Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Living the theoretical principles of critical ethnography' in educational research

Abstract It would seem from the current rhetoric that United Kingdom Government agencies wish to promote teaching as a ‘research-based profession’. However, what that research might constitute in practice is far from clear. If the implication is that more teachers would themselves become engaged in the research process, become more researcher than researched, then there are significant issues to be considered by those embarking on such a venture. The difficulties of practitioner research are widely acknowledged (e.g. Ball, 1990; Atkinson, 1994). When the practitioner research is also small scale and the data gathered is qualitative in nature (which is often the case), the tensions can be numerous. This article discusses some of the issues that surround practitioner research and the validity of qualitative study before exploring my own practitioner researcher's route through a small-scale qualitative study. The author attempts to implement a ‘critically ethnographic’ approach and the dilemmas of trying to ‘live’ the theoretical principles of my chosen methodology are then used as a basis for suggesting a theoretical framework for practitioner research, which may help to establish both the validity of data and the implications of findings beyond the immediate context of a particular study.
OBSERVATIONAL LIMITS ON THE GAS MASS OF A z = 4.9 GALAXY

We present the results of a search for molecular gas emission from a star-forming galaxy at z = 4.9. The galaxy benefits from magnification of 22 ± 5 × due to strong gravitational lensing by the foreground cluster MS1358+62. We target the CO(5–4) emission at a known position and redshift from existing Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging and Gemini/NIFS [O ii]3727 imaging spectroscopy, and obtain a tentative detection at the 4. 3σ level with a flux of 0.104 ± 0.024 Jy km s−1. From the CO line luminosity and assuming a CO-to-H2 conversion factor α = 2, we derive a gas mass Mgas ∼ 1+1− 0.6 × 109 M☉. Combined with the existing data, we derive a gas fraction Mgas/(Mgas + M*) = 0.59+0.11− 0.06. The faint line flux of this galaxy highlights the difficulty of observing molecular gas in representative galaxies at this epoch, and suggests that routine detections of similar galaxies in the absence of gravitational lensing will remain challenging even with ALMA in full science operations.
Validity of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) in Children with Traumatic Brain Injury

The concurrent and construct validity of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) was evaluated in a sample of 47 children with traumatic brain injury (TBI). When K-BIT standard scores were compared to Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) IQ scores, correlations ranged from . 32 to . 79, and standard errors of estimation ranged from 6.87 to 10.39. Correlations with length of coma were not statistically significant for any of the K-BIT indexes, whereas such correlations were statistically significant for several of the WISC-III indexes. It is concluded that great caution is needed in the utilization of the K-BIT in the context of pediatric neuropsychological assessment, particularly with children with TBI.
Controlled SQL query evolution for decision support benchmarks

The synthesis of increased global competitiveness and the acceptance of commercially available multi purpose database management systems (DBMS) for decision support applications requires an ever more critical system evaluation and selection to be completed in a progressively short period of time. Designers of standard benchmarks, individual customer benchmarks and system stress tests alike are struggling to mastermind queries that are both representative to the real world and execute in a reasonable time. Additionally, the enriched functionality of every new DBMS release amplifies the complexity of today's decision support systems calling for a novel approach in query generation for benchmarks. This paper proposes a framework of so called query evolution rules that can be applied to typical decision support queries, written in SQL92. Deployed in combination with QGEN2, the query generator developed by the TPC for TPC-DS ? [13], these rules quickly turn a small set of queries into a large set of semantically similar queries for ad-hoc benchmarking purposes or they can be used to generate thousands of queries quickly to stress test optimizers or query execution engines without much user intervention.
De-territorializing and Re-territorializing Lotus: Sovereignty and Systematicity as Dialectical Nation-Building in Early Republican Turkey

Abstract The chief aim of this article is to unearth, explicate, and contextualize the various techniques on which Mahmut Esat, Turkey's agent before the Permanent Court of International Justice in the Lotus case, drew in order to narrate a fresh understanding of Turkish ‘nationhood’ during a period of intense vulnerability for the newly established Republic. The argument advanced by Turkey in this case – that it need not demonstrate the existence of a specific jurisdictional exception in international law in order to proceed with its prosecution of the French captain of the Lotus, a French vessel – has often been dismissed as an example of cynical apologetics. Nevertheless, a close reading of Turkey's pleadings reveals that it was inclined to oscillate between a variety of universalistic and particularistic approaches, Esat litigating the Lotus with an eye to exploiting the schism that lies at the heart of the concept of ‘civilization’ so as to submit Turkey to the normative authority of the international legal system while bolstering its positive power as an independent sovereign state. More specifically, it was by merging two modes of reasoning – the one prizing systematicity, the other prioritizing sovereignty – that Esat sought to construct a new, robustly reconciliatory identity for the ‘Turkish nation’, one that would enable it to embrace its commitment to international order by securing its place in ‘la civilisation contemporaine’ while amplifying the ambit of its autonomy as ‘un état civilisé’.
The Limits of Standard Risk and Macroeconomic Factors in Explaining the Return Premia: Evidence from the Tokyo Stock Exchange

This paper examines whether various factors suggested in standard finance can explain the excess returns of portfolios formed on size and book-equity-to-market equity (BE/ME) in Japan. First, we find that, unlike for the US, five risk factors, comprising the three Fama? French factors and the momentum and reversal factors of Chan et al. (1998, 2001), cannot adequately explain the return premia in Japan. Namely, statistically significant positive alphas were observed for the excess returns of all 25 Fama? French (1996) type portfolios, formed on the basis of size and BE/ME ratios. Second, the representative macroeconomic factors of Chen et al. (1986) cannot explain the positive alphas left unexplained by the five risk factors. Third, not only is there little contemporaneous relationship between the alphas left unexplained by the five risk factors and the representative macroeconomic factors of Chen et al. (1986) but also there is little evidence of any causal relationship between these macroeconomic factors and the alphas. Thus, for Japan, unlike for the US, well-known risk factors and macroeconomic factors cannot adequately explain the return premia.
Treadmill Aerobic Exercise Improves Quadriceps Strength in Patients with Chronic Hemiparesis Following Stroke: A Preliminary Report

Chronic neuromuscular impairments contribute to functional disability following stroke. Despite the widely held notion that only limited gains in motor performance are possible beyond the initial subacute stroke recovery period, we tested the hy pothesis that a "task-oriented" aerobic treadmill training program would improve lower extremity muscle strength and alter spastic reflexes in chronic hemiparetic patients. Fourteen subjects, aged 66 ± 3 (mean ± SEM) years, with mild to moderate hemi paresis and gait deviations due to remote stroke (>6 months) were entered in a pro gram of low intensity aerobic exercise (AEX) three times a week. Repeated measures of volitional (eccentric and concentric) and reflexive (spastic) torque generated by the quadriceps muscles were performed bilaterally using isokinetic dynamometry at four angular velocities (30°, 60°, 90°, and 120°/sec) before and after 3 months of AEX. Regular exercise training increased mean eccentric torque production significantly across all angular velocities in the more affected (51 percent) and less affected (25 percent) limbs. Similarly, concentric torque output increased in the more paretic and less paretic quadriceps by 38 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Reflexive torque gen eration was unchanged statistically. The greatest relative strength gains were seen in the more affected limb at higher eccentric angular velocities and at lower concentric velocities. These findings demonstrate that treadmill AEX training improves leg strength, which may in turn improve functional mobility in subjects with chronic hemi paresis. Key Words: Stroke rehabilitation—Aerobic exercise—Treadmill training— Isokinetic dynamometry.
Free Fatty Acid Storage in Human Visceral and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Role of Adipocyte Proteins

RESULTS—Palmitate tracer storage (dpm/g adipose lipid) and calculated palmitate storage rates were greater in omental than abdominal subcutaneous fat in women (1.2 6 0.8 vs. 0.7 6 0.4 mmol $ kg adipose lipid $ min, P = 0.005) and men (0.7 6 0.2 vs. 0.2 6 0.1, P , 0.001), and both were greater in women than men (P , 0.0001). Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue palmitate storage rates correlated with ACS activity (women: r = 0.66, P = 0.001; men: r = 0.70, P = 0.007); in men, CD36 was also independently related to palmitate storage rates. The content/ activity of FA storage enzymes/proteins in omental fat was dramatically lower in those with more visceral fat. In women, only omental palmitate storage rates were correlated (r = 0.54, P = 0.03) with ACS activity.
Teacher evaluation reform implementation and labor relations

The Michigan legislature recently enacted a teacher evaluation law which requires school districts to incorporate student achievement data into evaluation systems and mandated that evaluations be used to make high-stakes personnel decisions. Though administrators have considerable discretion to design and implement their evaluation systems, the legislature also passed legislation which barred teacher evaluations from the scope of collective bargaining, thus restricting any formal role teacher unions would have in shaping teacher evaluation at the local level. Using survey data gathered from local district superintendents and human resources directors (n = 73), this study identifies variations in the features of the evaluation systems adopted by Michigan school districts, and reports on the administrators’ evaluation of the new systems. Further, we quantify the extent to which teacher unions were involved in the development of teacher evaluation reform at the local level, and identify the association between key aspects of teacher evaluation protocols and measures of the labor relations climate. This case study provides insights regarding the capacity and willingness of administrators to reform teacher evaluation, the involvement of teachers and teacher unions in developing those reforms, and the association of these reforms with the local labor relations climate.
An embedded Gabor-based palm vein recognition system

Biometric authentication systems are a growing field of research that represent an alternative to the more common authentication systems and often offer better performances. Among the available technologies the palm vein recognition represents a non invasive, reliable and affordable solution. Thanks to its appreciated peculiarities, this technology is carving a spot in the market of biometric recognition both at the consumer and business level. In this paper we describe the development of an embedded standalone palm vein authentication system. In order to realize a contact-less acquisition system, a solid ROI-locating algorithm is proposed. A combination of Gabor filters and histograms calculations is investigated as a method for creating biometric templates. The prototype has been developed using the low-cost single board computer Raspberry Pi 3 and it is thought to handle all the steps, from the acquisition of the image of the hand, to the recognition of the user. The entire authentication process is completed in 1.5–2s, with a FAR of 0.32%, a FRR of 1.58% and an EER of 1.45%. Moreover, thanks to its low cost and to the on site extraction of the biometric template, the proposed device perfectly fits as terminal of a bigger authentication system, with multiple access points and a central system where the matching and storage occur.
LCTI–SS: Low-Clock-Tree-Impact Scan Segmentation for Avoiding Shift Timing Failures in Scan Testing

In this contribution, the authors describe a method for ensuring that false failures do not occur when shifting scan chains for testing. Their approach identifies an optimal combination of scan segments for simultaneous clocking that reduces the switching activity near clock trees while maintaining the average power reduction for conventional scan segmentation. Experiments using various benchmark circuits demonstrate the overall utility of their approach.
RAD51-Dependent Break-Induced Replication in Yeast

ABSTRACT A chromosome fragmentation assay was used to measure the efficiency and genetic control of break-induced replication (BIR) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Formation of a chromosome fragment by de novo telomere generation at one end of the linear vector and recombination-dependent replication of 100 kb of chromosomal sequences at the other end of the vector occurred at high frequency in wild-type strains. RAD51 was required for more than 95% of BIR events involving a single-end invasion and was essential when two BIR events were required for generation of a chromosome fragment. The similar genetic requirements for BIR and gene conversion suggest a common strand invasion intermediate in these two recombinational repair processes. Mutation of RAD50 or RAD59 conferred no significant defect in BIR in either RAD51 or rad51 strains. RAD52 was shown to be essential for BIR at unique chromosomal sequences, although rare recombination events were detected between the subtelomeric Y′ repeats.
Predicting Presence and Level of Nonresident Fathers' Involvement in Infants' Lives: Mothers' Perspective

A nonresident father's involvement can be divided into two components: presence (if a father is involved in his child's life) and level (how much he is involved). Guided by role saliency theory, this study simultaneously examined predictors of these two components. Data were drawn from 1,215 mothers of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models revealed that the coparental relationship had different influences on the presence and level of father involvement. Although relationship status, quality, and conflict influenced presence of father's involvement, parents' positive relationship was the major factor that predicted level of involvement.
A Psychometric Study of the MPSI Suicidal Thoughts Subscale

ABSTRACT This study investigated the measurement characteristics of the Multi-Problem Screening Inventory (MPSI) suicidal thoughts subscale. A sample of 542 responses to the MPSI was obtained and the responses on the suicidal thoughts subscale were analyzed using classical, Item Response, and Generalizability Theory methods. Results indicated that the MPSI suicidal thoughts subscale produced scores with very desirable measurement properties for use in 1) monitoring a client's change in suicidal ideation across time, and 2) making tentative decisions concerning the clinical significance of a client's suicidal thinking. The measurement error characteristics of the MPSI suicidal thoughts subscale scores reach a minimum very near the clinical cutting point and then remain relatively constant across the range of presumably clinically significant levels of suicidal thinking. The results of this study suggest that the MPSI suicidal thoughts subscale can be used by practitioners in a wide range of practice settings to identify, assess, and monitor their clients' problems with suicidal thinking.
Integrating Remote Sensing Information Into A Distributed Hydrological Model for Improving Water Budget Predictions in Large-scale Basins through Data Assimilation

This paper investigates whether remote sensing evapotranspiration estimates can be integrated by means of data assimilation into a distributed hydrological model for improving the predictions of spatial water distribution over a large river basin with an area of 317,800 km2. A series of available MODIS satellite images over the Haihe River basin in China are used for the year 2005. Evapotranspiration is retrieved from these 1×1 km resolution images using the SEBS (Surface Energy Balance System) algorithm. The physically-based distributed model WEP-L (Water and Energy transfer Process in Large river basins) is used to compute the water balance of the Haihe River basin in the same year. Comparison between model-derived and remote sensing retrieval basin-averaged evapotranspiration estimates shows a good piecewise linear relationship, but their spatial distribution within the Haihe basin is different. The remote sensing derived evapotranspiration shows variability at finer scales. An extended Kalman filter (EKF) data assimilation algorithm, suitable for non-linear problems, is used. Assimilation results indicate that remote sensing observations have a potentially important role in providing spatial information to the assimilation system for the spatially optical hydrological parameterization of the model. This is especially important for large basins, such as the Haihe River basin in this study. Combining and integrating the capabilities of and information from model simulation and remote sensing techniques may provide the best spatial and temporal characteristics for hydrological states/fluxes, and would be both appealing and necessary for improving our knowledge of fundamental hydrological processes and for addressing important water resource management problems.
Pulsar Rotation Measures and the Large-Scale Structure of the Galactic Magnetic Field

The large-scale magnetic field of our Galaxy can be probed in three dimensions using Faraday rotation of pulsar signals. We report on the determination of 223 rotation measures from polarization observations of relatively distant southern pulsars made using the Parkes radio telescope. Combined with previously published observations, these data give clear evidence for large-scale counterclockwise fields (viewed from the north Galactic pole) in the spiral arms interior to the Sun and weaker evidence for a counterclockwise field in the Perseus arm. However, in interarm regions, including the solar neighborhood, we present evidence that suggests that large-scale fields are clockwise. We propose that the large-scale Galactic magnetic field has a bisymmetric structure with reversals on the boundaries of the spiral arms. Streaming motions associated with spiral density waves can directly generate such a structure from an initial, inwardly directed radial field. Large-scale fields increase toward the Galactic center, with a mean value of about 2 μG in the solar neighborhood and 4 μG at a galactocentric radius of 3 kpc.
Gallic acid and exercise training improve motor function, nerve conduction velocity but not pain sense reflex after experimental sciatic nerve crush in male rats

Objective: The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of oral administration of gallic acid (GA) for 21 days alone and in combination with exercise on nerve conduction velocity and sensory and motor functions in rats with sciatic nerve crush. Materials and Methods: Seventy adult male Wistar rats (250-300 g) were divided randomly into 7 groups with 10 in each: 1) Control (Cont), 2) Crushed + Vehicle (Cr +Veh), 3-5) Crushed + gallic acid (Cr+GA) (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg/2 mL, orally), 6) Crushed + exercise (Cr+Exe), and 7) Crushed + exercise + effective dose of gallic acid (Cr+Exe +GA200) for 21 days. In order to establish an animal model of sciatic nerve crush, equivalent to 7 kg of force pressed on 2-3 mm of sciatic nerve for 30 s, three times with 30 s intervals. Pain sense reflex in hot plate, motor coordination in rotarod, and sciatic nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) in all groups were tested. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test and p<0.05 has assigned as the significant difference. Results: Pain threshold was increased significantly in untreated crushed rats while motor function and SNCV were decreased in all groups with nerve crush (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.001 vs. control). Pain reflex latency was not changed in treated groups. Motor coordination and SNCV were improved in groups Cr+GA200 and Cr+Exe + GA200 (p<0.05, p<0.01 vs. Cr+Veh). Conclusion: GA, dose-dependently, may have therapeutic potential to improve the peripheral nerve degeneration, which is most likely related, at least in part, to its antioxidant and therapeutic properties.
Neurobiology of Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review

Cognitive impairment is an important aspect of schizophrenia, where cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) is a promising treatment for improving cognitive functioning. While neurobiological dysfunction in schizophrenia has been the target of much research, the neural substrate of cognitive remediation and recovery has not been thoroughly examined. The aim of the present article is to systematically review the evidence for neural changes after CRT for schizophrenia. The reviewed studies indicate that CRT affects several brain regions and circuits, including prefrontal, parietal, and limbic areas, both in terms of activity and structure. Changes in prefrontal areas are the most reported finding, fitting to previous evidence of dysfunction in this region. Two limitations of the current research are the few studies and the lack of knowledge on the mechanisms underlying neural and cognitive changes after treatment. Despite these limitations, the current evidence suggests that CRT is associated with both neurobiological and cognitive improvement. The evidence from these findings may shed light on both the neural substrate of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, and how better treatment can be developed and applied.
Single channel speech enhancement using Bayesian NMF with recursive temporal updates of prior distributions

We present a speech enhancement algorithm which is based on a Bayesian Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF). Both Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) and Maximum a-Posteriori (MAP) estimates of the magnitude of the clean speech DFT coefficients are derived. To exploit the temporal continuity of the speech and noise signals, a proper prior distribution is introduced by widening the posterior distribution of the NMF coefficients at the previous time frames. To do so, a recursive temporal update scheme is proposed to obtain the mean value of the prior distribution; also, the uncertainty of the prior information is governed by the shape parameter of the distribution which is learnt automatically based on the nonstationarity of the signals. Simulations show a considerable improvement compared to the maximum likelihood NMF based speech enhancement algorithm for different input SNRs.