Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Negative Affect Mediates Effects of Psychological Stress on Disordered Eating in Young Chinese Women

Background The bi-relationships between psychological stress, negative affect and disordered eating has been well studied in western culture, while tri-relationship among them, i.e. how some of those factors influence these bi-relationships, has rarely been studied. However, there has been little related study in the different Chinese culture. This study was conducted to investigate the bi-relationships and tri-relationship between psychological stress, negative affect, and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in young Chinese women. Methodology A total of 245 young Chinese policewomen employed to carry out health and safety checks at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo were recruited in this study. The Chinese version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Beck Depression Inventory Revised (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) were administered to all participants. Principal Findings The total scores of PSS-10, BDI-II and BAI were all highly correlated with that of EAT-26. The PSS-10 score significantly correlated with both BDI-II and BAI scores. There was no statistically significant direct effect from perceived stress to disordered eating (–0.012, 95%CI: –.038∼0.006, p = 0.357), however, the indirect effects from PSS-10 via affect factors were statistically significant, e.g. the estimated mediation effects from PSS to EAT-26 via depression and anxiety were 0.036 (95%CI: 0.022∼0.044, p<0.001) and 0.015 (95%CI: 0.005∼0.023, p<0.01), respectively. Conclusions Perceived stress and negative affects of depression and anxiety were demonstrated to be strongly associated with disordered eating. Negative affect mediated the relationship between perceived stress and disordered eating. The findings suggest that effective interventions and preventative programmes for disordered eating should pay more attention to depression and anxiety among the young Chinese female population.
La Visibilité comme Ressource dans la Gouvernance des Circuits Courts: Une Approche Institutionnaliste de l'Évaluation pour l'Observatoire des Circuits Courts de PACA

Les circuits courts semblent a l'heure actuelle dans une phase d’institutionnalisation averee, en particulier du fait du positionnement croissant des politiques publiques et des mises en reseau multi-scalaires et inter-sectorielles des acteurs. Les observatoires se multiplient : nous etudions celui mis en place par le Conseil Regional PACA. A travers une approche inspiree du cadre d'analyse d'Elinor Ostrom, nous identifions l'impact de cet observatoire sur la capacite des acteurs et participants a faire emerger des regles qui resolvent les dilemmes sociaux lies a la ressource clef du systeme : la visibilite, a la fois produite et consommee au sein de l'observatoire.
Predictors of violence, antisocial behaviour and relational aggression in Australian adolescents : a longitudinal study

This is a report on a project funded by the Criminology Research Council. The study aimed to contrast predictors of antisocial behaviour in an Australian sample with those from a comparable US sample, in order to add to understanding of the relevance of US crime prevention science, including the developmental pathways approach, for Australia. Using data collected in 2002 and 2003 from the International Youth Development Study, a large longitudinal cross national study of Years 5, 7 and 9 school students in Victoria and Washington State, USA, the study examines the frequency of antisocial behaviour in Victoria relative to Washington State, and aims to identify individual, family and peer predictors of antisocial behaviour. The project also examines societal responses to antisocial behaviour, such as arrests and school suspensions, and their impact on subsequent antisocial behaviour. The findings of the study have been reported in two papers. The first, entitled 'A comparison of rates of adolescent antisocial behaviour, school suspensions and arrests in Victoria, Australia relative to Washington State, USA', found that although the levels of antisocial behaviour are similar in the two states, Washington State adopts more punitive measures such as school suspensions and arrests. The second paper, entitled 'How similar are the predictors of adolescent antisocial behaviour in Australia and the United States? ', found that the experience of school suspension increased the risk of antisocial behaviour one year later, after controlling for other known risk factors, while a similar effect was noted for arrests. Consistent with existing studies, a number of individual and family characteristics were found to be important in the development of antisocial behaviour. The report draws out the implications of these findings for future research and for policy development. The results of the project suggest, among other things, that punitive approaches to antisocial behaviour with youth may be counter productive, and that it is important to keep students connected to school and to minimise early contact with law enforcement authorities.
Division of Housework in Transitional Urban China

Abstract This study examines how historical transitions that occurred during individuals’ young adulthood are related to the division of housework among married couples in urban China. Using data from the 2006 China Health and Nutrition Survey, analyses compare housework participation among 398 married couples from the pre-reform generation, 432 couples from the early-reform generation, and 107 couples from the late-reform generation. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression results show that regardless of generation, wives continue to undertake the majority of housework. Significant shifts in housework are found across generations among men, wherein husbands of the pre-reform generation spend more time on housework than husbands in the two reform generations. Although the division of housework remains highly gendered across generations, findings suggest that a political endeavor toward promoting gender equality may have played a role in altering men's housework behaviors.
Mother-Child Conversations and Child Memory Narratives: The Roles of Child Gender and Attachment

Abstract This study examined the roles of child gender and attachment in mother-child narrative conversations and child independent narratives. Children (Mage = 56 months) told personal narratives independently and while engaged in narrative conversations with their mothers. The Attachment Story Completion Task-Revised (Verschueren & Marcoen, 1994) measured child attachment representations. Results indicated that attachment was linked to maternal conversational style and child independent narratives. Mothers with secure sons continued their topics more than mothers of secure daughters, and secure boys’ independent narratives were less elaborative than those of secure girls. However, no gender differences were found among insecure dyads. We argue that mothers of secure boys sensitively recognize their sons’ cues within the conversational context and respond to the need for further verbal assistance, thus providing more on-topic replies in narrative conversations.
Genetic Variants and Mixed Sport Disciplines: A Comparison among Soccer, Combat and Motorcycle Athletes

Background. Soccer, combat sports and motorcycling have all been classified as mixed in terms of their metabolism predominance thus showing a common multifaceted nature of physical requirements, which include aerobic capacity, strength, endurance, power and agility. Objectives. The aim of the current study was to compare allelic and genotype frequencies of four well-known polymorphisms among athletes from different mixed sport disciplines in order to investigate genetic markers suitable for distinguishing the predominant components of these sports. Methods. Genotyping for the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D), α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) R577X, muscle‐specific creatine kinase (CK-MM) A/G and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) G/C polymorphisms among 113 professional athletes from motorcycling, soccer and combat sports was performed by PCRRFLP method. Results. We found that the G allele of the PPARα polymorphism was significantly (p<0.05) more frequent in soccer players than in combat sport athletes or motorcycle riders. In addition, we observed that the genotype frequency of AA of CK-MM (rs8111989) polymorphism in soccer players was significantly (p<0.05) higher than combat athletes. On the contrary, both ACE I/D and ACTN3 R577X polymorphisms do not enable to distinguish between these disciplines. Conclusions. Our findings indicate that the PPARα polymorphism may be suitable as potential distinguish genetic marker among mixed sport disciplines.
A novel LMX1B mutation in a family with end-stage renal disease of ‘unknown cause’

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) presenting in a familial autosomal dominant pattern points to an underlying monogenic cause. Nail-patella syndrome (NPS) is an autosomal dominant disorder that may lead to ESRD caused by mutations in the transcription factor LMX1B. Renal-limited forms of this disease, termed nail-patella-like renal disease (NPLRD), and LMX1B nephropathy have recently been described. We report a large family, from the North East of England, with seven affected members with varying phenotypes of renal disease, ranging from ESRD at 28 years of age to microscopic haematuria and proteinuria and relatively preserved renal function. In this family, there were no extra-renal manifestations to suggest NPS. Genome-wide linkage studies and inheritance by descent (IBD) suggested disease loci on Chromosome 1 and 9. Whole exome sequencing (WES) analysis identified a novel sequence variant (p.R249Q) in the LMX1B gene in each of the three samples submitted, which was confirmed using Sanger sequencing. The variant segregated with the disease in all affected individuals. In silico modelling revealed that R249 is putatively located in close proximity to the DNA phosphoskeleton, supporting a role for this residue in the interaction between the LMX1B homeodomain and its target DNA. WES and analysis of potential target genes, including CD2AP, NPHS2, COL4A3, COL4A4 and COL4A5, did not reveal any co-inherited pathogenic variants. In conclusion, we confirm a novel LMX1B mutation in a large family with an autosomal dominant pattern of nephropathy. This report confirms that LMX1B mutations may cause a glomerulopathy without extra-renal manifestations. A molecular genetic diagnosis of LMX1B nephropathy thus provides a definitive diagnosis, prevents the need for renal biopsies and allows at risk family members to be screened.
Thematic density of research-article abstracts: a systemic-functional account

The abstract of a research paper is an essential component, providing key details of the full paper. Past studies often allude to their being a text type, but they also highlight variations in their organization and language features within and across disciplines. However, studies on the thematic structure of abstracts have been scarce. This study investigated whether the thematic structure of abstracts from two discipline groups – the Sciences and Humanities – differed and what these differences, if any, were. Two hundred abstracts were analyzed using Halliday’s framework. A thematic-density index was also devised to quantify the extent to which topical Themes were used to introduce ideas in the text. The results revealed that abstracts from both discipline groups shared a common thematic shape; they generally displayed a lean, linear thematic pattern with low thematic density. The groups, however, differed in the clausal distribution of topical Themes. The abstracts in the Sciences used more main-clause topical Themes and fewer embedded-clause topical Themes; the opposite was true for the Humanities abstracts. There was no significant difference in the groups’ use of subordinate-clause topical Themes. The study highlights an alternative understanding of how abstracts are both similar to and yet different from each other.
The narrative waltz: The role of flexibility in writing proficiency

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 108(7) of Journal of Educational Psychology (see record 2016-27706-001). In the article, the author note should have included the following statement: The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education (IES R305A120707). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute or the US Department of Education. ] A commonly held belief among educators, researchers, and students is that high-quality texts are easier to read than low-quality texts, as they contain more engaging narrative and story-like elements. Interestingly, these assumptions have typically failed to be supported by the literature on writing. Previous research suggests that higher quality writing is typically associated with decreased levels of text narrativity and readability. In this study, the authors present the hypothesis that writing proficiency is associated with an individual’s flexible use of linguistic properties, rather than simply the consistent use of a particular set of linguistic properties. To test this hypothesis, the authors leveraged both natural language processing and dynamic methodologies to capture variability in students’ use of narrative style across multiple essay prompts. Forty-five high school students wrote 16 essays across 8 laboratory sessions. Natural language processing techniques were first used to calculate the narrativity of each essay. Random walk and Euclidian distance measures were then used to visualize and classify students’ flexibility in narrativity across essays. The results support the hypotheses that students who were flexible in their use of narrativity also wrote essays that were rated as having higher quality, whereas inflexible writers tended to write lower quality essays. Additionally, more flexible writers performed higher than the more inflexible writers on general assessments of literacy and prior knowledge. These results are important for researchers and educators, as they indicate that the link between textual properties and writing quality may fluctuate according to the context of a given writing assignment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Childhood Adversities and Adult Cardiometabolic Health

Objective: Adverse events in childhood can indelibly influence adult health. While evidence for this association has mounted, a fundamental set of questions about how to operationalize adverse events has been understudied. Method: We used data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States to examine how quantity, timing, and types of adverse events in childhood are associated with adult cardiometabolic health. Results: The best-fitting specification of quantity of events was a linear measure reflecting a dose–response relationship. Timing of event mattered less than repeated exposure to events. Regarding the type of event, academic interruptions and sexual/physical abuse were most important. Adverse childhood events elevated the risk of diabetes and obesity similarly for men and women but had a greater impact on women’s risk of heart disease. Discussion: Findings demonstrate the insights that can be gleaned about the early-life origins of adult health by examining operationalization of childhood exposures.
Young-onset type 2 diabetes families are the major contributors to genetic loci in the Diabetes UK Warren 2 genome scan and identify putative novel loci on chromosomes 8q21, 21q22, and 22q11.

A young onset of type 2 diabetes is likely to result, in part, from greater genetic susceptibility. Young-onset families may therefore represent a group in which genes are more easily detectable by linkage. To test this hypothesis, we conducted age at diagnosis (AAD) stratified linkage analyses in the Diabetes UK Warren 2 sibpairs. In the previously published unstratified analysis, evidence for linkage (logarithm of odds [LOD] >1.18) was found at seven loci. The LOD scores at these seven loci were higher in the 245 families with AAD <55 years (L55) compared with the 328 families with AAD >55 years (G55). Five of these seven loci (1q24-25, 5q13, 8p21-22, 8q24.2, and 10q23.2) had LOD scores >1.18 in the L55 subset but only one (8p21-22) did in the G55 subset. Two additional loci (8q21.13 and 21q22.2) showed evidence for linkage in the L55 subset alone. Another locus (22q11) showed evidence for linkage in a subset of families with AAD <45 years. Using a locus-counting approach, the L55 subset had significantly more loci (P approximately 0.01) than expected under the null hypothesis of no linkage across the LOD score range 0.59-3.0. In contrast, the G55 subset contained no more susceptibility loci than that expected by chance. In conclusion, young-onset families provide both disproportionate evidence for linkage to known loci and evidence for additional novel loci. Our data confirm our hypothesis that families segregating young-onset type 2 diabetes represent a more powerful resource for defining susceptibility genes by linkage.
Residual frequency offset correction for coherently modulated OFDM systems in wireless communication

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems are very sensitive to frequency offset caused by tuning oscillator instabilities and Doppler shifts induced by the channel. The Schmidt and Cox (1997) algorithm (SCA) is quite robust in estimating the frequency offset for systems with large OFDM symbol lengths. It uses two OFDM symbols for training with the first one having two identical halves. The frequency offset is estimated by correlating a received sequence of samples equal to half the OFDM symbol length with the following received samples. The effect of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) in the estimation process is mitigated only if the number of samples used in the correlation, and hence the OFDM symbol size is large. However to be successfully applied to broadband fixed wireless access (BFWA) systems, OFDM should perform well even with smaller symbol lengths. We present the residual frequency offset correction algorithm (RFOCA), which uses the SCA for initial frequency offset acquisition and follows it with a stage which reduces the initial residual frequency offset by tracking the phase of the decoded data. We show through simulation that the RFOCA achieves an error variance that is many orders of magnitude lower than at the end of the acquisition stage using the SCA alone.
The Performance of Mutual Funds in the Period 1945-1964

In this paper I derive a risk-adjusted measure of portfolio performance (now known as Jensen's Alpha) that estimates how much a manager's forecasting ability contributes to the fund's returns. The measure is based on the theory of the pricing of capital assets by Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965a) and Treynor (Undated). I apply the measure to estimate the predictive ability of 115 mutual fund managers in the period 1945-1964 - that is their ability to earn returns which are higher than those we would expect given the level of risk of each of the portfolios. The foundations of the model and the properties of the performance measure suggested here are discussed in Section II. The evidence on mutual fund performance indicates not only that these 115 mutual funds were on average not able to predict security prices well enough to outperform a buy-the-market-and-hold policy, but also that there is very little evidence that any individual fund was able to do significantly better than that which we expected from mere random chance. It is also important to note that these conclusions hold even when we measure the fund returns gross of management expenses (that is assume their bookkeeping, research, and other expenses except brokerage commissions were obtained free). Thus on average the funds apparently were not quite successful enough in their trading activities to recoup even their brokerage expenses.
How great is the survival advantage of transplantation over dialysis in elderly patients?

BACKGROUND Patients >60 years old represent 66% of all new patients starting renal replacement therapy in Scotland. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not transplantation provides any survival benefit in this group of patients. METHODS 325 patients >60 years old listed for transplantation in Scotland between 1 January 1989 and 31 December 1999 were followed up until 31 December 2000. Sociodemographic, comorbidity, listing and transplant data were obtained from the national renal and transplant databases and case-notes review. Survival was compared between those who received a transplant and those who were listed but did not receive a transplant by the end of the follow-up period. Mann-Whitney, chi(2), Fisher's exact and log-rank tests were used where appropriate. RESULTS Of the 325 patients listed, 128 (39.4%) received a first transplant within the study period and the remaining 197 (60.6%) continued to undergo dialysis. The transplant recipients were younger at listing (P<0.0001), lived closer to the transplant centre (P = 0.043) and spent less time on the active waiting list (P<0.0001) than patients who remained on dialysis. They had less ischaemic heart disease (P = 0.024), cerebrovascular disease (P = 0.03) and arrhythmias (P = 0.016). The overall mortality rate was 0.16 per patient-year for dialysis and 0.10 for transplantation. There was a significantly lower risk of death (RR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.22--0.54; P<0.0001, log-rank) and a longer life expectancy after listing with a transplant (8.17 vs 4.32 years). CONCLUSIONS Renal transplantation offers a significant survival advantage over dialysis in elderly patients with end-stage renal failure who are considered suitable for transplantation.
Software Mechanisms to Identify and Mitigate Intercore Memory Subsystem Shared Resource Contention for Multiprogram Workloads

Multicore processors have become ubiquitous in recent years and have become the norm across embedded, desktop and server markets. This shift in processor design has had profound implications on hardware resource sharing between processes on a system. Rather than allocating a fixed partition of each resource to each core, common resources such as last level caches, integrated memory controllers, and system buses are shared between cores. Since these resources are shared, the behavior of the threads executing on one core can directly influence the performance of threads on another core. Thus managing how threads from different programs interact and utilize shared resources is important for enforcing a set of objectives. In this survey, we examine how software techniques can be used to detect and reduce shared resource contention for multiprogram workloads run on multicore machines. We examine both single machine and data center environments. Our conclusion is that the choice of techniques for both contention identification and mitigation is nontrivial and is dependent on workload characteristics, the hardware, and the target objective to optimize.