Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Learning in a Small, Task–Oriented, Connectivist MOOC: Pedagogical Issues and Implications for Higher Education

Despite the increase in massive open online courses (MOOCs), evidence about the pedagogy of learning in MOOCs remains limited. This paper reports on an investigation into the pedagogy in one MOOC - Oxford Brookes University’s ‘First Steps in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education’ MOOC (FSLT12). FSLT12 was an open and free professional development opportunity for people moving into HE teaching. It was a small course (200 participants registered from 24 countries) which was focused on introducing HE teaching skills, and, uniquely, to deliberately integrate open academic practice as a vital part of professional development for HE teachers. A qualitative, case-study approach was used in the research, based on surveys, interviews, and social media, to provide evidence about how people learned in this course and consider wider implications for teaching and learning in higher education. The evidence shows that participants who completed the course were able to learn autonomously and navigate the distributed platforms and environments. The most challenging issues were acceptance of open academic practice and difficulty in establishing an academic identity in an unpredictable virtual environment. An interesting and significant feature of the course was the support for learners from a number of MOOC ‘veterans’ who served as role models and guides for less experienced MOOC learners. The research shows that small task-oriented MOOCs can effectively support professional development of open academic practice.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning An Investigation into the Management of Online Teaching and Learning Spaces: A Case Study Involving Graduate Research Students

This research evaluates the strategies implemented to support the research activities of postgraduate students pursuing online master’s programs in the University of the West Indies Open Campus, as well as the activities of their supervisors. The three main strategies employed were (1) the use of a web-based ‘teaching-learning space’ to facilitate asynchronous interaction between students and their supervisors; (2) the provision of a scheduling tool to facilitate the planning of one-on-one meetings via a synchronous web-conferencing tool; and (3) the organization of research seminars using the same web-conferencing tool. This research used Moore’s theory of transactional distance and social cognitive theoretical framework to guide the project. Moore’s model reemphasizes the need for stronger forms of communicating for online students, whereas the cognitive framework focuses on the need for social interaction among learner and teacher. Participants were graduate students ( n = 34 ). All participants were required to complete a questionnaire online. Data were also collected from postings in discussion forums. Overall, notwithstanding limitations, the data shows there are benefits to be gained from conducting student research activities in an online environment.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning

and preferences. The present research integrates a pedagogical theory Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with an information system (IS) theory Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) . It aims to examine the effectiveness of a technology-enhanced traditional web design course on blended e-learning acceptance and learner satisfaction in which UDL principles (multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement) were implemented. This casts some light on the role of addressing curricula limitations on learner perceptions and e-learning adoption. A mixed research design combining survey and action methods was followed. Overall, 92 undergraduate students took part in the study. The research instrument was validated first. Subsequently, partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to identify the path associated among constructs used in the proposed framework. The extended model accounted for 45.4% and 41.6% of the variance of perceived satisfaction and behavioural intention respectively. The findings suggest that using educational technologies to address curricula limitations is a bridge to enhancing learner willingness to accept e-learning.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Teaching Massive, Open, Online, Courses (MOOCs): Tales from the Front Line

motivation, experiences, and perceptions of instructors who have taught massive open online courses. Findings indicate that instructors were motivated to teach MOOCs for three main reasons: (1) interest and passion, (2) publicity and marketing, or (3) benefits and incentives. Most instructors had little online teaching experience prior to teaching their first MOOC, but were satisfied with the experience. The majority believed their own MOOC provided a high quality learning experience but thought that MOOCs overall might not be as good as face-to-face courses. Concerns were raised about the future of MOOCs for online learning.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning The Effects of Linguistic Qualifiers and Intensifiers on Group Interaction and Performance in Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation

This study tested the effects of linguistic qualifiers and intensifiers on the number and types of replies elicited per argument and per challenge posted in online debates. To facilitate collaborative argumentation, thirty-two students (22 females, 10 males) enrolled in a graduate-level online course classified and labeled their messages as arguments, challenges, supporting evidence, or explanations prior to posting each message. The findings showed that qualified arguments elicited 41 percent fewer replies (effect size = -.64), and the reduction in replies was greatest when qualified arguments were presented by females than males. Challenges without qualifiers, however, did not elicit more replies than challenges with qualifiers. These findings suggest that qualifiers were used to hedge arguments, and such behaviors should be discouraged during initial stages of identifying arguments (more so in all-female than in all-male groups) in order to elicit more diverse and more opposing viewpoints needed to thoroughly and critically analyze arguments.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning The Inherent Tensions of “Instant Education”: A Critical Review of Mobile Instant Messaging

This paper critically reviews literature on the role of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) applications, such as WhatsApp, in supporting learning and teaching practice. Using formal qualitative synthesis as its methodology, and dialectical theory as an analytical framework, our main objective was to identify tensions, affordances, constraints, and resolution strategies in educational uses
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Challenges and Instructors’ Intention to Adopt and Use Open Educational Resources in Higher Education in Tanzania

Higher education in Tanzania like in many other Sub-Saharan countries suffers from unavailability of quality teaching and learning resources due to lack of tradition, competence, and experience to develop such resources. Nevertheless, there are thousands of open educational resources (OER) freely available in the public domain that can potentially improve the quality of existing resources or help to develop new courses. The uptake and reuse of these resources in higher learning institutions (HLIs) in Tanzania has been very low. The study applied the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model to elicit instructors’ intention to adopt and use OER in teaching. The paper also investigated challenges that hinder instructors to adopt and use OER. A sample of 104 instructors selected randomly from five HLIs was collected and tested against the research model using regression analysis. The study found effort expectancy had significant positive effect on instructors’ intention to use OER while performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence did not have significant effect. Challenges that were found to hinder instructors to adopt and use OER are discussed. The findings of this study will help those who are involved in OER implementation to find strategies that will maximize OER adoption and usage in higher education in Tanzania.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Online Interaction in Higher Education: Is There Evidence of Diminishing Returns?

effectiveness varies with the degree of interaction intensity. Using data for 17,090 students from three Catalan universities, in this paper we study the productivity associated with five different levels of interaction intensity in learning. We also compare the results obtained for fully online education with those for face-to-face learning. The analyses show that interaction in online education has diminishing returns, while in face-to-face learning it does not do so in a pure way. These results have implications for determining the optimum level of interaction that should be sought when designing courses and educational policies.
International Review of Research in Open and

Since open universities can adapt to students’ work schedules, personal preferences, age, and so on, they have facilitated access to education for a large group of people. The open university phenomenon, which arose in the 1960s, fostered countries’ cultural growth; higher education was now longer exclusively for a privileged few. This paper presents a bibliometric study on the existing scientific output on open universities throughout the last 40 years. A bespoke methodology of bibliometric studies has been used, by setting key descriptors to be consulted in the most prestigious scientific database Web of Science. The sample was composed of 809 papers in total, indexed in prestigious journals and published during the period 1969 to 2018. The output, scattering, and impact bibliometric indicators were analysed in those papers. Among the results obtained, it was found that scientific output on open universities is in a phase of exponential growth, in which 2015 was the most productive year. Furthermore, the UK, where the phenomenon of open universities started, is the country with the most scientific output. Finally, the bibliometric study of the output indexed in the Web of Science shows a panoramic vision of the past, present, and future of open universities, emphasising the idea that this phenomenon is continuing to grow.
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Learners' Perspectives on What is Missing from Online Learning: Interpretations through the Community of Inquiry Framework

Despite the success that instructors and learners often enjoy with online university courses, learners have also reported that they miss face-to-face contact when learning online. The purpose of this inquiry was to identify learners' perceptions of what is missing from online learning and provide recommendations for how we can continue to innovate and improve the online learning experience. The inquiry was qualitative in nature and conducted from a constructivist perspective. Ten learners who had indicated that they missed and/ or would have liked more face-to-face contact following their participation in an online course were interviewed to elicit responses that would provide insights into what it is they miss about face-to-face contact when learning online. Five themes emerged: robustness of online dialogue, spontaneity and improvisation, perceiving and being perceived by the other, getting to know others, and learning to be an online learner. Garrison and colleagues' (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) community of inquiry framework was used to interpret the findings
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning Mentoring Graduate Students Online: Strategies and Challenges

The proliferation of online graduate programs, and more recently, higher education institutions’ moves to online interactions due to the COVID-19 crisis, have led to graduate student mentoring increasingly occurring online. Challenges, strategies, and outcomes associated with online mentoring of graduate students are of primary importance for the individuals within a mentoring dyad and for universities offering online or blended graduate education. The nature of mentoring interactions within an online format presents unique challenges and thus requires strategies specifically adapted to such interactions. There is a need to examine how mentoring relationships have been, and can best be, conducted when little to no face-to-face interaction occurs. This paper undertook a literature review of empirical studies from the last two decades on online master’s and doctoral student mentoring. The main themes were challenges, strategies and best practices, and factors that influence the online mentoring relationship. The findings emphasized the importance of fostering interpersonal aspects of the mentoring relationship, ensuring clarity of expectations and communications as well as competence with technologies, providing access to peer mentor groups or cohorts, and institutional support for online faculty mentors. Within these online mentoring relationships, the faculty member becomes the link to an otherwise absent yet critical experience of academia for the online student, making it imperative to create and foster an effective relationship based on identified strategies and best practices for online mentoring.
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Expression of Lactate Dehydrogenase-a and -b Messenger Ribonucleic Acids in Chick Glycogen Body

Glucose is a main metabolic substrate in the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, lactate has attracted renewed attention because it plays an important role in the CNS as a metabolic substrate between neurons and astrocytes. Lactate and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a key enzyme for lactate and pyruvate interconversion, have been investigated. The glycogen body (GB) is a gelat-inous tissue in the dorsal area of the lumbosacral spinal cord in birds. It is composed of uniform cells with high glycogen storage and is thought to be in the astroglia lineage. In this article, we investigated the LDH enzyme activity in embryo GB (embryonic d 12, 14, 16, 17, and 18) and chickens. To detect the subtype of the LDH, mRNA expressions in GB were investigated and compared with those of cerebral cortex and spinal cord. By histochemical
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Toxicological and Gene Expression Analysis of the Impact of Aflatoxin B 1 on Hepatic Function of Male Broiler Chicks

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1) on he-patic gene expression in male broiler chicks. Seventy-five 1-d-old male broiler chicks were assigned to 3 dietary treatments (5 replicates of 5 chicks each) from hatch to d 21. The diets contained 0, 1 and 2 mg of AFB 1 /kg of feed. Aflatoxin B 1 reduced (P < 0.05) feed intake, BW gain, serum total proteins, and serum Ca and P, but increased (P < 0.01) liver weights in a dose-dependent manner. Microarray analysis was used to identify shifts in genetic expression associated with the affected physiological processes in chicks fed 0 and 2 mg of AFB 1 / kg of feed to identify potential targets for pharmaco-logical/toxicological intervention. A loop design was used for microarray experiments with 3 technical and 4 biological replicates per treatment group. Ribonucleic acid was extracted from liver tissue, and its quality was determined using gel electrophoresis and spectro-photometry. High-quality RNA was purified from DNA contamination, reverse transcribed, and hybridized to an oligonucleotide microarray chip. Microarray data were analyzed using a 2-step ANOVA model and validated by quantitative real-time PCR of selected genes. Genes with false discovery rates less than 13% and fold change greater than 1.4 were considered differentially expressed. Compared with controls (0 mg of AFB 1 /kg), various genes associated with energy production and fatty acid metabolism (carnitine palmitoyl transferase), growth and development (insulin-like growth factor 1), antioxidant protection (glutathione S transferase), de-toxification (epoxide hydrolase), coagulation (coagula-tion factors IX and X), and immune protection (inter-leukins) were downregulated, whereas genes associated with cell proliferation (ornithine decarboxylase) were upregulated in birds fed 2 mg of AFB 1 /kg. This study demonstrates that AFB 1 exposure at a concentration of 2 mg/kg results in physiological responses associated with altered gene expression in chick livers.
Parenting styles and behavior problems in children followed by a basic protection service of Brazilian Unified Social Assistance System

: The study aimed to assess the occurrence of problem behavior in children in vulnerable situation and its correlation with parenting styles, socio-demographic characteristics, and gender. This was a cross-sectional study with 37 caregivers of children aged 6 and 11 years of age (x ̄ =8,6±1,5) assisted by a basic protection service of the Unified System of Social Service of a municipality in Paraná state. Both Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Parental Style Inventory IEP were administered. Correlations between SDQ and IEP subscales ( ps <0,05) and between hyperactivity/ inattention and age ( ρ =0,439; p <0,01) were found. Boys presented higher scores of total SDQ score ( t (35) =-2,81; p =0,008) hyperactivity/ inattention ( U =249,0; p =0,009) than girls. Lower socioeconomic condition and status and negative parenting practices are risk factors for childhood problem behavior. Then, intervention programs and public policies directed to their families might reduce the occurrence of problem behavior.
Metadata of the chapter that will be visualized online

Accumulating extracellular molecular modifications play major roles in the etiologies of age-associated physical declines and illnesses. The most important changes are caused by glycation, lipoxidation, cross-linking, and cleavage of the long-lasting extracellular structural proteins (LESPs): collagen, elastin, fibronectin, and laminin. A series of reactions results in several stable structures referred to as “advanced glycation endproducts” (AGEs) and “advanced lipoxidation endproducts” (ALEs). LESP modifications contribute to debilitation in several ways: stiffening and weakening tissues, inciting inflammatory damage, and creating an unhealthy environment for the body’s cells. Some amelioration and postponement of LESP aging can be achieved through dietary composition choices, fasting or calorie restriction, and ingesting foods, herbs, or substances that inhibit glycation or lipoxidation. Exercise and crosslink-breaking substances can repair some damage, thus producing partial rejuvenation. Proposals have been made to look for additional crosslink breakers and deglycators to destroy the full range of AGEs. This author anticipates that repair and rejuvenation of a wide range of extracellular aging and damage may be achieved by stimulating fibroblast-lineage cells to more rapidly turn over and regenerate the extracellular matrix.
World Journal of Gastroenterology

BACKGROUND Comprehensive genomic analysis has shown that small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) has different genomic profiles from gastric and colorectal cancers. Hence, it is essential to establish chemotherapeutic regimens based on SBA characteristics. The expression of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed cell death-ligand 2 (PD-L2) in SBA is not fully understood. Anti-PD-L1/PD-1 therapy uses tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs); therefore, the status of TILs in the tumor microenvironment (TME) may influence their efficacy. The ratio of FoxP3+ to CD8+ T cells has been reported to be useful in predicting the prognosis of digestive system cancers.
Les peuplements de nématodes libres, indicateurs du degré d'anthropisation de la lagune de Bou Ghrara (Tunisie)

La lagune de Bou Ghrara, la plus grande des lagunes tunisiennes, est le siege d'une importante pression anthropique. Les fortes charges sedimentaires en hydrocarbures (0,05-6,4 mg.g -1 sed. sec) et en carbone organique total (0,02-7,6 %) constituent les variables abiotiques les plus limitantes pour toutes les donnees nematologiques. Ainsi, les densites de Nematodes libres, leurs valeurs ponderales et leurs indices de diversite, chutant au niveau des stations les plus polluees, sont correles negativement et tres significativement a ces facteurs du milieu.
The influence of distant surcharge load with a finite length on the cantilever walls

The behavior of a sheet pile wall constructed on saturated sand soil and exposed to a distant surcharge load with a finite length at the top of the backfill soil is examined in this study. For this aim, various internal friction angles (φ), and natural ground surface for the groundwater level are considered. Furthermore, it is considered that the sheet pile wall acts as cantilevered and supports a six-meter-high (H) excavation. The simple “45° distribution” (AP) and uniform distribution of “Beton Kalender distribution” (BK) methods are examined with Coulomb’s and Rankine’s earth pressure theories in analytical solutions, while the finite element method (FEM) is used as a numerical method. The present research has two primary goals: a) determining the best analytical approach that provides the maximum bending moment (Mmax) values that are more comparable to those of the FEM b) examining the behavior of the sheet pile wall considering several effects of load scenarios, depth (D) and section type (ST) of the wall, and the soil properties together. In this context, parametrical analyses are performed. Consequently, it is found that the distance of the surcharge load (x1) has a pronounced effect than the intensity (q) and length (Ls) of the surcharge load on the behavior of the sheet pile, and this effect vanishes for the large values of x1. Furthermore, Coulomb theory provides more convenient values with FEM for Mmax than those obtained from Rankine theory. The Mmax values obtained from FEM are generally less than those from BK, while they are greater than those from APC.
Impact of season and foliar fertilisers on phenolics of leaves of Chemlali olive cultivar

The olive leaves are known as a source of nutraceuticals due to their richness in phenolics. Numerous studies explored the effect of several factors on leaf phenolics but few studies focused on the impact of foliar fertilizers on leaf phenolics. In this context, our study aimed to explore the effect of season and foliar fertilisers on phenolics in leaves of “Chemlali” olive cultivar. Four foliar fertilisers were sprayed separately at different seasons. Total polyphenol, total flavonoid ortho -diphenol and oleuropein contents were assessed in fresh olive leaves. Our results showed that polyphenols and ortho -diphenols reached their maximum in April, decreased in August and rose again in November. Flavonoid showed an inverted trend and were the most affected by the different foliar fertilisers. Oleuropein content had two peaks in April and November and was not affected by foliar fertilisers. Taking into consideration these results, the optimal periods to collect olive leaves are April and November. Our study brought out evidences about the impact of foliar nutrition on olive leaves.