Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Introducing the Journal for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education (JSPTE)

As Les Goodchild (2014) was so eager to remind scholars in the higher education as a field of study, our field began just over 120 years ago with a course at Clark University offered by G. Stanley Hall in 1893. That course, the “Present Status and Problems of Higher Education in this Country and Europe,” was designed to encourage future and aspiring leaders to think scientifically and systematically about teaching and learning within colleges and universities, institutional development, expansion, and direction into a new century, and partnership with a modernizing society. From this singular course offered in 1893 to the 1920s when the first program dedicated to the study of postsecondary and tertiary education was established, Hall and colleagues added courses at the graduate level for both master’s and doctoral students. Coursework encompassed higher education governance, both comparatively and domestically, education legislation and policy, finance and administration, curriculum and instruction, literature and theory (Goodchild, 2014). Contemporarily, our programmatic foci are not so different (Card, Chambers, & Freeman, 2015; Hyle & Goodchild, 2014). The largest shift is that the avocation of Hall and colleagues was then innovation. For us, it is now history.
Enhancement mode n-MOSFET with high-κ dielectric on GaAs substrate

In this paper, we report MOS heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy on III-V substrates, employing a high-κ dielectric stack comprised of gallium oxide and gadolinium gallium oxide. Mobilities exceeding 12,000 and 6,000 cm2/Vs, for sheet carrier concentration ns of about 2.5x1012 cm-2 were measured on MOSFET structures on InP and GaAs substrates, respectively. These structures were designed for enhancement mode operation and include a 10 nm thick strained InGa1-xAs channel layer with In mole fraction x of 0.3 and 0.75 on GaAs and InP substrates, respectively.
Heating rate and symbiont productivity are key factors determining thermal stress in the reef-building coral Acropora formosa

SUMMARY The onset of large-scale coral bleaching events is routinely estimated on the basis of the duration and intensity of thermal anomalies determined as degree heating weeks. Degree heating weeks, however, do not account for differential rates of heating. This study aimed to explore the relationship between different rates of heating above the documented regional winter threshold, and resultant bleaching of the reef-building coral Acropora formosa. Under a relatively low light field, rapid heating of 1°C day−1 from 29°C to 32°C lead to a 17.6% decline in Fv/Fm, concurrent with a rapid increase in xanthophyll de-epoxidation sustained into the dark, whereas slower heating rates of 0.5°C day−1 lead to no decline in Fv/Fm and no change in dark-adapted xanthophyll cycling. At the winter bleaching threshold of 30°C, areal net O2 evolution exceeded the control values for rapidly heated corals, but was lower than the controls for slowly heated corals. At the maximum temperature of 33°C, however, both treatments had net O2 fluxes that were 50% of control values. At 30°C, only symbiont densities in the slowly heated controls were reduced relative to controls values. By 33°C, however, symbiont densities were 55% less than the controls in both treatments. The rate of heat accumulation was found to be an important variable, with rapidly heated corals attaining the same bleaching status and loss of areal O2 production for half the degree heating week exposure as slowly heated corals. The study revealed that it is incorrect to assume that significant dark acclimation disables non-photochemical quenching, because 75% of an increased xanthophyll pool was found to be in the de-epoxidated state following rapid heat accumulation. This has important ramifications for the interpretation of chlorophyll fluorescence data such as dark adapted Fv/Fm.
Electrowetting on Dielectrics ( EWOD ) : Reducing Voltage Requirements for Microfluidics

INTRODUCTION Surface tension is an inherently dominant force in the microscale. Electrocapillarity, the modification of surface tension by applying an electric field, has received renewed attention because of its potential usefulness in microfluidics. Pollack et al. demonstrated a microactuator for rapid manipulation of discrete microdroplets by direct electric control of the surface tension. [1] Berge and Peseux demonstrated the use of electrocapillarity in order to change the contact angle of a transparent drop, creating a lens of variable focal length. [2] Prins et al. showed the control of fluid motion by electrocapillary pressure in three-dimensional structures containing thousands of microchannels. [3] Electrowetting was first demonstrated by Berge. [4] The general experiment scheme for electrowetting on dielectrics (EWOD) is shown in Figure 1.
Thermostable alpha-amylase production by an extreme thermophile Bacillus thermooleovorans.

AIMS alpha-Amylase production by a newly isolated thermophile, Bacillus thermooleovorans, was studied under different cultivation conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS The influence of various carbon and nitrogen sources on alpha-amylase production was quantified in batch fermentation in shake flasks. Starch and tryptone were observed to be the ideal carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Cultivation of the organism in a chemically defined medium consisting of glucose, riboflavin, cysteine, MgSO4, K2HPO4 and NaCl led to a near twofold increase in the production of alpha-amylase in comparison with that in the complex medium. The increase in enzyme production was achieved using vitamins and amino acids. When the organism was grown in a laboratory fermenter in the optimized complex medium, the noticeable effects were the near abolition of the lag phase, a 2.2-fold increase in enzyme production and a reduction in optimal production time from 12 to 4-5 h. CONCLUSION Enhancement of amylase production was achieved under various cultivation conditions. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY Bacillus thermooleovorans produces a calcium-independent and thermostable amylase which can find use in starch saccharification.
RuBisCO in Non-Photosynthetic Alga Euglena longa: Divergent Features, Transcriptomic Analysis and Regulation of Complex Formation

Euglena longa, a close relative of the photosynthetic model alga Euglena gracilis, possesses an enigmatic non-photosynthetic plastid. Its genome has retained a gene for the large subunit of the enzyme RuBisCO (rbcL). Here we provide new data illuminating the putative role of RuBisCO in E. longa. We demonstrated that the E. longa RBCL protein sequence is extremely divergent compared to its homologs from the photosynthetic relatives, suggesting a possible functional shift upon the loss of photosynthesis. Similarly to E. gracilis, E. longa harbors a nuclear gene encoding the small subunit of RuBisCO (RBCS) as a precursor polyprotein comprising multiple RBCS repeats, but one of them is highly divergent. Both RBCL and the RBCS proteins are synthesized in E. longa, but their abundance is very low compared to E. gracilis. No RBCS monomers could be detected in E. longa, suggesting that processing of the precursor polyprotein is inefficient in this species. The abundance of RBCS is regulated post-transcriptionally. Indeed, blocking the cytoplasmic translation by cycloheximide has no immediate effect on the RBCS stability in photosynthetically grown E. gracilis, but in E. longa, the protein is rapidly degraded. Altogether, our results revealed signatures of evolutionary degradation (becoming defunct) of RuBisCO in E. longa and suggest that its biological role in this species may be rather unorthodox, if any.
Cytokine and chemokine levels in systemic sclerosis: relationship with cutaneous and internal organ involvement

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by excessive collagen deposition in the skin and internal organs. Several cytokines and chemokines have been implicated in the induction of fibrosis, but a definitive relationship between specific cytokines and organ involvement has not been established yet. Serum samples, PBMC and T cell lines (TCL) obtained from 54 patients affected by SSc and 20 healthy donors (HD) were examined by ELISA for Interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ ), interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐6, IL‐10, IL‐18, Transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, sCD30, Macrophage derived chemokine (MDC), Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1, Macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)‐1α and Regulated on activation normal T‐cell expressed and secreted (RANTES). In all the SSc serum samples, we found significantly increased levels of IL6, TNFα and MCP‐1 but reduced amounts of γ‐IFN and MDC. IL6, IL10, IL18, MIP‐1α and TNFα measured in supernatants from PHA‐stimulated PBMC and IL6, MCP‐1 and RANTES in supernatants from stimulated TCL were also increased in patients. MDC was decreased in all the biological SSc sources studied. TGF‐β1, IL10, and sCD30 were produced at a significantly lower level by SSc TCL. Serum IL6 and sCD30 levels were significantly increased in dc‐SSc patients compared to lc‐SSc as were levels of MCP‐1 produced by PBMC and IL10 from TCL. We observed a strict relationship between pulmonary fibrosis and IL10, MCP‐1 (both from TCL) and serum IL6. Kidney involvement was related to serum MCP‐1 levels and IL18 production from PBMC. Oesophageal involvement correlated with MDC production from PBMC and IL10 synthesis by TCL. We showed that IL‐6, IL‐10, MDC and MCP‐1 are variably associated with internal organ involvement and allow the discrimination between limited and diffuse forms of the disease.
Gait recognition based on lower limb

In this paper, a new approach is proposed for extracting feature from walking human based on the lower body. This approach utilized DCT to extract features followed by PCA as feature selection. Further ANN and PNN are utilised as classifiers. All developed method is tested with 10 subjects from CASIA gait database. Initial findings showed that the proposed method is viable based on 90% recognition rate for ANN and 80% for PNN.
Sleep and menopause: a narrative review

ObjectiveOur overall aim—through a narrative review—is to critically profile key extant evidence of menopause-related sleep, mostly from studies published in the last decade. MethodsWe searched the database PubMed using selected Medical Subject Headings for sleep and menopause (n = 588 articles). Using similar headings, we also searched the Cochrane Library (n = 1), Embase (n = 449), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (n = 163), Web of Science (n = 506), and PsycINFO (n = 58). Articles deemed most related to the purpose were reviewed. ResultsResults were articulated with interpretive comments according to evidence of sleep quality (self-reported) and sleep patterns (polysomnography and actigraphy) impact as related to reproductive aging and in the context of vasomotor symptoms (VMS; self-reported), vasomotor activity (VMA) events (recorded skin conductance), depressed mood, and ovarian hormones. ConclusionsPredominantly, the menopausal transition conveys poor sleep beyond anticipated age effects. Perceptions of sleep are not necessarily translatable from detectable physical sleep changes and are probably affected by an emotional overlay on symptoms reporting. Sleep quality and pattern changes are mostly manifest in wakefulness indicators, but sleep pattern changes are not striking. Likely contributing are VMS of sufficient frequency/severity and bothersomeness, probably with a sweating component. VMA events influence physical sleep fragmentation but not necessarily extensive sleep loss or sleep architecture changes. Lack of robust connections between perceived and recorded sleep (and VMA) could be influenced by inadequate detection. There is a need for studies of women in well-defined menopausal transition stages who have no sleep problems, accounting for sleep-related disorders, mood, and other symptoms, with attention to VMS dimensions, distribution of VMS during night and day, and advanced measurement of symptoms and physiologic manifestations.
Sorting of Furin at the Trans-Golgi Network

The eukaryotic subtilisin-like endoprotease furin is found predominantly in the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and cycles between this compartment, the cell surface, and the endosomes. There is experimental evidence for endocytosis from the plasma membrane and transport from endosomes to the TGN, but direct exit from the TGN to endosomes via clathrin-coated vesicles has only been discussed but not directly shown so far. Here we present data showing that expression of furin promotes the first step of clathrin-coat assembly at the TGN, the recruitment of the Golgi-specific assembly protein AP-1 on Golgi membranes. Further, we report that furin indeed is present in isolated clathrin-coated vesicles. Packaging into clathrin-coated vesicles requires signal components in the furin cytoplasmic domain which can be recognized by AP-1 assembly proteins. We found that besides depending on the phosphorylation state of a casein kinase II site, interaction of the furin tail with AP-1 and its μ1subunit is mediated by a tyrosine motif and to less extent by a leucine-isoleucine signal, whereas a monophenylalanine motif is only involved in binding to the intact AP-1 complex. This study implies that high affinity interaction of AP-1 or μ1 with the cytoplasmic tail of furin needs a complex interplay of signal components rather than one distinct signal.
Long Noncoding RNA PVT1 Promotes Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Cell Proliferation through Epigenetically Regulating LATS2 Expression

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) are a novel class of transcripts with no protein coding capacity, but with diverse functions in cancer cell proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. The lncRNA PVT1 is 1,716 nt in length and located in the chr8q24.21 region, which also contains the myelocytomatosis (MYC) oncogene. Previous studies demonstrated that MYC promotes PVT1 expression in primary human cancers. However, the expression pattern and potential biologic function of PVT1 in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unclear. Here, we found that PVT1 was upregulated in 105 human NSCLC tissues compared with normal samples. High expression of PVT1 was associated with a higher tumor–node–metastasis stage and tumor size, as well as poorer overall survival. Functional analysis revealed that knockdown of PVT1 inhibited NSCLC cell proliferation and induced apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. RNA immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that PVT1 recruits EZH2 to the large tumor suppressor kinase 2 (LATS2) promoter and represses LATS2 transcription. Furthermore, ectopic expression of LATS2 increased apoptosis and repressed lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation by regulating the Mdm2-p53 pathway. Taken together, our findings indicated that PVT1/EZH2/LATS2 interactions might serve as new target for lung adenocarcinoma diagnosis and therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 1082–94. ©2016 AACR.
The clinical analysis layer of transcription

The clinical analysis layer of transcription is part of a 'toolkit' approach for detailed analysis of communication samples. This article provides a rationale for using the clinical analysis strategy and is supported by several examples of how a clinical analysis layer can add to the understanding of communication errors or other clinical areas of interest. The examples used in this paper are drawn from the areas of stuttering and aural rehabilitation and demonstrate the utility of this clinical analysis layer of transcription.
Experimental toxoplasmosis and vaccine tests in Aotus monkeys.

We studied Aotus lemurinus, Panamanian night monkeys, for susceptibility to Toxoplasma infection and for their capacity to develop immunity using either sufadiazine prophylaxis or the non-persistent ts-4 vaccine. The animals were highly susceptible to infection with a mouse pathogenic (T265) and a mouse nonpathogenic (T163) Toxoplasma isolate. A calculated single bradyzoite by mouth gave rise to infection which was fatal in nine to 12 days. Chemoprophylaxis with 60-300 of sulfadiazine mg per day for up to 40 days protected the animals; however this was followed by fatal reactivation of infection between 11 and 70 days after treatment was stopped. Vaccination was carried out in two or three doses subcutaneously. Challenge was performed in 26 animals using both Toxoplasma isolates. Five monkeys (19%) survived for over a year, 10 died after a prolonged illness, and 11 died as rapidly as the seven controls. Safety tests showed the vaccine to be nonpathogenic in 111 adults except for slight fever and local inflammation, although one of four juveniles died from disseminated infection. Vaccination of 25 pregnant monkeys was non-pathogenic; however two of 25 fetuses were aborted, one of which was infected and one newborn had microphthalmia, retinitis and a cataract; four of the offspring were not tested. When six lactating monkeys were vaccinated, Toxoplasma was not transmitted to the infants. The high susceptibility to Toxoplasma and the low immunizability was circumstantially attributed to absence of exposure and lack of selection by Toxoplasma of these arboreal monkeys even though about 50% of terrestrial animals from the same area were infected. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and fitness within and between stressed and unstressed populations of the wolf spider Pirata piraticus

Although developmental instability, measured as fluctuating asymmetry (FA), is expected to be positively related to stress and negatively to fitness, empirical evidence is often lacking or contradictory when patterns are compared at the population level. We demonstrate that two important properties of stressed populations may mask such relationships: (i) a stronger relationship between FA and fitness, resulting in stronger selection against low quality (i.e. developmental unstable) individuals and (ii) the evolution of adaptive responses to environmental stress. In an earlier study, we found female wolf spiders Pirata piraticus from metal exposed populations to be characterized by both reduced clutch masses and increased egg sizes, the latter indicating an adaptive response to stress. By studying the relationship between these two fitness related traits and levels of FA at individual level, we here show a significant negative correlation between FA and clutch mass in metal stressed populations but not in unstressed reference populations. As a result, levels of population FA may be biased downward under stressful conditions because of the selective removal of developmentally unstable (low quality) individuals. We further show that females that produced larger eggs in stressed populations exhibited lower individual FA levels. Such interaction between individual FA and fitness with stress may confound the effect of metal stress on FA, resulting in an absence of relationships between FA, fitness and stress at the population level.
Exploring Teachers' Perspective of Digital Literacy Pedagogy: Implications for Future Practice

Exploring Teachers’ Perspective of Digital Literacy Pedagogy: Implications for Future Practice Kindra Xerez Sabado MAEd, University of Phoenix 2004 BA, University of Hawaii, Manoa, 1995 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University June 2018
The Importance of the Audited Financial Statement in Attracting Foreign Investors in Private Sector in Kosovo

Abstract Responding to globalization of the international business environment the companies need to draw and present reliable and comparable audited financial statements, and consequently there is a vital need to implement international financial reporting standards. Foreign investments in Kosovo as a new developing country are growing. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of audited financial statements in encouraging foreign investment in the private sector in Kosovo. To examine this issue, we have analysed three determinant factors in presenting financial statements to the foreign investors: auditor’s report, auditor reputation and relevance of auditor’s findings. The results of this study indicate that these variables have a positive effect on promotion of foreign investment. These results also revealed that audited financial statements are very important for Kosovo companies in order to ensure an equal worldwide treatment.
Design criteria for the RF section of long range passive RFID systems

We have derived a set of consistent design criteria for the RF section of long range passive RFID transponders, operating in the 916 MHz and 2.45 GHz ISM frequency ranges. In particul.ar, we describe the design criteria for the voltage multiplier, for the power matching network between the antenna and the non linear circuit represented by the voltage multiplier, and for the modulator of the backscattered radiation. We discuss the various design tradeoffs and determine the regions of the design space that allow us to maximize the operating range of the RFlD system.
Endobronchial Ultrasound Doppler Image Features Correlate with mRNA Expression of hif1-&agr; and vegf-c in Patients with Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction: We attempted to assess the correlation between the Doppler mode image patterns during endobronchial ultrasound-guided (EBUS) transbronchial needle aspiration and the expression of angiogenesis-related molecules within lymph nodes in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer. Methods: Thirty-eight archived EBUS- transbronchial needle aspiration samples of lymph nodes (27 metastatic and 11 nonmetastatic) in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer with Doppler mode ultrasound image were analyzed. The Doppler mode image of the vasculature of the targeted lymph node was categorized into the following groups: normal blood flow, low blood flow (LBF), and high blood flow (HBF). Vascular index ratio (vascular area/lymph node area) of each metastatic lymph node was calculated. Total RNA and protein was extracted and analyzed for expression of HIF-1&agr;, VEGF-A, and VEGF-C by quantitative RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Within the 27 metastatic lymph nodes, eight were categorized into the LBF group and 19 into the HBF group. Vascular index ratio was significantly higher in HBF than LBF (p = 0.0003). mRNA expression of HIF-1&agr; and VEGF-A was significantly higher in metastatic lymph nodes than in benign lymph nodes (p < 0.0001). Compared with LBF and HBF, HIF-1&agr; mRNA expression was significantly higher in LBF (p = 0.01) and VEGF-C mRNA expression was significantly higher in HBF (p = 0.0315). There was no significant difference in protein expression by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis. Conclusions: The vascularity of metastatic lymph nodes observed by EBUS correlates with the mRNA expression of HIF-1&agr; and VEGF-C (not VEGF-A). This correlation is a clinical utility that needs to be evaluated further.