Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing Pairwise Preference-Based Personality Test and Experimental Investigation of Its Resistance to Faking Effect by Item Response Model

Recent years have shown increased awareness of the importance of personality tests in educational, clinical, and occupational settings, and developing faking-resistant personality tests is a very pragmatic issue for achieving more precise measurement. Inspired by Stark (2002) and Stark, Chernyshenko, and Drasgow (2005), we develop a pairwise preference-based personality test that aims to measure multidimensional personality traits using a large-scale statement bank. An experiment compares the resistance of the developed personality test to faking with that of rating scale-based personality tests in the item response theory model framework. Results show that latent traits estimated from the personality test based on the rating scale method are severely biased, and that faking effect can be pragmatically ignored in the personality test developed based on the pairwise preference method.
Early Recognition of High Risk of Bipolar Disorder and Psychosis: An Overview of the ZInEP “Early Recognition” Study

Early detection of persons with first signs of emerging psychosis is regarded as a promising strategy to reduce the burden of the disease. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in early detection of psychosis and bipolar disorders, with a clear need for sufficient sample sizes in prospective research. The underlying brain network disturbances in individuals at risk or with a prodrome are complex and yet not well known. This paper provides the rationale and design of a prospective longitudinal study focused on at-risk states of psychosis and bipolar disorder. The study is carried out within the context of the Zurich Program for Sustainable Development of Mental Health services (Zürcher Impulsprogramm zur Nachhaltigen Entwicklung der Psychiatrie). Persons at risk for psychosis or bipolar disorder between 13 and 35 years of age are examined by using a multi-level-approach (psychopathology, neuropsychology, genetics, electrophysiology, sociophysiology, magnetic resonance imaging, near-infrared spectroscopy). The included adolescents and young adults have four follow-ups at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. This approach provides data for a better understanding of the relevant mechanisms involved in the onset of psychosis and bipolar disorder, which can serve as targets for future interventions. But for daily clinical practice a practicable “early recognition” approach is required. The results of this study will be useful to identify the strongest predictors and to delineate a prediction model.
Sestrins Link Tumor Suppressors with the AMPK-TOR Signaling Network

The strength of the mechanisms involved in the control of health and lifespan determines the rate of aging in any organism. Aging is fueled by the accumulation of damage in a multitude of tissues, causing many age-related diseases including cardio-vascular diseases, neuro-degenerating diseases, metabolic syndrome and cancer[1]. We know that a healthy life-style, good habits, exercise and positive attitude are all factors that support a healthy, long life while the consumption of unhealthy, low nutritional and high caloric diet, bad ecology, bad habits and constitutive stress are known to shorten life and lead to the accumulation of a number of pathologies. However, exposure to low level stresses, for example induced by exercise, increases our resistance to detrimental stress insults, this process is referred to as hermesis[2]. With respect to what is beneficial and what is detrimental for health, we still do not fully understand the underlying processes that support our health and long life nor what allows us to become more resistant to a constantly changing, and sometimes unfriendly, environment.
Association between CDKN1A Ser31Arg and C20T gene polymorphisms and colorectal cancer risk and prognosis.

BACKGROUND CDKN1A (p21(WAF1/CIP1)) plays an important role in cell cycle regulation. Somatic alterations in genes which regulate cell division have been shown to be related to different types of cancer prognosis and survival. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the CDKN1A Ser31Arg and C20T gene polymorphisms in Turkish patients with colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS CDKN1A Ser/Arg and C20T polymorphisms were studied in 53 patients with colorectal cancer and 64 healthy controls. Genomic DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genotypes were determinated by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. RESULTS There were statistically significant differences in the distribution of CDKN1A Ser/Arg genotypes and allele frequencies between colorectal cancer patients and healthy controls (p=0.040 and p=0.01, respectively). CDKN1A C20T genotype frequency did not show any significant differences between patients and controls. We combined the results for C20T and Ser31Arg polymorphisms and observed that a lower risk of colorectal cancer was associated with CT/SerArg combined genotypes compared to controls and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.024; odds ratio (OR)=0.322, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.114-0.912). C20T C allele and SerSer genotypes significantly increased risk compared to other combined genotypes (p=0.034; OR=1.265, 95% CI=1.020-1.569). CONCLUSION The results of present study demonstrated that, potentially, CDKN1A functional polymorphisms may contribute to the risk of colorectal cancer in Turkish.
Alcoholic Liver Disease: Pathogenesis and Current Management

Excessive alcohol consumption is a global healthcare problem. The liver sustains the greatest degree of tissue injury by heavy drinking because it is the primary site of ethanol metabolism. Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption produces a wide spectrum of hepatic lesions, the most characteristic of which are steatosis, hepatitis, and fibrosis/cirrhosis. Steatosis is the earliest response to heavy drinking and is characterized by the deposition of fat in hepatocytes. Steatosis can progress to steatohepatitis, which is a more severe, inflammatory type of liver injury. This stage of liver disease can lead to the development of fibrosis, during which there is excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins. The fibrotic response begins with active pericellular fibrosis, which may progress to cirrhosis, characterized by excessive liver scarring, vascular alterations, and eventual liver failure. Among problem drinkers, about 35 percent develop advanced liver disease because a number of disease modifiers exacerbate, slow, or prevent alcoholic liver disease progression. There are still no FDA-approved pharmacological or nutritional therapies for treating patients with alcoholic liver disease. Cessation of drinking (i.e., abstinence) is an integral part of therapy. Liver transplantation remains the life-saving strategy for patients with end-stage alcoholic liver disease.
A multiple-stage cooperative negotiation

Automated negotiation is a key issue to facilitate e-business. It is an on-going research area and attracts attention from both research communities and industry. We propose a multiple-stage cooperative automated negotiation architecture, including a sophisticated negotiation strategy and protocol, to resolve the agents' conflicts. This proposed architecture attempts to address the discovery of joint efficiency for the negotiating agents in large and complex problem spaces using a coevolutionary method. A game theoretic method is adapted to distribute the payoffs generated from the coevolutionary method. The architecture supports interactions between the two methods to demonstrate that high-quality solutions can be found through their complimentary functions. Using the structure it is possible to refine and explore potential agreements through an iterated process. This article also reports some experimental results and discussions.
Documenting support needs and adjustment gaps for students with disabilities: teacher practices in Australian classrooms and on national tests

ABSTRACT Accommodations or adjustments for students with disabilities (SWDs) who need them are required in Australian education law and policy for classroom instruction and assessment, and external educational accountability tests. Drawing upon the structure of the Assessment Accommodations Checklist and more than a decade of accessibility research, the Checklist of Learning and Assessment Adjustments for Students (CLAAS) was developed to help teachers select and document adjustments that support SWDs and students with additional needs in classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests. The CLAAS was trialled with 21 primary school teachers documenting adjustments for 89 students with diverse needs. Teachers indicated that the CLAAS provided a comprehensive list of adjustments, was useful for recording adjustments across classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests, and provided guidance about potential adjustments for SWDs or with additional learning needs. The documented adjustments also indicated some considerable gaps between supports provided in classrooms compared with the Australian educational accountability tests. Findings also provided initial evidence for the reliability and validity of use of the CLAAS for its intended purposes. The CLAAS is a promising tool for helping both researchers and teachers systematically document and provide equitable and inclusive adjustments for SWDs and additional learning needs given their needs for classroom learning, assessment and external testing and examination requirements.
Transcript profiles of maize embryo sacs and preliminary identification of genes involved in the embryo sac–pollen tube interaction

The embryo sac, the female gametophyte of flowering plants, plays important roles in the pollination and fertilization process. Maize (Zea mays L.) is a model monocot, but little is known about the interactions between its embryo sac and the pollen tube. In this study, we compared the transcript profiles of mature embryo sacs, mature embryo sacs 14–16 h after pollination, and mature nucelli. Comparing the transcript profiles of the embryo sacs before and after the entry of the pollen tube, we identified 3467 differentially expressed transcripts (3382 differentially expressed genes; DEGs). The DEGs were grouped into 22 functional categories. Among the DEGs, 221 genes were induced upon the entry of the pollen tube, and many of them encoded proteins involved in RNA binding, processing, and transcription, signaling, miscellaneous enzyme family processes, and lipid metabolism processes. Genes in the DEG dataset were grouped into 17 classes in a gene ontology enrichment analysis. The DEGs included many genes encoding proteins involved in protein amino acid phosphorylation and protein ubiquitination, implying that these processes might play important roles in the embryo sac–pollen tube interaction. Additionally, our analyses indicate that the expression of 112 genes encoding cysteine-rich proteins (CRPs) is induced during pollination and fertilization. The CRPs likely regulate pollen tube guidance and embryo sac development. These results provide important information on the genes involved in the embryo sac–pollen tube interaction in maize.
Autoimmune Sensorineural Hearing Loss Improved By Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Blockade: A Case Report

Autoimmune inner ear disease is a treatable cause of sensorineural hearing loss and it is important for physicians and hearing health professionals to recognize that early diagnosis and proper management strategies may result in stabilization and improvement in hearing. The pathogenesis of autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss remains unclear but antibodies directed against the inner ear and/or cellular effectors have been proposed. Therefore, immunosuppressive drugs such as steroids and methotrexate are administered to interfere with the progression of hearing loss and in some cases have been found to improve hearing. We report herein the history of a patient who was treated by systemic administration of anti-tumor necrosis factor- f antibodies for Crohn's disease and who also had associated sensorineural hearing loss. Audiometric follow-up revealed not only the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor- f blockade in arresting the hearing loss but also an improvement in hearing of 15 dB on average across all frequencies. Hearing remained stable afterwards.
Development of New Cardiac Deformity Indexes for Pectus Excavatum on Computed Tomography: Feasibility for Pre- and Post-Operative Evaluation

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate new cardiac deformity indexes (CDIs) for diagnosis of pectus excavatum as well as morphological assessment of heart on computed tomography (CT). Materials and Methods We retrospectively evaluated the CT images of the control group (n=200), and the pectus excavatum before and after correction groups (n=178), and calculated the CDIs; cardiac compression index (CCI), and cardiac asymmetry index (CAI). We also calculated chest wall compression index (CWCI) and asymmetry index (CWAI) on the axial images. We performed logistic regression analysis using each index and age as predictor variables. Results The CDIs (CCI and CAI) were significant (p < 0.05) in the diagnosis of pectus excavatum, regardless of age (p = 0.4033, p = 0.8113). The CWCI and CWAI were significant (p < 0.05) and significantly affected by age (p < 0.05). If we selected 1.82 as the cutoff of the CCI, the sensitivity and specificity were 99.4% and 98%, respectively. The following cutoffs and the sensitivity and specificity were obtained: 1.15 for the CAI gave 94.4% and 94.5%, 3.05 for the CWCI gave 92.1% and 92%, and 1 for the CWAI gave 62.4% and 65%, respectively. The CCI after repair improved from 2.83 ± 0.84 to 1.84 ± 0.33, while the CWCI improved from 4.49 ± 1.61 to 2.57 ± 0.44. Conclusion CDIs such as the CCI and CAI may be potentially useful to detect and estimate repair for pectus excavatum.
Myosin V from Drosophila Reveals Diversity of Motor Mechanisms within the Myosin V Family*

Myosin V is the best characterized vesicle transporter in vertebrates, but it has been unknown as to whether all members of the myosin V family share a common, evolutionarily conserved mechanism of action. Here we show that myosin V from Drosophila has a strikingly different motor mechanism from that of vertebrate myosin Va, and it is a nonprocessive, ensemble motor. Our steady-state and transient kinetic measurements on single-headed constructs reveal that a single Drosophila myosin V molecule spends most of its mechanochemical cycle time detached from actin, therefore it has to function in processive units that comprise several molecules. Accordingly, in in vitro motility assays, double-headed Drosophila myosin V requires high surface concentrations to exhibit a continuous translocation of actin filaments. Our comparison between vertebrate and fly myosin V demonstrates that the well preserved function of myosin V motors in cytoplasmic transport can be accomplished by markedly different underlying mechanisms.
Individual-Level Predictors of Intergroup Conflict: The Roles of Guilt, Shame and Empathy

SCOTT T. WOLF: Individual-Level Predictors of Intergroup Conflict: The Roles of Guilt, Shame and Empathy (Under the direction of Chester A. Insko) The discontinuity effect is the tendency for intergroup interactions to be more competitive, or less cooperative, than interindividual interactions in the context of mixedmotive situations. Meta-analytic methods have shown this effect to be substantially large and robust (Wildschut, Pinter, Vevea, Insko, & Schopler, 2003). Explanations for the discontinuity effect have focused on norms, schemas, identifiability, and rationalization. Although, personality factors, in general, have received limited attention, Wildschut and Insko (2006) found that dispositional guilt of group members predicted competition in an intergroup prisoner’s dilemma game (PDG) but only when group members were told that their decisions would be made public to their fellow ingroup members. The present studies sought to extend these findings by measuring guilt as well as other related personality variables (e.g., shame, empathy, and psychopathy) and assessing their relationships with intergroup competition when decisions remained private (in Study1) and when decisions were made public (in Study 2). Study 1, in which decisions remained private, showed no relationship between guilt and intergroup competition, whereas Study 2, in which decisions were made public, revealed mixed results. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.
Use of closed-suction drains to treat generalized peritonitis in dogs and cats: 40 cases (1997-1999).

OBJECTIVE To determine outcome of dogs and cats with generalized peritonitis treated by means of closed-suction drainage. DESIGN Retrospective study. ANIMALS 30 dogs and 10 cats with generalized peritonitis. PROCEDURE Medical records were reviewed, and information on signalment, clinicopathologic abnormalities, contamination source, results of microbial culture, surgical procedure performed, postoperative management, complications, and outcome was obtained. RESULTS The gastrointestinal tract was the most common source of contamination. Abdominal fluid collected from 34 patients at the time of surgery was submitted for bacterial culture; results were positive for 28 (82%). The most commonly isolated organism was Escherichia coli. Postoperative complications included anemia (n = 21), hypoproteinemia (21), vomiting (9), edema (7), and diarrhea (5). Total solids concentration did not decrease during the first 48 hours after surgery, and all drains remained functional until removal. Twenty-eight patients survived to the time of discharge; 8 of the 12 animals that died did so within 18 hours after surgery. The only factor significantly different between patients that survived and patients that died was postoperative systolic blood pressure. Factors that were not significantly associated with outcome included detection of bacteria in the abdominal fluid, number of organisms cultured from the abdominal fluid, selection of antimicrobials for empiric treatment, and source of contamination. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggest that closed-suction drainage may be a useful method for treating generalized peritonitis in dogs and cats. No clinically important complications were associated with their use.
What are we aiming for?—A Delphi study on the development of civic scientific literacy in Sweden

ABSTRACT Based on the EU FP 7 project, PROFILES, this article presents our findings from a three-round Delphi study conducted in Sweden that aimed at establishing a consensus on how science education should be developed for citizens to enhance civic scientific literacy. A total of 100 stakeholders (9th graders, school teachers, scientists, and science education researchers) were involved in our Delphi study in 2012–2013. The results revealed that there were some highly ranked consensus ideas: environmental issues, inquiry skills, motivation/interest, and holistic comprehension. The conclusions of our research imply the importance of involving different stakeholders in the educational reconstruction process; we suggest that schoolteachers in particular should play a vital role.
(C5H12N)Cu2Br3: A Piperidinium Copper(I) Bromide with [Cu2Br3]− Ladders

Piperidinium copper(I) bromide, (C5H12N)Cu2Br3, was obtained from a solution of CuBr2, piperidine, and HBr in ethanol. At 60 °C ethanol slowly reduces copper(II) to copper(I). Colorless plates of (C5H12N)Cu2Br3 crystallize in the triclinic space group P-1 with lattice parameters of a = 6.2948(10) A, b = 8.2624(14) A, c = 10.7612(17) A, α = 75.964(19)°, β = 89.232(19)°, γ = 84.072(19)°, and Z = 2 at 173 K. [CuBr4] tetrahedra share edges and form [Cu2Br3]− ladders parallel to the a-axis. (C5H12N)+ ions adopt a chair conformation and connect the [Cu2Br3]− ladders via H-bonding. The (C5H12N)Cu2Br3 structure is related to the mineral rasvumite, KFe2S3, space group Cmcm, which is isostructural to several alkali copper(I) halides.
Chinese herbal medicine formula Gu-Ben-Fang-Xiao-Tang attenuates airway inflammation by modulating Th17/Treg balance in an ovalbumin-induced murine asthma model

Gu-Ben-Fang-Xiao-Tang (GBFXT) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula consisting of 11 medicinal plants, which has been used in the treatment of asthma. The present study aimed to determine the protective effects and the underlying mechanisms of GBFXT on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic inflammation in a mouse model of allergic asthma. A total of 50 mice were randomly assigned to the following five experimental groups: Normal, model, montelukast (2.6 mg/kg), 12 g/kg GBFXT and 36 g/kg GBFXT groups. Airway responsiveness was measured using the forced oscillation technique, while differential cell count in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was measured by Wright-Giemsa staining. Histological assessment was performed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, while BALF levels of Th17/Treg cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the proportions of Th17 and Treg cells were evaluated by flow cytometry. The results showed that GBFXT suppressed airway hyperresponsiveness during methacholine-induced constriction, reduced the percentage of leukocytes and eosinophils, and resulted in decreased absolute neutrophil infiltration in lung tissue. In addition, GBFXT treatment significantly decreased the IL-17A cytokine level and increased the IL-10 cytokine level in the BALF. Furthermore, GBFXT significantly suppressed Th17 cells and increased Treg cells in asthmatic mice. In conclusion, the current results demonstrated that GBFXT may effectively inhibit the progression of airway inflammation in allergic asthma, partially by modulating the Th17/Treg cell balance.
Women’s mobilisation in the Portuguese revolution: context and framing strategies

Abstract This article examines the role of women’s mobilisations related to the 1974 Portuguese revolution. An in-depth analysis of three women’s organisations through archival research and interviews with participants highlights the ways in which they participated in a cycle of contention between 1974 and 1977. Examination of framing strategies demonstrates the effects of political and cultural context. In particular, I demonstrate that movement–party alliances informed and constrained the diagnostic and prognostic frames of women’s movements on feminism and the revolution. Opportunity structures are shown to vary for different organisations within the same cycle of contention. Facing relatively closed opportunities, two of these organisations pursued framing strategies that articulated with the Left-dominated master frame of the cycle in order to carve out spaces for gender-specific demands while rejecting the label of feminism. The third organisation, instead, presented a countercultural frame that alienated the organisation from party and movement allies. Unable to overcome ideological divisions and rivalries, the three organisations perceived each other as competitors, rather than potential allies. While party–movement cooperation contributed to the emergence of a fractionalised women’s movement, it also provided important support structures to aid women’s organisations to mobilise in a cultural and political context that was closed to feminist demands.