Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative Assessment Portfolios for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study

This one-year qualitative study investigated teacher and administrators' beliefs about the process of using alternative assessment portfolios for children with significant intellectual disabilities in a public school setting. Since 2002, many states have designed alternative assessments, but little research exists on the process of alternative assessment systems (AAS) from the perspective and practices of practitioners. The research questions included: What are the different perceptions that surround the issue of portfolio assessment within this particular public school? How do special education teachers construct alternative assessment portfolios for children with intellectual disabilities (ID)? What are the participant perceptions that surround the issue of alternative portfolio assessments? Findings of the study revealed that teachers and administrators saw a disconnect between the intent of the standards and the student learning experience, questioned the authenticity of the AAS and viewed the AAS as thwarting the construction of a meaningful curriculum for students with ID.
Emergence of a Norovirus GII.4 Strain Correlates with Changes in Evolving Blockade Epitopes

ABSTRACT The major capsid protein of norovirus GII.4 strains is evolving rapidly, resulting in epidemic strains with altered antigenicity. GII.4. 2006 Minerva strains circulated at pandemic levels in 2006 and persisted at lower levels until 2009. In 2009, a new GII.4 variant, GII.4. 2009 New Orleans, emerged and since then has become the predominant strain circulating in human populations. To determine whether changes in evolving blockade epitopes correlate with the emergence of the GII.4. 2009 New Orleans strains, we compared the antibody reactivity of a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against GII.4. 2006 and GII.4. 2009 virus-like particles (VLPs). Both anti-GII.4. 2006 and GII.4. 2009 MAbs effectively differentiated the two strains by VLP-carbohydrate ligand blockade assay. Most of the GII.4. 2006 MAbs preferentially blocked GII.4. 2006, while all of the GII.4. 2009 MAbs preferentially blocked GII.4. 2009, although 8 of 12 tested blockade MAbs blocked both VLPs. Using mutant VLPs designed to alter predicted antigenic epitopes, binding of seven of the blockade MAbs was impacted by alterations in epitope A, identifying residues 294, 296, 297, 298, 368, and 372 as important antigenic sites in these strains. Convalescent-phase serum collected from a GII.4. 2009 outbreak confirmed the immunodominance of epitope A, since alterations of epitope A affected serum reactivity by 40%. These data indicate that the GII.4. 2009 New Orleans variant has evolved a key blockade epitope, possibly allowing for at least partial escape from protective herd immunity and provide epidemiological support for the utility of monitoring changes in epitope A in emergent strain surveillance.
Spatial Vulnerability and District Resilience for the Next Generation of CPTED

Concurrently with the advance of urbanization, many urban problems have increased in our everyday life. It is said that there has been a decrease in the number of crimes committed in Japan, but the number of urban crimes is, on the contrary, increasing. Accordingly, crime prevention has been one of the biggest issues in city planning. A number of arguments about CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) or other crime preventive methods have been already carried out. While most papers show the relationship between macroscopic geographical aspects and the occurrence of a specific crime, the impact of more microscopic objects and/or spatial design in the crime site as the spatial vulnerability against a crime has not been clarified. Moreover, there is a clear need to find resilience, in other words the difficulty to commit a crime. Therefore, this paper’s purpose is to reveal the vulnerability and resilience against one specific crime, arson, in Fukuoka and more specifically in Haruyoshi district, through consecutive researches from urban planning and environmental psychological viewpoints. As a result, we found that there are temporal and spatial vulnerabilities against arson in Fukuoka and Haruyoshi which remain to be improved intensively. However, at the same time, Haruyoshi has some resilience against arson, and we conclude that the human traffic, observability and inanonymity are high in the district. Consequently, at the end of this paper, based on the knowledge about both vulnerability and resilience of the district, specific suggestions are proposed on the way to install CPTED in Haruyoshi against arson.
New Labour policy and school leadership in England: room for manoeuvre?

This paper investigates whether predictions about a greater centralization and control in educational policy‐making, made after New Labour's election to power in 1997, have been realized since that time, and particularly with respect to educational leadership. It also asks whether recent changes in New Labour policies are likely to provide greater freedom for head teachers in English schools. It does this by means of investigating evidence at global, national and school levels, and in particular draws upon recent interview research by the author with head teachers. The article suggests that whilst the architecture of central steerage and control is still very much in evidence, there are strands of greater policy flexibility, though these may be as much about empowering external sponsors as anything to do with greater professional discretion. However, the research suggests that, whatever happens, there will almost certainly be room for resistance and personal manoeuvre at the school level, which is ultimately dependent upon context and personality.
Vacuum decay in theories with symmetry breaking by radiative corrections.

The standard bounce formalism for calculating the decay rate of a metastable vacuum cannot be applied to theories in which the symmetry breaking is due to radiative corrections, because in such theories the tree-level action has no bounce solutions. In this paper I derive a modified formalism to deal with such cases. As in the usual case, the bubble nucleation rate may be written in the form [ital Ae][sup [minus][ital B]]. To leading approximation, [ital B] is the bounce action obtained by replacing the tree-level potential by the leading one-loop approximation to the effective potential, in agreement with the generally adopted [ital ad] [ital hoc] remedy. The next correction to [ital B] (which is proportional to an inverse power of a small coupling) is given in terms of the next-to-leading term in the effective potential and the leading correction to the two-derivative term in the effective action. The corrections beyond these (which may be included in the prefactor) do not have simple expressions in terms of the effective potential and the other functions in the effective action. In particular, the scalar-loop terms which give an imaginary part to the effective potential do not explicitly appear; the corresponding effects are included more » in a functional determinant which gives a manifestly real result for the nucleation rate. « less
Transformational leadership and emotional intelligence: an exploratory study

Investigated whether emotional intelligence (EQ) is associated with the use of transformational leadership in 49 managers. Managers completed questionnaires assessing their own emotional intelligence and attributional style; their subordinates (n = 187) provided ratings of their transformational leadership. Controlling for attributional style, multivariate analyses of covariance showed that three aspects of transformational leadership (i.e. idealized influence, inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration) and constructive transactions differed according to level of emotional intelligence. In contrast, no multivariate effects emerged for transactional leadership (i.e. laissez faire or management‐by‐exception). Some suggestions for future research are offered.
Use of assistive technology by students with dyslexia in post-secondary education

Purpose. To identify the types and mix of technology (hardware and software) provided to post-secondary students with dyslexia under the UK's Disabled Student Allowance (DSA), and to determine the students' satisfaction with, and use of, the equipment provided and to examine their experiences with training. Method. A telephone survey of 455 students with dyslexia who had received technology under the DSA from one equipment supplier was conducted over in the period September to December 2005. The survey obtained a mixture of quantitative data (responses to binary questions and selections from a five-point rating scale) and qualitative data (participants identifying positive and negative experiences with technology). In addition, the equipment supplier's database was used to determine the technology supplied to each of the participants. Result. Technology provision is variable between students. The majority of students receive a recording device, text-to-speech software and concept mapping tools in addition to a standard computer system. Ninety percent of participants are satisfied or very satisfied with the hardware and the software that they receive. A total of 48.6% of participants received training, with 86.3% of those expressing satisfaction with the training they received. Of those that were offered training but elected not to receive it, the majority did so because they felt confident about their IT skills. Conclusions. Students express satisfaction not only with the computer systems that they receive but also with the special-purpose software provided to support their studies. Significant numbers of students elect not to receive training and may, therefore, not be using their equipment to its best advantage.
Studies on circulating immune complexes. III: Kinetics of the immunoglobulin class of circulating immune complexes in systemic lupus erythematosus.

The IgG, IgA and IgM classes of circulating immune complexes (CIC) were examined in 49 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The presence of the IgG class of CIC (IgG-IC), IgA class of CIC (IgA-IC) and IgM class of CIC (IgM-IC) was observed in 39.4%, 24.2% and 35.3%, respectively. During the course of the disease, the levels of IgG-IC and IgM-IC remained generally higher than that of IgA-IC. The patients were divided into three groups, according to the changes in IgG-IC. Group 1: these had IgG-IC persistently, associated with clinically active features (active stage). The presence of IgA-IC was occasionally transient, although IgM-IC did coexist. Group 2: these showed an increased level of IgG-IC, associated with a tendency to relapse (flaring up stage). IgM-IC disappeared occasionally, although IgA-IC appeared to be persistently present. Group 3: these showed levels of IgG-IC which decreased or disappeared and the clinical activity tended to subside (remissible and inactive stages). All classes of CIC tended to disappear. That is to say, IgG-IC, then IgA-IC, and finally IgM-IC decreased in that order. Either IgA-IC or IgM-IC was present alone persistently in a few cases. The correlations between each class of CIC and the immunological parameters were investigated. IgG-IC and IgM-IC were closely related to anti-nuclear antibody, but not to anti-DNA antibody. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A Characterization of Markov Equivalence Classes of Relational Causal Models under Path Semantics

Relational Causal Models (RCM) generalize Causal Bayesian Networks so as to extend causal discovery to relational domains. We provide a novel and elegant characterization of the Markov equivalence of RCMs under path semantics. We introduce a novel representation of unshielded triples that allows us to efficiently determine whether an RCM is Markov equivalent to another. Under path semantics, we provide a sound and complete algorithm for recovering the structure of an RCM from conditional independence queries. Our analysis also suggests ways to improve the orientation recall of algorithms for learning the structure of RCM under bridge burning semantics as well.
Old Mega-Projects Newly Packaged? Waterfront Redevelopment in Toronto

The mega-project is experiencing revived interest as a tool for urban renewal. The current mode of large-scale urban development is, however, different from its predecessor in so far as its focus is flexible and diverse rather than singular and monolithic. However, the diversity that the new approach offers, we argue, forecloses upon a wide variety of social practices, reproducing rather than resolving urban inequality and disenfranchisement. Further, we suggest that the diversity of forms and land uses employed in these mega-projects inhibits the growth of oppositional and contestational practices. The new mega-project also demonstrates a shift from collective benefits to a more individualized form of public benefit. The article is based on Toronto's recent waterfront development proposals, which we identify as an example of a new paradigm of mega-project development within the framework of the competitive city. Its stated but paradoxical goal is to specialize in everything, allowing for the pretence that all interests are being served while simultaneously re-inscribing and reinforcing socioeconomic divisions. Our findings are centred on four areas: institutional change; the importance of mega-projects to global interurban competition; the exclusive nature of public participation processes; and the increasing commodification and circumscription of urban public space. Copyright (c) 2009 The Authors. Journal Compilation (c) 2009 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
The molecular profile of luminal B breast cancer

Molecular profiling studies have found that estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) human breast cancers are comprised of at least two distinct diseases with differing biologies. With the advent of DNA microarrays, global gene expression patterns were used to define the luminal A and luminal B subtypes of ER+ breast cancer, with luminal B cancers showing a more aggressive phenotype including substantially worse outcomes in patients. The luminal B subtype designation could be considered a surrogate for those ER+ tumors having low progesterone receptors, high proliferation, high grade, and predicted poor response to hormone therapy. While they express estrogen receptors, luminal B cancers do not show a corresponding expression of estrogen-regulated genes, and may therefore rely upon alternative pathways for growth. At the molecular level, luminal B cancers appear dramatically distinct from luminal A cancers, at the levels of gene expression, gene copy, somatic mutation, and DNA methylation; luminal B cancers are also genetically and genomically altered to a greater extent than luminal A cancers. While, in the clinical setting, luminal B is typically regarded as an ER+, hormone-sensitive disease, more research is needed into how to better treat it. Comprehensive profiling initiatives, such as The Cancer Genome Atlas, have recently provided us a catalog of mutated or copy altered genes, from which new therapeutic targets could potentially be mined. Candidate pathways that might be targeted in luminal B include those involving growth factor receptors, including HER2 and EGFR, as well as PI3K/Akt/mTor.
Optical Linear Polarization of Late M and L Type Dwarfs

We report on the linear polarimetric observations in the Johnson I-band filter of 44 ultracool dwarfs with spectral types between M6 and L7.5, corresponding to effective temperatures in the range 2800-1400 K, and one M4.5-type star. Based on our measurements of polarization (P) and their associated error bars (σP), 11 (10 L and 1 M) dwarfs appear to have significant linear polarization (P/σP ≥ 3). For these, the polarization degrees we have measured are in the interval P = 0.2%-2.5%. Because of the typical average uncertainty of our data, we can easily confirm polarization of ultracool dwarfs that show degree of linear polarization greater than 0.4%. We have compared the two populations in our sample, the M and L type dwarfs, and have found evidence for a larger frequency of high I-band polarization in the coolest objects, supporting the presence of significant amounts of dust in L-type atmospheres. The probable mechanism polarizing the far-red optical photons of ultracool dwarfs is related to the presence of heterogeneous dust clouds nonuniformly distributed across the visible photospheres and the asymmetric shape of the objects (rapid rotations impose deviations from sphericity). In some young ultracool dwarfs, surrounding dusty disks (or shells) may also yield polarization. For polarimetric detections, a trend for slightly larger polarization from L0 to L6.5 may be present in our data, suggesting changes in the distribution of the grain properties and in the vertical height of the cloud layer. Faster rotations and important differences in metallicity and age within our sample could also account for this trend. One of the targets is the peculiar brown dwarf 2MASS J22443167+2043433 (L6.5), for which we have determined the largest I-band polarization degree in our study. We discuss that the origin of such large polarization may lie in a surrounding dusty disk (or shell) and/or rather large photospheric dust grains. Two of the likely polarized dwarfs (CFHT-BD-Tau 4, a very young, M7-type brown dwarf of the Taurus star-forming region, and 2MASS J00361617+1821104, an L3.5 field dwarf) were also observed in the Johnson R-band filter, allowing us to discuss qualitatively the size of the grains responsible for the polarization. Our data support the presence of a circum(sub)stellar disk around the young accreting brown dwarf CFHT-BD-Tau 4. The higher degree of polarization in the R band than in the I band indicates that the grain growth lies in the submicron regime in the visible photosphere of 2MASS J00361617+1821104 (effective temperature of about 1900 K). Our polarimetric data does not obviously correlate with activity (Hα and radio emission) or projected rotational velocity. Three polarized early- to mid-L dwarfs have been photometrically monitored in the I band, displaying light curves with amplitudes below 10 mmag.
Beyond Survey Self-Reports: Using Physiology to Tap Political Orientations

Abstract Some aspects of our attitudes are composed of things outside of our consciousness.However, traditional survey research does not use measurements that are able to tapinto these aspects of public opinion. We describe, recommend, and demonstrate aprocedure by which non-self-reported responses can be measured in order to testwhether these responses have independent effects on individuals’ preferences. Weuse one of the better-known physiological measures—electrodermal activity or skinconductance—and illustrate its potential by reporting our own study of attitudestoward President Barack Obama. We find that both self-reported emotional responsesand physiological responses to Obama’s image independently correlate with variationin the intensity of attitudes regarding his job approval and his central policy proposal:health-care reform. How is an individual’s response to a political concept, event, person, or objectbest measured? For most social scientists, the answer is simple: ask theindividual to self-report responses or mental/emotional states. Self-reports,
Is blood glucose associated with descending modulation of spinal nociception as measured by the nociceptive flexion reflex?

Objectives Prior research has shown a relationship between blood glucose levels and some forms of self-regulation (eg, executive function), with low blood glucose levels associated with impaired self-regulation. Further, engagement in self-regulation tasks depletes blood glucose. Given these relationships, the present study examined whether blood glucose is associated with another form of self-regulation, ie, descending pain modulatory processes. Methods Forty-seven (32 female) pain-free participants were recruited and completed testing. Blood glucose was measured from finger sticks and a digital meter before and after experimental pain tests. Pain tests included the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) threshold to assess descending modulation of spinal nociception, but also electric pain threshold to assess perceptual pain detection. The Stroop color word naming test was also assessed before and after pain testing to examine changes in executive function. Results Results indicated that mean blood glucose levels decreased after pain testing, but Stroop performance did not significantly change. Importantly, changes in blood glucose were correlated with NFR threshold, such that decreases in blood glucose were associated with lower NFR thresholds (reduced descending inhibition). Changes in blood glucose were unrelated to pain threshold or executive function. Conclusion This study suggests that glucose depletion may impair performance of descending inhibitory processes, without impacting the perceptual detection of pain (pain threshold). Although findings need to be replicated, maintaining adequate glucose levels may be necessary to support inhibition of spinal nociception.
A research on theme correlation of Vertical search engine based on ontology

The information demands of the domain users depend on the whole quantity of information of the domain ontology, and the whole quantity of information of the domain ontology is invariableness. So information search according to the domain ontology can lock the whole quantity of information of the domain ontology effectively, also can shorten the information distance. This paper introduced characters of Vertical search engine; analyzed theme spider based on VSM, and presents a construction method of theme correlation of vertical search engine based on Ontology. Finally a vertical search engine of HR was designed and the process flowchart of web spider was given.
The economic burden of lung cancer and mesothelioma due to occupational and para-occupational asbestos exposure

Objectives To estimate the economic burden of lung cancer and mesothelioma due to occupational and para-occupational asbestos exposure in Canada. Methods We estimate the lifetime cost of newly diagnosed lung cancer and mesothelioma cases associated with occupational and para-occupational asbestos exposure for calendar year 2011 based on the societal perspective. The key cost components considered are healthcare costs, productivity and output costs, and quality of life costs. Results There were 427 cases of newly diagnosed mesothelioma cases and 1904 lung cancer cases attributable to asbestos exposure in 2011 for a total of 2331 cases. Our estimate of the economic burden is $C831 million in direct and indirect costs for newly identified cases of mesothelioma and lung cancer and $C1.5 billion in quality of life costs based on a value of $C100 000 per quality-adjusted life year. This amounts to $C356 429 and $C652 369 per case, respectively. Conclusions The economic burden of lung cancer and mesothelioma associated with occupational and para-occupational asbestos exposure is substantial. The estimate identified is for 2331 newly diagnosed, occupational and para-occupational exposure cases in 2011, so it is only a portion of the burden of existing cases in that year. Our findings provide important information for policy decision makers for priority setting, in particular the merits of banning the mining of asbestos and use of products containing asbestos in countries where they are still allowed and also the merits of asbestos removal in older buildings with asbestos insulation.