Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
"I was meant to be a student:" A qualitative inquiry into adult undergraduate learning practices in adult learning-focused institutions

This study examined adult learning practices in adult learning-focused postsecondary institutions. Using semi-structured phenomenographic interviews, course observations, and site observations at two Midwestern adult-focused postsecondary institutions, this year-long study applied an intersectional sociocultural framework toward understanding adult learning practices, with emphasis on their characteristics, goals, and influences. Results of the study suggest that all participants specifically chose their institution based on perceived alignment with their ages, learning styles, and schedules. They also suggest that students’ challenging personal contexts contributed favorably to students’ decisions to enroll. Students generally attributed institutional factors with posing the biggest challenges to their learning engagement, course planning, and completion, rather than their often significant personal obstacles. Participants also emphasized the sacrifices necessary to prioritize time for college in their complex schedules. They described the experience and impact of college-related stress on their professional and personal lives, yet they affirmed college as their highest priority despite these challenges. They also described avoiding shortcuts in their coursework, often prioritizing time-consuming approaches to deepen and challenge their learning. Supplementary practitioner interviews indicated divergent perspectives on students’ commitment, motivation, and use of time. Many characterized their students as spending insufficient time on or insufficiently prioritizing their college education. However, contradictions within their perspectives also suggest a positive association between their specificity student-related talk and more nuanced or affirmative perspectives on student lives and learning. Findings extend existing research on adult undergraduate learning practices, most importantly in the context of adult learning-focused institutions. They also provide directions for future research on adults’ learning practices, choices, and academic literacies, with implications for informing adult-focused instructional, tutoring, and advising practices and policies. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Education First Advisor Vivian L. Gadsden This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn. edu/edissertations/2306
Environmental signals and cell fate specification in premigratory neural crest

Neural crest cells are multipotent progenitors, capable of producing diverse cell types upon differentiation. Recent studies have identified significant heterogeneity in both the fates produced and genes expressed by different premigratory crest cells. While these cells may be specified toward particular fates prior to migration, transplant studies show that some may still be capable of respecification at this time. Here we summarize evidence that extracellular signals in the local environment may act to specify premigratory crest and thus generate diversity in the population. Three main classes of signals–Wnts, BMP2/BMP4 and TGFβ1,2,3–have been shown to directly influence the production of particular neural crest cell fates, and all are expressed near the premigratory crest. This system may therefore provide a good model for integration of multiple signaling pathways during embryonic cell fate specification. BioEssays 22:708–716, 2000. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Disturbance Attenuation in a Consensus Network of Identical Linear Systems: An $ {\cal H}_{\infty }$ Approach

We consider two problems related to disturbance attenuation in undirected consensus networks of identical linear systems subject to exogenous disturbances: 1) network interconnection design and 2) design of distributed and decentralized controllers. We use the H∞ norm of the transfer function from the disturbance vector to the disagreement vector of the network as the performance metric for disturbance attenuation. We show that the disturbance attenuation performance is enhanced by maximizing the second smallest eigenvalue of the graph Laplacian under a certain condition, which can be checked using a linear matrix inequality. For the case of a consensus network with fixed interconnection weights, e.g., as the result of physical constraints, we provide algorithms for the design of both decentralized and distributed controllers that ensure a prescribed disturbance attenuation performance.
Wire density driven top-down global placement for CMP variation control

In this paper, we present a top-down global placement algorithm considering wire density uniformity for CMP variation control. The proposed algorithm is based on top-down recursive bisection framework. Wire weight balancing constraint is employed into bisection to consider wire density uniformity. A multilevel hypergraph partitioning satisfying balancing constraints on not only cell area but also wire weight is performed to acquire more uniform wire distribution. Empirical wire weight model is used to estimate wire density distribution before each bisection of a placement bin. Experimental results show that our algorithm improves ROOSTER with more uniform wire distribution by 3.1% on average and limited increment of wire length by 3.0%.
Superposition Method for Cogging Torque Prediction in Permanent Magnet Machines With Rotor Eccentricity

This paper proposes an analytical method that combines the superposition concept and the subdomain method to predict the cogging torque of permanent magnet (PM) machines with a rotor eccentricity. The original eccentric machine is first divided into several sections along the air-gap circumferential direction. Then, the equivalent air-gap lengths of all sections will be determined and individually used to build up a series of concentric models representing each section. By the superposition method, the air-gap flux density of the original eccentric machine can be synthesized from that of every concentric model predicted through the subdomain method. Consequently, the cogging torque can be predicted by the integral of Maxwell stress tensor based on the synthesized air-gap flux density. To prove the efficacy of the proposed method, two fractional-slot PM machines with different slot/pole number combinations are taken as examples, together with the validation of a finite-element analysis.
A comparisonal study of the multi-layer Kohonen self-organizing feature maps for spoken language identification

Our previous research indicates that the multi-layer Kohonen self-organizing feature map (MLKSFM) gives a promising performance for spoken language identification (LID). In this paper, we enhance this approach in two distinct ways. Firstly, by considering the phase information, we propose a new type of feature vector which combines the modified group delay function (MODGDF) and the traditional MFCC. Secondly, we propose a hierarchical structure of the MLKSFM, in which the pre-classification is performed at the lower level MLKSFM and the final language identification is performed at the top level MLKSFM. For the OGI-TS speech corpus, the best LID rate is achieved at 87.3% for the 45-sec test speech utterances by using the hierarchical MLKSFM with 4 classes pre-classified at the lower level MLKSFM. For the 10-sec test speech utterances, the best LID rated is achieved at 60.0% by using the non-hierarchical MLKSFM LID system.
THE EVOLUTION OF PLUMAGE BRIGHTNESS IN BIRDS IS RELATED TO EXTRAPAIR PATERNITY

A positive association between plumage brightness of male birds and the degree of polygyny may be the result of sexual selection. Although most birds have a socially monogamous mating system, recent paternity analyses show that many offspring are fathered by nonmates. Extrapair paternity arises from extrapair copulations which are frequently initiated by females. Not all females will be able to mate with a male of the preferred phenotype, because of the mating decisions of earlier paired females; extrapair copulations may be a means for females to adjust their precopulation mate choice. We use two comparative analyses (standardized linear contrasts and pairwise comparisons between closely related taxa) to test the idea that male plumage brightness is related to extrapair paternity. Brightness of male plumage and sexual dimorphism in brightness were positively associated with high levels of extrapair paternity, even when potentially confounding variables were controlled statistically. This association between male brightness and extrapair paternity was considerably stronger than the association between male brightness and the degree of polygyny. Cuckoldry thus forms an important component of sexual selection in birds.
Synovial Fluid C-reactive Protein as a Diagnostic Marker for Periprosthetic Joint Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background:Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is the main cause of failure following total joint arthroplasty. Until now, the diagnosis of PJI is still confronted with technical limitations, and the question of whether synovial fluid biomarker, C-reactive protein (CRP), can provide high value in the diagnosis of PJI remains unanswered and, therefore, was the aim of the study. Methods:First, we conducted a systematic review on CRP in the diagnosis of PJI by searching online databases using keywords such as “periprosthetic joint infection”, “synovial fluid”, and “C-reactive protein”. Eligible studies providing sufficient data to construct 2 × 2 contingency tables were then selected based on the list of criteria and the quality of included studies was assessed subsequently. Finally, the reported sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve, and the area under the SROC (AUSROC) were pooled together and used to evaluate overall diagnostic performance. Results:Seven studies were included in our review, six of which comprising a total of 456 participants were further investigated in our meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and DOR were 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86–0.96), 0.90 (95% CI: 0.87–0.93), and 101.40 (95% CI: 48.07–213.93), respectively. The AUSROC was 0.9663 (standard error, 0.0113). Conclusions:Synovial fluid CRP is a good biomarker for the diagnosis of PJI with high sensitivity and specificity.
Estimation of signal transition activity in FIR filters implementedby a MAC architecture

A novel method for the accurate calculation of the transition activity at the nodes of a multiplier-accumulator (MAC) architecture implementing finite impulse response filters is proposed in this paper. The method is developed for input signals, which can be described by a stationary Gaussian process. The transition activity per bit of a signal word is modeled according to the dual-bit-type (DBT) model and it is described as a function of the signal statistics. An efficient analytical method has been developed for the determination of the signal statistics at each node of the MAC architecture. It is based on the mathematical formulation of the multiplexing in time of signal sequences with known statistics. The effect of the multiplexing mechanism on the breakpoints of the DBT model, which influences significantly the accuracy of the method, is also determined. Several experiments both with synthetic and real data have been conducted. The numerical results produced by the proposed models are in very good agreement with the measured values of the transition activity.
Functional Interaction Between SNPs and Microsatellite in the Transcriptional Regulation of Insulin‐Like Growth Factor 1

A CA‐repeat microsatellite in insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF1) promoter was associated with interindividual variation of circulating IGF1 level. Previously, we reported that such association was due to variation of haplotype unit in a linkage disequilibrium block composed of microsatellite and single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), suggesting the presence of an interaction between them. In this study, reporter assays were performed to investigate the regulatory effect and interaction of genetic variants on gene expression. We used an in vitro system to compare the transcriptional activities of haplotypes (rs35767:T>C, the CA‐repeat microsatellite, rs5742612:T>C, and rs2288377:T>A) in evolutionarily conserved region of IGF1 promoter. In haplotype C‐T‐T, a longer microsatellite had a lower transcriptional activity (17.6 ± 2.4‐fold for 17 repeats and 8.3 ± 1.1‐fold for 21 repeats), whereas in haplotype T‐C‐A, such trend could not be observed, as the microsatellite with 21 repeats had the highest transcriptional activity (17.5 ± 2.3‐fold). Because the microsatellite and SNPs affected the transcriptional activity of each other, there may be an interaction between them in the regulation of IGF1 expression. For the first time, we demonstrated that a noncoding microsatellite polymorphism could act as a functional unit and interact with SNPs in the regulation of transcription in human genome.
New LDPC Codes Using Permutation Matrices with Higher Girth than QC-LDPC Codes Constructed by Fossorier

In the literatures, it is well-known that Fossorier code has the girth among LDPC codes. In this paper, we introduce a new class of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, with higher girth than other previous constructed codes. Especially we proposed a new method to construct LDPC codes using non ? xed shift permutation matrices and full based matrices with higher girth than codes constructed by Fossorier.
Synapsin I expression in spinal cord neurons during chick embryo development

The cellular distribution of synapsin I in chick spinal cord has been examined during embryo development and in cultured neurons from different developmental stages. Using immunocytochemical methods we have observed that synapsin I appears lightly detectable in spinal cord of embryonic day (E)5–E8 embryos when the motor neurons have already established functional contacts with muscle fibers, and increases at E9. Until E8 synapsin I immunoreactivity appeared mainly localized in the gray matter of spinal cord; immunostaining of white matter becomes clearly evident only at E9. These observations indicate that synapsin I expression and possibly its transport to the nerve terminals may be stimulated by sequential signals. The cellular distribution of synapsin I observed in vivo is maintained in E8 and E9 spinal cord neuron cell cultures. In fact, in E8 cultured neurons, synapsin I immunostaining is observed only in the cell body, while in E9 cultured neurons both cell body and fibers are stained. The addition of muscle extracts to E8 cultures induces synapsin I decoration of fibers similar to that observed in E9 cultured neurons. Indeed Western and Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization demonstrate an increase of synapsin I and its mRNA in spinal cord neurons kept in the presence of muscle extracts. These data suggest that synapsin I expression, as previously reported for other neuronal markers, can be modulated by soluble factors present in target cells. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pulmonary Uptake of Ropivacaine and Levobupivacaine in Rabbits

Local anesthetic toxicity produced by an inadvertent IV injection is attenuated by the pulmonary uptake of local anesthetics. We compared the pulmonary uptake of ropivacaine and levobupivacaine after a bolus injection in rabbits. Sixteen anesthetized rabbits were randomly assigned to either a ropivacaine group or a levobupivacaine group. A bolus containing ropivacaine or levobupivacaine 0.5 mg/kg and indocyanine green (an intravascular indicator) 0.25 mg/kg was injected rapidly into the vena cava. Arterial blood samples were collected serially at 1.2-s intervals for 30 s. Concentrations of local anesthetic and indocyanine green in each sample were determined for the calculation of first-pass uptake of a local anesthetic in the lung. The first-pass uptake of levobupivacaine (31.4% ± 8.3%; mean ± sd) was larger than that of ropivacaine (22.9% ± 5.6%), and the maximum arterial concentration of ropivacaine (21.2 ± 2.8 &mgr;g/mL) was larger than that of levobupivacaine (18.6 ± 1.9 &mgr;g/mL). We conclude that the pulmonary uptake of levobupivacaine is larger than that of ropivacaine after a bolus injection. Therefore, the advantages of ropivacaine over levobupivacaine in terms of less cardiovascular toxicity may be offset by the smaller pulmonary uptake after an inadvertent IV injection.
On-axis sensitivity and resolution of a slit-slat collimator.

UNLABELLED A slit-slat collimator combines a slit along the axis of rotation with a set of axial septa, offering both magnification in the transaxial direction and complete sampling with just a circular orbit. This collimator has a sensitivity that increases for points near the aperture slit. The literature treats this collimator as having the same sensitivity as a single-pinhole collimator, ignoring the effect of the axial septa. Herein, the sensitivity and resolution of this collimator are reevaluated. METHODS Experimental and Monte Carlo methods are used to determine the sensitivity and resolution in both the transaxial and axial directions as a function of distance from the slit (h). Eight configurations are tested, varying the slit width, septal spacing, and septal height. RESULTS Both the experimental and the Monte Carlo sensitivities agree reasonably with an analytic form that is the geometric mean of the pinhole and parallel-beam formulas, disagreeing with previous literature. Transaxial resolution is consistent with the pinhole-resolution formula. Axial resolution is consistent with the parallel-beam resolution formula. CONCLUSION The sensitivity of this collimator is proportional to h(-1) and has resolution in the transaxial direction that is consistent with pinhole resolution and in the axial direction that is consistent with parallel-beam resolution.
The immunogenicity of Echinococcus granulosus antigen 5 is determined by its post-translational modifications

Since its early introduction as a marker for the immunodiagnosis of hydatid disease, antigen 5 (Ag5) has been regarded as one of the more relevant antigens of Echinococcus granulosus, and it is still widely used in different confirmation techniques. In this work we prepared 2 recombinant forms of the antigen, namely, rAg5 (corresponding to the unprocessed polypeptide chain of the antigen) and rAg5-38s (corresponding to its 38 kDa subunit). Their antigenicities were compared to that of the native antigen using a human serum collection. There was a major drop in the reactivity of the sera, particularly against rAg5-38s, which was confirmed by analysis of the cross-reactivity of 2 panels of monoclonal antibodies specific for rAg5-38s and the native antigen. Using the chemically deglycosylated native antigen, we demonstrated that the reduced antigenicity of the recombinants is due to the loss of the sugar determinants, and not to their misfolding. Inhibition experiments using phosphorylcholine confirmed that this moiety also contributes to the reactivity of the antigen, but to a much lesser extent. The presence of immunodominant highly cross-reactive glycan moieties in the Ag5 molecule may involve a parasite evasion mechanism.
Effect of Morus alba L. (mulberry) leaves on anxiety in mice

Objective: The aim of the present work is to evaluate the anxiolytic effect of a methanolic extract of Morus alba L. leaves in mice. Materials and Methods: The hole-board test, elevated plus-maze paradigm, open field test, and light/dark paradigm were used to assess the anxiolytic activity of the methanolic extract of M. alba L. Morus alba extract (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) and diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered 30 min before the tests. Results: The results showed that the methanolic extract of M. alba significantly increased the number and duration of head poking in the hole-board test. In the elevated plus-maze, the extract significantly increased the exploration of the open arm in similar way to that of diazepam. At a dose of 200 mg/kg i.p. the extract significantly increased both the time spent in and the entries into the open arm by mice. Further, in the open field test, the extract significantly increased rearing, assisted rearing, and number of squares traversed, all of which are demonstrations of exploratory behavior. In the light/dark paradigm, the extract produced significant increase in time spent in the lighted box as compared to vehicle. The spontaneous locomotor activity count, measured using an actophotometer, was significantly decreased in animals pretreated with M. alba extract, indicating a remarkable sedative effect of the plant. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that a methanolic extract of M. alba leaves may possess an anxiolytic effect.
Filtering blebs using 3-dimensional anterior-segment optical coherence tomography: a prospective investigation.

IMPORTANCE Posttrabeculectomy changes in bleb parameters measured using 3-dimensional (3-D) anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (OCT) remain uncharacterized and might be related to postsurgical intraocular-pressure (IOP) control. OBJECTIVE To evaluate time-dependent posttrabeculectomy changes in filtering bleb parameters using 3-D anterior-segment OCT. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This prospective observational study was conducted at Kumamoto University Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan. Patients with open-angle glaucoma who underwent uncombined fornix-based trabeculectomy at Kumamoto University Hospital between January 1, 2012, and October 31, 2012, were included. Twenty-nine eyes were enrolled, 23 of which were followed up for 1 year without additional glaucoma surgical procedures; 3 required additional glaucoma surgery. INTERVENTIONS Imaging filtering blebs using 3-D anterior-segment OCT. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary end points were changes in bleb parameters including the position and width of the filtration openings on the scleral flap, the total bleb height, fluid-filled cavity height, bleb wall thickness, and bleb wall intensity, which were measured using 3-D anterior-segment OCT. The secondary end points were postsurgical IOP measured 0.5, 3, 6, and 12 months after trabeculectomy, and the effects of aqueous cytokine levels on the bleb parameters. RESULTS We observed increased total bleb height (0.82 to 1.25 mm; difference: 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.75; P = .01), bleb wall thickness (0.46 to 0.61 mm; difference: 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.28; P = .03), and distance from the top of the scleral flap to the filtration opening (1.69 to 2.16 mm; difference: 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.70; P < .001), as well as decreased width of the filtration opening (2.08 to 1.12 mm; difference: 95% CI, -1.75 to -0.49; P = .002) between 0.5 and 12 months posttrabeculectomy. The filtration openings tended to close from the fornix side of the scleral flap during the wound healing process. Moreover, the width of the filtration opening at 0.5 months posttrabeculectomy correlated with the IOP at 12 months (P = .02). The aqueous humor level of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 was correlated with the width of the filtration opening at 3 and 6 months posttrabeculectomy. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The width of the filtration opening at 0.5 months posttrabeculectomy correlated with the IOP at 12 months. The width of the filtration opening at the early stage may be a prognostic factor for long-term IOP control. Large-scale studies with longer follow-up periods are required.