Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A single-beam positron emission computerized tomography study of trichotillomania in terms of cognitive behaviour therapy

Trichotillomania was first defined over a hundred years ago as a self inflicted alopecia resulting from avulsion of hair. Previous Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies have shown increased count density in the right superior parietal region of patients suffering from trichotillomania. It is unclear if this increase in count density might be a state or trait related marker of the disease. Research has indicated that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can systematically modify cerebral metabolic activity which is significantly related to clinical outcome. In the case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a decrease of metabolic activity has been demonstrated using Pet. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether similar metabolic changes as indicated by Single Beam Positron Emission Computerised Tomography. (SPECT), will be found in trichotillomania after Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Twelve patients diagnosed as suffering from trichotillomania, using DSM-IV criteria, underwent brain SPECT scanning using Tc-HMPAO. Scanning was performed before and after Cognitive Behaviour Therapy intervention. The psychotherapy was conducted in 12-16 sessions. The response to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy was assessed using the Psychiatric Institute Trichotillomania Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. Ratings were completed at the beginning and end of the trial. The analysis of the scan data was done by comparing the left to the right superior parietal region. For each patient the region of interest was applied on the superior transaxial brain slices where the cingulate gyrus fully appeared. Each region of interest had the average number of counts normalised to the maximal cerebellar uptake. Baseline studies showed a significant increased count of Tc-HMPAO in the right superior parietal areas compared to the same areas on the left (p<0.0003). This pattern normalised after Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, such that there was no significant difference between the right and left superior parietal areas in those patients who responded (n=9) to therapy. In the non-responder group (n=3), the pattern remained unchanged. Using SPECT this study confirms previous reports of increased density in the right superior parietal lobe. In addition, it suggests that the increased count of Tc-HMPAO in the right parietal area is a state related disturbance in neurophysiology in this disorder, as it resolves with successful treatment. Of substantial importance is the fact that this study demonstrates a neurophysiological substrate and impact of psychotherapy. In conclusion this data suggests that the increased count density in the right superior parietal area is a state related marker of trichotillomania. Tc-HMPAO brain SPECT can therefore be used to monitor therapy of patients suffering from this disease.
A knowledge-based scoring function based on residue triplets for protein structure prediction

Abstract One of the general paradigms for ab initio protein structure prediction involves sampling the conformational space such that a large set of decoy (candidate) structures are generated and then selecting native-like conformations from those decoys using various scoring functions. In this study, based on a physical/geometric approach first suggested by Banavar and colleagues, we formulate a knowledge-based scoring function, which uses the radii of curvature formed among triplets of residues in a protein conformation. By analyzing its performance on various decoy sets, we determine a good set of parameters—the distance cutoff and the number of distance bins—to use for configuring such a function. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of using various approaches for compiling the prior distribution on the performance of the knowledge-based function. Possible extensions to the current form of the residue triplet scoring function are discussed.
Understanding the effects of training programs for vulnerable adults on social inclusion as part of continuing education

According to the increasing rates of unemployment and poverty a significant share of the European population can be considered at-risk-of-social exclusion. In order to combat social exclusion adult education seemed to be a possible tool, which can increase social inclusion among adult learners. This study explores factors relating to training programs considered as adult and continuing education which enhance social inclusion for vulnerable adults and their life environment. The results indicate that after following the training programs as part of continuing learning, the participants show a significant increase in activation and internalisation as well as participation and connection (as processes of social inclusion). Moreover, non-parametric correlation analysis and logistical regression analysis shows that the training design feature transfer possibilities is significantly related to the increase of almost all social inclusion variables. Besides this direct surroundings and learning contents and activities only significantly relates to the increase of social inclusion variables of activation and internalisation and care to the social inclusion variables of participation and connection.
Ideal Affect, Actual Affect, and Affect Discrepancy During Leisure and Paid Work

Abstract This study examined relationships among ideal affect (i.e., how one prefers to feel) and actual affect during leisure and paid work. Data were collected from individuals who worked at least 20 hours per week. Findings revealed that: (a) low-arousal positive affect was preferred over high- arousal positive affect by female participants; (b) during leisure the low level of high-arousal negative affect male and female participants desired experiencing was realized; (c) the level of low-arousal positive affect male participants preferred experiencing was realized during their leisure; and (d) none of the levels of affect (i.e., high-arousal positive, low-arousal positive, high- arousal negative, low-arousal negative) participants desired experiencing were met during their paid work. Implications for leisure theory and practice are discussed.
Ageing experiences of old Mexican women

The scarcity of research currently available regarding the individual lived experiences of ageing and old age in Mexico points to our lack of understanding on this subject. Therefore, this thesis aims to advance empirical and theoretical knowledge in social gerontology, particularly in the study of old women. Drawing on a feminist and life course perspective, this thesis explores what it means to be an old woman in 21st century Mexico. The study involved a thematic narrative analysis of data generated by life-story interviews with 32 working and middle-class old women, with an age range of 60 to 89. The analysis shows how old age is both a social construction and a material reality embedded in the women’s cultural, historical and religious locations. Contrary to most current literature on ageing, the analysis also shows how most of these old Mexican women construct ageing and old age as an overall positive experience. Yet, the way they negotiate their ageing identity is not without complexity and ambiguity. On the one hand, they take pride in their age. On the other, they are not immune to utilising ageist discursive practices and attitudes that ironically reinforce old people’s marginalisation. In light of the analysis, the thesis concludes by suggesting an interdisciplinary gerontological approach to the study of the meanings that old women ascribe to their experiences of ageing and old age. First, the focus should be on women’s subjective process of becoming and being old. In other words, the analysis should be based on their personal narratives and the resources they use to construct them. Second, the experience of ageing should be explored from a life course feminist perspective, challenging the dominant negative images of old women, their marginalisation and above all highlighting the positive aspects of their later life. Third, this approach should be combined with the analysis of the female old body, emphasising the diversity and ambivalence of the bodily experiences of ageing. Fourth, social gerontologists should be sensitive to how culture shapes the experience of ageing and old age. Fifth, I argue for opening dialogues regarding the significance of religiosity/spirituality to how old women make sense of their ageing experience and develop strategies for managing their everyday life. Through this line of research, the analysis of ageing and old age could be shifted away from the narrative of decline, recognising old age as the complex and rich process it truly is, full of challenges and opportunities.
Day–night contrast as source of health for the human circadian system

Modern societies are characterized by a 24/7 lifestyle (LS) with no environmental differences between day and night, resulting in weak zeitgebers (weak day light, absence of darkness during night, constant environmental temperature, sedentary LS and frequent snacking), and as a consequence, in an impaired circadian system (CS) through a process known as chronodisruption. Both weak zeitgebers and CS impairment are related to human pathologies (certain cancers, metabolic syndrome and affective and cognitive disorders), but little is known about how to chronoenhance the CS. The aim of this work is to propose practical strategies for chronoenhancement, based on accentuating the day/night contrast. For this, 131 young subjects were recruited, and their wrist temperature (WT), activity, body position, light exposure, environmental temperature and sleep were recorded under free-living conditions for 1 week. Subjects with high contrast (HC) and low contrast (LC) for each variable were selected to analyze the HC effect in activity, body position, environmental temperature, light exposure and sleep would have on WT. We found that HC showed better rhythms than LC for every variable except sleep. Subjects with HC and LC for WT also demonstrated differences in LS, where HC subjects had a slightly advanced night phase onset and a general increase in day/night contrast. In addition, theoretical high day/night contrast calculated using mathematical models suggests an improvement by means of LS contrast. Finally, some individuals classified as belonging to the HC group in terms of WT when they are exposed to the LS characteristic of the LC group, while others exhibit WT arrhythmicity despite their good LS habits, revealing two different WT components: an exogenous component modified by LS and another endogenous component that is refractory to it. Therefore, intensifying day/night contrast in subject’s LS has proven to be a feasible measure to chronoenhance the CS.
Remarks on the blow-up of solutions to a toy model for the Navier-Stokes equations

S. Montgomery-Smith provided a one dimensional model for the three dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, for which he proved the blow up of solutions associated to a class of large initial data, while the same global existence results as for the Navier-Stokes equations hold for small data. In this note the model is adapted to the case of two and three space dimensions, with the additional feature that the divergence free condition is preserved. It is checked that the family of initial data constructed previously by J.-Y Chemin and I. Gallagher which is arbitrarily large but yet generates a global solution to the Navier-Stokes equations in three space dimensions, actually causes blow up for the toy model --- meaning that the precise structure of the nonlinear term is crucial to understand the dynamics of large solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations.
Teacher Collaboration in Instructional Teams and Student Achievement

This study draws upon survey and administrative data on over 9,000 teachers in 336 Miami-Dade County public schools over 2 years to investigate the kinds of collaborations that exist in instructional teams across the district and whether these collaborations predict student achievement. While different kinds of teachers and schools report different collaboration quality, we find average collaboration quality is related to student achievement. Teachers and schools that engage in better quality collaboration have better achievement gains in math and reading. Moreover, teachers improve at greater rates when they work in schools with better collaboration quality. These results support policy efforts to improve student achievement by promoting teacher collaboration about instruction in teams.
ELEMENTARY PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF VARIATION IN A PROBABILITY CONTEXT

While other research has begun to contribute to our understanding of how pre- college students reason about variation, little has been published regarding pre- service teachers’ statistical conceptions. This paper summarizes a framework useful in examining elementary pre-service teachers’ conceptions of variation, and investigates the question of how a class of pre-service teachers’ responses concerning variation in a probability context compare from before to after class interventions. The interventions comprised hands-on activities, computer simulations, and discussions that provided multiple opportunities to attend to variation. Results showed that there was overall class improvement regarding what subjects expected and why, in that more responses after the interventions included appropriate balancing of proportional thinking along with an appreciation of variation in expressing what was likely or probable First published May 2006 at Statistics Education Research Journal: Archives
Different variations of tissue B-group vitamin concentrations in short- and long-term starved rats

Prolonged starvation changes energy metabolism; therefore, the metabolic response to starvation is divided into three phases according to changes in glucose, lipid and protein utilisation. B-group vitamins are involved in energy metabolism via metabolism of carbohydrates, fatty acids and amino acids. To determine how changes in energy metabolism alter B-group vitamin concentrations during starvation, we measured the concentration of eight kinds of B-group vitamins daily in rat blood, urine and in nine tissues including cerebrum, heart, lung, stomach, kidney, liver, spleen, testis and skeletal muscle during 8 d of starvation. Vitamin B1, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, folate and biotin concentrations in the blood reduced after 6 or 8 d of starvation, and other vitamins did not change. Urinary excretion was decreased during starvation for all B-group vitamins except pantothenic acid and biotin. Less variation in B-group vitamin concentrations was found in the cerebrum and spleen. Concentrations of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, nicotinamide and pantothenic acid increased in the liver. The skeletal muscle and stomach showed reduced concentrations of five vitamins including vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid and folate. Concentrations of two or three vitamins decreased in the kidney, testis and heart, and these changes showed different patterns in each tissue and for each vitamin. The concentration of pantothenic acid rapidly decreased in the heart, stomach, kidney and testis, whereas concentrations of nicotinamide were stable in all tissues except the liver. Different variations in B-group vitamin concentrations in the tissues of starved rats were found. The present findings will lead to a suitable supplementation of vitamins for the prevention of the re-feeding syndrome.
Coaching strategies while teaching life skills : multiple case study of Estonian youth coaches

Positive youth development and learning life skills through sports have lately gained attention in Europe and Northern America, now the phenomenon needs to be studied in Estonia, having special focus on youth coaches. The purpose of the study was to explore the coaching strategies Estonian coaches use while teaching life skills. The four subtopics investigated were coaching strategies, coach education, the development of coaching philosophies and intentionality in teaching life skills. A multiple case study analysis was conducted and it consisted of three parts. A screening questionnaire traced the usage of teaching life skills; observations of the practices found supportive and additional data and finally, the interviews aimed to discover more about the coaching philosophy and intentions. Participants were four Estonian youth coaches in team sports with the mean age of 34,7. Current results revealed the range of knowledge Estonian coaches have about life skills, the intentionality of teaching life skills and the varied list of coaching strategies. Each coach stood out with their personal way of teaching life skills. When comparing the cases, two strategies were noticeable in the behaviour of all coaches studied. First, the coaches have intentionally created spaces for discussions to get better contacts with the athletes. Another common coaching strategy is supporting autonomy by giving choices to athletes. Furthermore, the study gave insight into the coaching philosophies and the influence of the coach education. All the coaches had a good educational background, felt themselves quite confident in their competences and had well-thought coaching philosophies when supporting positive youth development. When delivering practices, all coaches consider it important to make athletes think for themselves. Another aspect all coaches stress was to create a positive and playful atmosphere. In a nutshell, three core notions could be stressed. First, teaching life skills can be integral part of the whole coaching behaviour. Secondly, coach education should gain more attention, especially ways of self-reflection as part of the development opportunities for coaches. And finally, the present study has given more insight to the importance of the coaching philosophies. Implications are presented for youth coaches and coach educators. Besides expanding the knowledge about Estonian coaches teaching life skills, the results of the study can be beneficial to the youth sports field as general to promote and value the role of the coach in youth sports.
Clone removal: fact or fiction?

Despite ongoing research in the field of code duplication, clone research has not yet investigated when and how developers remove clones. We think knowing how developers select candidates for removal and what techniques they use to eliminate duplication is essential to provide efficient clone management tools. Our empirical results show a significant discrepancy between clones detected by a state-of-the-art clone detector and duplication removed by developers. We believe it is necessary to have a better understanding of how developers approach and remove duplication to improve clone detectors as well as clone refactoring tools.
Developmental insights into experience‐based decision making

In three experiments involving children and adults (N = 324), option payoffs for sure versus risky choices were either described or experienced via observation of 20 outcomes. Choices revealed a description-experience gap for payoffs with rare events, implying greater impact of small probabilities (≤.2) for described than for experienced choices. The size of this effect was independent of participant age. Therefore, the role of cognitive limitations in the description-experience distinction remains unclear, as the age groups would have differed in cognitive capacity. Age-related differences in ‘sampling style’ in decisions from experience were observed. Pre-choice data acquisition changed markedly with age: From frequent alternation between options towards separate systematic exploration of options with increasing age. A fourth experiment, that manipulated sampling style, failed to demonstrate its link to other age-related features of choice (e.g. risk preferences). Our studies illustrate the value of developmental research for testing theoretical claims and revealing novel phenomena in decision research.
Screening for functional expression and overexpression of a family of diiron‐containing interfacial membrane proteins using the univector recombination system

The large number of uncharacterized genes emerging from genome sequencing projects has resulted in a need for quick and reliable screening methods for protein expression parameters. We have utilized the univector plasmid recombination system (as previously reported) to develop a series of vectors for rapid screening for expression in Escherichia coli. A high level of recombinant protein expression is a requirement for purification of protein for structural determination and other purposes. In other applications, successful complementation of a missing enzyme activity in E. coli, as well as directed evolution studies and metabolic engineering, often require a much lower level of protein expression. In this report we describe the construction of a number of new pHOST vectors that can be screened for both low‐ and high‐level expression. We isolated a mutant vector for MBP fusions that exhibited a more optimal level of expression for complementation of aerobic respiration in hemA− E. coli, our functional assay for the alternative oxidase. We then demonstrated the use of our system to rapidly screen for both optimal functional expression and optimal overexpression of the alternative oxidase as well as two other members of a family of membrane‐bound diiron carboxylate proteins, the plastid terminal oxidase and 5‐demethoxyquinone hydroxylase.
Is Depth of Anesthesia, as Assessed by the Bispectral Index, Related to Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction and Recovery?

We randomized 74 patients to either a lower Bispectral Index (BIS) regimen (median BIS, 38.9) or a higher BIS regimen (mean BIS, 50.7) during the surgical procedure. Preoperatively and 4–6 wk after surgery, the patients’ cognitive status was assessed with a cognitive test battery consisting of processing speed index, working memory index, and verbal memory index. Processing speed index was 113.7 ± 1.5 (mean ± se) in the lower BIS group versus 107.9 ± 1.4 in the higher BIS group (P = 0.006). No difference was observed in the other two test battery components. Somewhat deeper levels of anesthesia were therefore associated with better cognitive function 4–6 wk postoperatively, particularly with respect to the ability to process information.