Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation of Gamification in Heis in the Republic of Macedonia

The focus of the paper is gamification, which has been researched typically through its’ implementation in the business sector. Our research follows the implementation of gamification in Higher Educational Institutions, since the same concepts and benefits that function in the workplace, should function with similar effect or yield even better results with students. The topic of gamification in education is a relatively novel one, with only a few papers addressing it in detail, especially on the Balkan region. The contribution of the paper is two-sided, i.e., through primary and secondary research, recommendations for optimal ways of implementing gamified systems in higher education is given, and according to the obtained data, present statistics and implications for implementing gamification in HEIs in the Republic of Macedonia. The core elements and mechanics of gamification are researched and adjusted in the context of education, as well as improving existing implementations of gamification in HEIs through the introduction of cycles of interest (rewards for encouraging a certain type of behavior of students) and cycles of progression (a stepwise increase in the weight of the activities). The results of the primary research demonstrate that the concept of gamification offers great potential advantages for students and teaching staff, primarily by increasing the level of intrinsic motivation and the degree of completion of subjects. The paper uncovers the gamification mechanics and elements that would work best for HEIs in Macedonia, as well as outline the biggest motivational problems students have when navigating through the educational process. Through the primary research conducted, the first public available information on the introduction of gamification in higher education in the Republic of Macedonia is made available.
Control of electrolyte-free microinverter with improved MPPT performance and grid current quality

This paper presents a control technique to improve the MPPT performance and grid current quality for two-stage electrolyte-free microinverter. The proposed method rejects the PV-side double-line frequency oscillation and reduces the grid current distortion with the PV dc-dc converter controlled with a high loop gain while intermediate dc bus voltage loop of grid-tie dc-ac inverter controlled with a low loop gain both at the double-line frequency. The dc-bus film capacitors with the small capacitance allow to have high ripple voltage to buffer the double-line energy while the PV-side could not see this doubleline frequency oscillation due to the control of dc-dc converter with high double-line frequency ripple rejection capability. As a result of high reduction of double-line frequency of dc bus voltage loop, the distortion of grid current reference is reduced and the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the grid current is improved. The PV-side capacitance can also be greatly reduced because it is only required to filter the high-frequency transistor switching ripple. Experimental results justify the effectiveness of the proposed control method.
Role of the synprint site in presynaptic targeting of the calcium channel CaV2.2 in hippocampal neurons

Sequences in the cytoplasmic II–III loop of CaV2 voltage‐gated calcium channels, termed the synaptic protein interaction (synprint) site, are considered important for the functional incorporation of presynaptic calcium channels into the synaptic vesicle fusion apparatus. Two novel CaV2.2 splice variants lack large parts of the cytoplasmic II‐III loop (Δ1 R756‐L1139, Δ2 K737‐A1001) including the synprint protein–protein interaction domain. Here we expressed green fluorescent protein (GFP)‐α1B subunit fusion constructs of CaV2.2 splice variants in mouse hippocampal neurons to study their distribution in distinct neuronal compartments and to address the question of whether and how the synprint site functions in the presynaptic targeting of N‐type calcium channels. Similar to full‐length GFP‐α1B but divergent from the somatodendritic α1C‐HA (CaV1.2) channel type, the splice variants GFP‐α1B‐Δ1 and GFP‐α1B‐Δ2 were targeted into the axons. Nevertheless, their ability to form bona fide presynaptic clusters was almost abolished for GFP‐α1B‐Δ1 and significantly reduced for GFP‐α1B‐Δ2. Thus, the synprint site is important for normal synaptic targeting of CaV2.2 but not essential. Conversely, insertion of the synprint site into the II–III loop of α1C‐HA did not restore axonal targeting or synaptic clustering. Together these results indicate that protein–protein interactions with the synprint site must cooperate with other targeting mechanisms in the incorporation of CaV2.2 into presynaptic specializations of hippocampal neurons but are neither necessary nor sufficient for axonal targeting. The unique targeting properties of the splice variants lacking the synprint site are suggestive of specific functions of these calcium channels apart from activating fast synaptic transmission.
Frequent mutations of NF2 and allelic loss from chromosome band 22q12 in malignant mesothelioma: Evidence for a two‐hit mechanism of NF2 inactivation

We previously reported NF2 mutations in malignant mesothelioma (MM) cell lines and corresponding primary tumors. We have now generated polyclonal antibodies that specifically recognize the C‐terminus of the NF2 protein. Western blot analysis was performed on 25 MM cell lines, 14 of which showed no NF2 expression. Single‐strand conformation polymorphism and DNA sequence analyses revealed NF2 mutations in each of these 14 cell lines. To explore the mechanism of inactivation of NF2, loss of heterozygosity analysis was performed with two microsatellite markers located in the vicinity of the NF2 locus in chromosome band 22q12. Eighteen of the 25 cell lines (72%) showed losses at one or both loci tested. All cases exhibiting mutation and/or aberrant expression of NF2 showed allelic losses, suggesting that inactivation of NF2 in MM occurs via a two‐hit mechanism. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 24:238–242, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Technology Usage of Tennessee Agriculture Teachers.

This study examined the accessibility and use of instructional technologies by agriculture teachers in Tennessee. Data were collected using a survey instrument to investigate teachers’ adoption of technology, sources of acquired technology skills, accessibility and use of technological equipment, and barriers to technology integration. The study found Tennessee agriculture teachers have been slow to adopt technologies for classroom use. Many of the teachers had limited access to the various technologies. Over half of the teachers did not have access to new educational technologies such as a Smartboard, student response clickers, iPads, iPods, or smartphones. Additionally, there was limited access to most social networks, several web tools, a commercial learning management system, and social bookmarking sites. Cost, time, and availability of technology were recognized as barriers to technology integration. It is recommended further research be conducted on a larger scale to examine technology integration in agriculture classrooms. As well, classroom observations and interviews with teachers and administrators can provide a more in-depth understanding of current technology usage in agricultural education.
Effect of different sessions of cardiac rehabilitation on exercise capacity in patients with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

AIM Exercise capacity after training has been reported to improve after cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different sessions of an exercise-based CR program on exercise capacity in CAD patients after elective percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). METHODS In a university hospital, 440 patients who were enrolled in an exercise-based CR program (phase 2) after elective PTCA, were retrospectively evaluated. Two hundred-eighty-six subjects were categorized based on the completion of CR sessions (group A, B and C completing 5, 10 and 24 sessions, respectively). The main outcome measures were exercise training energy expenditure (ETEE) and treadmill velocity of first and last session of CR. Pearson's chi(2) test, Kruskall-Wallis test, paired Student's t test and multivariate analysis were used. RESULTS All patients showed significant improvements in ETEE and treadmill velocity from baseline to follow-up sessions. A significant group effect on exercise parameters was detected between all the three CR groups (P<0.0001). On follow-up, the ETEE and treadmill velocity had statistically significant correlation with the number of completed sessions, age and gender (P<0.001). CONCLUSION The present study indicated that improvement in exercise capacity occurs in both gender from baseline to the last session, regardless of clinical characteristics of patients with PTCA. When controlled for other factors, calorie expenditure and treadmill velocity was independently associated with the number of completed sessions, age and gender.
Challenging issues in visual sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are an important research area that has attracted considerable attention. Most of this attention, however, has been concentrated on WSNs that collect scalar data such as temperature and vibration. Scalar data can be insufficient for many applications such as automated surveillance and traffic monitoring. In contrast, camera sensors collect visual data, which are rich in information and hence offer tremendous potential when used in WSNs. However, they raise new challenges such as the transmission of visual data with high computational and bandwidth requirements in mainly low-power visual sensor networks. In this article we highlight the challenges and opportunities of VSNs. We discuss major research issues of VSNs, specifically camera coverage optimization, network architecture, and low-power visual data processing and communication, and identify enabling approaches in this area.
Gene transfer of costimulatory molecules into a human colorectal cancer cell line: requirement of CD54, CD80 and class II MHC expression for enhanced immunogenicity

Colorectal cancer is considered a non‐immunogenic malignany. One strategy to augment the immunogenicity of such tumours is represented by the expression of costimulatory molecules by gene transfer. Using transfected variants of the human colorectal cancer cell line SW480 we tested various costimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86, CD54) and a class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) allele (HLA‐DR3) alone or in combination on their ability to support primary T‐lymphocyte activation in vitro. Expression of CD80 or CD86 similarly as the combination of both was not sufficient to induce proliferation of human allogeneic T cells. Expression of CD54 together with CD80 strongly augmented the costimulatory function of CD80, as observed in the presence of a CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb), but did not lead directly to a T‐cell response against modified tumour cells. Importantly, SW480 cells coexpressing CD54, CD80 and the HLA‐DR3 allele effectively promoted T‐lymphocyte proliferation. Moreover, the use of such CD54+/CD80+/HLA‐DR3+ SW480 variants for repetitive stimulations resulted in the generation of T‐cell lines predominantly composed of CD8+ T cells exhibiting class I MHC restricted cytolytic activity towards untransfected SW480 tumour cells. This demonstrates that the generation of immunogenic tumour cell variants, i.e. for the use as cellular vaccines, requires multiple genetic alterations in the case of non‐immunogenic human tumours cells, such as colorectal cancer cells.
The Future Water Risks Under Global Change in Southern and Eastern Asia: Implications of Mitigation

This work was supported by the Department of Energy under An Integrated Framework for Climate Change Assessment (DE-FG02-94ER61937) and other government, industry and foundation sponsors of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. For a complete list of sponsors and U.S. government funding sources, see http://globalchange.mit. edu/sponsors.
AdeIJK, a Resistance-Nodulation-Cell Division Pump Effluxing Multiple Antibiotics in Acinetobacter baumannii

ABSTRACT We have identified a second resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND)-type efflux pump, AdeIJK, in clinical isolate Acinetobacter baumannii BM4454. The adeI, adeJ, and adeK genes encode, respectively, the membrane fusion, RND, and outer membrane components of the pump. AdeJ belongs to the AcrB protein family (57% identity with AcrB from Escherichia coli). mRNA analysis by Northern blotting and reverse transcription-PCR indicated that the genes were cotranscribed. Overexpression of the cloned adeIJK operon was toxic in both E. coli and Acinetobacter. The adeIJK genes were detected in all of the 60 strains of A. baumannii tested. The two latter observations suggest that the AdeIJK complex might contribute to intrinsic but not to acquired antibiotic resistance in Acinetobacter. To characterize the substrate specificity of the pump, we have constructed derivatives of BM4454 in which adeIJK (strain BM4579), adeABC (strain BM4561), or both groups of genes (strain BM4652) were inactivated by deletion-insertion. Determination of the antibiotic susceptibility of these strains and of BM4652 and BM4579, in which the adeIJK operon was provided in trans, indicated that the AdeIJK pump contributes to resistance to β-lactams, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, erythromycin, lincosamides, fluoroquinolones, fusidic acid, novobiocin, rifampin, trimethoprim, acridine, safranin, pyronine, and sodium dodecyl sulfate. The chemical structure of these molecules suggests that amphiphilic compounds are the preferred substrates. The AdeABC and AdeIJK efflux systems contributed in a more than additive fashion to tigecycline resistance.
인구고령화가 노동수급에 미치는 영향 (The Outlook and Challenges of Population Aging and Labor Market)

The size of the labor force will diminish with on-going population aging. However, the magnitude of the anticipated decline remains unclear and differs according to the choice of labor input measure. If the current patterns of gender- and age-specific labor supply would remain unchanged, it is projected that the number of employed population and the total hours of work will decrease to 88% and 83% of the current levels, respectively. The actual decline in labor inputs will heavily depend on long-term changes of labor supply, especially employment of the elderly and women as well as unemployment of younger people. Given that long-term trend of labor demand is highly unpredictable, it is difficult to determine whether a large-scale decline in the work force (if actually emerged) will cause significant labor shortages. Furthermore, the extent of labor shortage will widely differ across industries and across worker types because of sectoral disparities in labor-demand changes. Over the next 10~15 years, the overall size of labor inputs in Korea will not diminish. However, the exit of the baby boom generation from the work force can produce serious labor shortages in sectors with high and increasing fractions of aging workers. In particular, population aging will hit hard the industries in which the entry of young workers is insufficient to meet rapidly growing labor demand.
Sonographic cervical length measurement in pregnant women with a cervical pessary

The aims of this study were to describe and assess the feasibility of measuring cervical length by standard transvaginal sonography (TVS) and transperineal sonography (TPS) in women with a cervical pessary and compare these measurements with those obtained with a new transvaginal technique.
Dyslipidemia in subclinical hypothyroidism requires assessment of small dense low density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C)

Abstract Background. Usually both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are related to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease development. The relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism has been widely investigated but the findings remain controversial. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the lipid profile in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SHypo) in comparison to controls and to determine the association of SHypo and dyslipidemia in attempt to find importance of small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) in atherosclerosis. Material and methods. In this study we included 100 women, aged 30 to 70 years that were divided into subgroups according to their age. According to the values of levels of thyroid hormones they were divided into euthyroid (control) group (n = 64) and (newly discovered) subclinical hypothyroidism (SHypo) group (n = 36). A high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipid profile, including small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) were determined. Body weight and height were measured and BMI calculated. History of the current illness, medication, alcohol consumption and cigarettes smoking were noted. Results. Changed lipid profile as well as elevated triglycerides and sdLDL-C were observed in the group with subclinical hypothyroidism compared to the control group. Conclusions. It is important to determine serum lipid levels, especially serum sdLDL-C levels at an early stage of subclinical hypothyroidism, since they represent atherogenic LDL particles and are better indicators for dyslipidaemia in subclinical hypothyroidism and the development of atherosclerosis with potential complications such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
State-of-artsurvey of various web prefetching techniques

Web access delay faced by the users is a big challenge in front of researchers. Various techniques have been proposed in the last decade that could help reduce this latency time. Primarily, it includes Caching and Web Prefetching. A web object is cacheable and of help to the user if it is not dynamic. Web Prefetching on the other hand pre-fetches and keeps the web objects to be accessed by the user in future in cache based on his interest pattern. But still there is a gap between the user request and the result provided. There is a lack in the relevancy of the results. Web prefetching can be improved if domain ontology could be used and semantics could be analyzed and matched. Semantic Web Prefetching is a technique that tries to analyze the semantics of the keywords provided by the user or the content of the web page. This paper is an effort to provide the state-of-the-art survey of various Semantic Web Prefetching Techniques.
Comparative effects of six probiotic strains on immune function in vitro

There is considerable interest in the strain specificity of immune modulation by probiotics. The present study compared the immunomodulatory properties of six probiotic strains of different species and two genera in a human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) model in vitro. Live cells of lactobacilli (Lactobacillus casei Shirota, L. rhamnosus GG, L. plantarum NCIMB 8826 and L. reuteri NCIMB 11951) and bifidobacteria (Bifidobacterium longum SP 07/3 and B. bifidum MF 20/5) were individually incubated with PBMC from seven healthy subjects for 24 h. Probiotic strains increased the proportion of CD69+ on lymphocytes, T cells, T cell subsets and natural killer (NK) cells, and increased the proportion of CD25+, mainly on lymphocytes and NK cells. The effects on activation marker expression did not appear to be strain specific. NK cell activity was significantly increased by all six strains, without any significant difference between strains. Probiotic strains increased production of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α to different extents, but had no effect on the production of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5 or TNF-β. The cytokines that showed strain-specific modulation included IL-10, interferon-γ, TNF-α, IL-12p70, IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1. The Lactobacillus strains tended to promote T helper 1 cytokines, whereas bifidobacterial strains tended to produce a more anti-inflammatory profile. The results suggest that there was limited evidence of strain-specific effects of probiotics with respect to T cell and NK cell activation or NK cell activity, whereas production of some cytokines was differentially influenced by probiotic strains.
Assessing Conservation Adoption Decision Criteria Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process: Case Studies from Three Midwestern Watersheds

ABSTRACT Land use changes from natural ecosystems to industrial agriculture have impacted water quality and wildlife populations in the Mississippi River basin. Government programs providing technical assistance and monetary incentives have not resulted in adequate adoption rates of conservation practices. While there has been a plethora of research examining the factors associated with conservation adoption, significantly less is understood about the relative importance of these factors. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with agricultural producers in three Midwestern watersheds, we assess the relative importance of environmental and production decision criteria when making decisions to adopt conservation practices. Although AHP provides insight into how decisions may be made at the watershed scale, this methodology also provides insight into how individuals make conservation decisions and may also provide a method for delivering tailored conservation advice and communications.
Morphologic and Physiologic Effects of Artificial Tear Formulations on Corneal Epithelial Derived Cells

&NA; The biological effects of four commercially available artificial tear formulations were evaluated using sensitive in vitro techniques. Two of the formulations contained ingredients implicated in cell damage; the other two products were not chemically preserved, and their components have not been reported to damage corneal tissue. We assayed the effects of these formulations on viability, morphology, and physiology in corneal cell (SIRC) cultures. Their effect on the hydration of excised rabbit corneas was also determined. In all formulations, cell viability declined with time relative to control cells, but the time course varied significantly. Viability remained at 100% for 6 h in an unpreserved carboxymethylcellulosebased product (CMC‐U), and decreased to 50% after >16 hours. Viability decreased to 50% in 3 h for the other unpreserved, polyvinyl alcohol‐based product (PVA‐U), and in 1 h for a hydroxypropylmethylcellulose formulation (HPMC‐P) that contains edetate disodium (EDTA). Cells in a preserved formulation (PVA‐P), using polyvinyl alcohol as the polymer and containing EDTA and benzalkonium chloride (BAK), failed to survive even 15 min of treatment. Overall, cells treated with the unpreserved products were nearly indistinguishable from those in the control solution with respect to morphology, electrophysiology, and corneal hydration. Also, the relative ranking from least to most deleterious (control < CMC‐U < PVA‐U < HPMC‐P < PVA‐P) was consistent across several measures. Of the preserved formulations, HPMC‐P, which contains the chelating agent EDTA as an additive, was less damaging than was PVA‐P, which contains two chemicals, EDTA and BAK, that reportedly damage cells.