Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Self–Confident Behaviour with Implicit and Explicit Self–Esteem Measures

The present research compared the validity of popular direct and indirect measures of self–esteem in predicting self–confident behaviour in different social situations. In line with behavioural dual–process models, both implicit and explicit self–esteem were hypothesized to be related to appearing self–confident to unacquainted others. A total of 127 participants responded to the Rosenberg Self–Esteem Scale, the Multidimensional Self–Esteem Scale, and an adjective scale for measuring explicit self–esteem (ESE). Participants‘ implicit self–esteem (ISE) was assessed with four indirect measures: the Implicit Association Test (IAT), the name–letter task (NLT), and two variants of an affective priming task, the reaction–time affective priming task (RT–APT) and the error–based affective priming task (EB–APT). Self–confident behaviour was observed in four different social situations: (i) self–introduction to a group; (ii) an ostracism experience; (iii) an interview about the ostracism experience; and (iv) an interview about one's personal life. In general, appearing self–confident to unknown others was independently predicted by ESE and ISE. The indirect measures of self–esteem were, as expected, not correlated, and only the self–esteem APTs—but not the self–esteem IAT or the NLT—predicted self–confident behaviours. It is important to note that in particular the predictive power of the self–esteem EB–APT pertained to all four criteria and was incremental to the ESE measures. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology
Deep Brain Stimulation Improves the Symptoms and Sensory Signs of Persistent Central Neuropathic Pain from Spinal Cord Injury: A Case Report

Central neuropathic pain (CNP) is a significant problem after spinal cord injury (SCI). Pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches may reduce the severity, but relief is rarely substantial. While deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used to treat various chronic pain types, the technique has rarely been used to attenuate CNP after SCI. Here we present the case of a 54-year-old female with incomplete paraplegia who had severe CNP in the lower limbs and buttock areas since her injury 30 years prior. She was treated with bilateral DBS of the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG). The effects of this stimulation on CNP characteristics, severity and pain-related sensory function were evaluated using the International SCI Pain Basic Data Set (ISCIPBDS), Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI), Multidimensional Pain Inventory and Quantitative Sensory Testing before and periodically after initiation of DBS. After starting DBS treatment, weekly CNP severity ratings rapidly decreased from severe to minimal, paralleled by a substantial reduction in size of the painful area, reduced pain impact and reversal of pain-related neurological abnormalities, i.e., dynamic-mechanical and cold allodynia. She discontinued pain medication on study week 24. The improvement has been consistent. The present study expands on previous findings by providing in-depth assessments of symptoms and signs associated with CNP. The results of this study suggest that activation of endogenous pain inhibitory systems linked to the PAG can eliminate CNP in some people with SCI. More research is needed to better-select appropriate candidates for this type of therapy. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the brainstem’s control of chronic pain and for future progress in using analgesic DBS in the central gray.
Investigating the effects of surgical approach on total hip arthroplasty recovery using 3D gait analysis

Postoperative gait analysis data was collected for 38 total hip arthroplasty (THA) subjects. In this preliminary study, the data for 10 THA subjects was used to determine significant kinematic and kinetic variables highlighting the differences between (i) lateral and posterior approach to surgery (ii) difference between operated and non-operated leg for each subject. The variables presented include frontal hip moments, sagittal range of motion of the hip and pelvis measured during gait, and pelvic obliquity measured from a Trendelenburg test. Moments acting in the frontal plane about the hip joint were found to be lower for the lateral approach group indicating abductor muscle weakness. Sagittal range of motion was found to be significant in the comparison between the operative and non-operative leg for the lateral approach. From this preliminary analysis the lateral approach group exhibited lower stability of their affected hip than the posterior group. The posterior group exhibited range of motion similar to their non– operative leg. This study is not conclusive and analysis of the remaining gait data is required. Although statistically significant results were not determined through the comparison of the two approaches, the findings are similar to those of other studies. Since this is a multivariate problem, a more sophisticated analysis using objective classification techniques may reveal further differences. Keywords-Total Hip Arthroplasty; Gait Analysis; Surgical approach; Kinematics; Kinetics
Developmental expression and functional characterization of the potassium-channel subunit Kv3.1b in parvalbumin-containing interneurons of the rat hippocampus

The expression of the voltage-gated K(+)-channel subunit Kv3.1b in the developing hippocampus was determined by immunoblot and immunohistochemical techniques. Kv3.1b protein was detected first at postnatal day (P) 8. The Kv3.1b-immunopositive cell number per tissue section reached a maximum at P14 and was maintained through P40. In contrast, the Kv3.1b protein content of isolated membrane vesicles in immunoblots progressively increased through P40, suggesting an increase in Kv3.1b content per cell throughout this time period. Kv3.1b protein was expressed selectively in the somata, proximal dendrites, and axons of cells lying within or near the pyramidal cell layer, consistent with their being GABAergic inhibitory interneurons. Kv3.1b was present in approximately 80% of parvalbumin-positive interneurons. The developmental onset of Kv3.1b and parvalbumin immunoreactivity was identical. In contrast, Kv3.1b was mostly absent from the subset of somatostatin-positive inhibitory interneurons. Electrophysiological recordings were made from stratum pyramidale interneurons in which morphology and Kv3.1b-positive immunoreactivity were confirmed post hoc. Outward currents had voltage-dependent and biophysical properties resembling those of channels formed by Kv3.1b. The current blocked by low concentrations of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) showed marked inactivation, suggesting that Kv3.1b may coassemble with other members of the Kv3 subfamily. In current-clamp recordings, concentrations of 4-AP that blocked the current through Kv3.1b channels allowed us tentatively to assign a role to Kv3.1b-containing channels in action-potential repolarization. These data demonstrate that Kv3.1b is regulated developmentally in a specific subpopulation of hippocampal interneurons and that channels containing this subunit may be a major determinant in imparting "fast-spiking" characteristics to these and other cells throughout the central nervous system containing the Kv3.1b subunit.
Endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis in the penumbra aggravates secondary damage in rats with traumatic brain injury

Neuronal apoptosis is mediated by intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways such as the membrane-mediated, mitochondrial, and endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways. Few studies have examined the endoplasmic reticulum-mediated apoptosis pathway in the penumbra after traumatic brain injury, and it remains unclear whether endoplasmic reticulum stress can activate the caspase-12-dependent apoptotic pathway in the traumatic penumbra. Here, we established rat models of fluid percussion-induced traumatic brain injury and found that protein expression of caspase-12, caspase-3 and the endoplasmic reticulum stress marker 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein increased in the traumatic penumbra 6 hours after injury and peaked at 24 hours. Furthermore, numbers of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling-positive cells in the traumatic penumbra also reached peak levels 24 hours after injury. These findings suggest that caspase-12-mediated endoplasmic reticulum-related apoptosis is activated in the traumatic penumbra, and may play an important role in the pathophysiology of secondary brain injury.
Comparison of the Effectiveness of Monitoring Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity with Extended High-Frequency Pure-Tone Audiometry or Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emission

Background and Objectives To compare the effectiveness of monitoring cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in adult patients using extended high-frequency pure-tone audiometry (EHF-PTA) or distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DP-OAE) and to evaluate the concurrence of ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity in cisplatin-treated patients. Subjects and Methods EHF-PTA was measured at frequencies of 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11.2, 12.5, 14, 16, 18, and 20 kHz and DP-OAE at frequencies of 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz in cisplatin-treated patients (n=10). Baseline evaluations were made immediately before chemotherapy and additional tests were performed before each of six cycles of cisplatin treatment. Laboratory tests to monitor nephrotoxicity were included before every cycle of chemotherapy. Results Four of 10 patients showed threshold changes on EHF-PTA. Five of 10 patients showed reductions in DP-OAE, but one was a false-positive result. The results of EHF-PTA and DP-OAE were consistent in two patients. Only one patient displayed nephrotoxicity on laboratory tests after the third cycle. Conclusions In our study, the incidence rate of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity was 40% with EHF-PTA or DP-OAE. Although both EHF-PTA and DP-OAE showed the same sensitivity in detecting ototoxicity, they did not produce the same results in all patients. These two hearing tests could be used to complement one another. Clinicians should use both tests simultaneously in every cycle of chemotherapy to ensure the detection of ototoxicity.
An evaluation of the performance of two binaural beamformers in complex and dynamic multitalker environments

Abstract Objective: Binaural beamformers are super-directional hearing aids created by combining microphone outputs from each side of the head. While they offer substantial improvements in SNR over conventional directional hearing aids, the benefits (and possible limitations) of these devices in realistic, complex listening situations have not yet been fully explored. In this study we evaluated the performance of two experimental binaural beamformers. Design: Testing was carried out using a horizontal loudspeaker array. Background noise was created using recorded conversations. Performance measures included speech intelligibility, localization in noise, acceptable noise level, subjective ratings, and a novel dynamic speech intelligibility measure. Study sample: Participants were 27 listeners with bilateral hearing loss, fitted with BTE prototypes that could be switched between conventional directional or binaural beamformer microphone modes. Results: Relative to the conventional directional microphones, both binaural beamformer modes were generally superior for tasks involving fixed frontal targets, but not always for situations involving dynamic target locations. Conclusions: Binaural beamformers show promise for enhancing listening in complex situations when the location of the source of interest is predictable.
Entropic stability beyond partial hyperbolicity

We analyze a class of deformations of Anosov diffeomorphisms: these $C^0$-small, but $C^1$-macroscopic deformations break the topological conjugacy class but leave the high entropy dynamics unchanged. More precisely, there is a partial conjugacy between the deformation and the original Anosov system that identifies all invariant probability measures with entropy close to the maximum. We also establish expansiveness around those measures. This class of deformations contains many of the known nonhyperbolic robustly transitive diffeomorphisms. In particular, we show that it includes a class of nonpartially hyperbolic, robustly transitive diffeomorphisms described by Bonatti and Viana.
Induced sputum evaluation in microwave popcorn production workers.

OBJECTIVE Severe airways obstruction and bronchiolitis obliterans have been reported in microwave popcorn production workers and attributed to inhalation of flavoring agents. We investigated whether exposure to flavoring agents is associated with airways inflammation in popcorn production workers. METHODS Fifty-nine workers with high exposures and 22 patients with low exposures to flavoring vapors completed a questionnaire, spirometry, and sputum induction. Sputum cell counts were categorized as "high" if greater than (and "low" if less than or equal to) the median cell counts of a healthy external control group (n = 24). We compared high- and low-exposure groups as well as all workers with control subjects. RESULTS Neutrophil concentrations in nonsmoking workers were significantly higher than those of the healthy nonsmoking control group (p < 0.05). The smoking-adjusted odds ratio for high neutrophil count (> 1.63 x 10(5)/mL) was 3.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 11.5) in the high-exposure group compared with the low-exposure group. Sputum interleukin-8 and eosinophil cationic protein levels were higher in high-exposure workers than in low-exposure workers (p < 0.05). For the worker group, mean values of FEV1 percentage of predicted and FEV1/FVC percentage of predicted were > 95%. There were no relationships between sputum characteristics and the presence of airways obstruction. CONCLUSIONS High exposure to popcorn flavoring agents is associated with neutrophilic airway inflammation in popcorn production workers. These data provide further evidence that popcorn production workers face a significant occupational hazard through exposure to flavoring agents.
The impact of geocoding method on the positional accuracy of residential burglaries reported to police

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to better understand the variability in burglary geocoding positional accuracy between United States Census Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)-based street geocoding and results produced using reference data made publicly available by Google. Design/methodology/approach This research compares the Euclidian distance between ground-truthed burglaries and results produced using two different geocoding reference data sets: TIGER-based street geocoding and publicly available data within Google Earth. T-tests and z-tests are used to discern whether positional errors are statistically significant. Findings Both within suburban and urban jurisdictions, Google outperformed street geocoding in terms of positional accuracy. Positional errors on average were 1/4th as large for Google in a suburban setting and 1/5th as large in an urban setting compared to street geocoding. Practical implications Police departments that are relying on street geocoding techniques may achieve improved spatial precision by using Google’s reference data if they contain parcel-level information. Moreover, relying on less precise spatial referencing methods may place burglaries in locations where the events do not actually occur or cluster. Originality/value This is the first analysis of law enforcement data to examine the positional accuracy of geocoded offense data using Google Earth compared to the commonly used street geocoding method of interpolation.
Growth and Nutrient Status of Foliage as Affected by Tree Species and Fertilization in a Fire-Disturbed Urban Forest

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the growth and macronutrient (C, N, P, K) status in the foliage of four tree species (LT: Liriodendron tulipifera L.; PY: Prunus yedoensis Matsumura; QA: Quercus acutissima Carruth; PT: Pinus thunbergii Parl.) in response to fertilization with different nutrient ratios in a fire-disturbed urban forest located in BongDaesan (Mt.), Korea. Two fertilizers (N3P8K1 = 113:300:37 kg·ha−1·year−1; N6P4K1 = 226:150:37 ha−1·year−1) in four planting sites were applied in April 2013 and March 2014. The growth and nutrient responses of the foliage were monitored six times for two years. Foliar growth and nutrient concentrations were not significantly different (p > 0.05) in response to different doses of N or P fertilizer, but the foliage showed increased N and P concentrations and content after fertilization compared with the control (N0P0K0). Foliar C and K concentrations were little affected by fertilization. Foliar nutrient concentrations and contents were significantly higher in PY and LT than in PT. The results suggest that the foliar N and P concentration could be used as a parameter to assess the nutrient environments of tree species restored in a fire-disturbed urban forest.
Jamu brand Indonesia: consumer preferences and segmentation

Indonesia is one of the countries that develop traditional herbal medicine, which is called Jamu . However, Jamu is consumed by the poor. Meanwhile, the rich prefer to use modern health treatment. In addition, there is no sufficient confident of people to consume Jamu as their main medical treatment. Hence, identification of potential consumer of Jamu from demographic characteristics and exploration of consumer preferences of Jamu according to the market segments in Indonesia is important for herbal medicine industry to develop a consumer-based marketing strategy. Cramer’s V-test statistical test was used for the analysis of 183 data survey. The findings are consumers of Jamu assumed that Jamu is cheap, easy to obtain, have no side effects, natural, and safe to be consumed. But, they considered herbs as an alternative medicine or therapy, and even as the last resort. Jamu is potential to be developed by product and pricing differentiation, and packaged as a product that emphasizes value with halal certification. In addition, the classification of Jamu as Phytopharmacy has not affected consumer purchasing decisions as it has not been included in the health care system. For middle up segments, Jamu needs a strong brand using English language and required medical professionals as an advisor.
DNA repair in lymphoblastoid cell lines from patients with head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVE To analyze and compare components of the 3 primary DNA repair pathways of Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphocyte (lymphoblastoid) cell lines derived from 9 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and 11 cancer-free controls. These cell lines were previously characterized by using an established cytogenetic marker of cancer susceptibility (mutagen sensitivity assay). DESIGN To evaluate nucleotide excision repair (NER), we measured the reactivation level of a tobacco carcinogen-damaged plasmid containing a bacterial reporter gene transfected into these cells. To assess mismatch repair (MMR) and recombinational repair, selected gene transcript levels were quantified by using a multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay. The results of these DNA repair assays were correlated with the previously measured mutagen sensitivity values. RESULTS The NER capacities of the 2 groups were similar: 25.1% (range, 14.3%-33.3%) for the patient cell lines and 26.0% (range, 9.4%-47.7%) for the control lines. Transcriptase levels for 6 MMR genes (hMSH3, hMSH2, hPMS2, GTBP, hMLH1 and hPMS1) did not differ in the 2 groups. Transcript levels for 4 of 6 recombinational repair genes (XRCC7, XRCC6, XRCC1, and RAD51) were higher in the patient cell lines, though this difference was significant only for XRCC7 (P = .003). The mutagen sensitivity values correlated with the NER capacity (P = .05) and the expression of XRCC4 (P = .01) and RAD51 (P = .06) genes. CONCLUSIONS As revealed by the above-named assays, these lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from patients with head and neck cancer had minor alterations in DNA repair function. However, these differences in DNA repair do appear to affect the cytogenetic marker of cancer susceptibility, mutagen sensitivity.
Beyond General Intelligence (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ): The Role of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) on Cross‐Border Leadership Effectiveness in a Globalized World

Emphasizing the importance of cross-border effectiveness in the contemporary globalized world, we propose that cultural intelligence—the leadership capability to manage effectively in culturally diverse settings—is a critical leadership competency for those with cross-border responsibilities. We tested this hypothesis with multisource data, including multiple intelligences, in a sample of 126 Swiss military officers with both domestic and cross-border leadership responsibilities. Results supported our predictions: (1) general intelligence predicted both domestic and cross-border leadership effectiveness; (2) emotional intelligence was a stronger predictor of domestic leadership effectiveness, and (3) cultural intelligence was a stronger predictor of cross-border leadership effectiveness. Overall, results show the value of cultural intelligence as a critical leadership competency in today's globalized world.
Gender Differences in Attitudes to Learning Science in Grade 7

Learners’ attitude to learning science plays a vitally important role with respect to career choices. This study reflects on the nature of the learners’ attitude towards science and the effect of gender. A total of 547 Grade 7 learners from an urban district of Gauteng Province (South Africa) were administered a questionnaire to probe their attitudes and interests in learning science. The questionnaire itself was a modified version of an extant questionnaire, consisting of 15 questions. Learners were requested to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement to each of the questionnaire item, on a five-point Likert-type scale of evaluation. The results were analysed in terms of the A (affection), B (behaviour) and C (cognition) model of attitudes. The results reflect positivity on many items of the questionnaire in the learning of science for all three components of attitude. On the issue of gender differentials, there appears to be no significant difference in attitude between Grade 7 boys and girls towards learning science from a South African perspective. In terms of subject preference, boys were more inclined to study physics and chemistry, while girls had a higher preference for biology and astronomy. However, the need for a dedicated laboratory to conduct experiments for the purposes of conceptual development was identified as a priority by the learners.