Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urban-rural differences in Spanish menopausal women.

INTRODUCTION Most women spend one-third to half of their lifespan in the postmenopausal phase. As menopause involves biological and psychosocial changes that may significantly impair quality of life, the objectives of this study were to: (1) evaluate the prevalence of risk factors for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease and the prevalence and severity of the appearance of menopausal symptoms among rural and urban Spanish menopausal women; (2) identify the main factors responsible for severity of symptoms; and (3) detect symptom differences between rural and urban women. METHODS This cross-sectional descriptive study included 10,514 random-sampled women aged 45-65 years from Spain. Sociodemographic information, medical history and lifestyle data were assessed by survey. The Kupperman scale was used to assess severity of menopausal symptoms. RESULTS Urban women had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular and osteoporosis risk factors than rural women, although this was not statistically significant. There was a greater frequency of menopausal symptoms in urban women although rural women experienced more hot flushes (p<0.05), depression, joint pain and tingling. In rural women menopausal symptoms were less severe (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS A high prevalence of risk factors for osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease in particular, was observed. There were statistically significant differences between urban and rural women for some cardiovascular risk factors, frequency of hot flushes and severity of menopausal symptoms.
‘Weep for Chinese university’: a case study of English hegemony and academic capitalism in higher education in Hong Kong

In the spring of 2005, students and alumni of the Chinese University of Hong Kong staged an adamant protest against University directives which they perceived would result in a significant increase in the number of courses taught in English. They denounced the administration of selling out on the founding mission of the University, for which, as stated in its Ordinance, the principal medium of teaching would be Chinese. The University, on the other hand, defended its policy in the name of ‘internationalization’ and the need to stay ahead in the midst of severe competition at home and abroad. This paper examines this language controversy against the wider context of English hegemony and the rise of academic capitalism, two forces which are inextricably linked for the non‐Western societies in a post‐colonial era. I will try to show that the controversy was ultimately a struggle over the meaning of university education, between what I would call the instrumentalists and the humanists in this age of globalization. I end the paper with a pessimistic note, saying that it is the former who have gained an upper hand, and that the scope and parameters of the language debate are heavily restricted.
Lopinavir/ritonavir-based antiretroviral treatment (ART) versus efavirenz-based ART for the prevention of malaria among HIV-infected pregnant women.

BACKGROUND Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected pregnant women are at increased risk of malaria and its complications. In vitro and in vivo data suggest that the HIV protease inhibitors lopinavir/ritonavir may have potent antimalarial activity. We sought to evaluate whether lopinavir/ritonavir-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduced the risk of placental malaria. METHODS HIV-infected, ART-naive pregnant women were enrolled between gestational weeks 12 and 28 and randomly assigned to receive lopinavir/ritonavir-based or efavirenz-based ART. Women received daily trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis and insecticide-treated bed nets at enrollment and were followed up to 1 year after delivery. The primary outcome was placental malaria, defined by the detection of malaria parasites, using microscopy or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of placental blood specimens. Secondary outcomes included placental malaria, defined by histopathologic results; adverse birth outcomes; incidence of malaria; and prevalence of asymptomatic parasitemia. Analyses were done using an intention-to-treat approach. RESULTS Of 389 subjects randomly assigned to a treatment group, 377 were followed through to delivery. There was no significant difference in the risk of placental malaria, as defined by thick smear or PCR findings, between the lopinavir/ritonavir-based and efavirenz-based ART arms (7.4% vs 9.8%; P = .45). Similarly, there were no differences in secondary outcomes between the 2 treatment arms. CONCLUSIONS Lopinavir/ritonavir-based ART did not reduce the risk of placental or maternal malaria or improve birth outcomes, compared with efavirenz-based ART. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NCT00993031.
Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Free Radical Scavenging Potential of Aerial Parts of Periploca aphylla and Ricinus communis

Context. Many diseases are associated with oxidative stress caused by free radicals. Objective. The present study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activities of various extracts of aerial parts of Periploca aphylla and Ricinus communis. Materials and Methods. In vitro antioxidant activities of the plant extract were determined by DPPH and NO scavenging method. Superoxide anion radical activity was measured by the reduction of nitro blue tetrazolium as compared with standard antioxidants. Total phenolic contents and antibacterial activities of these plants were determined by gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and serial tube dilution method, respectively. Results. Plants showed significant radical scavenging activity. The results were expressed as IC50. n-Propyl gallate and 3-t-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole were used as standards for antioxidant assay. All the extracts of both plants showed comparable IC50 to those of standards. Plants extract exhibited high phenolic contents and antibacterial activities were comparable with standard drug, Ciprofloxacin. Discussion and Conclusion. The present study provides evidence that Periploca aphylla and Ricinus communis prove to be potent natural antioxidants and could replace synthetic antioxidants. Plants can also be used against pathogenic bacterial strains.
The Burden of Families Coping with the Mentally Ill: An Invisible Crisis.

With deinstitutionalization, families have acquired a care-giving responsibility for their mentally ill relatives. This study examined the costs families bear after assuming their recently acquired responsibilities. A random sample of 125 families who had one post-hospital member at home revealed relatives paying a high price. The impact on the family was separated into two types of burden, objective and subjective. The significance of the high prevalence of families experiencing adjustment problems is discussed in terms of who supports the support system.
The Daimonic Development of the Malevolent Personality

This paper examines the reluctance of the behavioral sciences to tackle the problem of evil. Whereas each of us as private citizens can attest to the calamitous presence of malevolence in our daily lives, the point of view I take in this paper is that as behavioral scientists most of us have acted as if the problem of evil could be safely ignored or the character structure of the perpetrators of heinous actions could be reduced to known and well-understood psychiatric disor-ders. This psychological denial and reductionism have not well served our mandate to provide meaningful explanations and solutions of social problems for the public. If the behavioral sciences are to have a relevant role in contemporary society, the problem of evil-perhaps the most important issue humankind has ever faced-must be meaningfully reexamined. This paper serves as an effort in this direction. There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the roots. -Thoreau (quoted in The New Dictionary of Thoughts, 1964) Evil is but the shadow, that in this world, always accompanies good. You may have a world without shadow, but it is a world without light-a mere dim, twilight world. If you deepen the intensity of the light, you must be content to bring into deeper blackness and more distinct and definite outline, the shadow that accompanies it. -F. W Robertson (quoted in The New Dictionary of Thoughts, 1964)
Factor Structure Stability of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory across Sex and Various Students' Majors

The factor structure of the 1992 California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and its stability across sex and different types of college majors were examined in this exploratory study. Participants were 499 undergraduate students (151 men, 342 women, missing data = 6) at a four-year mid-Atlantic public university, ranging in age from 18 to 54 years (M = 23.3). Students were enrolled in majors classified as practice disciplines (nursing, education, and business) and nonpractice disciplines (English, history, and psychology). The inventory, a 75-item, forced-choice adjective checklist scale, yields seven subscores and a total score assessing the disposition toward critical thinking. Analysis indicated that, despite the small sample, the generated factor structure of the inventory was highly stable or similar for men and women for Factors I (Facione, et al. Truth-seeking) and II (Facione, et al. Open-mindedness) and was moderately stable for Factors IV (Facione, et al. Systematicity) and V (Facione, et al. Confidence). Factors III (Analyticity), VI (Inquisitiveness), and VII (Maturity) were not stable. For practice and nonpractice disciplines and for major, only Factor I was stable. The findings suggest further refinement of the inventory.
The relationship between personality and transformational leadership

Purpose – The purpose was to find if the relationship between personality and transformational leadership exists, when the appraisals are from leaders themselves and from their subordinates.Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken was quantitative analyses of 439 leaders and 380 subordinates.Findings – Results indicated that the relationship between personality and transformational leadership exists. Subordinates' and leaders' ratings did not converge. According to leaders' self‐ratings, the extraverted, intuitive and perceiving preferences favour transformational leadership. On the contrary, subordinates' ratings indicated that leaders with sensing preference are associated with transformational leadership.Research limitations/implications – Even if sample size is relatively extensive, it represents mainly middle‐level leaders. More data would be needed to gain the overall picture of this topic in all leadership levels.Practical implications – Results of this study can be used in training and dev.
Constructing ageing and age identities: a case study of newspaper discourses

ABSTRACT Public discourses concerning older people are available in a variety of texts, including popular media, and these discourses position older people with particular age identities. This study examined discursive formations of ageing and age identities in print media in Ireland. Constituting a single media event, newspaper texts concerned with revised welfare provision for older people were subjected to critical discourse analysis and revealed particular ways of naming and referencing older people and distinct constructions of ageing and age identities. The use of nouns and phrases to name and reference older people positioned them as a distinct demographic group and a latent ageism was discernible in texts that deployed collective names like ‘grannies and grandads’ and ‘little old ladies’. Five distinct identity types were available in the texts, variously constructing older people as ‘victims’; ‘frail, infirm and vulnerable’; ‘radicalised citizens’; ‘deserving old’ and ‘undeserving old’. The discourses made available subject positions that collectively produced identities of implied dependency and otherness, thereby placing older people outside mainstream Irish society. The proposition that older people might be healthy, self-reliant and capable of autonomous living was largely absent in the discourses. Newspaper discourses betray taken-for-granted assumptions and reveal dominant social constructions of ageing and age identity that have consequences for older people's behaviour and for the way that society behaves towards them.
A systematic approach to embedding academic numeracy at university

This paper argues that academic numeracy is an important, but undervalued and under-researched, area in tertiary education. Academic numeracy is first defined in terms of students' competence, confidence and critical awareness of their own mathematical knowledge and the mathematics needed in context. The development of academic numeracy is then discussed in terms of obuchenie (teaching/learning) and the metaknowledge around the mathematics in context needed by key staff. The paper presents a systematic approach to develop academic numeracy at the university, program, course and individual student and teacher level. Finally, it provides examples of how to embed academic numeracy. This paper provides a framework for future studies in this under-researched area.
The Impact of Americorps Service on Volunteer Participants

Earlier evaluations of Ameri Corps have approached the study of program effects in two general ways. Cost-benefit studies indicate that in select projects the program produces a substantial net benefit. Qualitative studies conclude that the program has a substantial impact on the strength of communities, provides an influx of social capital, and solves unmet human needs. The authors’ analysis focuses on the impact of Ameri Corps on the volunteer members. In a 2-year preservice-postservice analysis they found that the members become more active in community groups. Ameri Corps participation may strengthen social capital—participation parallels a significant value shift among participants.
Perceptual Asymmetry for Chimeric Faces and Winter Disturbances in Mood and Behavior

Abstract. Different affective disturbances are related to brain activity, and, thus, to perceptual bias in very specific ways (Keller et al., 2000). During the winter months, approximately 90% of people report lowered levels of mood and increased levels of anxiety to varying degrees (e.g., Magnusson, 2000). The current study examines the relationship between such winter mood disturbances and perceptual asymmetry on the chimeric-face task using a nonclinical sample (38 males and 92 females). Because of the suggested influence of symbolic light on cognitive processing of seasonal depressives (Bouhuys, Meesters, Jansen, & Bloem, 1994), chimeric faces were presented on both symbolic bright and dark backgrounds. Face processing demonstrated the expected left hemifacial perceptual bias. However, the magnitude of individuals' perceptual bias bore no relation to subjectively reported seasonality, depressed mood, or anxiety. This was regardless of whether the faces were displayed on symbolic bright or dark backgro.
Investigation of the Relationship Between Flatfoot and Patellar Subluxation in Adolescents

Abstract Patellar subluxation is common in adolescents, and a variety of factors are related to this condition, with valgus of the knee joint an important factor. The results of many studies suggest that flatfoot can cause an abnormality of the lower limb power line. Structural abnormalities of the foot caused by the high stresses exerted by body weight can lead to structural deformity of the knee and can also cause knee valgus. Screening for foot problems can help determine the risk of patellar subluxation, and early intervention can lessen the incidence of this condition. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of flatfoot on the structure and function of the knees and, especially, the risk of patellar subluxation. A total of 72 participants were recruited for this cross‐sectional study. The mean age at examination was 15.4 ± 4.0 (range 9 to 22) years. The measured parameters were heel valgus angle, arch index, and quadriceps angle (Q‐angle). Overall, the mean values of the heel valgus angle, arch index, and Q‐angle were 5.9° ± 2.4° (range 1° to 11°), 0.33 ± 0.07 (range 0.23 to 0.46), and 19.1° ± 3.5° (range 9° to 26°), respectively. The Q‐angle was directly associated with the heel valgus angle (r = 0.818, p < .001) and arch index (r = 0.655, p < .001). We found that flatfoot can affect the morphology of the knee joint and increase the risk of patellar subluxation. &NA; Level of Clinical Evidence: 3
Structural Basis of Subtilase Cytotoxin SubAB Assembly*

Background: AB5 toxins consist of a pentameric B-subunit and a catalytic A-subunit. Results: Crystallographic data, dissociation, and intracellular trafficking of SubAB toxin are reported. Conclusion: SubAB architecture is similar to other AB5 toxins, whereas the B-pentamer plays an important role in assembly and intracellular trafficking. Significance: The conserved hydrophobic ring in the B-pentamer supports the view that A- and B-subunits have evolved independently. Pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli produce a number of toxins that belong to the AB5 toxin family, which comprise a catalytic A-subunit that induces cellular dysfunction and a B-pentamer that recognizes host glycans. Although the molecular actions of many of the individual subunits of AB5 toxins are well understood, how they self-associate and the effect of this association on cytotoxicity are poorly understood. Here we have solved the structure of the holo-SubAB toxin that, in contrast to other AB5 toxins whose molecular targets are located in the cytosol, cleaves the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone BiP. SubA interacts with SubB in a similar manner to other AB5 toxins via the A2 helix and a conserved disulfide bond that joins the A1 domain with the A2 helix. The structure revealed that the active site of SubA is not occluded by the B-pentamer, and the B-pentamer does not enhance or inhibit the activity of SubA. Structure-based sequence comparisons with other AB5 toxin family members, combined with extensive mutagenesis studies on SubB, show how the hydrophobic patch on top of the B-pentamer plays a dominant role in binding the A-subunit. The structure of SubAB and the accompanying functional characterization of various mutants of SubAB provide a framework for understanding the important role of the B-pentamer in the assembly and the intracellular trafficking of this AB5 toxin.
Synthesis of Linearly Fused Benzodipyrrole Based Organic Materials

The objective of this review is to give an overview of the synthetic methods to prepare different indolo[3,2-b]carbazoles and similar systems with a potential use in electro-optical devices such as OLEDs (organic light emitting diode), OPVs (organic photovoltaic) and OFETs (organic field effect transistor). Some further modifications to the core units and their implications for specific applications are also discussed.
Children's Concepts of the Nature and Purpose of Reading in Different Instructional Settings

This study investigated the influence that both instruction and the developmental stage of learning to read have on the reading concepts of 24 first graders randomly selected from two skill-based and two literature-based classrooms. A multi-step process providing quantitative and qualitative data was used in identifying the two skill-based and two literature-based classrooms. Controls were provided for variables known to impact children's reading concepts such as grade level, reading ability, socioeconomic status, and gender. Three measures producing quantitative and qualitative data were used to examine the children's reading concepts. Results indicated that the two groups of children were similar in some reading concepts. Both the skill-based and literature-based students exhibited a high interest in learning and knowing words and in phonics or decoding. Findings also indicated that the two groups were different. The literature group differed from the skill group in their heightened metacognitive understandings, their knowledge and use of varied reading strategies, and their view of reading as a meaning-making, language-like process. Statistically significant differences were also found for the literature group in their more frequent rejection of passages of incomprehensible print and in their use of a balance of cues in oral reading. Additionally, although the literature group attempted to sound out words less often, they achieved a success rate of correctly sounding out words of 53% compared to 32% by the skill group.
Omniscience and ignorance: Variation in Nuaulu knowledge, identification and classification of animals

ABSTRACT The ethnographic analysis of categories is still largely based on assumptions of cultural uniformity, although, during the past decade, the significance of variation has become increasingly evident as attempts have been made to measure it. Delineation and measurement are themselves complex tasks, however. In a single body of data there may be variation according to many criteria which are often cross-cutting and reinforce each other irregularly. These issues are discussed in this paper in relation to different types and contexts of variation evident in animal classifications of the Nuaulu of eastern Indonesia. Yet, the kinds of assumptions made in formal studies of individual variation are as problematic as those concerning cultural uniformity. It is important to appreciate that the techniques and representations employed to describe classifications and their variation are often inadequate, concealing those things that are operationally of most significance and reifying ‘classifications’ which do not always exist in practice. The products of classifying behaviour inevitably reflect the immediate social conditions of the situations in which they are used. (Analysis of categories, cultural variability, ethnozoology, social context; Nuaulu of eastern Indonesia.)
An evidence‐update on the prospective relationship between childhood sedentary behaviour and biomedical health indicators: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Evidence for adverse health effects of excessive sedentary behaviour in children is predominantly based on cross‐sectional studies, measuring TV viewing as proxy for sedentary behaviour. This systematic review and meta‐analysis summarizes the evidence on the prospective relationship between childhood sedentary behaviour and biomedical health indicators, overall and stratified by type of sedentary behaviour (TV viewing, computer use/games, screen time and objective sedentary time).
Entropy and uncertainty of squeezed quantum open systems

We dene the entropy S and uncertainty function of a squeezed system interacting with a thermal bath, and study how they change in time by following the evolution of the reduced density matrix in the influence functional formalism. As examples, we calculate the entropy of two exactly solvable squeezed systems: an inverted harmonic oscillator and a scalar eld mode evolving in an inflationary universe. For the inverted oscillator with weak coupling to the bath, at both high and low temperatures, S ! r, where r is the squeeze parameter. In the de Sitter case, at high temperatures, S ! (1 c)r where c = 0=H, 0 being the coupling to the bath and H the Hubble constant. These three cases conrm previous results based on more ad hoc prescriptions for calculating entropy. But at low temperatures, the de Sitter entropy S! (1=2 c)r is noticeably dierent. This result, obtained from a more rigorous approach, shows that factors usually ignored by the conventional approaches, i.e., the nature of the environment and the coupling strength betwen the system and the environment, are important.