Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Water Towers, Pump Houses, and Mountain Streams: Students' Ideas about Watersheds

The watershed concept is important in many areas of geology and environmental science, and the purpose of this study was to investigate students' ideas about watersheds and how these ideas change across grade level. A total of 95 students were sampled: 28 sixth graders, 25 seventh graders, 22 eight graders, and 23 ninth graders. To elicit students' ideas about watersheds a task was developed that required students to draw a picture of a watershed and explain their drawing. In general, students understand a watershed from a very limited scientific perspective. For sixth and some seventh grade students a watershed is a water storage facility or a facility that supplies water. Eighth and ninth grade students' ideas about a watershed focused on a mountainous stream. Older students also incorporated the hydrologic cycle, but rarely represented linkages between land and watercourses. For all students, humans do not appear to be a part of a watershed, but separate from it. The implications of these findings are also explored.
Low-Income Students and the Socioeconomic Composition of Public High Schools

Increasing constraints placed on race-based school diversification have shifted attention to socioeconomic desegregation. Although past research suggests that socioeconomic desegregation can produce heightened achievement, the “frog pond” perspective points to potential problems with socioeconomic desegregation in nonachievement domains. Such problems are important in their own right, and they may also chip away at the magnitude of potential achievement benefits. In this article, I report conducted propensity score analyses and robustness calculations on a sample of public high schools in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. As the proportion of the student body with middle- or high-income parents increased, low-income students progressed less far in math and science. Moreover, as the proportion of the student body with middle- or high-income or college-educated parents increased, low-income students experienced more psychosocial problems. Such patterns were often more pronounced among African American and Latino students. These findings suggest curricular and social psychological mechanisms of oft-noted frog pond effects in schools and extend the frog pond framework beyond achievement itself to demographic statuses (e.g., race/ethnicity and SES) perceptually linked to achievement. In terms of policy, these findings indicate that socioeconomic desegregation plans should also attend to equity in course enrollments and the social integration of students more generally.
Bacteriolysis of Streptococcus mutans GS5 by lysozyme, proteases, and sodium thiocyanate

Streptococcus mutans GS5 was grown in a synthetic medium containing radioactive thymidine to monitor cell lysis by assay of the release of DNA. Bacteriolysis was achieved by sequential treatment of the cells with either hen egg white lysozyme and sodium thiocyanate or a combination of hen egg white lysozyme and a proteolytic enzyme followed by addition of the thiocyanate. In the absence of sodium thiocyanate, a small percentage of the total macromolecular thymidine was released in control reaction mixtures during incubation. This amount of released DNA more than doubled in trypsin-treated cells, but the inclusion of lysozyme in reaction mixtures prevented assay of the DNA. Lysis was found to be optimal in the late log phase of growth and was dependent on the concentrations of both lysozyme and protease. Concentrations of trypsin or chymotrypsin as low as 0.01 microgram/ml were found to be effective in enhancing the lytic process. The addition of protease to lysozyme-inorganic salt reaction mixtures altered both the pH and ionic strength profiles of cell lysis. At pHs of 5.5 or lower, both the lysozyme-NaSCN and the lysozyme-trypsin-NaSCN systems were inactive in mediating lysis. The loss of insoluble cell wall peptidoglycan by lysozyme treatment was pH independent and did not appear to be affected by the addition of protease. Either diluted whole saliva or neutrophil extracts could replace trypsin to enhance cell lysis further.
Predicting Movement: When, Which and Where

People have the perception that prior to making a voluntary movement, there is an intention to move. The timing of this subjective impression has been measured using Libet's clock and is on average about 300 ms prior to EMG onset. EEG and MEG show activity prior to movement, and by the voltage measurement, there is a rising negativity called the Bereitschafts potential beginning about 1.5 s prior to EMG onset. This indicates that the brain mechanisms for generating a voluntary movement begin prior to the subjective intention, that is, unconsciously. If it were possible to detect relevant EEG signals with single events in real time, then it would be possible to identify that movement is being prepared prior to, or at least simultaneously with, the subjective experience. Work in our laboratory has been making progress in identifying EEG and MEG activity indicating the intention to move and which movement will be made. Such signals could be used to drive a brain-computer interface.
Cardiovascular risk factors in Inuit of Greenland.

BACKGROUND Mortality from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and prevalence of coronary arteriosclerosis are low in Inuit of Greenland (Greenlanders). Aetiological considerations have so far focused mostly on diet and blood lipids. The present study is a comprehensive analysis of behavioural, clinical and serological cardiovascular risk factors for IHD in Greenlanders. METHODS An interview survey from West Greenland (n = 1436) was supplemented with clinical measurements and blood sampling in selected towns and villages (n = 264). RESULTS The average consumption of marine mammals and fish was 28 meals per month. In Greenland 14% of males and 30% of females were physically inactive compared with 14% and 17% in the general population of Denmark; 79% were current smokers and 22% smoked 15+ cigarettes per day compared with 42% and 21% in Denmark. High density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration was 1.6 mmol/l in Greenland (1.1 in Denmark) and triglyceride concentration 1.0 mmol/l (1.5). Obesity, blood pressure and total cholesterol were similar in Greenland and Denmark. There were significant differences between Greenlanders with a predominantly traditional childhood and those with a more westernized childhood with regard to diet, physical activity (in women) and blood lipids. CONCLUSIONS In spite of an increased westernization of the Greenlanders' lifestyle and a high prevalence of several cardiovascular risk factors, mortality from IHD is still low. The change in risk factor patterns is, however, recent and an increased IHD mortality is still to be expected. Preventive measures should be initiated to reduce risk factors but they must take into consideration possible negative consequences of e.g. traditional outdoor activities and the consumption of marine mammals.
Distributed control for multi-target circumnavigation by a group of agents

ABSTRACT This study investigated the multi-target circumnavigation problem. The multi-target circumnavigation problems involve a group of agents circumnavigating moving targets in a coordinated fashion. To address the problem, a decentralised estimator is first constructed at each agent to estimate the geometric centre of the targets. Then, the distributed control strategy is developed by means of the estimator, which guarantees that the agents preserve the desired distance to the target centre and rotate around the targets at uniformly spaced angles. In particular, the topology structure of the agents only needs to be a tree rather than the ring. Thus, the control scheme is more feasible and robust and requires less information. The convergence of the proposed algorithms is demonstrated based on Lasalle's invariance principle and algebraic graph theory. Several numerical simulations are provided to validate the results.
Internationalisation of Small Medium Sized Enterprises in Indonesia: Entrepreneur Human and Social Capital

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have played an important role both in developed and developing economies. The research on internationalisation has mainly focused on large companies, especially Multinational Companies (MNCs) and only limited studies have been conducted in internationalisation of SMEs in developing countries. In recent years, the Indonesian government has acknowledged SMEs as a key source of domestic income growth and employment creation. While SMEs have been recognised as a source of domestic income through export activity, Indonesian SMEs only play a small role compared to Large Enterprises (LEs). Indonesian SME exporters represent only 21% of non-oil and gas exports. Policies and programs to assist SMEs to internationalise must be guided by clear understanding of the dynamic nature of SMEs. This paper proposes factors that may influence Indonesian SMEs to internationalise, namely, entrepreneur human and social capital. The study will use qualitative as well as quantitative data analysis. The sample will be drawn from owner-manager manufacturing SMEs (independent, with fewer than 100 employees, and managed by owners) from selected provinces in Indonesia based on a governmental database. It will cover industries such as the garment, furniture, handicraft, leather products and footwear industries. NVivo will be used to analyse the qualitative data while statistical software will be utilised to analyse the quantitative data. This paper argues that financial assistance will be useless for SMEs without an entrepreneurial spirit.
Value added reporting in South Africa: current disclosure patterns

The value added statement has become a recognised part of annual reports in South Africa despite the fact that no guidance has been provided to the preparers of the value added statement other than The corporate report (ICAEW, 1975) which was issued in the United Kingdom and a statement of recommended accounting practice issued by the Singapore Society of Accountants (1984). This article presents the results of a survey which examined the construction of value added statements produced by certain listed companies in South Africa to determine how the problems of reporting value added are being dealt with and whether any preferred treatments are emerging. Diversity in terminology, presentation and treatments were found which would suggest that value added statements are not useful as they are not derived from a systematically applied consistent model and that comparability is only possible within a company over time or within company groups.An interesting trend is the appearance of a cash value added stateme.
(I)rationality of Investors on Croatian Stock Market – Explaining the Impact of American Indices on Croatian Stock Market

American stock markets are by far the most influential markets in the world, and the abundance of information coming from them is closely monitored all over the planet. However, it seems difficult to rationally explain the immense scope of impact of the US stock indices on a rather small market such as Croatian. Zagreb Stock Exchange quotes Croatian companies that have low international significance, can rarely be perceived as strong regional players, and their connections with the USA (if any) are weak and mostly exceptions to the rule. This study follows the methodology and findings of Erjavec and Cota (2007), as an extension and further examination of the dependency of the Crobex index to the main US indices (DJIA, SP global factors, contagion and irrational escalation.
The association of vimentin and fibronectin gene expression with epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor malignancy in colorectal carcinoma

Colorectal cancer is the most common malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with very high mortality. One of the most distinguishing features for the establishment of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype is the alteration of mesenchymal markers expression and structural adhesion proteins. We evaluated the significance of vimentin and fibronectin gene expression in relation to invasion and metastasis in CRC patients. Tissue specimens were collected consecutively from forty-five colorectal carcinoma patients during surgeries. Tissues were divided into two separate parts for pathological and molecular assays. In order to histological staging, tissue sections were prepared from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin. To quantify gene expression, specimens were dissected and homogenized. Moreover, SW480, SW48, SW948, Caco-2, HT-29 and LS174T as human colon cancer cell lines were obtained and cultured, then molecular analyzing was performed. As results the expression of VIM gene increased in SW480, SW48 and SW948 while it decreased in Caco-2, HT-29 and LS174T. Moreover, FN was up-regulated in Caco-2, HT-29 and SW948, while it was down-regulated in SW480, SW48 and LS174T. In tissues, vimentin and fibronectin expression significantly increased in stromal cells, whereas vimentin decreased in colonic epithelial cells and fibronectin had no significant change. Vimentin and fibronectin expression were changed in tumor tissues. It was found an association between vimentin expression with age and tumor size; over-expression in older age and decreasing in larger tumor size. Furthermore, fibronectin over-expression is correlated to older age and high tumor stages; up-regulation with increasing age and high tumor stages.
IT Outsourcing and Employment Growth at the Firm Level

Outsourcing is widely associated with accompanied job losses in the outsourcing firm, at least in the short run. However, the medium and long run effects of outsourcing on employment growth might still be positive. This paper particularly focuses on IT outsourcing and its medium-term effects on employment growth. Therefore, a three year time period from 2003 to 2006 is analysed using German firm-level data and instrumental variable estimation. I find evidence that IT outsourcing has a positive effect on firms’ employment growth rate. However, dividing the sample into manufacturing and service firms, a medium-term positive growth effect of IT outsourcing can only be observed for firms operating in the service sector.
Comparative Examination of Cats with Feline Leukemia Virus-associated Enteritis and Other Relevant Forms of Feline Enteritis

Cats with feline leukemia virus (FeLV)–associated enteritis (FAE), enteritis of other known viral etiology (parvovirus [PV], enteric coronavirus [CoV]), and enteritis of unknown etiology with histologic features similar to those of FAE and PV enteritis (EUE) and FeLV-negative and FeLV-positive cats without enterocyte alterations were examined. Amount and types of infiltrating leukocytes in the jejunum and activity and cellular constituents of mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, and bone marrow were determined. PV and CoV infections were confirmed by immunohistologic demonstration of PV and CoV antigen, ultrastructural demonstration of viral particles in the intestinal content, and in situ hybridization for PV genome. FeLV infection was detected by immunohistology for gp70, p27, and p15E. Latent FeLV infection was excluded by polymerase chain reaction methods for exogenous FeLV DNA. Enterocyte lesions involved the crypts in cats with PV enteritis, FAE, and EUE and the villous tips in cats with CoV enteritis. Inflammatory infiltration was generally dominated by mononuclear cells and was moderate in the unaltered intestine and in cats with PV enteritis and marked in cats with FAE, CoV enteritis, and EUE. In cats with EUE, myeloid/histiocyte antigen-positive macrophages were relatively numerous, suggesting recruitment of peripheral blood monocytes. Lymphoid tissues were depleted in cats with PV enteritis and with EUE but were normal or hyperplastic in cats with FAE. Bone marrow activity was decreased in cats with PV enteritis; in cats with FAE or EUE and in FeLV-positive cats without enterocyte alterations, activity was slightly increased. In cats with FAE and PV enteritis, a T-cell-dominated response prevailed. EUE showed some parallels to human inflammatory bowel disease, indicating a potential harmful effect of infiltrating macrophages on the intestinal epithelium.
Pattern searching/alignment with RNA primary and secondary structures: an effective descriptor for tRNA

A convenient pattern-matching program using primary and higher-order structural features has been developed based on a 'backtracking' algorithm. A second implementation of the algorithm uses descriptors of structural features (including primary sequences) to align a list of homologous or highly similar sequences. An application of the pattern matcher to the search for tRNA and group I intron structural motifs in sequence data banks is presented. The design of a highly discriminate tRNA motif, common to all cellular tRNAs and not found in a control sequence bank, was accomplished using the pattern matcher in conjunction with the alignment program.
Intertemporal choices in cloud computing: Effects of delay and delay horizon - an experimental study

Utility computing models such as cloud computing provide a variety of computing services using several pricing options. Flexibility of requirements and availability of pricing options, enable a consumer to make trade-offs between cost and time. These trade-offs are governed by consumers' behavior with respect to how they discount price vis-à-vis time of delivery. In this paper, we study this trade-off for the cloud-computing context, based on theoretical models from the time-discounting (intertemporal) literature. We test this model using an experimental study with 162 participants.
Designs of Second-Order Associated Memory Networks with Threshold Logics: Winner-Take-All and Selective Voting

The capacity of an order-d associative memory model is O(N d /logN) where N is the memory size in bit. In contrast, the capacity of the Hopfield network is limited to O(N/logN). Among higher order associative memory models (d > 1), the second order memory (d = 2) has attractive properties: a relatively small implementation cost of O(N 2 ), a small number of spurious states, and the presence of a diagonalization form. Due to these properties, it is of both practical and scientific interests to investigate efficient computational mechanisms of such network. One disadvantage of higher order associative memory is that it cannot be implemented with simple threshold neurons or McCulloch-Pitts neurons, thus a direct implementation of its computational mechanism on a biological substrate is questionable and its silicon implementation is expensive. In this paper, we propose two approximation models of a second order associative memory using threshold logics. Both are two-layered and employ eigenvalue decomposition of the correlation tensor. The first model uses a winner-takeall mechanism and the second uses a weighted voting by those with significant responses. Architectural-level designs of these memory models are presented. Extensive numerical simulations demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed models in retrieving contents with noisy probe vectors.
HER-2/Neu alterations in non-small cell lung cancer: a comprehensive evaluation by real time reverse transcription-PCR, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry.

PURPOSE Amplification and/or overexpression of HER2/neu have been documented in many types of epithelial tumor, and HER2/neu evaluation is now gaining importance, because this mechanisms of disease can be inhibited in vivo using humanized monoclonal antibodies. The main purpose of our investigation includes the evaluation of the prevalence of HER2/neu alterations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at different molecular levels. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We performed a comprehensive investigation of HER2/neu alterations in a series of 115 NSCLC, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), real time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS HER2/neu immunoreactivity was detected in 26 of 115 of specimens (23%), with 5 carcinomas (4%) showing intense staining. Real time RT-PCR demonstrated HER2/neu mRNA in all samples analyzed, with levels above normal in 54 of 115 of carcinomas (47%). FISH documented HER2/neu gene amplification in 9 of 41 carcinomas (22%). CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that HER2/neu alterations occur in NSCLC, albeit with significantly different prevalence depending on the technical assay used for the assessment. It is therefore likely that inhibitory monoclonal antibodies will be appropriate in the treatment of a subgroup of NSCLC patients. The results suggest that other mechanisms unrelated to gene amplification could be responsible for HER2/neu mRNA or protein overexpression. FISH, real time RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry are complementary techniques for the evaluation of HER2/neu activation, useful for the identification of the subgroup of patients to be treated. The real time RT-PCR assay is very sensitive and requires minimal amounts of tissue for testing, and additional studies should evaluate its clinical application for patient evaluation.
The Camberwell Assessment of Need: comparison of assessments by staff and patients in an inner-city and a semi-rural community area

AIMS AND METHOD The aim of the study was to examine the association between the assessment of need by staff and by severely mentally ill patients using the Camberwell Assessment of Need in a semi-rural setting (Maidstone, n=50) and an inner-city area (Camberwell, n=127). Staff and patients were interviewed separately.We specifically examined differences in the total number of needs between Camberwell and Maidstone, differences in the number of unmet needs and differences in the level of agreement between staff and service users.
Wine purchasing: Planned or unplanned behaviour

This exploratory research examines the planned and unplanned wine purchasing behaviour of consumers across four nations and identifies the factors that influence whether wine is a planned or unplanned purchase. A structured questionnaire and intercept interview technique were used to obtain information from 399 respondents inside supermarkets, liquor stores and specialty wine stores in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The findings reveal that a majority of consumers do plan to purchase wine before they enter a store. Discounted prices and bottle or label designs were more important to those consumers who made unplanned wine purchases. Factors such as wine knowledge, wine involvement and various demographic characteristics were found to have no significant influence on the proportion of planned to unplanned wine purchasing behaviour. This research suggests to marketers that discount pricing is a strategy that can lead consumers to making unplanned wine purchase decisions.
A 1 Gb/s Mixed-Signal Baseband Analog Front-End for a 60 GHz Wireless Receiver

A low-power mixed-signal baseband analog front-end for 60 GHz, 1 Gb/s wireless communications has been implemented in a standard 90 nm CMOS process. The receiver is capable of operating under indoor multipath scenarios, resolving channels with up to 32 ns multipath delay spread. It uses mixed-signal equalization and carrier recovery in order to minimize the dynamic range requirements of the analog-to-digital converter circuitry. A new mixed-signal carrier phase recovery architecture, utilizing a replica tuning scheme employing Gilbert quad variable-gain amplifiers is introduced. The analog-to-digital converters use an active averaging technique that decouples the preamplifier gain from the averager input range, enabling enhanced suppression of mismatch-induced nonlinearities. These techniques enable a front-end with 6-bit linearity and dynamic range, while dissipating a low power consumption of 55 mW.