Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Enrolling in Online Courses: An Exploratory Study of Students in Undergraduate Marketing Courses.

An exploratory study of undergraduate students enrolled in marketing courses at a Southeastern regional university was conducted to determine the motivations and characteristics of marketing students who plan to be online learners and examined for differences between those who have taken and those who have not taken online classes. An online survey of Likert scales, openended questions and demographic questions was sent via class learning management websites. A total of 165 students of the 438 invited to participate completed the survey. A structural model was developed using SMART-PLS to estimate the relationships of constructs that predict taking online courses. Results of the study showed differences in predictors of those that have taken online courses compared to those who plan on taking online courses. A significant predictor of those planning on taking online courses is quality of learning while a significant predictor of those who have taken online courses is scheduling and timing. The results can be used to examine ways to improve/enhance the student’s educational experience, as well as an institution’s effectiveness in attracting the growing body of online learners.
Meme and Variations: A Computational Model of Cultural Evolution

This paper describes a computational model of how ideas, or memes, evolve through the processes of variation, selection, and replication. Every iteration, each neural-network based agent in an artificial society has the opportunity to acquire a new meme, either through 1) INNOVATION, by mutating a previously-learned meme, or 2) IMITATION, by copying a meme performed by a neighbor. Imitation, mental simulation, and using past experience to bias mutation all increase the rate at which fitter memes evolve. Memes at epistatic loci converged more slowly than memes at over- or underdominant loci. The higher the ratio of innovation to imitation, the greater the meme diversity, and the higher the fitness of the fittest meme. Optimization is fastest for the society as a whole with an innovation to imitation ratio of 2:1, but diversity is comprimized.
The Moral Life of Schools

"Rarely have I come across a book that so quickly provoked me to re-examine my own classroom behavior. There is no place to hide in this careful scrutiny of the teacher as crucial player in the daily morality tale that becomes the story of school life. " -- Vivian Gussin Paley, teacher, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools This book takes the reader on an eye-opening journey through a variety of elementary and high school classrooms, highlighting the moral significance of all that transpires there. Drawing on the results of a two-and-a-half year study, the authors examine the ways in which moral considerations permeate the everyday life of classrooms. In addition to providing teachers and teacher educators with a new framework for looking at and thinking about the moral dimensions of schooling, the authors also offer specific suggestions about how to look at classroom events from a moral perspective. Contents One. Looking for the Moral: An Observer's Guide Two. Becoming Aware of Moral Complexity Within a School Setting: Four Sets of Observations Three. Facing Moral Ambiguity and Tension: Four More Sets of Observations Four. Cultivating Expressive Awareness in Schools and Classrooms Postscript: Where Might One Go from Here? Philip W. Jackson is the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor of Education and Psychology and a member of the Committee on Ideas and Methods at the University of Chicago. Robert E. Boostrom is a senior research associate of the Benton Center for Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Chicago. David T. Hansen is an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago
High Involvement Work Practices and Performance : Does Employee Satisfaction Mediate the Relationship ? Evidence from Canadian Healthcare Establishments

How do people learn, create knowledge, and share this knowledge within and across organizational settings? Although research has increased our understanding of many concepts, we still know very little about the actual processes leading to organizational learning (OL). Neither do we know much about how to create the conditions to support these processes (Renzl, Matzler & Hinterhuber, 2006; Bapuji & Crossan, 2004; Easterby-Smith & Araujo, 1999).
Relative irritancy of free fatty acids of different chain length

Free Putty acids of human skin surface Lipids have previously been implicated in The pathogenesis of acne vulgaris because of their apparent irritant and comedogenic properties. Prior studies on the relative irritancy of free fatty acids revealed the saturated C8 to C14 fatty acids and a C18 dienotic unsaturated fatty acid to he most irritating.
Constraints on CDM cosmology from galaxy power spectrum, CMB and SNIa evolution

Aims. We examine the constraints that can be obtained on standard cold dark matter models from the most currently used data set: CMB anisotropies, type Ia supernovae and the SDSS luminous red galaxies. We also examine how these constraints are widened when the equation of state parameter w and the curvature parameter Ωk are left as free parameters. Finally, we investigate the impact on these constraints of a possible form of evolution in SNIa intrinsic luminosity. Methods: We obtained our results from MCMC analysis using the full likelihood of each data set. Results: For the ΛCDM model, our “vanilla” model, cosmological parameters are tightly constrained and consistent with current estimates from various methods. When the dark energy parameter w is free we find that the constraints remain mostly unchanged, i.e. changes are smaller than the 1 sigma uncertainties. Similarly, relaxing the assumption of a flat universe leads to nearly identical constraints on the dark energy density parameter of the universe Ω_Λ , baryon density of the universe Ω_b, the optical depth τ, the index of the power spectrum of primordial fluctuations n_S, with most one sigma uncertainties better than 5%. More significant changes appear on other parameters: while preferred values are almost unchanged, uncertainties for the physical dark matter density Ω_ch^2, Hubble constant H0 and σ8 are typically twice as large. The constraint on the age of the Universe, which is very accurate for the vanilla model, is the most degraded. We found that different methodological approaches on large scale structure estimates lead to appreciable differences in preferred values and uncertainty widths. We found that possible evolution in SNIa intrinsic luminosity does not alter these constraints by much, except for w, for which the uncertainty is twice as large. At the same time, this possible evolution is severely constrained. Conclusions: We conclude that systematic uncertainties for some estimated quantities are similar or larger than statistical ones.
Comparative study on Switched Reluctance Machine based fault-tolerant electrical drive systems

The Switched Reluctance Machine (SRM) based electrical drive systems are ideal for critical applications (aerospace, automotive, defense, medical, etc.) where the fault tolerance is a basic requirement. The phase independence characteristics of the SRM enable it to operate also under partial phase failure conditions also in its classical construction. Its reliability can be improved by applying special fault-tolerant designs, respectively monitoring its condition and applying fault detection techniques. The SRMs used in such safe electrical drive systems has to be fed from power converters having also fault-tolerant capability. In the paper two SRMs are proposed together with their converters. The fault tolerance capacities of the two electrical drive systems are compared by means of simulations. Two advanced simulation platforms were coupled together to simulate the drive system. The results of the comparative study emphasize the usefulness of the proposed fault-tolerant electrical drive system. The conclusions of study help the users to select the best fitted variant for they specific application.
Counseling Toward Solutions: A Practical Solution-Focused Program for Working with Students, Teachers, and Parents

About This Book. About the Author. Foreword. Chapter 1: Changing Our Thinking to a Solution Focus. Chapter 2: Creating Possibilities Through Language. Chapter 3: Competency--Based Conversations. Chapter 4: The "Exceptional" School Program (Thinking About Students Differently). Chapter 5: Combining Your Resources (Group Counseling). Chapter 6: Turning Impossibilities Into Possibilities: Ideas for Difficult Situations. Chapter 7: Turning Attitudes Into Resources (Ideas for Classroom Guidance). Chapter 8: Behavior Transformations: Disciplining Differently. Chapter 9: A Solution--Focused School Staff: Creating the Atmosphere. Appendix. References.
Possible Association between Suicide Committed under Influence of Ethanol and a Variant in the AUTS2 Gene

Background rs6943555 in AUTS2 has been shown to modulate ethanol consumption. We hypothesized that rs6943555 might be associated with completed suicide. Methods We genotyped rs6943555 in 625 completed suicides and 3861 controls using real-time TaqMan Allelic Discrimination Assay. All individuals were Polish Caucasians. Results We detected an association between suicide and rs6943555 A allele (OR = 1.17, P = 0.018 for allelic comparison, OR = 1.24, P = 0.013 for dominant, and OR = 1.18, P = 0.020 for co-dominant model of inheritance). The association remained significant after adjusting for age and gender (co-dominant: P = 0.002 and dominant model: P = 0.001). After stratifying suicides according to blood ethanol concentration (BAC≤ 20 mg/dl and BAC > 20 mg/dl) the association remained significant only for cases who committed suicide under influence of alcohol (co-dominant: OR = 1.37, P = 0.004 and dominant model: OR = 1.45, P = 0.006). To validate this finding we genotyped another cohort of 132 cases. We reproduced the association between rs6943555 A allele and suicide under influence of ethanol (allelic comparison: OR = 1.55, P = 0.023; co-dominant : OR = 1.54, P = 0.031; dominant model: OR = 1.84, P = 0.015). Analyzing pooled suicides with BAC >20 mg/dl (N = 300) we found the association of rs6943555 A allele not only vs. controls (allelic OR = 1.41, P = 0.00029) but also vs. cases with BAC ≤ 20 mg/dl (N = 449, allelic OR = 1.33, P = 0.019). Conclusions In our study rs6943555 A allele is associated with suicide committed after drinking ethanol shortly before death. The rs6943555 A allele may be linked to adverse emotional reaction to ethanol, which could explain the association with lower consumption in general population as well as the predisposition to suicide under influence of ethanol.
Time (In)Consistent Food Choice of Children and Teenagers

We document an increasing capacity to resist temptation in a time consistent manner from children to teenagers. Competencies develop in two steps: From age 8 on many pupils naively plan and after age 12 successfully implement strategies to resist temptation. Our evidence comes from a food choice experiment that we conducted with comparable participant pools of elementary and high school pupils in 5 di fferent school years. We off er tangible choices in terms of apples and chocolate. On the first day pupils state their preference regarding tomorrows consumption and on the second day they pick one food item for immediate consumption. We fi nd that most of the 6 to 7 year olds consistently choose chocolate for future and immediate consumption. With pupils age 8 to 12 we observe an increase of time inconsistent behavior - pupils naively planning to consume an apple tomorrow and then choosing chocolate for immediate consumption. From age 14 on a larger share of pupils is sophisticated in the sense that they plan to and actually do consume an apple.
Integrated Systems and Technologies Metabolic Characterization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Nontargeted Tissue Metabolomics

Hepatocellular carcinoma has a poor prognosis due to its rapid development and early metastasis. In this report, we characterized the metabolic features of hepatocellular carcinoma using a nontargeted metabolic profiling strategy based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fifty pairs of liver cancer samples and matched normal tissues were collected from patients having hepatocellular carcinoma, including tumor tissues, adjacent noncancerous tissues, and distal noncancerous tissues, and 105 metabolites were filtered and identified from the tissue metabolome. The principal metabolic alternations in HCC tumors included elevated glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and b-oxidation with reduced tricarboxylic acid cycle and D-12 desaturase. Furthermore, increased levels of glutathione and other antioxidative molecules, together with decreased levels of inflammatory-related polyunsaturated fatty acids and phospholipase A2, were observed. Differential metabolite levels in tissues were tested in 298 serum specimens from patients with chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Betaine and propionylcarnitine were confirmed to confer good diagnostic potential to distinguish hepatocellular carcinoma from chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. External validation of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma serum specimens further showed that this combination biomarker is useful for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma with a supplementary role to a-fetoprotein. Cancer Res; 73(16); 4992–5002. 2013 AACR.
Measurement of ribosomal RNA turnover in vivo by use of deuterium-labeled glucose.

BACKGROUND Most methods for estimation of rates of RNA production are not applicable in human in vivo clinical studies. We describe here an approach for measuring ribosomal RNA turnover in vivo using [6,6-(2)H(2)]-glucose as a precursor for de novo RNA synthesis. Because this method involves neither radioactivity nor toxic metabolites, it is suitable for human studies. METHODS For method development in vitro, a lymphocyte cell line (PM1) was cultured in the presence of [6,6-(2)H(2)]-glucose. RNA was extracted, hydrolyzed enzymatically to ribonucleosides, and derivatized to either the aldonitrile tetra-acetate or the pentafluoro triacetate derivative of the pentose before GC-MS. We identified optimum derivatization and analysis conditions and demonstrated quantitative incorporation of deuterium from glucose into RNA of dividing cells. RESULTS Pilot clinical studies demonstrated the applicability of this approach to blood leukocytes and solid tissues. A patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia received [6,6-(2)H(2)]-glucose (1 g/kg) orally in aliquots administered every 30 min for a period of 10 h. When we analyzed CD3(-) B cells that had been purified by gradient centrifugation and magnetic-bead adhesion, we observed deuterium enrichment, a finding consistent with a ribosomal RNA production rate of about 7%/day, despite the slow division rates observed in concurrent DNA-labeling analysis. Similarly, in 2 patients with malignant infiltration of lymph nodes, administration of [6,6-(2)H(2)]-glucose (by intravenous infusion for 24 h) before excision biopsy allowed estimation of DNA and RNA turnover in lymph node samples. CONCLUSIONS Our study results demonstrate the proof-of-principle that deuterium-labeled glucose may be used to analyze RNA turnover, in addition to DNA production/cell proliferation, in clinical samples.
Shortest Path Tree Computation in Dynamic Graphs

Let G = (V, E, omega) be a simple digraph, in which all edge weights are nonnegative real numbers. Let G' be obtained from G by an application of a set of edge weight updates to G. Let sisinV and let Ts and Ts' be Shortest Path Trees (SPTs) rooted at s in G and G', respectively. The Dynamic Shortest Path (DSP) problem is to compute Ts' from Ts. Existing work on this problem focuses on either a single edge weight change or multiple edge weight changes in which some of them are incorrect or are not optimized. We correct and extend a few state-of-the-art dynamic SPT algorithms to handle multiple edge weight updates. We prove that these algorithms are correct. Dynamic algorithms may not outperform static algorithms all the time. To evaluate the proposed dynamic algorithms, we compare them with the well-known static Dijkstra algorithm. Extensive experiments are conducted with both real-life and artificial data sets. The experimental results suggest the most appropriate algorithms to be used under different circumstances.
Crime over the life span: trajectories of criminal behavior in dutch offenders

How does crime develop over the life course? And how do age, life circumstances, and prior offending affect this development? This thesis seeks to answer these two questions that are central to present day developmental and life course criminology. The research presented is based on the Criminal Career and Life course Study (CCLS), a longitudinal study covering the criminal careers of over 5,000 offenders from early adolescence to late adulthood. Employing a range of statistical techniques especially designed for analyzing longitudinal data, this research gives insight in issues such as the reality of life course persistent offenders, the influence of marriage and parenthood on offending, and the role of prior offending in generating stability and change in offending over time.
Multiple Fractionated and Single-Dose Irradiation of Bone Marrow

Purpose: To evaluate the MR appearance of bone marrow during and after multiple fractionated and single-dose irradiation using SE sequences, with histopathological correlation. Material and Methods: the left hind limbs of Wistar rats were irradiated with doses of either 2 GyX10 fractions or 20 Gy as a single dose. MR images of the femora were taken on days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180. T1-, proton-density- and T2-weighted images were obtained with SE sequences. the rats were sacrificed on days 3, 12, 40 and 180 for histological study. Results: No significant change in the T1 relaxation time was observed in the fractionated group during the first 15 days after irradiation. T2 did not change during the initial 7 days. There were significant differences in T1 and T2 between nonirradiated and fractionated, and between fractionated and single-dose irradiated marrows (p<0.01). Sinusoidal dilatation, decrease in cellularity, and hemorrhage were observed on day 3. Fat increased on/after day 12. the fractionated group showed mild changes compared to the single-dose irradiated group. Conclusion: the T1 and T2 relaxation times of bone marrow receiving multiple fractionated irradiation did not change significantly on SE sequences during the early phase. However, dilatation of sinusoids, hemorrhage, decrease in cellularity, and increase in fat content were observed. Single-dose irradiation resulted in marked and early changes in T1 and T2 of the bone marrow.
Treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome with tamsulosin: a randomized double blind trial.

PURPOSE We compared the efficacy of tamsulosin with placebo for the treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). MATERIALS AND METHODS In a double blind phase II trial, 58 patients 55 years old or younger with moderate to severe CP/CPPS were randomized to receive 0.4 mg tamsulosin or placebo for 6 weeks. Patients were assessed on days -14 and -1 during a 2-week washout, and on days 15 and 45. The primary end point was the change from baseline in total National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) score on day 45. Secondary end points were the change from baseline in total NIH-CPSI score on day 15 and the change from baseline in pain, urinary symptoms and quality of life/impact domains of the NIH-CPSI on days 15 and 45. Analyses of responders were performed post hoc. RESULTS On day 45 the treatment effect (difference between treatment groups in change from baseline) was -3.6 (p = 0.04) in favor of tamsulosin. The overall effect of tamsulosin was a function of the baseline total NIH-CPSI score. Treatment effect increased significantly as the baseline score increased (for total NIH-CPSI p <0.01). Tamsulosin efficacy was superior to placebo at the 75th percentile of baseline score for the total NIH-CPSI score (-8.3, p <0.01), the pain domain (-2.9, p = 0.02), the urinary symptoms domain (-2.3, p <0.01) and the impact/quality of life domain (-2.1, p = 0.02). The efficacy of tamsulosin increased with time (no significant treatment difference at 15 days) and tamsulosin was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS Tamsulosin was superior to placebo in providing symptomatic relief in men with CP/CPPS, particularly in those with more severe symptoms.
Gender Disparities in the Malagasy Labour Market

(english) In this study, we address the issue of gender differences in labour market performances for Madagascar using data from two national household surveys carried out in 2001 and 2005. The data collected in these surveys allow us to measure the gender pay gap at two points in time, and to analyze the determinants of occupational choices across sectors of employment as well as of wages and earnings. Our results show that the average gender wage gap is relatively small and stable over time. Across wage employment sectors, the gender gap appears to be the lowest in the public sector and the highest in the informal sector. In non-farm self-employment, however, the gender earnings gap is much higher and declined between 2001 and 2005. Using full decomposition techniques, we provide evidence that gender specific sectoral location explains a significant share of the gender wage gap in both years. Augmented earnings equations estimates carried out for the non-farm self-employment sector suggest that the gap in this sector is driven by the very unequal distribution of micro-firm attributes between men and women. This results points to a potential source of earnings differential often ignored in the gender gap literature which is access to physical capital by women. _________________________________ (francais) Dans cet article, nous analysons les differences de genre en matiere de performances sur le marche du travail de Madagascar a l’aide d’enquetes menages menees au niveau national en 2001 et en 2005. Grâce a ces deux points dans le temps, nous examinons la dynamique des determinants de l’allocation sectorielle et de l’ecart de gains entre sexes. Nos resultats montrent que l’ecart salarial moyen entre sexes est relativement faible et stable entre ces deux periodes. L’ecart salarial est le plus faible dans le secteur public et le plus eleve dans le secteur informel. Pour les travailleurs independants horsagriculture, l’ecart de gains est beaucoup plus eleve et a decline entre 2001 et 2005, une periode de crise economique. A l’aide de decompositions de ces ecarts, nous montrons que les differences de localisation sectorielle selon les sexes expliquent une grande part de l’ecart de gains pour les deux annees. L’estimation de fonctions de gains augmentees de caracteristiques des micro-entreprises des travailleurs independants suggere par ailleurs que l’ecart de genre dans ce secteur s’explique en grande partie par une repartition inegale entre sexes des attributs des micro-entreprises, en particulier du capital physique. Ce resultat met en evidence une source potentielle de discrimination souvent ignoree dans la litterature, a savoir l’acces au capital physique par les femmes.
Notice of RetractionSino-US service trade and technology efficiency of China's manufacturing

This paper argues that import of service from US has positive effect on technology efficiency of China's manufacturing, and its positive effect is more obvious than FATS. In addition, capital-intensive and technology-intensive manufacturing are more affected by import of service; import of education, business, professional, and technical services, port service have positive effects on technology efficiency of China's manufacturing, and import of royalties and license fees has negative effect on technology efficiency of China's manufacturing.