Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concurrent validity of the language development survey: associations with the MacArthur-Bates communicative development inventories: words and sentences.

This study examined the concurrent validity of the Language Development Survey (LDS), a 310-word parent report screening tool for language delay in toddlers, by testing its associations with the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words and Sentences (CDI:WS), a 680-word parent report instrument. Participants were 239 toddlers 23-25 months of age. The correlation between total vocabulary score on the 2 instruments was . 95, and correlations across comparable semantic categories ranged from . 84 to . 94. The correlation between the LDS and the CDI:WS for mean length of phrases calculated on 3 examples of the child's longest and best phrases was . 90. Both instruments demonstrated that parents reported higher vocabulary and mean phrase length scores for girls. The study indicates that information obtained from the LDS about rank ordering of toddlers in terms of their reported vocabulary and mean length of phrases is equivalent to that obtained from the longer CDI:WS.
Human rights and statistics : getting the record straight

Effective human rights advocacy and research require the use of statistics, carefully collected and objectively analyzed, using the best techniques available. The contributors to this book, including experts in political science, public health, law, forensic pathology and statistics, illustrate good statistical practice in the field of human rights and show the importance of collaboration between statisticians and other professionals. The treatment is largely non-mathematical, and the examples provide broad coverage of all features of the collection and use of statistical data on human rights violations. For readers who would like to do their own analyses, an extensive guide to human rights data sources is included.
Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Nonlinear Satellite Links-A Volterra Series Approach

An analytical solution to the problem of modeling bandpass nonlinear channels and evaluating the performance of digital communication systems operating on them is presented. A method based on a Volterra series representation of the overall channel is first proposed, which allows one to extend to nonlinearities with memory the well-known concepts of complex envelope of bandpass signals and low-pass equivalent of bandpass linear systems. The general results previously mentioned are then applied to digital satellite communication systems operating over nonlinear channels. The effect of a nonlinear amplifier located in the satellite is considered, in combination with that of transmitting and receiving filters located in the Earth stations. In addition, both uplink and downlink noise are taken into account. Basic advantages of this approach are the generality it offers to the analysis and the fact that it allows accurate evaluation of the error probability in a short computer time.
A CHARACTERIZATION OF NUCLEOSIDE DIPHOSPHATASE IN THE ONION ROOT TIP

Inosine diphosphatase of a Golgi-enriched fraction of the onion root tip was characterized. Peak enzyme activity occurred at pH 4.8 and 7.0, although considerable activity was present between the peaks. The activity at neutral pH approximately doubled during a 4-day cold storage; no such increase of the pH 4.8 activity occurred under similar conditions. Treatment with deoxycholate or Triton X-l00 also activated the pH 7.0 enzyme. Although magnesium, manganese and calcium all supported inosine diphosphatase activity, 2 mM manganese supported maximal activity. Uridine diphosphate, guanosine diphosphate and inosine diphosphate were hydrolyzed much more rapidly than the other substrates tested. Sodium fluoride, uranyl nitrate, potassium chloride and heat all partially inhibited the enzyme. Glutaraldehyde and lead nitrate, two reagents to which nucleoside diphosphatase is exposed when studied cytochemically, greatly reduced enzyme activity.
Preventing Risk for Obesity by Promoting Self-Regulation and Decision-Making Skills

The overall aim of the two school-based pilot studies was to evaluate whether an approach to prevention that focused on changing child impulse control, decision making, and social competence can be effective in changing attitudes toward food intake and physical activity as risk factors for obesity. The strategy used was to translate specific components of one evidence-based program for violence prevention (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies: PATHS) into an elementary school curriculum program for obesity prevention. Both studies demonstrated significant changes in positive attitudes toward self-regulation of appetitive behavior. In addition, Study 2 demonstrated positive changes in actual food choices and television viewing patterns. Implications are that comprehensive efforts to prevent youth risk for obesity should include as one component school-based curricula that target self-regulation and decision-making skills.
Integration of economic and spatial planning across scales

Purpose – This paper aims to study a major aspect of the recent Treasury‐led Review of Sub‐national Economic Development and Regeneration in attempting to integrate work currently performed under the separate economic and spatial strategies through the preparation of single regional strategies.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses several aspects of the existing work of regional development agencies (RDAs) to illustrate where they could be better informed to undertake their anticipated role in regional spatial planning.Findings – The Labour Government has been forced to change its approach to reforms at the sub‐national level. In November, 2008 it performed a late compromise in response to the consultation on the Review, in giving equal status to the work of local authorities and RDAs in writing single regional strategies. This is welcomed, as is a strengthening of the scope of sub‐regional governance. Nonetheless the reforms do little to address the socio‐economic disparities between regions.P.
Saccharopolyspora Species: Laboratory Maintenance and Enhanced Production of Secondary Metabolites

Saccharopolyspora spp. are aerobic, Gram‐positive, non‐acid‐fast, and non‐motile actinomycetes. Various species of the genus Saccharopolyspora have been reported with an ability to produce various bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical and agricultural uses. This unit includes general protocols for the laboratory maintenance of Saccharopolyspora species, including growth in liquid medium, growth on solid agar, long‐term storage, and generation of a higher producer strain by mutagenesis. Saccharopolyspora spinosa ATCC 49460 is used as a prototype for explaining the considerations for efficient laboratory maintenance of Saccharopolyspora spp. Saccharopolyspora spinosa is a producer of spinosad, a prominent insecticide with selective activity against various insects. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A Structural Probe of the Doped Holes in Cuprate Superconductors

An unresolved issue concerning cuprate superconductors is whether the distribution of carriers in the CuO2 plane is uniform or inhomogeneous. Because the carriers comprise a small fraction of the total charge density and may be rapidly fluctuating, modulations are difficult to detect directly. We demonstrate that in anomalous x-ray scattering at the oxygen K edge of the cuprates, the contribution of carriers to the scattering amplitude is selectively magnified 82 times. This enhances diffraction from the doped holes by more than 103, permitting direct structural analysis of the superconducting ground state. Scattering from thin films of La2CuO4+δ (superconducting transition temperature = 39 K) at temperature = 50 ± 5 kelvin on the reciprocal space intervals (0,0,0.21) → (0,0,1.21) and (0,0,0.6) → (0.3,0,0.6) shows a rounding of the carrier density near the substrate suggestive of a depletion zone or similar effect. The structure factor for off-specular scattering was less than 3 × 10−7 electrons, suggesting an absence of in-plane hole ordering in this material.
Ex Ante Testing of Accounting Standards Using Stochastic Models

Abstract Most previous studies of the effects of accounting standards have been conducted on an ex post basis. This paper explores a methodology for studying the implications of accounting standards prior to their introduction. As an illustration, the effects of alternative earnings recognition methods for long-term contracts were examined (SSAP 9). A stochastic model of a representative firm was constructed, where the underlying stochastic process was mean reverting. This model was then used to derive mathematical expressions for the earnings figures produced by different accounting procedures. The performance of these alternative accounting procedures was examined using the general criteria of prediction and closeness to economic income. The accounting procedures required by SSAP 9 emerged relatively well from these tests, and the methodology appears to offer the potential for development.
Export diversity and regional growth: Empirical evidence from South Africa

This paper provides empirical evidence on the relationship between exports, and in particular export diversity, and regional growth in a developing country context. Using export data for 19 sectors from 354 subnational (magisterial) districts of South Africa, we construct various measures of subnational export diversity. We find that it is not only how much that is exported, but also important is what is exported. Regions with less specialization and more diversified exports generally experienced higher economic growth rates and contributed much more to overall exports from South Africa. We also find that distance (and thus transport costs) may matter for export diversity. Estimating a cubic-spline density function for the various measures of export diversity we find that export diversity declines as the distance from a port (export hub) increases. Most magisterial districts with high export diversity values are located within 100 km of the nearest port. Furthermore, comparing the cubic-spline density functions for 2004 with that of 1996 shows that distance (transport costs) have become more important (under greater openness), with fewer diverse magisterial districts located further away from ports in 2004 than in 1996. One possible explanation for this changing pattern of export diversity may be due to the impact of greater foreign direct investment in South Africa since 1996.
Developing an Online/Onsite Community of Practice to Support K-8 Teachers’ Improvement in Nature of Science Conceptions

Research shows that teachers do not have adequate conceptions of science as inquiry and must be exposed to both content and pedagogical demands of inquiry to effectively teach using inquiry (Anderson, 2002). These results are especially unfortunate for the teacher and the learner because understanding of science as inquiry is reciprocally related to understanding important aspects of the nature of science (NOS) (Akerson, et al., 2008). This problem is coupled with the need to teach NOS and inquiry throughout all elementary grades (NSTA, 2000). Most elementary teacher preparation programs do not include specific courses on NOS or inquiry, and what teachers learn is usually embedded in a science methods course (Backus & Thompson, 2006). Certainly teachers can conceptualize and teach NOS once they understand it, are convinced of its importance, and have strategies to teach it to their own students. Professional development programs can help teachers attain these goals. We have found communities of practice (CoP) (Wenger, 1998) especially useful when working with inservice teachers in terms of helping them conceptualize and to teach NOS when used in an on-site professional development program (Akerson et al, 2009; Wenger, 2002). The CoP enabled the teachers to be committed to a vision of reform in their teaching, and to share ideas and provide peer feedback. To develop a COP there must be mutual engagement around a shared theme in which participants are engaged with colleagues, and share and respond to ideas in the context of the theme (in our case, NOS). In addition, a CoP should have a shared mission (joint enterprise) in which the community works toward a common purpose (for us, improving science teaching). Also, a CoP must include a shared repertoire of ideas, techniques, practices, terminology, as a needed outcome for the CoP and its participants (for us, shared strategies for NOS instruction) (Kerwald, 2008; Wenger, 1998; Wenger, 2006).
Dow Effects in Returns and in Volatility of Stock Markets during Quiet and Turbulent Times

The persistence in time of the calendar anomalies is one of the most disputed subjects from the financial literature. Quite often, the passing from quiet to turbulent periods of time provokes radical changes in the investors’ behaviors which affect the stock markets seasonality. In this paper we investigate the presence of the day of the week effects in returns and volatility for 32 indexes from advanced and emerging markets. We analyze this seasonality for two periods of time: a relative quiet period, from January 2000 to December 2006, and a more turbulent period, from January 2007 to September 2012. A GJR-GARCH model allows us to identify, for the two periods, various forms of day of the week effects in returns and volatility. However, only for few indexes we find the stability in time of the daily seasonality. For many of the advanced markets indexes, the day of the week effects in returns identified for the quiet period disappeared during the turbulent period. A less radical decline occurred for the day of the week effects in volatility. In the case of indexes from the emerging markets, the persistence in time of the daily seasonality in returns was more consistent in comparison with advanced markets indexes. Regarding the volatility of emerging markets, we find that during the turbulent period many day of the week effects in volatility disappeared, while new others appeared.
A conserved role for the 20S proteasome and Nrf2 transcription factor in oxidative stress adaptation in mammals, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster

SUMMARY In mammalian cells, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced adaptation to oxidative stress is strongly dependent on an Nrf2 transcription factor-mediated increase in the 20S proteasome. Here, we report that both Caenorhabditis elegans nematode worms and Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies are also capable of adapting to oxidative stress with H2O2 pre-treatment. As in mammalian cells, this adaptive response in worms and flies involves an increase in proteolytic activity and increased expression of the 20S proteasome, but not of the 26S proteasome. We also found that the increase in 20S proteasome expression in both worms and flies, as in mammalian cells, is important for the adaptive response, and that it is mediated by the SKN-1 and CNC-C orthologs of the mammalian Nrf2 transcription factor, respectively. These studies demonstrate that stress mechanisms operative in cell culture also apply in disparate intact organisms across a wide biological diversity.
Global interactions of China and India: Divergent paths of trade?

ABSTRACT This article explores the global positions of China and India in merchandise trade. It first compares the integration models of China and India and, thereafter, examines the core factors that drive their trading relationships. With respect to their global trading partners, there are considerable differences in the influence of economic drivers of trade for China and India. Combined larger markets, similar consumer preferences, similar factor endowments and linguistic links enhance global exports from China. Alternatively, smaller market size, discrepancy in consumer demands, dissimilar factor endowments and combined stocks of foreign direct investments drive India’s global trade. The findings suggest that differences in the structure and demand of China vis-a-vis India dictate the divergence in the profile of their trade determinants. Such divergence in trade drivers, however, dissipates when taking into account Chinese and Indian partnerships on a regional basis – with East Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Latin America, European Union (EU), and Africa.
Similarity search over graphs using localized spectral analysis

This paper provides a new similarity detection algorithm. Given an input set of multi-dimensional data points1 and an additional reference data point for similarity finding, the algorithm uses kernel method that embeds the data points into a low dimensional manifold. Unlike other kernel methods, which considers the entire data for the embedding, our method selects a specific set of kernel eigenvectors. The eigenvectors are chosen to separate between the data points and the reference data point so that similar data points can be easily identified as being distinct from most of the members in the dataset.
Markedly Reduced Thermal Pain Perception in a Schizoaffective Patient with Tardive Dyskinesia

Several case reports have described stories of schizophrenia patients reporting no discomfort in response to several medical conditions which normally elicit pain. Comparatively, experimental studies performed on pain perception in schizophrenia have not documented hypoalgesic responses that are as frank as those reported in these clinical cases. Here, we report the case of a female patient with schizoaffective disorder, who displayed markedly reduced pain perception during an experimental heat pain paradigm. Compared to a large group of healthy volunteers that we tested in 3 previous studies using the same psychophysical procedure, the experimental temperature required to induce moderate pain was radically increased in this patient (z-score = 3.6). The patient had mild psychiatric symptoms and had insight into her symptoms. She had drug-induced dyskinetic symptoms. This case report illustrates that it is possible to observe marked reductions in pain perception in schizophrenia patients tested in experimental settings but that the phenomenon is relatively rare. Regardless of the exact nature of pain indifference in schizophrenia, it can delay diagnosis and treatment of medical problems in these patients. Future studies in the field will need to pay attention to drug-induced extrapyramidal symptoms.
Evidence that depression rating scales primarily measure a social undesirability response set

Many popular methods of measuring depression have not been adequately validated for discriminant validity from social desirability. In a study of 26 patients, 14 with secondary depression, and 12 nondepressives, it was shown that the commonly used Beck Depression Inventory and MMPI Depression scale and the Carroll self‐administering version of the Hamilton scales correlate as highly with social undesirability as with each other.
How Useful Is the IQCODE for Discriminating between Alzheimer’s Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Subjective Memory Complaints?

Background: Informant questionnaires may be useful in diagnosing early dementia. Conflicting results were found when these questionnaires were used to differentiate patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from healthy elderly subjects. We evaluated the ability of the most commonly used informant questionnaire, the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE), to discriminate between Alzheimer’s disease (AD), MCI and subjective memory complaints (SMC). Methods: Informants of 180 AD patients, 59 MCI patients and 89 SMC subjects who visited the Alzheimer Center of the VU University Medical Center between 2004 and 2007 completed the short Dutch version of the IQCODE. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic ability of the IQCODE. Results: The IQCODE was able to differentiate AD from MCI and SMC, but was not able to differentiate SMC from MCI. Conclusions: The IQCODE may be helpful in diagnosing AD but is of limited use in differentiating MCI from SMC.
Distribution system load flow using object-oriented methodology

Distribution system has been analyzed in this paper using object-oriented approach. The important contribution of this paper is the development of software objects for various distribution system components in such a way that they can be reused in most of the distribution system analysis programs. The design, proposed in this paper, is used for developing load flow analysis program. Object-oriented design replicates the physical system structure exactly in the software. The extensibility of the object-oriented design is exploited to extend the radial load flow analysis module for performing the load flow analysis of weakly meshed system by deriving few specialized objects from the fundamental objects used for radial load flow. Modeled objects are implemented in C++, an object-oriented programming language, and tested with various test systems. The results obtained for 69-bus radial system and 33-bus weakly meshed system are provided. This design is being extended for developing load flow analysis module for 3-phase unbalanced distribution system and distribution system with dispersed generations.
Energy saving and carbon reduction management indicators for natural attractions: a case study in Taiwan

The growing impact of global warming has made energy saving and carbon reduction (ESCR) by natural attractions an important issue. A set of clear and defined ESCR management indicators could help manage and control attractions, thereby facilitating sustainable development at those places. This study consists of three sub-studies in Taiwan. The first adopted qualitative methods to review related literature and documents and interview experts from industry, government and academia, and thus constructed 35 ESCR management indicators of natural attractions under five domains and seven dimensions. The second sub-study utilised the analytic network process (ANP) to conduct a relative weight analysis of the management indicators and domains. The third sub-study further developed the management indicators into a field survey questionnaire. Four natural attractions were chosen to test the questionnaire and ensure the feasibility of the application of the management indicators. Key areas for improvement were revealed, including using buses to reduce carbon reduction, providing staff training on energy and environmental education and establishing detailed environmental policies and indicators. “Business policy and management” actually bore the highest weight and should be improved first. Positive interaction between tourists and operators is also essential. Suggestions are proposed for the application of these management indicators.