Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT EDUCATION ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF ORAL HYGIENE AND REDUCTION OF PERIODONTITIS PREVALENCE 3

Background: The present investigation is motivated by the fact that the incidence of visual impairment is increasing all over the world. Blind people may encounter specific problems in plaque control, leading to a higher risk of periodontal disorders. Objectives: To evidence the effect of alternative senses, other than sight, for controlling plaque formation and reducing periodontal indices in blind people. Methods: 51subjects (with ages between 15-45 years), both totally blind or with reduced sight were included in the study. They were instructed to brush their teeth by the M. Stilman method. The two important periodontal indices, Plaque Index (PLI), and Papillary Bleeding Index (PBI) were calculated both before and after the training session. Results: Blind individuals successfully learned the method of brushing by using their tactile sense, which significantly improved their oral hygiene in terms of PLI and PBI. Conclusions: Blind people are prone to properly control their oral hygiene, thus preventing possible periodontal problems and recording normal PLI and PBI values.
Savers and Borrowers: Strategies of Personal Financial Management

Saving and borrowing are traditionally and stereotypically thought of as opposites, with different motivations and consequences. Through a questionnaire survey of economic position, practices, and attitudes, the present paper examined the relation between saving and borrowing among British respondents. While saving and borrowing were found to be determined by different economic, social, and psychological factors, they did not describe mutually exclusive strategies of financial management. Saving regularly could also be distinguished from having savings. In all, six strategies were identified (combining saving or not saving, borrowing or not borrowing, and having or not having savings). Each combination was found to have specific discriminating characteristics. Savers and borrowers were found to have different psychological motivations, seeing debt either as a failure or as a normal part of everyday life. Many people retained savings or carried on saving at the same time as having debts: they were found to feel more in control and optimistic about their financial position than those who had debts but no savings. A further group had neither debts nor savings: they adopted an inflexible approach to financial management. Each group of people with different financial management strategies was illustrated by a case study.
Two Concepts of Attachment to Rules

In this paper, we discuss some implications of John Rawls’ paper ‘Two Concepts of Rules’ (1955) for social science. We argue that Rawls’ notion of ‘practice’ is not a straightforward contribution to sociological theory, but rather re-orients the idea of what understanding social actions might be. We explicate how Rawls’ distinction between ‘summary’ and ‘practice’ views of rules might play out in approaching mathematical practice and mathematical expressions. We argue that social constructivists like Bloor hold on to a ‘summary’ conception of rules while Wittgenstein adopts the more radical ‘practice’ conception.
Physical education teachers' career-long professional learning: getting personal

The aim of this study was to build upon previous PE-CPD (Physical Education Continuing Professional Development) research by exploring Greek case study physical education (PE) teachers' engagement in professional learning. It is argued that in the contemporary European context, where the teaching profession is viewed as central to achieving wider learning goals, an understanding of teachers' engagement in professional learning is worthy of scrutiny; in particular an understanding of learning and contexts. The research was undertaken from a qualitative, social constructivist, situated perspective within a case study framework. In total, nine case study PE teachers (five females and four males) participated in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with the teachers over a period of one year. The data were analysed using a constructivist approach to grounded theory. Evidence suggested that, for these teachers, professional learning can take place in multiple contexts and situations. However, for some teachers, their unique blend of personal, contextual and professional factors inhibited self-initiated (and self-funded) PE-CPD participation. In the absence of enabling CPD structures, some teachers had abandoned attempts to engage in sustained and meaningful professional learning. In addition, poor PE facilities and lack of opportunity for teacher collaboration had a negative impact on teachers' professional learning. Hence, drawing on evidence from this qualitative study, it is suggested that future PE-CPD for these teachers should focus on building their capacity for learning. Moreover, provision should draw upon the available evidence from wider research on teachers' professional learning but ensure it is contextualised. Evidence from this study also suggested that it would be useful to base future CPD design on an in-depth understanding of the diverse ways in which Greek teachers work, live and learn in order to meet the specific needs of Greek teachers and schools at this stage of their development.
OPENING THE GATES

In the light of newspapers’ struggle to maintain readers and viability in the digital era, this study aims to understand better how newspapers in Latin America are responding to this shift toward user-generated and multimedia content. Using a content analysis of 19 newspapers from throughout Latin America, this study found that newspaper websites are bringing citizens into the virtual newsroom on a limited basis, allowing them to interact with each other and with the newspaper but only to a modest degree. Thus, while all newspaper websites have some multimedia content and most have Facebook and Twitter accounts, few allow readers to report errors, submit their own content, or even contact reporters directly. Further, most online newspaper articles include photos, but video, audio and hyperlinks rarely are used. These results further our understanding of how online interactivity is changing the traditional role of journalists and how Latin America is responding to the challenge.
Factors Affecting Preservice Teachers' Computer Use for General Purposes: Implications for Computer Training Courses

As the majority of educational research has focused on preservice teachers' computer use for educational purposes, the question remains: Do preservice teachers use computer technology for daily life activities and encounters? And do preservice teachers' personality traits and motivational beliefs related to computer training provided at colleges of education affect preservice teachers' computer use for general purposes. This study explored the relationships between 334 primary/junior preservice teachers' demographic information, prior computer experience, motivational beliefs, personality traits, and computer use for general purposes. Prior computer experience was the most significant predictor of computer use. The study also yielded significant results about motivational beliefs, gender, and personality traits. Implications for computer training courses are also suggested.
Different Degrees of Plant Invasion Significantly Affect the Richness of the Soil Fungal Community

Several studies have shown that soil microorganisms play a key role in the success of plant invasion. Thus, ecologists have become increasingly interested in understanding the ecological effects of biological invasion on soil microbial communities given continuing increase in the effects of invasive plants on native ecosystems. This paper aims to provide a relatively complete depiction of the characteristics of soil microbial communities under different degrees of plant invasion. Rhizospheric soils of the notorious invasive plant Wedelia trilobata with different degrees of invasion (uninvaded, low-degree, and high-degree using its coverage in the invaded ecosystems) were collected from five discrete areas in Hainan Province, P. R. China. Soil physicochemical properties and community structure of soil microorganisms were assessed. Low degrees of W. trilobata invasion significantly increased soil pH values whereas high degrees of invasion did not significantly affected soil pH values. Moreover, the degree of W. trilobata invasion exerted significant effects on soil Ca concentration but did not significantly change other indices of soil physicochemical properties. Low and high degrees of W. trilobata invasion increased the richness of the soil fungal community but did not pose obvious effects on the soil bacterial community. W. trilobata invasion also exerted obvious effects on the community structure of soil microorganisms that take part in soil nitrogen cycling. These changes in soil physicochemical properties and community structure of soil microbial communities mediated by different degrees of W. trilobata invasion may present significant functions in further facilitating the invasion process.
Interoceptive Awareness as a Moderator of Affective Responses to Social Exclusion

Previous research has yielded inconsistent results concerning affective reactions to social exclusion. The present study provides evidence that conscious perception of bodily signals (“interoceptive awareness”) constitutes an important moderating factor in this context. We compared participants with high versus low cardiac interoceptive awareness in regard to affective, cognitive, and physiological measures while they were included and excluded in a discussion with confederates. Participants with high interoceptive awareness showed a smaller decrease of positive affect and perceived acceptance as well as a smaller increase of negative affect and perceived rejection when comparing an inclusion phase with a subsequent exclusion phase than did participants with low interoceptive awareness. No significant differences in cognitive and physiological measures were observed. We assume that individuals with high interoceptive awareness, to whom physiological signals are more easily accessible, reduce aversive stat.
Nuclear factor TDP‐43 can affect selected microRNA levels

TDP‐43 has recently been described as the major component of the inclusions found in the brain of patients with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as frontotemporal lobar degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. TDP‐43 is a ubiquitous protein whose specific functions are probably crucial to establishing its pathogenic role. Apart from its involvement in transcription, splicing and mRNA stability, TDP‐43 has also been described as a Drosha‐associated protein. However, our knowledge of the role of TDP‐43 in the microRNA (miRNA) synthesis pathway is limited to the association mentioned above. Here we report for the first time which changes occur in the total miRNA population following TDP‐43 knockdown in culture cells. In particular, we have observed that let‐7b and miR‐663 expression levels are down‐ and upregulated, respectively. Interestingly, both miRNAs are capable of binding directly to TDP‐43 in different positions: within the miRNA sequence itself (let‐7b) or in the hairpin precursor (miR‐663). Using microarray data and real‐time PCR we have also identified several candidate transcripts whose expression levels are selectively affected by these TDP‐43–miRNA interactions.
TBX21-1993T/C (rs4794067) polymorphism is associated with increased risk of chronic periodontitis and increased T-bet expression in periodontal lesions, but does not significantly impact the IFN-g transcriptional level or the pattern of periodontophatic bacterial infection

Th1-polarized host response, mediated by IFN-γ, has been associated with increased severity of periodontal disease as well as control of periodontal infection. The functional polymorphism TBX21-1993T/C (rs4794067) increases the transcriptional activity of the TBX21 gene (essential for Th1 polarization) resulting in a predisposition to a Th-1 biased immune response. Thus, we conducted a case-control study, including a population of healthy controls (H, n = 218), chronic periodontitis (CP, n = 197), and chronic gingivitis patients (CG, n = 193), to investigate if genetic variations in TBX21 could impact the development of Th1 responses, and consequently influence the pattern of bacterial infection and periodontitis outcome. We observed that the polymorphic allele T was significantly enriched in the CP patients compared to CG subjects, while the H controls demonstrated and intermediate genotype. Also, investigating the putative functionality TBX21-1993T/C in the modulation of local response, we observed that the transcripts levels of T-bet, but not of IFN-γ, were upregulated in homozygote and heterozygote polymorphic subjects. In addition, TBX21-1993T/C did not influence the pattern of bacterial infection or the clinical parameters of disease severity, being the presence/absence of red complex bacteria the main factor associated with the disease status and the subrogate variable probing depth (PD) in the logistic regression analysis.
El efecto de preexposición al EI en la aversión gustativa condicionada: Papel relativo del contexto y de las claves de inyección

En tres experimentos con ratas Wistar como sujetos se analizo el papel de las claves de inyeccion en el retraso del aprendizaje de aversiones gustativas tras la preexposicion al estimulo incondicionado (malestar gastrico inducido por una inyeccion de LiCl). La extincion de dichas claves entre la preexposicion y el condicionamiento elimino el efecto de preexposicion unicamente cuando la preexposicion se llevo a cabo en un contexto familiar y, por el contrario, el efecto no se vio alterado cuando la preexposicion se realizo en un contexto nuevo. Estos resultados sugieren que el bloqueo por el contexto tiene lugar cuando este es nuevo, mientras que cuando es familiar el bloqueo es producido por las claves de inyeccion.
Coaching Secondary Special Education Teachers in Implementation of an Innovative Videodisc Mathematics Curriculum

This article reports case studies of four secondary-level special education teachers who received “coaching” as they implemented an innovative videodisc instructional program dealing with basic fraction concepts and operations. An exploratory, interrupted time series design was used in investigating the effects of regular observations and feedback on the teachers' use of the program. The coach---an experienced special education teacher with expertise in videodisc technology and instructional design---spent some time assisting each teacher with basic issues related to utilization of the technology. However, the majority of her efforts focused on sharing observational data with the teachers on their use of instructional approaches incorporated in the curriculum and found to lead to enhanced achievement in mathematics (Good, Grouws, & Ebmeier, 1983). Results suggest that the coaching led to positive changes in several important teaching techniques and, in some cases, to enhanced use of motivational strategies and classroom management techniques. Growth was noted, as well, in observed rates of student engagement. A semistructured interview assessing the teachers' reactions to and perceptions of the intervention indicated that they found the coaching procedure beneficial. The results also point out that teachers may be more open to receiving feedback on their teaching during the introduction of a new instructional technology, rather than in the context of conventional curricula.
The White Wedding: Affect and Economy in South Africa in the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract: Discussions of church weddings are not standard in accounts of African marriage in South Africa in the early twentieth century. However, from the 1890s onward, church weddings were becoming more common, and by the 1930s more Africans married in church than elsewhere. Indeed, these wedding ceremonies provide insight into how black families experienced and created their own social status in a context in which white South Africans viewed black weddings as a symbol of racial misappropriation. Via weddings and their associated commodification, families held on to and proclaimed the value of family life, and importantly, broader social networks as well as status-based associational life in an era of familial disintegration. At the same time weddings were often a double-edged indicator of status through their reference to sexual purity by means of white frocks. Résumé: Les discussions sur les mariages religieux ne sont pas standard dans les comptes-rendus de mariages africains en Afrique du Sud au début du XXe siècle. Cependant, depuis les années 1890, les mariages religieux sont de plus en plus communs, et depuis les années 1930 plus d’Africains se sont mariés à l’église qu'ailleurs. En effet, ces cérémonies de mariage donnent un aperçu de la façon dont les familles noires ont connu et ont créé leur propre statut social dans un contexte dans lequel les Sud-Africains blancs considéraient les mariages entre noirs comme un symbole de misappropriation raciale. Via ces mariages et leur consommation associée, les familles perpétuaient leurs valeurs sur la vie de de famille, ainsi que les réseaux sociaux plus larges et la vie associative fondée sur un statut dans une ère de désintégration familiale. En même temps ces mariages étaient souvent un indicateur à double tranchant à travers leur référence à la pureté sexuelle par le biais du port de robes blanches.
Testing the new ecological paradigm scale: Turkish case

This study was designed to test the reliability and dimensionality of the revised New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale constructed by Dunlap et al., (2000) and to examine the extent to which university students in Turkey are endorsing the NEP. A sample of 1295 undergraduate students from four universities in Turkey was selected for the study. Students’ worldviews were measured by the NEP scale which consisted of 15 statements. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect the necessary data. Findings from the study indicate that there is no widespread support for the NEP: 56.0% of students hold pro-NEP views while 24.9% embrace pro-DSP views and 19.1% have ambivalent views. It was found that the NEP scale has low consistency and four dimensions, thus, the NEP items should be taken cautiously as a single (unidimensional) internally consistent measuring device. It was concluded that the NEP scale should be carefully constructed and evaluated according to the historical and cultural context and characteristics of the population under study. Key words: Environmental worldviews, dominant social paradigm, new ecological paradigm, ecology, environmental measurement.
The Evolutionary Origins of Human Generosity

This article examines how altruism and self-interest are linked in human generosity, and what social scientists can learn from this linkage. The origins of generosity are explored by combining biological, psychological, anthropological and sociological evidence. Kinship altruism, reciprocal altruism, ‘strong reciprocity’, cultural norms and gene-culture co-evolution prove to be major explanations of the evolution of cooperation in human beings. Empirical research shows that human generosity is selective: kin and close relatives are favoured over others. Moreover, generosity generates its own rewards and is therefore again selective: the more you give, the more you receive. The selectivity of generosity reveals its evolutionary origins.
Passivity-based cooperative estimation of 3D target motion for visual sensor networks: Analysis on averaging performance

This paper presents a novel cooperative estimation algorithm for visual sensor networks. We consider the situation where multiple smart vision cameras with computation and communication capability see a group of target objects. The objective of the present algorithm is to meet two requirements: averaging and tracking. In order to meet the requirements simultaneously, we present a cooperative estimation algorithm based on passivity of the kinematic model of rigid body motion. We then provide an upper bound of the ultimate error between the actual average and the estimates given by the present algorithm. Finally the effectiveness of the present estimation algorithm is demonstrated through experiments.
New observations of cool carbon stars in the halo

Aims. We report new results of our search for rare, cool carbon stars located at large distances from the Galactic plane. Methods. Candidate stars were selected in the 2MASS point source catalogue with JHKs colours typical of N-type carbon stars, with Ks > 6.0 and with Galactic latitude |b| > 20 ◦ . Low resolution slit spectroscopy was carried out on 58 candidates. Results. Eighteen new carbon stars were discovered. Six are remarkable by showing the two peculiarities of a strong infrared excess at 12 µm and a large height above the Galactic plane, from 1.7 to 6 kpc. The number of C stars with these properties has been increased to 16. Mass-loss rates were tentatively estimated by assuming that all these 16 stars are Miras and by using the correlation between u M and the K − [12] colour index. It is found that several stars have large mass loss, with a median u
The Multifaceted Nature of Measurement Artifacts and Its Implications for Estimating Construct-Level Relationships

Measurement artifacts, including measurement errors and scale-specific factors, distort observed correlations between measures of psychological and organizational constructs. The authors discuss two alternative procedures, one using the generalized coefficient of equivalence and stability (GCES) and one based on structural equation modeling, to correct for the biasing effect of measurement artifacts in order to estimate construct-level relationships. Assumptions underlying the procedures are discussed and the degrees of biases resulting from violating the assumptions are examined by means of Monte Carlo simulation. They then propose an approach using cumulative knowledge in the literature about properties of measures of a construct to estimate the GCES. That approach can allow researchers to estimate relationships between constructs in most research situations. The authors apply the approach to estimate the GCES for overall job satisfaction, an important organizational construct.
The Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce: A Fifteen-Country Study with the Fertility and Family Survey *

Studies mainly from the United States provide evidence that children of divorced parents face a higher risk of divorce in their own marriages. We estimate and analyze the effects of divorce transmission using comparative individual data from the United Nations for 13 eastern and western European countries as well as for Canada and the United States. We find substantial and highly statistically significant transmission effects in all samples. This shows that the intergenerational transmission of divorce is a widespread phenomenon observed without a single exception in our data covering a large number of countries with differing historical, institutional, and cultural contexts.