Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Leader positive humor and organizational cynicism: LMX as a mediator

Purpose – Leader-member exchange (LMX) has been proposed as a core mechanism which accounts for the impact of various antecedents on employee outcomes. As such, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of LMX regarding the relationship between leader positive humor and employees’ perceptions of organizational cynicism. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 114 public employees. In order to examine the authors’ hypotheses hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. Findings – As hypothesized, results demonstrated that LMX mediates the relationship between leader positive humor and organizational cynicism. Research limitations/implications – Data were drawn from public employees and, therefore, this may constrain the generalizability of the results. Also, the cross-sectional analysis of the data cannot directly assess causality. Originality/value – This is the first empirical study to examine the mediating effect of LMX in the relationship between leader humor and em.
PREVALENCE OF PSYCHIATRY MORBIDITY IN AN URBAN COMMUNITY OF PONDICHERRY

SUMMARY A cross-sectional study on psychiatric morbidity was conducted in an urban area of Pondicherry between October 1988 and July 1989. A sample of 225 families covering 1115 people of all ages was selected by simple random technique. The prevalence rate was 99.4 per 1000, the prevalence among children being 58.6 per 1000. It was found that age, education, occupation and marital status had significant correlation with mental morbidity. Out of 90 cases detected among adults, psychosis formed 20%, neuroses 47% and alcohol dependence syndrome constituted 30%. Among children two conditions commonly identified were mental retardation and nocturnal enuresis.
Recycling and Ambivalence

Theories about ambivalence, as well as quantitative and qualitative empirical approaches, are applied to obtain an understanding of recycling among young adults. A questionnaire was mailed to 422 Swedish young people. Regression analyses showed that a mix of negative emotions (worry) and positive emotions (hope and joy) about the environmental problems was positively related to recycling. The opposite pattern was found for attitudinal ambivalence toward recycling. Thereafter, semistructured interviews were performed. In a group of reluctant recyclers, the ambivalent attitudes consisted of views that recycling is something beneficial for the environment and is a civic duty. On the other hand, they wanted more information, were unable to integrate youthful ideals about living in an environmentally friendly way with the everyday life of young adulthood, and felt low self-efficacy. In addition, strategies to activate positive emotions alongside a high degree of environmental worry were explored in a group who recycle regularly.
We Remember, We Forget: Collaborative Remembering in Older Couples

Transactive memory theory describes the processes by which benefits for memory can occur when remembering is shared in dyads or groups. In contrast, cognitive psychology experiments demonstrate that social influences on memory disrupt and inhibit individual recall. However, most research in cognitive psychology has focused on groups of strangers recalling relatively meaningless stimuli. This study examined social influences on memory in groups with a shared history, who were recalling a range of stimuli, from word lists to personal, shared memories. The study focused, in detail, on the products and processes of remembering during in-depth interviews with 12 older married couples. These interviews consisted of three recall tasks: (a) word list recall; (b) personal list recall, where stimuli were relevant to the couples' shared past; and (c) an open-ended autobiographical interview. These tasks individually conducted and then collaboratively conducted two weeks later. Across each of the tasks, although some couples demonstrated collaborative inhibition, others demonstrated collaborative facilitation. A number of factors were identified that predicted collaborative success—in particular, group-level strategy use. The results show that collaboration may help or hinder memory, and certain interactions are more likely to produce collaborative benefits.
Do HIV-specific CTL continue to have an antiviral function during antiretroviral therapy? If not, why not, and what can be done about it?

Pharmacological reactivation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) expression from latent proviruses coupled with fully suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been suggested as a strategy to eradicate HIV infection. In order for this strategy to be effective, latently infected cells must be killed either by the cytopathic effect of reactivated HIV gene expression, or by HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL). However, a review of current data reveals little evidence that CTL retain an antiviral effector capacity in patients on fully suppressive ART, implying that the HIV-specific CTL present in these patients will not be able to eliminate HIV-infected CD4+ T cells effectively. If this is due to functional impairment or a quantitative deficit of HIV-specific CTL during ART, then therapeutic vaccination may improve the prospects for eradicating latent reservoirs. However, data from the macaque simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) model indicate that in vivo, SIV-specific CTL are only effective during the early stages of the viral replication cycle, and this constitutes an alternative explanation why HIV-specific CTL do not appear to have an impact on HIV reservoirs during ART. In that case, immunotoxins that target HIV-expressing cells may be a more promising approach for HIV eradication.
Effects of repeated-low level sodium chlorate administration on ruminal and fecal coliforms in sheep

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral sodium chlorate administration on reducing total coliform populations in ewes. A 30% sodium chlorate product or a sodium chloride placebo was administered to twelve lactating Dorper X Blackbelly or Pelibuey crossbred ewes averaging 65 kg body weight. The ewes were adapted to diet and management. Ewes were randomly assigned (4/treatment) to one of three treatments which were administered twice daily by oral gavage for five consecutive days: a control (TC) consisting of 3 g sodium chloride/animal/d, a T3 treatment consisting of 1.8 g of sodium chlorate/animal/d, and a T9 treatment consisting of 5.4 g sodium chlorate/animal/d; the latter was intended to approximate a lowest known effective dose. Ruminal samples collected by stomach tube and freshly voided fecal samples were collected daily beginning 3 days before treatment initiation and for 6 days thereafter. Contents were cultured quantitatively to enumerate total coliforms. There were no significant differences in total coliform numbers (log10 cfu/g) in the feces between treatments (P = 0.832). There were differences (P < 0.02) in ruminal coliform counts (log10 cfu/mL) between treatments (4.1, 4.3 and 5.0 log10/mL contents in TC, T3 and T9 Treatments, respectively) which tended to increase from the beginning of treatment until the 5th day of treatment (P < 0.05). Overall, we did not obtain the expected results with oral administration of sodium chloride at the applied doses. By comparing the trends in coliform populations in the rumen contents in all treatments, there was an increase over the days. The opposite trend occurred in the feces, due mainly to differences among rumen contents and feces in ewes administered the T9 treatment (P = 0.06). These results suggest that the low chlorate doses used here were suboptimal for the control of coliforms in the gastrointestinal tract of ewes.
Directions and Dilemmas in Massage Therapy Research: A Workshop Report from the 2009 North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Background: Massage therapy (MT) is widely used and expanding rapidly, but systematic research on its mechanisms and effects has, in contrast with many other therapeutic fields, a short history. Purpose: To take stock of the current state of MT research and to explore approaches, directions, and strategies with the potential to make the next two decades of MT research optimally productive. Setting: The 2009 North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Method: Using a modified Delphi method, the study authors led an interactive workshop that aimed to identify established MT research findings, needed MT research, weaknesses and limitations in currently available MT research, and directions to pursue in the next two decades of MT research. Participants: The thirty-seven conference attendees—including MT researchers, educators, and practitioners, and other health care practitioners who already work interprofessionally with MT—actively participated in the workshop and ensured that a diversity of perspectives were represented. Results: The MT field has made rapid and laudable progress in its short history, but at the same time this short history is probably the main reason for most of the current shortcomings in MT research. Drawing on a diversity of backgrounds, workshop participants identified many opportunities and strategies for future research. Conclusion: Though lost time can never be recovered, the field’s late start in research should not be allowed to be a demoralizing handicap to progress. Modern scientific methods and technologies, applied to the range of directions and dilemmas highlighted in this report, can lead to impressive progress in the next twenty years of MT research.
Association of impaired diurnal blood pressure variation with a subsequent decline in glomerular filtration rate.

BACKGROUND Most healthy people exhibit a decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) at night. A drop of less than 10% from mean daytime values (nondipping) is associated with chronic kidney disease, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular events. Whether nondipping precedes a decline in renal function remains unclear. We hypothesized that nondipping would predict a decline in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) over time. METHODS Consecutive patients referred for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were included in our retrospective cohort if they had a serum creatinine level noted at the time of their ambulatory blood pressure recording and a follow-up creatinine level recorded at least 1 year later. Mean day and night SBPs were compared (nighttime SBP-daytime [corrected] SBP ratio). We defined nondipping as a nighttime [corrected] SBP-daytime [corrected] SBP ratio higher than 0.90. The GFR was calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease 4-variable equation. RESULTS Of 322 patients included, 137 were dippers and 185 were nondippers; their mean baseline GFRs were 80.5 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) and 76.4 mL/min per 1.73 m(2), respectively. During a median follow-up of 3.2 years, the GFRs remained stable among dippers (mean change, 1.3%) but declined among nondippers (mean change, -15.9%) (P<.001). The creatinine levels increased by more than 50% in 2 dippers (1.5%) and in 32 nondippers (17.3%) (P<.001). These findings persisted after adjustment for other predictors of GFR decline. CONCLUSION Blunted diurnal blood pressure variation is associated with a subsequent deterioration in renal function that is independent of SBP load and other risk factors for renal impairment.
Maternal Warmth Mediates the Relation Between Mother-Preadolescent Cohesion and Change in Maternal Knowledge During the Transition to Adolescence

SYNOPSIS Objective. This study assessed the relation between prior mother-preadolescent cohesion and changes in maternal knowledge during the transition to adolescence . Design . Questionnaire data were gathered from 148 mother-preadolescent dyads. Data were collected once per year for three years, beginning when the preadolescents were in fourth grade and aged 9–11 years. Participants completed measures of mother-preadolescent relational cohesion, maternal warmth, and maternal knowledge of the preadolescents' acquaintances, whereabouts, and behavior. Results . Longitudinal mediator model analysis indicated that when preadolescent reports were used, higher levels of mother-preadolescent relational cohesion at Time 1 were associated with greater knowledge at Time 3. The relation between prior cohesion and changes in knowledge was mediated by maternal warmth at Time 2. Alternative models with different time-orderings of the variables did not fit as well as the original hypothesized model. When maternal reports were used, there were no significant relations between prior cohesion and change in maternal knowledge over time. Alternative models using maternal reports also were not supported. Conclusion . Mother-preadolescent cohesion and maternal warmth play central roles in the prediction of change in maternal knowledge over time.
Learning opportunities: The production and practice of kindergarten literacy curricula in an era of change

This case study using ethnographic tools was designed to identify and gain analytic insight into the dimensions and dynamics of kindergarten literacy curricula during an era of early childhood education and care reform. Focal questions concerned how literacy curricula were produced and the ways in which children and their linguistic and multi-modal funds of knowledge may have been implicated in curricular production and practice. Focusing on one public school kindergarten in Ontario, Canada, and drawing on curriculum theory, actor-network theory, and multi-literacies, the study found curricula to be plural and dynamic and produced through networks that included the provincial government, school district, commerce, teachers, children, and discourses of early childhood education. Findings suggested that children’s funds of knowledge were not part of the official curriculum, yet children translated the curricular effects of other actors in the network or created alternate assemblages to enact literacy practices that more reflected their interests and knowledge. The study contributes to the dialogue on literacy curricula in early childhood education and care and hopes to provide information that can help policy-makers and educators (re)consider how networks might promote expansive literacy learning opportunities for children.
Positive and negative social capital and the uneven development of civil society in Southeastern Europe

This article surveys alternative conceptions of social capital and presents empirical findings from research conducted in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia – Montenegro and Romania. A conceptual distinction between positive and negative social capital is made and emphasis is placed on inter‐regional variation among South East European countries and on inter‐ethnic aspects of social capital. Positive social capital is a necessary condition for developing civil society and for improving the quality of democracy, but a certain level of distrust towards institutions is also expected in democratic regimes. Alternative strategies to develop social capital in post‐communist societies are assessed. In order to raise social capital, a combination of multiple strategies at the European, national and local levels is required.
The role of APPRAISAL in the NRF Rating System: an analysis of Judgement and Appreciation in peer reviewers' reports

Abstract This research is based on analyses of a corpus of reviewers' reports that were elicited for the purposes of assessing South African researchers who have applied for a rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF). Such ratings are highly sought-after by South African researchers as a form of official affirmation and recognition of research expertise, which brings with it scholarly accolades and the opportunity to access national research funds. The article is a pilot study which explores the use of evaluative language in the reports and tries to make explicit the kinds of linguistic resources exploited by reviewers when making evaluations, and the way in which their linguistic choices influence the intuitive judgments made by the panel of assessors when allocating ratings based on the reports. The ultimate aim in the larger research project is to explicate the relationship between the types of evaluative language used and the rating allocated, which will give some indication of the reliability and validity of the NRF Rating System. The interpretive framework used is the APPRAISAL system (Martin, 2000; Martin & Rose, 2003; Martin & White, 2005), with a specific focus on Judgement (evaluation of behaviour) and Appreciation (evaluation of things). The system lends itself to a rigorous analysis of linguistic data, and offers a way to strengthen the reliability of the rating assessments of the NRF.
Hyperstriatal Lesions and Short-Term Retention of Non-Visual Information in Pigeons

Short-term retention of non-visual information was investigated using three series of hyperstriatal-lesioned and unoperated control pigeons. Neither retention (Experiment 1) nor acquisition (Experiment 3) of go/no-go alternation was disrupted by the lesions. Similarly, Experiments 2 and 5 failed to detect significant disruption of either retention or acquisition of spatial alternation. Increases in the retention intervals used in these tasks reduced accuracy in both groups but did not differently affect hyperstriatal as opposed to control performance. A lasting deficit was, however, obtained in a delayed-response task (Experiment 4), but this deficit, which was independent of retention interval, appeared to be the result, not of a disruption of memory, but of an exaggerated perseverative tendency. Experiment 6 confirmed that all three series of hyperstriatal birds showed disruption of reversals of a spatial discrimination. It is concluded that hyperstriatal lesions do not disrupt memory processes, and the hypothesis that hyperstriatal damage induces perseveration of central sets is discussed.
Inherent Limitations of Demographic Proxies in Top Management Team Heterogeneity Research

Top management team (TMT) heterogeneity—performance research using demographic indicators has contributed to strategic management by showing that top managers do indeed “matter” to firm outcomes. We argue, however, that limitations inherent in demographics-based TMT studies preclude their use in specifying how top managers influence their firms. This is an elemental problem because questions of how top managers can and should influence their firms are central to strategic management. Demographics-based TMT heterogeneity studies are limited by intrinsic trade-offs, which sacrifice: construct validity for measurement reliability; explanation for prediction; and prescription for description. We suggest “next steps” for improving the usefulness of future TMT studies (i.e., addressing the “how” question) by: (1) incorporating more substantive heterogeneity constructs, such as within-TMT power distributions, psychographic variances, and judgment differences; and (2) integrating qualitative research with the quantitative as a base for developing research questions that are more informed, salient, and interesting. We urge researchers to eschew demographic proxies, and instead direct their efforts toward more difficult, but potentially more rewarding, TMT issues.
Thrombolysis With Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Tirofiban in Stroke: Preliminary Observations

Background and Purpose— We sought to investigate the feasibility of the combined use of low-dose recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and tirofiban, a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GPIIb/IIIa) receptor antagonist, for systemic thrombolysis in acute stroke. Methods— Consecutive patients who were treated with systemic application of low-dose rtPA and body weight–adjusted tirofiban (rtPA+T group; n=37) were evaluated retrospectively during 1999–2001. Patients in the rtPA+T group were compared with a group of patients treated with a dose of 0.9 mg/kg body weight in a different center (rtPA group; n=119). The 41 patients with infarctions of the middle cerebral artery territory who were not eligible for thrombolytic treatment because of medical contraindications or arrival in the hospital >3 hours after stroke onset served as controls. For matched comparisons, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale on admission and the Rankin Scale on discharge 5 days after stroke were used. Results— The patients treated with rtPA+T or rtPA improved (P <0.05) compared with the controls at discharge; patients in the rtPA+T and rtPA groups reached a Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2 in 63% and 55%, respectively, while only 16% of the controls achieved this score. Death rates (8% in rtPA+T group and 5% in rtPA group) were similar among the 2 treatment groups. They included 1 fatal hemorrhage in the rtPA+T group and 4 fatal hemorrhages in the rtPA group. Five percent of the untreated patients developed symptomatic, nonfatal cerebral hemorrhage. Conclusions— Systemic combined thrombolysis with rtPA+T seems to be a feasible treatment in acute stroke.
Inhibition of Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction of Rats by Carbon Monoxide

Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV), a unique response of pulmonary circulation, is critical to prevent hypoxemia under local hypoventilation. Hypoxic inhibition of K+ channel is known as an important O2-sensing mechanism in HPV. Carbon monoxide (CO) is suggested as a positive regulator of Ca2+-activated K+ channel (BKCa), a stimulator of guanylate cyclase, and an O2-mimetic agent in heme moiety-dependent O2 sensing mechanisms. Here we compared the effects of CO on the HPV (Po2, 3%) in isolated pulmonary artery (HPVPA) and in blood-perfused/ventilated lungs (HPVlung) of rats. A pretreatment with CO (3%) abolished the HPVPA in a reversible manner. The inhibition of HPVPA was completely reversed by 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo-[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a guanylate cyclase inhibitor. In contrast, the HPVlung was only partly decreased by CO. Moreover, the partial inhibition of HPVlung by CO was affected neither by the pretreatment with ODQ nor by NO synthase inhibitor (L-NAME). The CO-induced inhibitions of HPVPA and HPVlung were commonly unaffected by tetraethylammonium (TEA, 2 mM), a blocker of BKCa. As a whole, CO inhibits HPVPA via activating guanylate cyclase. The inconsistent effects of ODQ on HPVPA and HPVlung suggest that ODQ may lose its sGC inhibitory action when applied to the blood-containing perfusate.