Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Correlation of Students' Views on Constructivist Teaching Environment and Teachers' Student Control Ideologies.

The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between elementary teachers’ student control ideology and students’ views on constructivist learning environment. In this study, the correlation between the views of teachers working in elementary schools on student control ideology and students’ views on constructivist learning environment was examined. The study was carried out in 2010 to 2011 academic year in Konya. For this purpose, “correlations survey method” was adopted in this study in order to find answers to the research questions. According to Pearson’s moments correlation analysis carried out in the study, it was found out that there was a negative moderate significant correlation between teachers’ student control ideologies and students’ views on constructivist learning environment. On the other hand, according to the results of the regression analysis, it was found that teachers’ student control ideologies predict students’ views on constructivist learning environment significantly. Similarly, it can be stated that as teachers’ views on student control ideologies increase, students’ views on the constructivist learning environment decrease. Key words: Student control ideology, constructivist learning environment, elementary education
Fuzzy logic based speed control of an IPM synchronous motor drive

This paper presents the fuzzy logic-based speed control of an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) drive. The fundamentals of fuzzy logic algorithms related to motor control applications are illustrated. A new fuzzy speed controller for the IPMSM drive is designed. The efficacy of the proposed fuzzy logic controller (FLC) based IPMSM drive is verified by simulation as well as experimental results at different dynamic operating conditions. The fuzzy logic controller is found to be robust for application in the IPMSM drive. The complete vector control scheme incorporating the FLC is implemented in real-time using a digital signal processor (DSP) controller board DS 1102 in a laboratory 1 hp interior permanent magnet synchronous motor.
Regulation of L‐selectin and CD18 on bovine neutrophils by glucocorticoids: effects of cortisol and dexamethasone

The responsiveness of bovine neutrophil L‐selectin and CD18 to in vivo glucocorticoid administration was characterized by flow cytometric analysis. Blood was sampled intensively from dairy cows treated for 3 days with placebo, cortisol, or dexamethasone. Immunostaining was performed on whole blood (100 μ1) that was left unstimulated or was stimulated with platelet‐activating factor (PAF; 1 μg/ml blood) prior to incubation with fluorescein isothiocyanate‐conjugated monoclonal antibodies against L‐selectin and CD18. Results were expressed as the percentage of positive‐staining cells and as mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of those cells. Total leukocyte count and leukocyte differentials were also performed on all blood samples. Dexamethasone caused nearly complete down‐regulation of L‐selectin (P < .01) on the surface of gated cells and reduced to half the MFI of CD18 (P < .01). Compared with values for the placebo group, dexamethasone began to cause L‐selectin down‐regulation within 8 h after the first injection and these effects persisted until 48 h after the third injection. This was correlated in time with an acute reduction in the proportion of cells that stained positive for L‐selectin (from 98% before dexamethasone injections to a low of 17% by 40 h after the first injection). Dexamethasone also caused leukocytosis and neutrophilia during this time interval. In contrast, CD18 down‐regulation was delayed until 16 h after the second dexamethasone injection and persisted for roughly 8 days. However, at no time during the experiment did dexamethasone influence the proportion of gated cells staining positive for CD18 (always 100%). Effects of cortisol were generally similar in pattern to those of dexamethasone but were more subtle and more readily detected when PAF was added to blood prior to immunostaining. These results strongly suggest that one mechanism of the anti‐inflammatory action of glucocorticoids is to induce dramatic down‐regulation of L‐selectin and CD18 adhesion molecules on blood neutrophils. J. Leukoc. Biol. 57: 317–325; 1995.
Evaluation of pathogenic serovars of Leptospira interrogans in dairy cattle herds of Shahrekord by PCR

Background and objectives Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease caused by Leptospira interrogans. Leptospirosis leads to economical losses in dairy farm industry. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pathogenic serovars of Leptospira interrogans in dairy cattle herds of Shahrekord by PCR. Materials and Methods Two hundred samples (100 urine and 100 blood) were collected from 100 cows randomly and delivered to the laboratory. Samples were stored at -20 °C. DNA was extracted and purified from the plasma and urine samples and concentrated on diatoms in the presence of guanidine thiocyanate (GuSCN). PCR products were detected and identified as Leptospira by ilumination of the expected size of DNA bands after staining of the agarose gel with ethidium bromide gels. PCR products were purified and sequenced. Results The results showed that 28% of urine samples and 23% of plasma samples were contaminated. The major serotypes were Icterohaemorrhagiae (50%) and Pomona (37.5%). The urine samples of 17 cows were positive for Leptospira without positive plasma samples. This indicated that these cows are reservoirs in dairy herds of Shahrekord and dangerous for human health. The plasma samples of twelve cows were positive for Leptospira without positive urine samples. Conclusions Leptospira serotypes can be maintained in relatively dry regions and must be considered when dealing with leptospirosis in dairy farms of Shahrekord and human health.
Unveiling the Political Agenda of the European Parliament Plenary: A Topical Analysis

This study analyzes political interactions in the European Parliament (EP) by considering how the political agenda of the plenary sessions has evolved over time and the manner in which Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have reacted to external and internal stimuli when making Parliamentary speeches. It does so by considering the context in which speeches are made, and the content of those speeches. To detect latent themes in legislative speeches over time, speech content is analyzed using a new dynamic topic modeling method, based on two layers of matrix factorization. This method is applied to a new corpus of all English language legislative speeches in the EP plenary from the period 1999-2014. Our findings suggest that the political agenda of the EP has evolved significantly over time, is impacted upon by the committee structure of the Parliament, and reacts to exogenous events such as EU Treaty referenda and the emergence of the Euro-crisis have a significant impact on what is being discussed in Parliament.
Identification of ATP1A3 Mutations by Exome Sequencing as the Cause of Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood in Japanese Patients

Background Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder characterized by transient repeated attacks of paresis and cognitive impairment. Recent studies from the U.S. and Europe have described ATP1A3 mutations in AHC. However, the genotype-phenotype relationship remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the genetic abnormality in a Japanese cohort of AHC using exome analysis. Principal Findings A total of 712,558 genetic single nucleotide variations in 8 patients with sporadic AHC were found. After a series of exclusions, mutations of three genes were regarded as candidate causes of AHC. Each patient harbored a heterozygous missense mutation of ATP1A3, which included G755C, E815K, C927Y and D801N. All mutations were at highly conserved amino acid residues and deduced to affect ATPase activity of the corresponding ATP pump, the product of ATP1A3. They were de novo mutations and not identified in 96 healthy volunteers. Using Sanger sequencing, E815K was found in two other sporadic cases of AHC. In this study, E815K was found in 5 of 10 patients (50%), a prevalence higher than that reported in two recent studies [19 of 82 (23%) and 7 of 24 (29%)]. Furthermore, the clinical data of the affected individuals indicated that E815K resulted in a severer phenotype compared with other ATP1A3 mutations. Interpretation Heterozygous de novo mutations of ATP1A3 were identified in all Japanese patients with AHC examined in this study, confirming that ATP1A3 mutation is the cause of AHC.
Bodies of/as Evidence in Autoethnography

Qualitative researchers are aptly positioned to address issues implicated in the politics of evidence in scholarship. Autoethnography in particular carries important methodological implications for how the body is sited in what constitutes knowledge, evidence, and the evidence of knowledge. I argue that if autoethnography is epistemic, then the evidence of how we know what we know must reside in the aesthetic crafting of critical reflexion upon the body-as-evidence. As we develop “post” methodologies we may be in danger of expecting the personal or emotional to stand in for literary acumen. Performative autoethnography resides in the intersections of knowledge construction and art, in the aesthetic articulation of the performative body, in a personally political reflection whose evidence is an epistemic/aesthetic praxis. I utilize autoethnographic writing on loss and hope to operationalize the epistemic/aesthetic praxis as an ethical imperative for performative autoethnography.
Why Switch? Product Category–Level Explanations for True Variety-Seeking Behavior

The authors address two key issues that have received inadequate attention in the choice behavior literature on variety seeking. First, they explicitly separate true variety-seeking behavior (i.e., intrinsically motivated) from derived varied behavior (i.e., extrinsically motivated). Second, they hypothesize variety-seeking behavior to be a function of the individual difference characteristic of need for variety and product category–level characteristics that interact to determine the situations in which variety seeking is more likely to occur relative to repeat purchasing and derived varied behavior. The authors test their hypotheses in a field study of Dutch consumers, which assesses both the intensity of brand switching and the underlying motives for their switching behavior. Results support the importance of isolating variety switches from derived switches and of considering product category–level factors as an explanation for the occurrence of variety-seeking behavior.
Nutrient digestibility, hindgut metabolites and antioxidant status of dogs supplemented with pomegranate peel extract

Abstract The present study assessed the effect of dietary supplementation of pomegranate peel (methanolic) extract (PPE) on the nutrient digestibility, faecal fermentative metabolites and antioxidant status of dogs. Six medium-sized dogs of mixed breeds were allocated to two groups in a replicated cross-over design and fed a basal diet with and without supplementation of PPE at 50 mg/kg body weight. Each of the experimental periods consisted of 30 d, with a 21 d washout period in between. Results indicated that PPE supplementation led to no significant changes in nutrient digestibility except a trend of improvement (P = 0·070) in crude fibre digestibility. PPE supplementation significantly (P < 0·001) influenced faecal pH, ammonia and lactate production, indicative of positive effects of PPE polyphenols. PPE supplementation further increased faecal SCFA concentration accompanied by a reduction (P < 0·01) in branched-chain fatty acids. PPE supplementation also improved (P < 0·05) indices of erythrocytic antioxidants, namely reduced glutathione, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase together with an improvement in lipid peroxidation. Overall, it can be concluded that dietary supplementation with PPE at 50 mg/kg body weight had a positive impact on hindgut fermentation and antioxidant status in dogs, thereby demonstrating its potential as a gut health-promoting nutraceutical.
An Extension of the Interpreter Pattern to Define Domain-Parametric Rewriting Systems

The Interpreter design pattern provides an elegant and natural way of implementing systems based on term-rewriting in a OO fashion. The idea is simply associating each term of a language, either terminal or non-terminal, with a corresponding class provided with a suitable simplify() method.Reducing a term to a normal form is thus performed through a series of recursive calls to such a method.The main weakness of this approach is that it does not take into account similarities existing among different domains, thus enforcing programmers to pollute generic and domain-specific rules. The resulting code if often wordy, hard to maintain, non-reusable. In this paper we adapt the Interpreter pattern so that a clean separation between generic (common to different domains) and domain-specific rules is possible. The new pattern significantly helps design even complex rewriting systems. A running example which refers to a generic Logical domain is used throughout the paper. An application to High Level Petri nets analysis is sketched. Without any loss of generality we refer to Java as representative of a large class of languages.
Ipsilesional anodal tDCS enhances the functional benefits of rehabilitation in patients after stroke

Anodal tDCS applied to the ipsilesional motor cortex of patients with chronic stroke enhances the beneficial effects of motor rehabilitation. Stimulating motor recovery in stroke Rehabilitation of movement after stroke requires repeated practice and involves learning and brain changes. In a new study, Allman et al. tested whether delivering brain stimulation during a 9-day course of hand and arm training improved movement in patients after stroke. The authors found greater improvements in movement in patients who received real compared to sham (placebo) brain stimulation. Better scores in patients who received real stimulation were still present 3 months after training ended. These findings suggest that brain stimulation could be added to rehabilitative training to improve outcomes in stroke patients. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can boost the effects of motor training and facilitate plasticity in the healthy human brain. Motor rehabilitation depends on learning and plasticity, and motor learning can occur after stroke. We tested whether brain stimulation using anodal tDCS added to motor training could improve rehabilitation outcomes in patients after stroke. We performed a randomized, controlled trial in 24 patients at least 6 months after a first unilateral stroke not directly involving the primary motor cortex. Patients received either anodal tDCS (n = 11) or sham treatment (n = 13) paired with daily motor training for 9 days. We observed improvements that persisted for at least 3 months post-intervention after anodal tDCS compared to sham treatment on the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) but not on the Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer (UEFM) score. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed increased activity during movement of the affected hand in the ipsilesional motor and premotor cortex in the anodal tDCS group compared to the sham treatment group. Structural MRI revealed intervention-related increases in gray matter volume in cortical areas, including ipsilesional motor and premotor cortex after anodal tDCS but not sham treatment. The addition of ipsilesional anodal tDCS to a 9-day motor training program improved long-term clinical outcomes relative to sham treatment in patients after stroke.
Matter Coupled AdS 3 Supergravities and

We couple n copies of N = (2, 0) scalar multiplets to a gauged N = (2, 0) supergravity in 2 + 1 dimensions which admits AdS3 as a vacuum. The scalar fields are charged under the gauged R-symmetry group U(1) and parametrize certain Kahler manifolds with compact or noncompact isometries. The radii of these manifolds are quantized in the compact case, but arbitrary otherwise. In the compact case, we find half-supersymmetry preserving and asymptotically Minkowskian black string solutions. For a particular value of the scalar manifold radius, the solution coincides with that of Horne and Horowitz found in the context of a string theory in 2 + 1 dimensions. In the non-compact case, we find half-supersymmetry preserving and asymptotically AdS3 string solutions which have naked singularities. We also obtain two distinct AdS3 supergravities coupled to n copies of N = (1, 0) scalar multiplets either by the truncation of the (2, 0) model or by a direct construction. † Research supported in part by NSF Grant PHY-9722090.
Biodegradation of PAH Compounds in the Rhizosphere of Tamarix nilotica: A Salt tolerant wild plant

During a scientific visit to a coastal area at Suez, Egypt, it was observed that Tamarix nilotica plant naturally dominated on oil polluted site in this area, indicating that this plant is a tolerant of the combined adverse effects of salinity and petroleum pollutants. This observation stimulated a study to investigate the rhizosphere effect of this plant on the degradation and removal of petroleum aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) compounds from this coastal saline soil. Accordingly, samples were collected from the rhizosphere and from the non-rhizosphere soil and studied. The results show that the rhizosphere soil of Tamarix nilotica was rich in total heterotrophic bacteria and oil-degraders. In the rhizosphere soil oil-degraders were of higher percentage (30.7%) compared to the non- rhizosphere soil (4.6%). Residual total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in the non-rizosphere soil was 2.25% (w/w), while in the rhizosphere soil the percentage was 0.9% (w/w). This indicate a reduction of 60% of the TPHs. The saturates fraction in the rhizosphere as compared to the non-rizosphere soil was reduced by 87.5%, while the aromatics were reduced by 60.7%. It is of interest to find that the non-degradable asphaltenes and resins were reduced in the rhizosphere by 1.1% and 2.5% respectively. As a total the amount of PAHs (mgkg -1 soil) were 1073.5 and 541.94 in the non-rhizosphere and rhizosphere soil respectively, i.e. with a loss of 49.5% in the rhizosphere. Chrysene and dibenzo(ah)anthracene as compared to the other PAHs were more frequent in the non-rhizosphere soil. These two compounds were reduced by 55.7% and 24.3% respectively in the rhizosphere. As a total the four- ringed PAHs as compared to other PAH groups were highly reduced (60.3%) in the rhizosphere, this was followed by the three-ringed PAH group (52.5%). The five-ringed and the six-ringed groups were weakly reduced (37.8% and 33.8% respectively). The 8 carcinogenic PAH group were collectively reduced in the rhizosphere by 49.1%. A particular notable distinction of the rhizosphere of Tamarix nilotica is the greater efficiency to degrade the carcinogenic PAH compounds especially flouranthene (75.4%), benzo(a)anthracene (63.4%) and pyrene (60.2%). Results of Gas Chromatography (GC) analysis for the detection of the accumulated PAHs in the shoot tissue of Tamarix nilotica plant growing in the polluted area as compared to that growing in non-polluted area show that the identified peaks in the tissue of both plants were 15 and 14 peaks respectively. The sum of the 15 PAHs was 528 mgkg -1 dried tissue, whereas the sum of the 14 PAHs was 769 mgkg -1 dried soil. This result indicate an
Pseudoginsenoside F11, a Novel Partial PPARγ Agonist, Promotes Adiponectin Oligomerization and Secretion in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

PPARγ is a nuclear hormone receptor that functions as a master regulator of adipocyte differentiation and development. Full PPARγ agonists, such as the thiazolidinediones (TZDs), have been widely used to treat type 2 diabetes. However, they are characterized by undesirable side effects due to their strong agonist activities. Pseudoginsenoside F11 (p-F11) is an ocotillol-type ginsenoside isolated from Panax quinquefolium L. (American ginseng). In this study, we found that p-F11 activates PPARγ with modest adipogenic activity. In addition, p-F11 promotes adiponectin oligomerization and secretion in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We also found that p-F11 inhibits obesity-linked phosphorylation of PPARγ at Ser-273 by Cdk5. Therefore, p-F11 is a novel partial PPARγ agonist, which might have the potential to be developed as a new PPARγ-targeted therapeutics for type 2 diabetes.
Understanding the comorbidity between early-onset dysthymia and cluster B personality disorders: a family study.

OBJECTIVE A number of studies have documented significant comorbidity between dysthymia and axis II personality disorders, particularly those grouped in cluster B. However, the nature of this comorbidity is poorly understood. The purpose of this investigation was to use the family study method to test five competing models of the comorbidity between early-onset dysthymia and cluster B personality disorders. METHOD Proband groups consisted of subjects with early-onset dysthymia and a co-occurring cluster B personality disorder (N = 28), subjects with early-onset dysthymia without a cluster B personality disorder (N = 69), and a comparison group of subjects who had never been psychiatrically ill (N = 45). The groups were compared on rates of dysthymia with a cluster B personality disorder, dysthymia without a cluster B personality disorder, and cluster B personality disorders without dysthymia in their first-degree relatives (N = 675). RESULTS The relatives of both subgroups of dysthymic probands exhibited higher rates of dysthymia with a cluster B personality disorder, dysthymia without a cluster B personality disorder, and cluster B personality disorders without dysthymia than the relatives of the never ill probands. In addition, the relatives of probands with comorbid dysthymia exhibited higher rates of cluster B personality disorders without dysthymia than the relatives of probands with noncomorbid dysthymia. CONCLUSIONS This pattern of results is consistent with the notion that dysthymia and cluster B personality disorders co-occur because of shared etiological factors. This was the only one of five models of the comorbidity between dysthymia and cluster B personality disorders that was supported by the family data.
The Role of Explicit and Implicit Learning Processes in Concept Discovery

Analysis of individual learning curves and concurrent verbal protocols from three experiments concerning discovery of a non-salient verbal concept and a pictorial analogue (Chinese ideograph) of the concept show that a substantial transition phase occurs in which discrimination of exemplars from non-exemplars of the concept is above chance but not yet asymptotic. Under most conditions the ability to verbalize knowledge of the concept occurred almost simultaneously with the onset of the transition phase. However, the addition of noise in the form of false feedback (Experiment 3) created a temporary dissociation between task performance and verbalizable knowledge. Additional results suggest that individual hypothesis revision/rejection strategies affect the length of the transition phase of learning, whereas the size of the domain of hypotheses being sampled affects the number of trial blocks before the transition phase begins. The effect of feedback error on the relation between early rates of hypothesis generation and subsequent transition phase length also suggests that a strategy of quick rejection of falsified hypotheses becomes less adaptive in noisy task environments (e.g. when there are many exceptions to a rule or the concept is probabilistic). Finally, failure to find effects of variables known to affect implicit learning suggests that implicit learning processes do not play a large role in the discovery of this type of concept.