Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Peek into the Life of Online Learning Discussion Forums: Implications for Web-based distance learning

Supporting quality learning in online discussion forums is an intricate task, particularly for e-tutors aspiring to facilitate vigorous interactive learning environments. I argue that the key to successful online discussion forums is the ability of e-tutors to provide learners with feedback well informed in the meaning making and knowledge advancement processes emanating from learner interactions. In this paper, a newly developed concept of providing e-tutors with the information they require is explored, exhibiting the Event Centre (EC) concept, through which tutors are able to obtain periodic “snapshots” of the occurrences throughout discussion forums, which highlight processes of meaning construction and knowledge advancement. The EC concept provides e-tutors with visual images that depict the links and routes through which participants using text messages convey meaning, construct knowledge, and create Socio-Informational networks within discussion forums. Keywords: e-learning, online discussion forums, e- tutoring, visualising social networks, monitoring online learning, online constructivist learning
Title Thinking styles and modes of thinking : implications foreducation and research

The author investigated the relationship of thinking styles to modes of thinking. Participants were 371 freshmen (aged 18 and 19) from the University of Hong Kong. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Style of Learning and Thinking (Youth Form; E. P. Torrance, B. McCarthy, & M. T. Kolesinski, 1988). A major finding was that creativity generating and complex thinking styles were significantly positively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking but significantly negatively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking. Thinking styles that denote the tendency to norm favoring and simplistic information processing were significantly positively correlated with the analytic mode of thinking and significantly negatively correlated with the holistic mode of thinking. In a preliminary conclusion, it appears that the thinking style construct overlaps the mode of thinking construct. Implications of this finding for teachers and researchers are delineated.
The Organization of Delegated Expertise

This Paper proposes a theory of the optimal organization of delegated expertise. For incentive purposes, a principal should reward an expert when their recommendation is confirmed either by the facts or by other experts’ recommendations. With a single expert, we show that the agency costs of delegated expertise exhibit diseconomies of scale. Possible organizational responses to this problem include basing decisions on a less than optimal amount of information, and relying on multiple experts. We analyse the source of gains from having multiple experts in different contracting environments corresponding to different nexi of collusion between the principal and/or the experts.
Oak forest decline and effects of two invasive shrubs in the Midwest Driftless Area: current status and implications for the future

Oak forests throughout the world are in a state of decline due to lack of oak seedling recruitment to larger size classes. Much of this recruitment decline has been attributed to changes in ecosystem disturbance regimes that have led to increased competition from other species. The Midwest Driftless Area forests in the United States are currently dominated by large oak trees of three species: Quercus alba L. , Q. macrocarpa Mich. , and Q. rubra L. These oak forests currently provide habitat for a large variety of flora and fauna, recreational opportunities for people, and an important timber resource. We examined the current status of forest composition and structure of Midwest Driftless Area oak forests. We were specifically interested in understanding how two invasive shrubs, Lonicera tartarica L. and Rhamnus cathartica L. , might contribute to the decline of oak recruitment. We found that the recruitment of oak species is poor in comparison to other canopy tree species, including Acer saccharum Marsh. and Tilia americana L. , and that the majority of saplings are of non-oak species. Our results revealed
La Argentina y los tratados Bilaterales de inversión:El costo de los compromisos internacionales.

En los aros 1990 se observ6 un crecimiento, sin precedentes, de los flujos de inversion extranjera directa (IED), en niveles que superaron los montos asociados al comercio asi como aquellos movilizados bajo la forma de pristamos financieros (bancarios y oficiales). Aunque los paises desarrollados continuaban siendo los principales receptores de lED, un grupo de paises en desarrollo comenz6 a mostrar un renovado protagonismo. En este periodo tambien resurgid la inversion directa en America Latina, donde los inversores Ilegaron atraidos por el proceso de transformacion que experimentaba la mayor parte de las economias de la region. Al mismo tiempo que se producia esta transformacion economica, se iniciaba un profundo cambio institucional. Los Tratados Bilaterales de InversiOn (TBIs) se convirtieron en el principal sosten juridico en materia de proteccion y promocidn de la lED, Io que permitib divulgar un nuevo sistema arbitral para dirimir casos de disputa entre inversores y paises huespedes: el Centro Internacional de Arreglo de Diferencias relativas a Inversiones (CIADI), que fue cobrando renovado protagonismo. Pese a lo extendido del cambio en Io economico entre los paises de la region, la postura que estos asumieron con respecto al ritmo de transformaciOn institucional no fue homogOnea. En este sentido, la actitud adoptada por la Argentina puede considerarse como ubicada en un extremo, esto es, de amplia transformaciOn en las
A Model Interpolating Between Regular And Scale Free Network With Tunable Exponent

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a simple network model whereby a new node is either attached to the youngest of the existing node with probability p or it is attached with probability (1 p) to any of the existing node following the preferential attachment rule. For the model exhibits power law degree distribution with The model thus nicely interpolates between the regular graph at p = 1 with and the Barabasi-Albert model at p = 0 with .
Moment-based estimation of nonlinear regression models under unobserved heterogeneity , with applications to non-negative and fractional responses

In this paper we suggest simple moment-based estimators to deal with unobserved heterogeneity in nonlinear regression models that treat observed and omitted covariates in a similar manner. The results derived in the paper apply to a class of regression models that includes as particular cases exponential and logit and complementary loglog fractional regression models. Unlike previous approaches, which typically require distributional assumptions on the unobservables, a conditional mean assumption is enough for consistent estimation of the structural parameters. Under the additional assumption that the dependence between observables and unobservables is restricted to the conditional mean, consistent estimation of partial effects conditional only on the former is also possible without making distributional assumptions on the latter.
Spinal Glutamatergic Neurons Defined by EphA4 Signaling Are Essential Components of Normal Locomotor Circuits

EphA4 signaling is essential for the spatiotemporal organization of neuronal circuit formation. In mice, deletion of this signaling pathway causes aberrant midline crossing of axons from both brain and spinal neurons and the complete knock-outs (KOs) exhibit a pronounced change in motor behavior, where alternating gaits are replaced by a rabbit-like hopping gait. The neuronal mechanism that is responsible for the gait switch in these KO mice is not known. Here, using intersectional genetics, we demonstrate that a spinal cord-specific deletion of EphA4 signaling is sufficient to generate the overground hopping gait. In contrast, selective deletion of EphA4 signaling in forebrain neurons, including the corticospinal tract neurons, did not result in a change in locomotor pattern. The gait switch was attributed to the loss of EphA4 signaling in excitatory Vglut2+ neurons, which is accompanied by an increased midline crossing of Vglut2+ neurons in the ventral spinal cord. Our findings functionally define spinal EphA4 signaling in excitatory Vglut2+ neurons as required for proper organization of the spinal locomotor circuitry, and place these cells as essential components of the mammalian locomotor network.
Determinants of Intent to Continue Using Online Learning: A Tale of Two Universities

This paper examines the determinants of intent to continue using online learning. The success of online learning programs depends not only on students’ satisfaction but also their intent to con-tinue using it. Unlike the recent research under this topic, its antecedent model consists of the following three components that affect learners’ intent to continue using online learning: per-ceived social ability, online learning readiness, and perceived usefulness. Eight hundred and sev-enty-two samples collected from students in online business classes from two universities in the United States and South Korea were analyzed using factor analysis, structural equation model techniques, and independent sample t-statistics. Perceived social ability, online learning readi-ness, and perceived usefulness are significant predictors of intent to continue using online learn-ing in both groups. However, there is a significant difference between these groups in terms of online learning readiness and perceived usefulness of online learning systems.
Insect assemblages in a native (kanuka - Kunzea ericoides) and an invasive (gorse - Ulex europaeus) shrubland

In New Zealand, the European shrub gorse (Ulex europaeus) is becoming the initial post-disturbance shrub, replacing the native myrtaceous manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) scrub in this role. Change in the dominant vegetation is likely to affect the native invertebrate community. To quantify these changes, we compared the assemblages of four selected insect taxa (Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and two groups of Diptera, the Tachinidae and the fungus gnats, represented in New Zealand by the families Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae and Mycetophilidae) in neighboring stands of kanuka and gorse using Malaise and pitfall traps set during December. We sorted 34 387 specimens into 564 recognisable taxonomic units. Ordinations showed that insect assemblages associated with each habitat were distinct for all four insect groups. The gorse habitat was species rich compared with kanuka for tachinids, fungus gnats and Malaise-trapped beetles, and both habitats contained few adventive species. Many species were unique to each habitat. Some species loss might occur if the kanuka-dominated community continues to be replaced by gorse, but gorse is nevertheless considered to be valuable as a habitat for native invertebrates.
Concentration inequalities and asymptotic results for ratio type empirical processes

Let ℱ be a class of measurable functions on a measurable space $(S,\mathcal{S})$ with values in [0,1] and let Pn=n−1∑i=1nδXi be the empirical measure based on an i.i. d. sample (X1,…,Xn) from a probability distribution P on $(S,\mathcal{S})$. We study the behavior of suprema of the following type: \[\sup_{r_{n}\textless\sigma_{P}f\leq \delta_{n}}\frac{|P_{n}f-Pf|}{\phi(\sigma_{P}f)},\] where σPf≥Var1/2Pf and ϕ is a continuous, strictly increasing function with ϕ(0)=0. Using Talagrand’s concentration inequality for empirical processes, we establish concentration inequalities for such suprema and use them to derive several results about their asymptotic behavior, expressing the conditions in terms of expectations of localized suprema of empirical processes. We also prove new bounds for expected values of sup-norms of empirical processes in terms of the largest σPf and the L2(P) norm of the envelope of the function class, which are especially suited for estimating localized suprema. With this technique, we extend to function classes most of the known results on ratio type suprema of empirical processes, including some of Alexander’s results for VC classes of sets. We also consider applications of these results to several important problems in nonparametric statistics and in learning theory (including general excess risk bounds in empirical risk minimization and their versions for L2-regression and classification and ratio type bounds for margin distributions in classification).
MicroRNA-410 Suppresses Migration and Invasion by Targeting MDM2 in Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies in tumors in the East Asian countries. Identifying precise prognostic markers and effective therapeutic targets is important in the treatment of gastric cancer. microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms by which miRNAs regulate gastric cancer metastasis remain poorly understood. In this study, we found that the levels of miR-410 in gastric cancer and cell lines were much lower than that in the normal control, respectively, and the lower level of miR-410 was significantly associated with lymph-node metastasis. Transfection of miR-410 mimics could significantly inhibit the cell proliferation, migration and invasion in the HGC-27 gastric cancer cell lines. In contrast, knockdown of miR-410 had the opposite effect on the cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Moreover, we also found that MDM2 was negatively regulated by miR-410 at the post-transcriptional level, via a specific target site with the 3′UTR by luciferase reporter assay. The expression of MDM2 was inversely correlated with miR-410 expression in gastric cancer tissues, and overexpression of MDM2 in miR-410-transfected gastric cancer cells effectively rescued the inhibition of cell proliferation and invasion caused by miR-410. Thus, our findings suggested that miR-410 acted as a new tumor suppressor by targeting the MDM2 gene and inhibiting gastric cancer cells proliferation, migration and invasion. The findings of this study contributed to the current understanding of these functions of miR-410 in gastric cancer.
Effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation characteristics on clinical pain.

We compared the effects of four treatment variables on the pain reduction produced by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and attempted to establish indications for TENS based on patient history and pain evaluation items. Treatment variables were the therapist and the three TENS stimulus characteristics--pulse width, frequency, and amplitude. We randomly assigned 192 consecutive adult patients suffering from painful conditions to one of four physical therapists and one of 12 stimulus characteristic combinations. We used a standard evaluation form that included a visual analog scale (VAS) to evaluate pain. Patients were given a 30-minute trial using TENS, followed by reevaluation. The VAS line length change after treatment was the criterion score for comparison of stimulus characteristic effectiveness. Although pain was reduced greatly with TENS (p = .01), a four-way analysis of variance (pulse width, frequency, amplitude, and therapist) attributed little of the treatment effect to the treatment variables or their interactions (r2 = .101). The amplitude effect, however, was borderline (p = .056), and subthreshold stimulation proved more effective than stimulation to tolerance (p = .05). Extensive multiple linear regression analyses failed to provide indications for TENS based on patient information and pain evaluation items. Therefore, pain remains the only indication for TENS, and we recommend subthreshold rather than higher amplitude stimulation on the initial TENS trial.
Mapping the number and characteristics of children under three in institutions across Europe at risk of harm

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Inverse problems = Quest for information

We examine the general non-linear inverse problem with a nite number of parameters. In order to permit the incorporation of any a priori information about parameters and any distribution of data (not only of gaussian type) we propose to formulate the problem not using single quantities (such as bounds, means, etc.) but using probability density functions for data and parameters. We also want our formulation to allow for the incorporation of theoretical errors, i.e. non-exact theoretical relationships between data and parameters (due to discretization, or incomplete theoretical knowledge); to do that in a natural way we propose to dene general theoretical relationships also as probability density functions. We show then that the inverse problem may be formulated as a problem of combination of information: the experimental information about data, the a priori information about parameters, and the theoretical information. With this approach, the general solution of the non-linear inverse problem is unique and consistent (solving the same problem, with the same data, but with a dierent system
Source components and interannual variability of soil CO 2 efflux under experimental warming and clipping in a grassland ecosystem

Partitioning soil CO2 efflux into autotrophic (RA) and heterotrophic (RH) components is crucial for understanding their differential responses to climate change. We conducted a long-term experiment (2000–2005) to investigate effects of warming 2 1C and yearly clipping on soil CO2 efflux and its components (i.e. RA and RH) in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Interannual variability of these fluxes was also examined. Deep collars (70 cm) were inserted into soil to measure RH. RA was quantified as the difference between soil CO2 efflux and RH. Warming treatment significantly stimulated soil CO2 efflux and its components (i.e. RA and RH) in most years. In contrast, yearly clipping significantly reduced soil CO2 efflux only in the last 2 years, although it decreased RH in every year of the study. Temperature sensitivity (i.e. apparent Q10 values) of soil CO2 efflux was slightly lower under warming (P40.05) and reduced considerably by clipping (Po0.05) compared with that in the control. On average over the 4 years, RH accounted for approximately 65% of soil CO2 efflux with a range from 58% to 73% in the four treatments. Over seasons, the contribution of RH to soil CO2 efflux reached a maximum in winter ( 90%) and a minimum in summer ( 35%). Annual soil CO2 efflux did not vary substantially among years as precipitation did. The interannual variability of soil CO2 efflux may be mainly caused by precipitation distribution and summer severe drought. Our results suggest that the effects of warming and yearly clipping on soil CO2 efflux and its components did not result in significant changes in RH or RA contribution, and rainfall timing may be more important in determining interannual variability of soil CO2 efflux than the amount of annual precipitation.
Linearized augmented Lagrangian and alternating direction methods for nuclear norm minimization

The nuclear norm is widely used to induce low-rank solutions for many optimization problems with matrix variables. Recently, it has been shown that the augmented Lagrangian method (ALM) and the alternating direction method (ADM) are very efficient for many convex programming problems arising from various applications, provided that the resulting subproblems are sufficiently simple to have closed-form solutions. In this paper, we are interested in the application of the ALM and the ADM for some nuclear norm involved minimization problems. When the resulting subproblems do not have closed-form solutions, we propose to linearize these subproblems such that closed-form solutions of these linearized subproblems can be easily derived. Global convergence of these linearized ALM and ADM are established under standard assumptions. Finally, we verify the effectiveness and efficiency of these new methods by some numerical experiments.
Exploring the Relationship Between Scientist Human Capital and Firm Performance: The Case of Biomedical Academic Entrepreneurs in the SBIR Program

There is an emerging debate in the scholarly literature regarding the extent to which academic human capital contributes to firm performance. This debate centers on the nature of an academic scientist's human capital and its institutional specificity. Using data on the human capital of biomedical scientists developed during their careers in academe, this paper analyzes how the depth of their scientifically and commercially oriented academic human capital contributes to firm performance when these scientists subsequently start or join for-profit firms. We find that the scientific and commercial components of an academic scientist's human capital have differential effects on the performance of research and invention tasks at the firm. We also find that the contribution of an academic scientist to a firm's patent productivity is decreasing with the depth of their scientifically oriented human capital, all else constant. These results support the view that academic human capital is heterogeneous and has an institutional specificity that mediates its value when applied in a commercialization environment.
Leea indica Ethyl Acetate Fraction Induces Growth-Inhibitory Effect in Various Cancer Cell Lines and Apoptosis in Ca Ski Human Cervical Epidermoid Carcinoma Cells

The anticancer potential of Leea indica, a Chinese medicinal plant was investigated for the first time. The crude ethanol extract and fractions (ethyl acetate, hexane, and water) of Leea indica were evaluated their cytotoxicity on various cell lines (Ca Ski, MCF 7, MDA-MB-435, KB, HEP G2, WRL 68, and Vero) by MTT assay. Leea indica ethyl acetate fraction (LIEAF) was found showing the greatest cytotoxic effect against Ca Ski cervical cancer cells. Typical apoptotic morphological changes such as DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation were observed in LIEAF-treated cells. Early signs of apoptosis such as externalization of phosphatidylserine and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential indicated apoptosis induction. This was further substantiated by dose- and time-dependent accumulation of sub-G1 cells, depletion of intracellular glutathione, and activation of caspase-3. In conclusion, these results suggested that LIEAF inhibited cervical cancer cells growth by inducing apoptosis and could be developed as potential anticancer drugs.
Impairment Constraint Based Routing in Ultra Long Haul Optical Networks Employing 2R Regeneration

To the best of our knowledge this paper for the first time implements a novel ICBR scheme in a network with 2R regeneration. A wide variety of physical layer impairments (linear and nonlinear) have been considered and appropriate modeling is proposed to reflect their interplay with the 2R functionality and assess the overall system performance. Using this approach the optimum routing paths are identified and the blocking probability is evaluated as a function of regeneration efficiency and transmission performance engineering