Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Agent-based Strategy for Deploying Analysis Models into Specification and Design for Distributed APS Systems

Despite the extensive use of the agent technology in the Supply Chain Management field, its integration with Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) tools still represents a promising field with several open research questions. Specifically, the literature falls short in providing an integrated framework to analyze, specify, design and implement simulation experiments covering the whole simulation cycle. Thus, this paper proposes an agent-based strategy to convert the ‘analysis’ models into ‘specification’ and ‘design’ models combining two existing methodologies proposed in the literature. The first one is a recent and unique approach dedicated to the ‘analysis’ of agent-based APS systems. The second one is a well-established methodological framework to ‘specify’ and ‘design’ agent-based supply chain systems. The proposed conversion strategy is original and is the first one allowing simulation analysts to integrate the whole simulation development process in the domain of distributed APS.
Pathological confirmation of nerve‐sparing types performed during robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP)

Incremental nerve‐sparing techniques (NSTs) improve postoperative erectile function after robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). However, there are no studies to date that histologically confirm the surgeon intended NST. Thus, in the present study, we histologically confirmed that the surgeon performed the nerve preservation as his intended NSTs during RARP. Also, we found that there was more variability in fascia width outcome on the left side compared with the right. Therefore, when performing nerve preservation on the surgeon's non‐dominant side, we need to pay more close attention.
A Comparison of the Academic Achievement of Matched Groups of Veteran and Non-Veteran Freshmen at the University of Iowa

The tremendous increase in college enrollment over the past two years, precipitated primarily by the influx of the veteran on to the campus, has awakened a considerable interest in the adjustment, both academic and social, of the student veteran. Numerous speeches and articles by educators, psy chologists and laymen appearing in an ever-increasing stream, tended to eulo gize the student veteran and proclaim his academic superiority over his non veteran brethern. Unfortunately, few studies have appeared offering reliable statistical verification of this superiority. The present study was therefore conceived for the purpose of determining the comparative academic achieve ment during the initial year of college of matched groups of veteran and non-veteran students in the freshman class of September, 1946, who entered the College of Liberal Arts at the State University of Iowa. Since this study has been underway, several other investigations have appeared whose findings are pertinent to this investigation. Taylor (4) studied the comparative grade achievement of veterans and non-veterans in freshman English at the University of Southern California during the period from November, 1945, to June, 1946, and found that the veterans received a greater proportion of the higher grades and a lower percentage of the poorer grades than did the non-veterans. Welborn (6) at Indiana State Teachers Col lege studied 92 civilians and 109 veterans, all male, during the winter quarter of 1945-46, the groups ranging in academic status from freshmen through the senior year. There was only a slight difference in the distribution of American Council on Education centiles for both groups, the characteris tics of the two groups being fairly well matched except for marital status and age. He found "the average scholarship index of veterans in all subjects combined was only slightly higher than that of civilians, the superiority being about the same as that in American Council on Education centiles. " The 547
AWS LECTURE NOTES: MODULAR CURVES AT INFINITE LEVEL

These lectures concern the arithmetic of modular curves, and in particular the geometry of integral models of modular curves in the neighborhood of their singular points. These singularities only appear modulo p. If X is a modular curve and x is a singular point, then the nature of the singularity is measured by the completed local ring ÔX,x. Let us first review the basics of integral models of modular curves. Let Γ be one of the congruence subgroups Γ0(N), Γ1(N), or Γ(N). Then the modular curve X(Γ), a priori defined over Q, admits a smooth model over Z[1/N ]. That is, modular curves have good reduction modulo primes which do not divide the level. If p N , and if x ∈ X(Γ)(Fp) is a geometric point of the special fiber, then we have ÔX(Γ),x ∼= W JtK,
Modeling multidimensional databases, cubes and cube operations

Online analytical processing (OLAP) is a trend in database technology, which has attracted the interest of a lot of research work. OLAP is based on the multidimensional view of data, supported either by multidimensional databases (MOLAP) or relational engines (ROLAP). We propose a model for multidimensional databases. Dimensions, dimension hierarchies and cubes are formally introduced. We also introduce cube operations (changing of levels in the dimension hierarchy, function application, navigation etc.). The approach is based on the notion of the base cube, which is used for the calculation of the results of cube operations. We focus our approach on the support of a series of operations on cubes (i.e., the preservation of the results of previous operations and the applicability of aggregate functions in a series of operations). Furthermore, we provide a mapping of the multidimensional model to the relational model and to multidimensional arrays.
Can Moral Ethnicity Trump Political Tribalism? The Struggle for Land and Nation in Kenya

“ Unity in diversity is paramount for stability and progress in this nation. ” Nandi Leaders confronting threats of violence against migrants in the Rift Valley 1998. Unhappy with widespread irregularities and massive violence during the 1997 general election in Kenya, presidential runner -up Mwai Kibaki announced his intention to go to court with a petition against the president and the Electoral Commission. Shortly thereafter, a group of powerful clients of the incumbent President Daniel arap Moi held a series of public rallies threatening violence against Kikuyu migrants in the Rift Valley. They argued that Kibaki’ s move constituted an affront to their Kalenjin community and vowed collective retri
Encouraging ESL Student Persistence: The Influence of Policy on Curricular Design

Although English as a second language (ESL) is one of the fastest growing areas of the community college curriculum (Ignash, 1994a), what happens to ESL students once they are in community colleges has received scant attention. Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) probably mirror public perception when they write, "Social mobility, as defined by changes in occupational status and income, is inextricably linked to postsecondary education in modem American society" (p. 369). If this observation is true, non-native speakers of English have much to gain by inclusion in education, and well-designed ESL programs are critical in promoting student persistence through both language and academic degree coursework. Little national data documenting the retention and persistence rates of students who begin their postsecondary coursework in ESL and continue to regular college coursework is available. An excellent local study, however, was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College, where results revealed that only 15% of ESL students who started at advancedlevel ESL and less than 1% of those who started at beginning-level ESL graduated with an associate's degree from the college. For the fall 1983 first-time-in-college cohort, college-wide figures for students who had never taken ESL indicated that 19.6% graduated after four years, compared to 2.7% who had taken some ESL (Belcher, 1988, p. 13, 18). As Belcher notes,
EHV AC and HVDC transmission working together to integrate renewable power

Renewable resources in North America are extensive and are expected to represent a growing share of total resources. Large hydro and geothermal resources are concentrated in fixed locations and can be readily dispatched. Wind and solar resources are more dispersed, remote from major load centers, and variable in their output. New electric transmission infrastructure is needed to access newly developed renewable resources. For optimal transmission development, it is essential to take a long term approach that reflects the characteristics of the sources being connected. The transmission system must have capacity to aggregate these diverse renewable sources, transport usable blocks of power to remote load centers and disperse the power to load serving entities in an efficient and reliable manner.
Contribution of Cystatin C Gene Polymorphisms to Cerebral White Matter Lesions

Background: Vascular remodeling plays an important role in the development of arteriosclerosis and any of the resulting white matter lesions in the brain. An imbalance between cysteine proteases and the cysteine protease inhibitor cystatin C (CST3) may exacerbate vascular remodeling through degradation of extracellular matrix proteins. Therefore, we evaluated the association between functional polymorphisms in the CST3 gene and the development of cerebral white matter lesions. Methods: In a total of 2,676 participants, 3 CST3 genepolymorphisms were genotyped in 92 cases with severe deep white matter hyperintensity (DWMH), and 184 subjects were randomly selected age- and sex-matched controls without any signs of DWMH. The genetic effects of these polymorphisms on DWMH and plasma CST3 levels were examined. CST3 expression vectors were transfected into an astrocytoma cell line and the expression level of CST3 mRNA was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. Intracellular and secreted levels of CST3 in the cell culture were quantified by Western blot and ELISA, respectively. Results: A significant association was found between one CST3 gene haplotype and DWMH (p = 0.002). This haplotype was also associated with lower plasma CST3 levels (p = 0.01). An in vitro transfection study revealed that the +148A allele, which is included in the risk haplotype, significantly reduced the secretion and increased the intracellular accumulation of CST3; however, it had no effect on the mRNA expression. Conclusions: Our study shows that polymorphisms in the CST3 gene are significantly associated with the likelihood of DWMH. Substitution of A for G at +148 of the CST3 gene decreased the extracellular availability of CST3 in vitro, which might result in the activation of protease activity.
Ratio of Omega‐6 to Omega‐3 Fatty Acids and Childhood Asthma

Asthma is a leading cause of morbidity for children and is a major public health problem in Australia. Ecological and temporal data suggest that dietary factors may have a role in recent increases in the prevalence of asthma. Aim: The aim of conducting this study was to investigate whether childhood asthma was associated with the ratio of omega 6 (n‐6) to omega 3 (n‐3) fatty acids in the diet (n‐6:n‐3). Method: The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort Study is a prospective birth cohort of 2602 children. Using a nested case‐control cross‐sectional study design within this cohort, a group of children were identified as cases with current asthma at 6 or at 8 years of age or as controls with no asthma at 6 or at 8 years. Dietary details including n‐6 and n‐3 fatty acid intake data were collected by parent response to a questionnaire when the children were 8 years old. Logistical regression was used to compare quartiles of n‐6:n‐3 intake in cases and controls. Adjustment was made for covariates: gender, gestational age, breastfeeding, older siblings, maternal smoking during pregnancy, maternal age, maternal asthma, child's current age in months, body mass index, total energy intake, and antioxidant intake (vitamins A, C, E, and zinc). Results: A response rate of 83% was achieved by providing complete data from 335 children [49% cases with current asthma (n = 166), 51% controls (n = 169)]. Following adjustment for covariates the association between the ratio of n‐6:n‐3 fatty acids and risk for current asthma was statistically significant (p = 0.022). Conclusion: We found evidence for a modulatory effect of the dietary n‐6:n‐3 fatty acid ratio on the presence of asthma in children. Our results provide evidence that promotion of a diet with increased n‐3 fatty acids and reduced n‐6 fatty acids to protect children against symptoms of asthma is warranted.
Towards a decentralized search engine for P2P-network communities

The paper considers the data search problem in distributed P2P networks. Since no central search engines are available, other effective methods must be developed to avoid a complete search of all nodes each time. We investigate mechanisms and introduce the main structure and functionality of such a decentralized cooperative search engine. It is working on the basis of so called ants. This search engine reduces the search time for information, which are needed by more than one node in a peer-to-peer network community. Therefore, the ants are able to switch in a special manner between different behavior strategies to search, concentrate and return the respective information. The various strategies are derived from ant colonies and were simulated in a small world community environment.
Cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading

Objective: Distinct functional pathways for processing words and numbers have been hypothesized from the observation of dissociated impairments of these categories in brain-damaged patients. We aimed to identify the cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading process in patients operated on for various brain lesions. Methods: Direct cortical electrostimulation was prospectively used in 60 brain mappings. We used object naming and two reading tasks: alphabetic script (sentences and number words) and Arabic number reading. Cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading were identified according to location, type of interference, and distinctness from areas associated with other language tasks. Results: Arabic number reading was sustained by small cortical areas, often extremely well localized (<1 cm2). Over 259 language sites detected, 43 (17%) were exclusively involved in Arabic number reading (no sentence or word number reading interference detected in these sites). Specific Arabic number reading interferences were mainly found in three regions: the Broca area (Brodmann area 45), the anterior part of the dominant supramarginal gyrus (Brodmann area 40; p < 0.0001), and the temporal–basal area (Brodmann area 37; p < 0.05). Diverse types of interferences were observed (reading arrest, phonemic or semantic paraphasia). Error patterns were fairly similar across temporal, parietal, and frontal stimulation sites, except for phonemic paraphasias, which were found only in supramarginal gyrus. Conclusion: Our findings strongly support the fact that the acquisition through education of specific symbolic entities, such as Arabic numbers, could result in the segregation and the specialization of anatomically distinct brain areas.
Circulating Adipocyte-Fatty Acid Binding Protein Levels Predict the Development of the Metabolic Syndrome: A 5-Year Prospective Study

Background— Adipocyte-fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP), a major cytoplasmic protein in adipocytes, plays a central role in the development of diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in experimental animals. We have previously shown that A-FABP is present in the bloodstream and that its circulating levels correlate with metabolic risk factors in a cross-sectional study. In the present study, we further evaluated the prospective association of A-FABP with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) as defined by the updated National Cholesterol Education Program criteria. Methods and Results— In the present study, 495 nondiabetic adults from the population-based Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence Study were prospectively followed up for 5 years. The relationship of serum A-FABP with the MetS and its components was investigated. At baseline, high A-FABP levels were associated with the MetS (odds ratio, 4.0; 95% CI, 1.5 to 10.4; highest versus lowest sex-specific tertile, adjusted for age, body mass index, the homeostasis model assessment index for insulin resistance, C-reactive protein, and adiponectin, P=0.005). On long-term follow-up, subjects with higher baseline A-FABP levels had progressively worse cardiometabolic risk profile and increasing risk of the MetS. Among 376 subjects without the MetS at baseline, 50 had developed it at 5 years. Apart from the homeostasis model assessment index for insulin resistance (P=0.001), baseline A-FABP was the only independent predictor of the development of the MetS during the 5-year follow-up (odds ratio, 4.7; 95% CI, 1.8 to 11.9; highest versus lowest sex-specific tertile, P=0.001, adjusted for the homeostasis model assessment index for insulin resistance and body mass index). A-FABP was predictive of the MetS even after adjustment for each of its individual components. Conclusions— Circulating A-FABP predicts the development of the MetS independently of adiposity and insulin resistance.
Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire in the Korean Business Context

The primary purpose of this research is to adapt the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire developed by Watkins and Marsick, and examine its validity and reliability in a Korean context. Although the concept of the learning organization is well established, there has not been rigorous validation of the application of the questionnaire in the Korean context. The present research sheds light on the reliability and validity of applying the learning organization concept to the Korean workforce. The results of confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency tests indicate that the Korean version of the questionnaire produces valid and reliable psychometric properties of learning organization characteristics in a Korean cultural context. Several demographic variables were used to identify the differences in learning organization cultural perspectives. Conclusions and implications are set out and the limitations of the research stated.
Controlled high-fidelity navigation in the charge stability diagram of a double quantum dot

We propose an efficient control protocol for charge transfer in a double quantum dot. We consider numerically a two-dimensional model system, where the quantum dots are subjected to time-dependent electric fields corresponding to experimental gate voltages. Our protocol enables navigation in the charge stability diagram from a state to another through controllable variation of the fields. We show that the well-known adiabatic Landau–Zener transition—when supplemented with a time-dependent field tailored with optimal control theory—can remarkably improve the transition speed. The results also lead to a simple control scheme obtained from the experimental charge stability diagram that requires only a single parameter. Eventually, we can achieve the ultrafast performance of the composite pulse protocol that allows the system to be driven at the quantum speed limit.
Arguing and Thinking: A Rhetorical Approach to Social Psychology

Arguing and Thinking is an entertaining and scholarly exposition of ideas of rhetoric - from Classical times to the nineteenth century - viewed as social psychological theories. It is self-confessedly unorthodox. Social psychologists may probe experimentally the foundations of 'attitude-change' or 'persuasive communication', but in so doing, Michael Billig claims in his Introduction, 'they are continuing to think about the same sort of issues as those which filled the contents of Aristotle's Rhetoric, or Cicero's Orator, or Quintilian's Institutes of Oratory'. He is especially concerned to point out the relations between thinking and arguing, and suggests that the ability to contradict is one of the most important mental faculties. The argumentative aspects of attitudes, commonsense, roles and cognitive processes are discussed as the author himself takes issue with some familiar psychological theories.
Reliability of Academic and Dispositional Measures of Procrastination

The reliabilities of the Procrastination Assessment Scale—Students and the General Procrastination Scale were examined. Scores (n = 116) on split-half comparisons (odd vs even items) from two sections of the former were significantly, though moderately, correlated. Test-retest comparisons (1 mo.; n = 99) on both sections of the scale were correlated significantly. Test-retest scores on the general scale for a second independent sample of students (1 mo; n = 119 out of 132) also were correlated significantly. There was no significant sex difference on test-retest scores from either inventory. The inventories have adequate reliability and acceptable temporal stability as psychometric measures of procrastination.
Validity of Customer Service Measures in Personnel Selection: A Review of Criterion and Construct Evidence

The criterion-related and construct validity of customer service orientation measures were examined using quantitative review methods and large samples of primary data. The criterion-related validity analysis was based on 41 coefficients with a total sample size of 6,945. The mean validity was . 50 for an aggregated supervisory rating of job performance. The construct validity evidence indicated that customer service meas- ures were positively and strongly related to personality dimensions of agreeableness, emotional stability, and conscientiousness. Customer service orientation was moder- ately related to sales drive and social interests but was uncorrelated with cognitive measures.
Online peer observation: its value in teacher professional development, support and well-being

This article discusses an online peer observation project conceived to enhance language-teacher positivity and creativity in synchronous virtual classrooms. Participants worked part-time at the UK’s Open University (OU) in a blended context and came from two different groups distant from each other and geographically dispersed within their own group. As a result of the project, participants perceived an increase in their confidence and greater willingness to experiment. They appreciated better how they fitted into the wider OU teaching community, built new professional friendships and flexible communities of practice, and developed a better understanding of how to progress their own self-development.
‘Community-based evaluations in the UK: scientific concerns and practical constraints.’

As preventive initiatives gather momentum in the UK, the need for rigorous evaluation of effective practice becomes more urgent. However, researchers, practitioners and policy makers may have different priorities when it comes to implementing evaluations in community settings. This article considers the competing demands that may be placed on evaluators in relation to three dimensions : the service (characteristics of the intervention itself) ; the sample (people who are participating) ; and the methodology or research design. It explores compromises that may be required between scientific ideals and real-world limitations, and assesses the implications for obtaining meaningful results in evaluation research
A piece of butter on the PDA display

This paper describes an interaction concept for controlling the cursor on a hand-held computing device's display, in difference to the desktop interaction paradigm. "Cursor" is defined as a small point-like indicator which is movable on a graphic interface. "Hand-held computing device" can for example be a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Moving the cursor should be like moving a piece of butter in a hot frying pan: The more the pan (device) is tilted, the quicker the butter (cursor) will slide "downhills". We also describe a menu system designed for this type of control.