Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bullying in schools and its relation to parenting and family life

Bullying has been defined broadly as the 'systematic abuse of power' (Rigby, 2002). Its prevalence in schools has been confirmed in many countries (Due et al., 2009; Molcho et al., 2009). In Australia, it has been estimated that one child in four is bullied in some way every several weeks (Cross et al., 2009). The harm it can do has also been widely investigated (Rigby, 2003). Not only has it been reported that children who are bullied at school have significantly poorer mental health than others, but they are also significantly more likely than others to experience mental illness as adults.
Discovery of susceptibility loci associated with tuberculosis in Han Chinese

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have revealed the worldwide heterogeneity of genetic factors in tuberculosis (TB) susceptibility. Despite having the third highest global TB burden, no TB-related GWAS has been performed in China. Here, we performed the first three-stage GWAS on TB in the Han Chinese population. In the stage 1 (discovery stage), after quality control, 691 388 SNPs present in 972 TB patients and 1537 controls were retained. After replication on an additional 3460 TB patients and 4862 controls (stages 2 and 3), we identified three significant loci associated with TB, the most significant of which was rs4240897 (logistic regression P = 1.41 × 10-11, odds ratio = 0.79). The aforementioned three SNPs were harbored by MFN2, RGS12 and human leukocyte antigen class II beta chain paralogue encoding genes, all of which are candidate immune genes associated with TB. Our findings provide new insight into the genetic background of TB in the Han Chinese population.
Difference in radiocarbon ages of carbonized material from the inner and outer surfaces of pottery from a wetland archaeological site

AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) radiocarbon dates for eight potsherds from a single piece of pottery from a wetland archaeological site indicated that charred material from the inner pottery surfaces (5052 ± 12 BP; N = 5) is about 90 14C years older than that from the outer surfaces (4961 ± 22 BP; N = 7). We considered three possible causes of this difference: the old wood effect, reservoir effects, and diagenesis. We concluded that differences in the radiocarbon ages between materials from the inner and outer surfaces of the same pot were caused either by the freshwater reservoir effect or by diagenesis. Moreover, we found that the radiocarbon ages of carbonized material on outer surfaces (soot) of pottery from other wetland archaeological sites were the same as the ages of material on inner surfaces (charred food) of the same pot within error, suggesting absence of freshwater reservoir effect or diagenesis.
Adaptive multiuser detection for frequency selective channel using IMM

An adaptive multiuser detector based on an interacting multiple model (IMM) is introduced to estimate the transmitted sequence corrupted by MAI (multiple access interference), multipath fading and noise. The proposed algorithm presents a novel multipath combining scheme based on a multiple model concepts and used in frequency selective Raleigh fading channels. The performance of the IMM multiuser detector is studied and compared with the adaptive per-survivor detector of X. Wang and H. Poor (see Wireless Networks, vol.4, p.453-70, 1998).
Analyzing social media metadata to identify the semantics and importance of related content

The first step towards efficient social media content analysis is to understand it and identify means of user interaction. Trying to study the problem from the user perspective, we analyze user-generated photos uploaded to famous Flickr social network, in order to extract meaningful semantic trends covering specific research aspects, like content popularity, spatial areas of interest and popular events. Initially, we select a geographical area of social interest, like a city center, defined by a strict bounding box. We then cluster photos taken within the box based on their geo-tagging metadata information (i.e., their latitude and longitude information) and divide large areas into smaller groups of fixed size, which we will refer to as “geo-clusters”. Within these geo-clusters, we further identify semantically meaningful “places” of user interest, by analyzing any additional textual metadata available, i.e., user selected tags that characterize each place’s photos. By post-processing the latter, we are then able to rank them and thus select the most appropriate tags that describe landmarks and other places of interest, as well as events occurring within these places of interest. As a next step, we place these tags on a map and help users to intuitively visualize places of interest and the actual photo content at a glance. Finally, we examine the temporal dynamics of analyzed photos over a long period of time, so as to obtain the underlying trends to be identified within this kind of social media generated content. ∗Corresponding author, Phone: +3
Auditory menus are not just spoken visual menus: a case study of "unavailable" menu items

Auditory menus can supplement or replace visual menus to enhance usability and accessibility. Despite the rapid increase of research on auditory displays, more is still needed to optimize the auditory-specific aspects of these implementations. In particular, there are several menu attributes and features that are often displayed visually, but that are not or poorly conveyed in the auditory version of the menu. Here, we report on two studies aimed at determining how best to render the important concept of an unavailable menu item. In Study 1, 23 undergraduates navigated a Microsoft Word-like auditory menu with a mix of available and unavailable items. For unavailable items, using whisper was favored over attenuated voice or saying "unavailable". In Study 2, 26 undergraduates navigated a novel auditory menu. With practice, whispering unavailable items was more effective than skipping unavailable items. Results are discussed in terms of acoustic theory and cognitive menu selection theory.
Daidzein ameliorates spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury-induced neurological function deficits in Sprague-Dawley rats through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

Daidzein (DZ) has a broad spectrum of biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer as well as cardio- and hepatoprotective properties. The present study was designed to elucidate the in-depth mechanism underlying the neuroprotective efficacy of DZ against spinal cord ischemic/reperfusion injury (SCII) in a rat model by comparison with the standard neuroprotective agent methylprednisolone (MP). A total of 48 rats were divided into four groups of twelve rats in each (n=12). In sham-operated group (Control) group, rats received only saline (Fogarty catheter was inserted without balloon inflation), whereas rats in the SCII induction group (SCII) were subjected to SCII insult by insertion of a Fogarty balloon catheter, which was inflated in the descending thoracic aorta to cause an occlusion. A proportion of rats was treated with DZ (20 mg/kg; DZ+SCII group) or MP (50 mg/kg; MP+SCII group) for seven days prior to and after SCII. The locomotor function (neurological activity) and antioxidant levels (superoxide dismutase and catalase) levels were significantly improved upon treatment with DZ and MP in comparison with those in the SCII group. A concomitant decline in edema, inflammatory markers (myeloperoxidase, tumor necrosis factor-α and nuclear factor κB p65), the apoptotic marker caspase-3 and the number of cells with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling was also observed in the DZ and MP groups. The protein levels of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K), the phosphorylated Akt/Akt ratio and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) were substantially downregulated, while Bcl-2-associated X protein levels were upregulated SCII insult group, which was inhibited by treatment with DZ. To conclude, pre-treatment with DZ significantly improved the neurological function by upregulating PI3K/Akt signaling and thereby considerably attenuating the inflammatory response and apoptosis, thus maintaining the neuronal count in an SCII-induced rat model.
Learning Halfspaces with the Zero-One Loss: Time-Accuracy Tradeoffs

Given α, e, we study the time complexity required to improperly learn a halfs-pace with misclassification error rate of at most (1 + α) L*γ + e, where L*γ is the optimal γ-margin error rate. For α = 1/γ, polynomial time and sample complexity is achievable using the hinge-loss. For α = 0, Shalev-Shwartz et al. [2011] showed that poly(1/γ) time is impossible, while learning is possible in time exp(O(1/γ)). An immediate question, which this paper tackles, is what is achievable if α e (0, 1/γ). We derive positive results interpolating between the polynomial time for α = 1/γ and the exponential time for α = 0. In particular, we show that there are cases in which α = o(1/γ) but the problem is still solvable in polynomial time. Our results naturally extend to the adversarial online learning model and to the PAC learning with malicious noise model.
SASI enforcement of security policies: a retrospective

SASI (Security Automata SFI Implementation) enforces security policies by modifying object code for a target system before that system is executed. The approach has been prototyped for two rather different machine architectures: Intel x86 and Java JVML. Details of these prototypes and some generalizations about the SASI approach are discussed.
Evolutionary View Planning for Optimized UAV Terrain Modeling in a Simulated Environment

This work demonstrates the use of genetic algorithms in optimized view planning for 3D reconstruction applications using small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The quality of UAV site models is currently highly dependent on manual pilot operations or grid-based automation solutions. When applied to 3D structures, these approaches can result in gaps in the total coverage or inconsistency in final model resolution. Genetic algorithms can effectively explore the search space to locate image positions that produce high quality models in terms of coverage and accuracy. A fitness function is defined, and optimization parameters are selected through semi-exhaustive search. A novel simulation environment for evaluating view plans is demonstrated using terrain generation software. The view planning algorithm is tested in two separate simulation cases: a water drainage structure and a reservoir levee, as representative samples of infrastructure monitoring. The optimized flight plan is compared against three alternate flight plans in each case. The optimized view plan is found to yield terrain models with up to 43% greater accuracy than a standard grid flight pattern, while maintaining comparable coverage and completeness.
Intensive statin therapy stabilizes C-reactive protein, but not chemokine in stable coronary artery disease treated with an everolimus-eluting stent

BackgroundBesides its potent plasma cholesterol-lowering activity, statin treatment has several other important effects, including lowering high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), levels, and stabilizing risk factors of atherosclerosis, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. Our aim in this study was to identify how intensive statin therapy can affect plasma levels of inflammatory markers over the long term. Methods and resultsWe used a prospective, randomized, open blinded-endpoint design. A total of 30 patients with stable coronary artery disease treated with everolimus-eluting stent implantation were randomized to receive rosuvastatin 2.5 (standard therapy group) or 10 mg (intensive therapy group) for 12 months. Plasma levels of hs-CRP, pentraxin-3, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and CXC chemokine ligand 4 were measured after a percutaneous coronary intervention, at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Levels of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and HDL cholesterol were also measured. We investigated short-term and long-term clinical outcomes. After 12 months of therapy, the intensive therapy group had lower levels of LDL-C than the standard therapy group. Plasma levels of hs-CRP largely fluctuated in the standard therapy group, whereas they were stable in the intensive therapy group during the follow-up period. There were no significant differences in serum pentraxin-3, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and CXC chemokine ligand 4 levels, or in the incidence of any clinical adverse events, between the standard and the intensive therapy groups. ConclusionIntensive rosuvastatin therapy stabilizes hs-CRP levels, but not chemokine levels, besides lowering LDL-C levels. Thus, this therapy may inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis by stably inhibiting the inflammatory cascade.
Layout optimization and modeling of an ESD-protection n-MOSFET in 0.13um silicide CMOS technology

In this paper, a lot of CMOS devices with different device dimensions, spacings, and clearances have been drawn and fabricated to find the optimized layout rules for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in 0.13 um Silicide CMOS Technology. The dependences of layout parameters on ESD protection ability of GGNMOS are investigated by using the TLP (transmission line pulsing) measurement technique. A DC model for modeling ESD NMOS snapback characteristics is also presented in this paper.
Electronic transport properties of silicon chains sandwiched between graphene electrodes: first-principles study

ABSTRACT The effects of orientation and silicon chain length on the electronic transport properties for linear silicon chains sandwiched between two graphene electrodes are investigated by using non-equilibrium Green’s functions combined with density functional theory. Our results demonstrate that the conductance of single silicon chains can hardly be affected by its orientation, as there is negligible difference between the conductance of tilted and un-tilted chains, and the conductance is impacted greatly by the length of chains, i.e. the transmission coefficient is doubled for double chains. The equilibrium conductance of single silicon chains shows even-odd oscillating behavior, and its tendency decreases with the increase of the chain length. The non-equilibrium electronic transport properties for all types of chains are also calculated, and all current–voltage curves of silicon chains show a linear character. The frontier molecular orbitals, the total and projected density of states are used to analyse the electronic transport properties for all types of chains.
Improved measurement accuracy of the spot position on an InGaAs quadrant detector by introducing Boltzmann function

The InGaAs quadrant detector (QD) is mainly used for high-precision position measurement and position tracking around the 1550-nm infrared band. This paper analyzes in depth the relationship between the light spot position and the output signals of the QD where the laser spot energy displays a Gaussian profile. It's found that the curve consistently displays an "S" shape, so a new formula is obtained by introducing Boltzmann function. Simulations and experiments result show that our new formula can achieve a much better measurement of spot position accuracy.
Assessing Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge in the Context of Teaching Higher‐order Thinking

This article reports the development and application of two instruments for assessing science teachers’ pedagogical knowledge in the context of teaching higher‐order thinking: a Likert‐type research instrument, and an instrument that analyzes classroom observations. The rationale for developing these instruments and their main categories is described. One hundred and fifty Israeli science teachers replied to the Likert‐type questionnaire. Results show that biology teachers gained a significantly higher score than either physics or chemistry teachers, that junior high school teachers scored significantly higher than high school teachers, and that a significant negative correlation was found between final scores and teaching experience. Participants in the classroom observation study were 14 teachers who attended a one‐year professional development course for teaching higher‐order thinking. The instrument was sensitive in detecting progress in teachers’ pedagogical knowledge in several categories, such as: Frequency of tasks that required higher‐order thinking; The variety of thinking strategies that teachers addressed during their lessons; Engagement of students in metacognitive thinking; and Using the “language of thinking” in class. The implications of the findings for research and practice are described.
Architectural Support for Fair Reader-Writer Locking

Many shared-memory parallel systems use lock-based synchronization mechanisms to provide mutual exclusion or reader-writer access to memory locations. Software locks are inefficient either in memory usage, lock transfer time, or both. Proposed hardware locking mechanisms are either too specific (for example, requiring static assignment of threads to cores and vice-versa), support a limited number of concurrent locks, require tag values to be associated with every memory location, rely on the low latencies of single-chip multicore designs or are slow in adversarial cases such as suspended threads in a lock queue. Additionally, few proposals cover reader-writer locks and their associated fairness issues. In this paper we introduce the Lock Control Unit (LCU) which is an acceleration mechanism collocated with each core to explicitly handle fast reader-writer locking. By associating a unique thread-id to each lock request we decouple the hardware lock from the requestor core. This provides correct and efficient execution in the presence of thread migration. By making the LCU logic autonomous from the core, it seamlessly handles thread preemption. Our design offers richer semantics than previous proposals, such as try lock support while providing direct core-to-core transfers. We evaluate our proposal with micro benchmarks, a fine-grain Software Transactional Memory system and programs from the Parsec and Splash parallel benchmark suites. The lock transfer time decreases in up to 30\% when compared to previous hardware proposals. Transactional Memory systems limited by reader-locking congestion boost up to 3x while still preserving graceful fairness and starvation freedom properties. Finally, commonly used applications achieve speedups up to a 7% when compared to software models.
Reconstruction of the Distal Ulnar Epiphysis with Vascularized Proximal Fibula Including Epiphysis in Children after Osteochondroma Resection: Report of Two Cases

Background: Osteochondromas, especially multiple hereditary osteochondromas, usually cause various deformities of the joints. The authors sometimes find ulnar shortening and acquired wrist varus deformity in distal ulnar osteochondromas and even radial head dislocation resulting in ulnar shortening. In this study, the authors present the clinical outcomes of distal ulnar epiphysis reconstruction in two children using vascularized proximal fibula including the epiphysis after osteochondroma resection. Methods: The authors used vascularized proximal fibula including the epiphysis as a substitute to reconstruct the distal ulnar epiphysis after osteochondroma resection and investigated the clinical outcome in two patients (aged 4 and 9 years). Results: The wrist deformity was corrected successfully for both cases. Bone union between fibular grafts and hosts was found 2 months postoperatively. The reconstructed distal ulna and contralateral limbs were growing almost simultaneously. The morphology and function were also satisfactory at 1- and 8-year follow-up, respectively. Conclusions: It is possible to reconstruct the distal ulna after osteochondroma resection and simultaneously keep the ulna in longitudinal growth by using vascularized proximal fibula including the epiphysis in children. However, the growth plate in the reconstructed distal ulnar epiphysis might be prematurely closed approximately 8 years after reconstruction. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, V.
Bayesian Conditional Density Filtering

ABSTRACT We propose a conditional density filtering (C-DF) algorithm for efficient online Bayesian inference. C-DF adapts MCMC sampling to the online setting, sampling from approximations to conditional posterior distributions obtained by propagating surrogate conditional sufficient statistics (a function of data and parameter estimates) as new data arrive. These quantities eliminate the need to store or process the entire dataset simultaneously and offer a number of desirable features. Often, these include a reduction in memory requirements and runtime and improved mixing, along with state-of-the-art parameter inference and prediction. These improvements are demonstrated through several illustrative examples including an application to high dimensional compressed regression. In the cases where dimension of the model parameter does not grow with time, we also establish sufficient conditions under which C-DF samples converge to the target posterior distribution asymptotically as sampling proceeds and more data arrive. Supplementary materials of C-DF are available online.
Quantifying the role of fire in the Earth system – Part 2: Impact on the net carbon balance of global terrestrial ecosystems for the 20th century

Fire is the primary form of terrestrial ecosystem disturbance on a global scale. It affects the net carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems by emitting carbon directly and im- mediately into the atmosphere from biomass burning (the fire direct effect), and by changing net ecosystem productivity and land-use carbon loss in post-fire regions due to biomass burning and fire-induced vegetation mortality (the fire indi- rect effect). Here, we provide the first quantitative assessment of the impact of fire on the net carbon balance of global ter- restrial ecosystems during the 20th century, and investigate the roles of fire's direct and indirect effects. This is done by quantifying the difference between the 20th century fire-on and fire-off simulations with the NCAR Community Land Model CLM4.5 (prescribed vegetation cover and uncoupled from the atmospheric model) as a model platform. Results show that fire decreases the net carbon gain of global terres- trial ecosystems by 1.0 Pg C yr 1 averaged across the 20th century, as a result of the fire direct effect (1.9 Pg C yr 1 ) partly offset by the indirect effect ( 0.9 Pg C yr 1 ). Post-fire regions generally experience decreased carbon gains, which is significant over tropical savannas and some North Ameri- can and East Asian forests. This decrease is due to the direct effect usually exceeding the indirect effect, while they have similar spatial patterns and opposite sign. The effect of fire on the net carbon balance significantly declines until 1970 with a trend of 8 Tg C yr 1 due to an increasing indirect ef- fect, and increases subsequently with a trend of 18 Tg C yr 1 due to an increasing direct effect. These results help constrain the global-scale dynamics of fire and the terrestrial carbon cycle.