Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How students perceive teachers’ nonverbal and verbal communication at agricultural universities in Austria, Slovenia and Albania

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study attempts to close the research gap created by the fact that existing studies neglect the problem of how effectively agricultural professors from different European countries communicate. The aim is to identify similarities and differences in the numbers of agricultural professors perceived by students as engaging in verbal and nonverbal immediacy communication. Methodology: An online survey was conducted among students of agricultural universities from Austria, Slovenia and Albania. Findings: The results show that professors of agriculture from Austria, Slovenia and Albania should generally not be satisfied with their own communication patterns and should thus try to improve their communication. The result also reveals cultural differences in the shares of agriculture professors employing different communication patterns in Austria, Slovenia and Albania. Compared to Austrian and Slovenian students, their Albanian peers perceive that most of their professors use nonverbal immediacy communication. According to Austrian students, the majority of their professors use verbal immediacy. On the contrary, Albanian students assessed that some of their professors employ verbal immediacy. Practical Implications: The results show the professors of agriculture should improve the way they communicate to students. In particular, the Albanian professors should improve their verbal communication especially in terms of providing timely and quality feedback to students. Theoretical implications: The study reveals differences in immediacy communication among countries (Austria, Slovenia and Albania) which the scientific literature considers to have a high-context culture. Originality/Value: Given that no study has yet examined how students perceive professors’ communication in different European countries, this research helps understand the characteristics of agricultural professors’ communication.
Self-monitoring of blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus not taking insulin: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE To perform a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews evaluating the efficacy of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) levels among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). STUDY DESIGN Meta-analysis of RCTs among patients with DM not taking insulin comparing patients with SMBG versus those without SMBG and reporting results as change in glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) values. METHODS Prior systematic reviews and a PubMed search were used to identify studies. Data were extracted by trained physician reviewers working in duplicate. Trials were classified according to duration of the intervention, and random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool results. RESULTS Three trials of SMBG of 3 months' duration were too heterogeneous to pool. Nine other trials were identified. Five trials of SMBG of 6 months' duration yielded a pooled effect estimate of a decrease in mean A1C values of -0.21% (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.38% to -0.04%). Four trials that reported outcomes of 1 year or longer yielded a pooled effect estimate of a decrease in mean A1C values of -0.16% (95% CI, -0.38% to 0.05%). Three trials reported hypoglycemic outcomes, which were increased in the patients using SMBG, although this mostly involved asymptomatic or mild episodes. CONCLUSIONS At most, SMBG produces a statistically significant but clinically modest effect in controlling blood glucose levels in patients with DM not taking insulin. It is of questionable value in helping meet target values of glucose control.
Putative glycine receptors in Hydra: a biochemical and behavioural study

Glycine acts as an inhibitory transmitter in the lower brain stem and spinal cord of vertebrate species, while very few data are yet available to support a similar role in invertebrate nervous systems. Here we report the identification and characterization of glycine receptors in the freshwater polyp Hydra vulgaris (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) by biochemical and behavioural studies. Saturation experiments revealed the occurrence of one population of binding sites of nanomolar affinity (KD = 33 nm) and low capacity (Bmax= 79 fmol/mg protein) for [3H]strychnine. The addition of glycine or taurine (0.1 µm–1 mm) produced a dose‐dependent inhibition of [3H]strychnine binding. β‐alanine (0.1–1 mm) did not significantly affect [3H]strychnine binding. The pharmacological properties of these receptors compare with those of vertebrate glycine receptors. Stimulation of Hydra polyps by reduced glutathione resulted in a significant increase in the duration of mouth opening in the presence of glycine, taurine or β‐alanine. The enhancement of the response was related both to amino acid (10–100 µm) and to glutathione concentration (1–10 µm). The effects of glycine or its agonists were suppressed by strychnine (1–10 µm). d‐serine, a glycine agonist at the vertebrate NMDA receptor, produced opposite effects to those of glycine. The effects of d‐serine were suppressed by 5,7‐dichlorokynurenic acid but not by strychnine. In vitro, [3H]strychnine binding was not displaced by d‐serine. These results indicate a dual action of glycine in Hydra tissues. The hypothesis that NMDA receptors may also be present in this elementary nervous system is proposed.
Comprehensive Peptide Analysis of Mouse Brain Striatum Identifies Novel sORF‐Encoded Polypeptides

Bio‐active peptides are involved in the regulation of most physiological processes in the body. Classical bio‐active peptides (CBAPs) are cleaved from a larger precursor protein and stored in secretion vesicles from which they are released in the extracellular space. Recently, another non‐classical type of bio‐active peptides (NCBAPs) has gained interest. These typically are not secreted but instead appear to be translated from short open reading frames (sORF) and released directly into the cytoplasm. In contrast to CBAPs, these peptides are involved in the regulation of intra‐cellular processes such as transcriptional control, calcium handling and DNA repair. However, bio‐chemical evidence for the translation of sORFs remains elusive. Comprehensive analysis of sORF‐encoded polypeptides (SEPs) is hampered by a number of methodological and biological challenges: the low molecular mass (many 4–10 kDa), the low abundance, transient expression and complications in data analysis. We developed a strategy to address a number of these issues. Our strategy is to exclude false positive identifications. In total sample, we identified 926 peptides originated from 37 known (neuro)peptide precursors in mouse striatum. In addition, four SEPs were identified including NoBody, a SEP that was previously discovered in humans and three novel SEPS from 5′ untranslated transcript regions (UTRs).
Internet resources for agent-based modelling

The use of agent-based models (ABMs) is steadily increasing in all the disciplines including environmental chemistry and toxicology. This growth is mainly driven by their ability to address problems that conventional modelling techniques cannot, such as the change of scale or the emergence of unanticipated phenomena resulting from interactions between their constitutive goal-directed agents. After a brief introduction on the basic principles of agent-based modelling and the presentation of selected case studies, the main software resources available on the Internet are presented. An attempt is made to estimate the complexity of these tools versus their potentialities and flexibility.
For Teachers, by Teachers: An Exploration of Teacher-Generated Online Professional Development

Abstract Participatory online professional development opportunities created for teachers by teachers have emerged with the proliferation of social media. This article presents an investigation of a voluntary, participant-driven, 5-week online professional development offering in which two high school English teachers invited colleagues at a distance to explore teaching with young adult literature. This article details how the teachers who created and facilitated the course—voluntarily and with no compensation—describe their experiences. Findings reveal that participants described designing and facilitating a participatory online professional development opportunity as (a) a chance to address teachers' expressed needs; (b) a reciprocal process of enhancing confidence; and (c) a building block for future professional development offerings. Implications for teachers, teacher educators, and researchers are provided.
Conventional vs. Tablet Computer-Based Patient Education following Lung Transplantation – A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Accurate immunosuppression is of critical importance in preventing rejection, while avoiding toxicity following lung transplantation. The mainstay immunosuppressants are calcineurin inhibitors, which require regular monitoring due to interactions with other medications and diet. Adherence to immunosuppression and patient knowledge is vital and can be improved through patient education. Education using tablet-computers was investigated. Objective To compare tablet-PC education and conventional education in improving immunosuppression trough levels in target range 6 months after a single education. Secondary parameters were ratio of immunosuppression level measurements divided by per protocol recommended measurements, time and patient satisfaction regarding education. Design Single-centre, open labelled randomised controlled trial. Participants Patients >6 months after lung-transplantation with <50% of calcineurin inhibitor trough levels in target range. Intervention Tablet-pc education versus personal, nurse-led education. Measurements Calcineurin inhibitor levels in target range 6 months after education, level variability, interval adherence, knowledge and adherence was studied. As outcome parameter, renal function was measured and adverse events registered. Results Sixty-four patients were 1:1 randomised for either intervention. Levels of immunosuppression 6 months after education were equal (tablet-PC 58% vs. conventional 48%, p = 0.27), both groups improved in achieving a CNI trough level within target range by either education method (delta tablet-PC 29% vs. conventional 20%). In all patients, level variability decreased (−20.4%), whereas interval adherence remained unchanged. Knowledge about immunosuppression improved by 7% and compliance tests demonstrated universal improvements with no significant difference between groups. Conclusion Education is a simple, effective tool in improving adherence to immunosuppression. Tablet-PC education was non-inferior to conventional education. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01398488 http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01398488? term=gottlieb+tablet+pc+education&rank=1.
On the volatility of the yield curve of the Colombian public debt market

This paper estimates the volatility of the Temporary Structure of Interest Rates (ETTI) of the Colombian public debt market and explains its relationship with macroeconomics fundamentals. Starting from the parametric model proposed by Nelson and Siegel (1987), the ETTI is estimated in order to capture the Palabras clave: estructura temporal de las tasas de interés, volatilidad, vectores autorregresivos, componentes principales, causalidad.
An unusual white dwarf star may be a surviving remnant of a subluminous Type Ia supernova

Unusual star may be supernova debris Type Ia supernovae occur when a white dwarf star is completely destroyed in a thermonuclear explosion. Recently, another class of supernova has been found, dubbed type Iax; these look like type Ia but are much fainter and may be the result of only partial destruction of a white dwarf. In support of this notion, Vennes et al. found a white dwarf star in our Galaxy that is low-mass, is moving quickly, and has an unusual composition. These properties suggest that it could be the predicted leftover remains from a type Iax supernova. Science, this issue p. 680 An unusual white dwarf star could be the leftover remains of a recently discovered class of supernovae. Subluminous Type Ia supernovae, such as the Type Iax–class prototype SN 2002cx, are described by a variety of models such as the failed detonation and partial deflagration of an accreting carbon-oxygen white dwarf star or the explosion of an accreting, hybrid carbon-oxygen-neon core. These models predict that bound remnants survive such events with, according to some simulations, a high kick velocity. We report the discovery of a high proper motion, low-mass white dwarf (LP 40-365) that travels at a velocity greater than the Galactic escape velocity and whose peculiar atmosphere is dominated by intermediate-mass elements. Strong evidence indicates that this partially burnt remnant was ejected following a subluminous Type Ia supernova event. This supports the viability of single-degenerate supernova progenitors.
Bounded Utilifies and Ruin Constraints

A decisionmaker (DM) can ensure that the probability of ruin is no greater than a chosen amount by selecting gambles according to an expected utility rule that uses a bounded-above utility function. The bound does not depend on assumptions about what gambles DM will be offered in the future, so long as DM can refuse unacceptable gambles.
Positional effects of the matrix attachment region on transgene expression in stably transfected CHO cells

Previous work has shown that the MAR (matrix attachment region) could increase transgene expression in stably transfected CHO (Chinese‐hamster ovary) cells. To study the positional effect of MAR on transgene expression, three expression vectors were constructed which contained the human β‐globin MAR in different sites, including the vector with two MARs flanking the CAT (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) expression cassette, one MAR at the 5′ or 3′ site. These vectors were transfected into CHO cells. The level of CAT gene expression was most effectively increased by two MARs flanking the CAT expression cassette. This increase was also seen when MAR was inserted at the 5′ site upstream of the expression cassette, whereas the transgene expression level decreased when MAR was inserted at the 3′ site downstream of the expression cassette. We have also shown that the transgene expression level is not directly proportional to the gene copy number, and gene copy number dependency does not exist.
Increased micronuclei and nuclear abnormalities in buccal mucosa and oxidative damage in saliva from patients with chronic and aggressive periodontal diseases.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection characterized by connective tissue breakdown and alveolar bone destruction because of inflammatory and immune response caused by periodontopathogens and long-term release of reactive oxygen species. A high number of reactive oxygen species result in periodontal tissue damage through multiple mechanisms such as lipid peroxidation, protein denaturation and DNA damage. The aim of this study was to evaluate DNA and oxidative damage in subjects with chronic or aggressive periodontitis and healthy controls. MATERIAL AND METHODS Buccal mucosa cells and whole saliva were collected from 160 subjects, who were divided into three groups: subjects with chronic periodontitis (CP) (n = 58), subjects with aggressive periodontitis (AgP) (n = 42) and a control group (n = 60). DNA damage was determined by counting micronuclei (MN) and nuclear abnormalities (NAs) in exfoliated cells, including binucleated cells, cells with nuclear buds and karyolitic, karyorrhectic, condensed chromatin and pyknotic cells. The degree of oxidative stress was determined by quantifying 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in whole saliva. RESULTS Subjects with CP or AgP presented significantly more ( p < 0.05) MN and NAs and higher levels of 8-OHdG ( p < 0.05) compared with the control group. CONCLUSION Our results indicate that subjects with periodontitis (CP or AgP) exhibited an increase in the frequency of MN, NAs and 8-OHdG, which is directly related to DNA damage. In addition, a positive correlation exists between oxidative stress produced by periodontitis disease and MN.
Catatonic schizophrenia: a cohort prospective study.

BACKGROUND In the 20th century, catatonia was usually deemed a subtype of schizophrenia. Recently, the nature and classification of catatonia are being reconsidered. This study is the first to describe catatonia using prospectively collected data and to examine how catatonic schizophrenia differs from, or resembles, other types of schizophrenia. METHODS Data were analyzed in a cohort of 90,079 offspring followed from birth till ages 29-41 years. Proportional hazards models were used, calculating time to first psychiatric hospital admission, to compare risk factors for catatonic schizophrenia vs "other schizophrenia. " RESULTS Of 568 cases of schizophrenia, 43 (7.6%) had catatonic schizophrenia. The sexes were equally at risk for catatonic schizophrenia in contrast to other schizophrenia, for which the incidence was higher in males (1.70, 1.42-2.03, P < .0001). Advancing paternal age had no influence on the risk of catatonic schizophrenia in contrast to other schizophrenia, in which the risk to offspring of fathers age 35+ was 1.27 (1.03-1.57, P = .03) compared with those of younger fathers. Those with catatonic schizophrenia were somewhat more likely to have older mothers (aged 35+) (relative risk = 2.14, 0.85-5.54) while maternal age was not related to other schizophrenia. Both were equally affected by parental history of schizophrenia. Patients with catatonia were significantly more likely to attempt suicide (P = .006). CONCLUSION Patients with catatonic schizophrenia show a somewhat different profile of risk factors from those with other types of schizophrenia in this cohort and are more likely to attempt suicide. This lends some support to the hypothesis that catatonic schizophrenia may have a distinct etiology.
Simple staging system for osteosarcoma performs equivalently to the AJCC and MSTS systems

Both the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) staging systems for skeletal sarcomas have major weaknesses. A revised staging system for osteosarcoma (the Vanderbilt system) was developed based on exploratory analyses of the relative prognostic impacts of histologic grade, tumor size, local tumor extension, and specific anatomic sites of metastasis using case records from the National Cancer Database (N = 4,285). AJCC, MSTS, and Vanderbilt staging schemes were then compared using a separate, population‐based cancer registry (the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database; N = 2,246) as a validation dataset. Predictive accuracy for 5‐year sarcoma‐specific survival was evaluated by comparing areas under receiver‐operating characteristic curves generated from logistic regression. Three different concordance indices and Bayesian information criteria were also calculated for model comparisons. The Vanderbilt staging system showed comparable predictive accuracy for 5‐year disease‐specific survival (65%) compared to the AJCC (67%) and MSTS (67%) staging systems. Most cross‐comparisons of model concordance were not significantly different either. Bayesian information criterion was lowest for the MSTS staging system. Substaging osteosarcoma by current anatomical criteria is ineffectual. A simplified staging system based only on histologic grade and the presence of distant metastasis to any anatomic site performs similarly to the current AJCC and MSTS staging systems by multiple statistical criteria and is proposed for clinical and pathological staging of osteosarcomas of the non‐pelvic appendicular and non‐spinal axial skeleton. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:2802–2808, 2018.
Design of a 2-bit unit-cell for electronically reconfigurable transmitarrays at Ka-band

This paper presents in detail the design of a linearly-polarized electronically reconfigurable unit-cell for transmitarray antennas with a 2-bit phase resolution in Ka-band. The size of the proposed unit-cell is 5.1∗5.1×1.3 mm3. It is implemented on a dielectric stack-up composed of six metal layers, three dielectric substrates and two bonding films. The radiating elements are printed on both external metallic layers and are loaded by two PIN diodes controlling the transmission phase. This unit-cell is used to design a 196-element transmitarray with 784 PIN diodes. The performance of this 2-bit transmitarray has been evaluated numerically using our in-house simulation tool and compared to a transmitarray with a 1-bit phase quantization. A maximum gain of 22.9 dBi, an aperture efficiency of 32.3%, and a side-lobe level equal to −18.1 dB at broadside have been obtained at 29 GHz.
A new collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm based on dimensionality reduction and clustering techniques

With the advent and explosive growth of the Web over the past decade, recommender systems have become at the heart of the business strategies of e-commerce and Internet-based companies such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, LinkedIn, Amazon, etc. Hence, the collaborative filtering recommendation algorithms are highly valuable and play a vital role at the success of such businesses in reaching out to new users and promoting their services and products. With the aim of improving the recommendation performance of such an algorithm, this paper proposes a new collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm based on dimensionality reduction and clustering techniques. The ¿-means algorithm and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) are both used to cluster similar users and reduce the dimensionality. It proposes and evaluates an effective two stage recommender system that can generate accurate and highly efficient recommendations. The experimental results show that this new method significantly improves the performance of the recommendation systems.
Ten types of emerging city makers

Today, citizens and professionals form different types of coalitions in order to overcome the challenges arising in cities, contributing to new ways of city making. These coalitions consist of new and emerging groups that represent an innovative form of urban insurgent activism, aimed at transformation and calling for new answers to citizens’ needs. These groups are not often categorized and captured in the particular, or beyond a general description. This paper, based on data collected in the city of Rotterdam, presents a characterization of ten types emerging types of city makers in the context of urban sustainability transitions. This categorization must enable a better understanding of the transformative capacity of these new city makers, necessary for flourishing and sustainable communities. The paper concludes that these new types of city makers generally bring value to cities; however, this value could be enriched through more participatory networks that stimulate crossovers and accelerate the transition towards sustainable futures. These approaches need yet to be developed; here systems thinking and design could greatly contribute to the development of these new systemic and participatory approaches. However, in order to develop these new ways of ‘participatory city making’ it is important to understand with whom and for whom these approaches need to be developed. Therefore, this landscape of emerging city can be seen as an important starting point to stimulate the development of more participatory approaches in city making in the future; and with that feed the debate of how these design approaches can enable systemic change.