Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Candidate gene association study for diabetic retinopathy in persons with type 2 diabetes: the Candidate gene Association Resource (CARe).

PURPOSE To investigate whether variants in cardiovascular candidate genes, some of which have been previously associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and diabetic nephropathy (DN), are associated with DR in the Candidate gene Association Resource (CARe). METHODS Persons with T2D who were enrolled in the study (n = 2691) had fundus photography and genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 2000 candidate genes. Two case definitions were investigated: Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) grades ≥ 14 and ≥ 30. The χ² analyses for each CARe cohort were combined by Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel (CMH) pooling of odds ratios (ORs) and corrected for multiple hypothesis testing. Logistic regression was performed with adjustment for other DR risk factors. Results from replication in independent cohorts were analyzed with CMH meta-analysis methods. RESULTS Among 39 genes previously associated with DR, DN, or T2D, three SNPs in P-selectin (SELP) were associated with DR. The strongest association was to rs6128 (OR = 0.43, P = 0.0001, after Bonferroni correction). These associations remained significant after adjustment for DR risk factors. Among other genes examined, several variants were associated with DR with significant P values, including rs6856425 tagging α-l-iduronidase (IDUA) (P = 2.1 × 10(-5), after Bonferroni correction). However, replication in independent cohorts did not reveal study-wide significant effects. The P values after replication were 0.55 and 0.10 for rs6128 and rs6856425, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Genes associated with DN, T2D, and vascular diseases do not appear to be consistently associated with DR. A few genetic variants associated with DR, particularly those in SELP and near IDUA, should be investigated in additional DR cohorts.
Redundant manipulator techniques for partially decentralized path planning and control of a platoon of autonomous vehicles

An approach to real-time trajectory generation for platoons of autonomous vehicles is developed from well-known control techniques for redundant robotic manipulators. The partially decentralized structure of this approach permits each vehicle to independently compute its trajectory in real-time using only locally generated information and low-bandwidth feedback generated by a system exogenous to the platoon. Our work is motivated by applications for which communications bandwidth is severely limited, such for platoons of autonomous underwater vehicles. The communication requirements for our trajectory generation approach are independent of the number of vehicles in the platoon, enabling platoons composed of a large number of vehicles to be coordinated despite limited communication bandwidth.
The Role of Dehumanization in Attitudes Toward the Social Exclusion and Rehabilitation of Sex Offenders

We examined the role of dehumanization in people's attitudes toward the rehabilitation of sex offenders. In Study 1, the more participants dehumanized sex offenders, the less they supported their rehabilitation and the longer the sentences they recommended. In Study 2, the more participants dehumanized sex offenders, the more likely they were to support their exclusion from society. In Study 3, the more participants dehumanized sex offenders, the more they supported their violent ill treatment. In Study 4, within a sample of correctional staff, good quality contact with sex offenders was related to less dehumanization and more support for rehabilitation. Mediation analyses indicated that the relationship between quality of contact and support for rehabilitation was mediated via dehumanization.
On a non-argument for the Rhyme

Several researchers have recently argued on the basis of phenomena from speech errors and word games that a vowel (the syllable peak or nucleus) and the following syllable final consonant(s) group together to form a syllableinternal constituent termed 'Rhyme', while the syllable-initial consonant(s) forms a constituent termed 'Onset'. One type of evidence from speech errors that is often cited (e.g. MacKay, 1970; Fudge, I987) for the Rhyme comes from the observation that spoonerisms or sound transpositions frequently involve syllable-initial consonants. These errors are said to support the division of the syllable into Onset and Rhyme since such errors respect the cohesiveness of these proposed units. Additionally, Fudge (I987) cites speech error blends as support for the Onset-Rhyme division since these can involve the blending of the initial consonant(s) of one syllable with the remainder of another. Further evidence widely claimed to support the Onset-Rhyme division comes from work games, both naturally occurring and contrived. Fudge (I987) notes that the English game, Pig Latin, respects the integrity of Onset and Rhyme, while Treiman (I983, I985, I986) found that, in contrived word games in an experimental situation, subjects' responses normally respected the division of the syllable into Onset and Rhyme. In this paper, however, it is argued that the above-cited evidence from speech errors and word games actually does not support the division of the syllable into Onset and Rhyme. This is because such evidence is based on monosyllabic words. When polysyllabic words are considered, it becomes apparent that division is being made between the initial consonant(s) and the rest of the word, and not between the syllable-initial consonant(s) (Onset) and the remainder of the syllable (Rhyme). The apparent Onset-Rhyme division based on monosyllabic forms is just an instance of the division between the initial consonant(s) and the rest of the word. Thus the evidence from speech errors and word games as cited by researchers like MacKay
Attributional Focus as a Determinant of Information Selection

Summary An experiment tested the hypothesis that, in seeking a causal attribution for an observed effect, people prefer different types of information depending on their attributional focus. One hundred and fifty-two college Ss read brief descriptions of simple actions. Attributional focus was manipulated through instructions to determine either whether the effect was caused by something about the actor (person focus), something about the entity involved (object focus), or something about the particular circumstances (circumstance focus). Ss then selected from three types of information that most useful for arriving a t an attribution. The information types offered were distinctiveness (whether the actor behaved similarly toward other objects), consensus (whether other people behaved similarly toward the object mentioned), and consistency (whether the actor responded similarly to the object on past encounters). As predicted, Ss focused on the person preferred distinctiveness information, those focused on .
‘Waking Up The Sleeping Giant’: Change Management, Policy Transfer and the Search for Collaboration

This article is situated within the context of the rapidpace ofpublic-sector reform since the 1970s with a focus upon the development of collaborative synergies. Such change, initially stimulated by American management gurus, set forth an ideology to create ‘lean and athletic’ organisations for the modem world - Kanter (1989) referred to these transformations as ‘When Giants Learn to Dance’. Such management principles have since become embedded in the way that we think aboutpublic-sector management, and are embodied in New Labours modernisation and new localism approaches to local government restructuring and the subsequent search for collaborative advantage. Within this context, and using a case study based upon Newcastle City Council between 1997-2005, this article analyses the adoption of a package of measures and associated policy responses, referred to collectively as ‘Waking up the Sleeping Giant’ which emerged as a reaction to the historical governance trends of clientelism, paternalism and fragmentation, which had plagued the development of intra and inter organisational partnerships. This emphasis sought to turn the council into an ‘excellent’ performing local authority, and to create an organisation that learns, continually adapts and develops more permeable internal and external boundaries. It is argued that the adoption of radical overarching management strategies can have an unsettling effect on organisational arenas with implications for the success of current modernisation policy and the successful development of collaboration and partnership working.
Teachers' and prospective teachers' explanations of liquid‐state phenomena: A comparative study involving three European countries

As contact with liquids occurs from an early stage in individuals' lives, children construct explanations for liquids and liquid-state phenomena. These may differ from the accepted scientific ex- planations, interfere with formal teaching, and even persist until entry into higher education. The objective of this investigation is to compare student-teachers' and in-service science teachers' explanations for liquid-state phenomena, in three European countries. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire applied to 195 Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish in-service science teachers. Data analysis revealed poor performance among participants, showing low percentages of correct answers. In addition, no systematic differences were found between participants from the three countries, and teaching experience seems to minimize some of the conceptual difficulties showed by in-service teachers. Globally, science education seems to have had a limited effect on student-teachers' and in-service science teachers' conceptions. We conclude that more attention should be paid to the liquid state in both initial and continuing teacher education programs so that teachers can understand more clearly liquid-state phenomena and succeed in explaining them to their students. 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 349-374, 2007 Contact with materials in the liquid state (particularly with water) starts from an early age, so that, in their efforts to make sense of their environment, young children build up explanations for the nature and behavior of substances in the liquid state (henceforth addressed as ''liquids'') and liquid-state phenomena (e.g., dissolution). Because young children's conceptual repertory is limited and they can neither see particles nor observe their behavior, the explanations they construct rely heavily on the observable macroscopic appearance of the phenomena (Driver, 1985; Pozo & Gomez, 1998). A consequence of this is that when children go to school to initiate the formal learning of science, they already hold several alternative conceptions of features of liquids as well as of the behavior of liquid-state phenomena (Jones, Lynch, & Reesink, 1989; Russell,
Effect of paralytic type on time to post-intubation sedative use in the emergency department

Objective To determine the difference between rocuronium and succinylcholine with regard to post-intubation sedative initiation in the emergency department. Methds This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary care emergency department (ED) in the USA. Consecutive adult patients intubated in the ED using succinylcholine or rocuronium for paralysis were included. Data collected included patient demographics, vital signs, medications used post-intubation and times of drug administration. Patients were divided into two groups based on the type of paralytic used for rapid sequence intubation: (1) rocuronium or (2) succinylcholine. All patients received etomidate for induction of sedation. Time between intubation and post-intubation sedative use was compared between the two groups using an unpaired Student's t test. Main results A total of 200 patients were included in the final analyses (100 patients in each group). There were no significant differences between the groups with regard to patient demographics, vital signs or other baseline characteristics. After intubation, 77.5% (n=155) of patients were initiated on a sedative infusion of propofol (n=148) or midazolam (n=7). The remaining patients received sedation as bolus doses only. Mean time between intubation and post-intubation sedative use was significantly greater in the rocuronium group compared with the succinylcholine group (27 min vs 15 min, respectively; p<0.001). Conclusions Patients intubated with rocuronium had greater delays in post-intubation sedative initiation compared with succinylcholine.
Job insecurity in temporary versus permanent workers: Associations with attitudes, well-being, and behaviour

Abstract Recent research suggests that the relationship between job insecurity and psychological outcomes is more negative among permanent compared with temporary workers. We investigate possible interaction effects between job insecurity and type of contract (temporary versus permanent) for various psychological outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, life satisfaction, and self-rated performance), some of which have received little attention. We aim to explain these interaction effects, while taking into account the heterogeneous nature of temporary workers in terms of tenure, employment prospects, and wish to do temporary employment. We argue that permanent workers expect higher levels of job security; job insecurity breaches permanent workers’ but not temporary workers’ expectations. This may relate to unfavourable outcomes. Similarly, the heterogeneous nature of temporary workers may relate to job security expectations and thus to reactions to job insecurity. This study was conducted o.
Degradation of aniline in weihe riverbed sediments under denitrification conditions

Three groups of microcosm tests were conducted to study the possibility of aniline degradation and the effects of organic matter and hydrous metal oxides on the degradation in Weihe riverbed sediments under denitrification conditions. After the riverbed sediments (20 g) and groundwater (800 ml) were put into bottles, aniline, nitrate and other reagents were added, and then the bottles were flushed with N2 for 30 minutes to create microcosms. Samples from the microcosms were employed for the analysis of aniline, nitrate, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). In the first test group, the concentration of aniline remained unchanged when NaN3 (500 mg/L) was added. When there was no nitrate or NaN3, the concentration of aniline also remained unchanged, although COD declined. However, the concentration decreased when nitrate (50 mg/L) was added. Therefore, aniline can be biodegraded under denitrification conditions. In the second test group, when the concentration of nitrate reached 50 mg/L, 300 mg/L or 400 mg/L, either the external or internal organic matter or both of them in Weihe raw sediments inhibited aniline degradation. In the sediments where organic matter alone or organic matter plus hydrous metal oxides were removed, the organic matter still inhibited the degradation when the concentration of nitrate reached 300 mg/L or 400 mg/L, but the external organic matter could accelerate the degradation when the concentration of nitrate was 50 mg/L. The result of the third test group showed that hydrous metal oxides can accelerate degradation. By analyzing the mechanism of the aniline degradation, we conclude that aniline is degradable by microbes in their growth metabolism, in which deamination is involved.
Atopy, occupation and domestic work as risk factors for hand eczema in hospital workers

By means of a multivariate regression analysis, we have studied the importance of atopy, “wet” and “dry” occupations, and domestic work as risk factors for hand eczema. Hand eczema was identified by questionnaire. The studied cohort consisted of 2452 newly employed hospital workers with a median follow‐up lime of 20 months. Of the total cohort studied. 86% were female. The total occurrence of hand eczema in the 4 occupational groups studied were: nursing staff 41% kitchen workers/cleaners 37%, office workers 25% and caretakers craftsmen 17%.
Visual spatial attention in migraine sufferers in postictal and interictal phases: An event-related potential study.

Nine migrainers with (MWA; aged 18-36 yrs) and 10 without (MWOA; aged 21-36 yrs) aura as well as 10 controls (aged 19-28 yrs) from a female university were measured twice with an interval of 7 days. The first session of recordings and tests for migraineurs was held about 7 hours after a migraine attack. The authors hypothesized that electrophysiological changes in the posterior cerebral cortex related to visual spatial attention are influenced by the level of arousal in migraineurs with aura, and that this varies over the course of time. Event related potentials related to the active visual attention task manifested significant differences between controls and both types of migraine sufferers for the N200, suggesting a common pathophysiological mechanism for migraineurs. Furthermore, MWOAs showed a significant enhancement for the N200 at the second session, indicating the relevance of time of measurement within migraine studies. Finally, MWAs showed significantly enhanced P240 and P300 components at central and parietal cortical sites compared to MWOAs and controls, which seemed to be maintained over both sessions and could be indicative of increased noradrenergic activity in MWAs.
Influences of Early Career Experiences, Occupational Group, and National Culture on Proactive Career Behavior

Abstract We know little about the influences of individual, historical, and situational characteristics on young workers' proactive career behaviors. This study examined the effects of early career experiences, occupational group membership, and national culture on proactive career behaviors, including career planning, skill development, consultation, and networking. The study analyzed data from a longitudinal cross-national study on young workers from two occupational panels. The results confirmed the cultural dependence of proactive behaviors. Moreover, employment-related early career experiences showed a positive effect on proactive skill development and consultation behaviors. Periods of unemployment-inhibited proactive career planning and networking behaviors. Additional significant contributions to skill development and consultation behaviors were found to be associated with occupational group membership. Overall, a change in hierarchical position had a positive effect on proactive career behavior.
BSW and MSW Students' Perceptions of Their Academic Preparation for Group Work

ABSTRACT Over six hundred graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the field practicum at ten schools and programs of social work were surveyed to ascertain their views regarding their preparation for group work. Results indicated that while students generally felt prepared to run groups, most had received relatively little classroom preparation. Further, while respondents' views towards groups were generally favorable, a significant proportion did not anticipate running groups in their professional practice. Finally, students who had taken a course devoted exclusively to group work consistently exhibited more positive views towards groups, as did undergraduate students.
Airborne rabies transmission in a laboratory worker.

A 56-year-old man died of rabies 21 days after exposure to a "fixed" strain of rabies virus. Rabies virus was recovered from the brain by cultural techniques and demonstrated in neural tissue by electron microscopy. Infection apparently resulted from inhalation of an aerosol generated in a biological laboratory during the manufacture of animal rabies vaccine. The victim had received preexposure vaccination against rabies 13 years earlier but had not developed demonstrable serum antibodies.
Lung ageing and COPD: is there a role for ageing in abnormal tissue repair?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence, in particular in the elderly. COPD is characterised by abnormal tissue repair resulting in (small) airways disease and emphysema. There is accumulating evidence that ageing hallmarks are prominent features of COPD. These ageing hallmarks have been described in different subsets of COPD patients, in different lung compartments and also in a variety of cell types, and thus might contribute to different COPD phenotypes. A better understanding of the main differences and similarities between normal lung ageing and the pathology of COPD may improve our understanding of the mechanisms driving COPD pathology, in particular in those patients that develop the most severe form of COPD at a relatively young age, i.e. severe early-onset COPD patients. In this review, after introducing the main concepts of lung ageing and COPD pathology, we focus on the role of (abnormal) ageing in lung remodelling and repair in COPD. We discuss the current evidence for the involvement of ageing hallmarks in these pathological features of COPD. We also highlight potential novel treatment strategies and opportunities for future research based on our current knowledge of abnormal lung ageing in COPD. Several ageing hallmarks are present in COPD and indicate a role for (abnormal) ageing in tissue repair in COPD http://ow.ly/OLtW30gE3ct
An Integrated Model of Panic Disorder

Clinicians are shifting away from dualistic conceptions of mind and brain toward a view of psychiatric illnesses as involving interactions between biology, mind, and environment. Our understanding of panic disorder benefits from such an integrative analysis. We review genetic, neurochemical, and neuroimaging data on panic disorder, along with a series of biological and psychological models. We propose that separation and suffocation alarm systems cut across various models, and we suggest how biological, psychological, and environmental interactions can lead to panic onset and persistence. Separation and suffocation alarm systems may become sensitized due to environmental events, an inborn vulnerability, or both. These oversensitized systems create a vulnerability to environmental experiences of loss and intrusion and to frightening psychological experiences of separation and suffocation. In individuals with this vulnerability, angry feelings and fantasies, often unconscious, further intensify fears of loss of or intrusion by attachment figures, triggering separation and suffocation alarms and associated panic attacks. This model provides a basis for understanding how psychological and biological approaches affect different components of these interactive systems, leading to relief of panic symptoms. We discuss implications of this integrative model for current clinical practice and future research.
Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Rain

The three reactions in the September 2005 issue of The Counseling Psychologist provide a context for extending and deepening our understanding of key issues surrounding counseling psychology training programs. This rejoinder (a) comments on their reflections and suggestions, (b) offers a tabular summary of the suggestions made by the various contributors and discussants, and (c) concludes with the hope that this collection of articles and reactions will contribute to an ongoing process of development that will help ensure counseling psychology’s continued viability.