Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust space-time beamforming in GNSS by means of second-order cone programming

This paper deals with the reception of several Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals using antenna arrays in the presence of interference, multipath propagation and array manifold uncertainties. The proposed method is a new space-time approach where all the line-of-sight signals (LOSS) are pointed by the array, and the temporal reference of the signal is exploited. The work also presents an extension of this beamforming that takes into account the uncertainties in the steering matrix due to pointing errors or array miscalibration. The robustness of this new method is achieved using second-order cone programming, allowing its implementation with highly efficient algorithms. Simulations show the performance of these beamformers in scenarios where coherent multipath and pointing errors are present.
Student evaluation at Windhoek College of Education: Evidence of quality assurance to improve teaching and learning

Using a qualitative approach, this paper took a critical look at the role of student evaluation at the then Windhoek College of Education as a tool to assess the quality of teaching at the institution. It examined the pros and cons of introducing student evaluation as a tool to measure teaching effectiveness of academic staff at this institution. The findings showed that, despite the fact that literature reveals that student evaluation is a common tool used to assess the content pedagogy of academic staff in many institutions worldwide, there are concerns that need to be taken into consideration in terms of validating the outcomes of these evaluations. The findings show that these concerns include: studentlecturer relationship; student interest in a particular subject; lecturer subject content and pedagogical skills; general appearance of the lecturer; lecturer’s assertiveness and the quality of training received. It concludes by affirming that dealing with people’s perceptions and attitude is a complex phenomenon, and, in the context of this research, there was a need for a paradigm shift in the way lecturers at the former Windhoek College of Education perceived student evaluations vis-a-vis its purpose in academia. Context and aims of investigation In the endeavour to maintain instructional quality assurance, a number of tertiary institutions in Namibia, including the former Windhoek College of Education, have institutionalised student evaluation as one of the tools to assess the quality of teaching. The quality of education vis-a-vis the quality of graduates from the colleges of education has been a longstanding debate. The critical role teacher training plays in contemporary
β-arrestin- but not G protein-mediated signaling by the “decoy” receptor CXCR7

Ubiquitously expressed seven-transmembrane receptors (7TMRs) classically signal through heterotrimeric G proteins and are commonly referred to as G protein-coupled receptors. It is now recognized that 7TMRs also signal through β-arrestins, which act as versatile adapters controlling receptor signaling, desensitization, and trafficking. Most endogenous receptors appear to signal in a balanced fashion using both β-arrestin and G protein-mediated pathways. Some 7TMRs are thought to be nonsignaling “decoys” because of their inability to activate typical G protein signaling pathways; it has been proposed that these receptors act to scavenge ligands or function as coreceptors. Here we demonstrate that ligand binding to the decoy receptor CXCR7 does not result in activation of signaling pathways typical of G proteins but does activate MAP kinases through β-arrestins in transiently transfected cells. Furthermore, we observe that vascular smooth muscle cells that endogenously express CXCR7 migrate to its ligand interferon-inducible T-cell alpha chemoattractant (ITAC), an effect that is significantly attenuated by treatment with either a CXCR7 antagonist or β-arrestin depletion by siRNA. This example of an endogenous “β-arrestin-biased” 7TMR that signals through β-arrestin in the absence of G protein activation demonstrates that some 7TMRs encoded in the genome have evolved to signal through β-arrestin exclusively and suggests that other receptors that are currently thought to be orphans or decoys may also signal through such nonclassical pathways.
Interactions Between Individual Differences, Treatments, and Structures in SLA

For decades educational psychologists have bemoaned the black box approach of much research on learning, that is, the focus on product rather than process, and the absence of fine-grained analysis of the learning process in the individual. One way that progress has been made on this point in the last couple of decades is through cognitive neuroscience, but even there what is documented is mostly the product of learning, possibly at different stages, rather than the process. An alternative way of trying to understand processes that are hard or impossible to observe is to infer them from the way individual difference variables interact with linguistic and contextual variables. In this article I draw from a wide variety of studies to illustrate how the interactions between aptitudes and treatments, age and treatments, age and aptitudes, age and structures, and aptitudes and structures point to different learning processes. I stress how such interaction research is much more than the sum of its parts, making suggestions for a research agenda to sharpen the focus on the process in second language learning.
Optimal Monetary and Fiscal Policy at the Zero Lower Bound in a Small Open Economy

We investigate open economy dimensions of optimal monetary and fiscal policy at the zero lower bound (ZLB) in a small open economy model. At positive interest rates, the trade elasticity has negligible effects on optimal policy. In contrast, at the ZLB, the trade elasticity plays a key role in optimal policy prescriptions. The way in which the trade elasticity shapes policy depends on the government's ability to commit. Under discretion, the increase in government spending at the ZLB depends critically on the trade elasticity. Under commitment, the difference between future and current policies, both for domestic inflation and government spending, is smaller when the trade elasticity is higher.
Development and evaluation of new blood pressure and heart rate signal analysis techniques to assess orthostatic hypotension and its subtypes

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a clinical condition, which frequently results in symptoms such as syncope, dizziness during standing, weakness, blurred vision and fatigue. It is defined as a sustained drop in blood pressure exceeding 20 mmHg systolic or 10 mmHg diastolic occurring within 3 min of assuming upright posture, and is a common causal factor for falls in the elderly. Since 1986, tilt-table testing has become widely used in the diagnosis of OH. The Finometer provides non-invasive monitoring of haemodynamic changes during tilt-table testing. In this study, new algorithms for parameter extraction from Finometer data were developed, with specific reference to the diagnosis of OH. Algorithms were developed to assess the rates of change of haemodynamic variables in response to head-up tilt testing, a previously unexamined aspect of tilt-table testing. These algorithms were applied to the Finometer measurements of 20 patients, who underwent tilt-table testing in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick. The data extraction algorithms were shown to accurately record changes in haemodynamic variables for further analysis. It was also demonstrated that the rate of change of blood pressure during the head-up tilt-table testing could have prognostic significance for OH.
Combined-modality therapy for clinical stage I or II Hodgkin's lymphoma: long-term results of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer H7 randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE In early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), subtotal nodal irradiation (STNI) and combined chemotherapy/radiotherapy produce high disease control rates but also considerable late toxicity. The aim of this study was to reduce this toxicity using a combination of low-intensity chemotherapy and involved-field radiotherapy (IF-RT) without jeopardizing disease control. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with stage I or II HL were stratified into two groups, favorable and unfavorable, based on the following four prognostic factors: age, symptoms, number of involved areas, and mediastinal-thoracic ratio. The experimental therapy consisted of six cycles of epirubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and prednisone (EBVP) followed by IF-RT. It was randomly compared, in favorable patients, to STNI and, in unfavorable patients, to six cycles of mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone, doxorubicin, bleomycin, and vinblastine (MOPP/ABV hybrid) and IF-RT. RESULTS Median follow-up time of the 722 patients included was 9 years. In 333 favorable patients, the 10-year event-free survival rates (EFS) were 88% in the EBVP arm and 78% in the STNI arm (P = .0113), with similar 10-year overall survival (OS) rates (92% v 92%, respectively; P = .79). In 389 unfavorable patients, the 10-year EFS rate was 88% in the MOPP/ABV arm compared with 68% in the EBVP arm (P < .001), leading to 10-year OS rates of 87% and 79%, respectively (P = .0175). CONCLUSION A treatment strategy for early-stage HL based on prognostic factors leads to high OS rates in both favorable and unfavorable patients. In favorable patients, the combination of EBVP and IF-RT can replace STNI as standard treatment. In unfavorable patients, EBVP is significantly less efficient than MOPP/ABV.
The Prevalence of Anxiety and Mood Problems among Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

The objective of this study was to report on the prevalence and correlates of anxiety and mood problems among 9- to 14- year-old children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism. Children who received a diagnosis of autism (n 40) or AS (n 19) on a diagnostic interview when they were 4 to 6 years of age were administered a battery of cognitive and behavioural measures. Families were contacted roughly 6 years later (at mean age of 12 years) and assessed for evidence of psychiatric problems including mood and anxiety disorders. Compared with a sample of 1751 community children, AS and autistic children demonstrated a greater rate of anxiety and depression problems. These problems had a significant impact on their overall adaptation. There were, however, no differences in the number of anxiety and mood problems between the AS and autistic children within this high-functioning cohort. The number of psychiatric problems was not correlated with early autistic symptoms but was predicted to a small extent by early verbal/non-verbal IQ discrepancy scores. These data indicate that high-functioning PDD children are at greater risk for mood and anxiety problems than the general population but the correlates and risk factors for these comorbid problems remain unclear.
Being alone in later life: loneliness, social isolation and living alone

The context for the review of loneliness and social isolation in later life is that of ‘successful aging’ and ‘quality of life’. The term ‘quality of life‘ includes a broad range of areas of life and there is little agreement about the definition of the term. Models of quality of life range from identification of ‘life satisfaction’ or ‘social wellbeing’ to models based upon concepts of independence, control, and social and cognitive competence. However, regardless of how the concept of quality of life is defined, research has consistently demonstrated the importance of social and family relationships in the definition of a ‘good quality of life’.
Reflexion on Reflexes: modulation during gait.

Walking is a highly automatic performance. It appears simple but in fact, complex mechanisms underlie this process. This complexity is revealed when the automaticity disappears and walking becomes a conscious activity, requiring attention, for example in the case of sickness or trauma. In such cases, walking is impaired and has to be relearned. Understanding normal locomotion is essential for developing and applying therapeutic approaches to movement disorders. In experiments with animals it is observed that the automaticy of walking is due to the presence of neuronal circuits in the spinal cord. It is thought that this also applies for human. One step can be divided into a swing and stance phase. Therefore, flexion and extension reflexes are used. These reflexes are used by the circuits in the spinal cord for a smooth continuation of the locomotor pattern. This process might be disturbed in trauma. Therefore, a better continuation of this process after trauma could result in a better recovery of the walking pattern. To make this possible, a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms is needed. In this thesis the focus is on the understanding of the function of reflexes during locomotion. It was observed that the brains are more involved in the control of reflexes in humans than in cats. Reflexes can be suppressed when they are evoked by the subjects themselves. Like in cats, a similar mechanism seems to underlie the neural control of reflexes in arms and legs. Also the position of various parts of the body, such as the head, has influence on the reflexes. These results give a better understanding of the mechanisms used during walking. Possibly, they are usable for rehabilitation and training for recovery of the walking pattern after trauma.
Splotch locus mouse mutants: models for neural tube defects and Waardenburg syndrome type I in humans.

The majority of data that contribute to our understanding of mammalian embryonic development are obtained from the study of animal models. An increasing availability of molecular tools to dissect these model systems has enabled us to establish parallels with human development that range from morpho-genetic similarities to homologous DNA sequences. The mouse mutant splotch (Sp) has long been recognised as a model for human neural tube defects (NTDs) and, more recently, has become a candidate model for Waardenburg syndrome type I (WSI) in humans. "2 This latter circumstance is based on similarities in some of the defects in neural crest cell (NCC) derivatives that are shared by Sp mutants and Waardenburg patients, as well as the possibility that WSI may be localised to human chromosome 2q37, a region known to share homologies with mouse chromosome 1 where the Sp locus is found. Neurulation occurs between gestation day 8-5
Selling the JUBILEE Project: issues arising from a methodology

This article, inspired by JUBILEE project fieldwork, is influenced by van Leeuwen and Leeuw’s work on the growing negative attitude towards market research. While the JUBILEE team, as academic researchers, were not making a sales pitch, they were trying to sell the project to putative participants. Issues discussed include length – and degree of difficulty - of questionnaire; how to sell a questionnaire; and how to identify key prospects for interviews and focus groups. Through the experiences gained, the JUBILEE researchers were able to identify key points of good fieldwork practice in relation to the issues discussed.
Black social work students’ experiences of practice learning: Understanding differential progression rates

Summary As a group, Black and ethnic minority students progress more slowly on their social work programmes in England than their white counterparts. The article reports on a qualitative study with social work students and key informants in a purposive sample of eight social work programmes. Findings Factors relating to the characteristics of individual students, the social work programme, the HEI and practice learning environments appeared to be affecting student experience and progression. The article focuses on practice learning. Many student participants reported experiences of disadvantaged educational backgrounds, economic pressures and caring responsibilities. Key informants in some sites described particular challenges faced by these students. Students reported experiences of racism in placements where the majority of staff or service users were white. Application Concepts drawn from work by Pierre Bourdieu such as ‘habitus’, ‘field’ and ‘social and cultural capital’ are used to make sense of these findings. Some practical ways in which social work programmes might seek to counter educational disparities and racism faced by black and ethnic minority students are suggested: these include monitoring systems, training for practice educators and tutors, support for black and ethnic minority students and agreements between HEIs and placement providers.
EEG-EMG based Hybrid Brain Computer Interface for Triggering Hand Exoskeleton for Neuro-Rehabilitation

Traditionally a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) system uses Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals for communication and control applications. In recent years different biological signals are also combined with EEG signals to produce hybrid BCI devices to overcome the limitation of lower accuracy rates in BCI. This paper presents a new approach of combining EEG and Electromyogram (EMG) signals using the spectral power correlation (SPC) to create a hybrid BCI device for controlling a hand exoskeleton. The proposed method was tested on 10 healthy individuals for measuring its performance level in terms of accuracy. The EEG-EMG SPC based hybrid BCI was trained to classify the grasp attempt and resting states of the user. Upon successful detection of a grasp attempt, the hybrid BCI triggers the hand exoskeleton to perform a finger flexion-extension motion. The proposed EEG-EMG SPC method is also compared with the conventional only EEG based method which uses common spatial pattern (CSP) based spatial filtering. The results have shown that the proposed EEG-EMG SPC method yielded an average accuracy of 90±4.86% while the conventional EEG-CSP method yielded 79.75±5.71%. This significantly (p<0.02) improved performance in terms of classification accuracy indicates that EEG-EMG SPC based hybrid BCI is a better alternative than the conventional EEG-CSP based BCI to generate hand exoskeleton based neurofeedback.
The Robust Beauty of “Little Ideas”

This introductory and the following nine articles reflect comments made by panelists during a symposium honoring A Behavioral Theory of the Firm by Richard Cyert and James G. March at the 2013 Academy of Management meeting. Not surprisingly, what emerged from these comments is that the Behavioral Theory of the Firm (BTF) was enormously influential to the creation of many “little ideas” that have a big impact on a number of social sciences. More surprising is the potential for many new “little ideas” that build on the BTF. The panelists detail what these new “little ideas” may be in future research.
Potenziale mobiler Endgeräte für die Nutzung im kollaborativen Lernen

Um Lehrund Lernsituationen zu unterstützen, werden bereits seit einigen Jahren Computersysteme in Form von Desktop-Rechnern genutzt, die einerseits die Wiederverwendbarkeit von Inhalten gewährleisten und andererseits direkte aber auch räumlich verteilte Lernszenarien ermöglichen sollen. Trotz der zunehmenden Verbreitung mobiler Endgeräte wurde deren Nutzung für das kollaborative Lernen bisher nur selten untersucht. Die Identifikation der Potenziale solcher Geräte bietet die Möglichkeit, das Erstellen von Nutzungskonzepten für das Lernen mit mobilen Endgeräten zu erleichtern. In dieser Arbeit werden daher anhand von Grundlagen der Kollaboration einige wichtige Aspekte für das kollaborative Lernen aufgezeigt. Ein darauf aufbauendes Szenario dient dazu, die Potenziale mobiler Endgeräte zu identifizieren, um deren Einsatz im kollaborativen Lernen zu optimieren.
Isolated allogeneic bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells engraft and stimulate growth in children with osteogenesis imperfecta: Implications for cell therapy of bone

Treatment with isolated allogeneic mesenchymal cells has the potential to enhance the therapeutic effects of conventional bone marrow transplantation in patients with genetic disorders affecting mesenchymal tissues, including bone, cartilage, and muscle. To demonstrate the feasibility of mesenchymal cell therapy and to gain insight into the transplant biology of these cells, we used gene-marked, donor marrow-derived mesenchymal cells to treat six children who had undergone standard bone marrow transplantation for severe osteogenesis imperfecta. Each child received two infusions of the allogeneic cells. Five of six patients showed engraftment in one or more sites, including bone, skin, and marrow stroma, and had an acceleration of growth velocity during the first 6 mo postinfusion. This improvement ranged from 60% to 94% (median, 70%) of the predicted median values for age- and sex-matched unaffected children, compared with 0% to 40% (median, 20%) over the 6 mo immediately preceding the infusions. There was no clinically significant toxicity except for an urticarial rash in one patient just after the second infusion. Failure to detect engraftment of cells expressing the neomycin phosphotransferase marker gene suggested the potential for immune attack against therapeutic cells expressing a foreign protein. Thus, allogeneic mesenchymal cells offer feasible posttransplantation therapy for osteogenesis imperfecta and likely other disorders originating in mesenchymal precursors.
Intimate Partner Violence, Employment,and The Workplace

The purpose of this article is to examine the literature on violence against women and employment. After a brief discussion of the definition and consequences of intimate partner violence, the article reviews the research and related literatures to describe the (a) types of job interference tactics used by abusers, (b) employee-level consequences of partner violence, (c) victimized employee responses to intimate partner violence, (d) organizational-level consequences of partner violence, and (e) employer responses to intimate partner violence. Future research directions and workplace implications are discussed.
Repetition and Boredom in a Perceptual Fluency/ Attributional Model of Affective Judgements

In the present set of studies, the effect of repeated processing of stimuli on boredom was investigated using a Turkish word paradigm from earlier repetition-liking research. Words were pronounced 3, 9, or 27 times each. Study length was manipulated across three studies (short, medium, or long; total N = 186) by adding more words in order to reduce the salience of the repetition schedule. Words were also either consistently or inconsistently pronounced. In line with a perceptual fluency/attributional model, boredom appeared with increasing repetitions in the short study, but it disappeared with increasing length of the study. As the boredom effect disappeared, consistency of the pronunciation became increasingly more important for liking judgements. Follow-up ratings six months after the short study showed that liking had increased for frequently presented words, and that consistency affected liking judgements. The results show that boredom is a joint effect of increasing fluency of processing and increas.
Exploring Juvenile Fitness for Trial in Queensland

This study presents data on the number of juveniles raising and being found unfit to stand trial in Queensland courts and investigates why Queensland juveniles are half as likely as adults to be found unfit to stand trial. The article briefly sets out the legal regimes determining questions of fitness in Queensland. The developmental characteristics of juveniles are explored, indicating that juveniles are more likely than adults to suffer from deficits in areas relevant to trial fitness. Some hypotheses regarding the low rate of applications and findings of juvenile unfitness are considered, including failings by legal practitioners to identify juveniles who potentially lack fitness; tactical decisions by legal practitioners who decide against formally raising unfitness; and shortcomings and confusion surrounding the law and procedure in relation to trial fitness.