Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
University Students’ Perceptions of Social Media as a Learning Tool: A Science Discipline Perspective

Social media can have a considerable impact on students’ learning. Studies indicate promising use of social media in improving learning environments. This study investigates King Abdulaziz University (KAU) science discipline (including engineering and computer science) students’ perceptions of social media as a learning tool. Data were compiled through a specially designed survey. The sample size was 1461 students of different ages and genders representing KAU science discipline colleges. The results indicate that a moderate majority of KAU science discipline students are using social media tools in their learning at university and have the preference to integrate social media as a tool in their learning. The paper also documents gender significant differences on preferred social media tools, purposes of social media usage and dominant issues relating to use of social media in learning. The findings reinforce the notion that adoption of social media as a learning tool is advantageous and do not reveal any obvious disadvantages. Such findings can encourage academic planners and instructors to endorse and implement social media tools in the learning context of students within the science discipline.
The Design and Evaluation of Six Presentation Styles for Information Retrieval Search Results

The linear list presentation of results used by most information retrieval systems does not help the user to evaluate the results for relevance. Five alternative presentations, one tabular and four graphical, were designed and implemented. Three of the graphical presentations, bar charts, matrix charts, and scatter plots were existing techniques. The fourth, document maps, was a new visualisation developed to address the weaknesses of the existing techniques for supporting the results evaluation task. A comparative evaluation found that users of the tabular and graphical presentations performed results evaluation tasks significantly faster and significantly more accurately than the users of the linear list. No overall difference was found between the tabular and graphical presentations, contradicting previous research. The document map users performed document similarity tasks significantly faster than, and with the same high degree of accuracy as, the users of the other tabular and graphical presentations. Furthermore, the document map received the highest subjective usability rating.
Body-Region-Specific Injuries as Predictors of Psychosocial Outcomes Among Those Injured in Combat: Results From the Wounded Warrior Recovery Project

Associations between body region injured and psychosocial outcomes may have implications for injury prevention and mitigation strategies. The present study investigated the association of body-region—specific injuries and their association with 3 psychosocial outcomes (i.e., quality of life, QOL; posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD; and depression) among a large sample of U.S. military service members injured in combat. A total of 1,011 individuals wounded in combat enrolled in the Wounded Warrior Recovery Project and provided QOL, depression, and PTSD measures on a Web-based survey. These psychosocial variables were linked with the presence/absence of combat injuries in 9 different body regions (head, face, neck, thorax, spine, abdomen, upper extremity, lower extremity, and external skin/other), as well as overall injury severity and demographic factors. Two-step hierarchical linear regressions revealed that after adjusting for overall injury severity and time since injury, those with combat-related head and spine injuries were particularly at risk for relatively worse psychosocial outcomes. Head and spinal injuries were associated with lower QOL and higher PTSD and depression. Overall, even those with relatively minor injuries may be at risk of lower QOL and adverse psychosocial outcomes. These findings may highlight the need for early interventions to minimize the psychological effects of combat injuries to the head and spine.
To what extent do macroeconomic conditions and firm characteristics affect zero-leverage decisions of firms?

This study contributes to the existing literature on capital structure. It addresses why some firms have no leverage in their capital structures despite the potential benefits of debt financing. While analyzing 978 US corporations over the period of 1962-2015 have we found that zero-leverage firms either have access to leverage financing, or not. We further observed in our sample that macro-economic sensitivity have a greater impact among financially unconstrained firms compared the constrained counterparts. Growth of financial intermediaries and government debt enhances the chance of a firm to neglect leverage financing. Finally did we also found new evidence that firms invest less after periods where government debt is high and that this observation is stronger among the unconstrained subsample. ERASMUS UNIVERSITY ROTTERDAM Erasmus School of Economics Student information: Name Student: Quincy Vaz Student ID number: 434385 Master Specialization: Financial Economics Field: Corporate Finance & Governance Master Thesis Financial Economics (16 EC) Supervisor: Mr. Sjoerd van den Hauwe Second Assessor: Dr. Jan Lemmen Date final version: 21-06-2017
The Na+/H+ Exchanger Controls Deoxycholic Acid-Induced Apoptosis by a H+-Activated, Na+-Dependent Ionic Shift in Esophageal Cells

Apoptosis resistance is a hallmark of cancer cells. Typically, bile acids induce apoptosis. However during gastrointestinal (GI) tumorigenesis the cancer cells develop resistance to bile acid-induced cell death. To understand how bile acids induce apoptosis resistance we first need to identify the molecular pathways that initiate apoptosis in response to bile acid exposure. In this study we examined the mechanism of deoxycholic acid (DCA)-induced apoptosis, specifically the role of Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) and Na+ influx in esophageal cells. In vitro studies revealed that the exposure of esophageal cells (JH-EsoAd1, CP-A) to DCA (0.2 mM -0.5 mM) caused lysosomal membrane perturbation and transient cytoplasmic acidification. Fluorescence microscopy in conjunction with atomic absorption spectrophotometry demonstrated that this effect on lysosomes correlated with influx of Na+, subsequent loss of intracellular K+, an increase of Ca2+ and apoptosis. However, ethylisopropyl-amiloride (EIPA), a selective inhibitor of NHE, prevented Na+, K+ and Ca2+ changes and caspase 3/7 activation induced by DCA. Ouabain and amphotericin B, two drugs that increase intracellular Na+ levels, induced similar changes as DCA (ion imbalance, caspase3/7 activation). On the contrary, DCA-induced cell death was inhibited by medium with low a Na+ concentrations. In the same experiments, we exposed rat ileum ex-vivo to DCA with or without EIPA. Severe tissue damage and caspase-3 activation was observed after DCA treatment, but EIPA almost fully prevented this response. In summary, NHE-mediated Na+ influx is a critical step leading to DCA-induced apoptosis. Cells tolerate acidification but evade DCA-induced apoptosis if NHE is inhibited. Our data suggests that suppression of NHE by endogenous or exogenous inhibitors may lead to apoptosis resistance during GI tumorigenesis.
Effects of Alternative Seating on the Academic Engagement of Children With Autism

Students with sensory integration deficits may display a hyper or hyposensitivity to sensory information and lack the ability to modulate that input in socially appropriate ways. Therapy balls as a sensory integration intervention has shown positive results for use with fourth grade students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and preschool children with autism. Therapy balls were used to improve classroom behavior and improve student engagement to relevant materials and persons. Therapy balls are large, inflatable balls, often used for exercise. This form of intervention is thought to afford students with autism who may have deficits in their ability to modulate sensory input the chance to do this in an appropriate way. Students can bounce or roll on the ball which aids in sensory modulation without being disruptive to instruction. The current study replicated the Schilling and Schwartz (2004) study with high school students with autism in a self-contained class. The study examined the effects of therapy balls as seating on in-seat behavior and on-task behavior. Momentary time sampling was used to ascertain the percentage of time that each participant is in-seat/on-ball and on-task/academically engaged. Participants were recruited from a local high school self-contained class for students with autism and include one male and one female student. Single-case design methodologies were used to examine the results. For each participant, data was collected in four phases, two using typical seating and two using the proposed intervention. Participant's data indicate that the therapy ball intervention was initially helpful in improving on-task behavior but that improvement was not replicated after a withdrawal of the intervention. For both participants, in-seat behavior remained appropriate and was therefore, not the focus of this intervention.
Segregation by primary phase factors: a full-wave algorithm for model order reduction

Existing full-wave model order reduction (FMOR) approaches are based on expanded Taylor series approximations (ETAS) of the oscillatory full-wave system matrix. The accuracy of such approaches hinges on the worst case interaction distances, producing accurate models over a very narrow band of frequencies. In this paper we present segregation by primary phase factors (SPPF), an algorithm for FMOR enabling wideband interconnect impedance analysis. SPPF extracts exponential terms (primary phase factors) and then approximates the smoother remainder with ETAS, thus resulting in good accuracies over a very wide band of frequencies. We also present a technique to improve conditioning for the required computation. Example results are given for simple interconnect structures modeled using a discretized mixed potential integral equation formulation.
Electrowetting on Superhydrophobic Surfaces: Present Status and Prospects

Electrowetting devices with an initial superhydrophobic water contact angle (>150°) have now been demonstrated on a variety of structured substrates. These substrates are more complex than a conventional superhydrophobic surface since electrowetting requires an electrical conductor that is coated with a high-performance dielectric and a hydrophobic fluoropolymer. Substrate structures that have been studied include silicon nanoposts and nanowires, carbon nanofibers and nanotubes, and polymer microposts. Even though these structured surfaces are geometrically diverse, there are several consistencies in electrowetting behavior for all these platforms. As an electrowetting bias of 10's of volts is applied between a saline drop and the substrate, the macroscopically observed contact angle is typically decreased from >150° to ∼100°. As the voltage is increased an electromechanical force promotes capillary wetting between the substrate structures, and the saline drop transitions from the Cassie state to the Wenzel state. The Wenzel state presents a new energy minimum for the system, and in all current experiments the wetting is irreversible. Transition from the Wenzel state back to the Cassie state has been demonstrated by means of liquid boiling or addition of a second non-polar liquid. The importance of these recent investigations includes the dynamic tuning of the wetting on a superhydrophobic surface, and improved understanding of electrowetting on, and into, structured surfaces.
A Simple Exoskeleton That Assists Plantarflexion Can Reduce the Metabolic Cost of Human Walking

Background Even though walking can be sustained for great distances, considerable energy is required for plantarflexion around the instant of opposite leg heel contact. Different groups attempted to reduce metabolic cost with exoskeletons but none could achieve a reduction beyond the level of walking without exoskeleton, possibly because there is no consensus on the optimal actuation timing. The main research question of our study was whether it is possible to obtain a higher reduction in metabolic cost by tuning the actuation timing. Methodology/Principal Findings We measured metabolic cost by means of respiratory gas analysis. Test subjects walked with a simple pneumatic exoskeleton that assists plantarflexion with different actuation timings. We found that the exoskeleton can reduce metabolic cost by 0.18±0.06 W kg−1 or 6±2% (standard error of the mean) (p = 0.019) below the cost of walking without exoskeleton if actuation starts just before opposite leg heel contact. Conclusions/Significance The optimum timing that we found concurs with the prediction from a mathematical model of walking. While the present exoskeleton was not ambulant, measurements of joint kinetics reveal that the required power could be recycled from knee extension deceleration work that occurs naturally during walking. This demonstrates that it is theoretically possible to build future ambulant exoskeletons that reduce metabolic cost, without power supply restrictions.
Ethnic Networks, Information, and International Trade: Revisiting the Evidence

Influential empirical work by Rauch and Trindade (REStat, 2002) finds that Chinese ethnic networks of the magnitude observed in Southeast Asia increase bilateral trade by at least 60%. We argue that this estimate is upward biased due to omitted variable bias. Moreover, it is partly related to a preference effect rather than to enforcement and/or the availability of information. Applying a theory-based gravity model to ethnicity data for 1980 and 1990, and focusing on pure network effects, we find that the Chinese network leads to a more modest amount of trade creation of about 15%. Using new data on bilateral stocks of migrants from the World Bank for the year of 2000, we extend the analysis to all potential ethnic networks. We find, i.a. , evidence for a Polish, a Turkish, a Mexican, or an Indian network. While confirming the existence of a Chinese network, its trade creating potential is dwarfed by other ethnic networks.
Age, Emotion Regulation, and Affect in Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Reappraisal

Evidence indicates that older adults experience high levels of emotional well-being. However, little is known empirically about the underlying mechanism of this state. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether emotion regulation mediates the link between age and affect in adulthood. The sample consisted of 516 Japanese participants aged 30 (±1), 50 (±1), and 70 (±1) years, who were registered with an Internet survey company. Cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression were measured as emotion regulation strategies. Positive and negative affect were assessed. Older participants reported lower negative affect than younger participants, while positive affect was not correlated with age. Cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between age and affect, whereas expressive suppression did not. The results suggested that age-related increase in cognitive reappraisal could contribute to improvements in affect, but that another adaptive form of emotion regulation may mediate the relationship between age and affect. Our study thus indicates that developments in emotion regulation could explain the mechanism of stable everyday affect throughout adulthood, and that researchers should further explore another form of adaptive emotion regulation.
A Common Variant in the SETD7 Gene Predicts Serum Lycopene Concentrations

Dietary intake and higher serum concentrations of lycopene have been associated with lower incidence of prostate cancer and other chronic diseases. Identifying determinants of serum lycopene concentrations may thus have important public health implications. Prior studies have suggested that serum lycopene concentrations are under partial genetic control. The goal of this research was to identify genetic predictors of serum lycopene concentrations using the genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach among a sample of 441 Old Order Amish adults that consumed a controlled diet. Linear regression models were utilized to evaluate associations between genetic variants and serum concentrations of lycopene. Variant rs7680948 on chromosome 4, located in the intron region of the SETD7 gene, was significantly associated with serum lycopene concentrations (p = 3.41 × 10−9). Our findings also provided nominal support for the association previously noted between SCARB1 and serum lycopene concentrations, although with a different SNP (rs11057841) in the region. This study identified a novel locus associated with serum lycopene concentrations and our results raise a number of intriguing possibilities regarding the nature of the relationship between SETD7 and lycopene, both of which have been independently associated with prostate cancer. Further investigation into this relationship might help provide greater mechanistic understanding of these associations.
Bounds on Entanglement-Assisted Source-Channel Coding via the Lovász  \(\vartheta \)  Number and Its Variants

We study zero-error entanglement-assisted source-channel coding (communication in the presence of side information). Adapting a technique of Beigi, we show that such coding requires existence of a set of vectors satisfying orthogonality conditions related to suitably defined graphs G and H. Such vectors exist if and only if ϑ(G̅) ≤ ϑ(H̅), where ϑ represents the Lovász number. We also obtain similar inequalities for the related Schrijver ϑ<sup>-</sup> and Szegedy ϑ<sup>+</sup> numbers. These inequalities reproduce several known bounds and also lead to new results. We provide a lower bound on the entanglement-assisted cost rate. We show that the entanglement-assisted independence number is bounded by the Schrijver number: α*(G) ≤ ϑ<sup>-</sup>(G). Therefore, we are able to disprove the conjecture that the one-shot entanglement-assisted zero-error capacity is equal to the integer part of the Lovász number. Beigi introduced a quantity β as an upper bound on α* and posed the question of whether β(G) = ⌊ϑ(G)⌋. We answer this in the affirmative and show that a related quantity is equal to ⌊ϑ(G)⌋. We show that a quantity χ<sub>vect</sub>(G) recently introduced in the context of Tsirelson's problem is equal to ⌊ϑ+(G)⌋. In an appendix, we investigate multiplicativity properties of Schrijver's and Szegedy's numbers, as well as projective rank.
Anticipatory Orientation in Temporary Employment and Employee Performance: A Qualitative Exploratory Study

The aim of this qualitative inquiry is to offer novel insights on the individual and organisational consequences of temporary work, especially in relation to performance. This study examines how fixed-term employees engage, and are enabled to engage, in their day-to-day work activities under the conditions marked by limited time horizon and resulting anticipatory orientation. The data consist of 30 open-ended interviews with highly educated fixed-term employees. A thematic analysis of the data showed that the anticipatory orientation – a necessity for predicting the future and preparing for it at the cost of the present – related to performance in several ways. Employees were forced to slide elsewhere while simultaneously trying to perform, which was associated with feelings of restlessness and the need to regulate and hide emotions at the workplace. In addition, employees could experience detachment from work due to the soon-to-be-outsider position within the organisation. Especially in the context of serial fixed-term contracts and hope for permanent position, intensive efforts to earn a place by adjusting and appearing as ‘appropriate’ were present. Overall, the results imply that fixed-term working conditions may lead to a deterioration of one critical performance resource: a reasonable time horizon in harmony with the work requirements. Without this resource, employees may not be able to perform at a self-satisfactory level and thus are exposed to stress. In order to understand the consequences of non-permanent work, the role of temporality and the conditions of self-satisfactory performance should be acknowledged and further examined.
Dynamics of the boxy elliptical galaxy NGC 1600

ABSTRA C T We use three-integral models to infer the distribution function (DF) of the boxy E3‐E4 galaxy NGC 1600 from surface brightness and line-profile data on the minor and major axes. We assume axisymmetry and that the mass-to-light ratio is constant in the central ,1Re. Stars in the resulting gravitational potential move mainly on regular orbits. We use an approximate third integral K from perturbation theory and write the DF as a sum of basis functions in the three integrals E, Lz and K. We then fit the projected moments of these basis functions to the kinematic observables and deprojected density, using a non-parametric algorithm. The deduced dynamical structure is radially anisotropic, with su=sr < sf=sr < 0:7 on the major axis. Both on the minor axis and near the centre the velocity distribution is more isotropic; thus the model is flattened by equatorial radial orbits. The kinematic data are fitted without the need for a central black hole; the central mass determined previously from ground-based data therefore overestimates the actual black-hole mass. The mass-to-light ratio of the stars is M=LV a 6 h50. The anisotropy structure of NGC 1600 with a radially anisotropic main body and more nearly isotropic centre is similar to that found recently in NGC 1399, 2434, 3379 and 6703, suggesting that this pattern may be common amongst massive elliptical galaxies. We discuss a possible merger origin of NGC 1600 in the light of these results.
The Impact of Social Group Work Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach on the Level of Depression in Soldiers

Background: Maintaining physical health and psychological readiness in military personnel and soldiers is very important. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of social group work based on cognitive-behavioral therapy approach on the soldiers’ level of depression. Methods: This is an experimental study conducted in 2016 2017. 60 soldiers of a military setting with mild to severe depression were randomly selected. Then, the soldiers were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Soldiers in the intervention group participated in cognitive-behavioral group therapy sessions that were conducted by a master of social worker who was trained. The level of depression was assessed before and after intervention with Beck depression inventory. Data were analyzed with statistical software SPSS (version: 16) at the level of P < 0.05. Results: Independent t-test showed that the depression scores in the intervention (22.66 ± 9.49) and control (24.16 ± 7.64) groups had no significant difference in the pre-test stage (P = 0.503). However, the depression scores in the intervention (16.26 ± 30) and control (21.90 ± 8.46) groups were significantly different in the post-test stage (P = 0.002). The paired t-test showed that depressive symptoms significantly reduced in the intervention group in the post-test stage (P < 0.0001), but this difference was not significant in the control group (P = 0.286). The results of analysis of covariance showed that cognitive-behavioral group therapy training had a significant effect on reducing depression levels (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The result of this study showed that social group work based on cognitive-behavioral therapy approach could reduce levels of depression in soldiers. Further studies on long-term effects of this intervention are recommended.