Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Assessment of the Adult Learning and Development Student Satisfaction Scale ( ALDSS Scale )

The purpose of this article is to discuss the development and assessment of the Adult Learning and Development Student Satisfaction Scale (ALDSS Scale). The ALDSS Scale was designed to measure student satisfaction regarding the following six factor groups: (1) curriculum, (2) learning format, (3) course materials, (4) program access, (5) faculty and instruction, and (6) faculty advising. During a three year period, the ALDSS Scale was administered to students nearing graduation from an adult learning and development master’s degree program. The article addresses the rate of reliability among the six factor groups and how the reliability measurements change when specific items are deleted from the ALDSS Scale. The researchers measured the construct reliability bias among the six factor groups with respect to race.
The α 6 β 4 integrin promotes resistance to ferroptosis

erastin. The α 6 β 4 integrin protects adherent epithelial and carcinoma cells from ferroptosis induced by erastin. In addition, extracellular matrix (ECM) detachment is a physiologic trigger of ferroptosis, which is evaded by α 6 β 4. The mechanism that enables α 6 β 4 to evade ferroptosis involves its ability to protect changes in membrane lipids that are proferroptotic. Specifically, α 6 β 4-mediated activation of Src and STAT3 suppresses expression of ACSL4, an enzyme that enriches membranes with long polyunsaturated fatty acids and is required for ferroptosis. Adherent cells lacking α 6 β 4 require an inducer, such as erastin, to undergo ferroptosis because they sustain GPX4 expression, despite their increase in ACSL4. In contrast, ECM detachment of cells lacking α 6 β 4 is sufficient to trigger ferroptosis because GPX4 is suppressed. This causal link between α 6 β 4 and ferroptosis has implications for cancer biology and therapy.
of Birmingham Osteopontin and disease activity in patients with recent-onset systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective. In cross ‐ sectional studies, elevated osteopontin (OPN) levels have been proposed to reflect, and/or precede, progressive organ damage and disease severity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We aimed, in a cohort of recent ‐ onset SLE, to determine whether raised serum OPN levels precede damage and/or associate with disease activity or certain disease phenotypes. Methods. We included 344 patients from the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Inception Cohort who had 5 ‐ years of follow ‐ up data available. All patients fulfilled the 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. Baseline sera from patients and from age ‐ and sex ‐ matched population ‐ based controls were analysed for OPN using ELISA. Disease activity and damage were assessed at each annual follow ‐ up visit using the SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI ‐ 2K) and the SLICC/ACR damage index (SDI), respectively. raised
Long-term magnetic activity in close binary systems - I. Patterns of color variations

Aims. This is the first of a series of papers in which we present the results of a long-term photometric monitoring project carried out at Catania Astrophysical Observatory aimed at studying magnetic activity in late-type components of close binary systems, its dependence on global stellar parameters, and its evolution on different time scales from days to years. In this first paper, we present the complete observation dataset and new results of an investigation into the origin of brightness and color variations observed in the well-known magnetically active close binary stars: AR Psc, VY Ari, UX Ari, V711 Tau, EI Eri, V1149 Ori, DH Leo, HU Vir, RS CVn, V775 Her, AR Lac, SZ Psc, II Peg and BY Dra Methods. About 38 000 high-precision photoelectric nightly observations in the U , B and V filters are analysed. Correlation and regression analyses of the V magnitude vs. $U-B$ and $B-V$ color variations are carried out and a comparison with model variations for a grid of active region temperature and filling factor values is also performed. Results. We find the existence of two different patterns of color variation. Eight stars in our sample: BY Dra, VY Ari, V775 Her, II Peg, V1149 Ori, HU Vir, EI Eri and DH Leo become redder when they become fainter, as is expected from the presence of active regions consisting of cool spots. The other six stars show the opposite behaviour, i.e. they become bluer when they become fainter. For V711 Tau this behaviour could be explained by the increased relative U - and B -flux contribution by the earlier-type component of the binary system when the cooler component becomes fainter. On the other hand, for AR Psc, UX Ari, RS CVn, SZ Psc and AR Lac the existence of hot photospheric faculae must be invoked. We also found that in single-lined and double-lined binary stars in which the fainter component is inactive or much less active the V magnitude is correlated to $B-V$ and $U-B$ color variations in more than 60% of observation seasons. The correlation is found in less than 40% of observation seasons when the fainter component has a non-negligible level of activity and/or hot faculae are present but they are either spatially or temporally uncorrelated to spots.
Turbulence and transport phenomena in edge and scrape-off-layer plasmas

This thesis reports recent experimental studies of edge turbulence structure using gas-puff-imaging at high time resolution in a radially broad zone at the low-field-side of Alcator C-Mod[1], and highlights the connections between its characteristics and particle transport. Within the framework of this thesis a new detector system has been designed and built for viewing the steep gradient outboard midplane region at minor radii 0.9 < r/rma, < 1.1, where turbulence is postulated to be driven [2, 3]. The design is optimized for the study of edge and scrape-off-layer turbulence, based on previous studies of these regions. Analysis of the data from this diagnostic in Ohmic L-modes from the electron diamagnetic drift propagating turbulence in the closed field line region of the plasma edge shows a strong scaling of the fluctuation power 5/n with the density normalized to the tokamak density limit lne/n; in addition, a critical physical scale is found at kop, ~ 0.1, where the critical wavenumber is normalized to ps, the ion Larmor radius at the sound speed, also known as the drift scale. The characteristic size scale shows very little variation with operating parameters. The analysis of the physical scale includes spectral analysis, yielding robust spectral indices # e 4.5 for larger wavenumbers and a sensitive spectral shape for lower wavenumbers, and the first spectral transfer measurement of turbulence on C-Mod, showing that the critical scale feeds power into the turbulence. A connection is found to the quasi-coherent mode (QCM), a modelike edge fluctuation characteristic of the Enhanced D-Alpha H-mode, which also appears at kcMp, ~ 0.1 and has decreased inverse transfer but greatly enhanced forward transfer compared to the L-mode levels. Thesis Supervisor: Miklos Porkolab Title: Professor of Physics Thesis Supervisor: James L. Terry Title: Principal Research Scientist, Alcator Project
Degradation, and Adhesion Three-Dimensional Invasion, Matrix Central Regulator of Macrophage Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Is a

Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) coordinate a plasmin-mediated proteolytic cascade that has been implicated in cell adhesion, cell motility, and matrix breakdown, for example, during inﬂammation. As part of their function during inﬂammatory responses, macrophages move through tissues and encounter both two-dimensional (2D) surfaces and more complex three-dimensional (3D) interstitial matrices. Based on approaches employing uPA gene–deﬁcient macrophages, plasminogen supplementation, and neutralization with speciﬁc protease inhibitors, it is reported in this study that uPA activity is a central component of the invasion of macrophages through a 3D Matrigel barrier; it also has a nonredundant role in macrophage-mediated matrix degradation. For murine macrophages, matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity was found to be required for these uPA-mediated effects. Evidence for a unique role for uPA in the inverse relationship between macrophage adhesion and 2D migration was also noted: macrophage adhesion to vitronectin was enhanced by uPA and blocked by plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, the latter approach also able to enhance in turn the 2D migration on this matrix protein. It is therefore proposed that uPA can have a key role in the inﬂammatory response at several levels as a central regulator of macrophage 3D invasion, matrix remodeling, and adhesion. The Journal of Immunology , 2014, 192: 000–000.
Influence of Fertilizers on the Yield of the Plamar Variety of Tomatoes on a Coto Clay •.

Most of the tomatoes and tomato products consumed in Puerto Rico are imported. In the fiscal year 1950-51, $2,400,000 was spent on imported tomato pastes and purees (l), whereas in the same period a farm income of only $893,000 was realized by the Puerto Rican farmers from growing tomatoes. The area in tomatoes in Puerto. Rico for 1950-51 was 2,694 acres with an average yield of 64.3 hundredweights of tomatoes per acre. • The expansion of tomato production in Puerto Rico has been recommended primarily to supply our own needs. I t has been claimed that our farmers must improve their cultivation practices to do this profitably. These practices include the use of better lands, larger plantings, irrigation, improved varieties, application of adequate fertilizers, and control of insects and diseases by spraying. (1). It is the purpose of this article to report how fertilizers influence the yields of the Plamar variety of tomatoes on Coto clay, a soil much used for tomato production.
Professional Development Activities for Secondary STEM Teachers and Students’ Engineering Content Knowledge and Attitudes

To promote an integrated Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) education in K-12 school levels and cultivate STEM literacy in the society, there is a growing interest in including engineering content in K-12 curricula. A review of literature suggests that teachers’ knowledge and attitudes towards the STEM fields are positively correlated with their students’ knowledge and attitudes towards the STEM fields. Hence, it is central to explore and document the characteristics and qualifications of the teachers in teaching engineering content. This paper describes a two-week-long residential professional development (PD) activity designed for STEM teachers to improve their engineering content and attitudes and reports the findings from the descriptive and inferential quantitative analyses of the data collected at the PD workshops. Presented are the meaningful correlations among the teachers’ perceptions of and familiarity with design, engineering, and technology (DET) and their students’ STEM attitudes. A group of faculty and researchers developed the engineering-focused PD workshops to instruct the teachers about the cutting-edge technologies related to the Internet of things (IoT) and additive manufacturing. The overarching goals of the project was to introduce underrepresented students to the authentic engineering activities and varied career opportunities in the STEM fields and improve students’ attitudes toward STEM through preparing their teachers to be effective in teaching these concepts in the classroom. The two-week PD workshops were held at a Research I University campus in Summer 2017 and Summer 2018. Participating teachers learned about the basics of the engineering design principles, IoT technologies, computer-aided design tools, and additive manufacturing processes. The teachers also received training on how to develop lesson plans that incorporate the engineering content into the existing school curricula. The study and familiarity with the DET concepts. A S-STEM survey was also administrated to the teachers’ students at the beginning and the end of the school year. The S_STEM survey is a five-point Likert-scale with 37 items. The S_STEM survey captured the students’ attitudes towards the STEM fields and the 21st-century skills. In the paper we will describe the research conducted and discuss the implications for cultivating STEM literacy and integrated STEM education. Both pre- and post-comparison results and correlation results are presented.
The amplification caused by gravitational bending of light

La deviation gravitationnelle des rayons lumineux ne va pas seulement conduire a des images multiples (effet de lentille gravitationnelle) mais egalement modifier la luminosite apparente d'une source. On montre ici qu'une distribution generale de la masse conduit toujours a un renforcement de la luminosite apparente par rapport a ce qu'on observerait dans un Univers sans lentille, pour toute position relative de la source et de l'observation
Insights on a Low-Cost Recursive Least-Squares Algorithm for Adaptive Noise Cancellation

—Adaptive Noise Cancellation (ANC) belongs to the interference cancellation class. It employs an adaptive filter to estimate a perturbation signal, which corrupts a primary acoustic source. In most of the corresponding applications, the goal is to imitate an original speech signal. This paper proposes the use of a low-complexity recursive least-squares (RLS) adaptive algorithm for the ANC procedure. The combination between the RLS method and the dichotomous coordinate descent (DCD) iterations offers good performance with acceptable arithmetic costs. Simulation results are provided in order to demonstrate the validity of the ANC system based on the RLS-DCD adaptive algorithm.
Intrinsic alignments of galaxies in the Horizon-AGN cosmological hydrodynamical simulation

The intrinsic alignments of galaxies are recognised as a contaminant to weak gravitational lensing measurements. In this work, we study the alignment of galaxy shapes and spins at low redshift ($z\sim 0.5$) in Horizon-AGN, an adaptive-mesh-refinement hydrodynamical cosmological simulation box of 100 Mpc/h a side with AGN feedback implementation. We find that spheroidal galaxies in the simulation show a tendency to be aligned radially towards over-densities in the dark matter density field and other spheroidals. This trend is in agreement with observations, but the amplitude of the signal depends strongly on how shapes are measured and how galaxies are selected in the simulation. Disc galaxies show a tendency to be oriented tangentially around spheroidals in three-dimensions. While this signal seems suppressed in projection, this does not guarantee that disc alignments can be safely ignored in future weak lensing surveys. The shape alignments of luminous galaxies in Horizon-AGN are in agreement with observations and other simulation works, but we find less alignment for lower luminosity populations. We also characterize the systematics of galaxy shapes in the simulation and show that they can be safely neglected when measuring the correlation of the density field and galaxy ellipticities.
Heavy and Light Chain Isotypes oflmmunoglobulin in Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita

Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a chronic acquired blistering disease with characteristic clinical, pathologic, and immunopathologic features. The disease is characterized immunopathologically by circulating and tissue-bound IgG class autoantibodies (EBA antibodies) to the basement membrane zone of stratified squamous epithelium. Previous studies have shown that circulating and tissue-bound EBA antibodies are heterogenous in · their ability to activate complement and have raised the possibility that functional heterogeneity might be related to IgG subclass restriction. In
Everyday Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior After Total Joint Arthroplasty: Do Patients and Partners Develop an Active Lifestyle?

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequent cause of pain and disability, affecting half of the world’s population aged 65 years or older. Due to experienced pain and limitations, OA patients generally spend most of their waking hours sedentary and fail to adhere to physical activity (PA) recommendations. As a result of living together with OA patients, their partners might adopt a sedentary lifestyle. This study investigates the change in habitual PA and sedentary behavior (SB) in patients and their partners one year after the patients’ total joint replacement (arthroplasty) and inpatient rehabilitation. Methods: This is a follow-up of a prospective cohort study including 24 older couples (69.3 ±7.8 years, gender ratio 11:13) consisting of OA patients (17 hip OA, 7 knee OA) and their partners. The participants’ habitual PA and SB were assessed by means of synchronous accelerometry (16h per day, 4–7 days) and additional self-report. Results: Although the partners (~6300 steps per day) were significantly more active than the patients (~4800 steps per day) before arthroplasty, their lifestyle was still classified “low active”. Irrespective of the method used, the PA and SB parameters of patients and partners were significantly correlated before arthroplasty (accelerometry: r≥0.333, p≤0.001; self-report: r≥0.569, p≤0.004). Following the patients’ arthroplasty, no improvement in PA or SB was observed either in the patients or their partners. A detailed evaluation of accelerometric data on hourly basis revealed no change in behavior for both groups. Furthermore, their everyday activities remained correlated (accelerometry: r≥0.418, p≤0.001; questionnaire: r≥0.554, p≤0.005). Conclusion: One year post-arthroplasty and inpatient rehabilitation neither the OA patients nor their partners had changed their PA or SB. Their everyday physical activity was still strongly intertwined. Further research is needed to determine why behavior change does not occur even though the prerequisites are in place. the patients’ surgery and about one year after by means of questionnaires and body-worn motion sensors. Finally, we could not detect any change in the participating couples. Their everyday lifestyle was still characterized by low activity. This result means that the surgery and rehabilitation relieve patients of pain and enables them to move again – but the necessary behavioral changes do not occur. As a consequence, we propose the development of novel rehabilitation programs that actively involve both, patients and partners.
Nursing Intervention on the Knowledge of Management of Challenges Faced by Relatives of Children with Epilepsy Attending Neuropsychiatric Hospital Aro,

This study examined nursing intervention on the knowledge of management of challenges faced by relatives of children with epilepsy attending neuropsychiatric hospital Aro, Abeokuta. This study employed pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental research design. The target population for this study was made up of relatives of children with epileptic disorders who come with their children to Child and Adolescent Clinic. The samples for this study are 53 parents/caregivers of children with epilepsy who come with the children on clinic days. Total enumeration sampling technique was used for this study. The Researcher used a semi-structured questionnaire for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts in the field of Tests & Measurement and Psychology. The Cronbach’s alpha value for the reliability testing was 0.708. All research questions were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation. The only hypothesis was tested using chi square test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that respondents have inadequate knowledge about epilepsy and knowledge of management of epilepsy but there was significant increase in the knowledge of epilepsy after the intervention programme. It was Published By recommended among others that Nurses should educate people on self-care concepts and skills required for long-term management of epilepsy in children and its complication.
Thymosin Alpha 1 Reduces the Mortality of Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 by Restoration of Lymphocytopenia and Reversion of Exhausted T Cells

BACKGROUND: Thymosin alpha 1 (T&#945;1) had been used in the treatment of viral infections as an immune response modifier for many years. However, clinical benefits and the mechanism of T&#945;1 treatment for COVID-19 patients are still unclear. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes of 76 severe COVID-19 cases admitted to 2 hospitals in Wuhan, China, from December 2019 to March 2020. The thymus output in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from COVID-19 patients was measured by T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs). The levels of T-cell exhaustion markers programmed death-1 (PD-1) and T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain protein 3 (Tim-3) on CD8+ T cells were detected by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Compared with the untreated group, T&#945;1 treatment significantly reduced the mortality of severe COVID-19 patients (11.11% vs 30.00%, P = .044). T&#945;1 enhanced blood T-cell numbers in COVID-19 patients with severe lymphocytopenia. Under such conditions, T&#945;1 also successfully restored CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell numbers in elderly patients. Meanwhile, T&#945;1 reduced PD-1 and Tim-3 expression on CD8+ T cells from severe COVID-19 patients compared with untreated cases. It is of note that restoration of lymphocytopenia and acute exhaustion of T cells were roughly parallel to the rise of TRECs. CONCLUSIONS: T&#945;1 treatment significantly reduced mortality of severe COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 patients with counts of CD8+ T cells or CD4+ T cells in circulation less than 400/µL or 650/µL, respectively, gained more benefits from T&#945;1. T&#945;1 reversed T-cell exhaustion and recovered immune reconstitution through promoting thymus output during severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 infection.
University of Birmingham Production of deuterons, tritons, 3He nuclei, and their antinuclei in pp collisions at s=0.9, 2.76, and 7 TeV

Invariant differential yields of deuterons and antideuterons in pp collisions at √ s = 0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV and the yields of tritons, 3 He nuclei, and their antinuclei at √ s = 7 TeV have been measured with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurements cover a wide transverse momentum ( p T ) range in the rapidity interval | y | < 0 . 5, extending both the energy and the p T reach of previous measurements up to 3 GeV /c for A = 2 and 6 GeV /c for A = 3. The coalescence parameters of (anti)deuterons and 3 He nuclei exhibit an increasing trend with p T and are found to be compatible with measurements in pA collisions at low p T and lower energies. The integrated yields decrease by a factor of about 1000 for each increase of the mass number with one (anti)nucleon. Furthermore, the deuteron-to-proton ratio is reported as a function of the average charged particle multiplicity at different center-of-mass energies.
Multi-particle systems in $\kappa$-Poincar\'e inspired by 2+1D gravity

Inspired by a Chern-Simons description of 2+1D gravity coupled to point particles we propose a new Lagrangian of a multiparticle system living in $\kappa$-Minkowski/$\kappa$-Poincare spacetime. We derive the dynamics of interacting particles with $\kappa$-momentum space, alternative to the one proposed in the "principle of relative locality" literature. The model that we obtain takes into account of the nonlocal topological interactions between the particles, so that the effective multi-particle action is not a sum of their free actions. In this construction the locality of particle processes is naturally implemented, even for distant observers. In particular a particle process is characterized by a local deformed energy-momentum conservation law. The spacetime transformations are generated by total charges/generators for the composite particle system, and leave unaffected the locality of individual particle processes.