Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cannabis and other variables affecting age at onset in a schizophrenia founder population

Objective: An ongoing collaborative study between the Human Neurogenetic Laboratory of Rockefeller University, New York and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pretoria, has been taking place since 1997, to map genes for schizophrenia. Aspects of cannabis use/abuse will be reported. Method: The Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies [DIGS] is used for all diagnosis. A narrative report is completed. From this database we determined: gender, diagnostic subtype, age of illness onset, early insults, early deviant behaviour, cannabis use/abuse and family history of schizophrenia. Results: From 341 subjects we found: 61% [n=209] males and 39% [n=132] females. In males, 75% [n=156] had schizophrenia and 25% [n=53] schizoaffective disorder[SADJ]. In females 74% [n=97] had schizophrenia and 26% [n=35] SAD . 35% of subjects, [n=118], 44% [n=91] males and 20% [n=27] female’s used/abused cannabis. The mean age at onset of illness for the males was 20.5 years. This is significantly earlier than that of males with no cannabis use/abuse group as well as for both these groups in females. The long-term course of illness was similar in both cannabis use/abuse and non-use/abuse groups. An analysis of variance was used to determine the contribution of different factors in determining the age of criteria onset. According to the results obtained, early deviant behaviour was the most important determining age of criteria onset. The group with the lowest mean age of criteria were male users of cannabis with severe early deviant behaviour [18,4 years]. Conclusion: Cannabis use/abuse is common amongst male schizophrenia subjects, and affects age at onset of illness. Early deviant behaviour in the first ten years of life in these subjects is more important in this regard, and may be seen as a possible endophenotypical marker.
Collaborative Individualization? Peer-to-peer Action in Youth Transitions

In this article we propose the notion of collaborative individualization (henceforth, C.I.) as a means of characterizing young people’s attempts to define their identities as simultaneously self-reliant and in need of support and collaboration. Our arguments are based on the findings of a transnational case study: a recent Council of Europe policy project called Edgeryders, an online platform whose participants were invited to discuss their experience of attempting to achieve ‘fully independent adulthood’. In light of findings which suggest that individualization amongst the young might take forms which are more collaborative than self-focused, we argue that youth scholars ought to rethink the assumptions made about the nature of individualization in youth transitions. We propose that such theorizations should embrace the potential described by C.I. in order to provide constructive responses to young people’s changing socio-economic needs, and refocus attention on young people’s situatedness within the communities many are demonstrably committed to working with and for.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions Interactive comment on “ Aircraft measurements of microphysical properties of subvisible cirrus in the tropical tropopause layer ”

This paper reports measurements made in tropical thin cirrus using optical particle spectrometers. One of these, a 2D-S, is an modestly improved version of technology that has been used for more than 35 years. Two pieces of information come out of this submission: 1) 18 particles larger than 100 um were found in 1800 km worth of samples and 2) quasi-spherical particles were measured. The primary relevance of the large crystals and quasi-spherical shapes is that these contrast with what was measured from the same type of aircraft, at similar latitudes and temperatures, 33 years previously. In the previous measurements they didn’t find particles larger than about 50 um and the crystal habits were trigonal, not quasi-spherical. It could be concluded that, given the dearth of measurements and the difference in the instrumentation, there
Did the 2011 Terror Attacks in Norway Change Citizens’ Attitudes Toward Immigrants?

In the afternoon of July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik detonated a bomb near the central government building in Oslo, Norway, killing eight people. About an hour later, he arrived, disguised as a policeman, at the social democratic summer camp on the small island of Utoya near Oslo, shooting another 69 people, mostly teenagers. The survivors hid in bushes, played dead beside their dead friends, or swam to the mainland. In the morning of the next day, the police announced that Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian islamophobic right-wing extremist, had been arrested for the attacks. The terror attacks received a lot of attention in both the international and Norwegian press. According to the compendium of texts, which he distributed on the web a few hours before the attacks, Breivik regarded Islam as the main enemy and argued for the deportation of all Muslims from Europe (Kremer, Stigset, & Treloar, 2011). The political debate in the aftermath of the attacks was calm and temperate, and the media coverage in Norway of the ruling social democratic party and the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, has been characterized as objective and positive (Bihlar & Brathell, 2011). In this article, we examine whether the attacks had observable effects on Norwegians’ attitudes toward immigrants. Our study relates to the literature on the attitudinal consequences of terrorism. In a small sample of 206 respondents, Echebarria-Echabe and Fernandez-Guede (2006) show that Spanish respondents interviewed immediately after the Madrid terror attack of 2004 expressed more anti-Arab and conservative attitudes than respondents interviewed just before the attack. Bozzoli and Muller (2009) find that the London terrorist attacks in 2005 increased concern regarding future attacks and decreased
Neuropsychologic Functioning in Children with Autism: Further Evidence for Disordered Complex Information-Processing

A wide range of abilities was assessed in 56 high-functioning children with autism and 56 age- and IQ-matched controls. Stepwise discriminant analyses produced good group discrimination for sensory-perceptual, motor, complex language, and complex memory domains but lower agreement for the reasoning domain than previously obtained for adults. Group discrimination did not occur for attention, simple language, simple memory, and visuospatial domains. Findings provide additional support for a complex information-processing model for autism, previously based on adult data, demonstrating a pattern across domains of selective impairments on measures with high demands for integration of information and sparing when demands were low. Children as compared to adults with autism exhibited more prominent sensory-perceptual symptoms and less pronounced reasoning deficits reflecting brain maturation.
The Interactional Theory of Depression: A Meta-Analysis of the Research Literature

Coyne's (1976a) interactional theory of depression states that depressed people induce a negative mood in others through social interaction and hence elicit rejection from them. A meta-analysis was conducted to ssess the relationship between (1) depression and negative mood in others, (2) depression and rejection by others, and (3) negative mod and rejection by others. The results indicate strong support for the rejection component of the theory, but rather modest support for the negative mood induction hypothesis. Negative mood seems to show a curvilinear (inverted-U) relationship with depression
Role of actin cytoskeleton in LPS-induced NF-κB activation and nitric oxide production in murine macrophages

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a major cell wall component of Gram-negative bacteria and is known to cause actin cytoskeleton reorganization in a variety of cells including macrophages. Actin cytoskeleton dynamics influence many cell signaling pathways including the NF-κB pathway. LPS is also known to induce the expression of many pro-inflammatory genes via the NF-κB pathway. Here, we have investigated the role of actin cytoskeleton in LPS-induced NF-κB activation and signaling leading to the expression of iNOS and nitric oxide production. Using murine macrophages, we show that disruption of actin cytoskeleton by either cytochalasin D (CytD) or latrunculin B (LanB) does not affect LPS-induced NF-κB activation and the expression of iNOS, a NF-κB target gene. However, disruption of actin cytoskeleton caused significant reduction in LPS-induced nitric oxide production indicating a role of actin cytoskeleton in the post-translational regulation of iNOS.
Commentary: Psychological Aspects of Visual Impairment

I do not wish to concern myself with definitions of visual impairment which deal purely with percentages but, rather, with the statement that a subjective perception is much more significant than an objectively measurable quantity. Even with normally sighted people it can be established that the same picture is seen in different ways. This applies even more to visually impaired people because of the multifarious and differential nature of their visual
Epistemology for the Masses: The Origins of “The Scientific Method” in American Schools

In the widely disseminated Harvard report General Education in a Free Society (1945), the authors of the section on science teaching in the schools made passing reference to the portrayal of the scientific method in the existing curriculum. Rather than simply noting its inadequacy in representing the process of scientific research, they could not resist the urge to deliver a more scathing commentary. “Nothing could be more stultifying, and, perhaps more important, nothing is further from the procedure of the scientist,” they insisted, “than a rigorous tabular progression through the supposed ‘steps' of the scientific method, with perhaps the further requirement that the student not only memorize but follow this sequence in his attempt to understand natural phenomena. ” This indictment was followed in 1951 by similar comments from Harvard president James B. Conant in his book Science and Common Sense. Conant's criticism of what he called the “alleged scientific method,” seemed to resonate with interested readers of the time. The eminent wartime research director Vannevar Bush, writing in the Saturday Review, praised him for making it “crystal clear that there is no such thing as the scientific method. ” “The elegant definition of the scientific method that we have read for years,” he noted approvingly, “comes in for the dissection it has long needed. ” Another reviewer hailed Conant's “service to the community [in] briefing the busy citizen on the way in which science really works,” noting also that he had “effectively demolished] conventional twaddle about the scientific method. ”
A management communication strategy for change

Examines the issue of communicating strategically during significant organizational change. In the author’s experience, differentiated communication tactics during different phases of organizational change can have an important impact on the level of acceptance of that change by organizational participants. Enumerates and discusses empirically supported principles of effective communication and then applies them to several stages of organizational change. Draws examples from cases with which the author has had personal research and/or consulting experience. Offers general communication strategies together with specific tactics as possibilities to help facilitate change.
Sequestration of Holotrich Protozoa in the Reticulo-Rumen of Cattle

Studies were carried out to determine the means by which holotrich protozoa can maintain their numbers within the rumen against the washout effect associated with the flow of ingesta. When a diet composed of 2 kg of concentrate and 1.5 kg of rice straw was fed to Holstein cows, about a fourfold increase in holotrich numbers per ml of rumen fluid was observed within 1 h after the commencement of feeding, and an abrupt decrease followed. This fluctuation in numbers was not related to the time of feeding. A sole feeding of 2 kg of concentrate had almost the same effect on the holotrichs as a sole feeding of 1.5 kg of rice straw. Administration of either 2 kg of concentrate or 1.5 kg of rice straw through the rumen fistula caused similar changes, though the extent of response to the former was greater than that to the latter. The administration of either 0.7 kg of starch or 0.2 kg of glucose through the fistula had a relatively minor effect on the holotrich population. Addition of rice straw to 0.5 kg of concentrate increased the change in numbers, but its addition had little, if any, effect when 1 kg of concentrate was fed. These results suggested that the fluctuation in holotrich numbers was related not only to the nature or component of feed but also to other factors such as the quantity or volume of a diet and the act of ingesting feed. Increasing the number of feedings up to eight times per day at 3-h intervals caused a decrease in the peak heights of holotrich numbers per milliliter of rumen fluid. A thick protozoal mass which primarily consisted of holotrichs was found on the wall of the reticulum of Holstein steers slaughtered after overnight starvation. These findings suggest that holotrichs would usually sequester on the reticulum wall and migrate into the rumen only for a few hours after feeding, and that this mode of behavior would be essential for holotrichs to maintain their population within the rumen of cattle. Possible mechanisms of the migration are also discussed.
The Mediating Effect of Downward Influence Tactics on the Relationship between Leadership Style and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (Kesan Pengantara Taktik Pengaruh Arah Bawah ke atas Hubungan antara Gaya Kepimpinan dengan Gelagat Kewarganegaraan Org

ABSTRACT This paper examines the effect of leadership styles on employee organizational citizenship behavior ( OCB ) in Malaysian organizations. Downward influence tactics, as a mediator between leadership and its outcome, is explored to develop the proposed framework. Data from 347 respondents representing several industries show that leaders, who are associated with a transformational leadership style, have a significant positive relationship with their subordinates’ OCB . On the contrary, subordinates who perceive their superior as a transactional leader are found to be negatively related with their OCB . Among the downward influence tactics, inspirational appeals and consultation tactics are found to mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB . Thus, a transformational leader may encourage employees’ OCB by using a combination of downward influence tactics based on inspirational appeals and the consultation approach. The paper concludes by highlighting the implications of the study for future research and practice . ABSTRAK Kertas ini mengkaji kesan gaya kepimpinan terhadap gelagat kewarganegaraan organisasi ( GKO ) pekerja dalam organisasi di Malaysia. Kajian ini turut menguji peranan taktik pengaruh arah bawah sebagai pengantara dalam hubungan antara kepimpinan dengan hasilnya bagi membina rangka yang dicadangkan. Data daripada 347 responden yang mewakili beberapa industri menunjukkan pemimpin yang berasaskan gaya kepimpinan transformasi mempunyai kesan positif terhadap GKO pekerja. Sebaliknya, pekerja yang menganggap ketuanya mengamalkan gaya kepimpinan transaksi menunjukkan kesan negatif ke atas GKO mereka. Antara pengaruh taktik arah bawah, taktik tarikan inspirasi dan taktik perundingan didapati menjadi pengantara bagi hubungan antara kepimpinan perubahan dengan GKO . Oleh yang demikian, pemimpin yang mengamalkan taktik transformasi berkemungkinan mampu meningkatkan GKO dalam kalangan orang bawahannya jika ia mengamalkan kombinasi gaya kepimpinan pengaruh arah bawah jenis tarikan inspirasi dan perundingan. Kertas ini disimpulkan dengan menyorot implikasi hasil kajian terhadap kajian masa depan dan praktis.
Sports as cultural diplomacy: the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa’s foreign policy

In order to win the rights to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup leaders of the post‐1994 government and soccer administrators used sport and cultural diplomacy as enabling instruments to assert South Africa’s credentials. Such a move was made possible by the fact that sport had been successfully used for decades as an oppositional tool against the apartheid regime. Another important contributory factor was that since 1994, South Africa’s foreign policy has been based on a vision of a ‘better South Africa, a better Africa and a better world’. This Pan‐African vision is defined by the following values: freedom, equality, solidarity and tolerance. These values also inform South Africa’s cultural diplomacy which underpins the staging of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Power synchronization control for capacitor minimization in Solid State Transformers (SST)

The Solid State Transformer (SST) has been researched and designed to interface with the distribution system. The SST consists of a multilevel AC/DC rectifier stage, a bidirectional DC/DC converter stage and a DC/AC inverter stage. However, in all of the previous designs, large capacitors are required to limit the DC bus voltage ripple within the allowable range and stabilize the multistage system. The large capacitors, especially at high voltage level, result in a large size and volume, as well as significant component cost. This paper proposes a feed-forward power ripple control and an inverter power synchronization control method to reduce the required DC filter capacitance and the 120Hz voltage ripple for high voltage and low voltage DC buses. The switching model simulations illustrate the DC bus capacitance can be greatly reduced comparing to the conventional designed value and meet the same voltage ripple requirements. The SST prototype experiments also validate the proposed power synchronization controller.
Extracranial Venous Drainage Patterns in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: CCSVI hypothesizes an association between impaired extracranial venous drainage and MS. Published sonographic criteria for CCSVI are controversial, and no MR imaging data exist to support the CCSVI hypothesis. Our purpose was to evaluate possible differences in the extracranial venous drainage of MS and healthy controls using both TOF and contrast-enhanced TRICKS MRV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Healthy subjects (n = 20) and patients with MS (n = 19) underwent axial 2D-TOF neck MRV (to assess flattening) and TRICKS MRV (to assess collaterals) at 3T. Two neuroradiologists blinded to cohort status scored IJV flattening and the severity of non-IJV collaterals by using a 4-point qualitative scale (normal = 0, mild = 1, moderate = 2, severe = 3). κ was used to assess reader agreement. Comparisons between groups were performed by using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The Spearman rank correlation was used to assess the relationship between IJV flattening and collateral scores and, in patients with MS, EDSS scores. RESULTS: The 2 groups were matched for age and sex (MS, 45 ± 8 years, 79% female; healthy controls, 47 ± 10 years, 65% female). Reader agreement for IJV flattening and collateral severity was good (κ = 0.74) and moderate (κ = 0.58), respectively. While IJV flattening was seen in both patients with MS and healthy controls, scores for the patients with MS were significantly higher (P = .002). Despite a trend, there was no significant difference in collateral scores between groups (P = .063). There was a significant positive correlation between flattening and collateral scores (ρ = 0.32, P = .005) and EDSS and flattening scores (ρ = 0.45, P = .004) but not between EDSS and collateral scores (ρ = 0.01, P = .97). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that patients with MS have greater IJV flattening and a trend toward more non-IJV collaterals than healthy subjects. The role that this finding plays in the pathogenesis or progression of MS, if any, requires further study.
Effect of Environment and Appearance Compliment on College Women's Self-Objectification, Mood, Body Shame, and Cognitive Performance

Objectification theory contends that women self-objectify as a result of internalizing an external observer's perspective of their physical selves. Self-objectification has been examined as both a stable enduring trait and as a context dependant state. The present study attempted to trigger state self-objectification by relatively subtle manipulation of the immediate physical and social environment. Participants were 96 female undergraduate students who completed questionnaire measures and cognitive tasks in a 2 (a subtle objectifying environment versus a standard environment) x 2 (an appearance compliment versus no comment) x 2 (high versus low trait self-objectification) design. It was found that, for women high on trait self-objectification, the objectifying physical environment enhanced state self-objectification, and the appearance compliment enhanced body shame. The findings demonstrate that subtle situational factors not requiring women to explicitly focus attention on their own bodies can elicit self-objectification and its proposed consequences, particularly among women high in trait self-objectification.
The behavioural consequences of perceived service quality: An exploratory study in the context of private fitness clubs in Greece

This study aims to investigate the behavioural consequences of perceived service quality dimensions in the context of private fitness clubs in Greece. Zeithmal, Berry, and Parasuraman's (1996) theoretical framework of behavioural consequences was used for the measurement of behavioural intentions, and the five dimensions of SERVQUAL (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988) were used for the measurement of perceived service quality. Three hundred members of three private franchised fitness clubs participated in the study. The results indicated that the service quality dimensions predicted significant and high proportions of variances in word‐of‐mouth communications and purchase intentions across all three facilities. The tangible and assurance dimensions offered the most significant contributions. The results further revealed no significant relationships between the price sensitivity and complaining behaviour dimensions and perceptions of service quality. These results have theoretical implications for developing a framework for conceptualising service loyalty and identifying its antecedents. They also have practical implications for designing effective customer retention strategies.
Interaction between bud-site selection and polarity-establishment machineries in budding yeast

Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells polarize in order to form a single bud in each cell cycle. Distinct patterns of bud-site selection are observed in haploid and diploid cells. Genetic approaches have identified the molecular machinery responsible for positioning the bud site: during bud formation, specific locations are marked with immobile landmark proteins. In the next cell cycle, landmarks act through the Ras-family GTPase Rsr1 to promote local activation of the conserved Rho-family GTPase, Cdc42. Additional Cdc42 accumulates by positive feedback, creating a concentrated patch of GTP-Cdc42, which polarizes the cytoskeleton to promote bud emergence. Using time-lapse imaging and mathematical modelling, we examined the process of bud-site establishment. Imaging reveals unexpected effects of the bud-site-selection system on the dynamics of polarity establishment, raising new questions about how that system may operate. We found that polarity factors sometimes accumulate at more than one site among the landmark-specified locations, and we suggest that competition between clusters of polarity factors determines the final location of the Cdc42 cluster. Modelling indicated that temporally constant landmark-localized Rsr1 would weaken or block competition, yielding more than one polarity site. Instead, we suggest that polarity factors recruit Rsr1, effectively sequestering it from other locations and thereby terminating landmark activity.