Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationships of teachers' levels of technology integration on student achievement in reading and mathematics

The purpose o f this study was to determine to what extent the level o f technology integration o f fourth and eighth grade teachers in eleven rural school districts in northeastern Louisiana related to student achievement in reading and mathematics. The sample consisted o f 123 fourth and eighth grade teachers and their students from the eleven rural school districts in northeastern Louisiana. Fifty-eight percent of the teachers represented the fourth grade and 42% o f the teachers represented the eighth grade. The teachers served a school age population in which 20% or more was from families with incomes below the poverty line. Mean scores from the students’ Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century {LEAP 21) were collected together with teacher demographic variables—teachers’ ages, years o f experience, highest degrees earned, certification status, levels o f technology integration, current instructional practices, and personal computer use. Pearson correlation was used to determine if there was any significant relationship between the teacher’s level o f technology integration and the class means for reading and mathematics as well as for the demographic data. Regression analysis was used to determine if the level o f technology use and the teacher demographic data would predict the LEAP 21 reading and mathematics mean scores in grades 4 and 8 .
Robotic Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Decreases 30-Day Complication Rate, Length of Stay, and Acute Care Facility Discharge Rate Compared with Conventional Surgery

Objective The objective of this study was to compare the short-term outcomes of robotic with conventional on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Methods The study population included 2091 consecutive patients who underwent either conventional or robotic CABG from January 2007 to March 2012. Preoperative, intraoperative, and 30-day postoperative variables were collected for each group. To compare the incidence of rapid recovery between conventional and robotic CABG, the surrogate variables of early discharge and discharge to home (vs rehabilitation or acute care facility) were evaluated. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. Results One hundred fifty robotic and 1619 conventional CABG cases were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that robotic surgery was astrongpredictoroflower30-day complications [odds ratio (OR), 0.24; P =0.005], short length of stay (OR, 3.31; P < 0.001), and decreased need for an acute care facility (OR, 0.55; P = 0.032). In the presence of complications (New York State Complication Composite), the robotic technique was not associated with a change in discharge status. Conclusions In this retrospective review, robotic CABG was associated with a lower 30-day complication rate, a shorter length of stay, and a lower incidence of acute care facility discharge than conventional on-pump CABG. It may suggest a more rapid recovery to preoperative status after robotic surgery; however, only a randomized prospective study could confirm the advantages of a robotic approach.
MS and neuromyelitis optica in Martinique (French West Indies)

Background and objective: A population-based study is reported of MS in French Afro-Caribbeans (FAC) in Martinique. FAC are descendants of interracial mating that occurred between French Caucasians and black Africans in the 17th and the 18th centuries. Methods: The authors surveyed the entire island of Martinique (area 1,128 km2, population 357,000) between November 1997 and October 1999. Results: Sixty-two patients (46 females, 16 males, ratio 2.9:1) were identified with definite or probable disease by the Poser criteria. Prevalence for all patients on December 31, 1998, was 17.4/105 (95% CI 13.1 to 21.7) and 14.3/105 (95% CI 10.4 to 18.2) for clinically definite cases (n = 51). Age range of patients on prevalence day was 17 to 73 years (mean ± SD 39 ± 11.3 years). Mean age at onset was 31.2 ± 11 years. Overall, 9.7% had primary progressive disease and 19.4% had benign MS. A low proportion of definite and probable MS cases had oligoclonal bands in CSF (50.9%). Seventeen patients, 13 of whom were alive on prevalence day, had a relapsing form of neuromyelitis optica. Conclusion: The island of Martinique appears to have a low to medium prevalence of MS. MS was almost unknown in FAC in Martinique until the late 1970s. The apparent recent increase may be explained by improved recognition of patients, increased availability of MRI for diagnosis, increased disease awareness among physicians, increased survival of MS patients, or an actual increase in disease frequency.
[Expression of survivin, Fas, bcl-2 and bax in bone marrow cells from acute myeloid leukemia patients and its clinical significance].

UNLABELLED To study the clinical significance of the expression of antiapoptosis gene, survivin and bcl-2, and proapoptosis gene, Fas and bax, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), RT-PCR was used to examine the expression of survivin and flow cytometry (FCM) to detect the expression of Fas, bcl-2, bax and bcl-2/bax ratio in 68 cases of AML. The results demonstrated that: (1) The positivity of survivin mRNA expression was significantly higher in AML compared to control (70.6% vs 30%, P < 0.05). (2) The expression of Fas and bcl-2 in AML before treatment was significantly higher than that in control (P < 0.001), but the bax expression did not (P > 0.05). (3) The survivin-positive AML cases showed a significantly lower Fas and higher bcl-2 expression in comparison with survivin-negative ones (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively), but the bax did not (P > 0.01). (4) Survivin-positive AML cases had a lower CR rate as compared with survivin-negative cases (64.6% vs 90%, P < 0.05). (5) The survivin-positive CR cases showed a decreased expression of Fas and bcl-2 after treatment in comparison with pretreatment expression (P < 0.001), but the bax expression remained unchanged before and after therapy. The survivin-positive NR cases showed a significantly decreased Fas and increased bcl-2 expression as compared with pretreatment expression (P < 0.001). bcl-2/bax ratio was also significantly higher in NR cases. IN CONCLUSION 70.6% AML cases showed positive for survivin expression with a lower CR rate, the survivin-positive AML showed a low Fas with high bcl-2 expression and bcl-2/bax ratio as compared to the survivin-negative cases.
Existence of solution for biharmonic systems with indefinite weights

In this article we deal with the existence questions to the nonlinear biharmonic systems. Using theory of monotone operators, we show the existence of a unique weak solution to the weighted biharmonic systems. We also show the existence of a positive solution to weighted biharmonic systems in the unit ball in Rn , using Leray Schauder fixed point theorem. In this study we allow sign-changing weights. Mathematics subject classification (2010): 35J08, 35J58, 35J60, 35J75, 35J91.
Piezoelectric Wafer Embedded Active Sensors for Aging Aircraft Structural Health Monitoring

Piezoelectric wafer active sensors may be applied on aging aircraft structures to monitor the onset and progress of structural damage such as fatigue cracks and corrosion. The state of the art in piezoelectric-wafer active sensors structural health monitoring and damage detection is reviewed. Methods based on (a) elastic wave propagation and (b) the Electro-Mechanical (E/M) impedance technique are cited and briefly discussed. For health monitoring of aging aircraft structures, two main detection strategies are considered: the E/M impedance method for near field damage detection, and wave propagation methods for far-field damage detection. These methods are developed and verified on simple-geometry specimens and on realistic aging aircraft panels with seeded cracks and corrosion. The experimental methods, signal processing, and damage detection algorithms are tuned to the specific method used for structural interrogation. In the E/M impedance method approach, the high-frequency spectrum, representative of the structural resonances, is recorded. Then, overall-statistics damage metrics can be used to compare the impedance signatures and correlate the change in these signatures with the damage progression and intensity. In our experiments, the (1 R2)3 damage metric was found to best fit the results in the 300-450 kHz band. In the wave propagation approach, the pulse-echo and acousto-ultrasonic methods can be utilized to identify the additional reflections generated from crack damage and the changes in transmission phase and velocity associated with corrosion damage. The paper ends with a conceptual design of a structural health monitoring system and suggestions for aging aircraft installation utilizing active-sensor arrays, data concentrators, wireless transmission, and a health monitoring and processing unit.
Mint2/X11‐like colocalizes with the Alzheimer's disease amyloid precursor protein and is associated with neuritic plaques in Alzheimer's disease

Aberrant metabolism of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) is believed to be at least part of the pathogenic process in Alzheimer's disease. The carboxy‐terminus of APP has been shown to interact with the Mint/X11 family of phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain‐bearing proteins. It is via their PTB domains that the Mints/X11s bind to APP. Here we report the cloning of full‐length mouse Mint2 and demonstrate that in primary cortical neurons, Mint2 and APP share highly similar distributions. Mint2 also colocalizes with APP in transfected CHO cells. In Mint2/APP‐cotransfected cells, Mint2 reorganizes the subcellular distribution of APP and also increases the steady‐state levels of APP. Finally, we demonstrate that Mint2 is associated with the neuritic plaques found in Alzheimer's disease but not with neurofibrillary tangles. These results are consistent with a role for Mint2 in APP metabolism and trafficking, and suggest a possible role for the Mints/X11s in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Epidermal growth factor receptor gene copy number and protein level are not associated with outcome of non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND Survival benefit of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors is predicted by high EGFR gene copy number and by strong EGFR protein expression. Clinical relevance of these features in patients treated with chemotherapy has not been reported. PATIENTS AND METHODS This study included 82 NSCLC patients treated with chemotherapy. There were 45% of females, 6% of never smokers and 45% of patients diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. EGFR gene copy number was evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization and EGFR protein level by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS High EGFR gene copy number and protein level were found in 33% and 71% of patients, respectively. Both markers were significantly associated (P = 0.01). For objective response and disease control, there was no difference between patients defined as negative or positive for both EGFR gene copy number (P = 0.39 and P = 1.00, respectively) and for EGFR protein (P = 1.00 and P = 0.80, respectively). There were no differences in progression-free and overall survival according to EGFR gene copy number (P = 0.76 and P = 0.82, respectively) and protein level (P = 0.67 and P = 0.62, respectively). CONCLUSION In chemotherapy-treated NSCLC patients, EGFR gene copy number was positively associated with protein level but none of the features were predictive for either treatment response or survival.
Cranial allometry, phylogeography, and systematics of large-bodied papionins (primates: Cercopithecinae) inferred from geometric morphometric analysis of landmark data.

The cranial morphology of the African Old World monkeys Mandrillus, Papio, and Theropithecus (i.e., baboons) has been the subject of a number of studies investigating their systematic relationships, patterns of scaling, and growth. In this study, we use landmark-based geometric morphometrics and multivariate analysis to assess the effects of size, sex, taxonomy, and geographic location on cranial shape. Forty-five landmarks were digitized in three dimensions on 452 baboon crania and subjected to generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA), which standardizes geometric size but leaves scaling-based shape differences in the data. The resulting shape coordinates were submitted to regression analysis, principal components analysis (PCA), partial least-squares (PLS) analysis, and various clustering techniques. Scaling (shape differences correlated with size) was the largest single factor explaining cranial shape variation. For instance, most (but not all) of the shape differences between the sexes were explained by size dimorphism. However, central tendencies of shape clearly varied by taxon (both specific and subspecific) even after variations in size and sex were adjusted out. Within Papio, about 60% of the size- and sex-adjusted shape variations were explained by the geographic coordinates of the specimen's provenance, revealing a stepped cline in cranial morphology, with the greatest separation between northern and southern populations. Based on evidence from genetic studies, and the presence of at least two major hybrid/interbreeding zones, we interpret the phylogeographic pattern of cranial variation as indicating that these populations are best ranked as subspecies of a single species, rather than as two or more distinct biological species. This objective approach can be applied to other vertebrate species or species groups to help determine the taxonomic rank of problematic taxa.
The effect of cation doping on the morphology, optical and structural properties of highly oriented wurtzite ZnO-nanorod arrays grown by a hydrothermal method

Undoped and C-doped (C: Mg2+, Ni2+, Mn2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Cr3+) ZnO nanorods were synthesized by a hydrothermal method at temperatures as low as 60 °C. The effect of doping on the morphology of the ZnO nanorods was visualized by taking their cross section and top SEM images. The results show that the size of nanorods was increased in both height and diameter by cation doping. The crystallinity change of the ZnO nanorods due to each doping element was thoroughly investigated by an x-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD patterns show that the wurtzite crystal structure of ZnO nanorods was maintained after cation addition. The optical Raman-active modes of undoped and cation-doped nanorods were measured with a micro-Raman setup at room temperature. The surface chemistry of samples was investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Finally, the effect of each cation dopant on band-gap shift of the ZnO nanorods was investigated by a photoluminescence setup at room temperature. Although the amount of dopants (Mg2+, Ni2+, and Co2+) was smaller than the amount of Mn2+, Cu2+, and Cr3+ in the nanorods, their effect on the band structure of the ZnO nanorods was profound. The highest band-gap shift was achieved for a Co-doped sample, and the best crystal orientation was for Mn-doped ZnO nanorods. Our results can be used as a comprehensive reference for engineering of the morphological, structural and optical properties of cation-doped ZnO nanorods by using a low-temperature synthesis as an economical mass-production approach.
Absolute and relative sensitivity of the scotopic system of rat: Electroretinography and behavior

The goal of the present study was to relate the dark and light-adapted flash sensitivity of the scotopic threshold response (STR) and rod b-wave of the electroretinogram (ERG) to behaviorally measured rod increment threshold responses. Small amplitudes of the dark-adapted STR and b-wave, the latter after application of NMDA, were found to increase in proportion to flash intensity. The value obtained for the sensitivity of the b-wave would be expected if signals from rods were summed linearly by the rod bipolar cell. The sensitivity of the STR could not be accounted for in terms of rod signal convergence as the source of this ERG component is still unknown. Increment threshold responses of rats were measured behaviorally in an operant conditioning chamber. At absolute threshold, on average 1 in 2400 rods were activated by the test flash. Comparison of the adaptive effects of background lights on behaviorally measured scotopic sensitivity and rod ERG sensitivity suggest that the increment threshold sensitivity of rat is regulated at three different sites in the retina.
Language-dependent access to autobiographical memory in Japanese-English bilinguals and US monolinguals

Japanese bilinguals retrieved autobiographical memories in response to 20 English and 20 Japanese cue words. US monolinguals were cued with 40 English words. All participants reported one earliest memory. Japanese bilinguals retrieved more memories and earlier memories when cued with Japanese words. They also retrieved more memories when the cue language matched either the language of memory encoding or the language of first thought. Although English cues elicited equivalent numbers of English and Japanese memories in the more fluent speakers of English, Japanese words elicited significantly larger numbers of Japanese memories in all Japanese-English bilinguals. The average age of cued autobiographical memories was significantly earlier for US than for Japanese students but age of the earliest memory did not differ.
A new muscle co-activation index for biomechanical load evaluation in work activities

Low-back disorders (LBDs) are the most common and costly musculoskeletal problem. Muscle co-activation, a mechanism that stabilises the spine, is adopted by the central nervous system to provide added protection and avoid LBDs. However, during high-risk lifting tasks, the compressive load on the spine grows owing to increased co-activation. The aim of this study was to develop a method for the sample-by-sample monitoring of the co-activation of more than two muscles, and to compare this method with agonist–antagonist methods. We propose a time-varying multi-muscle co-activation function that considers electromyographic (EMG) signals as input. EMG data of 10 healthy subjects were recorded while they manually lifted loads at three progressively heavier conditions. The repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant effect of lifting condition on our co-activation index. Heavier conditions resulted in higher muscle co-activation values. Significant correlations were found between the time-varying multi-muscle co-activation index and other agonist–antagonist methods. Practitioner Summary: We have developed a method to quantify muscle co-activation during the execution of a lifting task. To do this we used surface electromyography. Our algorithm provides a measure of time-varying co-activation between more than two muscles.
Scaling of Airplane Dynamic Response to Stochastic Gusts

This paper studies the scaling of airplane dynamic response to stochastic wind gusts, with focus on the relationship between airplane size and airspeed variations. The results have applications in the design and control of small-scale aircraft for robustness with respect to turbulence. Using linearized equations of motion and the Dryden model of gusts, the paper presents analytical and numerical scaling laws for the phugoid natural frequency and damping ratio, and the variances of the airspeed and flight-path angle. The results show that small aircraft are more susceptible to high frequency gusts, that the phugoid damping ratio does not depend directly on airplane size, that the airspeed and flight-path angle variances can be parameterized by the ratio of the phugoid natural frequency to a characteristic turbulence frequency, and that the coefficient of variation of the airspeed decreases with increasing airplane size. Numerical examples validate the results using models of 11 different airplanes, particu.
Genetic heterogeneity in the precore region of hepatitis B virus in hepatitis B e antigen‐negative chronic hepatitis B Patients: Spontaneous seroconversion and interferon‐induced seroconversion

To elucidate the relationship between the clinical severity of chronic liver disease and the precore mutations in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐nega‐tive hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers, mutations were investigated in the precore region of HBV DNA in 20 chronic hepatitis B patients who sero‐converted either spontaneously or after the administration of α‐interferon (IFN), and 5 asymptomatic carriers. The precore mutation with a stop codon at nucleotide 1896 was found in all patients, irrespective of the histology and in all asymptomatic carriers. The second mutation at nucleotide 1899 was found in 40% of cases studied but always followed by the first mutation at nucleotide 1896. The mixed viral infection of precore mutant and wild‐type HBV virus was found in 40% of seroconverted cases after IFN treatment and in sera of HBV carriers obtained within a year after the spontaneous Seroconversion. These data suggest that the precore mutants prevail over wild‐type HBV in all HBeAg‐negative HBV carriers within several years after the sero‐conversion, but their prevalence could not confine the clinical severity of chronic liver disease. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Gating Mechanism of the Large Mechanosensitive Channel in Escherichia coli and Effects of Gain-of-Function Mutations

Title of Dissertation: THE GATING MECHANISM OF THE LARGE MECHANOSENSITIVE CHANNEL IN Escherichia coli AND EFFECTS OF GAIN-OF-FUNCTION MUTAIONS Chien-Sung Chiang, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Sergei Sukharev, Associate Professor Department of Biology The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) in Escherichia coli is perhaps the best-characterized mechanosensitive protein. The structure of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis ortholog has been solved recently by X-ray crystallography, but the structural rearrangements associated with gating remain obscure. Based on the crystal structure, a homology model of E. coli MscL had been built and the gating process was proposed (Sukharev et al., 2001). I experimentally verified these working models. The result demonstrates that the iris-like expansion of M1 helixes does occur during the gating transition. In addition to the hydrophobic M1 gate, the S1 segments unresolved in the original crystal structure were easily cross-linked with pairs of cysteines and prevented opening, consistent with the proposed function of a second gate. Although the early models predicted a wide-open conformation with cytoplasmic S3 domains separated, the current data strongly suggest that S3 domains are in fact stably associated in both closed and open conformations. The open-state model predicts an in-plane expansion of the channel protein of about 23 nm. The analysis of multiple MscL dose-response curves, accounting for nonhomogeneity of channels in a population, (i.e. variable energy or area changes for individual channels), estimated the total channel expansion ~20 nm and the transition energy ~52 kT, consistent with molecular models of the open state. Gain-of-function (GOF) mutants with hydrophilic or charged substitutions in the main hydrophobic gate stably occupy low-conducting substates. The character of perturbations introduced in the main gate by GOF substitutions strongly supports the two-gate mechanism in which the first sub-transition (C S) can be viewed as the opening of the M1 gate formed by the first transmembrane domains, resulting in an expanded leaky conformation (S). The second sub-transition (S O) can be attributed to the separation of the N-terminal (S1) gate resulting in the fully conductive channel THE GATING MECHANISM OF THE LARGE MECHANOSENSITIVE CHANNEL IN Escherichia coli AND EFFECTS OF GAIN-OF-FUNCTION MUTATIONS