Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical skills and knowledge used by veterinary graduates during their first year in small animal practice

Objective To determine the clinical skills and areas of knowledge used by veterinarians in small animal practice during their first year after graduation and the degree of assistance and supervision they received while developing these skills. Design A postal survey was sent in December 1999 to 59 veterinarians who completed their training at Murdoch University in December 1998. Procedure The first part of the survey asked for information on veterinary work patterns since leaving university. The second part consisted of a list of diagnostic and therapeutic skills of varying complexity and the graduates were asked to indicate whether they had used these skills in practice and whether they had been assisted or supervised while doing them. The respondents were also asked if they had had the opportunity to practise these skills as undergraduates at university or during extramural experience. In the third part the areas of knowledge used in practice were assessed by analysis of a series of consecutive cases. Results Forty replies were received but since three graduates had done no small animal work the analysis of the skills section is based on 37 responses. Thirty graduates supplied information on 994 canine cases and 308 feline cases. The distribution of the mean work time was dogs and cats 69%, horses 13%, farm animals 11%, birds 3% and others 4%. Skills used by over 90% of graduates included general anaesthesia, examination of the tympanic membrane, taking and interpreting an abdominal radiograph, catheterising a male cat, fine needle aspiration of a mass, neutering dogs and cats, tooth scaling and extraction and treating an aural haematoma. The survey also identified the opportunities for undergraduates to practise some of these skills during extramural experience and the extent of assistance given to new graduates during their first year in practice. The areas of knowledge used in over 10% of the cases included vaccination, anaesthesia/sedation, skin/coat problems, general advice on pet health, neutering and musculoskeletal diseases. Conclusion Veterinarians, in their first year after graduation, use a wide range of complex diagnostic and therapeutic skills. Although many of these skills are acquired during the undergraduate training, a significant contribution is made by extramural practical work undertaken during the clinical years of the undergraduate course and in the first year following graduation. Practising veterinarians play an important role in providing opportunities and supervision for clinical training.
EFL Teacher’s Reflections towards the Use of Computerized Corpora As a Teaching Tool in Their Classrooms

Etkin ve teknoloji okuryazarligi iyi olan yabanci dil ogretmenlerinin varligini gerekli kilan bilgisayarli derlem uygulamalari sayesinde, yabanci dil ogretiminin onunde yeni ufuklar acilmis ve derlem tabanli uygulamalar ile dil ogretimi arasindaki iliskiyi gunumuzde cok daha belirgin sekilde ortaya cikarmistir. Derlem ve derlem araclari arastirmacilar arasinda bilinmesine ve ilgi cekmesine ragmen cesitli sebeplerden dolayi dil ogretiminde hak ettigi ilgiyi henuz gorememistir. Bu durumun sebeplerinden bir tanesi derlem ve derlem araclarinin yabanci dil ogretmenleri arasinda popular olmamasi olabilir. Calismanin amaclarindan birincisi, derlem ve araclarinin potansiyel faydalarini yabanci dil ogretmenlerinin daha fazla tanimasini saglamak ve onlarin farkindalik seviyelerini artirmaktir. Bu durum derlem ve araclarinin dil siniflarina entegrasyonu icin gerekli bir asamadir. Bu ornek olay incelemesi alti Ingilizce ogretmeni ile gerceklestirilmistir. Deneklerin seciminde amacli ornekleme modeli kullanilmis ve dil ogretmenlerinin konu hakkindaki algilari acik uclu mulakat ile belirlenmistir. Tum denekler Ingilizcenin yapisal ve terimsel yonleri uzerine derlem dizinlerinde yaptiklari yeni kesiflerden cok memnun kalmislardir. Derlemin kullanicilarina potansiyel olarak sagladigi dilbilgisi ve kelime yapilari hakkindaki alanin anlasilmasinin kendileri ve ogrencileri acisindan zaman alabilecegi ifade edilmistir
Etiologic Factors in Diaper Dermatitis: The Role of Feces

Abstract: While the etiology of diaper dermatitis in infants is complex, it is generally believed to involve an interaction between skin and irritants in feces and urine. Proteases and lipases were identified as the major irritants in the feces of infants, and bile salts were found to potentiate the damage produced by the action of fecal enzymes on skin. Fecal enzymes also increased the permeability of skin, thereby increasing potential susceptibility to other irritants in the diaper environment.
Classificação socioeconômica e sua discussão em relação à prevalência de cárie e fluorose dentária

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between a socioeconomic classification model and prevalence of dental caries and dental fluorosis in Piracicaba, Sâo Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: For this classification five indicators were used (family monthly income, number of residents in the same household, parents' formal educational level, type of housing and occupation of person responsible for the family). A scoring system was used in order to arrange in a hierarchy, 812 12 year old school children distributed between six different social classes. Volunteers were examined in the school's back patio under natural light with a dental mirror, by two examiners calibrated for DMFT index (dental caries) and T-F (dental fluorosis). The qui-square test (p<0.01) was used in the statistical analysis for the association of DMFT and the dental fluorosis and between the socioeconomic variable and the proposed social classes. RESULTS: The DMFT average was 1.7, while 31.4%, of the children had dental fluorosis (T-Fe"1). CONCLUSION: With respect to socioeconomic class a statistically significant association was only verified with dental caries.
Missed Beeps and Missing Data

Experience sampling research measures people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions in their everyday lives by repeatedly administering brief questionnaires throughout the day. Nonresponse—failing to respond to these daily life questionnaires—has been a vexing source of missing data. The present research examined person-level, day-level, and signal-level predictors of nonresponse. We analyzed data from a sample of 450 young adults who were signaled 8 times a day for 7 days. At the person level, nonresponse was higher for men and for people high in positive schizotypy, depressive symptoms, and hypomania. At the day level, nonresponse increased over the first few days of the study and then declined toward the end. At the signal level, time of day strongly predicted nonresponse. Lagged signal-level analyses examined how emotions and experiences at a prior signal prospectively predicted the likelihood of ignoring the next signal. Only one variable—feelings of enthusiasm—had a significant lagged effect, which suggests that within-day experiences are not major sources of nonresponse. For the most part, the day of the study and the time of day had the most salient effects. Understanding the predictors of missing data allows researchers to implement methods to increase compliance and to handle missing data more effectively by including predictors of nonresponse.
The Use of Asynchronous Forum to Enhance Reading Comprehension of Distance Learners

The Internet is widely available in Malaysia and due to improved bandwidth, and students now spend considerable time reading online materials (hypermedia documents) in order to complete their assignments. This is especially the case for distance learners who have little opportunity to attend face-to-face tutorials and rely instead on course materials that are uploaded to the institution’s website. This case study explored the extent to which an asynchronous forum enhances the reading comprehension of distance learners specific to Life Sciences hypermedia documents. As part of their assignments, students discussed two questions via the online forum which were designed with the intent of assisting them in developing fuller comprehension of two course units. Semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis (online forum discussion threads) were employed to assess effects. It was found that feedback through discussion via an asynchronous forum enhanced levels of comprehension for the students involved. It was also found that an asynchronous forum provides ample time for students to read extensively and subsequently discuss subject materials when they are ready to do so, and in a convenient manner. It was also found that students obtained and shared information from a myriad of sources which promoted intensive and extensive reading. It is believed that this study provides insights that will assist course designers as well as teachers in increasing student reading comprehension through asynchronous forum, in terms of the needs, difficulties and requirements of distance learners.
Adaptive Automation Based on an Object-Oriented Task Model: Implementation and Evaluation in a Realistic C2 Environment

Staffing reduction initiatives and more complicated military operations lead to a higher cognitive workload in command and control (C2) environments. Extending automation with adaptive capabilities can aid the human in overcoming cognitive workload challenges. At present, most adaptive automation research has focused on laboratory experiments and only limited research has aimed to implement and validate adaptive automation in a real-world setting. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of adaptive automation in precisely such a setting, extending the scientific knowledge base of adaptive systems with an evaluation of a real-world adaptive task. Implementing adaptive automation in a real-world C2 setting required extending current adaptive automation theories with an object-oriented task model and a hybrid triggering mechanism. The extended model was evaluated with eight naval officers using a high-fidelity C2 environment and showed an overall efficiency effect of 60%. Furthermore, no negative side effects of adaptive automation have been found, and the data show that the scenarios were manipulated correctly. In addition, the positive efficiency effects appear most strongly in the more complicated asymmetrical scenarios (65%). This latter conclusion shows that adaptive automation can be a valuable contribution to future C2 systems.
Supporting a course in new literacies and skills for linguists with a Virtual Learning Environment. Results from a staff/student collaborative action-research project at Coventry University

This paper reports on the results of an action research project at Coventry University that consisted of the evaluation of a curriculum innovation supported by the use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) WebCT, i.e. a new module (course): Academic and Professional Skills for Language Learning. The project was carried out collaboratively by staff – all the linguists teaching level 1 modules in EFL, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish – and students over a period of ten months in 2002–2003. The module aims at engaging students actively with the new literacies and skills required by the ‘knowledge society’. The provisional hypothesis was that skills-based teaching and learning activities that are aligned with the needs of language learners would raise confidence in academic and professional skills and increase motivation and proficiency in language learning. The use of the Virtual Learning Environment Web Communication Tools (WebCT), available within the online learning portal both on and off campus for students at Coventry University, would be instrumental in testing the hypothesis, as it provided an interactive reflective forum for both staff and students involved. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The paper will show how the use of the Virtual Learning Environment facilitated the creation of exercises that developed both ICT skills and language-specific ones. On a less positive note, the results confirmed the outcomes of other research in the field, i.e. that students find it challenging to become reflective, autonomous learners and that we cannot assume that the use of technology automatically leads to autonomy. Many students also found it challenging to see the relevance to their studies of skills and literacies that went beyond the four basic language skills. The paper will conclude by illustrating both the positive and the negative outcomes of the project and outlining the staff/student-agreed way forward in the light of the issues encountered.
Fractal Antennas A Novel Miniaturization Technique for wireless networks

In the recent years and with the multiplication and miniaturization of telecommunications systems and their integration in restricted environments, such as Smart-phones, tablets, cars, airplanes, and other embedded systems. The design of compact multi-bands and Ultra Wide Band (UWB) antennas becomes a necessity. One of the interesting techniques to provide this kind of antenna is the use of fractal structures.
Ethanol Enhances the Functional Recovery of Stunned Myocardium Independent of KATP Channels in Dogs

Chronic, intermittent exposure to small amounts of ethanol reduces myocardial infarct size in vivo. We tested the hypothesis that acute administration of ethanol enhances the functional recovery of stunned myocardium and that adenosine triphosphate-dependent potassium (KATP) channels mediate this beneficial effect. Barbiturate-anesthetized dogs were instrumented for measurement of aortic and left ventricular pressure, +dP/dtmax, and subendocardial segment shortening (%SS) and were subjected to five 5-min periods of coronary artery occlusion, each separated by 5 min of reperfusion followed by a 3-h final reperfusion. In four groups (n = 7 each), dogs received 0.9% saline or ethanol (0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 g/kg over 30 min) in a random manner before occlusions and reperfusions. In other groups (n = 7 each), dogs received the KATP channel antagonist glyburide (0.3 mg/kg, IV) 30 min before saline or ethanol (0.25 g/kg) was administered. Dogs receiving saline or glyburide alone demonstrated poor recovery of contractile function during reperfusion (%SS = 0.9% ± 2.0% and 1.6% ± 1.2% at 3 h, respectively). Recovery of %SS was enhanced in dogs receiving the 0.25- and 0.5-g/kg doses of ethanol (10.0% ± 1.8% and 8.6% ± 2.2% at 3 h, respectively) independent of alterations in hemodynamics or coronary collateral blood flow (radioactive microspheres). Glyburide did not affect improvement of recovery of stunned myocardium produced by ethanol (11.8% ± 2.2% at 3 h). The results indicate that ethanol enhances the functional recovery of stunned myocardium independent of KATP channels in vivo. Implications Small amounts of ethanol improve the functional recovery of postischemic, reperfused myocardium in barbiturate-anesthetized dogs. These beneficial effects are not related to adenosine triphosphate-dependent potassium channels.
Effects of Methods with Linguistic Package on Students' Achievements in Essay Writing

This study investigates the effects of methods with a package of linguistic inputs on the achievements of students' in essay writing. The package of linguistic input is a package designed to enhance students' ability to write correct sentences especially in areas of concord, that is agreement of pronoun with a compound antecedent, agreement of subject and verb and agreement of verbs with indefinite pronouns. Two methods were identified namely: Lecture Method and Discussion Method. Each method was combined with a package of linguistic input for the experimental group while the control group was only taught essay writing without being exposed to a package of linguistic inputs. It was discovered that students taught with the combination of a package of linguistic inputs and teaching methods were able to write good essays and used verbs better than those who were not exposed to a package of linguistic inputs. It was recommended that teachers of essay writing should expose their students to package of linguistic inputs in concord in order to enhance their ability to use verbs correctly with subjects when constructing sentences. Keywords : Linguistic package; essay writing; students' achievement The Nigerian Journal of Guidance and Counselling Vol. 11 (1) 2006: pp. 84-92
Students' accounts of the need for continuous support in a distance learning programme

This paper looks at a qualitative case study of distance learning at Universiti Utara Malaysia as described by a small group of distance learners as they progress through their courses at the institution. It concerns the learners – it is their story, their experience, their perspective. In particular, this thematic report looks at learning support in distance learning as it surfaced as one of the central findings of this research. This is an issue that arose from discussions with the students, rather than being predetermined by the research design. Conclusions have been drawn regarding the role of learning support to facilitate distance learning at Universiti Utara Malaysia. The concept of need and support is important as it relates to the different requirements from support into action that enables the learners to connect with their teachers, the course content and with other learners.
Learning to Read Words: Theory, Findings, and Issues

Reading words may take several forms. Readers may utilize decoding, analogizing, or predicting to read unfamiliar words. Readers read familiar words by accessing them in memory, called sight word reading. With practice, all words come to be read automatically by sight, which is the most efficient, unobtrusive way to read words in text. The process of learning sight words involves forming connections between graphemes and phonemes to bond spellings of the words to their pronunciations and meanings in memory. The process is enabled by phonemic awareness and by knowledge of the alphabetic system, which functions as a powerful mnemonic to secure spellings in memory. Recent studies show that alphabetic knowledge enhances children's learning of new vocabulary words, and it influences their memory for doubled letters in words. Four phases characterize the course of development of sight word learning. The phases are distinguished according to the type of alphabetic knowledge used to form connections: pre-alphabetic, partial, full, and consolidated alphabetic phases. These processes appear to portray sight word learning in transparent as well as opaque writing systems.
A self‐organizing neural network approach for multiple traveling salesman and vehicle routing problems

This paper addresses several algorithms based on self-organizing neural network approach for routing problems. The algorithm for Traveling Salesman Problem is elaborated and the extension of the proposed algorithm to more complex problems namely, Multiple Traveling Salesmen and Vehicle Routing is discussed. In order to investigate the performance of the algorithms, a comprehensive empirical study has been provided. The simulations, which are conducted on standard data, evaluate the overall performance of this approach by comparing the results with the best known or the optimal solutions of the problems. The proposed algorithm shows significant advances in both qualities of the solution and computational efforts for most of the experimented data.
Modeling for flexible manufacturing systems with an FMS blocking mechanism and a BDSM job routing

We consider a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) which is composed of a set of workstations, a common buffer and a Material Handling System (MHS). Each workstation includes a limited input buffer, several machines and a limited output buffer. The MHS consists of several carts moving jobs among the workstations according to the process paths required by the jobs. The carts treat blocked jobs in accordance with a new blocking mechanism, called the ‘FMS blocking mechanism’. The function of the common buffer is to temporarily store blocked jobs. Such an FMS is formulated as an open queueing network, in which the MHS is modeled as a central station routing jobs to the workstations. In the model, the machines process jobs with an exponentially distributed processing time, and the carts route jobs to the workstations following a ‘Blocking Depended Static Markov (BDSM) job routing’ with an exponentially distributed routing time and treat blocked jobs in accordance with the FMS blocking mechanism. It is shown that the equilibrium state distribution of the model has a product-form solution. The blocking probabilities are obtained by computing a fixed point problem whose solution is revealed by an iterative algorithm. Moreover, it is shown that the throughputs of the workstations are independent of the spaces on the local buffers at the workstations. Several numerical examples are presented.
Fewer colds, less asthma? A hypothesis to explain the fall in childhood asthma in the UK

UK asthma prevalence fell significantly between 1993 and 2000. In children aged <5 years hospital admissions for asthma fell by 52% and primary care presentations in children under 14 years by over 40%. From 1994 to 2000, primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections in all age groups fell by 36%, and for the common cold by 46%. Isolates for respiratory syncytial virus notified to the Health Protection Agency voluntary reporting scheme fell by 56% between 1993 and 2003. Falls in UK birth rate and improvements in living conditions were reported by the Office of National Statistics over this time. The authors hypothesise that the fall in asthma reflects a fall in respiratory infections, the most important proximal trigger for asthma exacerbations, and that this in turn may be related to a fall in household members to a number too low for effective virus transmission. Future research into the prevalence of asthma must consider the effect of changing respiratory virus burden on populations.
Internet perception and use: a gender perspective

This paper reports endings of a study undertaken in late 1999 which aimed to identify and analyse the differences in use, by gender, of the Internet. A review of the literature of the differences in use, by gender, of computers generally is provided. The study involved students at Loughborough University and members of the public at libraries in Loughborough and Slough. The results of this (fairly limited) study show that female use, interest and conedence in using the Internet is high but, in comparison with male respondents the females had not taken to the Internet as rapidly.
Scalable Checkpointing-Based Rollback Recovery Protocol for Geographically Distributed Systems

Two opposite approaches were proposed to address some scalability problem resulting from coordinated checkpointing's synchronization during failure-free operation: minimizing the number of checkpointing participants and having the checkpointing process non-blocking. However, these previous approaches, oblivious to the underlying network, may not fundamentally provide any breakthrough for ensuring high scalability required in very large-scale P2P-based systems. This paper proposes a non-blocking coordinated checkpointing protocol to significantly reduce checkpointing synchronization overhead by structuring the peer-to-peer network into a set of groups according to a particular criterion. In this protocol, among processes in a group, one is designated as representative with the following special roles, intra-group and inter-group checkpointing coordination. Intra-group checkpointing coordination addresses the checkpointing procedure among processes within a group. On the other hand, inter-group checkpointing coordination is performed only among representatives. Thanks to this beneficial feature, the proposed protocol may considerably reduce the number of checkpointing control messages routed on core networks compared with the existing ones.