Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Potential of Using Virtual Reality Technology in Physical Activity Settings

In recent years, virtual reality technology has been successfully used for learning purposes. The purposes of the article are to examine current research on the role of virtual reality in physical activity settings and discuss potential application of using virtual reality technology to enhance learning in physical education. The article starts with a description of major features in virtual reality technology, then focuses on review and critique of studies on its use in physical activity settings, and concludes with a discussion on future directions of using the virtual reality technology in research of learner conceptual change in physical education. Research evidence cited and reasoning made in the article support the idea that, under certain conditions and with specific learners, virtual reality technology can be a useful tool to enhance learning in physical activity settings by facilitating the conceptual change process.
Prospective study of symptomatic atherothrombotic intracranial stenoses

Background: Symptomatic intracranial atherothrombotic stenoses (ICAS) are associated with high rates of cerebrovascular ischemic events. Objective: To conduct a prospective multicenter study to evaluate the natural history of ICAS and, in those patients refractory to medical treatment, the outcomes associated with intracranial angioplasty. Methods: Patients aged 18 to 80 were enrolled with symptoms attributed to a single ICAS of ≥50%. Optimal medical therapy of vascular risk factors and preventive antithrombotic therapy were at the discretion of the local investigator. Patients were eligible for intracranial angioplasty after experiencing recurrent stroke despite medical therapy. Neurologic and ultrasonographic examinations were performed at study inclusion, 3 months after enrollment, and every 6 months of follow-up thereafter, for 36 months. Results: One hundred two patients were included, with a mean age of 63.3 ± 10.4 years. Intracranial artery stenoses involved the vertebral artery in 22.5%, the basilar artery in 25.5%, the middle cerebral artery in 26.5%, and the internal carotid artery in 25.5%. In 27.4% of the patients, the stenoses had clinical hemodynamic characteristics. During a mean follow-up of 23.4 months, 38.2% of the patients had a cerebrovascular event: ischemic stroke in 13.7% and TIA in 24.5%. Among patients with a hemodynamically significant stenosis, 60.7% had a recurrent stroke or TIA in the territory of the stenotic artery; this association was significant in univariate analysis. Twenty-eight patients underwent an endovascular procedure with a neurologic periprocedural complication rate of 14.2%. The overall vascular death rate was 8.8%. Conclusions: Despite medical treatment, the 2-year recurrence rate of ischemic events in the territory of the stenotic artery was 38.2%. Cardiovascular events occurred in 18.6% of patients. Clinically significant hemodynamic stenoses were associated with stroke recurrence and may help identify a high risk subset of patients.
Which pronunciation norms and models for English as an International Language

The recent growth in the use of English as an International Language (EIL) has led to changes in learners' pronunciation needs and goals. The acquisition of a native-like accent is no longer the ultimate objective of the majority of learners, nor is communication with native speakers their primary motivation for learning English. Instead, what they need above all is to be able to communicate successfully with other non-native speakers of English from different L1 backgrounds. This article proposes that with English assuming the position of the world's major lingua franca, a radical rethink is called for in terms of the role of pronunciation and its aims within the ELT curriculum. In particular, there is an urgent need to consider the question of which pronunciation norms and models are most appropriate for classes aiming to prepare learners for interaction in EIL contexts, and to raise teachers' awareness of the issues involved.
Sentiment toward marketing: Should we care about consumer alienation and readiness to use technology?

Consumer sentiment toward marketing has been extensively addressed in the marketing literature. However, while most existing studies provide contributions regarding the levels of consumer perceptions of the marketing function, most fall short of providing significant insights into the antecedents of these sentiment levels. That is to say, little is offered to help marketers understand why consumers perceive the marketing function the way they do. In this study, a conceptual framework is developed in an attempt to explore consumer sentiment toward marketing in light of the increasing technological tendencies of today's marketplace. Alienation from the marketplace is assumed to be an exogenous variable that affects the degree to which individuals are ready to embrace new technologies in everyday life. The model is empirically tested using structural equation modeling. Alienation from the marketplace is found to be negatively associated with sentiment toward marketing and the drivers of technology readiness, but positively associated with the inhibitors of technology readiness. More significantly, readiness to embrace technology is found to exhibit a strong and consistent relationship with sentiment toward marketing. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gentrification, Class, and Gender: Some Comments on Wardens ‘Gentrification as Consumption’

In this paper Warde's argument that gentrification is primarily an issue of gender is questioned. It is argued that class and gender are both important in understanding gentrification. Contra Warde, it is argued that gentrification is likely to be found in the distinctive locational patterns of particular fractions of the middle class, Evidence from a recent study of gentrification in northeast London suggests that gentrifiers are drawn disproportionately from the second-generation middle-class and that it is within this context that the role played by women in the gentrification process needs to be understood.
From Ascription to Achievement? Origins, Education and Entry to the Labour Force in the Republic of Ireland during the Twentieth Century

This paper examines the relationship between class of origin, educational attainment, and class of entry to the labour force, in three cohorts of men in the Republic of Ireland using data collected in 1987 The three cohorts comprise men born (i) before 1937; (ii) between 1937 and 1949; and (m) between 1950 and 1962. The paper assesses the degree of change over the three cohorts in respect of (a) the gross relationship between origins and entry class; (b) the partial effect (controlling for education) of origin class on entry class; (c) the partial effect of education (controlling for ongins) on class of entry. In broad terms the liberal theory of industrialism would imply a movement, over the three cohorts, towards (a) increasing social fluidity, (b) a weakening of the partial effect of origin class; (c) a strengthening of the partial effect of education These latter two trends should be particularly noticeable in the youngest cohort, which would, to some degree, have benefited from the introduction of free post-primary education in Ireland in 1967 Our results provide almost no support for these hypotheses. We find that patterns of social fluidity in the origin/entry relationship remain unchanged over the cohorts. The partial effect of class remains relatively constant; and, while the partial effect of education on entry class changes over the cohorts, the most striking result in this area is the declining returns to higher levels of education. While the average level of educational attainment increased over the three cohorts, the advantages accruing to the possession of higher levels of education simultaneously diminished. Taken together our results suggest that, in Ireland, those classes that have historically enjoyed advantages in access to more desirable entry positions in the labour market have been remarkably adept at retaining their advantages during the course of industrialization and through the various educational and other labour market changes that have accompanied this process.
The Extracellular Matrix Glycoprotein Tenascin-R Affects Adult But Not Developmental Neurogenesis in the Olfactory Bulb

Neuronal precursors produced in the subventricular zone throughout an animal's life migrate tangentially along the rostral migratory stream and, once in the olfactory bulb (OB), turn to migrate radially to the bulbar layers, where they differentiate into interneurons. Despite extensive investigations, it has remained largely unknown whether the same molecular mechanisms control OB neurogenesis during early postnatal development and in adulthood. In this study, we show that the extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-R (TNR) is produced in the granule cell layer of the OB and that its expression increases during postnatal development. Time-lapse video imaging and morphological analyses revealed that a lack of TNR decreases the radial migration of neuronal precursors in the adult, but not in the developing OB. A lack of TNR also reduces spine development of newborn neurons in adult mice. To understand the functional consequences of a lack of TNR, we performed electrophysiological and behavioral studies on young and adult mice. Electrophysiological recordings showed that mitral cells, the target cells of newly generated interneurons, receive reduced spontaneous and evoked inhibitory activity in adult, but not young, TNR knock-out mice. Moreover, the synchronized activity of mitral cells was decreased in the OB of adult TNR knock-out mice. Behavioral studies revealed that the lower numbers of newborn interneurons in the adult OB induce alterations in short-term odor memory. Our results indicate that TNR modulates adult but not developmental neurogenesis in the OB and also highlight that the regulation of OB neurogenesis can vary during an animal's lifetime.
Relations of Parent- and Coach-Initiated Motivational Climates to Young Athletes’ Self-Esteem, Performance Anxiety, and Autonomous Motivation: Who Is More Influential?

Motivational climate research has focused more empirical attention on coach-initiated motivational climate than on the parent-initiated climate. In this study of 238 competitive swimmers (ages 9–14 years), we compared the strength of relations between athletes’ late-season perceptions of coach and parent-initiated climates and their self-esteem, performance anxiety, and intrinsic–extrinsic motivation. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that parent-initiated motivational climate was a significant predictor of late-season self-esteem, trait anxiety, and autonomous regulation over and above coach-initiated motivational climate. We discuss when and why the parent-initiated climate is likely to be more influential and imply that more empirical attention to parents is warranted.
Identifying Subjective Characters in Narrative

Part of understanding fictional narrative text is determining for each sentence whether it takes some character's point of view and, if it does, identifying the character whose point of view is taken. This paper presents part of an algorithm for performing the latter. When faced with a sentence that takes a character's point of view, the reader has to decide whether that character is a previously mentioned character or one mentioned in the sentence. We give particular consideration to sentences about private states, such as seeing and wanting, for which both possibilities exist. Our algorithm is based on regularities in the ways that texts initiate, continue, and resume a character's point of view, found during extensive examinations of published novels and short stories.
Coming of age in New Jersey : college and American culture

"With Kinseyesque diligence [Moffatt] catalogues the sexual habits and fantasies of his students.His book vibrates with quirky authenticity. " --New York Times Book Review "Useful for understanding the student experience . throughout the United States.Beautifully written, carefully researched . a classic. "--John Thelin, Educational Studies "Michael Moffatt is a multitalented, multidisciplinary scholar . who writes without a trace of gobbledygook. He deserves a wide following. " --Rupert Wilkinson, Journal of American Studies "One of the most thoughtfully crafted case studies of undergraduate culture . ever written . a book every professor should read. " --Paul J. Baker, Academe Coming of Age is about college as students really know it and--often--love it. To write this remarkable account, Michael Moffatt did what anthropologists usually do in more distant cultures: he lived among the natives. His findings are sometimes disturbing, potentially controversial, but somehow very believable. Coming of Age is a vivid slice of life of what Moffatt saw and heard in the dorms of a typical state university, Rutgers, in the 1980s. It is full of student voices: naive and worldy-wise, vulgar and polite, cynical, humorous, and sometimes even idealistic. But it is also about American culture more generally: individualism, friendship, community, bureaucracy, diversity, race, sex, gender, intellect, work, and play. As an example of an ethnography written about an anthropologist's own culture, this book is an uncommon one. As a new and revealing perspective on the much-studied American college student, it is unique.
Membranous diaphragm formation after simultaneous kissing stenting with sirolimus‐eluting stents for the left main bifurcation

Two patients who underwent simultaneous kissing stenting with sirolimus‐eluting stents in the left main coronary artery were investigated with optical coherence tomography (OCT) at just more than 1 year postoperatively. In both cases, follow‐up angiogram indicated complete coverage of the new metal carina with a membranous diaphragm, yet OCT showed varying tissue‐coverage patterns transitioning from stent inflow to stent outflow. These patterns included single‐strut coverage, bridge‐like membrane formation between more than 1 strut, and end‐to‐end coverage of the carina; no uncovered stent struts were detected. OCT also demonstrated mixed patterns of tissue characteristics on the metal carina, ranging from poor endothelialization to modest neointima formation. These varying tissue characteristics suggest that the process of tissue coverage in the metal carina is different from that occurring on the vessel wall; this may indicate delayed healing in the carina. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Validation and Clinical Relevance of a French-Canadian Version of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire in Adolescent Patients

Study Design. Prospective validation study of a crosscultural adaptation of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ). Objective. To provide a French-Canadian version of the SAQ. Summary of Background Data. The SAQ is widely used for the assessment of appearance in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients. Methods. French translation/back-translation of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire-French version (SAQ-fv) was done by an expert committee. Its reliability was measured using the intradomain correlation coefficient, concurrent validity by using the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) Outcomes Questionnaire, and discriminant validity using analysis of variance, on 182 consecutive patients attending a scoliosis clinic. Results. Intradomain correlations were weak to excellent (&rgr; = 0.34–0.76, P < 0.01), indicating that the scales' items demonstrated a satisfactory internal coherence. Scores comparison between SAQ-fv items and SRS Outcomes Questionnaire domains showed weak to moderate correlations (&rgr; = 0.35–0.53, P < 0.01) for the self-image domain, as expected in this test of convergent validity. A clear gradient in SAQ-fv scores according to Cobb angles was found in every domain, and patients' perception of their rib prominence was significantly related to the rib hump measurement, showing good discriminant validity. Body mass index, age, Risser, and gender did not influence the questionnaire scores. Preoperative patients' and parents' scores were significantly more affected when compared with other groups (observation, braced, and postoperative). Distribution of scores in the first section of the questionnaire shows a positive skew toward the wellbeing end of the response scales. However, the other section shows an inversed bell-shape distribution. Conclusion. The SAQ-fv showed satisfactory reliability and validity in French-Canadian adolescents with different severity of idiopathic scoliosis. Spinal deformity appearance evaluation using this tool was found to be independent of patient's general characteristics. In addition, the SAQ-fv is able to discriminate between relevant clinical values, thus providing useful information for the clinical management of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients.
Pulse Wave Analysis of the Aortic Pressure Waveform in Severe Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction

Background—The effect of moderate left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) on ventricular/vascular coupling and the aortic pressure waveform (AoPW) has been well described, but the effect of severe LVSD has not. Methods and Results—We used noninvasive, high-fidelity tonometry of the radial artery and a mathematical transfer function to generate the AoPW in 25 treated patients with LVSD (mean LV ejection fraction, 24±8.8%; range, 11% to 40%; 21 patients <30%). Pulse wave analysis of the AoPW was used to characterize ventricular/vascular coupling and compared with pulse wave analysis performed in 25 normal subjects matched for age, gender, height, body mass index, and heart rate. Measurements obtained using pulse wave analysis in LVSD patients indicated features of poor LV stroke performance and also reduced indices of arterial stiffness: increased travel time of the pressure wave (147±10 ms versus 132±21 ms; P<0.001); decreased systolic duration of reflected wave (134±24 ms versus 167±26 ms; P<0.001); ejection duration (277±22 ms versus 299±25 ms; P<0.008); percent systolic duration (32±5.3% versus 35±4.0%; P<0.02); aortic systolic pressure (100±16 mm Hg versus 121±16 mm Hg; P<0.001); unaugmented pressure (24±6.3 mm Hg versus 32±6.4 mm Hg; P<0.001); augmented pressure (4.8±3.1 mm Hg versus 9.6±4.5 mm Hg; P<0.001); pulse pressure (28±7.4 mm Hg versus 42±9.5 mm Hg; P<0.001); augmentation index (12±6.6% versus 23±7.6%; P<0.006); wasted LV effort (5.3±2.8×102 dyne sec/cm2 versus 17±10×102 dyne sec/cm2; P<0.001); systolic pressure time index (17±4.1×102 mm Hg-sec/min versus 23±4.2×102 mm Hg sec/min; P<0.001); and pressure systolic area (383±121 mm Hg sec/min versus 666±150 mm Hg sec/min; P<0.001). Conclusions—Severe LVSD causes measurable changes in the AoPW. Standardization of AoPW findings in LVSD patients may allow for the clinical use of radial artery pulse wave analysis to noninvasively determine the severity of dysfunction and aid in logical therapy.
Structure and Strategy in Collective Action1

This article considers both structural and strategic influences on collective action. Each person in a group wants to participate only if the total number taking part is at least her threshold; people use a network to communicate their thresholds. People are strategically rational in that they are completely rational and also take into account that others are completely rational. The model shows first that network position is much more important in influencing the revolt of people with low thresholds than people with high thresholds. Second, it shows that strong links are better for revolt when thresholds are low, and weak links are better when thresholds are high. Finally, the model generalizes the threshold models of Schelling (1978) and Granovetter (1978) and shows that their findings that revolt is very sensitive to the thresholds of people “early” in the process depends heavily on the assumption that communication is never reciprocal.
Molecular Evidence of Plasmodium vivax Mono and Mixed Malaria Parasite Infections in Duffy-Negative Native Cameroonians

The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax is known to be majorly endemic to Asian and Latin American countries with no or very few reports of Africans infected with this parasite. Since the human Duffy antigens act as receptors for P. vivax to invade human RBCs and Africans are generally Duffy-negative, non-endemicity of P. vivax in Africa has been attributed to this fact. However, recent reports describing P. vivax infections in Duffy-negative Africans from West and Central parts of Africa have been surfaced including a recent report on P. vivax infection in native Cameroonians. In order to know if Cameroonians living in the southern regions are also susceptible to P. vivax infection, we collected finger-prick blood samples from 485 malarial symptomatic patients in five locations and followed PCR diagnostic assays with DNA sequencing of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene. Out of the 201 malaria positive cases detected, 193 were pure P. falciparum, six pure P. vivax and two mixed parasite infections (P. falciparum + P. vivax). The eight P. vivax infected samples (six single + two mixed) were further subjected to DNA sequencing of the P. vivax multidrug resistance 1 (pvmdr1) and the P.vivax circumsporozoite (pvcsp) genes. Alignment of the eight Cameroonian pvmdr1 sequences with the reference sequence showed high sequence similarities, reconfirming P. vivax infection in all the eight patients. DNA sequencing of the pvcsp gene indicated all the eight P. vivax to be of VK247 type. Interestingly, DNA sequencing of a part of the human Duffy gene covering the promoter region in the eight P. vivax-infected Cameroonians to identify the T-33C mutation revealed all these patients as Duffy-negative. The results provide evidence of single P. vivax as well as mixed malaria parasite infection in native Cameroonians and add knowledge to the growing evidences of P. vivax infection in Duffy-negative Africans.
Aspects of signal transduction in stimulus exocytosis‐coupling in Paramecium

This paper deals with the detailed mechanisms of signal transduction that lead to exocytosis during regulative secretion induced by specific secretagogues in a eukaryotic cell, Paramecium tetraurelia. There are at least three cellular compartments involved in the process: (I) the plasma membrane, which contains secretagogue receptors and other transmembrane proteins, (II) the cytoplasm, particularly in the region between the cell and secretory vesicle membranes, where molecules may influence interactions of the membranes, and (III) the secretory vesicle itself.
High-frequency characterization of on-chip digital interconnects

On-chip inductance is becoming increasingly important as technology continues to scale. This paper describes a way to characterize inductive effects in interconnects. It uses realistic test structures that study the effect of mutual couplings to local interconnects, to random lines connected to on-chip drivers, and to typical power and ground grids. The use of S parameters to characterize the inductance allows a large number of lines to be extracted while requiring only a small overhead measurement of dummy open pads to remove measurement parasitics. It also enables direct extraction of the frequency-dependent R, L, G, C parameters. The results are summarized with curve-fitted formulas of inductance and resistance over a wide range of line spacings and line widths. The significance of the frequency dependence is illustrated with transient analysis of a typical repeater circuit in a 0.25-/spl mu/m technology. A model that captures the frequency dependency of the extracted parameters accurately predicts the performance of a new inductance-sensitive ring oscillator.