Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
School Facilities and Pupils' Academic Achievement

Heyneman's (1980) research in developed and developing countries has led him to the conclusion that students in developing countries perform much below those of developed countries because of inadequate and poor school facilities. He points out that comparatively the achievement of Malawi standard eight students in mathematics and science is below that of Thailand, Iran, Chile and developed countries such as Sweden, USA and UK. In the context of Malawi in particular and other developing countries such as Botswana, he presents the following argument:
P2P Live Streaming Towards Best Video Quality

While the overall bandwidth of peer-to-peer live video streaming system scales automatically as peers collectively contribute the bandwidth, each peer also demands to download at the specified video playback rate so as to play the video smoothly. Therefore, a fundamental problem arisen is how to balance the bandwidth supply and demand in the peer-to-peer system to enjoy peers with the best video quality. To address this problem, we propose a fully distributed peer-to-peer video streaming framework which automatically adapts the network towards full bandwidth utilization. Our design possesses two unique features. First, a special link-level homogenous overlay network is formed in which all the overlay links approach to have an identical bandwidth value. With such a feature, video flowing through the overlay links will not encounter any bottlenecks, and peers can thus achieve the guaranteed downloading rates. Second, based on the peer downloading rate observed locally at the streaming server, the server can adaptively adjust the video playback rate so that peers can achieve the best video quality with full bandwidth utilization. The effectiveness of our framework is verified through extensive simulations.
Effect of primary human endometrial stromal cells on epithelial cell receptivity and protein expression is dependent on menstrual cycle stage.

BACKGROUND Successful implantation requires a receptive endometrium. We hypothesized that effects of endometrial stromal cells (ESC) on epithelial cell receptivity and trophoblast-endometrium interaction are menstrual cycle dependent. METHODS An endometrial in vitro 3D co-culture model of primary human ESC with the endometrial epithelial cell line (RL95-2) was constructed. Co-cultures were prepared using primary ESC from biopsies taken before the window of implantation (ESCbw) and during the window of implantation (ESCw), on cycle days 10-17 and 19-23, respectively. RL95-2 served as a constant parameter upon which the influence of ESC from different phases of the cycle was investigated. proMMP-2 (MMP, matrix metalloproteinase) and proMMP-9 secretion was tested in response to progesterone. Progesterone receptor B (PR-B) and plexin B1 protein expression and mRNA levels were investigated using immunofluorescence and RT-PCR, respectively. RESULTS Progesterone increased proMMP-2 secretion in primary ESCbw (P = 0.0046) but decreased proMMP-2 and proMMP-9 secretion in ESCw (P < 0.0005). In the presence of ESCbw, JAR spheroid attachment rate to overlying RL95-2 cells was decreased (P < 0.0001), whereas in the presence of ESCw, attachment rate was unchanged. Progesterone treatment restored epithelial cell receptivity in co-culture with ESCbw (P = 0.00004). A correlation between spheroid attachment rate and plexin B1 mRNA level was observed (P = 0.01). PR-B protein and mRNA level were influenced by the interplay between RL95-2 and stromal cells. CONCLUSION The effects of human primary ESC on epithelial cell receptivity and trophoblast-endometrium interaction depended upon whether the ESC were taken before or during the window of implantation.
THE ACQUISITION OF PROGRESSIVE AND RESULTATIVE MEANINGS OF THE IMPERFECTIVE ASPECT MARKER BY L2 LEARNERS OF JAPANESE: Transfer, Universals, or Multiple Factors?

It has been observed that there is a strong association between the inherent (lexical) aspect of verbs and the acquisition of tense-aspect morphology (the aspect hypothesis; Andersen & Shirai, 1994). To investigate why such an association is observed, this study examined the influence of inherent aspect and learners' first language (L1) on the acquisition of Japanese imperfective aspect by using two tasks—an acceptability judgment test and an oral picture description task—with two groups of second language learners of Japanese: 26 native speakers (NSs) of English, which has the obligatory progressive, and 35 NSs of languages that have no obligatory progressive marking (German and Slavic languages). The results from the acceptability judgment test support the aspect hypothesis in that, regardless of L1, the imperfective marker -te i-ru was strongly associated with activity verbs for lower proficiency learners. However, the results from the oral task did not support the prediction, in that lower proficiency L1 nonprogressive learners did not show any such preference. The results suggest that L1 plays a role in the formation of the acquisition pattern predicted by the aspect hypothesis, but that given the complex interaction with task types and proficiency, L1 transfer cannot be the sole reason for the predicted association in the acquisition of Japanese -te i-(ru). It is argued that multiple factors are at work when learners create the form-meaning associations predicted by the aspect hypothesis.This article is based on research conducted as part of Sugaya's doctoral dissertation submitted to Ochanomizu University. We would like to thank Kevin Gregg, Yoshinori Sasaki, and the anonymous SSLA reviewers for their insightful comments on an earlier version of this article. We also thank Manabu Kurosawa for his invaluable advice on statistical analysis. We are grateful to Chie Morizuka, Hiromi Ozeki, Masuyo Sugiyama, Orie Takahashi, Yoko Mukoyama, Yukari Hashimoto, and the other participants of the seminar on SLA at Ochanomizu University for their helpful discussions of this study. We also thank the participants in the study for their cooperation and those who kindly helped us recruit them. This research is partially supported by a grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Developmental Index for Japanese L1 and L2 Acquisition and Comparative Research on the Acquisition of English and Japanese, grant No. 13410034, PI-Kiyoshi Otomo, Tokyo Gakugei University). A preliminary analysis of the acceptability judgment test appeared in Nihongo Kyooiku (Journal of Japanese Language Teaching; Sugaya, 2004).
Preincubation with anti‐CD4 influences activation of human T cells by subsequent co‐cross‐linking of CD4 with CD3

Under physiological conditions, T cell activation by major histocompatibility complex (MHC)‐anti‐ gen complexes requires engagement of both the T cell receptor (TcR) and the CD4 (or GD8) accessory molecules. It has been shown, however, that ligation of CD4 and GD8 can also inhibit T cell activation in an MHG‐independent way. Therefore, the role of CD4 in T cell activation and the mechanism of the suppression of T cell functions by anti‐CD4 are as yet unclear. We activated T cells by CD4/CD3 co‐cross‐linking and studied the effect of preincubation with anti‐CD4 on this activation. We show here that anti‐GD4 affects T cell activation in a complex, time‐dependent manner. Whereas short preincubations with anti‐GD4 usually enhanced T cell proliferation in response to subsequent co‐cross‐linking of CDS with GD4, longer preincubations led to its decrease. The observed suppression of proliferation after a long preincubation with anti‐CD4 was apparently due to impairment of TcR signaling, as assessed by measurement of Ca2+ mobilization and tyrosine phosphorylation in T cells. These results add a temporal element to the previously observed synergism between the TcR and CD4 in T cell activation.
A Novel Edge-Resonant Soft Switching PWM Controlled High Frequency Inverter with Minimum Circuit Components

This paper presents a cost effective edge-resonant soft-switching PWM high frequency inverter with minimum circuit components. This inverter can achieve wider soft commutation, simpler circuit configuration, smaller volumetric size, lower cost and wider power regulation range, higher-efficiency as compared to single ended quasi-resonant ZVS-PFM and active voltage clamped quasi-resonant ZVS-PWM inverters. The operation principle of the proposed inverter is described on the basis of the simulation and experimental results. The operating performances of this unique proposed high frequency inverter based on ZVS and ZCS arms-related soft commutation principle is evaluated and discussed in steady state as compared to the previous inverters. The extended bidirectional circuit topology of quasi-resonant PWM high frequency inverter with minimum circuit components is demonstrated, which operate as the direct frequency changer
Discrete Contour Map Representation of Image Matrices

An arbitrary integer picture matrix can be exactly and uniquely encoded as a tree structured discrete contour map. This new discrete contour map model requires only closed contour lines composed of chain coded vertical or horizontal unit length directed line segments. An example is given of an X-ray computed tomogram showing a brain tumor and hydrocephalus which is analyzed by this contour map image processing.
Controlled perturbation for arrangements of polyhedral surfaces with application to swept volumes

We describe a perturbation scheme to overcome degeneracies and precision problems for algorithms that manipulate polyhedral surfaces using floating point arithmetic. The perturbation algorithm is simple, easy to program and completely removes all degeneracies. We describe a software package that implements it, and report experimental results. The perturbation requires O(n log3 n+nDK2) expected time and O(nlog n+nK2) working storage, and has O(n) output size, where n is the total number of facets in the surfaces, K is a small constant in the input instances that we have examined, D is a constant greater than K but still small in most inputs, and both might be as large as n in ‘pathological’ inputs. A tradeoff exists between the magnitude of the perturbation and the efficiency of the computation. Our perturbation package can be used by any application that manipulates polyhedral surfaces and needs robust input, such as solid modeling, manufacturing and robotics. We describe an application for the computation of swept volumes, which uses our perturbation package and is therefore robust and does not need to handle degeneracies. Our work is based on [19] which handles the case of spheres, extending the scheme to the more difficult case of polyhedral surfaces perturbation.
FMNV continuous non-malleable encoding scheme is more efficient than believed

Non-malleable codes are kind of encoding schemes which are resilient to tampering attacks. The main idea behind the non-malleable coding is that the adversary can't be able to obtain any valuable information about the message. Non-malleable codes are used in tamper resilient cryptography and protecting memory against tampering attacks. Several kinds of definitions for the non-malleability exist in the literature. The Continuous non-malleability is aiming to protect messages against the adversary who issues polynomially many tampering queries. The first continuous non-malleable encoding scheme has been proposed by Faust et al. (FMNV) in 2014. In this paper, we propose a new method for proving continuous non-malleability of FMNV scheme. This new proof leads to an improved and more efficient scheme than previous one. The new proof shows we can have the continuous non-malleability with the same security by using a leakage resilient storage scheme with about (k + 1)(log(q) - 2) bits fewer leakage bound (where k is the output size of the collision resistant hash function and q is the maximum number of tampering queries).
Real-time Ethernet Residual Bus Simulation: A Model-Based Testing Approach for the Next-Generation In-Car Network

The increasing complexity of automotive networks, their challenging timing constraints and their high bandwidth demands require new concepts for future in-car communication. Real-time Ethernet is meant to be a suitable candidate for the next-generation in-car interconnection. However, model-based testing capabilities must be available as well. Applications must be validated prior the first assembly, due to the distributed development process. Methods like residual bus simulation are of particular interest to allow for testing systems in early development stages by emulating unfinished or not available parts of the system. In this paper, we present a methodology and a feasibility study of a residual bus simulation in automotive real-time Ethernet systems. The challenges of applying this testing method in real-time Ethernet based networks with parallel packet transmission are outlined and compared to today's automotive bus system simulation approaches. Furthermore, the combination of different model-based testing techniques, that are not used in state-of-the-art commercial tools, are applied for the validation of non-functional timing requirements. An extension to an existing abstract test case model is proposed, which allows modelling temporal attributes. It is simultaneously used as simulation model to drive the residual bus simulation. We demonstrate the approach's feasibility by implementing a prototype residual bus simulator for real-time Ethernet networks and applying it to an example application.
Intima Media Thickness Variability (IMTV) and its association with cerebrovascular events: a novel marker of carotid therosclerosis?

PURPOSE Increased intima-media thickness (IMT) is an early marker of atherosclerotic disease and several prospective studies have demonstrated that IMT is a strong predictor of cerebrovascular complications. In this paper we propose a novel method to assess IMT, called "intima media thickness variability" (IMTV) and evaluate its relationship with the development of cerebrovascular events. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was approved by the local IRB. Twenty consecutive patients underwent ultrasound analysis of the carotid arteries (mean age 68 years; age range 59-81 years). The IMT and IMTV of the 40 carotid vessels was assessed. Bland-Altman statistics were employed to measure the inter-observer variability, and ROC analysis was used to assess the association with cerebrovascular events. RESULTS In all cases the ROC area under the curve was higher for IMTV than IMT. There was a statistical significant association between IMTV and cerebrovascular events (P=0.018), but no relationship between IMT and events. The results for inter-observer variability showed a systematic error between 0.04 and 0.08 mm. In the Person Rho correlation analysis in no case a statistical association between IMT and symptoms was detected whereas in 2 cases (observer 1 and observer 2), a statistically significant association between IMTV and symptoms was found. CONCLUSIONS Data of this preliminary study suggest that IMTV may represent a powerful method to assess carotid atherosclerotic disease with a significant association to cerebrovascular events.
Bacterial Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Relations Are Modified by Environmental Complexity

Background With the recognition that environmental change resulting from anthropogenic activities is causing a global decline in biodiversity, much attention has been devoted to understanding how changes in biodiversity may alter levels of ecosystem functioning. Although environmental complexity has long been recognised as a major driving force in evolutionary processes, it has only recently been incorporated into biodiversity-ecosystem functioning investigations. Environmental complexity is expected to strengthen the positive effect of species richness on ecosystem functioning, mainly because it leads to stronger complementarity effects, such as resource partitioning and facilitative interactions among species when the number of available resource increases. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we implemented an experiment to test the combined effect of species richness and environmental complexity, more specifically, resource richness on ecosystem functioning over time. We show, using all possible combinations of species within a bacterial community consisting of six species, and all possible combinations of three substrates, that diversity-functioning (metabolic activity) relationships change over time from linear to saturated. This was probably caused by a combination of limited complementarity effects and negative interactions among competing species as the experiment progressed. Even though species richness and resource richness both enhanced ecosystem functioning, they did so independently from each other. Instead there were complex interactions between particular species and substrate combinations. Conclusions/Significance Our study shows clearly that both species richness and environmental complexity increase ecosystem functioning. The finding that there was no direct interaction between these two factors, but that instead rather complex interactions between combinations of certain species and resources underlie positive biodiversity ecosystem functioning relationships, suggests that detailed knowledge of how individual species interact with complex natural environments will be required in order to make reliable predictions about how altered levels of biodiversity will most likely affect ecosystem functioning.
Metalloproteinase gene transcription in human ciliary muscle cells with latanoprost.

PURPOSE The present study was undertaken to determine whether treatment of ciliary muscle cells with the prostaglandin (PG) analogue latanoprost acid alters transcription of mRNA for matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -3, and -9. METHODS Human ciliary smooth muscle cell cultures were grown to confluence and treated for 24 hours with medium supplemented with latanoprost acid or vehicle. Total RNA was then isolated, and the expression of mRNAs for MMP-1, -2, -3, and -9 were determined using Taqman and energy-transfer real-time PCR analyses. All results were normalized according to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mRNA in each sample. RESULTS Specificity and linearity of each real-time PCR assay were confirmed by electrophoresis and serial dilution analysis of oligonucleotides containing the amplicon sequence. Addition of latanoprost acid for 24 hours increased expression of MMP-1 by 3- to 13-fold in three of five primary ciliary muscle lines. Addition of 8, 40, and 200 nM latanoprost acid for 24 hours increased MMP-1 mRNA in a dose-dependent manner. Analysis of cultures exposed to 200 nM latanoprost acid for 4, 6, 12, or 24 hours revealed an increase and then a decline of MMP-1 mRNA, with peak expression at 6 to 12 hours after initiation of treatment. Parallel assessments of RNA from ciliary muscle cultures exposed to latanoprost acid for 24 hours revealed increased MMP-1, -3, and -9 mRNAs and reduced MMP-2 mRNA, when compared with RNA from vehicle-treated cultures. CONCLUSIONS Latanoprost acid induced a dose-dependent increase of MMP-1, -3, and -9 gene transcription in cultured human ciliary smooth muscle cells. These results are consistent with increased MMPs contributing to the increased uveoscleral outflow facility observed after topical latanoprost.
Career Problems and Retirement among Elite Athletes: The Female Tennis Professional

This investigation used qualitative techniques to identify and analyze the experiences of elite female tennis professionals and their perceptions of their competitive years and subsequent retirement from the sport. Through a system of networking and snowball sampling techniques (Babbie, 1986), 28 athletes who had played on the professional tennis circuit were contacted and asked to complete an extensive semistructured questionnaire; 20 completed questionnaires were returned. The questionnaire asked players to recount their earliest expectations and goals in competitive tennis, their experiences and perceptions during their most competitive years, and their reasons for and reactions to retirement from the tour. In general, results indicated that the athletes did not find disengagement from their competitive years traumatic, but rather found it as an opportunity to reestablish more traditional societal roles and lifestyles.
Conceptual basis for the management of the Imagination in changing environments

Imagination defined as the creation of new images in the mind, is modeled to reachbetter performances in changing environments. Although from different sciences Imaginationis supposed to increase the intelligence; before starting the current research this intellectualcapacity was often undervalued, most time confused it with Creativity. Certainly, the review ofepisodes recorded by the Economics, Anthropology, Psychology and History, confirm thehypothesis that the Imagination is a mental faculty that contributes to the viability. This modelconsiders three major systems. The first is the environment which interacts with the secondone corresponding to the Organization and which in turn contains the third: Mind. In the latterare identified close to Imagination, interacting with it through the flow of images Perception,Memory and Reasoning. Through a partnership process between parent images, a daughterimage is generated with emergent properties, totally absent in the sensory images capturedby the Organization from its Environment. Since the model establishes dependencyrelationships between Imagination with other intellectual phenomena and these in turn arebased on elements outside of the Mind and controllable by the Organization, this model canbe used for increasing the Imagination in business.
An Improved Quantum-Behaved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm with Elitist Breeding for Unconstrained Optimization

An improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization with elitist breeding (EB-QPSO) for unconstrained optimization is presented and empirically studied in this paper. In EB-QPSO, the novel elitist breeding strategy acts on the elitists of the swarm to escape from the likely local optima and guide the swarm to perform more efficient search. During the iterative optimization process of EB-QPSO, when criteria met, the personal best of each particle and the global best of the swarm are used to generate new diverse individuals through the transposon operators. The new generated individuals with better fitness are selected to be the new personal best particles and global best particle to guide the swarm for further solution exploration. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted on a set of twelve benchmark functions. Compared with five state-of-the-art quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithms, the proposed EB-QPSO performs more competitively in all of the benchmark functions in terms of better global search capability and faster convergence rate.
Trade-offs in Private Search

Encrypted search — performing queries on protected data — is a well researched problem. However, existing solutions have inherent inefficiency that raises questions of practicality. Here, we step back from the goal of achieving maximal privacy guarantees in an encrypted search scenario to consider efficiency as a priority. We propose a privacy framework for search that allows tuning and optimization of the tradeoffs between privacy and efficiency. As an instantiation of the privacy framework we introduce a tunable search system based on the SADS scheme and provide detailed measurements demonstrating the tradeoffs of the constructed system. We also analyze other existing encrypted search schemes with respect to this framework. We further propose a protocol that addresses the challenge of document content retrieval in a search setting with relaxed privacy requirements.