Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Performance and Creating Better Student Procienc y Models by Improving Skill Codings

Interest in end-of-year accountability exams has increased dramatically since the passing of the NCLB law in 2001. This push has impacted educational research in a wide variety of ways, including a strong desire to be able to model student work in order to make conclusive statements about what students know and how this relates to how they will perform on end-of-year standardized exams. This thesis will look at using item response theory (IRT) to estimate student procienc y. This estimated procienc y will then be used to build prediction models for end-of-year exam scores. Next, methods to improve a skills model will be explored. Models that account for learning over time will then be considered. Finally, I will compare various di erent approaches to modeling response data.
Botnet spoofing: fighting botnet with itself

A botnet consists of a network of compromised computers connected to the Internet that is controlled by a remote attacker (botmaster) via command and control (C&C) channels. Botnets are the root cause of many Internet attacks such as Email spam, extortion through DDoS, seeding malware, and online identity theft etc. Recently, the arms race between botmasters and defenders has become increasingly common. Defenders have successfully shut down many well-known botnets such as Rustock, Mariposa, Waledac, Stuxnet, Coreflood, and Kelihos by exploiting their C&C design flaws. However, these countermeasures also stimulate the botnets to be more resilient. For security-conscious Internet users, the hostbased security software (i.e., anti-virus and firewall) could provide effective protection against the botnet attacks; however, the remaining security-unconscious users will suffer from the botnet attacks and be compromised easily. Consequently, how to protect both security-conscious and security-unconscious users against advanced botnets (without any C&C vulnerability) has posed a great challenge to this day. In this paper, we propose the idea of botnet spoofing which aims at addressing the above challenge to some degree. We define botnet spoofing as a technique which could trick a malicious bot to spread BotSpoofer instead of spreading itself. BotSpoofer is defined as a computer program which implements botnet spoofing technique.
Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience

Emerging infections caused by fungi have become a widely recognized global phenomenon. Their notoriety stems from their causing plagues and famines, driving species extinctions, and the difficulty in treating human mycoses alongside the increase of their resistance to antifungal drugs. This special issue comprises a collection of articles resulting from a Royal Society discussion meeting examining why pathogenic fungi are causing more disease now than they did in the past, and how we can tackle this rapidly emerging threat to the health of plants and animals worldwide. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience’.
RANKINGS OF PREDICTORS OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE BY TOP LEVEL COACHES

Abstract Two studies are reported in which coaches of Dutch top level athletes ranked 10 general factors recognized as predictors of athletic performance. In the first study, the coaching staff of the national teams in judo, speed skating, swimming, and table tennis were involved (n=50), and in the second coaches in field hockey, golf, and track and field (n=65); in track and field, two types of athlete were assessed: the “explosive” and the “endurance” types. Agreement among coaches within a sport appears to vary from rather high to quite low, indicating that they do not always rank the various factors in an identical way. In spite of these imperfect interjudge reliabilities, most of the groups of coaches made very similar group rankings, in which three factors were generally considered to be of primary importance: physical fitness, mental fitness and natural endowment These findings are discussed in the context of the emphasis which is often given to the effects of the immediate environment in the devel.
The Role of Leukaemia Inhibitory Factor and Interleukin-6 in Human Reproduction

There is now strong evidence that many of the actions of steroids in controlling reproduction are mediated by locally acting factors such as growth factors and cytokines. These have been shown to act both in an autocrine and paracrine manner to regulate preimplantation embryo development and endometrial receptivity. They also regulate trophoblast differentiation and migration which is necessary for placental development. The creation of mouse strains lacking genes for receptors or growth factors has proved important in denning which of these are essential in reproduction in this species and those that play a lesser role. Using this approach, a lack of leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) in the murine endometrium has been shown to result in failed implantation. Evidence from infertile women supports the notion that abnormal expression of LIF, or the related cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the endometrium may underlie some forms of human infertility. This offers the opportunity for therapeutic intervention, if levels of these cytokines can be altered in a specific and controlled way. The recently described method of delivery of genes to the uterine epithelium provides a powerful new approach by which this could be achieved. The ability to regulate the function of specific genes in the endometrium by direct gene transfer raises the prospect of novel opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
Transmitter characteristics of cutaneous, renal and skeletal muscle small arteries in the rat.

AIM We studied transmitter characteristics of proximal and distal arteries supplying skin (saphenous artery and its medial tarsal branch), kidneys (terminal branches of renal artery and interlobar arteries) and skeletal muscle (proximal and distal sections of external sural artery). METHODS Artery segments were mounted in an isometric myograph and intramural nerves were activated by electrical field stimulation. Adrenergic and purinergic components of the neurogenic response were blocked using phenoxybenzamine and alpha,beta-methylene adenosine triphosphate (mATP), respectively. RESULTS Arteries from skin or kidney developed rapid and prominent neurogenic contractile responses, with half-maximal amplitude reached within 5-15 s; responses in proximal vessels were greater than in distal vessels. Arteries from skeletal muscle responded to sympathetic stimulation with a moderate contraction developing over 1 min or more, the response of distal segments was greater than that of proximal segments. In skeletal muscle vessels the sympathetically evoked contraction was completely blocked by phenoxybenzamine, whereas in skin and renal vessels it was the combined effect of noradrenaline and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Given alone, mATP did not change the magnitude of the response to nerve stimulation, but increased its latency and also potentiated the response to exogenous noradrenaline. In all vascular beds, distal vessels were more sensitive to noradrenaline and mATP. CONCLUSION It thus appears that the noradrenaline/ATP ratio of the sympathetic vasoconstrictor response differs between vascular beds in a way that is consistent with known differences in the selective regulation of regional vascular resistance by the sympathetic nervous system.
Global Society in 2052

A globalized economy is a fact of life in 2002. Will globalization be sustained for the next fifty years? Yes, is the answer if the goals and procedures of multilateral organizations such as the IMF are refocused and if a new social contract is developed among employers, workers, and governments at all levels. Guidelines for shaping the new social contract are outlined. They are taken from the writings of Thomas Friedman and Pope John Paul II.
Why professionals fail to catch liars and how they can improve

In the first part of this article, I will briefly review research findings that show that professional lie catchers, such as police officers, are generally rather poor at distinguishing between truths and lies. I believe that there are many reasons contributing towards this poor ability, and will give an overview of these reasons in the second part of this article. I also believe that professionals could become better lie detectors and will explain how in the final part of this article
PSA: software for parental structure analysis of seed or seedling patches

Parental structure analysis (PSA) is a computer program to analyse separate contributions of paternal and maternal parents to postdispersal plant offspring. The program provides joint estimates of maternal, paternal and cross‐parental correlations within and among a set of predefined groups of seeds or seedlings, as well as derivative estimates of effective parental numbers. PSA utilizes data sets that distinguish between maternal and paternal contributions to the genotype of each offspring in the sample, but does not require parental samples per se. The approach requires assay of codominant diploid markers from both seed coat (maternally inherited) and seedling/embryo (biparentally inherited) tissues for each offspring. A simulation analysis of PSA's performance shows that it provides fairly accurate parental correlation estimates from affordable sampling effort. PSA should be of interest to plant biologists studying the interplay between dispersal, demography and genetics, as well as plant–animal interactions.
Gene Transfer of Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase Reduces Cerebral Vasospasm After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose— Superoxide may play an important role in cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Our first goal was to determine the effect of gene transfer of extracellular superoxide dismutase (ECSOD) on vasospasm after experimental SAH. Our second goal was to determine whether tissue binding of ECSOD via the heparin-binding domain (HBD) is important for the effect of the enzyme. Thus, we examined effects of gene transfer of ECSOD with the HBD deleted (ECSOD&Dgr;HBD). Methods— Adenovirus expressing human ECSOD (AdECSOD), ECSOD&Dgr;HBD (AdECSOD&Dgr;HBD), or no transgene (AdBglII) was injected into the cisterna magna of anesthetized rabbits 30 minutes after induction of experimental SAH. Cerebral angiography, an assay for ECSOD activity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and Western blotting for human ECSOD in the basilar artery were performed. Results— Baseline diameter of the basilar artery averaged 0.77±0.01 mm (mean±SEM) and was similar in all treatment groups. Decreases in diameter of the basilar artery 2 days after SAH were smaller after AdECSOD (11±3%; n=10) than after AdBglII (25±4%; n=7;P <0.05). ECSOD activity was not detected in CSF before SAH and gene transfer. Of 8 rabbits treated with AdECSOD, in which ECSOD activity in CSF was measured after SAH, 5 animals had detectable ECSOD activity in CSF (46±13 U/mL). In these 5 rabbits, the diameter decreased by only 6±3%, and ECSOD protein was detected in the basilar artery. After AdECSOD&Dgr;HBD (n=4), despite high levels of ECSOD activity in CSF (91±19 U/mL), vessel diameter decreased by 20±2%, and no ECSOD&Dgr;HBD protein was detected in the basilar artery. Conclusions— Gene transfer of ECSOD reduces cerebral vasospasm after experimental SAH. Tissue binding of the enzyme is essential for cerebral vascular effects of ECSOD.
Podium or participation? Analysing policy priorities under changing modes of sport governance in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom (UK), since 1997 the New Labour government has built on the principles of ‘new public management’ (NPM) introduced under previous Conservative administrations as a framework for the ways in which it ‘governs’ the complex array of organisations and agencies involved in the delivery of public services. The governance of sport policy development has not been immune to the various influences of NPM and the related requirement for a far greater emphasis on evidence-based policy-making. In this respect, the literature on NPM and governance provides the conceptual frame for analysis of the article's two main interrelated aims. The first is to identify and analyse the realignment of the ways in which government and its national sporting agencies ‘interact’ with key ‘delivery partners’ charged with implementing national sport policy. We use the term ‘changing modes of sport governance’ to capture this phenomenon. The second aim is to evaluate the ways in which these changing modes of governance have impacted upon the government's drive to realise two of its contemporary sport policy priorities: i) support for developing elite athletes; and ii) raising sport and physical activity participation rates across the public at large. Our conclusions suggest that, under current and emerging governance arrangements in the UK, an illusory screen of plural, autonomous and empowered delivery networks for sport obscures the very close ties to, and regulation from, the centre.
D-branes and complex curves in c = 1 string theory

We give a geometric interpretation for D-branes in the c = 1 string theory. The geometric description is provided by complex curves which arise in both CFT and matrix model formulations. On the CFT side the complex curve appears from the partition function on the disk with Neumann boundary conditions on the Liouville field (FZZ brane). In the matrix model formulation the curve is associated with the profile of the Fermi sea of free fermions. These two curves are not the same. The latter can be seen as a certain reduction of the former. In particular, it describes only (m,1) ZZ branes, whereas the curve coming from the FZZ partition function encompasses all (m,n) branes. In fact, one can construct a set of reductions, one for each fixed n. But only the first one has a physical interpretation in the corresponding matrix model. Since in the linear dilaton background the singularities associated with the ZZ branes degenerate, we study the c = 1 matrix model perturbed by a tachyon potential where the degeneracy disappears. From the curve of the perturbed model we give a prediction how D-branes flow with the perturbation and derive the two-point bulk correlation function on the disk with the FZZ boundary conditions.
Development of a cerebral circulation model for the automatic control of brain physiology

In various clinical guidelines of brain injury, intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral blood flow (CBF) and brain temperature (BT) are essential targets for precise management for brain resuscitation. In addition, the integrated automatic control of BT, ICP, and CBF is required for improving therapeutic effects and reducing medical costs and staff burden. Thus, a new model of cerebral circulation was developed in this study for integrative automatic control. With this model, the CBF and cerebral perfusion pressure of a normal adult male were regionally calculated according to cerebrovascular structure, blood viscosity, blood distribution, CBF autoregulation, and ICP. The analysis results were consistent with physiological knowledge already obtained with conventional studies. Therefore, the developed model is potentially available for the integrative control of the physiological state of the brain as a reference model of an automatic control system, or as a controlled object in various control simulations.
Recruitment and quality academic staff selection: the case study of Covenant University

The sources from which organizations decide to select personnel from are central to its ability to survive, adapt, and grow (Noe et al, 2004:171). The paper examines a case study of recruitment and selection of quality academic staff into Covenant University. The paper addresses the factors that could affect recruitment sources and the advantages of identification of such sources. The study used the primary data by means of discussion with the human resource department (Registry) of Covenant University and secondary data by means of information from relevant journals, covenant university records and textbooks. The paper suggested ways of proper identification of quality academic staff recruitment sources and recommended that organizations such as universities should be proactive in the area of sourcing for competent academic staff to achieve the goals of the university. This it could do by identifying labour sources like unemployed graduates, the industries, and institutions of higher learning, retired senior academics and the provision of resources in terms of finance to hire them. IFE PsychologIA Vol. 14(2) 2006: 117-141
Marketing Higher Education: The Promotion of Relevance and the Relevance of Promotion

This paper examines the marketization of higher education. It takes the curriculum development for a degree sponsored by industry as a focus for exploring the involvement of industry and, more specifically, prospective employers, in shaping higher education provision. Empirical material gathered from a three and a half‐year ethnographic study is used to illustrate how mundane promotional work associated with sponsored curricula operates to reconstitute higher education. It is shown how, in the process of introducing sponsored curricula into the university, a market relevance discourse is merged with traditional discourse to promote a new discursive order and thereby contribute to the reformation of university education. This hybrid discourse (of tradition and relevance) makes traditional resistance to the encroachment of “relevance” into university education more difficult to justify, and perhaps impossible to sustain. Nonetheless, it produces new antagonisms that provide future sites of resistance.
CCL2 has similar excitatory effects to TNF-α in a subgroup of inflamed C-fiber axons

Peripheral nerve inflammation can cause neuronal excitability changes that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic pain. Although the neuroimmune interactions that lead to such physiological changes are unclear, in vitro studies suggest that the chemokine CCL2 may be involved. This in vivo study examines the effects of CCL2 on untreated and inflamed neurons and compares its effects with those of TNF-α. Extracellular recordings were performed in the anesthetized rat on isolated neurons with C-fiber axons. On untreated neurons, CCL2, as well as TNF-α, had negligible effects. Following neuritis, both cytokines transiently caused the firing of action potentials in 27–30% of neurons, which were either silent or had background (ongoing) activity. The neurons with ongoing activity, which responded to either cytokine, had significantly slower baseline firing rates {median = 3.0 spikes/min [interquartile range (IQR) 3.0]} compared with the nonresponders [median = 24.4 spikes/min (IQR 24.6); P < 0.001]. In an additional group, 26–27% of neurons, which were sensitized due to repeated noxious mechanical stimulation of the periphery, also responded to the effects of both cytokines. Neither cytokine caused axons to become mechanically sensitive. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that the cognate CCL2 receptor, CCR2, is mainly expressed on glia and is therefore not likely to be an axonal target for CCL2 following inflammation. In contrast, the cognate TNF-α receptor (TNFR), TNFR1, was present on untreated and inflamed neurons. In summary, CCL2 can excite inflamed C-fiber neurons with similar effects to TNF-α, although the underlying mechanisms may be different. The modulatory effects of both cytokines are limited to a subgroup of neurons, which may be subtly inflamed.
An Ascending-Price Generalized Vickrey Auction

A simple characterization of the equilibrium conditions required to compute Vickrey payments in the Combinatorial Allocation Problem leads to an ascending price Generalized Vickrey Auction. The ascending auction, iBundle Extend & Adjust (iBEA), maintains non-linear and perhaps non-anonymous prices on bundles of items, and terminates with the efficient allocation and the Vickrey payments in ex post Nash equilibrium. Crucially, iBEA is able to implement the Vickrey outcome even when the Vickrey payments are not supported in a single competitive equilibrium. The auction closes with Universal competitive equilibrium prices, which provide enough information to compute individualized discounts to adjust the final prices and implement Vickrey payments.
Attitudes of Family and Professional Care-Givers towards the Use of GPS for Tracking Patients with Dementia: An Exploratory Study

This study examined the attitudes of family and professional care-givers towards the use of advanced electronic tracking such as GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) for elderly people with dementia. The study revealed four principal findings. First, care-givers' views ranged from feeling obligated to use the tracking device for the sake of patients' safety through support of the use of the device for the sake of the care-givers' peace of mind and restricted support, to objection to the use of the device and respect for a person's autonomy. Second, family care-givers showed higher support for the use of GPS and RFID both for their own peace of mind and for the safety of the elder in their care. Professionals attached higher value to respect for a person's autonomy and restricted support for using GPS and RFID. Third, both family and professional care-givers agreed that the decision on tracking dementia patients should be an intra-family issue. Fourth, family care-givers attached more importance to the tracking device's characteristics and design, thus emphasizing that the tracking device must be considered by them as ‘user-friendly’. The implications of the results for social work are also discussed.
Public Involvement in Environmental Issues with Reference to Jajahan Kuala Krai, Kelantan

Environmental problems are very serious and complex to be resolved through science approach, technical and legislation solely. Hence, the inclucive and active involvement and participation of civil is wanted. Civil society is inter parties interested and sure they involved directly with every planned development project and practiced at area they. Earlier study has proven that public societal involvement in environmental issue is still low and minimum. The study conducted in Jajahan Kuala Krai, Kelantan is intended to find out how far population knowledge in study area on environmental issues and the level of involvement the in said issue. This study involved 174 respondents. The study between demographic factor with respondent knowledge in environmental issues shows that is a significant relationship between respondent income and education with value of p respectively 0.039 and 0.036. The association between demographic factor with respondent's knowledge in local environmental issue on the other hand shows that there are significant relationship between gender, age, income, education and resident period with the value of p respectively 0.045, 0.000, 0.029, 0.046 and 0.000. For demographic factor in association with environmental issues, has shown that there is a significant relationship between age, income, education and resident period with the value of p respectively 0.036, 0.041, 0.001 and 0.001. The results that found respondent income factor and education did influence on respondents knowledge level and involvement in environmental issues. As a conclusion, an actively engaged society in related environmental issues is very important due to the assurance of environmental quality that always will be protected.
Fine structure constants in n-dimensional physical spaces through dimensional analysis

We use Vaschy-Buckhingham Theorem as a systematic tool to build univocal n-dimensional extensions of the electric and gravitational fine structure constants and show that their ratio is dimensionally invariant. The results allow us to obtain the relative standard uncertainty on the three-dimensionality of space as 1.08 $10^{-13}$.