Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detecting and defusing cognitive traps: metacognitive intervention in schizophrenia

Purpose of review Until recently, psychological therapy for schizophrenia was considered harmful or inefficient by many clinicians. The reservation against psychotherapy is partly rooted in the assumption that delusions in particular and schizophrenia in general are not amenable to psychological understanding and represent ‘utter madness’. However, meta-analyses suggest that cognitive intervention is effective in ameliorating schizophrenia symptoms. In addition, evidence has accumulated that cognitive biases, such as jumping to conclusions, are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia positive symptoms, particularly delusions. A recently developed group program, called metacognitive training (MCT), is presented targeting these biases. MCT is a hybrid of psychoeducation, cognitive remediation and cognitive–behavioural therapy. Recent findings This review introduces new evidence on cognitive biases involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and demonstrates how the MCT raises the patients' (metacognitive) awareness to detect and defuse such ‘cognitive traps’. At the end, a new individualized variant entitled MCT+ is presented targeting individual delusional ideas. Finally, empirical results are summarized that speak in favour of the feasibility and efficacy of MCT. Summary Recent studies assert marked cognitive biases in schizophrenia. MCT has evolved as a feasible and effective complement of standard psychiatric treatment.
“What a Girl Wants, What a Girl Needs”: Responding to Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in the Early Childhood Classroom

Abstract This paper is based on data generated from a qualitative study of gender and sexuality in a kindergarten classroom. Postdevelopmental perspectives of sex, gender, and sexuality are used to show how young children are constructing gender and heterosexual discourses in the early childhood classroom. Drawing from feminist poststructuralism and queer theory, theoretical tools are used to examine children's play outside of development. Taking a postdevelopmental stance towards gender, sex, and sexuality enables the creation of proactive, rather than reactive, strategies for responding to young children's identity construction.
Effect of race on access to recombinant human erythropoietin in long-term hemodialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE To quantify access to recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) among patients with dialysis-dependent end-stage renal disease (ESRD). DESIGN National random sample of hemodialysis patients from a random sample of dialysis units, using data abstracted from patients' medical records. SETTING All US hemodialysis units. PARTICIPANTS A total of 4024 Medicare-entitled in-center hemodialysis patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The relative odds that black patients received EPO (compared with white patients). RESULTS There was no evidence in this national study that black hemodialysis patients were more or less likely to receive EPO than white patients (P = .74). CONCLUSIONS Three years after Food and Drug Administration approval and Medicare coverage of EPO, there was no evidence of racial disparity in access to EPO among Medicare patients with ESRD who were receiving long-term hemodialysis. However, there was evidence of greater need for EPO among black patients.
Understanding Technology Acceptance in Pre-Service Teachers: A Structural-Equation Modeling Approach

This study investigated a sample of pre-service teachers' (N=250) self-reported future intention to use technology. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as a framework to determine intentions to use computers. This study contributes to the growing number of studies on TAM by demonstrating that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), and attitude toward computer use (ATCU) are significant determinants of behavioral intention (BI). It also expanded TAM by including two variables: subjective norm (SN); and facilitating conditions (FC). Using structural equation modeling, there was a good model fit for both the measurement and structural models. Of the seven hypotheses, five were supported. No significant effects were found of SN on PU, and of ATCU on BI. Overall, the results of this study offer some evidence that TAM is effective in predicting pre-service teachers' technology acceptance.
Supraspinal Gβγ‐dependent stimulation of PLCβ3 originating from G inhibitory protein‐μ opioid receptor‐coupling is necessary for morphine induced acute hyperalgesia

Although alterations in μ‐opioid receptor (μOR) signaling mediate excitatory effects of opiates in opioid tolerance, the molecular mechanism for the excitatory effect of acute low dose morphine, as it relates to μOR coupling, is presently unknown. A pronounced coupling of μOR to the α subunit of G inhibitory protein emerged in periaqueductal gray (PAG) from mice systemically administered with morphine at a dose producing acute thermal hyperalgesia. This coupling was abolished in presence of the selective μOR antagonist d‐Phe–Cys–Tyr–d‐Trp–Orn–Thr–Pen–Thr–NH2 administered at the PAG site, showing that the low dose morphine effect is triggered by μOR activated G inhibitory protein at supraspinal level. When Gβγ downstream signalling was blocked by intra‐PAG co‐administration of 2‐(3,4,5‐trihydroxy‐6‐oxoxanthen‐9‐yl)cyclohexane‐1‐carboxylic acid, a compound that inhibits Gβγ dimer‐dependent signaling, a complete prevention of low dose morphine induced acute thermal hyperalgesia was obtained. Phospholipase C β3, an enzyme necessary to morphine hyperalgesia, was revealed to be associated with Gβγ in PAG. Although opioid administration induces a shift in μOR‐G protein coupling from Gi to Gs after chronic administration, our data support that this condition is not realized in acute treatment providing evidence that a separate molecular mechanism underlies morphine induced acute excitatory effect.
The newborn infant: a missing stage in developmental psychology

Although neonatology, the study of the newborn, is well established in medical science, psychological research on the newborn is relatively scarce. Can we justify this period as a distinct stage of human development in Psychology? This introductory article considers the unique characteristics of the neonatal period, the impact of the transition to extrauterine life, including the impact of birth itself, and the stages of brain development that characterize this period. It presents evidence of an intentional, intersubjective neonate, and uses behavioural and neuroscientific evidence to argue that the neonate's early social preferences and responses indicate a unique, sensitive, experience-expectant stage of development. The authors of this issue agree in proposing that the newborn infant is prepared, evolutionarily and psychobiologically, to be born intersubjective. The notion of an intersubjective newborn infant, however, is virtually impossible to support without data and models from neuroscience, medicine, perinatology, physiology, ethology, evolutionary psychology and cognitive science. This issue is an attempt to bring scientists together from many of these fields to explore the unique characteristics of the first weeks of life. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A structural equation analysis of the wide range assessment of memory and learning in the standardization sample

Abstract A maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis was performed by applying LISREL VII to the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning standardization sample (N = 2363). Analyses were designed to determine which of nine hypothesized oblique factor solutions could best explain memory as measured by the WRAML. Competing latent variable models were identified in previous studies and monographs on memory. Models were tested separately in two samples of children used in the standardization of the scale, providing a cross-validation of results. Findings supported a three-factor model including Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, and Attention/Concentration factors. Our results are consistent with previous characterizations of attention as an important component of memory as measured by the WRAML. A distinct Learning Index was not empirically supported in the current analysis.
Assessing contributions to group assignments

We report the use of a combination of self‐ and peer‐assessment in an undergraduate social psychology laboratory course. Students worked in small groups on a self‐directed empirical project that they each wrote up independently as a laboratory report. Marks for the written assignment were moderated by a contribution index measure based on the self‐ and peer‐assessment measures. Our analyses indicated that: (i) students took the peer‐assessment process seriously, clearly differentiating between group members on the contributions questionnaires; (ii) students show a self‐bias, rating their own contribution to the group task higher than that of other group members; (iii) for a large majority of students the contribution index resulted in very little moderation of the final assignment marks; (iv) there was a strong correlation between the contribution index and the overall assignment score. Implications for the assessment of group work are considered.
The Influence of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and Product Complexity on Search Behaviour: A Cross-sector Study of the U.S., Germany and U.K

Consumer search is analysed in a cross-sector study of six markets in the US, Germany and UK using online panel data. Two constructs are used to measure the search process: the consideration set and use of price comparison engines. The consideration sets range from 2.3 to 3.1 in the US, from 2.3 to 2.6 in Germany and from 2.6 to 3.2 in the UK, regardless of the use of price comparison engines. These results are significantly smaller than expected compared to pre-Internet studies and theory predictions. However, they are consistent with the few published results that used online panel data. It is shown that the consideration set is a function of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. The use of price comparison engines is inversely related to product complexity. The theoretical and managerial implications of the research results are explained and the potential of using online panel data for future research into online consumer behaviour and strategy is outlined.
Prognostic value of serum MMP-8, -9 and TIMP-1 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Aim. Prediction of prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is difficult. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of serum MMP-8, -9, -13, and TIMP-1 in patients with HCC. Methods. Pre-treatment serum samples from 134 patients with HCC were retrospectively analyzed. The serum concentration of MMP-8 was analyzed with immunofluorometric assay (IFMA), and those of MMP-9, MMP-13, and TIMP-1 were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Clinical data were retrieved from patient records and survival data obtained from Statistics Finland. Results. The overall cumulative disease-specific survival was 69% at 1 year, 50% at 2 years, and 33% at 5 years. Kaplan–Meier overall survival analysis showed that patients with low concentrations of serum MMP-8 or TIMP-1 had a statistically significantly better overall survival than patients with high concentrations of serum MMP-8 or TIMP-1 (P = 0.013 and P = 0.003). Interestingly, the overall survival in patients with high MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio was statistically significantly better than in those patients with low MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio (P = 0.004). Conclusion. Our results suggest that serum MMP-8, TIMP-1, and the ratio of MMP-9/TIMP-1 might be useful adjuncts as predictors of prognosis in patients with HCC.
Multilayered 3-D Optical Circuit With Mirror-Embedded Waveguide Films

A multilayered 3-D optical circuit is fabricated using mirror-embedded waveguide films that have optical input-output apertures on their surfaces. We fabricated the surface input-output optical waveguide films via an ultraviolet imprint method using a mirror-integrated master. To fabricate the master, waveguide patterns were formed on a silicon wafer using a deep reactive ion etching method, and 45°-angled mirror structures were then constructed on the waveguide core patterns via a V-sawing technique. We subsequently manufactured a multilayered optical circuit layer by layer, before measuring its optical characteristics. The input beam inserted onto the surface of the circuit was emitted through 2 × 2 arrayed surface output apertures after propagating along the 3-D beam path.
Modeling Secondary Health Conditions in Adults Aging With Physical Disability

Objectives: To test a conceptual model of secondary health conditions, age, and function in persons aging with long-term physical disabilities. Methods: Surveys were collected from 1,862 adults with spinal cord injury, neuromuscular disease, multiple sclerosis, or post-polio syndrome. Structural equation modeling was used to build a model describing relationships among physical and psychosocial secondary health conditions, pain, functional impairments, chronic medical conditions, and age. Results: In total, 12 individual symptom or function domains (latent factors) were identified, grouped into 5 broader factors. Increasing age was associated with greater rates of physical and health problems and poorer function, and showed curvilinear relationships with pain and psychosocial difficulties. Discussion: These data support a biopsychosocial model of secondary health conditions in adults aging with physical disability and suggest a five-factor approach for conceptualizing secondary conditions and their impact. Results also emphasize the importance of age in symptom severity and impact.
The ‘Power Test’: its impact on student learning in a materials science course for engineering students

Abstract This paper explores the impact on students’ learning of a change in assessment in a materials science course for engineers. The theory behind the move is discussed with reference to previous work on developing deeper approaches to learning in students at university. The new concept adopted was a ‘power test‘ — an open book format final exam, with extended time and opportunities for colleague interaction. Student response was evaluated by interviews and structured group discussions using a nominal group technique and outcomes were assessed by classification of student exam answers using the SOLO taxonomy of Biggs & Collis (1982). Results were compared with those of students taking the same course in the previous year but who were assessed by standard closed book exam. Problems associated with the introduction of such a novel course assessment to an otherwise traditional degree are discussed.
Mechanism of ghrelin-evoked glucagon secretion from the pancreas of diabetic rats.

OBJECTIVE Ghrelin is a newly discovered peptide, which was first demonstrated in the epithelium of rat stomach. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of ghrelin on glucagon secretion from pancreatic tissue fragments of normal and diabetic rats. METHODS Diabetes was induced by streptozotocin (60 mg Kg body weight 1) given intraperitoneally. Four weeks after the onset of diabetes, pancreatic fragments of normal and diabetic rats were incubated with different concentrations (10 12 10 6 M) of ghrelin. Glucagon release was measured using radioimmunoassay technique. RESULTS Ghrelin failed to stimulate or inhibit glucagon secretion from normal rat pancreas. However, it induced significant increases in glucagon secretion from pancreatic tissue fragments of diabetic rats. Either atropine (muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist) or propranolol (beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist) or yohimbine (alpha2-adrenergic receptor antagonist) or diltiazem (calcium channel antagonist) did not affect ghrelin-glucagon interaction. Moreover, a combination of atropine, propranolol and yohimbine had no significant effect on the interaction of ghrelin with glucagon. CONCLUSION The ghrelin-induced glucagon secretion in diabetic rats is not controlled via cholinergic or adrenergic pathways. In conclusion, it appears that the main target of ghrelin in the rat endocrine pancreas is not glucagon-producing cells but rather insulin secreting cells which are more involve in weight gain and body growth.
Identification of Antifreeze Proteins and Their Functional Residues by Support Vector Machine and Genetic Algorithms based on n-Peptide Compositions

For the first time, multiple sets of n-peptide compositions from antifreeze protein (AFP) sequences of various cold-adapted fish and insects were analyzed using support vector machine and genetic algorithms. The identification of AFPs is difficult because they exist as evolutionarily divergent types, and because their sequences and structures are present in limited numbers in currently available databases. Our results reveal that it is feasible to identify the shared sequential features among the various structural types of AFPs. Moreover, we were able to identify residues involved in ice binding without requiring knowledge of the three-dimensional structures of these AFPs. This approach should be useful for genomic and proteomic studies involving cold-adapted organisms.
Attentional bias modification for acute experimental pain: A randomized controlled trial of retraining early versus later attention on pain severity, threshold and tolerance

Noxious attentional bias is thought to confer vulnerability to pain, suggesting that modifying the bias could reduce pain outcomes. Herein is presented a randomized controlled trial to test the effects of retraining the dot probe attentional bias at short versus long stimulus durations towards neutral stimuli, and away from threat stimuli, on acute pain experience, in comparison with a placebo control group.
An Exploratory Model of Quality of Life in the U.S. Navy

Previous quality of life (QOL) modeling efforts using data from U.S. Marine Corps personnel have identified specific domains that were related to Reenlistment Intention, with an overall measure of QOL serving as a mediating variable (Kerce, 1995; White, Baker, & Wolosin, 1999). This study examined the validity of applying the Kerce life domains model to U.S. Navy personnel. Structural equation modeling analyses failed to replicate the Kerce model of QOL. Exploratory analyses supported a model similar to Hart (1999) in which (a) life domains are divided into nonwork, or personal, domains and work domains; (b) personal domains are linked to Reenlistment Intention; and (c) work domains are linked with Reenlistment Intention through organizational commitment.
Life satisfaction among highly achieving students in Hong Kong: do gratitude and the ‘good-enough mindset’ add to the contribution of perfectionism in prediction?

This study investigated whether gratitude and the ‘good-enough mindset’ added to the contribution of perfectionism in predicting life satisfaction in 245 Chinese highly achieving students in Hong Kong. Participants completed self-report questionnaires that included scales on life satisfaction, positive and negative perfectionism (perfectionistic striving and perfectionistic concerns), gratitude and the good-enough mindset. Measures of gratitude and the good-enough mindset explained a substantial amount of unique variance in the prediction of life satisfaction in addition to the contribution of age and measures on positive and negative perfectionism. Implications of the findings for integrating gratitude and the good-enough mindset in the development of effective positive interventions to cope with negative perfectionism in youth and adolescents are discussed.
Emotional State Categorization from Speech: Machine vs. Human

This paper presents our investigations on emotional state categorization from speech signals with a psychologically inspired computational model against human performance under the same experimental setup. Based on psychological studies, we propose a multistage categorization strategy which allows establishing an automatic categorization model flexibly for a given emotional speech categorization task. We apply the strategy to the Serbian Emotional Speech Corpus (GEES) and the Danish Emotional Speech Corpus (DES), where human performance was reported in previous psychological studies. Our work is the first attempt to apply machine learning to the GEES corpus where the human recognition rates were only available prior to our study. Unlike the previous work on the DES corpus, our work focuses on a comparison to human performance under the same experimental settings. Our studies suggest that psychology-inspired systems yield behaviours that, to a great extent, resemble what humans perceived and their performance is close to that of humans under the same experimental setup. Furthermore, our work also uncovers some differences between machine and humans in terms of emotional state recognition from speech.
Effects of Imprisonment and Community Supervision on Neighborhood Political Participation in North Carolina

This article considers the effect of prison, probation, and parole on neighborhood political participation in North Carolina. I analyze data from state boards of elections, departments of corrections, departments of public health, the Census Bureau, and market research firms for 2000 and 2008. Multivariate regressions reveal a complex relationship between criminal justice supervision and voter turnout. The evidence suggests that at the individual level and in the aggregate, the criminal justice system shapes neighborhood political participation.
Pharmacodynamic assays to facilitate preclinical and clinical development of pre-mRNA splicing modulatory drug candidates

The spliceosome has recently emerged as a new target for cancer chemotherapy and novel antitumor spliceosome targeted agents are under development. Here, we describe two types of novel pharmacodynamic assays that facilitate drug discovery and development of this intriguing class of innovative therapeutics; the first assay is useful for preclinical optimization of small‐molecule agents that target the SF3B1 spliceosomal protein in animals, the second assay is an ex vivo validated, gel‐based assay for the measurement of drug exposure in human leukocytes. The first assay utilizes a highly specific bioluminescent splicing reporter, based on the skipping of exons 4–11 of a Luc‐MDM2 construct, which specifically yields active luciferase when treated with small‐molecule spliceosome modulators. We demonstrate that this reporter can be used to monitor alternative splicing in whole cells in vitro. We describe here that cell lines carrying the reporter can be used in vivo for the efficient pharmacodynamic analysis of agents during drug optimization and development. We also demonstrate dose‐ and time‐dependent on‐target activity of sudemycin D6 (SD6), which leads to dramatic tumor regression. The second assay relies on the treatment of freshly drawn human blood with SD6 ex vivo treatment. Changes in alternative splicing are determined by RT‐PCR using genes previously identified in in vitro experiments. The Luc‐MDM2 alternative splicing bioluminescent reporter and the splicing changes observed in human leukocytes should allow for the more facile translation of novel splicing modulators into clinical application.