Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Waiting for Gramsci: State Formation, Passive Revolution and the International

This article asserts that Antonio Gramsci's account of 'the international' linked to the rise of the modern capitalist states-system remains neglected within debates on the historical sociology of International Relations (IR). It does so by following two main axes of inquiry that assist the aim of unravelling Gramsci's relevance to understanding processes of state formation within the causal conditioning of `the international'. The first axis focuses on Gramsci's historical research on Renaissance Italy and the role of mercantile capital in shaping late medieval and early modern states; the `southern question' concerning the terms of uneven development of the Mezzogiorno in Italy; and the Italian Risorgimento understood as a passive revolution, or the reorganisation of state identity through the reproduction of capitalist property relations. These issues provide a historical backdrop to considering Gramsci's novel contribution to understanding the `national' dimension as a point of in understanding processes of capitalist expansion within `the international' realm. This is pursued in the second axis through his account of the states-system and its relation to the emerging hegemony of Anglo-Saxon capitalism that detailed the European response of fascism to the growing intervention of foreign capital and the conditions of uneven development in terms of the specific contexts of the Russian Revolution and Woodrow Wilson's liberal internationalism. It is argued that a recognition of such, as specific instances of passive revolution, assists in providing an essential contribution to understanding `the international' in conditioning state formation that has been absent from current debates in historical sociology in IR.
Examination of Parenting Styles of Processing Emotions and Differentiation of Self

Gottman and associates theorized emotion coaching, parents’ processing of negative emotions with children, as important for children’s later development. Bowen viewed differentiation, the balance between emotional and cognitive reactions to one’s family of origin, as an important developmental process. However, research has not specified parenting methods that foster healthy differentiation. The authors hypothesized adults with emotion-coaching parents have healthier differentiation than those parented with other styles. A total of 254 (129 female, 124 male) participants completed surveys measuring perception of parenting styles and differentiation of self. For male participants, perceiving their parents as having a disapproving style was associated with a poor sense of self. For female participants, high levels of fusion and low levels of emotional cutoff were associated with low emotion-coaching parents and disapproving mothers. Implications and limitations are discussed.
The expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma is correlated with lymph node metastasis and tumor recurrence.

BACKGROUND Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine ligand that has been associated with aggressive behavior in breast and prostate cancer. The present study was performed to determine if there is a relationship between the expression of MCP-1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and factors indicative of aggressive behavior in this disease. METHODS The subjects of this study were 115 patients with PTC. MCP-1 expression was determined using a semiquantitative scoring system for immunohistochemical staining of MCP-1 in resected PTC samples. There were four levels of immunohistochemical staining intensity, and the population of cells that positively stained for MCP-1 was graded at four levels. The scores for the intensity of immunohistochemical staining for MCP-1 and for the percentage of cells that stained for MCP-1 were used to generate a range from 0 to 9 for scoring MCP-1 expression. RESULTS Positive staining for MCP-1 was observed in the cytoplasm of PTC cells and stroma cells in 79.2% of the specimens. Expression levels of MCP-1 in PTC cells were positively correlated with tumor size (p < 0.05) and lymph node involvement (p < 0.05). In addition, the expression of MCP-1 in PTC cells level was an independent predictive factor for recurrence of PTC in an analysis that included age, sex, tumor size, extrathyroidal infiltration, and lymph node involvement (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS MCP-1 expression in PTC may stimulate the aggressive behavior of this tumor or it may be a marker for aggressive behavior. Previous reports with non-thyroid tumor cells favor the hypothesis that MCP-1 expression promotes aggressive behavior in PTC.
The effect of work arrangements on perception of work-family balance

This research used a nationally representative sample of women and men in dual-earner families with children from the 1998 and 2005 time-use cycles of Statistics Canada's General Social Survey. The work extends knowledge on the effect of the use of three work arrangements: flexible schedules, shift work and self-employment, on respondents' reported satisfaction with their work-family balance. Results of regression analysis indicated that work arrangements strongly affected work-family balance and did so differently for women and men. For women, some control over the work schedule significantly improved the perception of balance. For men, both self-employment and shift work were negatively related to reported work-family balance. The results support a flexible approach by policy-makers and employers in formulating workplace policies that assist employees in achieving satisfaction with the balance between their family and work responsibilities.
An exploration of the meanings of sport to urban Aboriginal youth: a photovoice approach

The meaning of sport to Aboriginal youth is not well understood, and this lack of understanding limits the potential to enhance their sport opportunities. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the meanings of sport to Aboriginal youth living in Edmonton, Alberta. Photovoice was employed as it is recognised as a decolonising and participatory research approach. Fifteen Aboriginal youth, between 12 and 15 years, participated in a sport sampler event, whereby they were provided with disposable cameras and asked to photograph objects, events, places, or people that represent their meaning of sport. Participants spoke about their photographs in talking circles, which took place two weeks after the sport sampler event. Two talking circles (one with eight and one with seven participants) were facilitated. Cultural practices (e.g. offering of tobacco to traditional knowledge keeper) were integrated into the talking circles. Talking circles were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and transcripts were analysed using a general 6-step qualitative analysis approach described by Creswell. Four themes were developed; participants described sport as: (1) activities I’ve grown up playing, (2) having fun, (3) being with nature and others, and (4) believing in yourself. The information-rich pictures and related stories shared by participants provide insight into their meanings of sport. This research is a practical example of how Aboriginal youth can be actively engaged in sport research through participatory approaches.
Retinal Guanylyl Cyclase Isozyme 1 Is the Preferential In Vivo Target for Constitutively Active GCAP1 Mutants Causing Congenital Degeneration of Photoreceptors

Two calcium-sensitive guanylyl cyclase activating proteins (GCAP1 and GCAP2) activate cGMP synthesis in photoreceptor by retinal membrane guanylyl cyclase isozymes (RetGC1 and RetGC2) to expedite recovery, but calcium-insensitive constitutively active GCAP1 mutants cause photoreceptor degeneration in human patients and transgenic mice. Although GCAP1 and GCAP2 can both activate RetGC1 and RetGC2 in vitro, we find that GCAP1 selectively regulates RetGC1 in vivo. Furthermore, elimination of RetGC1 but not RetGC2 isozyme reverses abnormal calcium sensitivity of cGMP synthesis and rescues mouse rods in transgenic mice expressing GCAP1 mutants causing photoreceptor disease. Rods expressing mutant GCAP1 not only survive in the absence of RetGC1 but also remain functional, albeit with reduced electroretinography (ERG) amplitudes typical of RetGC1−/− genotype. The rod ERG recovery from a strong flash, only slightly affected in both RetGC1−/− and RetGC2−/− mice, becomes very slow in RetGC1−/− but not RetGC2−/− mice when GCAP2 is not available to provide Ca2+ feedback to the remaining RetGC isozyme. The intrinsic biochemical properties of RetGC and GCAP determined in vitro do not explain the observed phenomena. Instead, our results argue that there must be a cellular mechanism that limits GCAP1 access to RetGC2 and makes RetGC1 isozyme a preferential target for the disease-causing GCAP1 mutants. A more general conclusion from our findings is that nondiscriminatory interactions between homologous effector enzymes and their regulatory proteins permitted by their intrinsic biochemical properties can be effectively restricted in a living photoreceptor.
‘Crimmigrant’ bodies and bona fide travelers: Surveillance, citizenship and global governance

The article explores the nature of surveillance and crime control as they enter the sphere of global governance. Taking the European Union (EU) as a point of departure, it examines the relationship between surveillance and sovereignty, and looks more broadly at the role that transnational surveillance and crime control play in constructing a particular type of globally divided polity. Transnational surveillance practices are increasingly addressing a public which is no longer defined exclusively as the citizenry of the nation state, nor are all European citizens entitled to the privileges of such citizenship. Through the notions of bona fide global citizens and ‘crimmigrant’ others the article details how the seeming universality of citizenship is punctuated by novel categories of globally included and excluded populations, thus revealing the inadequacy of the traditional liberal language of citizenship as the springboard for articulating a critical discourse of rights.
Learning Auditory Space: Generalization and Long-Term Effects

Background Previous findings have shown that humans can learn to localize with altered auditory space cues. Here we analyze such learning processes and their effects up to one month on both localization accuracy and sound externalization. Subjects were trained and retested, focusing on the effects of stimulus type in learning, stimulus type in localization, stimulus position, previous experience, externalization levels, and time. Method We trained listeners in azimuth and elevation discrimination in two experiments. Half participated in the azimuth experiment first and half in the elevation first. In each experiment, half were trained in speech sounds and half in white noise. Retests were performed at several time intervals: just after training and one hour, one day, one week and one month later. In a control condition, we tested the effect of systematic retesting over time with post-tests only after training and either one day, one week, or one month later. Results With training all participants lowered their localization errors. This benefit was still present one month after training. Participants were more accurate in the second training phase, revealing an effect of previous experience on a different task. Training with white noise led to better results than training with speech sounds. Moreover, the training benefit generalized to untrained stimulus-position pairs. Throughout the post-tests externalization levels increased. In the control condition the long-term localization improvement was not lower without additional contact with the trained sounds, but externalization levels were lower. Conclusion Our findings suggest that humans adapt easily to altered auditory space cues and that such adaptation spreads to untrained positions and sound types. We propose that such learning depends on all available cues, but each cue type might be learned and retrieved differently. The process of localization learning is global, not limited to stimulus-position pairs, and it differs from externalization processes.
Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Is Associated With Increased Arterial Stiffness Without Changes in Carotid Intima–Media Thickness in Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to investigate the association of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) with both arterial stiffness and intima–media thickness (IMT). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 731 subjects with type 2 diabetes. DPN was diagnosed on the basis of neuropathic symptoms, insensitivity to a 10-g monofilament, abnormal pin-prick sensation, and abnormal current perception threshold. Arterial stiffness was assessed by cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), and IMT was assessed by B-mode ultrasonography. RESULTS Patients with DPN had higher CAVI than those without DPN in multivariate-adjusted models, whereas no differences in IMT were observed between patients with and without DPN after adjustment for age and sex. In the multivariate analysis, CAVI was a significant determinant of DPN (odds ratio 1.36 [95% CI 1.13–1.65], P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS DPN is significantly associated with arterial stiffness without carotid intimal changes in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Risk factors for C-section delivery and population attributable risk for C-section risk factors in Southwest of Iran: a prospective cohort study

Background: Iran has a high C-section rate (40.6% in 2005). The objective of this study was to assess the associations and population-attributable risks (PAR) of risk factors combinations and Csection in the Southwest Iran. Methods: We performed a population-based cohort study using the reports provided by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The cohort included pregnant women within September 2012 and February 2013 (n=4229), with follow-up until delivery. Then, the actual delivery was recorded; i.e., C-section delivery, vaginal delivery, and miscarriage. A multiple logistic regression model was used to estimate the point and the interval probability. The adjusted population attributable risks (aPARs) were calculated through adjusted odds ratio from the final multiple logistic regression models for each variable. Results: Of 4,217 deliveries, 2,624 ones were C-section (62.2%). The rate of C-section was significantly higher in healthcare departments of private clinics compared to governmental clinics. The rate increased steadily with the mother’s age, marriage age, family income and education. The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that local healthcare, supplementary insurance, maternal age, age of marriage, place of birth, family income, maternal education, education of husband and occupation were the key contributing factors to choose the mode of delivery. The multiple logistic regression analysis for reproductive factors showed that parity, previous abortion and stillbirth, previous infertility, birth weight (g) and number of live births were selected risk factors for C-section. Among the exposures, family income, location of healthcare and place of birth showed the highest population attributable risks: 43.86%, 19.2% and 18.53%; respectively. Conclusion: In this survey, a relatively large contribution of non-medical factors was identified against the background of C-section. All of these factors influence the knowledge, attitudes and norms of the society. Thus, the attention of policymakers should be drawn to the factors associated with this mode of delivery.
Identification of miR-140-3p as a marker associated with poor prognosis in spinal chordoma.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression profile of miR-140-3p in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues of spinal chordoma, and its correlation with the prognosis of spinal chordoma patients. METHODS Dysregulated miRNAs in FFPE tissues of spinal chordoma were identified by microarray analysis. MiR-140-3p expression in surgically removed spinal chordoma tissues of 42 spinal chordoma patients (27 males and 15 females, aged 29-76 years) and corresponding nucleus pulposus tissues of 14 patients with disc herniation as the healthy control group (8 males and 6 females, aged 24-73 years) was measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay. The association of miR-140-3p expression with clinicopathologic characteristics of spinal chordoma patients was analyzed. Additionally, we investigated the prognostic significance of miR-140-3p with the use of Kaplan-Meier methods and a Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS The expression of miR-140-3p was significantly higher in chordoma tissues than nucleus pulposus tissues (t = 3.530, P = 0.001). The expression of miR-140-3p positively correlated with surrounding muscle invasion. The Kapan-Meier survival analysis showed that the patients with high miR-140-3p expression had a significantly worse recurrence-free survival than those with a low expression (χ (2) = 31.270, P = 0.000, log-rank test). In addition, univariate and multivariate analyses for recurrence-free survival showed that miR-140-3p expression was an independent prognostic factor for patients with spinal chordoma (HR = 1.361, 95% CI: 1.135-1.633, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION Over-expression of miR-140-3p is correlated with recurrence and tumor invasion, suggesting that miR-140-3p could be a new predictor for recurrence and prognosis in patients with spinal chordoma.
How might Governors improve college graduation rates? Paper presented for the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association - April 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana

The National Governors Association joined President Obama and major educational foundations in placing college completion on the governmental agenda. Higher education scholars have established several student and institutional characteristics that affect college graduation. This paper used multivariate analysis of variance and hierarchical linear modeling to extend prior research to include independent factors subject to gubernatorial control, e.g., statelevel higher education plans, performance plans, governance structures, and identity of regional accrediting agency. The multivariate analysis of variance revealed that a moderate level of state oversight and governance was related to public universities with the highest levels of graduation rate productivity. Conversely, public universities with limited state oversight showed mediocre productivity. Interestingly, the least productive public universities were subject to the most intense oversight and governance scrutiny from activist state governments. The hierarchical linear model provided added evidence that the public universities with the least productive graduation rates were located in activist states. How might Governors improve college graduation rates? 2
Overlapping Community Detection Versus Ground-Truth in AMAZON Co-Purchasing Network

Objective evaluation of community detection algorithms is a strategic issue. Indeed, we need to verify that the communities identified are actually the good ones. Moreover, it is necessary to compare results between two distinct algorithms to determine which is most effective. Classically, validations rely on clustering comparison measures or on quality metrics. Although, various traditional performance measures are used extensively. It appears very clearly that they cannot distinguish community structures with different topological properties. It is therefore necessary to propose an alternative methodology more sensitive to the community structure variations in order to conduct more effective comparisons. In this paper, we present a framework to tackle this challenge through a comprehensive analysis of the community structure of overlapping community structured networks. We illustrate our approach with an experimental analysis of a real-world network with a ground-truth community structure that we compare with the output of eight different overlapping community detection procedures, representative of categories of popular algorithms available in the literature. The results allow a better understanding of their behavior. Furthermore, they demonstrate that more emphasis should be put on the topology of the uncovered community structure in order to evaluate the effectiveness of community detection algorithms.
Trends Over Time in the Risk of Driver Death: What If Vehicle Designs Had Not Improved?

Objectives. Passenger vehicle driver death rates per million vehicle registrations declined steadily during calendar years 1985–2004. The present study sought to separate the effect of vehicle design changes from this trend. Methods. Restricting the trend to a fixed set of model years removed the vehicle design effects, but there were still effects due to vehicle aging. Risk of driver death was found to increase each year vehicles aged, probably due to changes in vehicle use patterns. Results. After separating out the vehicle design effects and making adjustments for the vehicle age effects, a different picture emerged of trends in death rates over time. Absent the vehicle design changes, the historical decline in driver fatality risk would have ended in 1993, with risk climbing ever since. This underlying trend has been obscured by changes in the vehicle fleet. Conclusions. The push for vehicle improvements has been worthwhile and can be credited with saving thousands of lives. However, the analysis shows that the gains in occupant protection from vehicle design improvements have been offset partially by an increasingly risky environment in recent years. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to programs targeting improvement in roadway design and driver behavior.
The changing face of police interrogation

This paper discusses some of the apparent changes in interrogations following the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the introduction of tape recorders into police stations. These reforms are believed to have had several marked effects on interrogations. For example, the use of persuasive questioning is believed to have declined, as has the number of suspects making admissions. The evidence for these hypotheses is discussed. It is suggested that the apparent fall in confessions can be explained by methodological differences between studies and that the confession rate has in fact remained almost constant. Although there does appear to have been a change in the types of persuasive questioning employed during interrogations, it is difficult to establish whether or not the use of such questioning has declined. There is some evidence that persuasive questioning is now being carried out away from recording equipment.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Serotonin Levels in Tension-Type Headache and Depression

We measured platelet-rich plasma (PRP) serotonin in patients suffering from tension-type headache, before and after treatment with amitriptyline, comparing them with a healthy control group and patients with untreated depression. We evaluated the severity of headache and depression in each group. PRP serotonin levels were higher in patients with headache than in controls and depressed patients. We observed a fall of PRP serotonin in patients with tension-type headache to similar levels after treatment as the depressed group. This fall was correlated with the improvement of headache but not with depression scales. Our data suggest that the rise of platelet serotonin levels in tension-type headache is related to pain and not depression.