Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expanding computer science education in schools: understanding teacher experiences and challenges

Abstract The increased push for teaching computer science (CS) in schools in the United States requires training a large number of new K-12 teachers. The current efforts to increase the number of CS teachers have predominantly focused on training teachers from other content areas. In order to support these beginning CS teachers, we need to better understand their experiences and challenges encountered in the classroom. This study investigated U.S. CS teachers’ perspectives on the demands of teaching computer science and support needed to ensure quality teaching. Results suggested that teachers face a number of challenges, including isolation, lack of adequate computer science background, and limited professional development resources.
Estimating larval fish growth under size-dependent mortality: a numerical analysis of bias

The early larval phase is characterized by high growth and mortality rates. Estimates of growth from both population (cross-sectional) and individual (longitudinal) data may be biased when mortality is size-dependent. Here, we use a simple individual-based model to assess the range of bias in estimates of growth under various size-dependent patterns of growth and mortality rates. A series of simulations indicate that size distribution of individuals in the popu- lation may contribute significantly to bias in growth estimates, but that typical size-dependent growth patterns have minor effects. Growth rate estimates from longitudinal data (otolith readings) are closer to true values than estimates from cross-sectional data (population growth rates). The latter may produce bias in growth estimation of about 0.03 day -1 (in instantaneous, specific growth rate) or >40% difference in some situations. Four potential patterns of size-dependent mortality are tested and analyzed for their impact on growth estimates. The bias is shown to yield large differences in estimated cohort survival rates. High autocorrelation and variance in growth rates tend to increase growth estimates and bias, as well as recruitment success. We also found that autocorrelated growth patterns, reflecting envi- ronmental variance structure, had strong impact on recruitment success of a cohort.
In Vitro Activities of Garenoxacin (BMS 284756) against 108 Clinical Isolates of Gardnerella vaginalis

ABSTRACT Garenoxacin (BMS 284756) was active against 105 of 108 (97%) recent clinical Gardnerella vaginalis isolates at ≤2 μg/ml by using the reference agar dilution method for anaerobes. Twenty-eight percent of isolates (31 of 108) were resistant to metronidazole, and 44% were resistant to doxycycline. All were susceptible to clindamycin and ampicillin-sulbactam.
Clearing House, Margin Requirements, and Systemic Risk

Margins are the major safeguards against default risk on a derivatives exchange. When the clearing house sets the margin requirement for a particular clearing firm, it does so by only focusing on that particular clearing firm’s positions (e.g. the SPAN system). We depart from this traditional approach and show how to account for interdepencies across clearing members when setting margins. Our method generalizes the SPAN system by allowing individual margins to increase when clearing firms are more likely to be in financial distress simultaneously. JEL Classification: G13
Which “Greenness” is Valued? Evidence from Green Condominiums in Tokyo

This is one of the first researches on price differentials of green buildings in Asia. Using a rich set of data on condominium transactions and mandatory evaluation of environmental performance in Tokyo, we estimate the effects of itemized green scores on transaction prices. Although green condominiums are on average traded at a premium, the premium is mainly attributed to the building age and quality. After controlling for relevant attributes, we find significant price discounts for newly constructed green condominiums. However, green condominiums experience little depreciation at least during the initial years. Using itemized scores, we find that the long-life design mitigates price discounts, but other factors such as the use of eco-friendly materials, renewable energy, water reuse, and greening exacerbate discounts. Several possibilities are discussed including high future maintenance costs of green condominiums.
ALKALI EXTRACTION AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HEMICELLULOSES FROM YOUNG BAMBOO (PHYLLOSTACHYS PUBESCENS MAZEL)

Two hemicellulose fractions were obtained by extraction of one-month- old young bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens Mazel). The fractionation procedure employed 2% NaOH as extractant, followed by filtration, acidification, precipitation, and washing with 70% ethanol solution. The total yield was 26.2%, based on the pentosan content in bamboo. The physicochemical properties were determined and sugar composition analysis showed that the hemicelluloses consisted mainly of xylose, arabinose, galactose, and a small amount of uronic acid. Furthermore, based on FT-IR and NMR spectra analyses, the structure of hemicelluloses was determined to be mainly arabinoxylans linked via (1→4)-β-glycosidic bonds with branches of arabinose and 4-O-methyl-D-glucuronic acid. The molecular weights were 6387 Da and 4076 Da, corresponding to the hemicelluloses HA and HB. Finally, the thermal stability was elucidated using the TG-DTG method. The obtained results can provide important information for understanding young bamboo and the hemicelluloses in it.
Emulation framework for the design and development of active RFID tag systems

The design and development of active RFID tag systems requires several iterations, and thorough testing in order to ensure that the prototype systems behave as intended. Facilitating these operations contributes significantly to faster product development and to a quicker time to market. The emulation framework that we present makes it easier to carry out the verification and testing related to the design and development of active RFID tag systems. We illustrate the use of this framework during the design and development of an active RFID tag based pedestrian localization system that is being developed by Panasonic Corporation. In this context emulation was successfully used: (i) to identify active RFID tag firmware issues; (ii) to assess the overall performance of the localization system; (iii) to explore the system parameter space so as to identify the values that provide optimum performance; (iv) to extend the range of tested scenarios beyond what could be done through real-world trials.
Behavioural counselling in general practice for the promotion of healthy behaviour among adults at increased risk of coronary heart disease: randomised trial.

Abstract Objective: To measure the effect of behaviourally oriented counselling in general practice on healthy behaviour and biological risk factors in patients at increased risk of coronary heart disease. Design: Cluster randomised controlled trial. Participants: 883 men and women selected for the presence of one or more modifiable risk factors: regular cigarette smoking, high serum cholesterol concentration (6.5-9.0 mmol/l), and high body mass index (25-35) combined with low physical activity. Intervention: Brief behavioural counselling, on the basis of the stage of change model, carried out by practice nurses to reduce smoking and dietary fat intake and to increase regular physical activity. Main outcome measures: Questionnaire measures of diet, exercise, and smoking habits, and blood pressure, serum total cholesterol concentration, weight, body mass index, and smoking cessation (with biochemical validation) at 4 and 12 months. Results: Favourable differences were recorded in the intervention group for dietary fat intake, regular exercise, and cigarettes smoked per day at 4 and 12 months. Systolic blood pressure was reduced to a greater extent in the intervention group at 4 but not at 12 months No differences were found between groups in changes in total serum cholesterol concentration, weight, body mass index, diastolic pressure, or smoking cessation. Conclusions: Brief behavioural counselling by practice nurses led to improvements in healthy behaviour. More extended counselling to help patients sustain and build on behaviour changes may be required before differences in biological risk factors emerge.
Application of Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for numerical optimization technique

Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm is a nature-inspired evolutionary algorithm that imitates the intelligent behavior of honey bee swarm. It is one of the recent algorithms that imitate the foraging behavior of bees. A bee swarm optimization to solve various numerical problems has been presented in this paper. The paper describes an algorithm for implementation of different mathematical problems, such as single integration, eigen value and vector, etc., using Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm. Results with different number of bees are shown and best suited range of the number of bees, giving best solution to solve all problems has been shown and concluded. The results have shown that the Artificial Bee Colony algorithm has helped to achieve a near optimum solution of the problem defined and thus is successful in solving the mathematical problems with good accuracy.
A randomized controlled trial of an asthma clinical pathway for children in general practice

Aims: To evaluate the effect of the implementation of an asthma clinical pathway on asthma in children in general practice. Methods: A randomized, controlled trial involving 270 general practitioners. One group of general practitioners implemented the asthma clinical pathway for children (intervention group) and the control group continued with their usual asthma medical care management. The main outcome measures were admissions to hospital for asthma and attendance at the Children's Emergency Department. Compliance with the guidelines was assessed by examining asthma drug prescriptions. Results: Admissions to hospital for asthma dropped 40% in the intervention group, by 33% in the control group and by 22% in general practitioners not participating in the trial. The differences between the intervention and control and between the intervention and non‐participating general practitioners were not statistically significant. The decrease in attendance at the Children's Emergency Department decreased by 25%, 30% and 19%, respectively, but this was not statistically significant. There was a significant decrease in prescriptions for oral relievers, dry powder relievers in the under 6s, mast cell stabilizers and methylxanthines in both control and intervention groups. However, only for oral relievers was there a significant difference between the intervention group and control, with the decrease larger in the intervention group (p<0.001).
Firms' characteristics and forward-looking information in management commentaries of Italian listed companies

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between firms’ characteristics and the level of forward-looking information in management commentaries of Italian listed companies. The firms’ characteristics investigated in the study are their size, profitability and leverage. The methodology of the study is content analysis of management commentaries of the Italian companies listed on the FTSE All-Share Index for the year 2010. The relationship between some firms’ characteristics and the disclosure of forward-looking information is examined using multiple linear regression analysis. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that profitability has significant negative association with the level of forward-looking information. Conversely, firms’ size and leverage variables are found to have an insignificant relationship with the level of forward-looking information.
Confronting gastrocutaneous fistulas

A gastrocutaneous fistula (GCF) represents a fistula connecting the stomach with the skin. The aim of the present review is to clarify the entity of a GCF and to discuss the various treating strategies employed. In order to elucidate GCFs as an entity etiology was pointed out and relative pathogenetic mechanisms were explored. Moreover, diagnostic modalities are discussed with a special focus on GCFs following bariatric operations. Finally, the treating strategies currently employed when confronting GCFs are presented, as well as their effectiveness.
Exposure to alcohol problems and its association with sexual behaviour and biologically confirmed Trichomonas vaginalis among women living with HIV

Objectives: Only a small number of studies have examined the association between alcohol use and risky sexual behaviour among women living with HIV, particularly African-American women. The present study examined the association between alcohol problems, sexual behaviour and biologically confirmed sexually transmitted infections (STI) among a sample of predominantly African-American women living with HIV. Methods: A sample of 366 women living with HIV between the ages of 18 and 50 years participated in the study. The majority of women were African-American (84.2%). Participants completed a face-to-face interview assessing sociodemographics, sexual behaviour, other substance use and alcohol problems using the CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye opener), a screening measure for alcohol abuse. Participants also provided self-collected vaginal swab specimens that were assayed for STI. Results: The prevalence of high scores on the CAGE was 54.5% and 15% of women tested positive for Trichomonas vaginalis. Multivariate logistic regression analyses, with age and other substance use as covariates, indicated that women who scored higher on the CAGE, relative to those who scored lower, were more likely to test positive for T vaginalis, have sex with their spouse or steady partner when only they had been drinking and have sex with their spouse or steady partner when they had both been drinking. Conclusions: These findings suggest that alcohol assessment should be included in regular healthcare maintenance among women living with HIV. Intervention programmes should be tailored to address alcohol use/abuse among African-American women living with HIV.
Astrocyte calcium elevations: Properties, propagation, and effects on brain signaling

The possibility that astrocytes are involved in brain signaling began to emerge in the late 1970s, when it was first shown that astroglia in vitro possess numerous receptors for neurotransmitters. It was later demonstrated that cultured astroglia and astrocytes in situ respond to neurotransmitters with increases in intracellular second messengers, including cyclic AMP and calcium. Astrocyte calcium responses have since been extensively studied both in culture and in intact tissue. We continue to gather information regarding the various compounds able to trigger astrocyte calcium increases, as well as the mechanisms involved in their initiation, propagation as a calcium wave within and between astrocytes, and effects on signaling within the brain. This review will focus on each of these aspects of astrocyte calcium regulation, and attempt to sort out which effects are more likely to occur in developmental, pathological, and physiological conditions. While we have come far in our understanding of the properties or potential of astrocytes' ability to signal to neurons using our array of pharmacological tools, we still understand very little regarding the level of involvement of astrocyte signaling in normal brain physiology. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Defragmentation for Efficient Runtime Resource Management in NoC-Based Many-Core Systems

Efficient runtime resource allocation is critical to the overall performance and energy consumption of many-core systems. A region of free cores is allocated for each newly launched application. The cores are deallocated when the corresponding applications finish execution. The frequent allocations and deallocations of the cores might leave free cores scattered (not forming a contiguous region). This situation is referred to as fragmentation. Fragmentation could cause the inefficient mapping of the incoming applications, i.e., long communication distance between communicating cores. This further leads to poor performance and high energy consumption. In this paper, we propose a runtime defragmentation scheme that collects and reallocates the scattered cores in close proximity. We first define a fragmentation metric that is able to evaluate the scatteredness level of the free cores. Based on this, the proposed algorithm is executed to bring the scattered free cores together when the fragmentation metric is over a certain predefined threshold. In this way, the contiguous free core region is formed to facilitate the efficient mapping of the incoming applications. Moreover, the proposed algorithm also aims to minimize the negative impact on the performance of existing applications. Experimental results show that the proposed defragmentation scheme reduces the overall execution time and the energy consumption by 42% and 41%, respectively, when it is augmented to existing runtime mapping algorithms. Moreover, a negligible overhead, accounting for only less than 2.6% of the overall execution time, is required for the proposed defragmentation process. The proposed defragmentation scheme is an effective resource management enhancement to existing runtime mapping algorithms for many-core systems.
A comparative analysis between US and Italian food companies on stakeholder relationships via websites

This study aims to offer a contribution on stakeholder relationships managed by US and Italian food companies via their corporate websites. Specifically, the paper intends to provide a comparative analysis of two clusters of companies from these countries, based on the website areas and content they dedicate to their stakeholder groups. Previous studies were developed with a new research framework which enables measuring through a quantitative analysis website areas and content that food companies dedicate to their stakeholder groups. The survey aims to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of the online communication managed by US and Italian food companies. Research findings show that the main weakness of the selected Italian food companies' websites is represented by their short-sightedness in considering stakeholder groups, while US companies chosen are clearly superior in terms of sections dedicated to their stakeholder groups.
Enhancing accountability in public–private partnerships in South Africa

South Africa, like other developing countries, has joined other nations around the world in resorting to public–private partnerships (PPPs) as an integral strategy to improve its deeply rooted socio-economic, political, fiscal and societal problems and to meet the pressure of attaining the goals of national and international developmental projects. In spite of the reasons advanced for the importance of PPPs as an alternative service-delivery option, several doubts about the efficacy of accountability and suggestions that it may undermine public control have been expressed. Given the importance of accountability, this paper seeks to determine some approaches to enhance accountability in public–private partnerships in South Africa. It identifies some of the accountability challenges and suggests ways of overcoming them.
Using Information and Communication Technologies for Enhancing the Accessibility of Agricultural Information for Improved Agricultural Production in Tanzania

The study assessed how ICTs can enhance access to agricultural information needed for fostering agricultural production and agribusiness in Tanzania. Specifically, the study determined the role of specific ICTs in agricultural production and agribusiness and assessed the effectiveness of the commonly used ICTs in the creation and sharing of agricultural knowledge and information services. It further evaluated the factors which limit the effectiveness of ICTs in facilitating agricultural production and agribusiness in Tanzania. The study involved a mixed approach in collecting data, relying on a structured questionnaire, interviews, content analysis and observations during the data collection. Results show that radio, mobile phones, television, computers and internet have potentials to transform the sector if they are used effectively. Findings show further that not all ICTs are suitable for all categories of actors in the agricultural sector. Mobile phones and radio were preferred as communication channel among farmers while researchers and extension staff mentioned to prefer using computers and internet. Moreover, some of the ICT applications such as calls, short messaging services and sim‐banking were mentioned to be used often. From these findings it is recommended that internet and mobile service providers should widen their infrastructure and reduce tariffs associated with usage of their services so as to increase the number of users of their services. This can enable more information exchange among agriculture stakeholders and this increase agricultural production and agribusiness.
Mobile Advertising: Triple-win for Consumers, Advertisers and Telecom Carriers

Mobile devices (e.g. smart phone, PDAs, vehicle phone, and e-books) are becoming more popular. However, mobile broadband subscriptions are only 20 percent of the mobile subscriptions. Part of the reasons is due to the high payments requirement for broadband subscriptions. On the other hand, US mobile ad spend will exceed US$1 billion in 2011 according to emarketer.com. Therefore, the idea of this paper is to increase broadband subscribers by providing free or discounted fees through the deployment of mobile advertising framework by the telecommunication system. Telecom operators can run the ads agent platform to attract investments from advertisers. Subscribers read promotional advertisements that are sent to subscribers’ mobile phones to get discounted payment. While the advertisers pay a reasonable price for advertising, the possible commercial activities will bring revenues to advertisers. As a result, this framework is a triple-win for telecom carriers, advertisers and subscribers. We describe a framework for delivering appropriate ads of the ideal time at the ideal place to the ideal subscriber is the three key issues on how to show the ads, when to show the ads, and what potential ads to be clicked by the subscribers. We take user velocity and user location into consideration.
PREDICTING FINANCIAL FAILURE OF THE TURKISH BANKS

Banks are the most important financial institutions in Turkey because other financial institutions are not developed efficiently yet. Turkish banks experienced financial difficulties and a substantial amount of banks failed in the past. This event urged the government to initiate measures to prevent banks from getting into financial difficulties. As a result of these measures, Turkish banking system currently seems to be very attractive for the foreign investors willing to invest in this sector. One of the main concerns of the foreign investors is a possibility of a new banking crisis although it is very remote at this time. The purpose of this study is to develop early warning systems predicting the financial failure at least three years ahead of financial failure date.A number of multivariate statistical models such as multiple regression, discriminant analysis, logit, probit are used. We found that the most appropriate model is logit. The significant variables obtained from the models explain very well the causes of the bank failures. Our models can be used to assist interested parties to predict the probability of financial failure of Turkish banks.