Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating Conservation Education Programs at a South American Zoo

Abstract Zoological parks, nature centers, natural history museums, and related institutions are valuable resources for urban environmental education in developing countries. To determine the effectiveness of conservation education strategies currently in use at such institutions in Colombia, the authors implemented and compared several program formats. A zoo workshop in wildlife conservation targeting elementary school teachers was designed, evaluated, and contrasted with existing programs, including a zoo visit preceded by a slide show, an unstructured visit to the zoo, and a control group. The authors assessed responses from 1,015 fourth-grade students in 26 randomly selected schools in Cali, Colombia. Students in the four experimental groups completed a pretreatment and a posttreatment questionnaire comprising an achievement test with 18 multiple-choice knowledge questions and a 16-statement, 5-point attitude scale. Test results indicated that knowledge and attitude scores of students whose teachers p.
A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Organizational Dissent and Workplace Freedom in Five European Economies

Individuals in five European countries—Finland, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom (n = 1184)—completed a survey exploring the relationship between organizational dissent and workplace freedom of speech. Results revealed workplace freedom of speech is positively correlated with dissent among the entire sample in France and in Germany. Results in Spain were nonsignificant. In the United Kingdom, there was a negative relationship between workplace freedom of speech and dissent. There was a negative relationship between workplace freedom of speech and articulated dissent and a positive relationship with latent dissent in Finland. Moreover, MANCOVA testing showed nationality to have a significant effect on organizational dissent and workplace freedom of speech. Germans scored the highest on dissent and workplace freedom with Spain scoring the lowest.
Personality described by adjectives: The generalizability of the Big Five to the Italian lexical context

Two studies have been performed in the frame of the Big Five model to describe personality. In the first study, the most useful adjectives for describing personality have been selected, trying to adopt a procedure as objective and empirically driven as possible. The resulting pool of adjectives (n = 492) has been administered to a sample of 274 subjects to verify the emergence of the Big Five in the Italian context. In the second study the pool of original adjectives has been reduced to 260 adjectives selecting the most representative terms (with regard to the factorial structure that has emerged). This pool of 260 adjectives has been administered to a sample of 862 subjects, together with the NEO‐PI and the BFQ to facilitate the interpretation of the resulting factorial structure. Results showed the emergence of an Italian Big Five factorial structure that resembles the ‘canonical’ Big Five, although some of the factors, viz. Agreeableness and Emotional Stability, emerged as ‘blended’ dimensions.
Expressed Emotion and Schizophrenia in North India

A bilingual rater was trained in English in a technique of assessing relatives emotional attitudes to patients, and was then required to rate material in Hindi without any further experience. This strategy revealed that the rating of critical comments, hostility and positive remarks could be transferred from English to Hindi without distortion. There were problems with the remaining two scales, over-involvement and warmth, but these were due to technical issues connected with rating and not to cross-cultural distortion.
Systemic immunosuppression following a single pharyngeal aspiration of 1,2:5,6-dibenzanthracene in female B6C3F1 mice

1,2:5,6-Dibenzanthracene (DBA) is ubiquitous in our environment as a contaminant produced by incomplete combustion of organics from sources such as forest fires, cigarette smoke, and asphalt paving, and it is more immunosuppressive of the T-dependent antibody-forming cell (AFC) response than the well-studied polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, benzo(a)pyrene. The systemic immunosuppressive effects of DBA were investigated following a single pharyngeal aspiration (pa) in female B6C3F1 mice. The immunotoxic effects of DBA were evaluated using numerous assays of varying complexity to evaluate innate (natural killer [NK] cell activity), cell-mediated (T-lymphocyte proliferation, mixed leukocyte response [MLR], cytotoxic T-lymphocyte [CTL] activity, delayed-type hypersensitivity [DTH]), and humoral immunity (B-lymphocyte proliferation, T-dependent antibody responses). A single pa of DBA at doses up to 30 mg/kg had no effect on NK cell activity, anti-CD3 antibody-mediated T-lymphocyte proliferation, the MLR, or B-lymphocyte proliferation. DBA at 30 mg/kg suppressed Concanavalin A (ConA)-stimulated T-lymphocyte proliferation and the CTL response. DBA exposure reduced cytokine production in spleen cell culture supernatants after in vitro stimulation with ConA or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Immunosuppression was observed at lower doses in the holistic assays. The DTH response to Candida albicans was significantly decreased at 3.0 mg/ kg DBA, while the AFC response was intermittently suppressed at 1.0 mg/kg, with no effect observed at 0.3 mg/kg. These results demonstrate that a single pa of DBA produces systemic immunotoxicity, and of the assays utilized, the holistic assays (i.e., DTH, AFC) appear to be most sensitive to the immunosuppressive effects of DBA.
The effect of flexible cognitive–behavioural therapy and medical treatment, including antidepressants on post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in traumatised refugees: pragmatic randomised controlled clinical trial

Background Little evidence exists on the treatment of traumatised refugees. Aims To estimate treatment effects of flexible cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) and antidepressants (sertraline and mianserin) in traumatised refugees. Method Randomised controlled clinical trial with 2×2 factorial design (registered with Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00917397, EUDRACT no. 2008-006714-15). Participants were refugees with war-related traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and without psychotic disorder. Treatment was weekly sessions with a physician and/or psychologist over 6 months. Results A total of 217 of 280 patients completed treatment (78%). There was no effect on PTSD symptoms, no effect of psychotherapy and no interaction between psychotherapy and medicine. A small but significant effect of treatment with antidepressants was found on depression. Conclusions In a pragmatic clinical setting, there was no effect of flexible CBT and antidepressants on PTSD, and there was a small-to-moderate effect of antidepressants and psychoeducation on depression in traumatised refugees.
Evaluating STAR – a transformative learning framework: interdisciplinary action research in health training

Transformative learning aims to awaken students to issues of injustice, and to promote their critical analysis of assumptions, beliefs and values that lead to and sustain social inequities, so that they may become agents of social change. This paper introduces the Sensitise Take Action and Reflection (STAR) framework, which encapsulates transformative learning principles, as a tool for educators to enhance student health professionals’ capacity and preparedness to address health inequities they are likely to encounter in their future practice. Using an action research methodology within a three-cycle process, STAR was trialled and evaluated by an interdisciplinary team of health educators (n = 25) in an Australian university. Disciplines included: nursing, nutrition and dietetics, public health, occupational therapy and paramedic science. Data were gathered via individual interviews, focus group discussions and field notes, and were analysed inductively, with member-checking of emerging themes to ensure interpretive rigour. The results of this research suggest that STAR is easily understood by users, has relevance for health professional education, and holds promise for producing desired educational outcomes within and across health disciplines. Furthermore, this project could be considered a model for fostering inter-professional collaboration in health education, research and practice.
Identification of influence factors in the information technology formation in United Arab Emirates

This paper explores and predicts the link between the motives and the nature of the governance structure in the strategic alliances between the UAE (United Arab Emirates) organizations and the foreign companies in the field of information technology (IT). The hypotheses were tested to predict whether functions and sectors influence the formal of governance between relational versus classical. The findings suggest that development purpose and high sectors predict relational governance, while marketing/sales functions and low technology sector predict classical (arms-length) alliances. However, contrary to the expectation, real estate as a low technology sector predicts relational rather than classical alliances.
Supporting student learning: the use of computer-based formative assessment modules

This paper describes the development of a variety of computer–based assessment opportunities, both formative and summative, that are available to a large first year biology class at The University of Sydney. These materials include: weekly quizzes; a mock exam; quiz sections in tutorials; and special self–assessment modules (SAMs). The weekly quiz is password protected and secure but the remaining materials are available on–line from a Virtual Learning Environment (http://FYBio.bio.usyd.edu.au/VLE/L1/). Evaluations over a number of years of the use and usefulness of the formative assessment materials indicate that the student population is making significant use of materials and that these materials are helping students in their learning
Unregulated miR-96 Induces Cell Proliferation in Human Breast Cancer by Downregulating Transcriptional Factor FOXO3a

FOXO transcription factors are key tumor suppressors in mammalian cells. Until now, suppression of FOXOs in cancer cells was thought to be mainly due to activation of multiple onco-kinases by a phosphorylation-ubiquitylation-mediated cascade. Therefore, it was speculated that inhibition of FOXO proteins would naturally occur through a multiple step post-translational process. However, whether cancer cells may downregulate FOXO protein via an alternative regulatory mechanism is unclear. In the current study, we report that expression of miR-96 was markedly upregulated in breast cancer cells and breast cancer tissues compared with normal breast epithelial cells (NBEC) and normal breast tissues. Ectopic expression of miR-96 induced the proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of breast cancer cells, while inhibition of miR-96 reduced this effect. Furthermore, upregulation of miR-96 in breast cancer cells resulted in modulation of their entry into the G1/S transitional phase, which was caused by downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors, p27Kip1 and p21Cip1, and upregulation of the cell-cycle regulator cyclin D1. Moreover, we demonstrated that miR-96 downregulated FOXO3a expression by directly targeting the FOXO3a 3′-untranslated region. Taken together, our results suggest that miR-96 may play an important role in promoting proliferation of human breast cancer cells and present a novel mechanism of miRNA-mediated direct suppression of FOXO3a expression in cancer cells.
Dickkopf-1 Expression Is a Novel Prognostic Marker for Gastric Cancer

Aim. To investigate the involvement of Dickkopf-1 expression in gastric cancer. Methods. Dickkopf-1 mRNA and protein expression were determined by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry in specimens of primary cancer and their adjacent noncancerous tissues in gastric cancer patients. Results. Dickkopf-1 mRNA and protein expression levels were both significantly upregulated in gastric cancer lesions compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues. Its positive expression was correlated with depth of invasion, vessel invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis, and TNM stage of tumors. Additionally, in stages I, II, and III gastric cancers, the 5- year survival rate of patients with a high expression of Dickkopf-1 was significantly lower than that in patients with low expression. In stage IV, Dickkopf-1 expression did not correlate with the 5-year survival rate. Further multivariate analysis suggested that the up-regulation of Dickkopf-1 was an independent prognostic indicator for gastric cancer. Conclusion. A subset of cases with gastric cancer revealed the up-regulation of Dickkopf-1, which was associated with a progressive pathological feature and an aggressive clinical course. Therefore, Dickkopf-1 expression may be predictor for poor prognosis in patients with gastric cancer. This is the first report describing the involvement of Dickkopf-1 in gastric cancer.
The Ecce and Logen partial evaluators and their web interfaces

We present ECCE and LOGEN, two partial evaluators for Prolog using the online and offline approach respectively. We briefly present the foundations of these tools and discuss various applications. We also present new implementations of these tools, carried out in Ciao Prolog. In addition to a command-line interface new user-friendly web interfaces were developed. These enable non-expert users to specialise logic programs using a web browser, without the need for a local installation.
Solid Lipid Nanoparticles of a Water Soluble Drug, Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride

The aim of this study was to understand and investigate the relationship between experimental factors and their responses in the preparation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride based solid lipid nanoparticles. A quadratic relationship was studied by developing central composite rotatable design. Amount of lipid and drug, stirring speed and stirring time were selected as experimental factors while particle size, zeta potential and drug entrapment were used as responses. Prior to the experimental design, a qualitative prescreening study was performed to check the effect of various solid lipids and their combinations. Results showed that changing the amount of lipid, stirring speed and stirring time had a noticeable influence on the entrapment efficiencies and particle size of the prepared solid lipid nanoparticles. The particle size of a solid lipid nanoparticle was in the range of 159-246 nm and drug encapsulation efficiencies were marginally improved by choosing a binary mixture of physically incompatible solid lipids. Release of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride from solid lipid nanoparticle was considerably slow, and it shows Higuchi matrix model as the best fitted model. Study of solid lipid nanoparticle suggested that the lipid based carrier system could potentially be exploited as a delivery system with improved drug entrapment efficiency and controlled drug release for water soluble actives.
Natural Temporal Difference Learning

In this paper we investigate the application of natural gradient descent to Bellman error based reinforcement learning algorithms. This combination is interesting because natural gradient descent is invariant to the parameterization of the value function. This invariance property means that natural gradient descent adapts its update directions to correct for poorly conditioned representations. We present and analyze quadratic and linear time natural temporal difference learning algorithms, and prove that they are covariant. We conclude with experiments which suggest that the natural algorithms can match or outperform their non-natural counterparts using linear function approximation, and drastically improve upon their non-natural counterparts when using non-linear function approximation.
Towards Integrating Form-Focused Instruction and Communicative Interaction in the Second Language Classroom: Some Pedagogical Possibilities

Much has been written, on both theoretical and empirical levels, about the idea of ‘focus on form’ and the suggestion that some kind of form-focused activity needs to be incorporated into L2 communicative contexts. However, much less work has been published on how this aim can be pedagogically fostered. This article will first elaborate on the need to incorporate form-focused activities within an integrative approach to L2 teaching. Pedagogical possibilities and strategies will then be suggested, and examples provided of tasks that may help to realize this goal in classroom contexts. Relevant empirical evidence on the effectiveness of such tasks will be presented and discussed.
Efficient Method for Maximizing Bichromatic Reverse Nearest Neighbor

Bichromatic reverse nearest neighbor (BRNN) has been extensively studied in spatial database literature. In this paper, we study a related problem called MaxBRNN: find an optimal region that maximizes the size of BRNNs. Such a problem has many real life applications, including the problem of finding a new server point that attracts as many customers as possible by proximity. A straightforward approach is to determine the BRNNs for all possible points that are not feasible since there are a large (or infinite) number of possible points. To the best of our knowledge, the fastest known method has exponential time complexity on the data size. Based on some interesting properties of the problem, we come up with an efficient algorithm called MaxOverlap. Extensive experiments are conducted to show that our algorithm is many times faster than the best-known technique.
Cross-Correlation Between Stress, Pain, Physical Activity, and Temporalis Muscl EMG in Tension-Type Headache

Thirty-six tension-type headache subjects and 36 non-headache matched controls recorded their temporalis muscle electromyographic (EMG) activity and their pain intensity, stress and physical activity levels in a daily diary. Measurements were performed every 30 min for 6 days (EMG 3 days only). A time-lagged cross-correlational analysis between pain, stress, physical activity, and EMG shows that the highest correlation coefficient values occurred between pain and stress at the same (r = 0.33) and at the two preceding 0.5 h time points (r = 0.21 and r = 0.26) in the headache group. Virtually no correlation was found between pain, stress, or physical activity with EMG for either group. These data show that temporalis muscle activity levels were not related to the rise and fall of the subjects' pain or stress levels. Conversely, elevated stress appeared to be highly related to pain; it occurs as both an antecedent and simultaneous event with elevated headache pain.
Longitudinal Associations of Language Brokering and Parent-Adolescent Closeness in Immigrant Latino Families

Language brokering is a common practice for Latino youth with immigrant parents. Yet little is known about how youth’s feelings about this responsibility contribute to the parent-adolescent relationship. In this study, we examined the longitudinal associations between language brokering attitudes and parent-adolescent closeness in a sample of Latino early adolescents (n = 813, Maget1 = 12.32, SDt1 = .59), while taking into account language brokering frequency and the possible moderating role of sex. Results suggested that sex of the adolescent was a moderator. Specifically, younger males who felt closer to their parents had more positive attitudes toward language brokering, which dissipated as they aged. Furthermore, language brokering frequency had a delayed positive contribution to language brokering attitudes and parent-adolescent closeness, which was stronger for males than females. Results are discussed in terms of how age and gender cultural norms contribute to the relation between language brokering and parent-adolescent closeness.
Reluctant Leaders: An Analysis of Middle Managers' Perceptions of Leadership in Further Education in England

The research that forms the basis for this article draws attention to a group of middle managers who are reluctant to become leaders because they seek more space and autonomy to stay in touch with their subject, their students, and their own pedagogic values and identities, family commitments and the balance between work and life. This reluctance is reinforced by their scepticism that leadership in Further Education (FE) is becoming less hierarchical and more participative. In a sector that has had more than its fair share of reformist intervention, there is some scepticism of the latest fad of distributed and transformative leadership as a new panacea to cure all the accumulated `ills'of Further Education in England. Although focused primarily on this one sector in an English context, the article draws some inferences where there are parallels with wider sectors of public sector reform and where the uneasy (and incomplete) transitions from `old' to `new' public management have been underpinned by invasive audit, inspection and performance cultures.
Color stability of compomer after immersion in various media.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of various media on the color stability of compomer and to compare these results to those of other materials that could be used in similar clinical circumstances. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this test, six materials (shade A2) were used: four compomers (Dyract, Compoglass F, Xeno, F2000), one composite resin (Clearfil AP-X), and one resin-modified glass ionomer cement (Fuji II LC). There were four test solutions: one alcoholic (whiskey), two low pH soft drinks (Coca Cola, orange juice), and deionized water as a control. A plastic ring mold (9-mm diameter x 1-mm height) was used to prepare 120 disk specimens. For 60 days, the test specimens were immersed in the various media daily for 3 hours then transferred to the deionized water. Color was measured by CIE L* a* b* relative to CIE source against a white background, using a colorimeter. Color change (delta E*) was calculated as delta E* = [(delta L*)2 + (delta a*)2 + (delta b*)2]1/2. Color changes (delta E*) were recorded after 1, 7, 30, and 60 days. RESULTS The results indicated that compomer and resin-modified glass ionomer were susceptible to discoloration in various solutions over an extended period of time. Composite resin showed minimal perceptible color change. Specimens immersed in whiskey showed a significantly high perceptible color change (p < .0001). Water caused no perceptible color changes.
Change Representation For OWL 2 Ontologies

Ontologies are entities that evolve over time, therefore it is essential to represent and manage changes to ontologies along with the ontologies themselves. In this paper we propose a change ontology for the OWL 2 ontology language. This change ontology comprises a fine-grained taxonomy of ontology changes that considers the lowest-level atomic operations that can be performed in an ontology, but in addition also on other abstraction levels (ontology entity, composite). It thus allows to describe on a fine grained level how an ontology has changed from one version to another, and it also provides the vocabulary to talk about the changes that enables, for instance, to associate provenance or other rich metadata, such as argumentation structures. Additionally, we discuss some useful applications of our change ontology and its technological support.