Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pengaruh Asesmen Biologi Dalam Pembelajaran Think Pair Share Terhadap Kemampuan Kognitif Siswa

Abstract: The Effect of Biological Assessment in Think Pair Share (T PS) Strategy on Students’ Cognitive Abilities. The purpose of this study is to find out the differences in students’ cognitive abilities, that is, critical thinking and creative thinking, in Think Pair Share cooperative learning model between those given authentic assessment and those conventional assessment. A number of s enior high schools in Malang Municipality were involved based on the categories of high and low achievement scores of national examination. Using a 2x2 factorial quasi experimental design, the study selected a sample of eleventh grade students. The results of ANCOVA, followed by the Least Significant Different (LSD), show that there were differences in cognitive abilities between the students assessed using different methods, authentic and conventional. Abstrak: Pengaruh Asesmen Biologi dalam Pembelajaran Think Pair Share terhadap Kemampuan Kognitif Siswa. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menemukan perbedaan kemampuan kognitif siswa dalam model pembelajaran kooperatif Think Pair Share (TPS) dengan menggunakan asesmen autentik dan asesmen konvensional pada SMA di Kota Malang dengan kategori nilai Ebtanas murni tinggi dan kategori nilai Ebtanas murni rendah. Penelitian ini menggukan rancangan eksperimen semu (quasi experimental design ) f aktorial 2x2. Sampel penelitian adalah siswa kelas XI. Teknik analisis data dilakukan secara kuantitatif dengan menggunkan statistik Anacova yang dilanjutkan dengan menggunakan Least Significant Different (LSD). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada perbedaan kemampuan kognitif (berpikir kritis dan berpikir kreatif) dalam pembelajaran kooperatif TPS antara siswa yang dinilai dengan menggunakan asesmen autentik dengan siswa yang dinilai dengan menggunakan asesmen konvensional.
Empirical Analysis of Using Weighted Sum Fitness Functions in NSGA-II for Many-Objective 0/1 Knapsack Problems

Handling of many-objective problems is a hot issue in the evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO) community. It is well-known that frequently-used EMO algorithms such as NSGA-II and SPEA do not work well on many-objective problems whereas they have been successfully applied to a large number of test problems and real-world application tasks with two or three objectives. The main difficulty in the handling of many-objective problems is that almost all solutions in the current population of an EMO algorithm are non-dominated with each other. This means that Pareto dominance relation can not generate enough selection pressure toward the Pareto front. As a result, Pareto dominance-based EMO algorithms such as NSGA-II and SPEA can not drive the current population toward the Pareto front efficiently in a high-dimensional objective space of a many-objective problem. A simple idea for introducing additional selection pressure toward the Pareto front is the use of scalarizing fitness functions. In this paper, we examine the effect of using weighted sum fitness functions for parent selection and generation update on the performance of NSGA-II for many-objective 0/1 knapsack problems.
SELECTIVE H . 264 VIDEO CODING BASED ON A SALIENCY MAP

The demand in modern multimedia data transmission is continually increasing. New compression standard, such as the recent H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video coding standard, drastically improves the compression ratio. This higher compression ratio is required because the amount of multimedia data to transmit increases and that the perceived quality expected by the end user is not lessened. A complementary solution to maintain or to improve the perceived video quality is to selectively compress the information: perceptually non-important areas are subjected to higher compression than more relevant parts of the data. Therefore, the perceived quality can be heighten without increasing the bit rate. In this paper, we propose a new two-pass based coding framework driven by a saliency map. A saliency map is a 2D topographic map encoding the capacity of each pixel to attract the visual attention. This map stems from a computational model simulating the human visual attention. A selective compression is achieved by an a-priori knowledge of the spatial locations of the visually important areas. First, the proposed algorithm determines a quantization step for each macroblock according to a given bit rate (inferior to the global transmission rate). The second pass allocates the remaining bit budget by using the saliency map. Experiments based on the H.264 coding scheme were conducted leading to an undeniably objective quality improvement of the most interesting areas.
Human metapneumovirus in patients with respiratory tract infection in Kuwait

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been recognized as an important cause of respiratory tract infections in all age groups and in all geographical area. The role of hMPV in causing respiratory tract infections in Kuwait was not yet investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hMPV infection in Kuwait among patients with respiratory tract infection with respect to other respiratory viruses. During January–December 2009, 460 respiratory samples from 388 patients with respiratory tract infection were collected from different hospitals. They were tested for hMPV RNA by real‐time PCR, and for other respiratory viruses by conventional PCR. Out of 388 patients, 110 (28%) were positive for viral respiratory infections; 21 (5.4%) were positive for hMPV, 29 (7.5%) were positive for rhinovirus, 13 (4%) were positive for respiratory syncytial virus, and 10 (3%) were positive for adenovirus. Most (n = 19, 90.5%) of hMPV‐positive patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, 76% of them were of age 2 years and below, and 24% of age 59 years and above. All hMPV‐positive elderly patients had pneumonia while 50% of hMPV‐positive infants had bronchopneumonia. Children with hMPV/rhinovirus co‐infection (n = 3, 1%) had recurrent chest infection and frequent intensive care unit admission. The hMPV infection was mostly detected between December and May, and genotype B was more prevalent than genotype A. This is the first study demonstrating the prevalence of hMPV infection in Kuwait, and suggests that hMPV infection is prevalent in infants and elderly patients with lower respiratory tract infection. J. Med. Virol. 83:1811–1817, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
EDP Sciences

This Agreement between EDP Sciences and the Subscribing Institution grants the Subscribing Institution a nonexclusive, revocable, nontransferable License to access the online version of the journal(s) published by EDP Sciences and to which the Subscribing Institution has subscribed, over the Internet via the Su bscribing Institution's Internet Protocol addresses (IP addresses). Authorized Users must be employees, faculty, staff, and students officially affiliated with the Subscribing Institution and authorized clients of the Subscribing Institution's library facilities, Authorized Users includes persons affiliated with remote sites or campuses of the Subscribing Institution that are administered from the Subscribing Institution's site or campus.
SNPs and interaction analyses of myocilin, optineurin, and apolipoprotein E in primary open angle glaucoma patients.

PURPOSE To evaluate the association of myocilin (MYOC), optineurin (OPTN), and apolipoprotein E (APOE) genes and their interactions in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS A cohort of 400 unrelated POAG patients (294 high tension glaucoma, HTG, and 106 normal tension glaucoma, NTG) and 281 unrelated control subjects were recruited. All coding exons and splicing junctions in MYOC and OPTN were screened for sequence alterations. Common polymorphisms in APOE were genotyped. Single genes were investigated by univariate and haplotype analysis, and gene-gene interactions by logistic regression and stratified analysis. Multiple comparisons were corrected by the Bonferroni method. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to assess the conservation of mutation sites across species and to predict putative motifs and secondary structures in mutated proteins. RESULTS Disease-causing mutations in MYOC and OPTN were identified in 1.75% and 1% of POAG patients, respectively. Most of these mutations were highly conserved across species, many predicted to create new motifs or change protein secondary structures. No individual MYOC polymorphisms significantly contributed to HTG or NTG. A haplotype containing the minor allele of the MYOC IVS2+35A>G increased NTG risk (p=0.0001). Three OPTN polymorphisms, T34T, IVS5+38T>G, and IVS8-53T>C increased NTG risk (p<0.0008), while IVS5+38T>G increased HTG risk (p=0.0006). One haplotype that contains the minor alleles of 3 OPTN polymorphisms, T34T, IVS5+38T>G, and IVS7+24G>A, increased NTG risk (p=0.0002). APOE epsilon4 carriers had a decreased NTG risk (p=0.007). Possible gene-gene interactions were found between MYOC, OPTN, and APOE. CONCLUSIONS Disease-causing mutations in MYOC and OPTN accounted for only a small proportion of Chinese POAG patients. Common polymorphisms in MYOC, OPTN, and APOE might interactively contribute to POAG, indicating a polygenic etiology.
Biobond for retrograde root filling in apicoectomy.

— Comparative clinical and radiographic studies are presented on the results of apicoectomy alone and combined with retrograde root filling, using Biobond® and guttapercha respectively as filling material. The case series comprised 100 patients. The teeth treated were incisors and canines. The results were assessed from the clinical and radiographic findings at the last follow-up examination of the patients. The observation time was 24 months. It was found that there were no significant differences between the three groups of cases, satisfactory healing being achieved in 82% of the cases in which apicoectomy was performed alone, in 71% of the cases in which the procedure was combined with retrograde root filling, using guttapercha, and in 81% of the cases in which Biobond was the filling material.
A novel and well tolerated mite allergoid subcutaneous immunotherapy: evidence of clinical and immunologic efficacy

Allergy to house dust mite is one of the most common causes of allergic rhinitis. A novel tyrosine‐adsorbed, modified allergen product, Acarovac Plus, developed for the treatment of perennial mite allergy seeks to address the underlying cause of allergic rhinitis in this instance. One of two dosing regimens may be used, either the Conventional Regimen or the Cluster Regimen. We sought to compare the efficacy and safety of a specific immunotherapy, developed for the treatment of perennial mite allergy, administered under a Conventional and Clustered dosing schedule in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis. Thirty adult patients, between 18 and 65 years old, with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma secondary to hypersensitivity to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus were administered with either conventional or cluster initial regime, with a final visit one week after the last dose administration. The efficacy to the Conventional and Cluster regimens was measured using a Nasal Challenge Test monitoring clinical symptoms and peak nasal inspiratory flow. Total IgE, serum‐specific inmunoglobulins (IgE and IgG4) to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and relevant cytokines (IFN‐γ, IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐10 and IL‐13) were assessed. A Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQM) was completed after each patient's final visit. The tolerability of the vaccine was assessed monitoring adverse reactions. No adverse events were recorded in either conventional or cluster regime. The specific Nasal Challenge Test led to a decrease in symptom scores and a significant decrease in mean nasal peak inspiratory flow drop was recorded in both dosing regimen groups. A significant increase in IgG4‐specific antibody titres was assessed. No significant changes were observed in concentrations of total IgE, specific IgE or cytokines (IFN‐γ, IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐10 and IL‐13). Patients declared themselves most satisfied in relation to “Secondary effects”, with high overall satisfaction in both groups. Cluster and conventional specific immunotherapy resulted in no adverse reaction(s) and led to similar improvements in immunological parameters, clinical efficacy (Nasal Challenge Test) and high overall satisfaction.
Gastrointestinal stem cells in health and disease: from flies to humans

ABSTRACT The gastrointestinal tract of complex metazoans is highly compartmentalized. It is lined by a series of specialized epithelia that are regenerated by specific populations of stem cells. To maintain tissue homeostasis, the proliferative activity of stem and/or progenitor cells has to be carefully controlled and coordinated with regionally distinct programs of differentiation. Metaplasias and dysplasias, precancerous lesions that commonly occur in the human gastrointestinal tract, are often associated with the aberrant proliferation and differentiation of stem and/or progenitor cells. The increasingly sophisticated characterization of stem cells in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals and of the fruit fly Drosophila has provided important new insights into these processes and into the mechanisms that drive epithelial dysfunction. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the establishment, maintenance and regulation of diverse intestinal stem cell lineages in the gastrointestinal tract of Drosophila and mice. We also discuss the field's current understanding of the pathogenesis of epithelial dysfunctions. Drosophila Collection: This Review highlights recent findings on intestinal stem cell (ISC) diversity in the GI tract of Drosophila, focusing on the role of ISCs in healthy and diseased conditions, and drawing parallels to vertebrate GI stem cells.
Population-based metagenomics analysis reveals markers for gut microbiome composition and diversity

“Normal” for the gut microbiota For the benefit of future clinical studies, it is critical to establish what constitutes a “normal” gut microbiome, if it exists at all. Through fecal samples and questionnaires, Falony et al. and Zhernakova et al. targeted general populations in Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively. Gut microbiota composition correlated with a range of factors including diet, use of medication, red blood cell counts, fecal chromogranin A, and stool consistency. The data give some hints for possible biomarkers of normal gut communities. Science, this issue pp. 560 and 565 Two large-scale studies in Western Europe establish environment-diet-microbe-host interactions. Deep sequencing of the gut microbiomes of 1135 participants from a Dutch population-based cohort shows relations between the microbiome and 126 exogenous and intrinsic host factors, including 31 intrinsic factors, 12 diseases, 19 drug groups, 4 smoking categories, and 60 dietary factors. These factors collectively explain 18.7% of the variation seen in the interindividual distance of microbial composition. We could associate 110 factors to 125 species and observed that fecal chromogranin A (CgA), a protein secreted by enteroendocrine cells, was exclusively associated with 61 microbial species whose abundance collectively accounted for 53% of microbial composition. Low CgA concentrations were seen in individuals with a more diverse microbiome. These results are an important step toward a better understanding of environment-diet-microbe-host interactions.
The Limits to Machine Consciousness

It is generally accepted that machines can replicate cognitive tasks performed by conscious agents as long as they are not based on the capacity of awareness. We consider several views on the nature of subjective awareness, which is fundamental for self-reflection and review, and present reasons why this property is not computable. We argue that consciousness is more than an epiphenomenon and assuming it to be a separate category is consistent with both quantum mechanics and cognitive science. We speak of two kinds of consciousness, little-C and big-C, and discuss the significance of this classification in analyzing the current academic debates in the field. The interaction between the system and the measuring apparatus of the experimenter is examined both from the perspectives of decoherence and the quantum Zeno effect. These ideas are used as context to address the question of limits to machine consciousness.
Effects of Moods on Thoughts About Helping, Attraction and Information Acquisition

Past research has demonstrated that positive moods increase helping, attraction toward others, and peoples' willingness to pick up a free brochure. Negative moods have been shown to have mixed effects on helping and to decrease attraction. It has been suggested by Isen (1975), that such effects are mediated by the impact of feelings on the accessibility of mood congruent thoughts. In an effort to find support for this suggestion, the present study tested the hypothesis that mood states would influence the production of mood congruent thoughts in response to situations in which helping, attraction toward another, or acquisition of information might take place. Subjects experienced a positive, negative, or no mood induction. Then they imagined themselves in situations in which helping was possible, in which they were meeting a blind date, and in which free brochures were being distributed. They gave free associations to each situation. Subjects who were induced to feel good had significantly more positive first affective associations to situations in which it was possible to help and to meeting a blind date than did subjects in the control or negative mood conditions. Subjects who were induced to feel bad had more negative first affective associations to all three situations than did other subjects, but these differences were not significant.
Influencing Eating Choices: Biological Food Cues in Advertising and Packaging Alter Trajectories of Decision Making and Behavior

ABSTRACT From an ecological perception perspective (Gibson, 1977), the availability of perceptual information alters what behaviors are more and less likely at different times. This study examines how perceptual information delivered in food advertisements and packaging alters the time course of information processing and decision making. Participants categorized images of food that varied in information delivered in terms of color, glossiness, and texture (e.g., food cues) before and after being exposed to a set of advertisements that also varied in this way. In general, items with more direct cues enhanced appetitive motivational processes, especially if they were also advertised with direct food cues. Individuals also chose to eat products that were packaged with more available direct food cues compared to opaque packaging.
Coupled Networks of Parvalbumin-Immunoreactive Interneurons in the Rat Basolateral Amygdala

Recent studies indicate that the basolateral amygdala exhibits fast rhythmic oscillations during emotional arousal, but the neuronal mechanisms underlying this activity are not known. Similar oscillations in the cerebral cortex are generated by a network of parvalbumin (PV)-immunoreactive interneurons interconnected by chemical synapses and dendritic gap junctions. The present immunoelectron microscopic study revealed that the basolateral amygdalar nucleus (BLa) contains a network of parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PV+) interneurons interconnected by chemical synapses, dendritic gap junctions, and axonal gap junctions. Twenty percent of synapses onto PV+ neurons were formed by PV+ axon terminals. All of these PV+ synapses were symmetrical. PV+ perikarya exhibited the greatest incidence of PV+ synapses (30%), with lower percentages associated with PV+ dendrites (15%) and spines (25%). These synapses comprised half of all symmetrical synapses formed with PV+ cells. A total of 18 dendrodendritic gap junctions between PV+ neurons were observed, mostly involving secondary and more distal dendrites (0.5-1.0 μm thick). Dendritic gap junctions were often in close proximity to PV+ chemical synapses. Six gap junctions were observed between PV+ axon terminals. In most cases, one or both of these terminals formed synapses with the perikarya of principal neurons. This is the first study to describe dendritic gap junctions interconnecting PV+ interneurons in the basolateral amygdala. It also provides the first documentation of gap junctions between interneuronal axon terminals in the mammalian forebrain. These data provide the anatomical basis for a PV+ network that may play a role in the generation of rhythmic oscillations in the BLa during emotional arousal.
Solving conditional and composite temporal constraints

One of the main challenges when designing constraint based systems in general and those involving temporal constraints in particular, is the ability to deal with conditional constraints and composite variables. Indeed, in this particular case the set of variables involved by the constraint problem to be solved is not known in advance. More precisely, while some variables (called initial variables) are available in the initial problem, others are added dynamically to the problem during the resolution process via activity constraints and composite variables. Activity constraints allow some variables to be activated (added to the problem) when activity conditions are true. Composite variables are variables whose values are the possible variables each composite variable can take. We propose a method based on constraint propagation for solving efficiently constraint problems involving numeric and symbolic temporal constraints, composite variables and activity constraints. We call these latter problems conditional and composite temporal constraint satisfaction problems (CCTCSPs). Experimental evaluation conducted on randomly generated CCTCSPs demonstrates the efficiency of our method to solve these problems especially when using the forward check strategy during the search.
Modelling of Cosmic Molecular Masers: Introduction to a Computation Cookbook

Abstract Numerical modeling of molecular masers is necessary in order to understand their nature and diagnostic capabilities. Model construction requires elaboration of a basic description which allows computation, that is a definition of the parameter space and basic physical relations. Usually, this requires additional thorough studies that can consist of the following stages/parts: relevant molecular spectroscopy and collisional rate coefficients; conditions in and around the masing region (that part of space where population inversion is realized); geometry and size of the masing region (including the question of whether maser spots are discrete clumps or line-of-sight correlations in a much bigger region) and propagation of maser radiation. Output of the maser computer modeling can have the following forms: exploration of parameter space (where do inversions appear in particular maser transitions and their combinations, which parameter values describe a ‘typical’ source, and so on); modeling of individual sources (line flux ratios, spectra, images and their variability); analysis of the pumping mechanism; predictions (new maser transitions, correlations in variability of different maser transitions, and the like). Described schemes (constituents and hierarchy) of the model input and output are based mainly on the experience of the authors and make no claim to be dogmatic.