Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring Performance of Brief Alcohol Counseling in Medical Settings

Brief alcohol counseling is a top US prevention priority but has not been widely implemented. The lack of an easy performance measure for brief alcohol counseling is one important barrier to implementation. The purpose of this report is to outline important issues related to measuring performance of brief alcohol counseling in health care settings. We review the strengths and limitations of several options for measuring performance of brief alcohol counseling and describe three measures of brief alcohol counseling tested in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System. We conclude that administrative data are not well-suited to measuring performance of brief alcohol counseling. Patient surveys appear to offer the optimal approach currently available for comparing performance of brief alcohol counseling across health care systems, while more options are available for measuring performance within health care systems. Further research is needed in this important area of quality improvement.
The Effects of Cooperative Goal Structures and Cooperative Models on LD and Nld Students

This study assessed the impact of individual goal structures, cooperative goal structures, and cooperative goal structures combined with exposure to cooperative models on the achievement, interpersonal behavior, and attitudes of LD and NLD students. The results lend some support to the hypothesis that cooperative goal structures, especially following training in cooperative behavior, may help facilitate both the achievement and interpersonal relations of LD and NLD students.
Where Active Older Adults Walk

There is little evidence about how path-design characteristics at site and building scale may be related to where active older adults choose to walk. This article describes the findings from an empirical study examining the relationship between physical environmental characteristics of path segments and their use for walking for recreation or instrumental reasons by 114 active residents on three retirement community campuses. The study uses a combination of methods—resident questionnaires, path assessment, and morphological analysis of building and campus plans. Path use for instrumental walking was related to path segments being well-connected in the path network and having specific destinations along them. Path segments that were likely to be selected for recreational walking at the three case study sites were longer, were well connected, did not have steps, and had attractive views of campus.
Note taking as a generative activity.

Three experiments investigated the effects of note taking on “what is learned” from videotaped lectures. In Exps I and II (60 and 48 university students, respectively), there was a pattern in which note takers excelled on far-transfer test items, while those who did not take notes excelled on near t
Blood K+ concentration balance after prolonged submaximal exercise – The role of both uptake and excretion processes

Background: A contracting muscle is a source of the plasma K concentration increase during physical exercise. The flux of K from contracting skeletal muscle to blood is related to the frequency of cells action potential. The elevated blood [K] may result in the heart rate irregularities and interferes with the way nerves send signals. But plasma increased [K] recovers rapidly to normal if a regulating mechanism takes action. The aim of this study was to evaluate the participation of processes restoring the balance in blood [K] after prolonged submaximal exercise. Material/Methods: Nineteen healthy, young, physically active men performed the 120-min submaximal cycling (intensity below individual AT). Measurements were made of urine, plasma and hemolysed whole blood collected before and after a 2-h cycloergometric exercise and after 1h, 2h and also after 24h recovery to quantify the excretion of K to urine and the relative contribution of plasma and erythrocytes to the place where K is released in two compartments of blood. Results: The main findings in the present study are that the balance of plasma [K] after prolonged exercise is maintained not only by the reuptake of K to a non-contracting and contracting muscle and by changes in [K] in erythrocyte and plasma, but as well by the excretion of ions into urine. Conclusions: The fate of K released from a contracted muscle is connected not only with the exercise intensity and acidification but also with the duration of exercise. Athletes should keep in mind different action of kidneys in case of K before supplementation of electrolytes after specific exercise. Word count: 2,819 Tables: 1 Figures: 9 References: 40 Received: February 2013 Accepted: November 2013 Published: December 2013 Corresponding author: Prof. dr hab. Anna Szczęsna-Kaczmarek Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Dep. of Physiology 80-336 Gdańsk, Poland, ul. K. Górskiego 1 Phone: +4858 554-72-97 E-mail: annaszk1@tlen.pl A. Szczesna-Kaczmarek, Blood Kconcentration balance after prolonged submaximal exercise
Modeling of heavy metal transport and soil erosion in surface runoff

A physically-based model was developed for rainfall, runoff, erosion, and solute transport processes on land surfaces under time-varying rainfall events. Kinematic wave approximation was used to describe the overland flow dynamics. Erosion equation was represented as a first-order reaction, with the reaction rate being represented by soil erodibility. The solute transport equations were based on a convective-dispersive model that incorporates rate-limited mass transfer through a laminar boundary layer at the soil surface/runoff water interface. The model has been validated using data available in literature. Results for the erosion and solute transport processes were validated separately. Experiments are planned for complete model validation.
A Content-Based Approach to Teaching and Testing Listening Skills to Grade 5 EFL Learners

English education has been officially incorporated into elementary-level education in Taiwan since 2001, with the key objective of reinforcing pupils’ oral communication in class. Although oral interaction involves a degree of listening input from interlocutors, listening has unfortunately remained a marginalized area in Taiwanese elementary education. Little is known about how to improve young learners’ listening comprehension and listening skills in Taiwanese contexts. The present study was carried out with 52 11-year-old elementary school pupils in Taiwan. An English course was designed to integrate pupils’ listening skills into a content-based course with a series of tourism-related topics. The results showed that the teaching of listening skills could be integrated into the content-based course and certain listening skills were greatly improved. Also, the study has implications for designing a topic-based course for teaching and testing listening skills, as well as for developing listening and speaking abilities in young EFL learners.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SIMPLE ACOUSTIC REACTION TIME IN NORMAL CHILDREN

Normative data on the simple acoustic reaction time were obtained from 56 children without neurological or psychiatric symptoms aged between four and 14 years, and the results were compared with those for an adult reference group. Mean reaction times declined precipitously from 465msec at age five to 190msec at 15 years. The relationship between reaction time and age during childhood can be described by a linear equation in a log‐log system. The adult level is achieved at 16 years.
The Changes of Germination Characteristics and Enzyme Activity of Barley Seeds under Accelerated Aging

Abstract Seed aging is the main problem of seed storage. Changes of enzyme activity and reduction of seedling growth are consequence of seed deterioration. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of accelerated aging on germination indexes and enzyme activity of barley seeds. Seeds were incubated in closed plastic boxes for the accelerated aging treatments at 41°C. Three accelerate aging regimes were performed by placing seeds at 41°C and relative humidity (RH) of 90-100 % for 0, 4 and 8 day periods. Our results showed that increasing aging duration resulted higher reduction in germination percentage, germination index, mean time to germination, normal seedling percentage, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase. The highest germination percentage, germination index, normal seedling percentage and enzyme activity were achieved in control conditions (0 day of aging). Under aging conditions, germination percentage, means time to germination, germination index, normal seedling percentage and enzyme activity decrease significantly. Also, our results indicated that seed aging is related to decrease of enzymes and may contribute to low germination efficiency. The general decreases in enzyme activity in the seed lowers the respiratory capacity, which in turn lowers both the energy (ATP) and assimilates supply of the germinating seed, also decrease in antioxidant enzymes is linked to an increased accelerated ageing and decreased germination characteristics. Subsequently, proposed a positive relationship between antioxidant enzyme capacity and the vigour of the seed
Impact of health claims in prebiotic-enriched breads on purchase intent, emotional response and product liking

Abstract The impact of health claims on purchase intent, emotional response and liking has never been previously reported. In this study, prebiotic-enriched bread was used as a model functional food. Purchase intent, emotional response and liking were investigated in three phases: (1) focus groups were used to gauge consumer perception of health claims and functional foods, (2) the impact of health claims on purchase intent and emotional responses were measured using an online survey (n = 122) and (3) hedonic ratings on bread rolls presented with or without any associated claims were obtained (n = 100). A cluster analysis of the purchase intent data identified two clusters of consumers who were either receptive or non-receptive to health claims. Receptive and non-receptive consumers significantly differed in the emotions they reported with respect to the claims. The hedonic ratings did not significantly differ between the breads tasted with or without health claims.
Building topological models for navigation in large scale environments

In mobile robotics, pure geometric representations may not be well suited for navigation in large scale environments. New models combine topological and metrical information to give compact and efficient representations. We briefly review the outlines of the construction of our Voronoi-like graph and give further details about its implementation in a real environment. Several trials made around our lab demonstrate the ability of our modeling scheme to recognize topological features of the environment and use them to detect loops and relocalize the robot position.
Disagreeing about What's Fair: Exploring the Relationship between Perceptions of Justice and Employee Dissent

This study examined the relationship between employees' perceptions of justice within their organizations and their tendencies for expressing dissent. A sample of full-time working adults (N = 141) completed a survey instrument. Results indicated that managers' perceptions of justice related positively to their use of upward dissent and negatively to their use of displaced dissent, and that non-managers' perceptions of justice related negatively to their use of latent and displaced dissent. Overall, the findings suggest that although managers and non-managers respond differently to perceptions of justice, how fair employees perceive organizational decision-making practices to be relates to their dissent expression.
The branding consultant’s recommendation for the re-branding of Oldham town: Weighing in on the conceptual fit

The rebranding of Oldham is a positional shift in the perception and strategic image of the town. The commissioning of a consultant to handle this critical aspect of the renewal of the town was meant to usher in a new era for the town and the borough at large. Oldham’s history presents a mixed picture of world dominance, subsequent dilapidation and chaos. The heydays of king cotton vanished over time culminating in economic meltdown and then ultimately 2001 race confrontations. The study reflects on the way the stories relating to the history of Oldham have impacted on the shaping of the brand. Boje (2008) argues that every workplace, school, government office or local religious group if not any organisational setup is a storytelling organisation and that wherever people are involved they are known by their story. The study reviews the approach to branding. This paper argues that the crisis helped put Oldham back on the national and international map. The consultant employed a simplistic model to capture the ethos of the new Oldham. It is inconclusive if the recommended image really makes a difference in the shaping of the new image of Oldham. The logo represents oneness and seems to answer to political whispers and not well grounded marketing. Ultimately the paper takes a position that the consultant did not comprehensively tackle the key issues that underpin place branding by not addressing some sensitive issues that could help consolidate the development and the image of the town.
A Comparison of Referrals With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder to Forensic Intellectual Disability Services

Although some authors have suggested that there are higher rates of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in forensic and offending groups, systematic studies have not supported the hypothesis. The present study reviewed 477 referrals made to forensic intellectual disability (ID) services in one calendar year. It was found that 10% of referrals had ASD, a figure similar to the general population of people with ID. Those with ASD had similar patterns of offending to those without but they showed a lower prevalence of contact sexual offences and fewer had been previously charged. We concluded that there is no persuasive evidence that ASD is a risk factor for offending or for any particular type of offending.
Stimulus Mapping and Memory Load Effects on the Vigulance Decrement across Multiple Sessions

Performance often degrades over time in a vigilance task where an operator must identify critical signals. An extensive effort has been made to determine the mechanism underlying this vigilance decrement. Sustained demand theory proposes that high attentional demand sustained over the course of the vigil extracts a toll in fatigue, leading to the decrement. However, since an observer typically searches for one consistent target in a vigilance situation, results from dual-processing studies would suggest that automatic processing (Schneider & Shiffrin, 1977) should develop over time, and performance should improve rather than degrade. The purpose of this study was to identify the role of automatic and controlled processing within and across vigilance sessions. High memory loads led to an attenuation of the vigilance decrement, a result inconsistent with sustained demand theory. Low memory loads produced results more consistent with a sustained demand interpretation. Implications of these findings for a theoretical account of the vigilance decrement are discussed.
Identification of erythroid progenitors induced by erythropoietic activity in Xenopus laevis

Oxygen is essential for the survival of animals. Red blood cells in the circulation, i.e. peripheral erythrocytes, are responsible for transporting oxygen to tissues. The regulation of erythropoiesis in vertebrates other than mammals is yet to be elucidated. Recently we identified erythropoietin, a primary regulator of erythropoiesis, in Xenopus laevis, which should enable us to identify target cells, including erythroid progenitors, and to investigate the production and development of erythroid cells in amphibians. Here, we established a semi-solid colony-forming assay in Xenopus laevis to clarify the existence of colony-forming unit-erythroid cells, the functional erythroid progenitors identified in vitro. Using this assay, we showed that recombinant xlEPO induces erythroid colony formation in vitro and detected an increased level of erythropoietin activity in blood serum during acute anemic stress. In addition, our study demonstrated the possible presence of multiple, non-xlEPO, factors in anemic serum supportive of erythroid colony formation. These results indicate that erythropoiesis mediated by erythropoietin is present in amphibian species and, furthermore, that the regulatory mechanisms controlling peripheral erythrocyte number may vary among vertebrates.
Investigating the role of enduring and situational involvement with the program context on advertising effectiveness

Although the effect of involvement with the program context is often cited as a key element in advertising processing, there is no consistent view concerning its role. This study attempts to clarify this point by proposing a conceptual model for the determinants of advertising effectiveness in televised sporting events that incorporates both enduring and situational involvement factors. The results of this study reveal that enduring involvement is directly and indirectly, through situational involvement, associated with advertising effectiveness. Moreover, the findings show that individual factors of enduring and situational involvement operate differently and play a distinct role in affecting the nature of advertising processing. Overall, this study suggests that involvement with the program context should be conceptualized as a function of both enduring factors and situational states, and contrary to previous assertions advertisers should not be deterred from placing commercials in involving programs.
Path toward Precision Oncology: Review of Targeted Therapy Studies and Tools to Aid in Defining “Actionability” of a Molecular Lesion and Patient Management Support

Precision medicine trials and targeted therapies have shifted to the forefront of oncology. Although targeted therapies have shown initial promise, implementation across the broad landscape of oncology has many challenges. These limitations include an incomplete understanding of the functional significance of variant alleles as well as the need for clinical research and practice models that are more patient-centered and account for the complexity of individual patient tumors. Furthermore, successful implementation of targeted therapies will also be predicated on efforts to standardize the framework for patient management support. Here, we review current implementations of targeted therapies in precision oncology and discuss how “actionability” is defined for molecular targets in cancer therapeutics. We also comment on the growing need for bioinformatics tools and data platforms to complement advances in precision oncology. Finally, we discuss current frameworks for integrating precision oncology into patient management and propose an integrated model that combines features of molecular tumor boards and decision support systems. Mol Cancer Ther; 16(12); 2645–55. ©2017 AACR. See related article by Pilié et al., p. 2641
Stressed aggressive adolescents benefit from progressive muscle relaxation : A random, prospective, controlled trial

Adolescent stress is an emerging area of importance. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) for anger in stressed male adolescents. A random sample of 252 subjects was recruited. Increased Anger-Out scores were found in 81 of them on entry to the study. PMR was employed for 8 weeks for a randomly selected group of 40 of the 81, while the other 41 formed the control group. The salivary cortisol concentration, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), and Health Survey (SF-36) were used in the study. Initial examination revealed raised salivary cortisol levels on awakening, increased scores on most of the STAXI scales and relatively low T-values on the SF-36 scales, which describe physical health. At the highest morning salivary cortisol concentration (p < 0.01), the State-Anger, Trait-Anger, Anger-Out and Anger-Control scales of the STAXI (all p < 0.01), as well as those for the vitality (VITA), social functioning (SOFU), role-emotional (ROEM), and mental health (PSYC), (all p < 0.01) scales of SF-36, showed significant change. PMR appears to be effective in the treatment of aggression in stressed male adolescents and improvement in health-related quality of life may be expected. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Back pain in ophthalmology: National survey of Indian ophthalmologists

Purpose: The aim is to assess the prevalence, severity, and associations of back pain among Indian ophthalmologists. Methods: A self-reporting questionnaire was sent to ophthalmologists with valid e-mail addresses registered with the All India Ophthalmological Society. The survey was open for responses for 2 months. Results: A total of 651 (5.96%) responses were obtained; 394 (61%) males and 257 (39%) females. Half (50%) of responses were obtained from doctors belonging to 31–40 years' age group. Two hundred and thirty (35%) of the ophthalmologists had height ranging from 161 to 170 cm and 443 (68%) had weight ranging from 51 to 75 kg. Four hundred and eighty-one (73.8%) of the respondents had <15 years of ophthalmic experience. Cataract (346; 53.1%) and general ophthalmology (342; 52.5%) were commonly practised by the ophthalmologists. Time spent in the outpatient department (OPD) was 39.37 ± 16.32 h/week and in the operating theater 13.64 ± 9.89 h/week, respectively. Self-reported prevalence of back pain was 70.5%. Fully 49% of respondents had low back pain, followed by neck pain (33%) and upper extremity symptoms (16%). Age <50 years (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4485), female gender (OR = 2.0265), long working hours in OPD (OR = 1.6524), and performing retinal lasers and indirect ophthalmoscopy (OR = 3.3251) showed positive association with back pain. The intolerable back pain was noted in <7% of the respondents. Around 398 (61%) respondents felt that their back pain was exacerbated while doing work and 86.6% felt that up to 5 h/week was lost due to persistent backache. Yoga and some form of exercise (74.3%) was practised to alleviate back pain. Conclusion: Back pain symptoms appear to be common among ophthalmologists. Awkward posture and prolonged working hours are responsible for developing back pain among ophthalmologists. Performing yoga and regular exercises, modifications in instrumentation and creating a larger workforce of eye care practitioners are needed to prevent ophthalmologists from developing back pain.
Socialization and racial identity among Black Americans.

This study examines the social structural processes and arrangements related to racial group identification for a national sample of black American adults. We argue that primary socialization experiences, particularly parental messages concerning the meaning of being black, are important in shaping racial identity. The findings support this prediction; further, they suggest that adult relations with family, friends, and community are important in fostering a sense of group identity. Findings also suggest that integration into mainstream society, as reflected in interracial contact and adult socioeconomic attainment, is associated with less in-group attachment but more positive black group evaluation. Adult SES and interracial contact bolster black group evaluation. Collectively, these findings support a multidimensional conceptualization of black identity.