Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving Secondary School Students' Achievement and Retention in Biology through Video-Based Multimedia Instruction.

The study examined the effects of video-based multimedia instruction on secondary school students' achievement and retention in biology. In Nigeria, 120 students (60 boys and 60 girls) were randomly selected from four secondary schools assigned either into one of three experimental groups: Animation + Narration; Animation + On-screen Text; Animation + Narration + On-screen Text or a control group. The pretest, posttest experimental, and control group design was adopted. A 50-item multiple-choice objective test termed Biology Achievement Test (BAT) was used for collecting data. The validated BAT was tested for reliability using Kuder Richardson (KR20), which yielded 0.89. T-test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and Scheffe’s post-hoc analysis were used in determining the significant differences among the four groups. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference among the experimental groups. Generally, students under multimedia instruction performed better than their colleagues in the conventional teaching method. However, students in conventional teaching method had better retention than other groups. Biology is a natural science that deals with the living world: How the world is structured, how it functions and what these functions are, how it develops, how living things came into existence, and how they react to one another and with their environment (Umar, 2011). It is a prerequisite subject for many fields of learning that contributes immensely to the technological growth of the nation (Ahmed, 2008). This includes medicines, pharmacy, nursing, agriculture, forestry, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and many other areas (Ahmed & Abimbola, 2011). Biology is seen as one of the core subjects in Nigerian secondary school curriculum. Because of its importance, more students enrolled for biology in the senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE) than for physics and chemistry (West African Examination Council, 2011). Biology is introduced to students at senior secondary school level as a preparatory ground for human development, where career abilities are groomed, and potentials and talents discovered and energized (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2009). The quality and quantity of science education received by secondary school students are geared toward developing future scientists, technologists, engineers, and related
Emergency Medical Services for Children: Thirty Years of Advancing High-Quality Emergency Care for Children

Abstract The purpose of this article is to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program. For the last 30 years, the EMSC has had a significant impact on transforming emergency care for children. The program has contributed to the creation of pediatric emergency medicine as a subspecialty and, importantly, has institutionalized pediatrics into the nation’s emergency medical services systems. This article describes the history of the program, its components, and the return on investment over the years. The EMSC has undergone many changes since its inception, and now, because the health care system is rapidly changing, the EMSC must continue to ensure that children and their families receive the best emergency care possible. The EMSC community is poised to envision and adapt its mission to leverage opportunities in this rapidly changing environment to ensure that children receive and continue to receive high-quality emergency care services.
Recombinant MUC1 Probe Authentically Reflects Cell-specific O-Glycosylation Profiles of Endogenous Breast Cancer Mucin

Knowledge about the O-linked glycan chains of tumor-associated MUC1 is primarily based on enzymatic and immunochemical evidence. To obtain structural information and to overcome limitations by the scarcity of endogenous mucin, we expressed a recombinant glycosylation probe corresponding to six MUC1 tandem repeats in four breast cancer cell lines. Comparative analyses of theO-glycan profiles were performed after hydrazinolysis and normal phase chromatography of 2-aminobenzamide-labeled glycans. Except for a general reduction in the O-glycan chain lengths and a high density glycosylation, no common structural pattern was revealed. T47D fusion protein exhibits an almost complete shift from core 2 to core 1 expression with a preponderance of sialylated glycans. By contrast, MCF-7, MDA-MB231, and ZR75–1 cells glycosylate the MUC1 repeat peptide preferentially with core 2-based glycans terminating mostly with α3-linked sialic acid (MDA-MB231, ZR75–1) or α2/3-linked fucose (MCF-7). Endogenous MUC1 from T47D and MCF-7 cell supernatants revealed almost identicalO-glycosylation profiles compared with the respective recombinant probes, indicating that the fusion proteins reflected the authentic O-glycan profiles of the cells. The structural patterns in the majority of cells under study are in conflict with biosynthetic models of MUC1 O-glycosylation in breast cancer, which claim that the truncation of normal core 2-based polylactosamine structures to short sialylated core 1-based glycans is due to the reduced activity of core 2-forming β6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases and/or to overexpression of competitive α3- sialyltransferase.
fMRI of Prose Comprehension in High- and Low-Performing Older Adults

Characterization and clinical detection of early Alzheimer’s disease is difficult due to significant neurocognitive variability present in both healthy and pathological aging. This poses a problem for memory and aging studies because individuals categorized as healthy may actually have an early or ‘preclinical’ AD, which may contaminate results. This study addressed these concerns by 1) using a novel prose recall task designed to elicit subtle changes in episodic memory that occur in early AD 2) examining neural activity of highand low-performing older adults to reduce within-group variability and differentiate healthy from pathological brain activity. The prose recall task was extremely sensitive (81.8% sensitivity and 100% specificity for mean expository and narrative recall; 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity for expository stories alone) in differentiating healthy older adults from those with very mild AD. fMRI results showed evidence that high-performers retain the ability to recruit specialized regions of the brain during encoding of prose, while low-performers overrecruit nonspecific areas and strongly resemble adults with very mild AD. This suggests that high-performers engage in compensatory brain activity which may reflect a healthy aging process, while low-performers exhibit signs of dedifferentiation which may reflect a disease process.
Leaving a Legacy

In six experiments, we investigated the role of resource valence in intergen- erational attitudes and allocations. We found that, compared to bene! ts, allocating burdens intergenerationally increased concern with one's legacy, heightened ethical concerns, intensi! ed moral emotions (e.g., guilt, shame), and led to feelings of greater responsibility for and af! nity with future generations. We argue that, because of greater concern with legacies and the associated moral implications of one's decisions, allocating burdens leads to greater intergenerational generosity as compared to bene! ts. Our data provide support for this effect across a range of contexts. Our results also indicate that the differential effect of bene! ts versus burdens in intergenerational contexts depends on the presence of two important structural characteristics that help enact concerns about legacies, including (1) future impact of decisions, and (2) a self-other tradeoff. Overall, our ! ndings highlight how considering resource valence brings to the fore a number of key psychological characteristics of intergenerational decisions—especially as they relate to legacies and ethics. In 1888, following his brother's death, Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, was read- ing what was supposed to be his brother's obituary in a French newspaper. Nobel realized that the newspaper editor had confused the two brothers and consequently had written an obituary for Alfred instead. The headline proclaimed, "The Merchant of Death is Dead! " describing a man who had gained his wealth by helping people to kill one another. Nobel was deeply troubled and it is believed that this glimpse of what might have been his nega- tive legacy was pivotal in motivating him to leave nearly his entire fortune following his actual death eight years later to fund annual awards, the Nobel Prizes, for those whose work most bene! ted humanity.
Universal Toda brackets of ring spectra

We construct and examine the universal Toda bracket of a highly structured ring spectrum R. This invariant of R is a cohomology class in the Mac Lane cohomology of the graded ring of homotopy groups of R which carries information about R and the category of R-module spectra. It determines for example all triple Toda brackets of R and the first obstruction to realizing a module over the homotopy groups of R by an R-module spectrum. For periodic ring spectra, we study the corresponding theory of higher universal Toda brackets. The real and complex K-theory spectra serve as our main examples.
Mental Addition in Bilinguals: An fMRI Study of Task-Related and Performance-Related Activation

Behavioral studies show that bilinguals are slower and less accurate when performing mental calculation in their nondominant (second; L2) language than in their dominant (first; L1) language. However, little is known about the neural correlates associated with the performance differences observed between bilinguals' 2 languages during arithmetic processing. To address the cortical activation differences between languages, the current study examined task-related and performance-related brain activation during mental addition when problems were presented auditorily in participants' L1 and L2. Eleven Chinese–English bilinguals heard 2-digit addition problems that required exact or approximate calculations. Functional magnetic resonance imaging results showed that auditorily presented multidigit addition in bilinguals activates bilateral inferior parietal and inferior frontal regions in both L1 and L2. Language differences were observed in the form of greater activation for L2 exact addition in the left inferior frontal area. A negative correlation between brain activation and behavioral performance during mental addition in L2 was observed in the left inferior parietal area. Current results provide further evidence for the effects of language-specific experience on arithmetic processing in bilinguals at the cortical level.
Analysis of palatal rugae in males and females of Saudi Arabian population (Makkah province)

Background: It is a well-known fact that teeth are considered crucial in identification; in edentulous cases, palatal rugae are handy in individual identification. There are evidences proved that there are gender related and geographic variation in palatal rugae pattern. Hence, the purpose of this study was to figure out the role of palatal rugae in differentiation between sexes of Saudi Arabian population. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 maxillary dental stone cast were prepared comprised both male and female samples of same age group, casts were looked for rugae shape such as straight, wavy, curved, unification, and circular and their percentage recorded. Results: The average number of rugae patterns in both sexes in total and the mean values that show no significant differences between both sexes although the number of rugae was slightly higher in male than females in total. Conclusion: This work concludes that rugae patterns can be used as additional method for identification as a personal print and considered a characteristic to discriminate between individuals.
Two‐photon imaging of dendritic spine development in the mouse cortex

Dendritic spines are the postsynaptic sites of most excitatory synapses in the mammalian brain. With the advent of two‐photon microscopy and transgenic mice expressing fluorescent proteins, dendritic spines can now be imaged in the living cerebral cortex over time scales ranging from seconds to years. Recent studies with this in vivo imaging approach have begun to provide important insights into the development and plasticity of dendritic spines in the intact brain. Here, we review these studies and discuss technical requirements for image acquisition. We envision that intravital two‐photon imaging at the level of individual synapses will greatly expand our current understandings of how neuronal networks are assembled and modified throughout life. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008
Colour processing in the primate retina: recent progress

Colour vision in the majority of humans is trichromatic, relying on a comparison of the quantal absorption in three different types of cone photoreceptors. The first steps in this comparison process take place at an early level of the visual system, in the retina. This topical review will highlight recent experiments which have advanced our understanding of how cone signals are compared to generate cone‐opponent responses in the primate retina.
Modulation of junction tension by tumor suppressors and proto-oncogenes regulates cell-cell contacts

Tumor suppressors and proto-oncogenes play crucial roles in tissue proliferation. Furthermore, de-regulation of their functions is deleterious to tissue architecture and can result in the sorting of somatic rounded clones minimizing their contact with surrounding wild-type (wt) cells. Defects in the shape of somatic clones correlate with defects in proliferation, cell affinity, cell-cell adhesion, oriented cell division and cortical contractility. Combining genetics, live-imaging, laser ablation and computer simulations, we aim to analyze whether distinct or similar mechanisms can account for the common role of tumor suppressors and proto-oncogenes in cell-cell contact regulation. In Drosophila epithelia, the tumor suppressors Fat (Ft) and Dachsous (Ds) regulate cell proliferation, tissue morphogenesis, planar cell polarity and junction tension. By analyzing the evolution over time of ft mutant cells and clones, we show that ft clones reduce their cell-cell contacts with the surrounding wt tissue in the absence of concomitant cell divisions and over-proliferation. This contact reduction depends on opposed changes of junction tensions in the clone bulk and its boundary with neighboring wt tissue. More generally, either clone bulk or boundary junction tension is modulated by the activation of Yorkie, Myc and Ras, yielding similar contact reductions with wt cells. Together, our data highlight mechanical roles for proto-oncogene and tumor suppressor pathways in cell-cell interactions. Highlighted article: Time-lapse imaging studies to follow cell behavior and dynamics in Drosophila epithelia reveal mechanical roles for tumor suppressors and proto-oncogenes.
Breast Self-Examination, Cancer Knowledge and Breast Disease in a Sample of Hunter Valley Women

Fifty women with a history of breast lumps, and fifty control women matched for age and educational level, were administered a self-report questionnaire to determine knowledge of breast cancer, frequency and proficiency of breast self-examination (BSE), and health beliefs relating to BSE. Although women with previous breast lumps were more knowledgeable about breast cancer than those without, the two groups did not differ in attitudes or preventive behaviours. Overall knowledge of cancer and of BSE practice was low. This suggests a need for educational campaigns to increase knowledge and awareness, as a first step towards behaviour change, and a need for research to identify more effective predictors of BSE practice.
Hong Kong Chinese Parents' Perceptions of the Ideal Child

Abstract Hong Kong Chinese parents (N = 420) were interviewed individually to investigate their perceptions of attributes of the ideal child. Results based on content analyses of the parents' narratives showed that four categories of attributes of the ideal child emerged from the data: family-related attributes (good parent—child relations and fulfillment of family responsibilities), academic-related attributes (good academic outcome, positive attitude toward studying, fulfillment of responsibility in studying, and high education attainment), conduct-related attributes (good character, self-discipline when going out, obedience to the law, no acquaintance with undesirable peers, and no naughtiness), and other attributes (such as having good relations with others and being mature). No gender effect was evident with regard to parents' perceptions of characteristics of the ideal child. The findings suggest that Chinese parents' perceptions of attributes of the ideal child are closely related to traditional va.
Title of Dissertation: TWO ESSAYS ON SPATIAL ECONOMETRICS

Title of Dissertation: TWO ESSAYS ON SPATIAL ECONOMETRICS Yevgeniy A Yuzefovich, Doctor of Philosophy, 2003 Dissertation directed by: Professors Harry Kelejian and Ingmar Prucha Department of Economics The first part of the dissertation is a Monte-Carlo study of the small sample properties of various estimators of the parameters of single equation model with a spatially lagged dependent variable and a spatially lagged disturbance term. We focus on the small sample behavior of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and spatial instrumental variable (IV) estimators. These IV estimators are feasible spatial two-stage least squares (FGS2SLS) and series estimators which were suggested by Kelejian and Prucha (1998, 2001), the best GS2SLS estimator which was suggested by Lee (2000). The findings indicate that the finite sample properties of the IV estimators are almost identical. Furthermore, the advantage of the ML estimator over the spatial IV estimators is very limited or nonexistent in most of the cases considered. These results have important implications in terms of efficiency and computational feasibility of these estimators. The second part analyses the importance of alternative channels of contagion during the Asian, Russian and Brazilian crisis episodes. We consider four contagion channels relating to the extent of trade, financial links through common lenders (bank lending channel), similarity in risk, and neighborhood effects. In order to assess the significance of each we apply a spatial modeling technique to weekly stock market returns of a cross-section of countries. The paper improves upon previous contagion studies with similar methodology in two aspects. First, the parameters of the model are estimated by a consistent procedure. This clearly leads to more reliable inferences. Second, we use a data set involving a larger sample of countries. This should alleviate some of the potential sample selection biases inherent in previous studies. The results indicate that (a) the bank lending channel was important in all three crisis episodes, (b) the trade channel was relevant in the Russian and Brazilian crisis episodes, but not in the Asian crisis, (c) there is some evidence of the risk similarity channel during the Asian crises, but not in the Russian and Brazilian crises, (d) neighborhood effects were important in all three crisis episodes. Furthermore, there is an evidence of negative trade spillovers from Japan during the Asian crisis. TWO ESSAYS ON SPATIAL ECONOMETRICS
The Relationship of Insulin Resistance With SNP 276G>T at Adiponectin Gene and Plasma Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Obese Children

This study examined the association of insulin resistance with single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) 276G>T at adiponectin gene and the plasma long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) profile in obese children. One hundred thirty-one normolipidaemic obese children aged 8-13 y (53 girls and 68 boys) entered the study. The prevalence of T allele carriers at SNP276 was 48.8%. Mean [SD] values of fasting insulin and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index in noncarriers versus carriers of T allele were 12.4 [6.4] versus 20.6 [6.3] μU/mL (p = 0.039) and 2.6 [1.4] versus 4.5 [1.7] (p = 0.032). Mean [SD] values of plasma C18:3n − 3, C20:5n − 3/C20:4n − 6, and n − 6/n − 3 LCPUFA in phospholipids in noncarriers versus carriers of T allele were 0.10 [0.04] versus 0.08 [0.03] % (p = 0.013), 0.04 [0.01] versus 0.03 [0.01] % (p = 0.045), and 4.4 [0.7] versus 4.9 [0.9] % (p = 0.005), respectively. Insulin resistance was independently associated with SNP 276G>T (p = 0.002) and n − 6/n − 3 LCPUFA (p = 0.042) in plasma phospholipids, and interaction was found between SNP 276G>T and n − 6/n − 3 LCPUFA (p = 0.046). These findings suggest that obese children carriers of the SNP 276G>T may be at increased risk of metabolic complications compared with noncarriers, possibly due in part to a different plasma phospholipids profile.
Long‐term population migration: an important aspect to be considered during mass drug administration for elimination of lymphatic filariasis

Annual 2‐drug, single‐dose mass drug administration (MDA) to 80–90% of the eligible population for 4–6 years are pre‐requisites for the successful elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) from endemic communities by interruption of transmission and eventual elimination of new infections. In an experimental intervention project on the control of LF in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu state, India, migration patterns of the villagers were investigated to determine the appropriate timing to implement MDA in order to attain high coverage in a village‐level study. Between January and December 1997, 16 observations took place at 3‐week intervals, following MDA with two drugs viz., diethylcarbamazine and ivermectin, in July–August 1996. The migrants from the village constituted 17–27% at different points of time and both short‐term and long‐term migrating patterns were observed. More villagers were available during the agricultural season (September–January), peaking around mid‐January [83%; significantly higher (P < 0.05)] than during most of the remaining months, including a substantial portion of the migrant population. There is an urgent need to reschedule the yearly MDA in this area to take place in January and to plan mopping up operations by involving local self‐help groups to include migrants (both short‐term and long‐term) in the LF elimination efforts.
SYNTHESIS AND ANTI-HIV ACTIVITY OF [D4U]-[TROVIRDINE ANALOGUE] AND [D4T]-[TROVIRDINE ANALOGUE] HETERODIMERS AS INHIBITORS OF HIV-1 REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE

ABSTRACT A series of eleven heterodimers containing both a nucleoside analogue (d4U, d4T) and a non-nucleoside type inhibitor (Trovirdine analogue) were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit HIV replication. Unfortunately, the (N-3)d4U-Trovirdine conjugates (9a–e) and (N-3)d4T-Trovirdine conjugates (10a–f) were found to be inactive suggesting that the two individual inhibitor compounds do not bind simultaneously in their respective sites.