment of trust and cooperation between the collaborating companies through the implementation of new working processes and practices supported by the introduction of information systems and technology.
Girls' and Boys' Sense of Belonging in Single-Sex versus Co-Educational Schools

48 O of the earliest arguments in support of coeducational schooling concerns the suggestion that it provides a more realistic and socially integrated environment than sex-segregated schooling (cf. Dale, 1971). Not surprisingly, from the outset, a number of research studies on the value of both types of schools have, among others, also addressed this issue. Yet, even though several of these studies did find favourable results in co-educational settings in terms of cohesiveness among pupils (Dale, 1971; Schneider and Coutts, 1982; Foon, 1988; Hannan et al., 1996; Robinson and Smithers, 1999), some others indicated that pupils, girls in particular, identify more closely with their group in single-sex schools as compared with mixed-sex schools (Trickett et al., 1982; Mahony, 1985; Rowe, 1988; Lirgg, 1994; Kreienbaum, 1995; Shmurak, 1998). In addition to these direct examinations, which provide contradictory data, there is a considerable body of literature that implicitly refutes the original ‘natural atmosphere’ hypothesis. For instance, regarding the nature of classroom interaction dynamics, it has been demonstrated that girls as well as boys tend to prefer same-sex peers from pre-school through secondary school, thus producing de facto gender segregation (Wilkinson and Marrett, 1985; Maccoby, 1990; Sadker et al., 1991). At the same time, in a number of studies, some of which are ethnographic in character, attention has been called to social practices in mixed school settings, such as differential expectations and treatment by teachers, gender-segregated extra-curricular activities, male dominance, disproportionate numbers of classroom interactions involving boys, gendered subject choice and girls’ serving as a negative reference group (Delamont, 1990; Stables, 1990; AAUW, 1992; Sadker and Sadker, 1994; Lee et al., 1994; Abraham, 1995; Canada and Pringle, 1995; Shaw, 1995; Murphy, 1999). Generally, from this indirect evidence, it would appear that it is the girls’ schools rather than the co-educational schools that offer benefits as far as fostering a sense of belonging or social bonding is concerned. Still, it would seem appropriate, because of the scarcity of immediate data on the affiliation among pupils in single-sex as compared with co-educational schools, to re-examine the aforementioned contradictory findings. This would appear all the more necessary since most of the earlier tests have been Girls’ and boys’ sense of belonging in single-sex versus co-educational schools
Work alienation and organizational leadership

This study examines the extent to which a leader's behaviour (i.e. transactional and transformational styles) and aspects of an organization's structure (i.e. centralization, formalization dimensions) directly and/or indirectly relate to elements of work alienation (i.e. powerlessness, meaninglessness, self estrangement). The study utilized structural equation modeling techniques to estimate the goodness of fit of a leadership-organizational structure-work alienation model based on the responses of personnel in a major US eastern seaboard fire department (a bureaucratic, quasi-military type organization) (= 326). Goodness of fit statistics indicate good fit to the observed data. Results show that transformational leadership was associated with lower work alienation, whereas transactional leadership was associated with higher work alienation. Organizational structure was not significantly predictive of work alienation, but was negatively associated with transformational leadership and positively associated with transactional leadership. The significant indirect effects between organizational structure and work alienation, and between organizational structure and transformational leadership, provide further evidence that the leadership style of the organization has a more significant impact on feelings of work alienation than antecedent conditions such as organization rigidity. The study argues that managers as well as leaders need to question bureaucratic orientations to work and manager-employee relations by rethinking their value orientations and adapting new models that encourage individual fulfilment, learning and personal development.
Effects of Auditory and Motor Mental Practice in Memorized Piano Performance

The study examined the effects of two types of mental practice in learning to perform an unfamiliar piece: auditory and motor practice. Sixteen pianists performed unfamiliar music from notation during ten practice trials, with the presence or absence of auditory feedback and motor feedback (finger movements). Pianists were instructed to mentally practice the missing feedback. After the practice trials the pianists performed from memory under normal performance conditions. Errors during performance from memory showed significant effects of both motor and auditory feedback during practice. Comparisons with aural skills posttests indicated that pianists with strong aural skills were least affected in memory tests by removal of auditory feedback during practice. Pianists with high self-ratings of playing by ear scored higher on the aural skills test and performed better from memory in the absence of auditory feedback. These findings suggest that an accurate auditory image is important for successful performance from memory.
ICFHR2016 CROHME: Competition on Recognition of Online Handwritten Mathematical Expressions

This paper presents an overview of the 5th Competition on Recognition of Online Handwritten Mathematical Expressions (CROHME). As in previous years, the main task is formula recognition from handwritten strokes (Task 1). Additional tasks include classification of isolated symbols (Task 2a), classification of isolated valid and invalid symbols (Task 2b), a new task on parsing formula structure from valid handwritten symbols (Task 3), and parsing expressions with matrices (Task 4, experimental). In total, eleven (11) research labs registered for the competition, with six (6) teams submitting results. Innovations for this CROHME included providing a corpus of formulae from Wikipedia to train language models, and an online system for result submission. The highest recognition rates were obtained by MyScript corporation (Task 1. 67.65%, 2a. 92.81%, 2b. 86.77%, 3. 84.38%, and 4. 68.40%). Using only provided training data, the highest recognition rates were obtained by WIRIS corporation (Task 1. 49.61%, Task 3. 78.80%, Task 4. 56.40%), the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Task 2a. 92.28%), and RIT (Task 2b. 83.34%). The competition results suggest that recognition of handwritten formulae remains a difficult structural pattern recognition task.
Dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) is associated with gazing toward humans in domestic dogs ( Canis familiaris )

Dogs show high social communicative ability in interactions with humans. We investigated the association between dogs’ social communicative behavior and the polymorphisms of a gene related to a neurotransmitter. We used an “unsolvable task”, in which an experimenter put a food reward into a container and closed it firmly so that dogs could not remove the reward. Human-directed gazing, possibly to request help, is a characteristic behavioral trait of dogs in such situations. The association between owner-directed gazing behavior in the unsolvable task and polymorphisms of three regions (exon1, exon3, intron2) in the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) was analyzed. We found that the genotype of DRD4 intron2 was significantly associated with the dogs’ gazing behavior. Dogs carrying shorter allele (P) looked at their owner more frequently, for longer, and earlier than dogs carrying longer allele (Q). This result suggests that polymorphism in DRD4 intron2 may affect social communication and cognition in dogs.
The 1,2-Diaminocyclohexane Carrier Ligand in Oxaliplatin Induces p53-Dependent Transcriptional Repression of Factors Involved in Thymidylate Biosynthesis

Platinum-based chemotherapeutic drugs are widely used as components of combination chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. One such drug, oxaliplatin, exerts a synergistic effect against advanced colorectal cancer in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin. In the p53-proficient colorectal cancer cell line HCT116, oxaliplatin represses the expression of deoxyuridine triphosphatase (dUTPase), a ubiquitous pyrophosphatase that catalyzes the hydrolysis of dUTP to dUMP and inhibits dUTP-mediated cytotoxicity. However, the underlying mechanism of this activity has not been completely elucidated, and it remains unclear whether factors other than downregulation of dUTPase contribute to the synergistic effect of 5-FU and oxaliplatin. In this study, we found that oxaliplatin and dachplatin, platinum-based drugs containing the 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (DACH) carrier ligand, repressed the expression of nuclear isoform of dUTPase (DUT-N), whereas cisplatin and carboplatin did not. Oxaliplatin induced early p53 accumulation, upregulation of primary miR-34a transcript expression, and subsequent downregulation of E2F3 and E2F1. Nutlin-3a, which activates p53 nongenotoxically, had similar effects. Introduction of miR-34a mimic also repressed E2F1 and DUT-N expression, indicating that this miRNA plays a causative role. In addition to DUT-N, oxaliplatin repressed, in a p53-dependent manner, the expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in thymidylate biosynthesis. Consequently, oxaliplatin significantly decreased the level of dTTP in the dNTP pool in a p53-dependent manner. These data indicate that the DACH carrier ligand in oxaliplatin triggers signaling via the p53–miR-34a–E2F axis, leading to transcriptional regulation that ultimately results in accumulation of dUTP and reduced dTTP biosynthesis, potentially enhancing 5-FU cytotoxicity. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(10); 2332–42. ©2015 AACR.
Does executive control relate to sacrificial behavior during conflicts of interests

Why is it that some people are better able to sacrifice their own immediate interest for the sake of their partner than others? We conducted two studies to test whether an individual's level of executive control plays a role in answering this question. Study 1 demonstrated that executive control is related to the tendency to continue a frustrating task to benefit one's partner. Study 2 replicated this effect by using two different indicators of sacrifice: a behavioral sacrifice measure and a questionnaire on the intention to make major sacrifices for one's partner. Together, our findings suggest that higher levels of executive control facilitate prorelational behavior when facing various conflicts of interests in a romantic relationship.
Evaluation of the low-frequency components in surface electromyography

The surface electromyogram (SEMG) is a signal noninvasively (through electrodes located on the body surface) acquired for evaluating the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. In thoracic acquisitions, SEMG is typically affected by the electrocardiographic (ECG) signal, representing the electrical activity of the heart. SEMG and ECG power spectra mainly fall within 5-450 Hz and 0.05-50 Hz, respectively. Consequently, SEMG and ECG components overlap in the 5-50 Hz range. Although removing SEMG low spectral components, high-pass linear filtering (LF) with a cut-off frequency of 20 Hz remains the standard technique to clean SEMG from ECG. Thus, the aim of the present study was to propose the Segmented Beat Modulation Method (SBMM) as a tool to clean SEMG from ECG without removing SEMG components below 20 Hz. A SEMG recording was first acquired from the left rectus abdominis of a subject, and then filtered using both SBMM and LF. Filtered SEMGs obtained with the two techniques were compared. Results indicate that SBMM eliminates ECG interference from SEMG better than LF, since the latter procedure maintains ECG components between 20 and 50 Hz. In addition, after ECG removal by SBMM, SEMG showed a significant amount of spectral components (up to 20%) in the low-frequency range. Maintaining such low-frequency components, which go lost when applying LF, is desirable since they likely associate to the firing rates of the active motor units. In conclusion, SBMM represents a useful tool to clean SEMG from ECG without loss of frequency components.