Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Responsibilities of Grading

I RADITIONAL grading practices are very much with us. In 1970, the Na tional Education Association reported that over 85 percent of the public schools were using percentages, points from 1 to 5, or letter grades in reporting student achieve ment (4). Yet evidence is mounting against these traditional grading practices, and educators are becoming increasingly con cerned with "the grading problem. " Several alternative grading procedures have been proposed. These include parent-teacher con ferences, descriptive or narrative reporting, student self-evaluation, mastery or perfor mance-based evaluation, pass/fail and its variants, dual systems, and giving credits in relation to amount of work completed. As it becomes easier to criticize tradi tional grading practices and to see the need for alternatives, it is tempting to propose solutions without considering the problem in perspective. If we succumb to this tempta tion, our solutions will tend to be piecemeal and patchwork rather than substantive alter natives. Our purpose here is to address the question, what is a good alternative? We will identify two educational responsibilities that any alternative must consider, and in light of these responsibilities we will discuss the nature of grading and the qualities that a good solution requires.
Impact of Annual Praziquantel Treatment on Urogenital Schistosomiasis in a Seasonal Transmission Focus in Central Senegal

In Sub-Saharan Africa, urogenital schistosomiasis remains a significant public health problem, causing 150.000 deaths/year with approximately 112 million cases diagnosed. The Niakhar district is a disease hotspot in central Senegal where transmission occurs seasonally with high prevalences. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of annual treatment over 3 years on the seasonal transmission dynamics of S. haematobium in 9 villages in the Niakhar district. Adults and children aged between 5 and 60 years were surveyed from 2011 to 2014. Urine samples were collected door-to-door and examined for S. haematobium eggs at baseline in June 2011, and all participants were treated in August 2011 with PZQ (40 mg/kg). After this initial examination, evaluations were conducted at 3 successive time points from September 2011 to March 2014, to measure the efficacy of the annual treatments and the rates of reinfection. Each year, during the transmission period, from July to November-December, malacological surveys were also carried out in the fresh water bodies of each village to evaluate the infestation of the snail intermediate hosts. At baseline, the overall prevalence of S. haematobium infection was 57.7%, and the proportion of heavy infection was 45.3%, but one month after the first treatment high cure rates (92.9%) were obtained. The overall infection prevalence and proportion of heavy infection intensities were drastically reduced to 4.2% and 2.3%, respectively. The level of the first reinfection in February-March 2012 was 9.5%. At follow-up time points, prevalence levels varied slightly between reinfection and treatment from 9.5% in June 2012 to 0.3% in March 2013, 11.2 in June 2013, and 10.1% April 2014. At the end of the study, overall prevalence was significantly reduced from 57.7% to 10.1%. The overall rate of infested Bulinid snails was reduced after repeated treatment from 0.8% in 2012 to 0.5% in 2013. Repeated annual treatments are suggested to have a considerable impact on the transmission dynamics of S. haematobium in Niakhar, due to the nature of the epidemiological system with seasonal transmission. Thus, to maintain this benefit and continue to reduce the morbidity of urogenital schistosomiasis, other approaches should be integrated into the strategy plans of the National program to achieve the goal of urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in seasonal foci in Senegal.
Perceived Usability of Social Software Enabling Self-Directed Learning

In this paper we report our idea of supporting self-directed learning (SDL) with a selection of social software tools, given the assumption that SDL competence can be enhanced by group learning activities. The concomitant research concern is to explore how usable and useful these tools are for fostering online communication and for supporting the development of learning contract. To address this issue, we have developed a simple instrument – tool usage statements based on the core usability concepts and augmented Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The instrument was administered at the middle and the end of a three-month user trial. Results showed that the changes in the perceived usability, user experience and acceptance were insignificant, though in general they were on the increasing trend. Some interesting observations about the participants‟ preference for Weblog (i.e. a general-purpose application) to iLogue (i.e. a specific-purpose application tailored-made for supporting the development of learning contract) were analyzed. It is deemed relevant to improve the tool usage statements and administer it to a larger sample to attain certain psychometric properties, and to further explore other remote evaluation methods.
Les vacances au bled de descendants d'immigrés algériens : Trajectoires, pratiques, appartenance

Depuis au moins trente ans, les descendants de l’immigration maghrebine sont, en France, l’objet d’interrogations scientifiques et politiques. De la mesure des degres et rythmes d’integration a l’identification de pratiques discriminatoires, la sociologie des descendants d’immigres s’est concentree sur l’etude des modes de vie et des trajectoires des membres de cette population vue depuis le pays de residence, egalement pays de naissance. Pour completer ces perspectives, ce travail propose d’etudier les liens materiels entretenus avec le pays d’origine des parents a travers une pratique apparemment mineure : les sejours de vacances passees au « bled », dans le pays de naissance de leurs parents – en l’occurrence l’Algerie. Ce travail interroge les enjeux d’appartenances qu’impliquent ces sejours vacanciers en les rapportant aux trajectoires et aux caracteristiques sociales des personnes rencontrees (classe sociale, sexe, âge et generation, situation familiale). Les appartenances ne sont pas apprehendees ici uniquement a travers des pratiques symboliques (comme la pratique de la langue du pays d’origine ou la religion des parents) ou par le biais de declarations, mais a travers la description et l’analyse de pratiques materielles mises en œuvre a l’occasion de ces sejours de vacances. Il apparait alors que ces pratiques sont revelatrices de modes varies de relation aux « origines », entre pratiques memorielles d’inscription dans une lignee familiale et/ou une histoire nationale, et entretien au present de sociabilites familiales ou amicales a travers des pratiques de loisir partagees.La recherche s’appuie principalement sur une enquete qualitative menee a la fois en France (dans la region lyonnaise) et en Algerie (particulierement dans la region de Setif, premiere region d’emigration representee a Lyon), reunissant des entretiens ethnographiques et des observations in situ des pratiques et des relations de vacances. Elle propose de combiner une ethnographie des pratiques presentes avec une perspective longitudinale sur l’evolution de ces pratiques, apprehendee du point de vue des individus et de leur famille, et du point de vue de l’Etat algerien.
Culturally sensitive continence care: a qualitative study among South Asian Indian women in Leicester.

BACKGROUND Urinary incontinence is a significant health problem with potentially serious physical, psychological and social consequences. The true prevalence is difficult to ascertain, especially in hard to reach groups such as ethnic minority populations and research in this area is lacking. The UK has an increasingly diverse population, and ascertaining the needs for incontinence care among ethnic minority groups is crucial. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to explore views and experiences of incontinence and perceptions of care among South Asian Indian women in Leicester, UK. METHODS A qualitative focus group study involving four focus groups, each of six women, was undertaken. Focus groups were conducted in the participants' chosen language and facilitated by a bilingual moderator. Groups were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed in a systematic and iterative way based on the constant comparative method. RESULTS Women commonly normalized symptoms of urinary incontinence, attributing them to the ageing process or consequences of childbirth. Help-seeking behaviour was hindered not only by feelings of embarrassment in discussing sensitive problems, especially with male health professionals, but also the perceived embarrassment felt by doctors. Women reported a lack of available information in culturally sensitive media. Talk-based media were more highly valued than text-based media. Generational differences in help-seeking behaviour were apparent. CONCLUSIONS This exploratory study provides valuable understanding of the continence needs of South Asian Indian women. Common needs were identified, as were important generational differences. Suggestions offered by women for the existing service improvement seemed relatively modest in terms of resources required.
Drought effects on root and needle terpenoid content of a coastal and an interior Douglas fir provenance

Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is a conifer species that stores large amounts of terpenoids, mainly monoterpenoids in resin ducts of various tissues. The effects of drought on stored leaf terpenoid concentrations in trees are scarcely studied and published data are partially controversial, since reduced, unaffected or elevated terpenoid contents due to drought have been reported. Even less is known on the effect of drought on root terpenoids. In the present work, we investigated the effect of reduced water availability on the terpenoid content in roots and needles of Douglas fir seedlings. Two contrasting Douglas fir provenances were studied: an interior provenance (var. glauca) with assumed higher drought resistance, and a coastal provenance (var. menziesii) with assumed lower drought resistance. We tested the hypothesis that both provenances show specific patterns of stored terpenoids and that the patterns will change in response to drought in both, needles and roots. We further expected stronger changes in the less drought tolerant coastal provenance. For this purpose, we performed an experiment under controlled conditions, in which the trees were exposed to moderate and severe drought stress. According to our expectations, the study revealed clear provenance-specific terpenoid patterns in needles. However, such patterns were not detected in the roots. Drought slightly increased the needle terpenoid contents of the coastal but not of the interior provenance. We also observed increased terpenoid abundance mainly in roots of the moderately stressed coastal provenance. Overall, from the observed provenance-specific reactions with increased terpenoid levels in trees of the coastal origin in response to drought, we conclude on functions of terpenoids for abiotic stress tolerance that might be fulfilled by other, constitutively expressed mechanisms in drought-adapted interior provenances.
The Influence of Blind Distractors on Eye Movement Trajectories in Visual Hemifield Defects

There is evidence that some visual information in blind regions may still be processed in patients with hemifield defects after cerebral lesions (blindsight). We tested the hypothesis that, in the absence of retinogeniculostriate processing, residual retinotectal processing may still be detected as modifications of saccades to seen targets by irrelevant distractors in the blind hemifield. Six patients were presented with distractors in the blind and intact portions of their visual field and participants were instructed to make eye movements to targets in the intact field. Eye movements were recorded to determine if blind-field distractors caused deviation in saccadic trajectories. No deviation was found in one patient with an optic chiasm lesion, which affect both retinotectal and retinogeniculostriate pathways. In five patients with lesions of the optic radiations or the striate cortex, the results were mixed, with two of the five patients showing significant deviations of saccadic trajectory away from the blind distractor. In a second experiment, two of the five patients were tested with the target and the distractor more closely aligned. Both patients showed a global effect, in that saccades deviated toward the distractor, but the effect was stronger in the patient who also showed significant trajectory deviation in the first experiment. Although our study confirms that distractor effects on saccadic trajectory can occur in patients with damage to the retinogeniculostriate visual pathway but preserved retinotectal projections, there remain questions regarding what additional factors are required for these effects to manifest themselves in a given patient.
Monocyte-derived Dendritic Cells in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) results from the accumulation of small mature, slowly dividing, monoclonal B lymphocytes. The clinical course of this disease is heterogeneous, with some patients progressing rapidly with early death whilst others exhibit a more stable, possibly, non-progressing disease lasting many years. Despite progress in therapy, relapse invariably occurs and the disease remains incurable. The clinical management of CLL is therefore challenging and considerable effort has been directed towards novel therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing the disease relapse rate. Recent insights into the role of dendritic cells as the pivotal antigen-presenting cells that initiate immune responses may provide the basis for generating more effective antitumor immune responses. Consequently, dendritic cells constitute an attractive approach in the context of CLL. However, understanding the relation between dendritic cells and the cellular immune response is crucial to elucidation of how to manipulate immune responses. After summarizing general properties of dendritic cells, this review focus on the approaches exploiting monocyte-derived dendritic cells in CLL, which should help design of novel treatment strategies in this disease.
Part-of-Speech Guessing with Bogus Statistics

In this paper, I present a statistical-based approach to the part-of-speech guessing problem. I see assigning a part-of-speech, such as Adjectiveor Noun, as a classification problem. My guessing framework, which relies on automated learning of a language model, is described in detail. The rich feature analysis presented is suitable for linguistic data, such as the ones observed in German. I use a large margin classifier learning algorithm to select relevant features and learn appropriate labelling. The system is evaluated using a German corpus.
SPILLOVER EFFECTS ON CARBON TRADING PRICE OF INTERNATIONAL OIL PRICE

Along with the arrival of the low carbon economy, the Clean Development Mechanism project is more important to China. By analyzing spillover effects on Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) carbon market of oil prices by GARCH, it found that the mean and volatility spillover effects between international oil price (WTI) and CCX carbon trade price were significant. The volatility of CCX carbon trading price was influenced itself, at the same time, it was influenced by the volatility of WTI oil price, and spillover effects from WTI fluctuation were more significant than the effects from CCX price fluctuation. International oil price rises will lead to the future price of carbon of Chicago Climate Exchange increases. The effects of international oil price fluctuations to the carbon market were positive, conversely the effects were nonsignificant.
Bilateral internal carotid artery dissection associated with prior syphilis: a case report and review of the literature

Bilateral internal carotid artery dissection is a rare entity, and its presentation may include cerebral ischemia. We describe the case of a 69-year-old man with ischemic stroke and radiological evidence of intimal flap of both internal carotid arteries suggestive for dissection. During the hospitalization, our patient was found positive for a previous syphilis infection. We conducted a review of the literature, with evidence of a few cases of ischemic stroke presumably related to a prior syphilis. The absence of major cardiovascular risk factors in our patient leads us to believe that an etiopathogenetic link may exist between these two conditions.
Behaviour Coordination in Structured Environments

Behaviour coordination is a notorious problem in mobile robotics. Behaviours are either in competition or collaborating to achieve the goals of a system, which leads to requirements for arbitration and/or fusion of control signals. In most systems the arbitration is specified in terms of “events” that denote positions or sensory input. The detection of these events allows discrete switching between groups of behaviours. In contrast, the fusion of behaviours is often achieved using potential fields, fuzzy rules, or superposition. In most cases, the underlying theoretical foundation is rather weak and the behaviour switching results in discrete changes in the overall system dynamics. In this paper, we present a scheme for behaviour coordination that is grounded in the dynamical systems approach. The methodology provides a solid theoretical basis for analysis and design of individual behaviours and their coordination. This coordination framework is demonstrated in the context of a domestic robot for fetch-and-carry type tasks. It is here shown that behaviour coordination can be analyzed as an integral part of the design to facilitate smooth transition and fusion between behaviours.
Balamuthia mandrillaris: Morphology, biology, and virulence

Balamuthia mandrillaris is a protist pathogen that can cause encephalitis with a fatality rate of >95%. This is due to our incomplete understanding of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of B. mandrillaris encephalitis. B. mandrillaris has two stages in its life cycle, an active trophozoite stage during which it divides mitotically. However, under unfavorable conditions, the trophozoite transforms into a dormant cyst stage. A major concern during the course of therapy is that B. mandrillaris can transform into cysts. Cysts are highly resistant to physical and chemical conditions and present a problem in successful antimicrobial chemotherapy. Several lines of evidence suggest that B. mandrillaris encephalitis develops as a result of hematogenous spread, but it is unclear how circulating amoebae enter the central nervous system and cause inflammation, blood-brain barrier disruption, and neuronal injury. Recent studies have identified several parasite-host determinants for B. mandrillaris translocation of the blood-brain barrier, and host inflammatory markers that may be associated with neuronal injury. These determinants may provide important targets for the prevention and treatment of this devastating infection. Here, we present a brief overview of the current understanding of the morphology, biology, pathogenesis, and pathophysiology of B. mandrillaris encephalitis.
Genes Essential to Iron Transport in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803

ABSTRACT Genes encoding polypeptides of an ATP binding cassette (ABC)-type ferric iron transporter that plays a major role in iron acquisition inSynechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 were identified. These genes are slr1295, slr0513, slr0327, and recently reportedsll1878 (Katoh et al., J. Bacteriol. 182:6523–6524, 2000) and were designated futA1, futA2, futB, andfutC, respectively, for their involvement in ferric iron uptake. Inactivation of these genes individually or futA1and futA2 together greatly reduced the activity of ferric iron uptake in cells grown in complete medium or iron-deprived medium. All the fut genes are expressed in cells grown in complete medium, and expression was enhanced by iron starvation. ThefutA1 and futA2 genes appear to encode periplasmic proteins that play a redundant role in iron binding. The deduced products of futB and futC genes contain nucleotide-binding motifs and belong to the ABC transporter family of inner-membrane-bound and membrane-associated proteins, respectively. These results and sequence similarities among the four genes suggest that the Fut system is related to the Sfu/Fbp family of iron transporters. Inactivation of slr1392, a homologue offeoB in Escherichia coli, greatly reduced the activity of ferrous iron transport. This system is induced by intracellular low iron concentrations that are achieved in cells exposed to iron-free medium or in the fut-less mutants grown in complete medium.
Comparative Analysis Of Least Square Regression And Fixed Effect Panel Data Regression Using Road Traffic Accident In Nigeria

In this research work, attempt was made to critically analyze the effect of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to various categories of road traffic accident in Nigeria for a certain period of time over all the states of federation including Federal capital territory. This was done by using panel data regression model. The conventional OLS estimator applied to panel data has over time led to inconsistent estimate of the regression parameters due to lack of adequately handling individual specific effect of the parameters. A better and preferable estimation method was exploited in this analysis to obtain a more reliable result that can be used for prediction of likely future occurrence. Among all the estimation methods considered, only the fixed effect panel data regression method with heteroscedasticity variance-covariance tools gives a consistent estimate of the regression parameters.
Multi Terminal Binary Decision Diagrams to Represent and Analyse Continuous Time Markov Chains

Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs) have gained high attention in the context of design and veri(cid:12)cation of digital circuits. They have successfully been employed to encode very large state spaces in an e(cid:14)cient, symbolic way. Multi terminal BDDs (MTBDDs) are generali-sations of BDDs from Boolean values to values of any (cid:12)nite domain. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of MTBDDs to the symbolic representation of continuous time Markov chains, derived from high-level formalisms, such as queueing networks or process algebras. Based on this data structure, we discuss iterative solution algorithms to compute the steady-state probability vector that work in a completely symbolic way. We highlight a number of lessons learned, using a set of small examples.