Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An explanatory examination of relationships between measures of school and student socioeconomic status and reading and math achievement of Hispanic limited English proficient (LEP) high school students

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority population in the U.S. requiring limited English proficiency services (Guglielmi, 2008). Many schools and school districts place heavy emphasis on high stakes testing. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires all children to have access to a fair, equal, and high-quality education. Many schools and school districts focus on individual students to show grade level performance for small populations such as limited English proficient (LEP) students. The purpose of this study was to examine the question, “What was the relationship between measures of school and student socioeconomic status, and reading and math achievement of Hispanic LEP high school students? ” Guiding this study was the conceptual framework, the middleclass education concept. This concept suggested that underprivileged students attending an impoverished school had lower academic success than did underprivileged students attending a middleclass school with middleclass values. vi This study was developed from secondary data analysis of archived data from the Pinellas County School Board database. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed between the variables in this study. The correlation analysis was followed by a multiple regression analysis to estimate the capacity of the subsidized meal program, student absences, gender, grade point average (GPA), and the Norm Referenced Test (NRT) reading and math to explain reading and math achievement, as defined by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in reading and math. The results of this study provided insight that the role played by indices of school and student SES may be different for Hispanic LEP students than for other minority students, such as African American and Hispanic or Latino high school students. The results showed that measures of SES were not as strong as expected based on the current research literature. GPA and NRT provided the strongest explanation of variability for FCAT reading and math scores. Other indicators such as student absences and gender were not statistically significant for explaining the FCAT reading and math scores. Thereby, indicating that the conceptual framework, the Middleclass Education Concept, may not apply to Hispanic LEP high school students and thus, further research for this population is needed.
A STUDY OF TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION BY RESEARCHERS

This paper examines the recent development of an e-research agenda. e-Research is taken as the latest stage of the e-science programme, which – as developed in tandem with web 2.0 tools – has begun to be adopted by researchers. This paper discusses these research infrastructures before current research investigating the relationship between academic researchers and technology is reviewed. The results of a survey undertaken in 2007 within a UK research-led university are presented and analysed in order to answer the questions about the uptake of these technologies by academic researchers and the relationship between the two technological infrastructures. If e-research is to mean enhanced research, it must include web 2.0 developments alongside e-science initiatives, even if this poses problems for institutional support and development.
The Influence of Magnesium lons on the NMDA Mediated Responses of Ventral Rhythmic Neurons in the Spinal Cord of Xenopus Embryos

Xenopus embryos immobilized in tubocurarine respond to natural skin stimulation with fictive swimming. This can also occur in saline without Mg2+ and is blocked by NMDA antagonists. Ventral spinal cord neurons which are rhythmically active during swimming are depolarized by bath applied N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) (in 1 μM tetrodotoxin (TTX) to block indirect effects). By using current clamp techniques this depolarization is shown to be partially blocked by 0.5 and 1 mM Mg2+ in a voltage‐dependent manner similar to that described in cultured neurons.
A new segmentation-based GPU-accelerated sparse matrix-vector multiplication

In this paper, we propose a new fast parallel sparse matrix-vector multiplication (SpMV) algorithm on GPU platforms. The new algorithm, called segSpMV, is based on the compressed sparse row (CSR) format and can be applied to wide computational applications with both structured and unstructured matrices. The SpMV operation has very low computing to communication ratio and is bandwidth-limited. The new SpMV algorithm tries to reduce the memory access by partitioning the rows, whose nonzero patterns are irregular in general, into a number of fixed-length segments. As a result, both multiplication and summation phases now can enjoy the coalesced memory access and they can be finished in one kernel launch. The summation phase can also be further improved by using GPU reduction techniques for large segment lengths. The resulting SpMV method constantly outperforms all published algorithms and the SpMV method in the recent CUSPARSE library based on a set of public matrix benchmarks.
Radiophotonic method for instantaneous frequency measurement based on principles of “frequency-amplitude” conversion in Fiber Bragg grating and additional frequency separation

This article describes the design principles of optoelectronic system (OES) for instantaneous frequency measurement (IFM) of microwave signals based on the use of amplitude-phase modulation conversion of single optical carrier into symmetrical dual-frequency signal for additional frequency separation, its modulation by unknown frequency and subsequent “frequency-amplitude” measurement conversion in Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) with Gaussian reflection profile. Such approach allows increasing of measurement resolution at low frequencies.
High-Speed Video System for Micro-Expression Detection and Recognition

Micro-expressions play an essential part in understanding non-verbal communication and deceit detection. They are involuntary, brief facial movements that are shown when a person is trying to conceal something. Automatic analysis of micro-expression is challenging due to their low amplitude and to their short duration (they occur as fast as 1/15 to 1/25 of a second). We propose a fully micro-expression analysis system consisting of a high-speed image acquisition setup and a software framework which can detect the frames when the micro-expressions occurred as well as determine the type of the emerged expression. The detection and classification methods use fast and simple motion descriptors based on absolute image differences. The recognition module it only involves the computation of several 2D Gaussian probabilities. The software framework was tested on two publicly available high speed micro-expression databases and the whole system was used to acquire new data. The experiments we performed show that our solution outperforms state of the art works which use more complex and computationally intensive descriptors.
MMSE decision-feedback equalizers and coding. I. Equalization results

The minimum mean-squared-error decision-feedback equalizer (MMSE-DFE) has properties that suggest that it is a canonical equalization structure for systems that combine equalization with coded modulation. The structure and performance of the MMSE-DFE are succinctly derived using linear-estimation-theoretic principles in this first part of this two-part paper. The front-end of the MMSE-DFE, called the "mean-square whitened matched filter" (MS-WMF), is preferable in some ways to a matched filter or a whitened matched filter as a canonical receiver front end. In a coded system, the feedback filter of the MMSE-DFE may be implemented in the transmitter using precoding. The MMSE-DFE can perform significantly better than a zero-forcing decision-feedback equalizer, particularly at moderate-to-low SNR's and on severe-ISI channels. The MMSE-DFE is biased. The optimum unbiased MMSE-DFE is the MMSE-DFE with the bias removed. Removing bias improves error probability, but reduces the SNR to SNR/sub MMSE-DFE,U/=SNR/sub MMSE-DFE/-1. It is shown that this SNR relationship is a particular case of a very general result and that SNR/sub MMSE-DFE,U/ gives a more realistic estimate of SNR. The results are extended to partial response equalization and to equalization with correlated inputs in an appendix. >
Scattering on Dislocations and Cosmic Strings in the Geometric Theory of Defects

Abstract We consider scattering of elastic waves on parallel wedge dislocations in the geometric theory of defects or, equivalently, scattering of point particles and light rays on cosmic strings. Dislocations are described as torsion singularities located on parallel lines, and trajectories of phonons are assumed to be the corresponding extremals. Extremals are found for arbitrary distribution of the dislocations in the monopole, dipole, and quadrupole approximation and the scattering angle is obtained. Examples of continuous distribution of wedge and edge dislocations are considered. We have found that for deficit angles close to −2 π a star located behind a cosmic string may have any even number of images, 2, 4, 6, … The close relationship between dislocations and conformal maps is elucidated in detail.
Abrogation of heparan sulfate synthesis in Drosophila disrupts the Wingless, Hedgehog and Decapentaplegic signaling pathways

Studies in Drosophila and vertebrate systems have demonstrated that heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) play crucial roles in modulating growth factor signaling. We have isolated mutations in sister of tout velu (sotv), a gene that encodes a co-polymerase that synthesizes HSPG glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains. Our phenotypic and biochemical analyses reveal that HS levels are dramatically reduced in the absence of Sotv or its partner co-polymerase Tout velu (Ttv), suggesting that both copolymerases are essential for GAG synthesis. Furthermore, we find that mutations in sotv and ttv impair Hh, Wg and Decapentaplegic (Dpp) signaling. This contrasts with previous studies that suggested loss of ttv compromises only Hh signaling. Our results may contribute to understanding the biological basis of hereditary multiple exostoses (HME), a disease associated with bone overgrowth that results from mutations in EXT1 and EXT2, the human orthologs of ttv and sotv.
USUÁRIOS DO PROGRAMA BOLSA FAMÍLIA NO OLHAR DO PSF CARLOS HARDMAN CORTES

Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo analisar os impactos do Programa Bolsa Familia entre os usuarios da Unidade de Saude “Carlos Hardman Cortes” e as implicacoes dessa politica na autonomia e cidadania dos envolvidos. A pesquisa foi de natureza quantitativa e qualitativa, para atingir os objetivos propostos, onde se utilizou como instrumental, a observacao direta, o levantamento bibliografico e documental, levantamento de dados para construcao do perfil das familias que possibilitou reflexoes sobre o processo de cidadania das mesmas. Os sujeitos dessa pesquisa foram as maes que fazem parte do Programa Bolsa familia. • PALAVRAS CHAVE: bolsa familia. cidadania. pobreza.
Vía de señalización del receptor apoptótico Fas en la adicción a opiáceos, La

The aim of this PhD work was to investigate the interactions between opioids receptors and the signaling pathway of the Fas/FADD (Fas Associated-Death Domain) receptor, involved in the regulation of apoptosis and neuronal plasticity. The main results and conclusions are: 1) opiate addiction in rat brain is associated with a strong up-regulation of the pro-apoptotic Fas receptor and a moderate down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 oncoprotein, without altering the content of caspases-8/3, suggesting that possible apoptotic signals engaged by Fas activation would be offset by decreased signal transduction through FADD and effector caspases-8/3; 2) the mi-opioid receptors appears to be associated with a tonic stimulation of monomeric Fas receptor, whereas the delta-opioid receptors tonically inhibits the basal density of trimeric Fas as well as that of FADD. This suggests posible homeostatic interactions between mi- and delta-opioid receptors in the control of Fas receptor machinery, being a major task of the delta-receptor to restrain the activation of Fas signalling; 3) the direct involvement of the two MAP kinases (sequential activation of MEK and ERK) in the in vivo regulation of FADD by the opiate; 4) opiate addiction in human brain is associated with a down-regulation of the inmunodensity of FADD in the prefrontal cortex (short-term and long-term abuse) without altering Fas receptor and effector caspases-8/3; 5) opiate addiction in human brain (long-term abuse) is associated with a normal regulation of the components of the cyclic AMP pathway components (AC I, PKA, CREB, pCREB) and with an important down-regulation of the MAPK (specially pMEK and pERK) pathway components in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting alterations in the neuronal plasticity in those human brains. In summary, the results of this PhD work demonstrated a clear participation of the complex Fas/FADD in opiate addiction, suggesting a new level of complexity in the signaling mediated through the activation of opioids receptors, probably mediating non-apoptotic effects related with neuronal plasticity. "
PLK1 inhibition enhances temozolomide efficacy in IDH1 mutant gliomas

Despite multimodal therapy with radiation and the DNA alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ), malignant gliomas remain incurable. Up to 90% of grades II-III gliomas contain a single mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) allele. IDH1 mutant-mediated transformation is associated with TMZ resistance; however, there is no clinically available means of sensitizing IDH1 mutant tumors to TMZ. In this study we sought to identify a targetable mechanism of TMZ resistance in IDH1 mutant tumors to enhance TMZ efficacy. IDH1 mutant astrocytes rapidly bypassed the G2 checkpoint with unrepaired DNA damage following TMZ treatment. Checkpoint adaptation was accompanied by PLK1 activation and IDH1 mutant astrocytes were more sensitive to treatment with BI2536 and TMZ in combination (<20% clonogenic survival) than either TMZ (~60%) or BI2536 (~75%) as single agents. In vivo, TMZ or BI2536 alone had little effect on tumor size. Combination treatment caused marked tumor shrinkage in all mice and complete tumor regression in 5 of 8 mice. Mutant IDH1 promotes checkpoint adaptation which can be exploited therapeutically with the combination of TMZ and a PLK1 inhibitor, indicating PLK1 inhibitors may be clinically valuable in the treatment of IDH1 mutant gliomas.
Nitrososphaera viennensis gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic and mesophilic, ammonia-oxidizing archaeon from soil and a member of the archaeal phylum Thaumarchaeota

A mesophilic, neutrophilic and aerobic, ammonia-oxidizing archaeon, strain EN76T, was isolated from garden soil in Vienna (Austria). Cells were irregular cocci with a diameter of 0.6–0.9 µm and possessed archaella and archaeal pili as cell appendages. Electron microscopy also indicated clearly discernible areas of high and low electron density, as well as tubule-like structures. Strain EN76T had an S-layer with p3 symmetry, so far only reported for members of the Sulfolobales. Crenarchaeol was the major core lipid. The organism gained energy by oxidizing ammonia to nitrite aerobically, thereby fixing CO2, but growth depended on the addition of small amounts of organic acids. The optimal growth temperature was 42 °C and the optimal pH was 7.5, with ammonium and pyruvate concentrations of 2.6 and 1 mM, respectively. The genome of strain EN76T had a DNA G+C content of 52.7 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA genes showed that strain EN76T is affiliated with the recently proposed phylum Thaumarchaeota, sharing 85 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with the closest cultivated relative ‘Candidatus Nitrosopumilus maritimus’ SCM1, a marine ammonia-oxidizing archaeon, and a maximum of 81 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with members of the phyla Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota and any of the other recently proposed phyla (e.g. ‘Korarchaeota’ and ‘Aigarchaeota’). We propose the name Nitrososphaera viennensis gen. nov., sp. nov. to accommodate strain EN76T. The type strain of Nitrososphaera viennensis is strain EN76T ( = DSM 26422T = JMC 19564T). Additionally, we propose the family Nitrososphaeraceae fam. nov., the order Nitrososphaerales ord. nov. and the class Nitrososphaeria classis nov.
Extended orthogonal STBC for OFDM with partial channel knowledge at the transmitter

Orthogonal space-time block codes (STBC) constitute a simple way of exploiting transmit diversity. If no channel knowledge is available at the transmitter the use of diversity can increase performance significantly. However, if some partial channel state information (CSI) is available, such as knowledge of the transmit correlation matrix, adapting transmission to this knowledge provides additional performance gains. In such case, adaptivity can be introduced by using a unitary eigenbeamformer with beams pointing along the directions of the eigenvectors of the transmit correlation matrix and applying a convenient power loading along the resulting beams. While for Rayleigh-fading channel eigenbeamforming has been shown to be optimum in terms of ergodic capacity, so far, no closed solution for the optimum power loading has been found. In the work at hand, orthogonal STBC are combined with eigenbeamforming in an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) context and an optimum power loading is found, where optimality refers to an upperbound of pairwise error probability (PEP). The resulting signaling scheme can be viewed as an extension of STBC to OFDM with partial channel knowledge. The solution represents a very interesting trade-off between transmit diversity and antenna gain.
Linear State Feedback Regulation of a Furuta Pendulum: Design Based on Differential Flatness and Root Locus

Different educational and didactic papers that allow students to experimentally validate linear controllers have been reported. However, generally, in those papers, procedure followed to select controller gains is not discussed. This lack of information renders difficult experimental implementation of controllers by students who, in general, do not have enough experience on controller tuning. Motivated by this situation, this paper introduces a methodology that provides important information on how to select controller gains for regulation in a Furuta pendulum. This methodology allows improving closed-loop system performance in a desired direction. Differential flatness is the Furuta pendulum property that is exploited. The main idea is to translate a linear state feedback control design problem into a scenario, where classical tools such as root locus can be used. As an example, controller design is directed toward reduction or even elimination of limit cycle effects. The proposal is experimentally tested on a built Furuta pendulum. These experimental results show that the closed-loop system performance is improved, and hence, the proposed methodology is successfully validated.
Population structure and genetic diversity in tristylous Narcissus triandrus: insights from microsatellite and chloroplast DNA variation

We investigated cpDNA sequence and nuclear microsatellite variation among populations of the wild daffodil Narcissus triandrus to examine the role of historical vs. contemporary forces in shaping population structure, morphological differentiation and sexual‐system evolution. This wide‐ranging heterostylous species of the Iberian Peninsula is largely composed of two allopatric varieties (vars. cernuus and triandrus), and populations with either stylar trimorphism or dimorphism. Dimorphic populations only occur in var. triandrus, are mainly restricted to the northwestern portion of the species range, and uniformly lack the mid‐styled morph (M‐morph). Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequence variation revealed strong geographical structuring and evidence for a fragmentation event associated with differentiation of the two varieties. In var. triandrus, population fragmentation, restricted gene flow and isolation‐by‐distance were also inferred. Significant differences in genetic diversity and population structure between the two varieties likely reflect historical and contemporary differences in demography and gene flow among populations. Discordance between cpDNA markers and both microsatellite and morphological variation indicate that hybridization has occurred between the two varieties at contact zones. There were no differences in genetic diversity or population structure between dimorphic and trimorphic populations, and chloroplast haplotypes were not associated with either sexual system, indicating transitions in morph structure within each maternal lineage. M‐morph frequencies were positively correlated with differentiation at microsatellite loci, indicating that the evolutionary processes influencing these neutral markers also influence alleles controlling the style morphs.
Improved estimates of age, growth and reproduction for the regionally endemic Galapagos sailfin grouper Mycteroperca olfax (Jenyns, 1840)

The Galapagos Sailfin grouper, Mycteroperca olfax, locally known as bacalao and listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, is culturally, economically, and ecologically important to the Galapagos archipelago and its people. It is regionally endemic to the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and, while an important fishery resource that has shown substantial declines in recent years, to date no effective management regulations are in place to ensure the sustainability of the Galapagos fishery for this species. Previous estimates of longevity and size at maturity for bacalao are inconsistent with estimates for congeners, which brings into question the accuracy of prior estimates. We set out to assess the age, growth, and reproductive biology of bacalao in order to provide more accurate life history information to inform more effective fisheries management for this species. The oldest fish in our sample was 21 years old, which is 2–3 times greater than previously reported estimates of longevity. Parameter estimates for the von Bertalanffy growth function (k = 0.11, L∞ = 110 cm TL, and to = − 1.7 years) show bacalao to grow much slower and attain substantially larger asymptotic maximum length than previous studies. Mean size at maturity (as female) was estimated at 65.3 cm TL, corresponding to a mean age of 6.5 years. We found that sex ratios were extremely female biased (0.009 M:1F), with a large majority of the individuals in our experimental catch being immature (79%). Our results show that bacalao grow slower, live longer, and mature at a much larger size and greater age than previously thought, with very few mature males in the population. These findings have important implications for the fishery of this valuable species and provide the impetus for a long-overdue species management plan to ensure its long-term sustainability.