Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
‘We see our people suffering’: the war, the mass media and the reproduction of Muslim identity among youth

The wars in the Middle East and representations of Muslims in this context have an immediate effect on Muslim minority ethnic groups, particularly youth in western European countries. This article explores the relationship between the construction of identities of British Muslim Asians between the ages of 16 and 23 years and the mass media. It is based on fieldwork conducted from 2002 to 2004 in Bradford, an impoverished northern ‘milltown’ in Britain that witnessed violent protests known as ‘race riots’ in 2001. The results of the fieldwork suggest a correlation between the conceptions of media messages about the wars in the Middle East and the construction of a global Muslim community with which youths associate themselves. Using excerpts from individual and focus group interviews, the article aims to investigate the link between the challenging local and national conditions caused by racial discrimination and the affiliation of these youths with a global Muslim community.
Predictions of Urban Volumes in Single Time Series

Congestion is increasing in many urban areas. This has led to a growing awareness of the importance of accurate traffic-flow predictions. In this paper, we introduce a prediction scheme that is based on an extensive study of volume patterns that were collected at about 20 urban intersections in the city of Almelo, The Netherlands. The scheme can be used for both short- and long-term predictions. It consists of 1) baseline predictions for a given preselected day, 2) predictions for the next 24 h, and 3) short-term predictions with horizons smaller than 80 min. We show that the predictions significantly improve when we adopt some straightforward assumptions about the correlations between and the noise levels within volumes. We conclude that 24-h predictions are much more accurate than baseline predictions and that errors in short-term predictions are even negligibly small during working days. We used a heuristic approach to optimize the model. As a consequence, our model is quite simple so that it can easily be used for practical applications.
Dealing with the “Grumpy Boomers”: re-engaging the disengaged and retaining talent

Purpose – The aging of the workforce and the impending labour force shortage at the skilled end of the labour market increases the need for organizations to understand how to “re-engage” older workers with low commitment and reduce the turnover intentions of committed older knowledge workers. The current study addresses this issue by using employee commitment and intent to turnover scores to classify older knowledge workers into four groups: Disengaged-Exiters, Engaged-High-Performers, Retired-on-the-Job and Exiting-Performers. The purpose of this paper is to identify a set of work factors and practices that predispose older knowledge workers to fall into one or another of the four groups and offer suggestions on how organizations can increase commitment and decrease intent to turnover of their older workers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper used survey data (n=5,588) from a Canadian national study on work, family and caregiving to test the framework. Data analysis was performed using a MANCOVA wit.
Development of the Teenager Experience of Racial Socialization Scale: Correlates of Race-Related Socialization Frequency from the Perspective of Black Youth

An adolescent's perspective of family race-related socialization is a novel way to understand racial identity and socialization experiences. This article reports on the development of the Teenager Experience of Racial Socialization (TERS), which asks students how often they receive socialization about managing racism, cultural pride, and spirituality. A factor analysis was conducted with 260 African American youth. The results revealed five meaningful and reliable factors, including Cultural Coping With Antagonism, Cultural Pride Reinforcement, Cultural Legacy Appreciation, Cultural Alertness to Discrimination (CAD), and Cultural Endorsement of the Mainstream (CEM), and one composite factor (combines the first four TERS factors) called Cultural Socialization Experience (CULTRS). Findings reveal that boys experience more CAD communications than do girls, a moderate degree of family conversations about race is associated with greater frequency of racial socialization, family member experiences with racism are associated with higher frequency of CULTRS, and personal experience with racism is associated with lower CEM in girls but not boys. The presence of a small correlation between racial socialization experiences and racial socialization beliefs supports the discriminant validity of the scale. Implications for adolescent and family research are discussed.
Intensity Thresholds on Raw Acceleration Data: Euclidean Norm Minus One (ENMO) and Mean Amplitude Deviation (MAD) Approaches

Objectives (1) To develop and internally-validate Euclidean Norm Minus One (ENMO) and Mean Amplitude Deviation (MAD) thresholds for separating sedentary behaviours from common light-intensity physical activities using raw acceleration data collected from both hip- and wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometers; and (2) to compare and evaluate the performances between the ENMO and MAD metrics. Methods Thirty-three adults [mean age (standard deviation (SD)) = 27.4 (5.9) years; mean BMI (SD) = 23.9 (3.7) kg/m2; 20 females (60.6%)] wore four accelerometers; an ActiGraph GT3X+ and a GENEActiv on the right hip; and an ActiGraph GT3X+ and a GENEActiv on the non-dominant wrist. Under laboratory-conditions, participants performed 16 different activities (11 sedentary behaviours and 5 light-intensity physical activities) for 5 minutes each. ENMO and MAD were computed from the raw acceleration data, and logistic regression and receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) analyses were implemented to derive thresholds for activity discrimination. Areas under ROC curves (AUROC) were calculated to summarise performances and thresholds were assessed via executing leave-one-out-cross-validations. Results For both hip and wrist monitor placements, in comparison to the ActiGraph GT3X+ monitors, the ENMO and MAD values derived from the GENEActiv devices were observed to be slightly higher, particularly for the lower-intensity activities. Monitor-specific hip and wrist ENMO and MAD thresholds showed excellent ability for separating sedentary behaviours from motion-based light-intensity physical activities (in general, AUROCs >0.95), with validation indicating robustness. However, poor classification was experienced when attempting to isolate standing still from sedentary behaviours (in general, AUROCs <0.65). The ENMO and MAD metrics tended to perform similarly across activities and accelerometer brands. Conclusions Researchers can utilise these robust monitor-specific hip and wrist ENMO and MAD thresholds, in order to accurately separate sedentary behaviours from common motion-based light-intensity physical activities. However, caution should be taken if isolating sedentary behaviours from standing is of particular interest.
Nephrotoxicity in the Elderly Due to Co-Prescription of ACE Inhibitors and NSAIDs

The report by Dr Adhiyaman and others (October 2001 JRSM, pp. 512-514) of renal failure after co-prescription of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), together with findings on renal function in elderly heart failure patients1, should invoke even greater vigilance in the era following the RALES study (which reported survival benefit from co-prescription of spironolactone and ACE inhibitors in heart failure). Already there are reports not only of deterioration in renal function but also of hyperkalaemia complicating co-prescription of ACE inhibitors, spironolactone, and NSAIDs3,4. Spironolactone aggravates the impairment of potassium excretion in renal failure. NSAIDs are liable to impair potassium excretion in their own right, because they can induce hyporeninaemic hypoaldosteronism, which, in turn, impairs renal potassium excretion5. Selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors also seem to carry some risk of nephrotoxicity, as judged by anecdotal reports of acute renal failure associated with rofecoxib6 and celecoxib7, so these drugs may differ little in this respect from conventional NSAIDs. Perhaps the time has come for indiscriminate prescription of NSAIDs to be used as an indicator of clinical underperformance.
Treatment Regimens for Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children: Is In Vitro Susceptibility Testing Helpful?

Background: Treatment regimens for Helicobacter pylori have variable success rates, and data comparing effectiveness with respect to strain sensitivity are relatively scarce. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of two treatment regimens for eradication of H. pylori and the impact of bacterial susceptibility testing. Study Design: 265 children endoscopically diagnosed with H. pylori infection were randomly assigned to receive omeprazole + amoxicillin with clarithromycin or omeprazole + amoxicillin with metronidazole. Bacterial culture and susceptibility was performed in a subgroup. Eradication was assessed by 13C-urea breath test. Results: Eradication was achieved in 73.4% by omeprazole + amoxicillin with metronidazole and in 62.6% by omeprazole + amoxicillin with clarithromycin (P = 0.078). H. pylori was cultured successfully in 105 patients. Resistance to metronidazole was detected in 31.4% of the isolates and resistance to clarithromycin in 15%. Eradication rate by omeprazole + amoxicillin with metronidazole for metronidazole-susceptible bacteria (N = 38) was 90%, and for resistant bacteria (N = 19) it was 42%. Only 75% of clarithromycin-sensitive strains were successfully treated by omeprazole + amoxicillin with clarithromycin, and none of the cases with clarithromycin-resistant strains responded to omeprazole + amoxicillin with clarithromycin treatment. Conclusion: There is a trend of greater efficacy of eradication with omeprazole + amoxicillin with metronidazole versus omeprazole + amoxicillin with clarithromycin therapy. Although resistance negatively influences eradication, first-line sensitivity-based treatment would be expected to improve this rate only slightly. Susceptibility testing should probably be reserved only for treatment failures.
On Deliberative Democracy

Iris Marion Young, Inclusion and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 304 pp. In the last fifteen years a new theory of democracy has emerged on the academic scene, the theory of deliberative democracy. It has by now become one of the major positions in democratic theory. The central idea of deliberative democracy is that the basis of democratic legitimacy is the public deliberation of citizens. This idea should be seen in contrast to the idea that democratic legitimacy issues from the mere aggregation of preferences. According to the theory of deliberative democracy, the preferences of citizens cannot be seen as given, they are rather transformed in the political process, ideally in a public process of deliberation among free and equal citizens. The will of the people, thus, is not found in the private and self-regarding expression of preferences or interests (as on the aggregative model), rather citizens must justify their political claims to one another in public deliberation and form their common opinion and will
The effects of prolonged repetitive stimulation in hemicholinium on the frog neuromuscular junction.

1. Cutaneous pectoris nerve‐muscle preparations from the frog were stimulated for prolonged periods in solutions with curare alone, curare and hemicholinium no. 3 (HC‐3), or curare and glucose plus choline. End‐plate potentials (e.p.p.s) and miniature end‐plate potentials (m.e.p.p.s) were recorded intracellularly. Black widow spider venom (BWSV) was applied to determine the degree of depletion of the transmitter stores. 2. The ultrastructure of the neuromuscular junctions was studied in the electron microscope. Some of the preparations were fixed immediately at the end of the period of stimulation and others were fixed about an hour after BWSV had been applied. In some experiments horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was present during the period of stimulation and the fixed tissue was treated to reveal the distribution of the tracer. 3. The amplitude of the e.p.p. fell rapidly to almost zero during 2 hr of stimulation at 2/sec in 100 muM HC‐3 and little recovery occurred during a subsequent hour of rest. About 2‐7 times 10‐5 quanta were secreted. The e.p.p.s usually persisted throughout the period of stimulation in the other solutions and 2‐2‐6 times as much transmitter was secreted. 4. When BWSV was applied immediately at the end of the period of stimulation in HC‐3, almost no m.e.p.p.s were discharged and only small m.e.p.p.s were discharged when the venom was applied after an hour of rest. 5. When BWSV was applied to unstimulated terminals that had been bathed in HC‐3, or to terminals that had been stimulated and rested for an hour in glucose plus choline, m.e.p.p.s of nearly normal amplitude were discharged. 6. Terminals stimulated for 2 hr at 2/sec in 100 muM HC‐3 contained a normal complement of synaptic vesicles and a large proportion of vesicles were labelled with HRP when the tracer was present during the period of stimulation. 7. BWSV induced the almost complete depletion of vesicles from terminals that had been stimulated in HC‐3. 8. Depletion of vesicles also occurred when terminals were stimulated for 20 min at 10/sec after they had been previously stimulated for 2 hr at 2/sec in HC‐3. These terminals showed extensive infolding of the axolemma and they contained swollen mitochondria. 9. These results indicate that stimulation in HC‐3 depletes terminals of their store of transmitter but not of their population of vesicles and that vesicles empty of transmitter can fuse with and reform from the axolemma of the nerve terminal.
Safety of a Nonoxynol‐9 Vaginal Gel in Kenyan Prostitutes: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and toxicity of once‐daily administration of Advantage‐24 (Columbia Research Laboratories, Inc., Rockville Centre, NY), a vaginal gel containing 52.5 mg of nonoxynol‐9 (N‐9), including the effects of this gel on the vaginal and cervical epithelium. Study Design: Randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind crossover trial, with a 2‐week product application period and a 2‐week washout period. Methods: Female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya were randomized to one of two sequences, N‐9 followed by placebo, or vice versa. Women were instructed to apply one applicator of N‐9 or placebo gel vaginally once each day. During each of the two product periods, subjects were evaluated by questionnaire and physical examination, including colposcopy, after 7 and 14 days of product use. The primary outcome was genital epithelial disruption. Results: Sixty subjects were randomized, of whom 52 (87%) had complete follow‐up. There were four episodes of epithelial disruption, three of which occurred during the placebo period and one during the N‐9 period. The estimated risk of epithelial disruption associated with N‐9 use was 0.33 (95% confidence interval, 0.03–3.26). There was no increased frequency of other, nondisruptive epithelial lesions during N‐9 use. Conclusions: No genital epithelial toxicity of N‐9 vaginal gel was observed. This safety profile suggests that this N‐9 product is appropriate for evaluation for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 prevention in a phase III efficacy trial.
Relation between bimanual coordination and whole-body balancing on a slackline

To reveal the fundamental skills involved in slacklining, this study examined a hypothesis regarding single-leg standing on a slackline. In the field of practice, instructors teach learners how to maintain balance on a swinging flat belt (slackline), such as by moving their hands in parallel. We hypothesized that bimanual coordination in the horizontal direction might contribute to dynamic balancing on a slackline. In our pilot study, two participants at different skill levels were asked to maintain their balance on a slackline as long as possible. The dynamic stability of bimanual coordination was assessed by a nonlinear time series analysis (cross recurrence quantification analysis), then compared among the participants. Bimanual coordination stability was higher in the experienced player than in the novice player. The results suggest that the single-leg standing skill might be correlated with bimanual coordination stability. Further investigations are expected to clarify this notion in the future.
Optimal packet size in error-prone channel for IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function

With the popularity of the IEEE 802.11 based wireless network, it has become increasingly important to analyze the performance of the IEEE 802.11 protocol accurately. Throughput and delay are key measures, reflecting the performance of a wireless network. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the IEEE 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF) in the saturated traffic condition, and consider the effects of packet size, the number of contention nodes, transmission collision probability and channel conditions. Under this analytical framework, we evaluate the impact of error-prone channel on unsuccessful transmission probability and its impact on the performance. A trade-off exists between the desire to reduce the ratio of overhead in the data packet by adopting larger packet size, and the need to reduce the packet error rate in the error-prone environment by using smaller packet length. An optimal packet size can be derived to maximize the throughput of the IEEE 802.11 DCF under various channel conditions and network configurations. To validate our analytical results, we have done extensive simulations, and the simulation results are observed to match very well with the analytical results.
Using a Hybrid Neural/Expert System for Data Base Mining in Market Survey Data

This paper describes the application of a hybrid neural/expert system network to the task of finding significant events in a market research data base. Neural networks trained by backward error propagation are used to classify trends in the time series data. A rule system then uses these classifications, knowledge of market research analysis techniques and external events which influence the time series, to infer the significance of the data. The system achieved 86% recall and 100% precision on a test set of 6 months of survey data. This was significantly better than could be achieved by a system using linear regression together with a rule system. Both systems were able to perform analysis of the test data in under 5 minutes. The manual analysis of the same data took a human expert over four working days.
Ethnic Groups in Conflict

here, but often with some revealing new insight; and only an exceptionally eclectic and voracious reader would fail to find new material. Even so familiar a subject as the Indian railways produces some fresh touches: Headrick remarks that British investors, under the government guarantee system (of 5 percent return on their capital), were not gambling on the profitability of railway operation in India but on the continuing ability of the British Raj to collect taxes; and India was the only nation with a major rail network that failed to industrialize during its railway boom. He describes a masterful use of technical requirements to keep out commercial rivals while maintaining a free trade ideology and a later masterful use of procrastination and indecision to avoid a hard choice between a declining British industry and an emerging India. Ironies abound. Earnest and laborious, although underfunded, efforts produced successful agricultural research programs (for export cash crops, of course) in Indonesia, India, and Malaya. But although research in Indochina "had been disorganized, unfocused, and erratic," it didn't matter, "because neighboring colonies had developed profitable plants and techniques" (p. 231) readily borrowed or stolen by French planters. Nevertheless, the French regime established something the British Raj in India never did. Its Office Indochinois du Riz, established in 1930-31, applied modern research techniques to a major peasant food and subsistence crop. Some fascinating people figure in these case studies, from the Indian geologist Pramatha Nath Bose—whose work made possible the success of Tata Iron and Steel, but only after he resigned from the service of a British Indian government that opposed such efforts—to men like Nigeria's Herbert S. H. Macaulay, Africa's first black civil engineer, who was sent to England to study surveying, civil engineering, and piano tuning. Colonial administrators often thought of technical education in terms of preindustrial crafts and not modern professions, not just out of racism (although there was plenty of that). Many were conservative, in a sense refugees from their own industrialized cultures, who wished to protect and conserve the "best elements" of the colonial cultures from rapid change. Both colonizers and colonized had ambiguous attitudes, which made it easier to transfer technology for transport and communication but difficult to transfer technology for import substitution. Asians and Africans had entrepreneurial skills, but only rarely combined with capital and an understanding of Western technology; and even a great success, such as the Tatas in India or smallholder rubber growers in Malaya, were at the mercy of government policies.
Joint Optimization of Lossy Compression and Transport in Wireless Sensor Networks

We consider the problem of joint data compression and transport of information in wireless sensor networks (WSN). WSN sources compress the data through a lossy compression scheme, which may be source-specific. This compressed data is then disseminated in a multi-hop fashion until it reaches the data collection point (the sink). The problem we study is to select a rate-distortion working point for the lossy compression scheme at each source node, while jointly assessing a routing path for the compressed information, under distortion and capacity constraints. This entails a multi-objective optimization problem that is here solved and discussed for two selected network scenarios, emphasizing the nontrivial interrelations that exist between the considered objectives, namely, total transport energy in the network and signal reconstruction quality at the sink.
A Structural Model of Reuse and Recycling in Mexico

Direct observations are used to analyze reuse and recycling pattems of 100 families in a middle-sized northwestem Mexico city and reveal that reuse is practiced more than recycling. An inventory administered to housewives examined potentfal predictors of the studied practices, investigating dispositional factors (motives, competencies, beliefs, knowledge), demographic variables (age, income, education), and situational variables (storage facilities, presence of collectors of recyclables, use of radio, TV, newspapers, and books). Each variable was presumed related to conservation behavior. Multiple regression and causal structural models were used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of these factors. Multiple regressions produced a limited number of significant (direct) predictors of reuse and recycling, whereas structural models revealed conservation competencies and motives to reuse/recycle to be the most important direct predictors. Moreover, these analyses showed that situatonal and demographic factors exerted significant indirect influence on conservation behavior through reuse/recycling motives and competencies.