Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selfhood in Search of Godhood

The article seeks to create a space for the concept of ‘self as God’ in the discourse on self-psychology. It attempts to understand how the central concept of spiritual or divine self finds expression in the lives of ordinary Hindus and in their cultural practices. It is argued that Hindus seek an intimate relationship with their God and, in the process, attempt to realise divinity in self. The relationship with others, including children, teachers (Guru), nature and God is derived from this overriding idea of oneness of self and God. Some narratives of experiences of this oneness with God are given to anchor the later elaboration and analysis of this idea. Hindu rituals, the worship process, the status accorded to the Guru and to the young child (girl or boy) and even certain cases of healing and communication with family deities, as well as other deities reflect this intimacy with God. It is emphasised that the spiritual self should be seen only as one facet of self which acts in tandem with its other facets. The facet of self that assumes salience is a function of context, person’s needs and life stage.
Masculinity and Femininity As Predictors of Financial Risk-Taking: Evidence From a Priming Study on Gender Salience

Women have proven to be more risk-averse than men in investment decisions. This difference may stem from biological factors and/or different gender socialization (masculine versus feminine). In the present experiment, gender affiliation was made salient via priming. Gender salience resulted in a high gender identification. Identifying with males or females, respectively, made men to respond in a more masculine and women in a more feminine way. Masculinity affected hypothetical financial risk taking positively, femininity negatively. Differences between men and women in their financial risk taking propensity increased after gender affiliation was made salient. Implications for further research and business practice are discussed.
Prevalence of renal dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis according to ADQI-IAC working party proposal

Background/Aims A revised classification system for renal dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis was proposed by the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative and the International Ascites Club Working Group in 2011. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of renal dysfunction according to the criteria in this proposal. Methods The medical records of cirrhotic patients who were admitted to Konkuk University Hospital between 2006 and 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. The data obtained at first admission were collected. Acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) were defined using the proposed diagnostic criteria of kidney dysfunction in cirrhosis. Results Six hundred and forty-three patients were admitted, of whom 190 (29.5%), 273 (42.5%), and 180 (28.0%) were Child-Pugh class A, B, and C, respectively. Eighty-three patients (12.9%) were diagnosed with AKI, the most common cause for which was dehydration (30 patients). Three patients had hepatorenal syndrome type 1 and 26 patients had prerenal-type AKI caused by volume deficiency after variceal bleeding. In addition, 22 patients (3.4%) were diagnosed with CKD, 1 patient with hepatorenal syndrome type 2, and 3 patients (0.5%) with AKI on CKD. Conclusions Both AKI and CKD are common among hospitalized cirrhotic patients, and often occur simultaneously (16.8%). The most common type of renal dysfunction was AKI (12.9%). Diagnosis of type 2 hepatorenal syndrome remains difficult. A prospective cohort study is warranted to evaluate the clinical course in cirrhotic patients with renal dysfunction.
Development of a Human Whole Blood Screening Platform to Monitor JAK/STAT Signaling Using High-Throughput Flow Cytometry

Oral agents targeting Janus-associated kinases (JAKs) are promising new agents in clinical development. To better understand the relationship between JAK inhibition and biological outcome, compounds targeting JAKs were evaluated in peripheral human whole blood. To date, these analyses are low throughput and costly. Here, we developed a robust 384-well, high-throughput flow-based assay approach to screen small molecules for JAK/STAT signaling inhibition in human whole blood. This assay platform provides a highly sensitive analysis of signaling events in blood and facilitates measurement of target engagement. Further, the automation technologies and process optimizations developed here overcame sample integrity, handling, and multiparametric data analysis bottlenecks without affecting assay performance. Together these efforts dramatically increased sample throughput compared to conventional manual flow cytometric approaches and enabled development of novel JAK/STAT inhibitors.
Measure for Measure

How do proficiency-based accountability systems affect inequality in academic achievement? This article reconciles mixed findings in the literature by demonstrating that three factors jointly determine accountability’s impact. First, by analyzing student-level data from a large urban school district, we find that when educators face accountability pressure, they focus attention on students closest to proficiency. We refer to this practice as educational triage and show that the difficulty of the proficiency standard affects whether lower or higher performing students gain most on high-stakes tests used to evaluate schools. Less difficult proficiency standards decrease inequality in high-stakes achievement, while more difficult standards increase it. Second, we show that educators emphasize test-specific skills with students near proficiency, a practice we refer to as instructional triage. As a result, the effects of accountability pressure differ across high- and low-stakes tests; we find no effects on inequality in low-stakes reading and math tests of similar skills. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that instructional triage is most pronounced in the lowest performing schools. We conclude by discussing how these findings shape our understanding of accountability’s effects on educational inequality.
The Limited Capacity of Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation

Sleep supports memory consolidation. However, the conceptually important influence of the amount of items encoded in a memory test on this effect has not been investigated. In two experiments, participants (n = 101) learned lists of word-pairs varying in length (40, 160, 320 word-pairs) in the evening before a night of sleep (sleep group) or of sleep deprivation (wake group). After 36 h (including a night allowing recovery sleep) retrieval was tested. Compared with wakefulness, post-learning sleep enhanced retention for the 160 word-pair condition (p < 0.01), importantly, this effect completely vanished for the 320 word-pair condition. This result indicates a limited capacity for sleep-dependent memory consolidation, which is consistent with an active system consolidation view on sleep’s role for memory, if it is complemented by processes of active forgetting and/or gist abstraction. Whereas the absolute benefit from sleep should have increased with increasing amounts of successfully encoded items, if sleep only passively protected memory from interference. Moreover, the finding that retention performance was significantly diminished for the 320 word-pair condition compared to the 160 word-pair condition in the sleep group, makes it tempting to speculate that with increasing loads of information encoded during wakefulness, sleep might favor processes of forgetting over consolidation.
The Role of Schools in Building the Resilience of Youth Faced with Adversity

This study explored factors related to risk, resilience and health amongst South African teenagers. Grade nine students (N = 472; males = 210, females = 262, age range = 12 to 18 years) at seven schools in the Western Cape participated in the study. The California Healthy Kids Survey, which includes risk and resilience modules, was utilized. Focus group interviews were also conducted with the students to determine their needs and support at school. Questionnaires relating to the health promoting schools framework were administered to teachers. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were employed. The results indicated that the students were engaged in a variety of risk behaviors that threatened their well-being and that their external and internal assets were limited. A multi-faceted approach to reducing risk and enhancing resilience, involving family, peer, school and community support within a health promoting schools framework, is advocated.
PROPUESTAS CONCEPTUALES EN TORNO A LA COMPETENCIA PROFESIONAL

El presente articulo trata de una serie de propuestas conceptuales en torno a la competencia profesional. Inicialmente partimos del significado de la competencia, atendiendo a los diferentes aspectos que se consideran en su definicion, haciendo especial enfasis en la confusion terminologica que puede constatarse en una detallada revision de la literatura. A continuacion, hacemos hincapie en los enfoques o aproximaciones que delimitan el concepto y que nos hacen percibir que el sentido de la competencia profesional ha evolucionado en el tiempo y en el espacio a la vez que manifiesta matices cuando nos encontramos en el terreno pedagogico. En tercer lugar, presentamos algunos modelos teoricos y/o practicos de caracter explicativo que nos presentan algunos autores desde diferentes perspectivas. Finalmente, ofrecemos la relacion de la competencia profesional con otros conceptos asociados que han tenido y tienen especial relevancia en el terreno de la formacion para el empleo: capacidad y cualificacion. Para todo ello, en todo momento, aportamos nuestra vision, que justifica la presente aportacion desde la perspectiva de las propuestas conceptuales.
Ethnicity and incidence of congenital hypothyroidism in the capital of Macedonia

Abstract Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a common and preventable cause of intellectual disability for which early diagnosis is difficult without newborn screening. Genetic and environmental factors, race, ethnicity, sex, and pregnancy outcomes were noted as risk factors. In the study we aimed to determine the incidence of CH among different ethnic groups in the capital of Macedoina – a multiethnic city. Methods: A 14-year retrospective cohort analysis was performed on 121,507 newborns in the capital of Macedonia, Skopje, screened for whole-blood thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), in dry blood spots collected 48–72 h after birth, during the period 2002–2015. A TSH value of 15 mIU/L was used as cutoff point until 2010 and 10 mIU/L thereafter. Results: Primary CH was detected in 46 newborns (female to male ratio 1.3) with overall incidence of 3.8/10,000 (1/2641). The incidence of primary CH was significantly increased after lowering the TSH cutoff value (p=0.038), primarily due to detected neonates with transient CH for this period. Ethnic differences in the incidence of primary CH were detected. CH incidence among Roma neonates (6.7/10,000) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the incidence detected in Macedonians (3.9/10,000) or Albanians (3.7/10,000). Conclusions: Increased incidence of CH in Roma newborns was detected as compared to other ethnicities in the capital of Macedonia. Further analysis of factors in direct interrelationship with the increased CH incidence in Roma newborns, as well as elucidation of impact of the CH incidence in this ethnicity on the overall incidence in Skopje, is warranted.
Beclin 1 overexpression inhibits chondrocyte apoptosis and downregulates extracellular matrix metabolism in osteoarthritis

In the present study, the expression of Beclin 1 in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage tissue was investigated, and also its role in proliferation, apoptosis and expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in chondrocytes obtained from patients with OA. Beclin 1 expression in cartilage tissue from OA patients, and in the age- and sex-matched controls, was detected by immunohistochemistry, semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Chondrocytes were divided into control and Beclin 1-overexpressed groups. After transfection for 48, 72 and 96 h, cell viability, apoptosis, the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway and MMPs were examined. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Beclin 1 were significantly decreased in cartilage tissue from OA patients compared with the sex- and age-matched controls (P<0.05). In chondrocytes from OA patients, Beclin 1 overexpression significantly increased cell viability (P<0.05). Beclin 1 overexpression additionally decreased the degree of apoptosis, as demonstrated by Hoechst staining and flow cytometric analysis. B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) was upregulated, and Bcl-2 associated X was downregulated, following Beclin 1 overexpression (P<0.05). The PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was mitigated following Beclin 1 overexpression (P<0.05). In addition, MMP1, MMP3 and MMP13 were downregulated after Beclin 1 overexpression (P<0.05). Taken together, low expression levels of Beclin 1 may contribute towards the degeneration of chondrocytes. Beclin 1 overexpression increased cell viability, inhibited apoptosis and MMPs, likely via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.
New Technique for Reconstructing the Affected Cranium and Orbital Rim in Unicoronal Craniosynostosis

Of the single-suture craniosynostoses, unicoronal synostosis (UCS) is widely acknowledged to represent the most varied and complex set of craniofacial deformities. This is attributed to the endocranial base being affected along with the coronal suture. This deformity may present with both coronal and frontosphenoidal synostosis and has been associated with elevated intracranial pressure; brain morphological abnormalities; vertical dystopia; ambylopia; malformations of the forehead, orbit, midface, and mandible; and behavioral, cognitive, and speech abnormalities. It is the variable structural presentation coupled with the long-term stability of the reconstruction that forms a complex reconstructive challenge. Our surgical technique concordantly addresses these associated structures beyond the isolated coronal suture. Although several surgical techniques have previously been described, there remains no consensus toward a preferred surgical approach to this dynamic and three-dimensional problem. We describe our technique of coronal and frontosphenoidal synostosis release as part of a frontotemporoparietal bone flap, release of the entire fronto-orbital rim, and use of the unaffected skull to reconstruct the affected half of the skull. The purpose of our study was to describe our surgical approach to UCS. It has been our experience that optimal correction of UCS must address the associated anomalies beyond the affected coronal suture and must be stable over time.
Ethnic Discrimination and Interstate Violence: Testing the International Impact of Domestic Behavior

It has been shown in the work of Ted Gurr and others that ethnic discrimination can lead to ethno-political rebellion, and that rebellion often leads to interstate conflict. The authors seek to discover whether rebellion is the only meaningful link between ethnic discrimination and international violence. Many scholars have argued that a domestic environment of inequality and violence results in a greater likelihood of state use of violence internationally. This argument is most fully developed within feminist literature; however, research in the area of ethno-political conflict has also highlighted the negative impact of domestic discrimination on state behavior at the international level. The analysis builds upon the literature linking domestic gender inequality and state aggression to other inequalities created and/or sustained by the state. Using the Minorities at Risk (MAR) and Militarized Interstate Disputes (MID) datasets, the authors test whether states characterized by higher levels of discrimination against ethnic minorities are more likely to exhibit higher levels of hostility or to use force first when involved in international disputes. Group-level data in MAR are used to create a set of state-level variables measuring the extent of formal and informal discrimination against minority groups. The authors then test whether states with higher levels of discrimination against minority groups are more likely to rely on force when involved in an international dispute, controlling for other possible causes of state use of force. Ultimately, the authors confirm their hypotheses that states characterized by domestic inequality with regard to ethnic minorities are more likely to exhibit higher levels of hostility and to use force first when involved in an interstate conflict.
Outcomes of nasal bridling to secure enteral tubes in burn patients.

BACKGROUND Reliable securement of nasally inserted enteral tubes is a problem in patients with facial burns that make use of traditional adhesive tape ineffective. OBJECTIVE To implement the nasal bridle as a way to decrease inadvertent removal of nasally inserted enteral tubes and improve subsequent patient outcomes. METHODS The nasal bridle was implemented in the burn unit of the University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas, as a quality improvement project. Outcomes for the calendar year 2010 were measured in patients treated before use of the bridle (prebridle control group) and in patients for whom the bridle was used. The groups were compared on measures of tube insertions per tube day, abdominal radiographs per tube day, and a number of complications. RESULTS A total of 50 patients were studied: 33 in the control group and 17 in the bridle group. Baseline characteristics of age and sex did not differ between the groups. The bridle group had significantly fewer tube insertions and abdominal radiographs per tube day than the control group. Although complications were generally less common in the bridle group, the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS In burn patients, use of a nasal bridle to secure nasally inserted tubes had clinical advantages over securement with traditional adhesive tape.
The relationship between African traditional cosmology and students’ acquisition of a science process skill

Abstract The significance of the process skill of observation cannot be overemphasized in the teaching and learning of school science to which the provision of explanations about natural phenomena in the world is central. The study investigated the supposition that observational skills can be influenced by students’ belief in traditional African cosmology, beliefs and superstitions. Data were collected from 319 pre‐degree science students from one of the Nigerian universities using the Traditional Cosmology Test (TCT) and the Test of Observational Skills (TOS). The results showed that students with a high level of belief in African traditional cosmology, made significantly fewer correct observations (p < 0.001) in comparison with those with a low level of belief. There is a strong possibility, as interviews with a random selection of subjects show, that traditional cosmology could have been a major factor responsible for this performance difference in observation. The results of the study have significant.
Screening HIV-Infected Patients with Low CD4 Counts for Cryptococcal Antigenemia prior to Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy: Cost Effectiveness of Alternative Screening Strategies in South Africa

Background In 2015 South Africa established a national cryptococcal antigenemia (CrAg) screening policy targeted at HIV-infected patients with CD4+ T-lymphocyte (CD4) counts <100 cells/ μl who are not yet on antiretroviral treatment (ART). Two screening strategies are included in national guidelines: reflex screening, where a CrAg test is performed on remnant blood samples from CD4 testing; and provider-initiated screening, where providers order a CrAg test after a patient returns for CD4 test results. The objective of this study was to compare costs and effectiveness of these two screening strategies. Methods We developed a decision analytic model to compare reflex and provider-initiated screening in terms of programmatic and health outcomes (number screened, number identified for preemptive treatment, lives saved, and discounted years of life saved) and screening and treatment costs (2015 USD). We estimated a base case with prevalence and other parameters based on data collected during CrAg screening pilot projects integrated into routine HIV care in Gauteng, Free State, and Western Cape Provinces. We conducted sensitivity analyses to explore how results change with underlying parameter assumptions. Results In the base case, for each 100,000 CD4 tests, the reflex strategy compared to the provider-initiated strategy has higher screening costs ($37,536 higher) but lower treatment costs ($55,165 lower), so overall costs of screening and treatment are $17,629 less with the reflex strategy. The reflex strategy saves more lives (30 lives, 647 additional years of life saved). Sensitivity analyses suggest that reflex screening dominates provider-initiated screening (lower total costs and more lives saved) or saves additional lives for small additional costs (< $125 per life year) across a wide range of conditions (CrAg prevalence, patient and provider behavior, patient survival without treatment, and effectiveness of preemptive fluconazole treatment). Conclusions In countries with substantial numbers of people with untreated, advanced HIV disease such as South Africa, CrAg screening before initiation of ART has the potential to reduce cryptococcal meningitis and save lives. Reflex screening compared to provider-initiated screening saves more lives and is likely to be cost saving or have low additional costs per additional year of life saved.
Expression and Characterization of HA1 Protein of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus for Use in a Serodiagnostic Assay

The hemagglutinin ectodomain (HA1 subunit) from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) isolate (A/chicken/Vietnam/14/2005) was cloned and expressed using a baculovirus expression vector. Biosynthesis, glycosylation and secretion of the HA1 proteins, with natural or a melittin signal peptide at the N-terminus and a six-histidine (6xHis) tag at the C-terminus, were examined in insect cells. A 40-kDa unglycosylated precursor and a fully processed, mature form of the HA1 protein migrated around 52 kDa were detected by SDS-PAGE and confirmed by Western blot using H5N1-specific antibody. Treatment of tunicamycin and peptide-N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) further revealed that the recombinant HA1 proteins produced in insect cells were indeed glycosylated with N-linked oligosaccharide side chains. Time-course experiments showed that substitution of the HA natural sequence with the signal sequence from honeybee melittin promoted a high level of expression and efficient secretion of the HA1. A high yield, 37 μg/ml, of HA1 protein was obtained from recombinant baculovirus-infected cell culture supernatant. In addition, the cell surface expression of rHA1 was detected by indirect immunofluorescent staining and showed biological activity on hemadsorption assays. Recombinant HA1 protein-based ELISA was evaluated and appeared to be sensitive and specific for the rapid detection of H5 subtype-specific antibodies in serum samples. No cross-reactivity to antibodies from 15 other influenza A subtypes was detected. Taken together, the newly developed recombinant HA1-based ELISA could offer an alternative to other diagnostic approaches for the specific detection of H5 avian influenza virus infection.