Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using parent newsletters to enhance junior primary school mathematics : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Educational Studies (Mathematics) at Massey University

Parent Newsletters were investigated as a means of increasing home-school contact in the Junior Primary School mathematics classroom. An action research model using three cycles, was used to develop and trial the newsletter. The first newsletter was based on BSM activities and used by five teachers at a school sited in a military housing area. The second and third formats of the newsletters were written in consultation with one teacher to integrate with her topic based mathematics programme in a Palmerston North primary school. A questionnaire was used to gather background information and invite parents to be interviewed for further comments. Teachers and responding parents were interviewed in a semi-structured format. Participants commented on a range of other home-school contact issues. A follow-up interview was ~onducted with the parents from the Palmerston North school three months after the newsletters had ceased. Teachers and parents were positive about the benefits of the newsletters. Newsletters did increase parental awareness of the junior school mathematics programme. For one child with special needs an obvious improvement in classroom performance was directly attributable to the effect of the newsletters. Interviews revealed a number of inconsistencies between parents and teacher views of their roles and responsibilities. Problems of parent-school communication were highlighted. Teachers supported the newsletters , but felt that heavy workloads did not allow time for teacher production. The research tentatively confirms the value of mathematics newsletters as a means of helping children and as a means of keeping parents informed. additionally, the research gives rise to questions on the duality of information flow and equality of benefits accrued.
In vivo detection, RNA-binding properties and characterization of the RNA-binding domain of the p7 putative movement protein from carnation mottle carmovirus (CarMV).

Biochemical and structural characterization studies on the p7 putative movement protein from a Spanish isolate of carnation mottle carmovirus (CarMV) have been conducted. The CarMV p7 gene was fused to a sequence coding for a six-histidine tag and expressed in bacteria, allowing the purification of CarMV p7 and the production of a specific antiserum. This antiserum led to the immunological identification of CarMV p7 in infected leaf tissue from the experimental host Chenopodium quinoa. Putative nucleic acid-binding properties of the CarMV p7 have been explored and demonstrated with both electrophoretic mobility shift and RNA-protein blot in vitro assays using digoxigenin-labeled riboprobes. CarMV p7 did not show preferential binding to any of the different regions of the CarMV genomic RNA tested, suggesting that RNA binding was sequence nonspecific. Quantitative analyses of the data allowed calculation of the apparent dissociation constant of the p7-RNA complex (Kd approximately 0.7 microM) and supported a cooperative type of binding. A small 19-amino-acid synthetic peptide whose sequence corresponds to the putative RNA-binding domain of CarMV p7, at the basic central part of the protein, was synthesized, and it was demonstrated that it binds viral RNA probes. Peptide RNA binding was as stable as p7 binding, although data indicated it was not cooperative, thus suggesting that this cooperative binding requires another motif or motifs within the p7 amino acid sequence. The peptide could be induced to fold into an alpha-helix structure in which amino acids that are conserved among carmovirus p7-like proteins are distributed on one side. This alpha-helix motif could define a new and previously uncharacterized RNA-binding domain for plant virus movement proteins.
Visualization of the Peroxisomal Compartment in Living Mammalian Cells: Dynamic Behavior and Association with Microtubules

Peroxisomes in living CV1 cells were visualized by targeting the green fluorescent protein (GFP) to this subcellular compartment through the addition of a COOH-terminal peroxisomal targeting signal 1 (GFP–PTS1). The organelle dynamics were examined and analyzed using time-lapse confocal laser scanning microscopy. Two types of movement could be distinguished: a relatively slow, random, vibration-like movement displayed by the majority (∼95%) of the peroxisomes, and a saltatory, fast directional movement displayed by a small subset (∼5%) of the peroxisomes. In the latter instance, peak velocities up to 0.75 μm/s and sustained directional velocities up to 0.45 μm/s over 11.5 μm were recorded. Only the directional type of motion appeared to be energy dependent, whereas the vibrational movement continued even after the cells were depleted of energy. Treatment of cells, transiently expressing GFP–PTS1, with microtubule-destabilizing agents such as nocodazole, vinblastine, and demecolcine clearly altered peroxisome morphology and subcellular distribution and blocked the directional movement. In contrast, the microtubule-stabilizing compound paclitaxel, or the microfilament-destabilizing drugs cytochalasin B or D, did not exert these effects. High resolution confocal analysis of cells expressing GFP–PTS1 and stained with anti-tubulin antibodies revealed that many peroxisomes were associated with microtubules. The GFP–PTS1–labeled peroxisomes were found to distribute themselves in a stochastic, rather than ordered, manner to daughter cells at the time of mitosis.
Role of Nucleus Accumbens Shell Neuronal Ensembles in Context-Induced Reinstatement of Cocaine-Seeking

Environmental contexts previously associated with drug use provoke relapse to drug use in humans and reinstatement of drug seeking in animal models of drug relapse. We examined whether context-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking is mediated by activation of context-selected nucleus accumbens neurons. We trained rats to self-administer cocaine in Context A and extinguished their lever-pressing in a distinct Context B. On test day, reexposure to the cocaine-associated Context A reinstated cocaine seeking and increased expression of the neural activity marker Fos in 3.3% of accumbens shell and 1.6% of accumbens core neurons. To assess a causal role for these activated neurons, we used the Daun02 inactivation procedure to selectively inactivate these neurons. We trained c-fos-lacZ transgenic rats to self-administer cocaine in Context A and extinguished their lever-pressing in Context B. On induction day, we exposed rats to either Context A or a novel Context C for 30 min and injected Daun02 or vehicle into accumbens shell or core 60 min later. On test day, 3 d after induction day, the ability of Context A to reinstate cocaine seeking and increase neuronal activity in accumbens shell was attenuated when Daun02 was previously injected after exposure to Context A. Daun02 injections after exposure to the novel Context C had no effect on context-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking despite much greater numbers of Fos-expressing neurons induced by Context C. Daun02 injections in accumbens core had no effect. Our data suggest that context-induced reinstatement of cocaine seeking is mediated by activation of context-selected accumbens shell but not core neuronal ensembles.
Mechanism of reduced cardiac stroke volume at high altitude

Two postulates have been advanced to account for reduced stroke at high altitude: (1) diminished venous return secondary to contracted plasma volume and (2) left ventricular (LV) dysfunction secondary to hypoxia. To test these hypotheses, we assessed LV dimensions and contractility indices by M‐mode echocardiography and systolic time intervals in 11 young men at sealevel and serially for 10 days at 3100 m altitude. Mean LV end‐diastolic dimension fell 16% after 6‐8 days, with a 20% decrease in plasma volume reflected by hematocrit rise. Pre‐ejection period to LV ejection time (PEP/LVET) ratio was increased after 1‐2 days. All indices of contractility were unchanged at rest, and slightly enhanced during exercise. Thus stroke volume falls and PEP/LVET ratio rises at 3100 m because of diminished venous return despite preservation of LV systolic performance.
Disease-Specific as Well as Generic Quality of Life Is Widely Impacted in Autoimmune Hypothyroidism and Improves during the First Six Months of Levothyroxine Therapy

Background Hypothyroidism is often diagnosed, and subsequently treated, due to health-related quality of life (HRQL) issues. However, HRQL following treatment has never previously been assessed in longitudinal descriptive studies using validated instruments. Objective To investigate disease-specific (ThyPRO) and generic (SF-36) HRQL, following levothyroxine therapy in patients with hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis. Methods This prospective cohort study was set at endocrine outpatient clinics at two Danish university hospitals. Seventy-eight consecutive patients were enrolled and completed HRQL questionnaires before, six weeks, and six months after initiation of levothyroxine therapy. Normative ThyPRO (n = 739) and SF-36 (n = 6,638) data were available for comparison and changes in HRQL following treatment were estimated and quantified. Results Prior to treatment, all ThyPRO scales were significantly impacted (p<0.0001), compared to the general population sample. The same was observed for seven of eight SF-36 scales, the exception being Bodily Pain. Tiredness (ThyPRO) and Vitality (SF-36) were the most markedly impacted scales. After six weeks of treatment, nine of thirteen ThyPRO scales had significantly improved. ThyPRO improvements were consistent at six months, where five of eight SF-36 scales had also significantly improved, but deficits persisted for a subset of both ThyPRO and SF-36 scales. Conclusions In this population of hypothyroid patients, HRQL was widely affected before treatment, with tiredness as the cardinal impairment according to both ThyPRO and SF-36. Many aspects of HRQL improved during the first six months of LT4 therapy, but full recovery was not obtained. Our results may help clinicians inform patients about expected clinical treatment effects.
Counting inversions in lists

In a recent paper, Ajtai et al. [1] give a streaming algorithm to count the number of inversions in a stream <i>L</i>ε[<i>m</i>]<sup>n</sup> using two passes and <i>O</i>(ε<sup>−1</sup>-√<i>n</i> log <i>n</i>(log <i>m</i> + log <i>n</i>)) space. Here, we present a simple randomized streaming algorithm for the same problem that uses one pass and <i>O</i>(ε<sup>−3</sup> log<sup>2</sup> <i>n</i> log <i>m</i>) space. Our algorithm is based on estimating quantiles of the items already seen in the stream, and using that to estimate the number of inversions involving each element.
THE OUTFLOWS AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF NGC 6337: A PLANETARY NEBULA WITH A CLOSE BINARY NUCLEUS

NGC 6337 is a member of the rare group of planetary nebulae where a close binary nucleus has been identified. The nebula's morphology and emission line profiles are both unusual, particularly the latter. We present a thorough mapping of spatially resolved, long-slit echelle spectra obtained over the nebula that allows a detailed characterization of its complex kinematics. This information, together with narrowband imagery, is used to produce a three-dimensional (3D) model of the nebula using the code SHAPE. The 3D model yields a slowly expanding toroid with large density fluctuations in its periphery that are observed as cometary knots. A system of bipolar expanding caps of low ionization is located outside the toroid. In addition, an extended high velocity and tenuous bipolar collimated outflow is found emerging from the core and sharply bending in opposite directions, a behavior that cannot be accounted for by pure magnetic launching and collimation unless the source of the outflow is precessing or rotating, as could be expected from a close binary nucleus.
Assessing local e-government: an initial exploration of the case of Mexico

Several scholars and practitioners argue that the most important interaction between citizens and government happens through local government agencies. This relationship could become closer and more frequent with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, very few studies have focused on understanding the use of ICTs in the local governments of developing countries. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence about the status of Mexican local governments in terms of their use of ICTs. It is based on an exploratory online survey administered to 108 local governments and 59 interviews with local government chief information officers (CIOs). The study concludes that there are important limitations related to infrastructure, use of software, and the development of their websites. This paper presents the main findings of this exploratory research and provides some practical recommendations.
Villin expression in the visceral endoderm and in the gut anlage during early mouse embryogenesis.

Villin is an evolutionarily well conserved, Ca2+ regulated actin‐binding protein, and a major structural component of the brush border of specialized absorptive cells. Using paraffin sections and an affinity purified polyclonal anti‐villin antibody, we have investigated the early expression of villin during mouse embryogenesis. Villin is first detectable at the early post‐implantation stage in visceral endodermal cells at the periphery of the egg cylinder. In this extra embryonic layer, the expression of villin increases and then persists until full term gestation. In the embryo, villin first appears in gut anlage during the axial rotation. Using the same methodology, villin expression is also demonstrated in differentiating embryoid bodies from a teratocarcinoma. Both in extra embryonic and embryonic extracts, villin expression is confirmed by immunoblot and Northern blot analysis which reveal, respectively, a single polypeptide of 93 kd and an mRNA of 3.4 kb in length, two well defined parameters for adult mouse villin gene expression. The results presented here show that paraffin sections allow very sensitive and highly resolutive detection of antigens in early embryogenesis. They provide a detailed developmental profile of villin expression and demonstrate the usefulness of villin as a marker for epithelial cells involved in absorptive processes.
Long-term all-cause and cardiovascular mortality following incident myocardial infarction in men and women with and without diabetes: Temporal trends from 1998 to 2009

Background Long-term mortality following myocardial infarction is higher in diabetic than non-diabetic individuals. Early case-fatality after myocardial infarction has improved but it is unclear whether trends extend to long-term mortality. We aimed to determine whether the disparity in long-term all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality by diabetes status has decreased. Methods All incident myocardial infarction cases were identified from Western Australian whole-population linked data for 1998–2009. Mortality follow-up was available until 30 June 2011. Unadjusted survival was estimated using Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Hazard ratios comparing five-year mortality in diabetic versus non-diabetic people across three periods (1998–2001, 2002–2005, 2006–2009) were estimated from multivariable Cox regression models, and adjusted trends calculated from interaction (diabetes status × period) models. Results There were 22,594 30-day survivors of incident MI. There was little change across the three periods in all-cause mortality in diabetic men (27.1%, 28.2%, 25.5%) and women (34.9%, 36.8%, 36.1%), but small declines from first to last periods in non-diabetic men (14.5% to 12.1%, p = 0.03) and women (21.0% to 19.4%, p = 0.08). There was no temporal change in the increased all-cause mortality hazard ratios in diabetic versus non-diabetic men and women. Multivariable-adjusted relative risk for cardiovascular disease mortality remained elevated in diabetic women (2006–2009 hazard ratio 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.29, 2.32) but not in men (2006–2009 hazard ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 0.85, 1.37). Conclusions The excess long-term mortality associated with diabetes and excess cardiovascular disease mortality in diabetic women indicates a need for improved secondary prevention in diabetic patients, especially women.
Meaning in Life Within an African Context: A Mixed Method Study

This article reports on a mixed method study that described and explored meaning in life among 179 university students (53.63% female). Data on their sense of meaning in life were collected using the Life Purpose Questionnaire (Hutzell, 1989), supplemented with qualitative naïve sketches. The data on the Life Purpose Questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics while those from naive sketches were thematically analysed. Whereas the life meaning survey data pointed to predominantly uncertain definition of meaning in life among the sample, those from the naive sketched yielded three themes to suggest that participants (1) experience meaning as a beyond-the-self contribution to the world, (2) relationships, education and religion are prominent sources of meaning, and (3) used African metaphors to express the experience of meaning in life.
Adrenal Cortical Neoplasms in Children: Why So Many Carcinomas and Yet So Many Survivors?

Adrenal cortical neoplasms in children are represented by a disproportionate number of cases that have been diagnosed pathologically as adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs)—as many as 90% of all cortical tumors in some pediatric series. Like other solid malignancies of childhood, over half of ACCs present in the first 4 years of life in over 50% of cases. Most are sporadically occurring neoplasms, but ACCs are a manifestation of Beckwith-Wiedemann and Li-Fraumeni syndromes. Despite the fact that the microscopic features are often quite atypical and identical in many respects to ACCs in adults, the clinical outcome is favorable in 70% or more of cases. Tumor weight is seemingly a significant determinant in prognosis at a threshold of greater than 400 g. A risk assessment system is proposed that incorporates tumor weight, localization of tumor to the gland without invasion into the surrounding tissues or organs, and absence of metastasis.
Postcranial Sex Estimation Criteria for Mexican Hispanics

Population‐specific reference data are necessary for sex estimation in forensic anthropological practice. Currently, there are no population‐specific data for Hispanics equivalent to data available for American Blacks and Whites. Individuals of Mexican origin represent the largest group of Hispanics in the United States (Spradley and Jantz. 2011. J Forensic Sci;56:289). This paper presents new population‐specific sex estimation criteria for postcranial measurements for Mexican Hispanics. Metric data come from positively identified border‐crossing fatalities at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner and documented cemetery collections curated at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Stepwise variable selection procedures and discriminant function analyses were utilized to generate classification functions for postcrania. Sectioning points were also created for select measurements. Both the cross‐validated classification rates and sectioning points achieved accuracy rates as high as 95% and 92%, respectively. These new criteria will improve sex estimation for US Mexico border crossers and Hispanics in the US.
How elitism undermines the study of voter competence

Abstract A form of elitism undermines much uniting on voter competence. The elitist move occurs when an author uses a self‐serving worldview as the basis for evaluating voters. Such elitism is apparent in widely cited measures of “political knowledge” and in common claims about what voters should know. The elitist move typically limits the credibility and practical relevance of the analysis by leading writers to draw unreliable conclusions about voter competence. I propose a more constructive way of thinking about what voters know. Its chief virtue is its consistency with basic facts about the relationship between information and choice.
Significant high expression of CD23 in follicular lymphoma of the inguinal region

Aims: Inguinal lymph nodes are considered to be problematic for the diagnosis of lymphoma due to architectural changes resulting from previous inflammatory processes. The aim was to investigate the morphology and immunophenotype of follicular lymphomas (FL) in order to clarify whether FL presenting in inguinal nodes differs from FL biopsies from other sites.
Transcranial direct current stimulation reduces the cost of performing a cognitive task on gait and postural control

This proof‐of‐concept, double‐blind study was designed to determine the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the ‘cost’ of performing a secondary cognitive task on gait and postural control in healthy young adults. Twenty adults aged 22 ± 2 years completed two separate double‐blind visits in which gait and postural control were assessed immediately before and after a 20 min session of either real or sham tDCS (1.5 mA) targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Gait speed and stride duration variability, along with standing postural sway speed and area, were recorded under normal conditions and while simultaneously performing a serial‐subtraction cognitive task. The dual task cost was calculated as the percent change in each outcome from normal to dual task conditions. tDCS was well tolerated by all subjects. Stimulation did not alter gait or postural control under normal conditions. As compared with sham stimulation, real tDCS led to increased gait speed (P = 0.006), as well as decreased standing postural sway speed (P = 0.01) and area (P = 0.01), when performing the serial‐subtraction task. Real tDCS also diminished (P < 0.01) the dual task cost on each of these outcomes. No effects of tDCS were observed for stride duration variability. A single session of tDCS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improved the ability to adapt gait and postural control to a concurrent cognitive task and reduced the cost normally associated with such dual tasking. These results highlight the involvement of cortical brain networks in gait and postural control, and implicate the modulation of prefrontal cortical excitability as a potential therapeutic intervention.
Summation in Autoshaping with Short- and Long-duration Stimuli

Five autoshaping experiments with pigeons examined the effects of presenting in compound two stimuli that had individually been paired with food. The rate of responding during the compound was the same as for the individual stimuli when the stimulus duration was 10 sec. When the duration of the stimuli was 30 sec, the compound elicited a higher response rate than its components. This enhanced rate of responding during the compound was evident only for the initial portion of each trial. Moreover, the enhanced rate of responding was no greater than for a compound composed of an excitatory and a neutral element. These results present difficulties for both elemental and configural theories of conditioning.