Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
British citizenship and the ‘other’: an analysis of the earned citizenship discourse

This paper presents an analysis of interviews conducted with citizenship officers in London, working within the field of British naturalisation. We draw from a rhetorical psychology perspective to study the dilemmatic tensions that exist in the participants' discourse about naturalisation applicants who are constructed as ‘good’ and ‘bad’, as both ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ of British citizenship. In line with a rhetorical approach, we argue that these different constructions of the migrant are strategic and are associated with different constructions of Britain as humanitarian and tolerant, on the one hand, and as being under threat by the influx of immigration, on the other hand. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this ambivalence for processes of inclusion and exclusion.
New agents for cancer chemoprevention

Clinical chemoprevention trials of more than 30 agents and agent combinations are now in progress or being planned. The most advanced agents are well known and are in large Phase III chemoprevention intervention trials or epidemiological studies. These drugs include several retinoids [e.g., retinol, retinyl palmitate, all‐trans‐retinoic acid, and 13‐cis‐retinoic acid], calcium, βcarotene, vitamin E, tamoxifen, and finasteride. Other newer agents are currently being evaluated in or being considered for Phase II and early Phase III chemoprevention trials. Prominent in this group are all‐trans‐N‐(4‐hydroxy phenyl)retinamide (4‐HPR) (alone and in combination with tamoxifen), 2‐difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (aspirin, piroxicam, sulindac), oltipraz, and dehydroepiandrostenedione (DHEA).
Introduction pathway and climate trump ecology and life history as predictors of establishment success in alien frogs and toads

A major goal for ecology and evolution is to understand how abiotic and biotic factors shape patterns of biological diversity. Here, we show that variation in establishment success of nonnative frogs and toads is primarily explained by variation in introduction pathways and climatic similarity between the native range and introduction locality, with minor contributions from phylogeny, species ecology, and life history. This finding contrasts with recent evidence that particular species characteristics promote evolutionary range expansion and reduce the probability of extinction in native populations of amphibians, emphasizing how different mechanisms may shape species distributions on different temporal and spatial scales. We suggest that contemporary changes in the distribution of amphibians will be primarily determined by human-mediated extinctions and movement of species within climatic envelopes, and less by species-typical traits.
Disulfide bridges in tomato pectinesterase: Variations from pectinesterases of other species; conservation of possible active site segments

Analysis of tomato pectinesterase by carboxymethylation, with and without reduction, shows that the enzyme has two intrachain disulfide bridges. Analysis of fragments obtained from the native enzyme after digestion with pepsin identified bridges connecting Cys‐98 with Cys‐125, and Cys‐166 with Cys‐200. The locations of disulfide bridges in tomato pectinesterase are not identical to those in three distantly related pectinesterases (18–33% residue identities) from microorganisms. However, one half‐Cys (i.e., Cys‐166) position is conserved in all four enzymes. Sequence comparisons of the overall structures suggest a special importance for three short segments of the entire protein. One segment is at the N‐terminal part of the tomato pectinesterase, another in the C‐terminal portion near the distal end of the second disulfide loop, and the third segment is located in the central part between the two disulfide bridges. The latter segment, encompassing only 40 residues of the entire protein, appears to highlight a functional site in a midchain segment.
Left-wing politics, civil society and immigration in Italy: The case of Bologna

Abstract Immigration and multiculturalism are important and much debated questions in contemporary Europe. Whereas considerable scholarship has examined how political institutions and Right-wing organizations have responded to these questions, little research has focused on the Left. This article examines the multicultural politics of the latter by considering ethnographically the experience of Bologna, the showcase city of the Italian Left, in the second half of the 1990s. The Left is here examined in terms of ideology, party, public policy and civil society in the context of everyday governance and with special reference to the discourses and practices concerning a group of Rom refugees from the former Yugoslavia. This article argues that the mainstream Italian Left (in its civil societal as well as party and administrative components) is characterized by a politics that fails to “integrate” ethno-cultural recognition with material justice and that, partly because of such failure, contributes little to the “integration” of immigrants.
Individual-Group Discontinuity as a Function of Fear and Greed

Two studies tested the schema-based distrust interpretation of the tendency of intergroup relations to be more noncooperative (or competitive) than interindividual relations. According to this interpretation, anticipated competitiveness rationally leads to noncooperativ eness or defensive withdrawal. Thus, the postulated motivation is fear of the other group's competitive intent. Study 1 was a nonexperimental investigation in which discussion of distrust of another group was assessed and correlated with the number of cooperative choices. As predicted, the greater the within-group discussion of distrust for the other group, the less the number of cooperative choices. Study 2 was an experimental investigation that included as independent variables intergroup versus interindividual relations and PDG matrix versus PDG-Alt matrix (PDG matrix plus a third Alt or withdrawal, choice producing intermediate outcomes regardless of the opponent's choice). As predicted, there were more withdrawal choices on the PDG-Alt matrix for groups than for individuals. However, it was still found that on the PDG-Alt matrix (where a safe withdrawal choice is possible), groups competed more than individuals.
Relational Networks, Social Trust, and Norms: A Social Capital Perspective on Students’ Chances of Academic Success

This study elaborates a theoretical rationale for relational networks, norms, and trust as structural and functional forms of social capital that can facilitate student achievement. The results of hierarchical generalized linear modeling show that 4th-grade students’ odds of passing state-mandated mathematics and writing assessments are modestly increased in urban schools characterized by high levels of social capital. The results suggest the need for more research investigating the extent to which social capital is independent from socioeconomic status and whether social capital may be developed in schools serving high concentrations of poor and minority students.
Exploring the impact of a professional practice education doctorate in educational environments

This article presents one approach to assessing the impact of an online professional practice doctorate in education on participants' work environments. It is unique in that it explored impact during the doctoral program, before participants began their dissertation research, and it focused on how participants apply learning from the program within their practice and how they grow professionally in ways that make contributions to their organizations and their profession. The data are based on participant interviews, participants' curriculum vitae submitted during qualifying exams, and professional websites. The findings indicate that an online professional program embedded in practice can have powerful impact within a short period of time on students' own practice, their local organizations, and their colleagues at regional, state, and national levels and spur their professional momentum.
Buzzer Detection and Sentiment Analysis for Predicting Presidential Election Results in a Twitter Nation

In this paper, we present our approach for predicting the results of Indonesian Presidential Election using Twitter as our main resource. We explore the possibility of easy-togather Twitter data to be utilized as a survey supporting tool to understand public opinion. First, we collected Twitter data during the campaign period. Second, we performed automatic buzzer detection on our Twitter data to remove those tweets generated by computer bots, paid users, and fanatic users that usually become noise in our data. Third, we performed a fine-grained political sentiment analysis to partition each tweet into several sub-tweets and subsequently assigned each sub-tweet with one of the candidates and its sentiment polarity. Finally, to predict the election results, we leveraged the number of positive sub-tweets for each candidate. Our experiment shows that the mean absolute error (MAE) of our Twitter-based prediction is 0.61%, which is surprisingly better than the prediction results published by several independent survey institutions (offline polls). Our study suggests that Twitter can serve as an important resource for any political activity, specifically for predicting the final outcomes of the election itself.
The importance of context specificity in work stress research: A test of the Demand-Control-Support model in academics

Abstract The Demand-Control (D-C) (Karasek, 1979) and the Demand-Control-Support (D-C-S) (Johnson & Hall, 1988; Johnson, Hall, & Theorell, 1989; Karasek & Theorell, 1990) models of work stress suggest that jobs with high demands and low control (and low support) are stressful. In line with the support in the literature for context-specificity in occupational stress research (Sparks & Cooper, 1999) and the limited and even contradictory support for interaction effects, the main aim of the present study was to examine how the D-C-S model applied in a well-defined occupational group. Using hierarchical regression analyses, and controlling for negative affect, the D-C-S model accounted for 26%, 6%, and 8% of the variance in job satisfaction, psychological distress and burnout, respectively, among 166 academics in a UK university. No two-way or three-way interactive effects were evident, but additive effects of job demands and control on psychological well-being and of job demands and support on both burnout and job satisfaction were shown, corroborating research showing that high job strain is linked to ill health and job dissatisfaction in this homogenous occupational sample. It is recommended that, in future, research includes more variables that are specific to a particular occupation.
Dendrodendritic Synaptic Signals in Olfactory Bulb Granule Cells: Local Spine Boost and Global Low-Threshold Spike

In the mammalian olfactory bulb, axonless granule cells process synaptic input and output reciprocally within large spines. The nature of the calcium signals that underlie the presynaptic and postsynaptic function of these spines is mostly unknown. Using two-photon imaging in acute rat brain slices and glomerular stimulation of mitral/tufted cells, we observed two forms of action potential-independent synaptic Ca2+ signals in granule cell dendrites. Weak activation of mitral/tufted cells produced stochastic Ca2+ transients in individual granule cell spines. These transients were strictly localized to the spine head, indicating a local passive boosting or spine spike. Ca2+ sources for these local synaptic events included NMDA receptors, voltage-dependent calcium channels, and Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release from internal stores. Stronger activation of mitral/tufted cells produced a low-threshold Ca2+ spike (LTS) throughout the granule cell apical dendrite. This global spike was mediated by T-type Ca2+ channels and represents a candidate mechanism for subthreshold lateral inhibition in the olfactory bulb. The coincidence of local input and LTS in the spine resulted in summation of local and global Ca2+ signals, a dendritic computation that could endow granule cells with subthreshold associative plasticity.
Retrograde Viral Vector-Mediated Inhibition of Pontospinal Noradrenergic Neurons Causes Hyperalgesia in Rats

Pontospinal noradrenergic neurons form a component of an endogenous analgesic system and represent a potential therapeutic target. We tested the principle that genetic manipulation of their excitability can alter nociception using an adenoviral vector (AVV-PRS-hKir2.1) containing a catecholaminergic-selective promoter (PRS) to retrogradely transduce and inhibit the noradrenergic neurons projecting to the lumbar dorsal horn through the expression of a potassium channel (hKir2.1). Expression of hKir2.1 in catecholaminergic PC12 cells hyperpolarized the membrane potential and produced a barium-sensitive inward rectification. LC neurons transduced by AVV-PRS-hKir2.1 in slice cultures also showed barium-sensitive inward rectification and reduced spontaneous firing rate (median 0.2 Hz; n = 19 vs control 1.0 Hz; n = 18, p < 0.05). Pontospinal noradrenergic neurons were retrogradely transduced in vivo by injection of AVV into the lumbar dorsal horn (L4–5). Rats transduced with AVV-PRS-hKir2.1 showed thermal but not mechanical hyperalgesia. Similar selective augmentation of thermal hyperalgesia was seen in the CFA-inflammatory pain model after AVV-PRS-hKir2.1. In the formalin test, rats transduced with hKir2.1 showed enhanced nocifensive behaviors (both Phase I and II, p < 0.05, n = 11/group) and increased c-Fos-positive cells in the lumbar dorsal horn. Transduction with AVV-PRS-hKir2.1 before spared nerve injury produced no change in tactile or cold allodynia. Thus, the selective genetic inhibition of ∼150 pontospinal noradrenergic neurons produces a modality-specific thermal hyperalgesia, increased nocifensive behaviors, and spinal c-Fos expression in the formalin test, but not in the spared nerve injury model of neuropathic pain, indicating that these neurons exert a selective tonic restraining influence on in vivo nociception.
AN INTEGRATIVE VIEW OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Integrating multiple theoretical perspectives, we differentiated international experience into current and past experience. In addition, we organized past international experience along two dimensions: domain (work/travel) and cultural specificity (U.S./ non-U.S.). We examined the effects of expatriates’ current assignment experience and past international experience on cross-cultural adjustment. The results indicate that past international experience moderates the relationship between current assignment tenure and general and work adjustment and also that general and work adjustment directly affect expatriates’ early return intentions.
Fibronectin in the tendon‐synovial complex: Quantitation In vivo and In vitro by elisa and relative mRNA levels by polymerase chain reaction and northern blot

An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay was used to quantitate fibronectin (Fn) levels in the outer synovia (epitenon) and internal fibrous portion (endotenon) of chicken flexor tendon and sheath. Primary cell cultures from these tissues and their secretions also were assayed for Fn levels. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine relative steady‐state levels of Fn mRNA in primary cultures of synovial and internal fibroblasts from chicken tendon, and Northern blot analysis was performed to verify relative levels of the Fn message. The epitenon contained 3.8‐fold more Fn than did the endotenon, and the sheath synovium contained 21‐fold more Fn than did the internal fibrous portion of sheath. Cells cultured from the epitenon produced 9.3 and 13‐fold more cell‐associated and secreted Fn, respectively, than did cultured endotenon fibroblasts. Sheath synovial cells produced 17 and 3.2‐fold more cell‐associated and secreted Fn, respectively, than did sheath internal fibroblasts. Levels of Fn mRNA, as measured by PCR and Northern blot, were 1.6 and 1.8‐fold greater, respectively, in tendon synovial cells compared with tendon internal fibroblasts. The biologic reason for increased Fn in tendon synovium is not known. We theorize that Fn may stabilize tendon synovium to shear stress and may play a role in the modulation of synovial rheology in the normal tendon. In the injured tendon, Fn may be involved in the organization of collagen deposition or may act through association with growth factors to aid healing.
Longitudinal influences of managerial support on employee well-being

Abstract A three-wave longitudinal survey of managers working for a food retailer (n = 148) assessed both job characteristics and individual well-being during a period of organizational restructuring. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant changes in both job characteristics and well-being across the three surveys. In addition, longitudinal structural equation models were developed to model the relationships between job characteristics and two indices of strain (job satisfaction and mental health) over time, including the assessment of the relative fit of competing causal process models. After controlling for the temporal stability of all variables, both types of strain were predicted by a combination of prior strain, prior job characteristics and current job characteristics. More specifically, managerial support was found to influence job satisfaction both directly and through perceptions of role ambiguity and control. Mental health was consistently predicted by low current and prior.
In Defense of Popular Taste: Film Ratings Among Professionals and Lay Audiences

Portions of the myths surrounding popular taste are based upon the conjectures and condemnations of professional critics of popular culture. Different pictures of the professional citic have been painted: some characterize the critic as a snob; others, along with Gans, are more likely to characterize the critic as a typocal upper-middle-class American belonging to the upper-middle taste public. This paper reports a secondary analysis of a direct measure of popular taste and contrasts in with professional evaluations of the same cultural product. The data are 5,644 motion pictures rated over a twenty-two-year period by members of a consumer organization and a group of professional movie reviewers. Rating of the two groups are compared, and the snobbism of critics is tested and refuted.
Association of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase C677T Polymorphism with Hyperhomocysteinemia and Deep Vein Thrombosis in the Iranian Population

Purpose: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a common but elusive condition characterized by a high morbidity and mortality rate. The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism with plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels and DVT risk in an Iranian population. Materials and Methods: Our study population consisted of 67 patients with a diagnosis of DVT and 67 healthy subjects as controls. Genotyping of MTHFR C677T polymorphism was performed by the polymerase chain reaction technique combined with restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and measurement of tHcy levels was done by enzyme immunoassay method. Results: Plasma tHcy levels were significantly higher in DVT patients than controls (18.09±7.6 vs. 10.5±4.3, P=0.001). Also, plasma tHcy levels were significantly higher in MTHFR 677TT genotypes compared to 677CC genotypes in both DVT patients (P=0.016) and controls (P=0.03). Neither heterozygote nor homozygote genotypes of MTHFR C677T polymorphism was significantly correlated with DVT (P>0.05). The distribution of MTHFR C677T genotypes was similar between men and women in both DVT patients and controls (P>0.05). Moreover, the frequency of mutant 677T allele did not differ significantly between the two groups (28.3% vs. 21.6%, P=0.15). Conclusion: Based on this study, we propose that hyperhomocysteinemia but not homozygosity for MTHFR C677T polymorphism is a significant risk factor for DVT in the Iranian population. Also, MTHFR 677TT genotype is a determinant of elevated plasma tHcy levels.
‘I'm not west. I'm not east. So how leh?’

WHILE recent articles and research studies on Singapore Colloquial English (SCE, or simply ‘Singlish’) have so far tended to focus on the structure, grammar and the functional roles of Singlish in Singapore, this paper presents an insider's viewpoint of this local variety from a perspective that incorporates both linguistic ideology and cultural politics. Focusing on the spoken version at the basilectal end of the English speech continuum, the article attempts to explore Singlish from a cultural-political viewpoint and challenges popular belief that Singlish encapsulates an established Singapore identity. In the process, it throws up some insights about language, identity and culture. Based on two significant contributing factors to the unmarked use of Singlish in Singapore, the paper argues that – more than just a language used for wider intra-communication in this tiny republic and city state – this variety, with its odd mix of English and local ethnic languages, mirrors a people who find themselves struggling with a myriad conflicting and contrasting cultures, a people in cultural and linguistic flux, who are still searching – desperately – for an identity, and a language they can call their own.
Child Anger Regulation, Parental Responses to Children's Anger Displays, and Early Child Antisocial Behavior

The display and regulation of child anger in family interaction was coded in a sample of 240 boys and girls at child age 6, and coded using the Specific Affect Coding System. Child antisocial behavior was longitudinally assessed, beginning in kindergarten. Pooled- and family-level analyses were used to assess hazard rates for child anger. Parents’ ability to modulate their own emotions and negative behavior, and children's ability to down-regulate anger were associated with increased latency for child anger. Hazard for child anger increased as parents’ insensitive and negative responses toward the child cumulated during family interaction. Macro-level, non-hazard analyses indicated that chronic levels of child antisocial behavior were associated with the frequency of parental negative behavior, but not with the frequency of child anger. Micro-level hazard analyses indicated that children's ability to regulate anger was related to chronic levels of child covert but not overt antisocial behavior.
Clinical value of procalcitonin for suspected nosocomial bloodstream infection

Background/Aims Procalcitonin (PCT) may prove to be a useful marker to exclude or predict bloodstream infection (BSI). However, the ability of PCT levels to differentiate BSI from non-BSI episodes has not been evaluated in nosocomial BSI. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients ≥ 18 years of age with suspected BSI that developed more than 48 hours after admission. Results Of the 785 included patients, 105 (13.4%) had BSI episodes and 680 (86.6%) had non-BSI episodes. The median serum PCT level was elevated in patients with BSI as compared with those without BSI (0.65 ng/mL vs. 0.22 ng/mL, p = 0.001). The optimal PCT cut-off value of BSI was 0.27 ng/mL, with a corresponding sensitivity of 74.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 66.4% to 81.7%) and a specificity of 56.5% (95% CI, 52.7% to 60.2%). The area under curve of PCT (0.692) was significantly larger than that of C-reactive protein (CRP; 0.526) or white blood cell (WBC) count (0.518). However, at the optimal cut-off value, PCT failed to predict BSI in 28 of 105 cases (26.7%). The PCT level was significantly higher in patients with an eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 than in those with an eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 (0.68 vs. 0.17, p = 0.01). Conclusions PCT was more useful for predicting nosocomial BSI than CRP or WBC count. However, the diagnostic accuracy of predicting BSI remains inadequate. Thus, PCT is not recommended as a single diagnostic tool to avoid taking blood cultures in the nosocomial setting.