Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological effects in auditory word recognition: Evidence from Danish

In this study, we investigate the processing of morphologically complex words in Danish using auditory lexical decision. We document a second critical point in auditory comprehension in addition to the Uniqueness Point (UP), namely the point at which competing morphological continuation forms of the base cease to be compatible with the input, henceforth the Complex Uniqueness Point (CUP). Suffixed words with later CUP elicited longer response latencies. We also observed an interaction between suffix frequency and whole-word frequency. Both suffix and whole-word frequency were facilitatory, except for words for which both frequencies are high. For such words, we observed inhibition, and most clearly so for female compared with male participants. Finally, a comparison of complex with simple words revealed that, other things being equal, complex words have a processing advantage compared to simple words. We discuss the consequences of these findings for models of morphological processing.
Monitoring asthma control in children with allergies by soft computing of lung function and exhaled nitric oxide.

BACKGROUND Asthma control is emphasized by new guidelines but remains poor in many children. Evaluation of control relies on subjective patient recall and may be overestimated by health-care professionals. This study assessed the value of spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) measurements, used alone or in combination, in models developed by a machine learning approach in the objective classification of asthma control according to Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines and tested the model in a second group of children with asthma. METHODS Fifty-three children with persistent atopic asthma underwent two to six evaluations of asthma control, including spirometry and FeNO. Soft computing evaluation was performed by means of artificial neural networks and principal component analysis. The model was then tested in a cross-sectional study in an additional 77 children with allergic asthma. RESULTS The machine learning method was not able to distinguish different levels of control using either spirometry or FeNO values alone. However, their use in combination modeled by soft computing was able to discriminate levels of asthma control. In particular, the model is able to recognize all children with uncontrolled asthma and correctly identify 99.0% of children with totally controlled asthma. In the cross-sectional study, the model prospectively identified correctly all the uncontrolled children and 79.6% of the controlled children. CONCLUSIONS Soft computing analysis of spirometry and FeNO allows objective categorization of asthma control status.
Cell Wall Antibiotics Provoke Accumulation of Anchored mCherry in the Cross Wall of Staphylococcus aureus

A fluorescence microscopy method to directly follow the localization of defined proteins in Staphylococcus was hampered by the unstable fluorescence of fluorescent proteins. Here, we constructed plasmid (pCX) encoded red fluorescence (RF) mCherry (mCh) hybrids, namely mCh-cyto (no signal peptide and no sorting sequence), mCh-sec (with signal peptide), and mCh-cw (with signal peptide and cell wall sorting sequence). The S. aureus clones targeted mCh-fusion proteins into the cytosol, the supernatant and the cell envelope respectively; in all cases mCherry exhibited bright fluorescence. In staphylococci two types of signal peptides (SP) can be distinguished: the +YSIRK motif SPlip and the −YSIRK motif SPsasF. mCh-hybrids supplied with the +YSIRK motif SPlip were always expressed higher than those with −YSIRK motif SPsasF. To study the location of the anchoring process and also the influence of SP type, mCh-cw was supplied on the one hand with +YSIRK motif (mCh-cw1) and the other hand with -YSIRK motif (mCh-cw2). MCh-cw1 preferentially localized at the cross wall, while mCh-cw2 preferentially localized at the peripheral wall. Interestingly, when treated with sub-lethal concentrations of penicillin or moenomycin, both mCh-cw1 and mCh-cw2 were concentrated at the cross wall. The shift from the peripheral wall to the cross wall required Sortase A (SrtA), as in the srtA mutant this effect was blunted. The effect is most likely due to antibiotic mediated increase of free anchoring sites (Lipid II) at the cross wall, the substrate of SrtA, leading to a preferential incorporation of anchored proteins at the cross wall.
Why are childless women childless? Findings from an exploratory study in Victoria, Australia

Childlessness in Australia is increasing yet there is limited research exploring women’s reasons for childlessness. Previous research has typically examined childlessness within the context of fertility rather than childlessness itself. The limited research that has moved beyond looking at involuntary childlessness has labelled women with a type of childlessness during recruitment rather than exploring women’s reasons for childlessness as a part of the research process. The aim of this mixed methods exploratory study (n = 50) was to describe women’s reasons for childlessness. Findings indicate that almost half of the women did not wish to have children. Reasons for childlessness included: having never wanted to have children; having never been in the ‘right’ relationship; and being in a relationship where the partner did not want to have children. The findings provide insight into women’s reasons for childlessness, how they feel about their decision, circumstance and position as a woman in a pronatalist society.
Residual effects of zopiclone on subsequent daytime functions in normal humans

The influence of zopiclone and nitrazepam on arousal level, muscle strength, psychomotor performance and memory function using the photopalpebral reflex (PPR), critical flicker frequency (CFF), tapping test, pursuit rotor test (PRT), choice reaction test (CRT) and memory drum test (MDT) were investigated on the day following drug administration. After the control tests were completed at 1800 h, nine healthy male university students were given zopiclone 10 mg, nitrazepam 10 mg and placebo in a double‐blind, crossover design at 2300 h. The performance on the tests, as well as the recording of subjective assessments, were repeated at 0800, 1100 and 1400 h the next day. Both nitrazepam and zopiclone produced a prolongation of PPR latency and a decrease of CFF. The effects of zopiclone were weaker and shorter in duration than those of nitrazepam. Tapping rate, PRT and CRT improved or did not change, and there were no significant differences between the drugs. The MDT was impaired by both drugs in the morning, with nitrazepam continuing to produce memory impairment, while zopiclone did not produce further deterioration. No significant changes were observed in the subjective assessment of the subjects. These results suggest that a medium dose of zopiclone lowers arousal level and impairs memory, especially during the morning following drug administration, but produces no change in muscle strength, psychomotor performance or self‐assessment. Finally, the residual effects of zopiclone appear to be weaker than those of nitrazepam.
Settlement Typology and Community Participation in Participatory Landscape Ecology of Residents

Abstract Numerous scholars have emphasised the importance of providing participatory landscape ecology (PLE) that local residents deem acceptable. However, the complexity of PLE may require promoting the understanding of settlement types and community participation in PLE of residents. Our empirical study contributes to the critical PLE by adopting physical and social environments to determine the community participation of residents. The physical environments are classified into four settlement types: high-rise/urban, low-rise/urban, high-rise/rural and low-rise/rural. Survey data collected from 495 residents in the Taipei metropolitan area revealed the typology of physical environments, which can be used to substantially explain community participation. Perceived residential satisfaction (PRS) and neighbouring behaviour (NB), derived from the social environment, were tested for describing community participation. We observed an indirect relationship between settlement typology and community participation through the two intervening roles of PRS and NB. This affirms the importance of social environment to the relationship between settlement types and community participation.
The Media and Interpersonal Communications: The Priming of Issues, Leaders, and Party Identification

The article argues that part of the reason for vote instability during election campaigns is the media's role in priming the character of leaders. Although voters come to election campaigns with an array of opinions on candidates, issues, and parties, because candidates' personal qualities are highlighted by the media and parties are ignored, those voters more highly exposed to the media become increasingly likely to base their vote on candidate evaluations, and increasingly unlikely to base the decision on their party identification. On the other hand, this article demonstrates that interpersonal communications can act as a buffer to this tendency. Talking about politics over the course of the campaign primes issues. The argument is supported through use of a rolling cross section employed in the 1988 Canadian election.
Anxiety, coping and academic performance

Abstract Anxiety is a frequent response to stressful evaluation situations and may be correlated with the performance being evaluated. The present study investigated individual differences in social evaluation trait anxiety and coping dimensions as predictors of state anxiety and performance on a university examination. Separate multiple regressions were computed for coping assessed as a style, an individual difference measure, and as situational specific responses. Emotion-oriented coping predicted state anxiety in the evaluation situation. Social evaluation trait anxiety and task-oriented and emotionoriented coping responses predicted exam performance. The regression models predicted approximately a quarter of the variance in course grades. When coping was measured as a response, task-oriented coping response was a significant predictor of course grade. When coping was measured as a style or individual difference, avoidance-oriented coping style predicted aggregated course grade. It was suggested that d.
Foreign language anxiety in female Arabs learning English: case studies

A case study design was used to examine the experiences of female college students learning English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia, where English is becoming an increasingly necessary skill and the culture is undergoing immense changes. Ten participants who reported experiencing moderate to high anxiety, five from the beginning level (Level 1) and five from a more advanced level (Level 3) of the college English programme, were examined. A multimethod approach – including questionnaires, classroom observation with field notes, and individual and group interviews – was used to gather information regarding the students' perspectives and behaviour. Particular attention was paid to the students' own perspectives on their experiences of anxiety. Each participant's experiences were examined individually, then compared and analysed in the context of existing research literature. Although some factors, such as teacher-student interactions and teacher behaviour, appeared nearly universally anxiety-provoking among all participants, others factors varied between participants in the beginning versus more advanced stages of study. Practical implications for teachers are discussed.
Estimating whole‐body intermuscular adipose tissue from single cross‐sectional magnetic resonance images

The aim of this study was to determine which slice location, or combination of slice locations, can provide the best estimates of whole‐body intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) and the predictive value of these slice locations. Whole body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to quantify total adipose tissue (TAT) of which IMAT, defined as the AT visible by MRI within the boundary of the muscle fascia, is a sub‐component. Single slice IMAT areas were calculated for widest calf, mid‐thigh, widest buttock, shoulders, mid‐upper arm, and mid‐forearm locations in a sample of healthy adult African American, Asian and Caucasian women (n=103; BMI 25.9±5.5 kg/m2; 42.2±15.2 years) and Caucasian men (n=41; BMI 26.8±3.9 kg/m2; 46.6±15.6 years) and used to estimate total IMAT in the different groups with regression equations.
Analysis of the Impact of Intraoperative Margin Assessment with Adjunctive Use of MarginProbe versus Standard of Care on Tissue Volume Removed

Breast conserving surgery has been accepted as the optimal local therapy for women with early breast cancer, emphasizing the necessity to balance oncologic goals with patient satisfaction and cosmetic outcomes. In the move to enhance a surgeon's ability to achieve histologically clear margins intraoperatively at the initial surgery, the MarginProbe (Dune Medical Devices, Caesarea, Israel) has emerged as an effective tool to accomplish that task. Based on previously reported success using the device, we assessed cosmesis and tissue resection volumes among participants in a randomized-controlled trial comparing the standard of care lumpectomy performed with and without the MarginProbe. The use of the MarginProbe device resulted in a 57% reduction in reexcision rates compared to the control group with a small increase in tissue volume removed at the primary lumpectomy. When total tissue volumes removed were analyzed, the device and control groups were still very similar after normalization to bra cup size. We concluded that the MarginProbe is an effective device to assist surgeons in determining margin status intraoperatively while allowing for better patient cosmetic outcomes due to the smaller volumes of tissue resected and the reduction in patient referrals for second surgeries due to positive margins.
Judgments about knowledge importance: The roles of social referents and network structure

As division of labor in a group can often lead to differences in perceptions about the importance of different knowledge bases to a group task, these differences can hinder the integration of different knowledge to solve task problems in a group. This study examines the social referents that group members turn to for judgments about knowledge importance, and the extent to which the relative influence of each referent depends on the group-level social network structure. The findings indicate that group members are more likely to have shared judgments with their cohesive and structurally equivalent referents within their advice network, and the strength of social influence from their cohesive and structurally equivalent referents is likely to depend on the advice network density at the group-level. However, there was no significant association in judgment similarity between group members and their central referents within the advice network. Overall, this study suggests that while social influence (in its most straightforward form) occurs between pairs of individuals, the strength of influence of a social referent is dependent on how social cues are distributed within the group's network structure. Theoretical and managerial implications for research on shared mental models and network theory of social influence are discussed.
Chasing the Real: ‘Employability’ and the Media Studies Curriculum

Media Studies in the UK has endured a decidedly chequered history. Since the late 1980s the subject has experienced massive and rapid growth in secondary, further and higher educational institutions. This continuing growth in demand for and provision of media courses in the UK has, however, rarely been seen or framed as ‘good news’ or a success story. In contrast, the public image of the field as embodied in recurrent cycles of press and related media coverage has tended to denigrate, question and contest its legitimacy. While there have been some more encouraging signs in recent coverage, it may be a peculiarity of the current UK cultural and educational configurations that the well established, internationally respected range of media studies courses have to be routinely called to account and ritually ‘put in their place’. In what follows, we provide a contextualizing commentary on this state of affairs, first outlining the chief ‘angles of attack’ and critique that have characterized the public image of the subject. This is then followed by an overview of key curricula formations and associated tensions that have underpinned the field and its growth throughout the past decade. Central to this has been an increasing concentration on vocationalism and the discourses of ‘employability’. We present a commentary on these discourses and, in the remainder of the discussion, report on the findings of a three-year, funded UK research project which was designed to investigate the meanings and perceptions of ‘employability’ held by participants in the media studies curriculum: teachers, students, graduates and employers. The commentary concludes with a reflection on the research outcomes of the project. We welcome responses to the themes and issues broached and outlined in what follows from the full readership of Media, Culture & Society, dispersed across the international academic community.
Captain's leadership type and police officers' compliance to power bases

The study examined subordinates' responsiveness to supervisor requests in conflict situations as it relates to leadership type and subordinate level of performance. Police captains (N = 40) completed the Bass and Avolio (1991) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and an evaluation of their subordinates' performance. Independently, subordinates (N = 240) completed the Interpersonal Power Inventory (IPI), derived from Raven's (1992) power interaction model, which measures the extent to which they are willing to comply with their supervisors' requests. Findings indicated that police officers (subordinates) reported greater willingness to comply with soft rather than harsh power bases. Although performance evaluation was not a significant factor here, officers who worked for high transformational captains reported a significantly greater likelihood to comply with both harsh and soft power bases than their cohorts who worked for low transformational captains. The discussion addressed the issue of leadership type as one of the determining factors in gaining compliance.
The Ethnic and National Identity of South Asian Immigrant Seniors Living in Edmonton, Canada

The Canadian population is aging and also becoming more ethnically diverse. This study examined differences in identities among South Asian seniors who immigrated at different life stages with different lengths of residency in Canada. We interviewed 161 immigrants of South Asian descent in Edmonton, Canada, aged 60 and older about their ethnic/national identity, transnational ties, cultural retention and practices, and participation in and concerns about life in Canada. Our findings show that women were more likely than men to see themselves as more South Asian than Canadian. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis showed that older age at immigration and low English-language proficiency were significant predictors of ethnic identity. These findings indicated the importance of language for ethnic and national (Canadian) identity and revealed that South Asian immigrant elders who came to Canada in later life tended to retain their ethnic identities, while immigrant elders who came to Canada earlier in life were more likely to have developed a bicultural identity that incorporated both ethnic and Canadian identity. Related to the notion of bicultural identity, strong transnational ties with the country of origin were associated with greater participation in Canadian society. La population canadienne vieillit et, par ailleurs, se diversifie ethniquement. Cette étude porte sur les différences identitaires parmi les aînés immigrés d’Asie du Sud qui sont arrivés au Canada à des âges divers et qui y sont depuis plus ou moins longtemps. Cent soixante et une personnes de 60 ans et plus ont répondu à nos questions portant sur leur identité ethnique / nationale canadienne, leurs liens transnationaux, le maintien d’habitudes culturelles ainsi que leur participation et l’intérêt qu’elles portent à la vie au Canada. Il en résulte que les femmes ont davantage que les hommes tendance à se percevoir plutôt comme sud-asiatiques que comme canadiennes. En outre, l’analyse de régression logistique montre qu’un âge plus avancé lors de l’immigration et une connaissance limitée de l’anglais sont des indices significatifs d’identité ethnique. Selon nos résultats, la langue joue un rôle important à cet égard, et c’étaient surtout les aînés plus âgés lors de leur immigration d’Asie du Sud qui tendaient à maintenir cette ethnicité, alors que ceux venus plus jeunes au Canada avaient davantage propension à une identité biculturelle qui incorporait les deux aspects, l’ethnique et le canadien. À propos de la définition d’identité biculturelle, nous avons découvert que de forts liens transnationaux avec le pays d’origine étaient associés à une plus grande participation à la société canadienne.
The incidence of acute gastrointestinal illness in Sweden

Aims: The aim of this study was to estimate the self-reported domestic incidence of acute gastrointestinal illness in the Swedish population irrespective of route of transmission or type of pathogen causing the disease. Previous studies in Sweden have primarily focused on incidence of acute gastrointestinal illness related to consumption of contaminated food and drinking water. Methods: In May 2009, we sent a questionnaire to 4000 randomly selected persons aged 0–85 years, asking about the number of episodes of stomach disease during the last 12 months. To validate the data on symptoms, we compared the study results with anonymous queries submitted to a Swedish medical website. Results: The response rate was 64%. We estimated that a total number of 2744,778 acute gastrointestinal illness episodes (95% confidence intervals 2475,641–3013,915) occurred between 1 May 2008 and 30 April 2009. Comparing the number of reported episodes with web queries indicated that the low number of episodes during the first 6 months was an effect of seasonality rather than recall bias. Further, the result of the recall bias analysis suggested that the survey captured approximately 65% of the true number of episodes among the respondents. Conclusions: The estimated number of Swedish acute gastrointestinal illness cases in this study is about five times higher than previous estimates. This study provides valuable information on the incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms in Sweden, irrespective of route of transmission, indicating a high burden of acute gastrointestinal illness, especially among children, and large societal costs, primarily due to production losses.