Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computer supported collaborative learning: A business simulation activity using social media

Social media are dramatically changing the way we live and make social relationships with others. While students are so immersed in social media in their daily life, social media adoption in classroom has been slow. Educators who wish to experiment with social media for CSCL struggle to find ways to incorporate the expected benefits and advantages of social media to teaching lessons. This paper reports on the experiences of using social media for a business case simulation activity in a higher learning context. Drawing on a qualitative feedback and social media log data of 27 teams of 135 undergraduate students, this paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of social media as a CSCL tool in classroom, especially in the areas of information sharing and social interaction.
Digital control of PV systems: Dynamic-gain MPPT algorithm and effects of resolution

This paper introduces a dynamic-gain MPPT algorithm for PV systems. The method demonstrates a rapid and uniform convergence toward the MPP by employing dynamic steps while owning MPPT control compatibility even for differential power processors. A theoretical analysis on the effects of resolution on limit cycle oscillations existence and power curve traps in the MPPT process is provided. The dynamic gain MPPT algorithm is demonstrated by simulation and experiments, avoiding limit cycle oscillations and power curve traps. The presented algorithm is verified on bi-directional differential power processors, demonstrating dynamic MPP convergence with no limit cycle oscillations and significant improvement of power harvesting capability up to 42%.
Azimuthal and radial variations in sap flux density and effects on stand-scale transpiration estimates in a Japanese cedar forest.

Understanding radial and azimuthal variation, and tree-to-tree variation, in sap flux density (Fd) as sources of uncertainty is important for estimating transpiration using sap flow techniques. In a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don.) forest, Fd was measured at several depths and aspects for 18 trees, using heat dissipation (Granier-type) sensors. We observed considerable azimuthal variation in Fd. The coefficient of variation (CV) calculated from Fd at a depth of 0-20 mm (Fd1) and Fd at a depth of 20-40 mm (Fd2) ranged from 6.7 to 37.6% (mean = 28.3%) and from 19.6 to 62.5% (mean = 34.6%) for the -azimuthal directions. Fd at the north aspect averaged for nine trees, for which azimuthal measurements were made, was -obviously smaller than Fd at the other three aspects (i.e., west, south and east) averaged for the nine trees. Fd1 averaged for the nine trees was significantly larger than Fd2 averaged for the nine trees. The error for stand-scale transpiration (E) estimates caused by ignoring the azimuthal variation was larger than that caused by ignoring the radial variation. The error caused by ignoring tree-to-tree variation was larger than that caused by ignoring both radial and azimuthal variations. Thus, tree-to-tree variation in Fd would be more important than both radial and azimuthal variations in Fd for E estimation. However, Fd for each tree should not be measured at a consistent aspect but should be measured at various aspects to make accurate E estimates and to avoid a risk of error caused by the relationship of Fd to aspect.
Visual Psychophysics and Physiological Optics Image Jitter Enhances Visual Performance When Spatial Resolution Is Impaired

PURPOSE. Visibility of low–spatial frequency stimuli improves when their contrast is modulated at 5 to 10 Hz compared with stationary stimuli. Therefore, temporal modulations of visual objects could enhance the performance of low vision patients who primarily perceive images of low–spatial frequency content. We investigated the effect of retinal-image jitter on word recognition speed and facial emotion recognition in subjects with central visual impairment.
Pathological lesions survey and economic loss for male cattle slaughtered at Ismailia abattoir.

The study was a retrospective abattoir survey, undertaken for a period of one full year at the main traditional abattoir of Ismailia city, Egypt. During the survey, 9880 male cattle were slaughtered and inspected. As a result of postmortem inspections, 8 (0.10%) carcasses were totally condemned and 1456 (14.7%) organs had pathological lesions. Of the 1456 edible organs had pathological lesions; the sum of 1216 Kg was either totally or partially condemned. Based on weight of annual condemned organs, the estimated annual loss was 36480 Egyptian Pound. The gross pathological lesions detected in edible organs were in 117 of heart (8%), in 310 kidneys (21.3%), in 649 lunges (44.6%), in 260 livers (17.9%), and in 120 spleens (8.2%). The present study provides baseline data for the future monitoring of clean meat production in Ismailia abattoir. The condemnation of edible organs represents a significant economic loss to traders and livestock industry.
Höchstleistung im Handballtor : eine Studie zur Identifikation, den Mechanismen und der Entwicklung senso-motorischer Expertise

Ausgehend von der theoretischen Rahmenkonzeption zur Expertiseforschung von Ericsson und Smith (1991) wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit die Hochstleistung von Handballtorhutern untersucht. Gemas der Rahmenkonzeption werden hierzu Experimente zur Identifikation, den Mechanismen und der Entwicklung der senso-motorischen Expertise durchgefuhrt. Mittels einer Testbatterie mit doman-spezifischen und generellen Anteilen werden einzelne Aspekte der Informationsverarbeitung als potentielle Mechanismen separiert. Aus den Daten wird in der Diskussion die „Just-in-time“-Hypothese abgeleitet, die davon ausgeht, dass ein primarer Aspekt der Expertise von Handballtorhutern die genaue zeitliche Passung zum Wurf ist. Abschliesend werden methodische Limitierungen diskutiert und Implikationen fur die Sportpraxis vorgestellt.
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Vibrio cholerae

Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) of 397 Vibrio cholerae isolates, including 143 serogroup reference strains and 244 strains from Mexico and Guatemala, identified 279 electrophoretic types (ETs) distributed in two major divisions (I and II). Linkage disequilibrium was demonstrated in both divisions and in subdivision Ic of division I but not in subdivision Ia, which includes 76% of the ETs. Despite this evidence of relatively frequent recombination, clonal lineages may persist for periods of time measured in at least decades. In addition to the pandemic clones of serogroups O1 and O139, which form a tight cluster of four ETs in subdivision Ia, MLEE analysis identified numerous apparent clonal lineages of non-O1 strains with intercontinental distributions. A clone of serogroup O37 that demonstrated epidemic potential in the 1960s is closely related to the pandemic O1/O139 clones, but the nontoxigenic O1 Inaba El Tor reference strain is not. A strain of serogroup O22, which has been identified as the most likely donor of exogenous rfb region DNA to the O1 progenitor of the O139 clone, is distantly related to the O1/O139 clones. The close evolutionary relationships of the O1, O139, and O37 epidemic clones indicates that new cholera clones are likely to arise by the modification of a lineage that is already epidemic or is closely related to such a clone.
MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF fla B FOR LEPTOSPIRA IDENTIFICATION

PCR amplification of the nearly full-length of virulence flagellin gene (flaB) was employed for rapid identification of Leptospira spp and of Leptospiraspecific 16S rDNA (rrs) for differentiation from other bacteria. This approach distinguished pathogenic from non-pathogenic Leptospira strains, and the generation of restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles using a combination of restriction endonucleases allowed identification of pathogenic Leptospira species. PCR-based identification of Leptospira flaB provides an accurate and rapid tool for identification of leptospires and can be used as a means for rapidly identifying animal reservoirs responsible for leptospirosis outbreaks. Furthermore, these techniques could be applied to clinical diagnosis without the need for leptospiral isolation.
Production of healthy cloned mice from bodies frozen at −20°C for 16 years

Cloning animals by nuclear transfer provides an opportunity to preserve endangered mammalian species. However, it has been suggested that the “resurrection” of frozen extinct species (such as the woolly mammoth) is impracticable, as no live cells are available, and the genomic material that remains is inevitably degraded. Here we report production of cloned mice from bodies kept frozen at −20 °C for up to 16 years without any cryoprotection. As all of the cells were ruptured after thawing, we used a modified cloning method and examined nuclei from several organs for use in nuclear transfer attempts. Using brain nuclei as nuclear donors, we established embryonic stem cell lines from the cloned embryos. Healthy cloned mice were then produced from these nuclear transferred embryonic stem cells by serial nuclear transfer. Thus, nuclear transfer techniques could be used to “resurrect” animals or maintain valuable genomic stocks from tissues frozen for prolonged periods without any cryopreservation.
Retrospective evaluation of clinical outcomes in patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer progressing on trastuzumab-based therapy in the pre-lapatinib era.

BACKGROUND Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer whose disease has become resistant to the anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab can benefit from lapatinib, a dual epidermal growth factor receptor/HER2 tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitor. Before the availability of this compound, trastuzumab was often continued beyond disease progression, usually in addition to further chemotherapy, an approach which was not based on randomized studies. We sought to retrospectively compare the clinical outcomes of patients who, upon progression during an initial trastuzumab-based regimen, stopped or continued trastuzumab in addition to further chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS From the clinical records of 407 patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, we identified 279 patients progressing during an initial trastuzumab-based treatment. Of these patients, 83 continued trastuzumab in addition to chemotherapy, and 112 received chemotherapy alone. RESULTS We found no difference in response rate (28% vs. 30%; P = .5), median time to second tumor progression (8.4 months vs. 7 months; P = .24), or median postprogression survival (20.6 months and 15.4 months; P = .29) according to whether patients continued or stopped trastuzumab. At multivariate analysis, continuation of trastuzumab was associated with a statistically insignificant trend toward reduced risk of second progression (hazard ratio, 0.753; P = .08). CONCLUSION Patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer developing tumor progression during an initial trastuzumab-based regimen did not seem to benefit significantly from the continuation of trastuzumab in addition to chemotherapy. For these patients, there is evidence from a large randomized trial that effective HER2 targeting can be accomplished by inhibiting the HER2 TK activity with lapatinib.
Foreign exchange market intervention and expectations: an empirical study of the yen/dollar exchange rate

We use official intervention data provided by the Federal Reserve and, recently, the Japanese Ministry of Finance, as well as a new data set based on Reuters news articles on intervention that is perceived by FX traders. We estimate probability density functions (PDFs) from option data to describe market expectations. We find that, between 1993 and 1996, Japanese authorities tended to respond mainly to deviations of the exchange rate from some implicit target levels and to a rise in market uncertainty. Between 1997 and 2000, the Bank of Japan mainly reacted in response to higher uncertainty. On the other hand, the Federal Reserve intervened only in cooperation with the Bank of Japan. We find that intervention had no statistically significant systematic effect on the mean of yen/dollar expectations. Consistently, we detect no evidence that intervention systematically altered market participants’ bias between a stronger and a weaker dollar with respect to the forward rate. Contrary to most findings of the literature, we fail to find evidence that intervention was associated on average with higher exchange rate variability. Finally, we find that intervention was not followed by an increase in the tails of the distribution of exchange rate expectations. The consensus view is that sterilized intervention can be effective if it is announced publicly, coordinated across central banks, and most importantly, consistent with underlying fiscal and monetary policies. As we are able to control for public announcement and central bank coordination, our findings suggest that intervention during our sample period was not consistent with underlying fiscal and monetary policy and therefore had little influence on market outcomes and expectations. JEL Classification: C22 E41 F31
Exploring the Fractal Parameters of Urban Growth and Form with Wave-Spectrum Analysis

The Fourier transform and spectral analysis are employed to estimate the fractal dimension and explore the fractal parameter relations of urban growth and form using mathematical experiments and empirical analyses. Based on the models of urban density, two kinds of fractal dimensions of urban form can be evaluated with the scaling relations between the wave number and the spectral density. One is the radial dimension of self-similar distribution indicating the macro-urban patterns, and the other, the profile dimension of self-affine tracks indicating the micro-urban evolution. If a city's growth follows the power law, the summation of the two dimension values may be a constant under certain condition. The estimated results of the radial dimension suggest a new fractal dimension, which can be termed “image dimension”. A dual-structure model named particle-ripple model (PRM) is proposed to explain the connections and differences between the macro and micro levels of urban form.
Nonsense Mediated mRNA Decay ( NMD ) Mechanism in Drosophila : A Short Review

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a mechanism that prevents the accumulation of malfunctioning protein and also regulates the clinical manifestation of many genetic disorders. This pathway not only degrade mRNA containing frame shift and nonsense mutation but also regulate the expression of naturally occurring transcript having features recognized by the NMD machinery.NMD contributes to the post transcriptional regulation of about 10% of the transcriptome in Drosophila, yeast and human cell. In Drosophila, the degradation of non-sense transcript is initiated by endonucleolytic cleavage near the PTC and RNA fragments are degraded from the newly generated ends. The 5’fragmentis degraded by exosome and 3’ fragment is degraded by Xrn1. In Drosophila, many proteins involved in the mechanism of NMD mainly are SMG1, SMG5, SMG6, UPF1, UPF2, UPF3. For the activation of NMD, recognition of pre-mature termination codon PTC is necessary. In this review we have discussed the current knowledge of NMD mechanism in Drosophila that will help us in future studies.
A simple method of fusion of the subtalar joint in children.

1. A simple method of subtalar fusion, suitable for use in children, is described. 2. Although it is intended to provide stability for some years until a complete subtalar fusion can be carried out, further operation may not be necessary. 3. Its use is not advocated over the age of eleven or twelve.
Transplacental and lactational transfer of p,p'-DDE in Sprague-Dawley rats.

p,p'-DDE (hereafter DDE), a persistent metabolite of p,p'-DDT, is a widespread environmental contaminant that can induce antiandrogenic developmental effects in rats. Quantitative measurements of the transfer of DDE from pregnant or lactating dams to the fetus or suckling neonate were performed, and physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for the transplacental and lactational transfer of DDE were developed. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were dosed by gavage in corn oil with either 10 or 100 mg DDE per kg body wt per day from Gestation Day (gd) 14 to 18. DDE was analyzed in several maternal tissues as well as in fetal and neonatal tissues from gd 15 to Postnatal Day (pnd) 21. Fetal DDE concentrations were about threefold lower than corresponding placental concentrations. By adopting a cross-fostering design, the contributions of transplacental and lactational transfer were compared. In the pup liver, where DDE was detectable in the 100 mg/kg groups on pnd 10, the lactationally exposed group had DDE concentrations about 50 times higher than those of the in utero only exposure group; the lactation only exposure groups had DDE tissue dose profiles very similar to those of the in utero plus lactation exposure groups, indicating that the lactational route is far more important than the in utero route quantitatively. The PBPK models postulated initial absorption of DDE into both the blood circulation and lymphatic system with the primary storage sites being maternal and neonatal adipose tissues. Mobilization of DDE from its storage sites is postulated to occur via its association with mobilized fatty acids and lipoproteins. The results provide an overall framework for evaluating the tissue dosimetry of DDE and for understanding how maternal exposure to DDE could affect perinatal sexual development in utero or in the early postnatal period.
UVC Light Prophylaxis for Cutaneous Wound Infections in Mice

ABSTRACT UVC light has long been known to be highly germicidal but has not been much developed as a therapy for infections. This study investigated the potential of UVC light for the prophylaxis of infections developing in highly contaminated superficial cutaneous wounds. In vitro studies demonstrated that the pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were inactivated at UVC light exposures much lower than those needed for a similar effect on mammalian keratinocytes. Mouse models of partial-thickness skin abrasions infected with bioluminescent P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were developed. Approximately 107 bacterial cells were inoculated onto wounds measuring 1.2 by1.2 cm on the dorsal surfaces of mice. UVC light was delivered at 30 min after bacterial inoculation. It was found that for both bacterial infections, UVC light at a single radiant exposure of 2.59 J/cm2 reduced the bacterial burden in the infected mouse wounds by approximately 10-fold in comparison to those in untreated mouse wounds (P < 0.00001). Furthermore, UVC light increased the survival rate of mice infected with P. aeruginosa by 58.3% (P = 0.0023) and increased the wound healing rate in mice infected with S. aureus by 31.2% (P < 0.00001). DNA lesions were observed in the UVC light-treated mouse wounds; however, the lesions were extensively repaired by 48 h after UVC light exposure. These results suggested that UVC light may be used for the prophylaxis of cutaneous wound infections.
Indolizine-Squaraines: NIR Fluorescent Materials with Molecularly Engineered Stokes Shifts.

The development of deep red and near infrared emissive materials with high quantum yields is an important challenge. Several classes of squaraine dyes have demonstrated high quantum yields, but require significantly red-shifted absorptions to access the NIR window. Additionally, squaraine dyes have typically shown narrow Stokes shifts, which limits their use in living biological imaging applications due to dye emission interference with the light source. Through the incorporation of indolizine heterocycles we have synthesized novel indolizine squaraine dyes with increased Stokes shifts (up to >0.119 eV, >50 nm increase) and absorptions substantially further into the NIR region than an indoline squaraine benchmark (726 nm versus 659 nm absorption maxima). These materials have shown significantly enhanced water solubility, which is unique for squaraine dyes without water-solubilizing substituents. Absorption, electrochemical, computational, and fluorescence studies were undertaken and exceptional fluorescence quantum yields of up 12 % were observed with emission curves extending beyond 850 nm.
Dealing with variability when Recognizing User's Performance in Natural 3D Gesture Interfaces

Recognition of natural gestures is a key issue in many applications including videogames and other immersive applications. Whatever is the motion capture device, the key problem is to recognize a motion that could be performed by a range of different users, at an interactive frame rate. Hidden Markov Models (HMM) that are commonly used to recognize the performance of a user however rely on a motion representation that strongly affects the overall recognition rate of the system. In this paper, we propose to use a compact motion representation based on Morphology-Independent features and we evaluate its performance compared to classical representations. When dealing with 15 very similar upper limb motions, HMM based on Morphology-Independent features yield significantly higher recognition rate (84.9%) than classical Cartesian or angular data (70.4% and 55.0%, respectively). Moreover, when the unknown motions are performed by a large number of users who have never contributed to the learning process, the recognition rate of Morphology-Independent input feature only decreases slightly (down to 68.2% for a HMM trained with the motions of only one subject) compared to other features (25.3% for Cartesian features and 17.8% for angular features in the same conditions). The method is illustrated through an interactive demo in which three virtual humans have to interactively recognize and replay the performance of the user. Each virtual human is associated with a HMM recognizer based on the three different input features.
ADAR1 RNA Deaminase Limits Short Interfering RNA Efficacy in Mammalian Cells*

Double-stranded RNA induces the homology-dependent degradation of cognate mRNA in the cytoplasm via RNA interference (RNAi) but also is a target for adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing by adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs). An interaction between the RNAi and the RNA editing pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans has been suggested recently, but the precise mode of interaction remains to be established. In addition, it is unclear whether this interaction is possible in mammalian cells with their somewhat different RNAi pathways. Here we show that ADAR1 and ADAR2, but not ADAR3, avidly bind short interfering RNA (siRNA) without RNA editing. In particular, the cytoplasmic full-length isoform of ADAR1 has the highest affinity among known ADARs, with a subnanomolar dissociation constant. Gene silencing by siRNA is significantly more effective in mouse fibroblasts homozygous for an ADAR1 null mutation than in wild-type cells. In addition, suppression of RNAi effects are detected in fibroblast cells overexpressing functional ADAR1 but not when overexpressing mutant ADAR1 lacking double-stranded RNA-binding domains. These results identify ADAR1 as a cellular factor that limits the efficacy of siRNA in mammalian cells.