Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Delphi Study: The Characteristics of Democratic Schools

ABSTRACT The authors aim to identify characteristics of democratic schools. The Delphi technique used in this study is based on attaining a consensus among a group of experts over 3 rounds with 22 experts from 9 countries participating in the first round. By the end of the third round, 339 items referring to democratic school characteristics were identified, categorized into values and philosophy, collaborative learning organization, founding process, decision-making model, policy forming, curriculum, learner, teaching staff, nonteaching staff, relations, physical properties, and financial resource management. The result shows that every single category bears importance in creating a democratic school.
Machine Learning Algorithms for Portuguese Named Entity Recognition

Named Entity Recognition (NER) is an important task in Natu- ral Language Processing. It provides key features that help on more ela- borated document management and information extraction tasks. In this paper, we propose seven machine learning approaches that use HMM, TBL and SVM to solve Portuguese NER. The performance of each model- ing approach is empirically evaluated. The SVM-based extractor shows a 88.11%F-score, which is our best observed value, slightly better than TBL. This is very competitive when compared to state-of-the-art extractors for similar Portuguese NER problems. Our HMM has reasonable precision and accuracy and does not require any additional expert knowledge. This is an advantage for our HMM over the other approaches. The experimen- tal results suggest that Machine Learning can be useful in Portuguese NER. They also indicate that HMM, TBL and SVM perform well in this natural language processing task.
Locating Equivalent Servants over P2P Networks

While peer-to-peer networks are mainly used to locate unique resources across the Internet, new interesting deployment scenarios are emerging. Particularly, some applications (e.g., VoIP) are proposing the creation of overlays for the localization of services based on equivalent servants (e.g., voice relays). This paper explores the possible overlay architectures that can be adopted to provide such services, showing how an unstructured solution based on a scale-free overlay topology is an effective option to deploy in this context. Consequently, we propose EQUATOR (EQUivalent servAnt locaTOR), an unstructured overlay implementing the above mentioned operating principles, based on an overlay construction algorithm that well approximates an ideal scale-free construction model. We present both analytical and simulation results which support our overlay topology selection and validate the proposed architecture.
Using Longitudinal Data to Estimate Reliability

Werts, Breland, Grandy, and Rock (1980) have analyzed the relationship between a direct and an indi rect measure of writing ability. Werts et al. assumed that the same true score underlies both measures and concluded that the test-retest reliability of the essay tests is biased due to correlated errors. The present analysis of their data shows that the direct and indirect tests measure two different abilities which correlate only . 89 with each other and that it is not necessary to include correlated measurement errors for the essay tests. It is argued that the assumption that different tests measure the same ability should always be tested. Werts et al. (1980) did not test this assumption, and their conclusions, as a result, are incorrect.
Saccade-induced image motion cannot account for post-saccadic enhancement of visual processing in primate MST

Primates use saccadic eye movements to make gaze changes. In many visual areas, including the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) of macaques, neural responses to visual stimuli are reduced during saccades but enhanced afterwards. How does this enhancement arise—from an internal mechanism associated with saccade generation or through visual mechanisms activated by the saccade sweeping the image of the visual scene across the retina? Spontaneous activity in MSTd is elevated even after saccades made in darkness, suggesting a central mechanism for post-saccadic enhancement. However, based on the timing of this effect, it may arise from a different mechanism than occurs in normal vision. Like neural responses in MSTd, initial ocular following eye speed is enhanced after saccades, with evidence suggesting both internal and visually mediated mechanisms. Here we recorded from visual neurons in MSTd and measured responses to motion stimuli presented soon after saccades and soon after simulated saccades—saccade-like displacements of the background image during fixation. We found that neural responses in MSTd were enhanced when preceded by real saccades but not when preceded by simulated saccades. Furthermore, we also observed enhancement following real saccades made across a blank screen that generated no motion signal within the recorded neurons' receptive fields. We conclude that in MSTd the mechanism leading to post-saccadic enhancement has internal origins.
Intranuclear relocalization of matrix binding sites during T cell activation detected by amplified fluorescence in situ hybridization.

We describe a method for analyzing the nuclear localization of specific DNA sequences, with special emphasis on their binding status to the nuclear matrix, depending on the developmental stage of the cells. This method employs high-resolution fluorescence in situ hybridization procedures. For our studies, it was important to examine the nuclear localization of a particular gene locus. Previously, however, it was not possible to detect a single-copy genomic sequence using a DNA probe less than several kilobases in size. We describe here a signal amplification technique based on tyramide which makes such a task possible. Using this method, we monitored single-copy loci using a short, 509-bp DNA sequence that binds in vivo to the T cell factor SATB1 within T cell nuclei, high-salt-extracted nuclei (histone-depleted nuclei generating "halos" with distended chromatin loops), and the nuclear matrix, before and after T cell activation. We found that these loci were anchored onto the nuclear matrix, creating new bases of chromatin loops, only after T cell activation. This experimental strategy, therefore, enabled us to detect the changes in higher order chromatin structure upon activation and study gene regulation at a new dimension: the loop domain structure. The methods shown here can be widely applied to explore other functions involving chromatin, including recombination and replication.
An Investigation of College Students’ Perceptions of Academic Dishonesty, Reasons for Dishonesty, Achievement Goals, and Willingness to Report Dishonest Behavior

This study investigated students’ perceptions of their own and their peers’ academic dishonesty (AD), their reasons for this dishonesty, their achievement goals, and their willingness to report AD (WRAD) within a Chinese cultural context. The results identified students’ belief that their peers had a greater likelihood of engaging in AD and had more motivation to do so than did the students themselves. Gender and academic major did not affect students’ WRAD. However, students were significantly more willing to report classmates than friends. In terms of the participants’ self-perceptions and peer perceptions concerning motivations for AD, more female students cited the lack of penalties as the reason for their own and their peers’ AD, whereas male students more frequently cited their lack of attention to schoolwork as the reason for their own AD. In contrast to students in the social sciences, business students more frequently cited inadequate capabilities as the reason for their AD, and engineering students more frequently attributed their AD to self-interest. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that three motivations for AD (opportunism, inadequacy, and self-promotion) could positively predict AD, whereas mastery-approach goals could negatively predict AD.
Phosphorylation of Mutant Huntingtin at Serine 116 Modulates Neuronal Toxicity

Phosphorylation has been shown to have a significant impact on expanded huntingtin-mediated cellular toxicity. Several phosphorylation sites have been identified on the huntingtin (Htt) protein. To find new potential therapeutic targets for Huntington's Disease (HD), we used mass spectrometry to identify novel phosphorylation sites on N-terminal Htt, expressed in HEK293 cells. Using site-directed mutagenesis we introduced alterations of phosphorylation sites in a N586 Htt construct containing 82 polyglutamine repeats. The effects of these alterations on expanded Htt toxicity were evaluated in primary neurons using a nuclear condensation assay and a direct time-lapse imaging of neuronal death. As a result of these studies, we identified several novel phosphorylation sites, validated several known sites, and discovered one phospho-null alteration, S116A, that had a protective effect against expanded polyglutamine-mediated cellular toxicity. The results suggest that S116 is a potential therapeutic target, and indicate that our screening method is useful for identifying candidate phosphorylation sites.
Character Education: Research Prospects and Problems

This article reviews the issues and research problems associated with that form of moral education in which good character is central. It discusses: (1) why character is considered valuable; (2) what the advocates of character education mean by "character"; (3) whether character education constitutes indoctrination; (4) identifying and testing hypotheses about various school influences on the development of character; (5) the political interests served by attempts to teach character; and (6) the role of religion in character education, and questions concerning constitutional constraints on religion in American public schools. The discussion suggests that the questions regarding these complex and sensitive issues are unavoidable, and that the answers are unclear.
Preventing Unintended Pregnancy Among Young Sexually Active Women: Recognizing the Role of Violence, Self-Esteem, and Depressive Symptoms on Use of Contraception.

OBJECTIVES Ineffective contraceptive use among young sexually active women is extremely prevalent and poses a significant risk for unintended pregnancy (UP). Ineffective contraception involves the use of the withdrawal method or the inconsistent use of other types of contraception (i.e., condoms and birth control pills). This investigation examined violence exposure and psychological factors related to ineffective contraceptive use among young sexually active women. MATERIALS AND METHODS Young, nonpregnant sexually active women (n = 315) were recruited from an urban family planning clinic in 2013 to participate in a longitudinal study. Tablet-based surveys measured childhood violence, community-level violence, intimate partner violence, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Follow-up surveys measured type and consistency of contraception used 9 months later. Multivariate logistic regression models assessed violence and psychological risk factors as main effects and moderators related to ineffective compared with effective use of contraception. RESULTS The multivariate logistic regression model showed that childhood sexual violence and low self-esteem were significantly related to ineffective use of contraception (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.69, confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.18-6.17, and aOR = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.28-0.93; respectively), although self-esteem did not moderate the relationship between childhood sexual violence and ineffective use of contraception (aOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.08-1.84). Depressive symptoms were not related to ineffective use of contraception in the multivariate model. CONCLUSIONS Interventions to reduce UP should recognize the long-term effects of childhood sexual violence and address the role of low self-esteem on the ability of young sexually active women to effectively and consistently use contraception to prevent UP.
Spatially adaptive defogging for enhancement of color and visibility of UAV image

We present a spatially adaptive defogging algorithm for enhancement of color and visibility of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images. It is hard to identify an object of interest from airborne image acquired by a satellite, an airplane, and a UAV because of various atmospheric distortions. For overcoming this problem, the proposed algorithm decomposes the input foggy image into the original fog-free component and the atmospherically distorted component, and then estimates the original image based on the image degradation model. We first generate a normalized image using the maximum value among RGB color channels of a foggy Image. We estimate the atmospheric light in the labeled image. We also generate a modified transmission map using the labeled image and a guided filter. A major contribution of the proposed work is the enhancement of details using a guided filter as well as defogging. We can significantly enhance the visibility of a foggy image by using the estimated atmospheric light and the transmission map. The proposed algorithm can remove foggy components better than existing defogging techniques because the specular component and the labeled image are used.
Low Vowel Dissimilation in Vanuatu Languages

Robert Blust in this journal in 1996 drew attention to a process in a number of widely separated Oceanic languages in which the first a of an aCa sequence dissimilates to a higher vowel. In some of these languages the rule is still productive, while others show only historical dissimilation. He briefly presented data from three areas in Vanuatu comprising ten languages. More recent research, however, shows that there are about thirty Vanuatu languages that exhibit this phenomenon, though only four seem to do so as part of their synchronic morphophonemics. While an initial analysis suggests that there are four different types of dissimilatory processes, three of these (accounting for all but three or four of the thirty languages) can be shown to be derivable from a single historical process in which dissimilation applied iteratively from left to right: *a, whether stressed or unstressed, developed the allophone [e] as a result of this, though dissimilation was apparently blocked by intervening or adjacent postvelars, velars, and labiovelars. In languages that reflect the dissimilation, this [e] is now phonemic /e/, /e/, or less frequently /i/. (The fourth type is dependent on stress, but is almost certainly a more recent development in just one small geographical area.) I propose that dissimilation occurred in the ancestor of all languages from Malakula and Ambrym in the north to Aneityum in the south, and that the nondissimilating languages within this region have subsequently reversed the process, allophonic [e] becoming [a]. A brief comparison is made with similar cases in Micronesia, but it seems impossible, on the basis of data available, to suggest any historical connection between the two regions.
Reclaiming the self: how Korean housewives make meaning of their experience of re‐entering higher education

Well‐educated Korean women are returning to higher education in unprecedented numbers with the motivation of recovering their personal identity. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the ways in which this experience is meaningful to these re‐entry women. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 13 Korean full‐time housewives aged 25 to 45 who already had a bachelor’s degree but enrolled at university. The constant comparative method was employed for data analysis. The major findings of this study were that the re‐entry experiences were meaningful for the participants in that they re‐established themselves as independent individuals, dispelled a sense of isolation, obtained a sense of accomplishment, gained recognition and structured their everyday lives. These experiences are perceived as meaningful because attending university addressed the sources of discontent in their lives.
Influence of Diet and Postmortem Ageing on Oxidative Stability of Lipids, Myoglobin and Myofibrillar Proteins and Quality Attributes of Gluteus Medius Muscle in Goats

This study appraised the effects of dietary blend of 80% canola oil and 20% palm oil and postmortem ageing on oxidative stability, fatty acids and quality attributes of gluteus medius (GM) muscle in goats. Twenty-four Boer bucks were randomly allotted to diet supplemented with 0, 4 and 8% oil blend, fed for 100 days and slaughtered, and the GM muscle was subjected to a 7 d chill storage (4±1°C). Diet had no effect (P> 0.05) on the colour, drip loss, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) value, free thiol, carbonyl, myoglobin and metmyoglobin contents, metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA), antioxidant enzyme activities and abundance of myosin heavy chain (MHC) and actin in the GM muscle in goats. The meat from goats fed 4 and 8% oil blend had higher (P< 0.05) concentration of α and γ-tocopherol and abundance of troponin T compared with that from the control goats. The GM muscle from the oil-supplemented goats had lower (P< 0.05) concentration of C16:0 and greater (P< 0.05) concentration of C18:1n-9, C18:3n-3 and C20:5n-3 compared with that from the control goats. Nonetheless, diet did not affect (P< 0.05) the total fatty acid in the GM muscle in goats. Regardless of the diet, the free thiol and myoglobin contents, concentration of tocopherol and total carotenoids, MHC and MRA in the GM muscle decreased (P< 0.05) while carbonyl content, TBARS, drip loss and metmyoglobin content increased over storage. Dietary blend of 80% canola oil and 20% palm oil beneficially altered tissue lipids without hampering the oxidative stability of chevon.
A quantum-mechanical treatment of phonon scattering in carbon nanotube transistors

Phonon scattering in carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) is treated using the nonequilibrium Green’s function formalism with the self-consistent Born approximation. The treatment simultaneously captures the essential physics of phonon scattering and important quantum effects. For a one-dimensional channel, it is computationally as efficient as and physically more rigorous than the so-called “Buttiker probe” approach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 57, 1761 (1986)], which has been widely used in mesoscopic physics. The non-self-consistent simulation results confirm that the short mean-free-path optical phonon (OP) scattering, though expected to dominate even in a short channel CNTFET, essentially has no direct effect on the dc on current under modest gate biases. The self-consistent simulation results indicate that OP scattering, however, can have an indirect effect on the on current through self-consistent electrostatics. Using a high-κ gate insulator suppresses the indirect effect and leads to a dc on c.
Ca2+-sensing Transgenic Mice

Genetically encoded signaling proteins provide remarkable opportunities to design and target the expression of molecules that can be used to report critical cellular events in vivo, thereby markedly extending the scope and physiological relevance of studies of cell function. Here we report the development of a transgenic mouse expressing such a reporter and its use to examine postsynaptic signaling in smooth muscle. The circularly permutated, Ca2+-sensing molecule G-CaMP (Nakai, J., Ohkura, M., and Imoto, K. (2001) Nat. Biotechnol. 19, 137-141) was expressed in vascular and non-vascular smooth muscle and functioned as a lineage-specific intracellular Ca2+ reporter. Detrusor tissue from these mice was used to identify two separate types of postsynaptic Ca2+ signals, mediated by distinct neurotransmitters. Intrinsic nerve stimulation evoked rapid, whole-cell Ca2+ transients, or “Ca2+ flashes,” and slowly propagating Ca2+ waves. We show that Ca2+ flashes occur through P2X receptor stimulation and ryanodine receptor-mediated Ca2+ release, whereas Ca2+ waves arise from muscarinic receptor stimulation and inositol trisphosphate-mediated Ca2+ release. The distinct ionotropic and metabotropic postsynaptic Ca2+ signals are related at the level of Ca2+ release. Importantly, individual myocytes are capable of both postsynaptic responses, and a transition between Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release and inositol trisphosphate waves occurs at higher synaptic inputs. Ca2+ signaling mice should provide significant advantages in the study of processive biological signaling.
ADMM without a Fixed Penalty Parameter: Faster Convergence with New Adaptive Penalization

Alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) has received tremendous interest for solving numerous problems in machine learning, statistics and signal processing. However, it is known that the performance of ADMM and many of its variants is very sensitive to the penalty parameter of a quadratic penalty applied to the equality constraints. Although several approaches have been proposed for dynamically changing this parameter during the course of optimization, they do not yield theoretical improvement in the convergence rate and are not directly applicable to stochastic ADMM. In this paper, we develop a new ADMM and its linearized variant with a new adaptive scheme to update the penalty parameter. Our methods can be applied under both deterministic and stochastic optimization settings for structured non-smooth objective function. The novelty of the proposed scheme lies at that it is adaptive to a local sharpness property of the objective function, which marks the key difference from previous adaptive scheme that adjusts the penalty parameter per-iteration based on certain conditions on iterates. On theoretical side, given the local sharpness characterized by an exponent $\theta\in(0, 1]$, we show that the proposed ADMM enjoys an improved iteration complexity of $\widetilde O(1/\epsilon^{1-\theta})$\footnote{$\widetilde O()$ suppresses a logarithmic factor. } in the deterministic setting and an iteration complexity of $\widetilde O(1/\epsilon^{2(1-\theta)})$ in the stochastic setting without smoothness and strong convexity assumptions. The complexity in either setting improves that of the standard ADMM which only uses a fixed penalty parameter. On the practical side, we demonstrate that the proposed algorithms converge comparably to, if not much faster than, ADMM with a fine-tuned fixed penalty parameter.
Bioprocess soft sensor modeling using SVR based on improved PSO

In order to solve the problems of slow convergence and high complexity in dealing with large number of samples when modeling a bioprocess soft sensor using SVR, an improved PSO is used to solve the quadratic optimization problem to determine support vectors and the weights of them in this paper. By introducing constraint relationship in parameters, PSO could converge to the optimal point faster. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method could be simple to implement as a bioprocess soft sensor and has better convergence, which is presents as an alternative to current SVR training methods.