Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Language Learning Reflections: A Process in Progress

The foundation for this paper emerged from discussions on language learner narratives held at the 2007 Independent Learning Association (ILA) Conference in Chiba, Japan. Several issues raised by participants in an unscheduled workshop facilitated by Phil Benson and Naoko Aoki (2007) prompted the author to suggest that a learner engaged in supported, independent study write up a personal recount of her language learning experience. Reflections on the student narrative of the 8-year period of study shared together, with the author as instructor, highlight a range of longitudinal learning experiences and investigate some of the outcomes achieved through the process. In conjunction with comments from the workshop, this paper draws on four themes: (a) self-efficacy, (b) motivation and goals, (c) autonomy, and (d) life-long learning. A summary from this case study suggests that even a single learner history may provide a valuable perspective for instructors and learners alike.
A Middleware for Mobile Spontaneous Short-Range Ad Hoc Networks

Mobile devices have evolved from simple datebooks, contacts keepers or voice devices to cutting-edge personal digital assistants, aliasing or combining on-the-fly video/audio acquisition and data processing. But giving the best usage to all this new technology in our day-by-day tasks still is challenging. The large variety of devices, the increasing need for ubiquitous mobile services and the network heterogeneity are just some problems developers may find when deploying for the mobile world. In this paper we describe a framework to help developers easily create applications capable of managing and sharing digital content within groups of people on a spontaneous short-range ad- hoc network. We describe the framework architecture, its services and their relationship, as well as some usage scenarios, applications and related works.
Polyelectrolyte-induced aggregation of liposomes: a new cluster phase with interesting applications

Different charged colloidal particles have been shown to be able to self-assemble, when mixed in an aqueous solvent with oppositely charged linear polyelectrolytes, forming long-lived finite-size mesoscopic aggregates. On increasing the polyelectrolyte content, with the progressive reduction of the net charge of the primary polyelectrolyte-decorated particles, larger and larger clusters are observed. Close to the isoelectric point, where the charge of the adsorbed polyelectrolytes neutralizes the original charge of the particles’ surface, the aggregates reach their maximum size, while beyond this point any further increase of the polyelectrolyte–particle charge ratio causes the formation of aggregates whose size is progressively reduced. This re-entrant condensation behavior is accompanied by a significant overcharging. Overcharging, or charge inversion, occurs when more polyelectrolyte chains adsorb on a particle than are needed to neutralize its original charge so that, eventually, the sign of the net charge of the polymer-decorated particle is inverted. The stability of the finite-size long-lived clusters that this aggregation process yields results from a fine balance between long-range repulsive and short-range attractive interactions, both of electrostatic nature. For the latter, besides the ubiquitous dispersion forces, whose supply becomes relevant only at high ionic strength, the main contribution appears due to the non-uniform correlated distribution of the charge on the surface of the polyelectrolyte-decorated particles (‘charge-patch’ attraction). The interesting phenomenology shown by these system has a high potential for biotechnological applications, particularly when the primary colloidal particles are bio-compatible lipid vesicles. Possible applications of these systems as multi-compartment vectors for the simultaneous intra-cellular delivery of different pharmacologically active substances will be briefly discussed.
Stochastic Optimization Model for Electric Power System Planning of Offshore Wind Farms

In the coming years, an extensive development of large-scale offshore wind farms (OWFs) is foreseen in Europe. Electric power systems of OWFs need to be optimized in order to minimize investment and operational costs. This paper proposes a comprehensive decision support model that covers the three key factors that characterize the design of ac electric power systems of OWFs: investment costs of the components, system efficiency, and system reliability. Stochasticity of wind speed and reliability of the main system components are also considered. The main decisions concern the layout and the cross-sections of cable connections and the location of the central collection point for the medium voltage cables. GAMS language has been used to implement the model. It has been validated using a real OWF. An application example has also been carried out to explain the extension of the model to OWFs with dc power systems. The proposed model is useful for basic engineering design and as a decision tool for planning the electric power system of OWFs.
Prevalence and risk factors of chronic kidney disease in the Thai adult population: Thai SEEK study.

BACKGROUND Previous reports of chronic kidney disease (CKD) prevalence in Thailand varied from 4.3% to 13.8%. However, there were methodological concerns with these reports in terms of generalization and the accuracy of estimation. This study was, therefore, conducted to determine CKD prevalence and its risk factors in Thai adult populations. METHODS The population-based Thai Screening and Early Evaluation of Kidney Disease (SEEK) study was conducted with cross-sectional stratified-cluster sampling. Serum creatinine was analysed using the modified Jaffe method and then standardized with isotope dilution mass spectrometry. RESULTS The study included 3,459 subjects were included in the study. The mean age was 45.2 years (SE = 0.8), and 54.5% were female. Six hundred and twenty-six subjects were identified as having CKD, which evidenced an overall CKD prevalence of 17.5% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 14.6-20.4%]. The CKD prevalence of Stages I, II, III and IV were 3.3% (95% CI = 2.5%, 4.1%), 5.6% (95% CI = 4.2%, 7.0%), 7.5% (95% CI = 6.2%, 8.8%) and 1.1% (95% CI = 0.7%, 1.5%), respectively. The prevalence of CKD was higher in Bangkok, the Northern and Northeastern regions than in the Central and Southern regions. Seven factors (i.e. age, gender, diabetes, hypertension, hyperuricaemia, history of kidney stones and the use of traditional medicines) were associated with CKD. Only 1.9% of the subjects were aware that they had CKD. CONCLUSIONS CKD prevalence in the Thai population is much higher than previously known and published. Early stages of CKD seem to be as common as later stages. However, albuminuria measurement was not confirmed and adjusting for persistent positive rates resulted in the prevalence of 14.4%. Furthermore, the awareness of CKD was quite low in the Thai population.
Bacterial Microbiota Associated with the Glacier Ice Worm Is Dominated by Both Worm-Specific and Glacier-Derived Facultative Lineages

The community structure of bacteria associated with the glacier ice worm Mesenchytraeus solifugus was analyzed by amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and their transcripts. Ice worms were collected from two distinct glaciers in Alaska, Harding Icefield and Byron Glacier, and glacier surfaces were also sampled for comparison. Marked differences were observed in bacterial community structures between the ice worm and glacier surface samples. Several bacterial phylotypes were detected almost exclusively in the ice worms, and these bacteria were phylogenetically affiliated with either animal-associated lineages or, interestingly, clades mostly consisting of glacier-indigenous species. The former included bacteria that belong to Mollicutes, Chlamydiae, Rickettsiales, and Lachnospiraceae, while the latter included Arcicella and Herminiimonas phylotypes. Among these bacteria enriched in ice worm samples, Mollicutes, Arcicella, and Herminiimonas phylotypes were abundantly and consistently detected in the ice worm samples; these phylotypes constituted the core microbiota associated with the ice worm. A fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed that Arcicella cells specifically colonized the epidermis of the ice worms. Other bacterial phylotypes detected in the ice worm samples were also abundantly recovered from the respective habitat glaciers; these bacteria may be food for ice worms to digest or temporary residents. Nevertheless, some were overrepresented in the ice worm RNA samples; they may also function as facultative gut bacteria. Our results indicate that the community structure of bacteria associated with ice worms is distinct from that in the associated glacier and includes worm-specific and facultative, glacier-indigenous lineages.
AMBIT‐SMARTS: Efficient Searching of Chemical Structures and Fragments

We present new developments in the AMBIT open source software package for efficient searching of chemical structures and structural fragments. AMBIT‐SMARTS is a Java based software built on top of The Chemistry Development Kit. The AMBIT‐SMARTS parser implements the entire SMARTS language specification with several syntax extensions that enable support for custom modifications introduced by third party software packages such as OpenEye, MOE and OpenBabel. The goal of yet another open‐source SMARTS parser implementation is to achieve better performance and compatibility with multiple existing flavours of the SMARTS language, as well as to provide utilities for running efficient SMARTS queries in large structural databases. We describe a combination of approaches towards lowering the computational cost and improving the response time of substructure queries. An exhaustive comparison of the AMBIT algorithm with several subgraph isomorphism implementations is performed. To demonstrate the performance of the entire system from an end‐user point of view, response time statistics for Web service substructure search queries against a database of 4.5 M structures are also reported. The package has wide applicability in the implementation of various chemoinformatics tasks. It has already been used in several projects dealing with descriptor calculation and predictive algorithms, database queries, web applications and web services.
Blood Pressure Variability in Binswanger’s Disease and Isolated Lacunar Infarction

To determine whether blood pressure (BP) variability is increased in hypertensive patients with Binswanger’s disease (BD), we studied two samples of consecutive treated hypertensive patients: (1) 11 with BD (mean age 71.3 ± 5.2 years); (2) 16 with lacunar infarction (mean age 65.2 ± 8.3 years) without cognitive impairment. An averaged baseline office BP was obtained for 3 consecutive weeks. Ambulatory BP monitoring was then carried out to obtain the averaged mean systolic (SBP) and diastolic BP, and BP variability was defined as the standard deviation of consecutive BP values. Results: Diurnal SBP variability was significantly increased in the BD group (p = 0.04). However, with the analysis of covariance for age and baseline office BP, the difference was no longer significant (p = 0.17 and p = 0.09, respectively). We conclude that increased BP variability in BD patients is probably due to older age and increased baseline office BP. Increased BP variability may be a risk factor for small-vessel disease, but not for cognitive impairment.
Oncologists’ non-verbal behavior and analog patients’ recall of information

Abstract Background Information in oncological consultations is often excessive. Those patients who better recall information are more satisfied, less anxious and more adherent. Optimal recall may be enhanced by the oncologist’s non-verbal communication. We tested the influence of three non-verbal behaviors, i.e. eye contact, body posture and smiling, on patients’ recall of information and perceived friendliness of the oncologist. Moreover, the influence of patient characteristics on recall was examined, both directly or as a moderator of non-verbal communication. Material and methods Non-verbal communication of an oncologist was experimentally varied using video vignettes. In total 194 breast cancer patients/survivors and healthy women participated as ‘analog patients’, viewing a randomly selected video version while imagining themselves in the role of the patient. Directly after viewing, they evaluated the oncologist. From 24 to 48 hours later, participants’ passive recall, i.e. recognition, and free recall of information provided by the oncologist were assessed. Results Participants’ recognition was higher if the oncologist maintained more consistent eye contact (β = 0.17). More eye contact and smiling led to a perception of the oncologist as more friendly. Body posture and smiling did not significantly influence recall. Older age predicted significantly worse recognition (β = −0.28) and free recall (β = −0.34) of information. Conclusion Oncologists may be able to facilitate their patients’ recall functioning through consistent eye contact. This seems particularly relevant for older patients, whose recall is significantly worse. These findings can be used in training, focused on how to maintain eye contact while managing computer tasks.
Uric Acid Does Not Affect the Acetylcholine-Induced Relaxation of Aorta from Normotensive and Deoxycorticosterone Acetate-Salt Hypertensive Rats

Uric acid (UA) results from xanthine oxidase (XO) catabolism of xanthine and is the final product of purine catabolism in humans. In this species, hyperuricemia is associated with gout, nephropathy, and increased cardiovascular disease risk. Although the effects of hyperuricemia in vascular biology are overall controversial, UA has been described as an antioxidant and as potentially improving endothelial function. Hypertension is associated with endothelial dysfunction. We hypothesized that UA improves the endothelial function of aorta from deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats. UA (100 μM) in the presence of the uricase inhibitor oxonic acid (10 μM) did not modify relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh) (1 nM–10 μM) in the aorta from nontreated, sham normotensive, and DOCA-salt hypertensive rats [response to 10 μM ACh for UA versus vehicle, respectively: nontreated = 37 ± 7 versus 48 ± 7%, sham = 53 ± 15 versus 57 ± 20%, DOCA = 81 ± 4 versus 85 ± 2% from 20 μM prostaglandin 2α (PGF2α)-induced contraction]. Allopurinol (100 μM), a XO inhibitor, did not significantly alter the ACh-induced relaxation of sham and DOCA aortic rings (response to 10 μM ACh for allopurinol versus vehicle, respectively: sham = 61 ± 5 versus 68 ± 9%, DOCA = 87 ± 6 versus 88 ± 3% from 20 μM PGF2α-induced contraction). Uricemia, ranging from unmeasurable to 547 μM in sham and to 506 μM in DOCA rats, was not significantly different between these two groups. The expression and activity of XO, as well as the expression of uricase, were not different between sham and DOCA rat aorta. We conclude that, at least in vitro, UA does not affect the ACh-induced relaxation of normotensive and DOCA-salt hypertensive rats.
Gaussian MAP Filtering Using Kalman Optimization

This paper deals with the update step of Gaussian MAP filtering. In this framework, we seek a Gaussian approximation to the posterior probability density function (PDF) whose mean is given by the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimator. We propose two novel optimization algorithms which are quite suitable for finding the MAP estimate although they can also be used to solve general optimization problems. These are based on the design of a sequence of PDFs that become increasingly concentrated around the MAP estimate. The resulting algorithms are referred to as Kalman optimization (KO) methods. We also provide the important relations between these KO methods and their conventional optimization algorithms (COAs) counterparts, i.e., Newton's and Levenberg-Marquardt algorithms. Our simulations indicate that KO methods are more robust than their COA equivalents.
Relationship between Attempted Suicide and Cloninger's Personality Dimensions of Temperament and Character in Turkish Psychiatric Patients

Purpose: Suicidal behavior can be regarded as the consequence of the co-occurence of a personality characteristic underlying vulnerability and of state-dependent psychiatric problems. Further research has shown that personality characteristics including impulsivity and a disturbed regulation of anxiety or aggression may represent risk factors for suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was to report relationship between attempted suicide and Cloninger’s personality dimensions of temperament and character in psychiatric patients. Method: The sample of the study consisted of a sample of 365 female and 179 male adult psychiatric patients, 20.6% (n=112) of whom had recently attempted suicide. Findings: Novelty seeking was a highly significant predictor with high scores observed in patients with and low scores in patients without attempted suicide. Low self-directedness scores were also a substantial predictor of the presence of attempted suicide. Discussion: Temperament dimension novelty seeking appears pertinent to explore suicidality and measurement of character dimensions may be useful in the clinical evaluation of suicide risk.
Research on Ending Exchange Relationships: A Categorization, Assessment and Outlook

This paper reviews and assesses previous research concerning the ending of exchange relationships. In recent years, the different aspects of ending, for instance exiting a relationship, switching relationships and the dissolution or termination of a relationship, have received increasing attention from researchers. Both the volume of published articles and the number of emerging theoretical approaches in the area have been growing. We welcome this development and wish to take part in it by providing an analytical overview of the state of this research. In a strongly evolving research area such a review is particularly needed in order to disseminate ideas across theoretical boundaries and to guide theory development. With regard to the 48 published articles on relationship ending, we will examine five major issues: the focus of research, its disciplinary background, terminology used, methodological approach and key findings. Avenues for future research are suggested on the basis of the analysis.
Crustal and Upper Mantle Structure of the Tien Shan Orogenic Belt From Full‐Wave Ambient Noise Tomography

In order to have a better understanding of the lithosphere formation and modification of the Tien Shan orogenic belt, we construct a well‐defined shear wave velocity model of the crust and upper mantle with full‐wave ambient noise tomographic method. High‐quality empirical Green's functions at periods of 7–200 s are extracted from the cross correlation of the vertical component of continuous seismic data at 108 stations during 2012–2014. Our tomographic results show remarkable velocity variations between and within the major tectonic units from the crust down to the upper mantle. We observe very slow upper crust beneath the Tarim and Junggar sedimentary basins. The interior of the Tarim Basin shows strong seismic heterogeneities. The high‐velocity mantle lithosphere of the Tarim Basin underthrusts northward toward the central Tien Shan. Lithosphere underthrusting could trigger intrusion of hot mantle material and partial melting, in correspondence with the prominent low‐velocity anomalies observed in the lower crust and uppermost mantle of the central Tien Shan. In contrast, the connected high‐velocity upper mantle structure from Tarim Basin across eastern Tien Shan to Junggar Basin may reflect the convergent effect between the Tarim and Junggar Basins, which consequently prevents the asthenosphere upwelling. We observe low‐velocity anomalies in the upper mantle of the western Tien Shan, indicating continental crust of the Eurasia lithosphere that has been subducted toward the western Tien Shan. The observed structural variations along the Tien Shan orogenic belt suggest different tectonic mechanisms for the lithosphere formation and modification of the three segments along strike.
Using precepts to augment training set learning

The goal of learning systems is to generalize. Generalization is commonly based on the set of critical features the system has available. Training set learners typically extract critical features from a random set of examples. While this approach is attractive, it suffers from the exponential growth of the number of features to be searched. The authors propose to extend it by endowing the system with some a priori knowledge, in the form of precepts. Advantages of the augmented system are speed-up, improved generalization, and greater parsimony. The authors present a precept-driven learning algorithm. Its main features include: 1) distributed implementation, 2) bounded learning and execution times; and 3) ability to handle both correct and incorrect precepts. Results of simulations on real-world data demonstrate promise. <<ETX>>
Performance and Power Dissipation Comparisons Between 28 Gb/s NRZ, PAM, CAP and Optical OFDM Systems for Data Communication Applications

Theoretical investigations have been carried out to analyze and compare the link power budget and power dissipation of non-return-to-zero (NRZ), pulse amplitude modulation-4 (PAM-4), carrierless amplitude and phase modulation-16 (CAP-16) and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (16-QAM-OFDM) systems for data center interconnect scenarios. It is shown that for multimode fiber (MMF) links, NRZ modulation schemes with electronic equalization offer the best link power budget margins with the least power dissipation for short transmission distances up to 200 m; while OOFDM is the only scheme which can support a distance of 300 m albeit with power dissipation as high as 4 times that of NRZ. For short single mode fiber (SMF) links, all the modulation schemes offer similar link power budget margins for fiber lengths up to 15 km, but NRZ and PAM-4 are preferable due to their system simplicity and low power consumption. For lengths of up to 30 km, CAP-16 and OOFDM are required although the schemes consume 2 and 4 times as much power respectively compared to that of NRZ. OOFDM alone allows link operation up to 35 km distances.
Manuel de Jesús Galván’s Enriquillo: A novel look at the environment of marriage in the first colony

Manuel de Jesús Galván’s novel Enriquillo is typically read as arguing for the superiority of Dominican hispanidad over Haitian negritude. The current essay, however, treats a hitherto overlooked issue, namely that the marriages depicted in the novel reflect social responses to environmental conditions. The interplay of women’s choice in marriage and patriarchal constraints produces a society that is viable through time. Thus women’s choice in marriage is a previously unexamined aspect of foundational literature.