Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Meta-Analysis of Selected Studies on the Effectiveness of Bilingual Education

A meta-analysis of selected studies on the efficacy of bilingual education was conducted and the results were compared with a traditional review of the same literature. When statistical controls for methodological inadequacies were employed, participation in bilingual education programs consistently produced small to moderate differences favoring bilingual education for tests of reading, language skills, mathematics, and total achievement when the tests were in English, and for reading, language, mathematics, writing, social studies, listening comprehension, and attitudes toward school or self when tests were in other languages. The magnitude of effect sizes was influenced by the types of programs compared, language of the criterion instruments, academic domain of the criterion instruments, random versus nonrandom assignment of students to programs, formula used to calculate effect sizes, and types of scores reported in the studies. Programs characterized by instability and/or hostile environments were associated with lower effect sizes. The synthesized studies contained a variety of methodological weaknesses which affected the magnitude of the effect sizes. Initial group differences—in language dominance, in environmental language exposure, in need for the bilingual program—were not uncommon. In some cases, comparison groups contained bilingual program “graduates. ” In others, experimental groups changed in composition during the study through the exiting of successful students and their replacement with newcomers subsequent to pretesting and prior to posttesting. Although the technique of meta-analysis allows for statistical control of methodological inadequacies, the methodological inadequacies in the synthesized studies render the results less than definitive and highlight the need for quality research in the area of bilingual education. Problems inherent in conducting research on bilingual programs are discussed in relation to the outcomes of this synthesis, and guidelines for future research are proposed.
Modulo based Image Steganography Technique against Statistical and Histogram Analysis

Steganography is the art and science of communicating secret data by embedding it into a multimedia carrier. The ultimate goal here is to conceal the very existence of the embedded data. Although the term Steganography has been known for thousands of years, its digital version came about only lately and research was intensified after the depressing event of Twin towers (11th Sep 2001). Steganalysis, which is the official counter attack science, defeats Steganographic algorithms whether they are based on the traditional spatial domain or the transform one. Steganography’s ultimate objectives, which are undetectability, robustness and capacity of the hidden data, are the main factors that separate it from other relating techniques, namely watermarking and cryptography. This paper focuses on improving the embedding capacity in steganography. For the improvement in the capacity, secret bits are encoded into cover image by three types of modulo functions. More specifically, to alleviate further color distortion and obtain a higher hiding capacity, the R, G and B component is encoded by Mod u, Mod v and Mod w functions respectively. Simulations were performed on cover images with different message sizes. The proposed technique showed that improved data hiding capacity in the cover image can be obtained without any compromise in histogram and statistical analysis. It also gives good perceptual quality in Stego image and greater security.
Nest and Unnest Operators in Nested Relations

By distinguishing nested attributes as Decomposable and Non-Decomposable, it is proved that for all nested relations, unnesting and then renesting on the same attribute yields the original relation subject only to the elimination of duplicate data. Therefore, the statement that was popular in nested relations research: "Unnesting and then nesting on the same attribute of a nested relation does not always yield the original relation" is reconsidered.
Echolocation and passive listening by foraging mouse-eared bats Myotis myotis and M. blythii

SUMMARY The two sibling mouse-eared bats, Myotis myotis and M. blythii, cope with similar orientation tasks, but separate their trophic niche by hunting in species-specific foraging microhabitats. Previous work has shown that both species rely largely on passive listening to detect and glean prey from substrates, and studies on other bat species have suggested that echolocation is `switched off' during passive listening. We tested the hypothesis that mouse-eared bats continuously emit echolocation calls while approaching prey. Echolocation may be needed for orientation while simultaneously listening for prey. Because these sibling species forage in different microhabitats and eat different prey, we also compared their echolocation behaviour and related it to their ecology. Both species used echolocation throughout prey approach, corroborating a functional role for echolocation during gleaning. Captive bats of both species emitted similar orientation calls, and pulse rate increased during prey approach. Between the search to approach phases, call amplitude showed a sudden, dramatic drop and bats adopted `whispering echolocation' by emitting weak calls. Whispering echolocation may reduce the risks of masking prey-generated sounds during passive listening, the mouse-eared bats' main detection tactic; it may also avoid alerting ultrasound-sensitive prey. In several cases M. myotis emitted a loud buzz made of 2-18 components when landing. We hypothesise that the buzz, absent in M. blythii at least when gleaning from the same substrate, is used to assess the distance from ground and refine the landing manoeuvre. Our findings have implications for niche separation between sibling species of echolocating bats, support a role for echolocation during passive listening and suggest a functional role for buzzes in landing control.
Automated image segmentation using improved PCNN model based on cross-entropy

The pulse coupled neural network (PCNN) is a new neural network that was developed and formed in the 1990's. The key point of a PCNN is the modulated coupling mechanism, while coupled results produce internal activity. The output of the PCNN is a binary image sequence, which can be considered the result of threshold segmentation. In this paper, the matrix made by the internal activity is regarded as a breadth of image, which then can be conjoined with the technique of traditional threshold segmentation. The application of the minimum cross-entropy criterion in the technique of image segmentation makes the discrepancy of information content between segmented image and image after segmentation to be minimal. A kind of novel of image segmentation algorithm based on automatic cycle iterations is put forward, after the traditional PCNN threshold segmentation mechanism is improved in combination with the minimum cross-entropy criterion. Theory analysis and experimental results all show that the best segmentation output can be drawn using this new algorithm.
The Emergence of Evaluation in Switzerland

This contribution portrays the institutionalization and practice of evaluation in Switzerland.The main actors and patterns of evaluation development patterns differ from those presented so far in relation to other countries. This raises questions regarding the relevance of the theories previously advanced.The entry points of evaluation into the political process are described.As suggested by other authors, evaluation up to now has a rather limited role in strategic political decision-making.
Validation of an analytical method for the determination of cadmium (Cd) in fish by atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomisation

The validation of an analytical method was carried out for the determination of cadmium (Cd) in fish. The method was based on sample digestion in a microwave oven and subsequent reading using an atomic absorption spectrometer with a graphite furnace. The factorial design of experiments was applied to assess method ruggedness using the methodology of Box et al. [Box GEP, Hunter WG, Hunter JS. 1978. Statistics for experiments: an introduction to design, data analysis and model building. New York (NY): Wiley], studying the influence of sample mass, volume and concentration of acid used for sample digestion and the volume of modifier used. To study the possible matrix effect in the determination of Cd, the standard addition method was also performed. The results were treated using the OLS method. For the normality test a homoskedastic distribution was observed for the developed method and the results were adjusted to the statistical model proposed. F-tests and Student's t-tests indicated that there was no matrix effect on the calibration curve between the concentration range 1.0–10.0 µg Cd l–1. Parameters such as selectivity, precision, decision limit, detection capability and limit of quantification were established by the method of standard addition to blank samples. The limit of quantification was 6.8 µg kg–1. Accuracy, which was evaluated by using a certified reference material, was 107.0%. The recovery of the spiked analyte was 93.69% for the concentration of 50 µg kg–1. Precision was defined by the coefficient of variation observed (Horrat value), estimated in terms of repeatability and reproducibility, and the values were below the limit, which is 2.0. The validation procedure confirmed the suitability of the method.
Effects of Acute Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia on Spatial Abilities in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of acute insulin-induced hypoglycemia on spatial cognitive abilities in adult humans with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Sixteen adults with type 1 diabetes underwent two counterbalanced experimental sessions: euglycemia (blood glucose 4.5 mmol/l [81 mg/dl]) and hypoglycemia (2.5 mmol/l [45 mg/dl]). Arterialized blood glucose levels were maintained using a hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp technique. During each session, subjects underwent detailed assessment of spatial abilities from the Kit of Factor-Referenced Cognitive Tests and two tests of general cognitive function. RESULTS Spatial ability performance deteriorated significantly during hypoglycemia. Results for the Hidden Patterns, Card Rotations, Paper Folding, and Maze Tracing tests were all impaired significantly (P ≤ 0.001) during hypoglycemia, as were results for the Cube Comparisons Test (P = 0.03). The Map Memory Test was not significantly affected by hypoglycemia. CONCLUSIONS Hypoglycemia is a common side effect of insulin therapy in individuals with type 1 diabetes, and spatial abilities are of critical importance in day-to-day functioning. The deterioration in spatial abilities observed during modest experimental hypoglycemia provides novel information on the cerebral hazards of hypoglycemia that has potential relevance to everyday activities.
Government Is Good

Bill Cohen, the former defense secretary, minted the phrase nine years ago when he was a Republican senator from Maine. He was speaking then of a plane crash and the public's hankering for more effective safety regulation. Cohen's point was that governmentbashing is easy in good times for those doing just fine. But when disaster strikes, many turn around and ask why government didn't do more to prevent a catastrophe -or why it wasn't doing more to relieve its effects.
Developmental Word Acquisition and Grammar Learning by Humanoid Robots Through a Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network

We present a new approach for online incremental word acquisition and grammar learning by humanoid robots. Using no data set provided in advance, the proposed system grounds language in a physical context, as mediated by its perceptual capacities. It is carried out using show-and-tell procedures, interacting with its human partner. Moreover, this procedure is open-ended for new words and multiword utterances. These facilities are supported by a self-organizing incremental neural network, which can execute online unsupervised classification and topology learning. Embodied with a mental imagery, the system also learns by both top-down and bottom-up processes, which are the syntactic structures that are contained in utterances. Thereby, it performs simple grammar learning. Under such a multimodal scheme, the robot is able to describe online a given physical context (both static and dynamic) through natural language expressions. It can also perform actions through verbal interactions with its human partner.
Does multiple paternity influence offspring disease resistance?

It has been suggested that polyandry allows females to increase offspring genetic diversity and reduce the prevalence and susceptibility of their offspring to infectious diseases. We tested this hypothesis in wild‐derived house mice (Mus musculus) by experimentally infecting the offspring from 15 single‐ and 15 multiple‐sired litters with two different strains of a mouse pathogen (Salmonella Typhimurium) and compared their ability to control infection. We found a high variation in individual infection resistance (measured with pathogen loads) and significant differences among families, suggesting genetic effects on Salmonella resistance, but we found no difference in prevalence or infection resistance between single‐ vs. multiple‐sired litters. We found a significant sex difference in infection resistance, but surprisingly, males were more resistant to infection than females. Also, infection resistance was correlated with weight loss during infection, although only for females, indicating that susceptibility to infection had more harmful health consequences for females than for males. To our knowledge, our findings provide the first evidence for sex‐dependent resistance to Salmonella infection in house mice. Our results do not support the hypothesis that multiple‐sired litters are more likely to survive infection than single‐sired litters; however, as we explain, additional studies are required before ruling out this hypothesis.
Expatriate Mangers: A Historical Review

As expatriate managers continue to be a viable means for exercising control over foreign operations, they can have a direct impact on organizational performance, and therefore a delineation of the history of these key leaders in order to enhance our understanding of their continued significant impact is a laudable goal. The paper discusses each stage of the human resource management process, beginning with the identification and concluding with the repatriation stage of expatriate managers. Each stage is discussed in terms of the successes as well as problems/failures associated with the individual, organizational, environmental and systemic unit in mind. The paper concludes with future implications emphasizing the necessity to create new and/or enhance current practices relating to the development of expatriate managers’ maximum global impact depending on the evolving nature of the globalization of business.
Keepin' It Plural: Children's Studies in the Academy

Childhood and Children's Studies programs are pop- ping up in universities all over the world these days. For the most part, the impetus for these programs is coming from the disciplines of sociology, psychology, medical sci- ences, and law; researchers in these disciplines often choose to focus their energies on the politics and cultural prac- tices that affect the lives of children.1 Despite Mary Galbraith's recent calls for children's literature scholars to take the lead in developing such programs, humanities scholars specializing in children's issues are rare, and truly integrated interdisciplinary programs even rarer.2 The problem lies in part, I think, in the way disciplines situate knowledge and perceive effective praxis. My own doctoral work took place in an interdisciplinary program, and it was truly revelatory for me to see the antagonisms played out in the intellectual debates within and across the disci- plines of the Human Sciences. But another serious impedi- ment to the academic study of children is precisely related to our sentimental relationship to the subject. Affect is anathema to the scientific community, but thinking about children or childhood without strong feeling seems im- possible. Nonetheless, we are finding ways beyond these impasses to develop programs whose outcomes will, we hope, produce positive social change. The questions un- dertaken by scholars of Children's Studies are necessarily philosophical, theoretical, and pragmatic, often at one and the same time. And their answers are always provisional and experimental, hinging on an ethical and methodologi- cal pluralism that must be maintained if we are to inter- vene effectively in the lives of children. So what are some of the issues at stake in the development of the field of Children's Studies? And how might those of us involved in the different disciplines attempt to define the scope and the limits of our involvement in such a project?
An Unusual Dimeric Inhibitor of Acetylcholinesterase: Cooperative Binding of Crystal Violet

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an essential enzyme that terminates cholinergic transmission by a rapid hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. AChE is an important target for treatment of various cholinergic deficiencies, including Alzheimer’s disease and myasthenia gravis. In a previous high throughput screening campaign, we identified the dye crystal violet (CV) as an inhibitor of AChE. Herein, we show that CV displays a significant cooperativity for binding to AChE, and the molecular basis for this observation has been investigated by X-ray crystallography. Two monomers of CV bind to residues at the entrance of the active site gorge of the enzyme. Notably, the two CV molecules have extensive intermolecular contacts with each other and with AChE. Computational analyses show that the observed CV dimer is not stable in solution, suggesting the sequential binding of two monomers. Guided by the structural analysis, we designed a set of single site substitutions, and investigated their effect on the binding of CV. Only moderate effects on the binding and the cooperativity were observed, suggesting a robustness in the interaction between CV and AChE. Taken together, we propose that the dimeric cooperative binding is due to a rare combination of chemical and structural properties of both CV and the AChE molecule itself.
Growing Like China

This paper constructs a growth model that is consistent with salient features of the recent Chinese growth experience: high output growth, sustained returns on capital investment, extensive reallocation within the manufacturing sector, falling labor share and accumulation of a large foreign surplus. The building blocks of the theory are asymmetric financial imperfections and heterogeneous productivity. Some firms use more productive technologies, but low-productivity firms survive because of better access to credit markets. Due to the financial imperfections, high-productivity firms — which are run by entrepreneurs — must be financed out of internal savings. If these savings are sufficiently large, the high-productivity firms outgrow the low-productivity firms and attract an increasing employment share. The downsizing of the financially integrated firms forces a growing share of domestic savings to be invested in foreign assets, generating a foreign surplus. A calibrated version of the theory can account quantitatively for China’s growth
PHTHALATES AND HUMAN HEALTH

The diesters of 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (phthalic acid), commonly known as phthalates, are a group of man-made chemicals with a wide spectrum of industrial applications (fig 1, table 1). High molecular weight phthalates (for example, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate [DEHP], di-isononyl phthalate [DiNP], di-n-octyl phthalate [DnOP]), are primarily used as plasticizers in the manufacture of flexible vinyl which, in turn, is used in consumer products, flooring and wall coverings, food contact applications, and medical devices.1–3 Manufacturers use low molecular weight phthalates (for example, diethyl phthalate [DEP] and dibutyl phthalate [DBP]) in personal-care products (for example, perfumes, lotions, cosmetics), as solvents and plasticizers for cellulose acetate, and in making lacquers, varnishes, and coatings, including those used to provide timed releases in some pharmaceuticals.3–5 View this table: Table 1 Potential sources of exposure and health effects of selected phthalates Figure 1 Generic chemical structure of phthalates diesters and phthalate monoester metabolites. R is an alkyl and/or aryl group: CH3 (dimethyl phthalate), CH2CH3 (diethyl phthalate), CH2CH2CH2CH3 (dibutyl phthalate), CH2CH(CH2CH3)CH2CH2CH2CH3 (di[2-ethylhexyl) phthalate), CH2CH2CH2CH3 and CH2C6H5 (butylbenzyl phthalate). In this paper, we review the uses and metabolism of phthalates, and the studies on health effects of phthalates in human populations published between 1973 and June 2005. The references included in this review were searched using the Web of Science database which provides interactive citation and literature searching of the Institute for Scientific Information’s Science Citation Index Expanded. The database contains data from more than 5000 scientific journals and covers the period from 1980 to present. We also searched the bibliography cited in the selected references for additional relevant citations. Because phthalates are widely used in …
Morphologic and biochemical characterization of brain injury in a model of controlled blast overpressure exposure.

OBJECTIVES Existing experimental approaches for studies of blast impact in small animals are insufficient and lacking consistency. Here, we present a comprehensive model, with repeatable blast signatures of controlled duration, peak pressure, and transmitted impulse, accurately reproducing blast impact in laboratory animals. MATERIALS Rat survival, brain pathomorphology, and levels of putative biomarkers of brain injury glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), neuron-specific enolase, and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (UCH)-L1 were examined in brain, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and blood after 10 msec of 358 kPa peak overpressure blast exposure. RESULTS The high-speed imaging demonstrated a strong head acceleration/jolting accompanied by typical intracranial hematomas and brain swelling. Microscopic injury was revealed by prominent silver staining in deep brain areas, including the nucleus subthalamicus zone, suggesting both diffused and focal neurodegeneration. GFAP and 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNPase), markers of astroglia and oligodendroglia, accumulated substantially in the hippocampus 24 hours after blast and persisted for 30 days postblast. However, GFAP content in the blood significantly increased 24 hours after injury, followed by a decline and subsequent accumulation in CSF in a time-dependent fashion. A similar profile is shown for UCH-L1 increase in blood, whereas increased CSF levels of UCH-L1 persisted throughout 14 days after blast and varied significantly in individual rats. Neuron-specific enolase levels in blood were significantly elevated within 24 hours and 48 hours postblast. CONCLUSIONS The proposed model of controlled nonpenetrating blast in rats demonstrates the critical pathologic and biochemical signatures of blast brain injury that may be triggered by cerebrovascular responses, including blood-brain barrier disruption, glia responses, and neuroglial alterations.