Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing academic and personal outcomes for men engaged in the Sigma phi Epsilon residential learning community

iii Acknowledgements . v Table of Figures. x Table of Tables . xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 Statement of the Problem . 1 Rationale and Theoretical Perspective . 8 Purpose . 12 Research Questions . 13 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 14 A Brief History of Fraternities . 15 Historical Development of Residential Communities . 18 Structure of Residential Learning Communities . 22 Types of learning communities . 23 Components of residential learning communities . 24 Interaction with faculty . 24 Physical aggregate . 25 Shared beliefs and norms . 26 Effectiveness of Residential Learning Communities . 26 Academic success . 28 Social development. 29 Sigma Phi Epsilon Residential Learning Community . 31 Summary . 33 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY . 34 Description of the Design . 34 ASSESSING OUTCOMES FOR MEN IN SIGMA PHI EPSILON viii Setting . 35 Participants . 35 Variables . 39 Materials . 40 Data Collection Procedure . 43 Incentive . 46 Data Cleaning and Screening . 46 Data Analysis . 47 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS . 49 Reliability Estimates for Scale Scores . 49 Relationship Between Chapter Type and NSSE Benchmark Themes . 50 Experiences with faculty . 50 Learning with peers . 52 Co-curricular participation through campus environment . 54 Relationship between Chapter Type and GPA . 56 Summary . 59 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS . 60 Discussion of Findings . 60 Experiences with faculty – Significant difference between groups . 61 Peer learning – No difference between groups . 63 Co-curricular participation through campus environment – Significant difference between groups . 63 Grade point average . 64 RLC coding status. 65 Limitations . 67 Implications for Practice . 69 Future Research . 71 Conclusion . 72 ASSESSING OUTCOMES FOR MEN IN SIGMA PHI EPSILON ix References . 74 Appendix A: The 2016 NSSE . 89 Appendix B: NSSE Faculty Re-analyzed Scale Score by Type of Fraternity Chapter for Engagement Levels . 104 Appendix C: Means and Standard Deviation for Grade Point Average for RLC Re-coding Variable and Actual Type of Chapter . 105 Appendix D: Breakdown of the Recoding Data for Chapter Designation . 106 Appendix E: Re-analysis of NSSE Scores with Recoding Variable for Actual Chapter Type . 107 ASSESSING OUTCOMES FOR MEN IN SIGMA PHI EPSILON
Antimalarial 4(1H)-pyridones bind to the Qi site of cytochrome bc1

Significance X-ray crystallography greatly benefits drug discovery work by elucidating information about the binding of drug compounds to their target. Using this information, changes to the compounds can be made in a process known as rational drug design. Cytochrome bc1 is a proven drug target in the treatment and prevention of malaria, a disease that kills over half a million people each year and many compounds have been developed to inhibit cytochrome bc1. Here we show the binding of two such compounds in X-ray crystal structures, which reveal an unexpected binding site. This work opens up a new area for antimalarial research and reinforces the need for structural information in drug design. Cytochrome bc1 is a proven drug target in the prevention and treatment of malaria. The rise in drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the organism responsible for malaria, has generated a global effort in designing new classes of drugs. Much of the design/redesign work on overcoming this resistance has been focused on compounds that are presumed to bind the Qo site (one of two potential binding sites within cytochrome bc1) using the known crystal structure of this large membrane-bound macromolecular complex via in silico modeling. Cocrystallization of the cytochrome bc1 complex with the 4(1H)-pyridone class of inhibitors, GSK932121 and GW844520, that have been shown to be potent antimalarial agents in vivo, revealed that these inhibitors do not bind at the Qo site but bind at the Qi site. The discovery that these compounds bind at the Qi site may provide a molecular explanation for the cardiotoxicity and eventual failure of GSK932121 in phase-1 clinical trial and highlight the need for direct experimental observation of a compound bound to a target site before chemical optimization and development for clinical trials. The binding of the 4(1H)-pyridone class of inhibitors to Qi also explains the ability of this class to overcome parasite Qo-based atovaquone resistance and provides critical structural information for future design of new selective compounds with improved safety profiles.
Design and optimization of continuous-time filters using geometric programming

This paper is concerned with the design and optimization of continuous-time active-RC and gm-C filters. We demonstrate how we can maximize the filters' dynamic range (DR) for a given voltage swing, area and power consumption. Using closed-form symbolic expressions, the optimization problems are formulated as geometric programs (GPs) and mixed-integer GPs (MIGPs) that can be quickly solved to find the globally-optimal solution. The techniques developed in this paper are applied to the design and optimization of an active-RC filter with 1 MHz bandwidth, and a gm-C filter with 30 MHz bandwidth, both of which implement a 5th order elliptic transfer function. The proposed design flow is general, and can be extended to any filter topology or any set of specifications in order to find a low-noise, linear, low-area, and low-power circuit solution.
Boosting 4G Networks with Spatial Interference Management Under Feedback Constraints : A Noncooperative Downlink Transmission Scheme

In this article, we focus on the downlink direction of cellular multiuser multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems based on orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) waveforms. Our target system is operated in the frequency division duplex (FDD) mode, while all base stations (BSs) use the same frequency spectrum for downlink transmission. State-of-the-art literature proved that the system performance is mainly limited by the existing cochannel interference (CCI). Hence, mitigating these effects would improve the achievable system throughput beyond current benchmarks of cellular systems.
The Impact of Diabetes on the Outcomes of Surgical and Nonsurgical Treatment of Patients in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial

Study Design. A secondary analysis comparing diabetic patients with nondiabetic patients enrolled in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT). Objective. To compare surgical outcomes and complications between diabetic and nondiabetic spine patients. Summary of Background Data. Patients with diabetes are predisposed to comorbidities that may confound the diagnosis and treatment of patients with spinal disorders. Methods. Baseline characteristics and outcomes of 199 patients with diabetes were compared with those of the nondiabetic population in a total of 2405 patients enrolled in the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial for the diagnoses of intervertebral disc herniation (IDH), spinal stenosis (SpS), and degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS). Primary outcome measures include the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) Health Status questionnaire and the Oswestry Disability Index. Results. Patients with diabetes were significantly older and had a higher body mass index than nondiabetic patients. Comorbidities, including hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and joint disease, were significantly more frequent in diabetic patients than in nondiabetic patients. Patients with diabetes and IDH did not make significant gains in pain and function with surgical intervention relative to diabetic patients who underwent nonoperative treatment. Diabetic patients with SpS and DS experienced significantly greater improvements in pain and function with surgical intervention when compared with nonoperative treatment. Among those who had surgery, nondiabetic patients with SpS achieved marginally significantly greater gains in function than their diabetic counterparts (SF-36 physical function, P = 0.062). Among patients who had surgery for DS, diabetic patients did not have as much improvement in pain or function as did the nondiabetic population (SF-36 bodily pain, P = 0.003; physical function, P = 0.002). Postoperative complications were more prevalent in patients with diabetes than in nondiabetic patients with SpS (P = 0.002). There was an increase in postoperative (P = 0.028) and intraoperative (P = 0.029) blood replacement in DS patients with diabetes. Conclusion. Diabetic patients with SpS and DS benefited from surgery, though older SpS patients with diabetes have more postoperative complications. IDH patients with diabetes did not benefit from surgical intervention.
Risk averse single machine scheduling - complexity and approximation

In this paper a class of single machine scheduling problems is considered. It is assumed that job processing times and due dates can be uncertain and they are specified in the form of discrete scenario set. A probability distribution in the scenario set is known. In order to choose a schedule some risk criteria such as the value at risk (VaR) an conditional value at risk (CVaR) are used. Various positive and negative complexity results are provided for basic single machine scheduling problems. In this paper new complexity results are shown and some known complexity results are strengthen.
The Impact Of Induction On Khaldunic Epistemological Curriculum

Ibn Khaldūn (1332-1406) had personal visions and theories concerning epistemology and education. He had a role in building societies and defining the role of education in civilization, thus influencing history. His contributions to educational curriculum predate educational scholars. The aim of this study is to examine Ibn Khaldūn’s Epistemological Curriculum and the influence of induction on the curriculum, based on his book ‘Muqaddimah Ibn Khaldūn. ’ This study adopts the analytical textual method to analyze the Muqaddimah and deduce the role played by induction in the formation of his theories. This research is original in nature contributing in building a bridge between the philosophy, education, and social sciences.The paper begins by presenting Ibn Khaldūn’s notion of epistemology. This is followed by a discussion of his classification of knowledge, his educational pedagogy, and the influence of induction on his epistemological and educational theories. The research concludes by examining selected excerpts from the Muqaddimah which assist in determining the role of the inductive method in Ibn Khaldūn’s epistemology. © 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.UK
Resistance to Celiac Disease in Humanized HLA-DR3-DQ2-Transgenic Mice Expressing Specific Anti-Gliadin CD4+ T Cells1

Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory enteropathy caused by cellular immunity to dietary gluten. More than 90% of patients carry HLA-DQ2 encoded by HLA-DQA1*05 and DQB1*02, and gluten-specific CD4+ T cells from intestinal biopsies of these patients are HLA-DQ2-restricted, produce Th1 cytokines and preferentially recognize gluten peptides deamidated by tissue transglutaminase. We generated mice lacking murine MHC class II genes that are transgenic for human CD4 and the autoimmunity and celiac disease-associated HLA-DR3-DQ2 haplotype. Immunization with the α-gliadin 17-mer that incorporates the overlapping DQ2-α-I and DQ2-α-II epitopes immunodominant in human celiac disease generates peptide-specific HLA-DQ2-restricted CD4+ T cells. When exposed to dietary gluten, naive or gliadin-primed mice do not develop pathology. Coincident introduction of dietary gluten and intestinal inflammation resulted in low-penetrance enteropathy and tissue transglutaminase-specific IgA. Two further strains of transgenic mice expressing HLA-DR3-DQ2 and human CD4, one with a NOD background and another TCR transgenic having over 90% of CD4+ T cells specific for the DQ2-α-II epitope with a Th1 phenotype, were also healthy when consuming gluten. These humanized mouse models indicate that gluten ingestion can be tolerated without intestinal pathology even when HLA-DQ2-restricted CD4+ T cell immunity to gluten is established, thereby implicating additional factors in controlling the penetrance of celiac disease.
Primary malignant lymphoma of the parotid gland.

OBJECTIVES To document the clinicopathologic features of primary malignant lymphoma of the parotid gland based on analysis of our cases and to compare the results with similar studies in the literature. DESIGN Retrospective, nonrandomized case study. SETTING Academic, tertiary medical center. PATIENTS Forty-one consecutive cases of malignant lymphomas of the parotid gland were identified among 820 patients who had undergone parotid surgery during the course of 22 years. Thirty-three (80%) of these were primary lymphomas and were included in the study. Eight (20%) occurred in patients with a history of malignant lymphoma and were therefore excluded. INTERVENTION Diagnosis was established by open parotid biopsy in 8 patients, superficial lobectomy in 23, and total parotidectomy in 2. After diagnosis, lymphomas were staged and treated with local irradiation and/or chemotherapy. RESULTS Fifteen men and 18 women aged 26 to 100 years (mean, 66 years) had an enlarging painless mass on initial examination. Seven (21%) had an underlying autoimmune disease and 20 (61%) had Ann Arbor stage 1 disease at diagnosis. Of 25 patients available for a minimum 2-year follow-up, 16 (64%) were alive with or without disease. Histological grade was the only prognostic feature associated with outcome (P<.01). CONCLUSIONS Our study, when viewed collectively with those in the literature, indicates that malignant lymphomas of the parotid gland are uncommon and often not suspected clinically. The disease affects both sexes equally and is unusual before the age of 50 years. Most are B-cell, non-Hodgkin lymphomas, and about 80% of patients have Ann Arbor stage I or II disease at diagnosis.
Labor market institutions in a shopping economy

Modeling labor markets in a search and matching framework became a standard approach in DSGE studies. However, there is an expanding strand of literature arguing that similar frictions characterize the product market. When households are required to exert costly shopping effort in order to enjoy consumption, shifts in households preferences tend do have a larger impact on product and employment than in otherwise standard RBC model. We construct a general equilibrium model with frictions both in the labor and the product markets and confirm that in case of the US, preference shocks are the main driver of the business cycle. Moreover, we verify if presence of shopping frictions affects the relation between labor market institutions and unemployment, both in terms of its steady-state level and volatility. However, we find that most results are qualitatively in line with studies treating the product market as frictionless. Higher unemployment benefits and wage rigidity tend to increase variance of unemployment, while benefits also promote higher unemployment in the long run. Firing taxes contribute to lower level and volatility of unemployment. Surprisingly, while effects of recruitment cost on steady state allocation are comparable to the impact of firing cost, the former rises the volatility of unemployment in our simulations for the US.
A Demand Response Scheme for Wind Integrated Power System Based on Mechanism Design Theory

The increasing integration of high penetration of wind power into power systems have created great challenges for stable operation of the power system. It is important to design a reasonable demand response scheme (DRS) to make decision the optimal load relief, specially, for the wind power suppliers (WPS) and their customers (WPSC). Therefore, this paper proposes a demand response scheme for wind integrated power system based on mechanism design theory. Firstly, we derive the outage cost function and incentive function modeled by the two variables: the customers’ type parameter and the location value. Secondly, incorporate customers’ type parameter and locational flexibility into the DRS, and based on game theory, a demand response scheme with incentive compatible constraint and participation constraint is designed to maximize the benefit both the wind power suppliers and their customers. The implication of demand response scheme is to design an incentive structure that encourages customers to sign up for the right scheme and reveal their true value of load reduction. Finally, the eight-bus system example can demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Novel cell-penetrating peptide-adaptors effect intracellular delivery and endosomal escape of protein cargos

ABSTRACT The use of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) as biomolecular delivery vehicles holds great promise for therapeutic and other applications, but development has been stymied by poor delivery and lack of endosomal escape. We have developed a CPP-adaptor system capable of efficient intracellular delivery and endosomal escape of user-defined protein cargos. The cell-penetrating sequence of HIV transactivator of transcription was fused to calmodulin, which binds with subnanomolar affinity to proteins containing a calmodulin binding site. Our strategy has tremendous advantage over prior CPP technologies because it utilizes high-affinity non-covalent, but reversible coupling between CPP and cargo. Three different cargo proteins fused to a calmodulin binding sequence were delivered to the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and released, demonstrating the feasibility of numerous applications in living cells including alteration of signaling pathways and gene expression. Highlighted Article: Novel cell-penetrating peptide-calmodulin adaptor proteins effect efficient delivery of user-defined cargo proteins to the cytoplasm of living mammalian cells.
Functional relevance of DNA polymorphisms within the promoter region of the prion protein gene and their association to BSE infection

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) are a group of neurodegenerative diseases that can occur spontaneously or can be caused by infection or mutations within the prion protein gene PRNP. Nonsynonymous DNA polymorphisms within the PRNP gene have been shown to influence susceptibility/resistance to infection in sheep and humans. Analysis of DNA polymorphisms within the core promoter region of the PRNP gene in four major German bovine breeds resulted in the identification of both SNPs and insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms. Comparative genotyping of both controls and animals that tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) revealed a significantly different distribution of two indel polymorphisms and two SNPs within Braunvieh animals, suggesting an association of these polymorphisms with BSE susceptibility. The functional relevance of these polymorphisms was analyzed using reporter gene constructs in neuronal cells. A specific haplotype near exon 1 was identified that exhibited a significantly lower expression level. Genotyping of nine polymorphisms within the promoter region and haplotype calculation revealed that the haplotype associated with the lowest expression level was underrepresented in the BSE group of all breeds compared to control animals, indicating a correlation of reduced PRNP expression and increased resistance to BSE. —Kashkevich K. , Humeny, A. , Ziegler, U. , Groschup, M. H. , Nicken, P., Leeb, T. , Fischer, C. , Becker, C. ‐M. , Schiebel K. Functional relevance of DNA polymorphisms within the promoter region of the prion protein gene and their association to BSE infection. FASEB J. 21, 1547–1555 (2007)
Moving From Thin to Thick Conceptions of Civic Engagement: Faculty Identity and Goals for Democratic Learning

Colleges and universities continue to respond to the call for a deepening of community-engaged research and teaching that contributes tangibly to the public good. Coupled with a new generation of scholars eschewing traditional markers of academic success, the authors set out to discover what faculty members at an urban university identify as priorities for teaching and research to advance democratic engagement. They collected quantitative and qualitative data from faculty members and their community partners. The study findings suggested that while community-engaged activity continues to grow and even thrive among an increasing number of faculty members, there remain three targeted areas needing improvement in order for democratically informed scholarship to better serve the public good: (1) The need to transform “thin” student learning goals into more robust, “thick” civic learning goals; (2) increasing what now is minimal, if existent, discussion of the political opportunities for and constraints to community work; and, (3) a fuller integration of faculty interests, personal and professional, with teaching and research priorities centering on democratic engagement.
Targeting the endocannabinoid system in treating brain disorders

Recent cannabinoid research has a primary focus on developing therapeutics against human diseases. Many studies on cannabinoids indicate important progress for protection against several neurodegenerative disorders. Agonists of cannabinoid receptors activate signalling pathways in the brain that are linked to neuronal repair and cell maintenance, and endogenous ligands can also activate neuroprotective responses. These endocannabinoids are bioactive fatty acid amides and esters that are synthesised in the brain and include arachidonoyl ethanolamide (anandamide) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol. Endocannabinoids are released in response to pathogenic events, thus representing a potential compensatory repair mechanism. Enhancing this on-demand action of endocannabinoids is a strategy with which to promote endogenous repair signalling. For such enhancement, considerable work has gone into modulating the availability of endocannabinoids by blocking the processes of their deactivation. The targets include the anandamide-hydrolysing enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase, the carrier-mediated anandamide transport system and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol-deactivating enzyme monoacylglycerol lipase. The activity of endocannabinoids is terminated through transport and degradation and, accordingly, selective inhibitors of these processes effectively exploit the protective nature of cannabinergic responses. This review highlights recent studies implicating the endocannabinoid system in neuroprotection against different disorders of the CNS.
The basics of ventricular function

Abstract There has been increasing interest in the study of ventricular function in the patient with congenital heart disease. Numerous indexes have been derived for the assessment of ventricular function, suggesting that none is ideal. While the derivation of some measures of ventricular function have relied on advanced mathematical principles, it is still possible for the non-mathematician to obtain important insights into ventricular function from an assessment of the events which underpin the cardiac cycle. In this review, I use the mechanics of the cardiac cycle to introduce basic concepts of ventricular function for the non-expert. In this way, I analyse ventricular systolic and diastolic performance and describe the contribution of regional variability of function to overall performance. This approach also highlights the role of the ventricle in overall cardiovascular and metabolic homeostasis.