Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Embedded Science: Critical Analysis of Abstinence-Only Evaluation Research

Since 1982, more than US$1 billion have been spent through federally sponsored abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) programs, including nearly $800 million between 2001 and 2006, during the presidency of George W. Bush. With this increased funding has come pressure to evaluate the impact of AOUM programs. In 1998, a federally funded evaluation of AOUM programming was commissioned to assess its impact on young people. Because the abstinence policies and the evaluation of their success derive from the federal government, the authors identify the troubling potential of "embedded science. " Using a recent example of research in the field of abstinence-only education (Maynard et al., 2005), the authors identify a number of practices and consequences of embedding research science within existing public policy. They find that when evaluation research is overly embedded, it tends to be dominated by political ideologies, information is omitted, and critique is virtually absent.
Mutation of Serine 32 to Threonine in Peroxiredoxin 6 Preserves Its Structure and Enzymatic Function but Abolishes Its Trafficking to Lamellar Bodies*

Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6), a bifunctional protein with phospholipase A2 (aiPLA2) and GSH peroxidase activities, protects lungs from oxidative stress and participates in lung surfactant phospholipid turnover. Prdx6 has been localized to both cytosol and lamellar bodies (LB) in lung epithelium, and its organellar targeting sequence has been identified. We propose that Prdx6 LB targeting facilitates its role in the metabolism of lung surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC). Ser-32 has been identified as the active site in Prdx6 for aiPLA2 activity, and this activity was abolished by the mutation of serine 32 to alanine (S32A). However, aiPLA2 activity was unaffected by mutation of serine 32 in Prdx6 to threonine (S32T). Prdx6 protein expression and aiPLA2 activity were normal in the whole lung of a “knock-in” mouse model carrying an S32T mutation in the Prdx6 gene but were absent from isolated LB. Analyses by proximity ligation assay in lung sections demonstrated the inability of S32T Prdx6 to bind to the chaperone protein, 14-3-3ϵ, that is required for LB targeting. The content of total phospholipid, PC, and disaturated PC in lung tissue homogenate, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and lung LB was increased significantly in Prdx6-S32T mutant lungs, whereas degradation of internalized [3H]dipalmitoyl-PC was significantly decreased. Thus, Thr can substitute for Ser for the enzymatic activities of Prdx6 but not for its targeting to LB. These results confirm an important role for LB Prdx6 in the degradation and remodeling of lung surfactant phosphatidylcholine.
Cyclin A as a Predictive Factor for Chemotherapy Response in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

Purpose: Overall survival of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients has not improved despite advances in our understanding of the biology and molecular features of this disease. In particular, patients with advanced HNSCC have the poorest prognosis. To understand more about the contribution of cell cycle alterations to HNSCC development and their possible value in predicting prognosis and response to chemotherapy, we evaluated the levels of proteins involved in cell cycle control in patients diagnosed with advanced HNSCC. Experimental Design: A tissue microarray was made with 122 HNSCC specimens obtained from biopsy material. Protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinical and pathological characteristics. Results: Multiple alterations at various checkpoints of cell cycle progression were observed. Loss of P16 protein was less common in oropharyngeal tumors than at other HNSCC locations (P = 0.02). Evaluation of the simultaneous expression of different proteins highlighted direct correlations (P < 0.05) such as that of the cyclin-dependent kinases with their cyclin-partners, and the Ki-67 protein with cyclin-dependent kinases 1, cyclin A (CA) and cyclin B1. Median overall survival and time-to-progression were longer in patients with CA-expressing tumors (not reached versus 34.4 months, P = 0.02) and (47.3 versus 14.6 months, P = 0.006), respectively. Moreover, expression of CA in tumors predicted a better response to chemotherapy. Positive expression of cyclin E in tumors was also associated with an increased median time-to-progression (14.6 versus 25.8 months, P = 0.04). Finally, patients with cyclin D1-expressing tumors had shorter median overall survival (29.6 months versus not reached, P = 0.05) and shorter median time-to-progression (21.5 months versus not reached, P = 0.06). However, in a multivariate analysis a CA-negative–expressing tumor was the only independent poor prognostic factor in the entire cohort of HNSCC patients [odds ratio, 2.3; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.2–4.5; P = 0.01]. Conclusions: Our results provide detailed information on the molecular profile of cell cycle components in HNSCCs and identify CA-negative–expressing tumors as an independent marker of tumor progression and poor response to chemotherapy in patients diagnosed with advanced HNSCC.
Ethnic culture, distress and clinical measurement: A CORE outcome comparison between the British Chinese and white Europeans

The recent call for evidence-based clinical practice in an increasingly multi-ethnic society has pointed towards the serious lack of psychotherapy outcome data on ethnic minorities in Britain. The aim was to investigate the generalisability of the CORE measure to the Chinese community by (1) comparing outcome scores from the non-clinical Chinese population with existing normative data; and (2) comparing outcome scores from a translated version with the original. One hundred and thirty-three non-clinical Chinese participants residing in Britain responded to either the original measure (CORE; n =104) or a Chinese translated version (C-CORE; n =29). The Chinese sample, whose CORE scores also demonstrated test-retest and internal reliability, did not differ significantly from the white Europeans. However, C-CORE respondents produced significantly higher overall scores and in most domains than the CORE group. This paper highlights potential for the valid testing of ethnic communities, but calls for design modifications and the need for recognising cultural differences.
Online Variational Bayes Inference for High-Dimensional Correlated Data

High-dimensional data with hundreds of thousands of observations are becoming commonplace in many disciplines. The analysis of such data poses many computational challenges, especially when the observations are correlated over time and/or across space. In this article, we propose flexible hierarchical regression models for analyzing such data that accommodate serial and/or spatial correlation. We address the computational challenges involved in fitting these models by adopting an approximate inference framework. We develop an online variational Bayes algorithm that works by incrementally reading the data into memory one portion at a time. The performance of the method is assessed through simulation studies. The methodology is applied to analyze signal intensity in MRI images of subjects with knee osteoarthritis, using data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
IMA901 Multipeptide Vaccine Randomized International Phase III Trial (IMPRINT): A randomized, controlled study investigating IMA901 multipeptide cancer vaccine in patients receiving sunitinib as first-line therapy for advanced/metastatic RCC.

TPS183 Background: IMA901 is a therapeutic vaccine composed of multiple naturally presented tumor-associated peptides (TUMAPs). Previous data have indicated that vaccination with IMA901 results in a relevant clinical benefit, ie. advanced RCC patients with detectable T cell responses against TUMAPs had a better disease control and overall survival as compared to patients without such responses. Furthermore, pre-treatment with a single dose of cyclophosphamide (CY; 300mg/m2) was able to reduce regulatory T cells (Treg) and improve survival compared to patients vaccinated without prior CY, resulting in considerably longer median survival than expected (>24 months in second-line cytokine pre-treated mRCC patients). Treatment with IMA901 was overall well tolerated with most AE being local side effects. Suntinib is a standard treatment for mRCC and was approved based on the improvement of PFS. It has been speculated that sunitinib may also favorably alter immune regulation via reduction of Treg and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). Various pre-clinical and clinical data have suggested that the combination of sunitinib and therapeutic vaccines is feasible, safe, and potentially synergistic. METHODS This is a randomized phase III study to investigate whether IMA901, when administered in addition to sunitinib, can prolong overall survival (OS; primary endpoint). Secondary endpoints include a subgroup analysis of OS in patients positive for a pre-defined biomarker signature, PFS, best overall objective response, immunomonitoring, and safety. Approximately 330 patients will be randomized to receive sunitinib or sunitinib plus IMA901 (total of 10 i.d. vaccinations together with 75 µg GM-CSF starting in the first "off-phase" and preceeded by a single low-dose CY). Main inclusion criteria comprise advanced/metastatic clear cell RCC without prior systemic therapy for advanced disease, HLA-A*02 expression, favorable or intermediate risk according to Heng. Screening has started in December 2010 and first data are expected by the second half of 2013.
Kicking to Bigger Uprights: Field Goal Kicking Performance Influences Perceived Size

Perception relates not only to the optical information from the environment but also to the perceiver's performance on a given task. We present evidence that the perceived height and width of an American-football field goal post relates to the perceiver's kicking performance. Participants who made more successful kicks perceived the field goal posts to be farther apart and perceived the crossbar to be closer to the ground compared with participants who made fewer kicks. Interestingly, the current results show perceptual effects related to performance only after kicking the football but not before kicking. We also found that the types of performance errors influenced specific aspects of perception. The more kicks that were missed left or right of the target, the narrower the field goal posts looked. The more kicks that were missed short of the target, the taller the field goal crossbar looked. These results demonstrate that performance is a factor in size perception.
Comparing Apples and Oranges

The assessment of young children in early childhood special education is a central area of educational practice. The results of child assessments often have significant implications for young children, their families, and the programs that serve them, including eligibility for special education services, instructional planning, and documentation of child outcomes. The array of early childhood assessment types and purposes can be challenging to disentangle at the practitioner and policy level. At this time, different types of assessment tools (e.g., norm-referenced and criterion-referenced) are being used to document the development and learning of children and little attention has been paid to the parallel information produced from different assessment types. The purpose of this study is to compare the assessment results from two types of developmental instruments commonly used (Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System Second Edition [AEPS 2nd ed.] and Battelle Developmental Inventory II [BDI-2]) to determine their congruence in determining a child’s developmental status (e.g., “on track” or delayed). Results indicate substantive difference between the two measures highlighting the potential for mismeasurement and misinterpretation of child assessment data. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Core Stabilization Exercise Prescription, Part 2

Context Therapeutic exercises are frequently prescribed to patients with low back pain. Numerous exercise programs for patients with low back pain have been described. Many of these treatment programs are based on 1 of 2 popular rehabilitation strategies: a motor control exercise approach or a general exercise approach. Data Sources PubMed clinical queries from 1966 to March 2013 for keyword combinations including motor control exercise, core stability exercise, therapeutic exercise, general exercise, global exercise, local exercise, transversus abdominis, segmental stabilization, and low back pain. Study Selection Randomized controlled trials that assessed the effects of a motor control exercise approach, a general exercise approach, or both for patients with low back pain that were published in scientific peer-reviewed journals. Data Extraction Included studies underwent appraisal for exercise intervention and outcomes. Results Fifteen studies were identified (8, motor control exercise approach without general exercise comparison; 7, general exercise approach with or without motor control exercise approach comparison). Current evidence suggests that exercise interventions may be effective at reducing pain or disability in patients with low back pain. Conclusion: Stabilization exercises for patients with low back pain may help to decrease pain and disability. It may not be necessary to prescribe exercises purported to restore motor control of specific muscles.
The Blackwell handbook of organizational learning and knowledge management

Organizado em duas partes, este livro trata da aprendizagem organizacional e das organizações de aprendizagem sob a perspectiva técnica e social. Na primeira parte, os artigos trazem importante contribuição ao apontar dificuldades e limitações à construção do campo teórico e ao realizar uma revisão crítica da literatura existente. Já a segunda parte reúne estudos práticos de implementação da aprendizagem organizacional em ambientes organizacionais, com base em diversas metodologias de intervenção, mesclando teoria e prática.
The Impact of Self-Affirmation on Health Cognition, Health Behaviour and Other Health-Related Responses: A Narrative Review

There is growing evidence that self-affirmation – the process of reflecting upon cherished values or attributes – may have implications for health. Postulated effects range from reducing the defensive resistance to unwelcome health-risk information to ameliorating the physiological response to stress. In this, the first detailed review of the literature on self-affirmation and health, we summarise what is known. Self-affirming can increase acceptance of unwelcome health-risk information, especially among those at greatest risk. Self-affirmed participants typically also report more intention to change behaviour post-message. There is evidence that certain effects of self-affirming may endure. Self-affirmation has also been shown to have beneficial effects on the response to stress. There is, however, currently only limited evidence of actual health behaviour change following self-affirmation. We discuss reasons for this and consider key research questions for the next phase of research.
The Importance of Acculturation in Understanding Research with Hispanic-Americans

This article provides a brief review of empirical studies that have addressed the role of acculturation across a variety of psychosocial variables (ie., family socialization, social-support networks, alcoholism, and psychosocial adjustment). Special attention is given to two methodological weaknesses inherent across studies: the lack of a satisfactory scale to assess the complex construct of acculturation and the excessive reliance on self-reports for information perceived as "personal" to Hispanics. Taking such weaknesses into consideration, recommendations to improve future research are presented.
PARENTAL DEPRESSION IN REMISSION: ASSOCIATIONS OF A PAST EPISODE AND RESIDUAL SYMPTOMS WITH YOUTH EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIOR AND THE ROLE OF PARENTING

This study was designed to increase our understanding of remitted major depressive disorder among parents and how it relates to child externalizing problems. Specifically, various facets that may differentiate one remitted clinical depressive presentation from another were investigated: past depression severity, past depression chronicity, and residual or current levels of depressive symptoms. Relations of these characteristics of parent depression with youth externalizing symptomatology, as well as the mediating role of negative parenting, were studied among 118 parent-child dyads across two sites. Specifically, three hypotheses were tested: (1) all three indicators of parental depression would have a significant relationship with adolescent externalizing problems when examined individually; (2) when examined simultaneously, past depression chronicity and current depressive symptoms, but not past depression severity, would each have a unique association with young adolescent externalizing outcomes; and (3) negative parenting would partially mediate the relationship of each of the three indicators (i.e., current parental symptoms, past depression chronicity, past depression severity) with child externalizing behavior. Results revealed that residual parent depressive symptoms were most salient in their association with youth externalizing behavior. Further, negative parenting mediated this relationship for parent, but not child, report of child problem behavior. Findings highlight the importance of further research to investigate remitted clinical depression in parent populations, and the impact on child behavioral adjustment. As well, implications for preventive and other intervention efforts are considered.
Reconciling Internalism and Externalism Through Use

This thesis stems from two related problems within the Internalism-Externalism debate. First is the problem of intentionality: how is it that we are able to reach out to the world through language. The answer I believe is through use. The second problem relates to the possibility of scientific enquiry: whether or not it is possible to scientifically study the object of externalist inquiry, the use of language for instance. The kind of theory I try to point towards, both incorporates how we are able to reach out to the world through language; i.e. explains use, and also aims to do so scientifically. I arrive at this through various steps, the first of which is an interpretation of Wittgenstein’s use of ‘grammar’ as both constitutive of a proposition and involving an element of use. Further through an analysis of Horwich, I attempt to see whether it is possible to systematize a use theory of meaning. I move on to externalist referential semantics, specifically to minimal semantics, as it appears to incorporate both internalist as well as externalist elements. For a theory that was able to scientifically explain content ascription, I then turn to Davidson. Davidson’s decision theoretic account of what he called triangulation presents itself as a candidate to better explain how we ascribe a particular content to a particular word or sentence. This framework, I contend is exemplified in Pietroski et al.’s “Meaning of ‘Most’” experiments. I argue that Horwich’s use-properties could form the test statements for Pietroski-like experiments, which would yield a possible way to relate the use of a sentence to meaning and truth. And this result is only achieved with the important assumption that we are situated in a world which we share with others much like ourselves.
Improving Middle School Students’ Science Literacy Through Reading Infusion

ABSTRACT Despite recent calls for border crossing between reading and science, few studies have examined the impact of reading infusion in the science curriculum on students’ science literacy. In this quasi-experimental study, the authors investigated the effects of an inquiry-based science curriculum that integrated explicit reading strategy instruction and quality science trade books on the development of science literacy among middle school students. Students in 10 sixth-grade science classes from 1 public middle school in the United States were randomly assigned to 2 conditions: inquiry-based science only (IS) and inquiry-based science plus reading (ISR). Results from the analyses of covariance showed that the ISR students significantly outperformed their IS peers on all measures of science literacy. It was suggested that even a modest amount of reading infusion could have a positive impact on middle school students’ science literacy. The limitations and implications of the study were also discussed.
The effects of the acoustic properties of second language vowel production on pronunciation evaluation

This study examines the acoustic characteristics which native speakers use as cues when judging speech samples. 17 words produced by 98 (15 native speakers and 83 Japanese learners of English) were collected and evaluated. Following this, the first three formants for each vowel produced were measured and used as independent variables in stepwise multiple regression analyses to explain variance in the evaluations. The results demonstrated that the formants did explain variance in evaluation in many but not all of the words (r2 = 0.0 to .36).
Early Psychological Outcomes in Failure to Thrive: Predictions from an Interactional Model

Children diagnosed with environmentally based failure to thrive (FTT) early during their first year of life were seen at 12 and 18 months for assessment of psychological development (i.e., cognition, language, symbolic play, and behavior during testing) following hospitalization and intervention. Based on an interactional model of outcome, factors reflecting biologic vulnerability (i.e., wasting and stunting) and family ecology (i.e., income level, family size, and ratio of adults to children) were assessed. Predictions that outcomes would reflect a combination of biological vulnerability and family ecology were upheld for Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) and Symbolic Play scores at 18 months but not at different ages or for other measures. Instead, wasting alone predicted the 12- and 18-month behavioral ratings and ratio of adults to children predicted the 12-month Bayley MDI and 18-month language measures. These findings underscore the utility o fan interactional model in predicting psychological o.
Using In-Service and Coaching to Increase Kindergarten Teachers’ Accurate Delivery of Group Instructional Units

Early intervention is key to preventing academic failure and referral to special education. General educators are responsible for providing primary instruction for students at risk for failure; however, the training they receive related to specific instructional strategies for these students is often insufficient (e.g., 1-day workshops). Alternative forms of professional development that include a combination of in-service and follow-up support have shown more promise in promoting changes in teaching behaviors.This study examined the effects of in-service support plus coaching on kindergarten teachers’ accurate delivery of group instructional units in math. Teachers were trained to use a combination of whole-class instruction strategies, including model-lead-test for introducing new concepts and correcting errors, choral responding, and response cards. Results indicated that all teachers improved their delivery of instruction after the in-service training, with a second level of growth achieved after coaching. Teachers also reported high levels of satisfaction using the strategies.