Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Needs Assessment of International Students' Wives

Despite the unique adjustment challenges facing international students' spouses, little research has focused on their adjustment experiences or their programming needs. Understanding the adjustment of these individuals is important both in itself and because spouses play a key role in the adjustment and academic success of international students. Because women make up the vast majority of accompanying spouses, two needs assessments were conducted to explore their particular adjustment experiences and gather information relevant to program development. Hypotheses regarding the impact of conational group size on adjustment were tested as well. Seventy-six wives of international graduate students at a midsized Western Canadian university completed a questionnaire. Results suggest these women are highly educated professionals who face a variety of unique cultural and situational adjustment issues. Overall, their preference is for programming with a professional development focus. Unexpectedly, few differences based on conational group size were found. Research implications for service providers and researchers are discussed.
Commuting between two parental households: The association between joint physical custody and adolescent wellbeing following divorce

Abstract This study examines the association between joint physical custody and adolescent wellbeing and whether this relationship is conditioned by the degree of parental conflict, the quality of the parent–child relationship and the complexity of the family configuration of mother and father. We use data from the LAGO-project, containing information on 1,570 children with divorced parents. Overall the wellbeing of children in joint physical custody is similar to that of children in other custody arrangements. However, under certain circumstances joint physical custody can become negatively related to child wellbeing. We find support for the moderating effects of parental conflict, quality of the relationship with mother and father, and the presence of a new partner in the parental households.
Hospital Discharge within 2 Days Following Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty Does Not Increase Major-Complication and Readmission Rates.

BACKGROUND The rising costs of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) have resulted in a substantial economic burden on the U.S. health-care system. Recent efforts to contain these costs have targeted hospital length of stay. However, shorter hospital admissions have raised concerns over possible increases in complications and readmission rates. The purpose of this study was to assess whether early discharge, from 0 to 2 days postoperatively, was associated with increased 30-day major complications and readmissions compared with standard discharge, 3 to 4 days following THA or TKA. METHODS The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was queried to identify all patients who underwent an elective, primary unilateral THA or TKA between 2011 and 2012. For each procedure, 2 groups were created consisting of patients discharged from 0 to 2 days (early discharge) and those discharged from 3 to 4 days (standard discharge). Patient demographics and perioperative variables were compared between both discharge groups. Multivariable logistic-regression models were used to assess the independent effect of length of stay on 30-day major-complication and readmission rates. RESULTS A total of 31,044 patients who underwent TKA and 19,909 patients who underwent THA were included. Overall, patients who were discharged early were younger and had fewer medical comorbidities and a lower American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score. The multivariable logistic-regression model revealed that early discharge was not associated with increased odds of major complications following TKA (odds ratio [OR] = 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.75 to 1.20; p = 0.64). Furthermore, early discharge following THA was found to be an independent predictor against major complications (OR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.58 to 0.95; p = 0.02). Lastly, early discharge was not an independent risk factor for hospital readmission following THA or TKA. CONCLUSIONS Early discharge was not an independent risk factor for 30-day major complications or readmissions following THA or TKA. Rather, increased major complications and readmissions were attributed to patient comorbidities and perioperative variables. Early discharge within the first 2 days postoperatively for risk-stratified patients appears feasible without compromising patient care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
THE EFFECTS OF A GABAB ANTAGONIST ON SLEEP IN ADULT RATS

GABAergic receptors are involved in different physiological and behavioural functions of the organism. Its inhibitory function and the broad distribution of GABA receptors in the central nervous system makes it worthwhile to investigate the role of GABA on sleep. Negative results were earlier found with the GABAA agonist muscimol (Mendelson and Martin, 1990), despite the fact that benzodiazepines facilitate the action of the GABA receptor. Recently it was established that a GABAB antagonist, CGP 35348, facilitates REM sleep dose dependently (Puigcerver et al, 1996). This effect was found in old rats with quite a number of spike-wave discharges. It cannot be excluded that the increase in REM sleep is more likely to occur in these particular old and epileptic rats than in younger adult rats. Furthermore, a short wash-out period was used. The aim of the present investigation is to replicate our earlier results with CGP 35348, but now in adult Wistar rats.
Africa < > Europe: A Double Engagement

This introduction to the special issue entitled ‘Africa<>Europe: Transnational Linkages, Multi-Sited Lives’ outlines the history of the African migrant presence in Europe, gives an account of the contexts which shape contemporary migration, and surveys the approaches to international migration from Africa which have influenced researchers since the 1960s. Linking the contributions to the special issue is the theme of migrants’ transnational ‘double engagement’ with both Africa and Europe. The paper examines this theme across three domains of the lived experience of African migrants and refugees in Europe: ‘Livelihoods’, ‘Families’, and ‘Identities’. We conclude with an assessment of what can be learned (theoretically and methodologically) from the study of African transmigration, and suggest future lines of research.
Distributed admission control without knowledge of the capacity region

We consider the problem of distributed admission control without knowledge of the capacity region in single-hop wireless networks, for flows that require a pre-specified bandwidth from the network. We present an optimization framework that allows us to design a scheduler and resource allocator, and by properly choosing a suitable utility function in the resource allocator, we prove that existing flows can be served with a prespecified bandwidth, while the link requesting admission can determine the largest rate that it can get such that it does not interfere with the allocation to the existing flows.
Plasmacytoma of the thyroid

Three cases of plasmacytoma of the thyroid are described and their clinical and histological features recorded. Two were considered to be true extramedullary plasmacytomas, the third the initial manifestation of a disseminated myelomatous process. Plasmacytomas of the thyroid are shown to have many features in common with malignant lymphomas in this site, including an association with Hashimoto thyroiditis in more than half the reported cases. No certain method of assessing the prognosis in any individual case has yet been described.
Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease on Visual Target Detection: A “Peripheral Bias”

Visual exploration is an omnipresent activity in everyday life, and might represent an important determinant of visual attention deficits in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The present study aimed at investigating visual search performance in AD patients, in particular target detection in the far periphery, in daily living scenes. Eighteen AD patients and 20 healthy controls participated in the study. They were asked to freely explore a hemispherical screen, covering ±90°, and to respond to targets presented at 10°, 30°, and 50° eccentricity, while their eye movements were recorded. Compared to healthy controls, AD patients recognized less targets appearing in the center. No difference was found in target detection in the periphery. This pattern was confirmed by the fixation distribution analysis. These results show a neglect for the central part of the visual field for AD patients and provide new insights by mean of a search task involving a larger field of view.
Molecular structure of the cell-attachment protein of reovirus: correlation of computer-processed electron micrographs with sequence-based predictions

The receptor-recognition interaction that initiates reovirus infection is mediated by the sigma 1 protein, located at the vertices of the icosahedral virion. We have applied computer-based image-averaging techniques to electron micrographs of negatively stained preparations of sigma 1 purified from virions (serotype 2 Jones). Combining these results with inferences based on the amino acid sequence has led to a molecular model in which the overall folding of the chains is described; its conformation embodies motifs, coiled-coil alpha-helices and nodular multichain elements rich in beta-sheets, previously detected in the corresponding proteins of other viruses, but with some novel variations. Sigma 1 is a filamentous lollipop-shaped molecule with an overall length of approximately 48 nm; it has a flexible "tail," approximately 40 nm long by 4 to 6 nm wide, terminating at its distal end in a globular "head," approximately 9.5 nm in diameter. The purified protein is a tetramer (4 by 50 kilodaltons) consisting of two similarly oriented dimers bonded side by side and in register. For each chain, a cluster of hydrophobic residues at its amino terminus resides at the proximal end of the tail; next, an alpha-helical domain (residues 25 to 172) participates in a two-chained coiled coil, 22 nm long, with two such coiled coils pairing laterally to form the proximal half of the tail. The remainder of the tail (residues 173 to approximately 316) is less uniform in width and is expected to be rich in beta-sheet; the interdimer bonding is evidently sustained through this portion of the molecule. Finally, the globular head consists of the carboxy-terminal domains (which contain the receptor-binding sites) folded into compact globular conformations; in appropriate side views, the head is resolved into two subunits, presumably contributed by the respective dimers. This model for how the four sigma 1 polypeptide chains are threaded in parallel through the fiber is supported by the observed match between an empirical curvature profile, which identifies the locations of relatively flexible sites along the tail, and the flexibility profile predicted on the basis of the model. Appraisal of the interactions that stabilize the coiled coils suggests that (i) the alpha-helices are individually only marginally stable, a property that may be of significance with regard to the retracted conformation in which sigma 1 is accommodated in the intact virion, and (ii) the predominant interactions between the two coiled coils are likely to involve hydrogen bonding between patches of uncharged residues.
Interactivity on Swedish newspaper websites: What kind, how much and why?

This article examines what kind of interactive features are available on the websites of Swedish newspapers, and what factors seem to influence the utilization of those features. Using Chung’s typology of interactive features, we can discern four types: human (features that facilitate interpersonal communication), human–medium (allowing users to express their personal opinions), medium (allowing users choice options in experiencing news stories) and medium–human (allowing users to customize news to their liking) interactive features. Factors believed to have influence over interactive features are tested using statistical analysis. Even though different factors tend to influence different types of interactivity, results indicate that the most interactive newspaper websites belong to large, national newspapers with younger web staff.
Using Reflective Practice in Teaching Dance to Preservice Physical Education Teachers

The need for reflective pedagogical practices in teacher education to enhance preservice teachers’ understanding of teaching, and to assist the link between theory and their own practice, has long been accepted. This study sought to investigate the use of reflective strategies to develop attitudes and skills in teaching dance in physical education by a group of first year preservice physical education teachers (N=90)undertaking an introductory course in dance in an Australian university. Monitoring occurred at regular intervals during the course to identify any longitudinal developmental trends in attitudes. Inductive analysis of weekly journal responses was undertaken to identify major themes or focus areas using the Reflective Framework for Teaching in Physical Education (Tsangaridou and O'Sullivan, 1994). Attitudinal data from questionnaire responses were analysed using SPSSPC and focus group discussion data were transcribed and analysed for dominant themes using NVivo software. The results indicated an increase in the focus and level of complexity of reflections and analytical responses in line with changes in attitudes and confidence in teaching dance experienced during the course. Significant gender differences in attitudes to teaching dance prior to undertaking the course and in the early journal entries were identified. Improvement in and value given to journal writing was evident, however, some preservice teachers felt hindered by a lack of personal reflective writing skill.
Effects of the antihypertensive drug benidipine on osteoblast function in vitro

The dihydropyridine-type calcium channel blocker, benidipine (BD) has been widely used in hypertension therapy. Previous studies have demonstrated that BD has a positive effect on bone metabolism. Inspired by this promoting phenomenon, the present study investigated the effects of BD on osteoblasts in vitro. Experiments were designed and performed, including an MTT assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis, alkaline phosphatase activity measurements and alizarin red S staining. The results demonstrated that BD promoted osteoblast proliferation and osteogenic differentiation at concentrations from 1×10−6 to 1×10−9 M by upregulating Runx2, BMP2 and OCN gene expression levels. Overall, BD at appropriate concentrations has been demonstrated to have positive effects on osteoblast function in addition to its conventional clinical usage.
Enhancing Research Productivity in Counseling Psychology

The present reaction responds to the three research-related core articles in the Scientific Forum of the May 2005 issue of The Counseling Psychologist. I agree that too few of our studies are based on theories or models. Using the nomological network, I suggest how research ideas can more readily be depicted to allow model and theory testing. I comment on some aspects of structural equation modeling and note the usefulness of analyzing how we can improve our use of this increasingly popular method. Finally, I note the striking findings of institutional mobility, both upward and downward, in research productivity and suggest that in-depth analysis of a few of the most dramatic moves might help to explain these findings.
Effectiveness of Self-Management on Attentional Behavior and Reading Comprehension for Children with Attention Deficit Disorder

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of a self-management program with three elementary-aged students with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD). An ABABC with follow-up single subject design was employed to evaluate the impact of self-management procedures on attention to task and reading comprehension. During the first self-recording phase, students were cued to record attention to task at variable intervals which averaged 60 seconds. Rewards were delivered contingent upon percentage of time spent on-task and percentage correct on comprehension probes. The overall outcomes indicate substantial increases in on-task behavior during the self-management phases. Academic accuracy in reading comprehension for all subjects also improved under the self-management phases.
A Four-Component Model of Procedural Justice: Defining the Meaning of a “Fair” Process

Two studies test the prediction of the four-component model of procedural justice that people evaluate the fairness of group procedures using four distinct types of judgment. The model hypothesizes that people are influenced by two aspects of the formal procedures of the group: those aspects that relate to decision making and those that relate to the quality of treatment that group members are entitled to receive under the rules. In addition, people are hypothesized to be separately influenced by two aspects of the authorities with whom they personally deal: the quality of decision making by those authorities and the quality of the treatment that they receive from them. The results of two studies support the hypothesis of the four-component model by finding that all four of the procedural judgments identified by the model contribute to overall evaluations of the fairness of group procedures.
Press Self-Censorship and Political Transition in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's handover has induced self-censorship among the press in order to curry favor with and avoid coercive pressure from China. Based on a comprehensive survey, this article shows that many journalists perceive their colleagues as being afraid to criticize China but think of themselves as being more courageous. Journalists from the party press are systematically different from those from the market-oriented press. However, market-driven “information newspapers” are moving toward apoliticization and toward accommodating the new sovereign, thus blurring their differences with market-driven “story newspapers. ”
A Systems Biology Approach to Uncovering Pharmacological Synergy in Herbal Medicines with Applications to Cardiovascular Disease

Background. Clinical trials reveal that multiherb prescriptions of herbal medicine often exhibit pharmacological and therapeutic superiority in comparison to isolated single constituents. However, the synergistic mechanisms underlying this remain elusive. To address this question, a novel systems biology model integrating oral bioavailability and drug-likeness screening, target identification, and network pharmacology method has been constructed and applied to four clinically widely used herbs Radix Astragali Mongolici, Radix Puerariae Lobatae, Radix Ophiopogonis Japonici, and Radix Salviae Miltiorrhiza which exert synergistic effects of combined treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Results. The results show that the structural properties of molecules in four herbs have substantial differences, and each herb can interact with significant target proteins related to CVD. Moreover, the bioactive ingredients from different herbs potentially act on the same molecular target (multiple-drug-one-target) and/or the functionally diverse targets but with potentially clinically relevant associations (multiple-drug-multiple-target-one-disease). From a molecular/systematic level, this explains why the herbs within a concoction could mutually enhance pharmacological synergy on a disease. Conclusions. The present work provides a new strategy not only for the understanding of pharmacological synergy in herbal medicine, but also for the rational discovery of potent drug/herb combinations that are individually subtherapeutic.
Co-development of Conceptual Understanding and Critical Attitude: Analyzing texts on radiocarbon dating

This research documents the impact of a teaching interview aimed at developing a critical attitude in students, and focused on a particular topic: radiocarbon dating. This teaching interview is designed to observe students' reaction to limited written explanations of the phenomenon under study, and their possible frustration or intellectual satisfaction in relation to these texts. We aim to document the possible link between students’ developing conceptual understanding of a topic and their ability to express their frustration when presented with very incomplete explanations, or their intellectual satisfaction when presented with complete explanation. As a side product, we intend to observe some of their a priori ideas concerning this topic. Ten teaching interviews conducted with fourth-year University students were recorded, transcribed and coded. Beyond a series of results concerning students’ a priori understanding of the domain, the analysis of the interviews suggests that, when students are presented with texts of increasing completeness and discuss these with the interviewer, their critical reactions evolve in time in a very specific way. We propose a tentative model for this co-evolution of student conceptual command and critical stance. The discussion bears on possible interpretations for the ‘anesthesia of judgment’ observed in most students at the beginning of the interview, and for a few of them throughout the discussion. Keeping in mind the ‘competence vs concepts’ current alternative, the conditions that seem to free students’ critical potential are analyzed in relation to their evolving command of the topic and their degree of intellectual satisfaction.
Middle Childhood Antecedents to Progressions in Male Adolescent Substance Use

Initiation of substance use before the age of 15 to 16 is a distinct risk factor for a variety of mental health problems and eventual drug abuse. Using multimethod, multi-agent measures of child, family, and peer antecedents at age 9 to 10, we studied the longitudinal effects in an at-risk sample of 206 boys. Event history analysis was used to examine the antecedents to patterned alcohol and tobacco use as well as experimentation with marijuana between ages 11 and 16. Univariate models revealed that at Grade 4, most constructs were prognostic of boys’ early substance use. Multivariate event history models clarified the risk and protective structure associated with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. The level of intercorrelation among the predictor variables, however, suggested that family, peer, and child characteristics were inextricably connected within an ecology of development. A structural equation prediction model suggested a higher order construct, “childhood risk structure. ”
Local synchronous capacity allocation schemes for guaranteeing message deadlines with the timed token protocol

The problem of guaranteeing synchronous message deadlines in communication networks using the timed token medium access control protocol is studied. To ensure the transmission of synchronous messages before their deadlines, synchronous capacities must be properly allocated to individual nodes. A class of local synchronous capacity allocation schemes, which allocate the synchronous capacity to a node without using information about messages on the other nodes, is developed, analyzed, and evaluated in terms of the ability of the schemes to guarantee message deadlines. It is shown that one of the local allocation schemes proposed can achieve the same performance as that of the best global allocation scheme known to date. <<ETX>>