Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Grades—Who's to Blame? Student Evaluation of Teaching and Locus of Control

The authors examine the relationship between students' locus of control and their evaluation of teaching in a traditional principles of economics course. Locus of control is a psychological construct that identifies an individual's beliefs about the degree of personal control that can be exercised over his or her environment. Students with an internal locus-of-control orientation accept responsibility for control over their environment whereas those with an external orientation believe that they have little control or power to affect personal outcomes. The authors entered students' Rotter scale scores derived from the standard instrument used to measure locus of control orientation into an empirical ordered probit model estimated to explain the determination of student evaluation of teaching scores. The results indicate that more internally oriented students had a greater probability of assigning above average evaluation marks with respect to instructor performance whereas more externally oriented students had a greater probability of assigning average and below average instructor evaluation marks.
Hydrogen tunneling in enzymes and biomimetic models.

Hydrogen transfer reactions play an important role throughout chemistry and biology. In general, hydrogen transfer reactions encompass proton and hydride transfer, which are associated with the transfer of a positively or negatively charged species, respectively, and proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET), which corresponds to the net transfer of one electron and one proton in the simplest case. Such PCET reactions can occur by either a sequential mechanism, in which the proton or electron transfers first, or a concerted mechanism, in which the electron and proton transfer in a single kinetic step with no stable intermediate. Furthermore, concerted PCET reactions can be subdivided into hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), which corresponds to the transfer of an electron and proton between the same donor and acceptor (i.e., the transfer of a predominantly neutral species), and electron-proton transfer (EPT), which corresponds to the transfer of an electron and proton between different donors and acceptors, possibly even in different directions. In all of these types of hydrogen transfer reactions, hydrogen tunneling could potentially play a significant role. The biomimetic portion was supported as part of the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science,more » Office of Basic Energy Sciences. « less
The Role of Story-Making in Disclosure Writing: The Psychometrics of Narrative

Writing about self-relevant emotional topics has a wide range of mental and physical health benefits. An appealing explanation for this phenomenon is that writing facilitates 'story-making' - the ability to make coherent and meaningful stories out of events in one's life - and it is forming a good story that promotes the health benefits. Despite the recent attention to this idea, the psychometrics and correlates of story-making are not known. The purpose of the current study was to explore this idea by measuring participants' story-making ability when writing about both emotional and unemotional topics and relate this to health, personality variables, and linguistic dimensions. Story-making was reliably assessed by independent raters, except for nonemotional topics. The ability to make good stories was not, however, consistent across topic, and story-making did not correlate with personality dimensions nor did it predict the health outcomes of participants.
Tumor-Derived Microvesicles Induce, Expand and Up-Regulate Biological Activities of Human Regulatory T Cells (Treg)

Background Tumor-derived microvesicles (TMV) or exosomes are present in body fluids of patients with cancer and might be involved in tumor progression. The frequency and suppressor functions of peripheral blood CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ Treg are higher in patients with cancer than normal controls. The hypothesis is tested that TMV contribute to induction/expansion/and activation of human Treg. Methodology/Principal Findings TMV isolated from supernatants of tumor cells but not normal cells induced the generation and enhanced expansion of human Treg. TMV also mediated conversion of CD4+CD25neg T cells into CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ Treg. Upon co-incubation with TMV, Treg showed an increased FasL, IL-10, TGF-β1, CTLA-4, granzyme B and perforin expression (p<0.05) and mediated stronger suppression of responder cell (RC) proliferation (p<0.01). Purified Treg were resistant to TMV-mediated apoptosis relative to other T cells. TMV also increased phospho-SMAD2/3 and phospho-STAT3 expression in Treg. Neutralizing Abs specific for TGF-β1 and/or IL-10 significantly inhibited TMV ability to expand Treg. Conclusions/Significance This study suggests that TMV have immunoregulatory properties. They induce Treg, promote Treg expansion, up-regulate Treg suppressor function and enhance Treg resistance to apoptosis. Interactions of TMV with Treg represent a newly-defined mechanism that might be involved in regulating peripheral tolerance by tumors and in supporting immune evasion of human cancers.
The Effect of Social Work Education and Self-Esteem on Students' Social Discrimination of People with Disabilities

Social work education on disability content has become more important due to political changes in the last two decades. The United States protected people with disabilities from discrimination in community and employment settings with the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. These changes have empowered people with disabilities to become more independent; however, social workers primarily fulfill roles as case managers, and often make decisions for people with disabilities. This is not consistent with the empowerment perspective embedded in the disability movement. Most social work schools have minimal courses covering disability content. Previous research and the Self-Esteem Hypothesis indicate that social work education, social proximity to people with disabilities, self-esteem and other demographic characteristics are associated with social discrimination, or attitudes, toward people with disabilities. Social work students (n = 73) participated in a survey in the last semester of their program to assess how these characteristics were associated with their attitudes towards people with disabilities. A multiple linear regression revealed that social work education preparedness to work with people with disabilities, an MSW education, self-esteem, and having a friend with a disability were significantly associated with students' social discrimination towards people with disabilities.
Understanding and overstanding: Feminist-poststructural life histories of physical education teachers

This article discusses theoretical tensions within a feminist-poststructural life history study that used a hybrid methodology for data analysis, including speech act theory, deconstruction, psychoanalysis and social postmodernism. In particular, the article explores the paradox of using "spoken accounts" to investigate "homophobic silences" about lesbian sexuality in the life histories of six lesbian and heterosexual physical education teachers. This paradox was, in part, resolved by drawing on Jonathon Culler's (1992) distinction between understanding, which asks questions the text insists upon, and overstanding, which asks questions the text did not pose. Excerpts from the life history interviews about coming out, marriage, lesbians in sport and teacher-student crushes illustrate how speech act theory and social postmodernism led to understanding while deconstruction and psychoanalytic theory contributed to overstanding.
Cyclic ADP-ribose-gated Ca 2 1 Release in Sea Urchin Eggs Requires an Elevated [ Ca 2 1 ]

Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPr) has been shown to release intracellular Ca from sea urchin eggs and a variety of vertebrate cell types, although its mechanism of action remains elusive. We employed the caged version of cADPr to study the [Ca] transient kinetics in intact sea urchin eggs for insights into how cADPr gates Ca release. Ca release triggered by photolytic production of cADPr was initially slow, with an effective delay of several hundred milliseconds before the onset of a rapid Ca release phase. In contrast, Ca release induced by photolysis of caged inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate was immediate in onset and roughly an order of magnitude faster. The delay before cADPr-induced Ca release was eliminated when the [Ca] was step-elevated coincident with the photoliberation of cADPr and greatly prolonged in the presence of exogenous Ca buffers. Thus, the slow onset of Ca release does not reflect an intrinsically slow rate by which cADPr gates release channels. Rather, a [Ca] rise from resting levels is needed to achieve more than minimal cADPr activity. Full release of Ca by cADPr in intact sea urchin eggs requires a positive Ca feedback.
Molten globule of bovine α‐lactalbumin at neutral pH induced by heat, trifluoroethanol, and oleic acid: A comparative analysis by circular dichroism spectroscopy and limited proteolysis

The calcium‐depleted form of α‐lactalbumin (α‐LA) at neutral pH can be induced to adopt a partly folded state or molten globule upon moderate heating, by dissolving the protein in aqueous TFE or by adding oleic acid. This last folding variant of the protein, named HAMLET, can induce apoptosis in tumor cells. The aim of the present work was to unravel from circular dichroism (CD) measurements and proteolysis experiments structural features of the molten globule of apo‐α‐LA at neutral pH. CD spectra revealed that the molten globule of apo‐α‐LA can be obtained upon mild heating at 45°C, as well as at room temperature in the presence of 15% TFE or by adding to the protein solution 7.5 equivalents of oleic acid. Under these various conditions the far‐ and near‐UV CD spectra of apo‐α‐LA are essentially identical to those of the most studied molten globule of α‐LA at pH 2.0 (A‐state). Proteolysis of the 123‐residue chain of apo‐α‐LA by proteinase K at 4°C occurs slowly as an all‐or‐none process leading to small peptides only. At 37°C, proteinase K preferentially cleaves apo‐α‐LA at peptide bonds Ser34‐Gly35, Gln39‐Ala40, Gln43‐Asn44, Phe53‐Gln54, and Asn56‐Asn57. All these peptide bonds are located at level of the β‐subdomain of the protein (chain region 34–57). Similar sites of preferential cleavage have been observed with the TFE‐ and oleic acid‐induced molten globule of apo‐α‐LA. A protein species given by the N‐terminal fragment 1–34 linked via the four disulfide bridges to the C‐terminal fragment 54–123 or 57–123 can be isolated from the proteolytic mixture. The results of this study indicate that the same molten globule state of apo‐α‐LA can be obtained at neutral pH under mildly denaturing conditions, as indicated by using a classical spectroscopic technique such as CD and a simple biochemical approach as limited proteolysis. We conclude that the molten globule of α‐LA maintains a native‐like tertiary fold characterized by a rather well‐structured α‐domain and a disordered chain region encompassing the β‐subdomain 34–57 of the protein. Proteins 2002;49:385–397. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Managerial Succession and Organizational Effectiveness

A negative correlation is found between (1) rates of managerial succession and effectiveness and (2) change in succession rate and change in organizational effectiveness among sixteen professional baseball teams examined over two time periods, 1921-41 and 1951-58. A set of ten variables from organization theory is applied to the analysis of team performance and administrative succession. A number of illustrative propositions are presented.
An Evaluation with a Location-Based Mobile Multimedia Service

John Collomosse, Tim Jay, Kharsim Yousef, Martin Rieser, and Simon Jones T his article reports a user-experience study in which a group of 18 older adults used a location-based mobile multimedia service in the setting of a rural nature reserve. The prototype system offered a variety of means of obtaining rich multimedia content from oak waymarker posts using a mobile phone. Free text questionnaires and focus groups were employed to investigate participants’ experiences with the system and their attitudes to the use of mobile and pervasive systems in general. The users’ experiences with the system were positive with respect to the design of the system in the context of the surrounding natural environment. However, we found some significant barriers to their adoption of mobile and pervasive systems as replacements for traditional information sources. One market sector that has seen some research interest but little direct targeting of mobile and pervasive computing is that of older people. There has been relatively a little research on the overall user experience for older users, and the few attempts at designing systems with older users in mind have tended to focus on basic physical characteristics of the interface such as larger buttons and simpler displays. The few systems offered with this approach have seen a little commercial success. It is clear from findings such as those of Ofcom’s wide-ranging research [1], [2] that age is strongly correlated with attitudes to and uses of mobile phones. What is not so clear is the explanation for these effects. Rice and Carmichael [3] challenge the assumption that older people are generally technophobic. Like Mikkonen [4], they suggest that most older people are happy to embrace new technologies if they perceive a use for them and find them usable. In this study, we evaluated older people’s user experience of a prototype system offering location-based multimedia content on mobile phones. We worked with the
NOX4-dependent neuronal autotoxicity and BBB breakdown explain the superior sensitivity of the brain to ischemic damage

Significance Why the brain is uniquely sensitive to hypoxia and which cells are involved is incompletely understood. Here we identify that, upon ischemic stroke, in endothelial cells and neurons the reactive oxygen-forming NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) causes breakdown of the BBB and neuronal cell death. This mechanism is unique to the brain and not found in other forms of ischemia in the body. Genetic deletion of either cell type (endothelial or neuronal) or pharmacological inhibition of NOX4 leads to a significant reduction of infarct volume and direct neuroprotection. This mechanism explains the unique vulnerability of the hypoxic brain compared with other organs and provides a clear rationale for first-in-class neuroprotective therapies in stroke. Ischemic injury represents the most frequent cause of death and disability, and it remains unclear why, of all body organs, the brain is most sensitive to hypoxia. In many tissues, type 4 NADPH oxidase is induced upon ischemia or hypoxia, converting oxygen to reactive oxygen species. Here, we show in mouse models of ischemia in the heart, brain, and hindlimb that only in the brain does NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) lead to ischemic damage. We explain this distinct cellular distribution pattern through cell-specific knockouts. Endothelial NOX4 breaks down the BBB, while neuronal NOX4 leads to neuronal autotoxicity. Vascular smooth muscle NOX4, the common denominator of ischemia within all ischemic organs, played no apparent role. The direct neuroprotective potential of pharmacological NOX4 inhibition was confirmed in an ex vivo model, free of vascular and BBB components. Our results demonstrate that the heightened sensitivity of the brain to ischemic damage is due to an organ-specific role of NOX4 in blood–brain-barrier endothelial cells and neurons. This mechanism is conserved in at least two rodents and humans, making NOX4 a prime target for a first-in-class mechanism-based, cytoprotective therapy in the unmet high medical need indication of ischemic stroke.
Leitura e cognição: propósitos de leitura diferentes influem na geração de inferências?

The objective of this study was to investigate whether different reading purposes – for study or entertainment – have influence on inference generation. Data was obtained through the use of Pause Protocols (Cavalcanti, 1989) adapted by (Tomitch, 2003) with six female participants during the reading of two texts: one, aiming at reading for study, taken from Veja magazine, talks about the gun control referendum of 2005 and is titled I will be against; the other text, aiming at reading for entertainment, extracted from the Jornal de Poesia website, is a biography of Cecilia Meirelles. Results showed that a larger number of inferences were generated for the text that was read for study purposes. The most frequent inferences for the study document were explanations, evaluations and repetitions; whereas for the entertainment text, explanations, repetitions and evaluations prevailed.
Immune response to hepatitis B virus vaccine in celiac subjects at diagnosis.

AIM To evaluate hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine response and correlation with human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and/or gluten intake in celiac patients at diagnosis. METHODS Fifty-one patients affected by celiac disease, diagnosed at the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Catania (Italy), were recruited. All patients were tested at admission for immunization against HBV, according to findings from analysis of quantitative HBV surface antibody (anti-HBs). The anti-HBs titer was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Following the international standards, subjects with antibody titer < 10 IU/L were defined as non-responders. The prevalence of responders and non-responders among celiac subjects and the distribution of immunization for age were examined. In addition, the prevalence of responders and non-responders was assessed for correlation to HLA and clinical features at diagnosis of celiac disease. RESULTS The entire study population was divided into three groups according to age: 24 patients aged between 0 to 5.5 years (48.9%, group A); 16 aged between 5.5 and 9.5 years (30.61%, group B); 9 aged between 9.5 and 17 years (18.75%, group C). Comparison of the percentage of responders and non-responders between the youngest and the oldest age group showed no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). With regard to the HLA haplotype, comparison of the distribution of vaccination response showed no statistically significant difference between the different genotypes (homozygosity for the HLADQ2 haplotype compared with HLADQ2/DQ8 heterozygosity or other haplotypes; P > 0.05). Moreover, distribution of the responders according to clinical features of celiac disease showed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION This prospective study confirmed the lower percentage of response to HBV vaccine in celiac subjects. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear and further studies are needed.
More than a cool illusion? Functional significance of self-motion illusion (circular vection) for perspective switches

Self-motion can facilitate perspective switches and “automatic spatial updating” and help reduce disorientation in applications like virtual reality (VR). However, providing physical motion through moving-base motion simulators or free-space walking areas comes with high cost and technical complexity. This study provides first evidence that merely experiencing an embodied illusion of self-motion (“circular vection”) can provide similar behavioral benefits as actual self-motion: Blindfolded participants were asked to imagine facing new perspectives in a well-learned room, and point to previously learned objects. Merely imagining perspective switches while stationary yielded worst performance. When perceiving illusory self-rotation to the novel perspective, however, performance improved significantly and yielded performance similar to actual rotation. Circular vection was induced by combining rotating sound fields (“auditory vection”) and biomechanical vection from stepping along a carrousel-like rotating floor platter. In sum, illusory self-motion indeed facilitated perspective switches and thus spatial orientation, similar to actual self-motion, thus providing first compelling evidence of the functional significance and behavioral relevance of vection. This could ultimately enable us to complement the prevailing introspective vection measures with behavioral indicators, and guide the design for more affordable yet effective VR simulators that intelligently employ multi-modal self-motion illusions to reduce the need for costly physical observer motion.
A Statistical Approach to Spectrum Measurement Processing

Prior knowledge of the spectrum behavior can greatly assist in efficiently performing dynamic spectrum access. This knowledge can be obtained by surveying the spectrum activity, which involves spectrum data collection, primary signal detection, and data analysis. One approach to signal detection is to perform energy detection based on the power measurements. Although considered optimal, this approach requires prior knowledge of the noise statistics in order to compute the signal threshold. In this paper, we present several algorithms for estimating the threshold directly from the spectrum measurement data. Both Otsu’s and the recursive one-sided hypothesis testing (ROHT) algorithms, as well as the proposed recursive Otsu’s algorithm, have been applied to spectrum measurements collected from an FM broadcast band and a digital television band. The results show that the proposed algorithm performed well, with nearly 100% detection probability, when applied on the DTV band measurements. However, it was not able to provide the same performance for the FM band measurements.
The Department Chair's Role in Developing New Faculty into Teachers and Scholars

About the Authors. Foreword. Preface. Part I: Making the Recruitment and Selection of New Faculty. 1. Organizing the search for a new faculty member. 2. Negotiating the job offer. 3. Providing information before and upon arrival. Part II: Developing New Faculty in the First Year. 4. Addressing professional/institutional questions. 5. Planning an effective departmental orientation. 6. Orienting new faculty to teaching. 7. Addressing service concerns. 8. Developing full-year orientation programs. Part III: Developing Faculty Beyond the First Year. 9. Creating mentoring relationships. 10. Demystifying the promotion and tenure process. 11. Developing productive researchers and effective teachers. 12. Monitoring service obligations. 13. Explaining evaluation procedures. Bibliography. Index.