Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Voriconazole compared with liposomal amphotericin B for empirical antifungal therapy in patients with neutropenia and persistent fever.

BACKGROUND Patients with neutropenia and persistent fever are often treated empirically with amphotericin B or liposomal amphotericin B to prevent invasive fungal infections. Antifungal triazoles offer a potentially safer and effective alternative. METHODS In a randomized, international, multicenter trial, we compared voriconazole, a new second-generation triazole, with liposomal amphotericin B for empirical antifungal therapy. RESULTS A total of 837 patients (415 assigned to voriconazole and 422 to liposomal amphotericin B) were evaluated for success of treatment. The overall success rates were 26.0 percent with voriconazole and 30.6 percent with liposomal amphotericin B (95 percent confidence interval for the difference, -10.6 to 1.6 percentage points); these rates were independent of the administration of antifungal prophylaxis or the use of colony-stimulating factors. There were fewer documented breakthrough fungal infections in patients treated with voriconazole than in those treated with liposomal amphotericin B (8 [1.9 percent] vs. 21 [5.0 percent], P=0.02). The voriconazole group had fewer cases of severe infusion-related reactions (P<0.01) and of nephrotoxicity (P<0.001). The incidence of hepatotoxicity was similar in the two groups. Patients receiving voriconazole had more episodes of transient visual changes than those receiving liposomal amphotericin B (22 percent vs. 1 percent, P<0.001) and more hallucinations (4.3 percent vs. 0.5 percent, P<0.001). Parenteral voriconazole was changed to the oral formulation in 22 percent of the voriconazole group, with a reduction in the mean duration of hospitalization by one day in all patients (P=0.17) but by two days in patients at high risk (P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS Voriconazole is a suitable alternative to amphotericin B preparations for empirical antifungal therapy in patients with neutropenia and persistent fever.
Assessment Of Social Phobia By Self-Report Questionnaires: The Social Interaction And Performance Anxiety And Avoidance Scale And The Social Phobia Safety Behaviours Scale

The present study presents the development and validation of the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS), a self-report questionnaire to assess the level of distress and avoidance in a wide range of performance and social interaction situations, and the Social Phobia Safety Behaviours Scale (SPSBS), a self-report questionnaire designed to evaluate in-situation safety behaviours in which social phobics engage to try to prevent social catastrophe. The psychometric adequacy of both scales was evaluated in three different samples: social phobic patients, other anxiety disordered patients, and normal population. Both scales were normally distributed and were shown to possess high levels of internal consistency and temporal stability. They reliably discriminate patients with generalized social phobia from patients with non-generalized social phobia, other anxiety disordered patients, and normal population. Both subscales of the SIPAAS have shown high correlations with other measures of social anxiety (SAD, FNE), whereas the SPSBS has shown low to moderate correlations with SAD and FNE. It appears that these new self-report scales are reliable, valid and useful measures of social phobia for clinical and research purposes.
MTHFR C 677 T Polymorphism and Ovarian Cancer Risk : A Meta-analysis

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies with high mortality and it is difficult to make an early diagnosis (Clarke-Pearson, 2009; Jemal et al., 2010). Despite the public health importance of ovarian cancer, its etiology remains unclear (Cannistra, 2004; Pennington and Swisher, 2012). Many studies suggest that the genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of ovarian cancer (Diaz-Padilla et al., 2012; Khanra et al., 2012; Pennington and Swisher, 2012). Those have been analyzed in searching for the molecular basis of ovarian cancer, such as genes mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 and mutations in CYP1A2 (Huang et al., 2012; Pennington and Swisher, 2012). Besides, examination of genetic polymorphisms may explain individual differences in risk of ovarian cancer (Bhurgri et al., 2011). The 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR) maps to chromosome 1p36.3, and MTHFR plays a central role in folate metabolism, together with other enzymes by irreversibly catalyzing the conversion of 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the primary circulating form of folate and a cosubstrate for homocysteine methylation to methionine (Goyette et al., 1994; Frosst et al., 1995).
Assessing listening effort by measuring short-term memory storage and processing of speech in noise

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of working memory capacity (WMC) and updating ability (UA) on listening effort measured using a new test, the Auditory Inference Span Test (AIST), as an objective measure of listening effort. Design The AIST is based on Swedish five-word sentences and taps into three memory load levels (MLLs). It was administered in stationary speech-shaped noise at −2, −4, and −6 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). WMC was assessed using the reading span test, and UA was assessed using the letter memory test. We also collected data on speech-in-noise performance and subjectively rated listening effort at the three SNRs. Study sample Thirty-nine participants with normal hearing thresholds (≤20 dB HL for 250 to 4000 Hz) took part in the study. Results AIST performance decreased with increasing MLL and was related to WMC and UA. Participants with high WMC performed better than those with low WMC at more favorable SNRs. Participants with high UA performed better than participants with low UA at the intermediate MLL, which made particular demands on the UA. Neither speech recognition scores nor subjectively rated listening effort was associated with AIST performance or either of the cognitive variables. Conclusion AIST taps into cognitive functions necessary for understanding speech in noise. However, in its current form AIST may be too cognitively taxing to successfully measure graded listening effort in participants with lower cognitive capacity.
The role of norepinephrine in learning: Cerebellar motor learning in rats

The role of norepinephrine in learning: Cerebellar motor learning in rats" (2007). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my mother, father, sister and every person I have encountered in my journey. To the memory of Vicente Gallardo Silva and Laszlo Szilasi, who taught me the meaning of seeking true reason. And to my role model as a scientist and human being, Dr. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Very special thanks to my major professor, Dr. Paula Bickford, for her guidance and cheering words every time I needed them and for being an exceptional human. I really appreciate the constant support from Dr. Jahanshah and Dr. Cuevas, whom always encouraged me to pursue the best. Special thanks to all the people in the animal facility who have done an excellent job making possible that each rat used in this study lived with dignity. To my soul and life mate, Briony. My sincere gratitude to: • All the lab mates. • The undergraduate students who participated in the experiments.
Survey on the Communication Skills that the College Students of School of Physical Education and Sports Perceived from the Teaching Staff

The purpose of this study is to determine level of communication skills perceived by college students of School of Physical Education and Sports (SPES) from teaching staff. The sample of the study, conducted by using screening model, consisted of 633 SPES college students. Research data were collected by “Assessment Scale for Communication Skills". Arithmetic mean, t-test, one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) and Tukey test were used in the study. Consequently, it is determined that students in the sample perceived positive communication skills from teaching staff at moderate-level. It is observed that, except variable of respect dimension in the department where they receive education, there wasn’t any statistically significant difference in the students' gender variable with respect to the dimension of the democratic attitude, whereas there were significant differences in all lower dimensions according to the class variable. It is also concluded that college students of coaching and management department perceived more communication skills from the teaching staff compared to the students of teaching department in respect dimension, and freshmen and the sophomores perceived more communication skills positively with more points compared to the other college students with respect to the dimensions of respect, expression, values, motivation and democratic attitude.
The Politics of Leadership

Robert C. Tucker begins this invaluable book with an analytical look at politics, leadership, and the effect each has on the other. Aligning himself with Plato's view of politics as leadership, Tucker argues that politics is more usefully defined from this perspective than from the more familiar stance of the exercise of power. He maintains leaders must define collective problems, prescribe actions or policies, and finally seek support for their diagnoses and policy prescriptions. Tucker contends that political science must take account not only of leadership by those in state authority, but also of sociopolitical movements for change as vehicles of attempted leadership of political communities. Dividing such movements into those for reform and those for revolution, he illustrates this distinction with examples, including Martin Luther King Jr. as a reform leader and Lenin as a revolutionary one. Finally, Tucker raises a central question of his study: how can leadership save humankind from itself in the troubled world of today? In an insightful and moving discussion of what he calls the "crisis syndrome," Tucker analyzes problems such as population growth, resource depletion, and environmental degradation with respect to leadership. He argues that the current political process has focused on the immediate present while ignoring crises with far-reaching implications that require tough solutions. In the epilogue to this revised edition, Tucker draws on his expertise as a Russian specialist, extending the book's discussion of leadership by viewing Mikhail Gorbachev as a reform leader in Soviet Russia and Boris Yeltsin as a post-Soviet Russian leader. Tucker also readdresses the "crisis syndrome" by examining leaders' responses in the 1980s and early 1990s. Tucker's incisive reasoning, original insights, and commentary on the theory and practice of politics should make this revised edition of Politics as Leadership equally valuable and fascinating for experts in the field of political science and for concerned citizens.
NF-κB regulates a cassette of immune/inflammatory genes in human pregnant myometrium at term

The onset of human labour resembles inflammation with increased synthesis of prostaglandins and cytokines. There is evidence from rodent models for an important role for nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) activity in myometrium which both up‐regulates contraction‐associated proteins and antagonizes the relaxatory effects of progesterone. Here we show that in the human, although there are no differences in expression of NF‐κB p65, or IκB‐α between upper‐ or lower‐segment myometrium or before or after labour, there is nuclear localization of serine‐256‐phospho‐p65 and serine‐536‐phospho‐p65 in both upper‐ and lower‐segment myometrium both before and after the onset of labour at term. This shows that NF‐κB is active in both upper and lower segment prior to the onset of labour at term. To identify the range of genes regulated by NF‐κB we overexpressed p65 in myocytes in culture. This led to NF‐κB activation identical to that seen following interleukin (IL)‐1β stimulation, including phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of p65 and p50. cDNA microarray analysis showed that NF‐κB increased expression of 38 genes principally related to immunity and inflammation. IL‐1β stimulation also resulted in an increase in the expression of the same genes. Transfection with siRNA against p65 abolished the response to IL‐1β proving a central role for NF‐κB. We conclude that NF‐κB is active in myocytes in both the upper and lower segment of the uterus prior to the onset of labour at term and principally regulates a group of immune/inflammation associated genes, demonstrating that myocytes can act as immune as well as contractile cells.
The Awareness of Risky Peer Group Behaviors on School Grounds as Predictors of Students' Victimization on School Grounds

Abstract This study examined how risky peer group behaviors (e.g. being aware of or witnessing drug use, students carrying weapons, or vandalism on school grounds) had on students' experience of school victimization. This article is the second study in a two part series. The first article (Part I) was published in this journal and focused on elementary schools. This article (Part II) extends the findings from the prior study and explores how the awareness of risky peer behaviors predict victimization in junior high schools. The sample was drawn from central and northern Israel and consisted of 1,184 Arab and 947 Jewish students (grades 7th-9th). Students completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire, which was based on the California School Climate Survey (Furlong et al., 1997). The descriptive statistics suggest that junior high schools have different rates of peer risk behaviors and victimization. However, findings from a hierarchical regression analysis suggest that risky peer group behaviors in school contexts are one of the strongest predictors of victimization. The relationship between risky peer groups and victimization was similar for both elementary schools and high schools. The only major difference between the findings in Part I and Part II was that being a male emerged as a stronger predictor of victimization in junior high schools. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Exploring trial-by-trial modulations of the Simon effect

The present study investigates sequential modulations of the Simon effect. The Simon effect involves faster responses to spatially corresponding than to noncorresponding stimuli, even when stimulus position is irrelevant. Recently, the Simon effect has been shown to decrease or to disappear after noncorresponding predecessor trials. Possible explanations for these sequential modulations include (a) the gating of position-based response activation (conflict monitoring), (b) repetition or alternation effects, and (c) the interaction between feature integration (binding) processes and stimulus-response (S-R) correspondence. Three experiments tested different predictions of these models by comparing Simon effects after neutral trials with those after corresponding and noncorresponding trials, respectively, and by varying the stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between and within experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed large Simon effects after corresponding trials, intermediate Simon effects after neutral trials, and small (or no) Simon effects after noncorresponding trials. Moreover, some systematic effects of S-R repetitions and S-R alternations were observed. Finally, the sequential modulations were maximal at short SOAs and decreased with increasing SOA, but still occurred at an SOA of 6 seconds. The results seem to exclude repetition or alternation effects as the main cause of sequential modulations of the Simon effect, but both conflict monitoring and binding may contribute to these effects.
The Impact of Caution and Blame on Organizational Learning

The aim of this article is to examine the relationship between emotion, learning and organizing. In particular, this involves developing an understanding of how emotional and political aspects of organizing can shed light on the tensions between individual and organizational learning. The research highlights organizational dynamics created through repeated patterns of caution and blame within a public sector organization. The study shows how these dynamics inhibited processes of reflection and communication within the organization, undermining the implementation and further development of strategies explicitly designed for organizational learning. The article explores the politics that arise from attempts to organize learning, as well as how organizational politics are created from and reinforced by emotions expressed both individually and collectively. The final section covers discussions on the contribution of this study to organizational learning, the implications of the study for organizations, and issues for further research.
Life after Rugby: Issues of Being an ‘Ex’ in Fiji Rugby

Rugby has given Fiji international recognition and reputation. Not only is rugby a source of national pride but it has also become a valuable export, with an estimated 500 Fijian players currently in foreign leagues in, for instance, New Zealand, Australia, France, England and Japan. The economic and sociocultural gains from rugby migration are often considerable, and consequently, many players in Fiji aspire to secure foreign club contracts as their personal and professional goal. However, little is known about the realities and challenges of the players' lives after their active playing career, the burden of which falls largely upon informal, community-/family-based support networks. Such informal structures are increasingly under strain especially in urban areas and, faced with a lack of formal structural support mechanisms, many retired athletes experience a number of socio-economic and emotional problems. Some negotiate their post-rugby life successfully, while many struggle with becoming and being an ‘ex’. Based on semi-structured interviews, the present paper explores these athletes' experiences of ‘life after rugby’ and illuminates the local and international neoliberal power dynamics that intersects Fiji rugby.
Typical School Personnel Developing and Implementing Basic Behavior Support Plans

We evaluated the ability of typical school personnel with basic behavioral training to develop and implement function-based supports for students with mild to moderate problem behaviors. Descriptive results indicated that following four 1-hr training sessions, 13 participants were able to (a) identify interventions that were and were not functionally related to problem behavior and (b) lead school-based teams in developing function-based supports that were rated as technically sound by external behavior analysts. Data resulting from a non-concurrent multiple baseline analysis across five of the trained professionals, each working with a team to address the problem behavior of one elementary school student, indicated that plan implementation occurred with high fidelity and was functionally related to decreases in problem behavior and increases in academic engagement. In addition, school personnel rated the training, tools, and implementation process as effective and efficient. Limitations and implications of these results are discussed.
Marital Therapy in Mainland China: A Qualitative Study of Young Adults' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs

This qualitative study explored young adults' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about marital therapy in Mainland China. Participants (N = 24) were undergraduate and graduate students attending university in Beijing and Guangzhou. Four themes emerged from the data analysis: (1) beliefs regarding marital therapy, (2) role of the therapist, (3) barriers to seeking marital therapy, and (4) greater accessibility to marital therapy. In general, our participants knew little about marital therapy and were concerned that using such services could bring shame to them or to their family and that the cost of such services would be beyond most citizens' means. In addition, participants believed that marital therapists would serve as experts doling out relationship advice, whereas clients would generally take a passive role. Increased government support, alternative forms of treatment that included phone and web-based services as a way to protect anonymity and therefore confidentiality, and government credentialing were seen as steps that could increase the use and accessibility of marital therapy in Mainland China.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 Modafinil Decreases Anxiety-like Behaviour in Zebrafish

Modafinil (2-((diphenylmethyl)sulfinyl)acetamide), a selective dopamine and nore-pinephrine transporter inhibitor, is most commonly prescribed for narcolepsy but has gained recent interest for treating a variety of disorders. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are becoming a model of choice for pharmacological and behavioural research. To investigate the behavioural effects of modafinil on anxiety, we administered doses of 0, 2, 20, and 200 mg/L for 30 minutes then tested zebrafish in the novel approach test. In this test, the fish was placed into a circular arena with a novel object in the center and motion-tracking software was used to quantify the time the fish spent in the outer area of the arena (thigmotaxis zone), middle third of the arena (transition zone) and center of the arena, as well as total distance traveled, immobility and meandering. Modafinil caused a decrease in time spent in the thigmotaxis zone and increased time spent in the transition zone across all doses. Modafinil did not significantly alter the time spent in the center zone (near the novel object), the distance moved, meandering, or the duration of time spent immobile. We also validated this test as a measure of anxiety with the administration of ethanol (1%) which decreased time spent in the thigmotaxis zone and increased time spent in the transition zone. These results suggest that modafinil decreases anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish.
AGE AND RULE‐BREAKING IN PRISON A Test of Sociocultural Interpretations

Age differences in rule-breaking have been widely noted and widely explained, but rarely if ever have sociological explanations been subjected to actual test. This study examines such age differences among women in prison and lends support to the notion that age differences are more characteristic of inmates with urban backgrounds than of inmates with rural or small town backgrounds. Moreover, among urban inmates age differences appear to be due to age-related normative orientations and commitments rather than age “itself” or related losses of “energy,”“daring,” or “vigor. ” Finally, the study supports recurring arguments that non-constitutional characteristics of inmates can shape normative and behavioral conflict within the prison.