Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Girls’ Learning Through Single-Sex Education: Evidence and a Policy Conundrum

A key consideration in the policy debate on the appropriate role of single-sex education in predominantly coeducational school systems is relative benefit for male and female students. This paper analyzes the relative performance of single-sex education and coeducation in Thailand in enhancing eighth-grade male and female student scores on standardized mathematics tests, holding constant student background, peer, and school characteristics. Its main conclusions are that (a) single-sex schooling is more effective for female students and coeducational schooling is more effective for male students in improving student performance in mathematics and (b) these differentials are largely due to peer effects rather than to specific characteristics of single-sex and coeducational classrooms or schools.
Depth Map Design and Depth-based Effects With a Single Image

We present a novel pipeline to generate a depth map from a single image that can be used as input for a variety of artistic depth-based effects. In such a context, the depth maps do not have to be perfect but are rather designed with respect to a desired result. Consequently, our solution centers around user interaction and relies on a scribble-based depth editing. The annotations can be sparse, as the depth map is generated by a diffusion process, which is guided by image features. Additionally, we support a variety of controls, such as a non-linear depth mapping, a steering mechanism for the diffusion (e.g., directionality, emphasis, or reduction of the influence of image cues), and besides absolute, we also support relative depth indications. We demonstrate a variety of artistic 3D results, including wiggle stereoscopy and depth of field.
AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK -BASED ROTATION CORRECTION METHOD FOR 3D-MEASUREMENT USING A SINGLE PERSPECTIVE VIEW

High accuracy in working lining wear rate measurements of a metallurgical vessel is very essential. If the molten steel burns through the vessel because of excessive lining wear, the consequences may be substantial losses in production, damage to the instrumentation, and equipment and danger to the staff. Such lining measurements are done with laser scanning equipment. The positioning of the vessel for the laser scanning is done with a CCD-camera. Each vessel contains a positioning plate, which is a planar object containing four rings at the corners. A procedure realised with a special image processing hardware locates the rings on a rectangular plane with known dimensions. With that information the position of the metallurgical vessel is calculated before each laser scanning. The ring search method is based on cross-correlation, which is a very accurate method in 2D situations. There is, however, a problem of the perspective projection of the ring at different angles, which causes a little inaccuracy in rotation transformation calculation. In this paper we propose an adaptive artificial neural network (ANN) based method to estimate and to correct the error in rotation measurement due to perspective view of the rings and from some other possible error sources like differences in optical components and their lens distortion calibration. The adaptability is required since installation and the measurement geometry of each laser measurement system installation is different. The system has been verified with measurements in a steel plant.
EBS: decentralised slot synchronisation for broadcast messaging for low-power wireless embedded systems

In this paper, we present a decentralised scheme that facilitates reliable network wide broadcast messaging without the requirement of strict time synchronisation, for duty-cycled low-power wireless embedded systems. In this emergent broadcast slot (EBS) scheme, devices coordinate their wake-up periods with their neighbours to exchange schedule information locally. This leads to the emergence of local slot synchronisation without the need for either network-wide synchronisation or a centralised time synchronisation element. We theoretically show that this scheme converges faster than similar emergent and gradient-based approaches, which we confirm by evaluation on real test-beds. We also show that our scheme exhibits lower overheads while being more tolerant to disturbances caused by faulty nodes, wireless link failures, contention and interference in presence of deterministic propagation delays.
Author ' s personal copy Stress e response pathways are altered in the hippocampus of chronic alcoholics

The chronic high-level alcohol consumption seen in alcoholism leads to dramatic effects on the hippocampus, including decreased white matter, loss of oligodendrocytes and other glial cells, and inhibition of neurogenesis. Examining gene expression in post mortem hippocampal tissue from 20 alcoholics and 19 controls allowed us to detect differentially expressed genes that may play a role in the risk for alcoholism or whose expression is modified by chronic consumption of alcohol. We identified 639 named genes whose expression significantly differed between alcoholics and controls at a False Discovery Rate (FDR) 0.20; 52% of these genes differed by at least 1.2-fold. Differentially expressed genes included the glucocorticoid receptor and the related gene FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5), UDP glycosyltransferase 8 (UGT8), urea transporter (SLC14A1), zinc transporter (SLC39A10), Interleukin 1 receptor type 1 (IL1R1), thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP), and many metallothioneins. Pathways related to inflammation, hypoxia, and stress showed activation, and pathways that play roles in neurogenesis and myelination showed decreases. The cortisol pathway dysregulation and increased inflammation identified here are seen in other stress-related conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and most likely play a role in addiction. Many of the detrimental effects on the hippocampus appear to be mediated through NF-kB signaling. Twenty-four of the differentially regulated genes were previously identified by genome-wide association studies of alcohol use disorders; this raises the potential interest of genes not normally associated with alcoholism, such as suppression of tumorigenicity 18 (ST18), BCL2associated athanogene 3 (BAG3), and von Willebrand factor (VWF). 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Peace, power and pagodas in present-day Cambodia

This article draws upon several ethnographic vignettes taken from fieldwork conducted in Cambodia between 2003-2004 to explore how security and legitimacy are constructed in terms of Khmer culture. I propose that the cultural logic according to which these are formulated rests upon the containment and subordination of power, in its broadest sense, to the Buddhist virtues (sel), the sacred boundary around the temple (sima) and the saffron robe of Buddhist monks. The article presents an historical background to the changing role of Buddhism in Cambodia over the centuries, paying particular attention to its revival after the devastation of the Khmer Rouge period 1975-1979. The ethnography presented reveals the fears Khmer people express today at what would appear to be power escaping the regulation of the sel/sima/robe symbolic complex; the article argues that under these cultural circumstances Khmer imagine their universe and identity to be dissolving. Both security and legitimacy would seem to be at risk.
The Cognition of Maximal Reach Distance in Parkinson's Disease

This study aimed to investigate whether the cognition of spatial distance in reaching movements was decreased in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and whether this cognition was associated with various symptoms of PD. Estimated and actual maximal reaching distances were measured in three directions in PD patients and healthy elderly volunteers. Differences between estimated and actual measurements were compared within each group. In the PD patients, the associations between “error in cognition” of reaching distance and “clinical findings” were also examined. The results showed that no differences were observed in any values regardless of dominance of hand and severity of symptoms. The differences between the estimated and actual measurements were negatively deviated in the PD patients, indicating that they tended to underestimate reaching distance. “Error in cognition” of reaching distance correlated with the items of posture in the motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. This suggests that, in PD patients, postural deviation and postural instability might affect the cognition of the distance from a target object.
Modeling Twitter acceptance and use under the risk of antisocial behavior

The problem of online antisocial behavior is increasingly attracting public attention and is compromising the quality of online communities. Previous research on online hostility looked at different aspects of the problem such as its definition, classification, or studying specific case studies, however, the impact is still not clear. In this paper, we propose a new model to investigate the impact of antisocial behavior online, the model is based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), our model integrates the perception of antisocial behavior as a risk factor along with other factors drawn from sociology. Initial validation of our model was conducted through expert reviews, the reviews include interviews with experts from computer science, sociology, and psychology, who were asked to consider its application to Twitter (as one of the controversial cyberspaces when it comes to antisocial behavior). The results of both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the expert reviews show strong support to the proposed model.
Precore wild‐type DNA and immune complexes persist in chronic hepatitis B after seroconversion: No association between genome conversion and seroconversion

Precore hepatitis B virus (HBV) mutants may gradually prevail during or after seroconversion (SC) from hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) to hepatitis B e antigen antibody (anti‐HBe) status in many chronic hepatitis B (CH‐B) patients. However, patients with CH‐B still produce anti‐HBe more than several years after SC, and the relationship between SC and genome conversion in the precore region has not been clarified. Therefore, in patients with CH‐B who had a sustained loss of HBeAg and complete remission of hepatitis after SC, the precore region was sequenced in paired serum samples from 1 year before SC to 3 years after SC. Mutant precore defective HBV DNA was found in only 6 (19%) of 31 CH‐B patients who had a complete remission of hepatitis after SC. Mixed‐type HBV DNA (precore wild‐type and mutant‐type) was found in 4 (13%) patients. Wild‐type HBV DNA was found in 21 (68%) CH‐B patients after SC. Longer‐term follow‐up of 11 CH‐B patients indicated that 3 of 11 patients experienced precore genome conversion 2 to 3 years after SC. E‐plus DNA or e‐minus DNA was semiquantitated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays before and after SC. E‐plus DNA levels decreased from 105.56±1.58 to 102.45±1.61. Similarly, e‐minus DNA levels declined from 104.25±1.56 to 101.86±1.37. By dot‐blot assay, serum HBV DNA became negative soon after SC, as did serum HBeAg. In contrast, HBeAg‐containing immune complexes were still detected after SC. Anti‐HBe antibody was produced throughout SC and thereafter, as determined by a sensitive experimental assay. Therefore, we conclude that genome‐conversion in the precore region is a separate event from HBeAg/anti‐HBe seroconversion.
Early integration of bilateral touch in the primary somatosensory cortex

Animal, as well as behavioural and neuroimaging studies in humans have documented integration of bilateral tactile information at the level of primary somatosensory cortex (SI). However, it is still debated whether integration in SI occurs early or late during tactile processing, and whether it is somatotopically organized. To address both the spatial and temporal aspects of bilateral tactile processing we used magnetoencephalography in a tactile repetition‐suppression paradigm. We examined somatosensory evoked‐responses produced by probe stimuli preceded by an adaptor, as a function of the relative position of adaptor and probe (probe always at the left index finger; adaptor at the index or middle finger of the left or right hand) and as a function of the delay between adaptor and probe (0, 25, or 125 ms). Percentage of response‐amplitude suppression was computed by comparing paired (adaptor + probe) with single stimulations of adaptor and probe. Results show that response suppression varies differentially in SI and SII as a function of both spatial and temporal features of the stimuli. Remarkably, repetition suppression of SI activity emerged early in time, regardless of whether the adaptor stimulus was presented on the same and the opposite body side with respect to the probe. These novel findings support the notion of an early and somatotopically organized inter‐hemispheric integration of tactile information in SI. Hum Brain Mapp 36:1506–1523, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pushing Dualisms and Differences: From ‘Equality versus Difference’ to ‘Nonmimetic Sharing’ and ‘Staying with the Trouble’

Abstract Critically revisiting the ‘equality versus difference’ dualism that is inscribed in the feminist canon of the last decades is an important task for feminist ethico-political discussions today. The theoretico-political tension between claims of equality and difference still troubles feminist discussions and thus needs to be addressed by contemporary research. Yet, moving beyond the persisting antagonism cannot be done by either moving outside the problematic relation or by choosing one term over the other. It is, as Joan W. Scott noted, impossible to choose between equality and difference, so that other ways of tackling the problem are needed. This article suggests a new line of flight for feminist politics in respect to this founding paradox from a feminist new materialist/posthuman(ist) perspective. Via an affirmative reading of Irigaray's cosmopolitical concern of Sharing the World (2008) and a critical investigation into the structuring ‘anthropological limit’ (Derrida) of her sexual difference thinking, the author pushes the dualistic framework of equality versus difference towards a thought of ‘nonmimetic sharing’ and ‘staying with the trouble’. In her argument, she turns to the differential worldings of Grosz's ‘differing’, Barad's ‘quantum’ and Haraway's ‘terran’ in order to open up ethico-political alternatives to engage difference(s) differently. The article ultimately argues that by affirming all multifaceted (im)material worlding entanglements, significant new insights can be gained for both theorizing differentiality as ethico-onto-epistemological ‘becoming-with’ and for practising this world of/as difference(s) in a more ‘response-able’ manner.
Threonine 286 of fatty acid desaturase 7 is essential for ω-3 fatty acid desaturation in the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Omega-3 fatty acid desaturases catalyze the conversion of dienoic fatty acids (C18:2 and C16:2) into trienoic fatty acids (C18:3 and C16:3), accounting for more than 50% of the total fatty acids in higher plants and the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Here, we describe a Thr residue located in the fourth transmembrane domain of fatty acid desaturase 7 (FAD7) that is essential for the biosynthesis of ω-3 fatty acids in C. reinhardtii. The ω-3 fatty acid deficiency in strain CC-620, which contains a putative missense mutation at Thr286 of CrFAD7, was recovered by the overexpression of CC-125 CrFAD7. A Ser substitution in position 286 was able to partially complement the phenotype of the ω-3 fatty acid deficiency, but other substitution variants, such as Tyr, His, Cys, and Gly, failed to do so. Prediction of the phosphorylation target site revealed that Thr286 may be phosphorylated. Analysis of the structural conformation of CC-620 CrFAD7 via topology prediction (and bends in the helix) shows that this missense mutation may collapse the catalytic structure of CrFAD7. Taken together, this study suggests that Thr286 is essential for the maintaining the catalytic structure of CrFAD7.
Shareholder Value and Investment Strategy Using the General Portfolio Model

Portfolio planning has been the subject of much debate, but little testing in strategic management. Building on the assumptions that relative ROA and sales growth are valid indicators of competitive position and industry attractiveness, this study examines whether an investment strategy that is consistent with prescriptions from the general portfolio model is associated with excess returns to shareholders. Evidence reported in this study indicates that this strategy is actually associated with subpar returns to shareholders. The implications of this finding for scholars and managers are discussed.
Girls’ Attitudes Towards Science in Kenya

This study investigated girls’ attitudes towards science in Kenya. It was carried out with 120 girls from four secondary schools in the Eastern province of Kenya. These were an urban single-sex (SS) and co-educational (Co-Ed) school and a rural SS and Co-Ed school. Different schools were chosen in order to explore whether there are any differences in attitudes in SS and Co-Ed schools and in schools in rural and urban areas. The methodology included the use of both questionnaires and focus group interviews. The main aim was to gain insight into the extent and depth of students’ attitudes towards science. The findings of the study showed that the majority of Kenyan girls who participated in the study have a favourable attitude towards science. Girls in SS schools were found to have a more favourable attitude than those in Co-Ed schools, while girls in rural area schools were found to find science more relevant than those in urban schools. It emerged from this study that the attitudes of Kenyan girls are influenced by their perceptions of the relevance of science, enjoyment of studying science, perceptions of the suitability of science for a career, and their perceptions of subject difficulty.
NF-κB Protects Cells from Gamma Interferon-Induced RIP1-Dependent Necroptosis

ABSTRACT Interferons (IFNs) are cytokines with well-described immunomodulatory and antiviral properties, but less is known about the mechanisms by which they promote cell survival or cell death. Here, we show that IFN-γ induces RIP1 kinase-dependent necroptosis in mammalian cells deficient in NF-κB signaling. Induction of necroptosis by IFN-γ was found to depend on Jak1 and partially on STAT1. We also demonstrate that IFN-γ activates IκB kinase β (IKKβ)-dependent NF-κB to regulate a transcriptional program that protects cells from necroptosis. IFN-γ induced progressive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and eventual loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in cells lacking the NF-κB subunit RelA. Whole-genome microarray analyses identified sod2, encoding the antioxidant enzyme manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), as a RelA target and potential antinecroptotic gene. Overexpression of MnSOD inhibited IFN-γ-mediated ROS accumulation and partially rescued RelA-deficient cells from necroptosis, while RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing of sod2 expression increased susceptibility to IFN-γ-induced cell death. Together, these studies demonstrate that NF-κB protects cells from IFN-γ-mediated necroptosis by transcriptionally activating a survival response that quenches ROS to preserve mitochondrial integrity.
Uncertainty ellipsoids calculations for complex 3D reconstructions

Many methods exist for the automatic and optimal 3D reconstruction of camera motion and scene structure from image sequence ('structure from motion' or SfM). The solution to this problem is not unique: we obtain an other solution by changing the coordinate system where points and cameras are defined. On the other hand, existing methods provide some measure of confidence or uncertainty for the estimation when the ground truth is not available, using a gauge constraint which settle the reconstruction coordinate system. Here we justify and describe a method which estimate the uncertainty ellipsoids, when previous methods are not straightforward to use due to a huge number of parameters to fit. Many examples are given and discussed for big reconstructions
State engagement with non-state justice: how the experience in Kyrgyzstan can reinforce the need for legitimacy in Afghanistan

Currently there is a question of whether and how Afghanistan should engage non-state councils of elders to resolve disputes. In order to harness their benefits (e.g. efficiency), control their abuses (e.g. occasional controversial resolutions), and stabilize the resolution of disputes, some have argued that formal links should be established between the state judicial system and non-state councils of elders in Afghanistan. Others argue that mere informal links between the two systems should be established. Still others suggest that prior models of state engagement in Afghanistan should be revived. In Kyrgyzstan, just 65 miles north of Afghanistan, the Tsarist, Soviet and post-Soviet administrations have used various methods to engage non-state councils of elders. Despite these vastly different attempts at controlling local dispute resolutions, elders independently resolved disputes outside of Tsarist and Soviet control and continue to resolve disputes outside of post-Soviet state control in Kyrgyzstan. This phenomenon highlights the need for legitimacy in any models of state engagement that are considered for Afghanistan. If, as observed in Kyrgyzstan, people do not use state-sanctioned local councils in Afghanistan, then their purposes may be frustrated. Therefore, in addition to reviewing the experience with state engagement in other parts of the world, policy makers in Afghanistan should also review the historical and contemporary experience with state engagement in Kyrgyzstan. As the need for legitimacy is reconsidered and applied to the design of models for Afghanistan, it may be more likely that those models will be used by more people in Afghanistan and that their purposes will be furthered.