Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A taxonomy of behavior change techniques used in interventions.

OBJECTIVE Without standardized definitions of the techniques included in behavior change interventions, it is difficult to faithfully replicate effective interventions and challenging to identify techniques contributing to effectiveness across interventions. This research aimed to develop and test a theory-linked taxonomy of generally applicable behavior change techniques (BCTs). DESIGN Twenty-six BCTs were defined. Two psychologists used a 5-page coding manual to independently judge the presence or absence of each technique in published intervention descriptions and in intervention manuals. RESULTS Three systematic reviews yielded 195 published descriptions. Across 78 reliability tests (i.e., 26 techniques applied to 3 reviews), the average kappa per technique was 0.79, with 93% of judgments being agreements. Interventions were found to vary widely in the range and type of techniques used, even when targeting the same behavior among similar participants. The average agreement for intervention manuals was 85%, and a comparison of BCTs identified in 13 manuals and 13 published articles describing the same interventions generated a technique correspondence rate of 74%, with most mismatches (73%) arising from identification of a technique in the manual but not in the article. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate the feasibility of developing standardized definitions of BCTs included in behavioral interventions and highlight problematic variability in the reporting of intervention content.
The DSM-III Concept of Schizophrenia

Summary The development of DSM-III is traced from the Feighner Criteria through Spitzer's Research Diagnostic Criteria. The specific criteria for the diagnosis of schizophrenia are listed, and the symptoms which contribute to the diagnosis are categorized. Differences from the DSM-II concept are highlighted, and the complicated question of schizoaffective disorder is discussed. The DSM-III resolutions to the major controversies in the study of schizophrenia are outlined. Finally, the major strengths and weaknesses of the DSM-III approach are assessed.
Parental Support and Control as Predictors of Adolescent Drinking, Delinquency, and Related Problem Behaviors

This study uses a representative general population sample of 699 adolescents and their families to examine the effects of parenting practices, particularly support and control, on the development of adolescent drinking, delinquency, and other problem behaviors. Black families were oversampled (n = 211) to permit meaningful analyses. The findings confirm that parental support and monitoring are important predictors of adolescent outcomes even after taking into account critical demographic/family factors, including socioeconomic indicators, age, gender, and race of the adolescent, family structure, and family history of alcohol abuse. In addition, peer orientation remains a significant predictor of drinking behavior and deviance and interacts with aspects of parenting. Methodological issues associated with sampling, family respondent, and measurement of support and control are critiqued as they pertain to parental socialization and adolescent outcome research. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1992. Copyright © 1992 by the National Council on Family Relations) Parental Control Parental Support Parenting Practices Juvenile Behavior Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Offender Juvenile Problem Behavior Juvenile Substance Use Family Relations Parent Child Relations Family Risk Factors Delinquency Causes Delinquency Predictors Delinquency Risk Factors Behavior Causes Behavior Predictors Behavior Risk Factors Substance Use Causes Substance Use Risk Factors Substance Use Predictors Alcohol Use Causes 07-03
Mortality Rate in Bullous Pemphigoid: A Retrospective Monocentric Cohort Study

Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is the most common autoimmune blistering skin disease and is associated with an increased mortality. The end points of our study were to evaluate the mortality rate in a retrospective cohort of BP patients followed up to 5 years after the diagnosis and to determine prognostics factors. Methods: All new cases of BP diagnosed between 1990 and 2003 in the University Hospital of Geneva were retrospectively collected. 60 patients were included, 47 (88.6%) of whom were treated with a combination of corticosteroids and chlorambucil. Results: The 1-year, 2-year and 5-year probabilities of death were 26.7, 37.1 and 60.8%, respectively. Old age, dementia and use of chlorambucil at initial doses of 6 mg/day, but not at lower doses, were associated with poor prognosis in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Our study confirms that BP is associated with a high mortality. The observed mortality rates are however higher than those of previous studies, which is probably related to the inclusion of more debilitated patients.
Learning to Teach or Learning to Manage Mentors? Experiences of school-based teacher training

In the late 1990s teachers acting as mentors play a key role in initial teacher training (ITT). This article reports the findings of a study which examined student teachers' perceptions of 'good' practice in mentoring. Given that certain parallels have been drawn between the nineteenth-century pupil-teacher scheme and school-based ITT, the work of Lave and Wenger (1991) who see apprenticeship as central to learning was used as a framework for analysing the data. The study highlighted the significance of the affective in student teachers' school-based learning. But it also highlighted the significance of the affective in mentors' practice: e.g. mentors' feelings of vulnerability. The way in which students responded to mentors in this respect - how far they were able to 'manage' their mentors - ultimately contributed to the success of students' placements. The article concludes that the possession of mentoring skills alone will not guarantee that students receive appropriate support.
A comparison of ethnic minority and majority students: social and academic integration, and quality of learning

This article examines students from ethnic minorities and majorities with regard to the relationships between their social and academic integration and their quality of learning. A total of 523 students at four universities completed a questionnaire: analyses of variance were used to examine mean differences, and structural equation modelling (lisrel) was used to analyse differences in relationships between integration and learning. After one year of study, minority students had performed less well and had obtained a lower number of credits, even though their approaches to learning had been no different. Neither had there been any differences in integration. Furthermore, analyses revealed a different set of relationships between integration and learning for minority and majority students. For majority students, the impact of formal academic integration was positively related to grades, credits and approaches to learning. However, in the group of minority students, the role of formal academic integration was inconclusive: negatively related to grades, but positively related to the deep approaches to learning. In the conclusions, these results are interpreted and some suggestions for future research are presented.
Investigation of Different Factors Affecting the Electron Spin Resomance-based Characterization of Gamma-irradiated Fresh, White, and Red Ginseng

Fresh (raw roots), white (dried), and red (steamed-drid) ginseng samples were gamma-irradiated at 0 to 7 kGy. Electron spin resonance (ESR) technique was used to characterize the irradiation status of the samples, targeting the radiation-induced cellulose radicals after different sample pretreatments. All non-irradiated samples exhibited a single central signal (g=2.006), whose intensity showed significant increase upon irradiation. The ESR spectra from the radiation-induced cellulose radicals, with two side peaks (g=2.0201 and g=1.9851) equally spaced (±3 mT) from the central signal, were also observed in the irradiated samples. The core sample analyzed after alcoholic-extraction produced the best results for irradiated fresh ginseng samples. In the case of irradiated white and red ginseng samples, the central (natural) and radiation-induced (two-side peaks corresponding to cellulose radical) signal intensities showed little improvement on alcoholic-extraction. The water-washing step minimized the effect of Mn2+, but reduced the intensity of side peaks making them difficult to indentify. The effect of different origins was negligible, however harvesting year showed a clear effect on radiation-induced ESR signals.
Virus specificity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes generated during acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection: role of the H-2 region in determining cross-reactivity for different lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus strains

We have compared the relatedness of five different strains of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) as assessed by LCMV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Several different mouse strains were injected with each of the five LCMV strains, and the cross-reactivity of virus-specific CTL generated during the acute infection was tested by killing on a panel of target cells infected with the various LCMV strains. We found that the cross-reactivity pattern of LCMV-specific CTL generated in mice of H-2d haplotype (BALB/c WEHI and DBA/2) was strikingly different from that in mice of H-2b haplotype (C57BL/6 and C3H.Sw/Sn), suggesting that the fine specificity of LCMV-specific CTL is a function of the H-2 region. The characteristic cross-reactivity patterns were also observed in (C57BL/6 X DBA/2)F1 mice, demonstrating that the repertoire of the H-2b- and H-2d-restricted LCMV-specific CTL is not changed as a result of complementation by gene products of the other major histocompatibility haplotype. Studies with congenic BALB.B10 and (BALB.B10 X BALB/c)F1 mice firmly established that the characteristic cross-reactivity patterns of LCMV-specific CTL map to the H-2 region and are not influenced by background genes outside the major histocompatibility locus. These results suggest that LCMV determinants seen in the context of H-2d-restricting elements are different from those seen in the context of H-2b-restricting elements. Moreover, our studies show that CTL can be used as probes for dissecting differences among various LCMV strains, but the degree of relatedness between the different LCMV strains is not absolute when measured by CTL recognition. Since the H-2 region regulates the fine specificity of CTL generated during LCMV infection in its natural host, the degree of cross-protective immunity developed during a viral infection apparently depends on the major histocompatibility haplotype. The importance of these findings lies in understanding susceptibility or resistance of various host populations to viral infections and in designing vaccination programs to provide immunity.
The Etiology of Pigment Gallstones

Pigment gallstones are of two major types, black and earthy brown, each consisting of calcium salts of bilirubin and other anions, along with an unmeasured residue that is largely mucin glycoproteins. Studies in model systems indicate that the small proportion of unconjugated bilirubin in bile is solubilized by bile salts and that the ionized bilirubin is more soluble than the protonated diacid. Solubility is decreased by added lecithin but is unaffected by cholesterol. At the pH of bile, unconjugated bilirubin exists mainly as a monoanion with sufficient solubility in mixed micelles not to precipitate, were it not for the presence of calcium, which forms highly insoluble salts with unconjugated bilirubin anions. Supersaturation of bile with calcium bilirubinates is inhibited by bile salts, which bind calcium, reducing the activity of free calcium ions. When supersaturation occurs, usually due to increased concentrations of bilirubinate anion, nucleation may be initiated by binding of calcium bilirubinate to mucin glycoproteins in bile.
Novel Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Interleukin 6 Affect Tacrolimus Metabolism in Liver Transplant Patients

Background Tacrolimus is the first-line immunosuppressant after organ transplantation. It is mainly metabolized by cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A (CYP3A) enzymes, but there are large individual differences in metabolism. Interleukin 6 (IL6) has been shown to cause a pan-suppression of mRNA levels of ten major CYP enzymes in human hepatocyte cultures. IL6 has been shown to provide hepatoprotection in various models of liver injury. Rs1800796 is a locus in the IL6 gene promoter region which regulates cytokine production. We speculated that IL6 rs1800796 polymorphisms may lead to individual differences in tacrolimus metabolism by affecting CYP3A enzymes levels and liver function after liver transplantation. Methodology/Principal Findings Ninety-six liver transplant patients receiving tacrolimus were enrolled in the study. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), CYP3A5 rs776746 and IL6 rs1800796, were genotyped in both donors and recipients. The effects of SNPs on tacrolimus concentration/dose (C/D ratio) at four weeks after transplantation were studied, as well as the effects of donor IL6 rs1800796 polymorphisms on liver function. Both donor and recipient CYP3A5 rs776746 allele A showed association with lower C/D ratios, while donor IL6 rs1800796 allele G showed an association with higher C/D ratios. Donor CYP3A5 rs776746 allele A, IL6 rs1800796 allele C, and recipient CYP3A5 rs776746 allele A were associated with fast tacrolimus metabolism. With increasing numbers of these alleles, patients were found to have increasingly lower tacrolimus C/D ratios at time points after transplantation. Donor IL6 rs1800796 allele G carriers showed an association with higher glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) levels. Conclusions Combined analysis of donor CYP3A5 rs776746, IL6 rs1800796, and recipient CYP3A5 rs776746 polymorphisms may distinguish tacrolimus metabolism better than CYP3A5 rs776746 alone. IL6 may lead to individual differences in tacrolimus metabolism mainly by affecting liver function.
The Determinants of Salesperson Performance: A Meta-Analysis

The authors use meta-analysis techniques to investigate the evidence that has been gathered on the determinants of salespeople's performance. A search of the published and unpublished literature uncovered 116 articles (the list of which is available upon request) that yielded 1653 reported associations between performance and determinants of that performance. The results indicate the determinants can be ordered in the following way in terms of the average size of their association with performance: (1) role variables, (2) skill, (3) motivation, (4) personal factors, (5) aptitude, and (6) organizational/environmental factors. When ordered according to the amount of the observed variation in correlations across studies that is real variation (i.e., not attributable to sampling error), the determinants rank as follows: (1) personal factors, (2) skill, (3) role variables, (4) aptitude, (5) motivation, and (6) organizational/environmental factors. To investigate whether the associations between each of the categories of predictors and performance could be partially accounted for by the presence of moderator variables, the results were broken out by customer type, product type, and type of dependent measure used. The results indicate that the strength of the relationship between the major determinants and salespeople's performance is affected by the type of products salespeople sell. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for sales managers and researchers.
Cloning of a Truncated Babesia equi Gene Encoding an 82-Kilodalton Protein and Its Potential Use in an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

ABSTRACT To isolate Babesia equi genes encoding immunodominant proteins, a cDNA expression library prepared from B. equi mRNA was immunoscreened with B. equi-infected horse serum. Eighteen positive cDNA clones were obtained, and the clone that showed the strongest immunoreactivity, designated Be82, was further characterized. The Be82 gene consisted of 1,953 bp and contained a partial open reading frame lacking the 5′-terminal sequence. As shown by Western blot analyses, immune sera from mice intraperitoneally injected with the Be82 gene product recognized the 82- and 52-kDa proteins of B. equi but not those of Babesia caballi. The glutathione S-transferase fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli that was purified and used as the antigen in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay reacted specifically with B. equi-infected horse sera. These results suggest that the Be82 gene product is a potential diagnostic antigen candidate in the detection of B. equi infection in horses that will be useful both in the performance of epidemiological studies and in the granting of quarantine passes.
Antithrombin Administration During Intravenous Heparin Anticoagulation in the Intensive Care Unit: A Single-Center Matched Retrospective Cohort Study

Unfractionated heparin (UFH) is a frequently utilized indirect anticoagulant that induces therapeutic effect by enhancing antithrombin (AT)-mediated procoagulant enzyme inhibition. In suspected heparin resistance (HR) during cardiopulmonary bypass, AT activity may be decreased and AT supplementation helps restore UFH responsiveness. The benefit of AT supplementation in HR over longer durations of UFH therapy is unclear. The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate the use of AT III concentrate in the intensive care units (ICUs) at our institution for improving UFH therapy response over 72 hours. A total of 44 critically ill patients were included in the analysis—22 patients received at least 1 dose of AT and 22 patients received no AT. Thirty (68.2%) of the 44 patients were receiving mechanical circulatory support. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. The average AT activity prior to AT supplementation was 57.9% in the treatment group, and the median cumulative dose of AT was 786.5 U (9.26 U/kg) per patient. There were no significant differences observed in proportion of time spent in therapeutic range (31.9% vs 35.2%, P = .65), time to therapeutic goal (16.5 vs 15.5 hours, P = .97), or patients who experienced a bleeding event (5 vs 5, P = .99) between groups. In conclusion, AT supplementation had minimal impact on anticoagulant response in this cohort of ICU patients with mild to moderate HR receiving a prolonged UFH infusion. Additional research is needed to define AT activity targets and to standardize AT supplementation practices in patients receiving prolonged heparin infusion.
Design of Linear Phase FIR Filters in Subexpression Space Using Mixed Integer Linear Programming

In this paper, a novel optimization technique is proposed to optimize filter coefficients of linear phase finite-impulse response (FIR) filter to share common subexpressions within and among coefficients. Existing approaches of common subexpression elimination optimize digital filters in two stages: first, an FIR filter is designed in a discrete space such as finite wordlength space or signed power-of-two (SPT) space to meet a given specification; in the second stage, an optimization algorithm is applied on the discrete coefficients to find and eliminate the common subexpressions. Such a two-stage optimization technique suffers from the problem that the search space in the second stage is limited by the finite wordlength or SPT coefficients obtained in the first stage optimization. The new proposed algorithm overcomes this problem by optimizing the filter coefficients directly in subexpression space for a given specification. Numerical examples of benchmark filters show that the required number of adders obtained using the proposed algorithm is much less than those obtained using two-stage optimization approaches.
Social Cognitive Career Theory and Subjective Well-Being in the Context of Work

Subjective well-being has often been studied as a context-free construct, reflecting overall life satisfaction and characteristic levels of positive affect and negative affect. But there has also been much interest in domain-specific aspects of subjective well-being, such as job satisfaction. The authors provide a brief overview of the two primary conceptual approaches to the study of well-being in psychology and consider job satisfaction in relation to one of them (the hedonic approach). They then describe a newly developed social cognitive model that is designed to capture the interplay among multiple (e.g., affective, cognitive, behavioral, social) sources of job satisfaction. The model's potential implications for career assessment and intervention are also considered.
Research trends in technology-enhanced learning / Tendencias de la investigación en el aprendizaje favorecido por la tecnología

Abstract In this paper, we show findings through a data-content analysis of 555 abstracts of articles published in 2013 from five major journals in the field of technology-enhanced learning. The data analysis, using WordStat 6.0 software, followed two main steps. Firstly, a descriptor dictionary was built, and secondly, the frequency and clusters of descriptors were calculated. The theoretical review of previous studies reveals four types of reference topics: technology, environments and applications; processes and learning outcomes; learning activities; and subjects. The analysis of the abstracts reveals two great lines of research. The first is related to technology, including virtual learning environments, game-based learning, mobile learning and learning through communication technologies. The second is related to learning content and includes engineering, mathematics, science, reading and writing.
Epidemiology of severe hospital-acquired infections in patients with liver cirrhosis: effect of long-term administration of norfloxacin.

We performed a 5-year retrospective study to evaluate the effect of long-term administration of norfloxacin on the epidemiology of severe hospital-acquired infections in patients with advanced cirrhosis. Sixty-seven episodes of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and 60 episodes of bacteremia occurred in, respectively, 46 patients (group 1a) and 52 patients (group 1b) who did not receive norfloxacin, while 23 and 17 episodes occurred in 21 patients (group 2a) and 17 patients (group 2b) during or within 10 days after long-term administration of norfloxacin. Enterobacteriaceae were more prevalent in groups 1a and 1b than in the other two groups (P < .001 and P < .01, respectively); conversely, staphylococci were more prevalent in groups 2a and 2b (P < .001 and P < .05, respectively). The rate of staphylococcal resistance to methicillin was 53.6% in groups 1a and 1b and 77.3% in groups 2a and 2b. We conclude that long-term norfloxacin administration to cirrhotic patients reduces the risk of gram-negative infections but increases the risk of severe hospital-acquired staphylococcal infections and of high-level resistance to antibiotics.