Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
E-ducation: Research and Practice

This paper proposes an integrated approach for information technology in an educational context. The paper suggests a framework for the design of computer assisted learning activities — e-ducation. The framework captures three contemporary interrelated aspects of teaching and learning and is more pedagogical than it is analytical. The three aspects covered in the e-ducation framework are electronic, engaged and empowered. An implementation of the framework is used to illustrate how e-ducation can be applied in educational research and practice. The paper concludes that the e-ducation framework contributes to both educational research and educational practice.
Effects of non-protein energy intake on whole body protein synthesis, nitrogen retention and glucose turnover in goats

The responses of whole body protein and glucose kinetics and of nitrogen (N) metabolism to non-protein energy intake (NPEI) were determined using an isotope dilution approach and measurement of N balance in three adult male goats. The diets containing 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 times ME maintenance requirement, with fixed intake of CP (1.5 times maintenance) and percentage of hay (33%), were fed twice daily for each 21 d experimental period. After an adaptation period of 11 d, N balance was determined over 3 d. On day 17, whole body protein synthesis (WBPS) and glucose irreversible loss rate (ILR) were determined during the absorptive state by a primed-continuous infusion of []phenylalanine, []tyrosine, []tyrosine and []glucose, with simultaneous measurements of plasma concentrations of metabolites and insulin. Ruminal characteristics were also measured at 6 h after feeding over 3 d. Nitrogen retention tended to increase (p) that of tyrosine. Whole body protein synthesis increased (p). These results suggest that increasing NPEI may enhance WBPS and glucose turnover at the absorptive state and improve the efficiency of digestible N retention in goats, with possibly decreased ammonia and increased amino acid absorption. In addition, simultaneous increases in WBPS and glucose ILR suggest stimulatory effect of glucose availability on WBPS, especially when sufficient amino acid is supplied.
Effects on the reproductive system in domestic dowl (Gallus domesticus) after embryonic exposure to estrogenic substances

Environmental pollutants with estrogenic activity have a potential to disrupt oestrogen-dependent developmental processes. Thus, the aim of this thesis was to investigated how embryonic exposure to the estrogenic pollutants EE2 (17 alpha- ethynyloestradiol) and o,p´-DDT (1-[2-chlorophenyl]-1-[4-chlorophenyl]-2,2,2-trichloro-ethane) affects the reproductive system in the domestic hen (Gallus domesticus). Hens exposed in ovo to 20 or 60 ng EE2/g egg or 37 or 75 micro g o,p´-DDT/g egg produced a normal number of eggs but with thinner shells as adults. These hens also showed a reduction of shell gland capillaries with carbonic anhydrase (CA) activity. CA is considered a key enzyme in shell formation and the developmentally induced disruption of this enzyme may explain the observed eggshell thinning. Left oviduct and infundibulum was shortened in exposed hens and severely malformed in hens exposed to 150 or 300 micro g o,p´-DDT/g egg, which likely explained the inhibited egg production in these birds. Semen output was significantly reduced in both o,p´-DDT and EE2 exposed roosters, whereas sperm quality was unaffected. The left testis was deformed with an atrophied epididymis. Altered plasma inhibin concentration and histological evaluation implied a disturbed Sertoli cell function resulting in reduced germ cell production. Structural malformations in the epididymis indicating disrupted fluid transfer and transport of spermatozoa are possible contributors to the reduced semen output. Exposure to o,p´-DDT resulted in a wider range of effects than EE2 such as feminisation of the cloaca at hatch, cloacal deformation in adult roosters and a reduced comb weight, while hens showed retained right oviducts. Right spur diameter was affected by both substances.Localisation of epididymal progesterone receptors and cytoplasmic and membrane associated oestrogen receptor alfa in late spermatids, spermatozoa and epididymal tissues were novel findings in rooster. Embryonic exposure of domestic fowl to o,p´-DDT or EE2 resulted in persistent malformations of the reproductive organs of both sexes, with eggshell thinning and reduced semen production as a consequence. The results provide a possible explanation for how eggshell thinning may be induced in wild birds and show that also male birds may suffer from reduced reproductive success due to oestrogen-like pollutants.
Melanopsin expression is an indicator of the well-being of melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells but not of their viability

Light is an electromagnetic stimulus that in mammals is sensed by specialized neurons in the retina. The physiological response to light encompasses two fundamental and different functional outputs: image-forming and non-image forming. The image-forming response is classically known as vision, while the non-image forming responses include the circadian photo-entrainment and the pupillary reflex. Each one is processed by different neurons.
Improved Codebook-Based Speech Enhancement Based on MBE Model

This paper provides an improved codebook-based speech enhancement method using multi-band excitation (MBE) model. It aims to remove the noise between the harmonics, which may exist in codebook-based enhanced speech. In general, the proposed system is based on analysis-withsynthesis (AwS) framework. During the analysis stage, acoustic features are extracted including pitch, harmonic magnitude and voicing from noisy speech. These parameters are obtained on the basis of the spectral magnitudes obtained by codebook-based method. During the synthesis stage, different synthesis strategies for voiced and unvoiced speech are employed. Besides, this paper introduces speech presence probability to modify the codebook-based Wiener filter so that more accurate acoustic parameters can be obtained. The proposed system can eliminate noise not only between the harmonics, but also in the silent segments, especially in low SNR noise environment. Experiments show that, the performance of the proposed method is better than traditional codebook-based method for different types of noise.
The studies on coordinated behaviors of small and medium sized enterprises in the environment of supply chain

Systemically examine and study the dependant perception difference between enterprises in the supply chain environment and the influence for the coordinated behaviors of small and medium sized enterprises by such perception difference. Also the article conducts the demonstrated analysis and testing with the use of the pair data of coordinated enterprises of supply chain of the relevant industry supply chain in Xi'an district manufacturing.
Germline Expression Influences Operon Organization in the Caenorhabditis elegans Genome

Operons are found across multiple kingdoms and phyla, from prokaryotes to chordates. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the genome contains >1000 operons that compose ∼15% of the protein-coding genes. However, determination of the force(s) promoting the origin and maintenance of operons in C. elegans has proved elusive. Compared to bacterial operons, genes within a C. elegans operon often show poor coexpression and only sometimes encode proteins with related functions. Using analysis of microarray and large-scale in situ hybridization data, we demonstrate that almost all operon-encoded genes are expressed in germline tissue. However, genes expressed during spermatogenesis are excluded from operons. Operons group together along chromosomes in local clusters that also contain monocistronic germline-expressed genes. Additionally, germline expression of genes in operons is largely independent of the molecular function of the encoded proteins. These analyses demonstrate that mechanisms governing germline gene expression influence operon origination and/or maintenance. Thus, gene expression in a specific tissue can have profound effects on the evolution of genome organization.
OmpR Regulates the Stationary-Phase Acid Tolerance Response of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

ABSTRACT Tolerance to acidic environments is an important property of free-living and pathogenic enteric bacteria. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium possesses two general forms of inducible acid tolerance. One is evident in exponentially growing cells exposed to a sudden acid shock. The other is induced when stationary-phase cells are subjected to a similar shock. These log-phase and stationary-phase acid tolerance responses (ATRs) are distinct in that genes identified as participating in log-phase ATR have little to no effect on the stationary-phase ATR (I. S. Lee, J. L. Slouczewski, and J. W. Foster, J. Bacteriol. 176:1422–1426, 1994). An insertion mutagenesis strategy designed to reveal genes associated with acid-inducible stationary-phase acid tolerance (stationary-phase ATR) yielded two insertions in the response regulator gene ompR. The ompR mutants were defective in stationary-phase ATR but not log-phase ATR. EnvZ, the known cognate sensor kinase, and the porin genes known to be controlled by OmpR, ompC and ompF, were not required for stationary-phase ATR. However, the alternate phosphodonor acetyl phosphate appears to play a crucial role in OmpR-mediated stationary-phase ATR and in the OmpR-dependent acid induction ofompC. This conclusion was based on finding that a mutant form of OmpR, which is active even though it cannot be phosphorylated, was able to suppress the acid-sensitive phenotype of an ack pta mutant lacking acetyl phosphate. The data also revealed that acid shock increases the level of ompR message and protein in stationary-phase cells. Thus, it appears that acid shock induces the production of OmpR, which in its phosphorylated state can trigger expression of genes needed for acid-induced stationary-phase acid tolerance.
Contraction Stress Determinants in Dimethacrylate Composites

The influence of composite organic content on polymerization stress development remains unclear. It was hypothesized that stress was directly related to differences in degree of conversion, volumetric shrinkage, elastic modulus, and maximum rate of polymerization encountered in composites containing different BisGMA (bisphenylglycidyl dimethacrylate) concentrations and TEGDMA (triethylene glycol dimethacrylate) and/or BisEMA (ethoxylated bisphenol-A dimethacrylate) as co-monomers. Stress was determined in a tensilometer. Volumetric shrinkage was measured with a mercury dilatometer. Elastic modulus was obtained by flexural test. We used fragments of flexural specimens to determine degree of conversion by FT-Raman spectroscopy. Reaction rate was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Composites with lower BisGMA content and those containing TEGDMA showed higher stress, conversion, shrinkage, and elastic modulus. Polymerization rate did not vary significantly, except for the lower value of the 66% TEGDMA composite. We used linear regressions to evaluate the association between polymerization stress and conversion (R2 = 0.905), shrinkage (R2 = 0.825), and modulus (R2 = 0.623).
Phase synchronization through entrainment by a consensus input

The paper proposes a synchronization mechanism in a set of nonlinear oscillators interconnected through a communication network. In contrast to many existing results, we do not employ strong, diffusive couplings between the individual oscillators. Instead, each individual oscillator is weakly forced by a linear resonator system. The resonator systems are synchronized using results from consensus theory. The synchronized resonator systems force the frequencies of the nonlinear oscillators to a constant frequency and thereby yield synchronization of the oscillators. We prove this result using the theory of small forcings of stable oscillators. This synchronization scheme allows for synchronization of nonlinear oscillators over uniformly connected communication graphs.
Perforacion gastrointestinal y abdomen agudo

El abdomen agudo supone hasta el 40% de todos los ingresos urgentes en los servicios de cirugia y se incluye en el diagnostico diferencial de mas de 7 millones de visitas anuales por dolor abdominal a los servicios de urgencias de Estados Unidos [1–3]. Un gran numero de estos casos se debe a perforacion gastrointestinal verdadera o inminente [1–3]. La perforacion gastrointestinal causa una mortalidad considerable y suele precisar una cirugia urgente. La mortalidad de la peritonitis secundaria llego a elevarse hasta el 90% a comienzos del siglo XX y sigue resultando del 30 al 50% a pesar de los avances en la antibioticoterapia, las tecnicas quirurgicas, las tecnicas de imagen y el tratamiento de reanimacion [4,5]. El diagnostico y tratamiento rapido de estos trastornos es esencial para reducir la gran morbilidad y mortalidad del cuadro con una presentacion tardia. El tratamiento satisfactorio exige un conocimiento meticuloso de la anatomia, microbiologia y fisiopatologia del proceso morboso y un conocimiento profundo del tratamiento, incluidas las medidas de reanimacion, los antibioticos, el control del foco y el soporte fisiologico. El tracto gastrointestinal es una viscera luminal (hueca) continua compuesta por organos gastrointestinales que muestran variaciones fisiologicas o anatomicas causantes de las diferencias funcionales en la ingestion, digestion, procesamiento, absorcion y eliminacion de las sustancias nutricionales. Los organos homonimos se clasifican tradicionalmente segun su origen embrionario: las estructuras proximales al ligamento de Treitz provienen del intestino embrionario anterior, las estructuras situadas entre el ligamento de Treitz y la flexura hepatica del colon del intestino medio, y las estructuras distales a la flexura hepatica del intestino posterior [6]. Aunque esta clasificacion ayuda a entender la anatomia del desarrollo, la anatomia vascular y la distribucion del dolor percibido en los organos gastrointestinales, no permite determinar la intensidad ni la rapidez con que progresa la perforacion gastrointestinal.
Methylene blue but not changes in cyclic GMP inhibits resting and bradykinin‐stimulated production of prostacyclin by pig aortic endothelial cells

1 Primary cultures of pig aortic endothelial cells produced 6‐keto‐prostaglandin F1α (6‐keto PGF1α), the stable breakdown product of prostacyclin, both in the resting state and in response to bradykinin. The rise in 6‐keto‐PGF1α production induced by bradykinin (1–100 nm) was concentration‐dependent. 2 Treating endothelial cells with the inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase, methylene blue (0.1–20 μm) produced an irreversible reduction in resting and bradykinin (0.1 μm)‐stimulated production of 6‐keto‐PGF1α with an IC50 of 0.5 ± 0.1 μm. Treating endothelial cells with haemoglobin (10 μm) had no effect on resting or bradykinin (0.1 μm)‐stimulated production of 6‐keto‐PGF1α. 3 Two stimuli that elevate the level of guanosine 3′:5′‐cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) in endothelial cells, 8‐bromo cyclic GMP (30 μm) and atriopeptin II (0.1 μm), each had no effect on resting or bradykinin (0.1 μm)‐stimulated production of 6‐keto‐PGF1α. Furthermore, treating endothelial cells with either 8‐bromo cyclic GMP (30 μm) or atriopeptin II (0.1 μm) had no effect on the ability of methylene blue (20 μm) to inhibit resting or bradykinin (0.1 μm)‐stimulated production of 6‐keto‐PGF1α. 4 Adding arachidonic acid (1 μm) to endothelial cells led to a marked stimulation of 6‐keto‐PGF1α production. Treating cells with either methylene blue (20 μm) or the cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitor, flurbiprofen (10 μm), inhibited both resting and arachidonic acid (1 μm)‐induced production of 6‐keto‐PGF1α. 5 In pig aortic endothelial cells methylene blue appears to block prostacyclin production by a mechanism independent of inhibition of soluble guanylate cyclase. Care should be exercised when using methylene blue as a selective inhibitor of endothelium‐derived relaxing factor due to its additional ability to block production of the other endothelium‐derived vasodilator, prostacyclin.
Sheffield MultiMT: Using Object Posterior Predictions for Multimodal Machine Translation

This paper describes the University of Sheffield’s submission to the WMT17 Multimodal Machine Translation shared task. We participated in Task 1 to develop an MT system to translate an image description from English to German and French, given its corresponding image. Our proposed systems are based on the state-of-the-art Neural Machine Translation approach. We investigate the effect of replacing the commonly-used image embeddings with an estimated posterior probability prediction for 1,000 object categories in the images.
Vimentin expression in human squamous carcinoma cells: Relationship with phenotypic changes and cadherin‐based cell adhesion

Phenotypic changes resembling an epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition often occur as epithelial cells become tumorigenic. Two proteins that have been implicated in this process are vimentin and N‐cadherin. In this study, we sought to establish a link between expression of vimentin and N‐cadherin as oral squamous epithelial cells undergo a morphologic change resembling an epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition. We found that N‐cadherin and vimentin did not influence the expression of one another. J. Cell. Biochem. 78:141–150, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
New hypotheses about the structure–function of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9: Analysis of the epidermal growth factor‐like repeat A docking site using WaterMap

LDL cholesterol (LDL‐C) is cleared from plasma via cellular uptake and internalization processes that are largely mediated by the low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol receptor (LDL‐R). LDL‐R is targeted for lysosomal degradation by association with proprotein convertase subtilisin‐kexin type 9 (PCSK9). Gain of function mutations in PCSK9 can result in excessive loss of receptors and dyslipidemia. On the other hand, receptor‐sparing phenomena, including loss‐of‐function mutations or inhibition of PCSK9, can lead to enhanced clearance of plasma lipids. We hypothesize that desolvation and resolvation processes, in many cases, constitute rate‐determining steps for protein–ligand association and dissociation, respectively. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed and compared the predicted desolvation properties of wild‐type versus gain‐of‐function mutant Asp374Tyr PCSK9 using WaterMap, a new in silico method for predicting the preferred locations and thermodynamic properties of water solvating proteins (“hydration sites”). We compared these results with binding kinetics data for PCSK9, full‐length LDL‐R ectodomain, and isolated EGF‐A repeat. We propose that the fast kon and entropically driven thermodynamics observed for PCSK9‐EGF‐A binding stem from the functional replacement of water occupying stable PCSK9 hydration sites (i.e., exchange of PCSK9 H‐bonds from water to polar EGF‐A groups). We further propose that the relatively fast koff observed for EGF‐A unbinding stems from the limited displacement of solvent occupying unstable hydration sites. Conversely, the slower koff observed for EGF‐A and LDL‐R unbinding from Asp374Tyr PCSK9 stems from the destabilizing effects of this mutation on PCSK9 hydration sites, with a concomitant increase in the persistence of the bound complex. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Regulation of Acetylcholine Synthesis in the Brain

The understanding of the synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh) in cholinergic neurons developed steadily during the 1970s and early 1980s and major progress has been achieved in the investigation of most of its aspects. The discovery and characterization of choline carriers in neuronal membranes, the clarification of the origin of acetyl groups of ACh, the elucidation of the significance of axonal transport for the function of cholinergic nerve terminals, the purification of the synthesizing enzyme, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and the production of monoclonal antibodies against it (enabling investigators to identify cholinergic neurons throughout the CNS) are examples of important achievements in this area of research. The interest in the synthesis of ACh and the factors that control or affect it was much stimulated by the discovery that an impairment in the production of ACh plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Problems of the synthesis of ACh including its regulation have been repeatedly reviewed and the reader is advised to turn to articles by MacIntosh and Collier (1976), Collier (1977), Haubrich and Chippendale (1977), Jope (1979), Jenden (1979a,b), and TuCek (1983a, 1984), and to books written or edited by Goldberg and Hanin (1976), Tutek (1978, 1979), Barbeau et al. (1979), Davis and Berger (1979), and Hanin and Goldberg (1982) for comprehensive summaries of experimental data; Table 1 in TuCek’s (1984) article lists additional reviews concerning specific aspects of the synthesis of ACh. The present article is a commentary or overview rather than a review. It has been written in the belief that time is ripe to summarize (and partly restate) what appears to be, in the author’s view and in the light of data available in mid-1984, the most likely model of how the synthesis of ACh is regulated. It is hoped that such an outline may be of some use to colleagues who became interested in the problems of ACh synthesis only recently and in a way marginally, mainly in connection with the attempts to unravel the pathogenesis and find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Many statements in the article are necessarily of a generalizing and simplifying nature; more complete arguments may be found in TuCek (1984).
Nurses’ Perceived Barriers to Bedside Handover and Their Implication for Clinical Practice

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE Bedside handover during the change of shift allows nurses to visualize patients and facilitate patient participation, both purported to improve patient safety. But, bedside handover does not always occur and when it does, it may not involve the patient. AIM To explore and understand barriers nurses perceive in undertaking bedside handover. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was administered to 200 nurses working on medical wards, recruited from two Australian hospitals, one private and one public. As part of the survey, there was one open-ended question asking about perceived barriers to bedside handover. Content analysis was used to analyze data. Barriers were assessed using a determinant framework. RESULTS The open-ended question was answered by 176 (88%) participants. Three categories were identified. First, censoring the message showed nurses were concerned about patients and third-parties hearing sensitive information. In the second category, disrupting the communication flow, nurses perceived patients, family members, other nurses and external sources, interrupted the flow of handover and increased its duration. Finally, inhibiting characteristics demonstrated that individual patient and nurse views or capabilities hindered bedside handover. Barriers to bedside handover were determined to relate to individual nurse factors, patient factors, social, political and legal factors, and guideline factors. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION Suggestions for enhancing bedside handover include debunking nurses' misconceptions, reflecting on nurses' viewpoints, using active educational approaches, and promotion of legal requirements to heighten nurses' confidence dealing with sensitive information. Regular patient rounding, and standardized handover may enable patient involvement in handover. Finally, reviewing the local context to ensure organizational processes support bedside handover is recommended.