Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mentoring Educational Leadership Doctoral Students: Using Methodological Diversification to Examine Gender and Identity Intersections.

An essential component to learning and teaching in educational leadership is mentoring graduate students for successful transition to K-12 and higher education positions. This study integrates quantitative and qualitative datasets to examine doctoral students’ experiences with mentoring from macro and micro perspectives. Findings show that students have varied perceptions on what constitutes quality mentoring and wide-ranging experiences in terms of the quantity and quality of mentoring experienced. Moreover, findings suggest that the ways students perceive and experience mentoring is related to their identity factors, especially gender. Findings have implications for strengthening this essential component of leadership preparation programs; and thus, recommendations for different strategies, programmatic supports, and structural changes within university departments and professional organizations are forwarded.
Innovation Practices : A Literature Review of Case Studies Leidy

The purpose of this article is to provide relevant open innovation practices within the multidimensional framework of organizational innovation proposed by Crossan & Apaydin. For this aim, qualitative content analysis of case studies was performed using the software MAXQDA. In order to do so, case studies were derived from searching databases as Harvard Business for Educators, ISI Web of Knowledge, Proquest, Wiley Online Library and Ebsco Host. Furthermore, a web analysis was conducted and finally, a significant number of open innovation practices were identified within three main dimensions: Leadership, Managerial Levers and Business Process.
Peer mentoring supports the learning needs of nurses providing palliative care in a rural acute care setting.

BACKGROUND A specific set of assessment scales can underpin the management of distressing symptoms of patients requiring palliative care. A research assistant supported nurses working in a rural hospital setting during the introduction of these scales. AIM A secondary analysis was conducted to further explore the qualitative data of a previously reported mixed-method study. In particular, the experiences of nurses working alongside a research assistant in the facilitation of using a new assessment form. METHOD Purposeful sampling was employed: participating nurses were invited to attend one of three focus group meetings. FINDINGS Data analysis revealed three main themes: a contact person, coach/mentor and extra help initiatives. Three to four subthemes corresponded with each main theme. CONCLUSION Findings suggest nurses benefit from having someone to assist in learning about new documentation. Nurses respond positively to mentorship and practical guidance when integrating a new assessment form into routine evidence-based practice.
New Zealand and Louisiana practicing teachers’ conceptions of feedback: Impact of assessment of learning versus assessment for learning policies?

Teacher beliefs about feedback matter since they are responsible for its implementation in classrooms. This paper compares the conceptions of feedback of practicing teachers from two very different jurisdictions (Louisiana, USA, n=308; New Zealand, n=518). Responses to a common research inventory were modelled independently but multi-group confirmatory factor analysis produced inadmissible solutions for both models. Joint factor analysis produced a five-factor solution, which was inadmissible for the Louisiana teachers. Intercorrelations around feedback as teacher-grading exceeded 1.00 for Louisiana teachers; whereas, New Zealand teachers had correlations close to zero for this factor. While both groups of teachers endorsed the notion of feedback for improved learning, differences appear related to contrasting assessment policy frameworks (i.e., high-stakes in Louisiana, lowstakes in New Zealand). Contextual differences in conceptions of feedback 2
Effect of transmission delay on the rate of convergence of a class of nonlinear contractive dynamical systems

We investigate the qualitative properties of a general class of contractive dynamical systems with time delay by using a unified analysis approach for any p-contraction with p in [1,infinity]. It is proved that the delayed contractive dynamical system is always globally exponentially stable no matter how large the time delay is, while the rate of convergence of the delayed system is reduced as the time delay increases. A lower bound on the rate of convergence of the delayed contractive dynamical system is obtained, which is the unique positive solution of a nonlinear equation with three parameters, namely, the time delay, the time constant and the p-contraction constant in the system. We show that the previously established results in the literature about the global asymptotic or exponential stability independent of delay for Hopfield-type neural networks can actually be deduced by recasting the network model into the general framework of contractive dynamical systems with some p-contraction (p in [1,infinity]) under the given delay-independent stability conditions. Numerical simulation examples are also presented to illustrate the obtained theoretical results.
Explaining Aggregated Recovery Rates

This study on explaining aggregated recovery rates (ARR) is based on the largest existing loss and recovery database for commercial loans provided by Global Credit Data, which includes defaults from 5 continents and over 120 countries. The dependence of monthly ARR from bank loans on various macroeconomic factors is examined and sources of their variability are stated. For the first time, an influence of stochastically estimated monthly growth of GDP USA and Europe is quantified. To extract monthly signals of GDP USA and Europe, dynamic factor models for panel data of different frequency information are employed. Then, the behavior of the ARR is investigated using several regression models with unshifted and shifted explanatory variables in time to improve their forecasting power by taking into account the economic situation after the default. An application of a Markov switching model shows that the distribution of the ARR differs between crisis and prosperity times. The best fit among the compared models is reached by the Markov switching model. Moreover, a significant influence of the estimated monthly growth of GDP in Europe is observed for both crises and prosperity times.
Street art gangs: location based hybrid reality game

We present a location based mixed reality game called Street Art Gangs that we have developed to explore the playful appropriation of the hybrid reality comprising of a city center and its detailed virtual replica represented as a 3D virtual model. In the real streets SAG is played with a mobile phone app that allows tagging predefined locations around the city to claim their ownership and busting nearby players of competing gangs. The virtual game world is viewed with a PC app that allows observing the current owners of taggable locations, the locations of other players, and the locations of patrolling virtual policemen busting players. We have developed two incremental versions of SAG that have been evaluated with tournaments in the wild. We conceptualize the findings of the tournaments with de Souza e Silva's theoretical framework for hybrid reality games. Our findings suggest that players preferred to play the game on real city streets while the added value of the virtual game world remained marginal. The size of the game both in terms of area and the number of taggable locations turned out to have a major impact on gameplay.
Regarding “Eteplirsen for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy”

across a range of ethnic backgrounds sequenced as part of other genetic studies. Also important to the interpretation is that the variant we originally reported in our family (p.Val716Met) is observed in the homozygous state in 2 of a total of 56,071 individuals sequenced in the ExAc database. Collectively, this leads us to conclude that the implication of the TNK2 gene in epilepsy is to be considered uncertain at present, despite the observation of additional supporting evidence presented by Mao et al. Further identification of mutations in TNK2 as well as functional studies of identified variants will help to define the role of TNK2 in epilepsy more precisely.
Hyaline Cartilage Tissue Is Formed through the Co-culture of Passaged Human Chondrocytes and Primary Bovine Chondrocytes

To circumvent the problem of a sufficient number of cells for cartilage engineering, the authors previously developed a two-stage culture system to redifferentiate monolayer culture-expanded dedifferentiated human articular chondrocytes by co-culture with primary bovine chondrocytes (bP0). The aim of this study was to analyze the composition of the cartilage tissue formed in stage 1 and compare it with bP0 grown alone to determine the optimal length of the co-culture stage of the system. Biochemical data show that extracellular matrix accumulation was evident after 2 weeks of co-culture, which was 1 week behind the bP0 control culture. By 3 to 4 weeks, the amounts of accumulated proteoglycans and collagens were comparable. Expression of chondrogenic genes, Sox 9, aggrecan, and collagen type II, was also at similar levels by week 3 of culture. Immunohistochemical staining of both co-culture and control tissues showed accumulation of type II collagen, aggrecan, biglycan, decorin, and chondroitin sulfate in appropriate zonal distributions. These data indicate that co-cultured cells form cartilaginous tissue that starts to resemble that formed by bP0 after 3 weeks, suggesting that the optimal time to terminate the co-culture stage, isolate the now redifferentiated cells, and start stage 2 is just after 3 weeks.
Resistance or emigration: response of the high‐alpine plant Eritrichium nanum (L.) Gaudin to the ice age within the Central Alps

Two main possibilities regarding glacial survival of the mountain flora of the Alps during the Quaternary have been discussed: the tabula rasa and the nunatak hypotheses. Eritrichium nanum (L.) Gaudin (Boraginaceae) is a perennial cushion plant, occurring at high elevations of the Central Alps and having a preference for extreme habitats. It belongs to a group of high‐alpine plants, for which in situ glacial survival on nunataks is ecologically possible. By investigating 20 populations of E. nanum of potential nunatak and peripheral refugial regions using amplified fragment length polymorphism, considerable genetic differences between populations from the Central Alps and populations from peripheral refugia were detected; hence, the latter probably did not serve as potential sources for the re‐colonization of the Central Alps after glaciation. Genetic variation was hierarchically structured ( amova), and three genetically distinct regions could be identified in the Central Alps. Two of these, the Penninic and Rhaetic Alps, correspond to nunatak regions proposed in the biogeographic literature. Populations from the Lepontic Alps formed a third genetic group. Genetic correlation (Mantel statistics) was highest within populations, with a modest decline among populations within specific nunatak regions and a negative correlation outside the genetic influence of specific nunatak regions. In situ glacial survival in E. nanum could be a model for the Quaternary history of other alpine plants, especially those that also occur at high elevations and in similar habitats.
Preparing for Research Assessment: Co-evolution and Gamesmanship

In this paper we adopt a complex systems perspective to examine the perturbations caused by the introduction of the Research Quality Framework (RQF) at a research-intensive Australian university. This case is instructive as it 1) presents a Federal policy initiative that attempted to fundamentally alter the recognition and reward mechanism within a regulated funding environment, 2) analyses the strategies of an institution and its research groups as they sought to not only comply with the implementation of the RQF but to maximise their outcome, and 3) it reveals the ways that some actors used this perturbation to advance their own interests. In short, this case represents an instrumental study into the dynamics of how information systems, organisations, and individuals co-evolve in practice as they seek to navigate a complex problem scenario.
Fee Structure and Surrender Incentives in Variable Annuities

Variable annuities (VAs) are investment products similar to mutual funds, but they also protect policyholders against poor market performance and other risks. They have become very popular in the past twenty years, and the guarantees they offer have grown increasingly complex. Variable annuities, also called segregated funds in Canada, can represent a challenge for insurers in terms of pricing, hedging and risk management. Simple financial guarantees expose the insurer to a variety of risks, ranging from poor market performance to changes in mortality rates and unexpected lapses. Most guarantees included in VA contracts are financed by a fixed fee, paid regularly as a fixed percentage of the value of the VA account. This fee structure is not ideal from a risk management perspective since the resulting amount paid out of the fund increases as most guarantees lose their value. In fact, when the account value increases, most financial guarantees fall out of the money, while the fixed percentage fee rate causes the fee amount to grow. The fixed fee rate can also become an incentive to surrender the variable annuity contract, since the policyholder pays more when the value of the guarantee is low. This incentive deserves our attention because unexpected surrenders have been shown to be an important component of the risk faced by insurers that sell variable annuities (see Kling, Ruez, and Russ (2014)). For this reason, it is important that the surrender behaviour be taken into account when developing a risk management strategy for variable annuity contracts. However, this behaviour can be hard to model. In this thesis, we analyse the surrender incentive caused by the fixed percentage fee rate and explore different fee structures that reduce the incentive to optimally surrender variable annuity contracts. We introduce a “state-dependent” fee, paid only when the VA account value is below a certain threshold. Integral representations are presented for the price of different guarantees under the state-dependent fee structure, and partial differential equations are solved numerically to analyse the resulting impact on the surrender incentive. From a theoretical point of view, we study certain conditions that eliminate the incentive to surrender the VA contract optimally. We show that the fee structure can be modified to design contracts whose optimal hedging strategy is simpler and robust to different surrender behaviours. The last part of this thesis analyzes a different problem. Group self-annuitization schemes are similar to life annuities, but part, or all, of the investment and longevity risk is borne by the annuitant through periodic adjustments to annuity payments. While they may decrease the price of the annuity, these adjustments increase the volatility of the
Implementing Principal Component Analysis and Multinomial Logit for Cancer Detection based on Microarray Data Classification

Cancer is the second largest cause of death in the world; in 2018, a total of 9.6 million mortalities were recorder, due to cancer alone. It is important to detect this deadly disease early. In the medical field, there are many methods that can be used to detect cancer. One of these methods is microarray data technology. Microarray data reads thousands of gene expressions at the same time. However, this method has a major problem; data with high dimensions can affect classification performance and consume a lot of computational time. Therefore, this research used Principal Component Analysis as the dimensional reduction method. This method performed feature extraction based on a Principal Component (PC) obtained from the calculation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Moreover, the data reduction was implemented using a Multinomial Logit Classifier by modifying the parameters estimator using Maximum Likelihood Estimation. The cancer data used in this research consists of Colon Cancer, Leukemia, Lung Cancer, and Ovarian Cancer datasets. The test results for the Ovarian Cancer dataset gave an accuracy of 100% using a Proportion of Variance (PPV) of 90%.
The complete mitochondrial genome of the tree frog, Polypedates braueri (Anura, Rhacophoridae)

Abstract We determined the complete mitochondrial genome of the tree frog, Polypedates braueri using next generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing. The mitogenome of P. braueri was 19,904 bp in length, which contained 12 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, two rRNAs, and two control regions (D-Loop). A noncoding sequence (NC) was discovered between tRNALys and ATP6 gene, as well as replaced the original position of ATP8 gene. The ND5 gene was found between the two control regions. More mitochondrial genomic information will contribute to revealing the phylogenetic relationships among species of the genus Polypedates.
Ensuring Vitamin D Supplementation in Nursing Home Patients—A Quality Improvement Project

Randomized controlled trials have shown that adequate vitamin D supplementation in nursing home (NH) residents reduces the rates of falls and fractures. In our NH, review of medication administration records of all patients (n = 101) revealed that only 34.6% of the patients were currently prescribed adequate doses of vitamin D, revealing a need for intervention. We designed a Quality Improvement (QI) project with the objective of improving the vitamin D prescription rate in our NH. We used the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) approach to implement this QI project. Patients not currently prescribed an adequate dose of vitamin D were identified and started on a daily dose of 800 IU of vitamin D. Additionally, patients who were experiencing falls while on an adequate dose of vitamin D for 3 months were examined for the possibility of vitamin D deficiency and were started on 50,000 IU of vitamin D per week for 12 weeks if they were found to be vitamin D-deficient based on blood levels of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D below 30 ng/mL. We found that with several PDSA cycles over a period of 5 months, the prescription rate for vitamin D was increased to 86%, surpassing our initial goal of 80%. In conclusion, we found that a multidisciplinary QI program utilizing multiple PDSA cycles was effective in reaching target prescription rates for vitamin D supplementation in a population of NH patients.
A comparative infrared spectroscopic study of glycoside hydrolases from extremophilic archaea revealed different molecular mechanisms of adaptation to high temperatures

The identification of the determinants of protein thermal stabilization is often pursued by comparing enzymes from hyperthermophiles with their mesophilic counterparts while direct structural comparisons among proteins and enzymes from hyperthermophiles are rather uncommon. Here, oligomeric β‐glycosidases from the hyperthermophilic archaea Sulfolobus solfataricus (Ssβ‐gly), Thermosphaera aggregans (Taβ‐gly), and Pyrococcus furiosus (Pfβ‐gly), have been compared. Studies of FTIR spectroscopy and kinetics of thermal inactivation showed that the three enzymes had similar secondary structure composition, but Ssβ‐gly and Taβ‐gly (temperatures of melting 98.1 and 98.4°C, respectively) were less stable than Pfβ‐gly, which maintained its secondary structure even at 99.5°C. The thermal denaturation of Pfβ‐gly, followed in the presence of SDS, suggested that this enzyme is stabilized by hydrophobic interactions. A detailed inspection of the 3D‐structures of these enzymes supported the experimental results: Ssβ‐gly and Taβ‐gly are stabilized by a combination of ion‐pairs networks and intrasubunit S‐S bridges while the increased stability of Pfβ‐gly resides in a more compact protein core. The different strategies of protein stabilization give experimental support to recent theories on thermophilic adaptation and suggest that different stabilization strategies could have been adopted among archaea. Proteins 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Printed UWB Vivaldi Antenna Using Stepped Connection Structure Between Slotline and Tapered Patches

In this letter, a new stepped connection structure between slotline and tapered patches is adopted in a planar printed Vivaldi antenna. By using the stepped connection structure, the impedance matching is significantly improved and a wide bandwidth is achieved. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of this design, a prototype of the modified Vivaldi antenna is fabricated and tested. Experimental results show that the impedance matching is significantly improved in the band from 3 to 15.1 GHz. In addition, a measured gain, which is better than 5 dBi, is obtained with a compact size. Compared to other techniques, the presented technique effectively improves the impedance matching and enlarges the bandwidth without changing the overall dimensions. Moreover, a relatively flat group time delay response is achieved within the band of 3-15.1 GHz.
The Effect of Networked Clients' Economic Importance on Audit Quality

SUMMARY: In this study, we examine the association between audit quality and networked clients' economic importance. We consider networks of clients that result from audit committee member-audit partner interlocks. These interlocks occur when an audit committee member of a company is also an audit committee member of other companies that are audited by a common audit firm and audit partner. The audit partner may perceive that future fee income from the network of interlocked companies may be affected by disputes with the management of an interlocked client company. These economic ties have the potential to erode auditor independence and, as a consequence, reduce audit quality. The test variables include measures of network fee dependence based on the audit partner's fees generated from the networked clients created by audit committee member-audit partner interlocks. Audit quality is proxied by the likelihood of issuing a first-time going-concern modified audit report and the absolute value of discretiona.
Operational models of pharmacological agonism

The traditional receptor-stimulus model of agonism began with a description of drug action based on the law of mass action and has developed by a series of modifications, each accounting for new experimental evidence. By contrast, in this paper an approach to modelling agonism is taken that begins with the observation that experimental agonist-concentration effect, E/[A], curves are commonly hyperbolic and develops using the deduction that the relation between occupancy and effect must be hyperbolic if the law of mass action applies at the agonist-receptor level. The result is a general model that explicity describes agonism by three parameters: an agonist-receptor dissociation constant, KA; the total receptor concentration, [R0]; and a parameter, KE, defining the transduction of agonist-receptor complex, AR, into pharmacological effect. The ratio, [R0]/KE, described here as the ‘transducer ratio’, τ, is a logical definition for the efficacy of an agonist in a system. The model may be extended to account for non-hyperbolic E/[A] curves with no loss of meaning. Analysis shows that an explicit formulation of the traditional receptor-stimulus model is one particular form of the general model but that it is not the simplest. An alternative model is proposed, representing the cognitive and transducer functions of a receptor, that describes agonist action with one fewer parameter than the traditional model. In addition, this model provides a chemical definition of intrinsic efficacy making this parameter experimentally accessible in principle. The alternative models are compared and contrasted with regard to their practical and conceptual utilities in experimental pharmacology.