Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The construction of a dementia-specific Quality of Life instrument rated by professional caregivers in residential settings: the QUALIDEM

In order to conceptually define quality of life (QOL) in dementia, the literature on QOL in the elderly population, in chronic disease and dementia was studied. Dementia is a progressive age-related chronic condition and to avoid omissions within the dementiaspecific concept of QOL, a broad orientation is the preferred approach in this literature study. Adaptation is a major outcome in studies investigating interventions aimed at improving QOL in chronic conditions, but to the present day it has not been used in the definition of QOL. It is argued that adaptation is an important indication of QOL in people with chronic diseases and therefore also in dementia. Some crucial issues in assessing dementia related QOL, that are relevant to clarify the continuing debate on whether QOL, particularly in dementia, can be measured at all, are discussed. Then the following conceptual definition is offered: Dementia-specific QOL is the multidimensional evaluation of the person–environment system of the individual, in terms of adaptation to the perceived consequences of the dementia.
STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORS IMPORTANT FOR STUDENT SUCCESS IN ONLINE AND IN-PERSON ALGEBRA CLASSES AT SOMERSET COMMUNITY COLLEGE

OF DISSERTATION STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORS IMPORTANT FOR STUDENT SUCCESS IN ONLINE AND IN-PERSON ALGEBRA CLASSES AT SOMERSET COMMUNITY COLLEGE Online mathematics courses at Somerset Community College (SCC) have traditionally had a lower retention rate than their in-person counterparts. This study looked at online and in-person students at SCC in the courses Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra. Beginning of semester student demographics were considered to determine whether or not the online and in-person student populations were comparable. End of semester student demographics, retention rates, and grades on the final exams were examined to determine whether or not there were patterns among completer students. Finally, a survey was administered to students and instructors to determine their perceptions of several factors thought to influence student success and to determine areas of agreement and disagreement among these factors. Follow-up telephone interviews were given to instructors and students in order to identify areas that were not covered in the survey. The results indicated that although online courses tended to attract older students, the online and in-person student groups were similar in terms of make-up. This was true both at the beginning and at the end of the semester. The in-person sections showed better results, both in terms of retention and grades on the final exams. The survey results were analyzed using Rasch analysis. This showed differences between students and instructors, most importantly in the areas of student self-efficacy behaviors and communication between instructor and student. These differences between students and instructors were generally exacerbated in the online sections indicating that these areas might have had an impact on the lower retention and grades of the online sections.
Race and ethnicity and breast cancer outcomes in an underinsured population.

BACKGROUND The disparity in breast cancer mortality between African American women and non-Hispanic white women has been the subject of increased scrutiny. Few studies have addressed these differences in the setting of equal access to health care. We compared the breast cancer outcomes of underinsured African American and non-Hispanic white patients who were treated at a single institution. METHODS We conducted a retrospective review of medical records for breast cancer patients who were treated at Wishard Memorial Hospital from January 1, 1997, to February 28, 2006. A total of 574 patients (259 non-Hispanic whites and 315 African Americans) were evaluated. A Cox proportional hazards regression analysis for competing risks was performed. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Sociodemographic characteristics were similar in the two groups, and both racial groups were equally unlikely to have undergone screening mammography during the 2 years before diagnosis. Most (84%) of the patients were underinsured. The median time from diagnosis to operation, receipt of adequate surgery, and use of all types of adjuvant therapy were similar in the two groups. Median follow-up was 80.3 months for non-Hispanic whites and 77.9 months for African Americans. After accounting for the effect of comorbidities, African American race was statistically significantly associated with breast cancer-specific mortality (African Americans vs non-Hispanic whites: 26.0% vs 17.5%, P = .028; hazard ratio [HR] of death = 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06 to 2.55). Adjustment for age at diagnosis, clinical stage, and hormone receptor status attenuated the effect, and the effect of race on breast cancer-specific survival was no longer statistically significant (HR of death from breast cancer = 1.43, 95% CI = 0.89 to 2.30). After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, the hazard ratio for race was further attenuated (HR = 1.26; 95% CI = 0.79 to 2.00). CONCLUSIONS In this underinsured population, African American patients had poorer breast cancer-specific survival than non-Hispanic white patients. After adjustment for clinical and sociodemographic factors, the effect of race on survival was no longer statistically significant.
Molecular markers of cardiac endocardial cushion development

Endocardial cushions are precursors of mature heart valves. They form within the looped heart tube as discrete swellings and develop into thin, pliable leaflets that prevent regurgitation of blood. The embryonic origins of cardiac valves include endothelial, myocardial, and neural crest cells. Recently, an increasing number of animal models derived from mutational screens, gene inactivation, and transgenic studies have identified specific molecules required for normal development of the cardiac valves, and critical molecular pathways are beginning to emerge. To further this process, we have sought to assemble a diverse set of molecular markers encompassing all stages of cardiac valve development. Here, we provide a detailed comparative gene expression analysis of thirteen endocardial cushion markers. We identify endocardial cushion expression of the transcription factor Fog1, and we demonstrate active Wnt/β‐catenin signaling in developing endocardial cushions suggesting pathways that have not been previously appreciated to participate in cardiac valve formation. Developmental Dynamics 228:643–650, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Toward an Understanding of Employment Discrimination Claiming: An Integration of Organizational Justice and Social Information Processing Theories

This research examines the predictors of actual discrimination claiming among terminated workers by investigating a number of variables suggested by organizational justice and social information processing theories. This study investigated initial decisions to claim in a sample of 439 terminated workers who were surveyed at several unemployment offices. Logistic regression was used to examine how the decision to claim for discrimination was affected by procedural and distributive justice, social guidance, minority status, gender, age, tenure, and eductation. All of the variables except education and gender were found to be significant. Thus, the resutls support variables from each of the theories. Social guidances was found to have a major influence on discrimination-claiming. A counter-intuitive finding for minority status was found such that Whites were more likely to claim than minorities. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Psychological Flexibility, ACT, and Organizational Behavior

Summary This paper offers organizational behavior management (OBM) a behavior analytically consistent way to expand its analysis of, and methods for changing, organizational behavior. It shows how Relational Frame Theory (RFT) suggests that common, problematic, psychological processes emerge from language itself, and they produce psychological inflexibility. Research suggests that an applied extension of RFT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, has led to new interventions that increase psychological flexibility and, thereby enhance, organizational behavior and health.
The Peri-islet Basement Membrane, a Barrier to Infiltrating Leukocytes in Type 1 Diabetes in Mouse and Human

We provide the first comprehensive analysis of the extracellular matrix (ECM) composition of peri-islet capsules, composed of the peri-islet basement membrane (BM) and subjacent interstitial matrix (IM), in development of type 1 diabetes in NOD mice and in human type 1 diabetes. Our data demonstrate global loss of peri-islet BM and IM components only at sites of leukocyte infiltration into the islet. Stereological analyses reveal a correlation between incidence of insulitis and the number of islets showing loss of peri-islet BM versus islets with intact BMs, suggesting that leukocyte penetration of the peri-islet BM is a critical step. Protease- and protease inhibitor–specific microarray analyses (CLIP-CHIP) of laser-dissected leukocyte infiltrated and noninfiltrated pancreatic islets and confirmatory quantitative real time PCR and protein analyses identified cathepsin S, W, and C activity at sites of leukocyte penetration of the peri-islet BM in association with a macrophage subpopulation in NOD mice and human type 1 diabetic samples and, hence, potentially a novel therapeutic target specifically acting at the islet penetration stage. Interestingly, the peri-islet BM and underlying IM are reconstituted once inflammation subsides, indicating that the peri-islet BM-producing cells are not lost due to the inflammation, which has important ramifications to islet transplantation studies.
Least‐Cost Input Mixtures of Water and Nitrogen for Photosynthesis

In microeconomics, a standard framework is used for determining the optimal input mix for a two‐input production process. Here we adapt this framework for understanding the way plants use water and nitrogen (N) in photosynthesis. The least‐cost input mixture for generating a given output depends on the relative cost of procuring and using nitrogen versus water. This way of considering the issue integrates concepts such as water‐use efficiency and photosynthetic nitrogen‐use efficiency into the more inclusive objective of optimizing the input mix for a given situation. We explore the implications of deploying alternative combinations of leaf nitrogen concentration and stomatal conductance to water, focusing on comparing hypothetical species occurring in low‐ versus high‐humidity habitats. We then present data from sites in both the United States and Australia and show that low‐rainfall species operate with substantially higher leaf N concentration per unit leaf area. The extra protein reflected in higher leaf N concentration is associated with a greater drawdown of internal CO2, such that low‐rainfall species achieve higher photosynthetic rates at a given stomatal conductance. This restraint of transpirational water use apparently counterbalances the multiple costs of deploying high‐nitrogen leaves.
To Match or Not to Match in Epidemiological Studies—Same Outcome but Less Power

This study aimed to analyze the possible resemblance or difference in outcome in a case-control study of quality of life for IBS patients compared to controls free from the disease, when a matching procedure for age and sex was applied for the control group compared to when all participating subjects were included in the control group. The main result was that almost the same and identical results were found irrespective of whether matching or not matching was applied in this epidemiological case-control study. The matching procedure however, slightly diminished the statistical power of the results.
Inhibition of Cell Surface Export of Group A Streptococcal Anchorless Surface Dehydrogenase Affects Bacterial Adherence and Antiphagocytic Properties

ABSTRACT Surface dehydrogenase (SDH) is an anchorless, multifunctional protein displayed on the surfaces of group A Streptococcus (GAS) organisms. SDH is encoded by a single gene, sdh (gap or plr) that is essential for bacterial survival. Hence, the resulting nonfeasibility of creating a knockout mutant is a major limiting factor in studying its role in GAS pathogenesis. An insertion mutagenesis strategy was devised in which a nucleotide sequence encoding a hydrophobic tail of 12 amino acids (337IVLVGLVMLLLS348) was added at the 3′ end of the sdh gene, successfully creating a viable mutant strain (M1-SDHHBtail). In this mutant strain, the SDHHBtail protein was not secreted in the medium but was retained in the cytoplasm and to some extent trapped within the cell wall. Hence, SDHHBtail was not displayed on the GAS surface. The mutant strain, M1-SDHHBtail, grew at the same rate as the wild-type strain. The SDHHBtail protein displayed the same GAPDH activity as the wild-type SDH protein. Although the whole-cell extracts of the wild-type and mutant strains showed similar GAPDH activities, cell wall extracts of the mutant strain showed 5.5-fold less GAPDH activity than the wild-type strain. The mutant strain, M1-SDHHBtail, bound significantly less human plasminogen, adhered poorly to human pharyngeal cells, and lost its innate antiphagocytic activity. These results indicate that the prevention of the cell surface export of SDH affects the virulence properties of GAS. The anchorless SDH protein, thus, is an important virulence factor.
Exploring Critical Factors in Predicting Post-Adoptive Use of Facebook

Social networking applications (SNAs) have experienced a boom in popularity in recent years. Sites like Facebook and MySpace continuously draw new users, and are successful in organizing groups of users around topics of common interest. Among SNAs, Facebook has demonstrably outgrown its rivals growing an estimated 157 percent from 2008 to 2009. Facebook is now estimated to be the fourth largest Internet site in the world, trailing only Google, Microsoft and Yahoo (Schonfeld 2009). This dissertation posits and tests a theoretical model composed of key factors that contribute to post-adoptive use of social networking applications and the relationship of those factors to one another. This study also identifies and clarifies new constructs that were not previously used to measure usage, and further refines the constructs that were previously used so that they better fit social networking applications. The results of this dissertation show that the critical factors of social capital, hedonic enjoyment, perceived usefulness, social influence, satisfaction and attitude have a positive influence on a post-adoptive user's intention to continue using Facebook. The results of this study yielded a structural model for predicting the post-adoptive use of Facebook. This work also developed an instrument for measuring constructs relevant to social networking applications.
Grit and Different Aspects of Well-being: Direct and Indirect Effects via Sense of Coherence and Authenticity

Grit, the “passion and perseverance for long-term goals” (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews & Kelly, 2007, p. 1087) is strongly related to success in goal attainment even under challenging circumstances. The current thesis investigated how grit relates to three aspects of well-being: psychological well-being (PWB), life satisfaction, and harmony in life. This relationship is approached through the organismic valuing theory, which proposes that people are naturally motivated to grow towards their highest potential; grit is proposed as being akin to such growth motivation. In two studies (Study 1 with 196 university students, and Study 2 with 396 non-students), structural equation modeling was employed to test for direct and indirect effects between grit and well-being. Sense of coherence (SOC) and authenticity were used as mediators, and gender as a moderator. As expected, grit was highly positively related to all well-being factors, and SOC and authenticity were highly significant mediators (partial for PWB and full for life satisfaction and harmony). This suggests that being gritty about one’s goal pursuits requires both a sense that the world is coherent and an authentic connection with the self in order for it to fully benefit well-being. Two gender-moderated differences were found: in both studies, men showed a stronger direct effect between grit and well-being (in Study 1, between grit and harmony; in Study 2, between grit and PWB) even after the mediators were controlled for. Therefore, some preliminary indications of gender differences between grit and well-being were found.
Overland movement in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis): a systematic review

African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) are often referred to as ‘purely aquatic’ but there are many publications which suggest extensive overland movements. Previous reviews which considered the topic have not answered the following questions: (1) is there evidence for overland dispersal in native and invasive ranges; (2) what is the range of distances moved overland; (3) when does overland movement occur; and (4) is there evidence of breeding migratory behaviour? A systematic review was chosen to synthesise and critically analyse all literature on the overland movement in Xenopus laevis. Database searches resulted in 57 documents which revealed a paucity of empirical studies, with 28 containing no data, and 19 having anecdotal content. Overwhelming evidence shows that both native and invasive populations of X. laevis move overland, with well documented examples for several other members of the genus (X. borealis, X. gilli, X. muelleri, X. fraseriand X. tropicalis). Reports of distances moved overland were from 40 m to 2 km, with no apparent difference between native and invasive ranges. Overland movements are not confined to wet seasons or conditions, but the literature suggests that moving overland does not occur in the middle of the day. Migrations to temporary water-bodies for breeding have been suggested, but without any corroborating data.
Seasonal Variations in the Community Structure of Actively Growing Bacteria in Neritic Waters of Hiroshima Bay , Western Japan

Using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) magnetic beads immunocapture and a PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) technique (BUMP-DGGE), we determined seasonal variations in the community structures of actively growing bacteria in the neritic waters of Hiroshima Bay, western Japan. The community structures of actively growing bacteria were separated into two clusters, corresponding to the timing of phytoplankton blooms in the autumn–winter and spring–summer seasons. The trigger for changes in bacterial community structure was related to organic matter supply from phytoplankton blooms. We identified 23 phylotypes of actively growing bacteria, belonging to Alphaproteobacteria (Roseobacter group, 9 phylotypes), Gammaproteobacteria (2 phylotypes), Bacteroidetes (8 phylotypes), and Actinobacteria (4 phylotypes). The Roseobacter group and Bacteroidetes were dominant in actively growing bacterial communities every month, and together accounted for more than 70% of the total DGGE bands. We revealed that community structures of actively growing bacteria shifted markedly in the wake of phytoplankton blooms in the neritic waters of Hiroshima Bay.
Neurophysiologic correlates to sensory and cognitive processing in altered states of consciousness

Research is presented on the altered sensory and cognitive processing as assessed by event-related potential analysis of electroencephalographic data during states of meditation in long-term meditators and due to the effects of psilocybin, a naturally occurring serotonin receptor agonist with hallucinogenic properties and the literature on the neurophysiological correlates to meditation are reviewed. In a passive auditory oddball paradigm the rare tones and distracters are shown to evoke increased sensory processing as indexed by increases in the amplitudes of the N1 and P2 event-related potential components. The distracter stimuli are shown to evoke a later P3a component and increases in frontal theta power associated with attentional engagement. Meditation causes a significant reduction in the P3a amplitude and frontal theta power to distracting stimuli implying the disengagement of attentional networks from ongoing sensory processing. Psilocybin is shown to cause enhanced early sensory processing of visual stimuli as indexed by the P1 component. This psilocybin-induced alteration is shown to be especially prominent in the brain's response to distracting stimuli in a visual target detection paradigm. Psilocybin is also shown to decrease intermediate object- recognition processing as indexed by the N170 event- related potential. While N170 amplitudes are shown to be increased due to the perception of illusory contours, psilocybin induces a brain state where fewer additional resources are recruited to the perception of illusory contours. Later P3 amplitudes associated with detection and response-related processing as well as distracter processing are shown to be significantly reduced by psilocybin, supporting the notion that attentional networks are disengaged from ongoing sensory processing. Psilocybin inhibits the increase in frontal theta activity associated with the perception of illusory contours and visual distracters, adding further support to the model of attentional disengagement. A preliminary model of psilocybin-induced changes in neurophysiology and integrative comments on the significance of the similarities and differences between the effects of meditation and psilocybin on the brain's attentional systems are provided
Prevalence, biological phenotype and genotype in moderate/mild hemophilia A with discrepancy between one‐stage and chromogenic factor VIII activity

Summary. Background: In most laboratories, the severity of hemophilia A is assessed by the factor VIII activity (FVIII:C) one‐stage assay. However, comparisons of these results with those of two‐stage assays can reveal discrepancies and suggest misdiagnosis. Patients/Methods: In this monocentric study, we measured FVIII:C with two methods (one‐stage chronometric and chromogenic assays) in 307 (173 families) patients with moderate/mild hemophilia A. To compare results, we used a chronometric/chromogenic ratio. Discrepancy was defined as a ratio < 0.5 or > 1.5. We studied their putative involvement at known FVIII functional sites, their interspecies conservation status, and their spatial position within the FVIII structure. Results: Thirty‐six patients from 17 families exhibited a discrepancy between the two assays: 12 (6.9%) families had a low ratio (< 0.5), and five (2.9%) families had a high ratio (> 1.5). Qualitative deficiency was diagnosed in about 16% of the families. Molecular studies were performed in 15 of these 17 families, resulting in each case in the identification of missense mutations, including three novel mutations. We were further able to propose a pathophysiologic explanation. Conclusions: In this monocentric study, we have demonstrated a discrepancy between FVIII:C assay results in 10% of families with moderate/mild hemophilia A. The prevalence of ‘inverse’ discrepancy (i.e. low chronometric/chromogenic ratio) is high as compared with previous reports. We suggest that both FVIII:C assays are recommended in patients with moderate/mild hemophilia A for a complete biological phenotype. This could also improve our knowledge of the FVIII structure–function relationships.