Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unexpected effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy on self-reported exercise behaviour and functional outcomes in older adults.

BACKGROUND nearly 61% of older adults do not maintain recommended exercise levels emphasising the need for interventions that promote exercise. OBJECTIVES to compare self-reported exercise behaviour and functional outcomes over 1 year across three groups of older adults: a cognitive-behavioural therapy group, an attention-control education group and a control group. DESIGN randomised intervention. SETTING community exercise facilities. PARTICIPANTS three hundred and thirty-two older adults (mean age = 71.8 ± 5.1 years). METHODS all three groups received exercise training three times per week for 2 weeks and then one time per week for 8 weeks, during which time the therapy and education groups received their interventions. Blinded data collectors measured follow-up exercise behaviour and functional outcomes at 3-month intervals. RESULTS after controlling for previous year exercise behaviour, results showed that relative to the control group, the therapy and education groups increased their strengthening exercises over time (0.05 and 0.06 h/week higher, respectively); only the therapy group's change was significant. Also, relative to the control group, the therapy and education groups significantly reduced their 6-min walking distances over time (-1.6 m, P = 0.030 and -1.5 m, P = 0.026, respectively). CONCLUSIONS although the therapy group increased their strength training, they reduced their 6-min walking distance.
Gender and Aging: Spatial Self-Efficacy and Location Recall

Age and gender differences were examined using the new Spatial Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SSEQ) and the Misplaced Objects Test (MOT) for location recall. Analysis of the MOT scores revealed significant age differences with younger adults performing better than older adults. Women performed better than men did, but despite higher scores, the women showed consistently lower self-efficacy than the men. Analyses of the SSEQ measures revealed significant differences as a function of age and gender, with men showing greater spatial memory self-efficacy than women, and older adults showing less self-efficacy than younger adults. Analyses of congruence (accuracy of SSEQ responses relative to MOT scores) revealed that older adults and men tended to overestimate their ability to remember object locations. Explanations for these findings are based on self-efficacy theory, in particular, the possible influence of gender socialization on beliefs about ability.
Is Spinal Stenosis Better Treated Surgically or Nonsurgically?

For patients with clinical and radiographic lumbar spinal stenosis, is surgery or continued nonsurgical treatment a better option for improvements in baseline disability scores; and what proportion of patients treated surgically and nonsurgically get better, worse, or remain the same with time? We prospectively evaluated 125 consecutive patients for this non-randomized cohort study. Of the patients choosing surgery, 54 underwent decompression only and 42 had decompression and fusion for preexisting spondylolisthesis; twenty-nine patients declined surgery. At 2 years followup, the average improvements in Roland-Morris questionnaire score in the decompression only, decompression with fusion, and nonsurgical groups were 6.9, 6.1, and 1.2, respectively. The percentages of patients who were better, worse, or the same were similar for those who had decompression only (63.3%, 4.1%, and 32.7%, respectively) and decompression with fusion (61.5%, 2.6%, and 35.9%, respectively) but different from those treated without surgery (25.0%, 12.5%, and 62.5%, respectively). We observed no occurrences of cauda equina syndrome or severe neurologic dysfunction in any of the groups after 2 years. A majority of patients declining surgery had persistent symptoms. The majority of patients who choose surgery will be improved but will have residual symptoms and therefore should be counseled about realistic expectations.Level of Evidence: Level II, prognostic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Moral Antecedents of Smoking Behavior and Risk Beliefs Among Overseas Asian Students

Abstract Instead of focusing on the misconduct of multinational cigarette manufacturers, this research project broadens the discussion of cigarette consumption by focusing on the moral antecedent variables that shape young adults' smoking behavior and risk beliefs. It especially challenges current wisdom among anti-smoking advocates that by increasing consumer knowledge of the medical risks associated with smoking will lead to significant reductions in young adult smoking prevalence rates. Empirical results of this study suggest that although increasing smoking risk knowledge does not significantly reduce Asian students' smoking behavior, increasing their risk assessment beliefs does produce the desirable public policy effect of reducing current smoking. Furthermore, only among rules-driven individuals does an increase in no harm scores significantly reduce student smoking risk assessment beliefs. Thus, current anti-smoking advertising campaigns among overseas Asian students may be more effective if they attempt to change these students' smoking risks assessment beliefs especially if they are targeted to rules-driven student market segments.
Uncoverage: Toward a Signature Pedagogy for the History Survey

History professors say tbe darnedest tbings. Like tbe one wbo summed up bis teacbing pbilosopby declaring, "If I said it, tbat means tbey learned it! " Or tbe colleague wbo scoffed at "trendy" educational reforms because, as sbe put it, "You can't teacb students bow to tbink until you've taugbt tbem wbat to tbink. " Tben tbere was tbe time an eminent bistorian rose to speak after my presentation on bow not to teacb tbe bistory survey. "I may be doing it wrong," conceded tbis gifted, award-winning teacber, "but I am doing it in tbe proper and customary way. "' Tbe professor's droll remark points to wbere we stand today in tbe teacbing of bistory surveys, perbaps especially tbe U.S. bistory survey. Generations of undergraduates can testify tbat introductory surveys are taugbt in a "proper and customary way. " "First you listen to a lecture, tben you read a textbook, tben you take a test," is bow a student described ber survey to me, adding, significantly, "It wasn't different, really, from my otber introductory courses. " Here bistorians flirt witb calamity. Wben tbe only bistory course most people ever take from a professionally trained bistorian tempts students to believe tbere is little difference between bistory and sociology or bistory and biology except for tbe facts to be learned, it is not surprising tbat teacbers occasionally sense tbey migbt be "doing it wrong. "^
A flipping genetic algorithm for hard 3-SAT problems

In this paper we propose a novel heuristic based genetic algorithm for solving the satisfiability problem. The idea is to act repeatedly on a population of candidate solutions: at each iteration, first a simple local search procedure is applied to each element of the population; next the genetic operators (selection, recombination and mutation) are applied to the resulting population. Extensive experiments are performed on benchmark instances from the literature. The results of the experiments are rather satisfactory, and indicate that our algorithm outperforms three recent algorithms based on evolutionary computation that have been reported to be rather effective for solving hard 3-SAT problems.
Does predation maintain eyespot plasticity in Bicyclus anynana?

The butterfly Bicyclus anynana exhibits phenotypic plasticity involving the wet–season phenotype, which possesses marginal eyespots on the ventral surface of the wings, and the dry–season form, which lacks these eyespots. We examined the adaptive value of phenotypic plasticity of B. anynana in relation to the defence mechanisms of crypsis and deflection. We assessed the visibility differences between spotless and spotted butterflies against backgrounds of brown (dry season) or green (wet season) leaves. Spotless butterflies were highly cryptic and less predated by adult bird predators than were spotted ones when presented against brown leaf litter. However, the advantage of crypsis disappeared in the wet–season habitat as both forms were equally visible. In later experiments, naive birds presented with resting butterflies in the wet–season habitat tended to learn more rapidly to capture spotless butterflies, suggesting a slight selective advantage of possessing eyespots. Moreover, marginal eyespots increased significantly the escape probability of butterflies that were attacked by naive birds compared to those attacked by adult birds, although there were no differences in prey capture success within naive predators. Our results show that natural selection acts against eyespots in the dry season, favouring crypsis, whereas in the wet season it may favour eyespots as deflective patterns.
Delivering Substance Abuse and Child Welfare Content through Interactive Television

Objective To evaluate interactive television (ITV) for delivering a graduate course on substance abuse and child welfare to distant sites. Method Students’ ratings of instructor-student communication are compared across distance and resident sites for the ITV course and with students in the traditional course. Similar comparisons are made for students’ ratings of the amount learned and for instructors’ judgments of student performance. Distance and resident students’ ratings of the ITV course are also compared to traditional courses. Results The mean of the instructor-student communication dimensions was the same for distance and traditional students and was slightly more positive for distance students compared to resident students. Student performance and course grades were similar across groups, and the distance and resident students in the ITV course rated it as helpful to their learning as traditional courses. Conclusions The results suggest that ITV compromised neither instructor-student communication nor the amount that students learned.
Improving Magnetic Field Detection Limits of Spin Valve Sensors Using Magnetic Flux Guide Concentrators

The magnetic field detection limit of spin valve sensors in the thermal noise regime is improved from 1.3 nT/Hz1/2 to 0.064 nT/Hz1/2 by incorporating a Co93Zr3Nb 4 soft magnetic flux guide concentrator structure. Linear spin valve sensors were processed down to 20times2 mum2 dimensions, with and without an additional 3500-Aring-thick flux guide concentrator, with a magnetic flux gain factor ranging from 5 to 20. Spin valves show a starting sensitivity of 0.2 %/Oe, improved to 3.8 %/Oe with the flux concentrator. Noise measurements from dc to 500 kHz were performed, indicating similar noise levels with and without flux concentrators. In terms of magnetic field detection, sensors with flux concentrators show a detection limit of 2 nT/Hz1/2 at 10 Hz, compared to 47 nT/Hz1/2 without flux concentrators. No additional 1/f noise is measured in the spin valve sensor response upon the addition of the soft magnetic flux concentrators in the frequency range studied
It’s okay to shoot a character: Moral disengagement in violent video games

What makes virtual violence enjoyable rather than aversive? Two 2×2 experiments tested the assumption that moral disengagement cues provided by a violent video game’s narrative and game play lessen users’ guilt and negative affect, which would otherwise undermine players’ enjoyment of the game. Experiment 1 found that users’ familiarity with the violent game reduced guilt and negative affect, and enhanced enjoyment, whereas opponents’ nonhuman outer appearance and blameworthiness had no effect. Experiment 2 found that fighting for a just purpose, perceiving less mayhem, and framing the overall situation as ‘‘just a game’’ or ‘‘just an experiment’’ reduced guilt and negative affect, whereas the distorted portrayal of consequences did not. Effects on game enjoyment were mixed and suggest that moral disengagement cues may both foster and diminish game enjoyment.
American Journal of Epidemiology Original Contribution Chronic Disease in Men with Newly Diagnosed Cancer: a Nested Case-control Study

The authors performed a matched case-control study (1982–2007) nested in a prospective cohort of 22,071 US men to determine the prevalence of chronic diseases of aging in those with newly diagnosed cancer. They matched one control by age to each of 5,622 men who developed cancer over the 25 years of follow-up, as of the date of cancer diagnosis. A modified Charlson score was calculated that reflected comorbidities prior to the matching date, and the authors used conditional logistic regression to determine the odds ratios of various diseases. No substantial differences were found between the scores of cases and controls overall, by cancer subtype, or by age at diagnosis. Overall, men who developed cancer were less likely to have had hypercholes-terolemia (odds ratio (OR) ¼ 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.72, 0.87) or coronary artery disease (OR ¼ 0.85, 95% CI: 0.77, 0.96). Compared with controls, men with cancers for which there is routine screening had fewer diseases, whereas those with smoking-related cancers had more. Prostate cancer was inversely associated with both coronary artery disease (OR ¼ 0.72, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.84) and diabetes (OR ¼ 0.72, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.89). Overall, men who developed cancer had no more comorbidity or frequent history of chronic disease than their age-matched controls. Chronic conditions that manifest primarily later in life, such as heart disease, cancer, and dementia, account for the majority of deaths in developed countries and are rapidly becoming the leading cause of mortality worldwide (1). An important feature of diseases in older adults is that they are often not independent of each other but may cluster together because of similar risk factors and pathophysiology. Alternatively, vulnerability to one illness can actually protect against the development of others. A clear understanding of the way in which major diseases are related is critical to developing disease prevention programs and estimating their impact on populations (2). Few investigators have explored the relation between cancer and the risk of nonmalignant disease. Although some studies find cancer patients to have a greater risk of chronic illness compared with controls (3, 4), others find a similar (5) or decreased (6) risk. Associations between cancer and other conditions could be causal, such as that between colon cancer and anemia, or could be mediated by shared risk factors, such as smoking. They may reflect differences in health behaviors or socioeconomic status. Finally, biologic factors that cause vulnerability to …
The fallen hero: masculinity, shame and farmer suicide in Australia

The drought-stricken Australian rural landscape, cultures of farming masculinity and an economy of value, moral worth and pride form a complex matrix of discourses that shape subjective dynamics that render suicide a possibility for distressed farmers. However, the centrality of a ‘mental health’ perspective and reified notions of ‘stoicism’ within this discursive field operate to exclude consideration of the ways in which cultural identity is linked to emotions. To illuminate and explore complex connections between subjectivity, moral worth and affect in relation to understanding farmer suicide, this article draws on theory and literature on agrarian discourses of masculine subjectivity and shame to analyze empirical data from interviews with farmers during times of environmental, social and economic crisis. The idealized notion of the farming man as ‘Aussie battler’ emerges from romantic agrarian mythology in which pride and self-worth are vested in traditional values of hard work, struggle and self-sacrifice. However, the structural context of agriculture, as it is shaped by the political economy of neoliberalism, threatens farm economic viability and is eroding the pride, self-worth and masculine identity of farmers. The article suggests that the notion of the ‘fallen hero’ captures a discursive shift of a masculinity ‘undone’, a regress from the powerful position of masculine subjectivity imbued with pride to one of shame that is of central importance to understanding how suicide emerges as a possibility for farmers.
Executive Functioning Deficits in Relation to Symptoms of ADHD and/or ODD in Preschool Children.

The present study investigated the relation between executive functioning and symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in children aged 4–6. A population-based sample (n=201) was used and laboratory measures of inhibition, working memory and verbal fluency and teacher ratings of disruptive behaviour problems were collected. Both group differences and linear relations were studied and comorbidity was controlled for dimensionally. In both categorical and dimensional analyses, executive functioning was associated with symptoms of ADHD, but not with symptoms of ODD when controlling for comorbidity, and no significant interactive effects of ADHD and ODD symptoms were found. Effect sizes for significant effects were generally in the medium range. Regarding sex differences, the control for comorbid ODD symptoms appeared to affect the relation between ADHD symptoms and executive functioning somewhat more for girls compared with boys. In conclusion, poor executive functioning in preschool appears to be primarily related to symptoms of ADHD, whereas the relation to symptoms of ODD can be attributed to the large overlap between these two disruptive disorders. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Discourse and Resistance in Care Assessment: Integrated Living and Community Care

SUMMARY This paper illustrates how value conflicts between the competing philosophies of community care and integrated living are played out at a micro level. The experiences of service users in Derbyshire show how the process of care assessment can perpetuate traditional discourses of disability based on dependency, individualization and segregation. By contrast, self assessment within an integrated living approach opens up new possibilities for resistance through the supported self-empowerment of service users. Moreover, the participation of disabled people in managing their own affairs challenges established cultural values about the role of disabled people in society. British disability policy has been traditionally dominated by an ideology of disabling cultural values. In particular, policy makers and those in the 'caring' professions have often viewed disability in terms of personal tragedy, the impaired body and otherness. These core values have been translated into mainstream disability services through a preoccupation with care, medicaliz ation and segregation (rather than civil rights, participation and social integration). By contrast, the values of the disabled people's movement rep resent a significant counter-culture. In particular, the professionally domin ated discourse of 'care' has been increasingly challenged by the establishment of numerous independent living projects under the control of disabled people
Coping with Health Problems: Developing a Reliable and Valid Multidimensional Measure.

Current conceptions relating psychological variables to health recognize the key role of coping processes as mediating variables between stress and illness, yet few reliable and valid instruments exist for the assessment of coping with physical health problems. A self-report instrument, the Coping With Health Injuries and Problems Scale (CHIP) was developed identifying 4 basic coping dimensions for responding to health problems: distraction, palliative, instrumental, and emotional preoccupation coping. The CHIP's factor structure, established with a large derivation sample of adults, is cross-validated in a heterogenous group of general medical patients and a homogeneous group of patients being treated for lower back pain. Preliminary construct validity data are presented by comparing the coping behaviors of patients with chronic and acute illnesses and by comparing CHIP scores with basic coping styles.
The new political economy of private security

This article maps out a new research agenda for interpreting the trajectory and dynamics of domestic private security provision in advanced democratic countries: the ‘new political economy of private security’. It proceeds on the basis that the key challenge in this field is to construct an agenda which takes account of how both the economic context (shifts in supply and demand) and the political context (state-centric conceptions of legitimacy) of domestic security simultaneously serve to shape the conduct of contemporary private security providers. In attempting to meet this challenge, the article not only builds upon the important theoretical research already undertaken in the form of the nodal governance and anchored pluralism models, but also sheds new light on the nature of domestic private security today.
Traces of Doubt and Sources of Trust

This article analyses the seemingly contradictory developments between seeking trust and demanding control in the field of health care. The author links the debates on trust to the concept of professionalism and changing health policy and practice. Analysis is based on empirical material from a study of modernization of ambulatory care in Germany. Results show that calls are increasing for ‘rational criteria’ and ‘visible markers’ of trust both on the provider and user side, and the new tools of bureaucratic regulation fulfil this function as signifiers of quality. These signifiers are not merely externally imposed rules but actively constructed and utilized by physicians to build trustful relations with colleagues and give ‘public proofs’ of quality of their services under conditions of tighter control and regulation. They are also taken up by patients and perceived as prerequisites for self-determined decisions and trustworthy relations. The traditional ‘embodied’ professionalism, represented by a (male) physician, is hereby transformed into a ‘disembodied’ professionalism, which is founded on information. The highly flexible nature of professionalism allows for transformations according to new demands in health care without necessarily weakening its power and appeal in building trust. Rather than a mere decline, we face new patterns of building trust.
Comparison of the Antibodies in Lymphocyte Supernatant and Antibody-Secreting Cell Assays for Measuring Intestinal Mucosal Immune Response to a Novel Oral Typhoid Vaccine (M01ZH09)

ABSTRACT Antibody-secreting cell (ASC) and antibodies in lymphocyte supernatant (ALS) assays are used to assess intestinal mucosal responses to enteric infections and vaccines. The ALS assay, performed on cell supernatants, may represent a convenient alternative to the more established ASC assay. The two methods, measuring immunoglobulin A to Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi lipopolysaccharide, were compared in volunteers vaccinated with a live-attenuated typhoid vaccine M01ZH09. The specificity of the ALS assay compared to the ASC assay was excellent (100%), as was sensitivity (82%). The ALS assay was less sensitive than the ASC assay at ≤42 spots/106 peripheral blood lymphocytes.