Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Dimensionality Reduction for K-means Clustering

We study the topic of dimensionality reduction methods for k-means clustering. Dimensionality reduction encompasses the union of two approaches; feature selection and feature extraction. First, feature selection selects a small subset of actual features from the data and then runs the clustering algorithm only on the selected features. Second, feature extraction constructs a small set of new artificial features and then runs the clustering algorithm only on the constructed features. Despite the significance of the problem as well as the wealth of heuristic methods addressing it there exist no provably accurate feature selection methods. On the other hand, two provably accurate feature extraction methods for k-means exist: the first one is randomized and is based on Random Projections; the other, is deterministic and it is based on the Singular Value Decomposition. This paper addresses this shortcoming by presenting the first provably accurate feature selection method for k-means clustering. We also present two novel feature extraction methods: the first one is based on Random Projections and improves the existing result in terms of speed and number of features needed to be extracted; the other is based on fast approximate SVD factorizations and improves the existing result in terms of speed. All three methods of our work are randomized and, with constant probability, provide constant-factor approximation guarantees with respect to the optimal k-means objective value.
Learning from Students about Representation, Identity, and Community

In this article, students from a small, predominantly Navajo high school speak for themselves about their lives, their educational experiences, their culture, and their hopes for the future. They demonstrate clearly their desire to maintain close allegiance to their home language and culture, while finding ways to achieve success in the wider world. The article also demonstrates that how these youth see themselves is frequently different from how educators represent them. Thus, in the interface of competing allegiances, perceptions, and understandings, are clues for creating school communities built on difference rather than homogeneity.
Teacher Research as a Robust and Reflective Path to Professional Development

This article explores the role of teacher research as part of a robust program of professional development. Teacher research offers teachers at every stage of development a recursive and reflective means of bridging the gap between current practice and potential professional growth. The purpose of this dual level inquiry was to probe the concept of teacher research as a path to professional development through examination of a 3-year professional development initiative known as the Master Teacher Program (MTP). This study provides a rationale and context for utilizing teacher research as a form of professional development, an analysis of teacher research projects in each of two cohorts involved in the MTP initiative, and discussion of outcomes and themes, such as increased confidence and professionalism, that emerged from this research.
Discovery of Paradigm Dependencies

Missing and incorrect values often cause serious consequences. To deal with these data quality problems, a class of common employed tools are dependency rules, such as Functional Dependencies (FDs), Conditional Functional Dependencies (CFDs) and Edition Rules (ERs), etc. The stronger expressing ability a dependency has, data with the better quality can be obtained. To the best of our knowledge, all previous dependencies treat each attribute value as a non-splittable whole. Actually however, in many applications, part of a value may contains meaningful information, indicating that more powerful dependency rules to handle data quality problems are possible. In this paper, we consider of discovering such type of dependencies in which the left hand side is part of a regular-expression-like paradigm, named Paradigm Dependencies (PDs). PDs tell that if a string matches the paradigm, element at the specified position can decides a certain other attribute's value. We propose a framework in which strings with similar coding rules and different lengths are clustered together and aligned vertically, from which PDs can be discovered directly. The aligning problem is the key component of this framework and is proved in NP-Complete. A greedy algorithm is introduced in which the clustering and aligning tasks can be accomplished simultaneously. Because of the greedy algorithm's high time complexity, several pruning strategies are proposed to reduce the running time. In the experimental study, three real datasets as well as several synthetical datasets are employed to verify our methods' effectiveness and efficiency.
Plasma phospholipid fatty acids and fish-oil consumption in relation to osteoporotic fracture risk in older adults: the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility Study.

BACKGROUND Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may play a role in fracture, but studies have been largely confined to estimates of dietary intake. OBJECTIVE We aimed to examine associations between fatty acids measured in late life and fish-oil consumption in early life, midlife, and late life with osteoporotic fracture risk. DESIGN Osteoporotic fractures were determined from medical records over 5-9 y of follow-up in men and women aged 66-96 y. Data were analyzed from 1438 participants including 898 participants who were randomly selected from the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility Study, which is an observational study, and 540 participants with incident fracture. Plasma phospholipid fatty acids were assessed by using gas chromatography. Fish-oil consumption was assessed by using validated questionnaires as never (referent), less than daily, or daily. HRs and 95% CIs adjusted for age, education, height, weight, diabetes, physical activity, and medications were estimated by using Cox regression. RESULTS In men, the highest tertile of PUFAs, n-3 (ω-3), and eicosapentaenoic acid were associated with decreased fracture risk [HRs (95% CIs): 0.60 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.89), 0.66 (0.45, 0.95), and 0.59 (0.41, 0.86), respectively]. In women, PUFAs tended to be inversely associated with fracture risk (P-trend = 0.06), but tertiles 2 and 3 were not independently associated with risk. Tertile 2 of n-6 and arachidonic acid was associated with fracture risk in women [HRs (95% CIs): 1.43 (1.10, 1.85) and 1.42 (1.09, 1.85), respectively]. Daily fish-oil consumption in late life was associated with lower fracture risk in men (HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.91). Daily fish-oil consumption in midlife was associated with lower fracture risk in women (HR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.58, 0.98). CONCLUSIONS Greater PUFA concentrations may be associated with lower osteoporotic fracture risk in older adults, particularly in men. Critical time periods for n-3 fatty acid consumption may differ by sex.
Application of Coded Modulation to 1.544-Mbit/s Data-in-Voice Modems for FDM FM and SSB Analog Radio Systems

The technical issues relevant to providing high-quality digital service over analog radio using 1.544-Mbit/s DS-1 data-invoice modems operating through analog supergroup channels with 256-QAM modulation are reviewed. By means of a typical example, the desirability of increasing the fading margin when operating over FM radio systems is demonstrated. This motivates the consideration of coded modulation as a means of extending the threshold of the modem System, so that operation of the modem can be achieved in supergroup channels located higher in the radio baseband. It is found that trellis coded modulation provides better improvement of threshold performance than lattice coded modulation when the actual coding gain realized near the R 0 channel bound is used rather than the high signalto-noise-ratio (SNR)asymptotic coding gains. Using Ungerboeck's eight-state trellis code [3], a coding gain of approximately 2 dB is found for operation at 28 dB SNR (1 dB from the R 0 bound). Furthermore, it is found that even at this low operating SNR (where error events at the coded modulation receiver ouput can be long), high-rate, interleaved Reed-Solomon codes, used for burst noise protection at high SNR, still provide over 2 dB of additional coding gain.
Attenuation of liver pro-inflammatory responses by Zingiber officinale via inhibition of NF-kappa B activation in high-fat diet-fed rats.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether treatment with a ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract of high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rats suppresses Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)-driven hepatic inflammation and to subsequently explore the molecular mechanisms in vitro. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with an ethanolic extract of Zingiber officinale (400 mg/kg) along with a HFD for 6 weeks. Hepatic cytokine mRNA levels, cytokine protein levels and NF-κB activation were measured by real-time PCR, Western blot and an NF-κB nuclear translocation assay, respectively. In vitro, cell culture studies were carried out in human hepatocyte (HuH-7) cells by treatment with Zingiber officinale (100 μg/mL) for 24 hr prior to interleukin-1β (IL-1β, 8 ng/mL)-induced inflammation. We showed that Zingiber officinale treatment decreased cytokine gene TNFα and IL-6 expression in HFD-fed rats, which was associated with suppression of NF-κB activation. In vitro, Zingiber officinale treatment decreased NF-κB-target inflammatory gene expression of IL-6, IL-8 and serum amyloid A1 (SAA1), while it suppressed NF-κB activity, IκBα degradation and IκB kinase (IKK) activity. In conclusion, Zingiber officinale suppressed markers of hepatic inflammation in HFD-fed rats, as demonstrated by decreased hepatic cytokine gene expression and decreased NF-κB activation. The study demonstrates that the anti-inflammatory effect of Zingiber officinale occurs at least in part through the NF-κB signalling pathway.
An Exemplar-Based Approach to Risk Assessment: Validating the Risk Management Systems Instrument

This study examines the predictive validity of Risk Management Systems (RMS), a fifth-generation risk/needs assessment. In contrast to traditional risk assessments, the RMS uses exemplar-based modeling to classify offenders as high or low risk. Using a sample (N = 830) of offenders on supervised release by the U.S. Probation Office, the current study explores the relationship between the RMS scores and recidivism. The results indicate that RMS recidivism and violence scores are predictive of arrests, technical violations, and unsuccessful terminations from supervision. However, only a limited number of offenders were assigned to the high-risk category, which may limit the utility of the instrument. Policy implications are discussed.
Extending Lundman's theory on policing: the evidence from the literature focusing on India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and propose an extension of Lundman's theory. Lundman presented a theoretical framework that predicted the evolution of policing from an informal to a formal type. Essentially, he stated that the types of policing in society were determined by the patterns of solidarity, elite interests, and crimes rates/images of disorder. This research argued that the theory could be extended not only to predict the type of policing but also the quality and quantity of policing. Particularly, this research explored the relationships of the elite interest and the rates/images of criminality to policing practices by examining evidence from the research literature about India.Design/methodology/approach – Research studies about Indian police practices were extracted from the major western criminology, criminal justice, and policing journals. Using content analyses, two propositions were analyzed. The first proposition was that the evidence from the literature would suggest .
Evaluation of Anthelmintic Activities of Aerial Parts of Cynodon dactylon Pers

The Anthelmintic activities of different extracts of aerial parts of Cynodon dactylon Pers were evaluated separately on adult Indian earthworm (Pheritima posthuma). It was found that petroleum ether (PECD), chloroform (CECD), ethanol (EECD), aqueous extract (AECD) of C. dactylon showed anthelmintic activities at the concentration of 5 mg/ml of each. The anthelmintic effects of PECD, CECD, EECD and AECD at 10-mg/ml concentrations were comparable with that of the effects produced by the reference standards, albendazole (10 mg/ml) and piperazine citrate (10 mg/ml).
Reform, inequalities of process and the transformative potential of communities of practice in the pre-school sector of England

The integration of care and education across pre-school sectors of several European countries is currently a key policy priority. In England this necessitates reform aimed at re-modelling a traditionally hierarchical and divided workforce. Drawing on research with early years professionals, this article explores the micro-politics of reform with a focus on the extent to which workers in pre-school settings are engaging in new collaborative ways of working. In particular, the transformative potential of the communities of practice model in shaping changes to the early years workforce is discussed. Findings reveal the intersection of social class as labour-market position with several cross-cutting issues and their importance in perpetuating continuing inequalities of process. These present a challenge to the emergence of any new form of collaborative inter-professional working arrangements within the English early years context.
PISA 2006: An Assessment of Scientific Literacy.

This article introduces the essential features of the science component of 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Administered every 3 years, PISA alternates emphasis on Reading, Mathematics, and Science Literacy. In 2006, PISA emphasized science. This article discusses PISA's definition of scientific literacy, the three competencies that constitute scientific literacy, the contexts used for assessment units and items, the role of scientific knowledge, and the importance placed on attitude toward science. PISA 2006 included a student test, a student questionnaire, and a questionnaire for school administrators. The student test employed a balanced incomplete block design involving thirteen 30-minute clusters of items, including nine science clusters. The 13 clusters were arranged into thirteen 2-hour booklets and each sampled student was assigned one booklet at random. Mean literacy scores are presented for all participating countries, and the percentages of OECD students at the six levels of proficiency are given for the combined scale and for the competency scales. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 865–883, 2009
Venous access in oncology and haematology patients:part two.

Aim To assess the validity and inter-rater reliability of two tools, Venous Assessment Tool (VAT) and Deciding on Intra Venous Access (DIVA), using thematic analysis of feedback from nurses who used the tools. Method Analysis methods used in grounded theory were employed to investigate the written feedback provided by nurses. Inter-rater reliability was tested statistically using percentage agreement and the kappa (K) statistic. FindingsThematic analysis of the nurses' feedback generated themes concerning the role of clinical judgement, how theory translates to practice and the role of patient preference when using VAT and DIVA. Exploring these themes confirmed the validity of the tools and highlighted the importance of these considerations when evaluating the usefulness of assessment tools in the clinical environment. When VAT was used by a group of nurses to assess patients, the strength of agreement statistically was 'moderate'. When using DIVA, the tool demonstrated 'very good' agreement statistically. Conclusion When used with oncology and haematology patients, VAT and DIVA have been shown to generate agreement among the nurses who used them beyond that which would be expected by chance. As the only tools of this kind with evidence of inter-rater reliability, they provide clinicians with a useful resource which can be used in practice or research. However, the use of assessment tools cannot replace clinical judgement or override the preferences of patients.
Chroma Binary Similarity and Local Alignment Applied to Cover Song Identification

We present a new technique for audio signal comparison based on tonal subsequence alignment and its application to detect cover versions (i.e., different performances of the same underlying musical piece). Cover song identification is a task whose popularity has increased in the music information retrieval (MIR) community along in the past, as it provides a direct and objective way to evaluate music similarity algorithms. This paper first presents a series of experiments carried out with two state-of-the-art methods for cover song identification. We have studied several components of these (such as chroma resolution and similarity, transposition, beat tracking or dynamic time warping constraints), in order to discover which characteristics would be desirable for a competitive cover song identifier. After analyzing many cross-validated results, the importance of these characteristics is discussed, and the best performing ones are finally applied to the newly proposed method. Multiple evaluations of this one confirm a large increase in identification accuracy when comparing it with alternative state-of-the-art approaches.
Concept maps for assessing change in learning: a study of undergraduate business students in first-year marketing in China

This paper explains the application of concept mapping to help foster a learning-centred approach. It investigates how concept maps are used to measure the change in learning following a two-week intensive undergraduate Marketing Principles course delivered to 162 Chinese students undertaking a Bachelor of Business Administration programme in China. Using four scoring procedures (breadth of knowledge, relational quality, structural quality and holistic quality), student learning is assessed in terms of prior and new knowledge, as well as improvement in knowledge structure. Concept map scores are correlated with conventional measures of overall student performance. The results provide strong evidence for improvement in students’ ability to externalise new learned concepts resulting from intensive instruction. Incorporating concept maps as a contemporary method of learning in the curriculum potentially enriches student learning, provides a measure of the impact of teaching on students’ learning and adds val.
Polymorphism in the interleukin-17A promoter contributes to gastric cancer.

AIM To evaluate the contribution of the G-197A polymorphism in the interleukin-17 (IL-17) promoter region to gastric cancer risk in an Iranian population. METHODS We performed a case control study using samples from 161 individuals with gastric cancer and 171 healthy controls. For each individual, the G-197A genotype was determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified fragments. Statistical analyses were performed to determine whether any demographic or behavioral factors, infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), or a particular G-197A genotype was associated with gastric cancer risk. RESULTS We found that the G-197A genotype was significantly associated with increased gastric cancer risk (P = 0.001). Patients who were homozygous (AA) at position -197 were 2.9 times more likely to develop disease (95%CI: 1.56-5.4; P = 0.001). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis revealed that the presence of a single A allele increased the risk of gastric cancer up to 1.7-fold (95%CI: 1.26-2.369; P = 0.001). This association was observed for early stage gastric adenocarcinomas only, and was not linked to H. pylori infection. CONCLUSION These results suggest that carrying one or more G-197A polymorphisms at position -197 in the IL-17 promoter region significantly increases gastric cancer risk in this patient population.
Constraint Handling in NSGA-II for Solving Optimal Testing Resource Allocation Problems

In software testing, optimal testing resource allocation problems (OTRAPs) are important when seeking a good tradeoff between reliability, cost, and time with limited resources. There have been intensive studies of OTRAPs using multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs), but little attention has been paid to the constraint handling. This paper comprehensively investigates the effect of the constraint handling on the performance of nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) for solving OTRAPs, from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. The heuristics for individual repairs are first proposed to handle constraint violations in NSGA-II, based on which several properties are derived. Additionally, the Z-score based Euclidean distance is adopted to estimate the difference between solutions. Finally, the above methods are evaluated and the experiments show several results. 1) The developed heuristics for constraint handling are better than the Existing Strategy in terms of the capacity and coverage values. 2) The Z-score operation obtains better diversity values and reduces repeated solutions. 3) The modified NSGA-II for OTRAPs (called NSGA-II-TRA) performs significantly better than the existing MOEAs in terms of capacity and coverage values, which suggests that NSGA-II-TRA could obtain more and higher quality testing-time-allocation schemes, especially for large, complex datasets. 4) NSGA-II-TRA is robust according to the sensitivity analysis results.
Curve and surface smoothing without shrinkage

For a number of computational purposes, including visualization of scientific data and registration of multimodal medical data, smooth curves must be approximated by polygonal curves, and surfaces by polyhedral surfaces. An inherent problem of these approximation algorithms is that the resulting curves and surfaces appear faceted. Boundary-following and iso-surface construction algorithms are typical examples. To reduce the apparent faceting, smoothing methods are used. In this paper, we introduce a new method for smoothing piecewise linear shapes of arbitrary dimension and topology. This new method is in fact a linear low-pass filter that removes high-curvature variations, and does not produce shrinkage. Its computational complexity is linear in the number of edges or faces of the shape, and the required storage is linear in the number of vertices. <<ETX>>
Discourse Analysis: The Sociolinguistic Analysis of Natural Language

Linguistics has traditionally concentrated on studying single sentences or isolated speech acts. In this book Michael Stubbs explores one of the most promising new directions in contemporary linguistics the study of many sentences and how they fit together to form discourse. Using many examples drawn from recorded conversations, fieldwork observations, experimental data, and written texts, he discusses such questions as how far discourse structure is comparable to sentence structure; whether it is possible to talk of "well formed" discourse as one does of "grammatical" sentences; and whether the relation between question and answer in conversation is syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic. "