Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mental Health and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Chinese International College Students in a Thai University

Thai Immigration Department shows the total number of Chinese nationals residing in Thailand at 91,272 in 2015, however, academic studies reveal the figure to be as high as 350,000-400,000 in the past decade. In terms of the huge population, except economic benefit to Thailand and more cross-cultural settings in the campus, there is a critical issue requiring urgent attention. Colleges cannot guarantee high-quality learning and consequently cannot attain their mission, accomplish their goals, or serve their valuable social, economic and public objectives without engaging in the mental and behavioral health matters of their students. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine Chinese international students’ mental health and cross-cultural adaptation to study abroad in a university at Bangkok and investigate whether or not two factors were related to one another. A survey was applied for this investigation. The participants were 900 Chinese international students at a Thai university. The research discovered that different levels of college degrees and length of residence in Thailand were two main factors to influence mental health and cross-cultural adaptation. Incoming students and graduates specifically has a potential problem in cross-cultural adaptation.
Update-efficient codes for erasure correction

The problem of designing codes to protect against server failures in a distributed storage system for frequently changing data is considered. When the original data changes, the coded packets stored on the servers must be updated accordingly. Since performing updates consumes costly bandwidth and energy, it is of interest to construct codes that have small update complexity, which we define as the maximum number of coded symbols that must be updated when any single information symbol is changed. Linear codes which are conventionally used or recently proposed for use in storage systems for correcting a linear number of erasures (such as Reed-Solomon and other MDS codes) have the update complexity which scales linearly with the code length. In this paper, we take advantage of randomization to construct update-efficient codes that have update complexity scaling sub-linearly with the code length. Two erasure models are examined: random erasures (i.e., the erasure channel) and adversarial erasures.
Evaluation of an Online “Internationalization at Home” Course on the Social Contexts of Addiction

Internationalization of higher education to include international, intercultural, or global components into the delivery of postsecondary education has drawn increasing attention in the last two decades. A globally relevant course focusing on the “Social Contexts of Addiction” engaged students’ online interaction at a Canadian university with learners from across various institutions in mainland China, Macau, and Hong Kong. Although “internationalization at home” (IaH) is one of the most prevalent themes in the internationalization literature, empirical evaluation of its merits along with the challenges of its implementation is still limited. In this article, the authors used student and faculty feedback to identify the design factors of this online IaH course that facilitated its success and transformative benefits. Discussion highlighted several follow-up strategic initiatives to broaden the adoption and conversations on internationalization in teaching, and the necessity of multilevel support and alignments among government, university, and faculty leadership to sustain internationalization efforts across the curriculum.
MicroRNA Dysregulation in Liver and Pancreas of CMP-Neu5Ac Hydroxylase Null Mice Disrupts Insulin/PI3K-AKT Signaling

CMP-Neu5Ac hydroxylase (Cmah)-null mice fed with a high-fat diet develop fasting hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and ultimately develop characteristics of type 2 diabetes. The precise metabolic role of the Cmah gene remains poorly understood. This study was designed to investigate the molecular mechanisms through which microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate type 2 diabetes. Expression profiles of miRNAs in Cmah-null mouse livers were compared to those of control mouse livers. Liver miFinder miRNA PCR arrays (n = 6) showed that eight miRNA genes were differentially expressed between the two groups. Compared with controls, seven miRNAs were upregulated and one miRNA was downregulated in Cmah-null mice. Specifically, miR-155-5p, miR-425-5p, miR-15a-5p, miR-503-5p, miR-16-5p, miR-29a-3p, and miR-29b-3p were significantly upregulated in the liver and pancreas of Cmah-null mice. These target miRNAs are closely associated with dysregulation of insulin/PI3K-AKT signaling, suggesting that the Cmah-null mice could be a useful model for studying diabetes.
Targeted Deletion of Kcne2 Impairs HCN Channel Function in Mouse Thalamocortical Circuits

Background Hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels generate the pacemaking current, Ih, which regulates neuronal excitability, burst firing activity, rhythmogenesis, and synaptic integration. The physiological consequence of HCN activation depends on regulation of channel gating by endogenous modulators and stabilization of the channel complex formed by principal and ancillary subunits. KCNE2 is a voltage-gated potassium channel ancillary subunit that also regulates heterologously expressed HCN channels; whether KCNE2 regulates neuronal HCN channel function is unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the effects of Kcne2 gene deletion on Ih properties and excitability in ventrobasal (VB) and cortical layer 6 pyramidal neurons using brain slices prepared from Kcne2 +/+ and Kcne2 −/− mice. Kcne2 deletion shifted the voltage-dependence of Ih activation to more hyperpolarized potentials, slowed gating kinetics, and decreased Ih density. Kcne2 deletion was associated with a reduction in whole-brain expression of both HCN1 and HCN2 (but not HCN4), although co-immunoprecipitation from whole-brain lysates failed to detect interaction of KCNE2 with HCN1 or 2. Kcne2 deletion also increased input resistance and temporal summation of subthreshold voltage responses; this increased intrinsic excitability enhanced burst firing in response to 4-aminopyridine. Burst duration increased in corticothalamic, but not thalamocortical, neurons, suggesting enhanced cortical excitatory input to the thalamus; such augmented excitability did not result from changes in glutamate release machinery since miniature EPSC frequency was unaltered in Kcne2 −/− neurons. Conclusions/Significance Loss of KCNE2 leads to downregulation of HCN channel function associated with increased excitability in neurons in the cortico-thalamo-cortical loop. Such findings further our understanding of the normal physiology of brain circuitry critically involved in cognition and have implications for our understanding of various disorders of consciousness.
BANK CREDIT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH : THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE By Roseline Oluitan

BANK CREDIT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE By Roseline Oluitan Abstract This paper examines the significance of bank credit in stimulating output within the real sector and the factors that prompt financial intermediation within the economy. The study is a contribution to the existing literature on finance and growth applied to the Nigerian economy. Available statistics show that the economy has been thriving predominantly on proceeds from oil exports over the last three decades. Evidence from this work shows that real output causes financial development, but not vice versa. It was also observed that export of oil and non-oil export are not significant in driving financial development; but growth in the financial sector is highly dependent on foreign capital inflows.
skeletal muscle: influence of exercise intensity Acute exercise and GLUT4 expression in human

Acute exercise and GLUT4 expression in human skeletal muscle: inﬂuence of exercise intensity. J Appl Physiol 101: 934–937, 2006. 2006; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01489. 2005. —To examine the inﬂuence of exercise intensity on the increases in vastus lateralis GLUT4 mRNA andproteinafterexercise,sixuntrainedmenexercisedfor60minat39 (cid:1) 3% peak oxygen consumption (V˙ O 2peak ) (Lo) or 27 (cid:1) 2 min at 83 (cid:1) 2% V˙ O 2peak (Hi) in counterbalanced order. Preexercise muscle glycogen levels were not different between trials (Lo: 408 (cid:1) 35 mmol/kg dry mass; Hi: 420 (cid:1) 43 mmol/kg dry mass); however, postexercise levels were lower ( P (cid:2) 0.05) in Hi (169 (cid:1) 18 mmol/kg dry mass) compared with Lo (262 (cid:1) 35 mmol/kg dry mass). Thus calculated muscle glycogen utilization was greater ( P (cid:2) 0.05) in Hi (251 (cid:1) 24 mmol/kg) than in Lo (146 (cid:1) 34). Exercise resulted in similar increases in GLUT4 gene expression in both trials. GLUT4 mRNA was increased immediately at the end of exercise ( (cid:3) 2-fold; P (cid:2) 0.05) and remained elevated after 3 h of postexercise recovery. When measured 3 h after exercise, total crude membrane GLUT4 protein levels were 106% higher in Lo (3.3 (cid:1) 0.7 vs. 1.6 (cid:1) 0.3 arbitrary units) and 61% higher in Hi (2.9 (cid:1) 0.5 vs. 1.8 (cid:1) 0.5 arbitrary units) relative to preexercise levels. A main effect for exercise was observed, with no signiﬁcant differences between trials. In conclusion, exercise at (cid:3) 40 and (cid:3) 80% V˙ O 2peak , with total work equal, increased GLUT4 mRNA and GLUT4 protein in human skeletal muscle to a similar extent, despite differences in exercise intensity and duration. Subjects then rested in supine position 3 h of no food intake but ingestion of ad libitum. of this recovery period, a ﬁnal muscle sample was obtained, again through a separate incision on the same leg. All samples were immediately frozen in liquid N 2 and stored for later analysis of muscle glycogen and GLUT4 and 3 h after were also analyzed for total crude membrane GLUT4 protein.
The chromospherically active binary star EI Eridani: II. Long-term Doppler imaging

Data from 11 years of continuous spectroscopic observations of the active RS CVn-type binary star EI Eridani – gained at NSO/McMath-Pierce, KPNO/Coude Feed and during the MUSICOS 98 campaign – were used to obtain 34 Doppler maps in three spectroscopic lines for 32 epochs, 28 of which are independent of each other. Various parameters are extracted from our Doppler maps: average temperature, fractional spottedness, and longitudinal and latitudinal spot-occurrence functions. We find that none of these parameters show a distinct variation nor a correlation with the proposed activity cycle as seen from photometric long-term observations. This suggests that the photometric brightness cycle may not necessarily be due to just a cool spot cycle. The general morphology of the spot pattern remains persistent over the whole period of 11 years. A large cap-like polar spot was recovered from all our images. A high degree of variable activity was noticed near latitudes of ≈60–70° where the appendages of the polar spot emerged and dissolved (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
YOUTH GANGS IN THE UK: MYTH OR REALITY?

The emergence of youth gangs in the UK in recent years has resulted in heightened media attention of the group, with sensationalised headlines appearing in newspapers relating to violent gang crimes which have led to the deaths of many young people. This has resulted in the fear of groups of young people within communities, as well as a multitude of government responses. The aim of this dissertation was to identify the myths and realities surrounding the emergence of youth gangs in the UK in order to determine whether the media is fuelling a moral panic which in turn has led to inappropriate responses by the government. A literary based approach was utilised for this research in order to ascertain whether it is appropriate to apply the wide range of US literature to the UK situation. The research focuses on the varying definitions of youth gangs, followed by an analysis of both US and UK subcultural explanations of the emergence of gangs and finally a look at how media moral panics influence government initiatives. The research concludes that youth gangs do exist in the UK, however, due to gaps in research and a lack of reliable empirical evidence, along with the influence of the media’s involvement; it is found that government responses are failing to address the needs of youths involved in gangs. Recommendations are also made, suggesting further areas for research as well as improvements which could be made to government policy and initiatives.
The response of human osteoblasts, epithelial cells, fibroblasts, macrophages and oral bacteria to nanostructured titanium surfaces: a systematic study

Nanotopography modification is a major focus of interest in current titanium surface design; however, the influence of the nanostructured surface on human cell/bacterium behavior has rarely been systematically evaluated. In this study, a homogeneous nanofiber structure was prepared on a titanium surface (Nano) by alkali-hydrothermal treatment, and the effects of this Nano surface on the behaviors of human MG-63 osteoblasts, human gingival epithelial cells (HGECs) and human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) were evaluated in comparison with a smooth titanium surface (Smooth) by polishing and a micro-rough titanium surface (Micro) by sandblasting and acid etching. In addition, the impacts of these different surface morphologies on human THP-1 macrophage polarization and Streptococcus mutans attachment were also assessed. Our findings showed that the nanostructured surface enhanced the osteogenic activity of MG-63 cells (Nano=Micro>Smooth) at the same time that it improved the attachment of HGECs (Nano>Smooth>Micro) and HGFs (Nano=Micro>Smooth). Furthermore, the surface with nanotexture did not affect macrophage polarization (Nano=Micro=Smooth), but did reduce initial bacterial adhesion (Nano<Smooth<Micro). These results suggest that the nanostructured titanium surface may promote bone and soft tissue healing, and thereby increase the success and survival of dental implants.
Combining stochastic and linguistic language models for recognition of spontaneous speech

We present a new approach of combining stochastic language models and traditional linguistic models to enhance the performance of our spontaneous speech recognizer. We compile arbitrary large linguistic context dependencies into a category based bigram model which allows us to use a standard beam-search driven forward Viterbi algorithm for real time decoding. Since this recognizer is used in a dialog system, the information about the last system utterance is used to build dialogstep dependent language models. This setup is verified and tested on our corpus of spontaneous speech utterances collected with our dialog system. Experimental results show a significant reduction of word error rate.
Robust Baseband Compression Against Congestion in Packet-Based Fronthaul Networks Using Multiple Description Coding

In modern implementations of Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN), the fronthaul transport network will often be packet-based and it will have a multi-hop architecture built with general-purpose switches using network function virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN). This paper studies the joint design of uplink radio and fronthaul transmission strategies for a C-RAN with a packet-based fronthaul network. To make an efficient use of multiple routes that carry fronthaul packets from remote radio heads (RRHs) to cloud, as an alternative to more conventional packet-based multi-route reception or coding, a multiple description coding (MDC) strategy is introduced that operates directly at the level of baseband signals. MDC ensures an improved quality of the signal received at the cloud in conditions of low network congestion, i.e., when more fronthaul packets are received within a tolerated deadline. The advantages of the proposed MDC approach as compared to the traditional path diversity scheme are validated via extensive numerical results.
Complexity in O-linked oligosaccharide biosynthesis engendered by multiple polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases.

Linkage of JV-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) to the hydroxyl group of serine and threonine in a peptide context initiates the production of vertebrate O-glycosylation, although the identity, specificity and location of components involved in this posttranslational modification have been debated. Studies by Robert Hill and others have found that O-glycosylation begins in one or more compartments of the Golgi apparatus (Hanover et al, 1982; Elhammer and Kornfeld, 1984; Roth, 1984; Abeijon and Hirschberg, 1987; Deschuyteneer et al, 1988; Piller et al, 1990; Roth et al, 1994; Schweizer et al, 1994). While various cell types were used, others have indicated that the endoplasmic reticulum is the site of O-glycari biosynthesis (Strous, 1979; Cummings et al, 1983; Patzelt and Weber, 1986; Perez-Vilar et al, 1991; Ellinger and Pavelka, 1992). Although it is possible that a significant number of laboratories are in error, alternatively, all may be correct with these differing results due to a source of complexity in O-glycan biosynthesis not previously defined.
Constitutive Modeling of Shape Memory Effects in Semicrystalline Polymers With Stretch Induced Crystallization

Polymers can demonstrate shape memory (SM) effects by being temporarily fixed in a nonequilibrium shape and then recover their permanent shape when exposed to heat, light, or other external stimuli. Many previously developed shape memory polymers (SMPs) use the dramatic molecular chain mobility change around the glass transition temperature T g to realize the SM effect. In these materials, the temporary shape cannot be repeated unless it is reprogramed, and therefore the SM effect is one way. Recently, a semicrystalline SMP, which can demonstrate both one- and two-way SM effects, was developed by one of our groups (Chung, T., Rorno-Uribe, A., and Mather, P. T., 2008, "Two-Way Reversible Shape Memory in a Semicrystalline Network, " Macromolecules, 41 (1), pp. 184-192). The main mechanism of the observed SM effects is due to stretch induced crystallization. This paper develops a one-dimensional constitutive model to describe the SM effect due to stretch induced crystallization. The model accurately describes the complex thermomechanical SM effect and can be used for the future development of three-dimensional constitutive models.
A comparative study on language teacher educators’ ideal identities in China: more than just finding a middle ground

ABSTRACT This paper reports on a comparative study that investigates English language teacher educators’ ideal identities from the dual perspectives of language teachers and teacher educators in China. Drawing on data from focus and individual interviews, the findings of the study reveal a range of identities such as ‘practical expert,’ ‘model’ and ‘learner,’ which were perceived by the two parties (i.e. the languages teachers and teacher educators) as pivotal for an ideal language teacher educator. On the other hand, the two parties held differing views about some identities such as ‘researcher’ and ‘scholar’ due to the contextual influences in the higher education context. The study offers some useful implications for teacher educators to develop their professional identities and improve their effectiveness in educating teachers.
Gender, Race, and Mentorship: A Perspective from California Archaeology

Abstract This article explores the role of mentorship in structuring students’ decisions to pursue career paths in archaeology, both within and outside academia. Based on recent survey data administered to the Society for California Archaeology membership, I consider the demographic makeup of mentors and mentees, a diachronic analysis of mentor and mentee relationships, quantitative and qualitative responses to individual experiences with mentors, and the ways in which gender and race/ethnicity play out in the context of these relationships over time. Results indicate that greater disparities exist in mentoring relationships involving women and racial/ethnic minorities—disparities that have persisted since the founding of North American archaeology and continue to the present day. The cause for these disjunctions may originate from a lack of diversity in potential mentors within academia.
Reconsidering Labels and Primary Deviance

Objective: We assess Matsueda’s reflected appraisals model of delinquency across groups of previously delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents. We hypothesize that the reflected appraisals process, which entails incorporating informal appraisals by significant others into self-identities, differs across delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents. Method: We estimate cross-group models of the reflected appraisals process among delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents using the data (National Youth Survey) and methodology (structural equation modeling) from Matsueda’s original research. Results: The informal labeling and identity processes articulated in the reflected appraisals model better explain delinquency continuity than delinquency onset. Notable differences across previously delinquent and nondelinquent groups are found with respect to the influence of parental appraisals on reflected appraisals and with respect to the influence of race on parental and reflected appraisals. Conclusions: Informal labeling predicts both continuity and onset of delinquency. Continuity results from delinquent adolescents incorporating troublemaking appraisals into their self-identities and living up to those labels. Identity processes prove unimportant for linking troublemaking appraisals to delinquency among falsely appraised adolescents. Future research is needed to assess the possibility that false appraisals produce delinquency through processes articulated in general strain and defiance theories. We also discuss avenues for future research on race, identities, and delinquency.
The Opinions of Primary School Teachers Regarding to the Use of Museums in Science Courses

Museums provide the opportunity to handle real objects, solve problems, and interact with others. And also they are perfect places to ask our own questions, and try to discover the answer. So in many courses, teachers use museums as a learning environment for teaching the subject matter. The purpose of this research is to determine the opinions of primary school teachers about using museums in science courses. In the current research, the qualitative research method and semi-structured interview technique was used. Participants of the study were identified through intense case sampling. The participants of this research were primary school teachers who enrolled in the master program of The Graduate School of Afyon Kocatepe University. The data were collected through audio-taped semi-structured interviews. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed by the researcher. The credibility of this study was enhanced by expert review. The semi-structured interview schedule was sent to experts for review. The trustworthiness of this study was established by the formula proposed by Miles and Huberman. The data of this research are analyzing through content analysis technique. Findings were supported with direct quotes of participants’ opinions.