Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seropositivity of Lyme Borreliosis and Associated Risk Factors: A Population-Based Study in Children and Adolescents in Germany (KiGGS)

Background Lyme borreliosis (LB) caused by spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex is the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere. Data on the distribution and on risk factors in Germany are sketchy. Methodology/Principal Findings Blood samples of a nationwide population-based cross-sectional study from 2003–2006 in children and adolescents aged 1 to 17 years in Germany (KiGGS) were analysed (n = 12,614) to assess the seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia antibodies. Data from standardized interviews were used to assess potential risk factors. First, sera were screened for anti-Borrelia antibodies by ELISA. The overall prevalence was 4.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.3–5.4%). Positive and borderline ELISA test results were confirmed by a line blot revealing a combined prevalence of 4.0% (95% CI 3.6–4.5%). Seroprevalence of ELISA was significantly higher in males (odds ratio (OR) = 1.37; CI 1.15–1.63) and in the southern part of Germany (OR = 1.41; CI 1.09–1.83), but significantly lower in children and adolescents with migration background (OR = 0.33; CI 0.24–0.44). Study participants from households with cats had a higher chance of seropositivity (OR = 6.7; CI 5.6–8.0). In a multivariable model the odds of seropositivity increases by 11% for every year of age for boys and 6% for girls. Conclusions/Significance This survey is the first nationwide, representative seroprevalence survey of LB in children and young adolescents. The study shows that infections with Borrelia burgdorferi are endemic in all parts of Germany despite regional differences. Even at a young age children are exposed to tick bites including seropositivity. Encouraging a thorough check for ticks and promptly removal of ticks are the key public health strategies to reduce the risk of LB and other tick-borne diseases in children and adolescents. Further epidemiological studies are warranted to better understand the burden of disease related to LB.
Zeta potential and electroosmotic mobility in microfluidic devices fabricated from hydrophobic polymers: 1. The origins of charge

This paper combines new experimental data for electrokinetic characterization of hydrophobic polymers with a detailed discussion of the putative origins of charge at water‐hydrophobe interfaces. Complexities in determining the origin of charge are discussed in the context of design and modeling challenges for electrokinetic actuation in hydrophobic microfluidic devices with aqueous working fluids. Measurements of interfacial charge are complicated by slip and interfacial water structuring phenomena (see Part 2, this issue). Despite these complexities, it is shown that (i) several hydrophobic materials, such as Teflon and Zeonor, have predictable electrokinetic properties and (ii) electrokinetic data for hydrophobic microfluidic systems is most consistent with the postulate that hydroxyl ion adsorption is the origin of charge.
Behaviorally evoked transient reorganization of hippocampal spines

Dendritic spines, microstructures that receive the majority of excitatory synaptic inputs, are fundamental units to integrate and store neuronal information. The morphological reorganization of spines accompanies the functional alterations in synaptic strength underlying memory‐relevant modifications of network connectivity. Here we report the rapid dynamics of cell population‐selective spine reorganizations related to behavioral experiences. In Thy1‐GFP transgenic mice, hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons that were putatively activated during environmental explorations were detected with their post hoc immunoreactivity for Arc, an activity‐dependent immediately‐early gene. Immediately after a 60‐min exposure to a familiar environment, the spine densities of Arc‐positive and Arc‐negative neurons were differently distributed. This density imbalance was due exclusively to changes in the number of small, rather than large, spines. The change disappeared within 60 min after mice were returned to the home cages. Thus, spines possess the ability to rapidly and reversibly alter their morphology in response to a brief environmental change. We propose that these transient spine dynamics represent a latent preliminary stage for longer‐term plasticity on demand.
“Yes, I Can, I Feel Good, and I Just Do It!” On Gain Cycles and Spirals of Efficacy Beliefs, Affect, and Engagement: EFFICACY BELIEFS, AFFECT, ENGAGEMENT

Taking Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory as our starting point, we tested how efficacy beliefs (self-efficacy and perceived collective efficacy) reciprocally influ- ence activity engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption) indirectly through their impact on positive affect (enthusiasm, satisfaction, and comfort) over time. We conducted two longitudinal studies using independent samples. Study 1 is a two-wave longitudinal field study that examines gain cycles regarding the dynamic relationships among self-efficacy, positive affect, and work engagement in 274 secondary school teachers. Study 2 is a three-wave longitudinal laboratory study about gain spirals in the dynamic relationships among collective efficacy beliefs, positive affect, and task engagement in 100 university students working in groups. Our findings show that: (1) efficacy beliefs reciprocally influence activity engagement indirectly through their impact on positive affect over time; (2) enthusiasm is the positive affect with the strongest effect on activity engagement; and (3) a gain spiral exists whereby efficacy beliefs increase over time due to engagement and positive affect (most notably enthusiasm). Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications in terms of Social Cognitive Theory.
Risk of Psychiatric Disorders following Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders among women of reproductive age. A higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities, including depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder has been proved in patients with PCOS. However, a clear temporal causal relationship between PCOS and psychiatric disorders has not been well established. Objective We explored the relationship between PCOS and the subsequent development of psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and sleep disorder. Methods We identified patients who were diagnosed with PCOS by an obstetrician-gynecologist in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. A comparison cohort was constructed of patients without PCOS who were matched according to age and sex. The occurrence of subsequent new-onset psychiatric disorders was evaluated in both cohorts based on diagnoses made by psychiatrists. Results The PCOS cohort consisted of 5431 patients, and the comparison cohort consisted of 21,724 matched control patients without PCOS. The incidence of depressive disorder (hazard ratio [HR] 1.296, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.084–.550), anxiety disorder (HR 1.392, 95% CI 1.121–1.729), and sleep disorder (HR 1.495, 95% CI 1.176–1.899) were higher among the PCOS patients than among the patients in the comparison cohort. In addition, a higher incidence of newly diagnosed depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and sleep disorder remained significantly increased in all of the stratified follow-up durations (0–1, 1–5, ≥5 y). Conclusions PCOS might increase the risk of subsequent newly diagnosed depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and sleep disorder. The risk of newly diagnosed bipolar disorder, which has often been reported in the literature to be comorbid with PCOS, was not significantly elevated.
Two-Stage Diff: An Efficient Dynamic Software Update Mechanism for Wireless Sensor Networks

Supporting remote dynamic update on wireless sensor networks (WSNs) allows software of sensor nodes to be dynamically updated or enhanced to adapt to changed environmental conditions or application requirements. Many researches use diff-based approaches to transmit only the code difference to sensor nodes for updating. For the resource-limited WSNs, we have proposed a new diff-based approach named Two-Stage Diff to dynamically update software components effectively in sensor nodes. By using some carefully designed methods to increase the similarities between the old and the new program images, our mechanism can obtain much smaller code difference than traditional diff-based approaches. Besides, flash memory characteristics in erasing and writing data are considered in designing the file format of transmitted update data. Thus, the transmission size of the updated data can be greatly reduced. Especially, our sensor nodes only need to perform simple work instead of complicated dynamic linking in updating program image. As a result, our mechanism can incur less resource consumption and be more suitable for operating in resource-limited WSNs. Experiments with Tiny OS show that our Two-Stage Diff can effectively reduce the size of transmitted update data and the update processing time can be significantly reduced as well.
Quality Criteria for Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research: A View from Social Policy

This article reports some findings from an investigation of social policy researchers in the UK. The findings relate to the quality criteria that social policy researchers deem to be appropriate to quantitative research, qualitative research and mixed methods research. The data derive from an e‐survey of researchers which was followed up by semi‐structured interviews with a purposively selected sample from among those e‐survey respondents who agreed to be interviewed. The article emphasises the findings that relate to quality criteria for mixed methods research, since this is an area that has not attracted a great deal of attention. Greater agreement was found regarding the criteria that should be employed for assessing quantitative than qualitative research. The findings relating to mixed methods research point to a preference for using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research criteria and for employing different criteria for the quantitative and the qualitative components.
Expression of Bcl‐2 by human bone marrow mast cells and its overexpression in mast cell leukemia

Bcl‐2 protein plays a major role in the prevention of programmed cell death of differentiating cells. In the present study, the expression of cytoplasmic bcl‐2 by human Bone Marrow Mast Cells (BMMC) from both normal and pathological bone marrow samples was examined. A total of 35 subjects corresponding to 9 healthy volunteers, 8 cases of adult indolent systemic mast cell disease (SMCD), 4 cases of pediatric mastocytosis (PM), 11 cases of hematological malignancies (HM), 2 cases of reactive bone marrow, and 1 case of mast cell leukemia (MCL) were analyzed. The expression of bcl‐2 was studied using quantitative three‐color flow cytometry. We also studied the molecular configuration of the bcl‐2 gene and other relatives by Southern blot and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the MCL case. Bcl‐2 expression was detected in BMMC from all samples analyzed. No significant differences on the expression of bcl‐2 were detected between BMMC from healthy subjects and patients with SMCD, PM, HM, and reactive bone marrow. By contrast, bcl‐2 protein was overexpressed in BMMC from MCL patient without gene rearrangement. Our results show that bcl‐2 protein was constitutively expressed by BMMC. BMMC from MCL display overexpression of bcl‐2, which could not be related to molecular rearrangements involving the bcl‐2 gene. The expression of this protein by mature MC may play a role in the prevention of MC apoptosis and thus help to explain the long survival of these cells. The overexpression of bcl‐2 by BMMC in MCL may help to explain their resistance to chemotherapy‐induced apoptosis. Am. J. Hematol. 60:191–195, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Attitudes of Elementary School Children toward School and Subject Matters.

Research on attitudes of students toward school and subject matters has been limited by a lack of suitable instrumentation, among other problems. The present study was designed to ascertain the attitudes of elementary school students toward school and seven subject matter areas as a function of grade level and sex. Approximately 3,000 students were administered a non-verbal attitude inventory. Results indicated a sizable decline in attitudes toward school as a function of grade level, extremely low attitudes toward social studies, a sizable decline in attitudes between grades six and grades seven and eight in most areas measured, and predictable boy-girl differences, the most serious of which indicates that attitudes toward school decline more drastically for boys than for girls.
Vierordt's The Experimental Study of the Time Sense (1868) and its legacy

The paper discusses the results from Vierordt's 1868 book Der Zeitsinn nach Versuchen [The Experimental Study of the Time Sense]. Illustrations of “Vierordt's Law”, the proposition that short durations are judged as longer than they really are, whereas long durations are judged as shorter, with an “indifference point” in between, are provided, mainly from reproduction experiments where Vierordt and his students or colleagues served as experimental participants. Other work from Der Zeitsinn including time discrimination and categorical timing procedures is also presented. Some subsequent research on Vierordt's Law and the “indifference point” is discussed with respect to some issues in contemporary timing theory.
Persönlichkeitsdiagnostik mit dem NEO-Fünf-Faktoren-Inventar: Die 30-Item-Kurzversion (NEO-FFI-30)

Das von Borkenau und Ostendorf uebersetzte "NEO-Fuenf-Faktoren-Inventar" (NEO-FFI) zur Erfassung fuenf robuster Persoenlichkeitsfaktoren nach Costa und McCrae hat sich in den letzten Jahren auch im deutschen Sprachraum etabliert. Die Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung mit einer 1908 Personen umfassenden repraesentativen Bevoelkerungsstichprobe zeigten allerdings Probleme bei der Replikation der Faktorenstruktur. Ungenuegende Kennwerte einzelner Items fuehrten zu teilweise unbefriedigenden Skalenkennwerten. Als Konsequenz erfolgte die Entwicklung einer oekonomischen Kurzversion mit besseren psychometrischen Eigenschaften. Es werden Item- und Skalenwerte des NEO-FFI-30 anhand der deutschen Bevoelkerungsstichprobe berichtet, wobei alle Items ihre hoechste Trennschaerfe auf der jeweils zugeordneten Skala aufweisen. Die Skalen erreichten akzeptable interne Konsistenzen und korrelierten hoch mit den originalen NEO-FFI-Skalen. Es zeigten sich nahezu identische Abhaengigkeiten von soziodemografischen Variablen und Korrelationen mit dem "Giessen-Test". Des Weiteren liess sich die Faktorenstruktur in einer unabhaengigen Pruefstichprobe von 2508 Erwachsenen bestaetigen. Damit sprechen die Ergebnisse fuer die Reliabilitaet, faktorielle und Konstruktvaliditaet des NEO-FFI-30.
Instructional Evaluation and Prediction of Teaching Effectiveness in a Small Private College

To evaluate a small private college's students' ratings of instructional effectiveness a principal components factor analysis, applied to intercorrelations for 675 students' evaluations from one semester, identified three underlying dimensions of instruction, affective, and classroom environment, Multiple regression analysis further highlighted specific predictors of instructional quality, course content, and perception of improvement in technical skills which could be given additional weight in the development of global assessments of teaching effectiveness. Recommendations for further research are provided.
Heterogeneous expression of receptor mRNAs in parathyroid glands of secondary hyperparathyroidism.

BACKGROUND Secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is characterized by inappropriate control of parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and asymmetric hyperplasia of the parathyroid glands. Receptors for calcium and vitamin D are involved in the control of secretion, as well as parathyroid cell proliferation. Defective receptor mechanisms therefore may play a role in the pathogenensis of secondary HPT. Previous studies have shown that the expression of calcium receptor (CaR), calcium-sensing receptor (CAS) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) protein, and mRNA is decreased in hyperplastic parathyroid glands of secondary HPT when compared with normal parathyroid glands. METHODS Thirty-six hyperplastic glands from 18 patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism were analyzed with in situ hybridization in order to investigate the expression of CaR, CAS, VDR, and PTH mRNAs in the same specimens. In nine nodular parathyroid glands, it was possible to make a comparison between the expression of these mRNAs in nodular and internodular areas. RESULTS The level of CaR was in the same order of magnitude in the hyperplastic glands and in the biopsies of normal parathyroid, whereas the levels of CAS, VDR and PTH were clearly reduced in the hyperplastic glands. There was a positive correlation between the expression of CaR and CAS (P = 0.02). Otherwise, no correlations between CaR, CAS, VDR, and PTH mRNAs were found. The expression of all four genes was highly variable as well between different glands as within individual glands. CONCLUSION The expression of mRNAs for receptors of importance in the control of PTH secretion and parathyroid cell proliferation is heterogeneously decreased in parathyroid glands of secondary HPT. The expression pattern corroborates earlier studies in which it has been assumed that each nodule in secondary HPT is of monoclonal origin, but that the monoclonal origin of each nodule is independent.
Experimentation with a socio-constructivist process for climate change education

A socio-constructivist and experiential process for climate change education was experimented within two coastal communities of Eastern Canada with 39 students 13 and 14 years of age. The pedagogical process, based on local observation of climate change, Duit's conceptual change theory (1999) and experiential learning, aimed for the improvement of students' conceptions of climate change: the nature of the phenomenon, its signs, causes, consequences and remedial actions as well as the possibility of mobilizing the population in reducing its impact on climate. Initial and final interviews with the young adolescents indicated an improvement in students' ideas about climate change's diverse dimensions. However, the students expressed their uncertainty regarding the adults' ability to change their behaviour. Students also identified educational activities that helped improve their conceptions.
Flowers in a Greenhouse: profiling excellence in leadership in Singapore

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the changing cultural values that influence the perception of managers to leadership excellence in their organisations in Singapore. Design/methodology/approach – Summated scales for the importance of excellent leader, personal qualities, managerial behaviours, organisational demands and environmental influences were developed using most of the items categorised by Selvarajah et al. (1995) and several other items rated highly in this study. A structural model was constructed to explain the relationship in excellence in leadership. Findings – In all, 249 managers, from the three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Indians and Malays participated in this research. The findings suggest that ethnic differences are not strong determinants of managerial values in organisations in Singapore. However, gender is seen as a differentiating factor in the behavioural values of Singapore managers. Research limitations/implications – This study is purely an exploratory study an.
Practice and Research in Career Counseling and Development—2000

The authors summarize the career counseling and development literature that appeared during 2000 in refereed journals, book chapters, and full-length books. The review of literature is divided into 5 major categories: (a) theoretical and conceptual advances, (b) career counseling and development of identified populations, (c) assessment in career counseling and development, (d) career counseling programs and interventions, and (e) resources for the professional development of career counselors and vocational psychologists.
New media and the Arab revolution: citizen reporters and social activism

The development of satellite technology and the mushrooming of TV channels available, free to air, have marked a turning point in the dissemination of information and the relationship between Arab state broadcasting and Arab audiences. The recent political turmoil in the region has given more prominence to satellite TV in the viewing habits of Arab audiences and their potential impact. Al-Jazeera, which was ahead of other international broadcasters in breaking the news, has become the most influential broadcaster in which critical information about news coverage can be accessed. Reference to Facebook pages, and You-tube, which Al-Jazeera heavily relied on in reporting the raw events, marked a key turning point in unveiling the bloodiness and horror of the manner with which Arab regimes have been dealing with the political and social unrests. No wonder that Arab youth flocked to the social media networks, which fed into Satellite TV like Al-Jazeera, BBC Arabic, France 24, Al-Hiwar and other channels. Such social networks like Facebook and Twitter have become effective weapons in the ‘Cyber war’ that has been going on in various Arab countries. Mobile phones, Blogs, YouTube, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds have been effectively used in mediating the live coverage of protests, and speeches, as well as police brutality in dispersing the demonstrations. Also during this Arab revolution, it has become evident that new media have been playing a key role in bringing the voices of the disengaged Tunisian youth to the attention of world media, and hence to international public opinion. The internet in this case has assumed the role of a very effective uncensored news agency from which every broadcaster and news corporations have been able to freely source newsfeeds, raw from the scene. Such developments have proven very significant in changing the rules of the game, of journalism production, and the dissemination of information in a region where governments historically keep tight control on the media and where almost no platform is available for opinions critical of the political elite
The Physical Scale of the Far-Infrared Emission in the Most Luminous Submillimeter Galaxies

We present high-resolution submillimeter interferometric imaging of two of the brightest high-redshift submillimeter galaxies known: GN 20 and AzTEC1 at 0.8″ and 0.3″ resolution, respectively. Our data—the highest resolution submillimeter imaging of high-redshift sources accomplished to date—were collected in three different array configurations: compact, extended, and very extended. We derive angular sizes of 0.6″ and 1.0″ for GN 20 and 0.3″ and 0.4″ for AzTEC1 from modeling their visibility functions as a Gaussian and an elliptical disk, respectively. Because both sources are B-band dropouts, they likely lie within a relatively narrow redshift window around z ∼ 4, which indicates their angular extent corresponds to physical scales of 4-8 and 1.5-3 kpc, respectively, for the starburst region. By way of a series of simple assumptions, we find preliminary evidence that these hyperluminous starbursts—with star formation rates >1000 M☉ yr−1—are radiating at or close to their Eddington limit. Should future high-resolution observations indicate that these two objects are typical of a population of high-redshift Eddington-limited starbursts, this could have important consequences for models of star formation and feedback in extreme environments.