Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Which are the ‘best’ feeder schools in Ireland? Analysing school performance using student third level destination data

This paper represents an investigation of the broad factors which underpin the success of second-level schools in terms of the proportion of their ‘sits’ who proceed to third-level education and, also, in terms of the ‘quality’ of their educational destinations. It distinguishes between three school types: public (non-fee paying, English language) private (fee paying, English language), and Gaelscoil (non-fee paying, Irish language). Both private schools and the Gaelscoileanna reported much better results than public schools. The paper disentangles the nature of this advantage by investigating the extent to which the private school and Gaelscoil advantage over public schools was predicated on better circumstances and/or on better responses to circumstances. Our results show that private schools and the Gaelscoileanna had a response advantage over public schools: if private schools and the Gaelscoileanna were constrained to responding to their circumstances in the manner in which public schools responded to theirs, the performance of private schools and the Gaelscoileanna would suffer. By constraining the coefficient responses of all three types of schools to be that of public schools, we arrive at a revised list of the ‘best performing’ 25 feeder schools in Ireland. This is different from, but not dissimilar to, a ranking of the best performing 25 schools based on their raw performance.
Botulinum Toxin for Neuropathic Pain: A Review of the Literature

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), derived from Clostridium botulinum, has been used therapeutically for focal dystonia, spasticity, and chronic migraine. Its spectrum as a potential treatment for neuropathic pain has grown. Recent opinions on the mechanism behind the antinociceptive effects of BoNT suggest that it inhibits the release of peripheral neurotransmitters and inflammatory mediators from sensory nerves. There is some evidence showing the axonal transport of BoNT, but it remains controversial. The aim of this review is to summarize the experimental and clinical evidence of the antinociceptive effects, mechanisms, and therapeutic applications of BoNT for neuropathic pain conditions, including postherpetic neuralgia, complex regional pain syndrome, and trigeminal neuralgia. The PubMed and OvidSP databases were searched from 1966 to May 2015. We assessed levels of evidence according to the American Academy of Neurology guidelines. Recent studies have suggested that BoNT injection is an effective treatment for postherpetic neuralgia and is likely efficient for trigeminal neuralgia and post-traumatic neuralgia. BoNT could also be effective as a treatment for diabetic neuropathy. It has not been proven to be an effective treatment for occipital neuralgia or complex regional pain syndrome.
Towards trustworthy social computing systems

The rising popularity of social computing systems has managed to attract rampant forms of service abuse that negatively affects the sustainability of these systems and degrades the quality of service experienced by their users. The main factor that enables service abuse is the weak identity infrastructure used by most sites, where identities are easy to create with no verification by a trusted authority. Attackers are exploiting this infrastructure to launch Sybil attacks, where they create multiple fake (Sybil) identities to take advantage of the combined privileges associated with the identities to abuse the system. In this thesis, we present techniques to mitigate service abuse by designing and building defense schemes that are robust and practical. We use two broad defense strategies: (1) Leveraging the social network: We first analyze existing social network-based Sybil detection schemes and present their practical limitations when applied on real world social networks. Next, we present an approach called Sybil Tolerance that bounds the impact an attacker can gain from using multiple identities; (2) Leveraging activity history of identities: We present two approaches, one that applies anomaly detection on user social behavior to detect individual misbehaving identities, and a second approach called Stamper that focuses on detecting a group of Sybil identities. We show that both approaches in this category raise the bar for defense against adaptive attackers.
Open attitudes, attribution beliefs, and knowledge of Hong Kong teacher interns in an era of education reform

We have investigated how open attitudes, attribution beliefs, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge were related to teaching performance among teacher interns. The participants were 72 teacher interns in Hong Kong, where large-scale education reform has been launched since 2000. Multiple methods (self-report, academic grades, and ratings from mentors and supervisors) were used to measure the interns' attribution beliefs, open attitudes, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and teaching performance. It was found that their openness to advice and challenges, effort attribution for failure, and pedagogical content knowledge were positively associated with their teaching performance in an era of education reform.
A new Multi Subband Monte Carlo simulator for nano p-MOSFETs

This paper presents a new self-consistent multi- subband Monte Carlo (MSMC) simulator design to investigate quasi-ballistic transport in nano p-MOSFETs. The simulator adopts an accurate analytical description of the warped hole subbands. A first comparison between n - and p - MOSFET performance is reported.
Estimation of Residential Heat Pump Consumption for Flexibility Market Applications

Recent technological advancements have facilitated the evolution of traditional distribution grids to smart grids. In a smart grid scenario, flexible devices are expected to aid the system in balancing the electric power in a technically and economically efficient way. To achieve this, the flexible devices' consumption data are theoretically recorded, elaborated, and their upcoming flexibility is bid to flexibility markets. However, there are many cases where explicit flexible device consumption data are absent. This paper presents a way to circumvent this problem and extract the potentially flexible load of a flexible device, namely a heat pump (HP), out of the aggregated energy consumption of a house. The main idea for accomplishing this is a comparison of the flexible consumer with electrically similar nonflexible consumers. The methodology is based on machine-learning techniques, probability theory, and statistics. After presenting this methodology, the general trend of the HP consumption is estimated and an hour-ahead forecast is conducted by employing seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average modeling. In this manner, the flexible consumption is predicted, establishing the basis for bidding flexibility in intraday markets, even in the absence of explicit device measurements.
An energy-efficient scheduling algorithm for real-time machine-to-machine (M2M) data reporting

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) or machine-type communication technology standardized by ETSI/3GPP has recently gained a great deal of attention, and has been utilized in a variety of M2M applications, which commonly require real-time data reporting. This paper investigates the energy minimized scheduling problem for real-time reporting of data-critical M2M applications. Although many uplink scheduling algorithms have been proposed for different wireless mobile networks, they are mainly designed for human-to-human communication paradigms. This paper proves this energy minimized scheduling problem is NP-hard, and proposes a heuristic energy-efficient algorithm to address it. Our algorithm effectively schedules the transmissions of an M2M node in the same time slots, so that the active time of the M2M node can be minimized. The experiment results show that under limited bandwidth resource, our algorithm can maintain fairness and low data dropping ratios while achieving energy efficiency for a reasonable number of M2M nodes.
Optimizing the Coupling Between Two Isometric Projections of Matrices

In this paper, we analyze the coupling between the isometric projections of two square matrices. These two matrices of dimensions $m\times m$ and $n\times n$ are restricted to a lower $k$-dimensional subspace under isometry constraints. We maximize the coupling between these isometric projections expressed as the trace of the product of the projected matrices. First we connect this problem to notions such as the generalized numerical range, the field of values, and the similarity matrix. We show that these concepts are particular cases of our problem for special choices of $m$, $n$, and $k$. The formulation used here applies to both real and complex matrices. We characterize the objective function, its critical points, and its optimal value for Hermitian and normal matrices, and, finally, give upper and lower bounds for the general case. An iterative algorithm based on the singular value decomposition is proposed to solve the optimization problem.
Predicting Glomerular Filtration Rate in Kidney Transplantation: Are the K/DOQI Guidelines Applicable?

The kidney disease outcomes quality initiative (K/DOQI) guidelines introduced a classification of chronic kidney disease (CKD) based on the level of kidney function. In order to predict the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), they specifically recommended the use of the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) study and Cockcroft–Gault (C–G) equations.
Personal authentication using 3-D finger geometry

In this paper, a biometric authentication system based on measurements of the user's three-dimensional (3-D) hand geometry is proposed. The system relies on a novel real-time and low-cost 3-D sensor that generates a dense range image of the scene. By exploiting 3-D information we are able to limit the constraints usually posed on the environment and the placement of the hand, and this greatly contributes to the unobtrusiveness of the system. Efficient, close to real-time algorithms for hand segmentation, localization and 3-D feature measurement are described and tested on an image database simulating a variety of working conditions. The performance of the system is shown to be similar to state-of-the-art hand geometry authentication techniques but without sacrificing the convenience of the user.
Altering Preferences for Leadership Style of Men and Women Undergraduate Residence Advisors through Leadership Training

12 men and 12 women Residence Advisors were administered the T-P Leadership Questionnaire on two separate occasions. Two groups were formed; one served as a control and the other received leadership training prior to administration of the posttest. It was expected that preferences for leadership style would become more people-oriented after leadership training. Effects of sex of subject and exposure to training (trained and untrained) on scores from the T-P Leadership Questionnaire were examined. Separate scores were obtained for concern for task and concern for people. Significant treatment effects were obtained for the people-orientation measure. Male Residence Advisors showed a significant increase on the “people dimension” after leadership training. Compared with women, men showed a greater increase in people orientation. There was a significant interaction of sex of subject and training condition.
Does Working While Ill Trigger Serious Coronary Events? The Whitehall II Study

Objective: Working while ill has been found to predict coronary heart disease. We tested if this association was due to triggering. Methods: We used a nested case-control study in an occupational cohort to examine sickness absences during a 2-year period immediately before the first coronary event for 133 cases and 928 matched controls without a history of coronary events. Working while ill was defined as no absence despite being unhealthy (suboptimal self-rated health or psychological distress). Results: The odds of a coronary event were not higher for cases who worked while ill than for correspondingly unhealthy controls who took >0 to 14 days of absence per year (OR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.28 to 1.38). These results were little affected by multiple adjustments. Conclusions: We found no evidence that working while ill acts as a short-term trigger for coronary events.
Connections, Pedagogy and Professional Learning

Professional learning, it is said, is a life-long process. The focus of professional learning in the teaching profession is mainly upon the content of a particular subject matter and on diverse methods with which to teach it. Yet, many who have taught would testify that a teacher is much more than a subject-matter specialist and a method applier. In practice, he/she is a human being with multiple dimensions and facets. As such, central to the whole meaning of teaching is the way in which all those dimensions are connected and interwoven with pedagogy. This paper draws upon theory and practice to examine ways in which the concept of connections can underpin and inform professional development in pedagogy.
Plasmalemmal proteins of cultured vascular endothelial cells exhibit apical-basal polarity: analysis by surface-selective iodination

Vascular endothelium in vivo appears to function as a polarized epithelium. To determine whether cellular polarity exists at the level of the plasma membrane, we have examined cultured endothelial monolayers for evidence of differential distribution of externally disposed plasmalemmal proteins at apical and basal cell surfaces. Lactoperoxidase beads were used to selectively label the apical surfaces of confluent endothelial monolayers, the total surfaces of nonenzymatically resuspended cells, and the basal surfaces of monolayers inverted on poly-L-lysine-coated coverslips, while maintaining greater than 98% viability in all samples. Comparison of the SDS PAGE radioiodination patterns obtained for each surface revealed a number of specific bands markedly enriched on either apical or basal surface. This polarized distribution involved membrane- associated as well as integral membrane proteins and was observed in several strains of bovine aortic endothelial cells, as well as in both primary and passaged human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In contrast, two morphologically nonpolarized cell types, bovine aortic smooth muscle and mouse peritoneal macrophages, did not display differential localization of integral membrane proteins. Polarized distribution of integral membrane proteins was established before the formation of a confluent monolayer. When inverted (basal-side-up) monolayers were returned to culture, the apical-side-up pattern was reexpressed within a few days. These results demonstrate that cell surface-selective expression of plasmalemmal proteins is an intrinsic property of viable endothelial cells in vitro. This apical/basal asymmetry of membrane structure may provide a basis for polarized endothelial functions in vivo.
Biological Activities of Extracts from Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.): A Review

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is a subtropical fruit tree with high medicinal value native to China. Different organs of loquat have been used historically as folk medicines and this has been recorded in Chinese history for thousands of years. Research shows that loquat extracts contain many antioxidants, and different extracts exhibit bioactivity capable of counteracting inflammation, diabetes, cancer, bacterial infection, aging, pain, allergy and other health issues. Bioactive compounds such as phenolics and terpenoids have been isolated and characterized to provide a better understanding of the chemical mechanisms underlying the biological activities of loquat extracts. As the identification of compounds progresses, studies investigating the in vivo metabolism, bioavailability, and structure–activity relationships, as well as potential toxicity of loquat extracts in animal or cell models are receiving more attention. In addition, genetic studies and breeding of loquat germplasms for high contents of health-benefiting compounds may provide new insight for the loquat industry and research. This review is focused on the main medicinal properties reported and the possible pharmaceutically active compounds identified in different loquat extracts.
An Improved Control Method for Multiple Bidirectional Power Converters in Hybrid AC/DC Microgrid

In this paper, an improved control method for multiple bidirectional power converters is proposed to reduce the circulating current and power-sharing deviation among converters when the hybrid ac/dc microgrid operated in island mode, which can enhance the security of parallel converters. First, a unified detection method for circulating current and power-sharing deviation is described. Then, the improved control method for bidirectional converters in hybrid microgrid operated in island mode is presented to reduce circulating current and power-sharing deviation, which includes the droop controller used to achieve automatic power sharing and the improved virtual impedance controller used to further reduce circulating current and power-sharing deviation. At last, simulation and experiment results verified that the proposed control method can simultaneously achieve circulating current reduction and automatic power sharing, and does not decrease the output power capability of converter. The proposed control method is suitable for the configuration that has a specific bus between bidirectional power converters, and the ac bus connected to ac loads and the host grid.
Response to Intervention and Dynamic Assessment: Implementing Systematic, Dynamic and Individualised Interventions in Primary School

In recent years, response to intervention (RTI) has been the focus of research, debate and educational implementations, especially regarding early reading instruction. RTI provides an educational framework characterised by different tiers or layers of instruction, providing increasingly more intense and individualised interventions for children in primary school. The purpose is to provide high-quality instruction to meet the needs of all learners by means of a systematic and dynamic approach. RTI can also serve as a source of information for disability determination. Dynamic assessment (DA) is a concept closely related to RTI, although DA focuses on individual learners regardless of the educational system and has a much shorter time frame than RTI. The present article provides a description and comparison of RTI and DA and an analysis of the merits and limitations of these concepts, based on the debates between researchers. It also discusses how DA could be used within a broader RTI system. Finally, we discuss the roles of cognitive or neuropsychological assessments in relation to RTI.
Approximability and proof complexity

This work is concerned with the proof-complexity of certifying that optimization problems do not have good solutions. Specifically we consider bounded-degree "Sum of Squares" (SOS) proofs, a powerful algebraic proof system introduced in 1999 by Grigoriev and Vorobjov. Work of Shor, Lasserre, and Parrilo shows that this proof is automatizable using semidefinite programming (SDP), meaning that any n-variable degree-d proof can be found in time nO(d). Furthermore, the SDP is dual to the well-known Lasserre SDP hierarchy, meaning that the "d/2-round Lasserre value" of an optimization problem is equal to the best bound provable using a degree-d SOS proof. These ideas were exploited in a recent paper by Barak et al. (STOC 2012) which shows that the known "hard instances" for the Unique-Games problem are in fact optimally solved by a constant level of the Lasserre SDP hierarchy. We continue the study of the power of SOS proofs in the context of difficult optimization problems. In particular, we show that the Balanced-Separator integrality gap instances proposed by Devanur et al. can have their optimal value certified by a degree-4 SOS proof. The key ingredient is an SOS proof of the KKL Theorem. We also investigate the extent to which the Khot--Vishnoi Max-Cut integrality gap instances can have their optimum value certified by an SOS proof. We show they can be certified to within a factor . 952 (> .878) using a constant-degree proof. These investigations also raise an interesting mathematical question: is there a constant-degree SOS proof of the Central Limit Theorem?
Numerical Modelling for Process Investigation of a Single Coal Particle Combustion and Gasification

Combustion and Gasification are commercial processes of coal utilization, and therefore continuous improvement is needed for these applications. The difference between these processes is the reaction mechanism, in the case of combustion the reaction products are CO2 and H2O, whereas in the case of gasification the products are CO, H2 and CH4. In order to investigate these processes further, a single coal particle model has been developed. The definition of the chemical reactions for each process is key for model development. The developed numerical model simulation uses CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamic) techniques with an Eddy Break Up (EBU) model and a kinetics parameter for controlling the process reaction. The combustion model has been validated and extended to model the gasification process by inclusion of an additional chemical reaction. Finally, it is shown that the single coal particle model could describe single coal particle combustion and gasification. From the result, the difference between single coal particle combustion and gasification can clearly be seen. This simulation model can be considered for further investigation of coal combustion and gasification application processes.
Airway Epithelial Cells Are Crucial Targets of Glucocorticoids in a Mouse Model of Allergic Asthma

Although glucocorticoids (GCs) are a mainstay in the clinical management of asthma, the target cells that mediate their therapeutic effects are unknown. Contrary to our expectation, we found that GC receptor (GR) expression in immune cells was dispensable for successful therapy of allergic airway inflammation (AAI) with dexamethasone. Instead, GC treatment was compromised in mice expressing a defective GR in the nonhematopoietic compartment or selectively lacking the GR in airway epithelial cells. Further, we found that an intact GR dimerization interface was a prerequisite for the suppression of AAI and airway hyperresponsiveness by GCs. Our observation that the ability of dexamethasone to modulate gene expression in airway epithelial cells coincided with its potency to resolve AAI supports a crucial role for transcriptional regulation by the GR in this cell type. Taken together, we identified an unknown mode of GC action in the treatment of allergic asthma that might help to develop more specific therapies in the future.
On Accommodating Inter Service Dependencies in Web Process Flow Composition

Current business process flow representation languages such as BPEL4WS are prescriptive and operate at the execution level. They do not accommodate abstract specifications of business activities and dynamic binding of Web Services at run time. Moreover, dynamic selection of Web services for a process is, often, not a stand-alone operation. There may be many interservice dependencies and domain constraints that need consideration in selecting legal and meaningful services for realizing an abstract flow. In this paper, we present a prototype for dynamic binding of Web Services for abstract specifications of business integration flows using a constraint-based semanticdiscovery mechanism. Building on prior work in this area (Mandel and McIlraith 2002), we provide a way of modeling and accommodating scoped constraints and inter-service dependencies within a process flow while dynamically binding services. The result is a system that allows people to focus on creating appropriate high-level flows, while providing a robust and adaptable runtime.