Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CMX: The Effects of an Educational MMORPG on Learning and Teaching Computer Programming

Computer programming has for decades posed several difficulties for students of all educational levels. A number of teaching approaches have been proposed over the years but none seems to fulfil the needs of students nowadays. Students use computers mainly for playing games and the Internet and as quite a few researchers state this aspect of computers should be taken into account in the way we educate them. Towards this direction, this paper aims to examine the effects of using an educational Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) on teaching and learning computer programming. The educational features of an MMORPG called CMX are presented along with a design framework that was devised taking into account previous work in designing educational games. The effects of CMX on teaching and learning computer programming are assessed through a study with first-year undergraduate students. Seventy six students used CMX over a period of five weeks for learning various procedural programming concepts. Students evaluated various aspects of CMX by filling in a questionnaire that was based on an evaluation framework, which was devised in accordance with the design framework of CMX. Moreover, the results of a midterm exam that took place prior to using CMX and students’ accomplishments in the context of CMX were recorded and analyzed. The results show that the majority of the students was entertained by playing the game while learning, and felt motivated to continue based on the game's scenario due to the variety of activities included. In regards to the students’ performance, a pre-test and a post-test were carried out in the experimental group, i.e., the participants of this study, and the control group, i.e., students of the course that continued to get taught the same concepts and performed the same assignments as the experimental group, but traditionally. The pre-test and post-test analysis of the performance results for both groups showed that the majority of the students in the experimental group increased their performance in computer programming. Furthermore, students stated they had a positive attitude in regards to re-using CMX in the future in order to learn additional programming concepts. The positive results of this study pave the way for CMX being used in the classroom and expanding the game's functionalities that will further increase students’ performance and support teachers in delivering the required knowledge. Moreover, the work reported in this paper offers game designers and teachers methodological and empirical results for game-based learning in such a difficult domain as is computer programming. What is more, the design and evaluation frameworks presented are general enough that they can be easily adjusted and/or extended for designing and assessing educational games in other domains as well.
Arsenic Localization and Speciation in the Root–Soil Interface of the Desert Plant Prosopis juliflora-velutina

The bioavailability and mobility of arsenic (As) in soils depends on several factors such as pH, organic matter content, speciation, and the concentration of oxides and clay minerals, among others. Plants modify As bioavailability in the rhizosphere; thus, the biogeochemical processes of As in vegetated and non-vegetated soils are different. Changes in As speciation induced by the rhizosphere can be monitored using micro-focused synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) combined with μX-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (μXANES). This research investigated As speciation in the rhizosphere of mesquite (Prosopis juliflora-velutina) plants grown in a sandy clay loam treated with As(III) and As(V) at 40 mg kg−1. Rhizosphere soil and freeze-dried root tissues of one-month-old plants were analyzed by bulk XAS. Bulk XAS results showed that As(V) was the predominant species in the soil (rhizosphere and non-vegetated), whereas As(III) was dominant in the root tissues from both As(V) and As(III) treated plants. μXAS and μXRF studies of thin sections from resin embedded soil cores revealed the As(III)–S interactions in root tissues and a predominant As–Fe interaction in the soil. This research demonstrated that the combination of bulk XAS and μXAS techniques is a powerful analytical technique for the study of As speciation in soil and plant samples
Reexamining Causes and Consequences: Does Administrative Intensity Matter for Organizational Performance?

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between organizational structure (size and complexity) and administrative intensity and, subsequently, the effect of administrative intensity on organizational performance in the context of four-year institutions of higher education in the United States between 2003 and 2009. Organizational size has a negative effect on administrative intensity and supports the notion of economies of scale. Size and complexity also interact such that complexity has a greater effect on total administrative intensity in larger organizations. While administrative intensity has a nonlinear relationship with degree productivity, suggesting a tipping point of 30% total administration, it has little direct effect on graduation rates.
Changes in the Threshold Uncertainty in a Simultaneous Subscription Game

This paper considers a discrete public good subscription game under threshold uncertainty and private information on valuations and analyzes the effect of change in cost uncertainty on the private contribution equilibrium under a simultaneous institution. Comparative statics with respect to the changes in the cost distribution are derived. We find that if the cost distribution becomes more dispersed, in the sense of a mean-preserving spread, the expected total contributions to the public good will decrease. Our proposition provides a policy implication that if the suppliers are able to reduce the uncertainty of the cost distribution, the private contribution to the public good will increase.
Um modelo macrodinâmico pós-keynesiano de simulação

Este artigo apresenta a estrutura e as primeiras simulacoes computacionais de um modelo macrodinâmico uni-setorial que incorpora alguns elementos do enfoque teorico pos-keynesiano. Os elementos incorporados no modelo aqui apresentado sao os seguintes: (i) determinacao do nivel de producao pela demanda efetiva, (ii) existencia de propensoes a poupar diferenciadas com base na classe de rendimentos, (iii) fixacao de precos com base num mark-up sobre os custos diretos unitarios de producao, (iv) determinacao do investimento com base na “teoria dos dois precos” de Minsky, (v) influencia da estrutura de capital das empresas, em especial o seu nivel de endividamento, sobre a decisao de investimento e de fixacao de precos, (vi) determinacao da taxa de inflacao com base no conflito distributivo entre capitalistas e trabalhadores, e (vii) endogenidade da oferta de moeda. As simulacoes computacionais do modelo revelam algumas propriedades importantes da dinâmica capitalista tais como a ocorrencia “crescimento ciclico”, ou seja, flutuacoes irregulares e nao-explosivas da taxa de crescimento do produto real; a estabilidade da taxa de lucro e da distribuicao funcional da renda ao longo do tempo; a manutencao de uma certa capacidade de producao excedente no “longo-prazo”; a ocorrencia de um unico episodio de queda acentuada do nivel de atividade economica ao longo de todo o intervalo de tempo da simulacao, o que esta em consonância com o carater raro das “grandes crises” na historia do capitalismo. Alem disso, as simulacoes computacionais mostram que uma reducao muito acentuada da inflacao num curto periodo de tempo tende a ser acompanhada por uma grande fragilizacao das posicoes financeiras das empresas, a qual, mais cedo ou mais tarde, culmina numa “grande depressao”. Como corolario desse resultado segue-se que o Banco Central deve conduzir a politica monetaria de forma a jamais engendrar quedas muito acentuadas da taxa de inflacao.
Type checking and normalisation

This thesis is about Martin-Lof's intuitionistic theory of types (type theory). Type theory is at the same time a formal system for mathematical proof and a dependently typed programming language. Dependent types are types which depend on data and therefore to type check dependently typed programming we need to perform computation(normalisation) in types. Implementations of type theory (usually some kind of automatic theorem prover or interpreter) have at their heart a type checker. Implementations of type checkers for type theory have at their heart a normaliser. In this thesis I consider type checking as it might form the basis of an implementation of type theory in the functional language Haskell and then normalisation in the more rigorous setting of the dependently typed languages Epigram and Agda. I investigate a method of proving normalisation called Big-Step Normalisation (BSN). I apply BSN to a number of calculi of increasing sophistication and provide machine checked proofs of meta theoretic properties.
MicroRNA miR-371a-3p - A Novel Serum Biomarker of Testicular Germ Cell Tumors: Evidence for Specificity from Measurements in Testicular Vein Blood and in Neoplastic Hydrocele Fluid

Background: microRNAs (miRs)-371-3 are suggested to be novel biomarkers of germ cell tumors (GCTs), but their specificity is unresolved. We aimed at clarifying the origin of miR 371a-3p by measuring this miR in peripheral vein blood, and in fluids present in the vicinity of GCTs. Methods: miR-371a-3p levels were measured by quantitative PCR in 9 tumor surrounding hydroceles and in cubital vein blood (CVB) and testicular vein blood (TVB) of 64 GCT patients, 51 with clinical stage (CS) 1, 13 with CS2-3. Thirty three CS1 cases had also postoperative CVB measurement. TVB miR levels were compared with those of CVB. Associations with clinical factors were analyzed statistically. Results: TVB miR levels were 294-fold, 80-fold and 4.6-fold higher than those in CVB of CS1 patients, CS2-3 patients and controls, respectively. Neoplastic hydrocele fluid comprised of very high miR levels. In CS1, miR levels dropped to normal postoperatively. Statistically, CVB miR levels are significantly associated with tumor size (p = 0.0211) and testis length (p = 0.0493). TVB miR levels are associated with testis length (p = 0.0129). Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the origin of circulating miR 371a-3p molecules from GCT cells. miR-371a-3p represents a specific serum biomarker for germ cell cancer.
Jasmonate and ppHsystemin Regulate Key Malonylation Steps in the Biosynthesis of 17-Hydroxygeranyllinalool Diterpene Glycosides, an Abundant and Effective Direct Defense against Herbivores in Nicotiana attenuata[W]

This study describes the biosynthetic dynamics of diterpene glycosides abundant in a wild tobacco and highlights glycosylation and malonylation as key biosynthetic steps producing the diversity of compounds observed. It shows that plants silenced in diterpene glycoside production suffered more damage from herbivores in their natural habitat and were higher-quality food for a specialist herbivore. We identified 11 17-hydroxygeranyllinalool diterpene glycosides (HGL-DTGs) that occur in concentrations equivalent to starch (mg/g fresh mass) in aboveground tissues of coyote tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata) and differ in their sugar moieties and malonyl sugar esters (0-2). Concentrations of HGL-DTGs, particularly malonylated compounds, are highest in young and reproductive tissues. Within a tissue, herbivore elicitation changes concentrations and biosynthetic kinetics of individual compounds. Using stably transformed N. attenuata plants silenced in jasmonate production and perception, or production of N. attenuata Hyp-rich glycopeptide systemin precursor by RNA interference, we identified malonylation as the key biosynthetic step regulated by herbivory and jasmonate signaling. We stably silenced N. attenuata geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (ggpps) to reduce precursors for the HGL-DTG skeleton, resulting in reduced total HGL-DTGs and greater vulnerability to native herbivores in the field. Larvae of the specialist tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) grew up to 10 times as large on ggpps silenced plants, and silenced plants suffered significantly more damage from herbivores in N. attenuata's native habitat than did wild-type plants. We propose that high concentrations of HGL-DTGs effectively defend valuable tissues against herbivores and that malonylation may play an important role in regulating the distribution and storage of HGL-DTGs in plants.
Mitochondrial DNA 4,977‐bp Deletion in Paired Oral Cancer and Precancerous Lesions Revealed by Laser Microdissection and Real‐Time Quantitative PCR

Abstract: Oral cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths among men in Taiwan and is closely associated with areca quid chewing habits. Recent studies showed that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations occur in various tumors, including oral cancers, and that the accumulation of mtDNA deletions could be an important contributor to carcinogenesis. Using laser microdissection, we have analyzed mtDNA deletions by pairwise comparisons in oral cancer, precancerous cells, and their adjacent submucosal stoma tissues in 12 patients with areca quid chewing history. Real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RTQPCR) was performed to detect and quantify mtDNA with the 4,977‐bp deletion in the histologically defined specified cell groups. Quantitative analysis of 60 samples by RTQPCR revealed that the average proportions of 4,977‐bp deleted mtDNA over total mtDNA were 0.137%, 0.367%, and 0.001% in cancer, precancer cells, and lymphocytes of lymph node biopsies, respectively. Pairwise analysis of the proportion of mtDNA deletion in cancer, precancer, and their stroma tissues revealed a consistent trend among these patients. All of the patients (12/12) presented a higher proportion of mtDNA with 4,977‐bp deletion in the lesions than in the lymphocytes, with average increases of 198‐fold in cancer and 546‐fold in precancer cells. A decrease in the proportion of deleted mtDNA was observed in 8 of 12 patients when the disease progressed from precancer to cancer lesions. Interestingly, 7 of 12 cancer tissues and 8 of 12 precancer lesions exhibited an average of 6.3‐fold and 17.4‐fold increases in the proportion of 4,977‐bp deleted mtDNA in the stromal cells than in the lesion cells, respectively. The observation that the proportion of 4,977‐bp deleted mtDNA in all oral lesions was higher than normal and consistently decreased during cancer progression from precancer to primary cancer suggests that accumulation and subsequent cytoplasmic segregation of the mutant mtDNA during cell division may play an important role in oral carcinogenesis. This study also demonstrates that laser microdissection combined with RTQPCR is an efficient and sensitive tool to gain insight into the role that mtDNA mutation may play in carcinogenesis.
Influence of different surface treatments on push-out bond strengths of fiber-reinforced posts luted with dual-cure resin cement.

OBJECTIVES The objective was to evaluate whether fiber postsurface conditioning with air abrasion or erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) laser would influence the bond strength of dual-cure resin cement to the fiber-reinforced (FRC) posts. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-one FRC posts were divided into three groups according to surface treatment methods as follows: An untreated control group air abrasion with Al2O3group, and Er:YAG laser treated group with 150 mJ parameter. Fiber posts were then built up to dual-cure resin cement. Eighteen specimens were set and sectioned perpendicularly along the long axis of the post using a saw. Two disks (thickness of 2 mm) were obtained from each specimen (n = 12). Remaining three posts were stored for scanning electron microscopic evaluation. Push out test was performed on the each specimen and the values were recorded as MPa. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc tests (P < 0.05). RESULTS The bond strength values for the groups were as follows: Control (15, 28 MPa), air abrasion group (19, 73 MPa), and Er:YAG group (17, 84 MPa). Air abrasion affected the bond strength significantly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Air abrasion attained higher bond strengths when FRC posts were luted to dual-cure resin cement. Additional studies should be designed with different types and parameters of laser devices to understand the effect of these devices on bond strength.
Examining the Impact of Online Friendship Desire on Citizenship Behavior

In line with network technology development and smart device penetration, the social network service (SNS) has expanded its influence. The SNS which is a service based on communication and sharing among people, has grown based on users’ voluntary engagement and participation and its influence has appeared beyond the cyberspace into the overall areas of domestic and foreign culture and society. In particular, SNS-based real-time communication during diverse disasters, can help prevent further damage. By sharing information on social donation activities and environmental campaigns, people have used SNS as a tool to change the society in a more positive way. Such series of activities functioning as a power to change the society have been made much faster and wider through the help of a new media called SNS. To better understand such trends, we are required to study about t he SNS and its user relationships first. In this context, this study sought to identify the effects of people’s desire to build friendships through SNS on the voluntary and society-friendly activities of people. This study considers online pro-social behavior and proposes online citizenship behavior. Citizenship behavior has been examined in organization context. That is, organizational citizenship behavior explains an employee’s pro-social behavior in an organization context. Organizational citizenship behavior is characterized by the individual’s helping others and promoting the functioning of the organization. By applying organizational citizenship behavior to an online context, we propose online citizenship behavior, an individual’s pro-social behavior in an online context. An individual’s pro-social behavior, i.e., online citizenship behavior, could be considere d as a way for the better management of online community and society. It also needs to examine the development of online citizenship behavior. This study examined online citizenship behavior from the friendship desire. Because online society or community is characterized by online relationships between members, the friendship between members would lead to pro-social behavior, i.e., helping others and promoting the functioning of the online society, in such online * This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean
Sketching Out a Model of Innovation, Face-to-face Interaction and Economic Geography

Abstract This paper investigates the links between face-to-face interaction, the promotion of innovation, and the location behaviour of innovative firms. While face-to-face contact is an essential feature of most innovation behaviour, the importance of the frequency of face-to-face contact for innovation varies significantly according to different firm types. We therefore construct a simple optimization model in order to examine the relationship between the frequency of face-to-face interaction, the costs of land use, and the location of innovative firms. This allows us to distinguish between the types of firms which will be clustered together in space in order to foster innovation, from those innovating firms which will be more geographically dispersed. It will be seen that the model produces theoretical results which are largely consistent with both orthodox neo-classical urban economic models of location and also with much of the theoretical and empirical literature on the geography of innovation. Importantly, however, many aspects of the location of innovative firms which cannot be predicted on the basis of orthodox urban economic models are captured by this model.
Switching Costs or Search Costs?

One of the most significant and robust characteristics of decision making is persistence. An example of this is brand loyalty -- the repeat purchase of new products of the same brand. This paper attempts to show that previous explanations of this phenomenon (switching costs, habit and unobserved heterogeneity) are incomplete, and presents another explanation, namely that individuals possess asymmetric information about their alternatives and are faced with search costs.
Monetary Policy Inertia or Persistent Shocks?

In this paper, we propose a simple econometric framework to disentangle the respective roles of monetary policy inertia and persistent shocks in interest rate rules. The procedure exploits the cross-equation restrictions provided by a DSGE model which is confronted to a monetary SVAR. We show that, provided enough informative variables are included in the formal test, the data favour a monetary policy representation with low inertia and highly serially correlated monetary shocks. To the contrary, when the procedure is based solely on the dynamic behavior of the nominal interest rate, no clear-cut conclusion can be reached as to the correct representation of monetary policy.
Brain stem auditory evoked fields in response to clicks

Magnetoencephalographic correlates of brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) have been identified by applying the model of a current dipole with invariant location and orientation (fixed dipole) to data recorded with a 37-channel first-order gradiometer system. In all three subjects studied, the dominating wave of the recorded brain stem auditory evoked field (BAEF) coincided exactly with wave V in the contralateral BAEP (maximal field amplitude of the order of 2–3 fT). In one subject, also a wave preceding wave V was observed, which was associated with basically the same spatial pattern as wave V itself, but had an opposite polarity. The study suggests that the supplementary information provided by BAEF measurements could be decisive for a better understanding of human auditory evoked brain stem activity.
The price of pollution: costs estimates of environmentally related disease in Oregon

The purpose of this study is to estimate the environmentally attributable costs associated with diseases and disabilities in Oregon. We utilised actual Oregon data on disease rates and costs whenever available. If state-specific data were not available, we extrapolated from national estimates. We then used environmentally attributable fractions to estimate the environmentally attributable costs. The estimated environmentally attributable costs are the following: adult and childhood asthma: $29.6M; adult cardiovascular disease: $342.4M; adult and childhood cancer: $130.5M; childhood lead poisoning: $866.2M; birth defects: $3.0M; and childhood neurobehavioural disorders: $185M. Policymakers and researchers in other states are encouraged to apply the methods we have presented here to calculate the environmentally attributable costs associated with diseases and disabilities in their state. Knowing that many of the environmental contributors to disease are often preventable, policymakers are encouraged to make environmental public health a top priority.