Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Income and Well-Being: Relative Income and Absolute Income Weaken Negative Emotion, but Only Relative Income Improves Positive Emotion

Whether relative income or absolute income could affect subjective well-being has been a bone of contention for years. Life satisfaction and the relative frequency of positive and negative emotions are parts of subjective well-being. According to the prospect theory, hedonic adaptation helps to explain why positive emotion is often so hard to be maintained, and negative emotion wouldn’t be easy to be eliminated. So we expect the relationship between income and positive emotion is different from that between income and negative emotion. Given that regional reference is the main comparison mechanism, effects of regional average income on regional average subjective well-being should be potentially zero if only relative income matters. Using multilevel analysis, we tested the hypotheses with a dataset of 30,144 individuals from 162 counties in China. The results suggested that household income at the individual level is associated with life satisfaction, happiness and negative emotions. On the contrary, at a county level, household income is only associated with negative emotion. In other words, happiness and life satisfaction was only associated with relative income, but negative emotion was associated with relative income and absolute income. Without social comparison, income doesn’t improve happiness, but it could weaken negative emotion. Therefore, it is possible for economic growth to weaken negative emotion without improving happiness. These findings also contribute to the current debate about the “Esterling paradox. ”
Educational Outcomes, Modern and Postmodern Interpretations: Response to Smyth and Dow

Drawing on research in Canada as well as studies in Australia and elsewhere, this paper challenges the arguments of Smyth and Dow (British Journal of Sociology in Education, 19(3), pp. 291-303) that outcomes-based education necessarily embodies a form of technical rationality which routinizes, proletarianizes and deskills teachers and their work. This paper criticizes Smyth and Dow for applying a universalistic and monolithic labour process theory to outcomes issues, for paying little or no attention to published evidence and argument on outcomes, and for being insensitive to the variable geometries of the outcomes phenomenon across different contexts. This paper, by contrast, identifies how investigating outcomes in a context of socialist policy-making, where equity goals are explicit and high discretion is granted to teachers, can contribute to clearer understanding of the variable postmodern geometries and educational possibilities of outcomes technology. These possibilities include fostering stronger collegiality among teachers, and democratic inclusion of pupils and parents in the teaching and learning process.
Perception of organizational politics and LMX: Linkages in distributive justice and job satisfaction

This study aimed to examine (a) the mediating role of leader-member exchange (LMX) in distributive justice-job satisfaction relationship and (b) the moderating role of perceptions of organizational politics in this mediation model. Sample of the study consisted of 1401 employees working in private business enterprises in Turkey. Results showed that (a) leader member exchange partially mediated distributive justice-job satisfaction relationship, and (b) perceptions of organizational politics moderated the mediation model. Specifically, leader member exchange mediated distributive justice-job satisfaction relationship when perceptions of organizational politics is low but not when it is high. In summary, the findings demonstrated that leader member exchange and perceptions of organizational politics represent key mechanisms in determining how distributive justice is associated with job satisfaction. Key words: Job satisfaction, leader member exchange quality, distributive justice, perceptions of organizational politics, moderated mediation model.
Horizontal and vertical integration of physicians: a tale of two tails.

PURPOSE Researchers recommend a reorganization of the medical profession into larger groups with a multispecialty mix. We analyze whether there is evidence for the superiority of these models and if this organizational transformation is underway. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY APPROACH: We summarize the evidence on scale and scope economies in physician group practice, and then review the trends in physician group size and specialty mix to conduct survivorship tests of the most efficient models. FINDINGS The distribution of physician groups exhibits two interesting tails. In the lower tail, a large percentage of physicians continue to practice in small, physician-owned practices. In the upper tail, there is a small but rapidly growing percentage of large groups that have been organized primarily by non-physician owners. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS While our analysis includes no original data, it does collate all known surveys of physician practice characteristics and group practice formation to provide a consistent picture of physician organization. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS Our review suggests that scale and scope economies in physician practice are limited. This may explain why most physicians have retained their small practices. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Larger, multispecialty groups have been primarily organized by non-physician owners in vertically integrated arrangements. There is little evidence supporting the efficiencies of such models and some concern they may pose anticompetitive threats. ORIGINALITY/VALUE This is the first comprehensive review of the scale and scope economies of physician practice in nearly two decades. The research results do not appear to have changed much; nor has much changed in physician practice organization.
Engaging Students in the Learning Process: The learning journal

This paper explores the usefulness of the learning journal as a means of actively engaging students in the learning process, based on a case study of a third-year undergraduate geography course. After briefly reviewing the literature on journal writing in different contexts, the paper outlines the approach adopted in the new geography course, in which students were given guidelines on how to write a journal that would be assessed as part of the course. Extracts from students' journals for this course are used to illustrate how they approached the task, and how they viewed the experience. It is concluded that the learning journal has good potential to increase student interest in and engagement with course material, to encourage and empower students to take more responsibility for their own learning, to be more reflective in their study, and to allow them to have a voice and provide valuable feedback to the teacher.
Vitamin E supplementation restores glutathione and malondialdehyde to normal concentrations in erythrocytes of type 1 diabetic children.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the relationship between cellular glutathione and vitamin E concentrations and the effect of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) supplementation on glutathione and lipid peroxidation product concentrations in the erythrocytes of type 1 diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We obtained written informed consent to participate in this study from diabetic patients (n = 29) and their age-matched nondiabetic siblings (n = 21) according to the guidelines of the Institutional Review Board on Human Experimentation. Diabetic patients were supplemented with a DL-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) capsule (100 IU/orally) or placebo for 3 months in a double-blind clinical trial. Fasting blood samples were collected from each diabetic patient before the start of and after the 3 months of vitamin E or placebo supplementation. Glutathione, malondialdehyde (which is a product of lipid peroxidation), and alpha-tocopherol were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography A total of 5 diabetic patients were excluded after randomization from the data analyses. Data were analyzed statistically using a paired Students t test to compare 12 diabetic patients taking vitamin E with 12 diabetic patients receiving placebo supplementation and to compare diabetic patients with healthy nondiabetic subjects. RESULTS Erythrocytes of diabetic patients had 21% higher (P<0.001) malondialdehyde and 15% lower (P<0.05) glutathione concentrations than healthy subjects. Vitamin E in erythrocytes had a significant correlation with the glutathione concentrations in the erythrocytes (r = 0.46, P<0.02). Vitamin E supplementation increased glutathione concentrations by 9% (P<0.01) and lowered concentrations of malondialdehyde by 23% (P<0.001) and of HbA1c by 16% (P<0.02) in erythrocytes of diabetic patients. No differences were evident in these parameters before versus after placebo supplementation. CONCLUSIONS Glutathione level is significantly related to vitamin E level, and supplementation with vitamin E (100 IU/day) significantly increases glutathione and lowers lipid peroxidation and HbA1c concentrations in the erythrocytes of type 1 diabetic patients.
Training U.S. Managers Bound for Different Cultures

Culturally distant countries pose greater challenges to a manager than culturally closer countries. The culturally distant countries challenge a manager to be better in dealing with: personal anxiety, stress, environmental differences and uncertainty; personal adjustment and adaption; communication and leadership with empathy in culturally distant countries; and personal/individual self-efficiency and motivation to tenaciously work for achieving goals.
Convergence Guarantees for Moving Horizon Estimation Based on the Real-Time Iteration Scheme

In this note, conditions are proven under which a real-time implementable moving horizon estimation (MHE) scheme is locally convergent. Specifically, the real-time iteration scheme of is studied in which a single Gauss-Newton iteration is applied to approximate the solution to the respective MHE optimization problem at each time-step. Convergence is illustrated by a challenging small scale example, the Lorenz attractor with an unknown parameter. It is shown that the performance of the proposed real-time MHE algorithm is nearly identical to a fully converged MHE solution, while its fixed execution time per sample would allow one to solve 30 000 MHE problems per second on current hardware.
Incidence of cancer among workers exposed to vinyl chloride in polyvinyl chloride manufacture

Based on results from two previous studies where an excess of melanomas was found in a cohort of workers exposed to vinyl chloride (VCM), a follow up of the incidence of cancer in the same cohort of 428 workers was carried out to scrutinise whether or not the excess could be confirmed by new cases. The total number of deaths in the study group from 1953 to the end of 1993 was 132 v141 expected, and the total number of incident cancer cases was 56v 57 expected. There were 11 cases of lung cancer v eight expected, seven cases of melanomas v 2.07 expected, and two cases of thyroid cancer v 0.34 expected. Five of the seven melanoma cases had occurred in the group that had been most heavily exposed to VCM v 0.7 expected. In the present follow up we also found five cases of the spinocellular cancer of the skin v 1.7 expected. Out of these five cases four were diagnosed after 1984. Two of the five casesv 0.7 expected had occurred in the most heavily exposed group. The total number of skin cancers (melanomas and spinocellular cancers) were 12 v 3.7 expected. There was one new case of melanoma between 1985 and 1993v 0.7 expected. Hence, the strength of the relation between the observed and expected number of cases was reduced compared with the last follow up, and does not strengthen the previously indicated causal relation between exposure to VCM and development of malignant melanoma. There was no excess of testicular cancers in this study. The present results may indicate that occurrence of spinocellular skin cancer could bear some relation to work in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Confirmation is needed from studies on other cohorts exposed to VCM.
Maximum Response Filters for Texture Analysis

Current texture analysis focuses either on gathering correlations between image patches and filters, or on explicitly modeling the dependencies between pixels. Both strategies are unable to cope directly with changes in scale, or more general, in viewpoint and illumination. To accommodate to these extra variations, texture segmentation analyzes the texture over multiple scales and classification algorithms include multiple models for a single texture class. We propose a filter-based texture model that allows for a more compact texture representation, independent of viewpoint and illumination. This is achieved by locally optimizing the filter responses through a predefined set of transformations of the filter support. Results are shown for both texture classification and texture segmentation experiments.
Rosuvastatin Suppresses the Inflammatory Responses Through Inhibition of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase and Nuclear Factor-κB in Endothelial Cells

Background: Rosuvastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor, has pleiotropic effects that are anti-inflammatory and antiatherothrombotic. It is important to understand the cardioprotective effects of rosuvastatin in order to optimize its additional advantages in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Methods: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were treated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (10 ng/mL) alone or with rosuvastatin (100 μM). The extent of inflammation was determined by U937 adhesion assay as well as analysis of the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, interleukin (IL)-8, IL-6, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), p38, and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-3. The activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) was determined by Western blot. Results: Rosuvastatin decreased the extent of U937 adhesion to TNF-α-stimulated HUVEC. Rosuvastatin inhibited the expressions of ICAM-1, MCP-1, IL-8, IL-6, and COX-2 mRNA and protein levels. The activation of JNK and NF-κB was also blocked by rosuvastatin. The inhibitors of JNK, NF-κB, and STAT-3 produced a statistically significant decrease of the TNF-α induced U937 adhesion and IL-6 protein release. Conclusions: This study suggests that the anti-inflammatory activity of rosuvastatin is accompanied by the inhibition of JNK and NF-κB.
COMPUTER FAMILIARITY AMONG TOEFL EXAMINEES

The growing use of computer-based testing raises concerns about access and equity. Specifically, many in the field of language testing are concerned that the introduction of a computer-based TOEFL test in 1998 may introduce bias by confounding the measurement of English-language proficiency with computer familiarity. As the first study in a series of research efforts to address this question, a 23-item questionnaire focusing on examinees' access to, attitude toward, and experience using computers as well as related technologies was developed and administered to TOEFL test takers in April and May of 1996 as part of a TOEFL test administration. The examinee response rate for the survey was over 90%, and the sample of respondents was determined to be highly similar to the annual TOEFL examinee population in terms of gender, native language, test center region, TOEFL test score ranges, and reason for taking the test. Factor analysis procedures (specifically, a principal factors approach with varimax rotation) were used to determine the dimensionality of the survey questionnaire. The first factor from a two-factor common factor solution consisted of 11 items and had a reliability of . 91. This factor was used to classify TOEFL examinees into one of three groups according to their level of familiarity with computers: low, moderate, or high. Overall, some 16% of the TOEFL population was judged to have low computer familiarity, another 34% to have moderate familiarity, and approximately 50% to have high familiarity. In terms of background characteristics, computer familiarity was found to be unrelated to age, but was related to gender, native language, region of the world where the examinee was born, and test-center region. Computer familiarity was also shown to be related to individuals' TOEFL test scores and their reason for taking the test but unrelated to whether or not they had taken the test previously. Analyses of variance were conducted to investigate the relationships among proficiency as measured by the paper-and-pencil TOEFL test, computer familiarity, and selected background characteristics, including gender, age, native language, and reason for taking the test. Effect sizes for each variable as well as for the interactions among the variables are discussed herein. The study results are also considered in light of existing research relating to various aspects of computer familiarity as well as in terms of their implications for professionals in universities and intensive language programs who will need to serve the needs of this diverse set of learners.
A Generalization of the Fixed Point Estimate for Packet-Scaled Complex Covariance Matrix Estimation

In this paper, the problem of estimating complex-valued proportional covariance matrices is addressed. The obtained estimate generalizes the fixed point estimate to scaled packets of data, and is hence called the generalized fixed point estimate (GFPE). The statistical properties (bias, consistency, and asymptotical distributions) of the estimate are presented, and verified through simulations. As an example of application, a radar detection problem is considered. The GFPE is used in the well-known adaptive normalized matched filter (ANMF), and the obtained empirical probability of false alarms threshold curve is compared to the theoretical one. The ANMF is also used to compare the GFPE to the fixed point estimate.
Power Allocation and Relay Selection for AF Cooperative Relay Systems With Imperfect Channel Estimation

In this paper, we investigate power-allocation and relay-selection algorithms for amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative relay systems under imperfect channel estimation. Based on maximizing a tight capacity lower bound, a closed-form formula for optimal power allocation under a given relay is first derived and then used to establish an optimal relay-selection algorithm. By exploring the asymptotic behavior of the capacity lower bound, a suboptimal but reduced-complexity relay-selection algorithm is further presented. Simulation results demonstrate that significant capacity gains can be achieved by using the proposed optimal and suboptimal algorithms.
Constitutive Activation of the Src Family Kinase Hck Results in Spontaneous Pulmonary Inflammation and an Enhanced Innate Immune Response

To identify the physiological role of Hck, a functionally redundant member of the Src family of tyrosine kinases expressed in myelomonocytic cells, we generated HckF/F “knock-in” mice which carry a targeted tyrosine (Y) to phenylalanine (F) substitution of the COOH-terminal, negative regulatory Y499-residue in the Hck protein. Unlike their Hck−/− “loss-of-function” counterparts, HckF/F “gain-of-function” mice spontaneously acquired a lung pathology characterized by extensive eosinophilic and mononuclear cell infiltration within the lung parenchyma, alveolar airspaces, and around blood vessels, as well as marked epithelial mucus metaplasia in conducting airways. Lungs from HckF/F mice showed areas of mild emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis, which together with inflammation resulted in altered lung function and respiratory distress in aging mice. When challenged transnasally with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), HckF/F mice displayed an exaggerated pulmonary innate immune response, characterized by excessive release of matrix metalloproteinases and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α. Similarly, HckF/F mice were highly sensitive to endotoxemia after systemic administration of LPS, and macrophages and neutrophils derived from HckF/F mice exhibited enhanced effector functions in vitro (e.g., nitric oxide and TNFα production, chemotaxis, and degranulation). Based on the demonstrated functional association of Hck with leukocyte integrins, we propose that constitutive activation of Hck may mimic adhesion-dependent priming of leukocytes. Thus, our observations collectively suggest an enhanced innate immune response in HckF/F mice thereby skewing innate immunity from a reversible physiological host defense response to one causing irreversible tissue damage.
The Impact of Volitional Feedback on Learners' Self-Efficacy and Course Satisfaction in a College Assignment System

In contemporary Chinese higher education, classroom lectures combined with a web-based learning support system are broadly applied. This study investigated what kind of feedback strategy could be effective in improving students’ self-efficacy and course satisfaction in a blended learning context. Standard volitional messages were constructed and—along with traditional feedback content (knowledge of results and knowledge of correct response)— distributed to a large undergraduate class in China. Sixty-seven freshmen participated in this pure experimental study. Results indicated that students’ learning self-efficacy and course satisfaction were significantly correlated. In addition, participants who received the knowledge of correct response plus volitional messages (KCR+V) showed greater course satisfaction than those who received other types of feedback messages. No significant difference emerged in self-efficacy. Future research directions are discussed.
A New Method for Estimation of Resource Selection Probability Function

Abstract Weighted distributions can be used to fit various forms of resource selection probability functions (RSPF) under the use-versus-available study design (Lele and Keim 2006). Although valid, the numerical maximization procedure used by Lele and Keim (2006) is unstable because of the inherent roughness of the Monte Carlo likelihood function. We used a combination of the methods of partial likelihood and data cloning to obtain maximum likelihood estimators of the RSPF in a numerically stable fashion. We demonstrated the methodology using simulated data sets generated under the log–log RSPF model and a reanalysis of telemetry data presented in Lele and Keim (2006) using the logistic RSPF model. The new method for estimation of RSPF can be used to understand differential selection of resources by animals, an essential component of studies in conservation biology, wildlife management, and applied ecology.
The Role of Human Resource Management Practices in Predicting Organizational Commitment

Theoretical definitions suggest that psychological identification and exchange evaluations affect the levels of organizational commitment that managers experience. A new, more applied approach was offered, suggesting that the Human Resource Management Practices (HRMPs) of an organization have direct influences on commitment. It was hypothesized that HRMPs would be more strongly related to commitment than demographic, job characteristic, social environment, or supervisory variables. Stepwise and hierarchical regression results of the responses of agricultural managers supported the hypotheses. The perceptions of the merit-system accuracy and the fairness of promotions accounted for the most variability. Tenure with organization and task identity were also significant predictors in the stepwise regression.