Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Community of Stories: Involving Citizens in Education Reform. Partners in Learning Series.

This paper discusses education reform and the need to involve communities in making significant changes to the educational system. The introductory section discusses schools as communities of learners. In such schools the community emerges from a collaborative relationship among parents, community institutions, and the school. Schools will be successful in a milieu where there is a vibrant understanding of responsibility, where there is an understanding by parents and community institutions that the children living in that community are their responsibility. The goal is to create communities of engagement and involvement. The second section, "Telling Stories," contrasts the Grand Inquisitor in "The Brothers Karamazov" with the leadership style of Moses in the biblical Book of Numbers concluding that the role of the organizer is to stir people into action around the things that are important to them. Section three, "Communities of Collaboration," is the story of the transformation of Zavala Elementary School in Austin (Texas) from the worst performing school in its district to one of the best through parental and community engagement. The concluding section, "Collaborations of Conversations," reviews the rules of engagement and the relational power that is part of collaboration and the judgment necessary to make successful compromises. (ND) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************
A Review of Mobile Agents in Wireless SensorNetwork

The design of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a very challenging issue. In this article, we consider a review of wireless sensor networks designed to collect and store data using mobile agents. Mobile Agent(MA) based applications research activities have increased and are used in a wide range concerned areas like Energy Conservation ,Network Management, Electronic commerce, Wireless Multimedia Sensors, Grid Service and Grid Computing, Distributed Data Mining, Security, E-learning, Location Tracking, Semantic Web Service etc. This review focus on the roles of the MAs in WSNs.
Machine Translation of Noun Phrases from Arabic to English Using Transfer-Based Approach

Problem statement: Any Arabic to English Machine Translation (MT) system should be capable of dealing with word order which Arabic exhibits. This poses a significant challenge to MT due to the vast number of ways to express the same sentence in Arabic. The ordering features are very important and should be carefully applied to ensure the generation of sentence in the target language. Because they apply to the target language, it shoul d fulfill the specific requirement of this language . Mistakes in the MT output can be either the result of analysis problems at the source language level, or due to generation problem at target language level. Word order rules are crucial for the generation of sentences in the target language. They also serve a s rules for the ordering of sentence constituents. These rules draw their information from the syntact ic knowledge. The word order problem becomes more obvious when making machine translation between languages that have rich morphological variations. Approach: The main objective of this research is to develop a machine translation that translates Arabic noun phrases into English by usin g transfer-based approach. A system called Npae- Rbmt has been developed in this research. Transfer- based machine translation is one instance of rule- based machine-translation approaches and is current ly one of the most widely used methods of machine translation. The idea of transfer-based mac hine translation it is necessary to have an intermediate representation that captures the "mean ing" of the original sentence in order to generate the correct translation. Using advantages of transf er-based machine translation such as analysis step, the Transfer-based becomes simpler as linguistic an alysis goes deeper-as the representation of analysi s step becomes more abstract. In fact, a major goal o f MT research is to define a level of analysis whic h is so deep in which transfer-based machine translat ion is able to do. Results: The method was tested on 88 thesis titles and journals from the computer science domain. The accuracy of the result was 94.6%. These results proved the viability of this a pproach for distant languages. Conclusion: Based on the achieved results, we have managed to perform th e syntactic reordering within an Arabic noun phrases to English translation task by using transf er-based machine translation and also achieved reasonable improvements in translation quality over related approach.
A driver assistance system based on multilayer iconic classifiers: Model and assessment on adverse conditions

Recent work demonstrates that iconic classifiers are good candidates for the development of effective driver assistance systems, exploiting on-board micro cameras and embedded architectures. Following this line of research, in this paper the combined use of multilayer classifiers and iconic data reduction, based on Sanger neural networks, is investigated. It is shown that by this affordable approach it is possible to capture the essential information of the images, making worthless much more structured and time-consuming feature-based techniques. In particular, the applicability of a simplified learning stage, based on a small dictionary of poses, is considered; this peculiarity makes the system almost independent from the actual user. A detailed model of a simple driver assistance system, based on iconic classifiers, is presented and a comparative assessment, focused on the specific task of monitoring the car driver, is performed on adverse driving conditions. Three well known classification techniques are applied, demonstrating that the iconic approach, though can be certainly improved, is characterized by robustness, accuracy and real-time response; these features prove this technology to be an ideal tool for embedded automotive applications.
Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies are associated with a non-MS course in children

Objective: To determine whether myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG-Abs) were predictive of a demyelination phenotype in children presenting with acquired demyelinating syndrome (ADS). Method: Sixty-five children with a first episode of ADS (12 acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, 24 optic neuritis, 18 transverse myelitis, 11 other clinically isolated syndrome) were identified from 2 national demyelination programs in the United Kingdom and France. Acute serum samples were tested for MOG-Abs by cell-based assay. Antibodies were used to predict diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) at 1 year. Results: Twenty-three of 65 (35%) children had MOG-Abs. Antibody-positive and antibody-negative patients were not clinically different at presentation, but identification of MOG-Abs predicted a non-MS course at 1-year follow-up: only 2/23 (9%) MOG-Ab–positive patients were diagnosed with MS compared to 16/42 (38%) MOG-Ab–negative patients (p = 0.019, Fisher exact test). Antibody positivity at outset was a useful predictor for a non-MS disease course, with a positive predictive value of 91% (95% confidence interval [CI] 72–99), negative predictive value of 38% (95% CI 24–54), positive likelihood ratio of 4.02 (CI 1.0–15.4), and odds ratio of 6.5 (CI 1.3–31.3). Conclusions: MOG-Abs are found at presentation in 35% of patients with childhood ADS, across a range of demyelinating disorders. Antibody positivity can be useful in predicting a non-MS disease course at onset.
Suitability of a probiotic Lactobacillus paracasei strain as a starter culture in olive fermentation and development of the innovative patented product “probiotic table olives”

Probiotic bacteria are generally available for consumers as concentrated preparations or incorporated in milk-based foods. Due to an increased interest of the market for probiotic foods as well as to meet a demand of industry for innovation, a new kind of probiotic food has been developed using table olives as a carrier. Green table olives, produced according to the Spanish-style, are obtained by a fermentation which can be carried out by spontaneous microflora, even if the use of starter cultures is desirable to obtain a more controlled process. In this regard, the selected strain Lactobacillus paracasei IMPC 2.1 of human origin was used in the dual role of starter and probiotic culture, and here we describe the different aspects which have been evaluated and solved to utilize that strain for the development of a new table olive-based probiotic food. These aspects include selection of the strain on the basis of its probiotic properties, molecular characterization, compatibility with the carrier food, and efficacy as starter. The final product meets commercial and functional requirements throughout its shelf-life.
Quality bounds for packetized voice trans-port

A body bolster center plate assembly of a cushioned underframe railroad car including a center plate arrangement including a coped mounting plate portion with tab portions and having an upper bowl surrounding center filler portion including a pair of longitudinally extending top-mounted reinforcing elements on either side of the center plate bowl and a bottom pair of transversely extending reinforcing elements on either side of the bowl, and a bolster arrangement having flat underside portions for attaching to the flat tab portions of the center plate arrangement and securing means for providing flush flat contact between the flat tab portions of the center plate arrangement and the flat portions of the bolster arrangement. The arrangement also has an upright gusset reinforcing structure including a pair of spaced apart gusset means attached to the bolster structure for reinforcing same in the areas of connection between the center plate arrangement and the bolster structure.
Generalized Catalan numbers and the enumeration of planar embeddings

The Raney numbers $R_{p,r}(n)$ are a two-parameter generalization of the Catalan numbers that were introduced by Raney in his investigation of functional composition patterns \cite{Raney}. We give a new combinatorial interpretation for all Raney numbers in terms of planar embeddings of certain collections of trees, a construction that recovers the usual interpretation of the $p$-Catalan numbers in terms of $p$-ary trees via the specialization $R_{p,1}(n) =_{p} c_n$. Our technique leads to several combinatorial identities involving the Raney numbers and ordered partitions. We then give additional combinatorial interpretations of specific Raney numbers, including an identification of $R_{p^2,p}(n)$ with oriented trees whose vertices satisfy the "source or sink property". We close with comments applying these results to the enumeration of connected (non-elliptic) $A_2$ webs that lack an internal cycle.
Refractoriness to melatonin occurs independently at multiple brain sites in Siberian hamsters

The mid-winter development of refractoriness to melatonin (Mel) triggers recrudescence of the atrophied reproductive apparatus of rodents. As a consequence, over-wintering animals become reproductively competent just before the onset of spring conditions favorable for breeding. The neural target tissues that cease to respond to winter Mel signals have not been identified. We now report that the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, which contains the principal circadian clock, and the reuniens and paraventricular nuclei of the thalamus, each independently becomes refractory to melatonin. Small implants of Mel that were left in place for 40 wk and that act locally on these brain nuclei, induced testicular regression within 6 wk in male Siberian hamsters; 12 wk later Mel implants no longer suppressed reproduction and gonadal recrudescence ensued. Hamsters that were then given a systemic Mel infusion s.c. immediately initiated a second gonadal regression, implying that neurons at each site become refractory to Mel without compromising responsiveness of other Mel target tissues. Refractoriness occurs locally and independently at each neural target tissue, rather than in a separate “refractoriness” substrate. Restricted, target-specific actions of Mel are consistent with the independent regulation by day length of the several behavioral and physiological traits that vary seasonally in mammals.
Embedded systems: Many cores — Many problems

The embedded-systems industry is about to make a transition to multi-core platforms. This is a highly risky step as several essential problems are not yet solved. In particular, the performance analysis problem has no viable solution for the existing multi-core designs. The main culprit is the interference on shared resources. Several alternative approaches both in architecture and system design and in analysis methods are discussed.
Short-time chirp excitation for wideband identification of dynamic objects

In this paper, some aspects of choosing excitation signals for fast measurement of complex electrical impedance of objects, including impedance of biological tissues, over a wide range of frequencies are discussed. For this purpose, several short-time excitation signals as special cases of chirp signals of near to minimal duration are proposed. The results of analysis and simulation are promising for implementing such kind of signals as the stimulating ones for fast estimation of bioimpedance parameters.
Late-time emission of type Ia supernovae: optical and near-infrared observations of SN 2001el

We present optical and near-infrared light curves of SN 2001el from 310 to 445 days past maximum light, obtained with the Very Large Telescope. The late-time optical (UBVRI) light curves decay in a nearly linear fashion with decay time scales of 1.43\pm0.14, 1.43\pm0.06, 1.48\pm0.06, 1.45\pm0.07, and 1.03\pm0.07 magnitudes (per hundred days) in the U, B, V, R and I bands, respectively. In contrast, in the near-infrared (JHKs) bands the time evolution of the flux appears to be nearly constant at these epochs. We measure decline rates (per hundred days) of 0.19\pm0.10 and 0.17\pm0.11 magnitudes in the J and H bands, respectively. We construct a UVOIR light curve, and find that the late-time luminosity has a decay time scale nearly consistent with complete depostion of positron kinetic energy. The late-time light curves of the normal type Ia SN 2001el demonstrate the increased importance of the near-infrared contribution. This was previously observed in the peculiar SN 2000cx, and the results for SN 2001el thus ensure that the conclusions previously based on a single peculiar event are applicable to normal type Ia supernovae. The measured late-time UVOIR decline rate suggests that a majority of the positrons are trapped within the ejecta. This results does not favor the predictions of a weak and/or radially combed magnetic field configuration.
QUADRATIC APPROXIMATION IN PRICE-BASED COORDINATION OF CONSTRAINED SYSTEMS-OF-SYSTEMS

Price-based coordination can be used to coordinate (physically coupled) systems-of-systems (SoS) consisting of competing subsystems that are not willing to share every necessary detail that is required to compute the centralized solution. One example of such a SoS is a large integrated chemical production site that consists of a central site coordinator and individually optimized processing plants, operated by different business units and coupled by shared resource networks. One drawback of price-based coordination is its slow rate of convergence accompanied by many communication rounds between the coordinator and subsystems, which is the bottleneck in applying price-based strategies to practical applications. The rate of convergence can be improved with price updates computed from a quadratic approximation (QA) of the responses of the subsystems to price incentives announced by the coordinator. However, this update strategy relies on the assumption of unconstrained individual subsystems. In this contribution, we propose an algorithm for updating the price based on QA with a simple heuristic that uses subgradient updates, if one or more constraints of the subsystems become active. The advantages of the proposed algorithm are demonstrated via a numerical example.
Music cognition: Learning and processing

In recent years, the study of music perception and cognition has witnessed an enormous growth of interest. Music cognition is an intrinsically interdisciplinary subject which combines insights and research methods from many of the cognitive sciences. This trend is clearly reflected, for example, in the contributions in special issues on music, published by journals such as Nature, Cognition, Nature Neuroscience, and Connection Science. This symposium focuses on music learning and processing and will feature perspectives from cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, computational modeling, linguistics, and musicology. The objective is to bring together researchers from different research fields and traditions in order to discuss the progress made, and future directions to take, in the interdisciplinary study of music cognition. The symposium also aims to illustrate how closely the area of music cognition is linked to topics and debates in the cognitive sciences.
Interacting with the past: Creating a time perception journey experience using kinect-based breath detection and deterioration and recovery simulation technologies

We propose an application that allows a museum audience to interact with the past and to appreciate the value of antique objects through multimedia installations. Discussions in this article are based on our experiences in developing the Mao-Kung Cauldron time perception journey multimedia application. This installation was inspired by the Mao-Kung Cauldron, an ancient bronze cauldron in the collection of the National Palace Museum known for its historical significance. The question, however, lies in how to create an experience in which the audiences can interact with the past. To address this issue, the research team used the Kinect-based breath detection and deterioration/recovery simulation technologies to develop the application. This installation is the first application linked to Kinect-based breath detection and deterioration/recovery simulation technologies. The main contribution of this work is the analysis of design concepts, design decisions, and evaluations in a museum setting. We conduct a control group study to compare the outcomes between the experimental group (Mao-Kung Cauldron time perception journey multimedia application) and control group (asynchronous web-based kiosk). Both the quantitative (questionnaire survey) and qualitative methods (observation) are used to analyze the collected data. This work proposes a feasibility design to let museum audiences experience the features of cultural object by the virtual time perception journey application.
Adapting Control Strategies for Situated Autonomous

This paper studies how to balance evolutionary design and human expertise in order to best design situated autonomous agents which can learn speciic tasks. A genetic algorithm designs control circuits to learn simple behaviors, and given control strategies for simple behaviors, the genetic algorithm designs a combinational circuit that switches between these simple behaviors to perform a navigation task.
Estradiol Activates Group I and II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Signaling, Leading to Opposing Influences on cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein

In addition to mediating sexual maturation and reproduction through stimulation of classical intracellular receptors that bind DNA and regulate gene expression, estradiol is also thought to influence various brain functions by acting on receptors localized to the neuronal membrane surface. Many intracellular signaling pathways and modulatory proteins are affected by estradiol via this unconventional route, including regulation of the transcription factor cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). However, the mechanisms by which estradiol acts at the membrane surface are poorly understood. Because both estradiol and CREB have been implicated in regulating learning and memory, we characterized the effects of estradiol on this transcription factor in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. Within minutes of administration, estradiol triggered mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent CREB phosphorylation in unstimulated neurons. Furthermore, after brief depolarization, estradiol attenuated L-type calcium channel-mediated CREB phosphorylation. Thus, estradiol exhibited both positive and negative influences on CREB activity. These effects of estradiol were sex specific and traced to membrane-localized estrogen receptors that stimulated group I and II metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) signaling. Activation of estrogen receptor α (ERα) led to mGluR1a signaling, triggering CREB phosphorylation through phospholipase C regulation of MAPK. In addition, estradiol stimulation of ERα or ERβ triggered mGluR2/3 signaling, decreasing L-type calcium channel-mediated CREB phosphorylation. These results not only characterize estradiol regulation of CREB but also provide two putative signaling mechanisms that may account for many of the unexplained observations regarding the influence of estradiol on nervous system function.
Restoring Definiteness via Shrinking, with an Application to Correlation Matrices with a Fixed Block

Indefinite approximations of positive semidefinite matrices arise in various data analysis applications involving covariance matrices and correlation matrices. We propose a method for restoring positive semidefiniteness of an indefinite matrix $M_0$ that constructs a convex linear combination $S(\alpha) = \alpha M_1 + (1-\alpha)M_0$ of $M_0$ and a positive semidefinite target matrix $M_1$. In statistics, this construction for improving an estimate $M_0$ by combining it with new information in $M_1$ is known as shrinking. We make no statistical assumptions about $M_0$ and define the optimal shrinking parameter as $\alpha_* = \min \{\alpha \in [0,1] : {$S(\alpha)$ is positive semidefinite}\}$. We describe three \alg s for computing $\alpha_*$. One algorithm is based on the bisection method, with the use of Cholesky factorization to test definiteness; a second employs Newton's method; and a third finds the smallest eigenvalue of a symmetric definite generalized eigenvalue problem. We show that weights that r.
Outage analysis and power allocation for space-time block coded two-way relaying

In this paper, we consider the two-way relay channel (TWRC) over which communication is performed using space-time block codes (STBC) with physical-layer network coding (PNC) protocol. The three-node two-way relaying (TWR) model consists of two end nodes (sources) simultaneously communicating with each other over a relay node where each node is equipped with two antennas and uses Alamouti's STBC to provide diversity. We consider non-reciprocal channels where fading channel coefficients are independent for opposite directions of the same link. We first derive closed form expressions for the outage probability of the STBC-TWR system and uncoded TWRC assuming equal transmit power at each node and decode-and-forward (DF) strategy at the relay. We show that the STBC-TWR system significantly improves the uncoded TWRC outage performance. Then, to further improve the performance, we propose an optimal power allocation in TWR scheme employing Alamouti's STBC and PNC protocol. The optimal power allocation is obtained by maximizing the sum-rate under the total power constraint. We show that the optimal power allocation considerably improve the outage performance as well as the sum-rate compared to the equal-power case.