Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thai Grade 11 students’ alternative conceptions for acid–base chemistry

This study involved the development of a two‐tier diagnostic instrument to assess Thai high school students’ understanding of acid–base chemistry. The acid–base diagnostic test (ABDT) comprising 18 items was administered to 55 Grade 11 students in a science and mathematics programme during the second semester of the 2008 academic year. Analysis of students’ responses from this study followed the methodology outlined by Çalik and Ayas. The research findings suggest that the ABDT, the multiple choice diagnostic instrument, enables researchers and teachers to classify students’ understanding at different levels. Most students exhibited alternative conceptions for several concepts: acid–base theory, dissociation of strong acids or bases, and dissociation of weak acids/bases. Interestingly, one of the concepts that students appeared to find most difficult, and for which they exhibited the most alternative conceptions, was acid–base theory. Some alternative conceptions revealed in this study differ from earlier reports, such as the concept of electrolyte and non‐electrolyte solutions as well as the concentration changes of H3O+and OH− in water. These research findings present valuable information for facilitating better understanding of acid–base chemistry by providing insight into the preventable and correctable alternative conceptions exhibited by students.
The impact of daytime sleepiness on the school performance of college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a prospective longitudinal study

This prospective longitudinal study evaluated the impact of daytime sleepiness on the school performance of 62 college students diagnosed comprehensively with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The primary goal of the study was to determine if self‐reported daytime sleepiness rated at the beginning of the academic year could predict academic and overall functioning at the end of the academic year while also considering potentially important covariates, including symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, medication status and whether or not students lived at home or on‐campus. Self‐reported daytime sleepiness predicted longitudinally school maladjustment, overall functional impairment and the number of D and F grades (i.e. poor and failing) students received in courses above and beyond both self‐ and parent‐report of symptoms, but did not predict overall grade point average. Living at home served as a protective factor and was associated with less school maladjustment and overall impairment. Gender was the only significant predictor in the overall grade point average model, with female gender associated with higher overall grades. The implications of these findings for monitoring and treatment of sleep disturbances in college students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are discussed.
Gating of Acoustic Transducer Channels Is Shaped by Biomechanical Filter Processes

Mechanoelectrical transduction of acoustic signals is the fundamental process for hearing in all ears across the animal kingdom. Here, we performed in vivo laser-vibrometric and electrophysiological measurements at the transduction site in an insect ear (Mecopoda elongata) to relate the biomechanical tonotopy along the hearing organ to the frequency tuning of the corresponding sensory cells. Our mechanical and electrophysiological map revealed a biomechanical filter process that considerably sharpens the neuronal response. We demonstrate that the channel gating, which acts on chordotonal stretch receptor neurons, is based on a mechanical directionality of the sound-induced motion. Further, anatomical studies of the transduction site support our finding of a stimulus-relevant tilt. In conclusion, we were able to show, in an insect ear, that directionality of channel gating considerably sharpens the neuronal frequency selectivity at the peripheral level and have identified a mechanism that enhances frequency discrimination in tonotopically organized ears. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The evolutionarily conserved ability of sensory cells to sense sound-induced mechanical forces is a fundamental process that still need investigating. In ears, the transduction process of acoustic signals from sound to frequency-specific neuronal responses of sensory cells is based on the opening of mechanosensitive ion channels. Here, we investigated mechanotransduction in the katydid's hearing organ with in vivo measurements of the sound-induced mechanical stimulus and of the electrical responses of the sensory cell at the transduction site. By combining anatomical, biophysical, and neurophysiological data, we present for the first time evidence of a crucial frequency-filter mechanism integral to the channel gating process. This filter takes effect at the first step of the signal transduction chain and shapes behavior-relevant hearing information.
Learning relevance from natural eye movements in pervasive interfaces

We study the feasibility of the following idea: Could a system learn to use the user's natural eye movements to infer relevance of real-world objects, if the user produced a set of learning data by clicking a "relevance" button during a learning session? If the answer is yes, the combination of eye tracking and machine learning would give a basis of "natural" interaction with the system by normally looking around, which would be very useful in mobile proactive setups. We measured the eye movements of the users while they were exploring an artificial art gallery. They labeled the relevant paintings by clicking a button while looking at them. The results show that a Gaussian process classifier accompanied by a time series kernel on the eye movements within an object predicts whether that object is relevant with better accuracy than dwell-time thresholding and random guessing.
Rate equations from the Keldysh formalism applied to the phonon peak in resonant-tunneling diodes.

Starting from the Keldysh formalism, general analytical expressions are derived for the current and the occupation of the well in the presence of inelastic scattering, both at the main peak and at the phonon peak. These expressions are then evaluated from a continuous coordinate representation of a double-barrier potential profile and also from a tight-binding model of a weakly coupled central site. The resulting expressions are similar, and the analytical expressions derived from the continuous coordinate representation compare well with the results obtained from numerical simulations. The analytical expressions and the numerical results show that unlike the main peak, the phonon peak is normally independent of the collector transmissivity. But with very opaque collector barriers, the resonant level fills up and the current decreases because the inelastic scattering is suppressed by the exclusion principle. An alternative but equivalent point of view is that the effective coupling ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{E}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ between the incident energy in the emitter and the resonant energy in the well is g\ensuremath{'}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{E}}$ where g\ensuremath{'} is the effective phonon coupling constant and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{E}}$ is \ensuremath{\Elzxh} times the tunneling rate through the emitter barrier. The total low-temperature inelastic current at the phonon-peak bias is (2e/\ensuremath{\Elzxh})${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{E}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{C}}$/(${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{E}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$+${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{C}}$). Since g\ensuremath{'}1, the effective coupling ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{E}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ determines the current until ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{C}}$ is reduced to \ensuremath{\sim}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathrm{E}}^{\ensuremath{'}}$. The ``backflow'' correction to the current due to absorption of phonons is derived, interpreted, and limiting cases discussed. The approach described here could be applied to other problems involving resonant tunneling in the presence of inelastic scattering.
Course experience, approaches to learning and academic achievement

Purpose – The present study seeks to compare scores on factors from the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) with scores on an abbreviated version of the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) and examination grade among undergraduate psychology students. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between course experience and approaches to learning, and to examine their relative importance as predictors of academic achievement.Design/methodology/approach – Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modelling were utilised in order to find measurement models for each of the constructs and to test hypothesised structural relations between these constructs.Findings – The original CEQ and ASSIST factors were reproduced. A model in which course experience factors predicted SAL was supported, but the same model did not provide evidence for any indirect or mediator effect between course experience, approaches to learning and academic achievement. Indirect empirical support fo.
‘Anyone can know’: Citizen journalism and the interpretive community of the mainstream press

In Madison, WI, two news groups – bloggers and local reporters – are squaring off, developing separate value systems and establishing protocols of intergroup activity. This study explored those framing values and documented individual role play within this Midwestern city’s information-producing community. An informal interpretive community of citizen journalists offers ways of knowing distinct from the way the press has traditionally practiced, negotiated and shared news stories. Interviews with citizens and professional journalists revealed convergences between these groups of news writers as well as dichotomies. This evidence showed that both the entrenched community of journalists and the emerging one of citizen news writers are framed by values of socially responsible missions, access to information, entitlement to knowledge and informal notions of professionalism. When ‘anyone can know’ – a quote from these interviews – the result is an adaptive organization of information producers that influence each other and redefine the aims, standards and ideology of journalism.
Self-Enhancement 2.0

The present research integrates and extends existing approaches to measuring self-enhancement in interpersonal relationships. We composed a dyadic self-enhancement index by contrasting self-perceptions with the academic achievements of both dyad members and disentangled the effects of the perceivers, the targets, and the relationships by using social relations analyses. At two different levels, we examined the interpersonal consequences of self-enhancement in 330 eighth-grade students. Results revealed that, at a habitual level, the more students tended to feel unrealistically superior to other students, the more they tended to dislike others, yet this did not affect how much others disliked them. However, at a relationship level, we found different effects in specific relationships between individuals: The more a student felt unrealistically superior to a specific other student, the less he or she liked the other student, and the less he or she was liked by that student.
Digital Inequality and Place: The Effects of Technological Diffusion on Internet Proficiency and Usage across Rural, Suburban, and Urban Counties

Recently researchers have made efforts to reconceptualize digital inequality into discrete levels. These levels reflect access to and diffusion of technologies, proficiency in Internet usage, and propensity to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by information and communication technologies for assistance in daily life. We assess the utility of this approach for studying digital inequality across rural, suburban, and urban counties. Based on data from a 2005 nationally representative random sample telephone survey of 2,185 adults, the results provide mixed support for using this approach to studying digital inequality. In particular, we find that rural residents use Internet technologies less for assistance in helping with economics and other daily activities when compared with individuals from suburban and urban areas; however, our results suggest that this relationship is the product of the slow diffusion of advanced technologies to rural areas. The implications of these findings for understanding this under-theorized form of inequality are discussed, and we make contributions to this literature through empirically addressing issues of digital capital.
Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences the Effect of Exercise Training on the Level of Tissue Il-6 and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Breast Cancer Bearing Mice

Original article Objective(s): The goal of this study was assessing the prophylactic effect of exercise and its role as an adjuvant therapy on level of cytokines involved in angiogenesis in estrogen-dependent breast cancer. Materials and Methods: Forty female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to exercise-tumor-exercise (ETE), exercise-tumor-rest (ETR), rest-tumor-exercise (RTE) and rest-tumor-rest (RTR) groups. After orientation in the environment, two groups of mice performed continuous endurance exercise for 8 weeks, and thereafter estrogen-dependent MC4L2 cancer cells were injected to them. Then, one group of each of trained and non-trained mice performed endurance exercise 5 days per week for 6 weeks. Tumor volume was measured by a digital caliper weekly. Finally, the mice were sacrificed; tumor tissue was removed, immediately frozen and kept in-70°C. Tumor sample was homogenized; levels of cytokines were measured and quantified using ELISA. Results: There was significant reduction in the level of interlukin-6 (IL-6) (P=0.001), Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (P=0.0001) and tumor volume (P=0.0001) among the groups performing endurance exercise after malignancy (RTE and ETE) in comparison with groups not performing endurance exercise (ETR and RTR), and these results were in agreement with tumor growth rate. Conclusion: Exercise can cause reduction in levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in tumor tissue. Decreased IL-6 production could reduce the generation of VEGF, resulting in reduced intra-tumor angiogenesis. Due to reduction of the level of these cytokines in groups doing exercise before and after malignancy, exercise is presumed to be an adjuvant therapy in estrogen-receptor dependent tumors in addition to its effective prophylactic role.
Contemporary ocean warming and freshwater conditions are related to later sea age at maturity in Atlantic salmon spawning in Norwegian rivers

Atlantic salmon populations are reported to be declining throughout its range, raising major management concerns. Variation in adult fish abundance may be due to variation in survival, growth, and timing of life history decisions. Given the complex life history, utilizing highly divergent habitats, the reasons for declines may be multiple and difficult to disentangle. Using recreational angling data of two sea age groups, one-sea-winter (1SW) and two-sea-winter (2SW) fish originated from the same smolt year class, we show that sea age at maturity of the returns has increased in 59 Norwegian rivers over the cohorts 1991–2005. By means of linear mixed-effects models we found that the proportion of 1SW fish spawning in Norway has decreased concomitant with the increasing sea surface temperature experienced by the fish in autumn during their first year at sea. Furthermore, the decrease in the proportion of 1SW fish was influenced by freshwater conditions as measured by water discharge during summer months 1 year ahead of seaward migration. These results suggest that part of the variability in age at maturity can be explained by the large-scale changes occurring in the north-eastern Atlantic pelagic food web affecting postsmolt growth, and by differences in river conditions influencing presmolt growth rate and later upstream migration.
Primary Immunodeficiency Disease: A Model for Case Management of Chronic Diseases

Purpose/objectives Patient-centered chronic care management is a new model for the management of rare chronic diseases such as primary immunodeficiency disease (PIDD). This approach emphasizes helping patients become experts on the management of their disease as informed, involved, and interactive partners in healthcare decisions with providers. Because only a few patients are affected by rare illnesses, these patients are forced to become knowledgeable about their disease and therapies and to seek treatment from a healthcare team, which includes physicians and nurse specialists who are equipped to manage the complexity of the disease and its comorbidities. Importantly, therapy for PIDD can be self-administered at home, which has encouraged the transition toward a proactive stance that is at the heart of patient-centered chronic care management. We discuss the evolution of therapy, the issues with the disease, and challenges with its management within the framework of other chronic disease management programs. Suggestions and rationale to move case management of PIDD forward are presented with the intent that sharing our experiences will improve process and better manage outcomes in this patient population. Primary practice settings The patient-centered model for the management of PIDD is applicable to the primary care settings, where nurse case managers assist patients through education, support them and their families, and facilitate access to community resources in an approach, which has been described as “guided care. ” The model also applies specifically to immunology centers where patients receive treatment or instruction on its self-administration at home. Findings/conclusions Patient-centered management of PIDD, with its emphasis on full involvement of patients in their treatment, has the potential to improve compliance with treatment, and thus patient outcomes, as well as patients' quality of life. Implications for case management The patient-centered model expands the traditional model of chronic disease management, which relies on evidence-based medicine, provider expertise, clinical information systems, and patient education. This approach supports patient self-management with strategies that empower and prepare them for their role as expert patients.
A short proof of the unpredictability of cipher block chaining

Let u be a uniform random function from b-bit strings to b-bit strings. Fix m ≥ 1. Define u+m(g1, g2, . . . , gm) = u(u(· · ·u(u(g1) + g2) + · · ·) + gm). This paper presents a short proof that u+m is unpredictable: specifically, if A is an algorithm that performs at most q oracle queries, and v is a uniform random function from mb-bit strings to b-bit strings, then the A-distance from u+m to v is at most mq(mq − 1)/2 . It was already known that u+m was unpredictable, but previous proofs were much more complicated.
Selecting Students and Services for Compensatory Education: Lessons From Aptitude-Treatment Interaction Research

In this keynote review, we draw from recent theory and research on individual differences, learning, and instruction to answer questions about the selection of students and the provision of services in compensatory education. In addressing the question regarding provision of services to Chapter 1 students, we focus on five issues: (a) fragmentation versus integration of what is to be learned, (b) time as a variable, (c) the provision of direct instruction and possible alternatives to direct instruction, (d) compensatory education for aptitude processes, and (e) instructional grouping decisions. Current Chapter 1 services may promote fragmentation rather than integration of the academic content for the student. Moreover, Chapter 1 services focus more on teaching basic skills than on promoting higher-order thinking in reading and mathematics. We discuss problems associated with current selection procedures such as misclassification and "labeling" of Chapter 1 students. We conclude with recommendations for e.
A New Model for Raf Kinase Inhibitory Protein Induced Chemotherapeutic Resistance

Therapeutic resistance remains the most challenging aspect of treating cancer. Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) emerged as a molecule capable of sensitizing cancerous cells to radio- and chemotherapy. Moreover, this small evolutionary conserved molecule, endows significant resistance to cancer therapy when its expression is reduced or lost. RKIP has been shown to inhibit the Raf-MEK-ERK, NFκB, GRK and activate the GSK3β signaling pathways. Inhibition of Raf-MEK-ERK and NFκB remains the most prominent pathways implicated in the sensitization of cells to therapeutic drugs. Our purpose was to identify a possible link between RKIP-KEAP 1-NRF2 and drug resistance. To that end, RKIP-KEAP 1 association was tested in human colorectal cancer tissues using immunohistochemistry. RKIP miRNA silencing and its inducible overexpression were employed in HEK-293 immortalized cells, HT29 and HCT116 colon cancer cell lines to further investigate our aim. We show that RKIP enhanced Kelch-like ECH-associated protein1 (KEAP 1) stability in colorectal cancer tissues and HT29 CRC cell line. RKIP silencing in immortalized HEK-293 cells (termed HEK-499) correlated significantly with KEAP 1 protein degradation and subsequent NRF2 addiction in these cells. Moreover, RKIP depletion in HEK-499, compared to control cells, bestowed resistance to supra physiological levels of H2O2 and Cisplatin possibly by upregulating NF-E2-related nuclear factor 2 (NRF2) responsive genes. Similarly, we observed a direct correlation between the extent of apoptosis, after treatment with Adriamycin, and the expression levels of RKIP/KEAP 1 in HT29 but not in HCT116 CRC cells. Our data illuminate, for the first time, the NRF2-KEAP 1 pathway as a possible target for personalized therapeutic intervention in RKIP depleted cancers.
A cultural perspective on codependency and its treatment

The construct of codependency evolved from the chemical dependency field. It has since been expanded to include excessively other-oriented caretaking traits and behaviors stemming from exposure to a chronically stressful or dysfunctional family environment. Based on current research findings and clinical observations, the purpose of this paper is to discuss codependency and its effective treatment from a cultural perspective. Characteristics of codependency typically found among college students and the influence of cultural values on the development of codependency in Taiwanese college students are discussed. Specific cultural considerations when using Bowen's family systems theory to conceptualize and treat Taiwanese college students with codependency are presented.