Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment Integrity: An Unresolved Issue in Psychotherapy Research

Background: Treatment integrity is defined as the extent to which a treatment is carried out as intended. It includes several interrelated components (e.g. therapy adherence, therapist competence and therapy differentiation). Treatment integrity is regarded to play an essential role in psychotherapy outcome research. Objective: This article discusses (1) conceptual aspects, (2) empirical results and (3) methodological problems of research on treatment integrity. Results: (1) Therapy integrity refers to different aspects of experimental validity. It is usually discussed with regard to internal validity. Maybe even more important, however, treatment integrity also refers to construct validity. Treatment integrity is also related to external validity and validity of statistical conclusions. (2) Results for the relationship between treatment integrity (adherence to a treatment model and competent delivery of techniques) and outcome are heterogeneous and suggest that the relationship between outcome and treatment integrity is not yet clear. Even in studies which found a relationship between treatment integrity and outcome, the proportion of variance explained by intended techniques was between 10% and 30%. Thus, the majority of variance was not explained by intended techniques. (3) Methodological problems may contribute to the lack of consistent results. As most results come from randomized controlled efficacy studies, the ranges of data for both outcome and adherence/competence may be restricted by the selection of patients and therapists, as well as by training of therapists, manualization and monitoring of treatment. These factors attenuate the association between treatment integrity and outcome. Other factors that may contribute to the inconsistent results are unreliability of measures, instability of adherence and competence during the process of psychotherapy or nonlinear relationships between treatment integrity and outcome. Conclusions: Further studies are required that address the relationship between adherence, competence and outcome, especially for those methods of psychotherapy that were shown to be effective in a particular disorder. Factors that moderate or mediate the relationship between outcome and therapy integrity should be included. Due to their high level of standardization, randomized controlled efficacy studies seem to be only of limited use to study the relationship between treatment integrity and outcome. The recent shift from a single-disorder focus of the traditional manualized interventions to transdiagnostic, modular and component-based interventions may lead to a change in the conceptualization of treatment integrity. It allows for a more flexible use of interventions while maintaining treatment integrity. This shift may both enhance the external validity of studies using manualized treatments and lead to more consistent results regarding the relationship between treatment integrity and outcome.
Depletion of the neural precursor cell pool by glucocorticoids

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are indicated for a number of conditions in obstetrics and perinatal medicine; however, the neurodevelopmental and long‐term neurological consequences of early‐life GC exposure are still largely unknown. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that GCs have a major influence on hippocampal cell turnover by inhibiting neurogenesis and stimulating apoptosis of mature neurons. Here we examined the fate of the limited pool of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) after GC administration during neonatal development; the impact of this treatment on hippocampal structure was also studied.
Locus of Control and Achievement Motivation in the Active Aged (65 Years and Over)

The motivational components of continued participation in expressive social situations are thought to be related to each individual's locus of control and achievement motivation. The present study involved an investigation of active participants in a National Championship Tennis Tournament for Seniors (65 yr. and over) and members of the local Retired Seniors Volunteer Program. Scores indicated that these seniors were generally internal, a finding which contradicts Phares' earlier work. Similarly, this sample was not extremely achievement oriented but rather represented a general tendency toward conflict between a desire to succeed and fear of failure. Results are discussed in terms of the Conflict Enculturation Theory of Roberts and Sutton-Smith.
Design of Surface Electrode Array for Measuring Conduction Velocity in the Human Genioglossus Muscle

A new appliance, incorporating linear arrays of pin electrodes for genioglossus (GG) surface electromyography measurement, is presented. This design enables the estimation of GG muscle fiber conduction velocity, which decreases with fatigue. The performance of the device was evaluated for ten healthy human subjects during fatiguing and force varying contractions
Novel Insight into the Genetic Context of the cadAB Genes from a 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic Acid-Degrading Sphingomonas

The 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic (MCPA) acid-degrader Sphingomonas sp. ERG5 has recently been isolated from MCPA-degrading bacterial communities. Using Illumina-sequencing, the 5.7 Mb genome of this isolate was sequenced in this study, revealing the 138 kbp plasmid pCADAB1 harboring the 32.5 kbp composite transposon Tn6228 which contains genes encoding proteins for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and MCPA, as well as the regulation of this pathway. Transposon Tn6228 was confirmed by PCR to be situated on the plasmid and also exist in a circular intermediate state - typical of IS3 elements. The canonical tfdAα-gene of group III 2,4-D degraders, encoding the first step in degradation of 2,4-D and related compounds, was not present in the chromosomal contigs. However, the alternative cadAB genes, also providing the initial degradation step, were found in Tn6228, along with the 2,4-D-degradation-associated genes tfdBCDEFKR and cadR. Putative reductase and ferredoxin genes cadCD of Rieske non-heme iron oxygenases were also present in close proximity to cadAB, suggesting that these might have an unknown role in the initial degradation reaction. Parts of the composite transposon contain sequence displaying high similarity to previously analyzed 2,4-D degradation genes, suggesting rapid dissemination and high conservation of the chlorinated-phenoxyacetic acid (PAA)-degradation genotype among the sphingomonads.
Behavioral Differences in the Upper and Lower Visual Hemifields in Shape and Motion Perception

Perceptual accuracy is known to be influenced by stimuli location within the visual field. In particular, it seems to be enhanced in the lower visual hemifield (VH) for motion and space processing, and in the upper VH for object and face processing. The origins of such asymmetries are attributed to attentional biases across the visual field, and in the functional organization of the visual system. In this article, we tested content-dependent perceptual asymmetries in different regions of the visual field. Twenty-five healthy volunteers participated in this study. They performed three visual tests involving perception of shapes, orientation and motion, in the four quadrants of the visual field. The results of the visual tests showed that perceptual accuracy was better in the lower than in the upper visual field for motion perception, and better in the upper than in the lower visual field for shape perception. Orientation perception did not show any vertical bias. No difference was found when comparing right and left VHs. The functional organization of the visual system seems to indicate that the dorsal and the ventral visual streams, responsible for motion and shape perception, respectively, show a bias for the lower and upper VHs, respectively. Such a bias depends on the content of the visual information.
Environmental Conflict Resolution: Evaluating Performance Outcomes and Contributing Factors

This empirical study of fifty-two environmental conflict resolution (ECR) processes is based on an evaluation framework that specifies key conditions and factors that contribute to ECR outcomes. Data were collected on a range of ECR processes and applications. This article reports on findings from a multilevel modeling analysis that focuses on three primary outcomes: reaching agreement, the quality of agreement, and improved working relationships among parties. Effective engagement of parties is identified as a major contributor to all three outcomes. Other key factors that operate directly and indirectly through effective engagement are involvement of appropriate parties, the skills and practices of ECR mediators and facilitators, and incorporation of relevant and high-quality information. Findings generally support the ECR evaluation framework.
Modified Balance Error Scoring System (M-BESS) test scores in athletes wearing protective equipment and cleats

Background Balance testing is an important part of the initial concussion assessment. There is no research on the differences in Modified Balance Error Scoring System (M-BESS) scores when tested in real world as compared to control conditions. Objective To assess the difference in M-BESS scores in athletes wearing their protective equipment and cleats on different surfaces as compared to control conditions. Methods This cross-sectional study examined university North American football and soccer athletes. Three observers independently rated athletes performing the M-BESS test in three different conditions: (1) wearing shorts and T-shirt in bare feet on firm surface (control); (2) wearing athletic equipment with cleats on FieldTurf; and (3) wearing athletic equipment with cleats on firm surface. Mean M-BESS scores were compared between conditions. Results 60 participants were recruited: 39 from football (all males) and 21 from soccer (11 males and 10 females). Average age was 21.1 years (SD=1.8). Mean M-BESS scores were significantly lower (p<0.001) for cleats on FieldTurf (mean=26.3; SD=2.0) and for cleats on firm surface (mean=26.6; SD=2.1) as compared to the control condition (mean=28.4; SD=1.5). Females had lower scores than males for cleats on FieldTurf condition (24.9 (SD=1.9) vs 27.3 (SD=1.6), p=0.005). Players who had taping or bracing on their ankles/feet had lower scores when tested with cleats on firm surface condition (24.6 (SD=1.7) vs 26.9 (SD=2.0), p=0.002). Conclusions Total M-BESS scores for athletes wearing protective equipment and cleats standing on FieldTurf or a firm surface are around two points lower than M-BESS scores performed on the same athletes under control conditions.
Perception of child development, child-related stress and dyadic adjustment: pair analysis of married couples of young children with developmental disabilities

Thirty-two married Israeli couples, parents of young children with developmental disabilities, were studied with respect to differences in the perception of their children’s development, child-related stress, and dyadic adjustment. Major findings showed that there were no differences between husbands and wives or men and women regarding the perception of their children’s development, child-related stress and dyadic adjustment. However, a plot box presentation indicated nominal differential differences between men and women in perception of their children’s development. Findings are discussed in respect to practice and future research.
Introduction: The International Mobility of Brains: Exodus or Circulation?

Jacques Gaillard is a senior scientist at the Institut Fran&ccedil;ais de Recherche Scientifique pour le D&eacute;veloppement en Coop&eacute;ration (ORSTOM), LSSD, 32 avenue Henri Varagnat, 93143 Bondy Cedex, France. Anne Marie Gaillard is a social anthropologist specialist in international migration studies, 17 all&eacute;e des Coteaux Briards, 91800 BRUNOY, France. THE MOVEMENT OF scientists and scholars throughout the world is as old as science itself. From the very beginning science has been built up through the circulation of men and ideas. In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, however, this mobility applied increasingly and more massively to the developing countries. Embedded in an ideology of Third Worldism that gave it the aura of a problem, it soon became the subject of many impassioned discussions, and it was addressed in numerous studies. ’ Thus, brain drain as a term came to be used regularly to condemn the flight of good _minds from the developing countries to the rich countries, and as a oneway phenomenon, because it often hastily combined and confused the notion of loss conveyed in the term drain with the migration of educated and professional people. In this context, the United Nations defined the term brain drain as a one-way movement, or
Short-Term Exposure to Outdoor Pollutants and Loss of Pulmonary Function in the Elderly

The reduction of pulmonary function has come to be considered one of the most important health effects of air pollution because it not only affects individual respiratory health status but also predicts cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population (1-3). Although numerous studies have provided an understanding of air pollution's general effects on pulmonary function, the length of the lag period for the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution has not been well elucidated. In addition, most of the information about the pulmonary effects of air pollution has come from studies of children and adults, whereas pulmonary effects in the elderly are less well understood. Because of the considerable increase in the prevalence of respiratory diseases in the elderly population and this population’s known susceptibility to toxic chemicals in the environment, the effect of air pollution on pulmonary function in the elderly has emerged as a serious concern in both public health and clinical medicine. Although the diminution of pulmonary function because of exposure to air pollutants has been reported in previous studies (4-6), most of these reports were time-series or crosssectional analyses that did not capture within-subject changes. To account for within-subject changes in pulmonary function, a longitudinal study, such as a cohort or panel study, is required. A cohort study would be more appropriate for evaluating the long-term health effects of air pollution, while a panel study is better suited for evaluating the short-term effects (7). Because each subject can be used as his or her own control in a panel study with repeated measurements, only rapidly changing covariates for each given subject have to be considered in a statistical analysis. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal panel study using repeated measurements to evaluate the effects of air pollutants on pulmonary function in the elderly, who are known to be especially susceptible to air pollution (8-10).
Plasma concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and neopterin in the coronary circulation of patients with coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND The dynamics of MCP-1 and neopterin and the relation between their concentrations in coronary circulation and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis were evaluated in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS AND RESULTS Blood samples were obtained from the aortic root (Ao) and coronary sinus (CS) of 78 patients who underwent coronary angiography. Plasma MCP-1 and neopterin concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method and the CS-Ao differences were calculated. The severity of coronary heart disease (CHD) was evaluated in 52 patients who had no history of coronary angioplasty, using 3 coronary scoring systems: the clinical 1- to 3-vessel disease score, the American Heart Association extension score (1-15 segments), and the Gensini score. The plasma MCP-1 and neopterin concentrations increased significantly with age. The CS-Ao differences for neopterin showed weak, but significant, positive correlation with the Gensini score (r=0.347, p=0.013). There were no correlations among the MCP-1 concentrations in the Ao or CS, or in the CS-Ao difference, with the severity of CHD. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that neopterin is a useful marker of the severity of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with stable CAD, acting as an index of the activity of monocytes/macrophages.
Informal and entrepreneurial strategies among sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco

Though once considered only a country of emigration, Morocco currently occupies a curious position as both a country of transit and a country of installation for migrants originating from sub-Saharan Africa. As a result of reinforced security on the borders of the European Union, many would-be migrants to Europe remain in Morocco for extended periods of time. Faced with legal and societal barriers to integration, they develop creative livelihood strategies in the informal sector, often launching entrepreneurial ventures. This article explores these and other various informal economic activities among the sub-Saharan migrant population in Rabat and Casablanca, the organisational structure of this nascent underground economy, and additionally, the emerging humanitarian programmes that finance entrepreneurial projects among migrants in Morocco. Whereas previous research has focused on the origins, motivations and trajectories of sub-Saharan migrants, this article instead sheds light on the dynamic and creative economic strategies they employ during a prolonged period of transit. In an effort to neither glorify the risks taken by these migrants nor exaggerate their vulnerability, the analysis herein aims to clarify the practical economic reality of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco.
Probabilistic Methods for Support Vector Machines

I describe a framework for interpreting Support Vector Machines (SVMs) as maximum a posteriori (MAP) solutions to inference problems with Gaussian Process priors. This can provide intuitive guidelines for choosing a 'good' SVM kernel. It can also assign (by evidence maximization) optimal values to parameters such as the noise level C which cannot be determined unambiguously from properties of the MAP solution alone (such as cross-validation error). I illustrate this using a simple approximate expression for the SVM evidence. Once C has been determined, error bars on SVM predictions can also be obtained.
The Ketogenic Diet and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Prolong Survival in Mice with Systemic Metastatic Cancer

Introduction Abnormal cancer metabolism creates a glycolytic-dependency which can be exploited by lowering glucose availability to the tumor. The ketogenic diet (KD) is a low carbohydrate, high fat diet which decreases blood glucose and elevates blood ketones and has been shown to slow cancer progression in animals and humans. Abnormal tumor vasculature creates hypoxic pockets which promote cancer progression and further increase the glycolytic-dependency of cancers. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2T) saturates tumors with oxygen, reversing the cancer promoting effects of tumor hypoxia. Since these non-toxic therapies exploit overlapping metabolic deficiencies of cancer, we tested their combined effects on cancer progression in a natural model of metastatic disease. Methods We used the firefly luciferase-tagged VM-M3 mouse model of metastatic cancer to compare tumor progression and survival in mice fed standard or KD ad libitum with or without HBO2T (2.5 ATM absolute, 90 min, 3x/week). Tumor growth was monitored by in vivo bioluminescent imaging. Results KD alone significantly decreased blood glucose, slowed tumor growth, and increased mean survival time by 56.7% in mice with systemic metastatic cancer. While HBO2T alone did not influence cancer progression, combining the KD with HBO2T elicited a significant decrease in blood glucose, tumor growth rate, and 77.9% increase in mean survival time compared to controls. Conclusions KD and HBO2T produce significant anti-cancer effects when combined in a natural model of systemic metastatic cancer. Our evidence suggests that these therapies should be further investigated as potential non-toxic treatments or adjuvant therapies to standard care for patients with systemic metastatic disease.
Pupils' images of scientific epistemology

This paper is derived from data gathered during a year‐long classroom study on how pupils' views of the nature of science changed when some of their learning materials were historically situated. Five classes were involved and the evidence comprised pre‐ and post‐tests, interviews and class tests. It is shown that life‐world images of scientists as people, and the equipment with which each is associated, can be taken to represent pupils' epistemologies. This is related to contemporary thinking about the nature of knowledge and of technology. The questionnaire responses showed substantial progress during the year. The older ideas were not eliminated but stories from history seemed to have provided alternative images which generated more reflection. However, the results were complicated by the conflicting meanings for ‘explain’ held by many of the pupils. Some supplementary work carried out during the course explored the classroom methods by which teachers emphasized the causative rather than descriptive na.
Television and Social Identity: Race Representation as "White" Accommodation

The influence of race representation on White viewers' feelings, perceptions, and opinions is evaluated. Participants indicate more liking for Black as opposed to White commentators. Participants perceive the least similarity between a Black and a White commentator who disagree with each other, but great Similarity between a Black and a White commentator who agree with each other. Results are discussed with respect to aversive or enlightened racism and the accommodation of White identity.
Evaluation of instruction: students’ patterns of use and contribution to RateMyProfessors.com

RateMyProfessors.com (RMP) is the most popular commercial website to evaluate instructors, and houses a wealth of student-generated information in the form of ratings and reviews. This study investigated whether general chemistry students who use RMP were different from other students, and their reasons to use and contribute to the site. A pool of 398 students were surveyed. The survey gathered demographic information, patterns and frequency of use, and information to characterise participants in terms of their learning/grade orientation. Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics and the application of mixture models (latent class analysis and latent profile analysis). There were no significant differences between contributors and non-contributors in terms of gender, major, year status, grade point average, course load, previous chemistry grade and learning/grade orientation. Findings for this sample do not support the common assumption that students use RMP to shop for easy instructors. Instructor helpfulness, clarity and overall rating were reported as important aspects to visit the site. Findings agree with literature reports and support the use of RMP as supplemental data to inform assessment of instruction at the general chemistry programme level. Programmes in other disciplines can adapt the methods presented to assess the suitability of RMP data-sets for similar purposes.