Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigating the Relationships among Stressors, Stress Level, and Mental Symptoms for Infertile Patients: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Objective Patients with infertility are a high risk group in depression and anxiety. However, an existing theoretically and empirically validated model of stressors, stress, and mental symptoms specific for infertile patients is still a void. This study aimed to determine the related factors and their relational structures that affect the level of depressive and anxiety symptoms among infertile patients. Methods A cross-sectional sample of 400 infertility outpatients seeking reproduction treatments in three teaching hospitals across Taiwan participated in the structured questionnaire survey in 2011. The hypothesized model comprising 10 latent variables was tested by Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS 17. Results Goodness-of-fit indexes, including χ2/DF = 1.871, PGFI = 0.746, PNFI = 0.764, and others, confirmed the modified model fit the data well. Marital stressor, importance of children, guilt-and-blame, and social stressor showed a direct effect on perceived stress. Instead of being a factor of stress, social support was directly and positively related to self-esteem. Perceived stress and self-esteem were the two major mediators for the relationships between stressors and mental symptoms. Increase in social support and self-esteem led to decrease in mental symptoms among the infertile patients. Conclusions The relational structures were identified and named as the Stressors Stress Symptoms Model, clinically applied to predict anxiety and depression from various stressors. Assessing sources and level of infertility-related stress and implementing culturally-sensitive counseling with an emphasis on positive personal value may assist in preventing the severity of depression and anxiety.
Ganglion cells influence the fate of dividing retinal cells in culture.

The different retinal cell types arise during vertebrate development from a common pool of progenitor cells. The mechanisms responsible for determining the fate of individual retinal cells are, as yet, poorly understood. Ganglion cells are one of the first cell types to be produced in the developing vertebrate retina and few ganglion cells are produced late in development. It is possible that, as the retina matures, the cellular environment changes such that it is not conducive to ganglion cell determination. The present study showed that older retinal cells secrete a factor that inhibits the production of ganglion cells. This was shown by culturing younger retinal cells, the test population, adjacent to various ages of older retinal cells. Increasingly older retinal cells, up to embryonic day 9, were more effective at inhibiting production of ganglion cells in the test cell population. Ganglion cell production was restored when ganglion cells were depleted from the older cell population. This suggests that ganglion cells secrete a factor that actively prevents cells from choosing the ganglion cell fate. This factor appeared to be active in medium conditioned by older retinal cells. Analysis of the conditioned medium established that the factor was heat stable and was present in the <3 kDa and >10 kDa fractions. Previous work showed that the neurogenic protein, Notch, might also be active in blocking production of ganglion cells. The present study showed that decreasing Notch expression with an antisense oligonucleotide increased the number of ganglion cells produced in a population of young retinal cells. Ganglion cell production, however, was still inhibited in cultures using antisense oligonucleotide to Notch in medium conditioned by older retinal cells. This suggests that the factor secreted by older retinal cells inhibits ganglion cell production through a different pathway than that mediated by Notch.
Barriers and supports for female coaches: an ecological model

A vast amount of literature exists pertaining to female coaches at all levels of competition from around the globe. Within this article, using Brofenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the complex and multidimensional barriers that affect, impede or prevent females from seeking or remaining in coaching positions, in addition to factors that support and facilitate career advancement and retention, are summarized. Barriers and supports represented in the literature are organized from most proximal (individual) to most distal (socio-cultural) to the coach. We conclude by identifying gaps in the research. The model can be used as a reflective heuristic to educate about the numerous dynamic organizational and societal barriers and supports engaged with by female coaches. In doing so, productive coping strategies can be learned and solutions and policy changes generated in order to increase opportunities for female coaches and make the environment within which they work increasingly inclusive, positive and supportive.
Typification in a Neuro-Rehabilitation Centre: Scheff Revisited?

This paper presents data on the admissions process in a Regional neuro-rehabilitation centre, using the framework proposed in Thomas Scheff's classic paper on typification in the diagnostic process as a starting point for analysis. We argue that typification is a more complex and diffuse process than Scheff's ‘diagnostic stereotype’ concept suggests, and that this may be linked to the particular work imperatives and relevancies that are important in this setting.
A novel spectrum arrangement scheme for femto cell deployment in LTE macro cells

Femto cells, also called home base stations, are small cellular access points installed by home users to get better indoor voice and data coverage with lower network operation cost. In this paper, the deployments of femto cells within LTE cellular networks are investigated. Based on the current partial co-channel deployment configuration for LTE Home evolved NodeB, a novel scheme of femtocell-aware spectrum arrangement is proposed for co-channel interference avoidance between macro and femto cells. The performance improvement of the proposed scheme has been validated by simulation results.
Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Gay and Heterosexual Men

This study examines differences in body dissatisfaction among gay and heterosexual men. Specifically, media, peer influence, and self-esteem are explored as potential variables in understanding these differences. Fifty-four Caucasian heterosexual males and eighty-two Caucasian gay males between the ages of eighteen and seventy-three participated in this study. The main findings of the current study are (a) gay men reported significantly more body dissatisfaction than heterosexual men; (b) significantly more men report a desire to lose weight than to gain weight, with gay men reporting a significantly smaller ideal weight than heterosexual men; (c) the magnitude of the relationship between self-esteem and body dissatisfaction was not significantly different for gay and heterosexual men; (d) media influence was more strongly related to body dissatisfaction and self-esteem for gay men than for heterosexual men; and (e) the magnitude of the relationship between weight-related peer teasing and self-esteem was stronger for gay males than for heterosexual males. Implications and directions for future research are explored.
Dehumanization and social class: Animality in the stereotypes of “white trash,” “chavs,” and “bogans”.

Three studies examined whether animality is a component of low-SES stereotypes. In Study 1a–c, the content of “white trash” (USA), “chav” (UK), and “bogan” (Australia) stereotypes was found to be highly consistent, and in every culture it correlated positively with the stereotype content of apes. In Studies 2a and 2b, a within-subjects approach replicated this effect and revealed that it did not rely on derogatory labels or was reducible to ingroup favoritism or system justification concerns. In Study 3, the “bogan” stereotype was associated with ape, rat, and dog stereotypes independently of established stereotype content dimensions (warmth, competence, and morality). By implication, stereotypes of low-SES people picture them as primitive, bestial, and incompletely human.
Daptomycin versus vancomycin plus gentamicin for treatment of bacteraemia and endocarditis due to Staphylococcus aureus: subset analysis of patients infected with methicillin-resistant isolates

Objectives In a prospective, randomized trial, daptomycin was non-inferior to standard therapy for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia and right-sided endocarditis. Since rates of infection due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infection are increasing and treatment outcomes for bacteraemia caused by MRSA are generally worse than those observed with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus bacteraemia, clinical characteristics and treatment results in the trial’s pre-specified subset of patients with MRSA were analysed. Methods Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients receiving daptomycin were compared with those receiving vancomycin plus low-dose gentamicin. Success was defined as clinical improvement with clearance of bacteraemia among patients who completed adequate therapy, received no potentially effective non-study antibiotics and had negative blood cultures 6 weeks after end of therapy. Results Twenty of the 45 (44.4%) daptomycin patients and 14 of the 43 (32.6%) vancomycin/gentamicin patients were successfully treated (difference 11.9%; confidence interval −8.3 to 32.1). Success rates for daptomycin versus vancomycin/gentamicin were 45% versus 27% in complicated bacteraemia, 60% versus 45% in uncomplicated bacteraemia and 50% versus 50% in right-sided MRSA endocarditis. Cure rates in patients with septic emboli and in patients who received pre-enrolment vancomycin were similar between treatment groups. However, in both treatment groups, success rates were lower in the elderly (≥75 years). Persisting or relapsing bacteraemia occurred in 27% of daptomycin and 21% of vancomycin/gentamicin patients; among these patients, MICs of ≥2 mg/L occurred in five daptomycin and four vancomycin/gentamicin patients. The clinical course of several patients may have been influenced by lack of surgical intervention. Conclusions Daptomycin was an effective alternative to vancomycin/gentamicin for MRSA bacteraemia or right-sided endocarditis.
Correlating continuous assessment scores to junior secondary school certificate examination final scores in Imo State

This study investigated the relationship between continuous assessment scores and junior secondary school certificate examination(JSCE) final scores in Imo State. A sample of four hundred students were purposively selected from thirty eight thousand students who took the 1997 JSCE in Imo State. The data used were collected from the cumulative records of students‟ scores in continuous assessment and JSCE grades and analyzed using Pearson product moment formula for research questions while all the hypothesis were tested using z-ratio at 0.05 level of significance. Three out of the four null hypothesis tested were rejected, while one was accepted. Finally, recommendations and suggestions were made for further research. Keywords: Correlation; continuous assessment; examination; performance
Tip-of-the-Tongue States and Aging: Contrasting Psycholinguistic and Metacognitive Perspectives

A tip-of-the-tongue state (TOT) refers to the experience of feeling certain that one knows a word, but being unable to retrieve it. A consistent finding in the literature is that TOTs are more frequent in older adults than in younger adults. We describe 2 hypotheses that account for this finding. The decrement view explains the increase in TOTs with age as a function of deteriorating connections between semantic and lexical nodes. The incremental-knowledge view accounts for the effect in terms of older adults' generally greater vocabulary. We integrated both views into a metacognitive account of TOTs, which differs from the psycholinguistic approach to TOTs and aging. Psycholinguistic approaches focus on the TOT as retrieval failure, whereas metacognitive accounts focus on the TOT as a phenomenological experience. We emphasize the role of the metacognitive approach for moving aging research beyond the study of deficits and decline and toward models of successful aging.
Statistical optimization of α-amylase production by Bacillus brevis MTCC 7521 in solid-state fermentation using cassava bagasse

Production of α-amylase under solid-state fermentation by Bacillus brevis MTCC 7521 has been investigated using cassava bagasse as the substrate, one of the major solid wastes released during extraction of starch from cassava (Manihot esculenta). Response surface methodology was used to evaluate the effect of the main variables, i.e. incubation period (36 h), moisture holding capacity (60%), pH (7.0) and temperature (60°C) on enzyme production by applying a full factorial central composite design. The maximum hydrolysis of soluble starch (85%) and cassava starch (75%) was obtained with the application of 4 mL (≈ 14,752 units) of B. brevis crude enzyme after 5 h of incubation.
Dimensions of Disrespect

The current study broadens our understanding of workplace gender harassment (a subdomain of sex-based harassment) by developing an expanded taxonomy and measurement instrument. We move beyond sexual insults to include hostility targeting one’s gender, gender role (non)conformity, and motherhood status. In Study 1, we convened a panel of seven subject matter experts to brainstorm behaviors covering the full content domain of gender harassment, which they later grouped into categories in an open card-sorting task. To tap these categories, we combined survey items from the existing literature with a pool of new items. In Study 2, we administered these items to 425 working women. Exploratory principal axis factoring and confirmatory factor analyses revealed an underlying five-factor structure in these data, reflecting both new and extant themes from the literature. This work culminated in a 20-item scale, the Gender Experiences Questionnaire, assessing five dimensions of gender harassment: Sexist Remarks, Sexually Crude/Offensive Behavior, Infantilization, Work/Family Policing, and Gender Policing. This multidimensional conceptualization of gender harassment, coupled with the new measure, offers a more nuanced view of women’s experiences of hostile work environments. This can further the work of researchers, human resources personnel, managers, educators, policy makers, law scholars and practitioners, and other specialists seeking to understand (and scale back) harassment based on sex and gender. This understanding can potentially inform intervention and prevention efforts in any organized setting (e.g., work, school, and politics) where gender may be devalued.
Learning English today: what can World Englishes teach college students in Taiwan?

With the global spread of English, research in World Englishes (WE) has burgeoned in the past two decades. Its concepts have been taken up by researchers in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) to question ‘native-speakerism’ (Holliday, 2005, 2006) in English instruction. However, the implications of this theoretical discussion have so far yet to be realized in EFL classrooms, where teachers and learners alike still largely submit to native-speaker norms. This study therefore aims to examine how discussions of power, politics, and the spread of Englishes might influence students’ perceptions of English and their experiences of learning and using English. The analysis focuses on papers written by students enrolled in a semester-long WE course, and demonstrates the value of bringing WE into English curriculums to help students become critical learners and confident users of English today.
An Empirical Study of Social Networking Behavior Using Theory of Reasoned Action

One of the most important means of communication for young people today is social networking. This study explores social networking behavior using the Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) model of human behavior known as Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). Specifically, findings reveal that both attitude toward social networking and “subjective norm” are positively associated with intention to use social networking (SN). In addition, intention influences use of social networking. The TRA model provides a strong fit with the overall data and can be used to predict and understand the usage of social networking in the target population.
Quantitative MR imaging of children with sickle cell disease: Striking T1 elevation in the thalamus

Nineteen patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) were examined with conventional MR imaging (cMRI), including T1‐ and T2‐weighted sequences and MR angiography (MRA). qMRI mapping of T1 was also done using a precise and accurate inversion‐recovery (PAIR) technique optimized and validated previously. In addition, 21 healthy African‐American control subjects had the qMRI examination. Nonparametric Kruskal‐Wallis analysis of variance of control subjects, of SCD patients without stroke, and of SCD patients with stroke showed that T1 increased with disease severity in the thalamus, frontal white matter, genu, and occipital white matter. T1 was significantly longer in SCD patients without stroke (n=13) than in control subjects (n=21) in the thalamus and frontal white matter. In addition, T1 values were significantly longer in SCD patients with stroke than in patients without stroke in the genu and frontal white matter. Abnormality of the thalamus was identified by qMRI in a substantial fraction of patients read as normal by both cMRI and MRA, suggesting that it may be possible to use T1 elevation to identify a subset of patients with SCD who are at elevated risk for stroke.
Comparison of spatial integration and surround suppression characteristics in spiking activity and the local field potential in macaque V1

Neurons in primary visual cortex exhibit well documented centre–surround receptive field organization, whereby the centre is dominated by excitatory influences and the surround is generally dominated by inhibitory influences. These effects have largely been established by measuring the output of neurons, i.e. their spiking activity. How excitation and inhibition are reflected in the local field potential (LFP) is little understood. As this can bear on the interpretation of human fMRI BOLD data and on our understanding of the mechanisms of local field potential oscillations, we measured spatial integration and centre–surround properties in single‐ and multiunit recordings of V1 in the awake fixating macaque monkey, and compared these to spectral power in different frequency bands of simultaneously recorded LFPs. We quantified centre–surround organization by determining the size of the summation and suppression area in spiking activity as well as in different frequency bands of the LFP, with the main focus on the gamma band. Gratings extending beyond the summation area usually inhibited spiking activity while the LFP gamma‐band activity increased monotonically for all grating sizes. This increase was maximal for stimuli infringing upon the near classical receptive field surround, where suppression started to dominate spiking activity. Thus, suppressive influences in primary cortex can be inferred from spiking activity, but they also seem to affect specific features of gamma‐band LFP activity.
A systematic review of acute kidney injury in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell recipients

The process of allogeneic HSCT in children is associated with frequent AKI and mortality, but the epidemiology is not widely reported. The aim of this review was to summarize the available evidence on incidence, risk factors, timing, and prognosis of AKI in children following HSCT. We systematically reviewed all observational studies reporting incidence and outcomes of AKI in pediatric allogenic HSCT recipients. The minimum criteria for AKI were defined as an increase in sCr ≥ x1.5 or urine output ≤0.5 mL/kg/min over six h. Medline and Embase were searched until March 2014. From 993 electronic records, five were eligible for inclusion (n = 571 patients). The average incidence of AKI within the first 100 days following HSCT was 21.7% (range 11–42%), and the average time of onset was 4–6 wk post‐transplant. Risk factors for AKI included cyclosporine toxicity, amphotericin B and foscarnet, SOS, and having a mismatched donor. There were conflicting reports on whether AKI was associated with the development of CKD. AKI is a common and potentially life‐threatening complication following HSCT in children. Further quality observational studies are needed to accurately determine the epidemiology and prognosis of AKI in this population.
The relationship between interparental conflict and adolescents’ affective well-being: Mediation of cognitive appraisals and moderation of peer status

This study examined the mediation effect of cognitive appraisals and the moderation role of peer status in the association between interparental conflict and adolescents’ affective well-being based on a sample of 549 Chinese adolescents from 7th to 12th grades. Interparental conflict properties, adolescents’ cognitive appraisals of conflict, affective well-being, and peer status were measured through scales and peer nomination surveys. The results of structure equation modeling showed that: cognitive appraisals totally mediated the association between marital conflict and adolescents’ affective well-being; peer status moderated the effect of marital conflict on adolescents’ positive affect but not on negative affect; and the relationship between marital conflict and positive affect showed different patterns for adolescents of different social status. Therefore, to better understand affective well-being of adolescents from high marital conflict families, their cognitive appraisals of conflict and peer relations should be taken into account.
[The protective effect and mechanism of ischemic preconditioning for hepatic resection under hepatic blood inflow occlusion in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cirrhosis].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) for hepatic resection under hepatic blood inflow occlusion (HBIO) in hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cirrhosis and its possible mechanism. METHODS 29 consecutive patients resectable HCC were randomized into two groups. IPC group: before HBIO, IPC with 5 min of ischemia and 5 min of reperfusion was given; control group: simple HBIO. The liver function, hepatic caspase-3 activity, and apoptotic cell were compared between the two groups. RESULTS The AST, ALT levels of POD 1, POD 3 and POD 7 in the IPC group were significantly higher than those of the control group, respectively (t = 4.238, P < 0.05). The TBIL levels of POD 3 and POD 7 in the IPC group were significantly higher than those of the control group, respectively (t = 2.296, P < 0.05). The ALB of POD 1 in the IPC group was higher than in the control group (t = 2.029, P > 0.05). After 1 h of reperfusion, the hepatic caspase-3 activity and apoptotic sinusoidal endothelial cell were significantly higher than those of in the control group (t = 2.349, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS IPC has the a protective effect in hepatic resection under HBIO in HCC patients with cirrhosis. Its mechanism is that sinusoidal endothelial cell apoptosis is inhibited by inhibiting caspase-3 activity.