Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimization of Pulse-Field Gel Electrophoresis for Subtyping of Klebsiella pneumoniae

A total of 110 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae were used to optimize pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for subtyping of K. pneumoniae. For optimization of electrophoresis parameters (EPs) of XbaI-PFGE, 11 isolates were analyzed with XbaI digestion using three EPs. The EP of a switch time of 6 to 36 s for 18.5 h gave clearest patterns and was declared the optimal EP for XbaI PFGE of K. pneumoniae. By software analysis and pilot study, AvrII was chosen as another PFGE enzyme. Both XbaI- and AvrII-PFGE gave D-values higher than 0.99 for 69 K. pneumoniae isolated from different sources. Our results also showed good typeability, reproducibility of both XbaI- and AvrII-PFGE for K. pneumoniae subtyping. Furthermore, the established PFGE method also had good discriminatory power to distinguish outbreak K. pneumoniae strains and a high degree of consistency with multilocus sequence typing method. A rapid PFGE protocol was established here, which could be used for genotyping and other researches of K. pneumoniae.
From the drawing board into schools: An analysis of the development and implementation of a new physics curriculum in New Zealand secondary schools

This thesis explored the introduction of a new physics curriculum in New Zealand secondary schools. It was part of a nationwide overhaul of the whole school curriculum from primary to secondary schools, initiated in the early 1990s. The study of curriculum change is inextricably woven with teacher change, as the teacher is seen as central to any real change in curricula in the classroom. Some theories of teacher change are reviewed here and synthesised into a list of criteria relevant to bringing about effective change in teachers and their practices. A sociocultural perspective emerged as being a useful theoretical approach in analysing and explaining these processes of curriculum change and teacher change because it takes a holistic approach that deals with 'people, places and things' and the discourses involved therein. In particular, Wenger's sociocultural theory was used to study the introduction of a new senior physics curriculum. His terms "reification" and "participation" were seen to apply to this research: the curriculum document was taken to be a reified communication artifact, and “participation” is involved in every stage of its development and implementation. In the context of this theorising, data was procured from in-depth interviews with the three curriculum writers and ten physics teachers in and around a provincial city in New Zealand. The teachers were interviewed three times over a period of three years: before, during and after the first year of implementation; namely 1996 to1998. The interviews showed that most of these ten physics teachers did not undergo any significant change in their teaching because of the introduction of Physics in the New Zealand Curriculum. The reasons or barriers identified, such as lack of guidelines and clarity, and contentment with their own existing practice, were aligned with factors that have been identified by other researchers as important influences on teachers undergoing change, such as clarity of change and need for change. Three key elements were identified from these issues emerging from the data as necessary conditions or resources for teacher change: knowledge, support and time. In
An Explanation of the Underlying Mechanisms for the In Vitro and In Vivo Antiurolithic Activity of Glechoma longituba

Purpose. To use in vitro and in vivo models to evaluate Glechoma longituba extract to provide scientific evidence for this extract's antiurolithic activity. Materials and Methods. Potassium citrate was used as a positive control group. Oxidative stress (OS) markers and the expression of osteopontin (OPN) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) were measured to assess the protective effects of Glechoma longituba. Multiple urolithiasis-related biochemical parameters were evaluated in urine and serum. Kidneys were harvested for histological examination and the assessment of crystal deposits. Results. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that treatment with Glechoma longituba extract significantly decreased calcium oxalate- (CaOx-) induced OPN expression, KIM-1 expression, and OS compared with the positive control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, in vivo rats that received Glechoma longituba extract exhibited significantly decreased CaOx deposits and pathological alterations (P < 0.05) compared with urolithic rats. Significantly lower levels of oxalate, creatinine, and urea and increased citrate levels were observed among rats that received Glechoma longituba (P < 0.05) compared with urolithic rats. Conclusion. Glechoma longituba has antiurolithic effects due to its possible combined effects of increasing antioxidant levels, decreasing urinary stone-forming constituents and urolithiasis-related protein expression, and elevating urinary citrate levels.
Surface electrical properties experiment

The Surface Electrical Properties Experiment (SEP) was flown to the moon in December 1972 on Apollo 17 and used to explore a portion of the Taurus-Littrow region. SEP used a relatively new technique, termed radio frequency interferometry (RFI). Electromagnetic waves were radiated from two orthogonal, horizontal electric dipole antennas on the surface of the moon at frequencies of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 Mhz. The field strength of the EM waves was measured as a function of distance with a receiver mounted on the Lunar Roving Vehicle and using three orthogonal, electrically small, loops. The interference pattern produced by the waves that travelled above the moon's surface and those that travelled below the surface was recorded on magnetic tape. The tape was returned to earth for analysis and interpretation. Several reprints, preprints, and an initial draft of the first publication of the SEP results are included. These documents provide a rather complete account of the details of the theory of the RFI technique, of the terrestrial tests of the technique, and of the present state of our interpretation of the Apollo 17 data.
The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on the Overall Success of Campus Leaders as Perceived by Veteran Teachers in a Rural Mid-Sized East Texas Public School District.

Twelve veteran teachers in Texas were interviewed for this qualitative study, to explore their perception of the influence of emotional intelligence on the success of campus leaders in a midsized, rural school district in East Texas. Five research questions framed in the context of Daniel Goleman’s theory of emotional intelligence, guided this study. This theory includes aspects of emotional intelligence such as: Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation, Empathy, and Socialskill. All data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Findings suggest that: teachers perceive principals to be more successful when they display and utilize a high degree of emotional intelligence, and less successful when they failed or neglected to utilize a high degree of emotional intelligence. Findings were further interpreted through the detailed accounts of each participant.
Building Young Children's Emotional Competence and Self-Regulation from Birth: The "Begin to…ECSEL" Approach.

Neuroscientific advances and child development studies show 0-6 years represents a sensitive period for the development of emotional competence—the ability to identify, understand, express and regulate emotion, all foundational to self-regulation. Research suggests optimum teaching of emotional competence and self-regulation skills from birth is through interventions emphasizing co-regulation. This study aimed to examine begin to.ECSEL, an emotional cognitive and social early learning approach that promotes emotional competence and self-regulation by teaching emotion knowledge and emotion regulation through causal talk and causal talk in the emotional experience. The study collected data over three years from 100 students, aged 2-6, receiving begin to.ECSEL. Study goals were to: (1) examine growth over one academic year among students receiving begin to.ECSEL on measures of attachment/relationship, initiative, selfregulation, emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and related constructs involving empathy, prosocial skills, positive reactions to frustration, negative emotions and aggressive behaviors; (2) examine differences between these students and national normative samples on measures of attachment/relationship, initiative, and selfregulation; and (3) explore differences between these students and normative samples on all the aforementioned constructs. Results demonstrated students significantly improved over time in these constructs and outperformed normative samples on emotionally regulated/prosocial skills, empathy, self-regulation, attachment and initiative.
Comparison of the diagnostic value of 3 T MRI after intratympanic injection of GBCA, electrocochleography, and the glycerol test in patients with Meniere's disease

Abstract Conclusion. 3 T MRI after intratympanic injection of gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) is more useful for the diagnosis of endolymphatic hydrops compared with the glycerol test and electrocochleography (ECoG). Objective: To investigate the relationship between 3 T MRI after intratympanic injection of GBCA, the glycerol test, and ECoG in patients with Meniere's disease (MD). Methods: A total of 20 patients with MD were evaluated. Diluted gadodiamide (a gadolinium-based contrast agent) was administered to the bilateral tympanic cavity by injection through the tympanic membrane. After 24 h, the endolymphatic hydrops was evaluated by a 3.0 T MR scanner. To investigate cochlear hydrops, the glycerol test and ECoG were carried out in all patients. Results: A positive result was observed in 11 patients (55%) in the glycerol test and in 12 patients (60%) by ECoG. The incidence of positive findings when evaluating the same patients with both the glycerol test and ECoG increased to 75%. Nineteen of 20 (95%) patients showed positive results for 3 T MRI.
University Staff Perspectives on Change Management Strategies in Student Information System Adoption.

UNIVERSITY STAFF PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM ADOPTION by Winnie W. Tsang-Kosma The process of information technology adoption and use is critical to deriving benefits of information technology. Thus, one of the most challenging issues in information systems research is to understand how people have experienced the adoption process that may lead to insights to why they accept or reject the information technology (Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989). There are many factors affecting the adoption process of information technology innovations within an organization. To ensure successful adoption of information technology innovations, organizations develop a planned approach to change and employ change management strategies such as communication, training, and functional users support groups to serve as leverage for the adoption. The purpose of this study informed by phenomenological perspectives was to better understand the lived experiences of university staff in the Student Information System (SIS) adoption process. By following Moustakas’ (1994) four primary steps in phenomenological research and his systematic approach, the inductive data analysis process assists in revealing the essence of Big University (Big U) (pseudonym) staff’s lived experiences of the change management strategies put in place for the SIS adopting process via long, in-depth interview sessions. The 24 participants were grouped by criteria profiles with the textural descriptions clustered by the ten emergent themes. Structural descriptions for each participant were developed based on the textural descriptions. The validated textural and structural descriptions were then used to develop the composite textural-structural descriptions. The composite textural-structural description for each criteria profile integrated the experiences of all the individual participants within the criteria profile. The validated composite textural-structural descriptions were then used to develop the synthesis textural-structural descriptions to reveal the universal experiences of all the participants. Thus, this study provided a detailed account of the Big U staff’s experiences which revealed how the change management strategies informed their decision in adopting and using the SIS. The universal experiences indicated that the success of the Big U SIS adoption and use after the initial SIS implementation was greatly enhanced by these planned change efforts. Thus, Big U upper administration declared the success of the SIS implementation when the project was completed on time and under budget. However, while the universal experiences reflected the success of the initial SIS adoption and use due to the planned changed efforts, a very different picture emerged for the SIS postimplementation for unit functions on-going support. UNIVERSITY STAFF PERSPECTIVES ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM ADOPTION by Winnie W. Tsang-Kosma
Multiphase SPH simulation for interactive fluids and solids

This work extends existing multiphase-fluid SPH frameworks to cover solid phases, including deformable bodies and granular materials. In our extended multiphase SPH framework, the distribution and shapes of all phases, both fluids and solids, are uniformly represented by their volume fraction functions. The dynamics of the multiphase system is governed by conservation of mass and momentum within different phases. The behavior of individual phases and the interactions between them are represented by corresponding constitutive laws, which are functions of the volume fraction fields and the velocity fields. Our generalized multiphase SPH framework does not require separate equations for specific phases or tedious interface tracking. As the distribution, shape and motion of each phase is represented and resolved in the same way, the proposed approach is robust, efficient and easy to implement. Various simulation results are presented to demonstrate the capabilities of our new multiphase SPH framework, including deformable bodies, granular materials, interaction between multiple fluids and deformable solids, flow in porous media, and dissolution of deformable solids.
Sharing Tacit Knowledge Among Expert Teaching Professors and Mentees: Considerations for Career and Technical Education Teacher Educators

This case study provides viewpoints of knowledge sharing by expert teaching professors and their mentees. Professors who were recognized as expert teachers with an annual award at a mid-western USA university were the units of analysis of this study. Expert teaching professors had difficulty articulating much of their teaching expertise. The difficulty was rooted in three characteristics of teaching expertise. Sharing tacit knowledge was also noted as a difficult task because the nature of tacit knowledge prevented it from being articulated. Methods of sharing tacit knowledge were categorized in two ways: observation and “bringing it to surface. ” Recommendations for additional study include examining knowledge sharing among expert and novice professors in career and technical education teacher education programs.
Relación entre apoyo social percibido y disposición resiliente en adolescentes paraguayos

El estudio de la adolescencia ha destacado la vulnerabilidad del proceso asociado con variables como la disposición resiliente, presente en aquellos recursos que pueden hacer la diferencia para el sustento del bienestar o su ausencia. De estos recursos se destaca el apoyo social que el adolescente percibe de su entorno. El objetivo de la investigación se centró en establecer la relación entre el apoyo social percibido y la disposición resiliente, y compararlas conforme el sexo y la edad de una muestra de adolescentes paraguayos escolarizados. Se llevó a cabo un diseño comparativo y correlacional, con 1334 adolescentes escolarizados de 12 a 18 años (ME= 14.99; DE= 1.66), 725 mujeres y 609 varones. Se empleó la Escala de Apreciación de Apoyo Social –EAAS y el Inventario de Resiliencia IRES. Los datos evidenciaron que no existe correlación entre apoyo social y disposición resiliente en esta muestra específica de adolescentes paraguayos, por factores que habrá que seguir investigando. Se observan diferencias en el apoyo social de amigos y de otros, mayormente en los varones. En las mujeres, se observan diferencias significativas en las escalas de resiliencia, en el sentido del humor, autoeficiencia y empatía. En cuanto a edad, los adolescentes de 16 a 18 años puntúan más en religiosidad y en el apoyo social, familiar, de amigos y de otros. Se sugiere estudiar otras variables relacionadas con el apoyo social y la disposición resiliente, en tanto muchas de las políticas públicas preventivas de atención a la salud positiva refuerzan su importancia en la adolescencia.
Treatment Outcomes of Clevudine versus Lamivudine at Week 48 in Naïve Patients with HBeAg Positive Chronic Hepatitis B

The authors assessed the efficacy and antiviral resistance of 48-week clevudine therapy versus lamivudine in treatment of naïve patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B. In this retrospective study, a total of 116 HBeAg positive patients, who received 30 mg of clevudine once daily (n=53) or 100 mg of lamivudine once daily (n=63) for 48 weeks, were included. At week 48, clevudine therapy produced a significantly greater mean reductions in serum HBV DNA levels from baseline than lamivudine therapy (-5.2 vs. -4.2 log10IU/mL; P=0.005). Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of patients on clevudine achieved negative serum HBV DNA by PCR (<13 IU/mL) at week 48 (60.4% vs. 38.1%; P=0.025). The incidence of virologic breakthrough in the clevudine group was significantly lower than in the lamivudine group (9.4% vs. 25.4%; P=0.031). However, rates of alanine aminotransferase normalization and HBeAg loss or seroconversion were similar in the two groups (83.0% vs. 81.0%, 11.3% vs. 11.1%; P=0.813, 1.000, respectively). In conclusion, clevudine is more potent for viral suppression and lower for antiviral resistance at week 48 than lamivudine in treatment of naïve patients with HBeAg positive chronic hepatitis B.
Childhood maltreatment and early alcohol use among high-risk adolescents.

OBJECTIVE Child maltreatment (CM) is prevalent among U.S. youth and has been associated with subsequent maladaptive behaviors, including substance use. The current study examines the associations between early child maltreatment and (1) preteen alcohol-use initiation and (2) heavy episodic drinking among students in a large study of adolescents. METHOD The Youth Violence Survey is a cross-sectional survey of public school students enrolled in Grades 7,9, 11, and 12 in a school district in a high-risk community. The analysis sample was limited to students who provided complete data on all relevant variables (N= 3,559). Fifty-two percent of the analysis sample was female. Early child maltreatment was defined as witnessing domestic violence and experiencing physical and/or sexual abuse before the age of 10 years. Outcome variables include ever drinking alcohol, preteen alcohol-use initiation, and heavy episodic drinking. RESULTS Witnessing domestic violence, experiencing physical abuse, and experiencing sexual abuse were significantly associated with preteen alcohol-use initiation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.26-1.91; AOR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.69-2.63; AOR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.16-2.14, respectively). Students who experienced one or more types of maltreatment were 1.5-3 times more likely to report preteen alcohol-use initiation. Heavy episodic drinking was associated only with childhood sexual abuse in boys (AOR = 2.62, 95% CI: 1.52-4.50). CONCLUSIONS Prevention and treatment of the negative impact of early child maltreatment may delay and reduce alcohol use.
Characterization of Acid Sphingomyelinase Activity in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid

Background As a key enzyme in sphingolipid metabolism, acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) is involved in the regulation of cell fate and signaling via hydrolysis of sphingomyelin to form ceramide. While increased activity of the lysosomal form has been associated with various pathological conditions, there are few studies on secretory ASM limited only to cell models, plasma or serum. Methods An optimized assay based on a fluorescent substrate was applied to measure the ASM activity in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected from mice and from 42 patients who were classified as controls based on normal routine CSF values. Results We have detected ASM activity in human CSF, established a sensitive quantitative assay and characterized the enzyme’s properties. The enzyme resembles plasmatic ASM including protein stability and Zn2+-dependence but the assays differ considerably in the optimal detergent concentration. Significantly increased activities in the CSF of ASM transgenic mice and undetectable levels in ASM knock-out mice prove that the measured ASM activity originates from the ASM-encoding gene SMPD1. CSF localized ASM activities were comparable to corresponding serum ASM levels at their respective optimal reaction conditions, but no correlation was observed. The large variance in ASM activity was independent of sex, age or analyzed routine CSF parameters. Conclusions Human and mouse CSF contain detectable levels of secretory ASM, which are unrelated to serum ASM activities. Further investigations in humans and in animal models will help to elucidate the role of this enzyme in human disease and to assess its value as a potential biomarker for disease type, severity, progress or therapeutic success.
A real-time simulator for interventional radiology

Interventional radiologists manipulate guidewires and catheters and steer stents through the patient's vascular system under X-ray imaging for treatment of vascular diseases. The complexity of these procedures makes training mandatory in order to master hand-eye coordination, instrument manipulation and procedure protocols for each radiologist. In this paper we present a simulator for interventional radiology, which deploys a model of guidewire/catheter based on the Cosserat theory applied to one-dimensional structures. This model starts from the energetic formulation of the flament considering the Hook laws of continuum mechanics. The Lagrange formulations are used to describe the model deformation. This model takes (self-) collisions into account and it is revealed to be very efficient for interactive applications. The simulation environment allows to carry out the most common procedures: guidewire and catheter navigation, contrast dye injection to visualize the vessels, balloon angioplasty and stent placement. Moreover, heartbeat as well as breathing are also simulated visually.
Do Atypical Antipsychotics Have Antisuicidal Effects? A Hypothesis-Generating Overview

Modern antipsychotic drugs are employed increasingly in the treatment of mood disorders as well as psychoses, stimulating interest in their possible contributions to altering suicidal risk. Clozapine remains the only treatment with an FDA-recognized indication for reducing suicidal risk (in schizophrenia). We carried out a systematic, computerized search for reports of studies involving antipsychotic drug treatment and suicidal behaviors. A total of 19 reports provide data with preliminary support for potential suicide risk-reducing effects of olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole, and asenapine in addition to clozapine, and provide some support for antipsychotic drug treatment in general. These preliminary findings encourage further testing of antipsychotics for effects on suicidal behavior, making use of explicit, pre-planned assessments of suicidal behavior.