Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A pink dog with 20 legs – An explorative study on the beliefs of elementary school children explaining engagement in artistic leisure activities

Zeichnen, Malen und Basteln zahlen zu den meist verbreiteten Freizeitaktivitaten von Kindern. Derartigen kunstlerisch-kreativen Aktivitaten werden positive Effekte auf die Entwicklung der Kinder zugeschrieben. Zudem gelten kunstlerische Aktivitaten als Teil kultureller Partizipation. Jedoch uben nicht alle Kinder derartige Aktivitaten in ihrer Freizeit aus. Um kunstlerische Partizipation mit ihren mutmaslichen positiven entwicklungsbezogenen Effekten fordern zu konnen, bedarf es umfangreichen Wissens zu den Uberzeugungen der Kinder, die deren Ausubung kunstlerischer Freizeitaktivitaten erklaren. Im Rahmen einer auf der Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens basierenden Interviewstudie (Ajzen, 2012) wurden N = 26 Grundschulkinder systematisch zu ihren Uberzeugungen hinsichtlich kunstlerischer Freizeitaktivitaten befragt. Die Interviews wurden inhaltsanalytisch anhand eines deduktiv-induktiven Verfahrens ausgewertet. Ergebnis war ein differenziertes Kategoriensystem zu den verhaltensbestimmenden Uberzeugungen der Kinder hinsichtlich der Ausubung kunstlerischer Freizeitaktivitaten (Cohen’s Kappa = .91). Diskutiert werden die Inhaltsqualitat des genierten Kategoriensystems sowie Implikationen fur die weitere Forschung.
Untested Assumptions and Data Slicing: A Critical Review of Firm-Level Production Function Estimators

This paper surveys the most popular parametric and semi-parametric estimators for Cobb-Douglas production functions arising from the econometric literature of the past two decades. We focus on the different approaches dealing with 'transmission bias' in firm-level studies, which arises from firms' reaction to unobservable productivity realisations when making input choices. The contribution of the paper is threefold: we provide applied economists with (i) an in-depth discussion of the estimation problem and the solutions suggested in the literature; (ii) a detailed empirical example using FAME data for UK high-tech firms, emphasising analytical tools to investigate data properties and the robustness of the empirical results; (iii) a powerful illustration of the impact of estimator choice on TFP estimates, using matched data on patents in 'TFP regressions'. Our discussion concludes that while from a theoretical point of view the different estimators are conceptually very similar, in practice, the choice of the preferred estimator is far from arbitrary and instead requires in-depth analysis of the data properties rather than blind belief in asymptotic consistency.
Bioinformatics Designing of 10-23 Deoxyribozyme against Coding Region of Beta-galactosidase Gene

Corresponding Author: Abolghasem Esmaeili Cellular and Molecular Biology Division; Department of Biology; Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran. Phone: +98-3137932490 E-mail: aesmaeili@sci.ui. ac.ir Abstract Background: Deoxyribozymes (Dzs) can play a role as gene expression inhibitors at mRNA level. Among Dzs, the 10-23 deoxyribozyme has significant potentials for treatment of diseases. Designed Dz includes a catalytic core made of 15 deoxyribonucleotides and two binding arms consisted of 6-12 nucleotides for site specific binding to target RNA and hydrolysis. The enzyme has characteristic features for cleavage of the RNA target between an unpaired purine (A, G) and a paired pyrimidine (C or U). In this study, 10-23 Dz is designed for the coding region of the α-peptide of a lacZ gene. Materials and Methods: The primary sequence of a plasmid with αcomplementation ability was taken from addgene database. To confirm sequence validity, ExPASy was used to analyze related ORFs for the retrieved sequence. The ORF with identical sequence to α-peptide was selected in the reverse complement sequence. Subsequently, the secondary structure of the α-peptide was analyzed in DINAMelt web server and Mfold software. Then the intended target site was selected inside the coding region of the α-peptide. The Dzs sequence was designed for the target site with nucleotide binding arms. Results and conclusion: The resulted Dz in this study can be used as a promising catalytic DNA inside bacterial cells for blue-white screening. Criteria such as biological stability and catalytic rate of such enzymes must be evaluated in vivo and in vitro.
Modeling of W ettability A lteration during S pontaneous

Mutually-soluble solvents can enhance oil recovery both in mixed-wet fractured reservoirs. When a partially waterwet matrix is surrounded by an immiscible wetting phase in the fracture, spontaneous imbibition is the most important production mechanism. Initially, the solvent moves with the imbibing brine into the core. However, upon contact with oil, as the chemical potential of the mutual solvent is different in both phases, diffusion occurs and the solvent is transported in the oleic phase. Through the migration of the mutually soluble component from the aqueous phase into the oleic phase, oil properties and/or rock-fluid interactions are modified. The hypothesis in this work is that a mutually-soluble solvent improves the ultimate recovery and the imbibition rate in mixed-wet cores. The main recovery mechanisms are the wettability change of the mixed-wet cores, oil swelling and oil viscosity reduction. In this paper the numerical modeling of spontaneous imbibition of Mutually soluble solvent in mixed-wet cores in presented. We implemented the wettability alteration, the oil swelling mechanism, the oil viscosity reduction mechanism, the IFT reduction, and the density reduction mechanisms in the numerical model. Our numerical studies show that the most important production mechanism in the mixed-wet systems are the oil swelling and the wettability alteration and the second most important mechanism is the oil viscosity reduction. The effect of the IFT reduction and the density reduction in the oil production is not significant. The numerical results show an improvement of 27%.
GROWTH AND CONVERGENCE IN THE SPACE ECONOMY: EVIDENCE FROM THE UNITED STATES

This paper investigates geographic relationships in a land use based regional adjustment model containing equations for population density, employment density, and wages in the continental United States during the 1980s and 1990s. The results of the analysis suggest that (1) accounting for spatial interdependencies appreciably enhances the estimates; (2) with this correction, the viability of the three-equation framework used here seems strong; and (3) even as the nation’s post-industrial economy continues along its path of decentralization, equilibrating forces work to maintain an uneven pattern of development characteristic of the well-known, hierarchical system of regional economies described by traditional forms of location and central place theory.
Context-Aware Artefacts: Current State and Open Questions from an IS Perspective

Context and context-awareness are being investigated in pervasive computing (PC) and human-computer interaction (HCI) for quite some time. More recently, context-awareness has also become a topic of interest in information systems (IS). Mobile services are among the topics that have shown to be of particular interest. Motivated by this growing interest we investigate what notions of context-awareness have been implemented in computational artefacts and whether these implementations actually meet the definitions of context that were identified as starting points in the respective research. Results of this investigation suggest that many implementations of context-awareness are driven by (technical) feasibility rather than actual user needs. Business applications, however, should be driven by user needs. Furthermore such applications need to be based on sound concepts and technologies. Our findings, however, suggest that there are issues that need to be addressed before we can expect "full" context-awareness. Based on these findings we discuss what this means to developers looking for technical foundations for their services. We also outline work that needs to be done in order to better understand context-awareness and its applicability in IS domains.
Méthode de fixation et de transport des prélèvements pour un diagnostic microbiologique de vaginose bactérienne : évaluation de deux variantes

1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology; 2Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; 3Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine; 4Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario Correspondence: Dr Erica Eason, Ottawa Hospital, General Campus, Box 803, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6. Telephone 613-737-8683, fax 613-739-6266, e-mail eeason@ohri.ca Received for publication July 2, 2003. Accepted September 29, 2003 E Eason, B Toye, GA Wells, M Senterman. Assessment of two alternative sample transport and fixation methods in the microbiological diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis. Can J Infect Dis 2003;14(6):322-326.
Teacher change in implementing a research-developed representation construction pedagogy

The Representations in Learning Science (RiLS) project developed a representation construction approach to teaching and learning in science, which has successfully demonstrated enhanced student learning through sustained engagement with ideas, and enhancement of teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and understandings of how knowledge in science is developed and communicated. The current Constructing Representations in Science Pedagogy (CRISP) project aims at wider scale implementation of the representation construction approach. This paper explores a range of issues that confronted four Year 8 teachers in implementing this research-developed approach, such as: preparedness of the teacher in terms of epistemological positioning and positioning as a learner, significant support for planning and modelling by the university expert, and a team ethos where teachers share ideas and plan jointly. The Year 8 teachers implemented a representation construction approach to the teaching of the topic of astronomy. The Interconnected Model of Teacher Growth (IMTG) (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002) was used to analyse the teachers’ experience in planning and delivering the teaching sequence. This model was found to be flexible in identifying the experiences of teachers in different situations and useful in identifying issues for implementation of a research developed pedagogy.
Traveler information in ITS: A Model-Driven Engineering approach to its personalization

Today the problem of a traveller is to obtain the right information at the right time. To do that, many solutions have been proposed, the main one being the personalization of Traveler Information. But, they are often limited to specific types of applications and/or deal with only a part of the theoretical potential offered by personalization. In addition, tools and methods that have been proposed often focus only on the technical aspects of personalization, making it difficult to integrate them into a Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) approach that would allow personalized interactive applications to be modeled. To remedy these deficiencies, we have developed the PERCOMOM method, whose objective is to allow business experts to autonomously create personalized interactive applications by assembling pre-existing models. The case study concerns traveler information in ITS.
The relation between IT competency and knowledge management processes and its mediators

The past two decades have seen growing interest in knowledge management and the use of information technologies. However, it is not clear how the relation between IT competency and knowledge management works. This study provides a better understanding of that relation. Through an empirical study of 162 Spanish firms, the work finds that no direct relation exists between IT competency and knowledge management. Open organization and empowerment mediate the relation between IT competency and knowledge management processes. These findings reinforce a field that is of increasing interest to researchers, and which has seen only a limited number of empirical studies to date.
First evidence of active transpressive surface faulting at the front of the eastern Southern Alps, northeastern Italy: insight on the 1511 earthquake seismotectonics

Abstract. We investigated the eastern corner of northeastern Italy, where a system of NW–SE-trending dextral strike-slip faults of western Slovenia intersects the south-verging fold and thrust belt of the eastern Southern Alps. The area suffered the largest earthquakes of the region, among which are the 1511 (Mw 6.3) event and the two major shocks of the 1976 seismic sequence, with Mw = 6.4 and 6.1. The Colle Villano thrust and the Borgo Faris–Cividale strike-slip fault have been here first analyzed by interpreting industrial seismic lines and then by performing morphotectonic and paleoseismological analyses. These different datasets indicate that the two structures define an active, coherent transpressive fault system that was activated twice in the past two millennia, with the last event occurring around the 15th–17th century. The chronological information and the location of the investigated fault system suggest its activation during the 1511 earthquake.
Investigating the Impact of Data Parallelism and GPU Technology on Computer Gaming

According to the current design trends, multithreaded multicore processors will be ubiquitous in every device. In computer gaming, chip-makers are adding more cores to fulll the next generation performance requirements. A game engine has many ‘tasks’ and data parallelism is an important technique for concurrent execution of these tasks. However, effective implementation of multithreaded computer games has challenges including concurrent/parallel processing, data and task level parallelism, and thread synchronization. In this paper, we investigate the impact of data parallelism and graphics processing unit (GPU) technology on multicore game engines. We implement a multi-object interactive game engine in an 8-core workstation using single-threaded model (STM) and various multithreaded models. We also implement a high quality DXT compression (a family of implementations of the S3 texture compression algorithm) using GPU technique. Experimental results show that multithreaded synchronous model with data parallelism (MSMDP) outperforms STM by reducing execution time up to 50%. Results also show that for 448-thread data parallelism, more than 81x speed up can be achieved by applying GPU computing.
Portfolio Allocation as Leadership Strategy: Intraparty Bargaining in Japan

How do the dynamics of portfolio allocation work within parties? While much of the existing literature focuses on portfolio allocation among parties in coalition governments, bargaining over cabinet portfolios also takes place within parties because many parties have internal divisions or factions that influence these decisions. By analyzing data on portfolio allocation in the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan from 1960 through 2007, this study demonstrates that, contrary to the proportionality proposition (Gamson's Law), substantial variance exists in allocation outcomes over time because party leaders allocate cabinet portfolios among factions as a means of preventing defections and challenges from their party's members. The resulting portfolio allocation reflects the bargaining dynamics within the party: I find that party leaders surrender more portfolios as they become more vulnerable to challenges posed by internal rivals.
Fly ash – waste management and overview : A Review

Fly ash (FA)-a coal combustion residue of thermal power plants has been regarded as a problematic solid waste all over the world. India has some of the largest reserves of coal in the world. Indian coal has high ash content and low calorific value. Nearly 73% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity is thermal of which coal-based generation is 90%. Some 85 thermal power stations, besides several captive power plants use bituminous and sub-bituminous coal and produce large quantities of fly ash. High ash content (30% - 50%) coal contributes to these large volumes of fly ash. Current annual production of Fly ash, a by-product from coal based thermal power plant (TPPs), is about 112 million tones (MT). Some of the problems associated with Fly ash are large area of land required for disposal and toxicity associated with heavy metal leached to groundwater. Fly ash, being treated as waste and a source of air and water pollution till recent past, is in fact a resource material and has also proven its worth over a period of time . The present paper reviews the potential applications for coal fly ash as a raw material: as a soil amelioration agent in agriculture, use, in highway embankments, in construction of bricks, as an aggregate material in Portland cement, filling of low lying areas etc in the manufacture of glass and ceramics, in the production of zeolites, in the formation of mesoporous materials, in the synthesis of geopolymers, for use as catalysts and catalyst supports, as an adsorbent for gases and waste water processes, and for the extraction of metals. Thus fly ash management is a cause of concern for the future. This article attempts to highlight the management of fly ash to make use of this solid waste, in order to save our environment.
Self-reported criminal and anti-social behavior on a dating site: the importance of cognitive ability

The relationship between criminal and antisocial (CAS) behaviors and cognitive ability (CA) were examined in a large online sample of dating site users (complete sample n = 68,371). 12 question items were found that measured CAS to some degree. Of these, 11 showed a negative relation to CA. The answers to the CAS items were all positively related, suggesting the existence of a general factor of CAS behavior. Scores for this factor were estimated using multiple methods. The resulting scores were then subjected to a series of regression models to examine whether the link between CA and CAS would hold up in the presence of other predictors. The results showed that the link between CA and CAS scores was robust to model specifications with standardized betas of -. 15 to -. 20. Furthermore, a CA x sex interaction was found such that the CA x CAS relationship was stronger for men (r’s -.20 and -.13, for men and women, respectively).
Manager characteristics and manager-replacement: How is pension fund performance affected?

Abstract Pension funds are professionally managed investment products designed to cover the retirement needs of individual investors, so managerial control mechanisms are crucial to future retirement income. In this paper, we analyze the effectiveness of the manager replacement mechanism in pension funds. We first examine possible determinants (raw return, excess return, risk and manager and fund characteristics) of manager replacement in a sample of Spanish pension funds. We also analyze the impact of manager replacement on funds’ returns (raw and excess returns) and risk via an analysis of manager characteristics. Finally, we employ an event-study methodology to examine the capacity of new managers to generate positive abnormal returns. Our empirical results show that manager replacement is not motivated only by poor excess returns, but is also linked to manager characteristics. Pension funds with good performance in the pre-replacement period suffer deterioration after replacement, and new managers need about one year to achieve good results. In funds without replacement, managers with longer tenure underperform and female managers are market-risk averse.
Fatigue Behavior Analysis of Asphalt Mixes Containing Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Steel Slag

This research was conducted in order to evaluate fatigue behavior of asphalt mixes containing Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel slag. After initial evaluation of the properties of EAF steel slag using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electric Microscope (SEM), six sets of laboratory mixtures were prepared. Each set were treated replacing various portions of limestone aggregates of the mix with EAF steel slag. Four point bending beam fatigue tests were performed in both controlled strain and stress mode of loading at various strain and stress levels to characterize the fatigue behavior of asphalt mixes containing different percentages of EAF slag. Different approaches based on stiffness and dissipated energy were used to analyze the fatigue tests data. The results show that the inclusion of EAF in mixes improved the fatigue life considerably under both stress and strain control mode of loading. In the stress control mode, very good correlations were observed between responses and fatigue life of mixes. However, correlation coefficients in the strain control mode were relatively lower than those in the stress control mode (particularly in the tests that were based on 50% reduction of initial stiffness).
Are Household Income, Gender, And Race Important In Shaping Parental Involvement In Children's Education?

The authors used data from the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) Program 2007 Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007) (N=10,681) to examine household income, gender, and race of parents, and their importance in shaping parental involvement in children’s education. The study finds that when accounting for tutoring that: (1) Pacific Islander mothers have the highest odds of being involved in their child’s homework; (2) Black fathers have the highest odds of being involved in their child’s homework; and (3) Low household incomes (compared to high household incomes) have the highest odds of being involved in their child’s homework. This study supports previous research on “nontraditional parental involvement,” as well as previous research regarding high African American parental involvement.
Human Capital and Political Business Cycles

Classical theory considers political business cycle as a result of either opportunistic behavior of government (opportunistic cycle) or aiming policy on certain constituency (partisan cycle). In this paper, we propose an alternative explanation of the phenomenon of political business cycle — experience of government. We propose an illustration that shows that elections infer cycles without any opportunism or ideology of incumbents. We also build a model with endogenous ego-rent. The model explains a channel to increase incentives, when none has commitment — governors need to develop skills to increase their value for public and increase probability to get re-elected. Using fiscal monthly data of Russian regions from 1996 to 2004, we got evidence both of positive effect of experience on performance and opportunistic component of the cycle. We also got evidence of diminishing return on experience.