Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teacher beliefs and practices: Their effects on student achievement in the urban school setting

Increasing diversity in schools in the United States over the last few decades, combined with an emphasis on high-stakes testing, has heightened concerns about the academic performance of students of color, in particular African American students. There are concerns about the appropriateness of a Eurocentric curriculum taught by White teachers, which often limits the use of a multicultural curriculum—one that values the culture and lifestyles of diverse students. This study focused on elements within teaching practices that improved achievement among students of color. An enhanced application of the Multiple Meanings of Multicultural Teacher Education Framework (MTEF), along with assessments of teacher training instruments (Gay, 1994; Love, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1994), helped to create the Model for Modified Multicultural Teacher Education Framework on Teacher Perception of Student Achievement that served as a guide for the investigation. The overall findings confirmed the utility of the model and the enhancements made to the multicultural assessment instruments. Depending upon what elements were chosen, between 18% and 23% of the variance explained in teacher’s beliefs, attitudes and perceptions could be explained by their training, their community involvement, awareness of self, knowledge of subject and a positive approach to the institutional culture. The findings support the existing literature and adds to it a new dimension by directly focusing on teacher’s perceptions, attitudes and beliefs that promote or constrain teaching and learning about urban African American students in the urban classroom. TEACHER BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: THEIR EFFECTS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN THE URBAN SCHOOL SETTING
Apolipoprotein E interacts with hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 5A and determines assembly of infectious particles

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of liver disease worldwide. Restriction of HCV infection to human hepatocytes suggests that liver‐specific host factors play a role in the viral life cycle. Using a yeast‐two‐hybrid system, we identified apolipoprotein E (apoE) as a liver‐derived host factor specifically interacting with HCV nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) but not with other viral proteins. The relevance of apoE–NS5A interaction for viral infection was confirmed by co‐immunoprecipitation and co‐localization studies of apoE and NS5A in an infectious HCV cell culture model system. Silencing apoE expression resulted in marked inhibition of infectious particle production without affecting viral entry and replication. Analysis of particle production in liver‐derived cells with silenced apoE expression showed impairment of infectious particle assembly and release. The functional relevance of the apoE–NS5A interaction for production of viral particles was supported by loss or decrease of apoE–NS5A binding in assembly‐defective viral mutants. Conclusion: These results suggest that recruitment of apoE by NS5A is important for viral assembly and release of infectious viral particles. These findings have important implications for understanding the HCV life cycle and the development of novel antiviral strategies targeting HCV–lipoprotein interaction. (HEPATOLOGY 2010)
A 160 mW, 80 nA standby, MPEG-4 audiovisual LSI with 16 Mb embedded DRAM and a 5 GOPS adaptive post filter

A single-chip MPEG-4 audiovisual LSI in a 0.13 /spl mu/m 5M CMOS technology with 16 Mb embedded DRAM is presented. Four 16 b RISC processors and dedicated hardware accelerators including a 5 GOPS post filtering engine are integrated on the IC. The chip consumes 160 mW at 125 MHz and uses 80 nA in the standby mode. This LSI handles MPEG-4 CIF video encoding at 15 frames/s and audio encoding simultaneously.
The role of pregnancy awareness on female sexual function in early gestation.

INTRODUCTION Female sexual function is negatively influenced by pregnancy due to the physical and emotional changes. Although the most significant effect is seen in the third trimester of pregnancy, a considerable decrease in the frequency of intercourse and sexual desire in the first trimester has also been shown. AIM To investigate the factors that affect sexuality in early pregnancy and the impact of awareness of pregnancy on female sexual function in the first trimester of pregnancy using two self-reported questionnaires. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, 130 healthy, married pregnant women who were admitted to the gynecology clinic between the 4th and 10th week of gestation were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire and the female sexual function index (FSFI). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The factors associated with FSFI score and monthly sexual activity frequency in the first trimester, as well as the differences in sexual activity frequency and FSFI scores between the women who were previously aware of their pregnancy and those who were yet unaware of their pregnancy. RESULTS Women who were unaware of their pregnancy had significantly higher coitus frequency in comparison with the aware group (P = 0.002). Total FSFI score was 21.99 ± 8.13 in the aware group and 24.66 ± 3.76 in the unaware group (P = 0.02). None of the obstetric and sociodemographic variables had an influence on desire and pain scores. Arousal, lubrication, and satisfaction scores were adversely affected by awareness of pregnancy. Orgasm scores were influenced negatively by awareness and positively by love marriage; however, in multivariate linear regression analysis none of these were defined as independent factor for orgasm scores. Overall FSFI scores and monthly frequency of sexual activity were only affected by awareness. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that in early gestation, awareness of pregnancy is associated with lower female sexual function. Furthermore, obstetric and sociodemographic factors seem to be ineffective on sexual function in early pregnancy.
Post-school quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities who use AAC

Even when augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions enhance the communication skills and educational achievements of students with complex communication needs while they are in school, there is no guarantee that these gains will be maintained following students' transition to adult life. Unfortunately, information on the post-school quality of life and related outcomes of individuals with complex communication needs is scarce. This study addressed this issue by examining the post-school outcomes of eight Canadian individuals with developmental disabilities who used AAC technology while they were in school. Two surveys were used to compile the data: the Quality of Life Profile: People with Physical and Sensory Disabilities (Renwick, Rudman, Raphael, & Brown, ) and a Communication Survey designed specifically for this study. Four of the participants and the people who knew them best also participated in brief interviews in which they discussed the positive and negative aspects of their school and post-school experiences. Results indicated that participant outcomes in important life domains were generally discouraging. A high positive correlation was found between quality of life and quality of communication scores, and participants who achieved relatively better outcomes showed evidence of higher communicative competence. However, the majority of participants and their supporters were very dissatisfied with the lack of AAC and other services that were available to them as young adults. The results are discussed in relation to outcomes for adults with development disabilities who use AAC and their implications for future research, practice, and advocacy efforts related to transition planning.
Exploring Principals’ Nonroutine Problems in Bilingual Immersion Schools: Lessons Learned for Multicultural Leadership

The present study examines the nonroutine problems that eight Anglo-American principals encountered in managing three elementary bilingual immersion schools in the Northwest United States. Using qualitative inquiry to collect data, I employed the multisited ethnographic research model. The principals reported nonroutine problems in the following educational areas: interpersonal communication, academic practices, organization and administration, and teaching and learning. The findings indicate that social and cultural factors are important in affecting the reporting of these problems. The discussion focuses on the exploration of what makes these problems nonroutine and what lessons are to be learned from these problems concerning leadership in multicultural educational settings.
Practical Guide to Quantum Phase Transitions in Quantum-Dot-Based Tunable Josephson Junctions

Single-impurity Anderson quantum dot attached to BCS superconducting leads exhibits a $0-\pi$ impurity quantum phase transition, which can be experimentally controlled either by the gate voltage or by the superconducting phase difference. We newly present two simple analytical formulae describing the position of the phase boundary in parameter space for the weakly correlated and Kondo regime, respectively. Furthermore, we show that the two-level approximation provides an excellent description of the low temperature physics of superconducting quantum dots near the phase transition. We discuss reliability and mutual agreement of available finite temperature numerical methods (Numerical Renormalization Group and Quantum Monte Carlo) and suggest a novel approach for efficient determination of the quantum phase boundary from measured finite temperature data.
Insights into Eph receptor tyrosine kinase activation from crystal structures of the EphA4 ectodomain and its complex with ephrin-A5

Significance Our paper describes the high-resolution structures of the complete EphA4 receptor tyrosine kinase ectodomain and its complex with ephrin-A5. These structures reveal for the first time how ephrin binding promotes Eph conformational changes allowing for the formation of ordered signaling clusters at the sites of cell–cell contact. In addition, the structural data, combined with structure-based mutagenesis and cell-based assays, reveal a previously undescribed receptor–receptor interaction between the EphA4 ligand-binding and membrane-proximal fibronectin domains, which is functionally important for efficient Eph activation. Based on the data we suggest a mechanism for Eph preclustering and recruitment of unliganded Eph into existing Eph/ephrin signaling clusters. Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their ephrin ligands mediate cell signaling during normal and oncogenic development. Eph signaling is initiated in a multistep process leading to the assembly of higher-order Eph/ephrin clusters that set off bidirectional signaling in interacting cells. Eph and ephrins are divided in two subclasses based on their abilities to bind and activate each other and on sequence conservation. EphA4 is an exception to the general rule because it can be activated by both A- and B-class ephrin ligands. Here we present high-resolution structures of the complete EphA4 ectodomain and its complexes with ephrin-A5. The structures reveal how ligand binding promotes conformational changes in the EphA4 ligand-binding domain allowing the formation of signaling clusters at the sites of cell–cell contact. In addition, the structural data, combined with structure-based mutagenesis, reveal a previously undescribed receptor–receptor interaction between the EphA4 ligand-binding and membrane-proximal fibronectin domains, which is functionally important for efficient receptor activation.
Randomized phase II clinical trial comparing tremelimumab (CP-675,206) with best supportive care (BSC) following first-line platinum-based therapy in patients (pts) with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

8071 Background: Pts diagnosed with advanced NSCLC with good performance status typically receive platinum-based chemotherapy; however, no approved maintenance therapy exists. Tremelimumab, a fully human anti-CTLA4 mAb, is associated with durable responses in some pts with metastatic melanoma. METHODS This open-label, randomized, multicenter, phase II clinical trial evaluating efficacy and safety of tremelimumab as maintenance therapy was conducted in pts with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with ECOG performance status ≤1. Pts treated with ≥4 cycles of first-line platinum-based therapy resulting in either stable disease (SD) or response per RECIST were eligible and were randomized 3-6 weeks after prior therapy. Pts received 15 mg/kg IV tremelimumab Q90D or BSC until disease progression. Primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) at 3 months. Secondary endpoints included safety, objective response rate, and 1-year survival. RESULTS Eighty-seven pts received tremelimumab (n=44) or BSC (n=43). Nine (20.9%; 90% CI: 11.4%, 33.7%) pts receiving tremelimumab and 6 (14.3%; 90% CI: 6.4%, 26.3%) pts receiving BSC were progression free at 3 months. Among pts receiving tremelimumab, there were 2 (4.8%) partial responses and 7 (16.6%) SDs, compared with 0 and 6 (14.3%) pts receiving BSC, respectively. Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were observed in 27 (61.4%) pts receiving tremelimumab and 3 (7.0%) receiving BSC. Nine pts (20.5%) receiving tremelimumab reported grade 3 or 4 AEs compared with 0 patients receiving BSC. The most common grade 3 or 4 AEs attributed to tremelimumab were diarrhea and colitis (n=4, 9.1%). CONCLUSIONS In pts with advanced NSCLC and good performance status receiving platinum-based first-line therapy, single-agent tremelimumab was tolerable, with safety consistent with prior studies. Although PFS analysis did not demonstrate superiority of tremelimumab over BSC, the 4.8% objective response rate seen only in the investigational arm may support future combination studies. Analysis of 1-year survival is forthcoming. [Table: see text].
Sustained Splits of Attention within versus across Visual Hemifields Produce Distinct Spatial Gain Profiles

Visual attention can be focused concurrently on two stimuli at noncontiguous locations while intermediate stimuli remain ignored. Nevertheless, behavioral performance in multifocal attention tasks falters when attended stimuli fall within one visual hemifield as opposed to when they are distributed across left and right hemifields. This “different-hemifield advantage” has been ascribed to largely independent processing capacities of each cerebral hemisphere in early visual cortices. Here, we investigated how this advantage influences the sustained division of spatial attention. We presented six isoeccentric light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the lower visual field, each flickering at a different frequency. Participants attended to two LEDs that were spatially separated by an intermediate LED and responded to synchronous events at to-be-attended LEDs. Task-relevant pairs of LEDs were either located in the same hemifield (“within-hemifield” conditions) or separated by the vertical meridian (“across-hemifield” conditions). Flicker-driven brain oscillations, steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), indexed the allocation of attention to individual LEDs. Both behavioral performance and SSVEPs indicated enhanced processing of attended LED pairs during “across-hemifield” relative to “within-hemifield” conditions. Moreover, SSVEPs demonstrated effective filtering of intermediate stimuli in “across-hemifield” condition only. Thus, despite identical physical distances between LEDs of attended pairs, the spatial profiles of gain effects differed profoundly between “across-hemifield” and “within-hemifield” conditions. These findings corroborate that early cortical visual processing stages rely on hemisphere-specific processing capacities and highlight their limiting role in the concurrent allocation of visual attention to multiple locations.
Metabolism and disposition of n-butyl glycidyl ether in F 344 rats and B 6 C 3 F 1 mice

The disposition of [C]-labeled n-butyl glycidyl ether (BGE, 3-butoxy-1,2-epoxypropane) was studied in rats and mice. The majority of a single p.o. dose (2–200 mg/kg) was excreted in urine (rats, 84–92%; mice, 64–73%) within 24 h. The rest of the dose was excreted in feces (rats, 2.6–7.7%; mice, 5.3–12%) and in expired air as CO2 (rats, 1.5%; mice, 10–18%), or remained in the tissues (rats, 2.7–4.4%; mice, 1.5–1.7%). No parent BGE was detected in rat or mouse urine. Fifteen urinary metabolites were identified, including 3-butoxy-2-hydroxy-1-propanol and its monosulfate or monoglucuronide conjugates, 3-butoxy-2-hydroxypropionic acid, O-butyl-N-acetylserine, butoxyacetic acid, 2-butoxyethanol, and 3-butoxy-1-(N-acetylcystein-S-yl)-2-propanol, the mercapturic acid metabolite derived from conjugation of glutathione (GSH) with BGE at the C-1 position. Some of these metabolites underwent further -1 oxidation to form a 3 -hydroxybutoxy substitution. One urinary metabolite was from -oxidation of 3-butoxy-1-(N-acetylcystein-S-yl)-2-propanol to yield the corresponding carboxylic acid. Oxidative deamination of 3-butoxy-1(cystein-S-yl)-2-propanol gave the corresponding -keto acid and -hydroxy acid metabolites that were present in mouse urine but not in rat urine. An in vitro incubation of BGE with GSH showed that the conjugation occurred only at the C-1 position with or without the addition of GSH S-transferase. Epoxy resins are used in electronics, coatings, and a variety of other applications. They are generally prepared from a phenol, commonly bisphenol A, and a reactive epoxide such as epichlorohydrin. The properties of the resin are modified by including other phenols or epoxides. n-Butyl glycidyl ether (BGE, 3-butoxy-1,2-epoxypropane) is one of the modifiers used to reduce the viscosity of the resin (Kirk-Othmer, 2005). BGE is a high production volume chemical with production of more than 1 million pounds produced yearly in the United States [National Toxicology Program (NTP), 2004]. It has been selected for study by the NTP as an example of the aliphatic glycidyl ethers class. The acute toxicity of BGE is low. The oral LD50 is reported to be 1.53 and 2.26 g/kg in mice and rats, respectively. Inhalation exposure to as much as 200 ppm for 8 h appeared to affect the central nervous system, cause congestion of the central zones of the liver, and result in pneumonitis and irritation of the lungs. BGE is positive in the Ames test without the addition of S9 (NTP, 2004). There are no chronic toxicity studies reported for BGE; however, 2-year studies on an olefinic and an aromatic glycidyl ether have been conducted. Chronic exposure to 5 or 10 ppm allyl glycidyl ether by inhalation resulted in some (male mice), equivocal (male rat, female mice), or no (female rats) evidence of carcinogenic activity (NTP, 1990). Chronic exposure to diglycidyl resorcinol ether by gavage administration resulted in increases in benign and malignant lesions of the forestomach in male and female mice (50 or 100 mg/kg) and rats (25 or 50 mg/kg) (NTP,
A Kinetic Model of Inorganic Phosphorus Mass Balance in Hemodialysis Therapy

Background: There is growing evidence that inorganic phosphorus (iP) accumulation in tissues (dTiP/dt) is a risk factor for cardiac death in hemodialysis therapy (HD). The factors controlling iP mass balance in HD are dietary intake (GiP), removal by binders (JbiP) and removal by dialysis (JdiP). If iP accumulation is to be minimized, it will be necessary to regularly monitor and optimize GiP, JbiP and JdiP in individual patients. We have developed a kinetic model (iPKM) designed to monitor these three parameters of iP mass balance in individual patients and report here preliminary evaluation of the model in 23 HD patients. Methods: GiP was calculated from PCR measured with urea kinetics; JdiP was calculated from the product of dialyzer plasma water clearance (KpwiP) and time average plasma iP concentration (TACiP) and treatment time (t); a new iP concentration parameter (nTACiP, the TACiP normalized to predialysis CoiP) was devised and shown to be a highly predictable function of the form nTACiP = 1 – α(1 – exp[–βKpwiP· t/ViP]), where the coefficients α and β are calculated for each patient from 2 measure values for nTACiP, KpwiP·t/ViP early and late in dialysis; we measured 8–10 serial values for nTACiP, KpwiP· t/ViP over a single dialysis in 23 patients; the expression derived for iP mass balance is ΔTiP = 12(PCR) – [KpwiP(t) (N/7)][CoiP(1 – α(1 – exp[–β(Kt/ViP)]))] – kb·Nb. Results: Calculated nTACiP = 1.01(measured nTACiP), r = 0.98, n = 213; calculated JdiP = 0.66(measured total dialysate iP) + 358, n = 23, r = 0.88, p < 0.001. Evaluation of 10 daily HD patients (DD) and 13 3 times weekly patients with the model predicted the number of binders required very well and showed that the much higher binder requirement observed in these DD patients was due to much higher NPCR (1.3 vs. 0.96). Conclusion: These results are very encouraging that it may be possible to monitor the individual effects of diet, dialysis and binders in HD and thus optimize these parameters of iP mass balance and reduce phosphate accumulation in tissues.
Down-regulation of Intrinsic P-glycoprotein Expression in Multicellular Prostate Tumor Spheroids by Reactive Oxygen Species*

Intrinsic expression of the multidrug resistance (MDR) transporter P-glycoprotein (Pgp) may be regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). A transient expression of Pgp was observed during the growth of multicellular tumor spheroids. Maximum Pgp expression occurred in tumor spheroids with a high percentage of quiescent, Ki-67-negative cells, elevated glutathione levels, increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p27Kip1 and p21WAF-1 as well as reduced ROS levels and minor activity of the mitogen-activated kinase (MAPK) members c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase ERK1,2, and p38 MAPK. Raising intracellular ROS by depletion of glutathione with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) or glutamine starvation resulted in down-regulation of Pgp and p27Kip1, whereas ERK1,2 and JNK were activated. Down-regulation of Pgp was furthermore observed with low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and epidermal growth factor, indicating that ROS may regulate Pgp expression. The down-regulation of Pgp following BSO treatment was abolished by agents interfering with receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways, i.e. the protein kinase C inhibitors bisindolylmaleimide I (BIM-1) and Ro-31-8220, the p21 ras farnesyl protein transferase inhibitor III, the c-Raf inhibitor ZM 336372 and PD98059, which inhibits ERK1,2 activation. ROS involved as second messengers in receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways may act as negative regulators of Pgp expression.
Poly(ADP-ribose) Binds to Specific Domains of p53 and Alters Its DNA Binding Functions*

DNA strand breaks are potential interaction sites for the nuclear enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP; E.C. 2.4.2.30) and the tumor suppressor protein p53. Both proteins bind and respond to DNA breaks and both play a role in DNA damage signaling. A temporary colocalization and complex formation between these proteins has been demonstrated in mammalian cells. Here we show that free and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-bound ADP-ribose polymers target three domains in p53 protein for strong noncovalent interactions. The polymer binding sites could be mapped to two amino acid sequences in the sequence-specific core DNA binding domain of p53 (amino acid positions 153–178 and 231–253) and another one in the oligomerization domain (amino acids 326–348). In mobility shift experiments, poly(ADP-ribose) effectively prevented and reversed p53 binding to the palindromic p53 consensus sequence. Additionally, poly(ADP-ribose) also interfered with the DNA single strand end binding of p53. The results suggest that ADP-ribose polymers could play a role in regulating the DNA binding properties of p53.