Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conceptions of Giftedness: Nurturing Talent in Gifted Students of Color

Gifted Black students are a minority within a minority – an anomaly in gifted programs. As a gifted Black student, I walked in two worlds. Teachers had a difficult time understanding me, for I was gifted and Black – it was an oxymoron, just as gifted underachievement appears paradoxical. … As a gifted Black student who learned to underachieve, I needed several things to ensure a healthy school experience. Donna Y. Ford (1996, p. xi) For many students of color in the United States, the identification, assessment and nurturance of giftedness are complicated by limited opportunities to learn, psychological and social pressures, and racial and ethnic discrimination. One of the most pernicious expressions of these complicating factors is the persistent though unacknowledged notion of intellectual inferiority. Unlike most of their European American and Asian American peers, Black and other ethnic minority gifted youth are confronted with the potential for academic failure that defies predictions based on demonstrated ability and even trumps expectations of high achievement. To the extent that a significant number of students of color in college, particularly Black males, perform well below their tested abilities, as research on the predictive value of the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) attests (Bridgeman, McCamley-Jenkins, & Ervin, 2000; Young, 2001), it is incumbent on researchers and practitioners to find effective means to nurture the intellective development of students of color with exceptional academic ability.
The Buywell Way: seven essential practices of a highly successful multi-channel e-tailer

After the dot-com bust there is considerable evidence that multi-channel retailers are more successful than purely on-line retailers. Multi-channel retailing is becoming mainstream and considerable research exists on successful multi-channel strategies. Despite this, some organisations are having more success than others with their multi-channel approach. We talked to the management of one of Australasia’s most successful multi-channel apparel and home-ware retailers about the theory and practice of multi-channel retailing, with the aim of building on existing theory in multi-channel e-commerce.
Multi-Server Coded Caching

In this paper, we consider multiple cache-enabled clients connected to multiple servers through an intermediate network. We design several topology-aware coding strategies for such networks. Based on the topology richness of the intermediate network, and types of coding operations at internal nodes, we define three classes of networks, namely, dedicated, flexible, and linear networks. For each class, we propose an achievable coding scheme, analyze its coding delay, and also compare it with an information theoretic lower bound. For flexible networks, we show that our scheme is order-optimal in terms of coding delay and, interestingly, the optimal memory-delay curve is achieved in certain regimes. In general, our results suggest that, in the case of networks with multiple servers, type of network topology can be exploited to reduce service delay.
Cell migration and organization in the intestinal crypt using a lattice‐free model

We present a novel class of spatial models of cell movement and arrangement applied to the two‐dimensional cellular organization of the intestinal crypt. The model differs from earlier approaches in using a dynamic movement on a lattice‐free cylindrical surface. Cell movement is a consequence of mitotic activity. Cells interact by viscoelastic forces. Voronoi tessellation permits simulations of individual cell boundaries. Simulations can be compared with experimental data obtained from cell scoring in sections. Simulation studies show that the model is consistent with the experimental results for the spatial distribution of labelling indices, mitotic indices and other observed phenomena using a fixed number of stem cells and a fixed number of transit cell divisions.
Home-Based Telerehabilitation Using a Virtual Environment System

We describe a Telerehabilitation system that has been developed in our laboratory. The system allows a therapist in a remote location to conduct treatment sessions, using a virtual environment based motor training system, with a patient who is located at home. The design, technical testing and clinical feasibility testing of the system are reported. Results from the first two stroke patients to use the system indicate that patients made significant gains in upper extremity function as measured by standard clinical tests and by their subjective report.
The Effects of Disability Awareness Trainings with Career and Technical Educators Teaching in High Need Rural Schools

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a series of disability awareness workshops and their effects on rural career and technical education teachers who have students with disabilities in their classrooms. Two research questions were posed: (a) Will career and technical education teachers who receive a disability awareness workshop demonstrate a greater knowledge base in disability issues and legislation? and (b) Will employees who receive a disability awareness workshop alter their attitudes toward students with disabilities? Sixteen career and technical education teachers from the Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) participated in this study. The teachers attended four disability awareness workshops over the span of one school year. The Facts on Disabilities Scale (FAD) and the Interaction with Disabled Persons Scale (IDP) were used as pretest/posttest measurements of knowledge about disabilities and attitudes towards students with disabilities. Results indicated an increase in degree of knowledge of issues pertinent to people with disabilities and an increase in positive attitudes toward a person with a disability.
Characterizing the microenvironment surrounding protein sites

Sites are microenvironments within a biomolecular structure, distinguished by their structural or functional role. A site can be defined by a three‐dimensional location and a local neighborhood around this location in which the structure or function exists. We have developed a computer system to facilitate structural analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) of biomolecular sites. Our system automatically examines the spatial distributions of biophysical and biochemical properties, and reports those regions within a site where the distribution of these properties differs significantly from control nonsites. The properties range from simple atom‐based characteristics such as charge to polypeptide‐based characteristics such as type of secondary structure. Our analysis of sites uses non‐sites as controls, providing a baseline for the quantitative assessment of the significance of the features that are uncovered. In this paper, we use radial distributions of properties to study three well‐known sites (the binding sites for calcium, the milieu of disulfide bridges, and the serine protease active site). We demonstrate that the system automatically finds many of the previously described features of these sites and augments these features with some new details. In some cases, we cannot confirm the statistical significance of previously reported features. Our results demonstrate that analysis of protein structure is sensitive to assumptions about background distributions, and that these distributions should be considered explicitly during structural analyses.
Raven's Progressive Matrices

Developed by British psychologist J. C. Raven and first published in 1938, the progressive matrices (PM) tests measure the ability to deduce relationships within geometric patterns or among figural elements contained in a matrix. Items employ either a complete pattern from which a piece has been removed, or figural elements placed in discrete rows and columns, with one element missing. The missing element must be selected from six or eight answer choices presented. These tests reportedly assess the ability to impose meaning on confusion, to formulate nonverbal constructs to explain complex relationships, and to minimize the influences of verbal communication and past experience (J. Raven, J. C. Raven, & Court, 1998, p. 1). Keywords: intelligence measures; nonverbal intelligence tests; cross-cultural tests; culture-fair tests; general intelligence tests
A Context-Aware Semantic Web Service Execution Agent

This paper presents the research on agent technology development for context-aware execution of semantic web services, more specifically, the development of SEA (Service Execution Agent), a semantic web services execution agent that uses context information to adapt the execution process to a specific situation, thus improving its effectiveness and providing a faster and better service. Preliminary results show that the introduction of context information and context-aware capabilities in a service execution environment can speed up the execution process, in spite of the overhead that it is introduced by the agents’ communication and processing of context information. The developed service execution agent uses standards such as OWL-S service descriptions and WSDL grounding information. Also, an AgentGrounding definition has been proposed to enable the execution of semantic web services provided by agents.
Pancreatic Stent or Rectal Indomethacin—Which Better Prevents Post-ERCP Pancreatitis?

AbstractWe investigated and compared 2 clinical strategies to prevent postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis (PEP). We retrospectively reviewed data from patients who underwent ERCP between 2008 and 2014. Of 623 patients at high risk for PEP, 145 were treated with prophylactic pancreatic stent placement (PSP) only, and 478 were treated with rectal indomethacin (RI) only, for PEP prevention. Patients were matched by one-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) by risk factors, with overall PEP incidence as primary outcome, and moderate or severe PEP and complication rates as secondary outcomes.Of 623 patients with high-risk factors, 145 pairs were generated after PSM. Thirty-two patients developed pancreatitis—10 (6.9 %) in the PSP group and 22 (15.2 %) in the RI group (P = 0.025). Moderate-to-severe pancreatitis developed in 5 patients (2.8%) in the PSP group and 14 patients (9.7 %) in the RI group (P = 0.047). Although indomethacin represents an easy, inexpensive treatment, prophylactic PSP is still the better prevention strategy for PEP.
Why the Google IPO Might Stay Exotic - An Experimental Analysis of Offering Mechanisms

Despite their theoretical efficiency in selling shares to the public, auctions are not the preferred mechanisms of issuers in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). Chemmanur and Liu (2006) [WP] and Sherman (2005) [JFE 78, 615-649] provide a rational explanation for this "IPO auction puzzle" based on the notion that issuers are not only interested in maximizing the offering proceeds, but also care about the secondary market price and thus try to induce many investors to produce information about the IPO. In this paper, we report an experimental study that was set up to test the mechanisms underlying this reasoning. Our findings strongly support the theoretical argument. If the issuer has some discretion in setting the offering price (as with bookbuilding or fixed-price offerings), he can maintain investors' propensity to produce information by appropriately adjusting the offering price even if information costs are high. In auctions, however, high information costs inevitably result in a low propensity to produce information. This is a consequence of investors' competitive bidding behavior which prevents them from recovering the costs of information production. Our results provide experimental support for the theoretical argument that an auction is not the preferable offering mechanism for young and risky IPO firms since the costs of producing information about such firms are high, but there is also a strong need to generate information.
Distributed Memory Ltl Model Checking

Distribution and parallelization of model checking algorithms is receiving a growing interest as an additional technique to attack the state space explosion problem. In particular , networks of workstations are used to provide model checking algorithms with aggregate memory and computational power of several interconnected computers. Thus they allow distributed memory algorithms to verify larger (hence more realistic) systems. The thesis focuses on the automata-based approach to the LTL model checking problem. This approach reduces the problem of LTL model checking to the problem of non-emptiness of a B ¨ uchi automaton which can be further reduced to the problem of the existence of an accepting cycle in the corresponding automaton graph. Unfortunately, the standard Nested DFS algorithm, which is used to solve the problem in the sequential case, is hardly parallelized because it builds on the depth first search postorder whose computation is an inherently sequential problem. There are three completely new algorithms suggested in this thesis to solve the accepting cycle detection problem in a distributed memory environment. The first one employs the verified LTL formula to achieve such a distribution of the graph that it suffices to perform local cycle detection only (hence, the standard sequential Nested DFS algorithm can be used). However, such a distribution of the graph is quite limited. The second suggested algorithm exploits an additional data structure that is built during the exploration of the graph to reveal the presence of a distributed cycle. Local cycles are detected locally using the standard Nested DFS algorithm again. The additional data structure, called dependency structure, covers mutual reachability of selected states of the graph, and is distributed among participating workstation in the same way as the graph. The third presented algorithm builds on the breadth first search of the graph and thus it avoids the problematic depth first search postorder. It employs the fact that every cycle has to contain a back-level edge, i.e. an edge that does not increase the distance of the target state of the edge from an initial state of the graph. All back-level edges are detected by the primary search procedure of the algorithm and then they are tested for being the part of a cycle by nested search procedures. All suggested algorithms are formally protein and experimentally evaluated in the thesis. iii Acknowledgments
Culture, Society and Sexuality: A Reader

1. Introduction Richard Parker & Peter Aggleton Section I: Culture, Society and Sexuality: Part 1: Conceptual Frameworks: 2. Sexual Matters: On Conceptualizing Sexuality in History Robert A. Padgug 3. Sexual Scripts William Simon & John H. Gagnon 4. Anthropology Rediscovers Sexuality: A Theoretical Comment Carole S. Vance Part 2: Gender and Power: 5. Gender as a Useful Category of Historical Analysis Joan Wallach Scott 6. 'Gender' for a Marxist Dictionary: The Sexual Politics of a Word Donna J. Haraway 7. 'That We Should All Turn Queer? ': Homosexual Stigma in the Making of Manhood and the Breaking of a Revolution in Nicaragua Roger N. Lancaster Part 3: From Gender to Sexuality: 8. Discourse, Desire and Sexual Deviance: Some Problems in a History of Homosexuality Jeffrey Weeks 9. Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality Gayle S. Rubin 10. 'The Unclean Motion of the Generative Parts': Frameworks in Western Thought on Sexuality Robert W. Connell & Gary W. Dowsett Part 4: Sexual Idenities/Sexual Communities: 11. Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence Adrienne Rich 12. The Hijras of India: Cultural and Individual Dimensions of an Institutionalized Third Gender Role Serena Nanda 13. Capitalism and Gay Identity John D'Emilio Section II: Sexuality, Sexual Meanings and HIV/AIDS: Part 5: Sexual Classifications: 14. 'Within Four Walls': Brazilian Sexual Culture and HIV/AIDS Richard Parker 15. Silences: 'Hispanics', AIDS, and Sexual Practices Ana Maria Alonso & Maria Teresa Koreck 16. HIV, Heroin and Heterosexual Relations Stephanie Kane Part 6: Sexual Meanings and HIV/AIDS Prevention: 17. Prostitution Viewed Cross-culturally: Toward Recontextualizing Sex Work in AIDS Intervention Research Barbara O. de Zalduondo 18. Sexual Diversity, Cultural Analysis, and AIDS Education in Brazil Richard Parker 19. Sexuality, Identity and Community: The Experience of MESMAC Katie Deverell & Alan Prout Part 7: Sexual Representations and the Politics of AIDS: 20. AIDS, Homophobia and Biomedical Discourse: An Epidemic of Signification Paula Treichler 21. Inventing 'African AIDS' Cindy Patton 22. Safer Sex as Community Practice Simon Watney Part 8: Methodological Approaches: 23. Sexual Culture, HIV Transmission, and AIDS Research Richard G. Parker, Gilbert Herdt & Manuel Carballo 24. Mapping Terra Incognita: Sex Research for AIDS Prevention - An Urgent Agenda for the 1990s Ralph Bolton 25. Feminist Methodology and Young People's Sexuality Janet Holland, Caroline Ramazanoglu, Sue Sharpe & Rachel Thomson
Design and implementation of an automatic message-routing system for low-cost telemedicine

summary Email has been used for some years as a low-cost telemedicine medium to provide support for developing countries. However, all operations have been relatively small scale and fairly labour intensive to administer. A scalable, automatic message-routing system was constructed which automates many of the tasks. During a four-month study period in 2002, 485 messages were processed automatically. There were 31 referrals from eight hospitals in three countries. These referrals were handled by 25 volunteer specialists from a panel of 42. Two system operators, located 10 time zones apart, managed the system. The median time from receipt of a new referral to its allocation to a specialist was 1.0 days (interquartile range 0.7–2.4). The median interval between allocation and first reply was 0.7 days (interquartile range 0.3–2.3). Automatic message handling solves many of the problems of manual email telemedicine systems and represents a potentially scalable way of doing low-cost telemedicine in the developing world.
Co-Opetitive Contracting in Service Value Networks

Based on the graph-based Vickrey auction in service value networks introduced by Blau et al. [1], we analyze strategic behavior of service providers in networked formations regarding their opportunities to foster bilateral cooperative agreements. Introducing enforceable ex-ante agreements between adjacent service providers in a Service Value Network (SVNs), we investigate beneficial investment strategies that aim at reducing communication cost between sequentially composed services. The contribution at hand is twofold: Based on the foundation of SVNs and the efficient allocation of services through a graph-based Vickrey auction as presented in Blau et al. [1], [2] we (i) develop a model of cooperation and show analytically that, in the overall non-cooperative setting at hand, our model of cooperation implements a mutual weakly dominant strategy for adjacent service providers to reduce the cost of communication by customizing their service offerings. Transferring our results into practice, we (ii) demonstrate the valuable properties of our model of cooperation by providing a comprehensive application scenario.
Multi-channel audio-based estimation of the Pre-Ejection Period

Systolic time intervals (STI) have significant diagnostic and prognostic value to assess the global cardiac function. Presently, STIs are regarded as a promising tool for long-term follow-up of patients with chronic cardiovascular diseases. Heart sound has proven to be a valuable approach for STI estimation, in particular for the Pre-Ejection Period (PEP). However, since the optimal auscultation site varies from individual to individual, as well as with the position of the body, its application in single-channel and fixed auscultation site setups poses practical difficulties. Hence, we extend our previous work on PEP estimation to a multi-channel sound acquisition setup, where signal redundancy is exploited. A channel selection method is proposed and the best channel is selected for PEP estimation. As a preliminary study, the devised algorithms were evaluated with respect to echocardiography reference on a set of 236 heartbeats collected from 8 healthy subjects in two sound auscultation sites. The channel selection approach led to 8.4% estimation error decrease, in comparison to a single-channel approach. Current results support our assumption that a multi-channel audio-based strategy can be applied to assess STI in personal health application scenarios.
Reduction in memory in passive avoidance learning, exploratory behaviour and synaptic plasticity in mice with a spontaneous deletion in the ubiquitin C‐terminal hydrolase L1 gene

Overexpression of ubiquitin C‐terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH‐L1) in mice rescues amyloid β‐protein‐induced decreases in synaptic plasticity and memory. However, the physiological role of UCH‐L1 in the brain is not fully understood. In the present study, we investigated the role of UCH‐L1 in the brain by utilizing gracile axonal dystrophy (gad) mice with a spontaneous deletion in the gene Uch‐l1 as a loss‐of‐function model. Although gad mice exhibit motor paresis beginning at ∼ 12 weeks of age, it is possible to analyse their brain phenotypes at a younger age when no motor paresis is evident. Maintenance of memory in a passive avoidance test and exploratory behaviour in an open field test were reduced in 6‐week‐old gad mice. The maintenance of theta‐burst stimulation‐induced long‐term potentiation (LTP) of field synaptic responses from Schaffer collaterals to CA1 pyramidal cells in hippocampal slices was also impaired in gad mice. The LTP in gad mice was insensitive to actinomycin D, suggesting that a transcription‐dependent component of the LTP is impaired. Phosphorylation of cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices from gad mice occurred earlier than in the slices from wild‐type mice and was transient, suggesting that CREB phosphorylation is altered in gad mice. These results suggest that memory in passive avoidance learning, exploratory behaviour and hippocampal CA1 LTP are reduced in gad mice. We propose that UCH‐L1‐mediated maintenance of the temporal integrity and persistence of CREB phosphorylation underlies these impairments.
Fail-aware failure detectors

In existing asynchronous distributed systems it is impossible to implement failure detectors which are perfect, i.e. they only suspect crashed processes and eventually suspect all crashed processes. Some recent research has however proposed that any "reasonable" failure detector for solving the election problem must be perfect. We address this problem by introducing two new classes of fail-aware failure detectors that are (1) implementable in existing asynchronous distributed systems, (2) not necessarily perfect, and (3) can be used to solve the election problem. In particular we show that there exists a fail-aware failure detector that allows to solve the election problem and which is strictly weaker than a perfect failure detector.
Rumor spreading and inoculation of nodes in complex networks

Over the Internet or on social networks rumors can spread and can affect the society in disaster. The question one asks about this phenomenon is that whether these rumors can be suppressed using suitable mechanisms. One of the possible solutions is to inoculate a certain fraction of nodes against rumors. The inoculation can be done randomly or in targeted fashion. In this paper, small world network model has been used to investigate the efficiency of inoculation. It has been found that if average degree of small world network is small than both inoculation methods are successful. When average degree is large, neither of these methods are able to stop rumor spreading. But if acceptability of rumor is reduced along with inoculation, the rumor spreading can be stopped even in this case.The proposed hypothesis has been verified using simulation experiments.