Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On blooming first year programming, and its blooming assessment

The traditional approach to introductory programming has students writing complete programs, as early as possible. Also, the traditional emphasis is on the technology, not the explicit cognitive development of the student. This approach jumps to the fifth and sixth levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, when these last two levels depend upon competence in the first four levels. I describe my alternative approach that addresses the six stages in sequence, emphasising effective assessment processes for the first four levels.
Health measures: differentiating associations with gender and socio-economic status.

BACKGROUND In a cohort survey on health-related lifestyles, four different measures of health were analysed with regard to their associations with gender, socio-economic and psychosocial factors. METHODS The survey was carried out in Berne, Switzerland. Response rate was 64% in the initial interview and 83% in the second interview, from which the data presented were derived, resulting in 923 participants aged 56 to 66 years. Along with socio-economic and psychosocial parameters, four self-report health measures were obtained, namely self-rated health, physical fitness, number of medical conditions and restrictions caused by medical conditions. Regression analysis was used to investigate and compare their associations with gender, socio-economic and psychosocial factors and relevant interaction terms. RESULTS Gender was statistically significantly associated with physical fitness, number of medical conditions and subsequent restrictions. Education and income showed statistically significant associations with self-rated health and fitness. Psychological factors were statistically significantly associated with all health measures. Gender showed to interact with education, income interacted with internal health locus of control. Analyses with separated genders showed that the association of socio-economic status with self-rated health and fitness was statistically significant in women only. CONCLUSION The different health measures showed considerable variation in strengths of association with health-related factors, most noticeably so with gender and socio-economic status. The choice of health measures in population studies should comply with the intention to analyse its associations with any of those related factors, or, in reverse, with the wish to prevent their confounding properties.
Large Time Behavior in a Multidimensional Chemotaxis-Haptotaxis Model with Slow Signal Diffusion

This paper studies the coupled chemotaxis-haptotatxis system $u_t= \Delta u - \chi \nabla \cdot (u\nabla v) - \xi \nabla \cdot (u\nabla w) + \mu u(1-u-w), x\in \Omega, \, t>0; v_t=\Delta v-v+u, x\in \Omega, \, t>0; w_t=-vw, x\in \Omega, \, t>0$, in a smoothly bounded domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n$, $n\le 3$, with zero-flux boundary conditions, where $\chi,\xi$, and $\mu$ are given positive parameters. It is shown that whenever the initial data $(u_0, v_0, w_0)$ are nonnegative and suitably regular fulfilling $u_0\not\equiv 0$ and $w_0\le 1$, the third solution component $w$ decays asymptotically in $L^\infty(\Omega)$. Moreover, under the fully explicit condition $\mu>\frac{\chi^2}{8}$ the solution $(u, v, w)$ exponentially stabilizes to the constant stationary solution $(1,1,0)$ in the norm of $L^\infty(\Omega)$ as $t\to \infty$.
Concurrent muscle and bone deterioration in a murine model of cancer cachexia

Cachexia is defined as an excessive, involuntary loss of fat and lean tissue. We tested the validity of the Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) as a model of cancer cachexia and examined its effect on the two major lean tissue components, skeletal muscle and bone. LLC cells (0.75 × 106) were injected into the left thigh of C57BL/6 mice. Control mice received an equal volume injection of growth media. Tumors were observed in all LLC‐injected animals 21 and 25 days post inoculation. LLC‐injected animals showed significant reductions in fat and lean mass despite having the same average daily caloric intake as media‐treated mice. Global bone mineral density (BMD) had fallen by 5% and 6% in the LLC animals at 21 and 25 days, respectively, compared to a BMD increase of 5% in the 25‐day media‐treated animals. Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles (isolated from the noninjected hindlimb) showed earlier and quantitatively greater losses in mass, physiological cross‐sectional area (pCSA), and tetanic force compared to soleus muscles from the same hindlimb. By the 25th day post‐LLC inoculation, EDL force/pCSA was reduced by 19% versus media treatment. This loss in specific force was not trivial as it accounted for about one‐third of the reduction in EDL absolute force at this time point. Muscle strips dissected from the diaphragm of LLC mice also exhibited significant reductions in force/pCSA at day 25. We conclude that LLC is a valid model of cachexia that induces rapid losses in global BMD and in limb and respiratory muscle function.
CYP2R1 (vitamin D 25‐hydroxylase) gene is associated with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes and vitamin D levels in Germans

The vitamin D system has been implicated in type 1 diabetes by epidemiological and immune intervention studies as well as by polymorphisms of the vitamin D binding protein (DBP) and CYP27B1 genes. CYP2R1, a cytochrome P450 enzyme, catalyzes the formation of vitamin D3 to 25‐hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3), the main circulating vitamin D metabolite.
Absorption-Line Signatures of Gas in Dark Matter Minihalos

Recent observations and theoretical calculations suggest that some QSO absorption-line systems may be due to gas in small dark matter halos with circular velocities on the order of 30 km s-1. Kepner, Babul & Spergel have shown that gas in these "minihalos" can readily be in a multiphase state. Additional observational evidence suggests that, in general, many absorption-line systems may also be multiphase in nature. Thus, computing the absorption lines of minihalos, in addition to providing signatures of small halos, is a natural way to explore multiphase behavior. The state of gas in minihalos is strongly affected by the background UV radiation field. To address this issue, a code was developed that includes many of the chemical and radiative processes found in CLOUDY and also incorporates spherically symmetric multiwavelength radiative transfer of an isotropic field, nonequilibrium chemistry, heating, cooling and self-consistent quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium gasdynamics. With this code detailed simulations were conducted of gas in minihalos using different types of background spectra: power-law, power-law + He II break, Haardt & Madau, and O-star. From these simulations, the absorption-line signatures of the gas were computed and compared with a variety of observations: high-redshift metal lines, He lines, and low-redshift metal-line systems. Based on these results, the minihalo model absorption-line signatures appear to be consistent with many current observations, given a sufficiently soft spectrum. Thus, in any given instance it is difficult to either rule in or rule out a minihalo, and in most cases additional data (e.g., optical counterparts or the lack thereof) or contextual information (e.g., evidence of significant star formation, which would disrupt gas in a minihalo) are necessary to break this degeneracy. Finally, the minihalo model is a useful tool for analyzing absorption-line data in a multiphase context and should become even more applicable as new space-based observations become available.
Stratospheric Response to the 11-Yr Solar Cycle: Breaking Planetary Waves, Internal Reflection, and Resonance

AbstractBreaking planetary waves (BPWs) affect stratospheric dynamics by reshaping the waveguides, causing internal wave reflection, and preconditioning sudden stratospheric warmings. This study examines observed changes in BPWs during the northern winter resulting from enhanced solar forcing and the consequent effect on the seasonal development of the polar vortex. During the period 1979–2014, solar-induced changes in BPWs were first observed in the uppermost stratosphere. High solar forcing was marked by sharpening of the potential vorticity (PV) gradient at 30°–45°N, enhanced wave absorption at high latitudes, and a reduced PV gradient between these regions. These anomalies instigated an equatorward shift of the upper-stratospheric waveguide and enhanced downward wave reflection at high latitudes. The equatorward refraction of reflected waves from the polar upper stratosphere then led to enhanced wave absorption at 35°–45°N and 7–20 hPa, indicative of a widening of the midstratospheric surf zone. The s.
Single Channel Wireless EEG: Proposed Application in Train Drivers

Electroencephalography (EEG) can be used as an indicator of fatigue. Several studies have shown that slow wave brain activities, delta (0-4 Hz) and theta (4-8 Hz), increase as an individual becomes fatigued, while the fast brain activities, alpha (8-13 Hz) and beta (13-35 Hz), decrease. However, an EEG is a complex piece of equipment that is generally used in laboratory based studies. In order to develop a fatigue countermeasure device for train drivers using EEG, there is a need for a simple and wireless EEG monitor. This paper explains the development of a single channel wireless EEG device.
Quantifying variations in personal color spaces: Are there sex differences in color vision?

We report a search for group differences in color experience between male and female subjects, focusing on the relative prominence of the axes of color space. Dissimilarity data were collected in the form of triadic (odd-one-out) judgments, made with the caps of the D-15 color deficiency test, with lighting conditions controlled. Multidimensional scaling reduced these judgments to a small number of dimensional-weight parameters, describing each subject's sensitivity to color axes, i.e., how much each axis contributes to the inter-color dissimilarities perceived by each subject. Normal trichromatic subjects in two age bands were examined, teenagers and university students, and in both cases males placed significantly less weight on a ‘red-green’ axis, and more on ‘lightness’. We consider the implications and possible explanations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 29, 128–134, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.10232
Diversity and Population Dynamics of Methanogenic Bacteria in a Granular Consortium

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket bioreactor granules were used as an experimental model microbial consortium to study the dynamics and distribution of methanogens. Immunologic methods revealed a considerable diversity of methanogens that was greater in mesophilic granules than in the same granules 4 months after a temperature shift from 38 to 55°C. During this period, the sizes of the methanogenic subpopulations changed with distinctive profiles after the initial reduction caused by the shift. Methanogens antigenically related to Methanobrevibacter smithii PS and ALI, Methanobacterium hungatei JF1, and Methanosarcina thermophila TM1 increased rapidly, reached a short plateau, and then fell to lower concentrations that persisted for the duration of the experiment. A methanogen related to Methanogenium cariaci JR1 followed a similar profile at the beginning, but it soon diminished below detection levels. Methanothrix rods weakly related to the strain Opfikon increased rapidly, reaching a high-level, long-lasting plateau. Two methanogens related to Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus AZ and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ΔH emerged from very low levels before the temperature shift and multiplied to attain their highest numbers 4 months after the shift. Histochemistry and immunohistochemistry revealed thick layers, globular clusters, and lawns of variable density which were distinctive of the methanogens related to M. thermoautotrophicum ΔH, M. thermophila TM1, and M. arboriphilus AZ and M. soehngenii Opfikon, respectively, in thin sections of granules grown at 55°C for 4 months. Mesophilic granules showed a different pattern of methanogenic subpopulations.
Doppler ultrasonographic evaluation of abnormal pregnancies in the first trimester

Doppler examination of uteroplacental vessels was performed in the first trimester of pregnancy in 111 women with a normal pregnancy outcome and in 10 women with pregnancies that had or subsequently failed due to anembryonic pregnancy (N = 41, missed abortion (N = 11, subsequent spontaneous abortion of live fetus (N = 21, and ectopic pregnancy (N = 3).
Who Benefits from Kipp?

The nation's largest charter management organization is the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). KIPP schools are emblematic of the No Excuses approach to public education, a highly standardized and widely replicated charter model that features a long school day, an extended school year, selective teacher hiring, strict behavior norms, and a focus on traditional reading and math skills. No Excuses charter schools are sometimes said to focus on relatively motivated high achievers at the expense of students who are most diffiult to teach, including limited English proficiency (LEP) and special education (SPED) students, as well as students with low baseline achievement levels. We use applicant lotteries to evaluate the impact of KIPP Academy Lynn, a KIPP school in Lynn, Massachusetts that typifies the KIPP approach. Our analysis focuses on special needs students that may be underserved. The results show average achievement gains of 0.36 standard deviations in math and 0.12 standard deviations in reading for each year spent at KIPP Lynn, with the largest gains coming from the LEP, SPED, and low-achievement groups. The average reading gains are driven almost completely by SPED and LEP students, whose reading scores rise by roughly 0.35 standard deviations for each year spent at KIPP Lynn.
Self-assembled FUS binds active chromatin and regulates gene transcription

Significance Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder and mutations in fused in sarcoma (FUS) cause a subset of familial ALS. Mutant FUS forms cytoplasmic inclusions, but it is unclear whether loss of FUS function in the nucleus or toxicity gained in the cytoplasm is more critical in the ALS etiology. The physiological function of FUS is also uncharacterized. We found that a significant portion of FUS was bound to active chromatin and that ALS mutations dramatically reduced FUS chromatin binding. A high order FUS assembly is mediated by the N-terminal QGSY (glutamine-glycine-serine-tyrosine)-rich region and is required for FUS chromatin binding and the transcription activation by FUS. ALS mutations in FUS can cause its loss of function in the nucleus by disrupting this assembly and chromatin binding. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Fused in sarcoma (FUS) is a DNA/RNA binding protein and mutations in FUS cause a subset of familial ALS. Most ALS mutations are clustered in the C-terminal nuclear localization sequence of FUS and consequently lead to the accumulation of protein inclusions in the cytoplasm. It remains debatable whether loss of FUS normal function in the nucleus or gain of toxic function in the cytoplasm plays a more critical role in the ALS etiology. Moreover, the physiological function of FUS in the nucleus remains to be fully understood. In this study, we found that a significant portion of nuclear FUS was bound to active chromatin and that the ALS mutations dramatically decreased FUS chromatin binding ability. Functionally, the chromatin binding is required for FUS transcription activation, but not for alternative splicing regulation. The N-terminal QGSY (glutamine-glycine-serine-tyrosine)-rich region (amino acids 1–164) mediates FUS self-assembly in the nucleus of mammalian cells and the self-assembly is essential for its chromatin binding and transcription activation. In addition, RNA binding is also required for FUS self-assembly and chromatin binding. Together, our results suggest a functional assembly of FUS in the nucleus under physiological conditions, which is different from the cytoplasmic inclusions. The ALS mutations can cause loss of function in the nucleus by disrupting this assembly and chromatin binding.
A Conditioning Lesion Provides Selective Protection in a Rat Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Background Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is neurodegenerative disease characterized by muscle weakness and atrophy due to progressive motoneuron loss. The death of motoneuron is preceded by the failure of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and axonal retraction. Thus, to develop an effective ALS therapy you must simultaneously preserve motoneuron somas, motor axons and NMJs. A conditioning lesion has the potential to accomplish this since it has been shown to enhance neuronal survival and recovery from trauma in a variety of contexts. Methodology/Principal Findings To test the effects of a conditioning lesion in a model of familial ALS we administered a tibial nerve crush injury to presymptomatic fALSG93A rats. We examined its effects on motor function, motoneuron somas, motor axons, and NMJs. Our experiments revealed a novel paradigm for the conditioning lesion effect. Specifically we found that the motor functional decline in fALSG93A rats that received a conditioning lesion was delayed and less severe. These improvements in motor function corresponded to greater motoneuron survival, reduced motor axonopathy, and enhanced NMJ maintenance at disease end-stage. Furthermore, the increased NMJ maintenance was selective for muscle compartments innervated by the most resilient (slow) motoneuron subtypes, but was absent in muscle compartments innervated by the most vulnerable (fast fatigable) motoneuron subtypes. Conclusions/Significance These findings support the development of strategies aimed at mimicking the conditioning lesion effect to treat ALS as well as underlined the importance of considering the heterogeneity of motoneuron sub-types when evaluating prospective ALS therapeutics.
Blood-Based Proteomic Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

The complexity of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its long prodromal phase poses challenges for early diagnosis and yet allows for the possibility of the development of disease modifying treatments for secondary prevention. It is, therefore, of importance to develop biomarkers, in particular, in the preclinical or early phases that reflect the pathological characteristics of the disease and, moreover, could be of utility in triaging subjects for preventative therapeutic clinical trials. Much research has sought biomarkers for diagnostic purposes by comparing affected people to unaffected controls. However, given that AD pathology precedes disease onset, a pathology endophenotype design for biomarker discovery creates the opportunity for detection of much earlier markers of disease. Blood-based biomarkers potentially provide a minimally invasive option for this purpose and research in the field has adopted various “omics” approaches in order to achieve this. This review will, therefore, examine the current literature regarding blood-based proteomic biomarkers of AD and its associated pathology.
Loss of the cisternal organelle in the axon initial segment of cortical neurons in synaptopodin‐deficient mice

The axon initial segment of cortical neurons contains the so‐called cisternal organelle, an enigmatic formation of stacked endoplasmic reticulum and interdigitating plates of electron‐dense material. This organelle shows many structural similarities to the spine apparatus, a cellular organelle found in a subpopulation of dendritic spines. Whereas roles in calcium signaling and protein trafficking have been proposed for the spine apparatus, little is yet known about the physiological function of its putative axonal counterpart. Considering the structural similarity of these two organelles, we hypothesized that synaptopodin, a protein essential for the formation of the dendritic spine apparatus, could also be a component of the cisternal organelle. By using immunofluorescence microscopy, we found that synaptopodin is indeed located within the axon initial segments of principal neurons in the mouse neocortex and hippocampus. Pre‐embedding immunogold labeling demonstrated a close association of synaptopodin immunoreactivity with the dense plates of cisternal organelles. In synaptopodin‐deficient mice, ultrastructural analysis of identified axon initial segments of CA1 pyramidal cells revealed a lack of cisternal organelles similar to the reported lack of spine apparatuses in these mutants. However, in vitro patch clamp recording of mutant neurons showed that the lack of cisternal organelles did not lead to any changes in basic electrophysiological parameters of action potentials. Taken together, our data demonstrate that synaptopodin is an essential component of the cisternal organelle of axons and of the dendritic spine apparatus, two organelles that are structurally and molecularly related. J. Comp. Neurol. 504:441–449, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Insecticide Susceptibility Status of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Farm and Nonfarm Sites of Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the malaria-endemic countries. In Lagos State, Nigeria, various malaria vector control programs including the use of chemical insecticides are currently being implemented. This study was designed to provide information on the susceptibility status of some nontargeted vectors such as Aedes aegypti. Adult Ae. aegypti mosquitoes from two farm sites and a nonfarm site were exposed to World Health Organization test papers impregnated with Deltamethrin (0.05%), Permethrin (0.75%), and DDT (4%) insecticides. The Knockdown time (KdT50 and KdT95) and percentage mortality after 24 h post exposure were determined. In all the exposed mosquito populations to permethrin, mortality rate > 98% (susceptibility) was recorded, whereas mortality rates < 95.8% (resistance) and > 98% (susceptibility) to deltamethrin were observed in the nonfarm site and farm sites mosquito populations, respectively. All the mosquito populations were resistant to DDT in 2 yr. The KdT50 of the populations to DDT increased (60.2–69.6) in one of the farm sites and the nonfarm site (68.9–199.96), while a decrease (243–63.4) in another farm site in 2 yr. Significant difference (P < 0.05) in KdT50 was recorded between the farm and nonfarm sites Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in the second year after exposure to deltamethrin and DDT. An increase in KdT95 after exposure to deltamethrin in the first year was recorded. Higher KdT values and lower mortality rates in Ae. aegypti populations in the nonfarm sites are indications there are existing factors selecting for insecticide resistance outside agricultural use of insecticides.
An Instrument for Measuring the Business Benefits of E-Commerce Retailing

An instrument that assesses the benefits of electronic commerce would be very useful to researchers and managers. The benefits of such an instrument for e-commerce businesses were identified by a literature review, and the extent to which the benefits are achieved by retail e-commerce sites was investigated by a Web- and e-mail-based survey producing 458 usable responses from e-commerce managers plus responses from secondary participants at 58 of the surveyed firms. A 27-item instrument was produced and reduced to five factors specific to retailing: back-end efficiency, market expansion, inventory management, cost reduction, and customer service benefits. The instrument provides B2C e-commerce researchers with a common measure of independent or dependent variables that will facilitate an understanding of the antecedents and outcomes of e-commerce. It can help B2C e-commerce managers make better choices when investing in technology.