Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Creating a “Connected” Community? Teachers’ Use of an Electronic Discussion Group

As information and communications technology (ICT) becomes more commonplace in educational settings the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) between teachers is increasingly being seen as a valid form of professional dialogue and support. Indeed, the promotion of online discussion groups as “virtual meeting places” for teachers has formed a central part of the UK government's £1 billion drive to make ICT use part of day-to-day practice in British schools. However, amidst the enthusiasm for creating “virtual communities” of teachers, little is known about how educational professionals are using such resources in practice. To this end the present paper reports on a study of UK teachers’ use of an established online discussion group over a two-year period. It shows that, although the online forum was widely being used both as an information and empathetic exchange resource, many of the claims of establishing collectively focused virtual communities of teachers remain exaggerated as the forum was limited by a number of caveats associated with CMC groups in general.
Mind the gap: personal and collective identities at work

Abstract This paper explores three different ways in which workers experience and react to managerial attempts to mould and shape their identities. It provides illustrations of three theoretically-derived identity modalities: ‘dramaturgical selves’; ‘conformist selves’; and ‘resistant selves’. The paper shows how the relationship between personal and collective identities is at the heart of these modalities, and how they are formed as a reaction to management attempts to narrow, maintain or widen the gap between personal and collective identities at work.
Spiral-like Light Profiles but Elliptical-like Kinematics in Mergers of Galaxies

It is commonly accepted that a merger of two spiral galaxies results in a remnant with an elliptical-like surface-brightness profile. Surprisingly, our recent study (Chitre & Jog 2002) of the 2MASS data for twenty-seven advanced mergers of galaxies has shown that half of these have a light distribution that decreases exponentially with radius. Such a distribution normally characterizes a rotationally supported disk in a spiral galaxy. Here we show from kinematic data for two of these mergers, Arp 224 and Arp 214, that the main support against gravitational collapse comes from pressure due to random motion of stars as seen in an elliptical galaxy rather than from rotation. The origin of the unusual combination of properties seen here is a puzzle. The standard theoretical N-body models in the literature cannot account for these systems. Further observational and dynamical studies of this new class of merger remnants are needed, and would be important for understanding merger dynamics and galaxy evolution.
Multiple Instance Reinforcement Learning for Efficient Weakly-Supervised Detection in Images

State-of-the-art visual recognition and detection systems increasingly rely on large amounts of training data and complex classifiers. Therefore it becomes increasingly expensive both to manually annotate datasets and to keep running times at levels acceptable for practical applications. In this paper, we propose two solutions to address these issues. First, we introduce a weakly supervised, segmentation-based approach to learn accurate detectors and image classifiers from weak supervisory signals that provide only approximate constraints on target localization. We illustrate our system on the problem of action detection in static images (Pascal VOC Actions 2012), using human visual search patterns as our training signal. Second, inspired from the saccade-and-fixate operating principle of the human visual system, we use reinforcement learning techniques to train efficient search models for detection. Our sequential method is weakly supervised and general (it does not require eye movements), finds optimal search strategies for any given detection confidence function and achieves performance similar to exhaustive sliding window search at a fraction of its computational cost.
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors Exhibit Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroprotective Effects in a Rat Permanent Ischemic Model of Stroke: Multiple Mechanisms of Action

The pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia involves multiple mechanisms including neuroinflammation mediated by activated microglia and infiltrating macrophages/monocytes. The present study employed a rat permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) model to study effects of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition on ischemia-induced brain infarction, neuroinflammation, gene expression, and neurological deficits. We found that post-pMCAO injections with HDAC inhibitors, valproic acid (VPA), sodium butyrate (SB), or trichostatin A (TSA), decreased brain infarct volume. Postinsult treatment with VPA or SB also suppressed microglial activation, reduced the number of microglia, and inhibited other inflammatory markers in the ischemic brain. The reduction in levels of acetylated histone H3 in the ischemic brain was prevented by treatment with VPA, SB, or TSA. Moreover, injections with HDAC inhibitors superinduced heat-shock protein 70 and blocked pMCAO-induced down-regulation of phospho-Akt, as well as ischemia-elicited up-regulation of p53, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase-2. The motor, sensory, and reflex performance of pMCAO rats was improved by VPA, SB, or TSA treatment. The beneficial effects of SB and VPA in reducing brain infarct volume and neurological deficits occurred when either drug was administrated at least 3 h after ischemic onset, and the behavioral improvement was long-lasting. Together, our results demonstrate robust neuroprotective effects of HDAC inhibitors against cerebral ischemia-induced brain injury. The neuroprotection probably involves multiple mechanisms including suppression of ischemia-induced cerebral inflammation. Given that there is no effective treatment for stroke, HDAC inhibitors, such as VPA, SB, and TSA, should be evaluated for their potential use for clinical trials in stroke patients.
A systematic review of the relationship between parenting styles and children's physical activity

Physical activity is an important component of childhood that promotes health and well-being. Parents could play a pivotal role in children’s involvement in physical activity by means of their parenting style. The role of parenting styles in children’s physical activity is unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to establish the role of parenting styles in children’s physical activity. A search was conducted during the month of February 2013 using databases and journals such as Science Direct, Ebscohost (PsyArticles, Medline, Academic Search Complete, SportDiscus and Rehabilitation and Sport Medicine Source), BioMed Central, PubMed, Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ) and SAGE Journals for the periods from 2002 to 2012. Two reviewers independently evaluated the methodological quality of the studies reviewed. Eleven articles met the criteria for the inclusion in the review. These studies included six cross-sectional studies, three cohort studies and two that used both cross-sectional and cohort studies. Five of the studies were conducted in USA, two in Iran and one each respectively in Australia, Pacific Island, North East England and Northern Taiwan. The age groups of the participants ranged from birth to adolescence. Four of the studies looked at the parent-child dyad when collecting the required data. This review found that parenting styles were related to the promotion of physical activity. Specifically, the results suggest that the majority of studies found a positive relationship between authoritative parenting styles and physical activity. This study provides a good perspective for better understanding the role of parental relations in the context of postmodern sedentary society.
Capacitive Self-Excitation in a Six-Phase Induction Generator for Small Hydro Power -- An Experimental Investigation

Results of an experimental investigation dealing with the behavior of a split wound 6-phase self-excited induction generator (SEIG) with capacitor excitation in conjunction to a stand-alone small hydro power scheme is presented. As predicted, the scheme is found offering high reliability, improved capability of voltage build-up and load withstanding along with acceptable efficiency. Results obtained show that the system has sufficient capability for practical use in stand-alone power generation with small hydropower.
A First-Passage Kinetic Monte Carlo Method for Stochastic Reaction-Drift-Diffusion Systems

1 A First-Passage Kinetic Monte Carlo Method for Stochastic Reaction-Drift-Diffusion Systems [20, 19] 1 1.1 Biological Motivation . 1 1.2 Mathematical Background . 2 1.3 Motivation and Methodology for Incorporating Drift into the FPKMC method 2 1.4 DL-FPKMC Results . 4
Episodic memory encoding in middle age: effects of ageing and cognitive fatigue on brain activation

Klaassen, E. , Evers, E. , De Groot, R. H. M. , Veltman, D. , & Jolles, J. (2011, September). Episodic memory encoding in middle age: effects of ageing and cognitive fatigue on brain activation. Poster presented at the Annual meeting for the international society for neuroimaging in psychiatry, Heidelberg, Germany.
Small Doses of Arginine Vasopressin in Combination With Norepinephrine “Buy” Time for Definitive Treatment for Uncontrolled Hemorrhagic Shock in Rats

ABSTRACT Implementation of fluid resuscitation and blood transfusion are greatly limited in prehospital or evacuation settings after severe trauma or war wounds. With uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock rats, we investigated if arginine vasopressin (AVP) in combination with norepinephrine (NE) is independent (or slightly dependent) of fluid resuscitation and can “buy” time for the subsequently definitive treatment of traumatic hemorrhagic shock in the present study. The results showed that AVP (0.4 U/kg) alone or with NE (3 &mgr;g/kg) with one-eighth and one-fourth volumes of total blood volume of lactated Ringer’s infusion significantly increased and maintained the mean arterial pressure. Among all groups, 0.4 U/kg of AVP + NE (3 &mgr;g/kg) with one-eighth volume of lactated Ringer’s infusion had the best effect: it significantly increased and maintained hemodynamics and prolonged the survival time. This early treatment strategy significantly improved the effects of subsequently definitive treatments (after bleeding controlled): it increased the subsequent survival, improved the hemodynamic parameters, improved the cardiac function, and increased the tissue blood flow and oxygen delivery. These results suggested that early application of small doses of AVP (0.4 U/kg) + NE before bleeding control can “buy” time for the definitive treatment of uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock, which may be an effective measure for the early treatment of traumatic hemorrhagic shock.
The Pronunciation Component in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Recent discussions of “pronunciation” teaching principles have examined a number of important rationale issues including: questions of whether pronunciation should (or can) be taught and, if so, what should be taught and how; expressions of the need for more controlled studies of changes in learner pronunciation patterns as the result of specific instructional procedures; views on whether and how research in second language phonology can inform classroom practices. These and many other pertinent concerns have been ably discussed in thorough and insightful state-of-the-art papers by Leather (1983) and Pennington and Richards (1986). When it comes to classroom practice, however, as Yule (1990) has observed, it may have appeared to novice teachers that the only classroom choice available is one between teaching pronunciation as articulatory phonetics or not teaching pronunciation at all. But could this limited choice of options be more apparent than real? Clearly, on the positive side of the picture, some creative and principled contributions to alternatives have come on the scene in recent years, with a small but steady movement toward some “new looks” in pronunciation teaching. This does not mean that there are not many remaining questions about a number of issues, and more
Improving adolescent fitness attitudes with a mobile fitness game to combat obesity in youth

We present the tests results of the first phase of a multi-phase study to combat deteriorating adolescent fitness, reflected in the growth in adolescent obesity rates, by creating a fitness game deployed on mobile devices. The objective of this first phase was to test an initial mobile fitness prototype's efficacy in generating positive attitudinal changes towards fitness activity using strong socialization components within the game. The basic premise being that game play with a strong social aspect is an attractive support mechanism for sustained interest and providing positive reinforcement to users within our fitness application. Such sustained interest and positive reinforcement is vital for producing long-term fitness improvements. Our mobile fitness game prototype included 13 exercises with functionality to socialize with friends regarding exercise progress and collaboration. A subject pool of 12 adolescents aged 15 to 17 used the prototype for a six week period. Results indicate that the application's socialization features were able to improve subjects' views on fitness activities. Increasing online social networking tendency correlated with improving views on the fitness exercises that were most often engaged in with the application.
Modulation of mitochondrial function by endogenous Zn2+ pools

Recent evidence suggests that intracellular Zn2+ accumulation contributes to the neuronal injury that occurs in epilepsy or ischemia in certain brain regions, including hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex. Although most attention has been given to the vesicular Zn2+ that is released into the synaptic space and may gain entry to postsynaptic neurons, recent studies have highlighted pools of intracellular Zn2+ that are mobilized in response to stimulation. One such Zn2+ pool is likely bound to cytosolic proteins, like metallothioneins. Applying imaging techniques to cultured cortical neurons, this study provides novel evidence for the presence of a mitochondrial pool distinct from the cytosolic protein or ligand-bound pool. These pools can be pharmacologically mobilized largely independently of each other, with Zn2+ release from one resulting in apparent net Zn2+ transfer to the other. Further studies found evidence for complex and potent effects of Zn2+ on isolated brain mitochondria. Submicromolar levels, comparable to those that might occur on strong mobilization of intracellular compartments, induced membrane depolarization (loss of Δψm), increases in currents across the mitochondrial inner membrane as detected by direct patch clamp recording of mitoplasts, increased O2 consumption and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, whereas higher levels decreased O2 consumption and increased ROS generation. Finally, strong mobilization of protein-bound Zn2+ appeared to induce partial loss of Δψm, suggesting that movement of Zn2+ between cytosolic and mitochondrial pools might be of functional significance in intact neurons.
An unstable support surface is not a sufficient condition for increases in muscle activity during rehabilitation exercise.

IntroductionResistance training is commonly recognized as an essen-tial component to a rehabilitative treatment plan. Modifi-cations of various exercises are made on the belief thatdifferent types of support surfaces and joint positions caninfluence muscle recruitment levels. One modification totraditional exercises is the addition of an unstable supportsurface (exercise balls, wobble boards, foam padding)under the assumption that this addition will result in anincrease in the neuromuscular activation of the involvedmuscles. Anecdotally, clinicians and rehabilitation spe-cialists are often heard to state that performing an exer-cise on an unstable surface causes “the little muscles towork harder to stabilize the joints. ” It is a prevalent as-sumption that the mere addition of unstable surfaces tosimple tasks (e.g. sitting on an exercise) ball transformsthese simple tasks into exercises which stress the “core”musculature (trunk and pelvis muscles). The exercise biomechanics literature investigatingmodifications to surface stability has focused on the trunkmuscle’s response during resistance exercise. Increases inthe amplitude of the EMG signal with the addition of anunstable support surface compared with a stable supportsurface have been documented during curl up exercises(external oblique),
Income distribution: Analysis and policies

textabstractIn German: Einkommensverteilung: auf dem Weg zu einer neuen Einkommensgerechtigkeit, Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1978, 172 p. In Spanish: La Distribucion del Ingreso, El Manual Moderno, Mexico, 1979, 154 p. In Italian: La Distribuzione del Reddito, Series ‘Biblioteca Moderna di Economia’ No. 15, Unione Tipografico, Torino, 1978, XI + 192 p.
Lipid Levels in Former Gestational Diabetic Mothers

OBJECTIVE To investigate lipid levels in former gestational diabetic mothers, 5–6 years postpartum, and to evaluate the relationship of these values to glucose, insulin, BMI, and blood pressure. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The subjects studied were 56 former gestational diabetic mothers and 48 control mothers 5–6 years postpartum. Two hours after a 50-g carbohydrate meal, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL and LDL cholesterol, glucose, and insulin were measured and compared between the two groups (analysis of variance). BMI and blood pressure were also evaluated. The risk of finding an abnormal metabolic, anthropometric, or hemodynamic parameter in either group was assessed (X2 analysis and Fisher's exact test). Correlation coefficients were assessed between the lipids versus insulin, glucose, BMI, and blood pressure. RESULTS Mean TC, TG, LDL cholesterol, glucose, and systolic blood pressure were significantly higher in the gestational diabetic mothers than in the control mothers. In addition, there was greater likelihood of finding an abnormal TC ≥ 5.17 mmol/l, LDL cholesterol ≥ 4.14 mmol/l, and systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg in gestational diabetic mothers. Triglycerides correlated with BMI, insulin, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and HDL cholesterol correlated inversely with insulin in gestational diabetic mothers. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that at 5–6 years postpartum, former gestational diabetic mothers demonstrate changes in lipid levels that differ from control mothers and that specific lipids correlate with cardiovascular risk factors. Further study is needed to evaluate gestational diabetic mothers for the development of cardiovascular risk factors including insulin resistance.
Impact Metrics of Security Vulnerabilities: Analysis and Weighing

ABSTRACT The number of vulnerabilities discovered and reported during the recent decades is enormous, making an improved ranking and prioritization of vulnerabilities’ severity a major issue for information technology (IT) management. Although several methodologies for ranking and scoring vulnerabilities have been proposed, the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is the open standard with wide acceptance from the information security community. Recently, the Weighted Impact Vulnerability Scoring System (WIVSS) has been proposed as an alternative scoring methodology, which assigns different weights to impact factors of vulnerability in order to achieve higher diversity of values and thus improvement in flexibility of ranking in comparison to CVSS. The purpose of this paper is to expand the idea of WIVSS by defining the sets of weights which provide higher diversity of values. For this reason, an algorithm that finds all the possible combinations of optimal weights within a specified range and under certain constrains is presented. The algorithm results in 14 different combinations of impact weights that are applied to a sample of 20,496 vulnerabilities and statistically analyzed for associations among impact factors. The results suggest that one specific combination of impact weights can achieve highest diversity of values.
Subjetividade, trabalho e economia solidária

O artigo relaciona os processos de subjetivacao, entendidos como processos sempre relacionais e geradores de formas de sociabilidade diversas, com o trabalho na economia solidaria. Inicialmente, discute-se a articulacao teorica entre subjetividade e atividade laboral. Em seguida, a dificuldade de construir a autogestao baseada na autoridade compartilhada e problematizada, com base em dados empiricos recentemente coletados junto a empreendimentos economicos solidarios (EES) de diversos segmentos e portes, no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
HABILIDADE METACOGNITIVA E LEITURA EM LÍNGUA ESTRANGEIRA

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the metacognitive reading ability of proficient students of English as a Foreign Language. The research is grounded on the point of view that metacognitive ability is composed of two dimensions, knowledge of cognition and control of cognition (Flavell, 1978). We also consider the existence of a correlation between reading comprehension, strategy use and perception of strategy use. A Metacognitive Reading Questionnaire (Carrell, 1989) was selected as the most favorable instrument to deal with a population of 50 students.
SMRT and N-CoR Corepressors Are Regulated by Distinct Kinase Signaling Pathways*

N-CoR and SMRT are corepressor paralogs that partner with and mediate transcriptional repression by a wide variety of metazoan transcription factors, including nuclear hormone receptors. Although encoded by distinct genetic loci, N-CoR and SMRT share substantial sequence interrelatedness, form analogous assemblies with histone deacetylases and auxiliary factors, can interact with overlapping sets of transcription factor partners, and exert overlapping functions in cells. SMRT is subject to negative regulation by MAPK signaling pathways operating downstream of growth factor and stress signaling pathways. We report here that whereas activation of MEKK1 leads to phosphorylation of SMRT, its dissociation from its transcription factor partners in vivo and in vitro, and its redistribution from the cell nucleus to a cytoplasmic compartment, N-CoR is refractory to all these forms of regulation. In contrast to this MAPK cascade, other signal transduction pathways operating downstream of growth factor/cytokine receptors appear able to affect both corepressor paralogs. Our results indicate that SMRT and N-CoR are embedded in distinct regulatory networks and that the two corepressors interpret growth factor, cytokine, differentiation, and prosurvival signals differently.