Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward an Early Start for Head Start Children: Evidence from a Literacy Enrichment Starting at Age Three

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of providing comprehensive literacy instruction to preschool children starting at age three. The literacy development in two groups of four-year-old children (N = 1320) was compared during their enrollment in a literacy-enriched Head Start program. The first group entered the program at age four and participated in the program for only one year (Group 4-1); the second group had previously participated in the program at age three and at the time of the study were in their second year of the program (Group 4-2). Multilevel growth modelling procedures were used to compare literacy performance levels and growth rates between the two groups after controlling for relevant child, family, and educational variables. Results showed that Group 4-2 exhibited significantly higher literacy skills than Group 4-1 at both the beginning and end of the program year, although Group 4-2 had a slower growth rate than Group 4-1 over the program year. The theoretical and practical implications of the study were discussed.
HDL-based methodology for VLSI design of AC motor controller

The authors present a methodology for designing a CMOS very large scale integration (VLSI) controller for AC motor control. Step-by-step, top-down methodology based on hardware description languages (HDL) with mixed simulation was used to study digital adaptation and architecture implementation of the control algorithm. An application using the proposed methodology was studied: the direct torque control (DTC) of an AC motor. The DTC is described and VLSI examined. Analogue and digital models were used to describe the algorithm implementation, specific binary format and architecture. The register transfer level (RTL) model for the DTC controller was validated by mixed simulation. The ASIC layout was created using Austria Mikro System standard cell library for 0.8 μm CMOS. Finally, the authors compared this VLSI approach with software implementation and co-design methodology.
The impact of new production technologies on the maintenance function: An empirical study

Firms are increasingly using advanced manufacturing technology and just-in-time production to improve their competitiveness. However, little consideration has been given to the effect of these technologies on the maintenance function. This paper reports the results of a study of maintenance practices. Based on the responses of 222 plant managers and maintenance managers in 180 manufacturing plants, the analysis shows several direct relationships between advanced manufacturing technology and just-in-time and choice of maintenance practices. Advanced manufacturing technology is associated with more extensive use of computerized maintenance management systems, worker training, professional maintenance staff and preventive maintenance. Just-in-time manufacturing is associated with more extensive operator involvement in performing simple maintenance tasks.
It Doesn’t Apply to Me, So It Isn’t Real: People Are Likely to Deny Science if It Contradicts Their Personality

When science contradicts people’s experiences, they often deny the science. Psychological science may be particularly prone to denialism because of its relatively high relevance to people’s lives. In two sets of studies (N = 637 from university students and Mechanical Turk workers), we tested whether perceived and actual incongruence between one’s personality and scientific findings predict psychological discomfort and science denialism. Participants rated the incongruence (subjective incongruence) between their own personality responses and science, as well as their comfort and denial of the science. Those who experienced more subjective incongruence experienced greater discomfort and reported more science denialism. Those whose personality characteristics were objectively incongruent with the science also experienced greater subjective incongruence (all studies), discomfort (Studies 1A, 1B, and 1C), and science denialism (Studies 1A, 1C, and 2B) compared with those with congruent characteristics. Implications regarding denialism of psychological science, and science more broadly, are discussed.
Detailed LDV Measurements for Visualization of the Flow Field Within a Stirred-Tank Reactor Equipped with a Rushton Turbine

This paper presents the results obtained during investigations carried out on a multifunctional stirrer test rig which was established at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. The objective of the research work was to generate a reliable data basis for the validation of numerical simulations of the flow field in stirred-tank reactors. For the measurements advanced laser Doppler velocimetry including full refractive index matching and automated data acquisition was used. The flow field in this case was induced by a Rushton turbine which was constructed of transparent material in order to gain access to the important flow field within the turbine for the first time. The presentation of the large-scale flow field conforms the results presented in previous publications, but a higher resolution was realized. Mean flow and turbulence characteristics are presented. The turbulence length scale L was found to be about half the blade height, which is in good agreement with the length scales reported by other authors for Rushton turbines. The total access to the flow field permitted the mean flow and the turbulence kinetic energy distribution within the stirrer element to be determined in detail.
ICA techniques for more sources than sensors

In this paper we derive algorithms to identify the mixing matrix in the context of an independent component analysis with more sources than sensors. First, by exploiting the fact that for complex-valued observations, depending on the type of complex symmetry, 2 different fourth-order cumulants are available, we develop a technique that can cope with N(N+1)/2 sources for only N sensors. Secondly, the technique presented in Cardoso et al. (1994), based on a single cumulant, is modified to take both cumulants into account as well.
Asynchronous ecological upheavals on the Western Mediterranean islands: New insights on the extinction of their autochthonous small mammals

Comparative studies on extinction scenarios are an invaluable contribution to enhance our understanding of their patterns and mechanisms underpinning them. This paper presents new radiocarbon dates based on specimens of five extinct mammal species from Mallorca and Sardinia. The new evidence permits to reanalyse the extinction dynamics on both islands. Radiocarbon ages directly obtained on bone collagen from these species show evidence of different extinction patterns on Mallorca and Sardinia. For Mallorca the most reliable scenario is a mass extinction of all non-volant mammal species as an immediate consequence of the first human irruption on the island. However, for Sardinia, the extinction of autochthonous mammals lasted over several millennia. The new radiocarbon dates of the last occurrence of endemic mammals suggest a sequence of punctuated extinction events throughout the late Sardinian Holocene. These events are here tentatively related to successive human colonisation waves. The current lack of chronological dates for some Sardinian fossil mammals impedes to outline a more accurate pattern of extinction events. The present paper points that Mallorca have been more vulnerable than Sardinia to the external disturbances introduced by humans. We suggest that the capacity of each island to absorb external perturbations could be related to the island area, the duration of the isolated evolution and the degree of faunal complexity.
Role of the Redox State of Human Peroxiredoxin-5 on Its TLR4-Activating DAMP Function

Human peroxiredoxin-5 (PRDX5) is a unique redox-sensitive protein that plays a dual role in brain ischemia-reperfusion injury. While intracellular PRDX5 has been reported to act as a neuroprotective antioxidative enzyme by scavenging peroxides, once released extracellularly from necrotic brain cells, the protein aggravates neural cell death by inducing expression of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages through activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 (TLR2) and 4 (TLR4). Although recent evidence showed that PRDX5 was able to interact directly with TLR4, little is known regarding the role of the cysteine redox state of PRDX5 on its DAMP function. To gain insights into the role of PRDX5 redox-active cysteine residues in the TLR4-dependent proinflammatory activity of the protein, we used a recombinant human PRDX5 in the disulfide (oxidized) form and a mutant version lacking the peroxidatic cysteine, as well as chemically reduced and hyperoxidized PRDX5 proteins. We first analyzed the oxidation state and oligomerization profile by Western blot, mass spectrometry, and SEC-MALS. Using ELISA, we demonstrate that the disulfide bridge between the enzymatic cysteines is required to allow improved TLR4-dependent IL-8 secretion. Moreover, single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments revealed that TLR4 alone is not sufficient to discriminate the different PRDX5 redox forms. Finally, flow cytometry binding assays show that disulfide PRDX5 has a higher propensity to bind to the surface of living TLR4-expressing cells than the mutant protein. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of the redox state of PRDX5 cysteine residues on TLR4-induced inflammation.
Current developments in contaminated land treatment technology in the UK

This paper reviews recent developments in contaminated land treatment (soil and groundwater) in the UK, particularly with regard to: (i) The combination/integration of individual soil-treatment unit processes and the use of ‘extensive’ technologies; (ii) UK demonstration and emerging projects including those in the NATO/CCMS (Committee for Challenges to Modern Society) Pilot Study on Research, Development and Evaluation of Remedial Action Technologies for Contaminated Soil and Groundwater; and (iii) Contaminated land treatment technology research and development in the UK.
A compact wideband parallel‐strip 180° hybrid coupler

In this study, a wideband compact parallel‐strip 180° hybrid coupler with the center frequency of 2 GHz is presented. By replacing the 270° section in the 180° hybrid coupler with a parallel‐strip phase reversal swap, the total circuit size is reduced by half. In this structure, the phase gradients of the four arms of the coupler are equalized; therefore, the operation bandwidth is dramatically enhanced. S‐parameters of the coupler are simulated and measured with good agreement. As predicted from the measured data, the bandwidth of the 90% combining efficiency is increased from 45 to 124%. The proposed design achieves more than −25 dB signal suppression within the whole measured frequency range (0–4 GHz) as opposed to 1.8 to 2.2 GHz of the conventional design. The proposed 180° hybrid coupler can serve as a wideband in‐phase/differential power divider/combiner, which are essential for many RF and microwave subsystem designs. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 3271–3274, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23926
SCILAB-Based Robust Control Design and Analysis for an Aerospace System

This paper presents a SCILAB-based robust control and analysis example from aerospace engineering. The main motivation of this work is the lack of documentation for advanced users of SCILAB. Using the programming ideas developed for basic robust control and analysis in [1], a practical example from aerospace engineering is shown to demonstrate the merit of an open-source free software package, SCILAB.
An analysis of factors influencing organizational structure in two East Asian nations

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between culture, history, government policies and the development of economic institutions. Specifically, the paper discusses the impact that history and culture, including the influence of Confucianism, have played in shaping the economic institutions of South Korea and the People’s Republic of China. Research results indicate that culture, history and government policies all played a role in shaping the organizational structure of these two East Asian nations. However, China’s economic landscape is dominated by small and medium-sized, family-oriented firms, particularly in the rural parts of the country. The South Korean economic landscape, on the other hand, is dominated by large conglomerate firms called Chaebols which are also dominated by one family.
Reciprocity relations in waveguide junctions

The Lorentz reciprocity condition is applied to junctions composed or reciprocal media which connect uniform but otherwise arbitrary waveguides. An expression relating for forward and reverse transmission coefficients is derived and factored into two terms, the first involving the phase of the reference impedance in the guide and the second a new reciprocity factor. The usual condition equation the forward and reverse transmission coefficients is shown not to hold in the general case. Experimental evidence supporting the theoretical results is presented. >
The Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch Using Seeker Optimization Algorithm Based Different Objective Functions

Reactive Power Dispatch is one of the important tasks in the operation and control of power systems. It is a section of optimization problems in power system that minimizes the objective functions by satisfying a set of constraints and using a set of controllable variables. As the Reactive Power Dispatch is a nonlinear problem, it has multiple minima. So the conventional techniques and mathematical programming methods are not suitable to solving these problems. In this paper, the Seeker Optimization Algorithm (SOA) is considered to find a global optimum reactive power dispatch by minimizing the different objective functions. In this work, the objective functions are reducing active power losses, improving voltage deviation and increasing voltage stability. To show efficiency and powerful performance of SOA, it is applied to optimal reactive power dispatch on standard IEEE-30 bus power system. Finally, the obtained results of SOA are compared with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, Multi Agent Particle Swarm Optimization (MAPSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) methods.
Computer-aided modeling of quasi-resonant converters in the presence of parasitic losses by using the MISSCO concept

The DC and small-signal models of quasi-resonant converters, operating in both half-wave and full-wave modes, are developed in a suitable form for computer simulation. The starting step is the extraction of a minimum separable switching configuration (MISSCO) containing all power switches but a minimum number of other components (resonant ones). By using the step-response analysis and average technique, and by perturbing and separating the DC and AC components in the resulting equations, the equivalent models of MISSCO are derived. They are introduced in the converter structure to replace the circuit initially extracted. Models of different quasi-resonant converters can be obtained by this general approach. The analysis takes into account the conduction losses of the switching devices and reactive elements, which improves considerably the model accuracy. Model-based computer simulation agrees with the experimental results. >
Hand Detection with Dominant Pose Recognition Using EOH and SVM

In this paper we propose a method of vision-based hand detection. Since the pose space of articulated is infinite and it is not feasible to train a classifier for the recognition of all hand poses to detect hand areas. Therefore we assume that it is rather better to detect only one dominant hand pose. To do so after hand skin color segmentation, each interest region of hand area in the given image is validated that the shape of hand region is similar to the dominant pose. The proposed system has the process of two steps; hand candidate detection and dominant pose recognition using EOH feature and SVM classifier. The experimental result shows that the proposed method works very effectively with very low false negative rate 0.6%.
Optimal Real-Time Operation of Urban Water Distribution Systems Using Reduced Models

A method for near-optimal real-time on-line operation of urban water distribution system is presented and demonstrated. It uses a reduced model RM of the network which reproduces its performance over time with high fidelity with optimization by a genetic algorithm GA. The RM-GA software uses network data, forecasted demands for an operational planning time-horizon 24 h ahead, field data from a SCADA on the current status of the network, time-of-day energy cost data, and operator-imposed constraints on tank water levels and demand junctions pressures. The GA looks for the near-least-cost operation plan for the whole time horizon, using the reduced network model, and activates the first hour of the plan through the SCADA. At the end of the hour, the status of the network is updated from field data, the time horizon is rolled ahead by 1 h, and the process repeated. The software was developed for and demonstrated on the distribution system of Haifa. Experiments were conducted, in which the operation which simulates the operators' set-point operation is compared with that obtained by the RM-GA, and energy cost savings of 8 and 10% were calculated for a summer and winter month, respectively.
EFFECTS OF ZERO-OVERTOPPING DATA IN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK PREDICTIONS

This study examined the applicability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to the estimation of wave overtopping over sloping seawalls, especially with regard to the best structure for an ANN. Correlation coefficients between measurements and predictions were best when 6 input units and 12 hidden layer units were employed. Bayesian Regularization, recommended in this study, does not require a validation data set. It was found that the ANNs could not recognize when wave overtopping failed to occur if data on zero overtopping were omitted.
Hexabromocyclododecanes in the indoor environment of two cities in South China: their occurrence and implications of human inhalation exposure

Indoor and outdoor air samples were collected from two industrialized cities (Guangzhou and Foshan) in Southern China to determine the concentrations and diastereoisomer profiles of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in built environments. The mean concentrations of total HBCDs in air were 5.43 pg m−3 in homes, 8.21 pg m−3 in offices, 48.2 pg m−3 in other workplaces and 33.3 pg m−3 in the air outdoors. These HBCD levels are slightly higher than or comparable with those at the remote or urban sites in the United States, but are significantly lower than those in the European atmosphere. Diastereoisomer profiles of the samples indicated that α-HBCD was the dominant isomer, with a relative abundance ranging from 53.2% to 83.0%, which is notably different from its fractions in the air samples from the UK and the domestic technical-grade mixtures. Analysis of the gas-particle distribution showed that HBCDs were present predominantly (87.6–99.9%) in the particle phase. The estimated average daily human exposure to HBCDs via inhalation was 0.39 ng day−1 for adults, which is one order of magnitude lower than the values (5.0 and 5.47 ng day−1) for the UK adults reported in two other studies. Further air and dust sampling and continued monitoring are needed to improve our understanding of human exposure to HBCDs.
Marketing školy

Nová učebnice Marketing školy klasicky vychází ze základní aplikace marketingu pro oblast služeb a specificky vzdělávacích služeb. Základní zaměření je na efektivní komunikaci škol s veřejností. Mezi výrazné novinky patří prezentace školy jako značky, návod na realizaci komunikační kampaně se zaměřením na cílové skupiny škol. Dále je to orientace na využití technologií v marketingu, tj. zde tím zejména myslíme www stránky škol a komunikaci prostřednictvím sociálních médií. Přidány jsou i náměty pro realizaci průzkumu potřeb a přání veřejnosti ve vztahu ke škole a pro případný vznik marketingového týmu školy. Mezi klasická témata patří strategické plánování, utváření kultury a image školy. Učebnice má didaktickou úpravu a odkazuje na náměty z praxe našich škol i ze zahraničí.
Nonprofit Role Classification Using Mission Descriptions and Supervised Machine Learning

Scholars have used both quantitative and qualitative approaches to empirically study nonprofit roles. Mission statements and program descriptions often reflect such roles, however, until recently collecting and classifying a large sample has been labor-intensive. This research note uses data on United Ways that e-filed their 990 forms and supervised machine learning to illustrate an approach for classifying a large set of mission descriptions by roles. Temporal and geographic variation in roles detected in mission statements suggests that such an approach may be fruitful in future research.
Determining the Most Vital Arcs Within a Multi-Mode Communication Network Using Set-Based Measures

Abstract : Technology has dramatically changed the way the military has disseminated information over the last fifty years. The Air Force has adapted to the change by operating a network with various ways to disseminate information. The Air Operating Center (AOC) is a large contributor to disseminating information in the Air Force. When the standard mode of sending information is disrupted, the AOC seeks both alternative ways available to send information and long term approaches to decrease vulnerability of its standard procedures. In this thesis, we seek to identify and quantify the most vital components within a multi-mode communications network via a combination of a set-based efficiency and set-based cost efficiency measures that utilize the all pairs shortest path (APSP) problem and minimum cost flow (MCF) problem. We capture the phenomenon that network components must work together to provide flow by examining how the network performs when sets of arcs are disrupted. We run 125 different computational experiments examining varying degrees of damage experienced by the network. From these results, we deduce insights into the characteristics of the most vital arcs in a multi-mode communication network which can inform future fortification decisions.
High-power-handling linear-integrated coherent photoreceivers for RF photonics

We report integrated coherent optical receivers designed specifically for RF Photonics applications. These receivers may be implemented in either single- or dual-polarization (DP) systems which utilize I/Q (in-phase, quadrature) phase modulation. The integrated receivers incorporate a monolithic 90 degree optical hybrid followed by eight high power-handling InGaAs photodiodes. Linear operation to +27 dBm of total optical input power, 20 mA photocurrent per diode, output third-order intercept (OIP3) > 40 dBm, third-order harmonic distortion < -100 dBc, and RF bandwidths > 4 GHz is presented. Such photoreceiver power-handling and linearity is required to optimize the photonic system spurious free dynamic range (SFDR), noise figure (NF) and link gain.