Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Professional Competence in Problem Based Learning Settings : Two Case Studies

This paper discusses the congruence between Problem Based Learning (PBL) and competency based assessment and describes how competency based assessment has been implemented in two seemingly unrelated professional disciplines, nursing and construction management. The design and underlying principles of the assessment approaches used to determine students' professional competence through the use of professional standards to frame learning and assessment are discussed. Through presentation of the preliminary findings of a case study that explores staff and student experiences in the construction management and nursing programmes, the authors aim to describe the issues and challenges they have encountered in their attempts to implement competency based assessment within PBL programmes in tertiary education contexts. INTRODUCTION Competency Based Assessment, Higher Education and Problem Based Learning The idea of a competency-based approach to higher education has generated a wide range of responses ranging from resentment of imposed changes to hopeful optimism about the opportunities that might exist. Early surveys conducted by Bowden and Masters (1992) indicated that the most prevalent response from academics towards a competency-based approach to higher education is negative, viewing the approach to be “too narrow. mechanistic and prescriptive. ” On the other hand, there was also a significantly positive response which saw competency based education and training as benefiting higher education in clarifying intended outcomes of undergraduate programmes, particularly in relation to workplace requirements. Increasingly, professional courses are seeking to determine graduate outcomes through assessment within a competency framework. It is necessary to distinguish competency standards appropriate for higher education from the standards used at vocational education and training levels. (Kingsland and Chen, 1993). It is useful in defining competencies appropriate to the development of higher education curricula, or higher-order competencies, to contrast the attributes and objectives of these competencies with those appropriate to vocational training and those appropriate to professional practice. Where this approach to competency-based education and training is adopted, a broader view of the competencies assessed must be taken and this can only be achieved when performance is viewed holistically and in context. In the context of professional courses, a competency oriented approach to assessment differs from the traditional behaviourist approach to task performance that has pervaded discussions of
Calibrating Research in Program Synthesis Using 72,000 Hours of Programmer Time

After the initial enthusiasm of the ’70s and ’80s abated, the topic of program synthesis is now being researched with renewed interest. Recent advances can be explained in large part by significant strides made in automated theorem proving technologies, particularly in the development of satisfiability solvers. In an effort to understand the scalability of program synthesis, we ran a three-day programming contest featuring thousands of expert programmers. The results of the contest were astounding: the winning teams produced program synthesizers that scaled several orders of magnitude beyond the current state of the art in the research literature. In one sense, this is a “reality check” for program synthesis researchers. In another, this is cause for great optimism—program synthesis has the potential to scale well beyond what we thought was possible, if only we are willing to fine tune and employ strategies that were previously thought infeasible. A note from the authors: The first six authors are all members of “Unagi—The Synthesis”, the team that won the ICFP programming contest 2013—we refer to them collectively as “Unagi”. The last two authors organized the contest and prepared this report, based, in part, on communications with Unagi.
On the Near-Infrared Size of Vega

Near-infrared (2.2 μm) long baseline interferometric observations of Vega are presented. The stellar disk of the star has been resolved, and the data have been fitted with a limb-darkened stellar disk of diameter ΘLD = 3.28 ± 0.01 mas. The derived effective temperature is Teff = 9553 ± 111 K. However, the residuals resulting from the stellar disk model appear to be significant and display organized structure. Instrumental artifacts, stellar surface structure, stellar atmosphere structure, and extended emission/scattering from the debris disk are discussed as possible sources of the residuals. While the current data set cannot uniquely determine the origin of the residuals, the debris disk is found to be the most likely source. A simple debris disk model, with 3%-6% of Vega's flux emanating from the disk at r ≲ 4 AU, can explain the residuals.
The Impact of Facilitation by Museum Educators on Family Learning at Interactive Math Exhibits: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract Although discussions of museums often revolve around exhibits, educators in these spaces have the potential to create in-depth, social learning experiences beyond what is possible at exhibits alone. There is still little empirical research, however, to inform how we understand, approach, and improve museum facilitation practices. In this study, we sought to address this gap by quantifying the impact of facilitation by trained educators working with visitors at interactive museum exhibits and comparing this to visitor engagement and learning outcomes for families without educator support. Using a quasi-experimental design, we measured the impact of staff facilitation on visitor engagement time, mathematical reasoning, math awareness, satisfaction, and intergenerational communication across three different exhibits, four trained educators, and two experimental conditions. Multivariate regression modeling showed that staff facilitation had a positive impact on engagement time, mathematical reasoning, and satisfaction, a negative impact on intergenerational communication, and no impact on math awareness.
The Convergence of Maturational Change and Structural Covariance in Human Cortical Networks

Large-scale covariance of cortical thickness or volume in distributed brain regions has been consistently reported by human neuroimaging studies. The mechanism of this population covariance of regional cortical anatomy has been hypothetically related to synchronized maturational changes in anatomically connected neuronal populations. Brain regions that grow together, i.e., increase or decrease in volume at the same rate over the course of years in the same individual, are thus expected to demonstrate strong structural covariance or anatomical connectivity across individuals. To test this prediction, we used a structural MRI dataset on healthy young people (N = 108; aged 9–22 years at enrollment), comprising 3–6 longitudinal scans on each participant over 6–12 years of follow-up. At each of 360 regional nodes, and for each participant, we estimated the following: (1) the cortical thickness in the median scan and (2) the linear rate of change in cortical thickness over years of serial scanning. We constructed structural and maturational association matrices and networks from these measurements. Both structural and maturational networks shared similar global and nodal topological properties, as well as mesoscopic features including a modular community structure, a relatively small number of highly connected hub regions, and a bias toward short distance connections. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data on a subset of the sample (N = 32), we also demonstrated that functional connectivity and network organization was somewhat predictable by structural/maturational networks but demonstrated a stronger bias toward short distance connections and greater topological segregation. Brain structural covariance networks are likely to reflect synchronized developmental change in distributed cortical regions.
Snoring in Portuguese Primary School Children

Objective. To determine the prevalence of snoring and its potential associations with sleep problems, such as daytime symptoms, medical conditions, school performance, and behavioral disturbances in Portuguese children attending primary school. Methods. A previously validated questionnaire was sent to the parents of 1381 children attending primary schools in a parish of Coimbra, Portugal. To assess behavioral disturbances, the Portuguese version of Rutter's Children's Behavior Questionnaire for completion by teachers was used. Results. Of the 988 questionnaires returned (71.5%), complete information concerning snoring was obtained for 976 children (496 girls and 480 boys; mean age: 8.1 ± 1.5 years). Loud snoring during sleep was reported as frequent or constantly present (LSn) in 84 children (8.6%), as occasionally present in 299 children (30.6%), and as never present (NSn) by 593 children (60.8%). The LSn and NSn groups did not differ with respect to age, gender, sleep duration, time to fall asleep, frequency of night wakings, bedwetting, daytime tiredness, and school achievement. However, LSn was significantly associated with increased bedtime problems (fears and struggles), increased need for comforting activities to fall asleep, behaviors suggestive of parasomnias (sleep talking, teeth grinding, and night terrors), increased daytime sleepiness and irritability, and behavioral disturbances. Children in the LSn group were also more likely to report recurrent medical problems particularly those involving infections of the respiratory tract. Conclusions. Snoring is a common symptom in Portuguese children that is associated with behavioral daytime and sleep time disturbances. Children with loud snoring may benefit from early evaluation and intervention.
Lesbian adolescents’ narratives of identity: A participatory photovoice project

Lesbian identities in South Africa have largely been framed within a risk paradigm, with a focus on adolescents’ experiences of homophobic victimisation in schools and black lesbian women being victims of ‘corrective rape’. This framing of lesbian identities within a risk paradigm is problematic, as it erases the multi-dimensionality of lesbian lives and identities. This study aimed to shift away from a risk paradigm and allow young lesbian adolescents to represent their own lives and identities. This study therefore investigated how young lesbian and bisexual women chose to represent their lives and identities through the method of Photovoice, and how the stories they told challenged or maintained dominant narratives about young people of diverse sexualities. Fourteen black, Xhosa-speaking adolescents between the ages of thirteen and seventeen participated. Twelve participants identified as butch lesbians and two identified as bisexual. The study used Photovoice, a participatory action research (PAR) method. The participants were trained in photography and took photographs that represented a story that they wanted to tell about their lives, and created a written narrative (photostory) to accompany their photographs. They also participated in focus groups and individual interviews. The Photovoice process culminated in a public exhibition of the participants’ photographic work. The focus group transcripts, interview transcripts, photostories, and photographs were analysed using thematic narrative analysis. Five main narrative themes emerged: Narrating ‘tomboy’ childhoods; Clothing as a symbol of identity; Negotiating butch identity; Constructions of safety, violence, and community; and finally Alienation and finding affirming spaces. Recommendations and implications of the findings are discussed. In particular, the findings point to the importance of the use of participatory methods with young people.
Research as Artisanship versus Research as Generation of Novelty: The March to Nowhere

The desire to ensure that its findings stand up to scrutiny is leading to a redefinition of research as skilled application of special techniques rather than a search for fresh insights. Generating novelty is now being seen as dangerous, because it could lead to false conclusions and loss of public confidence. The remedy is said to be replicability. However, replicability is not the goal of research, but a criterion for testing the robustness of novel ideas. The real problem is not excessive focus on novelty, but the poor quality of public dissemination of research findings. Thus, what is needed are public education and a responsible role for the media in informing the public, not the self-imposition of stifling orthodoxy on research.
Better Code for Better Apps: A Study on Source Code Quality and Market Success of Android Applications

The quality of a mobile application is a major concern for developers, users and application stores. Even though several mobile-specific techniques have been proposed to evaluate the quality of a mobile software product, there is little evidence about their applicability as an efficient way to forecast a potential success of a mobile software product in a real app store. In this paper, we investigated the contribution of the code quality in the market success of Android apps in the Google Play store. We retrieved the source code of 100 Open Source mobile apps, we calculated a set of product metrics, and we obtained several market indicators from an application store. Utilizing statistical methods we determined whether there is a relationship between product quality and market success. The results obtained shown consistently that the quality of the source code has a marginal impact into the indices that describe the market success, suggesting that the real drivers of customer satisfaction and market penetration in the mobile app business go beyond purely source-oriented quality attributes.
Cultivation of Pathogenic and Opportunistic Free-Living Amebas

SUMMARY Free-living amebas are widely distributed in soil and water, particularly members of the genera Acanthamoeba and Naegleria. Since the early 1960s, they have been recognized as opportunistic human pathogens, capable of causing infections of the central nervous system (CNS) in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. Naegleria is the causal agent of a fulminant CNS condition, primary amebic meningoencephalitis; Acanthamoeba is responsible for a more chronic and insidious infection of the CNS termed granulomatous amebic encephalitis, as well as amebic keratitis. Balamuthia sp. has been recognized in the past decade as another ameba implicated in CNS infections. Cultivation of these organisms in vitro provides the basis for a better understanding of the biology of these amebas, as well as an important means of isolating and identifying them from clinical samples. Naegleria and Acanthamoeba can be cultured axenically in cell-free media or on tissue culture cells as feeder layers and in cultures with bacteria as a food source. Balamuthia, which has yet to be isolated from the environment, will not grow on bacteria. Instead, it requires tissue culture cells as feeder layers or an enriched cell-free medium. The recent identification of another ameba, Sappinia diploidea, suggests that other free-living forms may also be involved as causal agents of human infections.
Online Behavior in Virtual Space: An Empirical Study on Helping

Although previous studies have acknowledged that helping behavior has many potential benefits, little research has aimed at understanding which factors would possibly enhance helping behaviors among team members in CSCL environment. Accordingly, this study was intended to identify underlying factors leading learners to collaborate in virtual CSCL settings. A total of 100 undergraduate students enrolled in organizational behavior course participated in this study. Participants were divided into 20 work teams and were asked to collaborate with team members to successfully complete their team report on time. This study corroborated that social identity was a critical preceding antecedent of the engendering of learners' helping behaviors. According to our empirical results, learners strongly identifying themselves with the team perceived a high sense of norms of collaboration and a strong trust in team members, which in turn would result in the delivery of more helping behaviors. Implications for educators and instructors to enhance helping behaviors among team members in CSCL environment are also discussed in this paper.
Neural Network Based Quantitative Structural Property Relations (QSPRs) for Predicting Boiling Points of Aliphatic Hydrocarbons

Quantitative structural property relations (QSPRs) for boiling points of aliphatic hydrocarbons were derived using a back-propagation neural network and a modified Fuzzy ARTMAP architecture. With the back-propagation model, the selected molecular descriptors were capable of distinguishing between diastereomers. The QSPRs were obtained from four valance molecular connectivity indices (1chiv,2chiv,3chiv,4chiv), a second-order Kappa shape index (2kappa), dipole moment, and molecular weight. The inclusion of dipole moment proved to be particularly useful for distinguishing between cis and trans isomers. A back-propagation 7-4-1 architecture predicted boiling points for the test, validation, and overall data sets of alkanes with average absolute errors of 0.37% (1.65 K), 0.42% (1.73 K), and 0.37% (1.54 K), respectively. The error for the test and overall data sets decreased to 0.19% (0.81 K) and 0.31% (1.30 K), respectively, using the modified Fuzzy ARTMAP network. A back-propagation alkene model, with a 7-10-1 architecture, yielded predictions with average absolute errors for the test, validation, and overall data sets of 1.96% (6.79 K), 1.83% (6.45 K), and 1.25% (4.42 K), respectively. Fuzzy ARTMAP reduced the errors for the test and overall data sets to 0.19% (0.73 K) and 0.25% (0.95 K), respectively. The back-propagation composite model for aliphatic hydrocarbons, with a 7-9- architecture, yielded boiling points with average absolute errors for the test, validation, and overall set of 1.74% (6.09 K), 1.25% (4.68 K), and 1.37% (4.85 K), respectively. The error for the test and overall data sets using the Fuzzy ARTMAP composite model decreased to 0.84% (1.15 K) and 0.35% (1.35 K), respectively. Performance of the QSPRs, developed from a simple set of molecular descriptors, displayed accuracy well within the range of expected experimental errors and of better accuracy than other regression analysis and neural network-based boiling points QSPRs previously reported in the literature.
Conservation of amino acid sequences in albumin: is albumin an essential protein?

Albumin, the most abundant protein in vertebrate serum, is thought to be a nonessential protein because other serum proteins take over albumin’s actions to bind and transport hydrophobic ligands such as fatty acids, bilirubin, and steroids and to maintain osmotic pressure in blood in “analbuminemic” humans (Gitlin and Gitlin 1975; Bowman et al. 1976) and rats (Nagase et al. 1979). Additional support for this idea comes from a recent analysis (Minghetti et al. 1985) of the amino acid sequences of rodent and human albumin and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a paralogue of albumin (Alexander-Eiferman et al. 198 1; Jagodzinski et al. 198 1; Morinaga et al. 1983). This analysis shows that albumin and AFP are accumulating amino acid changes about twofold and threefold, respectively, faster than does hemoglobin. In fact, the rate of change in AFP is about half that of pseudogenes and approaches that of fibrinopeptides (Minghetti et al. 1985). When segments of a protein undergo relatively rapid changes in their amino acid sequences, they are thought to be nonessential to the biological functioning of the protein. Thus, if most of albumin is undergoing rapid change, and if the absence of albumin does not lead to an obvious disease state, then it would seem that albumin no longer has an essential biological function in the organism. Here, I show that both of these premises are invalid, and I propose that albumin has essential, albeit still unelucidated, biological function(s). First, it has not truly been demonstrated that humans or rats can survive without albumin, because “analbuminemic” humans and rats have - lo-25 pg albumin/ml. Even though this concentration is > 1,000 fold less than the normal albumin concen- tration, it still is high when compared with the concentration of growth factors or other essential proteins in serum. Second, as shown in table 1, exons 12- 14, the last three coded exons in domain III of human albumin, are 50% identical to human AFP. Figure 1 shows the alignment of the 58 residues of exons 13 and 14 in human albumin and AFP. To put these numbers in perspective, note that alignment of human hemoglobin alpha and beta chains, a paralogous system, reveals 45% identities (Feng and Doolittle 1987). These genes diverged -400-450 Mya (Goodman et al. 1988), a date similar to that for the divergence of albumin and AFP. Thus, a 133-residue part of the human albumin and AFP (exons 12- 14) is changing more slowly than the alpha and beta chains of human hemoglobin-and clearly much less than fibrinopeptides and pseudogenes. From table 1 it is clear that other subdomains of human albumin and AFP, such as subdomains I-C, II-A, II-C, and II-D, also are under constraints as far as changes in amino acid sequences are concerned. Table 1 reveals that some albumin and AFP subdomains (e.g., I-A, I-D, II-B, and III-A) differ by 65%-77%, which serves to further emphasize that there are indeed constraints on changes in the sequences of other parts of albumin and AFP, parts that I suggest are involved in essential biological actions of albumin and AFP.
Effects and Effectiveness of Two RNAi Constructs for Resistance to Pepper golden mosaic virus in Nicotiana benthamiana Plants

ToChLPV and PepGMV are Begomoviruses that have adapted to a wide host range and are able to cause major diseases in agronomic crops. We analyzed the efficacy of induced resistance to PepGMV in Nicotiana benthamiana plants with two constructs: one construct with homologous sequences derived from PepGMV, and the other construct with heterologous sequences derived from ToChLPV. Plants protected with the heterologous construct showed an efficacy to decrease the severity of symptoms of 45%, while plants protected with the homologous construct showed an efficacy of 80%. Plants protected with the heterologous construct showed a reduction of incidence of 42.86%, while the reduction of incidence in plants protected with the homologous construct was 57.15%. The efficacy to decrease viral load was 95.6% in plants protected with the heterologous construct, and 99.56% in plants protected with the homologous construct. We found, in both constructs, up-regulated key components of the RNAi pathway. This demonstrates that the efficacy of the constructs was due to the activation of the gene silencing mechanism, and is reflected in the decrease of viral genome copies, as well as in recovery phenotype. We present evidence that both constructs are functional and can efficiently induce transient resistance against PepGMV infections. This observation guarantees a further exploration as a strategy to control complex Begomovirus diseases in the field.
Design of elliptical antenna for UWB applications with high isolation

A novel UWB antenna is consisting of elliptical structure with symmetrical slots which performs over Ultrawideband (UWB), an antenna with high isolation over - 25dB throughout the entire band. The proposed structure is designed on an FR4 substrate with dimensions of 23mm × 38mm × 1.6mm. The configuration of antenna is designed for high isolation with reflector element on the ground plane over the entire UWBband. The proposed design also exhibits 2:1 VSWR impedance Bandwidth over the UWB band.