Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weathering product-harm crises

To counter the negative effects of a product-harm crisis, brands hope to capitalize on their equity, and often use advertising as a communication device to regain customers’ lost trust. We study how consumer characteristics and advertising influence consumers’ first-purchase decisions for two affected brands of peanut butter following a severe Australian product-harm crisis. Both pre-crisis loyalty and familiarity are found to form an important buffer against the product-harm crisis, although this resilience decreases over time. Also heavy users tend to purchase the affected brands sooner, unless their usage rate decreased significantly during the crisis. Brand advertising was found to be effective for the stronger brand, but not for the weaker brand.
Decreased Expression of Heat Shock Protein 20 in Colorectal Cancer and Its Implication in Tumorigenesis

Heat shock protein 20 (HSP20), which is a member of the small heat shock protein family, is known to participate in many pathological processes, such as asthma, intimal hyperplasia, and insulin resistance. However, the function of HSP20 in cancer development is not yet fully understood. In this study, we identified HSP20 as a down‐regulated protein in 20 resected colorectal cancer (CRC) specimens compared with their paired normal tissues. Because HSP20 proteins were barely detectable in HCT‐116 cells (a human colorectal cancer cell line), recombinant adenovirus encoding HSP20 (Ad‐HSP20) was used to induce HSP20 overexpression in HCT‐116 cells. Infection of Ad‐HSP20, but not control adenovirus (Ad‐GFP), reduced viability, and induced massive apoptosis in a time‐dependent manner. The forced expression of HSP20 enhanced caspase‐3/7 activity and down‐regulated the anti‐apoptotic Bcl‐xL and Bcl‐2 mRNA and protein levels. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis of 94 CRC specimens for HSP20 protein showed that reduced HSP20 expression was related to advanced TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and tumor recurrence. Our study shows, for the first time, that expression of the HSP20 protein has a pro‐death role in colorectal cancer cells. Therefore, HSP20 may have value as a prognostic tumor marker and its overexpression might be a novel strategy for CRC therapy. J. Cell. Biochem. 116: 277–286, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Optic nerve inflammation and demyelination in a rodent model of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.

PURPOSE Optic nerve (ON) ischemia associated with nonarteric anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) results in axon and myelin damage. Myelin damage activates the intraneural Ras homolog A (RhoA), contributing to axonal regeneration failure. We hypothesized that increasing extrinsic macrophage activity after ON infarct would scavenge degenerate myelin and improve postischemic ON recovery. We used the cytokine granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to upregulate ON macrophage activity, and evaluated GM-CSF's effects after ON ischemia in the NAION rodent model (rAION). METHODS Following rAION induction, GM-CSF was administered via intraventricular injection. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) stereologic analysis was performed 1 month postinduction. The retinae and optic nerve laminae of vehicle- and GM-CSF-treated animals were examined immunohistochemically and ultrastructurally using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). RhoA activity was analyzed using a rhotekin affinity immunoanalysis and densitometry. Isolated ONs were analyzed functionally ex vivo by compound action potential (CAP) analysis. RESULTS Rodent NAION produces ON postinfarct demyelination and myelin damage, functionally demonstrable by CAP analysis and ultrastructurally by TEM. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor increased intraneural inflammation, activating and recruiting endogenous microglia, with only a moderate amount of exogenous macrophage recruitment. Treatment with GM-CSF reduced postinfarct intraneural RhoA activity, but did not neuroprotect RGCs after rAION. CONCLUSIONS Sudden ON ischemia results in previously unrecognized axonal demyelination, which may have a clinically important role in NAION-related functional defects and recovery. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor is not neuroprotective when administered directly to the optic nerve following ON ischemia, and does not improve axonal regeneration. It dramatically increases ON-microglial activation and recruitment.
A role and expectancy model of participative decision-making: A replication and theoretical extension

Schuler's process model of employee participation in decision-making and job satisfaction (Schuler, 1980; Lee and Schuler, 1982) was tested using a path analytic approach. Reanalysis of Schuler's data and replication on a new sample indicated that (a) participation in decision-making has both direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction; and (b) performance–outcome expectancy, role conflict, and role ambiguity all appear to mediate the relationship between participation and satisfaction. In an extension of the model, organizational level and job involvement were hypothesized to moderate the participation–satisfaction relationship (i.e. function interactively). Although neither variable functions as a moderator, job involvement operates in a fashion similar to participation in the model. In general, consistent results across four independent samples strongly support Schuler's basic process model.
A prospective study of HDL-C and cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene mutations and the risk of coronary heart disease in the elderly Published, JLR Papers in Press, February 16, 2004. DOI 10.1194/jlr.M300520-JLR200

High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are inversely associated with the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in middle-aged individuals; in the elderly, the association is less clear. Genetic factors, including variations in the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene, play a role in determining HDL-C levels. Controversy remains about whether CETP deficiency and the resultant rise in HDL-C are antiatherogenic, or whether CETP has the opposite effect due to its role in reverse cholesterol transport. In a seven-year follow-up of 2,340 men aged 71–93 in the Honolulu Heart Program, the age-adjusted CHD incidence rates were significantly lower in men with high versus low HDL-C levels. After adjustment for age, hypertension, smoking, and total cholesterol, the relative risk of CHD for those with HDL-C levels ⩾60 mg/dl, compared with those with HDL-C levels <40 mg/dl, was 0.6. Men with a CETP mutation had the lowest rates of CHD, although this was not statistically significant. These data indicate that HDL-C remains an important risk factor for CHD in the elderly. Whether a CETP mutation offers additional protection against CHD warrants further investigation.
Independent and combined effects of amino acids and glucose after resistance exercise.

PURPOSE This study was designed to assess the independent and combined effects of a dose of amino acids (approximately 6 g) and/or carbohydrate (approximately 35 g) consumed at 1 and 2 h after resistance exercise on muscle protein metabolism. METHODS Following initiation of a primed constant infusion of H -phenylalanine and N-urea, volunteers performed leg resistance exercise and then ingested one of three drinks (amino acids (AA), carbohydrate (CHO), or AA and CHO (MIX)) at 1- and 2-h postexercise. (5) RESULTS Total net uptake of phenylalanine across the leg over 3 h was greatest in response to MIX and least in CHO. The individual values for CHO, MIX, and AA were 53 +/- 6, 114 +/- 38, and 71 +/- 13 mg x leg x 3h. Stimulation of net uptake in MIX was due to increased muscle protein synthesis. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that the combined effect on net muscle protein synthesis of carbohydrate and amino acids given together after resistance exercise is roughly equivalent to the sum of the independent effects of either given alone. The individual effects of carbohydrate and amino acids are likely dependent on the amount of each that is ingested. Further, prior intake of amino acids and carbohydrate does not diminish the metabolic response to a second comparable dose ingested 1h later.
Remembering Patients who Die: Exploring the Meaning Conveyed in Notes to the Researcher

Nurses are confronted with the reality of death and dying as part of their profession and, often times, their daily work. The qualitative data in this article were compiled from unsolicited comments provided by respondents to a survey of Registered Nurses. Forty-eight nurses wrote notes to the researcher/author which, after analysis, were organized into two major themes. The first theme encompassed how patient deaths are remembered. The length of time since the death, details provided, and definitions of “good death” were identified as sub-themes. The second theme surrounded the effect that patient death experiences have on nurses. Implications of these data include the need to acknowledge patient death and the immense emotional toll it takes on nurses, as well as understanding that nurses are disenfranchised grievers.
School, Teacher, Peers, and Parents' Goals Emphases and Adolescents' Motivation to Learn Science in and out of School.

Achievement goal theory distinguishes between mastery goals (the goals of developing competence) and performance goals (the goals of demonstrating competence) [Ames [1992] Journal of Educational Psychology 84: 261–271]. In this study, we employed this theory aiming to better understand why adolescents' motivation to learn science declines with age in many schools yet not in others. We collected survey data from 5th to 8th grade Israeli students (N = 1,614). Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) methods, we investigated the relations between students' perceptions of goals emphases in their environment (by parents, peers, teachers, and schools), their own goals orientations and their engagement in science learning in and out of school (classroom and extra-curricular engagement). In addition, we compared between these relations in traditional and democratic schools and in elementary and middle school grade levels. Findings show that: (A) perceptions of the goals that significant adults (parents and teachers) emphasize were better predictors of students' motivation, in and out of school, than perceptions of the goals that peers and schools emphasize; (B) perceptions of teachers' performance goals emphases negatively predicted classroom engagement; (C) the relative effect of perceived parents' mastery emphasis on extra-curricular engagement was higher in elementary grades than in middle school grades; (D) the relative effect of perceived school's mastery emphasis was higher in middle school grades than in elementary grades; and (E) students' mastery goals orientation in science class was a strong predictor of their extra-curricular engagement. Implications for both research and practice are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 50: 952–988, 2013
Distinguishing Between Latent Classes and Continuous Factors with Categorical Outcomes: Class Invariance of Parameters of Factor Mixture Models

Factor mixture models are latent variable models with categorical and continuous latent variables that can be used as a model-based approach to clustering. A previous article covered the results of a simulation study showing that in the absence of model violations, it is usually possible to choose the correct model when fitting a series of models with different numbers of classes and factors within class. The response format in the first study was limited to normally distributed outcomes. This article has 2 main goals, first, to replicate parts of the first study with 5-point Likert scale and binary outcomes, and second, to address the issue of testing class invariance of thresholds and loadings. Testing for class invariance of parameters is important in the context of measurement invariance and when using mixture models to approximate nonnormal distributions. Results show that it is possible to discriminate between latent class models and factor models even if responses are categorical. Comparing models with and without class-specific parameters can lead to incorrectly accepting parameter invariance if the compared models differ substantially with respect to the number of estimated parameters. The simulation study is complemented with an illustration of a factor mixture analysis of 10 binary depression items obtained from a female subsample of the Virginia Twin Registry.
Modifying the Prematurity Stereotype in Mothers of Premature and Ill Full-Term Infants

Tested the efficacy of an information-based intervention in reducing prematurity stereotyping in 43 mothers of premature infants and in 32 mothers of ill full-term infants. Mothers either read a paragraph that stressed the similarities between premature and full-term infant development or were given no information about infant development. The mothers then viewed two videotapes of 9-month-old fullterm infants, one described as full term and one described as premature. Mothers who received no prior information about infant development rated the infants labeled premature as littler, less sociable, less cognitively competent, less behaviorally appealing, and less physically potent than infants labeled full term. Stressing similarities in premature and full-term infant development largely eliminated the prematurity stereotype. The application of these findings to hospital-based intervention with mothers of high-risk newborns is discussed.
Test-retest reliability of the halstead-reitan battery and the WAIS in a neuropsychiatric population

Abstract Data are presented concerning the test-retest reliability of the Halstead-Reitan battery and the WAIS in a heterogeneous neuropsychiatric sample of 150 patients. Relative reliability or stability of results was evaluated through use of Pearson r correlation coefficients, while absolute reliability, or sensitivity to change in clinical condition, was evaluated with paired sample t tests. Subgroups of alcoholic/trauma, schizophrenic, and vascular disease patients were extracted from the total sample in order to examine for the possibility of different reliability levels among different clinical groups. It was found that most of the components of the Halstead-Reitan battery had psychometrically satisfactory relative reliability levels. However, schizophrenics exhibited significantly lower levels of reliability than did the other subgroups. Differences in absolute reliability were characterized by a greater incidence of improved performance on second testing in the alcoholic/trauma subgroup than in t.
Tight bounds between algebraic immunity and nonlinearities of high orders

Among cryptographically significant characteristics of Boolean functions used in symmetric ciphers the algebraic immunity and the nonlinearities of high orders play the important role. Some bounds on the nonlinearities of high orders of Boolean functions via its algebraic immunity were obtained in recent papers. In this paper we improve these results and obtain new tight bounds. We prove new universal tight lower bound that reduces the problem of an estimation of high order nonlinearities to the problem of the finding of dimensions of some linear spaces of Boolean functions. As simple consequences we obtain all previously known bounds in this field. For polynomials with disjoint terms we reduce the finding of dimensions of linear spaces of Boolean functions mentioned above to a simple combinatorial analysis. Finally, we prove the tight lower bound on the nonlinearity of the second order via its algebraic immunity.
Substantiated Best Practices in Transition: Fifteen Plus Years Later

Since the transition movement in the 1980s, numerous transition practices have been developed. Kohler (1993) provided a comprehensive review and analysis of transition best practices and divided them into substantiated and implied practices based on the existence of empirical evidence. Since that review was published, the field of transition has changed. The purpose of this article is to provide an updated review of transition best practices since Kohler’s study. A total of 29 documents were collected that substantiated best transition practices. The resulting most- to least-substantiated practices were paid or unpaid work experience, employment preparation, family involvement, general education inclusion, social skills training, daily living skills training and self-determination skills training, and community or agency collaboration.
Proceedings of the 2010 National Toxicology Program Satellite Symposium

The 2010 annual National Toxicology Program (NTP) Satellite Symposium, entitled “Pathology Potpourri,” was held in Chicago, Illinois, in advance of the scientific symposium sponsored jointly by the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP) and the International Federation of Societies of Toxicologic Pathologists (IFSTP). The goal of the annual NTP Symposium is to present current diagnostic pathology or nomenclature issues to the toxicologic pathology community. This article presents summaries of the speakers' presentations, including diagnostic or nomenclature issues that were presented, along with select images that were used for voting or discussion. Some topics covered during the symposium included a comparison of rat and mouse hepatocholangiocarcinoma, a comparison of cholangiofibrosis and cholangiocarcinoma in rats, a mixed pancreatic neoplasm with acinar and islet cell components, an unusual preputial gland tumor, renal hyaline glomerulopathy in rats and mice, eosinophilic substance in the nasal septum of mice, INHAND nomenclature for proliferative and nonproliferative lesions of the CNS/PNS, retinal gliosis in a rat, fibroadnexal hamartoma in rats, intramural plaque in a mouse, a treatment-related chloracne-like lesion in mice, and an overview of mouse ovarian tumors.
Normal visual acuity in 17--18 year olds.

PURPOSE The aim of this work was to establish visual acuity norms in 17-18-year-olds. METHODS In a previous, population-based study carried out in 1998, a total of 1046 12-13-year-old children were examined with a full eye examination. In 2003, 25% (n=262) of these children were randomly selected and invited to a re-examination; 147 subjects agreed to participate and 116 attended. The examined group did not significantly differ from the original sample in terms of the prevalence of ocular and visual disorders. Best corrected monocular visual acuity (VA) was assessed with the revised 2000 ETDRS logMAR chart. RESULTS Mean best corrected VA was -0.10 logMAR across the examined group. There was no significant difference between right and left eyes. By excluding nine subjects who had significant ametropia and/or ocular or visual pathology, mean VA increased to -0.12 logMAR (SD 0.07). The mean interocular difference in VA among normal subjects was 0.04 logMAR. CONCLUSIONS Visual acuity in teenagers is significantly better than 0.0 logMAR and the interocular difference is low in healthy eyes.
The Debate on Maturational Constraints in Bilingual Development: A Perspective from First-Language Attrition

A controversial topic in research on second-language acquisition is whether residual variability and optionality in high-proficiency late second-language (L2) learners is merely the outcome of cross-linguistic transfer, competition, and processing limitations, or whether late learners have an underlying representational deficit due to maturational constraints on ultimate attainment in L2. This study argues that insights into this question can be gained by comparing advanced late L2 learners with late bilinguals who grew up with the language under investigation as their first language (L1), prior to emigrating to another country. The latter group, who use the language of the host country predominantly in their daily lives, typically exhibit increased optionality in their native language as a result of cross-linguistic transfer and L1 attrition. They do not, however, have a representational deficit in their L1, having acquired it monolingually during childhood. Such a comparison has the potential to distinguish grammatical features that are prone to bilingualism effects from those that natives can maintain but with which L2ers struggle persistently, possibly due to maturational limitations. This study compares 20 long-term attriters (English L2) with 20 highly advanced immersed learners of German (English L1) and 20 predominantly monolingual controls. The bilingual populations are matched for proficiency and for their use of German in daily life. The analysis comprises a group comparison and an investigation of individual performance, to assess whether there are L2 speakers who perform within the accuracy ranges of a larger population of attriters (n = 53) on all features, and similarly, whether any of the attriters perform within the accuracy range of a population of native controls (n = 53). The findings indicate that there are some areas of grammar (e.g., obligatory word order) where the L2 speakers are similar to the L1 attriters, and others (in particular noun phrase morphology) where attriters and monolinguals behave differently from the L2ers. This finding is interpreted as being consistent with an account that assumes some form of maturational constraint on language learning.
‘Giving a voice to the unheard’? Is female youth (15–24 years) suicide linked to restricted access to family planning? Comparing two Catholic continents

Suicide is a neglected area of social work research and suicides are often influenced by cultural factors. WHO data on female youth (15–24 years) suicide, and Undetermined Deaths (UnD), the most likely source of under-reported suicides, are analysed from two continents sharing religio-cultural views on suicide and family planning, that is, Western European Catholic countries (WECC) and Latin American countries (LatAC). It was found that LatAC female youth suicides and UnD were significantly higher than WECC, and correlated with higher birth rates and poverty. This may indicate that restricted access to family planning contributes to more births, poverty, unwanted pregnancies and suicides.
How Effective are Pedagogical Agents for Learning? A Meta-Analytic Review

Research on the use of software programs and tools such as pedagogical agents has peaked over the last decade. Pedagogical agents are on-screen characters that facilitate instruction. This meta-analysis examined the effect of using pedagogical agents on learning by reviewing 43 studies involving 3,088 participants. Analysis of the results indicated that pedagogical agents produced a small but significant effect on learning. The overall mean effect size was moderated by the contextual and methodological features of the studies. The findings revealed that the use of pedagogical agents were more beneficial for K-12 students than post-secondary students. Pedagogical agents that communicated with students using on-screen text facilitated learning more effectively than agents that communicated using narration. The findings of this study have implications for advancing theory and practice, as well as highlighting productive future directions for research.
Effect of retinoic acid on the spontaneous and interferon‐induced activity of human natural killer cells

Non‐toxic concentrations of retinoic acid (RA) inhibited the spontaneous activity of human natural killer (NK) cells. RA also inhibited the activation of human NK cells by treatment with partially purified human leukocyte interferon (HulFNα) or with inducers of IFNα and IFNγ. Full expression of the inhibitory action required prolonged exposure of human peripheral blood leukocytes to RA. Implications of these findings for the use of retinoids in the treatment of human malignancies are discussed.