Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of Metacognitive Strategies in Web-based English Autonomous Learning

This study reports on a survey which investigated the relationship among autonomous learning, metacognitve strategy training and English achievement in web-based environment. Collected data in the forms of tests, interview and questionnaires before and after the experiment were analyzed. The results showed that metacognitive strategy training had a significant positive effect in English learning. As expected, the experimental class had better performance than the controlled class in the learning outcome, and their ability in self-monitor and evaluation had been raised. Conclusion was that metacognitve training should be integrated in web-based English autonomous learning.
Building open access institutional repositories for global visibility of Nigerian scholarly publication

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of open access institutional repositories (IR) in enhancing the global visibility and impact of Nigerian scholarly publication.Design/methodology/approach – This is a literature‐based opinion paper which examines the problem of open access IR in Nigeria providing pragmatic suggestions that would address the challenges of making Nigerian scholarly publications accessible internationally.Findings – While the paper acknowledges several problems that impede the building of open access IR, it equally highlights some necessary requirements for the building of IR with a road map for the development of functional IR in Nigeria.Practical implications – The proliferation of universities and other higher institutions that are in one way or the other engaged in research activities suggests that Nigeria would have generated a lot of research to facilitate speedy development. Available evidence shows that in recent years scholarly publications in Nigeria l.
On the Way to Submicroscopic Description of Nature

The outline analyzes the principal difficulties, which emerge at the applying of modern quantum theory based on the Copenhagen School concept to phenomena developed in the range close to 10^{-28} cm (the point of intersection of the three fundamental interactions). It is shown that at this scale, the interaction of a moving particle with space plays an essential role and just space assigns wave and quantum properties to the particle. The main physical aspects of space structure are discussed herein.
Towards the optimal energy of the proton driver for a neutrino factory and muon collider

Cross section data from the HARP experiment for pion production by protons from a tantalum target have been convoluted with the acceptance of the front-end channel for the proposed neutrino factory or muon collider and integrated over the full phase space measured by HARP, to determine the beam-energy dependence of the muon yield. This permits a determination of the optimal beam energy for the proton driver for these projects. The cross section data are corrected for the beam-energy dependent amplification due to the development of hadronic showers in a thick target. The conclusion is that, for constant beam power, the yield is maximum for a beam energy of about 7 GeV, but it is within 10% of this maximum for 4<Tbeam < 11 GeV, and within 20% of the maximum for Tbeam as low as 2 GeV. This result is insensitive to which of the two HARP groups' results are used, and to which pion generator is used to compute the thick target effects.
Investigation of High Salt Intake and Adipogenesis in Rats

Sodium chloride has been scrutinized of late, not only for its liberal use as a food preservative but for its contribution to disease states. The causal role of habitual high salt intake in increasing blood pressure and exacerbating hypertension has been established. A growing body of evidence strongly suggests that hypertension contributes to other conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, stroke, and type II diabetes. Rates of hypertension are significantly higher in obese individuals. These comorbidities have been positively associated with the modern Western diet. Worldwide, many government and health organizations have called for public policy measures to mandate sodium reductions in processed foods. The objective of this study is to assess the possible direct association between high salt intake and adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia as it relates to obesity.
Redefining business: IT alignment through a unified framework

Even fervent adherents of business - IT alignment admit that the concept is not at all unambiguous, that no serious attempts have been made to make the concept more angible and hence that it is questionable whether alignment in its actual meaning is viable or even makes a difference in an organisation’s performance over time. This papers redefines the concept by positioning it in a unified framework. This framework is derived form the generic framework for information management and the integrated architecture framework. This paper aims at providing for the foundation for further research into the concept of alignment as a real tool for management and design.
Post-Progression Survival after EGFR-TKI for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring EGFR Mutations

Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients that harbor epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations benefit from receiving an EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI); however, post-progression survival (PPS) after EGFR-TKI treatment has not been sufficiently studied. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data from stage IV or recurrent NSCLC patients who harbored EGFR mutations and who received EGFR-TKI as their first-line treatment in our institute between 2009 and 2011. Results In total, 36 patients received EGFR-TKI treatment as their first-line therapy. Of those 36 patients, 30 experienced recurrence and were enrolled in this study. The median progression-free survival (PFS) of these patients was 8.2 months. Twelve patients received EGFR-TKI treatment beyond the diagnosis of progressive disease (PD), and 8 received second-line therapy. The PPS after EGFR-TKI treatment was 9.1 months, and survival after the termination of EGFR-TKI treatment in those patients treated with second-line chemotherapy was 13.9 months. The site of relapse was investigated and PFS in EGFR-TKI-treated patients with relapse in the brain (11.6 months) showed a trend toward a longer PFS compared with patients with relapse at other sites (8.2 months). The median PPS after EGFR-TKI treatment also showed the same trend in each group (12.9 and 9.2 months, respectively). Conclusions The PPS after EGFR-TKI treatment failure was 9.1 months, while the survival of patients who underwent second-line chemotherapy after the termination of EGFR-TKI treatment was 13.9 months, comparable with the overall survival of EGFR mutation-negative patients, as previously reported. The prognosis of these NSCLC patients with EGFR mutations varied according to the sites of recurrence after first-line EGFR-TKI treatment. Of particular note was the prognosis of patients with brain metastases, which tended to be better than that of patients with metastases to other sites.
Momentum, Business Cycle and Time Varying Expected Returns

A growing number of researchers argue that time-series patterns in returns are due to investor irrationality and thus can be translated into abnormal profits. Continuation of short-term returns or momentum is one such pattern that has defied any rational explanation and is at odds with market efficiency. This paper shows that profits to momentum strategies can be explained by a set of lagged macroeconomic variables and payoffs to momentum strategies disappear once stock returns are adjusted for their predictability based on these macroeconomic variables. Our results provide a possible role for time-varying expected returns as an explanation for momentum payoffs. Copyright The American Finance Association 2002.
Ultra-thin Silicon Chips in Flexible Microsystems

With the growing demand for mechanically flexible electrical systems and the increasing level of integration of electrical assemblies, hybrid build-ups combining polymer substrates and ultra-thin flexible silicon chips (system-in-foil) are getting more and more important. These systems need thin chips which maintain their functionality even in bent condition as well as reliable handling and assembly processes. A consortium composed of companies and research institutes has researched and tested novel technologies within the framework of a leadingedge cluster called MicroTEC Südwest in Germany. Keywords—ultra-thin chips; flexible build-ups; Chip-in-Flex; System-in-Foil; Embedded Component Technology; ECT; ThinECT
Book Review How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know

The book is concerned with showing how marketing science and quantitative empirical research can offer a series of generalisations as to how companies can achieve brand growth. To achieve this, the book builds upon seminal work by pioneering marketing scientists such as Ehrenberg and Goodhart, who have greatly influenced the work of this volume’s principal author and other researchers at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia. It is clear from the outset that this book is a challenging read and is often critical of the way practice, teaching and some instances research adopts ‘taken for granted’ beliefs about the fundamentals of brand growth without appealing to, and taking notice of empirical evidence that may cast doubt on the such assumptions. Hence the volume is an attempt to critique a number of fundamental brand growth assumptions using as its basis empirical data (displayed in interesting tables) from cross-sectoral industries, and examples relating to countries around the globe.
Who Believes in the Storybook Image of the Scientist?

ABSTRACT Do lay people and scientists themselves recognize that scientists are human and therefore prone to human fallibilities such as error, bias, and even dishonesty? In a series of three experimental studies and one correlational study (total N = 3,278) we found that the “storybook image of the scientist” is pervasive: American lay people and scientists from over 60 countries attributed considerably more objectivity, rationality, open-mindedness, intelligence, integrity, and communality to scientists than to other highly-educated people. Moreover, scientists perceived even larger differences than lay people did. Some groups of scientists also differentiated between different categories of scientists: established scientists attributed higher levels of the scientific traits to established scientists than to early-career scientists and Ph.D. students, and higher levels to Ph.D. students than to early-career scientists. Female scientists attributed considerably higher levels of the scientific traits to female scientists than to male scientists. A strong belief in the storybook image and the (human) tendency to attribute higher levels of desirable traits to people in one’s own group than to people in other groups may decrease scientists’ willingness to adopt recently proposed practices to reduce error, bias and dishonesty in science.
Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery Hyperintensity Correlates With Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Level and Hemorrhagic Transformation in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is elevated in patients with acute stroke who later develop hemorrhagic transformation (HT). It is controversial whether early fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyperintensity on brain MRI predicts hemorrhagic transformation (HT). We assessed whether FLAIR hyperintensity was associated with MMP-9 and HT. Methods— We analyzed a prospectively collected cohort of acute stroke subjects with acute brain MRI images and MMP-9 values within the first 12 hours after stroke onset. FLAIR hyperintensity was measured using a signal intensity ratio between the stroke lesion and corresponding normal contralateral hemisphere. MMP-9 was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relationships between FLAIR ratio (FR), MMP-9, and HT were evaluated. Results— A total of 180 subjects were available for analysis. Patients were imaged with brain MRI at 5.6±4.3 hours from last seen well time. MMP-9 blood samples were drawn within 7.7±4.0 hours from last seen well time. The time to MRI (r=0.17, P=0.027) and MMP-9 level (r=0.29, P<0.001) were each associated with FR. The association between MMP-9 and FR remained significant after multivariable adjustment (P<0.001). FR was also associated with HT and symptomatic hemorrhage (P=0.012). Conclusions— FR correlates with both MMP-9 level and risk of hemorrhage. FLAIR changes in the acute phase of stroke may predict hemorrhagic transformation, possibly as a reflection of altered blood–brain barrier integrity.
Viral and Latent Reservoir Persistence in HIV-1–Infected Patients on Therapy

Despite many years of potent antiretroviral therapy, latently infected cells and low levels of plasma virus have been found to persist in HIV-infected patients. The factors influencing this persistence and their relative contributions have not been fully elucidated and remain controversial. Here, we address these issues by developing and employing a simple, but mechanistic viral dynamics model. The model has two novel features. First, it assumes that latently infected T cells can undergo bystander proliferation without transitioning into active viral production. Second, it assumes that the rate of latent cell activation decreases with time on antiretroviral therapy due to the activation and subsequent loss of latently infected cells specific for common antigens, leaving behind cells that are successively less frequently activated. Using the model, we examined the quantitative contributions of T cell bystander proliferation, latent cell activation, and ongoing viral replication to the stability of the latent reservoir and persisting low-level viremia. Not surprisingly, proliferation of latently infected cells helped maintain the latent reservoir in spite of loss of latent infected cells through activation and death, and affected viral dynamics to an extent that depended on the magnitude of latent cell activation. In the limit of zero latent cell activation, the latent cell pool and viral load became uncoupled. However, as the activation rate increased, the plasma viral load could be maintained without depleting the latent reservoir, even in the absence of viral replication. The influence of ongoing viral replication on the latent reservoir remained insignificant for drug efficacies above the “critical efficacy” irrespective of the activation rate. However, for lower drug efficacies viral replication enabled the stable maintenance of both the latent reservoir and the virus. Our model and analysis methods provide a quantitative and qualitative framework for probing how different viral and host factors contribute to the dynamics of the latent reservoir and the virus, offering new insights into the principal determinants of their persistence.
FastSLAM with Stereo Vision

We consider the problem of performing simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) with a stereo vision sensor, where image features are matched and triangulated for use as landmarks. We explain how we obtain landmark measurements from image features, and describe them with a Gaussian noise model for use with a Rao-Blackwellized particle filter-based SLAM algorithm called FastSLAM. This algorithm uses particles to describe uncertainty in robot pose, and Gaussian distributions to describe landmark position estimates. Simulation and experimental results indicate that FastSLAM is well suited for visionbased SLAM, because of an inherent robustness to landmark mismatches, and we achieve accuracies that are comparable to other state-of-the-art systems.
Natural Antisense Transcript: A Concomitant Engagement with Protein-Coding Transcript

The vertebrate genome contains large spans of non-coding RNA, which for the most part were considered of little functional value to the organism. Recent studies have indicated that vertebrate genomes may have stored hidden secrets in this large span of non-coding RNA, which we refer to here as “Natural Antisense Transcripts (NATs). ” NATs can be found in introns, exons, promoters, enhancers, intergenic sequences, and untranslated regions of the genome. They can be located in either the plus or minus DNA strand. NATs utilize several mechanisms that include DNA replication interference, chromatin remodeling, transcriptional interference, RNA masking, double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-dependent mechanisms and translation interference to mechanistically regulate gene expression. Recently, NAT levels have been identified as dysregulated in various disease states. This review presents an overview of the current state of NAT biology and highlights the main points with specific examples.
Off-Label Medicine Use in Pediatric Inpatients: A Prospective Observational Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in India

Background. In the absence of standard pediatric prescribing information, clinicians often use medicines in an off-label way. Many studies have been published across the globe reporting different rates of off-label use. There is currently no study based on Indian drug formulary. Methods. The prospective observational study included pediatric patients in ages between 0 and 12 years admitted in a tertiary care hospital. Off-label use was assessed using the National Formulary of India (NFI). Predictors of off-label use were determined by logistic regression. Results. Of the 1645 medications prescribed, 1152 (70%) were off-label based on 14 possible off-label categories. Off-label medicines were mainly due to dose difference and use in restricted age limits as indicated in NFI. Respiratory medicines (82%), anti-infectives (73%), and nervous system medicines (53%) had higher off-label use. Important predictors of off-label prescribing were pediatric patients in age of 0 to 2 years (OR 1.68, 95% CI; P < 0.001) and hospital stay of six to 10 days (OR 1.91, 95% CI; P < 0.001). Conclusion. Off-label prescribing is common among pediatric patients. There is need to generate more quality data on the safety and efficacy of off-label medicines to rationalize pediatric pharmacotherapy.
Ensuring Area k-Coverage in Wireless Sensor Networks with Realistic Physical Layers

Wireless sensor networks are composed of hundreds of small and low power devices deployed over a field to monitor. Energy consumption is balanced by taking advantage of the redundancy induced by the random deployment of nodes. Some nodes are active while others are in sleep mode. Area coverage protocols aim at turning off redundant sensor nodes while preserving satisfactory monitoring by the set of active nodes. The problem addressed here consists in building k distinct subsets of active nodes (layers), in a fully decentralized manner, so that each layer covers the area. In our protocol, each node selects a waiting timeout, listening to messages from neighbors. Activity messages include the layer at which a node has decided to be active. Depending on the physical layer used for sensing modeling, any node can evaluate if the provided coverage is sufficient for each layer. If so, node can sleep, otherwise it selects a layer to be active. Here, we describe a localized area coverage protocol able to maintain an area k-covered under realistic physical layer assumptions for both sensing and communicating modules.
A Simpler Formulation of Natural Deduction Calculus for Linear-Time Temporal Logic

The paper continues our studies of natural deduction calculus for the propositional linear-time temporal logic PLTL. We present a new formulation of natural deduction calculus for PLTL. The system is shown to be sound and complete. This new formulation is simpler than the previous one, and this fact is believed to be crucial for possible appli cations of our technique as an automatic reasoning tool in a deliberative decision making framework across various AI applications.
Energy-Efficient Technologies and Climate Change Policies: Issues and Evidence

Enhanced energy efficiency occupies a central role in evaluating the efficacy and cost of climate change policies. Ultimately, total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the product of population, economic activity per capita, energy use per unit of economic activity, and the carbon intensity of energy used. Although greenhouse gas emissions can be limited by reducing economic activity, this option obviously has little appeal even to rich countries, let alone poor ones. Much attention has therefore been placed on the role that technological improvements can play in reducing carbon emissions and in lowering the cost of those reductions. In addition, the influence of technological changes on the emission, concentration, and cost of reducing GHGs will tend to overwhelm other factors, especially in the longer term. Understanding the process of technological change is therefore of utmost importance. Nonetheless, the task of measuring, modeling, and ultimately influencing the path of technological development is fraught with complexity and uncertainty? as are the technologies themselves. Although there is little debate over the importance of energy efficiency in limiting GHG emissions, there is intense debate about its cost-effectiveness and about the government policies that should be pursued to enhance energy efficiency. At the risk of excessive simplification, we can characterize "technologists" as believing that there are plentiful opportunities for low-cost, or even "negative-cost" improvements in energy efficiency, and that realizing these opportunities will require active intervention in markets for energy-using equipment to help overcome barriers to the use of more efficient technologies. Most economists, on the other hand, acknowledge that there are "market barriers" to the penetration of various technologies that enhance energy efficiency, but that only some of these barriers represent real "market failures" that reduce economic efficiency. In this essay, we examine what lies behind this dichotomy in perspectives. Ultimately, the veracity of different perspectives is an empirical question and reliable empirical evidence on the issues identified above is surprisingly limited. We review the evidence that is available, finding that although energy and technology markets certainly are not perfect (no markets are), the balance of evidence supports the view that there is not as much "free lunch" in energy efficiency as some would suggest. On the other hand, a case can be made for the existence of certain inefficiencies in energy technology markets, thus raising the possibility of some inexpensive GHG control through energy-efficiency enhancement. We conclude with some reflections on the role of appropriate energy efficiency policy in climate change mitigation.
A new desktop instrument for measuring macular pigment optical density based on a novel technique for setting flicker thresholds

A rapid portable technique for estimating macular pigment optical density (MPOD) in large populations is described. The new instrument utilises a novel method for setting flicker thresholds which is undemanding for naïve and elderly observers and easily operated by a non‐technical person. The method has good repeatability (r = 0.97) and the data are comparable with an optical method based on retinal reflectometry (r = 0.78). MPOD spatial profiles are presented for seven normal observers and these are well described (r = 0.99) by a decaying exponential function consistent with previous reports. MPOD values are presented from 5581 (2435 females and 3146 males) individuals measured in 48 optometric practices. The mean MPOD of this population was 0.33 (S.D. ± 0.187) which is similar to previous large scale studies of MP.