Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring foreign language anxiety in Saudi Arabia : a study of female English as foreign language college students

The goal of the research presented in this thesis is to increase understanding of the experiences (e.g., affective experience, challenges) of female Saudi Arabian students learning a foreign language. To better understand why some language learners have more difficulty acquiring a target language, there has been an increase in research into relationships between foreign language acquisition and affective variables (see Gardner, 1997). However, the vast majority of previous research has been conducted in the West, leaving a gap in understanding other perspectives. The present research uses a case study design, drawing on multiple sources of information to inform an understanding of female students' experience in a private college's English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program. A combination of factors — the importance of learning English, changes in the educational system, and conservative culture — create a unique environment for researching anxiety related to studying EFL. To gain insight into the learners' perspectives, questionnaires, individual and group interviews, and informal classroom observations were used. Ten participants, five from the beginning level (Level 1) and five from a more advanced level (Level 3) of the college English program, were examined. Each participant's experiences are discussed individually, then compared and analysed in the context of existing research literature. All case study participants indicated that they experienced anxiety through responses to a questionnaire, discussion in interviews, and observed behaviours (e.g., avoiding in-class participation). Although some factors, such as teacher-student interactions and teacher behaviour, appeared nearly universally anxiety-provoking among all participants, others factors varied between participants in Levels 1 and 3. These differences and similarities are examined. Finally, implications and limitations, along with suggested recommendations for EFL teachers and policy makers in Saudi Arabia, are discussed.
IMAGE WATERMARKING USING THE STEERABLE PYRAMID TRANSFORM

The protection of intellectual property rights became recently a pressing need especially with the rapid growth of transmission techniques. In this paper, we present as a copyright protection method, a non-blind watermarking technique based on the image content. We choose edges for watermark insertion. Our approach uses the steerable pyramid decomposition: the image is decomposed into a set of subbands and each one is individually marked. Many experiences performed with real images shows the good performance of the proposed method which is resistant to JPEG compression, additive noise and median filtering.
Aktør-netværkteori: A-moderne (sociologisk?) teori

Jakob Arnoldi: Actor Network Theory: A-modern (Sociological? ) Theory This article is a critical analysis of Bruno Latour’s actor network theory. It outlines two main conceptual moves in Latour’s work. The first is the move from an “irreductionist“ sociology of science to a critique of the so-called “Modern Constitution“. The second is a move from a double dialectic between knowledge and on the one hand the objectively given world, on the other the subjectively given world, to a notion of hybridization. The article outlines a range of positive aspects of the theory. It highlights the many possibilities for empirical research which actor network theory provides. And it argues that the theory is a valuable tool for research in areas such as risk, technology, and environment. However, the article remains critical of several aspects of Latour’s theory. First of all, it argues that the theory is unnecessarily polemic. Secondly, and much more importantly, it argues that Latour’s theory is haunted by a lack of reflexivity as it remains trapped inside the conceptual framework, the Modern Constitution, which the theory is attacking. The article argues that Latour retains a dialectical form of reasoning and that the critique of the poles nature and culture is based on the very distinction between these poles.
Optimal rate and input format control for content and context adaptive video streaming

A novel dynamic programming based technique for optimal selection of input video format and compression rate for video streaming based on "relevancy' of the content and user context is presented. The technique uses context dependent content analysis to divide the input video into temporal segments. User selected relevance levels assigned to these segments are used in formulating a constrained optimization problem, which is solved using dynamic programming. The technique minimizes a weighted distortion measure and the initial waiting time for continuous playback under maximum acceptable distortion constraints. Spatial resolution and frame rate of input video and the DCT quantization parameters are used as optimization variables. The technique is applied to encoding of soccer videos using an H.264 encoder. The improvements obtained over a standard H.264 implementation are demonstrated by experimental results.
Candida albicans Transcriptional Profiling Within Biliary Fluid From a Patient With Cholangitis, Before and After Antifungal Treatment and Surgical Drainage

We used ribonucleic acid sequencing to profile Candida albicans transcription within biliary fluid from a patient with cholangitis; samples were collected before and after treatment with fluconazole and drainage. Candida albicans transcriptomes at the infection site distinguished treated from untreated cholangitis. After treatment, 1131 C. albicans genes were differentially expressed in biliary fluid. Up-regulated genes were enriched in hyphal growth, cell wall organization, adhesion, oxidation reduction, biofilm, and fatty acid and ergosterol biosynthesis. This is the first study to define Candida global gene expression during deep-seated human infection. Successful treatment of cholangitis induced C. albicans genes involved in fluconazole responses and pathogenesis.
The association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular risk in adolescents.

OBJECTIVE Maximum oxygen uptake is emerging as the measure of preference for expressing cardiorespiratory fitness for the purposes of surveys of physical activity, due to its greater objectivity and lower propensity to errors. Studies indicate that this measure is better correlated with cardiovascular diseases. This paper proposes to relate cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents with their level of cardiorespiratory fitness. METHODS The study enrolled 380 schoolchildren, 177 boys and 203 girls (10 to 14 years old), who were divided into two groups according to their cardiorespiratory fitness. Anthropometric assessment was carried out, hemodynamic measurements (arterial pressure and heart rate) were taken, cardiopulmonary exercise testing was performed and biochemical tests were run (triglycerides, total and partial cholesterol). RESULTS Among the boys, significant differences were observed between boys defined as "weak" and those classed as "not weak" in terms of baseline heart rate, maximum oxygen uptake, body mass index and triglycerides. Among the girls, significant differences were detected between baseline heart rates, maximum oxygen uptake and body mass indices. In both sexes, the group classified as "weak" exhibited a significantly greater number of overweight individuals that the "not weak" group (chi2 = 25.242; p = 0.000; chi2 = 12.683; p = 0.000, for boys and girls, respectively). A significant association between cardiorespiratory fitness and triglycerides (chi2 = 3.944; p = 0.047) was observed among the boys only. CONCLUSIONS A low level of cardiorespiratory fitness appears to have a negative influence on cardiovascular risk factors among adolescents, especially with relation to overweight in both sexes and to biochemical profile in the male sex, providing evidence of the need for early preventative interventions.
Experimental demonstration of complex image theory for vertical magnetic dipoles with applications to remote sensing and position tracking

Position and orientation tracking in the magnetoquasistatic region of an electrically small transmitting loop antenna make use of complex image theory (CIT), which is an approximate algebraic model of the fields above a lossy dielectric, semiinfinite half-space. Experimental demonstrations of CIT from a transmitting loop that approximates a horizontal magnetic dipole (HMD) have been reported previously. This work reports the first experimental demonstration of CIT from a vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) in remote sensing and position-tracking applications.
Link scheduling in sensor networks: distributed edge coloring revisited

We consider the problem of link scheduling in a sensor network employing a TDMA MAC protocol. Our link scheduling algorithm involves two phases. In the first phase, we assign a color to each edge in the network such that no two edges incident on the same node are assigned the same color. We propose a distributed edge coloring algorithm that needs at most (/spl delta/+1) colors, where /spl delta/ is the maximum degree of the graph. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first distributed algorithm that can edge color a graph with at most (/spl delta/+1) colors. In the second phase, we map each color to a unique timeslot and attempt to identify a direction of transmission along each edge such that the hidden terminal and the exposed terminal problems are avoided. Next, considering topologies for which a feasible solution does not exist, we obtain a direction of transmission for each edge using additional timeslots, if necessary. Finally, we show that reversing the direction of transmission along every edge leads to another feasible direction of transmission. Using both the transmission assignments we obtain a TDMA MAC schedule, which enables two-way communication between every pair of neighbors. For acyclic topologies, we show that at most 2(/spl delta/+1) timeslots are required. Through simulations we show that for sparse graphs with cycles the number of timeslots assigned is close to 2(/spl delta/+1).
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Stratification of Childhood Brain Tumors: Implications for Translational Research

Recent advances in the categorization of childhood brain tumors have improved risk-based treatment planning. In several instances, new therapeutic strategies that incorporate these advances have resulted in meaningful improvements in progression-free and overall survival. Current studies are directed at further refining therapy based on clinical, biological, and molecular data; testing the effectiveness of a number of novel therapeutic strategies for high-risk tumors; and examining approaches to reduce sequelae of treatment among more favorable-risk tumor subsets. Because multiple tumor subtypes are individually relatively uncommon, most such studies are being conducted by large co-operative groups, such as the Children's Oncology Group, or by smaller brain tumor-focused consortia, such as the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium.
The myth of the encoding-retrieval match

Modern memory researchers rely heavily on the encoding-retrieval match, defined as the similarity between coded retrieval cues and previously encoded engrams, to explain variability in retention. The encoding-retrieval match is assumed to be causally and monotonically related to retention, although other factors (such as cue overload) presumably operate in some circumstances. I argue here that the link between the encoding-retrieval match and retention, although generally positive, is essentially correlational rather than causal—much like the link between deep/elaborative processing and retention. Empirically, increasing the functional match between a cue and a target trace can improve, have no effect, or even decrease retention performance depending on the circumstance. We cannot make unequivocal predictions about retention by appealing to the encoding-retrieval match; instead, we should be focusing our attention on the extent to which retrieval cues provide diagnostic information about target occurrence.
A Database Backend for OWL

An eddy current inspection probe for inspecting a preselected surface at least partially defining an opening in a component. The probe includes a cast core having an exterior surface sized and shaped for receipt within the opening of the component and an eddy current array positioned over the exterior surface of the core for generating and detecting magnetic fields in the component to inspect the preselected surface of the component.
A novel bipolar pulse generator for high-frequency ultrasound system

Pulse generator is the critical component in all ultrasound systems for driving a piezoelectric transducer to medical or nondestructive testing (NDT) applications. The transducer in ultrasound system was driven by a pulse train generator, which delivers high-voltage bipolar or unipolar pulse train. Several recent papers have discussed both the importance and the design of unipolar and bipolar pulse generator for ultrasound applications. Bipolar voltage pulse has lower unwanted DC and low-frequency component could decrease the leakage current. Also, its peak-to-peak pulse voltage could achieve twice of the voltage rating of the coaxial cable connecting the generator and the transducer. In current commercial ultrasound systems, bipolar pulse generators are commonly used; however, it still had some disadvantages like longer pulse length, which limited the driving frequency and affect the signal performance. This paper purposed a novel design of bipolar pulse generator based on a novel dual P-N channel MOSFET and FPGA timing control. It could produce multi-cycle pulses with center frequency over 50 MHz and shorter pulse length. This design also preserved the low-cost advantage compared to other commercial design of bipolar pulse generator. It is suitable for high-frequency ultrasound Doppler and B-mode imaging applications.
Minimum risk acoustic clustering for multilingual acoustic model combination

In this paper we describe procedures for combining multiple acoustic models, obtained using training corpora from different languages, in order to improve ASR performance in languages for which large amounts of training data are not available. We treat these models as multiple sources of information whose scores are combined in a log-linear model to compute the hypothesis likelihood. The model combination can either be performed in a static way, with constant combination weights, or in a dynamic way, with parameters that can vary for different segments of a hypothesis. The aim is to optimize the parameters so as to achieve minimum word error rate. In order to achieve robust parameter estimation in the dynamic combination case, the parameters are deﬁned to be piecewise constant on different phonetic classes that form a partition of the space of hypothesis segments. The partition is deﬁned, using phonological knowledge, on segments that correspond to hypothesized phones. We examine different ways to deﬁne such a partition, including an automatic approach that gives a binary tree structured partition which tries to achieve the minimum WER with the minimum number of classes. In this paper we describe procedures for combining multiple acoustic models, obtained using training corpora from different languages, in order to improve ASR performance in languages for which large amounts of training data are not available. We treat these models as multiple sources of information whose scores are combined in a log-linear model to compute the hypothesis likelihood. The model combination can either be performed in a static way, with constant combination weights, or in a dynamic way, with parameters that can vary for different segments of a hypothesis. The aim is to optimize the parameters so as to achieve minimum word error rate. In order to achieve robust parameter estimation in the dynamic combination case, the parameters are deﬁned to be piecewise constant on different phonetic classes that form a partition of the space of hypothesis segments. The partition is deﬁned, using phonological knowledge, on segments that correspond to hypothesized phones. We examine different ways to deﬁne such a partition, including an automatic approach that gives a binary tree structured partition which tries to achieve the minimum WER with the minimum number of classes.
Absence of p53 Complements Defects in Abelson Murine Leukemia Virus Signaling

ABSTRACT The v-Abl protein encoded by Abelson murine leukemia virus (Ab-MLV) induces transformation of pre-B cells via a two-stage process. An initial proliferative phase during which cells with limited tumorigenic potential expand is followed by a crisis period marked by high levels of apoptosis and erratic growth. Transformants that survive this phase emerge as fully malignant cells and usually contain mutations that disable the p53 tumor suppressor pathway. Consistent with the importance of p53 in this process, pre-B cells from p53 null animals bypass crisis. Thus, the transformation process reflects a balance between signals from the v-Abl protein that drive transformation and those coming from the cellular response to inappropriate growth. One prediction of this hypothesis is that Ab-MLV mutants that are compromised in their ability to transform cells may be less equipped to overcome the effects of p53. To test this idea, we examined the ability of the P120/R273K mutant to transform pre-B cells from wild-type, p53 null, and Ink4a/Arf null mice. The SH2 domain of the v-Abl protein encoded by this mutant contains a substitution that affects the phosphotyrosine-binding pocket, and this mutant is compromised in its ability to transform NIH 3T3 and pre-B cells, especially at 39.5°C. Our data reveal that loss of p53 or Ink4a/Arf locus products complements the transforming defect of the P120/R273K mutant, but it does not completely restore wild-type function. These results indicate that one important transforming function of v-Abl proteins is overcoming the effects of a functional p53 pathway.
Evolution of male longevity bias in nematodes

Many animal species exhibit sex differences in aging. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, under conditions that minimize mortality, males are the longer‐lived sex. In a survey of 12 independent C. elegans isolates, we find that this is a species‐typical character. To test the hypothesis that the C. elegans male longevity bias evolved as a consequence of androdioecy (having males and hermaphrodites), we compared sex‐specific survival in four androdioecious and four dioecious (males and females) nematode species. Contrary to expectation, in all but C. briggsae (androdioecious), males were the longer‐lived sex, and this difference was greatest among dioecious species. Moreover, male lifespan was reduced in androdioecious species relative to dioecious species. The evolutionary theory of aging predicts the evolution of a shorter lifespan in the sex with the greater rate of extrinsic mortality. We demonstrate that in each of eight species early adult mortality is elevated in females/hermaphrodites in the absence of food as the consequence of internal hatching of larvae (matricide). This age‐independent mortality risk can favour the evolution of rapid aging in females and hermaphrodites relative to males.
Interactive effects of early and recent exposure to stressful contexts on cortisol reactivity in middle childhood

Background Given mixed findings as to whether stressful experiences and relationships are associated with increases or decreases in children's cortisol reactivity, we tested whether a child's developmental history of risk exposure explained variation in cortisol reactivity to an experimentally induced task. We also tested whether the relationship between cortisol reactivity and children's internalizing and externalizing problems varied as a function of their developmental history of stressful experiences and relationships. Method Participants included 400 children (M = 9.99 years, SD = 0.74 years) from the Children's Experiences and Development Study. Early risk exposure was measured by children's experiences of harsh, nonresponsive parenting at 3 years. Recent risk exposure was measured by children's exposure to traumatic events in the past year. Children's cortisol reactivity was measured in response to a social provocation task and parents and teachers described children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Results The effect of recent exposure to traumatic events was partially dependent upon a child's early experiences of harsh, nonresponsive parenting: the more traumatic events children had recently experienced, the greater their cortisol reactivity if they had experienced lower (but not higher) levels of harsh, nonresponsive parenting at age 3. The lowest levels of cortisol reactivity were observed among children who had experienced the most traumatic events in the past year and higher (vs. lower) levels of harsh, nonresponsive parenting in early childhood. Among youth who experienced harsh, nonresponsive parent–child relationships in early childhood and later traumatic events, lower levels of cortisol reactivity were associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems. Conclusions Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to psychological stressors and the relationship between HPA axis reactivity and children's internalizing and externalizing problems vary as a function of a child's developmental history of exposure to stressful relationships and experiences.
Comparative Analysis of Species-Specific Ligand Recognition in Toll-Like Receptor 8 Signaling: A Hypothesis

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a central role in the innate immune response by recognizing conserved structural patterns in a variety of microbes. TLRs are classified into six families, of which TLR7 family members include TLR7, 8, and 9, which are localized to endolysosomal compartments recognizing viral infection in the form of foreign nucleic acids. In our current study, we focused on TLR8, which has been shown to recognize different types of ligands such as viral or bacterial ssRNA as well as small synthetic molecules. The primary sequences of rodent and non-rodent TLR8s are similar, but the antiviral compound (R848) that activates the TLR8 pathway is species-specific. Moreover, the factors underlying the receptor's species-specificity remain unknown. To this end, comparative homology modeling, molecular dynamics simulations refinement, automated docking and computational mutagenesis studies were employed to probe the intermolecular interactions between this anti-viral compound and TLR8. Furthermore, comparative analyses of modeled TLR8 (rodent and non-rodent) structures have shown that the variation mainly occurs at LRR14-15 (undefined region); hence, we hypothesized that this variation may be the primary reason for the exhibited species-specificity. Our hypothesis was further bolstered by our docking studies, which clearly showed that this undefined region was in close proximity to the ligand-binding site and thus may play a key role in ligand recognition. In addition, the interface between the ligand and TLR8s varied depending upon the amino acid charges, free energy of binding, and interaction surface. Therefore, our current work provides a hypothesis for previous in vivo studies in the context of TLR signaling.