Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emergence of informal educative space out of an anonymous online bulletin board in Korea during the global economic crisis

This study aimed to understand how people learn and teach informally in an anonymous online bulletin board, the primary purpose of which is not learning and teaching. We conducted a qualitative analysis of comments and replies tagged to the most popular postings of an anonymous online bulletin board, during the global economic crisis in 2008–2009. The bulletin board, Agora Economy Room, is housed in the Korean portal site, Daum. We found four interrelated collective activities—recognizing teaching presence, collaborating, labeling, and guarding—among the participants that made active informal learning and teaching possible. These activities had an effect on the characteristics of the emerging informal educative space in different ways. A conceptual map of the findings of this study is discussed as a conclusion.
Phase 2 Technology Commercialization Projects High Efficiency Black Polymer Solar Cells ( Progress Report

Description: The ob jective of t he p roposed p roject is t o s ynthesize br oadly a bsorbing, bl ack c olored (PBLACK) p olymers w ith esp ecially h igh ch arge m obilities an d to f abricate the h ighest p erformance polymer so lar c ells p ossible. S pecifically, w e w ill s ynthesize pol ymers w ith a bsorption ba nd ranging from 400 n m to beyond 1 µm with carrier mobilities higher than 10-4 cm 2 /Vs. P olymer-fullerene (both PC 60 BM a nd P C 70 BM a long w ith more r ecently de veloped de rivatives) bl end m orphology w ill be optimized using different solvent/heat treatments as well as additives to the blends. The final device will be enhanced using anode and cathode interlayers to enhance carrier extraction to the electrodes. With the ability t o s ynthesize br oadly a bsorbing po lymers, c ontrol the dono r-acceptor phase m orphology a nd engineer t he device structure, it is expected that t he power conversion efficiency of polymer solar cells can reach 10% at the end of the two-year program. Polymer bul k heterojunction s olar c ells ba sed on l ow ba ndgap pol ymer:fullerene bl ends a re promising for next generation low-cost photovoltaics. While these solution-processed solar cells are compatible with large-scale roll-to-roll processing, active layers used for typical laboratory-scale devices are too thin to ensure hi gh m anufacturing yields. Furthermore, due to the limited light a bsorption a nd o ptical in terference w ithin th e th in a ctive la yer, th e e xternal quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of b ulk heterojunction pol ymer solar cells are severely limited. In order to produce polymer solar cells with high yields, efficient solar cells with a thick active layer must be de monstrated. In t his w ork, t he pe rformance of t hick-film s olar c ells e mploying th e lo w-bandgap pol ymer poly(dithienogermole-thienopyrrolodione) (PDTG-TPD) w as de monstrated. Power conversion efficiencies over 8.0% were obtained for devices with an active layer thickness of 200 nm , illustrating the potential of this polymer for large-scale manufacturing. Although an average EQE > 65% was obtained for devices with active layer thicknesses > 200 nm, the cell performance could not be maintained due …
Retinal vascular imaging in early life: insights into processes and risk of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. In recent years, studies have shown that the origins of CVD may be traced to vascular and metabolic processes in early life. Retinal vascular imaging is a new technology that allows detailed non‐invasive in vivo assessment and monitoring of the microvasculature. In this systematic review, we described the application of retinal vascular imaging in children and adolescents, and we examined the use of retinal vascular imaging in understanding CVD risk in early life. We reviewed all publications with quantitative retinal vascular assessment in two databases: PubMed and Scopus. Early life CVD risk factors were classified into four groups: birth risk factors, environmental risk factors, systemic risk factors and conditions linked to future CVD development. Retinal vascular changes were associated with lower birth weight, shorter gestational age, low‐fibre and high‐sugar diet, lesser physical activity, parental hypertension history, childhood hypertension, childhood overweight/obesity, childhood depression/anxiety and childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus. In summary, there is increasing evidence supporting the view that structural changes in the retinal microvasculature are associated with CVD risk factors in early life. Thus, the retina is a useful site for pre‐clinical assessment of microvascular processes that may underlie the future development of CVD in adulthood.
Approaches to Analysing the Web Text

This paper challenges the dominance of concepts of hypertextuality as the foundation for the analysis of web texts. Instead it argues that web texts cannot be understood without reference to their specific contexts of production and consumption. As part of the construction of an alternative to existing analytical approaches to the web text contemporary practice in web design is surveyed, as are its relations with the culture of particular groups of producers. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework allied to the field of British media and cultural studies, this paper suggests how the analysis of the web site might be approached in terms of its status as an emergent media/cultural form. It discusses how such forms might be understood in terms of the shared social conventions which inflect their production. It argues that web sites can neither be analysed in terms of generic hypertext or as a homogeneous genre and that rather the formation of groupings of sites in line with the ideologies, values and preoccupations of their producers require concrete analysis together with further research into specific practices of 'reading' web texts.
Quantum codes and symplectic matroids

The correspondence between linear codes and representable matroids is well known. But a similar correspondence between quantum codes and matroids is not known. We show that representable symplectic matroids over a finite field Fq correspond to Fq-linear quantum codes. This connection is straightforward but it does not appear to have been made earlier in literature. This correspondence is made through isotropic subspaces. We show that Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) codes correspond to homogenous symplectic matroids while graph states, which figure so prominently in measurement based quantum computation, correspond to a special class of symplectic matroids, namely Lagrangian matroids. This association is useful in that it enables the study of symplectic matroids in terms of quantum codes and vice versa. Furthermore, it has application in the study of quantum secret sharing schemes.
Subendothelial Proteins and Platelet Adhesion: von Willebrand Factor and Fibronectin, Not Thrombospondin, Are involved in Platelet Adhesion to Extracellular Matrix of Human Vascular Endothelial Cells

Endothelial cell matrix contained von Willebrand factor (VWF), fibronectin, and thrombospondin. The role of the these proteins in the adhesion of platelets was investigated by prelncubation of the matrix with specific antibodies and subsequent perfusion with human blood. When perfusions were performed with platelets in a human albumin solution (HAS) platelet adhesion was similar to that with normal plasma, indicating that proteins in the matrix can fully support adhesion. Preincubation of the matrix with a monoclonal antibody to VWF and perfusion with HAS showed a nearly complete inhibition of platelet adhesion at 1300 s−1, indicating a role for matrix-bound VWF at high shear rates and no requirement for VWF in plasma. Preincubation of the matrix with antihuman fibronection F(ab')2 showed a slight inhibition of adhesion. The same result was obtained with perfusions with fibronectin-free plasma, and an untreated matrix. Preincubation with antifibronectin F(ab')2 and perfusion with fibronectinfree plasma showed a significant inhibition of platelet adhesion at all shear rates. These results indicate that fibronectin is required for adhesion at all shear rates. Preincubation of the matrix with different antibodies against human platelet thrombospondin showed no inhibition of platelet adhesion at all wall shear rates. Thrombo spondin in the matrix is evidently not required for platelet adhesion.
The Reductionist Gamble: Open Economy Politics in the Global Economy

Abstract International political economy (IPE) should transition to “third-wave” scholarship because Open Economy Politics (OEP), which dominates current American IPE scholarship, can generate inaccurate knowledge. OEP can produce inaccurate knowledge because it studies domestic politics in isolation from international or macro processes. This methodological reductionism is often inappropriate for the phenomena IPE studies because governments inhabit a complex social system. As a result, the political choices that OEP strives to explain are typically a product of the interplay between domestic politics and macro processes. When OEP omits causally significant macro processes from empirical models, the models yield biased inferences about the domestic political relationships under investigation. Although scholars tolerated such errors when the gains from OEP were large, these errors are less tolerable now that OEP has matured. Consequently, the field should transition toward research that is nonreductionist, problem-driven, and pluralistic.
Using code normalization for fighting self-mutating malware

Self mutating malware has been introduced by computer virus writers who, in ’90s, started to write polymorphic and metamorphic viruses in order to defeat anti-virus products. In this paper we present a novel approach for dealing with self mutating code which could represent the basis for a new detection strategy for this type of malware. A tool prototype has been implemented in order to validate the idea and the results are quite encouraging, and indicate that it could represent a new strategy for detecting this kind of malware.
Gravidade do transtorno fonológico, consciência fonológica e praxia articulatória em pré-escolares

PURPOSE: To characterize the phonological disorder regarding severity, phonological awareness and articulatory praxis, and to investigate the existence of correlations among these variables in a group of preschoolers. METHODS: Participants were 56 preschoolers of both genders with ages between 4 years and 6 years and 11 months, split into Research Group (RG) and Comparison Group (CG), according to the presence or absence of speech alterations. The following tests were carried out: Child Language Assessment - ABFW: Phonology; Phonological Awareness: Instrument of Sequential Assessment - CONFIAS; and Articulatory and Buccofacial Praxis Assessment Protocol. The Percentage of Correct Consonants - PCC was calculated to classify the severity of the phonological disorder. Data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The preschoolers with phonological disorder performed worse in phonological awareness and articulatory praxis tasks when compared to CG subjects. The severity was correlated with phonological awareness and articulatory praxis, and the latest was correlated with phonological awareness in these preschoolers. Both groups showed correlation between total phonological awareness, phonological awareness at syllable level and phonological awareness at phoneme level. CONCLUSION: The RG was characterized by worse performance in phonological awareness and articulatory praxis, and by the presence of correlation between severity of the disorder, phonological awareness and articulatory praxis.
Variational Adaptive Correlation Method for Flow Estimation

A variational approach is presented to the estimation of turbulent fluid flow from particle image sequences in experimental fluid mechanics. The approach comprises two coupled optimizations for adapting size and shape of a Gaussian correlation window at each location and for estimating the flow, respectively. The method copes with a wide range of particle densities and image noise levels without any data-specific parameter tuning. Based on a careful implementation of a multiscale nonlinear optimization technique, we demonstrate robustness of the solution over typical experimental scenarios and highest estimation accuracy for an international benchmark data set (PIV Challenge).
Finding Cohesive Subgroups and Relevant Members in the Nokia Friend View Mobile Social Network

The mobile phone can be used as a ubiquitous internet device to help users connect with the relevant people instantaneously to grow their social networks and provide quality friendship. In this paper, we present usage statistics from Nokia Friend View and identify its relevant users, by describing and applying our SCAN method adapted from \cite{chin2008} for finding cohesive subgroups to the friend and interaction networks. Our results show that the connection patterns of the top 10 relevant users in the interaction network reflect the friend relationships of those users, and that members of cohesive subgroups send more messages and have more friends than others in the interaction network. These results can be used to improve friend recommendations, search, and user interaction.
A Kernel Based Rejection Method for Supervised Classification

In this paper we are interested in classification problems with a performance constraint on error probability. In such problems if the constraint cannot be satisfied, then a rejection option is introduced. For binary labelled classification, a number of SVM based methods with rejection option have been proposed over the past few years. All of these methods use two thresholds on the SVM output. However, in previous works, we have shown on synthetic data that using thresholds on the output of the optimal SVM may lead to poor results for classification tasks with performance constraint. In this paper a new method for supervised classification with rejection option is proposed. It consists in two different classifiers jointly optimized to minimize the rejection probability subject to a given constraint on error rate. This method uses a new kernel based linear learning machine that we have recently presented. This learning machine is characterized by its simplicity and high training speed which makes the simultaneous optimization of the two classifiers computationally reasonable. The proposed classification method with rejection option is compared to a SVM based rejection method proposed in recent literature. Experiments show the superiority of the proposed method. Keywords—rejection, Chow’s rule, error-reject tradeoff, Support Vector Machine.
Assessing cognitive-linguistic abilities in South African adults living with HIV: the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test

HIV can cross the blood-brain barrier to enter the central nervous system. This results in cognitive deficits in the majority of patients. The assessment of these deficits and management of these patients poses challenges for healthcare workers in South Africa. This study investigates the effectiveness of the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test (CLQT) in identifying the cognitive and linguistic abilities of adults with HIV or AIDS. Sixteen participants were recruited from an outpatient clinic in Johannesburg. The CLQT was utilised to assess the cognitive/linguistic abilities of the participants. The overall scores revealed that 87.5% of the participants presented with some form of cognitive deficit, 81% exhibited deficits in memory and executive functioning, 75% showed deficits in attention and visual perception, and 50% exhibited language deficits. Thus, this instrument may be usefully employed with patients who exhibit neurological disorders, including those caused by HIV infection. We conclude that the CLQT can be used as an alternative to more expensive, elaborate and time-consuming neuropsychometric evaluations to identify deficits in memory, attention and executive functions as experienced by adults with HIV or AIDS in South Africa.
A mathematical model for the assessment of hemodynamic parameters using quantitative contrast echocardiography

A mathematical model for the assessment of hemodynamic parameters using quantitative echocardiography is presented. The method involves the intravenous injection of an ultrasonic echo contrast agent. The relative enhancement of the backscattered ultrasound intensity is measured as a function of time (the time-intensity curve). From this measurement, the volume flow rate (cardiac output) and the mixing volume are calculated. Relevant acoustic properties of the ultrasound contrast agent are discussed. An in vitro experiment is performed to corroborate the theory presented.
Estimating the effects of animal health on the performance of feedlot cattle

This study was conducted to determine the effect of animal health on the performance of feedlot cattle. Multiple regression models were developed to aid in the performance analysis for feed conversion, average daily gain, added cost and cost of gain. Results of this study showed that for each percentage increase in mortality in a pen of cattle, the feed conversion ratio increased by 0.27 pounds (0.12 kg), the average daily gain decreased by 0.08 lb (0.036 kg) per day and added costs increased $1.00 per head. For each percentage increase in the treatments for a pen of cattle, death loss increased by 0.143%. A 10% treatment rate would equate to a 1.7% death loss. These data should be useful in estimating the performance of fed cattle. This study confirmed and quantified the negative effect of adverse health on the performance of fed cattle.
The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources

Name of Site: WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources Author: Wayne A. Selcher, Professor of International Studies URL: http://www.etown. edu/vl Type of site: directory/links Housed at: Elizabethtown College, USA Status [on 28h June 2002]: live
Prevalence and Correlation of Infectious Agents in Hospitalized Children with Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Central China

Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in children under the age of 5 years. Almost 2 million children die from ARTIs each year, and most of them are from developing countries. The prevalence and correlation of pathogens in ARTIs are poorly understood, but are critical for improving case prevention, treatment, and management. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and correlation of infectious agents in children with ARTIs. A total of 39,756 children with one or more symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, herpangina, pneumonia, and bronchiolitis, were enrolled in the study. All patients were hospitalized in Wuhan Children’s Hospital between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2012, and were evaluated for infectious agents. Pathogens, including Mycoplasma pneumoniae, influenza A virus, influenza B virus, adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus, Legionella pneumophila, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, and Coxiella burnetii, were screened simultaneously in patient blood samples using anti-pathogen IgM tests. Regression analysis was used to reveal correlations among the pathogens. Our results showed that one or more pathogens were identified in 10,206 patients, and that Mycoplasma pneumoniae, adenoviruses, and influenza B virus were the leading infectious agents. Mixed-infections of pathogens were detected in 2,391 cases, with Mycoplasma pneumoniae as the most frequent pathogen. The most common agents in the co-infections were Mycoplasma pneumoniae and influenza B virus. Regression analysis revealed a linear correlation between the proportion of mixed infections and the incidence of multi-pathogen infections. The prevalence of infectious agents in children with ARTIs was determined. Equations were established to estimate multiple infections by single-pathogen detection. This revealed a linear correlation for pathogens in children with ARTIs. This study provides useful information for improving case prevention and management.
Realization, Postponement or Abandonment of Childbearing Intentions in Four European Countries

This study investigates the realization of time-related positive fertility intentions using a comparative approach. Four European countries of medium size are compared, all with rather different fertility regimes: the Netherlands and Switzerland in western Europe, and Hungary and Bulgaria in the east. Using harmonized data from four panel surveys conducted in two waves between 2000 and 2007, a typology of fertility intentions and outcomes (postponement, abandonment or realization) can be constructed using multinomial logistic regressions. Age is a universal factor of success and failure in realization of intentions; above 35 years postponement and abandonment become frequent, and abandonment generally increases with age. In the eastern post-communist countries, younger age groups do not postpone as much as women around their 30s. Childless people postpone, and higher parity parents abandon more, but certain countries deviate from this pattern: Bulgarians postpone if they have one child, and the Swiss abandon in case of childlessness. The higher educated are generally more accurate planners, especially when successful realization versus abandonment are compared. Findings are gender related in Hungary: employed women and unemployed men are clearly over-represented among abandoners.
An Optimal-Time Construction of Euclidean Sparse Spanners with Tiny Diameter

In STOC'95 \cite{ADMSS95} Arya et al.\ showed that for any set of $n$ points in $\mathbb R^d$, a $(1+\epsilon)$-spanner with diameter at most 2 (respectively, 3) and $O(n \log n)$ edges (resp., $O(n \log \log n)$ edges) can be built in $O(n \log n)$ time. Moreover, it was shown in \cite{ADMSS95,NS07} that for any $k \ge 4$, one can build in $O(n (\log n) 2^k \alpha_k(n))$ time a $(1+\epsilon)$-spanner with diameter at most $2k$ and $O(n 2^k \alpha_k(n))$ edges. The function $\alpha_k$ is the inverse of a certain function at the $\lfloor k/2 \rfloor$th level of the primitive recursive hierarchy, where $\alpha_0(n) = \lceil n/2 \rceil, \alpha_1(n) = \left\lceil \sqrt{n} \right\rceil, \alpha_2(n) = \lceil \log{n} \rceil, \alpha_3(n) = \lceil \log\log{n} \rceil, \alpha_4(n) = \log^* n$, \ldots, etc. It is also known \cite{NS07} that if one allows quadratic time then these bounds can be improved. Specifically, for any $k \ge 4$, a $(1+\epsilon)$-spanner with diameter at most $k$ and $O(n k \alpha_k(n))$ edges can be constructed in $O(n^2)$ time \cite{NS07}. A major open problem in this area is whether one can construct within time $O(n \log n + n k \alpha_k(n))$ a $(1+\epsilon)$-spanner with diameter at most $k$ and $O(n k \alpha_k(n))$ edges. In this paper we answer this question in the affirmative. Moreover, in fact, we provide a stronger result. Specifically, we show that for any $k \ge 4$, a $(1+\epsilon)$-spanner with diameter at most $k$ and $O(n \alpha_k(n))$ edges can be built in optimal time $O(n \log n)$. The tradeoff between the diameter and number of edges of our spanners is tight up to constant factors in the entire range of parameters.