Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Qualitative Research: Examining the Misconceptions

For many in the academic circle, it is a matter of some contestation as whether a qualitative research is good enough to be qualified as academic research. The paper pursues two most widely leveled allegations against qualitative research—it is devoid of scientific rigor and ‘anything goes’ in qualitative research. The author argues that such allegations are misplaced and exist because of the lack of understanding of paradigmatic differences between qualitative and quantitative research, and due to the dearth of adoption of good qualitative research practices. The goal of this paper is two-fold: firstly, to examine the soundness of such allegations against qualitative research, and secondly, to report qualitative research practices to systematically counter the allegations of lack of rigor and ‘anything goes’.
Perceived Changes associated with becoming Angry, Anxious, and Sad

An n= 418 study of Norwegian students showed that they associated arousal of anger, anxiety, and sadness with changes in such psychological characteristics as personality and self-concepts. An index of the cognition of emotional changes (CEC) was negatively correlated with an index for perceived control. Changes were rated as greater for personal characteristics than for other persons’ responses, perceived control was rated as greater for men than for women, and anger was rated as greater than anxiety and sadness on both indexes. An n= 200 study of outpatients showed markedly higher CEC and lower control ratings than students, and a n= 401 study of Brazilian students showed equivalence of measures and similarity of results.
Shame and the X-rated Addiction: The Role of Spirituality in Treating Male Pornography Addiction

As the internet expands, so does the availability of pornography. With greater access and its relative anonymity comes the potential for an increase in the excessive use of pornographic material. Research has demonstrated that the excessive use of pornography has negative effects on psychological, emotional, and social well-being. Thus, from a clinical standpoint, it bears closer examination. First, this article will propose a double-spiral model of the role of shame and negative spirituality in the fostering and exacerbation of a pornography addiction based on the empirical literature. Second, spiritually integrated therapy will be put forth as an alternative treatment modality to address pornography addiction.
Persistent Preoccupations

In 1975, the fourth Annual Conference of the British Educational Administration Society (BEAS, now BELMAS) had as its theme ‘Autonomy and Accountability in Educational Administration'. In their concluding comments, the editors of the published Proceedings wrote: ‘Our concern has been with accountability and autonomy, not as alternatives, but as significant and meaningful concepts which need to be better understood in relation to each other, having regard to specific organisational settings. ’ This is the same connection that the then newly installed coalition government made 35 years later in their 2010 schools White Paper, a major policy document. The emphasis on this theme had persisted and indeed grown sharply during the intervening period. This trajectory is outlined in the article but its main purpose is to analyse the forces underlying what has become a preoccupation in English schools policy, making some reference to international evidence and practice. It is argued that the last six words of the quotation above from the 1975 editors' conclusion, ‘having regard to specific organisational settings’, were particularly significant and are highly relevant to an explanation of the staying power of these concepts.
Selective Wireless Power Transfer for Smart Power Distribution in a Miniature-Sized Multiple-Receiver System

In a multiple-receiver wireless power transfer (WPT) system, determining the condition for uniform power distribution at a high transfer efficiency is a challenging issue. In this paper, a selective WPT technique using magnetic resonance coupling (MRC) is introduced for smart power delivery in a multiple-receiver system. The proposed method selectively and exclusively delivers power to only one designated receiver among multiple receivers, eliminating the cross-coupling effect and unbalanced power division problem across the receivers. This is achieved by separating the resonant frequencies of the receivers to isolate the coupling effects between coils. The power division ratio of the receivers is controlled by changing the duration time ratio for power transfer. In this paper, a one-transmitter three-receiver selective MRC system is designed and fabricated. The power distribution is demonstrated under impedance matched condition, showing a power transfer efficiency of 24%-29% at a very small coupling coefficient of 0.01 with a 12-mm-diameter receiver coil. Distance compensation and a one-way communication of time division multiple access are demonstrated for a multiple-receiver system, using the proposed method.
Intraoperative Low-Dose Ketamine Does Not Prevent a Remifentanil-Induced Increase in Morphine Requirement After Pediatric Scoliosis Surgery

BACKGROUND: Remifentanil-based anesthesia is commonly used to facilitate neurophysiologic monitoring during pediatric scoliosis surgery. Acute opioid tolerance and/or hyperalgesia resulting from remifentanil-based anesthesia may involve activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate systems. We hypothesized that low-dose intraoperative infusion of the N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist ketamine would suppress the development of tolerance and thereby decrease postoperative morphine consumption in children receiving remifentanil-based anesthesia for scoliosis surgery. METHODS: Thirty-four adolescents aged 12–18 yr scheduled for scoliosis surgery were randomly assigned to receive intraoperative low-dose ketamine (bolus dose of 0.5 mg/kg followed by continuous infusion of 4 &mgr;g · kg−1 · min−1) or an equal volume of saline during propofol/remifentanil anesthesia. Cumulative morphine consumption was assessed using a patient-controlled analgesia device for 72 h after surgery. Postoperative morphine consumption, pain scores at rest and during cough, and sedation scores were recorded by a blinded investigator every hour for the first 4 h, every 4 hours for 20 h, and then every 12 hours for 72 h. RESULTS: Cumulative morphine consumption at 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery did not differ significantly between groups (ketamine group: 1.57 ± 0.56, 3.05 ± 1.14, and 4.46 ± 1.53 mg/kg; saline group: 1.60 ± 0.53, 2.87 ± 1.05, and 4.11 ± 1.71 mg/kg, respectively). No differences in pain or sedation scores were found. The duration of anesthesia was similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data do not support the use of intraoperative low-dose ketamine to prevent the development of remifentanil-induced acute opioid tolerance and/or hyperalgesia during pediatric scoliosis surgery.
Macroscopic and Scanning Electron Microscopic Appearance and Hardness Values of Developmental Defects in Human Permanent Tooth Enamel

Defects present in 12 human permanent teeth were classified on the basis of their macroscopic appearance as hypoplasia (three teeth), diffuse opacities (three teeth), white demarcated opacities (one tooth but two defects), or yellow demarcated opacities (five teeth but six defects). The hardness values and SEM appearance of the defective enamel were determined after the teeth were sectioned through the lesion(s) and were distinctive for each type of defect. The thin enamel of the hypoplastic lesions was either opaque (with reduced hardness values) or translucent (with near-normal hardness values and sometimes a change in prism orientation external to an incremental line). The enamel of the diffuse and demarcated opacities was of normal thickness. The changes in the macroscopic and SEM appearance, and the reduced hardness values of the diffuse patchy opacities, were restricted to the outer 150 μm of the enamel. The demarcated opacities varied in position and depth, and in places had a clearly marked boundary with the adjacent normal enamel. Hardness values were related to color change, with yellow lesions being softer than white. Although prism direction was normal within demarcated opacities, prism outlines were less distinct. The findings suggest that temporary and permanent dysfunction of ameloblasts can occur in both secretory and maturation phases, influencing the final appearance of the lesion.
Molecular Genotyping of Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma Can Predict Tumor Recurrence

Medullary thyroid carcinoma can have an aggressive behavior, and little is known about the molecular basis for clinical outcome. Defining risk of recurrent or metastatic disease is difficult, and it has been limited to clinical and pathologic features, such as advanced age, cervical lymph node metastases, and stage at presentation. Using microdissection and genotyping, we studied 11 cases of medullary carcinoma for allelic losses in a panel of known tumor suppressor genes. The tumor suppressor genes with the most frequent allelic losses were NF2, l-myc, and p53 (75%, 44%, and 44%, respectively). The average frequency of allelic loss across all tumors was 44% and was higher in tumors that recurred. A combination of previously described high-risk variables (increased patient age and cervical lymph node metastases) with the frequency of allelic loss yielded a high-risk group, in which 6 of 6 patients recurred, and a low-risk group, in which 0 of 5 patients recurred (P = 0.004). Frequency of allelic loss in tumor suppressor genes may provide a useful adjunctive prognostic test in medullary thyroid carcinoma.
Cytokine overproduction and crosslinker hypersensitivity are unlinked in Fanconi anemia macrophages

The Fanconi anemia proteins participate in a canonical pathway that repairs cross‐linking agent‐induced DNA damage. Cells with inactivated Fanconi anemia genes are universally hypersensitive to such agents. Fanconi anemia‐deficient hematopoietic stem cells are also hypersensitive to inflammatory cytokines, and, as importantly, Fanconi anemia macrophages overproduce such cytokines in response to TLR4 and TLR7/8 agonists. We questioned whether TLR‐induced DNA damage is the primary cause of aberrantly regulated cytokine production in Fanconi anemia macrophages by quantifying TLR agonist‐induced TNF‐α production, DNA strand breaks, crosslinker‐induced chromosomal breakage, and Fanconi anemia core complex function in Fanconi anemia complementation group C‐deficient human and murine macrophages. Although both M1 and M2 polarized Fanconi anemia cells were predictably hypersensitive to mitomycin C, only M1 macrophages overproduced TNF‐α in response to TLR‐activating signals. DNA damaging agents alone did not induce TNF‐α production in the absence of TLR agonists in wild‐type or Fanconi anemia macrophages, and mitomycin C did not enhance TLR responses in either normal or Fanconi anemia cells. TLR4 and TLR7/8 activation induced cytokine overproduction in Fanconi anemia macrophages. Also, although TLR4 activation was associated with induced double strand breaks, TLR7/8 activation was not. That DNA strand breaks and chromosome breaks are neither necessary nor sufficient to account for the overproduction of inflammatory cytokines by Fanconi anemia cells suggests that noncanonical anti‐inflammatory functions of Fanconi anemia complementation group C contribute to the aberrant macrophage phenotype and suggests that suppression of macrophage/TLR hyperreactivity might prevent cytokine‐induced stem cell attrition in Fanconi anemia.
A spacetime adaptive approach to characterize complex dispersive media

We present a time domain approach that can obtain reflection and transmission coefficients of a material for a wide range of frequencies. The advanced method of spacetime discontinuous Galerkin method is used to obtain the time domain response of a unit cell to an incident wave. Adaptive operations in space and time permits very efficient and accurate tracking of wave fronts. By Fourier analysis and inversion of the obtained transmission and reflection coefficients in the frequency domain, we obtain equivalent impedance, wave speed, permittivity, and permeability of the unit cell for the given frequencies. The linear solution cost of the SDG method, its powerful adaptive operations, and derivation of the entire spectrum with one time domain simulation are attractive attributes of the proposed method.
Impact of Peri-Stent Remodeling on Restenosis: A Volumetric Intravascular Ultrasound Study

BackgroundVessel remodeling is an important mechanism of late lumen loss after nonstent coronary interventions. However, its impact on in-stent restenosis has not been systematically investigated. Methods and ResultsSerial volumetric intravascular ultrasound analyses (poststent and follow-up) were performed in 55 lesions treated with a balloon-expandable stent (ACS MultiLink) using standard stent deployment techniques. The vessel volume (VV), lumen volume (LV), and volume bordered by the stent (SV) were measured using Simpson’s method. The volume of plaque and neointima outside the stent (peri-stent volume, PSV) and volume of neointima within the stent (intrastent volume) were also measured. The change of each parameter during the follow-up period (follow-up minus poststent) was calculated and then divided by SV to normalize these values (designated as percent change [%&Dgr;]). As expected, %&Dgr;PSV directly correlated with %&Dgr;VV (P <0.0001, r =0.935), with no significant &Dgr;SV. A highly significant inverse correlation was seen between %&Dgr;PSV and the percent change of intrastent volume (P <0.0001, r =0.517). Consequently, %&Dgr;LV significantly correlated with peri-stent remodeling, as measured by %&Dgr;VV (P <0.0001, r =0.602). ConclusionPositive remodeling of the vessel exterior to a coronary stent occurs to a variable degree after stent implantation. There is a distinct trade-off between positive remodeling and in-stent hyperplasia: in segments in which the degree of peri-stent remodeling is less, intrastent neointimal proliferation is greater and accompanied by more significant late lumen loss.
The Social Control of Impersonal Trust

How do societies control trust relationships that are not embedded in structures of personal relations? This paper discusses the guardians of impersonal trust and discovers that, in the quest for agent fidelity, they create new problems. The resulting collection of procedural norms, structural constraints, entry restrictions, policing mechanisms, social-control specialists, and insurance-like arrangements increases the opportunities for abuse while it encourages less acceptable trustee performance. Moreover, this system sometimes leads people to throw good "money" after bad; they protect trust and respond to its failures by conferring even more trust. The paper explores the sources and consequences of the paradox that the guardians of trust are themselves trustees.
Assessing Maternal Functioning in Families of Children with Autism

Mothers and siblings of children with autism incur stressors that impact their well-being more adversely than mothers of children with ADHD or normally developing children. In Study 1, twenty-six mothers of children with autism (Group 1) were compared to 24 mothers of children with ADHD (Group 2) and 24 mothers with normally developing children (Group 3). All families included a normally developing child (ages 4 to 12). Measures to delineate levels of maternal functioning were administered. Results for Study 1 indicated that mothers of children with autism had higher levels of psychological symptomatology, higher parenting stress, poorer perceptions of their family environment and their ability to parent the siblings, and higher perceptions of internalized problems of the siblings than mothers with normally developing children. These findings support the literature stating that mothers of children with autism may experience increased levels of maternal stress. The reciprocal nature of the parent-child relationship suggests that parents should be involved in meeting the needs of siblings in these families. A subgroup of Group 1 mothers participated in a parent group that occurred simultaneously with a sibling group. Mothers were randomly assigned to participate in a parent/sibling group, a sibling only group, or a wait-list group. Intervention efficacy was assessed using Study 1 measures plus measures designed specifically for the intervention. Overall results of study 2 indicated that mothers in the deluxe intervention perceived their parenting of the siblings to have improved after the intervention when compared to the standard and wait-list groups. This suggested that concurrent mother/sibling intervention provided the mothers with beneficial information and contributed to their enhanced sense of competence about parenting the siblings. In addition, mothers in the deluxe intervention perceived their family environment and the behaviors of the sibling to get worse at post-intervention, but return to baseline over time. This suggests that the intervention may have initially brought some difficulties to the surface that were resolved over time. Results will be discussed with their implications for further research and clinical intervention.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Coilia nasus (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) from Ariake Sea

Abstract In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequence of Coilia nasus has been determined by long polymerase chain reaction and primer walking methods. The mitogenome is a circular molecule of 16,900 bp in length and contains 37 mitochondrial genes including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) and a control region as other bony fishes. Within the control region, we identified the termination-associated sequence domain (TAS), the central conserved sequence block domains (CSB-F, CSB-E and CSB-D), and the conserved sequence block domains (CSB-1, CSB-2 and CSB-3).
Endocrine Gland-Derived Endothelial Growth Factor (EG-VEGF) Is a Potential Novel Regulator of Human Parturition1

ABSTRACT EG-VEGF is an angiogenic factor that we identified as a new placental growth factor during human pregnancy. EG-VEGF is also expressed in the mouse fetal membrane (FM) by the end of gestation, suggesting a local role for this protein in the mechanism of parturition. However, injection of EG-VEGF to gravid mice did not induce labor, suggesting a different role for EG-VEGF in parturition. Here, we searched for its role in the FM in relation to human parturition. Human pregnant sera and total FM, chorion, and amnion were collected during the second and third trimesters from preterm no labor, term no labor, and term labor patients. Primary human chorion trophoblast and FM explants cultures were also used. We demonstrate that circulating EG-VEGF increased toward term and significantly decreased at the time of labor. EG-VEGF production was higher in the FM compared to placentas matched for gestational age. Within the FM, the chorion was the main source of EG-VEGF. EG-VEGF receptors, PROKR1 and PROKR2, were differentially expressed within the FM with increased expression toward term and an abrupt decrease with the onset of labor. In chorion trophoblast and FM explants collected from nonlaboring patients, EG-VEGF decreased metalloproteinase-2 and -9 activities and increased PGDH (prostaglandin-metabolizing enzyme) expression. Altogether these data demonstrate that EG-VEGF is a new cytokine that acts locally to ensure FM protection in late pregnancy. Its fine contribution to the initiation of human labor is exhibited by the abrupt decrease in its levels as well as a reduction in its receptors.
Investigating the Relationship between Psychological Contract Breach and Civic Virtue Behavior: Evidence for the Buffering Roles of Leader-Member Exchange and Perceived Organizational Support

The present study builds on previous research on psychological contracts by examining the moderating roles of leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organizational support (POS) in the psychological contract breach-civic virtue behavior dynamics. A survey was administered to 241 front-line branch employees. Results suggest that psychological contract breach, LMX, and POS were related to civic virtue behavior. Furthermore, LMX and POS moderated the relationship between contract breach and civic virtue behavior. This suggests that high levels of LMX and POS buffer the negative effects of breach. In other words, both LMX and POS may serve as social support mechanisms mitigating the negative effects of psychological contract breach on civic virtue behavior. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
3-d Rupture Dynamics with Kinematic Constraints: the 1992 Landers Earthquake

The 1992 magnitude 7.3 Landers, California, earthquake is modeled kinemat-ically and dynamically with a three-dimensional nite-diierence method. The kinematic model uses xed, prescribed rupture parameters from the kinematic slip inversion by Wald and Heaton (1994413]) and the dynamic models generate spontaneous ruptures controlled by a prestress distribution computed from the slip distribution used in the kinematic simulation. The dynamic ruptures that produce near-fault radiation similar to that for the kinematic simulation are characterized by propagation along a complex path with highly variable speed and rise time, and they reproduce the general slip pattern used to compute the initial stress distribution. These dynamic simulations are characterized by rupture energy releases of 5-10 MJ/m 2 .
Frequency-dependent maintenance of left handedness in humans

The percentage (10-13%) of left handedness in humans has apparently not changed since the Neolithic. Left handedness is heritable and appears to be repeatedly associated with some reduced fitness components; the persistence of left handedness implies that left handers have a fitness advantage in some situations. We propose that left handers have a frequency-dependent advantage in fights and for that reason a fitness advantage. To test this hypothesis, left handedness frequencies in the general population and in sporting individuals (both students and the sporting elite) have been compared, as sporting performance is likely to be a good indicator of fighting abilities. The higher proportion of left-handed individuals in interactive sports (reflecting some fighting elements), reaching 50% in some sports categories, but not in noninteractive sports, is consistent with the fighting hypothesis. The greater frequency of left handedness in males than in females is also consistent with this hypothesis, as male-male fights are universally more frequent than other combinations. The frequency-dependent advantage in fights of left handers might explain the stability of left handedness.