Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Undergraduate Students\u2019 Academic Achievement, Field Dependent/Independent Cognitive Styles and Attitude toward Computers

This paper reports an investigation of cognitive styles, achievement scores and attitudes toward computers among university students. Field dependence/field independence is a dimension of cognitive style that has been researched with various student groups as well as with attitudes. Nevertheless, there appears to be a dearth of published research in this area relevant to teacher trainees in an international setting. In this study, the standardised Group Embedded Figures Test was used to assess field dependency among 130 teacher trainees. Overall, it was found that there was no significant relationship between cognitive styles and academic achievement (r= .14, p= .15); cognitive styles and attitudes toward computers (r = .01, p= .84); and, cognitive styles and attitudes toward computers when their academic achievement scores were covariated (F(2,126) = . 40, p > . 05). The findings indicate that students’ attitudes toward computers are not associated with field dependency, even when their achievement levels were controlled. Attitude toward computers is found to function independently from cognitive styles.
Cancer Management and Research Dovepress Abiraterone in the Treatment of Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer

Androgen deprivation therapy remains the single most effective treatment for the initial therapy of advanced prostate cancer, but is uniformly marked by progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Residual tumor androgens and androgen axis activation are now recognized to play a prominent role in mediating CRPC progression. Despite suppression of circulating testosterone to castrate levels, castration does not eliminate androgens from the prostate tumor microenvironment and residual androgen levels are well within the range capable of activating the androgen receptor (AR) and AR-mediated gene expression. Accordingly, therapeutic strategies that more effectively target production of intratumoral androgens are necessary. The introduction of abiraterone, a potent suppressor of cytochrome P450 17 α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-mediated androgen production, has heralded a new era in the hormonal treatment of men with metastatic CRPC. Herein, the androgen and AR-mediated mechanisms that contribute to CRPC progression and establish cytochrome P450 17 α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase as a critical therapeutic target are briefly reviewed. The mechanism of action and pharmacokinetics of abiraterone are reviewed and its recently described activity against AR and 3-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase is discussed. The Phase I and II data initially demonstrating the efficacy of abiraterone and Phase III data supporting its approval for patients with metastatic CRPC are reviewed. The safety and tolerability of abiraterone, including the incidence and management of side effects and potential drug interactions, are discussed. The current place of abiraterone in CRPC therapy is reviewed and early evidence regarding cross-resistance of abiraterone with taxane therapy, mechanisms of resistance to abiraterone, and observations of an abiraterone withdrawal response are presented. Future directions in the use of abiraterone, including optimal dosing strategies, the role of abiraterone in earlier disease settings, including castration sensitive, biochemically recurrent, or localized disease, and the rationale for combinatorial treatment strategies of abiraterone with enzalutamide and other targeted agents are also discussed.
Logic Regression

Logic regression is an adaptive regression methodology that attempts to construct predictors as Boolean combinations of binary covariates. In many regression problems a model is developed that relates the main effects (the predictors or transformations thereof) to the response, while interactions are usually kept simple (two- to three-way interactions at most). Often, especially when all predictors are binary, the interaction between many predictors may be what causes the differences in response. This issue arises, for example, in the analysis of SNP microarray data or in some data mining problems. In the proposed methodology, given a set of binary predictors we create new predictors such as “X1, X2, X3, and X4 are true,” or “X5 or X6 but not X7 are true. ” In more specific terms: we try to fit regression models of the form g(E[Y]) = b0 + b1 L1 + · · · + bn Ln , where Lj is any Boolean expression of the predictors. The Lj and bj are estimated simultaneously using a simulated annealing algorithm. This article discusses how to fit logic regression models, how to carry out model selection for these models, and gives some examples.
Hilfeverhalten und Zivilcourage: Ein Vergleich von antizipiertem und realem Verhalten

So far, there have been few experimental studies concerning the similarities and differences of helping behavior and civil courage. In contrast to research on helping behavior, there is little evidence about the determinants and underlying mechanisms of civil courage. I conducted three studies comparing anticipated and real behavior in a help-requiring situation and a norm-violating situation (i.e. a civil courage requiring situation). Participants observed either a confederate committing a theft (Experiment 1), a confederate showing selfish behavior thereby doing harm to other students (Experiment 2) or an experimenter who was giving an unethical instruction (Experiment 3). In the corresponding helping-situations, participants could help a confederate (Experiment 1 & 2) or an experimenter (Experiment 3) by taking an unpleasant pill. Pre-tests assured that costs for intervention were equal in the helping and the norm violating situations. While half of the participants experienced the situation for real, the other half read vignettes and was asked to describe their assumed feelings and reactions. Results reveal that participants who experienced the situation for real very rarely showed civil courage (in contrast to helping behavior), even though anticipated intervention rates, as measured in the vignette condition, were largely equal in both situations. These findings support a theoretical distinction between helping behavior and civil courage. Hence, determinants and moderators of civil courage can only be clarified and used for intervention programs if there is more evidence about differences between helping behavior and civil courage. Further theoretical implications for the conceptualization of civil courage will be discussed.
The Frequency of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease in Alopecia Areata and Vitiligo Patients

Aim. Many studies demonstrated that alopecia areata (AA) and vitiligo are commonly associated with autoimmune thyroid diseases. We aimed to investigate the frequency of thyroid dysfunctions and autoimmunity related with vitiligo and AA. Material and Methods. 200 patients, 92 AA and 108 vitiligo diagnosed, were surveyed retrospectively. The control population was in reference range and from Konya, central Anatolian region of Turkey. Thyroid function tests (free T3, free T4, and TSH) and serum thyroid autoantibody (anti-TG, anti-TPO) levels were evaluated in all patients. Results. In vitiligo patients, 9 (8.3%) had elevated anti-TG levels and 16 (14.8%) had elevated anti-TPO, and in 17 patients (15.7%) TSH levels were elevated and 3 (2.8%) patients had elevated fT4 levels and 5 (4.6%) had elevated fT3 levels. Within AA patients, 2 (2.2%) had anti-TG elevation and 13 (14.1%) had anti-TPO elevation, in 7 patients (7.6%) TSH were elevated, and in 1 patient (1.1%) fT4 were elevated and 5 (5.4%) patients had elevated fT3 levels. Conclusion. In our study, impaired thyroid functions and thyroid autoantibodies in vitiligo and AA patients were identified at lower rates than the previous studies. According to results of this study there is no need for detailed examination in alopecia areata and vitiligo patients without clinical history.
Poor Quality of Instruction Leads to Poor Motor Performance Regardless of Internal or External Focus of Attention

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(2): 214-222, 2016. The view that external focus of attention provides beneficial performance outcomes when compared to an internal focus of attention has been consistently supported in the movement performance literature. While type of focus has been well investigated, the current study examined the influence of quality of instruction as a variation of the type of focus. Specifically, the purpose of the study investigated how performance-enhancing instructions would differ from performance-neutral instructions on an agility performance. An agility L-run was used to measure performance in the four counterbalanced conditions: Internal-Performance Neutral (INT-PN), Internal-Performance Enhancing (INT-PE), External-Performance Neutral (EXT-PN) and External-Performance Enhancing (EXT-PE). These conditions were designed to provide insight into the influence of quality of instruction on performance. The mean times for both EXT-PN (6.76 s) and INT-PN (6.86 s) conditions were significantly slower than the EXT-PE (6.59 s) and INT-PE (6.65 s) conditions, respectively. Additionally, no differences were observed between the EXT-PE and INT-PE conditions. These results demonstrate the negative impact that poor quality of instruction can have on performance.
What happened? GPs’ perceptions of consultation outcomes and a comparison with the experiences of their patients

Abstract Objective: To investigate GPs’ perceptions of consultation outcomes and to investigate the associations between these and outcomes perceived by the patients. Design: 25 GPs and 10 patients for each GP filled in a questionnaire about the outcome of the same consultation. The questions in the questionnaires were formulated from concepts found in preceding qualitative studies. Their answers were analysed and compared. Setting: GPs and patients from 16 group practices in Norrbotten, Sweden. Results: The GPs had the apprehension that their consultations would lead to cure/symptom relief in half of their consultations. They believed that their patients were satisfied up to 90% and that up to 75% had been reassured, understood more or could cope better. The GPs were satisfied themselves with up to 95% of the consultations, they enhanced their relationship to their patient up to 70%. Their affirmative concordance with their patients was high regarding satisfaction, intermediate regarding patient reassurance and patient understanding and lowest regarding cure/symptom relief. Conclusion: The GPs’ were lacking in their ability to assess the patients’ increased understanding and the concordance between their own and the patients’ expectation of cure/symptom relief was low.
Application of argument based machine learning to law

In this paper we discuss the application of a new machine learning approach - argumentation based machine learning - to the legal domain. Argumentation based machine learning is particularly suited to law as it makes use of the justifications of decisions to guide its learning. Importantly, where a large number of decided cases are available, it provides a way of identifying which need to be considered, so that only decisions which will have an influence are examined.
Dielectric Properties of Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes / Polystyrene Composites

Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs)/Polystyrene (PS) composites were prepared by solution casting method. The effects weight percentage of carbon nanotubes on dielectric properties of the composites studied using (LCR)meter as a function of frequency over the range (50Hz-5MHz) at room temperature were studied. The experimental results showedthat dielectric constant, dissipation factor and dielectric loss of composites increased with increasing the weight percentage of carbon nanotubes and decreases with increase in
HIV Prevalence and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Results From a Statewide Population-Based Survey in California

Objectives:To investigate HIV prevalence, sexual risk behaviors, and HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) between 18 and 64 years old living in California. Design:Cross-sectional study of a statewide population-based sample of MSM. Methods:Using data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), 398 men who self-identified as gay or bisexual were recontacted and interviewed by telephone for a follow-up study in 2002. Study participants were interviewed regarding their demographic characteristics and sexual behavior, HIV testing history, and HIV infection status. Those who self-reported as HIV-negative or of unknown status were offered an HIV test using a home urine specimen collection kit. Results:HIV prevalence among MSM in California was 19.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.8% to 25.3%) with higher rates seen among the following subgroups: high school or less education (40.4%), annual income less than $20,000 (35.0%), or history of ever injecting recreational drugs (40.3%). Young age and Hispanic or African-American race/ethnicity were associated with higher proportions of risky sexual behavior and lower HIV testing rates. Conclusions:HIV prevalence among MSM living in California continues to be high across the whole state, and population-based studies are needed periodically to complement findings from surveys using other sampling designs.
Coordinated multi-arm motion planning: Reaching for moving objects in the face of uncertainty

Coordinated control strategies for multi-robot systems are necessary for tasks that cannot be executed by a single robot. This encompasses tasks where the workspace of the robot is too small or where the load is too heavy for one robot to handle. Using multiple robots makes the task feasible by extending the workspace and/or increase the payload of the overall robotic system. In this paper, we consider two instances of such task: a co-worker scenario in which a human hands over a large object to a robot; intercepting a large flying object. The problem is made difficult as the pick-up/intercept motions must take place while the object is in motion and because the object's motion is not deterministic. The challenge is then to adapt the motion of the robotic arms in coordination with one another and with the object. Determining the pick-up/intercept point is done by taking into account the workspace of the multi-arm system and is continuously recomputed to adapt to change in the object's trajectory. We propose a dynamical systems (DS) based control law to generate autonomous and synchronized motions for a multi-arm robot system in the task of reaching for a moving object. We show theoretically that the resulting DS coordinates the motion of the robots with each other and with the object, while the system remains stable. We validate our approach on a dual-arm robotic system and demonstrate that it can re-synchronize and adapt the motion of each arm in synchrony in a fraction of seconds, even when the motion of the object is fast and not accurately predictable.
Information Hiding in RGB Images Using an Improved Matrix Pattern Approach

In this paper, a novel steganography algorithm based on an improved "Matrix Pattern" (MP) method is presented. In this process, firstly, an RGB image is divided into the non-overlapping square-sized blocks. Next, 95 dynamicsized unique matrix patterns are automatically generated using the 4th and 5th bit layers of the green layer of each block, which are assigned to 95 English keyboard characters. Then, the blue layer of each block is used for embedding secret messages by adding matrix patterns which are assigned to the characters of the secret message. The results show that this algorithm has a high resistance against steganalysis attacks, including Regular Singular (RS), Sample Pair (SP), and PVD based attacks. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm not only improves capacity by over 27% when compared to the existing method, but also results in a slightly better transparency of the stego-image.
Relationship between Human Resource Practices and Teachers Work Engagement

The main objective of this study is to identify the relationship between Human Resource practices(communication and information sharing, training and development, performance appraisal, promotion and physical working condition) and work engagement, and to examine if demographic (age, marital status, educational level, length of service, job position and job grade) influence work engagement. To attain the objectives, the quantitative method was used and data were collected through questionnaires. A total of 316 questionnaires were distributed to 19 secondary school teachers in Perlis. All the 316 questionnaires were received and used for further analysis. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, regression analysis and frequency test. The findings exhibited that, there were relationship between Human Resource practices with work engagement. However, only four dimensions of HR practices correlated with work engagement namely communication and information sharing, Performance appraisal, training and development and promotion. Through the ANOVA test, the finding revealed that only four demographic variables have significant relationships with work engagement, which were length of service, age, marital status and job position. Lastly, the regression analysis between HRM practices and work engagement indicated that only 25.2% of total variance of work engagement was explained by HRM practices. In conclusion, HR practices and demographics variables were related to work engagement. This disclosed that, in developing teacher's engagement, administrator needs to involve HR practices in order to immerse the feelings of vigor, absorption and dedication among teachers.
Gender Differences in 1-Year Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes after Stroke: Results from the China National Stroke Registry

Background Previous reports have shown inconsistent results on clinical outcomes between women and men after stroke, and little is known about gender differences on outcomes in Chinese post-stroke patients. The aim of this study was to explore whether there were gender differences on clinical characteristics and outcomes in Chinese patients after ischemic stroke by using the data from the China National Stroke Registry (CNSR). Methods and Findings Out of 12,415 consecutively recruited patients with acute ischemic stroke in the CNSR from 2007 to 2008, 11,560 (93.1%) patients were followed up for 12 months. Their clinical characteristics and outcomes on death, recurrence, and dependency were recorded. The multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine whether there were gender differences in these outcomes. Women were older than men at baseline (67.9 vs. 64.0 years, P<0.001). Women had a higher mortality, recurrence rate, and dependency rate at 3, 6, and 12 months than men, but after adjusting for age, history of diabetes, pre-stroke dependency, stroke severity, in-hospital complications, and other confounders, there were no statistically significant differences in gender on mortality and recurrence rate at 3, 6, and 12 months; and dependency rate at 3, and 6 months. However, the dependency rate at 12 months remained significantly higher in women (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 1.45). Conclusions There are many differences in clinical characteristics between women and men after ischemic stroke in China. Compared with men, women are more dependent at 12 months after stroke. This difference still exists after controlling the potential confounders.
THE EFFECT OF CHOLESTEROL ON THE OSTEOBLAST RESPONSIVENESS TO HYDRODYNAMIC PRESSURE STIMULATION

OF THESIS THE EFFECT OF CHOLESTEROL ON THE OSTEOBLAST RESPONSIVENESS TO HYDRODYNAMIC PRESSURE STIMULATION Hypercholesterolemia is a risk factor for osteoporosis but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Previous evidence suggests that osteoporosis results from an impaired regulation of osteoblasts by fluid pressure fluctuations in the bone matrix. Recently, our laboratory showed that enhanced cholesterol in the cell membrane, due to hypercholesterolemia, alters leukocyte mechanosensitivity. We predict a similar link between osteoblasts and hypercholesterolemia leading to osteoporosis. Specifically, we hypothesize that extracellular cholesterol modifies the osteoblast sensitivity to pressure. MC3T3-E1 cells were exposed to hydrodynamic pressures regimes (mean=40mmHg, amplitude=0-20mmHg, frequency=1Hz) for 1-12 hours. To assess the impact of membrane cholesterol enrichment, cells were pre-treated with 0-50 μg/mL cyclodextran:cholesterol conjugates. We assessed the pressure effects on mitosis and Factin stress fiber formation (SFF) of cells. Exposure of cells to 50/30 mmHg pressure transiently increased the number of cells in the Sand G2M-phases of mitosis after 6 and 12 hours, respectively. Relative to controls, osteoblast-like cells exposed to all pressures exhibited significantly (p<0.05) enhanced SFF. The degree of SFF depended on the pressure amplitude and concentration of cyclodextran:cholesterol conjugates. Thus, enhanced membrane cholesterol alters the pressure sensitivity of osteoblasts. These data have implications as it relates to the negative impacts of hypercholesterolemia on bone physiology.
THE IMPACT OF CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK-BASED JOURNAL WRITING ON TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT

Providing feedback has been considered to greatly improve language learners’ overall competence in a wide variety of contexts. However, one area that has been least studied is providing feedback to language teachers and investigating the probable positive contributions to improving their professional prospects. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the impact of constructive feedback-based journal writing on teachers’ professional identity development. To this end, twenty-two EFL teachers participated in this study. A standard questionnaire was administered as both the pretest and posttest after the treatment. The analysis of the collected data was carried out through one paired-samples t-test. The results indicated that in spite of revealing slight improvement for the posttest over the pretest, constructive feedback-based journal writing did not significantly developed teachers’ professional identity. Although, the reported results were not statistically significant, more investigation is merited to further shed light on the implications of this less-searched sphere of language teaching.
Synchronization at startup and stable rotation reversal of sensorless nonsalient PMSM drives

In this paper, a variant of the well-known "voltage model" is applied to rotor position estimation for sensorless control of nonsalient permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). Particular focus is on a low-speed operation. It is shown that a guaranteed synchronization from any initial rotor position and stable reversal of rotation can be accomplished, in both cases under load. Stable rotation reversal is accomplished by making the estimator insensitive to the stator resistance. It is also shown that the closed-loop speed dynamics are similar to those of a sensored drive for speeds above approximately 0.1 per unit, provided that the model stator inductance is underestimated. Experimental results support the theory.
Formation of cosmological brane defects

We study cosmological formation of D-term strings, axionic strings, domain walls and Q-balls in braneworld models of the Hanany-Witten type. For the D-term strings, we show that the strings are the daughter branes extended between mother branes. We show that the domain walls can be produced by conventional cosmological phase transitions. In this case, the formation of the domain walls is induced by the continuous deformation of the branes, which means that they are not created as daughter branes. First we consider classical configurations of the axionic strings and the domain walls, then we investigate the quantum effect of the brane dynamics. We also study brane Q-balls and show how they can be distinguished from conventional Q-balls.