Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Action Research: Promise and Potential for Improving Teacher Professional Practice and the Learning Organisation

Today 19s teachers, though pressed to perform better, are, paradoxically, given limited opportunities for professional upgrading. This paper reports on a study of a sample of teachers who completed the University of the South Pacific 19s primary degree program in the Bachelor of Education (In-service). Through a survey questionnaire the teachers were asked about their perceptions of an action research course that formed part of this upgrading program. The analysis indicates that they were satisfied with the coverage of the course and found the course useful in their professional work. On this basis, this study proposes an action research strategy teachers could employ to improve their practice, thus delivering higher quality educational service to their clients. Empirical evidence from the available literature supports this position; application of the rubrics of action research can make a difference in improving teachers 19 professional practice. The study points to the need for the inclusion of an action research based course in all teacher education programs and suggests a place for inquiry into the impact of other courses in such programmes on the teachers 19 world of work.
Goldilocks Revisited: Public Perceptions of Urban Bears in Northern British Columbia

ABSTRACT Management of black bears (Ursus americanus) in urban settings is of growing concern because they often recolonize areas from which they had been extirpated. Urban landscapes offer much needed bear habitat, buffer habitat losses in other areas, and offer protection for bear populations, but only if conflicts between bears and humans are managed. In collaboration with the Northern Bear Awareness Society in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, a survey of a sample of Prince George residents was conducted to determine their attitudes toward black bears and bear management, including euthanasia (N = 71). These residents tended to feel positively toward black bears, but were split on the issue of euthanasia, with half being firmly opposed and half recognizing the need under certain conditions. There was a significant preference for non-lethal management tools, suggesting an opportunity for governments to explore options for managing human activities that created bear attractants.
Inconsistent People? An Experiment on the Impact of Social Preferences Across Games

A within-subject designed experiment with six games and a total of seven choices is used to test the hypothesis of consistency of other-regarding motives. By the large number of choices, which are mostly belief-independent, one can test the hypothesis that social preferences have a consistent impact in a majority of decisions, allowing for occasional deviations. Behavior turns out to be non-random and correlations across games are typically significant and positive. However, less than half the population reveals a consistent preference profile. The result holds true if the analysis is restricted to very similar games. Conditional cooperation or unconditional defection do not appear as robust character traits either. The results suggest that besides the horizontal heterogeneity in preference parameters for a population, there is an additional and strong vertical heterogeneity within each individual. In consequence, a stochastic understanding of behavior is suggested.
The Prevalence of “Drinking and Biking” and Associated Risk Factors: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

With the steady rise of health and environmental awareness, the number of bicyclists is increasing. However, there are few epidemiologic studies on bicycling under the influence (BUI). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of BUI and the associated risk factors in a representative Korean population. The data of 4,833 adult bicyclists who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010–2012) were analyzed. Among the 4,833 participants investigated in this study, 586 (12.1%) had experienced BUI. As participants’ age increased, so did the prevalence of BUI (P < 0.001), with the participants who were aged 60–69 showing the highest prevalence of BUI (19.6%). With regard to BUI and drinking habits, the likelihood of being a heavy or high-risk drinker increased with the frequency of BUI (P < 0.001). In addition, there was a positive relationship between the frequency of BUI and alcohol use disorder identification score level. Finally, those who had previous experiences of BUI were significantly more likely to drive and ride motorcycles under the influence (P < 0.001). In conclusion, the prevalence of BUI was 12.1% and several associated risk factors for BUI were elucidated in this study. The development of specific preventive strategies and educational programs aimed at deterring individuals at a high risk of engaging in BUI is expected to reduce the number of alcohol-related bicycle injuries.
Multilevel k-way hypergraph partitioning

In this paper, we present a new multilevel k-way hypergraph partitioning algorithm that substantially outperforms the existing state-of-the-art K-PM/LR algorithm for multi-way partitioning, both for optimizing local as well as global objectives. Experiments on the ISPD98 benchmark suite show that the partitionings produced by our scheme are on the average 15% to 23% better than those produced by the K-PM/LR algorithm, both in terms of the hyperedge cut as well as the (K-1) metric. Furthermore, our algorithm is significantly faster, requiring 4 to 5 times less time than that required by K-PM/LR.
Canonical Hamiltonians for waves in inhomogeneous media

We obtain a canonical form of a quadratic Hamiltonian for linear waves in a weakly inhomogeneous medium. This is achieved by using the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin representation of wave packets. The canonical form of the Hamiltonian is obtained via the series of canonical Bogolyubov-type and near-identical transformations. Various examples of the application illustrating the main features of our approach are presented. The knowledge of the Hamiltonian structure for linear wave systems provides a basis for developing a theory of weakly nonlinear random waves in inhomogeneous media generalizing the theory of homogeneous wave turbulence.
The interference effect of emotional expressions on facial identity recognition in preschool-aged children

The present study aims to explore the influence of facial emotional expressions on pre-scholars' identity recognition was analyzed using a two-alternative forced-choice matching task. A decrement was observed in children's performance with emotional faces compared with neutral faces, both when a happy emotional expression remained unchanged between the target face and the test faces and when the expression changed from happy to neutral or from neutral to happy between the target and the test faces (Experiment 1). Negative emotional expressions (i.e. fear and anger) also interfered with children's identity recognition (Experiment 2). Obtained evidence suggests that in preschool-age children, facial emotional expressions are processed in interaction with, rather than independently from, the encoding of facial identity information. The results are discussed in relationship with relevant research conducted with adults and children.
Effect of Mental Challenge Induced by Movie Clips on Action Potential Duration in Normal Human Subjects Independent of Heart Rate

Background—Mental stress and emotion have long been associated with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death in animal models and humans. The effect of mental challenge on ventricular action potential duration (APD) in conscious healthy humans has not been reported. Methods and Results—Activation recovery intervals measured from unipolar electrograms as a surrogate for APD (n=19) were recorded from right and left ventricular endocardium during steady-state pacing, whilst subjects watched an emotionally charged film clip. To assess the possible modulating role of altered respiration on APD, the subjects then repeated the same breathing pattern they had during the stress, but without the movie clip. Hemodynamic parameters (mean, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure, and rate of pressure increase) and respiration rate increased during the stressful part of the film clip (P=0.001). APD decreased during the stressful parts of the film clip, for example, for global right ventricular activation recovery interval at end of film clip 193.8 ms (SD, 14) versus 198.0 ms (SD, 13) during the matched breathing control (end film left ventricle 199.8 ms [SD, 16] versus control 201.6 ms [SD, 15]; P=0.004). Respiration rate increased during the stressful part of the film clip (by 2 breaths per minute) and was well matched in the respective control period without any hemodynamic or activation recovery interval changes. Conclusions—Our results document for the first time direct recordings of the effect of a mental challenge protocol on ventricular APD in conscious humans. The effect of mental challenge on APD was not secondary to emotionally induced altered respiration or heart rate.
Multiparametric CMR imaging of infarct remodeling in a percutaneous reperfused Yucatan mini‐pig model

To further understanding of the temporal evolution and pathophysiology of adverse ventricular remodeling over the first 60 days following a myocardial infarction (MI) in both the infarcted and remote myocardium, we performed multi‐parametric cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in a closed‐chest chronic Yucatan mini‐pig model of reperfused MI.
The chromosome passenger complex is required for fidelity of chromosome transmission and cytokinesis in meiosis of mouse oocytes

The existence of two forms of the chromosome passenger complex (CPC) in the mammalian oocyte has meant that its role in female meiosis has remained unclear. Here we use loss- and gain-of function approaches to assess the meiotic functions of one of the shared components of these complexes, INCENP, and of the variable kinase subunits, Aurora B or Aurora C. We show that either the depletion of INCENP or the combined inhibition of Aurora kinases B and C activates the anaphase-promoting complex or cyclosome (APC/C) before chromosomes have properly congressed in meiosis I and also prevents cytokinesis and hence extrusion of the first polar body. Overexpression of Aurora C also advances APC/C activation and results in cytokinesis failure in a high proportion of oocytes, indicative of a dominant effect on CPC function. Together, this points to roles for the meiotic CPC in functions similar to the mitotic roles of the complex: correcting chromosome attachment to microtubules, facilitating the spindle-assembly checkpoint (SAC) function and enabling cytokinesis. Surprisingly, overexpression of Aurora B leads to a failure of APC/C activation, stabilization of securin and consequently a failure of chiasmate chromosomes to resolve – a dominant phenotype that is completely suppressed by depletion of INCENP. Taken together with the differential distribution of Aurora proteins B and C on chiasmate chromosomes, this points to differential functions of the two forms of CPC in regulating the separation of homologous chromosomes in meiosis I.
Current sheet flapping motion and structure observed by Cluster

Fast vertical flapping oscillations of the plasma sheet have been observed by Cluster on September 26, 2001. The flapping motion had vertical speeds exceeding 100 km/s, an amplitude in excess of 1 RE and a quasiperiod of ∼3 min. The current sheet was mostly tilted in the Y‐Z plane (with the tilt sometimes exceeding 45°). The waves had the properties of a kink mode and propagated toward the dusk flank. The flapping allowed to probe the vertical structure of the plasma sheet. Three different methods gave consistent evidence of a bifurcated structure of the cross‐tail current with about half of all current concentrated in two sheets (each ∼500–1000 km thick). The current density peaks at ∣Bx∣ ∼ 0.5 BL, with a pronounced current density minimum and a plasma density plateau between these peaks.
Diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance and hepatitis C virus infection: A contemporary review

AIM To summarise the literature data on hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients concerning the prevalence of glucose abnormalities and associated risk. METHODS We conducted a PubMed search and selected all studies found with the key words "HCV" or "hepatitis C virus" and "diabetes" or "insulin resistance". We included only comparative studies written in English or in French, published from January 2000 to April 2015. We collected the literature data on HCV-infected patients concerning the prevalence of glucose abnormalities [diabetes mellitus (DM) and insulin resistance (IR)] and associated risk [i.e., severe liver fibrosis, response to antivirals, and the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)]. RESULTS HCV infection is significantly associated with DM/IR compared with healthy volunteers and patients with hepatitis B virus infection. Glucose abnormalities were associated with advanced liver fibrosis, lack of sustained virologic response to interferon alfa-based treatment and with a higher risk of HCC development. As new antiviral therapies may offer a cure for HCV infection, such data should be taken into account, from a therapeutic and preventive point of view, for liver and non-liver consequences of HCV disease. The efficacy of antidiabetic treatment in improving the response to antiviral treatment and in decreasing the risk of HCC has been reported by some studies but not by others. Thus, the effects of glucose abnormalities correction in reducing liver events need further studies. CONCLUSION Glucose abnormalities are strongly associated with HCV infection and show a negative impact on the main liver related outcomes.
Annexin A2 is a soluble mediator of macrophage activation

On the surface of the macrophage, annexin A2 tetramer (A2t) serves as a docking protein or recognition element for bacterial and viral pathogens. Plasma levels of free A2t have been reported to increase following infection, although the mechanistic significance of this observation is unclear. Although annexin A2 had generally been thought to play an anti‐inflammatory role, soluble A2t stimulates MAP kinase activity in bone marrow stromal cells downstream of a recently cloned receptor. This raises the question of whether A2t activates human macrophages via MAP kinases and whether it might be capable of acting as an inflammatory mediator. To this end, human monocyte‐derived macrophages were treated with soluble A2t and MAP kinase phosphorylation, p65 NF‐κB activation, and inflammatory mRNA and protein levels were measured. It was found that A2t caused rapid phosphorylation of several MAP kinases, as well as translocation of p65 NF‐κB to the nucleus. A2t stimulated the production of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, and IL‐6, as well as several members of the chemokine family within 24 h, which are capable of recruitment and/or activation of a broad range of leukocyte classes. Furthermore, A2t‐activated macrophages demonstrated enhanced phagocytic ability for the ingestion of GFP‐expressing Escherichia coli. These data are the first to suggest the participation of an annexin in microbial clearance, as well as the establishment of inflammation and the immune response, including the recruitment and activation of immune cells to the site of infection.
Perceptual Learning Reconfigures the Effects of Visual Adaptation

Our sensory experiences over a range of different timescales shape our perception of the environment. Two particularly striking short-term forms of plasticity with manifestly different time courses and perceptual consequences are those caused by visual adaptation and perceptual learning. Although conventionally treated as distinct forms of experience-dependent plasticity, their neural mechanisms and perceptual consequences have become increasingly blurred, raising the possibility that they might interact. To optimize our chances of finding a functionally meaningful interaction between learning and adaptation, we examined in humans the perceptual consequences of learning a fine discrimination task while adapting the neurons that carry most information for performing this task. Learning improved discriminative accuracy to a level that ultimately surpassed that in an unadapted state. This remarkable improvement came at a price: adapting directions that before learning had little effect elevated discrimination thresholds afterward. The improvements in discriminative accuracy grew quickly and surpassed unadapted levels within the first few training sessions, whereas the deterioration in discriminative accuracy had a different time course. This learned reconfiguration of adapted discriminative accuracy occurred without a concomitant change to the characteristic perceptual biases induced by adaptation, suggesting that the system was still in an adapted state. Our results point to a functionally meaningful push–pull interaction between learning and adaptation in which a gain in sensitivity in one adapted state is balanced by a loss of sensitivity in other adapted states.
Depressed Ryanodine Receptor Activity Increases Variability and Duration of the Systolic Ca2+ Transient in Rat Ventricular Myocytes

Abstract— Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release, through the ryanodine receptor (RyR), is essential for the systolic Ca2+ transient and thus the cardiac contractile function. The aim of this study was to examine the effects on the spatial organization of the systolic Ca2+ transient of depressing RyR open probability (Po) with tetracaine or intracellular acidification. Voltage-clamped, fluo-3–loaded myocytes were studied using confocal microscopy. Depressing RyR Po increased the variability of the Ca2+ transient amplitude between different regions of the cell. This variability often produced alternans with a region producing large and small transients alternately. In addition, the raising phase of the Ca2+ transient became biphasic. The initial phase was constant but the second was variable and propagated as a wave through part of the cell. That both phases involved SR Ca2+ release was shown by their reduction by caffeine. Regional [Ca2+]i alternans was accompanied by a much smaller degree of alternans at the whole cell level. We suggest that, in tetracaine or acidosis, the initial phase of the Ca2+ transient results from Ca2+ release via RyRs directly activated by adjacent L-type Ca2+ channels. At some sites, this will activate neighboring RyRs and a Ca2+ wave will propagate via activation of other RyRs. This work is the first demonstration that decreased RyR Po alone can produce disarray of the Ca2+ release process and initiate alternans.
Evidence for a New Elliptical-Galaxy Paradigm: Sérsic and Core Galaxies

We fitted the surface-brightness profiles of 21 elliptical galaxies using both the Sérsic function and a new empirical model that combines an inner power law with an outer Sérsic function. The profiles are combinations of deconvolved Hubble Space Telescope (HST) profiles from the literature and ellipse fits to the full WFPC2 mosaic images and thus span a radial range from ∼0. ″02 to about twice the half-light radius. We are able to accurately fit the entire profiles using either the Sérsic function or our new model. In doing so, we demonstrate that most, if not all, so-called "power-law" galaxies are better described as "Sérsic galaxies"—they are well modeled by the three-parameter Sérsic profile into the limits of HST resolution—and that "core" galaxies are best understood as consisting of an outer Sérsic profile with an inner power-law cusp, which is a downward deviation from the inward extrapolation of the Sérsic profile. This definition of cores resolves ambiguities that result when the popular "Nuker law" is fitted to the profiles of ellipticals and bulges, particularly at lower luminosities. We also find that using the Nuker law to model core-galaxy nuclear profiles systematically overestimates the core radii by factors of 1.5–4.5 and underestimates the inner power-law slope by ∼20%–40% or more.
Dissociable Influences of Skewness and Valence on Economic Choice and Neural Activity

Asymmetry in distributions of potential outcomes (i.e. skewness), and whether those potential outcomes reflect gains or losses (i.e. their valence), both exert a powerful influence on value-based choice. How valence affects the impact of skewness on choice is unknown. Here by orthogonally manipulating the skewness and valence of economic stimuli we show that both have an influence on choice. We show that the influence of skewness on choice is independent of valence, both across and within subjects. fMRI data revealed skew-related activity in bilateral anterior insula and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which shows no interaction with valence. Further, the expression of skew-related activity depends on an individual’s preference for skewness, and this was again independent of valence-related preference. Our findings highlight the importance of skewness in choice and show that its influence, both behaviourally and neurally, is distinct from an influence of valence.
Appraisal of the communication skills of residents in the Family Medicine Program in Central Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To assess patients’ perceptions of the communication skills of family medicine residents. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from patients, seeing 23 residents from 4 family medicine residency programs in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia namely, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh Military Hospital, Security Forces Hospital, and King Abdul-Aziz Medical City. The translated version of the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) was used. Data were collected during January and February 2013. Results: A total of 350 patients completed the CAT, with an 87.5% response rate. Patients rated each resident differently, but the mean percentage of items, which residents rated as excellent was 71%. In general, male residents were rated higher 72.8 ± 27.2 than female residents 67.8 ± 32.2 with a significant difference; (p<0.005). Also, significant differences were found based on the gender of the residents, when each item of the CAT was compared. Comparing training centers, there were no significant differences found in the overall percentage of items rated as excellent or among items of the CAT. Conclusion: The study identified areas of strength and weaknesses that need to be addressed to improve communication skills of physicians.
Use of code-switching in multilingual content subject and language classrooms

ABSTRACT Research literature has shown that teachers code-switched to a language which is not the medium of instruction to help students understand subject matter and establish interpersonal relations with them. However, little is known about the extent to which teachers code-switch in content subject classrooms compared to language classrooms. Using substantial data taken from a larger study, this paper examined the extent to which teachers code-switched in both content subject and language Grade 5 multilingual classrooms in Singapore and the code-switching functions used. The data for this study accounted for 23.6% of the lessons observed in the larger study and comprised 91 transcripts of science, mathematics, social studies, and English lessons. The data from the transcripts were tagged for the analysis of teachers’ use of the non-standard English dialect, Singapore Colloquial English, for the broad functions of curriculum access, classroom management, and interpersonal relations and their sub-functions. Grade 5 teachers were found to use the non-standard English dialect more often for curriculum access than for classroom management. Content subject teachers code-switched more frequently than language teachers.