Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CD16+ monocytes in breast cancer patients: expanded by monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 and may be useful for early diagnosis

Human peripheral blood monocytes are a heterogeneous population, including CD14+CD16‐‘classical’ monocytes and CD14+CD16+‘proinflammatory’ monocytes. CD16+ monocytes are expanded in various inflammatory conditions. However, little is known about the CD14+CD16+ monocytes in patients with breast cancer. We detected CD14+CD16+ monocytes in 96 patients with breast cancer and 54 control subjects using flow cytometry. Receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the feasibility of CD14+CD16+ monocytes as an indicator for diagnosis of breast cancer. We found that the frequency of CD14+CD16+ monocytes showed a significantly greater increase in breast cancer patients than in controls (16·96% versus 10·84%, P < 0·0001). The area under the ROC curve for CD14+CD16+ monocytes was 0·805 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0·714–0·877, P = 0·0001]. Furthermore, the levels of CD16+ monocytes were significantly negatively associated with the tumour size and pathological staging. In vitro, we showed that CD14+CD16+ monocytes were expanded significantly when the purified CD14+ monocytes were exposed to Michigan Cancer Foundation (MCF)‐7 cells‐conditioned medium (MCF‐CM) or, separately, to monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP‐1). Neutralizing antibodies against MCP‐1 inhibited the expansion of CD14+CD16+ monocytes by MCF‐CM. Collectively, our findings indicated that MCP‐1 can expand CD14+CD16+ monocytes in patients with breast cancer. Furthermore, the CD14+CD16+ monocyte may be a useful indicator in early diagnosis of breast cancer.
In the Final Analysis: More Wisdom From People Who Have Faced Death

Seventeen adults who experienced a life-threatening situation were interviewed to ascertain what they had learned about life from their confrontation with death. Interview questions focused on participants' philosophies of life, their personal regrets and priorities, and their advice to others. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative grounded theory and discovery-oriented techniques. Among the most common themes, the participants advocated less materialism, more spirituality, and more caring for and serving of others. After their confrontation with death they worried less about mundane issues and became more optimistic about the future of humankind. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Theory, concept, and experiment in the history of psychology: the older tradition behind a 'young science'

Psychology, as the saying goes, has a long past but a short history. Most psychologists and historians date the beginnings of modern psychology to the middle of the past century. Yet the empirical study of recognizably psychological issues sense perception, emotion and its embodiments, the role of language in thought dates back at least to the early part of the seventeenth century. To resolve this apparent conflict it is often claimed that nineteenth-century saentific psychology emerged out of a tradition of philosophical research on psychological issues (Boring,1950; Brett, 1912; Hothershall,1984). There is, perhaps, a grain of truth in this account but not more than a grain. This widely held view that pre-nineteenth-century research on reflexes, perception, volition, and emotion was speculative, and that the nineteenth century saw a decrease in speculation which led to more modern, ’factually based’ theories is a caricature. While it is true that what we now choose to call
What values? Whose values?

Abstract Land use planning decisions are recognised as being value judgements, yet the questions of what values and whose values are rarely addressed. Values may be absolute or relative, intrinsic or extrinsic, passionately emotional or coolly reasoned, and ‘measured’ in a multitude of ways: by rarity, economics, social or aesthetic interpretations. Using examples of land use planning in Western Australia, I examine some of the complex values brought into play. I conclude that we need to explore, rather than reject, the plurality of values we incorporate into planning decisions. Rather than imposing an artificial order on value confusion, we need to learn how to negotiate our decisions in a world of value complexity and diversity.
Languages of the Psychology of Creativity: akov Aleksandrovich Ponomarev and His Scientific School

English translation © 2008 M.E. Sharpe, Inc., from the Russian text © 2006 Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences. “Iazyki psikhologii tvorchestva: Iakov Aleksandrovich Ponomarev i ego nauchnaia shkola,” in Psikhologiia tvorchestva: shkola Ia.A. Ponomareva, ed. D.V. Ushakov (Moscow: Institut psikhologii RAN, 2006), pp. 24–103, 138–42. Translated by Stephen D. Shenfield. Journal of Russian and East European Psychology, vol. 45, no. 6, November–December 2007, pp. 8–93. © 2008 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN 1061–0405/2008 $9.50 + 0.00. DOI 10.2753/RPO1061-0405450601
WASPNET: a wavelength switched packet network

WASPNET is an EPSRC-funded collaboration between three British Universities: the University of Strathclyde, Essex University, and Bristol University, supported by a number of industrial institutions. The project which is investigating a novel packet-based optical WDM transport network-involves determining the management, systems, and devices ramifications of a new network control scheme, SCWP, which is flexible and simplifies optical hardware requirements. The principal objective of the project is to understand the advantages and potential of optical packet switching compared to the conventional electronic approach. Several schemes for packet header implementation are described, using subcarrier multiplexing, separate wave lengths, and serial transmission. A novel node design is introduced, based on wavelength router devices, which reduce loss, hence reducing booster amplifier gain and concomitant ASE noise. The fabrication of these devices, and also wavelength converters, are described. A photonic packet switching testbed is detailed which will allow the ideas developed within WASPNET to be tested in practice, permitting the practical problems of their implementation to be determined.
Evaluation of Node-Inhomogeneity Effects on the Functional Brain Network Properties Using an Anatomy-Constrained Hierarchical Brain Parcellation

To investigate functional brain networks, many graph-theoretical studies have defined nodes in a graph using an anatomical atlas with about a hundred partitions. Although use of anatomical node definition is popular due to its convenience, functional inhomogeneity within each node may lead to bias or systematic errors in the graph analysis. The current study was aimed to show functional inhomogeneity of a node defined by an anatomical atlas and to show its effects on the graph topology. For this purpose, we compared functional connectivity defined using 138 resting state fMRI data among 90 cerebral nodes from the automated anatomical labeling (AAL), which is an anatomical atlas, and among 372 cerebral nodes defined using a functional connectivity-based atlas as a ground truth, which was obtained using anatomy-constrained hierarchical modularity optimization algorithm (AHMO) that we proposed to evaluate the graph properties for anatomically defined nodes. We found that functional inhomogeneity in the anatomical parcellation induced significant biases in estimating both functional connectivity and graph-theoretical network properties. We also found very high linearity in major global network properties and nodal strength at all brain regions between anatomical atlas and functional atlas with reasonable network-forming thresholds for graph construction. However, some nodal properties such as betweenness centrality did not show significant linearity in some regions. The current study suggests that the use of anatomical atlas may be biased due to its inhomogeneity, but may generally be used in most neuroimaging studies when a single atlas is used for analysis.
A Simple Approach to Treatment Effects on Durations When the Treatment Timing is Chosen

When a treatment unambiguously defines the treatment and control groups at a given time point, its effects are usually found by comparing the two groups' mean responses. But there are many cases where the treatment timing is chosen, for which the conventional approach fails. This paper sets up an ideal causal framework for such cases to propose a simple gamma-mixed proportional-hazard approach with three durations: the waiting time until treatment, the untreated duration from the baseline, and the treated duration from the treatment timing. To implement the proposal, we use semiparametric piecewise-constant hazards as well as Weibull hazards with a multiplicative gamma unobserved heterogeneity affecting all three durations. Despite the three durations interwoven in complex ways, surprisingly simple closed-form likelihoods are obtained whose maximization converges well. The estimators are applied to the same data as used by Fredriksson and Johansson (2008) for employment subsidy effects on unemployment duration to find about 11.1 month reduction.
For better or for worse: The effect of superior and inferior teammate performance on changes in challenge/threat cardiovascular responses

Although much research has investigated the consequences of working with teammates, little research has addressed the effect of team processes on changes in motivational states and associated cardiovascular responses. Filling this gap, we utilized the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat to examine the effect of teammate performance on evaluations of resources and demands in a team performance situation. It was hypothesized that, assuming team identity engagement, individuals who worked with superior teammates would perceive more resources available to them and exhibit a challenge response (a physiological change that indicates relatively high perceived resources), whereas individuals who worked with inferior teammates would perceive less resources and exhibit a threat response (a physiological change that indicates relatively low perceived resources). For four weeks, 38 teams completed team-building exercises and competed in an anagram tournament, during which measures of cardiovascular reactivity were collected. Participants teamed with two confederates who were either inferior or superior performers. The results of the study revealed that despite the fact that they were the best performers on their team, individuals who worked with inferior teammates were threatened. However, individuals who worked with superior teammates were challenged. Explanations of the observed findings and applications for work/organizational contexts are discussed.
Narratives of Social Disruption: Education news in the British tabloid press

This analysis of education coverage in the national media examines the kind of events that attract media attention, and shows how subsequent education stories get worked up by the tabloid press into a generalized comment on social issues. Such 'meta-stories' are ways of commenting not only on the events themselves, and interrelated themes of school standards, but also on wider issues of morality, discipline, and social order. The study examines how blame gets apportioned by the press, both overtly, as in headline statements, and implicitly, in the recruitment of outside opinions, and in the choice of specific words to describe events. A discourse analysis of news stories shows how descriptions construct events as meaningful, as news sensation, and as a general reflection of social disruption and moral decline.
Borel summation and momentum-plane analyticity in perturbative QCD

We derive a compact expression for the Borel sum of a QCD amplitude in terms of the inverse Mellin transform of the corresponding Borel function. The result allows us to investigate the momentum-plane analyticity properties of the Borel-summed Green functions in perturbative QCD. An interesting connection between the asymptotic behavior of the Borel transform and the Landau singularities in the momentum plane is established. We consider for illustration the polarization function of massless quarks and the resummation of one-loop renormalon chains in the large-{beta}{sub 0} limit, but our conclusions have a more general validity.
Men Who Have Sex With Men: Estimated Population Sizes and Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity, Miami-Dade County, Florida

Background:Estimated numbers of men who have sex with men (MSM) by race/ethnicity and mortality rates among such MSM with HIV/AIDS are unavailable. This hampers efficient targeting of HIV/AIDS prevention and care resources. Methods:An existing estimation methodology was adapted to develop MSM population estimates by race/ethnicity for Miami-Dade County, Florida. We ascertained and characterized deaths that occurred during 2003 to 2005 among MSM HIV/AIDS cases, matching HIV/AIDS surveillance and vital statistics registries. We calculated estimated average annual racial/ethnic-specific mortality rates and rate ratios (RRs) among MSM HIV/AIDS cases. Results:An estimated 63,020 men aged ≥18 years in the county are MSM (7.5% of all men aged ≥18 years; point estimate). Among 754 MSM HIV/AIDS deaths, point-estimate mortality rates per 100,000 MSM were higher for blacks (733.5) than for whites (229.2) (P < 0.01) and Hispanics (360.5) (P < 0.01). The best estimate of the black/white MSM mortality RR among HIV/AIDS cases was 3.20:1 (P < 0.01); for Hispanic/white MSM, it was 1.57:1 (P < 0.01). Sensitivity analyses suggested the estimates were reasonably robust to biases that we examined. Conclusions:Black and Hispanic MSM were more likely to die with HIV/AIDS than white MSM. Plausible racial/ethnic-specific MSM population and mortality rate estimates can inform effective HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and program planning.
Mediation of Consultee's Conceptual Development in New Teacher Groups: Using Questions to Improve Coherency

This qualitative study applied methods used in discourse analysis to investigate how a consultant's questioning supported the goal of group consultation to empower beginning teachers to become effective problem solvers in their work environment. The focus of the study was on the process of questioning and communicative coherency as the group evolved over the course of the school year. The participants in this study were 7 White elementary school teachers in their first year of teaching. There were 12 sessions held over an 8-month period. The investigators found evidence of a parallel process between the coordinate consultation process and coherency in consultative discourse, such that as the coordinate process developed and improved, so did the coherency of group discourse. Implications for practice, training, and future research are discussed.
A cross-cultural comparison of teacher ratings of child adjustment and behavioral problems

This study examines similarities and differences in teacher ratings of behavioral problems and adaptive skills between a sample of 320 students from Anguilla, BWI and 315 children from the United States of America using the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992). The study also compared teacher ratings of boys and girls in the Caribbean sample. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed that Anguillian teachers rated their students as having higher mean school problems, while the mean score for adaptive skills was higher for US students. Effect sizes were small, though, indicating that little of the variance in ratings was attributable to cultural group. Boys in the Caribbean sample had significantly higher mean scores on externalizing and school problems. Girls were rated at having more adaptive skills. Again, effect sizes for the differences were small. Scientific and practice implications are offered.
Can the cognitive load approach make instructional animations more effective

The papers in this themed issue have investigated methods to make animations more effective. The purpose of this paper is to discuss each of the seven empirical papers. The discussion focuses on how they dealt with cognitive load during instruction and problem solving. Critical observations are made on each paper and avenues for future research are proposed. From the overall collection of papers a number of key results are identified and used as a basis for recommending principles for developing effective instructional animations. Lastly, a number of design issues are discussed in the context of enhancing future research in this field. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantifying Articulatory Distinctiveness of Vowels

The articulatory distinctiveness among vowels has been frequently characterized descriptively based on tongue height and front-back position; however, very few empirical methods have been proposed to characterize vowels based on timevarying articulatory characteristics. Such information is not only needed to improve knowledge about the articulation of vowels but also to determine the contribution of articulatory imprecision to poor speech intelligibility. In this paper, a novel statistical shape analysis was used to derive a vowel space that depicted the quantified articulatory distinctiveness among vowels based on tongue and lip movements. The effectiveness of the approach was supported by vowel classification accuracy of up to 91.7%. The theoretical relevance and clinical implication of the derived vowel space were discussed. Index Terms: speech production, articulatory vowel space, Procrustes analysis, multi-dimensional scaling
Characterizing embodied interaction in First and Third Person Perspective viewpoints

Third Person Perspective (3PP) viewpoints have the potential to expand how one perceives and acts in a virtual environment. They offer increased awareness of the posture and of the surrounding of the virtual body as compared to First Person Perspective (1PP). But from another standpoint, 3PP can be considered as less effective for inducing a strong sense of embodiment into a virtual body. Following an experimental paradigm based on full body motion capture and immersive interaction, this study investigates the effect of perspective and of visuomotor synchrony on the sense of embodiment. It provides evidence supporting a high sense of embodiment in both 1PP and 3PP during engaging motor tasks, as well as guidelines for choosing the optimal perspective depending on location of targets.
Is the amount of practice an important variable in the treatment of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS): The importance of production frequency in therapy for childhood apraxia of speech

Abstracted from: Edeal, D. M. , & Gildersleeve-Neumann, C. E. (2011). The importance of production frequency in therapy for childhood apraxia of speech. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20, 95–110. Source of funding and disclosure of interest: No source of funding reported, and the original authors of this research did not report any conflicts of interest.
Transcription Factors Sp1 and Hif2α Mediate Induction of the Copper-transporting ATPase (Atp7a) Gene in Intestinal Epithelial Cells during Hypoxia*

Background: A hypoxia-inducible transcription factor (Hif2α) mediates induction of intestinal iron and copper transporters during iron deficiency. Results: Specificity factor 1 (Sp1) is required for transcriptional induction of an intestinal copper transporter (Atp7a) by Hif2α. Conclusion: Sp1 and Hif2α may synergistically mediate the genetic response to iron deficiency. Significance: Understanding molecular mechanisms governing iron absorption may allow modulation of this process during disease states. Genes with G/C-rich promoters were up-regulated in the duodenal epithelium of iron-deficient rats including those encoding iron (e.g. Dmt1 and Dcytb) and copper (e.g. Atp7a and Mt1) metabolism-related proteins. It was shown previously that an intestinal copper transporter (Atp7a) was co-regulated with iron transport-related genes by a hypoxia-inducible transcription factor, Hif2α. In the current study, we sought to test the role of Sp1 in transcriptional regulation of Atp7a expression during iron deprivation/hypoxia. Initial studies in IEC-6 cells showed that mithramycin, an Sp1 inhibitor, reduced expression of Atp7a and iron transport-related genes (Dmt1, Dcytb, and Fpn1) and blocked their induction by CoCl2, a hypoxia mimetic. Consistent with this, overexpression of Sp1 increased endogenous Atp7a mRNA and protein expression and stimulated Atp7a, Dmt1, and Dcytb promoter activity. Site-directed mutagenesis and functional analysis of a basal Atp7a promoter construct revealed four functional Sp1 binding sites that were necessary for Hif2α-mediated induction of promoter activity. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays confirmed that Sp1 specifically interacts with the Atp7a promoter in IEC-6 cells and in rat duodenal enterocytes. This investigation has thus revealed a novel aspect of Atp7a gene regulation in which Sp1 may be necessary for the HIF-mediated induction of gene transcription during iron deficiency/hypoxia. Understanding regulation of Atp7a expression may help further clarify the physiological role of copper in the maintenance of iron homeostasis. Furthermore, this Sp1/Hif2α regulatory mechanism may have broader implications for understanding the genetic response of the intestinal epithelium to maintain whole-body iron homeostasis during states of deficiency.
Students' Use of Online Academic Resources within a Course Web Site and Its Relationship with Their Course Performance: An Exploratory Study

Prior research suggests that the online provision of course materials can have a positive impact on students' examination performance. This study adds to the existing literature by investigating the link between the students' use of different forms of online course provisions and tools (i.e. course materials, links and discussion forums) and the final examination performance of students in a second year undergraduate accounting course. Findings indicate a positive association between the number of online files viewed by students, the number of online discussion messages posted by them, and their examination performance. A significant relationship was not found between examination performance and the amount of time spent on the subject's web site, the viewing of links to web sites that were not core to the course being studied, or the passive reading of discussion messages. These findings support the benefits to be gained by providing course materials online and encouraging students to access the materials posted and to participate actively in online discussion.