Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do aspects of social, emotional and behavioural development in the pre- school period predict later cognitive and academic attainment?

© 2017, © Australian Council for Educational Research 2017. Some aspects of child non-cognitive development in pre-school have independently been shown to predict academic outcomes in later primary and early high school. However, the extent to which each aspect uniquely predicts these outcomes remains unclear. It is also unclear as to what mechanisms may predict these aspects of non-cognitive development. To address these issues, the current study sought to explore the antecedents to, and the predictive strength of, prominent aspects of early non-cognitive development (e.g. hyperactivity, pro-social behaviour, peer and conduct problems at 4–5 years of age) on children’s academic achievement at 6–11 years of age from a large, longitudinal and nationally representative sample. The study found early hyperactivity to be the strongest predictor of academic achievement at age 10–11 years of age. Further, early hostile parenting styles, child’s gender, and parental educational levels were the strongest and most consistent predictors of children’s noncognitive development. Findings from this study further clarify the relational nature of aspects of noncognitive development and academic outcomes, as well as the factors that best predict early non-cognitive development. Disciplines Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Hammer, D. , Melhuish, E. & Howard, S. (2017). Do aspects of social, emotional and behavioural development in the pre-school period predict later cognitive and academic attainment? Australian Journal of Education, 61 (3), 270-287. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/sspapers/3381 SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES 1 Do aspects of social, emotional and behavioural development in the pre-school period predict later cognitive and academic attainment Mr David Hammer, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave WOLLONGONG NSW, AUSTRALIA Email: dhammer@uow.edu.au Prof Edward Melhuish University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave WOLLONGONG NSW, AUSTRALIA Email: melhuish@uow.edu.au Dr Steven J. Howard University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave WOLLONGONG NSW, AUSTRALIA Email: stevenh@uow.edu.au SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACADEMIC OUTCOMES 2
Compact CPW power splitter with filtering capability based on slow-wave structures

A compact coplanar waveguide (CPW) power splitter with filtering capability is presented in this paper. The splitter consists of a pair of 70.71  impedance inverters implemented by means of inductively and capacitively loaded slow-wave structures. Such slow-wave structures efficiently shorten the length of the inverters, thereby providing substantial size reduction to the power splitter. The filtering functionality is due to the Bragg effect, related to periodicity. The proposed splitter, designed to be functional at 1 GHz, exhibits good performance at that frequency, with measured return loss of 20.6 dB and insertion loss of 3.15 dB and 3.23 dB at the output ports. Moreover, the suppression level (at the output ports) at the first (3 GHz), second (5 GHz) and third (7 GHz) harmonic frequency is better than 12.4 dB, 34.6 dB and 24.7 dB, respectively. As compared to the length of the ordinary inverters, the length of the constitutive slow-wave impedance inverters of the designed power splitter is reduced by a factor of two.
Survey on NoSQL for Management of Big Data

Many specific application oriented NoSQL database systems are developed for satisfying the new requirement of big data management.This paper surveys researches on typical NoSQL database based on key-value data model.First,the characteristics of big data,and the key technique issues supporting big data management are introduced.Then frontier efforts and research challenges are given,including system architecture,data model,access mode,index,transaction,system elasticity,load balance,replica strategy,data consistency,flash cache,MapReduce based data process and new generation data management system etc.Finally,research prospects are given.
Controls on the Morphology and Development of Deep-Marine Channels, Eastern Offshore Trinidad and Venezuela

The deep-marine depositional margins of offshore Trinidad are located in the tectonically dynamic Southern Caribbean Plate boundary zone near the mouth of the Orinoco River. Mega-3D seismic data volumes in water depths of 300 to 2,960 m show multiple episodes of channelization along transport pathways controlled by sea-floor volcanic uplifts, tectonic compressional uplifts, and regional slopes. Several identified channel systems transport sediment across a sea floor characterized by active faults, mass transport processes, and active and inactive mud volcanoes to the modern Orinoco submarine fan located at the front of the Barbados accretionary prism. Three main classes of channels can be identified on the sea floor on the basis of their morphologic character. Class A channels (200–800 m wide, 15–65 m deep, 1.3–1.45 sinuosities) are the most evolved systems and are located in the northern part of the study area. Meander cutoffs, sediment wave fields, migrated channels, and developed terraces, crevasses, and splays are identified as components of these sediment transport systems. Class B channels (75– 500 m wide, 1–25 m deep, 1.0–1.2 sinuosities) are not as well defined and are located farther south in the study area, more distal from the active plate margin but still within the zone of deformation. Class C channels (200–650 m wide, 15–155 m deep, 1.05–1.1 sinuosities) are located in the northwest corner of the study area, in locations most influenced by tectonic processes. Width, depth, and sinuosity vary, not only by channel class, but also by channel reach. Quantitative seismic geomorphology can be used to combine subaerial geomorphic principles of channel evolution with seismic-derived morphology measurements to predict response to extrinsic influences and post-dict historical controls on channel morphology.
Coastal people on edge of survival.

The effects of population on coastal resources are examined. The mismanagement of land affects coastal waters through soil erosion and sediment which is transported by rivers and deposited in mangrove swamps and coral reefs. Fisheries are most commonly affected. 1.46 billion tons/year of sediment are deposited in the Bay of Bengal from the Ganges River. The Amazon which drains a larger area however only deposits 363 million tons/year of sediment into the Atlantic. Runoff from pesticide poisons and fertilizers is eventually dumped in coastal waters. Land management must be integrated with coastal and water development. 66% of fish are caught in tidal basins. Wetlands are spawning nursery and feeding areas for fish and shellfish. 90% of commercial species of fish caught in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean are dependent at some point in their life-cycle on estuaries mangroves seagrasses and coral reefs. 80% of the fish caught in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers are dependent on the mangrove swamps of the Sundarbans. The 250000 tons of fish caught in the Mekong Basin which are valued at 90 million US dollars for Kampuchea Thailand and Vietnam are also dependent upon wetlands. 20 million people receive 50-70% of their protein intake from this harvest. 90% of protein intake of Pacific Islanders comes from the sea. Scientists estimate that one hectare of properly managed mangrove forest yields 100 kg of fish 25 kg of shrimp 15 kg of crabmeat 200 kg of mollusks and 40 kg of sea cucumber. Other products include the 400 kg of fish and 75 kg of shrimp which migrate elsewhere. Mangroves have been destroyed directly through clear cutting of timer specific creation of brackish water ponds for shellfish and urban expansion and indirectly through soil erosion pesticide runoff and deforestation in upland watersheds. The worst destruction is in Asia particularly in the Philippines where 462000 hectares of mangrove area was lost between 1920-88. The coral reefs are also fish factories. Destruction of coral reefs is due to improper land management coral mining and blast fishing. Coastal erosion occurs due to destruction of the mangroves and coral reefs. More attention money and manpower needs to be devoted to coastal management with the involvement of local communities.
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Signals Based on Spiking Neuronal Networks

—This paper proposes a digital construction of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals based on the Izhikevich neuron model using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform. The signals are intended for use in diverse electronics applications such as robotics and power converters. A spiking pattern was used to generate the input data and produce the PWM signals. A comparator was used to compare between the spiking pattern data and DC level parameters. The results validate that the proposed hardware can reproduce PWM signals with duty cycles from 0 % to 100 % .
Mars surface properties: Dark mantles of regional and local extent

When saltating sand impinges upon loose or moderately-indurated clayand silt-sized particles, the finer grains are usually launched into suspension and carried away. This fact, combined with the observation that large martian eolian dune fields have low albedos, led to the notion that the low albedo regions of Mars (such as Syrtis Major) are surfaces in which loose sand is present and active in the modern environment. Following global dust storms, it was thought, bright dust that settles on such dark regions is removed via saltating sand. Mars Orbiter Camera images obtained 1997-1998 by Mars Global Surveyor revealed that some of the large, low albedo regions are not sandy, but instead are thickly mantled by dark material that drapes the landscape in a manner similar to terrestrial loess. In particular, Sinus Sabaeus and large portions of Sinus Meridiani exhibit these thick mantles. Parts of Syrtis Major are also mantled, although this region shows considerable spatial variability that also includes bare rock, eolian dunes, and lag surfaces. The lack of dark sand, combined with the persistence of these low albedo regions over the past four hundred years, suggests that fallout of bright dust from global dust storms might not be a spatially-uniform process. Low albedo wind streaks in western Arabia Terra also appear to be dark mantles, and their characteristics provide clues as to the nature of the mantling material. Craters associated with the wind streaks exhibit floors with pits, yardangs, and pedestal craters. Across the crater floors and out onto the downwind terrain there is a progression of eolian depositional landforms from megaripples to dunes to mantles. These observations indicate that granular material is deflated from the crater floor, transported by wind, and sorted by size and/or shape/density. The dark wind streaks most likely consist of silt-sized grains that have been briefly transported in suspension. The larger, regional-scale mantles in places like Sinus Sabaeus might have had a similar origin, or at least consist of similar fine-grained sediment. Cracks in the dark mantles of Sinus Sabaeus suggest that this deposit is presently immobile and indurated.
Are the more flexible great-tailed grackles also better at behavioral inhibition?

Behavioral flexibility (hereafter, flexibility) should theoretically be positively related to behavioral inhibition (hereafter, inhibition) because one should need to inhibit a previously learned behavior to change their behavior when the task changes [the flexibility component; Manrique et al. (2013); Griffin and Guez (2014); Liu et al. (2016)]. However, several investigations show no or mixed support of this hypothesis, which challenges the assumption that inhibition is involved in making flexible decisions. We aimed to test the hypothesis that flexibility (measured as reversal learning and solution switching on a multi-access box by
Potential of Porous Silicon Doped With Gold Nanoparticles in Detection of Biogenic Amine. Porous Silicon Used in the Detection of Biogenic Amines

Due to its properties porous silicon is a material with high potential to be applied in bio-delivery carriers and biosensors. To enhancement the capacity of porous silicon as biosensor, gold nanoparticles are introduced in its structure. One of the most used methods to obtain porous silicon/Au nanoparticles is metal salt-assisted chemical etching. The high surface of porous silicon matrix and the Au nanoparticles allow the increment of the sensitivity of the biosensor. This structure can be use as platform to got a biogenic amine optic biosensors. This kind of sensors (optic) are based on the changes of the signals related to the reactions between biogenic amines and the recognized element used (diamine oxidase).
Endovascular Thrombectomy With or Without Thrombolysis for Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background To this date, whether to administer intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) prior to endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for stroke patients still stirs some debate. We aimed to systematically update the evidence from randomized trials comparing EVT alone vs EVT with bridging IVT. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing EVT with or without IVT in patients presenting with stroke secondary to a large vessel occlusion. We conducted meta-analyses using random-effects models to compare functional independence, mortality, and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), between EVT and EVT with IVT. We assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool and certainty of evidence for each outcome using the GRADE approach. Results Of 11,111 citations, we included 6 studies with a total of 2336 participants. We found low-certainty evidence of possibly a small decrease in the proportion of patients with functional independence (risk difference [RD] −2.0%, 95% CI −5.9% to 2.0%), low-certainty evidence that there is possibly a small increase in mortality (RD 1.0%, 95% CI −2.2% to 4.7%), and moderate-certainty evidence that there is probably a decrease in sICH (RD −1.0%, 95% CI −1.6% to .7%) for patients with EVT alone compared to EVT plus IVT, respectively. Conclusion Low-certainty evidence shows that there is possibly a small decrease in functional independence, low-certainty evidence shows that there is possibly a small increase in mortality, and moderate-certainty evidence that there is probably a decrease in sICH for patients with EVT alone compared to EVT plus IVT.
High-efficiency LED driver without electrolytic capacitor for street lighting

High-Brightness Light Emitting Diodes (HB-LEDs) are considered as a remarkable lighting device due to their high reliability, chromatic variety and increasing efficiency. As a consequence, a high number of solutions for supplying LED strings are coming out. One-stage solutions are cost-effective, but their efficiency is low as they have to fulfill several purposes with only one converter: Power Factor Correction (PFC), galvanic isolation (in some cases) and current regulation. Two-stage and three-stage solutions have higher efficiency as each stage is optimized for just one or two tasks and they are the preferred option when supplying several strings at the same time. Nevertheless, due to their higher cost in comparison to one-stage solutions, they are used when high-efficiency, high-performance and the possibility of supplying several strings are the main concerns. Besides, they are also used when high reliability is needed and electrolytic capacitors cannot be used. In this paper, a three-stage solution and its complete design guideline for LED-based applications is proposed. PFC is achieved by a Boost converter while the galvanic isolation is provided by an Electronic Transformer (second stage). The third stages (one for each LED string) are designed following the TIBuck schematic, but taking advantage of the load characteristics (i.e., the high value of the LED string knee voltage, approximately equal to half the string nominal voltage). Besides, a variation of the analog driving technique is also proposed. Experimental results obtained with a 160-W prototype show an efficiency as high as 93% for the whole topology and 95% for the cascade connection of the second and third stages.
Fraud Detection on E-commerce Transactions Using Machine Learning Techniques

Fraud detection is an important aspect of e-commerce transactions as it helps to prevent fraudulent activities such as unauthorized transactions, identity theft, and account takeovers. Recently, machine learning algorithms have been widely used in the literature to detect fraud in e-commerce transactions. These algorithms work by learning patterns in the data that indicate fraudulent activity. Pattern detection involves discovering the discriminative features in the data, such as unusual transaction amounts, locations, or behaviors that are out of the normal range for a particular user, to feed the machine learning method. In this study, four basic machine learning algorithms (decision tree, logistic regression, random forest, and extreme gradient boosting) are used to detect fraud in e-commerce transactions using a newly created dataset including various features about online shopping activities on Boyner Group's e-commerce website and mobile application. The study contributes to the literature by trying different machine learning classifiers and utilizing different features that differ from current approaches in the literature.
Advancing the Self-Sufficiency and Well-Being of At-Risk Youth: A Conceptual Framework

This report presents a conceptual framework for efforts to prepare at-risk youth for healthy adult functioning and self-sufficiency. Produced as part of the Youth Demonstration Development project for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, the framework explains how we can build our knowledge about what works for at-risk youth, by implementing and testing research-informed interventions to promote youthâ€™s resilience and human capital.
Development and Testing of an Instrument for Measuring the User Evaluations of Information Technology in Health Care

We use task-technology-fit model to develop an instrument for obtaining user evaluations of IT in health care. Our results indicate that task-technology fit along with individual characteristics have an impact on user evaluation of the IT in health care. We modify the original task-technology fit model for adequate domain coverage in health care industry. The contribution of our study is toward development and testing of an instrument for measuring user evaluation of IT in health care. The proposed model is successfully tested using a survey of 156 respondents from the eastern United States.
Development and Testing of an Instrument to Measure Contextual Factors In�uencing Self-Care Decisions Among Adults with Chronic Illness

Background: Adults with chronic illness frequently experience bothersome symptoms (e.g., pain). Decisions about how to manage these symptoms are complex and in�uenced by factors related to the patient, their illness, and their environment. The naturalistic decision-making framework describes decision-making when conditions are dynamically evolving, and the decision maker is uncertain because the situation is ambiguous and missing information. The contextual factors in�uencing decisions include time stress, the perception of high stakes, and input from other individuals, which may facilitate or complicate the decision about the self-care of symptoms. There is no valid instrument to measure these contextual factors. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a self-report instrument measuring the contextual factors that in�uence self-care decisions about symptoms. Methods: Items were drafted from the literature and re�ned with patient input. Content validity of the instrument was evaluated using a Delphi survey of expert clinicians and researchers, and cognitive interviews with adults with chronic illness. Psychometric testing included exploratory factor analysis to test dimensionality, item response theory-based approaches for item recalibration, con�rmatory factor analysis to generate factor determinacy scores, and evaluation of construct validity. Results: The content validity of the Self-Care Decisions Scale is excellent with all items achieving a content validity index of greater than 0.78 in the Delphi survey of experts (n=12). Adults with chronic illness (n=5) endorsed the relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility of the instrument during cognitive interviews. Initial psychometric testing (n=431) revealed a 6-factor multidimensional structure that was further re�ned for precision, and high multidimensional reliability. In construct validity testing, there were modest associations with some scales of the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire and the Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory. Conclusion: The Self-Care Decisions Scale is a 27-item self-report instrument that measures the extent to which contextual factors in�uence decisions about symptoms of chronic illness with six scales re�ecting naturalistic decision making (external, urgency, uncertainty, cognitive/affective, waiting/cue competition, and concealment). The scale can support research that aims to better understand how adults with chronic illness make decisions in response to symptoms. Additional
Implications of Energy Efficient Ethernet for Hubs and Switches

The efficient use of energy in communications is an area of growing interest. Until recently energy efficiency received little attention in most wireline communications standards and implementations. In almost all cases, the transmitter and receiver operate at full power, even when no data is being sent. This is the case in most wireline Ethernet standards and results in a considerable waste of energy. Efforts are now underway to develop new standards, such as Energy Efficient Ethernet, with the aim of reducing energy consumption when no data is being transmitted over a link. The changes introduced by Energy Efficient Ethernet have different implications for each network element. The implications for hubs are different to those for switches, for example. These implications are analyzed in this paper. It is shown that the adoption of the new standard will make hubs less energy efficient than switches. This will reinforce the current trend of using switches in new installations. The implications studied in this paper illustrate the potential impact of Energy Efficient Ethernet on Ethernet networks. Other implications, for example on switch implementation and upper layer protocols, can also be expected.