Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teacher and Administrator Responses to Standards-Based Reform

Background Since the onset of standards-based reform and its continuation in the form of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and now Race to the Top, debates have continued about whether such policies foster desirable change in states, districts, schools and classrooms. Research Question The study asks: How do state and district administrators, principals, and teachers describe their responses to standards-based reform, in terms of beliefs, understanding, and attitudes, as well as behavior? Participants The analysis uses interview data from 32 schools in 10 districts in 5 states. Data are from 60 fourth- and seventh-grade mathematics teachers, 32 principals, 14 district administrators, and 7 state officials. Research Design The overarching five-state study identified a representative probability sample of districts for each state. From those districts, two in each state were chosen for the case study, based on size and poverty. Data Collection and Analysis Interviews were transcribed, then coded both inductively and deductively to identify patterns and elicit major themes. Findings This study provides evidence that standards-based reform has elicited positive change in four areas: attention to struggling learners, teaching to the test, responsibility for student learning, and classroom content and pedagogy. Respondents said that as a result of standards-based reform policies, they focused more on struggling students, trying new approaches to reach them, and increasing their expectations for them. Respondents also reported increasing their personal and group responsibility for student learning, while at the same time feeling stress and pressure from the testing regime. Respondents reported worrying that teaching to the test was narrowing the curriculum, but they also praised the system for eliciting needed improvements in the curriculum. Some teachers said the new state standards required them only to change the order of topics they taught, but other teachers said the standards required them to cover different content and to focus more on student understanding and knowledge retention. Conclusions The findings here of constructive and positive responses stand in stark contrast to a substantial literature that documents negative reactions to NCLB. One explanation might be that earlier attempts at standards-based reform and accountability, such as those documented in this analysis, were much more closely aligned with the theoretical vision of standards-based reform than were later manifestations as codified under NCLB, which have (a) moved away from local discretion, (b) emphasized rewards and sanctions rather than authority (buy-in), and (c) changed the target from standards to focusing on test results, often exclusively.
Immune evasion properties of herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein gC

Herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) glycoprotein gC binds complement component C3b, and purified gC inhibits complement activation. Two HSV strains carrying mutations in the gC gene which rendered them unable to bind C3b were compared with wild-type and marker-rescued viruses to evaluate the role of gC on the virion in protecting HSV-1 from complement-mediated neutralization. The gC mutant viruses were markedly susceptible to neutralization by nonimmune human serum, showing up to a 5,000-fold decline in titer after 1 h of incubation with serum. In contrast, wild-type or marker-rescued viruses showed a twofold reduction in titer. Studies with hypogammaglobulinemic and immunoglobulin G-depleted serum supported the observation that neutralization occurred in the absence of antibody. Neutralization of gC mutant strains by nonimmune serum was rapid; their half-life was 2 to 2.5 min, compared with 1 h for wild-type virus. Ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA)-treated human serum or C4-deficient guinea pig serum failed to neutralize gC mutant strains, indicating a role for components of the classical complement pathway. gC had little additional effect on neutralization by the combination of antibody plus complement compared with complement alone. The results indicate that the magnitude of the protection offered by gC-1 is larger than previously recognized; that in the absence of gC-1, complement neutralization is rapid and is mediated by components of the classical complement pathway; and that gC mainly protects against antibody-independent complement neutralization, suggesting a probable role for gC early in infection, before antibodies develop.
Neonatal seizure detection using convolutional neural networks

This study presents a novel end-to-end architecture that learns hierarchical representations from raw EEG data using fully convolutional deep neural networks for the task of neonatal seizure detection. The deep neural network acts as both feature extractor and classifier, allowing for end-to-end optimization of the seizure detector. The designed system is evaluated on a large dataset of continuous unedited multichannel neonatal EEG totaling 835 hours and comprising of 1389 seizures. The proposed deep architecture, with sample-level filters, achieves an accuracy that is comparable to the state-of-the-art SVM-based neonatal seizure detector, which operates on a set of carefully designed hand-crafted features. The fully convolutional architecture allows for the localization of EEG waveforms and patterns that result in high seizure probabilities for further clinical examination.
From Pervasive Ambiguity to a Definition of the Situation

This paper presents a conceptual and empirical analysis of one major type of ambiguity. Pervasive ambiguity is discussed as both a cognitive and an affective problem which occurs when individuals or collectives are unable to define a social situation. The research reported here involved an attempt to create an ambiguity-producing situation so that the adaptive behavior of persons experiencing pervasive ambiguity could be observed. Three hypotheses were tested and confirmed by the research findings: (1) The most common pattern of adaptation to ambiguity is a cyclical shifting back and forth between information seeking and tension reduction behavior; (2) Persons who encounter ambiguity-producing situations select interaction partners on the basis of perceived similarity; and (3) Overt consensual acceptance of a proposed definition of the situation is a prerequisite to ambiguity resolution.
Effect of Intravenous Contrast Media on Proximal and Distal Tubular Hydrostatic Pressure in the Rat Kidney

The effect of i.v. injection of contrast media (CM, 1 600 mg I/kg b.w.) on proximal and distal tubular hydrostatic pressure (PTHP, DTHP) in the rat was investigated using a micropuncture technique. The PTHP and DTHP after injection of diatrizoate, iohexol, ioxaglate, or mannitol returned to control values within approximately 20 min. However, following iotrolan injection PTHP was still elevated above control levels after 35 min while DTHP remained elevated throughout the experiment (50 min). Iotrolan has a lower osmotic potential than the other CM when given in equivalent iodine doses. The concentration of iotrolan may thus increase more along the tubules than the other CM and consequently lead to a higher viscosity of urine, resulting in increases in PTHP and DTHP. The high intratubular pressure induced by iotrolan may explain our previous findings of reduced single nephron glomerular filtration rate caused by this CM.
Effect of anchorage systems and extension base contact on load transfer with mandibular implant-retained overdentures.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Controversy exists regarding the effect of anchorage systems and extension base contact on stress transfer to multiple implants by mandibular overdentures. PURPOSE This simulation study measured photoelastically the biologic behavior of 4 implants retaining a mandibular overdenture. The purpose of the investigation was to compare the load transfer characteristics of different mandibular-retained overdenture designs, with and without edentulous ridge contact. MATERIAL AND METHODS A photoelastic model of a human edentulous mandible was fabricated having 4 screw-type implants (3.75 x 10 mm) embedded in the parasymphyseal area. Substructure designs utilizing a cantilevered bar, spark erosion framework, noncantilevered bar, and solitary anchors were fabricated. A vertical load of 30 lb was applied to the first molar unilaterally on each of the 4 standardized overdenture prostheses, with and without a silicone tissue spacer, for a total of 8 tested conditions. Stresses that developed in the supporting structure were monitored photoelastically and recorded photographically. RESULTS Without the simulated tissue contact on the posterior edentulous ridge, the cantilevered bar framework caused the highest stresses to the terminal implant, followed by spark erosion framework, non-cantilevered bar, and solitary anchor design. With simulated tissue contact under the extension base, stress transfer to the distal implant was uniformly reduced to a low level. CONCLUSION Without intimate extension base contact with the posterior edentulous ridge, the cantilevered anchorage systems generated the highest stresses, under load, to the ipsilateral terminal implant and the solitary anchor design transferred the least. With simulated intimate extension base contact, all anchorage systems transferred low stress to the distal implant region. For all conditions and designs, low stress was transferred to the contralateral side of the arch.
Effect of Sn dopants on the optical and electrical properties of ZnO films

Corresponding author: yasemincaglar@anadolu.edu. tr, ycaglar@semiconductorslab.comThe undoped and tin (Sn) doped ZnO films were deposited by a spray pyrolysis method ontothe glass substrates. 0.2 M solution of zinc acetate in a mixture of ethanol and deionised water, ina volume proportion of 3:1, was employed. Dopant source was tin chloride. The atomic percentageof dopant in solution were Sn/Zn = 1%, 3% and 5%. The effect of tin doping on the optical andelectrical properties of ZnO films was studied. The optical transmittance was about 76% in a visiblerange for Sn-doped ZnO films. The optical band gaps of the films were calculated. This suggeststhat the absorption edge shifts to the lower wavelengths with Sn dopant. Optical constants ofthe films were determined. These parameters changed with Sn dopant.Keywords: ZnO film, optical band gap, optical constant, figure of merit.
Regulation of Lifespan, Metabolism, and Stress Responses by the Drosophila SH2B Protein, Lnk

Drosophila Lnk is the single ancestral orthologue of a highly conserved family of structurally-related intracellular adaptor proteins, the SH2B proteins. As adaptors, they lack catalytic activity but contain several protein–protein interaction domains, thus playing a critical role in signal transduction from receptor tyrosine kinases to form protein networks. Physiological studies of SH2B function in mammals have produced conflicting data. However, a recent study in Drosophila has shown that Lnk is an important regulator of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling (IIS) pathway during growth, functioning in parallel to the insulin receptor substrate, Chico. As this pathway also has an evolutionary conserved role in the determination of organism lifespan, we investigated whether Lnk is required for normal lifespan in Drosophila. Phenotypic analysis of mutants for Lnk revealed that loss of Lnk function results in increased lifespan and improved survival under conditions of oxidative stress and starvation. Starvation resistance was found to be associated with increased metabolic stores of carbohydrates and lipids indicative of impaired metabolism. Biochemical and genetic data suggest that Lnk functions in both the IIS and Ras/Mitogen activated protein Kinase (MapK) signaling pathways. Microarray studies support this model, showing transcriptional feedback onto genes in both pathways as well as indicating global changes in both lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Finally, our data also suggest that Lnk itself may be a direct target of the IIS responsive transcription factor, dFoxo, and that dFoxo may repress Lnk expression. We therefore describe novel functions for a member of the SH2B protein family and provide the first evidence for potential mechanisms of SH2B regulation. Our findings suggest that IIS signaling in Drosophila may require the activity of a second intracellular adaptor, thereby yielding fundamental new insights into the functioning and role of the IIS pathway in ageing and metabolism.
Recent structural and functional imaging findings in schizophrenia

Purpose of review Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that affects nearly 1% of the general population and has long been a challenge for both clinicians and researchers in terms of treatment and etiology. More recently, evidence has amassed that suggests that schizophrenia is a brain disorder, and that some aspects of this disorder appear to be genetic. It has only been in the past decade, however, that adequate neuroimaging tools have become available to study brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. These technologic advances have led to a much better understanding of both structural and functional brain abnormalities in schizophrenia, and allowed construction of comprehensive theories regarding the neural underpinnings of schizophrenia. The present review provides an account of research activities in the fields of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging during the past year, dating from August 2001 to August 2002. Recent findings In the review we discuss MRI findings in chronic schizophrenia and in first episode schizophrenia, and we include information on family studies. We note that the two major hypotheses regarding schizophrenia (neurodevelopmental and/or neurodegenerative) provide a theoretical framework for most studies. For the functional MRI studies, we note that questions focus on identifying networks of brain regions that are abnormal and contribute to functional abnormalities. Summary Jointly, MRI, functional MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging research suggests that schizophrenia is a disorder that impacts on several brain regions, leading most notably to abnormalities in both frontal and temporal lobes, as well as to abnormal connections between those two major structures.
Internal Fixation of Malar Fractures: An Experimental Biophysical Study

Open reduction and internal fixation of displaced zygoma fractures are necessary to avoid immediate and delayed facial disfigurement. Interosseous wires, Kirschner wires, and more recently, rigid metallic miniplates have been recommended for fixation of these and other midfacial fractures. However, the precise physical stability of the zygoma with respect to wire versus miniplate fixation methods and with respect to the number and location of miniplates applied is not known. Noncomminuted zygoma fractures were simulated by saw osteotomy in eight fresh human cadaver heads (16 zygoma “fractures”). Each zygoma was sequentially fixated with three miniplates, two miniplates, one miniplate, and three interosseous wires across the orbital rim and arch “fractures. ” Static and oscillating loads simulating maximal physiologic masticatory stresses were applied to the fixated zygoma along the lines of action of the masseter muscle by means of a tensometer. The stability and adequacy of each pattern of fixation were recorded. Double-miniplate fixation across the orbital rim of simulated noncomminuted zygoma “fractures” is sufficient to withstand static and oscillating loading similar to physiologic masticatory forces. Neither single-miniplate fixation nor triple-wire fixation are sufficient to stabilize the zygoma against similar forces.
[Cloning and identification of cDNA fragments related to human esophageal cancer].

OBJECTIVE To search new genes related to human esophageal cancer (EC) for revealing carcinogenesis mechanism and genetic susceptibility of EC. METHODS Three normal esophageal epithelia (including 1 tumor-adjacent tissue) and two primary squamous cell carcinomas collected from high incidence family in Lin-xian county were studied using technique of mRNA differential display. The differential fragments were sequenced and identified by RT-PCR assay. RESULTS (1) Eighteen differential fragments were isolated and identified, 13 of which were expressed in normal esophageal epithelia but not in EC(assigned as normal esophageal gene, NEG), while 5 were expressed in EC but not in normal esophageal epithelia(assigned as mutated esophageal gene, MEG). (2) Four NEG fragments were not homologous to the known sequences in the public database of GenBank (of NLM in USA). These 4 fragments were assigned as esophageal cancer related gene (ECRG) 1 to 4. (3)The remaining 14 fragments were homologues to 12 known genes or gene fragment. Their role in EC remains unclear. (4) Using RT-PCR technique, the expression of ECRG between normal epithelia and EC was significantly different. (5) All 4 ECRG genes were expressed in cDNA libraries derived from normal fetal brain, adult brain, liver, kidney, testis, bone marrow and skeletal muscle. (6) In the 20 cancerous and tumor-adjacent tissues obtained from the liver, lung, breast, colo-rectum and endometria, ECRG1 and ECRG2 was not detected by RT-PCR, while ECRG3 was highly expressed. For the ECRG4 the expression was much stronger in tumor-adjacent tissues than in cancerous tissues. CONCLUSION ECRG 1 and ECRG2 may contribute to the causation and progression of the EC in Lin-xian, and may be candidates of tumor suppressor genes.
Long-Term Survival after Minimal Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass (MIDCAB) Surgery in Patients with Low Ejection Fraction

Objective The long-term survival after minimal invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) surgery to any coronary territory in patients with ejection fraction of ≤30% was investigated for the first time in literature. Methods Seventy-three patients with primary MIDCAB and 89 patients with reoperative MIDCAB were studied including preoperative risk factors, operative details, early postoperative complications, and survival up to 10 years postoperatively. Results Despite the high-risk profile of the patients, the MIDCAB approach for targeted revascularization resulted in excellent short-term results. Ventricular arrhythmia contributed to four of six early deaths. Survival at 5 years postoperatively was 62.5% for primary MIDCAB and 43.2% for reoperative MIDCAB and at 10 years was 36.9% and 29.5%, respectively. Functionally complete vascularization correlates with significantly better long-term survival particularly in primary MIDCAB procedures. Conclusions MIDCAB is a valuable option for targeted revascularization in high-risk patients with low ejection fraction and reoperation.
Stunting in children (0–59 months): what is the current trend in South Africa?*

ABSTRACT Background: Stunting continues to affect young children as a global nutritional disorder. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence, associated risk factors and spatial clustering for stunting in a disadvantaged South African District. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional weighted survey of households was conducted in the iLembe district, KwaZulu-Natal in 2014. Children aged 0–59 months were included in the study sample. Height for age Z scores were calculated for the children and the spatial clustering was assessed. Results: Of the 572 children included in the weighted analyses, 21.1% (95% confidence intervals (CI) 18.0–24.5) were classified as stunted and of these 7.5% (95% CI 5.3–10.4) were severely stunted. Conclusion: Stunting is a major public health burden in SA that requires intervention at a community level. A multi-sectoral approach is required to reduce stunting prevalence, focusing on child growth and development monitoring, nutrition education and household food security.
A PRIORI ERROR ESTIMATES FOR SEMI-DISCRETE DISCONTINUOUS GALERKIN METHODS SOLVING NONLINEAR HAMILTON-JACOBI EQUATIONS WITH SMOOTH SOLUTIONS

The Hamiltonian H is assumed to be a smooth function of all the arguments. When there is no ambiguity, we also take the concise notation H(φx) = H(φx, x) and H(φx, φy) = H(φx, φy, x, y). The DG method is a class of finite element methods using completely discontinuous piecewise polynomial space for the numerical solution in the spatial variables. It can be discretized in time by the explicit and nonlinearly stable high order Runge-Kutta time discretization [20], resulting in the so-called RKDG method. The RKDG method was first developed for nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws by Cockburn et al. in [8, 7, 5, 9]. Later it was generalized to the LDG method for solving convection-diffusion equations by Cockburn and Shu [10]. The time-dependent Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) equations (1) and (2) are closely related to the conservation laws. In the one-dimensional case, they are equivalent if one takes the spatial derivative in (1) and writes out the equation satisfied by u = φx. It is thus not surprisingly that many successful numerical methods for the conservation laws have been adapted to solve the Hamilton-Jacobi equations. For finite difference schemes, the high order essentially non-oscillatory (ENO) and weighted ENO (WENO) schemes [18, 14, 25] are such examples. However, it is less straightforward to adapt DG schemes to solve the Hamilton-Jacobi equations, since
Vascular endothelial growth factor expression in canine intracranial meningiomas and association with patient survival.

BACKGROUND Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a regulator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability. In human patients with meningiomas, increased VEGF expression is predictive of postsurgical recurrence. The objectives of this study were to evaluate VEGF expression in canine intracranial meningiomas and to determine whether an association between VEGF expression and patient survival existed. METHODOLOGY Tumor tissue from 17 dogs with histologically confirmed intracranial meningiomas was obtained surgically. All dogs then were treated with radiotherapy. Immunohistochemistry was performed on 5-microm sections of paraffin-embedded tumor tissue with rabbit anti-human VEGF polyclonal antibody. The extent, intensity, and distribution of VEGF staining for each section were assessed with light microscopy by means of a semiquantitative scale. Survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier procedure. Survival rates among groups were compared by log-rank tests with the significance set at P < or = . 05. FINDINGS VEGF expression was detected in all tumors, with >50% of cells staining positively in tissues from 15/17 dogs. Shorter survival times were associated with greater VEGF expression (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS VEGF expression can be measured in canine intracranial meningiomas and may be associated with poor outcome. SIGNIFICANCE The extent of VEGF expression in canine intracranial meningiomas may be used as a prognostic marker and suggests a potential future target for therapy.