Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Placed and paid for: a national overview of the use of private and voluntary day care facilities for children in need

This paper examines day care provision for children in need, who are placed and paid for by local authorities in non local authority services. The England and Wales Children Act 1989 placed a new duty on local authorities to provide day care services for children who are defined as being ‘in need’, and the guidance accompanying the Act encourages the use of independent sector services for this purpose. This paper brings together the main findings from a survey of all English local authorities, an analysis of local authority documentation and secondary analysis of government statistics to provide a national overview of the use of sponsored day care places for children ‘in need’. It concludes that the majority of English local authorities value the contribution of independent day care providers, but that there are potential problems with adopting a market approach to welfare services, such as low levels of training and support for such providers, and a shortage of suitable service provision in the areas where they are most needed. These require further consideration by policy makers and local authorities.
A low-cost and low-power single-chip DAB+/DAB/FM receiver

This paper describes the design and implementation of a low-cost and low-power receiver IC that houses triple-band Radio Frequency (RF) receivers, baseband demodulators, audio decoders, audio DACs, and memories in a compact 11 mm × 8 mm BGA 88-pin package. At 150-mW power consumption of DAB+ systems operation which includes from RF inputs to audio DAC outputs, this singlechip IC achieves the highest-integration and lowest power-consumption to our best knowledge.
Vitamin E supplementation may transiently increase tuberculosis risk in males who smoke heavily and have high dietary vitamin C intake – comments by Hernández-Garduño

Hemilä & Kaprio(1) found a 72 % increase in the risk of tuberculosis (TB) in males taking vitamin E supplements and having high dietary vitamin C intake; the effect was restricted to heavy smokers as part of the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study.
A three-talk model for shared decision making: multistage consultation process

Objectives To revise an existing three-talk model for learning how to achieve shared decision making, and to consult with relevant stakeholders to update and obtain wider engagement. Design Multistage consultation process. Setting Key informant group, communities of interest, and survey of clinical specialties. Participants 19 key informants, 153 member responses from multiple communities of interest, and 316 responses to an online survey from medically qualified clinicians from six specialties. Results After extended consultation over three iterations, we revised the three-talk model by making changes to one talk category, adding the need to elicit patient goals, providing a clear set of tasks for each talk category, and adding suggested scripts to illustrate each step. A new three-talk model of shared decision making is proposed, based on “team talk,” “option talk,” and “decision talk,” to depict a process of collaboration and deliberation. Team talk places emphasis on the need to provide support to patients when they are made aware of choices, and to elicit their goals as a means of guiding decision making processes. Option talk refers to the task of comparing alternatives, using risk communication principles. Decision talk refers to the task of arriving at decisions that reflect the informed preferences of patients, guided by the experience and expertise of health professionals. Conclusions The revised three-talk model of shared decision making depicts conversational steps, initiated by providing support when introducing options, followed by strategies to compare and discuss trade-offs, before deliberation based on informed preferences.
Family Characteristics of Delinquent Youth in Time of War

The Arab-Israeli conflict, with its periodical outbreaks of war, has been studied from various points of view. Juvenile delinquency in wartime has not been adequately examined. Descriptive research around the world indicate a significant rise in juvenile delinquency during wartime. This finding does not explain the dynamics of the phenomenon. Our hypothesis is that this phenomenon is associated with family variables. Our findings support the assumption that in wartime, parents of juvenile delinquents are characterized by high inflexibility, little contact with their social environment, and lack of emotional support, direction, and participation in the distress of their children. Our findings appear to support systems theory, which attaches importance to family boundaries and internal organization for coping with internal and external crisis.
Compensation of utterance length for speaker verification

The effect of utterance length on the estimation of the likelihood of a speaker has previously seen a brief treatment in past works. In many speaker recognition evaluations, the utterances were typically configured to have a relatively consistent length. This paper investigates the effect of varying enrollment and test utterance lengths on the score distributions and consequently their effect on performance. In addition, this study examines the mixing of a number of variable training length utterance trials in a single evaluation. To address this problem, a parametric solution using splines is proposed and is shown to significantly reduce the error in the conducted experiments.
Efficacy of ketamine in the rapid treatment of major depressive disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies

Background An increasing number of studies are reporting that ketamine could be treated as a novel antidepressant for major depressive disorder (MDD). Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to comprehensively and systematically assess the efficacy of ketamine for treating patients with MDD. Method Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies on ketamine versus placebo for treating MDD were searched up to April 2016 in medical databases (PubMed, CCTR, Web of Science, Embase, CBM-disc, and CNKI). Three treatment time points (24 and 72 h, and day 7) were chosen. Response and remission rates were the main outcomes. The random effects model was used. An intention-to-treat analysis was conducted. Results Nine high-quality studies that included 368 patients were selected to compare the efficacy of ketamine to placebo. The therapeutic effects of ketamine at 24 and 72 h, and day 7 were found to be significantly better than placebo. Response and remission rates in the ketamine group at 24 and 72 h, and day 7 were 52.2% and 20.6%; 47.9% and 23.8%; and 39.8% and 26.2%, respectively. No significant heterogeneity existed, and the Egger’s test showed no publication bias. Conclusion These results indicated that ketamine could yield a good efficacy in the rapid treatment of MDD. Future large-scale clinical studies are needed to confirm our results and investigate the mid- and long-term efficacy of ketamine in treating MDD.
Deep Learning vs. Conventional Machine Learning: Pilot Study of WMH Segmentation in Brain MRI with Absence or Mild Vascular Pathology

In the wake of the use of deep learning algorithms in medical image analysis, we compared performance of deep learning algorithms, namely the deep Boltzmann machine (DBM), convolutional encoder network (CEN) and patch-wise convolutional neural network (patch-CNN), with two conventional machine learning schemes: Support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), for white matter hyperintensities (WMH) segmentation on brain MRI with mild or no vascular pathology. We also compared all these approaches with a method in the Lesion Segmentation Tool public toolbox named lesion growth algorithm (LGA). We used a dataset comprised of 60 MRI data from 20 subjects in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database, each scanned once every year during three consecutive years. Spatial agreement score, receiver operating characteristic and precision-recall performance curves, volume disagreement score, agreement with intra-/inter-observer reliability measurements and visual evaluation were used to find the best configuration of each learning algorithm for WMH segmentation. By using optimum threshold values for the probabilistic output from each algorithm to produce binary masks of WMH, we found that SVM and RF produced good results for medium to very large WMH burden but deep learning algorithms performed generally better than conventional ones in most evaluations.
The Effect of Spacing Category Members on Children's Memory

Summary Long-term memory was studied in 324 Yoruba-speaking Nigerian boys and girls in grades 1, 3, and 6 by spacing category members with zero, three, or seven unrelated words, each presented at 1-, 4-, 6-sec rate. A 33 randomized factorial block design was used. A 32-word, eight-category list was recorded and replayed to subjects for recall 30 secs later. Spacing decreased recall of words, categories, words within categories, and clustering. The poor performance on the last three measures indicated poor category perception and grouping. The rate x grade interaction was significant for word recall, category recall, and clustering. Only grade 6 improved their performance on the first two measures with slow presentation rates, thereby showing better category perception. Only grade 1 improved their clustering with slow presentation rates, thereby showing increased grouping. The higher grades performed better than grade 1 on recall of words, categories, and words within categories, thereby showing better cat.
Negative correlation does not imply a tradeoff between growth and reproduction in California oaks

A tradeoff between growth and reproduction, often inferred from an inverse correlation between these two variables, is a fundamental paradigm of life-history evolution. Oak species provide a unique test of this relationship because different species mature acorns either in the year of pollination or in the year after pollination. This difference allows for an interspecific comparison testing whether the apparent tradeoff is causal or the result of confounding factors influencing growth and reproduction independently. Based on 13 years of data on five California oak species, we found significant negative correlations between radial growth and seed production in the three species that produce acorns the same year in which pollination occurs, but not in two species that mature acorns the year after pollination. Rainfall, which correlates positively with radial growth and correlates negatively with acorn production (based on the year of pollination), appears to be driving this pattern. We conclude that the observed negative correlations are not causal, but rather a consequence of growth and reproduction being dependent, in opposite ways, on environmental conditions. Thus, contrary to the current consensus, growth and reproduction in these species are apparently largely independent of each other. In contrast, tradeoffs between current and future reproduction appear to be much more important in the life-history evolution of these long-lived plants. We also conclude that a negative correlation does not necessarily imply a causal mechanism and should not be used as the only evidence supporting a tradeoff.
Reduced growth hormone secretion in obesity is associated with smaller LDL and HDL particle size

Objective Reduced growth hormone (GH) secretion is observed in obesity and may contribute to increases in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Lipoprotein characteristics including increased small dense low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) particles are known independent risk factors for CVD. We hypothesized that reduced GH secretion in obesity would be associated with a more atherogenic lipid profile including increased small dense LDL particles.
An integrative review of employer branding and OB theory

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature linked to the emerging field of employer branding, with a view to adding insight from the perspective of the management of human resources.Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken entails reviewing books and academic journals from the area of marketing, organisational behaviour (OB) and business management. The review shows that research and theory from a range of fields can help add to one's knowledge of employer branding; these include areas of research that investigate organisational attractiveness to potential new recruits, research and writing linked to the psychological contract literature as well as work that examines organisational identity, organisational identification and organisational personality characteristics.Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of the review is that, while different areas and fields of research are being drawn on to help identify useful knowledge that can improve one's unde.
Women and careers in engineering: management changes in the work organization

Considers how organizational change and the restructuring of management in the organization are affecting the career opportunities of women professional engineers. Using a case study industrial organization, considers how management itself is changing and being changed. Suggests, therefore, that optimistic statements about increasing numbers of women in managerial posts in organizations need closer examination. The concept of management itself must be rendered problematic and changes in managerial systems need to be analysed. Only then will it be possible to explore how gender, career, management and organization interact and produce new as well as old forms of occupational segregation.
Partnership in Higher Education in Africa: Communications Implications beyond the 2000s

To date, the possibilities for African countries to use information and communication technologies to respond to the challenges and the demand of higher education have been limited. An assessment and analysis of the development, state, and usage of telecommunications in Africa constitute in fact an indication of Africa's overall marginalization in the global system. Communication technologies do not operate independently of the global economic system, which is characterized by structural inequality. Various initiatives devised by governments and development agencies to address the effective and productive integration of telecommunications technology into the educational system have been hindered by the contextual and structural impediments to harnessing and fulfilling their promise, especially for higher education. The paper explores innovative and multi-stakeholder partnership strategies to enhance the development and relevance of new telecommunications technologies to the African education system, especially higher education, for long-term and rooted socioeconomic development.
Accuracy of equation-of-state formulations

Abstract The accuracy of equation-of-state formulations is compared for theoretical total energies or experimental pressure-volume measurements for H2, Ne, Pt, and Ta. This spans the entire range of compression found for minerals and volatiles in the Earth. The Vinet equation is found to be most accurate. The origin of the behavior of different equation-of-state formulations is discussed. It is shown that subtle phase transitions can be detected by examining the residuals from an equation-ofstate fit. A change in the electronic structure of Ta is found at high pressures using this procedure, and a possible new transition in H2
Dynamics and biological relevance of DNA demethylation in Arabidopsis antibacterial defense

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark that silences transposable elements (TEs) and repeats. Whereas the establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation are relatively well understood, little is known about their dynamics and biological relevance in plant and animal innate immunity. Here, we show that some TEs are demethylated and transcriptionally reactivated during antibacterial defense in Arabidopsis. This effect is correlated with the down-regulation of key transcriptional gene silencing factors and is partly dependent on an active demethylation process. DNA demethylation restricts multiplication and vascular propagation of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae in leaves and, accordingly, some immune-response genes, containing repeats in their promoter regions, are negatively regulated by DNA methylation. This study provides evidence that DNA demethylation is part of a plant-induced immune response, potentially acting to prime transcriptional activation of some defense genes linked to TEs/repeats.
Alterations by anesthetic agents of the responses of rat striatal neurons to iontophoretically applied amphetamine, acetylcholine, noradrenaline, and dopamine.

The effect of two anesthetic agents, Penthrane and diallylbarbiturate (Dial, CIBA), was investigated on the responses of rat striatal neurons to iontophoretically applied noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA), acetylcholine (ACh), and d-amphetamine (d-Amph). At both high (50 mg/kg) and low (35 mg/kg) dose levels of Dial there was a highly significant change in the nature of the responses to all the substances tested. This change was primarily a decrease in the frequency of excitatory responses observed to catecholamine and ACh, compared with those observed under Penthrane.Although the dosage of Dial also affected the nature of the responses, it was to a much lesser degree; d-Amph responses were not affected and were almost purely inhibitory.Under both anesthetics, there was no evident correlation between the responses to d-amphetamine and to catecholamines.
Machiavellianism and Altruism: Effect of Relatedness of Target Person on Machiavellian and Helping Attitudes

Four studies were conducted to investigate evolutionary predictions about the effect of relatedness of target persons on interpersonal attitudes. The first study (N = 65 students) showed that Machiavellianism was lower in relation to family members than to people in general. The second study (N = 86), in which a new Helping Attitudes questionnaire was used and validated, indicated that helpfulness was greater for family members than towards people in general or strangers. In the third study (N = 72 women) social attitudes were just as favorable to close friends as to family members. In the fourth study (N = 100 women) helpfulness was strongly predicted by relatedness of social targets but Machiavellianism was not. Results are discussed in terms of kin-selection theory in the context of an evolutionary past in which people interacted in small, closely related groups.
On resisting the temptation for simplification: Counterintentional effects of stereotype suppression on social memory

In two studies, we investigated the process and consequences of stereotype suppression. In Study 1, participants formed impressions of a target, via an audio-taped self-description, while simultaneously responding to a randomly presented probe stimulus (i.e., probe reaction task). While performing the impression-formation task, some participants were instructed to inhibit their stereotypes about the target's social group; others were given no such instruction. The results demonstrated: (i) that stereotype suppression is an effortful, resource-demanding mental process; and (ii) that stereotype suppression ironically reduces attentional resources available for processing target-related information. Study 2 replicated the finding that stereotype suppressors had impaired memory for nonstereotypic individuating information and revealed another ironic consequence of mental control. Specifically, following a period of stereotype suppression, participants demonstrated enhanced recall for the formerly unwanted ste.
A picture paints a thousand words: a method of generating image-text timelines

Manual timelines have greatly helped us to keep pace with the big world. In this paper, we introduce a novel solution which generates image-text timelines for news events based on Evolutionary Image-Text Summarization, which is an important and challenging problem. We first extract image's semantic information under translation model, and then fuse the high quality images with text timeline under an image assignment algorithm which can optimize the global coordination of the final timeline. The experimental results show that news readers can receive more satisfaction from the image-text timelines we generate.
Detection of SQL Injection Vulnerabilities via Automatic Test Case Generation of Programs

SQL injection attacks occur due to vulnerabilities in the design of queries where a malicious user can take advantage of input opportunities to insert code in the queries that modify the query-conditions resulting in unauthorized database access. We provide a novel technique to identify the possibilities of such attacks. The central theme of our technique is based on automatically developing a model for a SQL query such that the model captures the dependencies between various components (sub-queries) of the query. We, then, analyze the model using CREST test-case generator and identify the conditions under which the query corresponding to the model is deemed vulnerable. We further analyze the obtained conditionset to identify its subset; this subset being referred to as the causal set of the vulnerability. Our technique considers the semantics of the query conditions, i.e., the relationship between the conditions, and as such complements the existing techniques which only rely on syntactic structure of the SQL query. In short, our technique can detect vulnerabilities in nested SQL queries, and can provide results with no false positives or false negatives when compared to the existing techniques. Keywords-SQL injection, Program Verification, Assertion, Test cases, Decision Diagrams
The Challenge of Efflux-Mediated Antibiotic Resistance in Gram-Negative Bacteria

SUMMARY The global emergence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria is a growing threat to antibiotic therapy. The chromosomally encoded drug efflux mechanisms that are ubiquitous in these bacteria greatly contribute to antibiotic resistance and present a major challenge for antibiotic development. Multidrug pumps, particularly those represented by the clinically relevant AcrAB-TolC and Mex pumps of the resistance-nodulation-division (RND) superfamily, not only mediate intrinsic and acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) but also are involved in other functions, including the bacterial stress response and pathogenicity. Additionally, efflux pumps interact synergistically with other resistance mechanisms (e.g., with the outer membrane permeability barrier) to increase resistance levels. Since the discovery of RND pumps in the early 1990s, remarkable scientific and technological advances have allowed for an in-depth understanding of the structural and biochemical basis, substrate profiles, molecular regulation, and inhibition of MDR pumps. However, the development of clinically useful efflux pump inhibitors and/or new antibiotics that can bypass pump effects continues to be a challenge. Plasmid-borne efflux pump genes (including those for RND pumps) have increasingly been identified. This article highlights the recent progress obtained for organisms of clinical significance, together with methodological considerations for the characterization of MDR pumps.