Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stereoselective and Concentration-Dependent Polarized Epithelial Permeability of a Series of Phosphoramidate Triester Prodrugs of d4T: An in Vitro Study in Caco-2 and Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cell Monolayers

Nucleoside analogs are successful, widely used antiviral and anticancer therapeutics. Nucleotide prodrugs (i.e., pronucleotide) have increasingly been used to improve in vivo efficacy of nucleoside analogs. In this study, we evaluated the permeability of a series of phosphoramidate triester prodrugs of the anti-HIV drug 2′,3′-didehydro-2′,3′-dideoxythymidine across monolayers of Caco-2, Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCKII) epithelial cell line, and its recombinant clone containing the human MDR1/P-gp gene (MDR1-MDCKII). Transport was studied in the apical-to-basolateral (A-B) and the basolateral-to-apical directions (B-A). The impact upon transport of differences in stereochemistry at the chiral phosphate center was evaluated. In the Caco-2 and MDCK models the A-B permeability was lower than expected based on the lipophilicity of the compounds, suggesting the involvement of a polarized efflux system and/or metabolic degradation in limiting the absorption of these ester-based prodrugs. Average permeability values through cell monolayers obtained in the A-B direction were lower than in the B-A direction. The inclusion of the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitor verapamil in the transport medium markedly increased the permeability in the A-B direction, whereas decreasing it in the opposite direction, suggesting an efflux mechanism mainly mediated by P-gp. Stereoselective permeability was significant for the most lipophilic compounds, where the diastereoisomer possessing the slower eluting time on a reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography column was transported through Caco-2 and MDCK monolayers at higher rate.
Hands‐on versus teacher‐centred experiments in soil ecology

This study focused on differences between teacher‐centred and learner‐centred experiments in soil ecology. After a pilot study, we selected three experiments simple enough to be carried out by pupils even with little experience in self‐determined learning and hands‐on practice. The sample comprised 123 fifth and sixth graders from a middle school (four classes). We found a significant influence of treatment on achievement and pupils enrolled in a learner‐centred environment scored higher. Girls scored higher than boys in both treatments. We found no differences in well‐being, boredom or difficulty of the tasks, but pupils of the learner‐centred group expressed a higher interest.
Journalism as Cultures of Circulation

The universe of journalism has always consisted of interspersed texts, practices and meanings. Yet, much journalism research has often isolated either texts and/or contexts and thus assumed relations between professional practices, informed (rational) readers and (conceived) core texts. It is, however, more important than ever to shift attention away from texts to the processes through which they are circulated. This is partly because the many cultural forms of journalism (textual, institutional, technological, material, behavioural and imagined) are undergoing significant changes, one of which is being interrelated in new and increasingly complex ways. To understand some of the related processes, this article proposes a notion of circulation that implies a close attention to the ways in which the various forms of this landscape travel, intertwine and connect and, in particular, to the ways in which these forms construct and maintain what is termed cultures of circulation. In order to approach such processes, this article traces the photographic mediation of a specific event with the overall aim of beginning a theorization of the landscape of journalism as interrelated cultures of circulation.
Capacity of MRC on Correlated Rician Fading Channels

A new exact explicit expression is derived for the ergodic capacity of maximal ratio combining (MRC) schemes over arbitrarily correlated Rician fading channels. This is used to study the effects of channel correlation on the ergodic capacity. Numerical results reveal that both the phase and the magnitude of correlation have an impact on the ergodic capacity of Rician fading channels. This is in contrast to correlated Rayleigh fading, where the phase of the correlation has no effect on the ergodic capacity. It is also observed that negatively correlated branches in Rician fading may lead to an increase in ergodic capacity beyond that obtained by uncorrelated branches.
Soft signal recognition and signature code acquisition with AFC for DS-SS Rayleigh fading channel

A novel signal recognition and signature code acquisition (SR/CA) method is proposed for DS-SS systems with frequency offset. Based on existing SR/CA methods, the new soft SR/CA method introduces double decision thresholds and an automatic frequency control (AFC) loop. The performance analysis and double thresholds set criteria are discussed. Numerical results show that the soft SR/CA method provides better detection performance, while false alarm probability hardly increases.
Using mode and maximum values from the Numeric Rating Scale when evaluating postoperative pain management and recovery.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To (1) examine the clinical applicability of compiled mode and maximum values from the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) by comparing the correspondence between patient perceptions of pain and pain values from monitoring records, as well as (2) to study the relationship between mode and maximum values and self-assessed ability for early postoperative recovery. BACKGROUND Documentation of pain remains a problem despite recommendations of quality improvements. To examine the correlation between patient perceptions and documented pain therefore becomes important. Few have studied how pain affects recovery. DESIGN A quantitative cross-sectional design was used in which 157 postoperative patients answered a questionnaire on pain intensity and recovery. A parallel examination of pain in monitoring records was conducted. RESULTS A total of 57% had a mode value calculated from records between 0 and 3 on postoperative day 1 and 69% on day 2. A maximum value between 4 and 10 was found in monitoring records for 73% on day 1 and for 67% on day 2. The correspondence between mode value from monitoring records and the patients' retrospective perceptions was 88% for NRS 0-3 and 92% between maximum value and NRS 4-10. The correlation between documented pain and retrospectively identified pain for mode value of the NRS in all (0-10) was rather weak (r = 0·37), while maximum value had a stronger correlation (r = 0·53). CONCLUSION Mode and maximum values could be used as outcome measures when evaluating postoperative pain. Pain affects recovery negatively, but more research is needed to strengthen the evidence for the use and clarify the link between pain and recovery. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE International organisations emphasise the importance of improving pain assessment. Mode and maximum values are easy to compile for nurses and can, together with assessments of how experienced pain levels affect postoperative recovery, improve treatment of postoperative pain.
Emotions, Attributions, and Policy Endorsement in Response to the September 11th Terrorist Attacks

U.S. citizens' reactions to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were examined, including emotional responses, attributions for the cause of the attacks, and policy recommendations. Participants whose emotional reactions were dominated by anger attributed the attacks to the fanaticism of the terrorists and to poor U.S. security and rejected the idea that U.S. foreign policy played a role in the attacks. They endorsed an aggressive military response and rejected humanitarian efforts. Participants whose emotional reactions were dominated by sadness, in contrast, denied that fanaticism and security lapses were to blame, and both sad and fearful participants expressed reservations about a strong military reaction. Path models suggest that the relationship between emotional reactions and policy endorsement was partially mediated by attributions.
Applying deep learning based automatic bug triager to industrial projects

Finding the appropriate developer for a bug report, so called `Bug Triage', is one of the bottlenecks in the bug resolution process. To address this problem, many approaches have proposed various automatic bug triage techniques in recent studies. We argue that most previous studies focused on open source projects only and did not consider deep learning techniques. In this paper, we propose to use Convolutional Neural Network and word embedding to build an automatic bug triager. The results of the experiments applied to both industrial and open source projects reveal benefits of the automatic approach and suggest co-operation of human and automatic triagers. Our experience in integrating and operating the proposed system in an industrial development environment is also reported.
Designing oral participation in Second Life – a comparative study of two language proficiency courses

Abstract The following paper presents two stages of an action research project involving two oral proficiency courses held in the virtual world Second Life. Course 1 was conducted during the Autumn of 2007. Based on the experiences of this course, we redesigned many aspects of it in order to improve student activity in terms of oral participation and gave the course again in Spring 2008. By analysing the recordings of four 90-minute sessions, two from each course, we were able to measure student participation based on floor space, turn lengths and turn-taking patterns, and in the study we discuss how different changes in design may have contributed to more favourable outcomes. Results seem to indicate that meaning focussed task design, which involves authenticity and collaborative elements, has a direct impact on learner participation and engagement. Furthermore, our results seem to suggest that technical and social initiations into a complex environment such as SL are important factors that have to be worked into the course design.
The contribution of activated phagocytes and myelin degeneration to axonal retraction/dieback following spinal cord injury

Myelin‐derived molecules inhibit axonal regeneration in the CNS. The Long–Evans Shaker rat is a naturally occurring dysmyelinated mutant, which although able to express the components of myelin lacks functional myelin in adulthood. Given that myelin breakdown exposes axons to molecules that are inhibitory to regeneration, we sought to determine whether injured dorsal column axons in a Shaker rat would exhibit a regenerative response absent in normally myelinated Long–Evans (control) rats. Although Shaker rat axons did not regenerate beyond the lesion, they remained at the caudal end of the crush site. Control rat axons, in contrast, retracted and died back from the edge of the crush. The absence of retraction/dieback in Shaker rats was associated with a reduced phagocytic reaction to dorsal column crush around the caudal edge of the lesion. Systemic injection of minocycline, a tetracycline derivative, in control rats reduced both the macrophage response and axonal retraction/dieback following dorsal column injury. In contrast, increasing macrophage activation by spinal injection of the yeast particulate zymosan had no effect on axonal retraction/dieback in Shaker rats. Schwann cell invasion was reduced in minocycline‐treated control rats compared with untreated control rats, and was almost undetectable in Shaker rats, suggesting that like axonal retraction/dieback, spinal Schwann cell infiltration is dependent upon macrophage‐mediated myelin degeneration. These results indicate that following spinal cord injury the phagocyte‐mediated degeneration of myelin and subsequent exposure of inhibitory molecules to the injured axons contributes to their retraction/dieback.
The effectiveness of structured co-operative teaching and learning in Greek primary school classrooms

This study focuses upon the effectiveness of structured co-operative group work on primary school students, aged between 8.5 and 9.5 years old, regarding their content knowledge, attitudes towards co-operative group work, experiential learning and open-ended curriculum as well as students' social and learning behaviour during co-operative group work. A cross-curricular educational programme was implemented within the curriculum area of environmental studies entitled ‘traffic education'. The methodology applied in this study was the experimental and the case study research designs. The findings of the present study support the view that pupils can gain benefits through structured group work co-operation in obtaining content knowledge and group work skills, as well as in developing positive attitudes towards group work, experiential learning, open-ended curriculum and the co-operation with their peers with learning difficulties (LDs). Changes in the relationships with the peers were not affected after the implementation of the educational programme.
Quantity Discrimination in Wolves (Canis lupus)

Quantity discrimination has been studied extensively in different non-human animal species. In the current study, we tested 11 hand-raised wolves (Canis lupus) in a two-way choice task. We placed a number of food items (one to four) sequentially into two opaque cans and asked the wolves to choose the larger amount. Moreover, we conducted two additional control conditions to rule out non-numerical properties of the presentation that the animals might have used to make the correct choice. Our results showed that wolves are able to make quantitative judgments at the group, but also at the individual level even when alternative strategies such as paying attention to the surface area or time and total amount are ruled out. In contrast to previous canine studies on dogs (Canis familiaris) and coyotes (Canis latrans), our wolves’ performance did not improve with decreasing ratio, referred to as Weber’s law. However, further studies using larger quantities than we used in the current set-up are still needed to determine whether and when wolves’ quantity discrimination conforms to Weber’s law.
The photo‐survey research method: capturing life in the city

Recent promotion of city centre living within UK policy has led to a commensurate interest in city centre conditions and the opinions and experiences of the people who live there. An apposite, straightforward method to capture city centre residents' experiences and views is described in this article. We successfully combined a novel, under‐utilized visual technique (self‐directed photography) with qualitative methods (log‐sheets and interviews) in the form of a ‘photo‐survey’. A background to visual methodologies is presented in this article, alongside a critique of using the photo‐survey with 84 city centre residents to investigate environmental conditions and perceptions within three of the UK's major cities. The method provided a rich, detailed set of data, but also brought a number of noticeable benefits to the data collection process. The photo‐survey not only effectively captured and documented life in the city but also acted as an ‘agent for change’, evoking thoughts and feelings which ultimately encouraged participants to reflect on their existing perceptions and urban experiences. The study also raises some important considerations for future work undertaken with this method and with using photographs as a set of data, and proposes techniques for minimising potential problems.
Heart Rate Variability Is Associated with Survival in Patients with Brain Metastasis: A Preliminary Report

Impaired heart rate variability (HRV) has been demonstrated as a negative survival prognosticator in various diseases. We conducted this prospective study to evaluate how HRV affects brain metastasis (BM) patients. Fifty-one BM patients who had not undergone previous brain operation or radiotherapy (RT) were recruited from January 2010 to July 2012, and 40 patients were included in the final analysis. A 5-minute electrocardiogram was obtained before whole brain radiotherapy. Time domain indices of HRV were compared with other clinical factors on overall survival (OS). In the univariate analysis, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) <70 (P = 0.002) and standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval (SDNN) <10 ms (P = 0.004) significantly predict poor survival. The multivariate analysis revealed that KPS <70 and SDNN <10 ms were independent negative prognosticators for survival in BM patients with hazard ratios of 2.657 and 2.204, respectively. In conclusion, HRV is associated with survival and may be a novel prognostic factor for BM patients.
Mitochondrial Activity Is Involved in the Regulation of Myoblast Differentiation through Myogenin Expression and Activity of Myogenic Factors*

To characterize the regulatory pathways involved in the inhibition of cell differentiation induced by the impairment of mitochondrial activity, we investigated the relationships occurring between organelle activity and myogenesis using an avian myoblast cell line (QM7). The inhibition of mitochondrial translation by chloramphenicol led to a potent block of myoblast differentiation. Carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone and oligomycin, which affect the organelle at different levels, exerted a similar influence. In addition, we provided evidence that this phenomenon was not the result of an alteration in cell viability. Conversely, overexpression of the mitochondrial T3 receptor (p43) stimulated organelle activity and strongly potentiated myoblast differentiation. The involvement of mitochondrial activity in an actual regulation of myogenesis is further supported by results demonstrating that the muscle regulatory gene myogenin, in contrast toCMD1 (chicken MyoD) and myf5, is a specific transcriptional target of mitochondrial activity. Whereas myogenin mRNA and protein levels were down-regulated by chloramphenicol treatment, they were up-regulated by p43 overexpression, in a positive relationship with the expression level of the transgene. We also found that myogenin or CMD1 overexpression in chloramphenicol-treated myoblasts did not restore differentiation, thus indicating that an alteration in mitochondrial activity interferes with the ability of myogenic factors to induce terminal differentiation.
Fully Homomorphic Encryption without Squashing Using Depth-3 Arithmetic Circuits

All previously known fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) schemes use Gentry's blueprint:* SWHE: Construct a somewhat homomorphic encryption (SWHE) scheme -- roughly, an encryption scheme that can homomorphically evaluate polynomials up to some degree. * Squash: ``Squash" the decryption function of the SWHE scheme, so that the scheme can evaluate functions twice as complex (in terms of polynomial degree) than its own decryption function. Do this by adding a ``hint " to the SHWE public key -- namely, a large set of vectors that has a secret sparse subset that sums to the original secret key. * Bootstrap: Given a SWHE scheme that can evaluate functions twice as complex as its decryption function, apply Gentry's transformation to get a ``leveled" FHE scheme. To get ``pure" (non-leveled) FHE, one assumes circular security. Here, we describe a new blueprint for FHE. We show how to eliminate the squashing step, and thereby eliminate the need to assume that the sparse subset sum problem (SSSP) is hard, as all previous leveled FHE schemes have done. Using our new blueprint, we obtain the following results:* A ``simple" leveled FHE scheme where we replace SSSP with Decision Diffie-Hellman! * The first leveled FHE scheme based entirely on worst-case hardness}. Specifically, we give a leveled FHE scheme with security based on the shortest independent vector problem over ideal lattices (ideal-SIVP). * Some efficiency improvements for FHE. } While the new blueprint does not yet improve computational efficiency, it reduces cipher text length. As in the previous blueprint, we obtain pure FHE by assuming circular security. Our main technique is to express the decryption function of SWHE schemes as a depth-3 ($\sum \prod \sum$) arithmetic circuit. When we evaluate this decryption function homomorphically, we temporarily switch to a multiplicatively homomorphic encryption (MHE) scheme, such as Elgamal, to handle the $\prod$ part, after which we translate the result from the MHE scheme back to the SWHE scheme by evaluating the MHE scheme's decryption function within the SWHE scheme. The SWHE scheme only needs to be able to evaluate the MHE scheme's decryption function (plus minor operations), and does not need to have the self-referential property of being able to evaluate its {\em own} decryption function, a property that necessitated squashing in the original blueprint.
Riding the information highway—towards a new kind of learning

In the modern world, skimming through information quickly and finding the important nuggets of knowledge from amongst the information overload is an essential skill. One way to train oneself for this kind of literacy is reading on the internet, which requires continuous assessment of search results and specifying searches. In this article a central question is in which ways computer usage is connected with literacy needed in everyday life, which can be called functional literacy. We also examine what kind of an effect generation, occupational status and education have on the connection between computer use and literacy. Finnish data from the Second International Adult Literacy Survey (SIALS), carried out in 1998, is used. Three domains were examined in SIALS – prose literacy, document literacy and quantitative literacy. Real‐life texts, figures and tables were used in the tests. According to the results, there were more good readers among those who regularly used computers for searching for information and reading on the internet. While the youngest scored highest in literacy, the use of computers for information seeking purposes was also connected to better literacy in the older age groups. The lowest educated appeared to benefit the most from the use of computers.