Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Attendance on Student Learning in Principles of Economics

Does attendance affect performance in college economics courses? David Romer (1993) found that attendance did contribute significantly to the academic performance of students in a large intermediate macroeconomics course that he taught in the fall of 1990. (See the Summer 1994, Journal of Economic Perspectives [vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 205-15] for numerous comments on Romer.) This conclusion held even after controlling for student motivation which, it may be argued, is the true factor determining performance and is only approximated by attendance. An earlier study by Kang Park and Peter Kerr (1990) found that attendance was a determinant of student performance in a money and banking course, but not as important as a student's GPA and the percentile rank on a college entrance exam. A study by Robert Schmidt (1983) reported that time spent attending lectures contributed positively to performance in a macroeconomic Principles course. On the other side of the ledger is evidence from Neil Browne et al. (1991) showing that students who did not attend a typically structured class with lectures did just as well on the Test of Understanding College Economics (TUCE) as those students who attended a standard microeconomic Principles course. They also reported, however, that those students who attended the lectures performed better on essay questions than those who did not. A similar study by Campbell McConnell and C. Lamphear (1969) found no significant difference in the performance of students with no classroom attendance vis-a-vis those attending class. Finally, Stephen Buckles and M. E. McMahon (1971) found attendance at lectures that simply explained material covered in reading assignments did not enhance students' understanding of economics. In this paper we present new evidence on the effects of class attendance on student performance. Our results pertain to the Principles of Economics course as it is taught in a two-semester sequence at a medium-size, comprehensive state university.
Overview of experiment design and comparison of models participating in phase 1 of the SPARC Quasi-Biennial Oscillation initiative (QBOi)

Abstract. The Stratosphere–troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) Quasi-Biennial Oscillation initiative (QBOi) aims to improve the fidelity of tropical stratospheric variability in general circulation and Earth system models by conducting coordinated numerical experiments and analysis. In the equatorial stratosphere, the QBO is the most conspicuous mode of variability. Five coordinated experiments have therefore been designed to (i) evaluate and compare the verisimilitude of modelled QBOs under present-day conditions, (ii) identify robustness (or alternatively the spread and uncertainty) in the simulated QBO response to commonly imposed changes in model climate forcings (e.g. a doubling of CO2 amounts), and (iii) examine model dependence of QBO predictability. This paper documents these experiments and the recommended output diagnostics. The rationale behind the experimental design and choice of diagnostics is presented. To facilitate scientific interpretation of the results in other planned QBOi studies, consistent descriptions of the models performing each experiment set are given, with those aspects particularly relevant for simulating the QBO tabulated for easy comparison.
Allopurinol, is the Next General Drug for Chronic Heart Failure? A Review Based on 19 Clinical Trials

Introduction: Allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, has been reported to have therapeutic value in patients with chronic heart failure, besides its routine effect of decreasing uric acid level. Objective: To better understand the evidence of the treatment effects with allopurinol in patients with chronic heart failure. Methods: We searched Pubmed for clinical trials published between January 2001 and November 2014, based on which, a review was performed to determine whether allopurinol could benefit patients with chronic heart failure. Information of patient characteristics, treatment administration and main evaluation end-points was taken into consideration when assessing the therapeutic effects. Results: Out of 18 articles, 19 clinical trials were included. In most studies, the relevant signs, symptoms, laboratory and other special tests of chronic heart failure were observed to change better with the treatment of allopurinol, yet they failed to draw definite conclusions as the existence of some negative ones affected the consistency of the results. Conclusion: Allopurinol is ought to be helpful to patients with chronic heart failure. But more high-quality studies are required for its better use.
A Vocabulary-Added Reading Intervention for English Learners At-Risk of Reading Difficulties.

This study examined the added value of a vocabulary plus phonological awareness (vocab+) intervention against a phonological awareness (PA only) intervention only. The vocabulary intervention built networks among words through attention to morphological and semantic relationships. This supplementary classroom instruction augmented existing literacy curriculum in a 71 primarily Spanish-speaking English Learners (EL) in grade one, many at-risk of reading difficulty. Vocab+ lessons drew from expository text, and words were revisited throughout the program. The PA only group received a previously validated phonological awareness and decoding instruction with no vocabulary instruction. The treatment group (vocab+) spent 30% of the intervention on PA and decoding. Students demonstrated expected gains in vocabulary, while maintaining gains in phonological decoding equivalent to those of the PA only group. This study demonstrates initial justification for dedicating limited instructional minutes to vocabulary building in early literacy interventions while still dedicating a small portion of time to phonological awareness and decoding. Extensive evidence supports the effectiveness of early phonological awareness (PA) and decoding
Gastrointestinal Parasite Community in a New Population of the Przewalski’s Horse (Equus Ferus Przewalskii) in the Orenburg State Reserve, Russia

Abstract The Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii, Poljakov, 1881) is an endangered subspecies of wild horses (Equus ferus) native to steppes of Central Asia. In 2015, the Program of Establishing of a Semi-Free Population of the Przewalski’s Horse in the Orenburg Reserve was launched by FGFI “Orenburg Reserves”. The first group of 6 Przewalski’s horses (2 males and 4 females) born in the semi-reserve Le Villaret, France, was transported to the Orenburg Reserve. Th e aim of this work was to investigate the species composition of the intestinal parasite community and to monitor the dynamics of the parasite infection of the newly established Przewalski’s horse population. The level of infection by gastrointestinal parasites within the horses was examined by the McMaster method. Gastrointestinal parasites were collected in vivo after deworming of the horses with macrocyclic lactone drug “Univerm” (0.2 % aversectin C, PharmBioMed, Russia). Totally, 20 species of parasites were found: 19 species of nematodes (species of the family Strongylidae and Habronema muscae) and one species of botflies from the genus Gasterophilus. Th e widest species diversity (18 species from 8 genera) was observed in strongylids: 2 species from the subfamily Strongylinae and 16 species from Cyathostominae. Distribution of strongylid species between ten prevalence classes revealed a bimodal structure (“core-satellite” mode) of the strongylid community. Th e results obtained in this study are to be considered as the initial data for the further parasitological monitoring of Przewalski’s horses at the Orenburg State Reserve.
Net energy gained by northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) is impacted more by diet quality than by diet diversity

Understanding whether northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus (L., 1758)) are negatively affected by changes in prey quality or diversity could provide insights into their on-going population decline in the central Bering Sea. We investigated how six captive female fur seals assimilated energy from eight different diets consisting of four prey species (walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus Pallas, 1814, formerly Theragra chalcogrammus (Pallas, 1814)), Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1847), capelin (Mallotus villosus (Muller, 1776)), and magister armhook squid (Berryteuthis magister (Berry, 1913))) fed alone or in combination. Net energy was quantified by measuring fecal energy loss, urinary energy loss, and heat increment of feeding. Digestible energy (95.9%–96.7%) was high (reflecting low fecal energy loss) and was negatively affected by ingested mass and dietary protein content. Urinary energy loss (9.3%–26.7%) increased significantly for high-protein diets. Heat.
Deep Sleep : Convolutional Neural Networks for Predictive Modeling of Human Sleep Time-Signals

We discuss our work on predictive modeling in sleep medicine using deep learning, with attention to domain interpretation of the emergent internal features. More specifically, we describe a highperforming deep convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture for classification of human sleep EEG and EOG signals into sleep stages, the classification performance of which amply exceeds that of recently published CNN work that uses a single EEG channel. We show that the use of multiple signal channels accounts for only a minor fraction of our network’s performance, and that the bulk of its performance superiority relies on its greater depth as compared with alternate architectures. By visualizing the response profiles of internal layers of our network to carefully selected input signals after supervised learning, we show that the convolutional filters in these layers extract signal features that closely resemble those used by human sleep experts in manually classifying sleep into stages, and that combine both time-domain and frequency-domain elements. We go on to describe the development of these features with layer depth, showing that the network assembles them in stages, by extracting simple building blocks in shallow layers and combining them in deeper layers to form more complex features. This phenomenon of hierarchical feature formation is well-known in two-dimensional image classification using deep networks, but has not previously been reported in sleep stage classification based on time-varying one-dimensional signals.
Effects of rearing regime of replacements on the lifetime performance of ewes differing in prolificacy

Introduction The net cost associated with rearing a replacement to the point of joining with rams, and thus the ewe flock, at 18 months of age is €126. As the mean national replacement rate is 22%, the annual replacement costs of the national sheep flock equates to €55.3 million, which is equivalent to €1.20/kg lamb carcass produced. Two ways of reducing replacement cost are, firstly, to increase longevity and thus the number of crops of lambs produced, and, secondly, to increase litter size and thus the number of lambs weaned per ewe joined. The objective in this article is to present information from an on-going study at Athenry designed to evaluate the effects of plane (level) of nutrition during the rearing phase and first pregnancy, and ewe genotype on longevity and lamb output. The reasons for culling were recorded and are also presented.
The Morphogenesis of the Sexually Indifferent Gonads in the Rabbit

The present study aimed to point out the prenatal developmental stages of the indifferent gonads in rabbit. About 50 embryos and fetuses aged 11 to 18 days postcoitum were used in this study. The embryos of 9 days-old up to 13 days-old fetuses were fixed firstly within the uterus by using modified Davidson's fixative and then were transferred with the caudal halves of the fetuses aged from 14 to 18 days postconception into 10% Neutral buffered formalin for 24 to 48 hours. The specimens were prepared using routine histological work. The morphogenesis of the sexually indifferent gonad of the rabbit was studied by high-resolution light microscopy. The results showed that the gonadal ridges were detected at the 12 th day postconception as a cellular thickening covered by coelomic epithelium on either sides of the dorsal mesentery and attached to the developing pronephros. As the development progressed the gonadal ridge increased in size and cellular constituents and became housing blood vessels and germ cells. The current work concluded that the gonads of the rabbit remained indifferent and neither testis nor ovary was observed until the 17 th day postconception.
Discrimination of oilseed rape volatiles by the honeybee: combined chemical and biological approaches

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) were individually subjected to a classical conditioning procedure in order to obtain an olfactory conditioned proboscis extension response. To relate the behavioural response directly to antennal detection abilities, a technique was developped for coupling proboscis extension responses and electroantennogram recordings, with the stimulation being provided by the effluent of a gas chromatograph (GC). Bees were conditioned with a six‐component mixture being part of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) floral volatiles, and tested with the individual components separated by GC. Responses of the conditioned bees were compared to those of unconditioned bees. No behavioural response was obtained in the control group, neither to the individual components nor to the mixture. Conditioning induced behavioural responses for three components, and an increase of electroantennogram responses for all components. A second experiment was conducted with an air entrainment extract of oilseed rape flower volatiles. Behavioural responses of conditioned and unconditioned bees were recorded. Responses obtained from conditioned bees tested with the air entrainment extract showed six groups of behaviourally active GC peaks. Unconditioned bees showed the same pattern of responses but at a lower level. The coupled technique described here appears to be a reliable tool for locating active components in a synthetic as well as in a natural mixture of floral volatiles. The effects of conditioning on odour discrimination and on its sensory correlates are discussed.
Hunt or hide: How insularity and urbanization affect foraging decisions in lizards

Natural selection theory predicts that the decisions made by animals should reflect a balance between the costs and benefits of alternative behavioural strategies (Brock, Bednekoff, Pafilis, & Foufopoulos, 2014; Lima & Dill, 1990; Miranda, Schielzeth, Sonntag, & Partecke, 2013). For example, both resource availability and predation risk in the particular environment may determine whether an individual should behave more or less cautious during foraging (Cooper, 2000; Kortet, Hedrick, & Vainikka, 2010; Luttbeg & Sih, 2010). In general, individuals are Received: 25 October 2017 | Revised: 23 November 2017 | Accepted: 29 December 2017 DOI: 10.1111/eth.12722
4 . 1 How did the QR Codes and Mobile Devices Impact Pupils ’ Learning Outcomes and Motivations ?

The aim of this case study was to explore the feasibility of the Quick Response (QR) codes and mobile devices in the context of Finnish basic education. The interest was especially to explore how mobile devices and QR codes can enhance and blend teaching and learning. The data were collected with a teacher interview and pupil surveys. The learning outcomes were measured with the test results after the experiment and with the pupil’s self-evaluation. From a learner’s point of view, the QR activity was motivating and brought much-wanted variation to the traditional school day. The QR problems encouraged the pupils to persevere with the problems, an effect which led to good learning outcomes.
Plant Cell , Tissue and Organ Culture ( PCTOC ) : Journal of Plant Biotechnology GROWTH , LIPID PEROXIDATION , ORGANIC SOLUTES AND ANTIOXIDATIVE ENZYME CONTENT IN DROUGHT STRESSED DATE PALM EMBRYOGENIC CALLUS SUSPENSION INDUCED BY POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on growth synchronization of embryo development in date palm cell suspension and the effect on lipid peroxidation, organic solute content and antioxidant enzymes activities. Callus maintained on MS basal media was transferred to regeneration liquid media supplemented with increasing levels (0-20%) of polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG) to induce osmotic stress. Maximum values of the degree of embryogenic callus formation and its fresh weight as well as the percentages of normal embryos callus shapes were increased whereas abnormal embryogenic callus was decreased with an increase in the level of PEG up to 10% and thereafter decreased. Organic solutes estimated represented by total soluble protein (TSP), proline, glycine betaine (GB), total soluble phenol (TSPh), total sugars (TS) and total soluble organic acids (TOA) were increased whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was decreased due to PEG supplementation up to 15% and thereafter decreased. Raising the PEG level increased malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and SOD activity up to 10% PEG and thereafter decreased. However glutathione reductase (GR) and catalase (CAT) activities were decreased in general at the highest levels of PEG. Proliferation of somatic embryos was influenced by their developmental shapes. The proportion of normal embryo developmental shapes were about 50% compared with 20% abnormal shapes at optimum levels of PEG. Cultivar (cv.) Samani accumulated more organic solutes compared cv. Sewi under normal and stress inducing media. In contrast, lipid peroxidation, GR, SOD and CAT activities were significantly higher in cv. Sewi than in cv. Samani. Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation These results indicate that the cv. Samani has the ability to tolerate a higher level of drought stress compared to cv. Sewi due to the osmotic re-balancing within its tissues. Suggested Reviewers: Brian W Grout, BSc PhD Professor, University Copenhagen bwg@life.ku. dk 35 years experience in plant tissue culture Hail Z Rihan, BSc PhD Lecturer, Damascus Univeristy hail.rihan@plymouth.ac. uk Currently a visiting postdoc scholar at Plymouth University. 6 years experience in plant tissue culture research. PTOC author Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation
The effect of stinging nettle and field horsetail extracts on the synthesis of biologically active compounds in germinated leguminous and quinoa seed

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of aqueous extracts of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) and field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) plants on the synthesis of compounds with antioxidant properties in germinating seeds. The seeds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), dining lentil (Lens culinaris L.), mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) and quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) were germinated for 72 hours. Germinating seeds were imbibed and daily soaked in aqueous stinging nettle and field horsetail plant extracts. We studied the influence of elicitation on the amount of dry matter, anthocyanins, leucoanthocyanins and catechins as well as vitamin C, P and antioxidant activity in germinated seeds. During germination, 34.21% more intense synthesis of anthocyanins occurred in quinoa seeds treated with stinging nettle extract solutions compared with those treated with water only. Under the influence of extracts, the content of vitamin C significantly increased only in lentils, treated with stinging nettle extract by 40.65 mg 100 g-1 fresh weight (FW) and field horsetail extract by 42.48 mg 100 g-1 FW, while in mung beans the increase was noticed after treatment with field horsetail extract (by 62.4 mg 100 g-1). Plant extract solutions did not have statistically significant impact on vitamin P (rutin) accumulation in germinated seeds. However, a trend towards P increase was observed in all germinated seeds, except for alfalfa. Germinated alfalfa seeds and mung beans were characterized by the highest antioxidant activity.
How Improving the Customer Experience Quality and Business Performance? A Case Study by Mystery Shopper Practices

This study aims to improve the quality of the customers’ experience of Chinese restaurants through the mystery shopper service, which will enhance customer satisfaction and repurchases as well as business performance. Thus, this study conducted case study on Formosa Chang Restaurant which the enterprise operation and management was ranked first in Taiwan by IMD2012 reports. The research found that the approach of using customers with unpleasant experiences as mystery shoppers could effectively resolve Chinese customers’ reluctance to tell service providers about their personal experiences so that the companies could introduce valid methods in order to improve equality of customer experience across the board. This study filled the gap as China had no research on the quality of experience for restaurants’ customers and provided a method for using mystery shoppers as a way to improve customer experience quality.
Student independence in undergraduate projects: different understandings in different academic contexts

ABSTRACT Independence is a concept of scholarly interest in relation to higher education, especially when it comes to undergraduate projects. At the same time independence is characterised by a certain conceptual ambiguity, and, consequently, tends to be understood differently in different academic contexts, both nationally, internationally and interdisciplinary. Based on the existing research in the field, we see a need for more studies on how supervisors of undergraduate projects handle this conceptual ambiguity. The aim of this article is, thus, to examine how supervisors from two different education programmes, teacher education and journalism, in two different countries, Sweden and Russia, understand the concept of independence within higher education in connection with the supervision of undergraduate projects. The analysis is based on 12 focus-group interviews with supervisors at different universities in the two countries. In our results, we highlight and discuss seven different understandings of independence that were recurrent in our material and in which phases of the undergraduate project they were seen as most significant. Using Wittgenstein’s ideas on family resemblances, we conclude with a discussion of how the concept independence may be understood in relation to some associated concepts that are also significant within higher education.
TOXICOPATHOLOGICAL AND SERUM BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS INDUCED BY OCHRATOXIN A IN BROILER CHICKS AND THEIR AMELIORATION BY LOCALLY AVAILABLE BENTONITE CLAY

Ochratoxin A (OTA), a potent carcinogen, poses a great threat to the lives of poultry, animals and humans. It causes nephrotoxicity, immunosuppression, mutagenicity and teratogenicity in birds. Bentonite clay, belonging to the subclass of aluminosilicates, has the ability to adsorb different molecules and can efficiently adsorb several mycotoxins too. The present study was designed to evaluate the ameliorative effects of locally available bentonite clay against OTA induced toxicopathological and serum biochemical alterations in broilers. For this, day old broilers were divided into 16 equal groups and were given different combinations of OTA (0.15, 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg feed) and bentonite clay (5, 10 and 20 g/kg feed). Results indicated that feeding OTA alone caused a reduction in body weight gain, poor FCR, increased gross lesions, altered relative organ weights and serum biochemical values and all these changes occurred in a dose dependent manner. Feeding bentonite clay along with OTA did not ameliorate the OTA induced alterations in body weight, FCR, gross lesions, relative organ weights and serum biochemical parameters.