Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chinese pragmatic norms and ‘China English’

In this paper we shall first consider a selection of discourse and rhetorical norms of Modern Standard Chinese and then contrast them with a comparable selection of discourse and rhetorical norms of an ‘inner circle’ variety of English. As the transfer of discourse and rhetorical norms from a first to a second language commonly occurs, we predict that a Chinese variety of English is characterised by a number of discourse and rhetorical norms derived from Chinese. We argue that the presence of these L1 discourse and rhetorical norms should not be seen as ‘deviations’ from Anglo norms, but that, as Chinese speakers are more likely to use the language with other English speakers in the East Asian region rather than with speakers of inner circle varieties of English, the Chinese variety of English is actually a more culturally appropriate model of English than any superimposed ‘Anglo’ norm. Our discussion also considers the importance in China traditionally attached to ‘models’ and ‘standards’ and speculates on the extent to which educators and officials in China are likely to accept a Chinese variety of English as a model for the classroom.
Integrating Identities: The Relationships of Racial, Gender, and Ego Identities Among White College Students

The authors proposed that racial and gender identities were related to ego identities based on common themes that exist across these different dimensions of identity. A sample of 300 White college students completed completed the White Racial Identity Attitude Scale (Helms & Carter, 199), the Womanist Identity Attitude Scale (Ossana, Helms, & Leonard, 1992) or Men's Identity Attitude Scale (Miville & Helms, 1996), and the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986). Multivariate multiple regression analyses revealed that all ego identity statuses were significantly related to gender and/or racial identity statuses for both women and men. Implications for practice, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Intake of Red Wine in Different Meals Modulates Oxidized LDL Level, Oxidative and Inflammatory Gene Expression in Healthy People: A Randomized Crossover Trial

Several studies have found that adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, including consumption of red wine, is associated with beneficial effects on oxidative and inflammatory conditions. We evaluate the outcome of consumption of a McDonald's Meal (McD) and a Mediterranean Meal (MM), with and without the additive effect of red wine, in order to ascertain whether the addition of the latter has a positive impact on oxidized (ox-) LDL and on expression of oxidative and inflammatory genes. A total of 24 subjects were analyzed for ox-LDL, CAT, GPX1, SOD2, SIRT2, and CCL5 gene expression levels, before and after consumption of the 4 different meal combinations with washout intervals between each meal. When red wine is associated with McD or MM, values of ox-LDL are lowered (P < 0.05) and expression of antioxidant genes is increased, while CCL5 expression is decreased (P < 0.05). SIRT2 expression after MM and fasting with red wine is significantly correlated with downregulation of CCL5 and upregulation of CAT (P < 0.001). GPX1 increased significantly in the comparison between baseline and all conditions with red wine. We highlighted for the first time the positive effect of red wine intake combined with different but widely consumed meal types on ox-LDL and gene expression. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01890070.
Intra‐Individual Differences and Relationship‐Specificity of Mentalising in Early Adolescence

There is increasing interest in understanding how relationships promote children’s understanding of their own and others’ thoughts and feelings. A key question in this research is whether children’s ability and motivation to represent and nderstand anothers’ thoughts and feelings is a function of the quality of the relationship with that individual or, alternatively, a more general characteristic of the child that is similarly expressed across relationship contexts. The current study sought to extend previous research by assessing mentalising behaviour in early adolescence and examining intra-individual differences in adolescents’ mentalising behaviour about self and other in different relationships. The research design exploited the natural experiment of the secondary school, in which children develop very diverse relationships with different teachers. In the spring of the academic year, a vignette-based, semi-structured interview was administered, and students’ understanding and attributions of mental states of their most and least liked teachers were coded using a newly developed system. Results indicated that there were significant intra-individual differences in adolescents’ mentalising; the psychological sophistication with which adolescents understood and described another’s behaviour was predicted from the affective quality of the relationship. In addition, there was significantly less incongruity or distortion in adolescents’ mentalising about their most liked teacher compared with their least liked teacher, highlighting the need to consider not only the presence but also the ‘accuracy’ of mentalising.
An Assessment of Social Phobia and Social Anxiety and their Relation to Self-Consciousness

Abstract The translation of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) into Icelandic was submitted to a psychometric assessment. Two hundred sixty-three university students participated in the study. In addition to the SPAI they filled in Fenigstein, Scheier and Buss' (1975) Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) as well as Spielberger's (1983) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A principal components analysis of the SPAI yielded as expected an agoraphobia and a social phobia factor. As expected the Social Anxiety Scale of the SCS correlated much more strongly with the Social Phobia than the Agoraphobia Scale. The correlation of the Social Phobia Scale with the Social Anxiety Scale was substantially higher than its correlation with any other anxiety measure. The relationships between the Social Phobia Scale and Public versus Private Self-Consciousness were moreover in accordance with theoretical expectations as well as prior research. Generally the discriminant and convergent validity of the Icelandic tra.
Rehabilitated or Not: An Informational Theory of Parole Decisions

We consider a parole board that learns about inmates' rehabilitation statuses from observing actions in prison. We show why a board would release one inmate, but not otherwise observationally identical inmates with longer sentences: greater parole board discretion makes additional information more valuable. Consequently, increasing sentences can lead to even greater increases in expected time served. We determine how sentence length affects rehabilitation incentives. To encourage effort, sentences cannot be too short, but when inmates are sufficiently impatient, long sentences may also be undesirable. We show how different parole board priors can support multiple equilibria in rehabilitation effort and investigate the effects of discretion restrictions like parole eligibility. The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Yale University. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.
Personality and job performance: the importance of narrow traits

In a recent discussion of the bandwidth–fidelity dilemma in personality measurement for personnel selection, Ones and Viswesvaran (1996) concluded that ‘broader and richer personality traits will have higher predictive validity than narrower traits’. In this paper, the arguments made by Ones and Viswesvaran in favor of the exclusive use of broad personality dimensions are discussed. New data are presented that contradict Ones and Viswesvaran's claim of the existence of a general, integrity-related personality factor, and that show two narrow measures—the Responsibility and Risk Taking scales of the Jackson Personality Inventory—to have higher validities than the Big Five dimensions with respect to job performance criteria based on self-reported workplace delinquency in a sample of 127 entry-level employees. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
SOK2 may regulate cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase-stimulated growth and pseudohyphal development by repressing transcription

Yeast cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity is essential for growth and cell cycle progression. Dependence on PKA function can be partially relieved by overexpression of a gene, SOK2, whose product has significant homology with several fungal transcription factors (StuA from Aspergillus nidulans and Phd1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae) that are associated with cellular differentiation and development. Deletion of SOK2 is not lethal but exacerbates the growth defect of strains compromised for PKA activity. Alterations in Sok2 protein production also affect the expression of genes involved in several other PKA-regulated processes, including glycogen accumulation (GAC1) and heat shock resistance (SSA3). These results suggest SOK2 plays a general regulatory role in the PKA signal transduction pathway. Expression of the PKA catalytic subunit genes is unaltered by deletion or overexpression of SOK2. Because homozygous sok2/sok2 diploid strains form pseudohyphae at an accelerated rate, the Sok2 protein may inhibit the switch from unicellular to filamentous growth, a process that is dependent on cAMP. Thus, the product of SOK2 may act downstream of PKA to regulate the expression of genes important in growth and development.
Types of Aggression among Incarcerated Juveniles: The Roles of Gender and Offense Type

Sex differences in different types of aggression have been studied in a variety of settings, predominantly educational, and have been speculated to have generalizability for incarcerated youth. Three types of self-reported aggression (direct physical, direct verbal, and indirect/social aggression) among juvenile offenders were investigated using the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scales (DIAS). Postadjudicated girls (n = 93) did not self-report engaging in different rates of aggression when compared to boys (n = 149), although girls reported being victimized more often by indirect/social aggression. In addition, violent offenders did not endorse engaging in or being victimized more than those youth who had no such history. Furthermore, the validity of the DIAS was globally examined, using the Externalizing scale of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist.
Atherosclerotic disease and risk factor modification in Saudi Arabia: a call to action

Purpose Atherosclerotic disease (AD) is the leading cause of death worldwide and in Saudi Arabia. Intensive risk reduction therapy plays a major role in reducing adverse cardiovascular outcomes in patients with AD. The level of awareness of this important fact amongst physicians (family physicians, general internists, cardiologists and vascular surgeons) in managing these patients in Saudi Arabia is not currently known. This study was conducted to examine the perceptions and knowledge of risk reduction therapy in patients with AD amongst physicians in Saudi Arabia in two clinical presentations; coronary artery disease (CAD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD). Materials and methods We conducted a cross-sectional self-administered survey of 897 physicians at different hospitals in four provinces in Saudi Arabia. Results The recommended targets of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), blood glucose, and blood pressure in patients with CAD and PAD were known as 40% and 36%; 70% and 66%; and 32% and 28% of physicians, respectively. The initiation of antiplatelet medications, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, statins, and nicotine replacement therapy for smokers in patients with CAD and PAD were recommended by 98% and 97%; 52% and 34%; 61% and 56%; and 50% and 43% of physicians, respectively. Compared to other specialties, cardiologists had the lowest threshold for initiating risk reduction therapy, whereas vascular surgeons had the highest threshold. Conclusion The level of physician awareness of atherosclerosis risk reduction therapy across Saudi Arabia has revealed knowledge and action gaps. A call to action to implement effective strategies to encourage health professionals to use risk reduction therapy and increase public awareness is needed.
When Categorization is Ambiguous: Factors that Facilitate the Use of a Multiple Category Inference Strategy

Prior research has established that categorization plays a central role in new product learning. Very little is known, however, about category-based learning under conditions of categorization ambiguity. Of particular interest is whether and under what circumstances consumers might employ a multiple- (vs. single-) category strategy to generate inferences about ambiguous products. In this research, we identified 2 factors - category familiarity and the nature of the category cue - that are responsible for determining whether inferences are based on a single category or multiple, competing categories. The results of 3 studies suggest that when an ambiguous product is described in terms of conflicting conceptual and perceptual category cues, a single category inference strategy is employed when the perceptually cued category is more familiar than the conceptually cued category. In particular, inferences are based largely on the perceptually cued category under these circumstances. However, when the perceptually cued category is less than or equal to the conceptually cued category in familiarity, a multiple category inference strategy is employed and inferences are based on both the perceptually and conceptually cued categories.
Functionality of exopolysaccharides produced by lactic acid bacteria in an in vitro gastric system

Aims: To evaluate whether slime‐exopolysaccharides (EPS) or capsular‐polysaccharide (CPS) production could protect the polymer‐producing strains Streptococcus thermophilus CRL 1190 and Lactobacillus casei CRL 87 against the harsh conditions of an in vitro gastric system (GS). EPS stability on the GS was studied.
Children's responses to adult-adult and mother-child arguments: The role of parental marital conflict and distress.

Children's responses to verbal and physical conflict between adult-adult, mother-girl, and mother-boy participants were examined as a function of parental marital conflict. Seven- to 9-year-olds viewed videotaped arguments and were then interviewed. In comparison with children from low-conflict homes, children from high-conflict homes perceived the actors engaged in both the interadult and mother-child disputes as more angry and reported feeling more fearful during these arguments. The results extend support for the sensitization hypothesis and indicate that parental marital conflict exacerbates children's perceptions of conflict and fear responding to not only interadult disputes but also to mother-girl and mother-boy conflict.
Testing a Structural Model of Psychological Well-Being and Constraints Negotiation in Recreational Sports Participation in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes

The relationships among psychological well-being, constraints, negotiation, and participation were examined using structural equation modeling in patients with type 2 diabetes using a cross-sectional survey approach (N = 283). Despite a direct negative effect of constraints and a positive effect of negotiation on participation in recreational sports, we found no significant effect of constraints on the negotiation efforts of respondents. Instead, psychological well-being played an important role in the process. A higher level of psychological well-being not only directly decreases participation, but also indirectly increases participation by reducing constraints and promoting negotiation efforts. In particular, environmental mastery and personal growth indirectly increase participation by mitigating constraints; personal growth and positive relationships stimulate participation by boosting negotiation efforts and diminishing the discouraging impact of constraints on negotiation. However, a stronger purpose in life decreases both negotiation and participation.
A New Machine Learning Based Approach for Sentiment Classification of Italian documents

Several sites allow users to publish personal reviews about products and services available on the market. In this paper, we consider the problem of applying classification techniques to identify, in terms of positive or negative degree, the overall opinion polarity expressed in these documents, written in natural language. In particular, we are interested in evaluating the performance obtained by applying machine learning techniques, based on n-gram selection and originally developed for English, to documents written in Italian. In order to obtain results comparable to those presented in the literature for English, we use the same evaluation procedure applied in the majority of the works in this field. We have developed a specific framework for experimentation in Italian. The research is ongoing and we present some preliminary results, a comparison with results presented in literature and an overview of our future work.
Factor Structure Invariance in the Children's Big Five Questionnaire

The factor structure invariance in the Big Five personality questionnaire was studied based on the self-reports of 852 Spanish children. Different degrees of invariance across age groups from 8 to 15 years old, and also according to gender, were investigated by means of confirmatory factor analysis with a matrix of polychoric correlations. The results provide empirical evidence for the invariant factor structure of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C) measurement across age and gender in children. The five-factor structure, the factor pattern coefficients, the factor variances/co-variances and, finally, the theoretical constructs were all found to be reasonably invariant across these groups, and especially across gender. The five-factor model adequately represented the data for each of these groups. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Individuality and Togetherness in Joint Improvised Motion

Actors, dancers and musicians that improvise together report special moments of togetherness: high performance and synchrony, seemingly without a leader and a follower. Togetherness seems to conflict with individuality- the idiosyncratic character of each person's performance. To understand the relation of individuality and togetherness, we employed the mirror game paradigm in which two players are asked to mirror each other and create interesting synchronized motion, with and without a designated leader. The mirror game enables quantitative characterization of moments of togetherness in which complex motion is generated with high synchrony. We find that each person as a leader does basic strokes of motion with a characteristic signature, in terms of the shape of their velocity profile between two stopping events. In moments of togetherness both players change their signature to a universal stroke shape. This universal velocity profile resembles a half-period of a sine wave, and is therefore symmetric and maximally smooth. Thus, instead of converging to an intermediate motion signature, or having one player dominate, players seem to shift their basic motion signatures to a shape that is altogether different from their individually preferred shapes; the resulting motion may be easier to predict and to agree on. The players then build complex motion by using such smooth elementary strokes.
Multiple Mediators of the Attitude Similarity-Attraction Relationship: Dominance of Inferred Attraction and Subtlety of Affect

The authors examined the mediation of the attitude similarity–attraction relationship. When affect was the sole measured mediating variable, the hypothesized partial mediation held in Experiment 1 (N = 60). In Experiment 2 (N = 96), ratings of the 3 potential mediators (affect, inferred attraction, and cognitive evaluation) and of an irrelevant variable (inferred cognitive evaluation) were taken at 2 orders of mediator measurement. The attitude similarity-attraction link was more strongly mediated by inferred attraction than by cognitive evaluation. Surprisingly, however, the effect of affect on attraction was reversed in the multiple-mediation analysis. Post hoc analyses disclosed that affect transmitted the similarity effect from its preceding variable only to the succeeding one. Theoretical and methodological implications of the dominance of inferred attraction and the subtlety of affect are discussed.
Longitudinal quantitative radiodensitometric study of treated and untreated lower molar furcation involvements.

38 first or second lower molars from 16 patients showing furcation involvements of degrees 1 and 2 were treated after motivation and hygiene instruction, either by subgingival curettage, or by the modified Widman surgical procedure or by furcation plasty. The plaque index, the gingival index of inflammation and the depth of interproximal and interradicular pockets were recorded before and up to 1 year after the 3 therapeutical procedures. The above clinical indices were also followed for 2 years in 15 lower molars from 7 untreated patients. A quantitative radiographical analysis of the interradicular bone was performed in all patients, by using superposable identical radiographs and a computer-assisted photodensitometric technique. In the 3 groups of treated patients, the clinical scores were, in general, improved by the 3 therapeutic modalities. In the furcation areas, the plaque index was always higher on the lingual side, whereas the depth of "horizontal" pockets was always greater on the buccal side. Except for the lesions treated by furcation plasty, no change could be noticed clinically in the depths of vertical or horizontal penetration of a periodontal probe in the furcation areas. The quantitative radiographic analysis, however, clearly showed a loss in the first 2 mm of superficial bone during the 2 months following the 3 therapeutical procedures: this loss was followed by a statistically significant recovery and, for the group treated by curettage, even by a net gain during the 6 to 12 months following therapy. The radiographical density of the deeper layer of bone did not change in the group treated by curettage only. It showed a loss in the first 2 months following the 2 surgical procedures but a statistically significant recovery in the months thereafter. As for the group of untreated patients, at the examinations performed initially, 6 months, 1 and 2 years later, the number of plaque-free and non-bleeding sites in the furcation areas was lower on the lingual as compared to the buccal side, whereas the frequency distribution of furcation involvements was similar on both aspects. No significant changes were found in the various clinical parameters throughout the 2 years of the study. On the contrary, a significant loss of average density of the superficial layer of interradicular bone was already measured on the superposable radiographs 6 months after the initial examination and was found to increase thereafter. No changes of radiodensity could be measured for the deeper layer of bone. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)