Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing Traditional and ICT-Enriched University Teaching Methods: Evidence from Two Empirical Studies

One of the best ways of incentivating the use of ICTs as university teaching tools is by providing clear evidence that this technology helps to increase educational benefits, i.e., that students learn more and more effectively - in conditions of equivalent efforts by both teachers and students. The point, however, is that little has been reported on the specific impact of Web enhancements on classroom activities - the face-to-face component of traditional courses - and the nature of that impact. This contribution is intended to publish some evidence based on two well-documented experiments on the use of the Campus Global, the e-learning platform for undergraduate, traditional face-to-face courses introduced at the Pompeu Fabra University as early as 1998. The first analyses the failures that often accompany the introduction of ICTs into traditional teaching. The second describes the results of an experiment aimed at comparing the academic performance of two equivalent groups of students of the same subject, one receiving ordinary, lecture-based teaching and the other being taught with the novel use of ICTs. Finally, the results are discussed and future lines of research are proposed.
The Impact of Asymptomatic Helminth Co-Infection in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Tuberculosis in North-West Ethiopia

Background Areas endemic of helminth infection, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV are to a large extent overlapping. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of asymptomatic helminth infection on the immunological response among TB patients with and without HIV, their house hold contacts and community controls. Methodology Consecutive smear positive TB patients (n = 112), their household contacts (n = 71) and community controls (n = 112) were recruited in Gondar town, Ethiopia. Stool microscopy, HIV serology, serum IgE level, eosinophil and CD4 counts were performed and tuberculosis patients were followed up for 3 months after initiation of anti-TB treatment. Results Helminth co-infection rate was 29% in TB patients and 21% in both community control and household contacts (p = 0.3) where Ascaris lumbricoides was the most prevalent parasite. In TB patients the seroprevalence of HIV was 47% (53/112). Eosinophilia and elevated IgE level were significantly associated with asymptomatic helminth infection. During TB treatment, the worm infection rate of HIV+/TB patients declined from 31% (10/32) at week 0 to 9% (3/32) at week 2 of TB treatment, whereas HIV−/TB patients showed no change from baseline to week 2, 29% (13/45) vs. 22.2% (10/45). This trend was stable at week 8 and 12 as well. Conclusion One third of smear positive TB patients were infected with helminths. Eosinophilia and elevated IgE level correlated with asymptomatic worm infection, indicating an effect on host immunity. The rate of worm infection declined during TB treatment in HIV+/TB co-infected patients whereas no decline was seen in HIV−/TB group.
Reward preferences in South Africa’s media industry

Orientation: Employee remuneration is a key driver of employee engagement and thus organisational performance. A thorough understanding of employee needs is essential to enable management to develop an equitable mix in reward strategy.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine context-specific reward preferences in order to determine the overall reward preferences of employees in the media industry with the aim of improving existing reward strategies.Motivation for the study: The focus on reward preferences has emerged as a critical element in identifying what really motivates productive behaviour within the workplace. A better understanding of reward preferences is required to find ways to improve performance within the world of work.Research approach/design and method: The research was a quantitative, empirical and descriptive study of reward preferences in an industry-specific context. A self-administered survey was used as a measure and analysed using non-parametric tests to identify variances between dependent and independent groups, testing for internal consistency and non-parametric analysis of variance (ANOVA). Main findings: The following five reward preferences were rated as most important by participants: base pay or salary, merit increase that is linked to personal performance, incentives and bonus, safety and security at the workplace, and market-related salary. The results indicated that monthly salary (base pay) is the most preferred and/or significant reward category in attracting, retaining and motivating employees.Practical/managerial implications: Managers in South Africa’s media industry should investigate their organisations’ rewards through the perspective of the total rewards concept to assess and develop an equitable mix in reward strategy. A comprehensive analysis of reward preferences is required to ensure that all aspects that promote the attraction, retention and motivation of employees are taken into consideration. The importance of base pay should not be under-estimated as it represents the most significant reward preference for employees in the South African media industry.Contribution/value add: This study adds to the body of social science research, providing a deeper understanding of reward preferences, specifically in the context-specific setting.
Does public/private status affect SMEs earnings management practices? A study on French case

In this article, we study the quality of accounting information among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the French context. Using a sample of 925 firms observed over the period 2002-2010, we compare the intensity of earnings management practices between public and private SMEs. We find evidences that private SMEs more frequently manipulate their net income report to avoid small losses than public ones. We also notice a more pronounced behavior of earnings smoothing among private SMEs than among public ones. The analysis of accruals shows that both public and private SMEs use accounting flexibilities to influence earnings, but their objectives are different. Public SMEs use accruals to increase their appearing performance while private SMEs manage earnings downward, in order to reduce tax payments.
Early sensitivity to linguistic form

Human infants have always been impressive creatures in the eyes of their parents. During the last two decades of the 20th century, however, infants became the darlings of science and the media as well. Thanks to a collection of techniques that allow us to infer how infants perceive, process and remember the world, we have become collectively awed by their early abilities. In the domain of language alone, infants have racked up an inspiring list of accomplishments. They are able to discriminate nearly every speech sound used in adult linguistic systems (e.g., Eimas, 1975; Eimas, Siqueland, Jusczyk, & r13 >
Global, Regional and Country Factors for the World Economy: a dynamic factor approach

We implement the maximum likelihood estimation method for high-dimensional dynamic multi-factor models in presence of missing data. The exact treatment of missing values with reduction technique proposed by Jungbacker and Koopman(2008) allows the estimation of the factors and a large number of parameters in very fast and efficient way. We apply this new methodology for estimating the world cycle and area specific cycles, plus country specific effects. The data set concerns the GDPs of a large number of countries, consequently the speed and reliability of the state space algorithms is crucial in this framework. The paper provides a systematic assessment of the estimation strategy and discusses the empirical evidence in the light of the previous literature.
Parent Physiological Activity in the Context of Acute Pediatric Pain: A Pilot Study of Parent Emotional Experience and Regulation

PARENT PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY IN THE CONTEXT OF ACUTE PEDIATRIC PAIN: A PILOT STUDY OF PARENT EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE AND REGULATION Kaytlin Constantin Advisor: University of Guelph, 2017 Dr. C. Meghan McMurtry Parent behaviours and responses have been linked to children’s acute pain experience. However, parents’ internal experience, as assessed by physiological activity, in this context remains largely unknown. The current study primarily sought to examine: (1) parent cardiac response (heart rate [HR] and heart rate variability [HRV])) before and after their child’s experience of acute pain; (2) the relations between parent cardiac response and self-reported characteristics; and (3) the associations between parent cardiac response and child outcomes. Children and a primary caregiver (n = 23) participated in this laboratory-based pilot study. Parent HR and HRV were monitored at three different times: during a neutral video, immediately prior to the painful cold-pressor task, and following the cold pressor. Parent trait anxiety, typical emotion regulation strategies, negative emotional state, and state catastrophizing were examined. Child pain intensity, fear, and pain tolerance were assessed. Parents experienced changes in HR and HRV. Non-significant moderate effects were observed between parent HRV and reported traits. Parent HR was inversely associated with parent negative emotional state and differentially associated with child pain outcomes. Findings have implications for incorporating parent physiology in existing models of pain and parent-child interaction frameworks.
Core Virtues for the Practice of Mentoring

Mentoring relationships in psychology and other fields are often long-term, complex, and multifaceted. Although mentoring is associated with a host of benefits and positive outcomes for protégés, excellent mentoring requires careful attention to potential ethical concerns. In this article, we review mentoring literature from the education and management fields, as well as spiritual-direction literature, with attention to the traits and virtues of mentors. We argue for the relevance of mentor character virtues and propose that three central virtues (integrity, courage, and care) offer a solid starting point for theory and research relevant to the significance of mentor character. We conclude with a discussion of implications for training and research in psychology.
Do antidepressants work? A commentary on “Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: a meta-analysis of data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration” by Kirsch et al

The publication of this meta-analysis1 received a vast amount of coverage in the UK. This is despite the “bottom line” that the review does not report any novel findings—antidepressants work and their effectiveness increases with baseline severity of depression. This was not the picture painted in the media. Rather the conclusions drawn by the authors took an extreme viewpoint and the review’s publication was sensationalised both by the journal editor and the media. It is difficult to fully understand the reasons for this. Antidepressants have had a bad press in recent years over a number of issues (for example, discontinuation/withdrawal and suicidality) and the authors’ conclusions were in a similar “anti-antidepressant” vein—that they don’t work. This is not the first time that Irvine Kirsch, Professor of Psychology at the University of Hull has caused a storm about antidepressants. A previous paper in the BMJ 2 argued that antidepressants have little or no clinically significant effects. This was a similar conclusion to that of the current paper although drawn for different reasons. To understand how the findings have been sensationalised, and I believe misinterpreted, it is important to separate out the findings in the meta-analysis from the conclusions drawn by the authors. The meta-analysis described in this paper has been robustly carried out using standard methodology. Any meta-analysis of published data runs the risk of suffering from publication bias (studies with positive findings being more likely to be submitted by authors and accepted by editors for publication). In an attempt to avoid this bias, Kirsch and colleagues obtained all trial data submitted to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for six newer antidepressants—fluoxetine, venlafaxine, nefazadone, paroxetine, sertraline and citalopram. The FDA has a requirement that all controlled studies of a particular drug relating to a particular indication have …
Effect of Surfaces on Amyloid Fibril Formation

Using atomic force microscopy (AFM) we investigated the interaction of amyloid beta (Aβ) (1–42) peptide with chemically modified surfaces in order to better understand the mechanism of amyloid toxicity, which involves interaction of amyloid with cell membrane surfaces. We compared the structure and density of Aβ fibrils on positively and negatively charged as well as hydrophobic chemically-modified surfaces at physiologically relevant conditions. We report that due to the complex distribution of charge and hydrophobicity amyloid oligomers bind to all types of surfaces investigated (CH3, COOH, and NH2) although the charge and hydrophobicity of surfaces affected the structure and size of amyloid deposits as well as surface coverage. Hydrophobic surfaces promote formation of spherical amorphous clusters, while charged surfaces promote protofibril formation. We used the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation (PBE) approach to analyze the electrostatic interactions of amyloid monomers and oligomers with modified surfaces to complement our AFM data.
The Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor MGCD0103 Induces Apoptosis in B-Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells through a Mitochondria-Mediated Caspase Activation Cascade

Clinical trials have shown activity of the isotype-selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor MGCD0103 in different hematologic malignancies. There are data to support the use of HDAC inhibitors in association with other cancer therapies. To propose a rational combination therapy, it is necessary to depict the molecular basis behind the cytotoxic effect of MGCD0103. In this study, we found that MGCD0103 was substantially more toxic in neoplastic B cells relative to normal cells, and we described the death pathways activated by MGCD0103 in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells from 32 patients. MGCD0103 decreased the expression of Mcl-1 and induced translocation of Bax to the mitochondria, mitochondrial depolarization, and release of cytochrome c in the cytosol. Caspase processing in the presence of the caspase inhibitor Q-VD-OPh and time course experiments showed that caspase-9 was the apical caspase. Thus, MGCD0103 induced the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis in CLL cells. Moreover, MGCD0103 treatment resulted in the activation of a caspase cascade downstream of caspase-9, caspase-dependent amplification of mitochondrial depolarization, activation of calpain, and Bax cleavage. We propose a model whereby the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis triggered by MGCD0103 in CLL is associated with a mitochondrial death amplification loop. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(5); 1349–60. ©2010 AACR.
Predicting Tooth Surface Loss Using Genetic Algorithms-Optimized Artificial Neural Networks

Our aim was to predict tooth surface loss in individuals without the need to conduct clinical examinations. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to construct a mathematical model. Input data consisted of age, smoker status, type of tooth brush, brushing, and consumption of pickled food, fizzy drinks, orange, apple, lemon, and dried seeds. Output data were the sum of tooth surface loss scores for selected teeth. The optimized constructed ANN consisted of 2-layer network with 15 neurons in the first layer and one neuron in the second layer. The data of 46 subjects were used to build the model, while the data of 15 subjects were used to test the model. Accepting an error of ±5 scores for all chosen teeth, the accuracy of the network becomes more than 80%. In conclusion, this study shows that modeling tooth surface loss using ANNs is possible and can be achieved with a high degree of accuracy.
A multidimensional Rasch analysis of gender differences in PISA mathematics.

Since the 1970s, much attention has been devoted to the male advantage in standardized mathematics tests in the United States. Although girls are found to perform equally well as boys in math classes, they are consistently outperformed on standardized math tests. This study compared the males and females in the United States, all 15-year-olds, by their performance on the PISA 2003 mathematics assessment. A multidimensional Rasch model was used for item calibration and ability estimation on the basis of four math domains: Space and Shape, Change and Relationships, Quantity, and Uncertainty. Results showed that the effect sizes of performance differences are small, all below . 20, but consistent, in favor of boys. Space and Shape displayed the largest gender gap, which supports the findings from many previous studies. Quantity showed the least amount of gender difference, which may be explained by the hypothesis that girls perform better on tasks that they are familiar with through classroom practice.
Mannheimia haemolytica Leukotoxin Induces Apoptosis of Bovine Lymphoblastoid Cells (BL-3) via a Caspase-9-Dependent Mitochondrial Pathway

ABSTRACT Mannheimia haemolytica is a key pathogen in the bovine respiratory disease complex. It produces a leukotoxin (LKT) that is an important virulence factor, causing cell death in bovine leukocytes. The LKT binds to the β2 integrin CD11a/CD18, which usually activates signaling pathways that facilitate cell survival. In this study, we investigated mechanisms by which LKT induces death in bovine lymphoblastoid cells (BL-3). Incubation of BL-3 cells with a low concentration of LKT results in the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9 but not caspase-8. Similarly, the proapoptotic proteins Bax and BAD were significantly elevated, while the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2, BclXL and Akt-1 were downregulated. Following exposure to LKT, we also observed a reduction in mitochondrial cytochrome c and corresponding elevation of cytosolic cytochrome c, suggesting translocation from the mitochondrial compartment to the cytosol. Consistent with this observation, tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester perchlorate staining revealed that mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly reduced. These data suggest that LKT induces apoptosis of BL-3 cells via a caspase-9-dependent mitochondrial pathway. Furthermore, scanning electron micrographs of mitochondria from LKT-treated BL-3 cells revealed lesions in the outer mitochondrial membrane, which are larger than previous reports of the permeability transition pore through which cytochrome c is usually released.
ADAPTIVE NONPARAMETRIC REGRESSION ESTIMATION IN PRESENCE OF RIGHT CENSORING.

In this paper, we consider the problem of estimating a regression function when the outcome is censored. Two strategies of estimation are proposed: a two-step strategy where the ratio of two projection estimators is used to estimate the regression function; a direct strategy based on a standard mean-square contrast for censored data. For both estimators, non-asymptotic bounds for the integrated mean-square risk are provided and data-driven model selection is performed. In most cases, asymptotically optimal minimax rates of convergence are obtained, when the regression function belongs to a class of Besov functions.
Hemispheric Lateralization Effects of Rhythm Implementation during Syllable Repetitions: An fMRI Study

Rhythm in terms of the modulation of syllable durations represents an information-bearing feature of verbal utterances contributing both to the meaning of a sentence (linguistic prosody) as well as a speaker's emotional expression (affective prosody). In order to delineate the neural structures subserving rhythmic shaping of speech production, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed during (a) isochronous syllable repetitions and (b) production of syllable triplets with lengthening either of the initial or final unit. A cognitive subtraction approach (rhythmic versus isochronous iterations) revealed activation of right-sided perisylvian areas (superior temporal gyrus, Broca analogue and adjacent premotor cortex) as well as contralateral subcortical structures (putamen and thalamus). Presumably, these responses reflect a right-hemisphere rehearsal mechanism of rhythmic patterns and left-hemisphere monitoring of verbal output.
Functional Synaptic Projections onto Subplate Neurons in Neonatal Rat Somatosensory Cortex

Subplate neurons (SPn) play an important role in the formation of thalamocortical connections during early development and show glutamatergic and GABAergic spontaneous synaptic activity. We characterized these synaptic inputs by performing whole-cell recordings from SPn in somatosensory cortical slices of postnatal day 0–3 rats. At –70 mV, electrical stimulation of the thalamocortical afferents elicited in 68% of the SPn a monosynaptic CNQX-sensitive postsynaptic current (PSC). These fast PSCs were mediated by AMPA receptors, because they were prolonged by cyclothiazide and blocked by GYKI 52466. On membrane depolarization, thalamocortical stimulation elicited in 50% of the cells an additional slow monosynaptic component mediated by NMDA receptors. Stimulation of the cortical plate evoked in 72% of SPn a monosynaptic AMPA receptor-mediated PSC with an additional NMDA component at depolarized membrane potentials and in 40% of the investigated cells polysynaptic responses, depending on GABAA and NMDA receptors. Stimulation of the subplate elicited in 67% of SPn a monosynaptic dual-component PSC mediated by AMPA and NMDA receptors activated at –70 mV and in 12% of SPn a monosynaptic single-component PSC mediated by AMPA receptors with an additional NMDA component activated at depolarized membrane potentials. A monosynaptic GABAergic response could be observed in 68% of SPn after stimulation of the subplate. In gramicidin-perforated patch recordings, bath application of GABA caused membrane depolarization to –40 mV and elicited action potentials. These results demonstrate that SPn receive distinct functional synaptic inputs arising from the thalamus, cortical plate, and subplate, indicating that SPn are capable of integrating and processing information from cortical and subcortical regions.
Physical and Degradable Properties of Mulching Films Prepared from Natural Fibers and Biodegradable Polymers

The use of plastic film in agriculture has the serious drawback of producing vast quantities of waste. In this work, films were prepared from natural fibers and biodegradable polymers as potential substitutes for the conventional non-biodegradable plastic film used as mulching material in agricultural production. The physical properties (e.g., mechanical properties, heat preservation, water permeability, and photopermeability) and degradation characteristics (evaluated by micro-organic culture testing and soil burial testing) of the films were studied in both laboratory and field tests. The experimental results indicated that these fiber/polymer films exhibited favorable physical properties that were sufficient for use in mulching film applications. Moreover, the degradation degree of the three tested films decreased in the following order: fiber/starch (ST) film > fiber/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) film > fiber/polyacrylate (PA) film. The fiber/starch and fiber/PVA films were made from completely biodegradable materials and demonstrated the potential to substitute non-biodegradable films.