Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self‐constructed exoticism: gender and Nation in Hōrōki by Hayashi Fumiko

This paper is a reading of Hōrōki (1928–30) by Hayashi Fumiko (1903–1951). The analysis demonstrates how the marginal status of the female protagonist is used as a literary device to create a challenging gendered critique of Japanese urban culture in the early 20th century. The paper discusses how the work reflects concepts of a ‘hybrid’ national identity as defined by Homi Bhabha, and highlights the links between gender and national identity using the concept of the exotic in relation to Alcoff’s concept of gender as positionality. It focuses in particular on the structure of the work, bringing out the idea that by using a disjointed narrative and a fragmented telling of the self, Hayashi Fumiko evokes ideas of the self in relation to the nation that are both unstable and destabilising, thus creating a revolutionary and anarchistic view of Japanese culture; the fluidity and hybridity of the nation are reflected in the fluid and hybrid nature of the work itself.
Solving the max-cut problem using semidefinite optimization

Max-cut problem is one of many NP-hard graph theory problems which attracted many researchers over the years. Maximum cuts are useful items including theoretical physics and electronics. But they are best known for algorithmic problem of finding a maximum cutting, commonly called MAXCUT, a relatively well-studied problem, particularly in the context of the approximation. Various heuristics, or combination of optimization and heuristic methods have been developed to solve this problem. Among them is the efficient algorithm of Goemans and Williamson. Their algorithm combines Semidefinite programming and a rounding procedure to produce an approximate solution to the max-cut problem. Semidefinite Programming (SDP) is currently the most sophisticated area of Conic Programming that is polynomially solvable. The SDP problem is solved with interior point methods. In parallel, the development of efficient SDP solvers, based on interior point algorithms, also contributed to the success of this method. In this paper we use a new variant of the solver CSDP (C library for semidfinite programming) to resolve this problem. It is based on a Majorize-Minimize line search algorithm for barrier function optimization. A tangent majorant function is built to approximate a scalar criterion containing a barrier function. The comparison of the results obtained with the classic CSDP and our new variant is promising.
Suboptimal Sphenoid and Sellar Exposure: A Consistent Finding in Patients Treated with Repeat Transsphenoidal Surgery for Residual Endocrine-inactive Macroadenomas

OBJECTIVE:In a series of patients with residual endocrine-inactive macroadenomas who underwent repeat surgery, we assess possible reasons for prior subtotal removal, reoperative success, complication rates, and patient impressions. METHODS:All patients were identified who had a prior subtotal removal of an endocrine-inactive macroadenoma and were reoperated on for residual sellar tumor via an endonasal approach. RESULTS:Over 6 years, of 188 consecutive patients with endocrine-inactive adenomas, 30 (16%) had repeat surgery (age, 15–77 yr; median interval between surgeries, 25 mo; median follow-up, 20 mo). Maximal tumor diameter averaged 2.4 ± 0.9 cm. At reoperation, a suboptimal bony exposure was seen in all 30 patients: at the sphenoid keel, the sella, or both in 97, 93, and 90% of patients, respectively. Cavernous sinus invasion was seen in 16 (53%) patients and a fibrous/rubbery consistency in 12 (40%). Gross total tumor removal was achieved in 17 (57%) patients, including 12 of 14 (86%) with noninvasive tumors and 5 of 16 (31%) with invasive tumors, (P < 0.01). All six fibrous/rubbery but noninvasive tumors were totally removed. Of 16 patients with preoperative visual loss, 15 (94%) improved. Complications included one each of cerebrospinal fluid leak, delayed sinusitis, and new hypothyroidism. In 17 patients with prior sublabial surgery who completed questionnaires, the second (endonasal) surgery was associated with an easier recovery, less pain, and better nasal airflow in 82, 88, and 93%, respectively (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION:In patients with residual sellar endocrine-inactive adenomas, a suboptimal opening at the sphenoid keel or sella at the first surgery and a high proportion of fibrous/rubbery tumors likely contributed to prior subtotal removal of otherwise accessible tumor. With a wider exposure, most noninvasive tumors can be totally removed, whereas invasive tumors can be effectively debulked. An endonasal reoperation is well tolerated with a low complication rate.
Correctable visual impairment in older people: a major unmet need

This review seeks to determine the prevalence of correctable visual impairment (VI) in older people in the UK, to discover what proportion of these cases are undetected, to suggest reasons for the poor detection and to make recommendations for improving the detection. To establish the context of these issues, the review will also touch on the general prevalence and causes of VI in older people in developed countries and on the impact of VI in older people. Typically, studies suggest that VI affects about 10% of people aged 65–75, and 20% of those aged 75 or older. There is a strong relationship between impaired vision in older people and both reduced quality of life and increased risk of accidents, particularly falls. The literature suggests that those with low vision are about two times more likely to have falls than fully sighted people, and the annual UK cost of treating falls directly attributable to VI is £128 million. The literature on the prevalence of undetected reduced vision in older people reveals that between 20 and 50% of older people have undetected reduced vision. The majority of these people have correctable visual problems (refractive errors or cataract). It is particularly startling that, in ‘developed countries’, between 7 and 34% of older people have VI that could simply be cured by appropriate spectacles. The reasons why so many cases of treatable VI remain untreated are discussed, and suggestions are made for improving the detection of these cases. We conclude that there should be better publicity encouraging older people to attend for regular optometric eye examinations. A complementary approach is annual visual screening of the elderly, possibly as part of GPs annual health check on people aged 75 years and older. Recommendations are made for evaluating new approaches to screening and for improving the management of cases detected by screening.
A review on Genetic Algorithm and Its Applications

Genetic Algorithm is a soft computing technique which uses its special operators to solve an optimization problem. These algorithms can solve both minimization and maximization problems. This paper discusses the details of genetic algorithm i.e. how it works. The paper also discusses the application areas of genetic algorithm in various fields of science and engineering. We also discuss its current applications and how it can be useful to solve future problems or optimize the current procedures.
On the dynamic role of relative prices along the growth process

We analyze the transitional dynamics of a model with heterogeneous consumption goods. In this model, convergence is driven by two di¤erent forces: the diminishing returns to capital and the growth of the relative price. We show that this second force a¤ects the growth rate if the two consumption goods are not Edgeworth independent and if these two goods are produced with technologies that exhibit di¤erent capital intensities. Because this second force arises only when heterogenous consumption goods are introduced, the transitional dynamics in this model exhibits interesting di¤erences with respect to the transitional dynamics in a growth model with a unique consumption good. We show that these di¤erences in the transitional dynamics can cause large discrepancies in the welfare cost of shocks between the economy with a unique consumption good and the economy with several consumption goods. JEL classi cation codes: O41, O47. Keywords: endogenous growth, consumption growth, transitional dynamics. Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and FEDER through grants ECO2009-09847, ECO2009-06953, ECO2008-02752, PR2009-0162 and SM2009-0001; the Generalitat of Catalonia through the Barcelona Graduate School Research Network and grants SGR2009-00350 and SGR2009-1051. Alonso-Carrera would also want to thank the Research School of Economics at the Australian National University for its hospitality during a visit where part of this paper was written. Corresponding Author: Jordi Caballé. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament dEconomia i dHistòria Econòmica. Edi ci B. 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona). Spain. Phone: (34)-935.812. 367. Fax: (34)-935.812. 012. E-mail: Jordi.Caballe@uab.es
Evolution of Security Engineering Artifacts: A State of the Art Survey

Security is an important quality aspect of modern open software systems. However, it is challenging to keep such systems secure because of evolution. Security evolution can only be managed adequately if it is considered for all artifacts throughout the software development lifecycle. This article provides state of the art on the evolution of security engineering artifacts. The article covers the state of the art on evolution of security requirements, security architectures, secure code, security tests, security models, and security risks as well as security monitoring. For each of these artifacts the authors give an overview of evolution and security aspects and discuss the state of the art on its security evolution in detail. Based on this comprehensive survey, they summarize key issues and discuss directions of future research.
Explicit and Differentiated Phonics Instruction as a Tool to Improve Literacy Skills for Children Learning English as a Foreign Language.

Explicit systematic phonics instruction is more effective for native Englishspeaking children learning to read and write than non explicit phonics instruction (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). This study goes beyond native speakers, and explores the effects that systematic and explicit phonics instruction has on young students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Moreover, phonics instruction for EFL students was differentiated: the instructional time, instructional sequence and phonics vocabulary were adapted to meet EFL students’ needs. The findings show that, not only does explicit and differentiated phonics instruction have a positive effect for EFL learners in reading comprehension, but also that the differentiation of it has a considerable impact on EFL students literacy skills in general.
Novel Method for Data Clusteri with Application in Voi

Since the statistical properties of speech signals are variable and depend heavily on the content, it is hard to design speech processing techniques that would perform well on all inputs. For example, in voice conversion, where the aim is to transform the speech uttered by a source speaker to sound as if it was spoken by a target speaker, different types of interspeaker relationships can be found from different types of speech segments. To tackle this problem in a robust manner, we have developed a novel scheme for data clustering and mode selection. When applied in the voice conversion application, the main idea of the proposed approach is to first cluster the target data to achieve a minimized intra-cluster variability. Then, a mode selector or a classifier is trained on aligned source-related data to recognize the target-based clusters. Auxiliary speech features can be used to enhance the classification accuracy, in addition to the source data. Finally, a separate conversion scheme is trained and used for each cluster. The proposed scheme is fully data-driven and it avoids the need to use heuristic solutions. The superior performance of the proposed scheme has been verified in a practical voice conversion system.
An Evaluation of Conjunctive and Compensatory Standard-Setting Strategies for Test Decisions

States are increasingly using test scores as part of the requirements for high school graduation or certification. In these circumstances, a battery of tests or, with writing, analytic traits are considered that usually cover different aspects of the state's content standards. Because pass or fail decisions are made affecting students' futures, the validity of standard-setting procedures and strategies is a major concern. Policymakers and legislators must decide which of these 2 standard-setting strategies to use for making pass or fail decisions for students seeking certification or for meeting a high school graduation requirement. The compensatory strategy focuses on total performance, summing scores across all tests in the battery. The conjunctive strategy requires passing performance for each test in the battery. This article reviews and evaluates compensatory and conjunctive standard-setting strategies. The rationales for each type are presented and discussed. Results from a study comparing the compe.
Exploration of Classification Techniques as a Treatment Decision Support Tool for Patients with Uterine Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are benign growths in the ut erus, for which there are several possible treatment options. Patients and physicians generally approach the decision proces based on a combination of the patient’s degree of discomfort, patient prefer ences, and physician practice patterns. In this paper, we examine the use of classification algorithms in combination with metalearning algorithms as a decision support tool to facilitate more systematic fibroid treatment decisions. A model constructed from both Naïve Bayes (with Adaboost) and J48 (with bagging) algorithms gave the best results and could be a useful tool to patients making this decision.
Talanoa as empathic apprenticeship

Talanoa has been defined as ‘talking about nothing in particular’, ‘chat’ or ‘gossip’. It is within the cultural milieu of talanoa that knowledge and emotions are shared and new knowledge is generated. Talanoa has recently been taken up by development researchers and others as a culturally appropriate research method in Pacific contexts. However, talanoa is often treated as synonymous with ‘informal open-ended interviews’ and tends to gloss over the deep empathic understanding required in such exchanges. Highlighting the connection between talanoa and empathy is vital in ensuring that development practitioners and researchers are implicitly aware of the political dimensions, cultural appropriacy and socio-ecological impact of their research methods. This connection is also critical in illuminating how talanoa as a method may decolonise research in the Pacific, inform the decolonisation of research in other cultural contexts, and contribute to ethical and empowering development policy and practice. We will argue for the merits of what we refer to here as ‘empathic apprenticeship’: an intentional, embodied, emotional, and intersubjective methodology and process between the researcher and the participant. An empathic apprenticeship has the potential to enhance shared understandings between all human beings and is essential if talanoa is intended as a decolonising research methodology.
Effect of Husbands' Employment Status on Their Wives' Subjective Well‐being in Korea

This study used data from the Korea Labor and Income Panel Survey (2001, 2003–2007) to estimate the effect of a husband's unemployment on his wife's subjective well-being (SWB). Ordinal and pooled binary logistic regression models were estimated using 20,099 observations from a sample of 4,569 married women; a fixed-effects logistic regression model was also estimated using 5,514 observations from a restricted sample of 1,070 wives who experienced at least 1 change in SWB over the follow-up period. The findings indicated that a husband's unemployment was detrimental to his wife's SWB. This spillover effect appeared to be mediated in part through nonpecuniary factors (i.e., dissatisfaction with family and social relations). These findings suggest that, beyond income loss and the well-being of unemployed individuals, the social cost of unemployment should consider the negative effects of unemployment on the family, in particular the spouse.
Object property encoding and change blindness in multiple object tracking

The paradigm of multiple object tracking (MOT) is an established tool for investigating human performance under conditions of divided attention to several objects. We studied change detection ability for colour and shape information in the setting of MOT. Subjects had to detect colour and shape changes during an MOT task. These changes occurred either openly (with nothing to hide them) or with a mud splash in the background to hide the change transient signal. Our experiment demonstrated that (1) when hidden by mud splashes, we fail to perceive a considerable number of colour changes even in the attended objects (i.e., targets) and (2) the visual system is significantly more likely to miss colour and shape changes in distractors than in target. We conclude that a colour change will be detected a lot more efficiently if attention is drawn to its transient. When a simultaneous mud splash hides the transient signal, subjects are significantly less efficient in detecting the change.
A SPANISH VERSION OF THE PADUA INVENTORY: FACTOR STRUCTURE AND PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES

This study reports the factorial structure and psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Padua Inventory (PI) in a sample of 863 undergraduate students, 55 patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and 20 patients with other anxiety disorders (OAD). A Principal Components Analysis suggested a 4-factor structure, which was comparable but not identical to that found in other versions of the PI involving non-clinical samples. The PI sub-scales showed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, as well as convergent and discriminant validity. The “Washing” sub-scale of the PI failed to separate OCD and OAD patients, although this may have been due to small sample sizes. It is suggested that a revised version of the PI should include symptoms that are not currently represented in the scale, such as hoarding obsessions and compulsions.
Design and Implementation of Digital Control in a Fuel Cell System

Digital control implementation is crucial in modern power electronic converters and energy conversion systems, as more complex control and friendly user interface are required. The fuel cell (FC) is a promising clean energy source and a reliable technology for niche applications providing high conversion efficiency. In this paper, a digitally controlled FC system is documented based on the boost-inverter topology that achieves both boosting and inversion functions in a single-stage. A digital signal processor TMS320F28335 is used to implement the control of the FC system in order to provide a number of benefits including low-cost, good performance, an easy implementation of a relatively complicated algorithm, and user friendly interface. The control design, analysis, simulation and experimental results are presented in the paper to confirm the performance of the digitally controlled FC system.
On black hole entropy.

Two techniques for computing black hole entropy in generally covariant gravity theories including arbitrary higher derivative interactions are studied. The techniques are Wald's Noether charge approach introduced recently, and a field redefinition method developed in this paper. Wald's results are extended by establishing that his local geometric expression for the black hole entropy gives the same result when evaluated on an arbitrary cross section of a Killing horizon (rather than just the bifurcation surface). Further, we show that his expression for the entropy is not affected by ambiguities which arise in the Noether construction. Using the Noether charge expression, the entropy is evaluated explicitly for black holes in a wide class of generally covariant theories. For a Lagrangian of the functional form L\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}=L\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}(${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\psi}}}_{\mathit{m}}$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\nabla}}}_{\mathit{a}}$${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\psi}}}_{\mathit{m}}$,${\mathit{g}}_{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}}$,${\mathit{R}}_{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\nabla}}}_{\mathit{e}}$${\mathit{R}}_{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$), it is found that the entropy is given by S=-2\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\oint}(${\mathit{Y}}^{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$-${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\nabla}}}_{\mathit{e}}$${\mathit{Z}}^{\mathit{e}:\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$) \ensuremath{\epsilon}${\mathrm{^}}_{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}}$\ensuremath{\epsilon}${\mathrm{^}}_{\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$\ensuremath{\epsilon}\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}, where the integral is over an arbitrary cross section of the Killing horizon, \ensuremath{\epsilon}${\mathrm{^}}_{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}}$ is the binormal to the cross section, ${\mathit{Y}}^{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$=\ensuremath{\partial}L\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}/\ensuremath{\partial}${\mathit{R}}_{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$, and ${\mathit{Z}}^{\mathit{e}:\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$=\ensuremath{\partial}L\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}/\ensuremath{\partial}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\nabla}}}_{\mathit{e}}$${\mathit{R}}_{\mathit{a}\mathit{b}\mathit{c}\mathit{d}}$.
Compassionate pedagogy: the ethics of care in early childhood professionalism

This article builds upon an earlier attempt (Taggart 2011) to articulate a rationale for professional training in early childhood education and care (ECEC) which is ethical as opposed to one which is purely instrumental or rooted in a patriarchal notion of women's supposed unique suitability. The argument proposes that a feminist approach to ethics, as both socially critical and psychologically affective or flexible, has a particular relevance to professional identity in ECEC. In particular, compassion, as a concept which has both sociological and psychological connotations, foregrounds the ethical dimension of the work whilst overcoming false dichotomies between discourses of ‘children's rights’ and ‘care’. The implications for the training and professional identity of practitioners are discussed.
Trait BIS predicts alpha asymmetry and P300 in a Go/No‐Go task

Inspired by the revised Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) theory the present study probed the association between individual differences in Trait BIS and electroencephalogram indicators of conflict processing/inhibition. Sixty‐nine male participants either high or low in Trait BIS completed a Go/No‐Go task while the electroencephalogram was recorded. As expected, Trait BIS was associated with the No‐Go‐anteriorisation of the P300 event‐related potential (i.e. an index of response inhibition presumably generated in the dorsal anterior cingulate—an area implicated in conflict processing) and with No‐ Go‐related changes towards left frontal alpha activity (i.e. presumably more activity in right prefrontal cortex—an area implicated in response inhibition). These findings support the role of conflict processing attributed to BIS functioning in the revised theory. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.