Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using interactive whiteboards in pre-service teacher education: Examples from two Australian universities

Research indicates that when interactive whiteboards are used well they can increase student engagement and learning (Glover, Miller, Averis & Door, 2007; Schuck & Kearney, 2007, 2008). This means it is important to educate future teachers in how to use interactive whiteboards and how to incorporate them successfully into their teaching. Current research indicates that a teacher’s pedagogy or ‘how they teach’ has a major influence on the quality of student learning outcomes. Thus ‘how teachers use ICT’ has a great effect on student outcomes. A range of pedagogical models concerned with the concept of authentic pedagogies are commonly used within Australian classrooms. Training designed for pre-service teachers dealing with the pedagogical application of interactive whiteboards is designed to guide and assess the implementation according to these pre-existing and widespread pedagogical models. This paper examines examples of how IWBs can be used in teacher education as well as how to integrate their use across courses that pre-service teachers undertake.
Doctoral education in Europe and North America: a comparative analysis

In recent years doctoral education and training has become part of the focus and scrutiny of policy formation. Currently, a number of reform initiatives are being undertaken to improve the teaching of doctoral students. In Europe, both the Bologna Declaration of 1999 [1] (the aim of which was to create a European Higher Education Area) and the Lisbon Strategy of 2000 (formulated to create a European Research and Innovation Area) have certainly had an impact on the perspective and conceptualization of doctoral education and training. Although doctoral training has been integrated as the third phase of higher education in the framework of the Bologna Declaration (an intergovernmental initiative so far signed by 45 European countries), the presidential conclusions of the EU (European Union) Lisbon Summit stated that more and better trained researchers were needed in order to make Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge‐based economy in the world. Doctoral education and training is seen as the link between the two goals, which are to create a European Higher Education Area and a European Research and Innovation Area in order to make European higher education more attractive and competitive in a globalizing world. It is not only Europe that is thinking about strategies to become more competitive. In North America similar changes to policy contexts can be identified. National and international forces and developments have triggered extensive criticism and a major re‐thinking of doctoral education over the last 15 years [2]. In his analysis of doctoral education in Canada, Garth Williams [3] stated that “globalization has altered both the context and substance of university education, advanced research and doctoral training”, with ‘globalization’ being characterized by a number of factors such as; the new economy, the growth of multinational corporations, greater international movement, a revolution in communication technology, increased production and more intense economic competition worldwide (see p. 15 in [3]). It has become clear, through these roughly sketched developments, that doctoral education and training is no longer exclusively regarded as the disinterested pursuit of knowledge, but that the generation of new knowledge has become both an important strategic resource and a factor in a countrys economy. Thus policy makers have begun to scrutinize doctoral education and training, and as a result universities have been requested to develop institutional strategies to improve it, rather than leaving it in the hands of individual professors or departments.
Physical Activity and Prostate Tumor Vessel Morphology: Data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study

Vigorous activity is associated with lower risk of prostate cancer progression, but the biologic mechanisms are unknown. Exercise affects vascularization of tumors in animal models, and small, irregularly shaped vessels in prostate tumors are associated with fatal prostate cancer. We hypothesized that men who engaged in vigorous activity or brisk walking would have larger, more regularly shaped vessels in their prostate tumors. We prospectively examined whether physical activity was associated with prostate tumor microvessel morphology among 571 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study using ordinal logistic regression. Vessel size (μm2), vessel lumen regularity (perimeter2/4 · Π · area), and microvessel density (number/high-powered field) were ascertained in tumor sections stained for endothelial cell marker CD34. Vigorous activity [metabolic equivalent task (MET) ≥ 6], nonvigorous activity (MET < 6), and walking pace were assessed a median of 14 months before diagnosis. Prostate tumors from men who reported a brisk walking pace (3+ mph) had larger, more regularly shaped blood vessels compared with those of men who walked at a less than brisk pace [vessel regularity OR, 1.59; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11–2.27; P value, 0.01; vessel size OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.04–2.12; P value, 0.03]. Brisk walking was not associated with microvessel density; total vigorous and nonvigorous activities were not associated with vessel size, shape, or number. Brisk walking may be associated with larger, more regularly shaped vessels in prostate tumors. Additional research elucidating the effect of physical activity on prostate tumor biology is needed. Cancer Prev Res; 8(10); 962–7. ©2015 AACR.
Trigeminal Airstream Stimulation: Maturation-Related Cardiac and Respiratory Responses during REM Sleep in Human Infants

Thirty-three premature and full-term infants (PCA, 31.5 to 50 weeks) who were free from neurologic and cardiopulmonary disease at the time of testing underwent a standardized TAS test during polygraphically controlled REM sleep. The R-R interval and the Ttot were measured before and during TAS. The R-R interval and Ttot changes during TAS were compared to the preceding 60-second mean R-R interval and Ttot in each infant and expressed as a percentage of mean control values ( ie , % RR and % Ttot). During TAS, there was a significant negative correlation between cardiac and respiratory responses and postconceptional age (p
A production planning methodology for semiconductor manufacturing based on iterative simulation and linear programming calculations

We introduce a methodology for automated production planning of semiconductor manufacturing based on iterative linear programming (LP) optimization and discrete-event simulation calculations. The LP formulation incorporates epoch dependent parameters for flow times from lot release up to each operation on each manufacturing route. LP-derived release schedules are used as input to the simulation model, from which statistics on flow times are collected and used to reformulate the LP model for a revised planning calculation. Iteration continues until satisfactory agreement between simulation and LP models is obtained. We demonstrate in experiments on an industry data set that a relatively small number of iterations is required to develop a production plan correctly characterizing future flow times as a function of factory load and product mix. The methodology makes possible automated production planning of semiconductor manufacturing on an engineering work station.
A Dimensional Split Preconditioner for the Stokes and Navier-Stokes Equations

In this paper we introduce a new preconditioner for linear systems of saddle point type arising from the numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes equations. Our approach is based on a dimensional splitting of the problem along the components of the velocity field, resulting in a convergent fixed-point iteration. The basic iteration is accelerated by a Krylov subspace method like restarted GMRES. The corresponding preconditioner requires at each iteration the solution of a set of discrete scalar elliptic equations, one for each component of the velocity field. Numerical experiments showing mesh-independent convergence on a standard finite element discretization of the Stokes and Oseen problems are included.
Association between parent and child distress and the moderating effects of life events in families with and without a history of pediatric cancer.

OBJECTIVE Examined the associations between parental and child distress, and moderating effects of child exposure to life events, in families with and without a history of pediatric cancer. METHODS Children with cancer and their parents (N = 255) and healthy comparison dyads (N = 142) completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Children reported on the total number of stressful life events they had experienced. Correlations between parental and child symptoms were examined. Moderating effects of child exposure to life events were tested using multiple regression. RESULTS Parent and child symptoms were significantly related only in the cancer group. Child exposure to life events attenuated this relationship. Moderation effects were significant at or below average levels of life stress. CONCLUSIONS The experience of childhood cancer may strengthen the link between parent and child psychological functioning. However, child exposure to other life events may weaken this link.
IFN-γ Stimulates Autophagy-Mediated Clearance of Burkholderia cenocepacia in Human Cystic Fibrosis Macrophages

Burkholderia cenocepacia is a virulent pathogen that causes significant morbidity and mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), survives intracellularly in macrophages, and uniquely causes systemic infections in CF. Autophagy is a physiologic process that involves engulfing non-functional organelles and proteins and delivering them for lysosomal degradation, but also plays a role in eliminating intracellular pathogens, including B. cenocepacia. Autophagy is defective in CF but can be stimulated in murine CF models leading to increased clearance of B. cenocepacia, but little is known about autophagy stimulation in human CF macrophages. IFN-γ activates macrophages and increases antigen presentation while also inducing autophagy in macrophages. We therefore, hypothesized that treatment with IFN-γ would increase autophagy and macrophage activation in patients with CF. Peripheral blood monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs) were obtained from CF and non-CF donors and subsequently infected with B. cenocepacia. Basal serum levels of IFN-γ were similar between CF and non-CF patients, however after B. cenocepacia infection there is deficient IFN-γ production in CF MDMs. IFN-γ treated CF MDMs demonstrate increased co-localization with the autophagy molecule p62, increased autophagosome formation, and increased trafficking to lysosomes compared to untreated CF MDMs. Electron microscopy confirmed IFN-γ promotes double membrane vacuole formation around bacteria in CF MDMs, while only single membrane vacuoles form in untreated CF cells. Bacterial burden is significantly reduced in autophagy stimulated CF MDMs, comparable to non-CF levels. IL-1β production is decreased in CF MDMs after IFN-γ treatment. Together, these results demonstrate that IFN-γ promotes autophagy-mediated clearance of B. cenocepacia in human CF macrophages.
Semistability at the end of a group extension

A 1-ended CW-complex, Q, is semistable at oo if all proper maps r: [ 0, oo) Q are properly homotopic. If XI and X2 are finite CW-complexes with isomorphic fundamental groups, then the universal cover of XI is semistable at oo if and only if the universal cover of X2 is semistable at oo. Hence, the notion of a finitely presented group being semistable at oo is well defined. We prove MAIN THEOREM. Let 1 H G K 1 be a short exact sequence of finitely generated infinite groups. If G is finitely presented, then G is semistable at cc. THEOREM. If A and B are locally compact, connected noncompact CW-complexes, then A X B is semistable at oo. THEOREM. (X, y: XY XI = y C; b and c nonzero integers) is semistable at oo. The proofs are geometrical in nature and the main tool is covering space theory.
Synergistic Degradation of Linuron by a Bacterial Consortium and Isolation of a Single Linuron-Degrading Variovorax Strain

ABSTRACT The bacterial community composition of a linuron-degrading enrichment culture and the role of the individual strains in linuron degradation have been determined by a combination of methods, such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the total 16S rRNA gene pool, isolation and identification of strains, and biodegradation assays. Three strains, Variovorax sp. strain WDL1, Delftia acidovorans WDL34, and Pseudomonas sp. strain WDL5, were isolated directly from the linuron-degrading culture. In addition, subculture of this enrichment culture on potential intermediates in the degradation pathway of linuron (i.e., N,O-dimethylhydroxylamine and 3-chloroaniline) resulted in the isolation of, respectively, Hyphomicrobium sulfonivorans WDL6 and Comamonas testosteroni WDL7. Of these five strains, only Variovorax sp. strain WDL1 was able to use linuron as the sole source of C, N, and energy. WDL1 first converted linuron to 3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA), which transiently accumulated in the medium but was subsequently degraded. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a strain that degrades linuron further than the aromatic intermediates. Interestingly, the rate of linuron degradation by strain WDL1 was lower than that for the consortium, but was clearly increased when WDL1 was coinoculated with each of the other four strains. D. acidovorans WDL34 and C. testosteroni WDL7 were found to be responsible for degradation of the intermediate 3,4-DCA, and H. sulfonivorans WDL6 was the only strain able to degrade N,O-dimethylhydroxylamine. The role of Pseudomonas sp. strain WDL5 needs to be further elucidated. The degradation of linuron can thus be performed by a single isolate, Variovorax sp. strain WDL1, but is stimulated by a synergistic interaction with the other strains isolated from the same linuron-degrading culture.
Ability or Finances as Constraints to Entrepreneurship? Evidence from Survival Rates in a Natural Experiment

We use a natural experiment in Denmark to test the hypothesis that aspiring entrepreneurs face financial constraints because of low entrepreneurial quality. We identify 304 constrained entrepreneurs who start a business after receiving windfall wealth and examine the performance of these marginal entrepreneurs. We find that constrained entrepreneurs have significantly lower survival rates and lower profits when compared with a matched sample of unconstrained entrepreneurs. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the marginal entrepreneur is of low quality. The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. , Oxford University Press.
Effects of N(2-propylpentanoyl)urea on hippocampal amino acid neurotransmitters in spontaneous recurrent seizure rats

Abstract Background: N(2-propylpentanoyl) urea (VPU) is a new valproic acid (VPA) analog with higher anticonvulsant activity than its parent compound in various animal models including seizure acutely induced by pilocarpine. Objective: Investigate its effects on hippocampal amino acid neurotransmitters in spontaneous recurrent seizure (SRS) rats. Methods: Pilocarpine hydrochloride was used to induce status epilepticus (SE). Animals were visually observed for two hours/day for an episode of SRS for six weeks. Microdialysis experiment was performed to detect hippocampal amino acid neurotransmitters on those rats that developed SRS. Results: In comparison to normal rats, hippocampal glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and glycine, significantly increased in SRS rats. Occurrence of SRS in the faces of increased level of inhibitory neurotransmitters suggests the key role played by glutamate in the genesis and control of SRS. Based on the observation in pilocarpine-induced SE, the level of glutamate in SRS rats significantly decreased by a clinically effective anticonvulsant, VPA (300 and 600 mg/kg, i.p). Similar profile on hippocampal glutamate was also exhibited by VPU (50 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.). Conclusion: The possible role of VPU in controlling seizure in SRS rats and subsequently human temporal lobe epilepsy as VPA was suggested.
Anomalous dynamical scaling and bifractality in the one-dimensional Anderson model

We investigate dynamical scaling properties of the one-dimensional tight-binding Anderson model with weak diagonal disorder, by means of the spreading of a wavepacket. In the absence of disorder, and more generally in the ballistic regime ( in reduced units, with being the localization length near the band centre), the wavefunction exhibits sharp fronts. These ballistic fronts yield an anomalous time dependence of the qth moment of the local probability density, or dynamical participation number of order q, with a non-trivial exponent for q>2. This striking feature is interpreted as bifractality. A heuristic treatment of the localized regime demonstrates a similar anomalous scaling, but with replacing time. The moments of the position of the particle are not affected by the fronts, and obey normal scaling. The crossover behaviour of all these quantities between the ballistic and the localized regime is described by scaling functions of one single variable x=t. These predictions are confirmed by accurate numerical data, both in the normal and in the anomalous case.
Geometric morphometrics: Ten years of progress following the ‘revolution’

Abstract The analysis of shape is a fundamental part of much biological research. As the field of statistics developed, so have the sophistication of the analysis of these types of data. This lead to multivariate morphometrics in which suites of measurements were analyzed together using canonical variates analysis, principal components analysis, and related methods. In the 1980s, a fundamental change began in the nature of the data gathered and analyzed. This change focused on the coordinates of landmarks and the geometric information about their relative positions. As a by‐product of such an approach, results of multivariate analyses could be visualized as configurations of landmarks back in the original space of the organism rather than only as statistical scatter plots. This new approach, called “geometric morphometrics”;, had benefits that lead Rohlf and Marcus (1993) to proclaim a “revolution”; in morphometrics. In this paper, we briefly update the discussion in that paper and summarize the advances in the ten years since the paper by Rohlf and Marcus. We also speculate on future directions in morphometric analysis.
Approaches to Peripheral Nerve Repair: Generations of Biomaterial Conduits Yielding to Replacing Autologous Nerve Grafts in Craniomaxillofacial Surgery

Peripheral nerve injury is a common clinical entity, which may arise due to traumatic, tumorous, or even iatrogenic injury in craniomaxillofacial surgery. Despite advances in biomaterials and techniques over the past several decades, reconstruction of nerve gaps remains a challenge. Autografts are the gold standard for nerve reconstruction. Using autografts, there is donor site morbidity, subsequent sensory deficit, and potential for neuroma development and infection. Moreover, the need for a second surgical site and limited availability of donor nerves remain a challenge. Thus, increasing efforts have been directed to develop artificial nerve guidance conduits (ANCs) as new methods to replace autografts in the future. Various synthetic conduit materials have been tested in vitro and in vivo, and several first- and second-generation conduits are FDA approved and available for purchase, while third-generation conduits still remain in experimental stages. This paper reviews the current treatment options, summarizes the published literature, and assesses future prospects for the repair of peripheral nerve injury in craniomaxillofacial surgery with a particular focus on facial nerve regeneration.
Investigating the Endocrine Disrupting Potential of the Effluent-Dominated Assabet River

INVESTIGATING THE ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING POTENTIAL OF THE EFFLUENT-DOMINATED ASSABET RIVER MAY 2013 KASIE M. AUGER, B.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Kathleen F. Arcaro The Assabet River located in eastern Massachusetts receives treated wastewater discharges from four major municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs): Westborough, Marlborough, Hudson and Maynard. In periods of low flow, up to 95% of the Assabet River is wastewater effluent. Chemical analyses have shown that municipal wastewaters can contain estrogenic and dioxin-like compounds. Estrogenic compounds such as the natural estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2), the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), and the industrial compound nonylphenol (NP) can induce vitellogenin (VTG) and lead to feminization in male fish. CYP1A1-inducing compounds such as the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) can produce both overt toxicity and alter reproductive function through the metabolism of natural estrogens. The purpose of the present research is to analyze the estrogenic and CYP1A1-inducing compounds in the Assabet River and their physiological effects on Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes). I used a bioassay that measures the induction of VTG and CYP1A1 in the livers of male Medaka and report results obtained by the USGS and EPA on analytical measurements of selected compounds. In the summers of 2010 and 2011 water samples were collected from the Assabet River, its tributaries and the four WWTPs. Male Medaka were exposed to the treatment
Collective Choice and Voluntary Provision of Public Goods

Some public goods are provided entirely with private contributions, others with a mixture of public and private funding, and still others are entirely publicly funded. In order to study this variation, a model of dual provision is developed that endogenizes public and private funding. Households vote over an income tax that finances public supply of the good and on whether to permit private contributions. While permitting private contributions may lead to a reduction in total provision, a majority always favors permitting private contributions. Results are developed for small and large economies, and the relevance of nonexcludability and noncongestion are investigated. Copyright 2003 By The Economics Department Of The University Of Pennsylvania And Osaka University Institute Of Social And Economic Research Association.
Synchronization in wage setting and the effects of monetary policy

Systematic differences in the timing of wage setting decisions among industrialized countries provide an ideal framework to study the importance of wage rigidity in the transmission of monetary policy. The Japanese Shunto, for example, presents a clear case of bunching in wage setting decisions: From February to May, most firms set wages that remain in place until the following year; wage rigidity, thus, is relatively higher immediately after the Shunto. In contrast, wage agreements in Germany are well-spread within the calendar year, implying a relatively uniform degree of rigidity. We exploit the variation in timing of wage agreements within the year in Japan vis-a-vis the three largest European countries (Germany, the UK, and France) to investigate the effects of monetary policy under different degrees of effective wage rigidity. Our findings lend support to the long-held, though scarcely tested, view that wage-rigidity plays a key role in the transmission of monetary policy.