Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical education curriculum reform in China: a perspective from physical education teachers

Background: Among the many changes occurring across Chinese society in the early years of the 21st century has been the construction and implementation of a new national curriculum which includes physical education (PE) as one of the main subject areas. Unlike the old PE curriculum with its sports performance-oriented criteria, the new curriculum puts the emphasis upon health and fitness, which is reflected in the change of name from ‘physical education’ to ‘physical education and health’ (HPE). The concept of the new HPE curriculum challenges many aspects of traditional PE theory and practices, and requires PE teachers to change their professional perspectives and pedagogic approaches. As a result, the curriculum reform progresses with difficulty. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how PE teachers understand, interpret, perceive and respond to the curriculum reform and to identify some key blockers that might prevent PE teachers from actively implementing the new HPE curriculum. Participants: Eighteen primary and secondary school PE teachers participated in the study. They were all full-time teachers with at least ten years' teaching experience. Participants were chosen with a view to establishing a degree of gender balance and providing a diversity of school contexts spanning the different socio-economic strata that exist across the area of China in which the research was conducted. Research design: The research was conducted using a qualitative, case-study research framework. Eighteen practicing PE teachers in a coastal city in the Northeast of China were interviewed. This is one of the designated experimental zones for Chinese curriculum reform. Data collection: Data collection included analysis of government educational reform policies and other curriculum reform documents, as well as a review of the relevant academic literature. Informal talks were held with PE teachers and a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. All interviews were audio-taped with the consent of the informants and each interview took approximately 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the interest of the participants and the natural pace with which the interview moved. Data analysis: The key issues and themes were identified from the interview data through a process of coding. The themes emerged from a search for regularities, recurring ideas, experiences and thoughts mentioned and shared by groups of participants. Findings: All eighteen PE teachers expressed their support for the fundamental goal of putting more emphasis upon health promotion in the new HPE curriculum. It is fair to say that the interviewed teachers, viewed as a group, overwhelmingly endorsed the broad direction of the new HPE curriculum. However, the data reveals a number of structural, personal and cultural factors that might prevent PE teachers from actively implementing the new HPE curriculum.
Telephone interventions in adherence to receiving the Pap test report: a randomized clinical trial 1

ABSTRACT Objective: to test the efficacy of the behavioral and educational interventions undertaken by telephone, for women’s attendance at the consultation to receive the Pap test report. Method: a randomized clinical trial, with a sample randomized in three groups: telephone call - educational (n=171), telephone call - reminder (n=171) and comparison (n=169). The inclusion criteria were to be of legal age, to have become sexually active, to undertake the preventive examination during the study and to have a mobile or fixed telephone. The educational group received a telephone call involving a script based in the motivational interview and in the Brazilian guidelines. The behavioral group received a telephone call involving a reminder about the consultation. The comparison group received a card with details of when to return for a consultation regarding the results. Results: the women who received one of the interventions had a non-return rate of 7.3% and an increase of 39% (RR CI95%: 1.24-1.55) in the protection against this outcome. In the individual analysis of the interventions, it was evidenced that both are efficacious, as the telephone call - reminder reduces the woman’s failure to return to the service by 40% (RR CI95%: 1.25-1.57), while the telephone call - educational does so by 37% (RR CI95%: 1.22-1.54). The rates of non-return were of 6.5% and 8.2%, respectively, as against 33.1% in the comparison group. Conclusion: the interventions tested showed greater efficacy in the educational and behavioral contexts, in relation to the normal attendance, as they motivated the women to return to the service to receive the Pap test report. Clinical trial register: RBR-w3vnc.
New York Prophecies: The Imaginary Future of Artificial Intelligence

At the beginning of the 21st century, the dream of artificial intelligence is deeply embedded within the modern imagination. From childhood onwards, people in the developed world are told that computers will one day be able to reason – and even feel emotions – just like humans. In science fiction stories, thinking machines have long been favourite characters. Audiences have grown up with images of robot buddies such as Data in Star Trek TNG, and of pitiless monsters like the cyborg in The Terminator (Startrek.com, 2005; Cameron, 1984). These science fiction fantasies are encouraged by confident predictions from prominent computer scientists. Continual improvements in hardware and software will eventually lead to the creation of artificial intelligences more powerful than the ‘biological intelligence’ of the human mind. Commercial developers are already looking forward to selling sentient machines that can do the housework and help the elderly (Honda, 2004). Some computer scientists even believe that the creation of ‘non-biological intelligences’ is a spiritual quest. In California, Ray Kurzweil, Vernor Vinge and their colleagues are eagerly waiting for the Singularity: the First Coming of the Silicon Messiah (Vinge, 1993; Bell, 2004). Whether inspired by money or mysticism, all these advocates of artificial intelligence share the conviction that the present must be understood as the future in embryo – and the future illuminates the potential of the present. Every advance in computing technology is heralded as another step towards the creation of a fully conscious machine. The prophecy of artificial intelligence comes closer to fulfilment with the launch of each Science as Culture Vol. 16, No. 2, 151–167, June 2007
The Jews and modern capitalism

Since its first appearance in Germany in 1911, "Jews and Modern Capitalism "has provoked vehement criticism. As Samuel Z. Klausner emphasizes, the lasting value of Sombart's work rests not in his results-most of which have long since been disproved-but in his point of departure. Openly acknowledging his debt to Max Weber, Sombart set out to prove the double thesis of the Jewish foundation of capitalism and the capitalist foundation of Judaism. Klausner, placing Sombart's work in its historical and societal context, examines the weaknesses and strengths of "Jews and Modern Capitalism. "
Impact of low and high tidal volumes on the rat alveolar epithelial type II cell proteome.

RATIONALE Mechanical ventilation with high tidal volumes leads to increased permeability, generation of inflammatory mediators, and damage to alveolar epithelial cells (ATII). OBJECTIVES To identify changes in the ATII proteome after two different ventilation strategies in rats. METHODS Rats (n = 6) were ventilated for 5 hours with high- and low tidal volumes (VTs) (high VT: 20 ml/kg; low VT: 6 ml/kg). Pooled nonventilated rats served as control animals. ATII cells were isolated and lysed, and proteins were tryptically cleaved into peptides. Cellular protein content was evaluated by peptide labeling of the ventilated groups with (18)O. Samples were fractionated by cation exchange chromatography and identified using electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Proteins identified by 15 or more peptides were statistically compared using t tests corrected for the false discovery rate. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS High Vt resulted in a significant increase in airspace neutrophils without an increase in extravascular lung water. Compared with low-VT samples, high-VT samples showed a 32% decrease in the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate 3 receptor (p < 0.01), a 34% decrease in Na(+), K(+)-ATPase (p < 0.01), and a significantly decreased content in ATP synthase chains. Even low-VT samples displayed significant changes, including a 66% decrease in heat shock protein 90-beta (p < 0.01) and a 67% increase in mitochondrial pyruvate carboxylase (p < 0.01). Significant differences were found in membrane, acute phase, structural, and mitochondrial proteins. CONCLUSIONS After short-term exposure to high-VT ventilation, significant reductions in membrane receptors, ion channel proteins, enzymes of the mitochondrial energy system, and structural proteins in ATII cells were present. The data supports the two-hit concept that an unfavorable ventilatory strategy may make the lung more vulnerable to an additional insult.
Observer-Based Adaptive Fuzzy Backstepping Dynamic Surface Control for a Class of MIMO Nonlinear Systems

In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy backstepping dynamic surface control (DSC) approach is developed for a class of multiple-input-multiple-output nonlinear systems with immeasurable states. Using fuzzy-logic systems to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions, a fuzzy state observer is designed to estimate the immeasurable states. By combining adaptive-backstepping technique and DSC technique, an adaptive fuzzy output-feedback backstepping-control approach is developed. The proposed control method not only overcomes the problem of “explosion of complexity” inherent in the backstepping-design methods but also overcomes the problem of unavailable state measurements. It is proved that all the signals of the closed-loop adaptive-control system are semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded, and the tracking errors converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Topology Optimization of Mobile P2P Ad Hoc Networks

The topological properties of mobile P2P Ad Hoc networks are critical factors that dominate the performance of these networks. The node degree and diameter of these networks are most important parameters which measure the autonomy, efficiency, robustness and load balancing of these networks. In order to improve the four features for these networks, researchers have proposed many practical systems with desirable degree and diameter values. However, values of degree and diameter conflict with each other, and a tradeoff is needed between them. In this paper, we propose a networking topology model from which practical systems can be derived with optimization. Some new networks with desirable degree and diameter values are also derived from the model. Moreover, the diameter values of some networks are improved to the optimal value from the model. Finally, theoretical analysis is provided to verify our designs.
On the Classification Capability of Sign-Constrained Perceptrons

The perceptron (also referred to as McCulloch-Pitts neuron, or linear threshold gate) is commonly used as a simplified model for the discrimination and learning capability of a biological neuron. Criteria that tell us when a perceptron can implement (or learn to implement) all possible dichotomies over a given set of input patterns are well known, but only for the idealized case, where one assumes that the sign of a synaptic weight can be switched during learning. We present in this letter an analysis of the classification capability of the biologically more realistic model of a sign-constrained perceptron, where the signs of synaptic weights remain fixed during learning (which is the case for most types of biological synapses). In particular, the VC-dimension of sign-constrained perceptrons is determined, and a necessary and sufficient criterion is provided that tells us when all 2m dichotomies over a given set of m patterns can be learned by a sign-constrained perceptron. We also show that uniformity of L1 norms of input patterns is a sufficient condition for full representation power in the case where all weights are required to be nonnegative. Finally, we exhibit cases where the sign constraint of a perceptron drastically reduces its classification capability. Our theoretical analysis is complemented by computer simulations, which demonstrate in particular that sparse input patterns improve the classification capability of sign-constrained perceptrons.
Targeted Inhibition of CD133+ Cells in Oral Cancer Cell Lines

Resistance to treatment and the appearance of secondary tumors in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) have been attributed to the presence of cells with stem-cell-like properties in the basal layer of the epithelium at the site of the lesion. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that these putative cancer stem cells (CSC) in HNSCC could be specifically targeted and inhibited. We found that 9 of 10 head and neck tumor biopsies contained a subpopulation of cells that expressed CD133, an unusual surface-exposed membrane-spanning glycoprotein associated with CSC. A genetically modified cytolethal distending toxin (Cdt), from the periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, was conjugated to an anti-human CD133 monoclonal antibody (MAb). The Cdt-MAb complex preferentially inhibited the proliferation of CD133+ cells in cultures of established cell lines derived from HNSCC. Inhibition of the CD133+ cells was rate- and dose-dependent. Saturation kinetics indicated that the response to the Cdt-MAb complex was specific. Healthy primary gingival epithelial cells that are native targets of the wild-type Cdt were not affected. Analysis of these data provides a foundation for the future development of new therapies to target CSC in the early treatment of HNSCC. Abbreviations: Cdt, cytolethal distending toxin; CSC, cancer stem cells; HNSCC, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; MAb, monoclonal antibody.
PCR-Based Identification of Bacillus thuringiensis Isolated from Soil Samples in Nigeria

Six isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis isolated from soil samples confirmed to be toxic to mosquito larvae were differentiated using a PCR-Based technique. Three of these isolates initially identified using a serological technique were further differentiated with the PCR amplification of the δ-endotoxin target sequences. Using the total DNA of isolates as tem plate, at least four isolates yielded amplicons one or all the crystal protein genes, cryl a, b, c, or II with sizes ranging from 238-1070 bp. None of these isolates yielded an amplicon for any of Cry IV A, B and D tested. Of the four isolates identified by PCR technique one isolate remained unidentified by serology.
Joint Information- and Jamming-Beamforming for Physical Layer Security With Full Duplex Base Station

In this paper, we design joint information beamforming and jamming beamforming to guarantee both transmit security and receive security for a full-duplex base-station (FD-BS). Specifically, we aim to maximize the secret transmit rate while constrain the secret receive rate to be greater than a predefined bound. When FD-BS is equipped with a single transmit antenna, we derive the optimal solutions in closed-form, and interestingly, the results say that simultaneous information and jamming transmission cannot be optimal. When FD-BS is equipped with multiple transmit antennas, we convert the original nonconvex problem into a sequence of subproblems where the semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation can be applied to efficiently find the optimal solutions. We strictly prove that such a relaxation does not change the optimality for these subproblems. Then the global optimal solutions of the original nonconvex problem can be obtained via a one-dimensional search. Simulation results are provided to verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithms.
Service-Learning in a One-Year Alternative Route to Teacher Certification: A Powerful Multicultural Teaching Tool

This five-year study examined the effectiveness of an innovative approach to service-learning embedded in a one year site-based alternative route to teacher certification. The ten-week school-based study investigated the influence of service-learning on the multicultural perceptions, cross-cultural communication skills, and social justice cognizance of future teachers. The study participants consisted of 73 secondary pre-service teacher candidates. Data sources included: participant reflective journals, debriefings and final reports, letters from and discussions with host school service recipients, and investigator interviews and field notes. Study results indicate that service-learning within the time constraints of a one-year alternative route to teacher certification can provide future teachers with insight into the politics of education, increase their interactive proficiency with culturally diverse students, teachers and administrators, raise their level of multicultural consciousness, and augment their educational foundations and content knowledge while connecting theory to classroom practice.
Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. X. Leisure‐time physical activity

ABSTRACT. As part of the more extensive project concerned with atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children, this article aims at 1) describing the method developed for epidemiological estimation of habitual physical activity, 2) discussing the reliability and validity of the method and 3) reporting the results of the application of this strategy in the measurement of habitual physical activity among 3 to 18‐year‐old Finnish boys and girls. The questionnaire for the measurement of physical activity was addressed to the parents of 3‐ and 6‐year‐old subjects (younger group) and to the subjects themselves in 9‐ to 18‐year‐olds (older group). Using four variables in the younger group and nine variables in the older group, sum indices of physical activity were made. Internal consistency coefficients (Kuder—Richardson) varied in the younger group from . 57 to . 63 and in the older group from . 56 to . 79. Most Finnish children and adolescents were physically active during their leisure‐time. For comparison of passive and active children, screening for passive ones was difficult. Differences between East and West Finland associated with many risk factors, were not detected in the physical activity patterns of children and adolescents. On the other hand, the physical activity pattern was significantly determined by the local environment. In sparsely populated areas, young people were more inactive than in densely populated areas.
Quantitative genetics, genomics and the future of plant breeding.

Quantitative genetics (in its various guises) has been the intellectual cornerstone of plant breeding for close to 100 years. While the roots of Mendelian genetics, and its rediscovery, are firmly in the hands of plant breeders, it was Fisher's (1918) variance decomposition paper that marks the modern foundation for both quantitative genetics and plant breeding. We are now embarking on the age of genomics, and so it is reasonable to speculate on the implications of both partial and whole genome sequences for quantitative genetics. Likewise, the tools of modern quantitative genetics have been developed in four separate fields: plant breeding, animal breeding, human genetics, and evolutionary genetics. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, migration of information between these fields has not been what it should be. Thus, it is also an appropriate time to inquire whether useful tools have been developed in these other fields that may be helpful to plant breeders of today and the genomics-based breeders of the near future.
Naming Fluency in Dyslexic and Nondyslexic Readers: Differential Effects of Visual Crowding in Foveal, Parafoveal, and Peripheral Vision

Reading fluency is often indexed by performance on rapid automatized naming (RAN) tasks, which are known to reflect speed of access to lexical codes. We used eye tracking to investigate visual influences on naming fluency. Specifically, we examined how visual crowding affects fluency in a RAN-letters task on an item-by-item basis, by systematically manipulating the interletter spacing of items, such that upcoming letters in the array were viewed in the fovea, parafovea, or periphery relative to a given fixated letter. All lexical information was kept constant. Nondyslexic readers’ gaze durations were longer in foveal than in parafoveal and peripheral trials, indicating that visual crowding slows processing even for fluent readers. Dyslexics’ gaze durations were longer in foveal and parafoveal trials than in peripheral trials. Our results suggest that for dyslexic readers, influences of crowding on naming speed extend to a broader visual span (to parafoveal vision) than that for nondyslexic readers, but do not extend as far as peripheral vision. The findings extend previous research by elucidating the different visual spans within which crowding operates for dyslexic and nondyslexic readers in an online fluency task.
3D Object Recognition by Classification Using Neural Networks

In this Paper, a classification method based on neural networks is presented for recognition of 3D objects. Indeed, the objective of this paper is to classify an object query against objects in a database, which leads to recognition of the former. 3D objects of this database are transformations of other objects by one element of the overall transformation. The set of transformations considered in this work is the general affine group.
Is It There When You Need It?

Little is known about the effect of incongruity between perception of, or belief in, the availability of support and actual receipt of support during a time of need. This article examines associations between belief in the future availability of instrumental support (e.g., child care, temporary housing, and financial assistance), subsequent reception of inadequate support, and depression in a socioeconomically diverse sample of new mothers. Receipt of support is associated with increased odds of experiencing a major depressive episode (MDE), whereas belief in the availability of future support appears to be protective of mental health. Mothers who experience a negative mismatch between support perception and adequate receipt of support have increased odds of experiencing an MDE compared with mothers who either receive adequate support or who have no support needs; however, their susceptibility is no greater than that of mothers who simply have unmet instrumental needs.