Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conducting Qualitative Longitudinal Research on Learning to Teach English Pronunciation: Challenges, Pitfalls…Coffee, and Bubbles!

Inquiries into the impact of second language teacher education on the development of teachers' practices, beliefs, and knowledge have increased substantially in the last few years. However, most studies tend to investigate the process of second language teacher learning over a relatively short period of time, and only limited literature addresses methodological considerations in longitudinal research, making the design of this type of study potentially challenging for researchers. The aim of this paper is to first describe an ongoing project which explores the process of teachers learning to teach English pronunciation over a period of six years. Following an overview of the study design, five major challenges that I have faced while conducting the research project are discussed: (1) design issues; (2) access to teacher-participants; (3) time-related issues; (4) data management; and (5) personal involvement. Included in the discussion are methodological insights I have gained while carrying out the research and several navigational strategies I have used to overcome the aforementioned challenges. The purpose of providing this personal account is to shed light on my own experiences with navigating methodological challenges as a means of empowering researchers in designing and carrying out longitudinal research.
The Technical Efficiency of South Asian Commercial Banks and the Effects of Income Diversification

A banking sector demonstrates its efficiency by providing a higher rate of return on deposits and lower interest rates on loans made possible through cost savings of efficient operations. Duplication of these efficient operations may help to attain sustainable economic growth in developing South Asian economies. In this paper, we analyzed three types of efficiency: the overall technical efficiency (OTE), the pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) of commercial banks of South Asian countries, over the period 20002014. We further examined the impact of income diversification on bank efficiency. In the first stage analysis, using data envelopment analysis, we found that the OTE and PTE are the major source of inefficiency in South Asian commercial banks, while the SE is relatively higher. In the second stage, the panel Tobit Model regression results prove that income diversification has a positive and significant relationship with all three types of efficiencies OTE, PTE, and SE. Our results are robust in the use of alternative regression models.
What do we know about Korean Outward Foreign Direct Investment? Applying Spatial Models

This paper aims to prove that Korean outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) can be more comprehensively examined and major locational determinants are accurately identified when spatial dependence and heteroscedasticity effects are taken into consideration. This paper is the first one to adopt Spatial Durbin Model as the most appropriate approach in investigating Korean OFDI after a series of statistical tests. Our findings are different from the results of earlier studies without the spatial effects perspective. The empirical evidence signifies that the GDP per capita of Korean main trade-partner countries was the major Korean OFDI determinants. Korean OFDI favored economies with a higher degree of trade openness. Korean OFDI also took advantage of the economic integration. Meanwhile, it greatly underweighted its investment in most South Asian countries, South American, and African continent while Korean OFDI has outstandingly expanded into North America, the European Union, East Asian countries and mainland China markets. These provide important implications to the management of the corporate strategy and government policies on OFDI.
Curcumin Effects on MMP and TIMP Genes in a Breast Cancer Cell Line

Breast cancer is the most common leading cause of death among women worldwide (Kohrmann et al., 2009) due to distant metastases. Tumor cells produce Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes that destroy the basement of membranes, permitting invasion (Kohrmann et al., 2009). MMP is a family of 23 members structurally and functionally related endopeptidases (Nagase et al., 2006). MMPs are upregulated in most human tumor cell lines and their high levels are linked to metastasis (Baker et al., 2000). The stage of tumor progression is positively correlated with the expression of MMP family members (MMP-1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, and 14) (Overall and Lopez-Otin, 2002). MMP-2 and MMP-9 help in forming neovascularization and are involved in tumor angiogenesis mainly through their matrix-degrading capacity (John and Tuszynski, 2001). MMP-9 up-regulation was associated with a shortened relapse-free survival in breast cancer patients (Vizoso et al., 2007). The tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPS) family, including TIMP-1, 2, 3, and 4, regulates the multifunctional metalloproteinase activities. TIMPs have apoptosis-inducing properties and are down-regulated in a variety of human cancer cell lines. Over-expression of TIMPs reduced the experimental metastasis of melanoma (Khokha, 1994; Montgomery et al., 1994). TIMP-1
Language-Goal Imagination to Foster Creative Exploration in Deep RL

Developmental machine learning studies how ar-tiﬁcial agents can model the way children learn open-ended repertoires of skills. Children are known to use language and its compositionality as a tool to imagine descriptions of outcomes they never experienced before and target them as goals during play. We introduce IMAGINE , an intrinsically motivated deep RL architecture that models this ability. Such imaginative agents, like children, beneﬁt from the guidance of a social peer who provides language descriptions. To take advantage of goal imagination, agents must be able to leverage these descriptions to interpret their imagined goals. This generalization is made possible by modularity: a decomposition between learned goal-achievement reward function and policy relying on deep sets, gated attention and object-centered representations. We introduce the Playground environment and study how this form of goal imagination improves generalization and exploration over agents lacking this capacity.
Physiological response of Swiss ecosystems to 2018 drought across plant types and elevation

Using five eddy covariance flux sites (two forests and three grasslands), we investigated ecosystem physiological responses to the 2018 drought across elevational gradients in Switzerland. Flux measurements showed that at lower elevation sites (below 1000 m.a.s.l.; grassland and mixed forest) annual ecosystem productivity (GPP) declined by approximately 20% compared to the previous 2 years (2016 and 2017), which led to a reduced annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP). At the high elevation sites, however, GPP increased by approximately 14% and as a result NEP increased in the alpine and montane grasslands, but not in the subalpine coniferous forest. There, increased ecosystem respiration led to a reduced annual NEP, despite increased GPP and lengthening of the growing period. Among all ecosystems, the coniferous forest showed the most pronounced negative stomatal response to atmospheric dryness (i.e. vapour pressure deficit, VPD) that resulted in a decline in surface conductance and an increased water-use efficiency during drought. While increased temperature enhanced the water-use efficiency of both forests, de-coupling of GPP from evapotranspiration at the low-elevation grassland site negatively affected water-use efficiency due to non-stomatal reductions in photosynthesis. Our results show that hot droughts (such as in 2018) lead to different responses across plants types, and thus ecosystems. Particularly grasslands at lower elevations are the most vulnerable ecosystems to negative impacts of future drought in Switzerland. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale’.
Screening for Resistance to Botryosphaeria Stem Blight and Phomopsis Twig Blight in Blueberry

Stem diseases of blueberry ( Vaccinium spp.) can cause significant crop loss as well as loss of entire bushes. Stem diseases also tend to be more difficult to control with fungicides than foliar or fruit diseases. We have initiated a program to screen blueberry cultivars for resistance to two important stem diseases, Botryosphaeria stem blight and Phomopsis twig blight. An attached stem assay was used to screen for resistance/susceptibility to both pathogens. Resistance/susceptibility was measured by comparison of stem lesion lengths after inoculation. Final measurements were taken at 4 weeks (stem blight) and 6 weeks (twig blight). Whole potted plants representing 52 cultivars were used for the study. For Botryosphaeria stem blight, lesion length varied from about 10 mm in resistant cultivars to about 140 mm in susceptible cultivars. Phomopsis twig blight lesions ranged in length from about 18 mm to about 98 mm. Cultivars that were resistant to one pathogen were not necessarily resistant to the other.
The role of lysosomal acid lipase in regulation of the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1, high density lipoprotein and reverse cholesterol transport

ii Preface . iv Table of contents . vi List of tables. xi List of figures . xii List of abbreviations . xiv Acknowledgements . xvi Dedication . xvii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Overview . 1 1.2 Regulation of cellular cholesterol metabolism . 2 1.2. 1 SREBPs in the regulation of cholesterol homeostasis . 3 1.2. 2 LDL-receptor mediated uptake of exogenous cholesterol . 5 1.2. 3 Uptake of modified LDL by scavenger receptors . 8 1.3 Reverse cholesterol transport . 10 1.3.1 Step 1: Cellular cholesterol efflux and HDL formation. 12 1.3. 2 Step 2: HDL cholesterol esterification . 12 1.3. 3 Step 3: Uptake of HDL cholesterol and cholesteryl esters by the liver . 13 1.3. 3.1 HDL remodeling in the plasma . 14 1.3. 4 Step 4: Hepatobiliary excretion of cholesterol and bile acids . 15 1.3. 5 The role of the intestine in RCT . 15 1.3. 6 Macrophage-specific reverse cholesterol transport . 16
Tongue sonography: An introduction

Sonography has long been recognised as the primary imaging modality in the evaluation of thyroid, parathyroid, nodal, and salivary gland pathologies. Since the late 1980‐2019's, the literature has described an evolving role for ultrasound in the assessment of the tongue and the floor of mouth. Ultrasound can be used for tumour staging, vascular malformations, and for the evaluation of tongue movement during phonation and in the sleep cycle. This article aims to introduce the sonographer to the basic technique, sonographic anatomy, and commonly encountered abnormalities of tongue ultrasound. It has been divided into three key sections: Anatomy, Function, and Physiology; ultrasound technique (Transcervical/Intra‐oral); common pathology.
Evaluation of alpha-l-fucosidase for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma based on meta-analysis

Abstract Objectives The main aim of the present study was to assess the diagnostic value of alpha-l-fucosidase (AFU) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Studies that explored the diagnostic value of AFU in HCC were searched in EMBASE, SCI, and PUBMED. The sensitivity, specificity, and DOR about the accuracy of serum AFU in the diagnosis of HCC were pooled. The methodological quality of each article was evaluated with QUADAS-2 (quality assessment for studies of diagnostic accuracy 2). Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) analysis was performed. Statistical analysis was conducted by using Review Manager 5 and Open Meta-analyst. Results Eighteen studies were selected in this study. The pooled estimates for AFU vs. α-fetoprotein (AFP) in the diagnosis of HCC in 18 studies were as follows: sensitivity of 0.7352 (0.6827, 0.7818) vs. 0.7501 (0.6725, 0.8144), and specificity of 0.7681 (0.6946, 0.8283) vs. 0.8208 (0.7586, 0.8697), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of 7.974(5.302, 11.993) vs. 13.401 (8.359, 21.483), area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7968 vs. 0.8451, respectively. Conclusions AFU is comparable to AFP for the diagnosis of HCC.
Embedded Digital Twins in future energy management systems: paving the way for automated grid control

Abstract Emerging real-time applications in information technology, and operational technology enable new innovative concepts to design and operate cyber-physical systems. A promising approach, which has been discovered recently as key technology by several industries is the Digital Twin (DT) concept. A DT connects the virtual representation of a physical object, system or process by available information and sensor data streams, which allows to gather new information about the system it mirrors by applying analytic functions. Thereby the DT technology can help to fill sensor data gaps, e. g. , to support anomaly detection, and to predict future operating conditions and system states. This paper discusses a dynamic power system DT as a cornerstone instance of a new generation of EMS, and a prospective new EMS architecture, to support the increasingly complex operation of electric power systems. Unlike in traditional offline power system models, the parameters are updated dynamically using measurement information from the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and a wide area monitoring system (WAMS) to tune the model. This allows to derive a highly accurate virtual representation of the mirrored physical objects. A simulation engine, the Digital Dynamic Mirror (DDM) is introduced, in order to be able to reproduce the state of a reference network in real-time. The validation of the approach is carried out by a case study. In a closed loop within EMS applications, the DDM can help to assess contingency mitigation strategies, thus it can support the decision-making process under variable system conditions. The next generation of control centre Energy Management System (EMS) can benefit from this development by augmentation of the dynamic observability, and the rise of operator situation awareness.
In-silico Immunomodelling of 2019-nCoV

Background: Novel Corona Virus 2019 (2019-nCoV) is a positive-sense single-strand RNA virus form coronaviridae family, responsible for corona virus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) with rapid transmission. The aim of this study is characterization of major viral proteins, prediction of antigen proteasomal cleavage pattern, MHC class I processing and presentation, B- and T-cell epitopes, and anti-inflammatory epitopes of 2019-nCoV, compared with SARS-CoV. Methods: The aminoacid sequence of spike surface (S) glycoprotein, membrane (M) glycoprotein, envelop (E) protein and nucleocapsid (N) phosphoprotein were obtained from NCBI. The sequences were aligned by MEGA 7.0 and modeled by SWISS-MODEL. The proteasomal cleavage pattern, MHC class I processing and T-cells epitopes were predicted via IEDB analysis and EPISOFT. The B-cell epitopes were predicted by BepiPred 2.0. Also, prediction of anti-inflammatory epitopes was performed by AntiFlam. Results: Two major antigen proteins, S glycoprotein and M glycoprotein of 2019-nCoV, respectively, have 26.57% and 20.59% less efficiency in proteasomal cleavage and presentation to MHC class I, comparing SARS-CoV. There are less B-cell predicted epitopes in 2019-nCoV, comparing SARS-CoV. The anti-inflammatory properties of 2019-nCoV S glycoprotein and N protein is higher than SARS-CoV. Discussion: It seems that the evolution of 2019-nCoV is on the way of deficiency in antigen presenting to MHC class I and escaping from cellular immunity. Also, the predicted hotspot epitopes potentially can be used to induction of adaptive cellular immunity against 2019-nCoV. In addition, 2019-nCoV appears to be less immunopathogenic than SARS-CoV due to its higher anti-inflammatory proteins.
Identification of activity-dependent EGR3 target genes reveals genes associated with DNA damage response and schizophrenia

The immediate early gene transcription factor early growth response 3 (EGR3) has been identified as a master regulator of genes differentially expressed in the brains of patients with neuropsychiatric illnesses ranging from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder to Alzheimer’s Disease. These studies used bioinformatics approaches that identify networks of gene and proteins. However, few gene targets of EGR3 have actually been identified and validated in the mammalian brain. Our studies in mice have shown that Egr3 is required for stress-responsive behavior, memory, and the form of hippocampal plasticity long-term depression. To identify genes regulated by Egr3 that may play a role in these processes, we conducted an expression microarray on hippocampi from (WT) and Egr3-/- mice following electroconvulsive seizure (ECS), as stimulus that induces maximal expression of immediate early genes including Egr3. We identifies 71 genes that were differentially expressed between the WT and Egr3-/- mice one hour following ECS, a time when we would expect to identify direct targets of EGR3. Bioinformatic analyses showed that many of these are altered in schizophrenia. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed that the leading category of differentially expressed are members of the GADD45 (growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible) family (Gadd45b, Gadd45g, and Cdkn1a). Together with members of the AP-1 transcription factor family (Fos, Fosb), and the centromere organization protein Cenpa, that were also identified, these results revealed that Egr3 is required for activity-dependent expression of genes involved in the response to DNA damage. Using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) we validated key genes in the original RNA samples from male mice as well as in an independent cohort of female mice. Promoter analyses indicate that a number of these genes may be direct targets of EGR3 regulation. Our findings indicated that EGR3 as a critical regulator of genes that are disrupted in schizophrenia and reveal a novel role for EGR3 in regulating genes involved in activity-induced DNA damage response.
The spectrum of covariance matrices of randomly connected recurrent neuronal networks with linear dynamics

A key question in theoretical neuroscience is the relation between the connectivity structure and the collective dynamics of a network of neurons. Here we study the connectivity-dynamics relation as reflected in the distribution of eigenvalues of the covariance matrix of the dynamic fluctuations of the neuronal activities, which is closely related to the network dynamics’ Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the associated effective dimensionality. We consider the spontaneous fluctuations around a steady state in a randomly connected recurrent network of stochastic neurons. An exact analytical expression for the covariance eigenvalue distribution in the large-network limit can be obtained using results from random matrices. The distribution has a finitely supported smooth bulk spectrum and exhibits an approximate power-law tail for coupling matrices near the critical edge. We generalize the results to include second-order connectivity motifs and discuss extensions to excitatory-inhibitory networks. The theoretical results are compared with those from finite-size networks and the effects of temporal and spatial sampling are studied. Preliminary application to whole-brain imaging data is presented. Using simple connectivity models, our work provides theoretical predictions for the covariance spectrum, a fundamental property of recurrent neuronal dynamics, that can be compared with experimental data.
Optimal CD4T Cell Priming in Lymph Nodes Requires Repertoire Scanning by CD301b+ Migratory cDC2 Cells

Activation of CD4T cells by conventional dendritic cells (cDC) is pivotal in adaptive immunity. However, while the activation mechanism of antigen-specific CD4T cells has been extensively studied, the cellular mechanism that leads to the selection of cognate CD4T cell clones out of the polyclonal pool is incompletely understood. Here, we show that, in the reactive lymph nodes, newly homed naive polyclonal CD4T cells are temporarily retained before leaving the lymph node. This stop-and-go traffic of CD4T cells provides an adequate time window for efficient scanning and timely priming of antigen-specific clones. Mechanistically, upon immunization, CD301b+ DCs, a major subset of migratory cDC2 cells, quickly migrate to the draining lymph node and settle in the areas near the high endothelial venules, where they retain incoming polyclonal CD4T cells through MHCII-dependent but antigen-independent mechanisms while concurrently providing cognate stimuli to prime antigen-specific CD4T cells. These results indicate that CD301b+ DCs function as an immunological “display window” for CD4T cells to efficiently scan their antigen specificity. Graphical Abstract Highlights Newly homed polyclonal CD4T cells are temporarily retained in the reactive lymph nodes. Depletion of CD301b+ DCs results in shorter dwell time of CD4T cells in the draining lymph node and delayed priming of antigen-specific clones. The transient retention of polyclonal CD4T cells in the draining lymph node requires MHCII expression on CD301b+ DCs but not cognate antigen. CD301b+ DCs are required for robust expansion of rare antigen-specific CD4T cell clones and their skewing toward Th2 cells.
Identifying Isl1 Genetic Lineage in the Developing Olfactory System and in GnRH-1 Neurons

During embryonic development, symmetric ectodermal thickenings (olfactory placodes) give rise to several cell types that comprise the olfactory system, such as those that form the terminal nerve ganglion (TN), gonadotropin releasing hormone-1 (GnRH-1) neurons and other migratory neurons in rodents. Even though the genetic heterogeneity among these cell types are documented, unidentified cell populations arising from the olfactory placode remain. One candidate to identify placodal derived neurons in the developing nasal area is the transcription factor Isl1, which was recently identified in GnRH-3 neurons of the terminal nerve in fish, as well as expression in neurons of the nasal migratory mass. Here, we analyzed the Isl1 genetic lineage in chemosensory neuronal populations in the nasal area and migratory GnRH-1 neurons in mice using in-situ hybridization, immunolabeling a Tamoxifen inducible Isl1CreERT and a constitutive Isl1Cre knock-in mouse lines. In addition, we also performed conditional Isl1 ablation in developing GnRH neurons. We found Isl1 lineage across non sensory cells of the respiratory epithelium and sustentacular cells of OE and VNO. We identified a population of transient embryonic Isl1+ neurons in the olfactory epithelium and sparse Isl1+ neurons in postnatal VNO. Isl1 is expressed in almost all GnRH neurons and in approximately half of the other neuron populations in the Migratory Mass. However, Isl1 conditional ablation alone does not significantly compromise GnRH-1 neuronal migration or GnRH-1 expression, suggesting compensatory mechanisms. Further studies will elucidate the functional and mechanistic role of Isl1 in development of migratory endocrine neurons.