Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proposal for a qualitative study of LIS students' self-assessment of growth and direction using Dervin’s Sense-Making Methodology applied to intrapersonal examination of their ongoing eportfolio development

This paper presents ongoing work on the development of a study which will examine the use of Sense-Making Methodology applied to the intrapersonal consideration of personal electronic portfolios to assess growth and direction in a graduate level academic program. Brenda Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology has been applied to a myriad of situations in multiple contexts with a wide spectrum of people. It is applicable in contexts including intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, mediated, organizational, and societal (Dervin et al, 2011). In this study it will be applied via intrapersonal self-interview to clarify direction in a graduate program through student examination of his or her eportfolio. Keywords : sense-making methodology, eportfolios, reflection, self-assessment This paper presents ongoing work on the development of a study which will examine the use of Sense-Making Methodology applied to the intrapersonal consideration of personal electronic portfolios to assess growth and direction in a graduate level academic program. Brenda Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology has been applied to a myriad of situations in multiple contexts with a wide spectrum of people. It is applicable in contexts including intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, mediated, organizational, and societal (Dervin et al, 2011). In this study it will be applied via intrapersonal self-interview to clarify direction in a graduate program through student examination of his or her eportfolio . Keywords: sense-making methodology, eportfolios, reflection, self-assessment Normal 0 21 false false false HR X-NONE X-NONE
Genetic Analysis of Reduced γ-Tocopherol Content in Ethiopian Mustard Seeds

Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) line BCT-6, with reduced γ-tocopherol content in the seeds, has been previously developed. The objective of this research was to conduct a genetic analysis of seed tocopherols in this line. BCT-6 was crossed with the conventional line C-101 and the F1, F2, and BC plant generations were analyzed. Generation mean analysis using individual scaling tests indicated that reduced γ-tocopherol content fitted an additive-dominant genetic model with predominance of additive effects and absence of epistatic interactions. This was confirmed through a joint scaling test and additional testing of the goodness of fit of the model. Conversely, epistatic interactions were identified for total tocopherol content. Estimation of the minimum number of genes suggested that both γ- and total tocopherol content may be controlled by two genes. A positive correlation between total tocopherol content and the proportion of γ-tocopherol was identified in the F2 generation. Additional research on the feasibility of developing germplasm with high tocopherol content and reduced concentration of γ-tocopherol is required.
Late immersion and language of instruction in Hong Kong high schools : Achievement growth in language and nonlanguage subjects

In this article, Herbert Marsh, Kit-Tai Hau, and Chit-Kwong Kong evaluate the effects of instruction in the first language (Chinese) and the second language (English) on achievement using multilevel growth models for a large representative sample of Hong Kong students during their first three years of high school. For nonlanguage subjects, late immersion in English as the language of instruction had large negative effects. Immersion in English did have positive effects on English and, to a smaller extent, Chinese language achievement, but these effects were small relative to the large negative effects in nonlanguage subjects. Whereas previous research has shown positive effects for early-immersion programs that start in kindergarten where language demands are not so great, negative effects for this late-immersion program challenge the generality of these findings to high schools and, perhaps, theoretical models of second-language acquisition.
Personal Values, Autonomy, and Self‐Efficacy: Evidence from Frontline Service Employees

Employee's self‐efficacy has been related with important outcomes for organizations, such as service quality and job performance. Thus, understanding the antecedents of self‐efficacy can have important payoffs. Accordingly, this paper investigates how personal values interact with autonomy to affect employee's self‐efficacy. The hypotheses are tested with a sample of bank employees. The results reveal that conservation is negatively related to self‐efficacy and that both openness to change and self‐enhancement values have a positive impact on self‐efficacy. Autonomy is also positively associated with self‐efficacy. Finally, autonomy mitigates the negative effects of conservation on self‐efficacy, and strengthens the positive effects of self‐enhancement on self‐efficacy.
The sphingosine kinase 1/sphingosine‐1‐phosphate pathway mediates COX‐2 induction and PGE2 production in response to TNF‐α

In this study we addressed the role of sphingolipid metabolism in the inflammatory response. In a L929 fibroblast model, tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF) induced prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production by 4 h and cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) induction as early as 2 h. This TNF‐induced PGE2 production was inhibited by NS398, a COX‐2 selective inhibitor. GC‐MS analysis revealed that only COX‐2‐generated prostanoids were produced in response to TNF, thus providing further evidence of COX‐2 selectivity. As sphingolipids have been implicated in mediating several actions of TNF, their role in COX‐2 induction and PGE2 production was evaluated. Sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P) induced both COX‐2 and PGE2 in a dose‐responsive manner with an apparent ED50 of 100–300 nM. The related sphingolipid sphingosine also induced PGE2, though with much less efficacy. TNF induced a 3.5‐fold increase in sphingosine‐1‐phosphate levels at 10 min that rapidly returned to baseline by 40 min. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) directed against mouse SK1 decreased (typically by 80%) SK1 protein and inhibited TNF‐induced SK activity. Treatment of cells with RNAi to SK1 but not SK2 almost completely abolished the ability of TNF to induce COX‐2 or generate PGE2. By contrast, cells treated with RNAi to S1P lyase or S1P phosphatase enhanced COX‐2 induction leading to enhanced generation of PGE2. Treatment with SK1 RNAi also abolished the effects of exogenous sphin‐gosine and ceramide on PGE2, revealing that the action of sphingosine and ceramide are due to intracellular metabolism into S1P. Collectively, these results provide novel evidence that SK1 and S1P are necessary for TNF to induce COX‐2 and PGE2 production. Based on these findings, this study indicates that SK1 and S1P could be implicated in pathological inflammatory disorders and cancer. —Pettus, B. J., Bielawski, J., Porcelli, A. M. , Reames, D. L. , Johnson, K. R. , Morrow, J., Chalfant, C. E. , Obeid, L. M. , Hannun, Y A. The sphingosine kinase 1/sphingosine‐1‐phosphate pathway mediates COX‐2 induction and PGE2 production in response to TNF‐α, FASEB J., 17, 1411–1421 (2003)
AN ADAPTIVE, DYNAMICAL MODEL OF LINGUISTIC RHYTHM: DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Although adult native speakers of a language perceive spoken words as having clear boundaries and distinct components, the reality is that the speech signal rarely shows correlates (like pauses or silence) corresponding to those boundaries; it is primarily a continuous stream of modulated frequencies that is not trivially parsed into discrete linguistic units. The inability of scientists to find the physical primitives of speech despite more than fifty years of concentrated effort is at once a testament to the sophistication of the human auditory system and also an indication of our naive understanding of it. It is perhaps easier to conceive of how adult speakers access the speech signal, given that they already have a well developed lexicon. The process could be seen as just a matter of matching the incoming signal to previously learned acoustic patterns; however, this is simply not a viable mechanism for infants who have yet to learn a single word. When could it be more important to be able to parse speech into linguistic units than during acquisition? We must conclude that even if acoustic pattern-matching plays a role in adult speech comprehension, it is just too simplistic a story to account for all of speech segmentation.
Comparison between Heparin Dose during Hemodiafiltration with High Flux Synthetic Membranes

TABLE 1PARAMETERS EXAMINED DURING BASAL AND FINAL HEPARIN DOSE (BHD AND FHD, RESPECTIVELY) BY EMPLOYING THE TESTED SYNTHETIC MEMBRANES ON HIGH UF HDF in the drip chamber were visually scored 0 to 4; UF was calculated as the ratio: exchanged volume (constant for each patient) + body weight loss/session length (Tab. I). The reduction of heparin dosage was interrupted and the dose set at the previous step when UF decreased significantly and/or the clotting score exceeded 3. The heparin dose was reduced for all the tested membranes by a variable amount: 74% for AN69, 29% for PAN, 40% for PMMA, 44% for PS and 90% for PA; moreover heparin was stopped in one case on AN69 and in 11 cases on PA (Tab. I). At the end of the observation period, despite no significant change of UF, a slight increase in clotting score occurred from o 1 (in 28 and 10 patients, respectively) to 0 3 (0 in 4 patients, 1 in 14,2 in 17 and 3 in 3) (Tab. I). In agreement with previous papers, which compared CU with PS and AN69 (2, 3), the present study
Theorising inequalities in health : the place of lay knowledge.

This paper contributes to the development of theory and research on inequalities in health. Our central premise is that these are currently limited because they fail adequately to address the relationship between agency and structure, and that lay knowledge in the form of narrative has a significant contribution to make to this endeavour. The paper is divided into three sections. In the first section we briefly review the existing, largely quantitative research on inequalities in health. We then move on to consider some of the most significant critiques of this body of work highlighting three issues: the pursuit of overly simple unidimensional explanations within 'risk factor' epidemiology and the (probably inevitable) inability of this research tradition to encompass the full complexity of social processes; the failure to consider the social context of individual behaviour and, in particular, the possibility for, and determinants of, creative human agency; and, thirdly, the need for 'place' and 'time' (both historical and biographical) to be given greater theoretical prominence. In the final section of the paper the potential theoretical significance of 'place' and 'lay knowledge', and the relationship between these concepts, in inequalities research is explored. Here we suggest three developments as a necessary condition for a more adequate theoretical framework in this field. We consider first the need for the conceptualisation and measurement of 'place' within a historical context, as the location in which macro social structures impact on people's lives. Second, we argue for a re-conceptualisation of lay knowledge about everyday life in general and the nature and causes of health and illness in particular, as narratives which have embedded within them explanations for what people do and why – and which, in turn, shape social action. Finally, we suggest that this narrative knowledge is also the medium through which people locate themselves within the places they inhabit and determine how to act within and upon them. Lay knowledge therefore offers a vitally important but neglected perspective on the relationship between social context and the experience of health and illness at the individual and population level.
An Observational Study of Material Durability of Three World Health Organization–Recommended Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets in Eastern Chad

A total of 876 nets (229 Interceptor®, 363 Olyset®, and 284 PermaNet®) were collected 14 months post-distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) from 811 households of internally displaced and host communities in Dar Sila District in eastern Chad to examine their physical condition. Holes were recorded by using three hole categories (average diameter = 2, 3.5, and 15 cm) and a Proportionate Hole Index (pHI). A total of 69.5% were in poor or very poor condition. There was no significant difference in the performance between the polyester 75 denier LLINs, but they had 4.22 times the odds of having a pHI ≥ 175 (poor or very poor condition) than polyethylene 150 denier LLINs; and 39.2% were unserviceable (pHI ≥ 300) compared with only 7.7% of the polyethylene LLINs. These results provide the first comparative data on LLIN material durability to guide procurement and replacement practice, and to inform urgently needed changes in LLIN international minimum specifications and product standards.
Self-aligning MEMS in-line separable electrical connector

A MEMS in-line separable connector containing features for precision self-alignment is demonstrated. The concept relies on sliding connection between female and male halves to induce vertical deflections of a set of flexible conductors and establish stable electrical contacts. Electrodeposited photoresist is used to fabricate thick, nonplanar conductors, shaped by a silicon substrate that has previously been terraced by anisotropic etching. Further etched features ensure transverse and vertical self-alignment between conductor elements during mating. Prototype 10-way connectors are demonstrated with 200 /spl mu/m wide conductors on a 250-/spl mu/m pitch. Mechanical reliability of contacts during repeated mating and demating is demonstrated, and initial measurement of contact resistance reveals an encouraging value of 30 m/spl Omega/.
Tonotopic Specialization of Auditory Coincidence Detection in Nucleus Laminaris of the Chick

The interaural time difference (ITD) is a cue for localizing a sound source along the horizontal plane and is first determined in the nucleus laminaris (NL) in birds. Neurons in NL are tonotopically organized, such that ITDs are processed separately at each characteristic frequency (CF). Here, we investigated the excitability and coincidence detection of neurons along the tonotopic axis in NL, using a chick brainstem slice preparation. Systematic changes with CF were observed in morphological and electrophysiological properties of NL neurons. These properties included the length of dendrites, the input capacitance, the conductance of hyperpolarization-activated current, and the EPSC time course. In contrast to these gradients, the conductance of low-threshold K+ current and the expression of Kv1.2 channel protein were maximal in the central (middle-CF) region of NL. As a result, the middle-CF neuron had the smallest input resistance and membrane time constant, and consequently the fastest EPSP, and exhibited the most accurate coincidence detection. The specialization of middle-CF neurons as coincidence detectors may account for the high resolution of sound-source localization in the middle-frequency range observed in avians.
Monoubiquitination of Ancient Ubiquitous Protein 1 Promotes Lipid Droplet Clustering

Lipid droplets, the intracellular storage organelles for neutral lipids, exist in a wide range of sizes and of morphologically distinct organization, from loosely dispersed lipid droplets to tightly packed lipid droplet clusters. We show that the lipid droplet protein AUP1 induces cluster formation. A fraction of AUP1 is monoubiquitinated at various lysine residues. This process depends on its internal CUE domain, which is a known ubiquitin-binding domain. AUP1 with a deleted or point mutagenized CUE domain, as well as a lysine-free mutant, are not ubiquitinated and do not induce lipid droplet clustering. When such ubiquitination deficient mutants are fused to ubiquitin, clustering is restored. AUP1 mutants with defective droplet targeting fail to induce clustering. Also, another lipid droplet protein, NSDHL, with a fused ubiquitin does not induce clustering. The data indicate that monoubiquitinated AUP1 on the lipid droplet surface specifically induces clustering, and suggest a homophilic interaction with a second AUP1 molecule or a heterophilic interaction with another ubiquitin-binding protein.
Exogenous normal lymph alleviates microcirculation disturbances and abnormal hemorheological properties in rats with disseminated intravascular coagulation

Disturbances of the microcirculation and abnormal hemorheological properties are important factors that play an important role in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and result in organ dysfunction or failure. In the present study, we established an animal model of DIC using intravenous Dextran 500 in rats, and used exogenous normal lymph corresponding to 1/15 of whole blood volume for injection through the left jugular vein. We found that normal lymph could improve the blood pressure and survival time of rats with DIC. The results regarding the mesenteric microcirculation showed that the abnormality of the diameter of mesenteric microvessels and micro-blood flow speed in the DIC+lymph group was significantly less than in the DIC+saline group. Whole blood viscosity, relative viscosity, plasma viscosity, hematocrit (Hct), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and electrophoresis time of erythrocytes were significantly increased in the DIC+saline group compared to the control group. The electrophoretic length and migration of erythrocytes from the DIC+saline and DIC+lymph groups were significantly slower than the control group. Blood relative viscosity, Hct, ESR, and electrophoretic time of erythrocytes were significantly increased in the DIC+lymph group compared to the control group. Whole blood viscosity, relative viscosity and reduced viscosity were significantly lower in the DIC+lymph group than in the DIC+saline group, and erythrocyte deformability index was also significantly higher than in the DIC+saline and control groups. These results suggest that exogenous normal lymph could markedly improve the acute microcirculation disturbance and the abnormal hemorheological properties in rats with DIC induced by Dextran 500.
Dental Trauma Associated with Anaesthesia

Damage to teeth is the most common complaint against anaesthetists. A dental history and oral examination are important before anaesthesia. Pre-existing dental pathology or the presence of prostheses makes damage more likely but sound teeth may be affected. The maxillary central incisors are most at risk. Certain diseases and drugs should alert anaesthetists to increased likelihood of dental pathology. The flange of the Macintosh blade appears responsible for much damage and alternative equipment or techniques of endotracheal intubation should be considered, particularly when risk factors are present. Manoeuvres to protect teeth must not impact adversely on airway management. Custom mouthguards can be useful. A management plan can help control losses if damage does occur. Patients should be warned about the possibility of dental trauma.
Learning in Facebook: First year tertiary student reflections from 2008 to 2011

This paper reflects on the use of Facebook as an online learning environment for first year design students from 2008 to 2011. Between 2008 and 2010 three student cohorts from the University of Adelaide engaged with their peers through forums hosted by Facebook, submitting work-in-progress imagery and critiquing peers' submissions. In 2011 the study expanded to include national and international collaborators with first year cohorts from Swinburne University in Australia, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore also participating, allowing students to interact with their global peers. The online forum facilitated increased peer interaction, particularly between local and international students, and improved academic performance as a result of consistent feedback from a range of sources. At the end of 2011 students from the four participating cohorts between 2008 and 2011 were invited to take part in a survey reflecting on and evaluating the learning experiences in Facebook. The results highlighted many positive outcomes regarding the online forum, and have led to the establishment of a series of recommendations for the future use of Facebook as a learning tool, outlined at the conclusion of this paper.
Following the Leader? Presidential Influence Over Congress in the Passage of Federal Crime Control Policy

This study explores the relationship between the president, Congress, and the passage of federal crime control legislation in the United States from 1946 to 1996. The theory of presidential influence over Congress is used to predict the impact of presidential activity on congressional passage of public laws related to crime. It is hypothesized that the more attention presidents give to the issue of crime, the more attention Congress will give to the topic, thus helping to ensure the papssage of crime legislation. Using a multivariate time-series analysis of data collected from the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States and the United States Statutes at Large, the study finds some support for the hypothesis, alongside presidential popularity, the official crime rate, and the political cycle.
How Important Is Vocational Success to the Overall Satisfaction of Immigrants

An ex post facto experiment considered the influence of two main stages of the immigrant's career reconstruction (the preparatory career stage and the establishment stage) on the relationship between vocational achievement and overall satisfaction. The research used a sample of 83 immigrants, mostly of Eastern European origin. Satisfaction scores were correlated with objective measures of adjustment (governmental examination at retraining courses, promotion, and earnings at the job) and with tests measuring personality traits and values as the presumed moderators of the relationship. The results revealed two models of link between vocational achievement and satisfaction: Korman's consistency model and a dissonance model, each of them appearing in a different circumstantial setting. Spiritual need gratification was found to have a great influence on immigrant satisfaction, especially before establishment in a job was achieved. It allows then for satisfaction to appear also at objective vocational failure.
Short-term adapted physical activity program improves bone quality in osteopenic/osteoporotic postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS It is known that people affected by osteopenia/osteoporosis can benefit from an adequate amount of physical activity, counteracting the progressive loss of bone and muscle mass caused by aging. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that exercise has positive effects on bone structure. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects on bone tissue and muscular strength of a short-term exercise program in osteopenic/osteoporotic postmenopausal women. METHODS Forty-nine osteopenic/osteoporotic postmenopausal women were divided into 2 groups: exercise and control. All subjects underwent 2 evaluations: before and after a training period. Bone quality was assessed by phalangeal quantitative osteosonography, and maximal strength of leg extensor muscles was also evaluated. The experimental group participated in a specific supervised 20-week physical activity program that included aerobic, balance, and strength training. RESULTS After the training period, all bone parameters and lower-limb maximal strength were significantly improved in the exercise group (P < .05), whereas no significant changes were observed in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that a broad-based training protocol, lasting 20 weeks, can improve leg strength and bone quality parameters-main determinants of fall and fracture risk, respectively.