Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beyond Survival to Thrival: A Narrative Study of an Urban Teacher's Career Journey

Teacher burn out contributes to the epidemic of early career exit. At least half of all new K-12 teachers leave the profession by the time they reach their fifth year of teaching. Conversely, there are urban teachers who survive burn out and thrive as careerlong educators. This qualitative study is an in-depth look into one 40-year veteran teacher’s career narrative, answering the question: How did this teacher not only survive but also thrive as a career-long urban teacher? Additionally, the following sub-questions are explored: a) How is her spirit sustained throughout her teacher lifecycle? b) How can her story contribute to the literature as a counter-narrative to the current rhetoric focused on “teacher bashing”? A critical socio-political lens guides this study. The socio-political forces that lead to urban teacher burn out are explained. The idea of teacher burn in, in which educators experience the symptoms of burn out, but choose to remain in the profession and exist as toxic influences, is discussed and related to teacher career theory. However, the more hopeful idea of urban teacher thrival is uncovered through narrative methodology. This narrative study reveals three salient themes. First hope springs eternal is the idea that sustaining hope supported the veteran teacher’s career thrival. Next, the iii extended education family is the notion that familial-like relationships at school nourished the teacher’s longevity. The third theme, creative autonomy, reveals that by being empowered with opportunities for curriculum development and instructional decision-making the teacher maintained her passion. Each theme was influenced by the participant’s internal dispositional factors and external conditional factors. These factors are discussed. The above themes, combined with deeply rooted caring relationships with students, proved to be the most important aspects of the participant’s sustained spirit. Furthermore, this study illustrates how teacher narratives can act as counter-narratives to teacher bashing through revealing the systemic impact that can be made by the career of one thriving teacher. Implications for teachers, educational leaders, teacher educators and researchers are discussed.
Fusion Modeling in Vlasov-Like Models

The methods developed by the authors are applied to a few important reductions of BBGKY hierarchy, namely, various examples of Vlasov-like systems important both for fusion modeling and for particular physical problems related to plasma/beam physics. As in companion paper [1] devoted to the general situation of kinetic hierarchies, we concentrate mostly on the phenomena of localization and pattern formation to create a realistic model for fusion state in plasma.
Estimating the burden of musculoskeletal disorders in the community: the comparative prevalence of symptoms at different anatomical sites, and the relation to social deprivation

BACKGROUND Epidemiologically-based rheumatology healthcare needs assessment requires an understanding of the incidence and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the community, of the reasons why people consult in primary care, and of the proportion of people who would benefit from referral to secondary care and paramedical services. This paper reports the first phase of such a needs assessment exercise. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE To estimate the relative frequency of musculoskeletal pain in different, and multiple, anatomical sites in the adult population. SETTING Three general practices in the former Tameside and Glossop Health Authority, Greater Manchester, UK, a predominantly urban area. DESIGN Population survey. METHODS An age and sex stratified sample of 6000 adults from the three practices was mailed a questionnaire that sought data on demographic factors, musculoskeletal symptoms (pain in the past month lasting for more than a week), and physical disability (using the modified Health Assessment Questionnaire- mHAQ). The areas of pain covered were neck, back, shoulder, elbow, hand, hip, knee, and multiple joints. The Carstairs index was used as a measure of social deprivation of the postcode sector in which the person lived. RESULTS The response rate after two reminders was 78.5%. Non-responders were more likely to live in areas of high social deprivation. People who lived in more deprived areas were also more likely to report musculoskeletal pain, especially backpain. After adjusting for social deprivation the rates of musculoskeletal pain did not differ between the practices and so their results were combined. After adjustment for social deprivation, the most common site of pain was back (23%; 95% CI 21, 25) followed by knee (19%; 95% CI 18, 21), and shoulder (16%; 95% CI 14, 17). The majority of subjects who reported pain had pain in more than one site. The prevalence of physical disability in the community rose with age. It was highest in those with multiple joint problems but was also high in those with isolated back or knee pain. CONCLUSION Musculoskeletal pain is common in the community. People who live in socially deprived areas have more musculoskeletal symptoms. Estimates of the overall burden of musculoskeletal pain that combine the results of site specific surveys will be too high, those that do not adjust for socioeconomic factors will be too low.
Modular resetting of synchronous data-flow programs

This paper presents an extension of a synchronous dataow language providing full functionality with a modular reset operator. This operator can be considered as a basic primitive for describing dynamic recon gurations in a purely dataow framework. The extension proposed here is conservative with respect to the fundamental properties of the initial language: reactivity (i.e, execution in bounded memory and time) and referential transparency are kept. The reset operator is thus compatible with higher-order. This is obtained by extending the clock calculus of the initial language and providing a compilation method. We illustrate the use of this operator by describing an automatic encoding of Mode-automata. All the experiments presented in the paper has been done with Lucid Synchrone, an ML extension of Lustre.
Drugs of Abuse Can Entrain Circadian Rhythms

Circadian rhythms prepare organisms for predictable events during the Earth's 24-h day. These rhythms are entrained by a variety of stimuli. Light is the most ubiquitous and best known zeitgeber, but a number of others have been identified, including food, social cues, locomotor activity, and, most recently drugs of abuse. Given the diversity of zeitgebers, it is probably not surprising that genes capable of clock functions are located throughout almost all organs and tissues. Recent evidence suggests that drugs of abuse can directly entrain some circadian rhythms. We have report here that entrainment by drugs of abuse is independent of the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the light/dark cycle, is not dependent on direct locomotor stimulation, and is shared by a variety of classes of drugs of abuse. We suggest that drug-entrained rhythms reflect variations in underlying neurophysiological states. This could be the basis for known daily variations in drug metabolism, tolerance, and sensitivity to drug reward. These rhythms could also take the form of daily periods of increased motivation to seek and take drugs, and thus contribute to abuse, addiction and relapse.
Effect of antenna bandwidth and placement on the robustness to user interaction

Modern smart phones require antenna systems that can deal with an ever-growing number of bands. This study compares two different approaches to the coverage of large bandwidths: Wide-band (WB) antennas covering a whole band at once and tunable narrow-band (NB) antennas covering only one channel at a time but tunable to all channels within the band of interest. To investigate the effect of antenna placement the antennas are placed both at the top and the bottom of the phone. All antenna configurations are simulated in talk position with a head and hand included. The hand is constructed with a movable index finger and the index finger is swept at 6 positions on the backside of the phone. The study shows that WB antennas detune a lot more than NB antennas and that top-mounted antennas are experiencing more than 6 dB higher losses than bottom-mounted antennas. It is proposed to expand this study with more antenna types and placements as both of these parameters are known to influence the immunity to the user. It is also proposed to compare the simulation results to measurements to increase the confidence in the results.
Human sperm cells swimming in micro-channels

The migratory abilities of motile human spermatozoa in vivo are essential for natural fertility, but it remains a mystery what properties distinguish the tens of cells which find an egg from the millions of cells ejaculated. To reach the site of fertilization, sperm must traverse narrow and convoluted channels, filled with viscous fluids. To elucidate individual and group behaviors that may occur in the complex three-dimensional female tract environment, we examine the behavior of migrating sperm in assorted micro-channel geometries. Cells rarely swim in the central part of the channel cross-section, instead traveling along the intersection of the channel walls (`channel corners'). When the channel turns sharply, cells leave the corner, continuing ahead until hitting the opposite wall of the channel, with a distribution of departure angles, the latter being modulated by fluid viscosity. If the channel bend is smooth, cells depart from the inner wall when the curvature radius is less than a threshold value close to 150 micron. Specific wall shapes are able to preferentially direct motile cells. As a consequence of swimming along the corners, the domain occupied by cells becomes essentially 1-dimensional. This leads to frequent collisions and needs to be accounted for when modeling the behavior of populations of migratory cells and considering how sperm populate and navigate the female tract. The combined effect of viscosity and three-dimensional architecture should be accounted for in future in vitro studies of sperm chemoattraction.
Do Asset Price Booms have Negative Real Effects ?

In the recent recession and current economic recovery, policymakers have supported housing prices, expecting that improvement in the balance sheets of banks and consumers will spur economic activity. Considering the period of 1988 through 2006, we document that banks which are active in strong housing markets increase mortgage lending and decrease commercial lending. Firms that borrow from these banks have significantly lower investment. This decrease is especially pronounced for firms which are more capital constrained or borrow from smaller, more regional banks. From a policy standpoint, these results could mitigate any positive effects that come from supporting housing prices. JEL Code: G21, G31, G32.
A comparative study of stochastic unit commitment and security-constrained unit commitment using high performance computing

The large-scale integration of renewable resources has recently raised interest in systematic methods for committing locational reserves in order to secure the system against contingencies and the unpredictable and highly variable fluctuation of renewable energy supply, while accounting for power flow constraints imposed by the transmission network. In this paper we compare two approaches for committing locational reserves: stochastic unit commitment and a hybrid approach of scenario-based security-constrained commitment. Parallel algorithms are developed for solving the resulting models, based on Lagrangian relaxation and Benders decomposition. The proposed algorithms are implemented in a high performance computing environment and the performance of the resulting policies is tested against a reduced model of the California ISO interconnected with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.
Determinants of Involvement in Work for Voluntary or Charitable Organizations in European Countries

Differences in democratic traditions and socioeconomic development of various countries leave a mark on the extent of involvement in work for voluntary organizations. The author makes an attempt to check whether these differences have an effect on the determinants of such kind of involvement. Socioeconomic status, social capital, civic engagement, and political participation were considered as determinants. Multiple linear regressions based on the data of the third and sixth rounds of European Social Survey (ESS-3 and ESS-6) were used to clarify configurations of the factors’ effect. The analysis has shown that socioeconomic factors and main components of social capital proved insignificant. Instead, the behavioral components of civic engagement and political participation turned out to be the most influential and distributed among most European countries. The influence of participation in social activities on the involvement in work for voluntary or charitable organizations is rather inherent in European societies with stable democracy and developed economy.
MDM2 Promoter Polymorphism SNP309 Contributes to Tumor Susceptibility: Evidence from 21 Case-Control Studies

Since the identification of a well-characterized functional polymorphism named SNP309 in MDM2, abundant studies were published in the last 2 years to evaluate the association between SNP309 and tumor risk in diverse populations. However, the results remain conflicting rather than conclusive. Because a single study may have been underpowered to detect the effect of low-penetrance genes, a quantitative synthesis to accumulate data from different studies may provide better evidence on the association of genetic variant with tumor susceptibility. We conducted a meta-analysis on 14,770 cases with different tumor types and 14,524 controls from 25 published case-control studies to estimate the effect of SNP309 on tumor risk, as well as to quantify the potential between-study heterogeneity. We found that variant homozygote 309GG was associated with a significantly increased risk of all types of tumors [homozygote comparison: odds ratio (OR), 1.17, 95% confidential interval (95% CI), 1.04-1.33, P = 0.0002 for heterogeneity test; recessive model comparison: OR, 1.15, 95% CI, 1.03-1.28, P = 0.0005 for heterogeneity test]. Tumor type and ethnicity contributed to the substantial heterogeneity (69.5% for homozygote comparison and 77.2% for recessive model comparison). The analyses suggest that MDM2 SNP309 serves as a low-penetrance susceptibility tumor marker. Further large studies incorporate quantitative detection of different p53-responsible environmental stresses, p53 mutation status, and also functional genetic variants in p53-MDM2–related genes are warranted. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(12):2717–23)
Bayesian model selection and estimation of multiple cisoid models

In this paper we address the problem of Bayesian model selection and estimation, of signals that consists of a sum of complex sinusoids (“cisoids”). This kind of signal models are abundant in a wide range of engineering applications, but has usually been treated in a non Bayesian way. The recent development of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods (MCMC) have opened up the possibility to use Bayesian methods to analyze this kind of signals. Here we present a new combined model selection and estimation method for the case of signals with additive white Gaussian noise and known variance. We demonstrate its use on cisoids closely spaced in frequency, using the Jeffrey prior.
Completable Planning: A Curative Learning Approach to the Imperfect Theory Problem

The complexity of the real world makes a perfect characteriza­ tion impossible. Purely deliberative approaches such as classi­ cal planning are thus susceptible to unexpected failures. Pre­ ventive learning approaches address th e imperfect theory problem through the diagnosis of such failures and the deter­ mination of fixes to avoid similar failures in the future. Cura­ tive learning approaches such as completable planning instead treat fail ures as alternative outcomes and learn alternative plans to the recover from the failures. Through learning, a completable planner learns to pl an only for the more likely out­ comes in the particular problem distribution it faces. It thus significantly reduces the COS! of disjuncti ve planning . As a cu­ rative learning approach, it IS also better suited to domains where outrlghl fa ilures are unacceptable or failure diagnosis is expensive. making pre ventive Jearning infeasible. Complet­ able planning is a general incremental learning approach whose Sllccess in real world domains may be increased through the integration ot ot her learning techniques and the. conside rat io n of different planning perspectives.
Sex-Based ProSeal™ Laryngeal Mask Airway Size Selection: A Randomized Crossover Study of Anesthetized, Paralyzed Male and Female Adult Patients

We compared the Size 4 and 5 ProSeal™ laryngeal mask airway (PLMA™) in men and the Size 3 and 4, and 4 and 5 PLMA™ in women in terms of 1) ease of insertion, 2) oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP), 3) ease of ventilation at a tidal volume of 10 mL/kg, 4) gas exchange, 5) location of gas leak, 6) anatomic position of the airway and drain tube, and 7) mucosal injury. Thirty male and 60 female (ASA physical status I–II; 18–80 yr old) anesthetized, paralyzed patients were studied in a crossover fashion in three equal-sized groups. PLMA™ insertion was performed by a single experienced operator by using digital manipulation. In male patients comparing the Size 4 and 5, OLP was higher (P = 0.0002) and leak fraction lower (P = 0.03) for the Size 5, but the number of insertion attempts, insertion time, mucosal injury, anatomic position, gas exchange, and location of gas leak were similar. In female patients comparing the Size 4 and 5 PLMA™, OLP was higher for the Size 5 (P < 0.0001), but the number of insertion attempts was fewer (P = 0.02), insertion time was quicker (P = 0.02), and there was less mucosal injury (P = 0.01) with the Size 4. There were no differences in anatomic position, gas exchange, or location of gas leak. In female patients comparing the Size 3 and 4 PLMA™, OLP was higher (P = 0.0005) and leak fraction was lower (P = 0.03) for the Size 4, but the number of insertion attempts, insertion time, mucosal injury, anatomic position, gas exchange, and location of gas leak were similar. There were no episodes of failed oxygenation, failed ventilation, or gastric insufflation. We conclude that if size is selected by sex, the Size 4 PLMA™ is preferable for women and the Size 5 PLMA™ for men.
The Secret to Successful User Communities: An Analysis of Computer Associates' User Groups

This paper provides the first large scale study that examines the impact of both individual- and group-specific factors on the benefits users obtain from their user communities. By empirically analysing 924 survey responses from individuals in 161 Computer Associates' user groups, this paper aims to identify the determinants of successful user communities. To measure success, the amount of time individual members save through having access to their user networks is used. As firms can significantly profit from successful user communities, this study proposes four key implications of the empirical results for the management of user communities.
Applying Precision Public Health to Prevent Preterm Birth

Preterm birth (PTB) is one of the major health-care challenges of our time. Being born too early is associated with major risks to the child with potential for serious consequences in terms of life-long disability and health-care costs. Discovering how to prevent PTB needs to be one of our greatest priorities. Recent advances have provided hope that a percentage of cases known to be related to risk factors may be amenable to prevention; but the majority of cases remain of unknown cause, and there is little chance of prevention. Applying the principle of precision public health may offer opportunities previously unavailable. Presented in this article are ideas that may improve our abilities in the fields of studying the effects of migration and of populations in transition, public health programs, tobacco control, routine measurement of length of the cervix in mid-pregnancy by ultrasound imaging, prevention of non-medically indicated late PTB, identification of pregnant women for whom treatment of vaginal infection may be of benefit, and screening by genetics and other “omics. ” Opening new research in these fields, and viewing these clinical problems through a prism of precision public health, may produce benefits that will affect the lives of large numbers of people.
A Formal Framework for the Formalization of Informal Requirements

Systems? requirements are usually written in a natural language since it generally means a greater understanding among the various stakeholders. However, using an informal language potentially gives rise to interpretation problems, which are to be resolved prior to using (automated) verification techniques. This article tackles an important issue pertaining to requirement engineering: how to guide and help requirements? formalization? In order to support the formalization process, we propose a methodology based on a formal structure, which is the corner stone of the refinement process. The operating mode of the refinement process is highly iterative: the aforementioned structure is constructed incrementally until its validity is formally obtained. Although this process is formally backed up, it is a fundamentally subjective one, which means that interpretation errors can still occur. In case of errors, it is essential to be able to backtrack refinements until an interpretation error is found. This is why we require that each refinement be associated with a justification which may subsequently be analyzed in case an error occurred during the verification phase. This formalization process was designed to be used alongside an (unspecific) engineering process, in charge of the implementation. Once the formalization is complete, it is checked against the implementation using testing techniques, or directly against an implementation model via model-checking.