Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term responses of riparian plants’ composition to water level fluctuation in China's Three Gorges Reservoir

The water level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) has experienced a novel hydrological regime due to the anti-seasonal operation of China’s Three Gorges Reservoir. Overall, hydrological change can significantly influence the riparian environment and shift the riparian vegetation. Although numerous studies have investigated the short-term responses of riparian plants to water level fluctuation in this zone, few have addressed long-term effects. In this study, four permanent plots in the WLFZ of the canyon landform area were chosen to evaluate the long-term responses of riparian plants to water level fluctuation from 2008 to 2015 and to screen candidate plants for ecological restoration. We recorded 146 species in 2008, 110 species in 2009, 68 species in 2012 and 69 species in 2015, indicating a conspicuous loss in riparian plants. Most of the remnant plants were annual and perennial herbs. Of the native species present in 2008, 82, 22 and 8 had disappeared in 2009, 2012 and 2015, respectively. Simultaneously, 45, 15 and 11 non-native species were first found, respectively. Additionally, over half of the native and the non-native species were not found after being subjected to a water level fluctuation. From 2008 to 2015, only 27 native species always presented; however, not all of them were chosen as candidates for ecological restoration because of their decreased importance values. In contrast, the importance value of Cynodon dactylon increased over time, suggesting its high tolerance to long-term winter flooding. We concluded that riparian plants’ composition of the canyon landform area dramatically declined after long-term water level fluctuation and their presence was determined by the novel hydrological condition. Our results also suggested that Cynodon dactylon or its combination with other species (i.e. Digitaria chrysoblephara, Setaria glauca, Setaria viridis) is a better candidate for ecological restoration in the WLFZ.
Looking for the water from a deeper well : an investigation into spirituality and natural medicine education

This investigation addresses the importance attached to spirituality within the culture and curriculum of a select group of naturopathy training programs in Australia. The investigation is premised on a view that spirituality is foundational to the practice of naturopathy, which has as its inspiration a belief that an integrated balance between body, mind and spirit is essential to the attainment and maintenance of good health. This holistic view of health is not particular to natural medicine generally, but the practice of naturopathy relies heavily on this view for its uniqueness. Naturopathy has a lineage dating back to the ancient Greeks. Over recent centuries, however, health care practice in the West has become dominated by biomedicine, which does not require any assumptions about the importance of the balance between mind, body and spirit. The dominance of biomedicine has placed naturopathy at the fringe of health care practice. Over recent years, however, certainly in Australia, resurgence in the demand for naturopathic medicine is evident. As a consequence, there has been an educational demand to train more naturopaths. It has also been accepted that the higher education system should provide this training. The question that underpins this present investigation is whether, in the recent expansion of naturopathy training programs, the profession’s distinctive commitment to a holistic view of health, and especially to the importance of a spiritual dimension, is being preserved? The thesis also addressed questions about the culture of naturopathy training programs in Australian higher education institutions, and about the impact, if any, on that culture of the recent growth in popularity of evidence-based approaches to health care practice. The investigative methodology adopted is that of naturalistic enquiry, which relies largely on the inductive analysis of insights provided by key informants, supplemented in this investigation by documentary analysis and site observations. Two training programs, one at a university and the other at a large private college, were the main sources of informants for the investigation – though four other private colleges were also selected as sites of interest. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with participating lecturers and students. The investigation concludes that, though there is widespread acceptance across the training programs examined of the fundamental philosophical importance to naturopathy of spirituality, the topic is neither consistently nor intensively addressed in the curriculum, except perhaps in the teaching of homeopathy. In the secular culture of Australian higher education, spirituality is a difficult concept to discuss. Its importance is also being pushed into the background by the increased value being placed on scientific knowledge. The consequences of these circumstances for the future identity and integrity of the profession of naturopathy are far-reaching.
Touch-Screens and Elderly users: A Perfect Match?

This paper discusses some challenges in use of touch-based screens by elderly adults. We are focusing primarily on touch-based interactions with personal artifacts such as smart phones and tablets or touch-screens embedded in the home environment. We have conducted several small studies as a prequel to a larger study of "smart home" package designed and employed in "care residences" for elderly. We report here on findings from these studies and extend them into more general discussion on the use of touch interfaces by elderly. We discuss challenges related to diversity of elderly as a user group, progressive changes due to aging and their effects on the use of touch-screens. How to use technology to support mastering of daily life tasks and at the same time easy to use, touch-based solutions that support mastery (usually requiring some level of skills)? How to select other modes of interaction when the touch is not enough? Elderly people constitute a challenging and vulnerable user group that we want to strengthen and empower in the spirit of participatory design.
Dendrocalamus strictus Charcoal: An Efficient Adsorbent for Removal of Cu (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution and its Applicability in the Reduction of Genotoxic Potential of Cu (II) Ions

The present study pertains to evaluate the efficiency of Dendrocalamus strictus charcoal powder as an adsorbent to adsorb copper ions from aqueous solution under different conditions of pH, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dose, contact time, and temperature. Physical characterization of Dendrocalamus strictus charcoal powder was performed using different techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy‐energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, Brunauer Emmett and Teller surface analysis and X‐ray diffraction. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models were employed to describe the adsorption behavior of adsorbent in the removal of copper ions from aqueous solution. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption of copper ions onto the surface of the adsorbent was feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic in nature. Data analysis using kinetic models revealed the pseudo‐second‐order as the suitable model to describe the process of adsorption. Studies were further carried out to analyze the genotoxic effects of copper ions in aqueous solution before and after adsorption, using Allium cepa assay. This study revealed that Dendrocalamus strictus charcoal powder could be applied as an alternative for more costly adsorbents in the detoxification of copper ions from aqueous solution.
The effectiveness of celebrity endorsements in Polish magazines

Due to several cognitive processes, celebrity endorsements are effective in increasing sales. The presence of a famous person in an advertisement can command extra attention which may translate into an increase in sales. The aim of the paper is to show the scale of popularity of endorsement in Polish press advertisements in selected magazines directed at different target groups. The study relies, in part, on qualitative content analysis, and uses a survey to determine the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement as a marketing strategy in building trust around a given brand or product and the credibility of an advertising message among its target audience. The final section of the research presents the recall rates for brands/product and their endorsers. Generally, it has been found that celebrity endorsement as a marketing strategy more popular in Poland than in the USA, and a number of particular criteria have to be met in order for it to be efficient. The data reveal that the names of the endorsing celebrities are more strongly associated with advertised products and brands, than the products or brands with their endorsers’ names.
From Theory to Practice: A Pre-Reading Plan.

ABSTRACT research indicates that prior knowledge is an exceptionally important determiner of reading comprehension. Many of the prereading strategies currently used to assist reading comprehension do not help teachers identify what students already know about a topic. In an effort to integrate instructional assessment with prereading 4.nstruction, the Pre-Reading Plan (PReP) was designed. _ PReP is a three-step procedure for teachers to use before assigning textbook readings. In the first phase, a key word or concept is given, and students tell what ideas freely come to mind. In the second phase, students are asked what made them think of their first responses. They listen to each othervs explanations and interact. Phase three allows students to verbalize associations that have been elaborated or changed through the previous discussion. During phases one and three, three levels of prior knowledge are visible: much, some, and little prior knowledge.Based on responses during phase three, the teacher will be able to judge whether the students° concepts are sufficiently close to those presented in the text to permit comprehension and learning of the material. MTH)
Health Education : Creating Strategies for School and Community Health

Discover the Tools You Need to Become Proficient in Conducting Health Education Programs -- Inside and Outside the Classroom! The skills necessary to plan and deliver effective health education programs are fundamentally the same in the classroom, workplace, hospital, and community settings. The Fourth Edition of Health Education: Creating Strategies for School and Community Health assists health educators in making appropriate program planning decision based on the needs of their clients and the educational settings. The authors encourage the systematic development of sound presentation methods and illustrate the evolving state of health education. The philosophy presented in this text is based on the premise that the core of health education is the process of health education. The Fourth Edition is a must-have resource for health education methods courses. New and Key Features: Includes new information on Healthy People 2020, MyPlate, and 2010 Dietary guidelines. Provides the latest information on the use of technology in health education Incorporates health educator competencies, case studies, objectives, questions, and exercises in each chapter Includes expanded content on health literacy Discusses the unique qualities of adult learners
Compression of Steganographed PPG Signal With Guaranteed Reconstruction Quality Based on Optimum Truncation of Singular Values and ASCII Character Encoding

Objective: Extraction and analysis of various clinically significant features of photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals for monitoring several physiological parameters, as well as for biometric authentication have become important areas of research in recent years. However, PPG signal compression; particularly quality-guaranteed compression, and steganography of patient's secret information is still lagging behind. Method: This paper presents a robust, reliable and highly efficient singular value decomposition and lossless ASCII character encoding (LL-ACE)-based quality-guaranteed PPG compression algorithm. This algorithm cannot only be used to compress PPG signals, but also do so for steganographed PPG signals that include the patient information. Result and conclusion: It is worth mentioning that such an algorithm is being proposed for the first time to compress steganographed PPG signals. The algorithm is tested on PPG signals collected from four different databases, and its performance is assessed using both quantitative and qualitative measures. The proposed steganographed PPG compression algorithm provides a compression ratio that is much higher than that provided by other algorithms that are designed to compress the PPG signals only. Significance: first, the clinical quality of the reconstructed PPG signal can be controlled precisely, second, the patient's personal information is restored with no errors, third, high compression ratio, and fourth, the PPG signal reconstruction error is neither dependent on the steganographic operation nor on the size of the patient information data.
Beyond Demographic Boxes: Relationships Between Students' Cultural Orientations and Collaborative Communication

This study investigated relationships between students’ cultural orientations and the ways in which they communicated with their peers in collaborative online discussions. 211 undergraduate business students from diverse backgrounds completed questionnaires directly assessing their cultural orientations along four dimensions (individualism, collectivism, power-distance and cultural-context). Scales were input into mixed multi-level models to predict 12 aspects of the way students communicated in their course-based collaborative discussions of business cases. Results based on a sample of 1565 posts showed that students with weaker context-based orientations posted messages that showed greater levels of reasoning, hard evidence use, autonomous tone and linear argument structures. In addition, the local discussion group context moderated the relationship between students’ degree of collectivistic orientation and how they referred to and agreed with each other, as well as their expressions of social presence. Findings highlight the group/individual interplay in understanding relationships between cultural orientations and collaborative communication.
Evaluating and Testing User Interfaces for E-Learning System: Blackboard Usability Testing

E-learning usability studies require the involvement of real end-users. Different users with varying background of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) knowledge behave differently when using any e-learning tools. To study user behaviour in the e-learning context, an empirical usability study on a specific e-learning tool is conducted. The study is performed by using usability evaluation questionnaires collected from two different groups of real users of the tool; one group with HCI knowledge and the other without HCI knowledge. It is found that end users without HCI knowledge are more satisfied than the end-users with HCI knowledge, as they have more expectations concerning the tool. Categories and Subject Descriptors: H.5. 2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation (e.g., HCI)]: User Interfaces- User-centered design, Evaluation/methodology ; H 5.3 [Information Interfaces and Presentation (e.g., HCI)]: Group and Organization Interfaces-Evaluation/methodology, Web-based interaction; K.3. 1 [Computers and Education]: Computer Uses in Education- Collaborative learning Keywords: E-learning usability heuristics, Blackboard, e-learning tool, Usability evaluation, HCI.
Coders view about medical diagnoses and procedures coding quality improvement methods in educational hospitals affiliated to Iran, Tehran, and Shahid Beheshti universities of medical sciences

se of coded data for quality management, health care financing and health care policy requires a simplification of valid coding . Most programs aim to improve the quality of coded data by improving the accuracy of codes assigned by the coding staff. This study was done for determine of coders view about effective factors on coding and quality improvement methods. Materials & Methods : This is a descriptive study conducted in the first half of 2007. Two questionnaires were used for determining of coders views about factors affecting coding quality and methods that could be implemented to improve coding quality. Data analyses were done using descriptive statistics and SPSS software. Results : According to coders view average of main variable affecting factors were respectively 65/91, 87/87, 12/86, and 73/73 percent for medical record, health care provider, coder, and classification systems. 100 percent of coders indicated that developing of coding quality indicator, developing of coding standards, and coder's education is the most effective methods for improvement of coding quality. Conclusions : Coders indicated that medical record problems was the most effective factor on coding quality also they indicated that coders education, development of coding standards and developing of coding quality indicators are the most effective methods for improving coding quality.
Bidirectional segmentation for English-Korean machine translation

Canada, this work may be reproduced without authorization under the conditions for " Fair Dealing ". Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Abstract Unlike English or Spanish, which has each word clearly segmented, morphologically rich languages, such as Korean, do not have clear optimal word boundaries for machine translation (MT). Previous work has shown that segmenting such languages by incorporating information available from parallel corpus can improve MT results. In this thesis we show that this can be improved further by segmenting both source and target languages and present improvement in BLEU scores from 3.13 to 3.46 for English-Korean translation. iii To my family and Anna iv Acknowledgments Foremost, I would like to thank my senior supervisor, Dr. Anoop Sarkar, for his guidance, support, and supervision throughout my master's program at Simon Fraser University. He gave me invaluable insights that shaped the ideas and approaches to this research. taking their time to review this thesis. I also would like to thank Dr. Bob Hadley for chairing my thesis defense. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and my girlfriend, Anna, for their strong support. It would have been impossible to finish this thesis without them.
Clinical and radiographic evaluation and comparison of bioactive bone alloplast morsels when used alone and in combination with platelet-rich fibrin in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects-A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND The present study aims to evaluate and compare the clinical and radiographic changes obtained through Bioactive Glass (BG) with and without autologous platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) in the treatment of intrabony defects in chronic periodontitis patients. METHODS The present study was a split-mouth randomized controlled clinical trial comprising 20 chronic periodontitis patients (mean age: 35.9 years) having at least one pair of bilateral intrabony defect. Group 1 included 20 sites treated with a combination of BG and autologous PRF whereas 20 sites in Group 2 were treated with BG alone. Probing pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and gingival recession (GR) were evaluated at 3 and 6 months and bone fill at 6 months by using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis. Primary study outcomes were changes in PPD, CAL, GR, and bone fill. RESULTS CAL gain was greater in Group 1 (5.05 ± 1.09 mm) when compared with Group 2 (4.2 ± 1.70 mm). Furthermore, a significantly greater bone fill was found in Group 1. At 6 months, statistically significant reduction in PPD in Group 1 and Group 2 was evident. CONCLUSION BG morsel when used in combination with PRF is found to be more effective in gain in CAL, reduction in PPD and achieving greater bone fill as compared with treatment with BG alone in periodontal intrabony defects and is indicative of enhanced periodontal regeneration.
Accelerated rates of large-scale mutations in the presence of copper and nickel

Mutation rate variation has been under intense investigation for decades. Despite these efforts, little is known about the extent to which environmental stressors accelerate mutation rates and influence the genetic load of populations. Moreover, most studies on stressors have focused on unicellular organisms and point mutations rather than large-scale deletions and duplications (copy number variations [CNVs]). We estimated mutation rates in Daphnia pulex exposed to low levels of environmental stressors as well as the effect of selection on de novo mutations. We conducted a mutation accumulation (MA) experiment in which selection was minimized, coupled with an experiment in which a population was propagated under competitive conditions in a benign environment. After an average of 103 generations of MA propagation, we sequenced 60 genomes and found significantly accelerated rates of deletions and duplications in MA lines exposed to ecologically relevant concentrations of metals. Whereas control lines had gene deletion and duplication rates comparable to other multicellular eukaryotes (1.8 × 10−6 per gene per generation), the presence of nickel and copper increased these rates fourfold. The realized mutation rate under selection was reduced to 0.4× that of control MA lines, providing evidence that CNVs contribute to mutational load. Our CNV breakpoint analysis revealed that nonhomologous recombination associated with regions of DNA fragility is the primary source of CNVs, plausibly linking metal-induced DNA strand breaks with higher CNV rates. Our findings suggest that environmental stress, in particular multiple stressors, can have profound effects on large-scale mutation rates and mutational load of multicellular organisms.
Calcineurin–AKAP interactions: therapeutic targeting of a pleiotropic enzyme with a little help from its friends

The ubiquitous Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent phosphatase calcineurin is a key regulator of pathological cardiac hypertrophy whose therapeutic targeting in heart disease has been elusive due to its role in other essential biological processes. Calcineurin is targeted to diverse intracellular compartments by association with scaffold proteins, including by multivalent A‐kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) that bind protein kinase A and other important signalling enzymes determining cardiac myocyte function and phenotype. Calcineurin anchoring by AKAPs confers specificity to calcineurin function in the cardiac myocyte. Targeting of calcineurin ‘signalosomes’ may provide a rationale for inhibiting the phosphatase in disease.