Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teacher perspectives about lesson study in secondary school departments: a collaborative vehicle for professional learning and practice development

Two departments in a secondary school in England participated in ‘lesson study’ projects over a five-month period to explore its usefulness as a vehicle for professional development. Through a cycle of two research lessons, conducted separately in each department, teachers identified challenges that inhibited the learning of their students and collaboratively prepared innovative approaches to address the learning challenges. The process yielded multiple sets of data: DVD-recorded lessons, lesson plans and resources, transcripts of preparation and evaluation meetings and individual interviews at the end of the project. This paper draws principally on detailed qualitative analysis of end-of-project interviews about teacher experiences of learning and practice development in the two contexts. While the teachers encountered some logistical challenges to the implementation of lesson study, a number of important gains were reported: collaboration in lesson study reduced feelings of professional isolation; teachers reported a sharper focus on pupil learning and more confidence to take risks with approaches to teaching, which led to greater opportunities for pupils to engage in interactive activities, for example involving problem-solving and peer teaching in groups.
The Impact of Meditation Practice on Depression, General Distress, Self-Esteem, and Mindfulness Among Thai College Students

Meditation is an intervention proven to be rich with its depth of application, with more recent studies focusing on emotional disorders. The current literature purports that meditation can have several mediating effects in regards to emotional problems, including: decreased depression levels, decreased general distress, and higher levels of self-esteem. In addition, several recent scales have been constructed to measure levels of mindfulness, with increased meditation yielding higher levels. While meditation has been studied extensively in the West, little investigation exists within a Thai population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the influence of meditation on various emotional problems as well as levels of mindfulness. The literature on the above variables was reviewed to support the claim for meditation's effectiveness. The specific hypotheses tested were that self-reported meditation practice would be related to decreased levels of depression, decreased levels of general distress, increased levels of self-esteem, and increased levels of mindfulness. Results revealed only one expected difference between meditators and non-meditators: a sub scale on a mindfulness measure (observe). Post hoc tests were also conducted witl1in the sample of meditators, with two significant correlations found: the amount of time spent meditating per day was associated with two factors on one of the mindfulness measures, acting with awareness and accepting without judgment. Possible factors contributing to and implications of these results are discussed.
Antidiabetic Properties of a Spice Plant Nigella sativa

Seeds of Nigella sativa (black cumin/kalonji) used in pickles as spice, have also been traditionally used in treatment of many diseases including diabetes and hypertension. Among many activities exhibited by N. sativa and its constituents in animal experiments, antidiabetic property is most important. Thymoquinone (TQ), a volatile oil, is one of its active constituents but antidiabetic activity has also been shown by its aqueous extract and defatted extract. N. sativa may be beneficial in diabetic individuals and those with glucose intolerance as it reduces appetite, glucose absorption in intestine, hepatic gluconeogenesis, blood glucose level, cholesterol, triglycerides, body weight and simulates glucose induced secretion of insulin from beta-cells in pancreas; improves glucose tolerance as efficiently as metformin; yet it has not shown significant adverse effects and has very low toxicity. In streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats it causes gradual partial regeneration of pancreatic beta-cells, increases the lowered serum insulin concentrations and decreases the elevated serum glucose. N. sativa has antioxidant activity and protective role of TQ against development of type I diabetes may be via NO inhibitory pathway. It also exerts an insulin-sensitizing action in hepatocytes. Seeds of N. sativa have been safely consumed by human patients in many clinical trials which however were not aimed to assess its antidiabetic activity. In future clinical studies may show potential of N. sativa , its constituents or their s ynthetic analogues, in prevention and control of diabetes. J Endocrinol Metab. 2011;1(1):1-8 doi: https://doi.org/10.4021/jem12e
Comparing climate change indices between a northern (arid) and a southern (humid) basin in Mexico during the last decades

Abstract. It is a matter of current study to determine potential climate changes in different parts of the world, especially in regions like a basin which has the potential to affect socioeconomic and environmental issues in a defined area. This study provides a comparison between several climate change indices trends of two very different basins in Mexico, one located in the northern arid region (the Conchos River basin) and the other in the southern humid area (the Usumacinta River basin). First, quality control, homogenization, and completion of the missing data were applied before calculating the climate change indices and their respective trends for the combined period 1961–1994. A clear warming signal was found for the two basins in addition to an increment in the DTR, in agreement with other studies in Mexico. Also, the Conchos River basin was found to be more humid and the Usumacinta River basin drier, in accordance to a supposed seesaw behavior indicated in previous analysis.
Deregulating fixed voice services? Empirical evidence from the European Union

This paper analyzes the relationship between the traditional fixed-line, mobile and Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony in the EU. In doing so, it aims at filling the gap in the empirical literature on the substitution patterns between these technologies in a comprehensive way. It relies on demand estimation for fixed-line telephony using a unique data set comprising 25 EU member states for the 2006:Q2 - 2011:Q4 period. Employing instrumental variable approach, demand-side substitution for VoIP as well as mobile telephony services is found to be prevalent. Estimated short-run own- and cross-price elasticities are in the inelastic range, however, in the long run demand is clearly elastic. Hence, our results underpin the Europeans Commission's current decision to lift the ex ante regulation on the fixed-line telephony market.
Research and Implementation of Automatic Fuzzy Garage Parking System Based on FPGA

Because of many common scenes of reverse parking in real life, this paper presents a fuzzy controller which accommodates front and back adjustment of vehicle’s body attitude, and based on chaotic-genetic arithmetic to optimize the membership function of this controller, and get a vertical parking fuzzy controller whose simulation result is good . The paper makes the hardware-software embedded design for system based on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and set up a 1:10 verification platform of smart car to verify the fuzzy garage parking system with real car. Verification results show that, the system can complete the parking task very well.
A Survey on Design Methods for Secure Software Development

Software provide services that may come with some vulnerabilities or risks. Attackers perform actions that break security of system through threats and cause a failure. To avoid security vulnerability, there are many security-specific concepts that should be determined as requirements during software development life cycle in order to deliver a strong and secure software. This paper first, survey a number of existing processes, life cycle and methodologies needed for developing secure software based on the related published works. It starts by presenting the most relevant Secure Software Development Lifecycles, a comparison between the main security features for each process is proposed. The results of the comparison will give the software developer with a guideline which will help on selecting the best secure process. Second, the paper list a set of the most widely used specification languages with the advantages and disadvantages for each
Dual Dynamic Programming with quantization for disparity map

Intensive research has been done in the field of stereovision to calculate an accurate disparity map, but all the existing methods have some limitations like high execution time, discontinuities, horizontal streaks etc. In this paper we propose an improved disparity map method, Dual dynamic programming with quantization, based on dynamic programming that provides lower execution time and more accurate disparity map. Our method improves the accuracy of stereo matching.
Taxonomic Diversity and Biodegradation Potential of Bacteria Isolated from Oil Reservoirs of an Offshore Southern Brazilian Basin

This study aimed at the taxonomic characterization of a collection with 98 bacteria isolated from oil and formation water samples from petroleum reservoirs of the Campos Basin (Brazil), as well as the evaluation of their degradation potential of petroleum biomarkers. The genomic DNA extracted from all isolates was employed in PCR reactions for amplification of the 16S rRNA gene and subsequent screening by ARDRA (Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis), in order to detect potentially distinct taxonomic groups. Further 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of 39 isolates representing different ribotypes revealed that these isolates belonged to 10 different genera, encompassing Marinobacter, Halomonas, Citreicella, Stenotrophomonas, Achromobacter, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Kocuria and Streptomyces, affiliated to the three phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. RAPD analysis enabled the discrimination of the isolates at the infraspecific level, allowing the identification of 45 distinct genetic band patterns. The chromatographic results showed the preference of all of bacteria to biodegrade nonadecanoic acid and squalane when grown in biomarker mixture. The results of this study provide further insight into the taxonomy of the cultivated fraction of microbial communities of Brazilian oil reservoirs and may offer potential tools for future application in bioremediation processes.
The Relationships Between Milk Production and Some Blood Metabolites and Their Effects on Returning to Estrus in Lactating Holstein Dairy Cows

In this study, the relationships and correlations between milk production and some blood metabolites related to energy and protein balance and their effects were investigated on returning to estrus after AI in lactating Holstein dairy cows. Blood and milk samples were collected from sixty lactating Holstein dairy cows based on their reproductive status in 13-17 d post AI. BUN, MUN, glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol and BHBA were measured by enzymatic colorimetric method and blood progesterone concentration was measured by ELISA method. Between 18-25 d post AI, 27 cows returned to estrus (RE group), but 33 cows did not (NRE group). In RE group, there were significant correlations between DIM and Monthly Milk yield Record (MMR) (p< 0.05), BUN (p< 0.01) and glucose (p<0.01). Furthermore, MMR was correlated with BUN (p< 0.05), MUN (p<0.05), glucose (p<0.05) and cholesterol (p<0.05). In addition, BUN in this group was correlated with MUN (p<0.01) and glucose (p<0.05) and the correlation between glucose and BHBA (p<0.05) was significant. In NRE group, there were significant correlations between DIM and MMR (p<0.01) and between MMR and glucose (p<0.05). Also parity was correlated with glucose (p<0.05). BUN and MUN concentrations correlation was also significant (p<0.05). Except progesterone concentrations (p<0.01), there was not any difference between the mean of the two groups variables. In conclusion, the result of this study suggested that in animals returned to estrus after AI and failed to continue pregnancy, there were significant correlations between milk yield and some blood metabolites (BUN, MUN, glucose, triglyceride, cholesterol and BHBA) related to physiological imbalance. In animals that continued pregnancy and did not return to estrus, there was not any significant interpreted correlation between the variables. Therefore, despite adverse effect of negative energy balance on physiological imbalance and blood metabolites, progesterone concentration had the key role in stability of the pregnancy.
Analysis of the dynamics of passenger cars with McPherson strut suspension systems in the MSC.ADAMS software environment with taking into account the friction in shock absorbers

The paper presents a method to analyse the dynamics of passenger cars with McPherson strut suspension systems, which will make it possible to consider the friction that takes place between major components, i.e. piston rod and cylinder, of front shock absorbers. The analysis was carried out with making use of modern tools to support the engineering design process, i.e. the Autodesk Inventor program (used to work out geometric models of the car under consideration), and the MSC. ADAMS software (in the environment of which the dynamics of the structural model of the car under consideration was analysed). The analysis included investigation of the tendency exhibited by a car to have variations in the distribution of car body weight among road wheels at sudden lane-change manoeuvres, especially in the case of previous severe defect (oil outflow) of one of the car shock absorbers as a result of which the shock absorber would fail to function fully. In such a situation, dry friction may occur between mating parts of the defective shock absorbers, which would impede (or even prevent) relative translational motion of the parts. In the authors’ opinion, the study presented may be interesting for designers of McPherson strut suspension systems for automotive vehicles.
Interaction between Total Cost and Fill Rate: A Case Study

Forecasting plays a central role in the efficient operation of a supply chain – i.e., the total costs and fill rate. As forecasts of demand are required on a regular basis for a very large number of products, the methods developed should be fast, flexible, user-friendly, and able to produce results that are reliable and easy to interpret by a manager. In this paper we show that the supply chain costs cannot be optimal if the forecasting method is treated separately from the inventory model. We analyse the performance of the joint optimization of the modified Holt-Winters forecasting method and a stock control policy and investigate the effect of different penalties for unsatisfied demand on the total cost and fill rate of the supply chain. From the results obtained with 1,428 real time series from M3-Competition we show that an essential reduction of supply chain costs and an increase of fill rate can be achieved if we use the joint model with the modified Holt-Winters method. DOI: 10.15458/85451.25
TOTAL SOLUBLE PHENOLS AND LIGNIN LEVELS OF CO FEE SEEDLINGS INOCULATED WITH Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

The objective of this work was to study the effects of different isolates of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, as to pigment level (chlorophyll a, b and total), total soluble phenols and soluble lignin in coffee seedlings obtained by artificially inoculated tissue culture. The experiment was carried out in randomized block design in a 2 x 3 factorial scheme (2 genetic materials), 3 isolates (an isolate from mango fruits and another one from coffee plants), with 5 replicates and control (plants without inoculation). The plants were inoculated with a suspension of 2 x 106 conidia.ml-1. The conidial suspension was sprayed on previously injured leaves. Leaves of inoculated plants were collected at 3 and 7 days after inoculation, except for leaves on the lower part of the plants. Afterwards, samples were prepared for the evaluation of chlorophyll, total soluble phenols and soluble lignin. The results showed that the presence of the pathogen in healthy and diseased plants significantly reduced the amount of chlorophyll. At 7 days after inoculation of healthy and diseased coffee plants higher total soluble phenol and soluble lignin levels were observed in response to the attack by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides.
Promoting ICT use in Portuguese schools. A case of school-university collaboration

In this article we analyse a four-year period of collaboration between 36 k-12 schools and a higher education institution concerning ICT integration in the light of theoretical perspectives on educational change and innovation. The school and a team of experts of the University designed each integration project collaboratively, the school’s needs were identified and actions were implemented to train teachers on ICT use and to give support to the integration of technology in their practices. Identified factors for successful integration are discussed within the frame of school-university collaboration contributing for the design of future similar initiatives.
Stable water isotope variation in a Central Andean watershed dominated by glacier and snowmelt

Central Chile is an economically important region for which water supply is dependent on snow- and ice melt. Nevertheless, the relative contribution of water supplied by each of those two sources remains largely unknown. This study represents the first attempt to estimate the region's water balance using stable isotopes of water in streamflow and its sources. Isotopic ratios of both H and O were moni- tored during one year in a high-altitude basin with a moderate glacier cover (11.5 %). We found that the steep altitude gra- dient of the studied catchment caused a corresponding gra- dient in snowpack isotopic composition and that this spatial variation had a profound effect on the temporal evolution of streamflow isotopic composition during snowmelt. Glacier melt and snowmelt contributions to streamflow in the stud- ied basin were determined using a quantitative analysis of the isotopic composition of streamflow and its sources, resulting in a glacier melt contribution of 50-90 % for the unusually dry melt year of 2011/2012. This suggests that in (La Ni ˜ na) years with little precipitation, glacier melt is an important water source for central Chile. Predicted decreases in glacier melt due to global warming may therefore have a negative long-term impact on water availability in the Central Andes. The pronounced seasonal pattern in streamflow isotope com- position and its close relation to the variability in snow cover and discharge presents a potentially powerful tool to relate discharge variability in mountainous, melt-dominated catch- ments with related factors such as contributions of sources to streamflow and snowmelt transit times.
Optimization of presence enabled services over cellular networks based on a personal proxy

Nowadays Presence Enabled Services, like Instant Messaging or multipart games, are taking a growing importance. One characteristic of these services is that they need user's presence information, understanding this presence in a wide sense, with many parameters. The problem of this information is that it generates a big amount of signaling messages, that increases exponentially with the number of users involved in the service. When users are connected through wireless links of cellular networks, this distribution can be a critical drawback. In this paper we present a distributed architecture of managing and distributing presence information, in contraposition with the standard one that is completely centralized. The system permits to use many optimization techniques in order to minimize at the maximum the amount of presence information to be transmitted to the final user that will use the cellular network as access network.
Technology and Youth : Growing Up in a Digital World

Purpose Information and communication technology (ICT) usage is pervasive among present day youth, with about 95% of youth ages 12 17 years reporting use of the Internet. Due to the proliferation of ICT use among this generation, it is important to understand the impacts of ICT usage on well-being. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of ICT usage on psychological well-being among a sample of urban, predominately African American youth. Methodology/approach Paper and pencil surveys were administered to fourth and fifth grade students enrolled in 27 elementary schools in the southeastern United States. Relationships between hours using various Technology and Youth: Growing Up in a Digital World Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Volume 19, 267 291 Copyright r 2015 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1537-4661/doi:10.1108/S1537-466120150000019008 267 D ow nl oa de d by M ic hi ga n St at e U ni ve rs ity A t 1 4: 20 1 2 M ar ch 2 01 6 (P T ) types of ICTs and the frequency of Internet activities on depression, hopelessness, self-esteem, and belonging were examined using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. Findings Results indicate that ICT usage has both positive and negative implications for psychological well-being, depending upon the type of ICT use and outcome being examined. Social Implications The proliferation of ICT usage among present day youth may actually lessen its impact on psychological well-being. Since the amount of ICT usage does not seem to influence psychological well-being, future research should examine the impact of ICT content on psychological well-being.
Empirical Evaluation of a Test for Identifying Recently Bottlenecked Populations from Allele Frequency Data

Identifying recently bottlenecked populations (populations severely reduced in size) is important because bottlenecks can increase demographic stochasticity, rate of inbreeding, loss of genetic variation, and fixation of deleterious alleles and, thereby, reduce adaptive potential and increase the probability of population extinction (Frankel & Soulé 1981; Lande 1988, 1994; Leberg 1990; Hedrick & Miller 1992; Mills & Smouse 1994; Frankham 1995 a , 1995 b ; but see Bryant et al. 1986; Goodnight 1987). Unfortunately, it is usually difficult to determine if a population has recently experienced a bottleneck because historical population sizes and levels of genetic variation are seldom known. We developed a statistical test (a sign test for heterozygosity excess) for detecting recent historical bottlenecks using allele frequency data (Cornuet & Luikart 1996). The test requires no data on historical population sizes or levels of genetic variation; it requires only measurements of allele frequencies from 5 to 20 polymorphic loci in a sample of approximately 20-30 individuals. The test has reasonable statistical power when applied to allele frequency data sets generated by computer simulations (Cornuet & Luikart 1996). The performance of the test, however, must be evaluated by means of empirical data from natural populations before it can be used with confidence. Our objectives were to (1) explain to conservation biologists the principle of the sign test for detecting heterozygosity excess and (2) evaluate the reliability of the test by analyzing 56 allozyme and 37 microsatellite data sets from bottlenecked and nonbottlenecked natural populations.