Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Late Transition to Technical College: Perspectives from Males Approaching Adulthood

This study was about the transition experiences of a sample of nine young adult males who enrolled in technical college several years after leaving high school. Introduction This study focused upon the personal experiences of working class adult males who enrolled in a large midwestern technical college. The participants all left home and high school several years ago, with no apparent goals toward continuing their education. The rationale for including only males was based upon current reports that fewer males are enrolling in post secondary institutions (Marklein, 2005; Tyre, 2006). The purpose of the study was to better understand how or why working class males found themselves able to reengage their education; despite being disconnected from formal schooling for several years. The study specifically addressed the internal and external factors that facilitated the transition of males situated in the early adulthood stage; from work to school or concurrent engagement in school and work. Life stage development provided a conceptual framework related to the transition process and phases of exploration and stabilization that characterize movement towards our conception of what it means to be an adult (Levinson, l978). As much as adolescence emerged as a distinct life stage a century ago, early adulthood is now emerging as a unique period characterized with new psychological identities and social affiliations (Arnett, 2004; Settersten, 2005). Other pertinent theories and studies centering on adult and career development were examined in order to learn more about psychosocial factors that facilitate or hinder the progress of individuals in the transition process (eg., Lewin, 1953; Erikson, 1968; Rogers, 1977; Marsick & Watkins, 1990; Bandura, 1986; and Super, 1990. Methodology Qualitative research methods were consistent with seeking to interpret the meaning of human experience from the subjective view of participants. Borg & Gall (1999) stated that reality is constructed from the perspective of the participants who are best suited to describe their own reality. The emphasis is on the social processes and the meanings that participants attribute to social situations (p.p. 386-387). Following a set of semi structured questions; the participants were asked to reflect upon experiences after they left high school and up to the present time. The interview questions were designed to elicit an open dialogue about factors perceived to facilitate or hinder college transition (Glesne, 1999). The 90-minute interviews were audio taped, transcribed, and initial coding was accomplished with the assistance of a qualitative analysis computer software program, ATLAS.ti, developed by Thomas Muhr in 1997). Several themes emerged from the thick descriptions included in the individual written profiles, and a cross case analysis was chosen to highlight the key themes.
Determination of immune memory to hepatitis B vaccination through early booster response in college students

The long‐term protection of hepatitis B (HB) vaccination has been debated for years. The purpose here was to evaluate the kinetic changes of antibody to HB surface antigen (anti‐HBs) and define immune memory of the HB vaccine among college students who had previously received full neonatal immunization against HB. In all, 127 college students aged 18‐23 years born after July 1984 who had completed HB vaccination and were seronegative for all three HB viral markers, including HB surface antigen (HBsAg), antibody to HB core protein (anti‐HBc), and anti‐HBs, were recruited. They received three doses of HB vaccine at enrollment, 1 month and 6 months after enrollment. Their anti‐HBs titers were assayed at enrollment, 7‐10 days, 1 month, 6 months, and 7 months following the first dose of HB vaccine. The anti‐HBs seroprotective rates for subjects 7‐10 days, 1 month, 6 months, and 7 months postvaccination were 20.5%, 75.6%, 94.5%, and 99.2%, respectively. Those who were seroprotective at 7 to 10 days after one dose of HB vaccine booster developed significantly higher levels of anti‐HBs at 1 and 6 months than those not developing seroprotective anti‐HBs response at an earlier timepoint. Conclusion: At least one‐quarter of HB vaccinees have lost their immune memory to the HB vaccine when entering college. Immune memory to HB vaccine was identified by early seroconversion, which was present in only 20% of vaccinees in the present study. To ensure higher than 90% anti‐HBs seroconversion rates, at least 2 doses of HB booster vaccines are recommended for at‐risk youths who received complete HB vaccinations in neonatal or infant periods but are seronegative for HBsAg, anti‐HBs, and anti‐HBc in adolescence. (Hepatology 2010;)
Suffix Tree Based Chinese Document Feature Extraction and Clustering in RSS Aggregator

Abstract — In RSS aggregator, the important issue is how to make the feeds information more manageable for RSS subscriber. In this paper, we propose a suffix tree based RSS feeds document clustering in Chinese RSS aggregator. We construct a suffix tree with meaningful Chinese words, and choose the phrases with high score given by a formula as document features. We cluster document using group-average algorithm with a new document similarity measure. The experiment results show that the new method can improve the quality of clustering in document “snippets” scenario, and the speed can meet the demand of “on the fly” clustering. Index Terms — suffix tree, feature extraction, document clustering, RSS I. I NTRODUCTION RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content, and provide news updates from a website in a simple form for web user. RSS feeds benefit readers who want to subscribe the timely updates from favorite websites. However, RSS does not solve the problem of information overload for user, and things tend to get worse as the reader subscribes more and more feeds. One way to deal with the information overload problem is to implement a clustering method within a RSS aggregator. By clustering similar items, a feed aggregator can provide a more friendly interface to user, enable the user to quickly filter duplicate or very similar items [1]. It can also help in filtering out topics that the user is not interested in. Clustering technique relies on four concepts: data representation model, similarity measure, clustering model and clustering algorithm [2]. From all of these parts, the document representation is the most important, because it determines the way that the other three parts choose. In RSS aggregator, Feed usually send a title and a snippet of content for a feed item along with a link to the full content of that item, so the document representation implemented within RSS aggregators needs to extract the document features from the limited RSS snippet content. In RSS scenario, we choose suffix tree document model [3] which does not treat a document as a bag of words but rather as a string, making use of proximity information between words. By extracting more information present in the documents, we believe suffix tree document model can help in improving the quality of the clusters. In this paper, we present a novel method for Chinese snippets clustering. Firstly, we obtain meaningful words (always noun and verb in Chinese) from snippets by Chinese word segmentation at the stage of document preparing. In the construction of Chinese suffix tree, we ignore the nodes (feature phrases) with a high document frequency (
Research considerations for improving capsule endoscopy technology

Over the past 15 years, capsule endoscopy has been an important tool for the examination of the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Compared to traditional colonoscopy and gastroscopy examination technologies, capsule endoscopy is able to examine the GI tract more effortlessly and smoothly, including the small intestine which was formerly unreachable. While the small size of the commercialized capsule endoscopy makes it easy to swallow, it detracts from the efficiency of the imaging device inside the capsule and does not allow for the inclusion of an internal locomotion device, leading to limitations such as low image resolution, passive capsule movement and low power source capacity. Research has mainly focused on developing: locomotion and powering mechanisms; an algorithm for view time reduction; or image compressor simplification and complexity reduction. This study aims to provide researchers and engineers with the drawbacks of the existing studies into improving capsule endoscopy efficiency. The current study has addressed a number of limitations associated with the methods proposed previously for each of these research trends and suggest further investigations for improving the capsule endoscopy technology for better diagnosis of many concerning diseases related to the gastrointestinal tract. This survey paper not only identified the technical limitations in existing research but also classifies studies to aid the understanding of engineers.
Kinematic Basis for Body Specific Locomotor Mechanics and Perturbation Responses

17 Introduction . 18 Methods . 20 Results . 22 Discussion. 26 References Cited . 30 Tables . 33 Figures . 36 Chapter 3: Locomotor Control Strategy Determines Stability during Perturbation Recovery in Three Species of Running Crabs . 49 Abstract . 50. 50 Introduction . 51 Methods . 54 Results . 55
Fuzzy linguistic summaries: Where are we, where can we go?

Along with the increase of the amount of data stored and to be analyzed, different techniques of data analysis have been developed over the years. One of them, the linguistic summary, aims at summing up large volume of data into simple sentences. In this paper, we present an overview of two main streams of research, namely fuzzy logic based systems and natural language generation, covering the methods designed to work with numerical data, time series, or simple labels (enumerations). We focus on the former stream and we give some hints to go further on fuzzy quantifiers.
Identifying Subsystems of a Software System by Using the Concepts of Software Clustering

The size of the Software System is continuously growing and it is very hard for us to understand the structure of a typical software system without having a complete and proper documentation. But Now-a-days Most of the Software systems which are being developed in various software industries are unable to have the complete project documentation. The main reason for this could be the continuously changing man power who works on a particular project for a particular time and in the maintenance period the Software System will go through an enormous evolution in its structure because of the continuous change in the client’s requirements. The main problem will occur when the team who have developed the Software system changes and a new team come to maintain that Software System. Because of lack of the exact and proper documentation they are unable to completely understand the total structure of the Software System. This will again lead to the wastage of time and resources to give support for those types of Software Systems. Here in this paper we are discussing an approach called Architectural Knowledgebase with proper Outlier Analysis to solve the problem of understanding an improperly documented Software System by using the concept of Software Clustering.
Convergent Decomposition Solvers for Tree-reweighted Free Energies

We investigate minimization of treereweighted free energies for the purpose of obtaining approximate marginal probabilities and upper bounds on the partition function of cyclic graphical models. The solvers we present for this problem work by directly tightening tree-reweighted upper bounds. As a result, they are particularly ecient for tree-reweighted energies arising from a small number of spanning trees. While this assumption may seem restrictive at rst, we show how small sets of trees can be constructed in a principled manner. An appealing property of our algorithms, which results from the problem decomposition, is that they are embarrassingly parallel. In contrast to the original message passing algorithm introduced for this problem, we obtain global convergence guarantees.
Subclinical Hypothyroidism Is Independently Associated with Microalbuminuria in a Cohort of Prediabetic Egyptian Adults

Background Recent evidence has suggested an association between subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and microalbuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, whether SCH is related to microalbuminuria among subjects with prediabetes has not been studied. Thus, we evaluated the association between SCH and microalbuminuria in a cohort of prediabetic Egyptian adults. Methods A total of 147 prediabetic subjects and 150 healthy controls matched for age and sex were enrolled in this study. Anthropometric measurements, plasma glucose, lipid profile, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine, triiodothyronine levels, and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) were assessed. Results The prevalence of SCH and microalbuminuria in the prediabetic subjects was higher than that in the healthy controls (16.3% vs. 4%, P<0.001; and 12.9% vs. 5.3%, P=0.02, respectively). Prediabetic subjects with SCH were characterized by significantly higher HOMA-IR, TSH levels, UACR, and prevalence of microalbuminuria than those with euthyroidism. TSH level was associated with total cholesterol (P=0.05), fasting insulin (P=0.01), HOMA-IR (P=0.01), and UACR (P=0.005). UACR was associated with waist circumference (P=0.01), fasting insulin (P=0.05), and HOMA-IR (P=0.02). With multiple logistic regression analysis, SCH was associated with microalbuminuria independent of confounding variables (β=2.59; P=0.01). Conclusion Our findings suggest that prediabetic subjects with SCH demonstrate higher prevalence of microalbuminuria than their non-SCH counterparts. SCH is also independently associated with microalbuminuria in prediabetic subjects. Screening and treatment for SCH may be warranted in those patients.
SESAM: A semi-synchronous, energy savvy, application-aware MAC

In spite of the huge recent research effort in the field, energy efficiency remains one of the key issues in wireless communications. The area most affected by energy inefficiency is Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). In this paper we propose SESAM - a distributed MAC protocol, which, making use of application level information to predict future transmission instants between nodes, achieves an exceptional level of energy conservation.
A Framework for a Highly Constrained Sports Scheduling Problem

This paper introduces a framework for a highly constrained sports scheduling problem which is modeled from the requirements of various professional sports leagues. We define a sports scheduling problem, introduce the necessary terminology and detail the constraints of the problem. A set of artificial and real-world instances derived from the actual problems solved for the professional sports league owners are proposed. We publish the best solutions we have found, and invite the sports scheduling community to find solutions to the unsolved instances. We believe that the instances will help researchers to test the value of their solution methods. The instances are available online.
The i3DPost Multi-View and 3D Human Action/Interaction Database

In this paper a new multi-view/3D human action/interaction database is presented. The database has been created using a convergent eight camera setup to produce high definition multi-view videos, where each video depicts one of eight persons performing one of twelve different human motions. Various types of motions have been recorded, i.e., scenes where one person performs a specific movement, scenes where a person executes different movements in a succession and scenes where two persons interact with each other. Moreover, the subjects have different body sizes, clothing and are of different sex, nationalities, etc. The multi-view videos have been further processed to produce a 3D mesh at each frame describing the respective 3D human body surface. To increase the applicability of the database, for each person a multi-view video depicting the person performing sequentially the six basic facial expressions separated by the neutral expression has also been recorded. The database is freely available for research purposes.
Structural Health Monitoring system considering fault-tolerance

Structural health monitoring (SHM) system uses a number of sensors for a precise prediction. This prediction enables to provide early indication of vulnerability of a structure and the timing of reinforcement in order to prevent future collapse. SHM systems are now widely spreading in infrastructures. However, conventional SHM systems did not take account of accidental collapse. There is a possibility that sensor node goes down or network goes offline. If sensor nodes are broken by damage, important data, stored in the nodes will have lost. To prevent the data loss, this paper proposes data-distributed fault-tolerant sensor network system for a SHM system. Proposed system consists of three functions, PING (Packet InterNet Groper) based network monitoring function (PNM), backup node selecting function (BNS) and socket communication function. Proposed system is implemented on PCs and practically evaluated in a laboratory environment on terminals of KNIVES, which is a test bed of sensor network system. As a result, Data sharing process on PC and KNIVES was confirmed and proposed method can provide a light-weight fault-tolerant system taking account of accidental collapse.
De novo gain-of-function and loss-of-function mutations of SCN8A in patients with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy

Background Mutations of SCN8A encoding the neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.6 are associated with early-infantile epileptic encephalopathy type 13 (EIEE13) and intellectual disability. Using clinical exome sequencing, we have detected three novel de novo SCN8A mutations in patients with intellectual disabilities, and variable clinical features including seizures in two patients. To determine the causality of these SCN8A mutations in the disease of those three patients, we aimed to study the (dys)function of the mutant sodium channels. Methods The functional consequences of the three SCN8A mutations were assessed using electrophysiological analyses in transfected cells. Genotype–phenotype correlations of these and other cases were related to the functional analyses. Results The first mutant displayed a 10 mV hyperpolarising shift in voltage dependence of activation (gain of function), the second did not form functional channels (loss of function), while the third mutation was functionally indistinguishable from the wildtype channel. Conclusions Comparison of the clinical features of these patients with those in the literature suggests that gain-of-function mutations are associated with severe EIEE, while heterozygous loss-of-function mutations cause intellectual disability with or without seizures. These data demonstrate that functional analysis of missense mutations detected by clinical exome sequencing, both inherited and de novo, is valuable for clinical interpretation in the age of massive parallel sequencing.
Modeling of Nonlinear Guided Waves and Applications to Structural Health Monitoring

AbstractPropagation of nonlinear waves in solid waveguides is a branch of wave mechanics that has received ever-increasing interest in the last few decades. Nonlinear guided waves are promising candidates for interrogating long waveguide-like structures as they conveniently combine high sensitivity to peculiar structural conditions (defects, quasi-static loads, instability conditions), typical of nonlinear parameters, with large inspection ranges, characteristic of wave propagation in confined media. However, the mathematical framework governing the nonlinear guided wave phenomena becomes extremely difficult when characterized to waveguides that are complex in either material (damping, anisotropy, heterogeneous, and the like) or geometry (multilayers, geometric periodicity, and the like). Therefore, the successful use of nonlinear guided waves as a structural diagnostic tool is not always a trivial task. In particular, the efficiency of nonlinear structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques based on high.
Clarifying the role of social support in the relationship between stressors and strains at work: The effect of self-construals

CLARIFYING THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRESSORS AND STRAINS AT WORK: THE EFFECT OF SELF-CONSTRUALS by Maria João S. de Carvalho Practitioners and researchers often focus on social support to allay occupational stress, despite inconsistent results from empirical studies. This longitudinal study examined the impact of nurses’ self-construals on the effect of social support on the relationship between stressors and outcomes, based on research showing that people in individualistic and collectivistic cultures perceive supervisor and coworker support differently and research showing culture is internalized as self-construals. The aim of the study was to identify circumstances in which social support mitigates stress. Survey data were collected at two points in time (about four weeks apart), from 139 nurses in two northern California hospitals, and subjected to hierarchical multiple regression and correlation analyses. Results showed that most models for direct effects of social support on outcomes were supported and none of the models for two-way interactions of support and stressors on outcomes were supported. However, self-construal did interact with social support and stressors but in the opposite direction of what was hypothesized. Coworker support aggravated the effect of role overload on anxiety for interdependents (reverse buffering) but not independents. Supervisor support aggravated the effect of role ambiguity on health and burnout for independents but mitigated it for interdependents (buffering). These findings, while opposing the hypotheses, still showed the importance of context in the role of social support on occupational stress and this role’s complexity.
A Politics Mash-Up

A mashup in the worldwide web is an application that collects data from multiple sources of information and presents them in a unique way. This paper describes a mashup on politics that integrates both geographical and chronological dimensions regarding the 2008 presidential election of the United States of America. Users of this mashup can browse through news articles, poll results, donations/contributions, and so forth arranged geographically over a time frame. It helps users of the system to organize diverse pieces of information, and facilitates geographical/chronological interpretation which is not apparent and hidden behind the disorganized scene.
GMTI radar data analysis and simulation

GMTI radars produce a huge amount of data with measurements of up to several thousands of objects. So the analysis and realistic simulation of GMTI data is a big challenge, since the sensor dynamics, its moving platform and the radar characteristics also have to be taken into account as the data load. Still the land and sea environment of the targets, including models using road maps or straits, increase the complexity of GMTI data interpretation and simulation as well. Finally, with the NATO STANAG 4607 there exists a standard but also very generic and complex GMTI radar interface which describes the data encoding and gives furthermore the ability to map the sensor dynamics into the data. Violations of this standard are sometimes difficult to find though they have a great impact on GMTI tracker performance. This paper describes the problems that can occur with a GMTI radar interface and presents the principles of a tooling suite for GMTI radar data analysis and simulation.