Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Gibbs Sampling Algorithm to Estimate the Occurrence of Ozone Exceedances in Mexico City

Inhabitants of many cities around the world suffer the effects of high levels of ozone air pollution. When the ozone concentration stays above the threshold of 0.11 parts per million (0.11ppm) for a period of one hour ormore, a very sensitive part of the population (e.g. elderly and newborn) in that environment may experience serious health deterioration (Bell et al., 2004, 2005, 2007; Gauderman et al., 2004; Loomis et al., 1996; O’Neill et al., 2004; WHO, 2006). Therefore, being able to predict when exceedances of the 0.11ppm threshold (or any threshold above this value) may occur is a very important issue. Depending on the country, different thresholds may be considered to declare environmental alerts. The US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) has established as its standard that the three-year average of the fourth highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration measured at each monitor within an area over each year must not exceed 0.075ppm (see EPA, 2008). In the case of Mexico, the standard is 0.11ppm and an individual should not be exposed, on average, for a period of an hour or more (NOM, 2002). In Mexico City when the ozone concentration surpasses the threshold 0.2ppm an emergency alert is issued and measures are taken to prevent population exposure to the pollutant (see http://www.sma.df.gob.mx). It is possible to find in the literature a large number of works focussing on the study of the behaviour of air pollutants in general. Among the ones related to ozone air pollution we may quote, Horowitz (1980), Roberts (1979a, 1979b), Smith (1989) considering extreme value theory; Flaum et al. (1996), Gouveia & Fletcher (2000), Kumar et al. (2010), Lanfredi & Macchiato (1997) and Pan & Chen (2008) using time series analysis; Alvarez et al. (2005) and Austin & Tran (1999) considering Markov chain models; Achcar et al. (2008b, 2009a, 2009b) using stochastic volatility models; and Huerta & Sanso (2005) with an analysis of the behaviour the maximummeasurements of ozone with an application to the data fromMexico City. Davis (2008) and Zavala et al. (2009) present studies that analyse the impact on air quality of the driving restriction imposed in Mexico City. When the aim is to estimate the number of times that a given environmental standard is surpassed, Raftery (1989) and Smith (1989) use time homogeneous Poisson processes to model 8
Preschoolers' Normative and Prescriptive Judgments about Relational and Overt Aggression

The present study examines preschoolers' judgments about responses to hypothetical aggressive provocation. Ninety-nine preschool children were read two stories, one depicting an overt provocation and the other depicting a relational provocation. Following each story, children were interviewed to assess their normative (what a peer would do) and prescriptive (what a peer should do) judgments about the victim's behavior. Additionally, perceptions about the relative degree of badness of different types of aggressive responses (physical, verbal, and relational) to the provocation were assessed. The results showed several significant effects with respect to aggression type, age, participant gender, and story-character gender. For example, in both of the provocation situations, participants reported that overtly aggressive responses (physical and verbal) would happen more often than they should happen. Moreover, in both the provocation situations, participants felt that relationally aggressive responses were more acceptable than verbally or physically aggressive responses. Additionally, female participants rated the relationally aggressive response as more wrong than did the male participants, but only in the relational provocation situation. The present results have important implications for the classroom setting. For example, teachers may address the subject of relationally harmful acts with their preschool-aged students.
Influences of Math Tracking on Seventh-Grade Students' Self-Beliefs and Social Comparisons

The authors examined how math track placement and gender affected 7th-grade students' self-esteem, self-concepts, and social comparisons. Participants were 170 students who completed surveys that assessed their self-esteem, academic self-concepts of ability, and the kinds of social comparisons they make. Results showed that higher track students had significantly higher ability self-concepts in math and school. Math track did not influence students' self-esteem. After controlling for students' grades in math, track placement no longer affected students' self-concepts of ability. Students stated that they most frequently compare themselves with other students who perform similarly to them in the same track. Direction of comparison did not affect students' academic self-concepts or general self-esteem, regardless of whether they compared upward or downward.
People's Trust: The Design of a Survey-Based Experiment

In this paper we present the design of a two-stage experiment which aims to measure trusting and trustworthiness in a representative sample of the British population. In the first part we discuss the shortcomings of the most common design of the ‘trust-game’ experiment in eliciting information about clear and cogent notions of trusting and trustworthiness, and in the second part we present an alternative design, which we call the ‘framed binary trust game’. The basic design will be administered to a sample of 200 subjects who were formerly members of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). In the third part of the paper, we extend this design to allow the ‘truster’ to purchase some information about the ‘trustee’ so as to make the experiment a better representation of real-life trust decisions. We plan in a second stage to run the extended experiment on a larger sample of about 1000 subjects.
Improving automatic music tag annotation using stacked generalization of probabilistic SVM outputs

Music listeners frequently use words to describe music. Personalized music recommendation systems such as Last.fm and Pandora rely on manual annotations (tags) as a mechanism for querying and navigating large music collections. A well-known issue in such recommendation systems is known as the cold-start problem: it is not possible to recommend new songs/tracks until those songs/tracks have been manually annotated. Automatic tag annotation based on content analysis is a potential solution to this problem and has recently been gaining attention. We describe how stacked generalization can be used to improve the performance of a state-of-the-art automatic tag annotation system for music based on audio content analysis and report results on two publicly available datasets.
CT brain perfusion: A static phantom study of contrast‐to‐noise ratio and radiation dose

Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) is increasingly employed in the diagnosis and management of ischaemic stroke but radiation dose can be significant and optimising contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) is challenging. This study aimed to quantify and optimise the balance between CNR as a surrogate for image quality and radiation dose.
A Texas Two-way Bilingual Program: Its Effects on Linguistic and Academic Achievement

Abstract This study examines a variety of student outcomes in the area of linguistic and academic development and determines whether students enrolled in a two-way bilingual program for a minimum of three years are achieving academically. Participants were native Spanish-speaking and native English-speaking fifth-grade students of Mexican origin. The findings indicate that the majority of students who participated in the two-way bilingual program were performing at academic levels equal to or greater than their non-participant campus peers when tested on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). In addition, participants were developing a high level of English literacy skills. Spanish literacy skills for the native English speakers, however, were not as highly developed. While there appeared to be promising bilingual development in the early years of the program, the rate of development seemed to be difficult to sustain in the upper grade levels.
Pre-clustering algorithm for anomaly detection and clustering that uses variable size buckets

Clustering is known as grouping of data based on their similarities. This paper introduces an algorithm of k means for clustering of data streams and detection of outliers. The introduced technique for detection of outliers is based on distance as well as on time on which they arrive in the cluster. This paper also takes into account the selection of k centers and variable size of buckets with the help of which space can be effectively utilized during clustering. Most traditional algorithms make clustering a very difficult problem by reducing their quality for a better efficiency. This paper indicates that with a small increase in time you can efficiently cluster the data without much loss of quality of data.
Enclosed mmWave Wearable Networks: Feasibility and Performance

This paper investigates the feasibility of mmWave frequencies for personal networks of wireless wearable devices in enclosed settings (e.g., commuter trains, subways, airplanes, airports, or offices). At these frequencies, specular reflections off surfaces are expected to contribute to the capture of intended signal power and, simultaneously, to aggravate the interference at the receivers. Meanwhile, blockages by obstacles and people—including the individuals wearing the devices—are expected to shield receivers from interference. With the aid of stochastic geometry and random shape theory, we assess the interplay of surface reflections and blockages for dense deployments of wearable networks equipped with directional antenna arrays in relevant indoor settings.
Modulation of experimental alcohol‐induced liver disease by cytochrome P450 2E1 inhibitors

This study was done to determine if a relationship exists between CYP2E1 induction by ethanol, lipid peroxidation, and liver pathology in experimental alcohol‐induced liver disease in the rat. Rats were fed ethanol with or without diallyl sulfide (DAS) or phenethyl isothiocyanate (PIC) intragastrically for 1 month. CYP2E1 induction by ethanol was correlated with lipid peroxidation, liver microsomal CYP2E1 hydroxylation of paranitrophenol, and the liver pathology score using the data from the PIC‐fed rats. Some of the data from the ethanol and DAS‐fed rats were not included here because they have been reported elsewhere. Microsomal CYP2E1 protein levels induction by ethanol was decreased by PIC ingestion. Similarly, PIC reduced the increase microsomal reduced form of nicotinamide‐adenine dinucleotide (NADPH)‐dependent lipid peroxidation and p‐nitrophenol hydroxylase (PNPH) activity, induced by ethanol feeding. The lipid peroxidation was reduced to below control levels; however, the pathology score was partially but not significantly reduced by isothiocyanate feeding. CYP2E1 messenger RNA (mRNA) was decreased by both inhibitors of CYP2E1. Immunohistochemical staining of liver for CYP2E1 protein showed that the lobular distribution of the isozyme changed from the centrilobular to a diffuse pattern, with an increase in the periportal region when the CYP2E1 inhibitors were fed with ethanol, and that this change correlated with the change in the distribution of fat in the lobule. The data support the idea that there is a link between CYP2E1 induction by ethanol and the early phase of ethanol‐induced liver injury in this rat model. This link may involve lipid peroxidation, but other factors related to CYP2E1 induction must also be involved.
Proximal and Distal Defenses in Response to Reminders of One’s Mortality: Evidence of a Temporal Sequence

The present study was designed to build on prior terror management research by testing the hypothesis that death-related thought first activates direct defenses to minimize the threat (proximal defense) and then later triggers symbolic cultural worldview defense (distal defense). After mortality salience, participants were either distracted from death-related thought or not and then completed either a measure of distal defense and then a measure of proximal defense or a proximal defense measure and then a distal defense measure. Results supported the authors’ predictions. Proximal defense in the form of vulnerability denial emerged only when participants had immediately before been thinking about death. In contrast, distal defense only emerged when participants were previously distracted from death-related thought. Discussion focuses on implications of these results for understanding the sequence of defenses initiated by mortality salience.
Correlates Between Insomnia, Psychological Distress And Daytime Sleepiness Of Malaysian Adults With Symptoms Of Insomnia

Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the correlation between psychological factors and insomnia and the impact of insomnia on daytime sleepiness. Methods and Results: The participants were recruited through convenient sampling and consist of 173 working adults in Georgetown, Penang, aged 20 to 60 years. Participants completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The results revealed that the prevalent of insomnia was 34.7%. There was a positive correlation between psychological distress and insomnia r = . 481, p Conclusion: It is concluded that psychological distress typically causes sleep difficulties, and sleep deprivation leads to daytime sleepiness. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 13 (2): July – December 2012: XX XX.
Improving Relationships between Mentor Teachers and Student Teachers: Engaging in a Pedagogy of Explicitness

This study reports on the impact of mentor teachers using an explicit pedagogy with their student teachers. Seven mentors participated in workshops before the school year started and received ongoing support throughout the year about how to explicitly teach student teachers the strategies and skills needed to be an effective teacher. Observations of the mentors in their classrooms and feedback from them through interviews and on-line communications reveal how mentors went about developing an explicit pedagogy with their student teachers, the problems they encountered, and the strategies found to be most successful.
ON TWO-DIMENSIONAL SHAPE RECOGNITION USING MOMENT INVARIANTS AND AR MODELS

This paper is dedicated to the problem of two-dimensional (2D) shape recognition from the point of view of possible optimization regarding feature extraction and classi cation methods. Moment invariants and stochastic AR models are considered as feature extraction methods. For classi cation, we analyze performance of the Bayesian parametric and nonparametric classi ers, as well as of the multilayer perceptron, applied as a nonparametric classi er. Experimental analysis is based on real data. Evaluation of the considered methods is done on the basis of the Bayes error estimates, calculated on the corresponding data sets.
On the Design of Nonlinear Controllers for Euler-Lagrange Systems

The dynamics are studied of nonlinear feedback loops for the set point control of Euler-Lagrange (EL) systems. A class of controllers is consid- ered that possess a linear dynamic component and several nonlinear amplifiers. Frequency domain conditions are presented for nonoscillatory behaviour of the closed loop, by which is meant that for increasing time all bounded solutions converge to one of the system's equilibrium states. The results constitute a systems theoretical basis for a new controller design method for EL systems.
Enhanced Interpolated-DFT for Synchrophasor Estimation in FPGAs: Theory, Implementation, and Validation of a PMU Prototype

The literature on the subject of synchrophasor estimation (SE) algorithms has discussed the use of interpolated discrete Fourier transform (IpDFT) as an approach capable to find an optimal tradeoff between SE accuracy, response time, and computational complexity. Within this category of algorithms, this paper proposes three contributions: the formulation of an enhanced-IpDFT (e-IpDFT) algorithm that iteratively compensates the effects of the spectral interference produced by the negative image of the main spectrum tone; the assessment of the influence of the e-IpDFT parameters on the SE accuracy; and the discussion of the deployment of IpDFT-based SE algorithms into field programmable gate arrays, with particular reference to the compensation of the error introduced by the free-running clock of A/D converters with respect to the global positioning system (GPS) time reference. The paper finally presents the experimental validation of the proposed approach where the e-IpDFT performances are compared with those of a classical IpDFT approach and to the accuracy requirements of both P and M-class phasor measurement units defined in the IEEE Std. C37.118-2011.
Integration of school features into Taiwanese elementary school new English curriculum

Elementary school English activation curriculum, an additional two culture classes, has been implemented only in New Taipei City in Taiwan starting from 2010, so only a few studies focus on it. This is a case study of an English teacher's integration of a school's features into the activation curriculum in a rural elementary school. This study revealed students' positive attitude towards such curriculum, the students’ preference for the English teacher's use of a wide variety of activities and the implementation of alternative assessments; it also revealed the English teacher's expertise and pedagogical competence, developed in collaboration with other teachers.
Effects of a Cooperative Learning Program on the Elaborations of Students Working in Dyads

In this study, the effects of a school improvement program on cooperative learning (CL) with respect to the elaborations of 6th-grade students working in mixed-ability and mixed-sex dyads on 2 cooperative tasks were examined. A posttest-only design with a control group was used to investigate the provision and receipt of elaborations within the dyads and the performance of the dyads working on cooperative mathematics and language tasks. Treatment dyads were found to exchange significantly more high-level elaborations during the language task than the control dyads. The treatment dyads also tended to produce higher performance scores on the 2 tasks.
Quality of life in chronic low back pain patients treated with instrumented fusion.

AIM The aim of this study was to examine pain and quality of life in a group of preoperative chronic low back pain patients (n = 25) and a group of postoperative chronic low back pain patients (n = 101) treated with instrumented fusion 1-8 years ago. BACKGROUND Reduced quality of life is common in chronic low back pain patients and the aim of treatment is to improve quality of life. DESIGN In the present study, a comparative survey design was used. METHODS The McGill Pain Questionnaire and the SF-36 Health Survey were used to examine pain and quality of life. RESULTS The pre- and postoperative groups did not differ with regard to age, gender, education, other chronic conditions or previous spinal surgery. Compared with the preoperative group, the postoperative group reported significantly lower total, sensory, affective and evaluative pain, used less pain medication (p < 0.05) and reported better scores in all SF-36 components (p < 0.05), except for general health. The effect size was > or =0.8 for all pain components and > or =0.4 for all SF-36 components, except for general health (effect size = 0.009). With regard to long-term follow-up, patients who underwent surgery 5-8 years ago reported better physical role functioning (p < 0.05) compared with those who underwent surgery 1-2 years ago. CONCLUSION Results showed that the postoperative group reported significantly less pain and better physical and mental health compared with the preoperative group. However, despite surgery, the postoperative group reported suffering from pain and reduced quality of life. Relevance to clinical practice. Psychosocial interventions focusing on psychosocial consequences of pain are needed to modify the pain experience and increase the quality of life in patients who have undergone this kind of surgery.
The Value of Emotional Intelligence for High Performance Coaching

Similar to an effective leader in business, a high-performance sports coach requires qualities beyond technical and tactical acumen, such as leadership and the ability to facilitate a functional leader-follower relationship. Underpinning this dynamic relationship that exists between the coach and athlete is a leader's acumen associated with emotional intelligence (EI). This article aims to highlight the utility of EI for high-performance sport coaches, and provide concrete examples as to how EI might enhance a coaches' ability to lead and direct the production of high-performance with their staff and athletes. First, a brief overview of the link between EI and leadership quality is presented. Second, Mayer and Salovey's (1997) four-branch model of EI (i.e., perceiving, using, understanding, and managing emotions) will be used as a framework for demonstrating how a coach may use such abilities to lead and produce high-performance.
Are Values a Good Predictor of Innovativeness toward Online Service Adoption? An Empirical Study

What intrinsically motivates an individual to take shorter time to make a decision of adopting a new online service, such as online short message service (SMS), online ticketing, etc, while others take longer? This study suggests that human values is a determinant of innovativeness toward adopting online services. A questionnaire was administered to 300 undergraduate and postgraduate students in a large public university in Hong Kong. Empirical results showed that individuals with achievement, self-direction and stimulation values were relatively more innovative in adopting online services than others in the social system. On the contrary, people who attach more importance to conformity, security and tradition values were relatively less innovative in adopting online services than others in the social system.
Transfection of Escherichia coli Spheroplasts III. Facilitation of Transfection and Stabilization of Spheroplasts by Different Basic Polymers

The only compound which fully replaced protamine sulfate in facilitating transfection of Escherichia coli spheroplasts by phage DNAs was spermine; poly-l-lysine, poly-l-arginine, DEAE-dextran, histones, and many other polyamines were only slightly effective. Higher-molecular-weight compounds were effective at lower concentrations, and each compound had a sharp concentration optimum. The specificity of the facilitation of transfection is discussed in light of Leonard and Cole's (1972) isolation of a polyamine- or protamine-like, natural competence factor from Streptococci. By standardizing growth conditions for spheroplast cultures, storing spheroplasts in minimal medium, and adding both protamine sulfate and polyamines to spheroplasts, reproducible competence levels were obtained. Thus, 95% of all spheroplast preparations gave efficiencies of transfection between 10−3 and 3 × 10−4 for lambda DNA; between 10−6 and 3 × 10−8 for T7 DNA; and between 3 × 10−6 and 10−7 for T5 phage DNA. The stability of the spheroplasts was extended from 10 h to between 2 and 5 days, depending on the DNA used for transfection.