Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preparing Classroom Teachers to Be Cooperating Teachers: A Report of Current Efforts, Beliefs, Challenges, and Associated Recommendations

A significant focus in the literature related to the preparation of early childhood teachers is the increasing emphasis on quality field-based experiences. Central to the effectiveness of these experiences is a cooperating teacher who is prepared with the necessary skills to provide prospective teachers with a powerful learning opportunity. Despite this recognition in the literature, research is limited on what early childhood teacher education programs are actually doing to prepare classroom teachers to function in this capacity. The nature and purpose of this preparation and support must be carefully examined in order to identify key features that will truly enhance the ability of these teachers to provide the type of mentoring that leads to quality field experiences. Thus, the purpose of this study is to report survey results from 62 early childhood teacher education faculty regarding their efforts in preparing cooperating teachers to work with preservice teachers. Recommendations based on these findings and the professional literature are offered.
Youth - Learning - Europe: Ménage à Trois?

This article explores the relationship between three basic concepts that are much discussed by pedagogues, scientists and politicians: changes in the life-courses of young people, educational opportunities, and ongoing Europeanization. There is a complex relationship existing between the three ‘partners’, with youth, learning and Europe forming a difficult menage a trois. But evident to all players in the field is that educational institutions no longer respond adequately to societal demands and individual needs. The author suggests that among contemporary European youth are trendsetters who make their own learning agendas by drawing less on formal education and more on informal and non-formal learning contexts. This is in parallel with growing political and scientific consciousness of the need to arrive at new educational/vocational policies and practices in Europe to serve all young people.
The Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles: Part III. Predictive Validity

The predictive validity of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) was explored in a group of 536 medium-security prison inmates. Scores on six of the eight PICTS clinical scales were observed to correlate with future disciplinary problems in this sample of subjects. Although age was a more potent predict or of disciplinary status, several of the PICS scales displayed predictive efficacy independent of that attained with the age variable. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to continued development of the PICTS instrument.
Transportable Enhanced Simulation Technologies for Pre-Implementation Limited Operations Testing: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: Transition of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to a new physical plant incurs many challenges. These are amplified when the culture of care is changing from traditional cohort-based care to the single-family room model. Altered healthcare delivery systems can be tested in situ with TESTPILOT: Transportable Enhanced Simulation Technologies for Pre-Implementation Limited Operations Testing. The aims of the study included promoting translation of existing processes and identifying staff orientation material. We hypothesized that (1) numerous process gaps would be discovered and resolved, and (2) participants would feel better prepared. Methods: A functional neonatal intensive care unit was modeled before its opening. Scenarios were developed, volunteers recruited, and rooms supplied with equipment. Participants performed usual duties in two 30-minute in situ simulations followed by facilitated debriefings. As latent safety hazards were identified, they were corrected and retested in subsequent simulations. Staff was surveyed for perceived preparedness. Results: Ninety-six multidisciplinary participants identified 164 latent safety hazards in verbal and written communication, facilities, supplies, staffing, and training, 93% of which were resolved at transition. Staff preparedness varied but showed improving communication, workflow patterns, and awareness of equipment and supply locations. The majority stated that this simulation experience changed their practice. Conclusions: Simulation is very effective for identifying process gaps before major institutional change. TESTPILOT generated iterative workflow enhancements and staff orientation toward improving patient care at transition and beyond. The extensive coordination required to implement such large-scale simulations is well worth the benefit for systems refinement and patient safety.
The role of emotion and narrative in the reciprocal construction of identity

Abstract Each individual has a life story, and it is this story that gives us an identity, allowing us to exist and function among one another. It is natural for us to communicate through narratives. The process of creating a sense of identity through storytelling allows us to participate in interpersonal relationships, while constructing and sustaining a satisfying self-concept. Through a unique interplay of managing emotional experiences and constructing a way of communicating those experiences to others, and ourselves, we begin to construct who we think we are. This research study uses both oral and written narratives, full of emotion, as a means to uncover identity development. By researching both dimensions of narrative, this study reveals not only the tensions that exist between expressing our emotions and maintaining an acceptable image within organizations, but also shows the reality between how we see ourselves and how we want others to see us.
Association between interleukin-6 gene polymorphism and idiopathic scoliosis : a meta-analysis

Idiopathic scoliosis (IS) is considered to be a multifactorial disease. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine. There is some controversy regarding whether IL-6 gene polymorphism (rs1800795 G/C) is associated with IS susceptibility. A systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTERAL database until the end of November, 2015 were carried out. Pooled ORs were performed for the allelic comparison (C vs. G) and genotypic comparisons of codominant (CC vs. GG and CG vs. GG), dominant (CC + CG vs. GG), and recessive (CC vs. CG + GG) genetic models. We calculated ORs and 95% CIs using random or fixed effects model. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality, and Stata 11.0 was used to analyze data. The associations between IL-6 gene polymorphism and IS susceptibility were investigated. Five eligible case-control studies were included in our meta-analysis. All of the studies were of high methodological quality. There were a total of 2121 subjects, including 944 cases and 1177 controls, from Asia and Europe. The meta-analysis showed that no significant difference was detected in all genetic models (P > 0.05). However, the results of this meta-analysis should be interpreted with caution because of the heterogeneity among the studies, and additional high quality studies are still necessary to assist with this finding.
Vedolizumab Therapy in Severe Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background:Vedolizumab is effective for inducing and maintaining remission in adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, there is limited pediatric data. This study aimed to describe the adverse events and clinical response to vedolizumab in refractory pediatric IBD. Methods:Disease activity indices, clinical response, concomitant medication use, and adverse events were measured over 22 weeks in an observational prospective cohort study of children with refractory IBD who had failed anti–tumor necrosis factor therapy and subsequently initiated vedolizumab therapy. Results:Twenty-one subjects, 16 with Crohn disease, received vedolizumab. Clinical response was observed in 6/19 (31.6%) of the evaluable subjects at week 6 and in 11/19 (57.9%) by week 22. Before induction, 15/21 (71.4%) participants were treated with systemic corticosteroids, as compared with 7/21 (33.3%) subjects at 22 weeks. Steroid-free remission was seen in 1/20 (5.0%) subjects at 6 weeks, 3/20 (15.0%) at 14 weeks, and 4/20 (20.0%) at 22 weeks. There was statistically significant improvement in serum albumin and hematocrit; however, C-reactive protein increased by week 22 (P < 0.05). There were no infusion reactions. Vedolizumab was discontinued in 2 patients because of severe colitis, requiring surgical intervention. Conclusions:There is limited experience with vedolizumab therapy in pediatric IBD. There seems to be a marked number of subjects with clinical response in the first 6 weeks that increases further by week 22 despite the severity of disease in this cohort. Adverse events may not be directly related to vedolizumab. This study is limited by small sample size, and larger prospective studies are warranted.
Microbial Epitopes Act as Altered Peptide Ligands to Prevent Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Molecular mimicry refers to structural homologies between a self-protein and a microbial protein. A major epitope of myelin basic protein (MBP), p87–99 (VHFFKNIVTPRTP), induces experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). VHFFK contains the major residues for binding of this self-molecule to T cell receptor (TCR) and to the major histocompatibility complex. Peptides from papilloma virus strains containing the motif VHFFK induce EAE. A peptide from human papilloma virus type 40 (HPV 40) containing VHFFR, and one from HPV 32 containing VHFFH, prevented EAE. A sequence from Bacillus subtilis (RKVVTDFFKNIPQRI) also prevented EAE. T cell lines, producing IL-4 and specific for these microbial peptides, suppressed EAE. Thus, microbial peptides, differing from the core motif of the self-antigen, MBPp87–99, function as altered peptide ligands, and behave as TCR antagonists, in the modulation of autoimmune disease.
A Practical Approach to Validating and Testing Software Systems Using Scenarios

Scenarios (Use cases) are a means to capture a system’s functionality and behavior in a user-centered perspective. Thus they are used in most modern objectoriented software development methods to help elicit and document user requirements. Scenarios also form a kind of abstract level test cases for the system under development. Yet they are seldom used to derive concrete system test cases. In this paper we present a procedure to use scenarios in a defined way to systematically derive test cases for system test. This is done by formalization of natural language scenarios into statecharts, annotation of statecharts with helpful information for test case creation/generation and by path traversal in the statecharts to determine concrete test cases.
Expression and regulation of golli products of myelin basic protein gene during in vitro development of oligodendrocytes

The myelin basic protein (MBP) gene produces two families of proteins, the classic MBPs, important for myelination of the CNS, and the golli proteins, whose biological role in oligodendrocytes (OLs) is still unknown. The goals of this work were to study the in vitro pattern of expression of the golli products during OL differentiation and to compare it with that of the classic MBP products of the gene. Mouse primary glial cultures were analyzed at the mRNA and protein levels with an array of techniques. We found that OLs express golli mRNA primarily during intermediate stages of differentiation, which was confirmed by immunocytochemical analysis. Golli expression was low in proliferating OL progenitors as well as in terminally mature OLs. Golli proteins were found associated with the OL cell soma and nuclei and, to a lesser extent, with the cellular processes. We also found that golli proteins are not targeted to myelin in vitro and in vivo, in contrast to the classic MBPs. Finally, we found that golli expression is regulated during OL development and can be manipulated by growth factors such as basic fibroblast growth factor, neurotrophin‐3, and retinoic acid. J. Neurosci. Res. 66:679–690, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Temporal Diversification of Search Results

We investigate the notion of temporal diversity, bringing together two recently active threads of research, namely temporal ranking and diversification of search results. A novel method is developed to determine search results consisting of documents that are relevant to the query and were published at diverse times of interest to the query. Preliminary experiments on twenty years’ worth of newspaper articles from The New York Times demonstrate characteristics of our method and compare it against two baselines.
Faecal Calprotectin in Term and Preterm Neonates

Objectives: The aim of this review was to examine the characteristics of the faecal calprotectin assay in neonates and the evidence for its use as a noninvasive marker of intestinal illnesses during the neonatal period. Methods: Bibliographic searches were performed in the MEDLINE electronic database up to February 2010 looking for the following words (all fields): “infants” or “neonates” and “calprotectin. ” Twenty studies, in which 1180 neonates were enrolled, were selected. Results: During the neonatal period, calprotectin levels are characterized by significantly higher values in both healthy full-term and preterm infants during their first year of life compared with reference values established for children and adults. No difference was observed according to gestational age or birth weight, whereas a higher faecal calprotectin level was detected during intestinal distress in neonates with either inflammatory or patent digestive alterations. Despite high interindividual variations, cutoff levels are proposed to identify infants with a high risk of intestinal illnesses. Conclusions: Compared with adults and children, healthy full-term and preterm neonates have high calprotectin levels. The measurement of calprotectin levels in faeces can be a promising noninvasive clinical screening test for intestinal distress in neonates.
Analysis of Strategic Knowledge in Back of the Envelope Reasoning

Back of the envelope (BotE) reasoning involves generating quantitative answers in situations where exact data and models are unavailable and where available data is often incomplete and/or inconsistent. A rough estimate generated quickly is more valuable and useful than a detailed analysis, which might be unnecessary, impractical, or impossible because the situation does not provide enough time, information, or other resources to perform one. Such reasoning is a key component of commonsense reasoning about everyday physical situations. We present an implemented system, BotE-Solver, that can solve about a dozen estimation questions like "What is the annual cost of healthcare in USA? " from different domains using a library of strategies and the Cyc knowledge base. BotE-Solver is a general-purpose problem solving framework that uses strategies represented as suggestions, and keeps track of problem solving progress in an AND/OR tree. A key contribution of this paper is a knowledge level analysis [Newell, 1982] of the strategic knowledge used in BotE reasoning. We present a core collection of seven powerful estimation strategies that provides broad coverage for such problem solving. We hypothesize that this is the complete set of back of the envelope problem solving strategies. We present twofold support for this hypothesis: 1) an empirical analysis of all problems (n=44) on Force and Pressure, Rotation and Mechanics, Heat, and Astronomy from Clifford Swartz's "Back-of-the-Envelope Physics" [Swartz, 2003], and 2) an analysis of strategies used by BotE-Solver.
Putting security at the heart of the European social pact – proposals to make flexicurity more balanced

The concept of flexicurity opens up new avenues for rethinking our approach to social integration and security for Europe's citizens. In the current European debate, however, flexicurity is out of balance on two levels: it leans too far towards flexibility at the expense of security, and it is too focused on the labour market (and increasing employment rates) at the expense of other aspects of quality of life. This article suggests ways to rebalance flexicurity, giving more substance to ‘security’. In particular it proposes that, in addition to the mutualisation typically found in conventional social security strategies, services of general interest and time and space policies should also be developed. It recommends the negotiation of a new social pact in which all partners (not just the social partners) should have their say. The conclusion highlights the particular role of the EU in promoting harmonising measures and establishing new instruments for security and different ways of approaching public funding and investment. La notion de flexicurite ouvre quelques pistes interessantes en vue d'un renouvellement de la maniere de concevoir l'integration sociale et la securite des citoyens europeens. En l'etat actuel du debat europeen, elle souffre toutefois d'un double desequilibre: d'une part en faveur de la flexibilite et au detriment de la securite, d'autre part par sa focalisation sur la question du marche du travail (et celle de l'augmentation des taux d'emploi) aux depens d'autres aspects lies a la qualite de la vie en general. Cet article indique les voies d'un reequilibrage visant a donner plus de consistance a la notion de «securite» pour mieux relever les defis convoyes par les transformations economiques et demographiques actuelles. Il propose notamment de developper, en plus des instruments de mutualisation privilegies dans les strategies conventionnelles de securite sociale, les services publics d'interet general et les politiques du temps et de l'espace. Est ainsi recommandee la negociation d'un nouveau pacte social, ou chaque partenaire concerne (et pas seulement les partenaires sociaux) devrait avoir voix au chapitre. La conclusion pointe le role specifique de l'UE dans une telle perspective, via la promotion d'une action integree et harmonisatrice d'une part, la mise en place de nouveaux instruments de securite et de manieres differentes d'envisager la question du financement et de l'investissement publics d'autre part.
The health of the Roma people: a review of the published literature

BACKGROUND The Roma people originated in northern India and have been known in Europe for nearly a thousand years. For much of that time they have been the subjects of discrimination and oppression, culminating in the extermination of half a million Roma in the Nazi death camps. While it is widely believed that the health of Roma people is often poorer than the majority population, these inequalities remain largely unresearched. METHODS Published literature on the health of the Roma people was identified using Medline. Opinion pieces were excluded, as were papers relating to anthropometry and to genetic markers. The resultant papers were analysed by country of study and by disease type or care group. RESULTS Some 70% of papers identified related to just three countries; Spain and the Czech and Slovak Republics. Much literature concentrates upon communicable disease or reproductive health. The limited evidence suggests increased morbidity from non-communicable disease, but there is little published on this topic. Evidence on health care, though fragmentary, suggests poorer access to health services and uptake of preventative care. DISCUSSION Published research on the health needs of the Roma population is sparse. The topics that have received attention suggest a focus on concepts of contagion or social Darwinism, indicating a greater concern with the health needs of the majority populations with which they live. There is a need for both further research into the health of Roma people; with particular emphasis on non-communicable disease; and also for interventions that improve Roma health. Such research must, however, be handled with sensitivity, recognising the social and political context of the society concerned.
Making things difficult: Developing a research approach to teaching in higher education

ABSTRACT This paper describes and reflects upon a part-time MEd course, which has been developed at the University of Sheffield Division of Education, for lecturing staff from different departments in the university. The purpose of the course is to develop the quality of teaching across the institution. Here the author, in collaboration with Len Barton, who co-tutored the course, explores some of the issues which arise from planning and working with the lecturing colleagues who were the course participants. Central to its development is the idea that improvements in teaching are likely to follow from the sustained reflection and research of higher education lecturers into their own practice and the social context in which it arises. Having started the course in 1992, our discussion is necessarily tentative at this stage, and further evaluation is under way. We would therefore welcome any correspondence to us at the University of Sheffield concerning the issues which we address.
Do we know what common sense is and, can we improve it if we don't?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning, significance, and development, of common sense and to suggest an approach for enhancing it.Design/methodology/approach – Literature review and critical analysis of the way greater skill in decision‐making leads to “better” common sense.Findings – In light of the very limited coverage of common sense development in the literature, this paper may make a contribution to the awareness of the dimensions of common sense and to approaches that can help individuals develop what might be more appropriate decisions based on common sense – decisions that consider more of the relevant issues.Practical implications – Individuals – managers and leaders in all work and home activities – can enhance their common sense, and with it their decisions, by developing the habit of following the guidelines suggested by the paper, or equally appropriate ones.Originality/value – There does not appear to be anything as practically applicable to common sense development .
Methods for Valuing Customer Relationships : Use of the Multi-Period Excess Earnings Method or the Distributor Method ?

The income approach is a common approach used in the valuation of customer-related intangible assets. Within the income approach, the multi-period excess earnings method is a common method to value customer relationships. In recent years, valuation analysts have used the distributor method, also an income-based approach, as an alternative method to valuing the customer relationship intangible asset. This discussion describes the two valuation methods and provides guidance on the appropriate use of each method.
Series connection of 3.3 kV IGBTs with active voltage balancing

Application of IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors) to high voltage power electronics systems is today becoming an attractive solution because of low cost and low complexity. Semiconductor manufacturers are making efforts to design chips with higher blocking voltages, but for reliability and cost purposes, an easier solution today would be to use standard IGBTs. This paper describes the behaviour of 3.3 kV, 100 A chips connected in series and driven with an active gate control circuit which balances the voltage during both static and dynamic phase. The first part of the article presents the theoretical description of the principle and some design recommendations. The second part contains experimental results. These tests demonstrated that it is possible to safely turn off two times the nominal current under 4 kV DC link voltage. Finally, short-circuit turn-off has been also successfully tested, showing a good balancing of the overvoltages, even under such emergency conditions.