Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mathematics Bridging Courses and Success in First Year Calculus

Students entering university with insufficient mathematics preparation for the courses they intend to study is an increasing problem. We show evidence of how withdrawal rates, failure rates, and final marks in a first year calculus unit are strongly associated with the level of mathematics studied at school, the assumed knowledge published for the degree and enrolment in a bridging course. Bridging course students were, on the whole, able to pass their first semester university calculus-based subject; however, they did not achieve at the level of their mathematically well-prepared peers.
POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SPORT : A REVIEW

The purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate literature pertaining to the concept of positive youth development (PYD) as it relates to youth sport. Having first provided a brief historical snapshot of PYD, positive and negative outcomes associated with sport participation are reviewed. Next, different conceptual and measurement approaches to PYD, and associated sport psychology research, are examined. Finally, suggestions for promoting PYD in terms of youth interactions with coaches, parents, and peers are forwarded by way of conclu-
Title Role of RAS / Wnt / beta-catenin axis activation in the pathogenesis of podocyte injury and tubulo-interstitial nephropathy

Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a key role in the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Recent studies have demonstrated activation of Wnt/b-catenin pathway by RAS in CKD. However, the underlying mechanisms of RAS and Wnt/b-catenin signaling interaction and their contribution to the pathogenesis of CKD have not been fully elucidated. Present study is designed to investigate the role of RAS/Wnt/b-catenin axis activation in tubulo-interstitial fibrosis and glomerulosclerosis by the cultured HK-2 and podocytes. HK-2 cells and podocytes are treated by angiotensin II (Ang II). Ang II up-regulates expression of various Wnt mRNA and active b-catenin protein in HK-2 cells and podocytes in the timeand dose-dependent manners. In addition, Ang II induces injury, oxidative stress and inflammation and impaired Nrf2 activation in HK-2 cells and podocytes. This was accompanied by up-regulations of RAS components as well as Wnt1, activated b-catenin and its target proteins. RAS/Wnt/ b-catenin axis activation results in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells and injuries podocytes. The effect of Ang II is inhibited by losartan and ICG-001, a Wnt/b-catenin inhibitor. We further found that treatment with natural products, ergone, alisol B 23-acetate and pachymic acid B inhibit extracellular matrix accumulation in HK-2 cells and attenuated podocyte injury, in part, by inhibiting Ang II induced RAS/Wnt/b-catenin axis activation. In summary, activation of RAS/Wnt/b-catenin axis results in podocytes and tubular epithelial cell, injury and up-regulations of oxidative, inflammatory and fibrotic pathways. These adverse effects are ameliorated by ergone, alisol B 23-acetate and pachymic acid B. Therefore, these natural products could be considered as novel Wnt/b-catenin signaling inhibitors and anti-fibrotic agents. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Author ' s personal copy

Consider a population of citizens uniformly spread over the entire plane. The population faces a problem of locating public facilities financed by its users, who face an idiosyncratic private access cost to the facility. We show that, under mild assumptions, an external intervention that covers a tiny portion of the facility cost is sufficient to guarantee secession-proofness or no cross-subsidization, where no group of individuals is charged more than the cost incurred if it had acted on its own. Moreover, we demonstrate that in this case the Rawlsian access pricing is the only mechanism that rules out secession threats. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. JEL classification: D70; H20; H73
Massive stars in massive clusters II: Disruption of bound clusters by photoionization

We present an SPH parameter study of the dynamical effect of photoionization from O--type stars on star--forming clouds of a range of masses and sizes during the time window before supernovae explode. Our model clouds all have the same degree of turbulent support initially, the ratio of turbulent kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy being set to $E_{\rm kin}/|E_{\rm pot}|$=0.7. We allow the clouds to form stars and study the dynamical effects of the ionizing radiation from the massive stars or clusters born within them. We find that dense filamentary structures and accretion flows limit the quantities of gas that can be ionized, particularly in the higher density clusters. More importantly, the higher escape velocities in our more massive (10$^{6}$M$_{\odot}$) clouds prevent the HII regions from sweeping up and expelling significant quantities of gas, so that the most massive clouds are largely dynamically unaffected by ionizing feedback. However, feedback has a profound effect on the lower--density 10$^{4}$ and 10$^{5}$M$_{\odot}$ clouds in our study, creating vast evacuated bubbles and expelling tens of percent of the neutral gas in the 3Myr timescale before the first supernovae are expected to detonate, resulting in clouds highly porous to both photons and supernova ejecta.
Heritability, Genetic Advance and Path Coefficient Analysis for Grain Yield and its Component Characters in Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill)

Twenty two promising new and three checks of Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) genotypes were grown in two successive seasons of 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 to assess the presence of variability for desired traits and amount of variation for different parameters. Genetic parameters, correlations, and partial regressions were estimated for all the traits. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among entries for all the characters. The estimates of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were high for grain yield per plant, biological yield and number of seeds per pod. Broad sense heritability estimates for various traits ranged from 74.62 to 99.73%. Grain yield per plant showed high significant positive genetic and phenotypic correlation with number of pods per plant and number of seeds per pod. Multiple correlations of characters (0.36), via, number of pods per plant, number of primary branches and number of seeds per pod which were significant with grain yield were far from the multiple correlations of all characters (0.96). The total variability calculated through multiple correlation in the population for yield improvement accounted by number of pods per plant, number of primary branches and number of seeds per pod was 36 % compared to 96 % accounted by all other characters. It was concluded that more number of pods per plant, number of primary branches and number of seeds per pod are major yield contributing factors in selecting high yielding soybean cultivars. Highly significant positive correlations, with the highest positive direct effect were observed for the number of pods per plant followed by the number of primary branches per plant. Therefore, the number of pods per plant and number of primary branches per plant can be considered as critical criteria for improving yield.
Khan type ﬁxed point theorems in a generalized metric space

Existence and uniqueness of fixed points are established for a mapping satisfying a new type of contractive condition involving a rational expression on a generalized metric space. Some main results by Ahmad et al. [J. Ahmad, M. Arshad, C. Vetro, Int. J. Anal. , 2013 (2013), 6 pages] are extended and generalized, also several particular cases and an illustrative example are given. c ©2016 All rights reserved.
Time Perspective, Hope, and Learning Strategy among Rural Australian University Students

Research seeking to improve retention at Universities has traditionally had a focus on student engagement. Temporal orientation has been theorised as having a significant influence on student engagement. Zimbardo’s Time Perspective Inventory, the State Hope Scale, and the Study Process Questionnaire were completed by 167 Psychology students attending a rural university. Future Time Perspective and Past Positive were positively correlated with the Hope Pathway subscale. Present Hedonistic Time Perspective was positively correlated with the Agency subscale of Hope. There was a significant difference between deep and surface learners with regards to Future Time Perspective. No significant differences between school leavers and mature-aged students were found for the variables of Time Perspective and Hope. School leavers utilized surface learning strategies, while mature-aged students tended to use deep learning strategies. Current research suggests time perspectives may be helpful in enhancing and supporting academic engagement and persistence in higher education.
Collaboration between Interventional Cardiologists and Cardiac Surgeons in the Era of Heart Team Approach

Along with the rapid evolution of transcatheter interventions, interventional cardiologists are playing more and more important role in the care of cardiovascular disease. The consequence of rapid change in the landscape has been fostering new and improved relationships between interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons and the formulation of Heart Team to facilitate patient management. A hybrid strategy is a combination of tools available only in the catheterization laboratory with those available only in the operative room in order to gain maximum profit from both of them. In the current era, the continuous development in transcatheter procedures along with the adoption of minimally invasive surgical approaches makes hybrid strategy an attractive alternative to conventional surgical or transcatheter techniques for any given set of cardiovascular diseases. In the areas of coronary revascularization, valve repair or replacement, and ablation for atrial fibrillation, hybrid approaches have shown great benefit especially in high-risk cases. With the technological evolutions in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, the Heart Team approach utilizing the expertise of all relevant specialties will be more and more invaluable in facilitating optimal patient selection, procedural planning, complication management, postprocedural care, and patient outcomes.
The effect of web interface features on consumer online purchase intentions

Article history: Received January 25, 2015 Received in revised format 28 March 2015 Accepted 3 May 2015 Available online May 4 2015 Information and communication technology plays essential role for people’s day-to-day business activities. People receive most of their knowledge by processing, recording and transferring necessary information through surfing Internet websites. Internet as an essential part of information technology (IT) has grown remarkably. Nowadays, there have been significant amount of efforts in Iran for developing e-commerce. This paper studies the effects of environmental internet features on internet purchase intention. The study divides internet environment into demographic and technologic parts and, for studying each of them, many features are investigated such as internet connection speed, connectivity model, web browser, type of payments, user’s income, user’s education, user’s gender, frequency of online usage per week and users’ goal for using internet. Using Logistic regression technique, the study has determined a meaningful effects of income, education, connection type, browser and goal on consumers’ behavior. Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 5 © 201
Leaf anatomical plasticity of Brachypodium pinnatum (L.) Beauv. growing in contrasting microenvironments in a semiarid loess forest-steppe vegetation mosaic

After clearcutting xerothermic oakwoods once natural in the forest-steppe loess regions of Hungary, the perennial understorey grass Brachypodium pinnatum has been persisting for decades by establishing microhabitats from shade to full sun. In this paper, we explore variation in leaf anatomy for plants growing in different microhabitat light regimes (full shade under oak canopy, half shade near shrubs, and in unshaded grassland) in situ, and for plants reciprocally transplanted between these microhabitats. Leaf lamina thickness and mesophyll thickness were about 1.5 times greater in the grassland in situ than in oak subcanopy due to an additional layer of mesophyll cells and to 25-32% taller mesophyll cells. Mesophyll thickness and the proportion of veins plus sclerenchyma were lower for plants transplanted from either full or half shade to full sun than in situ plants in the grassland. Parenchymatous bundle sheath tended to be thicker in the grassland than in the two other microhabitats. Mean intervenial .
Interactive comment on “The Polar Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (PolarVPRM): a parsimonious, satellite data-driven model of high-latitude CO2 exchange” by K. A. Luus and J. C. Lin

"The Polar Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (PolarVPRM): a parsimonious, satellite data-driven model of high-latitude CO2 exchange", by Luus and Lin, presents revisions to the Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (VPRM) of Mahadevan et al. (2008) seeking to better diagnose North American Arctic atmosphere-ecosystem carbon exchange. The authors address a timely and important topic (arctic carbon exchange) and the article is generally well-written. I have two significant first-order concerns about the study design that I feel should be addressed
Raising Young Children: Parental Perceptions

Parents' perceptions of raising young children were examined using the Parent Behavior Checklist. The sample included 44 married couples with children between one and four years of age. Parents completed the checklist twice, first based on how each parent was raising one own child and second based on how each perceived the spouse was raising the same child. The results indicated that fathers and mothers had similar developmental expectations for their young children. Fathers tended to be more disciplinarian and mothers more nurturing. Mothers perceived fathers as having higher expectations than did fathers, and fathers perceived mothers as more disciplinarian than did mothers. Correlation coefficients computed to assess agreement between mothers' and fathers' perceptions of their parenting averaged . 68, which is comparable to those found for other rating scales completed by parents. Implications are discussed.
Cross-Border Acquisitions and Labor Regulations

Do labor regulations influence the reaction of stock markets and firm profitability to cross-border acquisitions? We discover that acquiring firms enjoy smaller abnormal stock returns and profits when targets are in countries with stronger labor protection regulations, i.e., in countries where laws, regulations, and policies increase the costs to firms of adjusting their workforces. These effects are especially pronounced when the target is in a labor-intensive or high labor-volatility industry. Consistent with labor regulations shaping the success of cross-border deals, we find that firms make fewer and smaller cross-border acquisitions into countries with strong labor regulations.
Vowel lenition and fortition in Brazilian Portuguese

In this paper I deal with vowel reduction in Brazilian Portuguese and other languages, illustrating the principles (1) that segmental complexity and positional strength are closely aligned in phonological structure, and (2) that syntagmatic distinctness (e.g. between strong and weak positions, and between halves of a diphthong) can induce segmental lenition and fortition. The empirical phenomena covered include asymmetries in pre-tonic vs. post-tonic vowel reduction, differences in the realization of unstressed mid vowels in Northeastern vs. Southeastern Brazilian Portuguese, and preferred diphthongs in the language.
Incobotulinumtoxina (XeominÃ‚Â®) Versus Onabotulinumtoxina (BotoxÃ‚Â®): Evaluation of Clinical Onset of Action with Rating Scales and Electroneurography

Onset of action, duration and maximum efficacy of different botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) preparations have been compared mainly in in vitro studies. This single-center open study compared onset of action of the two BoNT/A preparations onabotulinumtoxinA (complex size 900 kDa) and incobotulinumtoxinA (free of complexing proteins, 150 kDa) in patients with spasticity after cerebral stroke over a 15-day treatment period. Outcome measures were changes in muscle tone, increase in passive extension of the elbow, changes in limb functionality, and variation of the amplitude of the compound muscle action potential (cMAP) determined by electroneurography. A total of 108 patients (mean age 64.8 ± 11.3 years) were included in the study, 54 in each treatment arm. Muscle tone, elbow motion range, and limb function significantly improved in both groups from baseline to day 15 after BoNT/A injection (p<0.0001). Improvements were significantly greater under incobotulinumtoxinA compared to onabotulinumtoxinA after 7 treatment days (p<0.0001) but were comparable after 15 days. Regarding cMAP amplitude, a faster reduction in the first 7 treatment days with no further significant reductions during the next week was observed for in cobotulinum toxinA patients, whereas on a botulinum toxinA patients showed a slower, progressive reduction in action potential resulting in comparable values between the two groups after 15 days. Overall, the efficacy of both BoNT/A preparations was comparable two weeks after injection.
Glaciological investigations on Union Glacier, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica

Abstract Union Glacier, West Antarctica, was intensively mapped in December 2008, when an over-snow traverse was conducted by CECS and ALE, with the aim to determine the ice-dynamical characteristics of the glacier, through mapping the crevasse fields and by providing a glaciological baseline for future studies. A mean ice thickness of 1450 m was measured, confirming the presence of a deep subglacial topography (∼900 m below sea level), much deeper than previously estimated. Ice velocities were also measured at 21 stakes drilled into the ice at the narrowest gate of the glacier between December 2007 and December 2008, yielding a mean value of 22.6 m a−1. These velocities, combined with the measured ice thicknesses and a numerical model, yielded an ice flux of 0.10 ±0.03 km3 a−1 w.e. Considering the ice basin above this gate, a mean surface mass balance of 0.18 ± 0.05 m a−1 was estimated, a value consistent with a mean snow accumulation for nearby ice streams. These values indicate that the glacier is at present near equilibrium.
The Time-Varying Risk and Return Trade Off in Indian Stock Markets

This paper investigates the relationship between stock market returns and volatility in the Indian stock markets using AR(1)-EGARCH(p, q)-in-Mean model. The study considers daily closing prices of two major indexes of Indian stock exchanges, viz., S&P CNX NIFTY and the BSE-SENSEX of National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), respectively for the period from July 1, 1997 to December 31, 2013. The empirical results show positive but insignificant relationship between stock returns and conditional variance in the case of NSE Nifty and BSE SENSEX stock markets. Besides, the analysis reveals that volatility is persistent and there exists leverage effect supporting the work of Nelson (1991) in the Indian stock markets. The present study suggests that the capital market regulators, investors and market participants should employ the asymmetric GARCH-type model that sufficiently captures the stylized characteristics of the return, such as time varying volatility, high persistence and asymmetric volatility responses, in determining the hedging strategy and portfolio management and estimating and forecasting volatility for risk management decision making at Indian Stock Exchange.
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ESSENTIAL OIL OF SYZYGIUM AROMATICUM (L.) (CLOVE) USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY (GC-MS)

This study was conducted to identify qualitatively the chemical composition of essential oil of Syzygiumaromaticum (clove) samples using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Essential oil was isolated using steam distillation method. Seven chemical components were identified in the essential clove oil as follows: 2-Cyclohexen-1-one,2-methyl-5-(1- methylethenyl), Phenol, 4-(2propenyl),3-Allyl-6-methoxyphenol, caryophyllene, Alpha-Caryophyllene, eugenol and 1,2Benzenedicarboxylic acid, bis(2-methylpropyl) ester. It is suggested that clove may be used as a major source for isolation of natural eugenol, a phenolic compound that has been shown to possess antimicrobial properties.
Abiotic and biotic factors influence the habitat use of an estuarine fish

For migratory fishes that occupy multiple habitats, surveys conducted at different scales may be required to assess habitat use. We used generalized additive models (GAMs) to relate water quality, microhabitat, geographic, and temporal factors to catches of 2 age classes of subadult red drum Sciaenops ocellatus from a 6 yr fishery-independent gill net survey in North Carolina, USA. Age-1 and age-2 red drum were most often caught in shallow, nearshore waters; in some regions, both showed a preference for seagrass. Age-1 red drum were primarily captured at 2 different salin- ity ranges (0 to 5 and 20 to 30 psu), while age-2 red drum abundance was not related to salinity. A smaller-scale analysis of 36 telemetered age-2 red drum in a small tributary of the Neuse River showed a negative response to salinity, a positive response to dissolved oxygen, a dome-shaped response to prey evenness, and a positive response to total prey. Although subadult red drum can tol- erate a wide variety of environmental conditions, our research suggests that they associate with both abiotic and biotic factors in very specific ways. Habitat use patterns of subadult red drum were age-, scale-, and sometimes region-dependent, highlighting the need for examining habitat use patterns of estuarine organisms at multiple life history stages and scales if generalities about how species respond to abiotic and biotic factors are sought.
Remote impact of the Antarctic atmosphere on the southern mid-latitudes

Would improved prediction capabilities over the Antarctic lead to improved forecast skill in southern midlatitudes? Or more generally speaking, how large is the influence of the Antarctic atmosphere on the weather and climate of the southern mid-latitudes? To answer these questions we assess the skill of two sets of 14-day forecasts with the Integrated Forecast System of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts with and without relaxation towards the Interim reanalysis of the ECMWF over the Antarctic south of 75 ° S. Due to the relaxation both the mean absolute error and the root mean square error decrease by 2 to 5% averaged over the southern mid-latitudes with the larger values in winter. Over southern South America and the South Atlantic error reductions are slightly larger and amount to around 5 to 6%. No dependency of the error reductions of the El Nino Southern Oscillation or the Antarctic Oscillation could be found although error reductions averaged over the whole southern mid-latitudes tend to be larger in situations with decreased westerly flow in the mid-latitudes. In weather situations with anomalous meridional flow from Antarctica to southern South America improvements are most pronounced in the latter area which implies that this is the major pathway for Antarctic influence on southern mid-latitude weather and climate.