Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Student Interest in STEM Careers: The Roles of Motivation and Ability Beliefs

Amid growing concerns about the future of the U.S. economy and workforce, educators and policymakers alike have increasingly emphasized the need to expand the number of students interested in, qualified for and actually pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The current study draws on survey responses from a sample of 3852 high school students at inclusive STEM schools across the U.S. to investigate how project- and problem-based learning (PBL) may work to address this need. Multivariate regression results indicate that student ratings of PBL are associated with interest in pursuing a career in STEM, as well as with intrinsic motivation for science and students’ ability beliefs for both science and math. Further, mediation analysis using Hayes’ (2014) MEDIATE macro suggests that science intrinsic motivation and ability beliefs mediate the relationship between perceived PBL experiences and student interest in a future STEM career (IFSC). Our results highlight the important potential of PBL for increasing student STEM attitudes and interest in future STEM careers. As one of the only large-scale quantitative analyses of its kind, this study provides critical information for educators, school administrators and policymakers as they continue to seek effective ways of encouraging students to pursue STEM careers.
Multisensory Stimulation for People With Dementia

The use of multisensory stimulation in people with dementia is becoming increasingly popular in the last decades. The aim of this review is to analyze the therapeutic effectiveness of multisensory stimulation in people with dementia. We made a search on Medline and Web of Science databases referred to all researches published from the year 1990 to 2012, which used multisensory stimulation techniques in people with dementia. The revision of the 18 articles which fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria seems to prove evidence that multisensory stimulation environments produce immediate positive effects on the behavior and mood of people with dementia. Based on the above, we think it can be a useful nonpharmacological intervention on neuropsychological symptoms though, in any case, it would be necessary to start more reliable protocols from the methodological point of view in order to establish its long-term effectiveness.
Harmonic maps with prescribed singularities on unbounded domains

The Einstein/Abelian-Yang-Mills Equations reduce in the stationary and axially symmetric case to a harmonic map with prescribed singularities φ: R3 \Σ → H k +1 C into the ( k + 1)-dimensional complex hyperbolic space. In this paper, we prove the existence and uniqueness of harmonic maps with prescribed singularities φ: R n \Σ → H, where Σ is an unbounded smooth closed submanifold of R n of codimension at least 2, and H is a real, complex, or quaternionic hyperbolic space. As a corollary, we prove the existence of solutions to the reduced stationary and axially symmetric Einstein/Abelian-Yang-Mills Equations.
Quadratic associations between empathy and depression and the moderating influence of dysregulation

Empathic tendencies have been associated with interpersonal and psychological benefits, but empathy at extreme levels or in combination with certain personal characteristics may contribute to risk for depression. This study tested the moderating role of cognitive emotion regulation in depression’s association with empathy using nonlinear models. Young adults (N=304; 77% female; M=19 years) completed measures of cognitive emotion regulation strategies, depression, and affective and cognitive empathy. Individuals with good regulation had low levels of depression overall and their depression symptoms were lowest when levels of affective empathy were average. Individuals with poor regulation had high levels of depression overall, particularly when levels of empathy were moderate to high. Extremely high and low levels of cognitive empathy were associated with elevated depression, and this association was not moderated by regulation. These findings suggest tendencies to respond empathically to others’ needs is neither an adaptive nor maladaptive characteristic but rather moderate empathy, particularly in the context of good regulation, may offer the greatest protection against depression.
Additive effects of hyperinsulinemia and ischemia on myocardial GLUT1 and GLUT4 translocation in vivo.

BACKGROUND Myocardial ischemia increases glucose uptake through the translocation of GLUT1 and GLUT4 from an intracellular compartment to the sarcolemma. The present study was performed to determine whether hyperinsulinemia causes translocation of myocardial GLUT1 as well as GLUT4 in vivo and whether there are additive effects of insulin and ischemia on GLUT1 and GLUT4 translocation. METHODS ADN RESULTS: Myocardial glucose uptake and transporter distribution were assessed by arteriovenous measurements, cell fractionation, and immunofluorescence. In fasted anesthetized dogs, hyperinsulinemia increased myocardial glucose extraction 3-fold (P<0.01) and the sarcolemmal content of GLUT4 by 90% and GLUT1 by 50% (P<0.05 for both) compared with saline infusion. In subsequent experiments, glucose uptake and transporter distribution were determined in ischemic and nonischemic regions of hearts from hyperinsulinemic animals during regional myocardial ischemia. Glucose uptake was 50% greater in the ischemic region (P<0.05). This was associated with a 20% increase in sarcolemmal GLUT1 and a 60% increase in sarcolemmal GLUT4 contents in the ischemic region (P<0.05 for both). CONCLUSIONS Insulin stimulates myocardial glucose utilization through translocation of GLUT1 as well as GLUT4. Insulin and ischemia have additive effects to increase in vivo glucose utilization and augment glucose transporter translocation. We conclude that recruitment of both GLUT1 and GLUT4 contributes to increased myocardial glucose uptake during moderate reductions in coronary blood flow under insulin-stimulated conditions.
The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies

This review article identifies and discusses some of main issues and potential problems — paradoxes and pathologies — around the communication of recorded information, and points to some possible solutions. The article considers the changing contexts of information communication, with some caveats about the identification of `pathologies of information', and analyses the changes over time in the way in which issues of the quantity and quality of information available have been regarded. Two main classes of problems and issues are discussed. The first comprises issues relating to the quantity and diversity of information available: information overload, information anxiety, etc. The second comprises issues relating to the changing information environment with the advent of Web 2.0: loss of identity and authority, emphasis on micro-chunking and shallow novelty, and the impermanence of information. A final section proposes some means of solution of problems and of improvements to the situation.
5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine Leads to Reduced Embryo Implantation and Reduced Expression of DNA Methyltransferases and Essential Endometrial Genes

Background The DNA demethylating agent 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR) incorporates into DNA and decreases DNA methylation, sparking interest in its use as a potential therapeutic agent. We aimed to determine the effects of maternal 5-aza-CdR treatment on embryo implantation in the mouse and to evaluate whether these effects are associated with decreased levels of DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) and three genes (estrogen receptor α [Esr1], progesterone receptor [Pgr], and homeobox A10 [Hoxa10]) that are vital for control of endometrial changes during implantation. Methods and Principal Findings Mice treated with 5-aza-CdR had a dose-dependent decrease in number of implantation sites, with defected endometrial decidualization and stromal cell proliferation. Western blot analysis on pseudo-pregnant day 3 (PD3) showed that 0.1 mg/kg 5-aza-CdR significantly repressed Dnmt3a protein level, and 0.5 mg/kg 5-aza-CdR significantly repressed Dnmt1, Dnmt3a, and Dnmt3b protein levels in the endometrium. On PD5, mice showed significantly decreased Dnmt3a protein level with 0.1 mg/kg 5-aza-CdR, and significantly decreased Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a with 0.5 mg/kg 5-aza-CdR. Immunohistochemical staining showed that 5-aza-CdR repressed DNMT expression in a cell type–specific fashion within the uterus, including decreased expression of Dnmt1 in luminal and/or glandular epithelium and of Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b in stroma. Furthermore, the 5′ flanking regions of the Esr1, Pgr, and Hoxa10 were hypomethylated on PD5. Interestingly, the higher (0.5 mg/kg) dose of 5-aza-CdR decreased protein expression of Esr1, Pgr, and Hoxa10 in the endometrium on PD5 in both methylation-dependent and methylation-independent manners. Conclusions The effects of 5-aza-CdR on embryo implantation in mice were associated with altered expression of endometrial Dnmts and genes controlling endometrial changes, suggesting that altered gene methylation, and not cytotoxicity alone, contributes to implantation defects induced by 5-aza-CdR.
Underdetermined Blind Source Separation Based on Subspace Representation

This paper considers the problem of blindly separating sub- and super-Gaussian sources from underdetermined mixtures. The underlying sources are assumed to be composed of two orthogonal components: one lying in the rowspace and the other in the nullspace of a mixing matrix. The mapping from the rowspace component to the mixtures by the mixing matrix is invertible using the pseudo-inverse of the mixing matrix. The mapping from the nullspace component to zero by the mixing matrix is noninvertible, and there are infinitely many solutions to the nullspace component. The latent nullspace component, which is of lower complexity than the underlying sources, is estimated based on a mean square error (MSE) criterion. This leads to a source estimator that is optimal in the MSE sense. In order to characterize and model sub- and super-Gaussian source distributions, the parametric generalized Gaussian distribution is used. The distribution parameters are estimated based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. When the mixing matrix is unavailable, it must be estimated, and a novel algorithm based on a single source detection algorithm, which detects time-frequency regions of single-source-occupancy, is proposed. In our simulations, the proposed algorithm, compared to other conventional algorithms, estimated the mixing matrix with higher accuracy and separated various sources with higher signal-to-interference ratio.
Early-Life Sodium Exposure Unmasks Susceptibility to Stroke in Hyperlipidemic, Hypertensive Heterozygous Tg25 Rats Transgenic for Human Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein

Background— Early-life risk factor exposure increases aortic atherosclerosis and blood pressure in humans and animal models; however, limited insight has been gained as to end-organ complications. Methods and Results— We investigated the effects of early-life Na exposure (0.23% versus 0.4% NaCl regular rat chow) on vascular disease outcomes using the inbred, transgenic [hCETP]25 Dahl salt-sensitive hypertensive rat model of male-predominant coronary atherosclerosis, Tg25. Rather than the expected increase in coronary heart disease, fetal 0.4% Na exposure (≤2 g of Na per 2-kcal/d diet) induced adult-onset stroke in both sexes (ANOVA P<0.0001), with earlier stroke onset in Tg25 females. Analysis of later onset of 0.4% Na exposure resulted in decreased stroke risk and later stroke onset despite longer 0.4% Na exposure durations, which indicates increasing risk with earlier onset of 0.4% Na exposure. Histological analysis of stroke-positive rat brains revealed cerebral cortical hemorrhagic infarctions, microhemorrhages, neuronal ischemia, and microvascular injury. Ex vivo MRI of stroke-positive rat brains detected cerebral hemorrhages, microhemorrhages, and ischemia with middle cerebral artery distribution and cerebellar noninvolvement. Ultrasound microimaging detected carotid artery disease. Prestroke analysis detected neuronal ischemia and decreased mass of isolated cerebral but not cerebellar microvessels. Conclusions— Early-life Na exposure exacerbated hypertension and unmasked stroke susceptibility, with greater female vulnerability in hypertensive, hyperlipidemic Tg25 rats. The reproducible modeling in stroke-prone Tg25 rats of carotid artery disease, cerebral hemorrhagic infarctions, neuronal ischemia, microhemorrhages, and microvascular alterations suggests a pathogenic spectrum with causal interrelationships. This “mixed-stroke” spectrum could represent paradigms of ischemic-hemorrhagic transformation and/or a microangiopathic basis for the association of ischemic lesions, microhemorrhages, and strokes in humans. Together, the data reveal early-life Na exposure to be a significant modifier of hypertension and stroke disease course and hence a potentially modifiable prevention target that deserves systematic study.
Aggregating crowdsourced binary ratings

In this paper we analyze a crowdsourcing system consisting of a set of users and a set of binary choice questions. Each user has an unknown, fixed, reliability that determines the user's error rate in answering questions. The problem is to determine the truth values of the questions solely based on the user answers. Although this problem has been studied extensively, theoretical error bounds have been shown only for restricted settings: when the graph between users and questions is either random or complete. In this paper we consider a general setting of the problem where the user--question graph can be arbitrary. We obtain bounds on the error rate of our algorithm and show it is governed by the expansion of the graph. We demonstrate, using several synthetic and real datasets, that our algorithm outperforms the state of the art.
Chemical abundance analysis of the open clusters Cr 110, NGC 2099 (M 37), NGC 2420, NGC 7789, and M 67 (NGC 2682)

Context. The present number of Galactic open clusters that have high resolution abundance determinations, not only of [Fe/H], but also of other key elements, is largely insufficient to enable a clear modeling of the Galactic disk chemical evolution. Aims. To increase the number of Galactic open clusters with high quality measurements. Methods. We obtained high resolution (R ∼ 30 000), high quality (S /N ∼ 50–100 per pixel), echelle spectra with the fiber spectrograph FOCES, at Calar Alto, Spain, for three red clump stars in each of five Open Clusters. We used the classical equivalent width analysis method to obtain accurate abundances of sixteen elements: Al, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Fe, La, Mg, Na, Nd, Ni, Sc, Si, Ti, V, and Y. We also derived the oxygen abundance using spectral synthesis of the 6300 A forbidden line. Results. Three of the clusters were never studied previously with high resolution spectroscopy: we found [Fe/H] =+ 0.03 ± 0.02 (±0.10) dex for Cr 110; [Fe/H] =+ 0.01 ± 0.05 (±0.10) dex for NGC 2099 (M 37), and [Fe/H] = −0.05 ± 0.03 (±0.10) dex for NGC 2420. This last finding is higher than typical literature estimates by 0.2–0.3 dex approximately and in closer agreement with Galactic trends. For the remaining clusters, we find that [Fe/H] =+ 0.05 ± 0.02 (±0.10) dex for M 67 and [Fe/H] =+ 0.04 ± 0.07 (±0.10) dex for NGC 7789. Accurate (to ∼0.5 km s −1 ) radial velocities were measured for all targets, and we provide the first velocity estimate derived from high resolution data for Cr 110, � Vr� = 41.0 ± 3. 8k m s −1 . Conclusions. With our analysis of the new clusters Cr 110, NGC 2099, and NGC 2420, we increase the sample of clusters with highresolution-based abundances by 5%. All our program stars show abundance patterns which are typical of open clusters, very close to solar with few exceptions. This is true for all the iron-peak and s-process elements considered, and no significant α-enhancement is found. No significant (anti-)correlations for Na, Al, Mg, and O abundances are found. If anticorrelations are present, the involved spreads must be <0.2 dex. We then compile high resolution data of 57 OC from the literature and find a gradient of [Fe/H] with Galactocentric radius of –0.06 ± 0.02 dex kpc −1 , in agreement with past work and with results for Cepheids and B stars in the same range. A change of slope is seen outside RGC = 12 kpc and [α/Fe] shows a tendency to increase with RGC. We also confirm the absence of a significant age-metallicity relation, finding slopes of –2.6 ± 1.1 × 10 −11 dex Gyr −1 and 1.1 ± 5.0 × 10 −11 dex Gyr −1 for [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] respectively.
A Comparison of Nude and Collimated Faraday Probes for Use with Hall Thrusters

*The effectiveness of collimated Faraday probes in obtaining the ion current density profile in Hall thrusters is investigated. A collimated probe design is attractive because it offers the possibility of obtaining the true ion current density profile regardless of the facility pumping speed. The collimator is intended to act primarily as a filter for low energy ions introduced in the plume by charge exchange collisions. Experiments were conducted using a traditional nude Faraday probe and a collimated probe. The probes are evaluated using a 5 kW Hall thruster in a facility capable of maintaining background pressures of 10 -6 Torr for flow rates of 5-10 mg/s. Detailed examination of the results has shown that the probe is interacting strongly with the plasma inside the collimator. Further study is required to bring the collimated Faraday probe to a maturity level sufficient for use in evaluating Hall thruster plumes.
OPERATOR SPLITTING METHODS FOR AMERICAN OPTIONS WITH STOCHASTIC VOLATILITY

Option pricing models with a stochastic volatility are more realistic than the Black-Scholesmodelwhichusesaconstantvolatility. Thepricesofoptionsbasedonsuch models can be obtained by solving a parabolic partial difierential equation. Particularly, weconsiderthemodelpresentedbyHeston. Thevariablesintheseproblemsarethetime, the underlying asset value, and the volatility. Due to the early exercise possibility of American options the arising problems are free boundary problems. This paper considers the numerical solution of this type of option pricing models. We study operator splitting methods for performing time stepping after a flnite difier- encespacediscretizationisdone. Theideaistodecoupletheearlyexerciseconstraintfor thepricesatthegridpointsandthesolutionofthesystemoflinearequationstoseparate fractional time steps. With this approach we can use any e-cient numerical method to solve the systems of linear equations in the flrst fractional step and then make a simple update to satisfy the constraint in the second fractional step. This leads to more simple ande-cientsolutionprocedures. Thispaperstudiestheaccuracyoftheoperatorsplitting methods without considering e-cient solution procedures which is the topic of our future research. Numerical experiments compare the accuracy of our operator splitting methods with traditionalunsplitimplicittimediscretizations. Wedemonstratethattheadditionalerror due to the splitting does not essentially increase the time discretization error.
Preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis practice and guideline adherence in Jordan: a multi-centre study in Jordanian hospitals.

INTRODUCTION The use of antimicrobial prophylaxis for surgical procedures is one of the measures employed to prevent the development of surgical site infections (SSI). The appropriate choice of antimicrobial agents, dosage regimen, timing, duration and use of intravenous route must be evidence based. This study aimed to assess the practice of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis and adherence of practitioners to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery and to explore reasons for non-compliance. METHODOLOGY A cross-sectional study was conducted in 20 Jordanian hospitals from October 2006 to June 2007. A questionnaire was designed to collect information from physicians regarding the practice of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP), references used for guiding SAP practice, prevalence of surgical site infection (SSI), and causative microorganisms. RESULTS SAP was employed in almost all surgical departments of hospitals. The improper timing of antimicrobial administration for SAP was attributed to lack of knowledge of the guidelines (46.1%), while the improper antimicrobial choice was ascribed to drug unavailability (61.8%). CONCLUSION This study shows that physicians are aware of the importance of antimicrobial prophylaxis before surgical procedures. However, further efforts are needed to ensure the implementation of the standard SAP guidelines in Jordanian hospitals.
Influence of Age on Outcome From Thrombolysis in Acute Stroke: A Controlled Comparison in Patients From the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive (VISTA)

Background and Purpose— Thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke in patients aged >80 years is not approved in some countries due to limited trial data in the very elderly. We compared outcomes between thrombolysed and nonthrombolysed (control) patients from neuroprotection trials to assess any influence of age on response. Method— Among patients with ischemic stroke of known age, pretreatment severity (baseline National Institutes of Health Scale Score), and 90-day outcome (modified Rankin Scale score; National Institutes of Health Scale score), we compared the distribution of modified Rankin score in thrombolysed patients with control subjects by Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test and then logistic regression after adjustment for age and baseline National Institutes of Health Scale score. We examined patients ≤80 and ≥81 years separately and then each age decile. Results— Rankin data were available for 5817 patients, 1585 thrombolysed and 4232 control subjects; 20.5% were aged >80 years (mean±SD, 85.1±3.4 years). Baseline severity was higher among thrombolysed than control subjects (median National Institutes of Health Scale score 14 versus 13, P<0.05). The distribution of modified Rankin Scale scores was better among thrombolysed patients (P<0.0001; OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.54). The association occurred independently with similar magnitude among young (P<0.0001; OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.26 to 1.59) and elderly (P=0.002; OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.70) patients. ORs were consistent across all age deciles >30 years; outcomes assessed by National Institutes of Health Scale score gave supporting significant findings, and dichotomized modified Rankin Scale score outcomes were also consistent. Conclusions— Outcome after thrombolysis for acute ischemic stroke was significantly better than in control subjects. Despite the expected poorer outcomes among elderly compared with young patients that is independent of any treatment effect, the association between thrombolysis treatment and improved outcome is maintained in the very elderly. Age alone should not be a barrier to treatment.