Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors affecting the motivation of TEFL academics in higher education in China

This study investigates the motivation of English language lecturers in a Chinese university. Recent studies have shown that low morale and job dissatisfaction are significant problems identified in lecturers who teach English in universities in China. Given the importance of teaching English as a second language in China, this problem has potentially significant ramifications for the nation’s future. Low staff morale is likely to be associated with less effective teaching and poor student learning outcomes. Although the problem is acknowledged, there has been limited research to understand the underlying contributing factors. To address this, a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach was adopted and implemented in two phases at a large regional university in Northern China. The participants in the main study were 100 lecturers from two colleges at this university. All of the lecturers were responsible for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL); 50 were teaching English majors and 50 were teaching university students whose majors were not English. The research was informed by a synthesis of self determination theory and theories of organisational culture. The study found: 1) in contrast to previously reported studies, lecturers in this institution were in general autonomously motivated in teaching. 2) However, their level of motivation was influenced by their personal experiences and varied sense of competence, relatedness and autonomy. 3) In particular, personal experiences and contextual factors such as the influence of Chinese culture, societal context, and organisational climate were significant in regulating lecturers’ motivation to teach. The findings are significant for leaders in higher education who need to implement policies that foster effective work environments. The study has also provided insights into the capacity of self determination theory to explain motivation in a Chinese culture.
Using the inner-distance for classification of articulated shapes

We propose using the inner-distance between landmark points to build shape descriptors. The inner-distance is defined as the length of the shortest path between landmark points within the shape silhouette. We show that the inner-distance is articulation insensitive and more effective at capturing complex shapes with part structures than Euclidean distance. To demonstrate this idea, it is used to build a new shape descriptor based on shape contexts. After that, we design a dynamic programming based method for shape matching and comparison. We have tested our approach on a variety of shape databases including an articulated shape dataset, MPEG7 CE-Shape-1, Kimia silhouettes, a Swedish leaf database and a human motion silhouette dataset. In all the experiments, our method demonstrates effective performance compared with other algorithms.
Total ionizing dose effects on analog performance of 28 nm bulk MOSFETs

This paper uses the simplified charge-based EKV MOSFET model for studying the effects of total ionizing dose (TID) on analog parameters and figures-of-merit (FoMs) of 28nm bulk MOSFETs. These effects are demonstrated to be fully captured by the five key parameters of the simplified EKV model. The latter are extracted from the measured transfer characteristics at each TID. Despite the very few parameters, both the simplified large- and small-signal models present an excellent match with measurements at all levels of TID. The impacts of TID on essential parameters, including the drain leakage current, the threshold voltage, the slope factor, and the specific current, are then evaluated. Finally, TID effects on the transconductance Gm, the output conductance Gds, the intrinsic gain Gm/Gds and the transconductance efficiency Gm/Id are investigated.
Competition Through Selective Inhibitory Synchrony

Models of cortical neuronal circuits commonly depend on inhibitory feedback to control gain, provide signal normalization, and selectively amplify signals using winner-take-all (WTA) dynamics. Such models generally assume that excitatory and inhibitory neurons are able to interact easily because their axons and dendrites are colocalized in the same small volume. However, quantitative neuroanatomical studies of the dimensions of axonal and dendritic trees of neurons in the neocortex show that this colocalization assumption is not valid. In this letter, we describe a simple modification to the WTA circuit design that permits the effects of distributed inhibitory neurons to be coupled through synchronization, and so allows a single WTA to be distributed widely in cortical space, well beyond the arborization of any single inhibitory neuron and even across different cortical areas. We prove by nonlinear contraction analysis and demonstrate by simulation that distributed WTA subsystems combined by such inhibitory synchrony are inherently stable. We show analytically that synchronization is substantially faster than winner selection. This circuit mechanism allows networks of independent WTAs to fully or partially compete with other.
A Comparative Study on the Expression, Purification and Functional Characterization of Human Adiponectin in Pichia pastoris and Escherichia coli

Adiponectin is one of the most bioactive substances secreted by adipose tissue and is involved in the protection against metabolic syndrome, artherosclerosis and type II diabetes. Research into the use of adiponectin as a promising drug for metabolic syndromes requires production of this hormone in high quantities considering its molecular isoforms. The objective of this study is to produce recombinant human adiponectin by Pichia pastoris (P-ADP) as a cheap and convenient eukaryotic expression system for potential application in pharmaceutical therapy. For comparison, adiponectin was also expressed using the Escherichia coli (E-ADP) expression system. Adiponectin was constructed by overlap-extension PCR, and cloned in standard cloning vector and hosts. Recombinant expression vectors were cloned in the P. pastoris and E. coli host strains, respectively. SDS-PAGE and western blotting were used to detect and analyse expressed recombinant protein in both systems. Adiponectin was purified by affinity chromatography and quantified using the Bradford Assay. The results of this study indicated that P-ADP quantity (0.111 mg/mL) was higher than that of E-ADP (0.04 mg/mL) and both were produced in soluble form. However, P-ADP was able to form high molecular weights of adiponectin molecules, whilst E-ADP was not able to form isoforms higher than trimer. In addition, P-ADP was more active in lowering blood glucose compared with E-ADP. The two types of proteins were equally efficient and significantly decreased blood triglyceride and increased high density lipoprotein. We conclude that P. pastoris is able to produce high quantity of bioactive adiponectin for potential use in treatment of metabolic syndromes.
NR2A Subunit Expression Shortens NMDA Receptor Synaptic Currents in Developing Neocortex

NMDA receptors play important roles in learning and memory and in sculpting neural connections during development. After the period of peak cortical plasticity, NMDA receptor-mediated EPSCs (NMDAR EPSCs) decrease in duration. A likely mechanism for this change in NMDA receptor properties is the molecular alteration of NMDA receptor structure by regulation of NMDA receptor subunit gene expression. The four modulatory NMDAR2A–D (NR2A–D) NMDA receptor subunits are known to alter NMDA receptor properties, and the expression of these subunits is regulated developmentally. It is unclear, however, how the four NR2 subunits are expressed in individual neurons and which NR2 subunits are important to the regulation of NMDA receptor properties during development in vivo. Analysis of NR2 subunit gene expression in single characterized neurons of postnatal neocortex revealed that cells expressing NR2A subunit mRNA had faster NMDAR EPSCs than cells not expressing this subunit, regardless of postnatal age. Expression of NR2A subunit mRNA in cortical neurons at even low levels seemed sufficient to alter the NMDA receptor time course. The proportion of cells expressing NR2A and displaying fast NMDAR EPSCs increased developmentally, thus providing a molecular basis for the developmental change in mean NMDAR EPSC duration.
Labor Market Institutions and the Distribution of Wages, 1973-1992: A Semiparametric Approach

This paper presents a semiparametric procedure to analyze the effects of institutional and labor market factors on recent changes in the U.S. distribution of wages. The effects of these factors are estimated by applying kernel density methods to appropriately 'reweighted' samples. The procedure provides a visually clear representation of where in the density of wages these various factors exert the greatest impact. Using data from the Current Population Survey, we find, as in previous research, that de-unionization and supply and demand shocks were important factors in explaining the rise in wage inequality from 1979 to 1988. We find also compelling visual and quantitative evidence that the decline in the real value of the minimum wage explains a substantial proportion of this increase in wage inequality, particularly for women. We conclude that labor market institutions are as important as supply and demand considerations in explaining changes in the U.S. distribution of wages from 1979 to 1988.
Organizing for Results: The Basis of Authentic Restructuring and Reform.

Oi C i x""^v rganizing for results" is an inherently attractive con cept. It implies a deliber ate attempt to plan and conduct es sential activities so as to accomplish our aims successfully in other words, purposefully doing what we set out to do. From my perspective, that means having all students learn well, not just the fastest, the bright est, or the most advantaged. Unfor tunately, our educational systems, schools, and instructional programs are not organized to achieve or ensure successful results; instead, they are or ganized primarily for student custody and administrative convenience. If we were to organize for results, we would have to make major changes in our philosophy, purpose, operations, and structures. To appreciate the inconsistency be tween this sensible concept and the way we actually organize and operate schools, we need to lk closely at the prevalent practice paradigm: the fun damental character and operating re lationships of our system of education. That paradigm (fig. 1) is both defined by and organized around the calendar. School decision making, curriculum planning, instructional and administra tive operations, institutional arrange ments, student certification and grad uation systems, and student opportunity and eligibility condi tions all are defined by and tied directlv to the calendar. The calendar and its adjuncts, the clock and the schedule, exert a perva sive influence on both the organiza tion of schools and the thinking of those who work and study in them. Consider these universally accepted terms: school years, semesters, Carne gie units, seat time, credit hours, class periods, grade levels, programs of study, and student eligibility criteria. They all reflect our time-based way of doing business. Even courses, which we commonly refer to as "bodies of knowledge," are actually time blocks that uniformly last nine months, no matter what the content to be mas tered or the success of students in mastering it. A "course" ends when time usually the semester runs out, not when students demonstrate the
Effects of Response Instructions on Faking a Situational Judgment Test

A situational judgment test (SJT) and a Big 5 personality test were administered to 203 participants under instructions to respond honestly and to fake good using a within-subjects design. Participants indicated both the best and worst response (i.e., Knowledge) and the most likely and least likely response (i.e., Behavioral Tendency) to each situation. Faking effect size for the SJT Behavioral Tendency response format was (d =.34) when participants responded first under honest instructions and (d =.15) when they responded first under faking instructions. Those for the Big 5 dimensions ranged from d =. 26 to d =1.0. For the Knowledge response format results were inconsistent. Honest condition Knowledge SJT scores were more highly correlated with cognitive ability (r =.56) than were Behavioral Tendency SJT scores (r =.38). Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.
Analysis of Four-word Lexical Bundles in Published Resesarch Articles Written by Turkish Scholars

This study investigated the use of lexical bundles in research articles written in English by Turkish scholars. For the purpose of the study, a corpus of published research articles produced by Turkish scholars in six different academic disciplines was collected. The four-word lexical bundles that appeared at least twenty times in this one million word corpus were identified and further analyzed both structurally and functionally based on the previous taxonomies developed by Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad and Finegan (1999) and Biber, Conrad and Cortes (2004). The results of this study revealed that the lexical bundles found have structural correlates as well as strong functional features that help to construct discourse in academic writing. The conclusions drawn from this study could be applied to the teaching of academic genres to researchers in English as a Foreign Language context and are expected to provide insights for further corpus-based studies in academic writing. INDEX WORDS: Lexical bundles, Research articles, Corpus, Academic writing, Corpus-based studies ANALYSIS OF FOURWORD LEXICAL BUNDLES IN PUBLISHED RESEARCH ARTICLES WRITTEN BY TURKISH SCHOLARS
Utilizing Nontraditional Data Sources for Near Real-Time Estimation of Transmission Dynamics During the 2015-2016 Colombian Zika Virus Disease Outbreak

Background Approximately 40 countries in Central and South America have experienced local vector-born transmission of Zika virus, resulting in nearly 300,000 total reported cases of Zika virus disease to date. Of the cases that have sought care thus far in the region, more than 70,000 have been reported out of Colombia. Objective In this paper, we use nontraditional digital disease surveillance data via HealthMap and Google Trends to develop near real-time estimates for the basic (R0) and observed (Robs) reproductive numbers associated with Zika virus disease in Colombia. We then validate our results against traditional health care-based disease surveillance data. Methods Cumulative reported case counts of Zika virus disease in Colombia were acquired via the HealthMap digital disease surveillance system. Linear smoothing was conducted to adjust the shape of the HealthMap cumulative case curve using Google search data. Traditional surveillance data on Zika virus disease were obtained from weekly Instituto Nacional de Salud (INS) epidemiological bulletin publications. The Incidence Decay and Exponential Adjustment (IDEA) model was used to estimate R0 and Robs for both data sources. Results Using the digital (smoothed HealthMap) data, we estimated a mean R0 of 2.56 (range 1.42-3.83) and a mean Robs of 1.80 (range 1.42-2.30). The traditional (INS) data yielded a mean R0 of 4.82 (range 2.34-8.32) and a mean Robs of 2.34 (range 1.60-3.31). Conclusions Although modeling using the traditional (INS) data yielded higher R0 estimates than the digital (smoothed HealthMap) data, modeled ranges for Robs were comparable across both data sources. As a result, the narrow range of possible case projections generated by the traditional (INS) data was largely encompassed by the wider range produced by the digital (smoothed HealthMap) data. Thus, in the absence of traditional surveillance data, digital surveillance data can yield similar estimates for key transmission parameters and should be utilized in other Zika virus-affected countries to assess outbreak dynamics in near real time.
Apocrine metaplasia in cystic hyperplastic mastopathy Histochemical and ultrastructural observations

A histochemical and ultrastructural investigation of apocrine cells in the human breast has been carried out. These cells showed strong oxidative enzymatic activity, large numbers of mitochondria and numerous infoldings of the basal plasma membrane. In these features, such cells resemble the normal apocrine gland cells. These observations support the view that this lesion is a metaplastic change in normal breast epithelium.
SER performance evaluation and optimization of OFDM system with residual frequency and timing offsets from imperfect synchronization

This paper deals with the effects of residual timing and frequency offsets on the symbol error rate (SER) performance of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. The synchronization of an OFDM system generally consists of a coarse frequency and timing acquisition stage and a refine stage. Due to the presence of Gaussian noise, channel distortions and implementation losses of synchronization and equalization algorithms, residual frequency and timing offsets always exist for an OFDM receiver. The residual frequency and timing offsets are proven to be Gaussian distributed, with their corresponding variances determined. The reception process of an OFDM signal with frequency and timing offsets is analyzed. A closed-form analytical result on the SER of an OFDM system with residual synchronization errors is derived. Computer simulations and analyses show that the frequency and timing offsets affect the OFDM subcarriers differently. With this observation, a new technique is proposed to minimize the SER of the OFDM systems by adjusting the distribution of transmission power among the subcarriers.
Insights into new-onset atrial fibrillation following open heart surgery and implications for type II atrial flutter.

AIMS Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), new-onset AF after open heart surgery (OHS), is thought to be related to pericarditis. Based on AF studies in the canine sterile pericarditis model, we hypothesized that POAF in patients after OHS may be associated with a rapid, regular rhythm in the left atrium (LA), suggestive of an LA driver maintaining AF. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that in patients with POAF, atrial electrograms (AEGs) recorded from at least one of the two carefully selected LA sites would manifest a rapid, regular rhythm with AEGs of short cycle length (CL) and constant morphology, but a selected right atrial (RA) site would manifest AEGs with irregular CLs and variable morphology. METHODS AND RESULTS In 44 patients undergoing OHS, AEGs recorded from the epicardial surface of the RA, the LA portion of Bachmann's bundle, and the posterior LA during sustained AF were analysed for regularity of CL and morphology. Sustained AF occurred in 15 of 44 patients. Atrial electrograms were recorded in 11 of 15 patients; 8 of 11 had rapid, regular activation with constant morphology recorded from at least one LA site; no regular AEG sites were present in 3 of 11 patients. CONCLUSIONS Atrial electrograms recorded during sustained POAF frequently demonstrated rapid, regular activation in at least one LA site, consistent with a driver maintaining AF.
Multiple Alternative Sentence Compressions for Automatic Text Summarization

We perform multi-document summarization by generating compressed versions of source sentences as summary candidates and using weighted features of these candidates to construct summaries. We combine a parse-and-trim approach with a novel technique for producing multiple alternative compressions for source sentences. In addition, we use a novel method for tuning the feature weights that maximizes the change in the ROUGE-2 score ( ROUGE) between the already existing summary state and the new state that results from the addition of the candidate under consideration. We also describe experiments using a new paraphrase-based feature for redundancy checking. Finally, we present the results of our DUC2007 submissions and some ideas for future work.
Improved Floodplain Delineation Method Using High‐Density LiDAR Data

Abstract: With the improvements in sensor technologies over the past decade, there has been a significant decrease in the cost of acquisition and increase in the density and accuracy of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. Due to its advantages over traditional surveying techniques, LiDAR data are widely preferred for floodplain delineation. But, processing dense LiDAR data is time‐consuming and memory intense. Therefore, it is divided into manageable areas/tiles or simplified to raster DEM (Digital Elevation Model) format for feature extraction process such as floodplain delineation. This results in increase in processing time and decrease in accuracy due to loss of true elevation. Furthermore, as floodplain boundaries are unknown prior to delineation, processing time also increases as LiDAR data over larger extent is processed. Hence, there is a need of improved, automated method that will process only the LiDAR data that contribute to the floodplain. This article, describes a time‐efficient floodplain delineation method that divides the LiDAR data into regular tiles and processes only the tiles that contribute to floodplain. This method is experimented using LiDAR data saved in ArcGIS “Terrain” format at 0.0, 0.1, and 0.3 m pyramid levels. These data are then preprocessed to obtain elevation information which is used to filter and process only LiDAR data tiles that truly contribute to the floodplain boundary; thus, reducing processing time. Results from two pilot hydraulic models showed that this method saved 12–34% of processing time compared to the conventional method.
Long-term efficacy of intensive cycle ergometer exercise training program for advanced COPD patients

Background Exercise training has been incorporated into the international guidelines for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the long-term efficacy of the training program for patients with advanced COPD has never been evaluated in Thailand. Purpose To determine the long-term efficacy of intensive cycle ergometer exercise program on various clinical parameters of patients with advanced COPD. Materials and methods The patients with advanced COPD were separated into two groups: the intensive ergometer exercise program group and the control group. The clinical parameters of all the patients were assessed at baseline, every month for the first 3 months, and then every 3 months until they had completed the 24-month follow-up. Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare baseline mean differences between the groups. Repeated measure analysis was applied to determine the progress in all parameters during the entire follow-up period. Mean incase imputation method was applied to estimate the parameters of dropout cases. Results A total of 41 patients were enrolled: 27 in the intensive ergometer exercise program group and 14 in the control group. The intensive cycle ergometer exercise program group showed statistically significant improvements in muscle strength (from month 1 till the end of the study, month 24), endurance time (from month 1 till the end of measurement, month 12) and clinically significant improvements in 6-minute walk distance (from month 2 until month 9), dyspnea severity by transitional dyspnea index (from month 1 till the end of the study, month 24), and quality of life (from month 1 till the end of the study, month 24). There was no significant difference in survival rates between the groups. Conclusion The intensive ergometer exercise training program revealed meaningful long-term improvements in various clinical parameters for up to 2 years. These promising results should encourage health care professionals to promote exercise training for patients with advanced COPD who have limited daily activities despite optimal medication control.