Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The long-term effects of early parent involvement and parent expectation in the USA

Building on social-cognitive theory and the expectancy-value theory, this study indicated that early parent expectations for children’s post-secondary educational attainment have a stronger effect on 8th-grade achievement than home-based parental involvement. With a nationally representative sample of kindergarten students and their parents in the United States of America, Structural Equation Modeling was employed in order to discern longitudinal effects on achievement via mediators. For instance, expectations held by parents in kindergarten exert much of their positive effect on adolescent academic achievement via expectations held in 8th grade. Student expectations (which are influenced by parental expectations) also significantly predict 8th grade achievement. Parent involvement in homework and grade checking in 8th grade has a slight negative effect on achievement. Home literacy in kindergarten predicts achievement in 8th grade indirectly via kindergarten achievement. These results indicate that parents can have a positive impact on academic achievement through early home literacy and maintaining a strong hope that their children will succeed in college. Because early parent expectations have long lasting effects on children, parent involvement interventions for young children need to be developed that also target elevating parental expectations. This study further clarifies the effects of the family environment on educational outcomes.
Sexual Dimorphism in the Response of the GABAergic System to Estrogen Administration

Abstract: Administration of estradiol benzoate to gonadectomized female rats results in up‐regulation of CNS γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. The increase of [3H]muscimol binding activity is observed in six of the seven brain areas examined. The same treatment, performed in castrated male or and rogenized female rats, induced an increase of [3H]muscimol binding only in the striatum. Evidence is provided suggesting that the dimorphic sensitivity of GABA receptor is not correlated with the difference in spontaneous motor activity reported between male and female rats.
Early detection of cardiac involvement in patients with sarcoidosis by a non-invasive method with ultrasonic tissue characterisation

Objectives: To clarify the value of cycle dependent variation of myocardial integrated backscatter (CV-IB) analysis, which non-invasively measures acoustic properties of the myocardium, for early detection of cardiac involvement in patients with sarcoidosis. Methods: The study population consisted of 22 consecutive patients with biopsy proven sarcoidosis who did not have any abnormal findings on conventional two dimensional echocardiogram. Cardiac sarcoidosis was diagnosed by radionuclide testing including thallium-201 scintigraphy, gallium-67 scintigraphy, and cardiac fluorine-18-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography. The magnitude and delay of the CV-IB were analysed in the basal mid septum and the basal mid posterior wall of the left ventricle of all patients. Results: The patients were divided into two groups: 8 patients with cardiac involvement and 14 patients without cardiac involvement. In the basal septum, a major reduction in the magnitude (mean (SD) 1.8 (4.4) v 6.6 (1.3), p = 0.012) and an increase in the time delay (1.3 (0.5) v 1.0 (0.1), p = 0.038) of CV-IB were observed in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis even in the absence of two dimensional echocardiographic abnormalities. The sensitivity for detecting cardiac involvement was such that the magnitude of CV-IB in the basal septum discriminated 75% of patients with cardiac sarcoidosis from those with non-cardiac sarcoidosis, whereas two dimensional echocardiographic parameters did not discriminate between these two groups. Conclusions: The CV-IB is decreased in the basal septum in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis even in the absence of two dimensional echocardiographic abnormalities. Analysis of CV-IB may be a useful method to detect early myocardial involvement in patients with sarcoidosis.
Individualism, Masculinity, and the Sources of Organizational Commitment

The authors examine the dependence of organizational commitment on satisfaction with job characteristics that are valued differently in 29 nations. Evidence is found for the moderating effects of national culture. Satisfaction with job characteristics that are highly valued in individualistic cultures has an increasingly strong effect on commitment as national individualism increases, while satisfaction with collectivist job characteristics has an increasingly weaker effect. Similarly, satisfaction with job characteristics that are highly valued in masculine cultures has an increasingly strong effect on commitment as national masculinity increases, while satisfaction with feminine job characteristics has an increasingly weaker effect. These findings show that the sources of organizational commitment are culturally conditioned and that their effects are predictable from Hofstede's value dimensions. The authors discuss the practical implications of these findings and suggest that cultural differences in the psychological contract may also affect the relationships between job satisfaction and commitment.
Inviting intimacy: The interview as therapeutic opportunity

This paper explores an aspect of the use of qualitative interviewing methods in researching sensitive and private aspects of people's lives. Using examples from two research projects that involved inviting participants to narrate their experiences of personal transition, the dilemmas encountered in doing this type of 'intimate' research are explored. By creating a space in which participants were invited to, and felt able to, narrate their personal experiences, both researchers found they shared a sense of what had constituted a 'successful' interview. This was one where the personal narratives constructed gave a distinct sense of a 'real' self through self-disclosure. Yet feelings of responsibility for acts of self-disclosure were experienced differently by the researchers. When the boundaries between doing sensitive feminist research and what other 'experts' do-counselling and therapy-became blurred the researchers reacted in different ways. This raises questions about the co-producing role of the sensitive feminist interviewer and prompts consideration of the ways in which qualitative interviewers are prepared for data collection in research. Can the invitation to narrate past and present experiences, together with future hopes, avoid offering potential therapeutic opportunities?
PRISM (Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure) - a novel visual method to assess the global burden of illness in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective: For patients with chronic illnesses the global burden of illness is a crucial health measure hitherto neglected in research studies and clinical practice. We tested the application and validity of PRISM (Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self-Measure), a novel visual method for assessing the burden of illness, in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Method: PRISM was applied in a cross sectional sample of 60 patients with SLE. Correlations were assessed between a quantitative measure derived from PRISM (Self-Illness Separation SIS) and sociodemographic factors, measures of disease activity, damage, physical and psychological disability variables, as well as coping resources. Results: The PRISM task was understood by all but one patient, and was in every instance completed in less than 3 minutes. SIS correlated with SF-36 physical health, coping resources as assessed by Sense of Coherence (SOC), and age, but not with disease activity or damage. In multiple regression analyses, independent contributions to SIS were observed for SF-36 physical component scale (contributing 12% of the variance). SOC (10%) and age (14%). Conclusion: PRISM is a new non-verbal measure to assess burden of illness. As in previous studies, PRISM was well accepted and understood by patients with SLE, quick to complete, and yielded meaningful information consistent with that in earlier research work.
Higher Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration Is Associated with Unexplained Recurrent Miscarriage Risk: Evidence from a Case-Control Study in Eastern China

Background Evidence about the association between Bisphenol A (BPA) and the risk of recurrent miscarriage (RM) in human being is still limited. Objective We evaluated the association of urinary BPA concentrations with RM in human being. Methods A hospital-based 1:2 matched case-control study on RM was carried out in Suzhou and Kunshan in Jiangsu Province in China between August 2008 and November 2011. Total urinary BPA concentrations in 264 eligible urine samples (102 RM patients and 162 controls) were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The Wilcoxon test and conditional logistic regression were used to estimate the differences between the groups and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), respectively. Results The median ± IQR (interquartile range) (P 75-P 25) values of non-creatinine-adjusted total urinary BPA levels in the RM patients and the controls were 1.66±3.69ng/ml and 0.58±1.07ng/ml, respectively (0.98±2.67μg/g Cr (creatinine) and 0.40±0. 77μg/g Cr. The adjusted BPA level was significantly higher in the RM patients than in the controls (Wilcoxon test, Z = 4.476, P<0.001). Higher level of urinary BPA was significantly associated with an increased risk of RM (P-trend <0.001). Compared to the groups with urinary BPA levels less than 0. 16μg/g Cr, the women with levels of 0.40–0. 93μg/g Cr and 0. 93μg/g Cr or above had a significantly higher risk of RM (OR = 3.91, 95%CI: 1.23–12.45 and OR = 9.34, 95%CI: 3.06–28.44) that persisted after adjusting for confounding factors. The time from recently RM date to recruitment does not significantly influence the urinary BPA level (P = 0.090). Conclusion Exposure to BPA may be associated with RM risk.
Change in the Small Group: A Dissipative Structure Perspective

In living systems that are experiencing highly turbulent conditions, dissipative self-organization sometimes takes place and results in greater viability. The potential applications of the paradigm of dissipative self-organization to the study of change dynamics in small groups are explored. A certain type of change in groups is likened to change in dissipative structures found in the physical world, and group effectiveness amid complex and turbulent environments is seen to require the key elements of dissipative self-organization: an ongoing tolerance for error and for deviation from an established order, a breaking of existing system relationships so that new ones may emerge, a reflective, self-referencing mode, and a creative process of boundary reparation and movement into new configurations. Lewin's model of change in social systems is extended here through the application of the self-organization paradigm. Instead of utilizing Lewin's formulation of a discrete movement through phases, the emphasis is placed on continual change taking place amid turbulence or near-chaos conditions. The group's ability to be self-organizing, by opening to turbulence and functioning at its boundaries, and by experimenting, self-referencing, and repairing boundaries is discussed as a crucial factor in group effectiveness amid such conditions.
Social Comparison Theory

The history of Festinger's social comparison theory is traced from its publication in 1954 to its celebration at the APA convention in 1984. Social comparison theory received little attention after its original publication. Possible explanations include Festinger's turning to dissonance theory and the relatively low circulation of the journal in which it was published, Human Relations. The theory was kept alive by Schachter's work on affiliation and emotions and by the papers published in Latane's (1966) JESP Social Comparison supplement. After the 1966 supplement, work by Pettigrew, Brickman, and Wheeler and the linkage of social comparison to attribution theory rekindled interest in comparison processes. This interest culminated in the publication of Suls and Miller's (1977) book on social comparison. Interest in social comparison is predicted to remain high because of the centrality of social comparison processes in overall self-evaluation and their relevance to a wide range of social psychological concerns, including attribution. Unresolved questions and new directions are discussed.
Outcome of renal transplantation in ninety-seven cyclosporine-era patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and matched controls.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of renal transplantation in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS A total of 97 SLE patients who underwent renal transplantation between January 1984 and September 1996 were selected for study and were matched with a group of non-SLE controls (1 control for each SLE patient) who also received transplants during that period. SLE patients and controls were matched on 6 covariates: age, sex, race, type of allograft (cadaveric versus living-related), number of previous transplants, and year of transplantation. All study subjects received either cyclosporine or FK-506/tacrolimus as part of their immunosuppressive regimen. In a rigorous medical records review, the status of each allograft and the cause of each graft loss was determined. Using a stratified Cox proportional hazards model, the transplantation outcomes of the SLE patients were compared with those of the controls. The effects of 9 individual variables on transplantation outcomes were also examined, and the statistically significant variables were compared in a stratified, multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS The control group included patients with 20 different causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The mean followup times for the SLE patients and controls were 323 weeks and 320 weeks, respectively. During the followup period, 52 SLE patients and 37 controls lost their allografts. The 1-, 2-, 5-, and 10-year allograft survival probabilities for the 2 groups (SLE versus controls) were as follows: 81.7% versus 88.2% (1-year); 74.7% versus 84.4% (2-year); 45.9% versus 75.0% (5-year); and 18.5% versus 34.8% (10-year). In the multivariate model, the relative hazard of allograft loss associated with SLE as the cause of ESRD was 2.1 (95% confidence interval 1.06-4.06, P = 0.0328). The total number of HLA mismatches, smoking status, and delayed allograft function were also associated with allograft loss in the multivariate model. CONCLUSION Compared with matched controls, renal transplant patients with SLE had inferior transplantation outcomes, with more than twice the risk of allograft loss.
Low back pain predict sickness absence among power plant workers

Background: Low back pain (LBP) remains the predominant occupational health problem in most industrialized countries and low-income countries. Both work characteristics and individual factors have been identified as risk factors. More knowledge about the predictors of sickness absence from LBP in the industry will be valuable in determining strategies for prevention. Objectives: The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate whether individual, work-related physical risk factors were involved in the occurrence of LBP sickness absence. Methods: A follow-up study was conducted among 489 workers, aged 18–65 years, at Kosovo Energetic Corporation in Kosovo. This cross-sectional study used a self-administered questionnaire to collect data on individual and work-related risk factors and the occurrence of LBP sickness absence. Logistic regression models were used to determine associations between risk factors and the occurrence of sickness absence due to LBP. Results: Individual factors did not influence sickness absence, whereas work-related physical factors showed strong associations with sickness absence. The main risk factors for sickness absence due to LBP among production workers were extreme trunk flexion (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.05–2.78) as well as very extreme trunk flexion (OR = 6.04, 95% CI = 1.12–32.49) and exposure to whole-body vibration (OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.04–2.95). Conclusion: Reducing sickness absence from LBP among power plant workers requires focusing on the working conditions of blue-collar workers and risk factors for LBP. Increasing social support in the work environment may have effects in reducing sickness absence from LBP.
Emotion and Regulation are One!

Emotions are foremost self-regulating processes that permit rapid responses and adaptations to situations of personal concern. They have biological bases and are shaped ontogenetically via learning and experience. Many situations and events of personal concern are social in nature. Thus, social exchanges play an important role in learning about rules and norms that shape regulation processes. I argue that (a) emotions often are actively auto-regulating—the behavior implied by the emotional reaction bias to the eliciting event or situation modifies or terminates the situation; (b) certain emotion components are likely to habituate dynamically, modifying the emotional states; (c) emotions are typically intra- and interpersonal processes at the same time, and modulating forces at these different levels interact; (d) emotions are not just regulated—they regulate. Important conclusions of my arguments are that the scientific analysis of emotion should not exclude regulatory processes, and that effortful emotion regulation should be seen relative to a backdrop of auto-regulation and habituation, and not the ideal notion of a neutral baseline. For all practical purposes unregulated emotion is not a realistic concept.
Does Frailty Modify the Effect of Race on Influenza Vaccination within Nursing Facilities in Michigan, 2005-2006?

Nursing home racial composition is associated with vaccine uptake; black residents are less well immunized than white residents. To determine if health status modifies the effect of race on receiving vaccination among nursing home residents, we used cross-sectional data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for Michigan from October 1, 2005 through March 31, 2006 in 291 racially mixed nursing facilities (n=66,895 residents). Analyses included multilevel models, stratified by the proportion of black residents in the nursing home, to assess whether frailty, measured with the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS), the Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and the Changes in Health, End-stage disease and Symptoms and Signs (CHESS), contributed to vaccination inequity (i.e., white-black difference) within nursing homes. In facilities with few ( 50%) blacks, the inequity decreased with increasing frailty (CPS: 8.7 to 0.8; ADL: 9.3 to 2.1; and CHESS: 6.7 to 4.6). Frail residents of minority status within a facility were less likely to be vaccinated than either healthier minority status residents or majority status residents, frail or healthy.
Active fence with flexible link

This paper presents the results of research on a model of the sorting process of a unit load stream by means of an active fence with one degree of freedom. In this study, the manipulated loads are treated as bodies of nonlinear elastic-damping properties described by the modified Kelvin model. In investigating the fence structure, one takes into consideration a rigid link and an adjoining flexible link. The equations of motion of the fence flexible link, and those of the interacting object were derived using the finite element method (FEM). The developed model makes it possible to assess the influence of the fence structural and operational parameters on the process of sorting, and evaluate dynamic forces exerted on the manipulated loads.
A response binding effect in visual short-term memory

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of action on the preservation of stored feature bindings. Prior research suggests that stimuli presented after a memory array can disrupt the feature bindings of memory array items. Here, we conducted three experiments to examine whether response to targets disrupts feature bindings. Two of four letters (A, B, C, D) were presented in a memory array, and were followed by a second array containing a single target letter. After either identifying or localizing the target letter, participants were required to report the identity or location of the memory array items. There was a deficit in memory performance involving spatial repetition when participants were required to localize targets, and involving identity repetition when participants were required to identify targets. We conclude that response codes are fundamentally linked to stimulus representations, and can affect retrieval from visual working memory.
GABAergic interneurons containing calbindin D28K or somatostatin are major targets of GABAergic basal forebrain afferents in the rat neocortex

The arborization pattern and postsynaptic targets of the GABAergic component of the basal forebrain projection to neo‐ and mesocortical areas have been studied by the combination of anterograde tracing and pre‐ and postembedding immunocytochemistry. Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHAL) was iontophoretically delivered into the region of the diagonal band of Broca, with some spread of the tracer into the substantia innominata and ventral pallidum. A large number of anterogradely labelled varicose fibres were visualized in the cingulate and retrosplenial cortices, and a relatively sparse innervation was observed in frontal and occipital cortical areas. Most of the labelled axons were studded with large en passant varicosities (Type 1), whereas the others (Type 2) had smaller boutons often of the drumstick type. Type 1 axons were distributed in all layers of the mesocortex with slightly lower frequency in layers 1 and 4. In the neocortex, layer 4, and to a smaller extent upper layer 5 and layer 6 contained the largest number of labelled fibres, whereas only a few fibres were seen in the supragranular layers. Characteristic type 2 axons were very sparse but could be found in all layers.
NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (CB): Validation of Executive Function Measures in Adults

Abstract This study describes psychometric properties of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) executive function measures in an adult sample. The NIHTB-CB was designed for use in epidemiologic studies and clinical trials for ages 3 to 85. A total of 268 self-described healthy adults were recruited at four university-based sites, using stratified sampling guidelines to target demographic variability for age (20–85 years), gender, education and ethnicity. The NIHTB-CB contains two computer-based instruments assessing executive function: the Dimensional Change Card Sort (a measure of cognitive flexibility) and a flanker task (a measure of inhibitory control and selective attention). Participants completed the NIHTB-CB, corresponding gold standard convergent and discriminant measures, and sociodemographic questionnaires. A subset of participants (N=89) was retested 7 to 21 days later. Results reveal excellent sensitivity to age-related changes during adulthood, excellent test–retest reliability, and adequate to good convergent and discriminant validity. The NIH Toolbox EF measures can be used effectively in epidemiologic and clinical studies. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)