2,257 research outputs found
Domain discovery method for topological profile searches in protein structures
We describe a method for automated domain discovery for topological profile searches in protein
structures. The method is used in a system TOPStructure for fast prediction of CATH classification
for protein structures (given as PDB files). It is important for profile searches in multi-domain
proteins, for which the profile method by itself tends to perform poorly. We also present an
O(C(n)k +nk2) time algorithm for this problem, compared to the O(C(n)k +(nk)2) time used by
a trivial algorithm (where n is the length of the structure, k is the number of profiles and C(n) is the
time needed to check for a presence of a given motif in a structure of length n). This method has
been developed and is currently used for TOPS representations of protein structures and prediction
of CATH classification, but may be applied to other graph-based representations of protein or RNA
structures and/or other prediction problems. A protein structure prediction system incorporating
the domain discovery method is available at http://bioinf.mii.lu.lv/tops/
The place of country life in the advance of civilisation
The beginnings of modern civilisation may be said to have been brought about by the growth of conscious interaction of the primitive instinctive tendencies of ''uncivilised'' man with his environment. This environment consisted of inanimate things, wild animals and vegetation, observed but uncomprehended powers of nature,other tribes, friendly or hostile, and other members of the same tribe; all of these must have played their part in aiding man to become an observer, and thence a thinker, as well as to fix and develop many of his social customs by the force of imitation, in turn both conservative and progressive
Classroom assessment and education: challenging the assumptions of socialisation and instrumentality
The opportunity offered by the Umea Symposium to probe the intersection of quality and assessment immediately brings into focus a wider issue â that of the quality of education which assessment aspires to support. Prompted by recent research into formative assessment in Scottish primary school contexts, the paper explores how formative assessment has become associated with an overly benign understanding of learning which misrecognises the possibility of undesirable learning and does not seem to address the inherently political nature of education. Having illuminated the potential inequities of formative assessment practices, the paper then asks what role formative assessment might play to support an understanding of education that is not simply about the transmission of traditional social norms, but also aspires to illuminate their social construction and their political nature
Effects of direct instruction and strategy modelling on upper-primary students' writing development
Strategy-focused instruction is one of the most effective approaches to improve writing skills. It aims to teach developing writers strategies that give them executive control over their writing processes. Programs under this kind of instruction tend to have multiple components that include direct instruction, modeling and scaffolded practice. This multi-component nature has two drawbacks: it makes implementation challenging due to the amount of time and training required to perform each stage, and it is difficult to determine the underlying mechanisms that contribute to its effectiveness. To unpack why strategy-focused instruction is effective, we explored the specific effects of two key components: direct teaching of writing strategies and modeling of strategy use. Six classes (133 students) of upper-primary education were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions, in which students received instruction aimed at developing effective strategies for planning and drafting, or control group with no strategy instruction: Direct Instruction (N = 46), Modeling (N = 45), and Control (N = 42). Writing performance was assessed before the intervention and immediately after the intervention with two tasks, one collaborative and the other one individual to explore whether differential effects resulted from students writing alone or in pairs. Writing performance was assessed through reader-based and text-based measures of text quality. Results at post-test showed similar improvement in both intervention conditions, relatively to controls, in all measures and in both the collaborative and the individual task. No statistically significant differences were observed between experimental conditions. These findings suggest that both components, direct teaching and modeling, are equally effective in improving writing skills in upper primary students, and these effects are present even after a short training
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Evaluating effects of different forms of revision instruction in upper-primary students
p. 1741-1767This study aimed to establish (a) whether teaching students revision skills provides beneft over and above teaching strategies for setting explicit goals for the communicative efect of their text, and (b) whether teaching students to adopt specifc revision strategies provides benefts over revision instruction that focusses on increasing studentsâ awareness of audience needs. Six classes of Spanish sixth-grade students (N=107, 11â12 years) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. In all
three conditions students were taught to set communicative goals. Students in the Strategy Focused condition were then taught a 6-step revision strategy. Students in the Reader Focused condition observed a reader trying to comprehend a text and
suggesting ways in which it might be improved. Students in a control condition continued with goal-setting practice. Studentsâ writing performance was assessed through composition and revision tasks before and immediately after intervention,
2 months post-intervention, and for transfer to an untaught genre. Writing performance and revision skills improved more in the two revision-instruction conditions than for students in the control condition. The improvements were large, persistent
and transferred to a diferent type of text. We found no statistically signifcant diferences between the two revision conditions. Findings suggest that specifc revision instruction benefts sixth-grade studentsâ writing performance and revision skills, but that strategy-focused and reader-focused approaches are similarly efectiveS
DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIMENTS FOR THE HARVESTING AND STORING OF VIDALIA SWEET ONIONS
Sweet onions brought in nearly $70 million in 1998. Sweet onions have a soft bulb which makes them susceptible to injury if handled too roughly. Once injured, invasion by pathogens tends to render the bulbs unusable except for quick sale. They were harvested by hand until about ten years ago when efforts were begun to develop a mechanical harvester. Also, at that time, work was underway to develop a way of storing part of the crop so as to extend the market window beyond the traditional 6-8 weeks. Low temperature and low oxygen atmosphere conditions proved to be the most suitable. In 1998 and 1999, sweet onions were hand and machine harvested. They were stored for 30 weeks to determine the practicality of extending the market window. Storability of onions in bulk from the two harvest methods were compared using a mixed model analysis. A mixed model analysis was done on all the research data collected between 1992 and 1998 on curing and storing onions
From band insulator to Mott insulator in one dimension
We derive the phase diagram for the one-dimensional model of a ferroelectric
perovskite recently introduced by Egami, Ishihara and Tachiki [Science, {\bf
261}, 1307 (1993)]. We show that the interplay between covalency, ionicity and
strong correlations results in a spontaneously dimerized phase which separates
the weak-coupling band insulator from the strong-coupling Mott insulator. The
transition from the band insulator to the dimerized phase is identified as an
Ising critical point. The charge gap vanishes at this single point with the
optical conductivity diverging as . The spin
excitations are gapless above the second transition to the Mott insulator
phase.Comment: 4 pages LaTex (RevTex) and 1 postscript figure included by eps
The Relationship Between Technological Self-Efficacy and Organizational Citizenship Behavior During Covid-19: Analyzing the Moderating Role of Trust
In this study, we examine the intricate relationship between technological self-efficacy, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and the moderating influence of trustâa facet largely unexplored in existing literature. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the reliance on technologies like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, creating a unique backdrop. Amid the elevated anxiety surrounding the adoption of "new" technology, we hypothesize that trust within the workplace will play a pivotal role in moderating the link between technological self-efficacy and OCB. Our research aims to shed light on this uncharted territory, offering insights into how trust shapes employees' responses to technological challenges, particularly in the context of a global crisis
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