Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Playing Hooky” Health Messages: Apprehension, Impression Management, and Deception

ABSTRACT This study investigates playing hooky in higher education classrooms and associates this behavior with students’ communicative dispositions, instructor perceptions, and language use. We define “playing hooky” as students skipping class and explaining their absence to their instructor with deceptive health messages. The purpose of Study 1, an online survey (N = 177), is to further understand the characteristics of students who engage in this type of deceptive health communication. Study 1 measures communication apprehension and perceived instructor credibility in students who had played hooky from class and those who had not. Findings reveal that students who communicate playing hooky health messages (a) reported more instructor communication apprehension and (b) perceived the instructors with whom they had played hooky to be less credible. Study 2 uses facework theory and MEH analysis to reveal the different linguistic strategies students use to communicate (a) truthful health messages (N = 165) and (b) deceptive heath messages (N = 82) to their instructor following an absence. Results demonstrate that students’ facework strategies are more geared toward saving instructors’ negative face in the deceptive health message condition. Implications of both studies are offered.
In vitro T‐cell receptor Vβ repertoire analysis may identify which T‐cell Vβ families mediate graft‐versus‐leukaemia and graft‐versus‐host responses after human leucocyte antigen‐matched sibling stem cell transplantation

We studied oligoclonal T‐cell expansions of 24 T‐cell receptor (TCR) Vβ families in normal donor lymphocytes stimulated with patient's cells and in recipient blood after transplant, using a polymerase chain reaction‐based assay (spectratyping). T cells from donor blood were incubated with separated myeloid leukaemia cells or T cells from the HLA‐identical sibling recipient. In five of the six patients tested, the T‐cell Vβ skewing pattern observed in vitro was seen in vivo after transplant. After transplant, the myeloid‐specific Vβ skewing coincided with the disappearance of residual disease in three patients and in one patient skewing was lost at the time of leukaemic relapse. In functional tests, T cells generated against leukaemic cells in vitro produced interferon γ in response to the leukaemia. Removal of the leukaemia‐expanded skewed Vβ families significantly decreased cytotoxic killing of the leukaemia. However, while there was a general concordance in the Vβ family exhibiting clonal expansion in vitro and in vivo, the exact clonotype expanded in vitro and in vivo differed. These findings suggest that alloresponses involve multiple T‐cell clones within a restricted TCR Vβ repertoire that undergo different selection pressures in vitro and in vivo.
Author ( s ) and affiliation

I examine determinants of stochastic relative risk aversion in conditional asset pricing models. I first develop time-series specification tests with nonlinear state-space models with heteroskedasticity based on Merton (1973)’s ICAPM. I then established the following facts. First, the surplus consumption ratio implied by the external habit formation model is the most important determinant of relative risk aversion. Second, the CAY of Lettau and Ludvigson (2001a) without a look-ahead bias explains part of relative risk aversion, and the short term interest rate has some explanatory power for hedging components. Finally, I show the selected models from extensive time-series analysis are at least comparable to or better than the Fama-French three-factor model in explaining the value premium and the cross-section of industry portfolios.
Cerebellopontine angle subependymoma without fourth ventricle extension: An uncommon tumor in a rare location

Subependymomas are benign tumors that occur predominantly in the ventricular system. We describe a case of a 57‐year‐old man with a large cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumor which expanded into the jugular foramen. Complete surgical excision of the tumor was achieved through a retrosigmoid approach and the histopathological diagnosis was subependymoma. Subependymomas located exclusively in the CPA without extension into the fourth ventricle are extremely rare. The mainly pathological features and the difficulty in correctly diagnosing these cases preoperatively, even with MRI, are discussed.
Directional relaying during single-pole tripping using phase-change in negative sequence current

Single-pole tripping (SPT) operation imposes problem to many power network relaying schemes. In this paper the directional relaying issue for faults during SPT condition is addressed. Algorithms applying negative sequence components of fault voltage and current for directional relaying find limitation during SPT as the prefault signals also contain negative sequence components. This paper proposes a directional relaying algorithm during SPT using phase-change in negative sequence current. The proposed technique is an attractive option as it does not use the fault voltage signal in the decision process. The technique is evaluated using data simulated with EMTDC/PSCAD for single and double circuit lines and the performance of the algorithm is also evaluated.
Simple chalcones and bis-chalcones ethers as possible pleiotropic agents

Abstract The synthesis, the antioxidative properties and the lipoxygenase (LOX) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition of a number of 4-hydroxy-chalcones diversely substituted as well as of a series of bis-chalcones ether derivatives are reported. The chalcones derivatives were readily produced using a Claisen–Schmidt condensation in a ultra sound bath in good yields. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by spectral and elemental analysis. Their lipophilicity is experimentally determined by reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography method. Most of them are potent in vitro inhibitors of lipid peroxidation and of LOX. Compounds b2 and b3 were found to be the most potent LOX and AChE inhibitors among the tested derivatives with a significant anti-lipid peroxidation profile. The results led us to propose these enone derivatives as new multifunctional compounds against Alzheimer's disease. The results are discussed in terms of structural and physicochemical characteristics of the compounds. Moreover, the pharmacokinetic profile of these compounds was investigated using computational methods.
Soluble E‐selectin and soluble ICAM‐1 levels as markers of the activity of atopic dermatitis in children

The expression of adhesion molecules is up‐regulated in the skin of atopic dermatitis (AD) patients, and the levels of the soluble adhesion molecules sE‐selectin and sICAM‐1 have been reported to reflect the endothelial activation in the skin of AD patients. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between symptom score and levels of sE‐selectin, sICAM‐1 and sVCAM‐1 before and after 2 weeks of treatment. Eighteen children with an exacerbation of AD were admitted and treated with corticosteroid dilutions under occlusive wet dressings (wet‐wrap treatment). Symptom score (objective SCORAD) and levels of sE‐selectin, sICAM‐1, and sVCAM‐1 were assessed before and after 2 weeks of treatment. A significant correlation between the objective SCORAD before treatment and the level of sE‐selectin (p < 0.05), but not the level of sICAM‐1 (p = 0.7) or sVCAM‐1 (p = 0.5) was observed. The treatment resulted in a high degree of remission, which was reflected by a significant decrease in the level of sICAM‐1 (p < 0.01), whereas there was only a trend in the level of sE‐selectin to decrease (p = 0.08). The level of sE‐selectin after 2 weeks of treatment still correlated significantly with the objective SCORAD before treatment (p < 0.005). Soluble E‐selectin is a relative objective marker for the severity of AD. SCORAD is a treatment‐sensitive symptom of AD, whereas E‐selectin may be a more stable underlying systemic representation of AD.
Sputum collection and disposal among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in coastal South India.

BACKGROUND Safe sputum disposal practices minimise the spread of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). OBJECTIVES To study the perceptions and practices of sputum disposal among PTB patients. METHODOLOGY This study was conducted among 206 diagnosed sputum-positive TB patients registered in selected DOTS centres in Mangalore. RESULTS Safe sputum disposal practice was followed by 50% of the subjects: it was higher among females (62%), patients of middle socio-economic status (75.5%) and those with a family history of TB (70%). Furthermore, 75% patients believed that TB was caused by several factors. CONCLUSIONS High proportions of subjects were unaware about the causes of TB and did not practise safe disposal of sputum.
Influence of flicker frequency on flicker-induced changes of retinal vessel diameter.

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of diffuse luminance flicker of different frequencies on retinal vessel diameter in the human eye. METHODS Nine healthy subjects participated in the study. A retinal vessel analyzer (RVA; Zeiss, Jena, Germany) was modified to allow for continuous measurement of vessel diameter during flicker stimulation. With this technique, the light used for measurement of vessel diameter consists of wavelengths between 567 and 587 nm, whereas the spectrum of the stimulation is low-pass, with a cutoff wavelength at 550 nm. Flicker frequencies ranged from 2 to 64 Hz. RESULTS In retinal arteries an increase was observed at all flicker frequencies, with a less-pronounced effect at 64 Hz. In retinal veins, all flicker frequencies except 2 and 64 Hz induced vasodilation. Generally, the flicker-induced diameter response was less pronounced in retinal veins than in arteries. CONCLUSIONS The flicker-induced diameter response of the larger retinal arteries and veins can be continuously measured with a modified RVA system that spectrally separates the flicker stimulation from the fundus illumination light. Vasodilation of retinal arteries was observed in response to short wavelength flicker with frequencies between 2 and 64 Hz, indicating that the parvo- and magnocellular neural pathways are activated with this stimulation.
Evaluating and Improving Methods to Estimate the Implied Cost of Capital and Return Decompositions

The dissertation analyzes existing accounting-based methods to measure expected stock returns and proposes methodological advances to improve expected return estimation. The primary object of study are methods that estimate the implied cost of equity capital (ICC). The analysis includes a simulation study to provide direct evidence concerning the quality of existing ICC methods in capturing the true cost of capital. The analysis shows that the structure of the underlying valuation models is a crucial determinant for the quality of ICC methods. Utilizing a large empirical dataset, the dissertation proposes a new approach to estimate the implied cost of equity capital that addresses specific problems of existing ICC methods. Finally, the dissertation presents a decomposition of realized stock returns based on implied cost of capital estimates and applies the return decomposition to shed light on the return anomaly that the quality of corporate governance helps to predict stock returns.
Analysis of Nigerian dentists' opinion and consequences on expanded function dental auxiliaries.

OBJECTIVE To examine Nigerian dentists' opinion on expanded function dental auxiliaries. METHODS This cross-sectional study of Nigerian dentists attending a dental conference was conducting in 2012 using self-administered questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16.0. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS The majority of the 82 dentists that participated in this study were male, aged 31-40 years, either specialist or specializing (residents), practiced for < 10 years, teaching hospital and urban practitioners. Of the participants, 22 (26.8%) reported favorable opinion towards expanded duty dental auxiliaries. The mean scores on consequences, of expanded function dental auxiliaries ranked redundancy of dentist as highest. Males and non-specialist significantly reported expanded function dental auxiliaries would lead to redundancy of dentists. Practitioners working in other hospitals other than teaching hospital significantly reported that appropriate legislation are necessary before expansion of duties of the dental auxiliaries can be done. The dentists with favorable opinion significantly reported that expanded duty dental auxiliaries would not cause redundancy of dentist and the task are not too difficult for dental auxiliaries with necessary training but will increase service delivery and efficiency, increase job satisfaction, lead to dental auxiliary specialization with legislation. CONCLUSION Data from this study revealed overall unfavorable opinion of Nigerian dentists on the expanded duty dental auxiliaries. However, those with favorable opinion were significantly supportive of expanded function dental auxiliaries. This information would serve as a useful tool for Nigerian oral healthcare policy formulators.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection experiments using the mouse as a model.

Due to the existence of ample background information on its reproduction, embryology and genetics, the mouse is potentially an excellent animal model for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Normal fertile mouse offspring have been obtained by ICSI using not only mature (epididymal) and immature (testicular) spermatozoa, but also round spermatids and secondary spermatocytes. This suggests that genomic imprinting of male germ cells is complete before spermiogenesis. Mature mouse spermatozoa carry one or more factors that activate oocytes. This sperm-borne oocyte-activating factor is present in testicular spermatozoa, but not in round spermatids. Thus, at least in the mouse, it seems to appear (or become active) during spermiogenesis. Part of the factor seems to be associated with the perinuclear materials because, when freed from plasma and acrosomal membranes as well as all acrosome components, spermatozoa remain fully capable of activating oocytes by ICSI. Spermatozoa with grossly misshapen heads (e.g. those from the BALB/c mouse) are unable to fertilize oocytes under ordinary in-vivo and in-vitro conditions. However, by ICSI they can fertilize the oocytes, and the zygotes develop into fertile offspring. Inherently poorly motile spermatozoa (of male mice carrying two t haplotypes) are unable to fertilize, but through ICSI they can participate in normal fertilization and embryonic development. Examination of human sperm chromosomes after sperm injection into mouse oocytes revealed that spermatozoa with abnormal head morphology have a significantly higher incidence of chromosome abnormality than those with normal heads, yet the majority of the abnormal spermatozoa have normal chromosomal constitutions. These findings suggest that spermatozoa with aberrant morphology and/or motility are not necessarily genomically abnormal.
Intraoperative Molecular Imaging Combined With Positron Emission Tomography Improves Surgical Management of Peripheral Malignant Pulmonary Nodules

Objective: To determine if intraoperative molecular imaging (IMI) can improve detection of malignant pulmonary nodules. Background: 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) is commonly utilized in preoperative assessment of patients with solid malignancies; however, false negatives and false positives remain major limitations. Using patients with pulmonary nodules as a study model, we hypothesized that IMI with a folate receptor targeted near-infrared contrast agent (OTL38) can improve malignant pulmonary nodule identification when combined with PET. Methods: Fifty patients with pulmonary nodules with imaging features suspicious for malignancy underwent preoperative PET. Patients then received OTL38 before pulmonary resection. During resection, IMI was utilized to evaluate known pulmonary nodules and identify synchronous lesions. Tumor size, PET standardized uptake value, and IMI tumor-to-background ratios were compared for known and synchronous nodules via paired and unpaired t tests, when appropriate. Test characteristics of PET and IMI with OTL38 were compared. Results: IMI identified 56 of 59 (94.9%) malignant pulmonary nodules identified by preoperative imaging. IMI located an additional 9 malignant lesions not identified preoperatively. Nodules only detected by IMI were smaller than nodules detected preoperatively (0.5 vs 2.4 cm; P < 0.01), but displayed similar fluorescence (tumor-to-background ratio 3.3 and 3.1; P = 0.50). Sensitivity of IMI and PET were 95.6% and 73.5% (P = 0.001), respectively; and positive predictive values were 94.2% and 89.3%, respectively (P > 0.05). Additionally, utilization of IMI clinically upstaged 6 (12%) subjects and improved management of 15 (30%) subjects. Conclusions: These data suggest that combining IMI with PET may provide superior oncologic outcomes for patients with resectable lung cancer.
The Cerebrospinal Fluid Levels of Tau, Growth-Associated Protein-43 and Soluble Amyloid Precursor Protein Correlate in Alzheimer’s Disease, Reflecting a Common Pathophysiological Process

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of tau (total tau), growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43), soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPP; i.e. total sAPP), and β-amyloid42 (Aβ42) were studied in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD; n = 14), Alzheimer’s disease (AD; n = 47) and vascular dementia (VAD; n = 16), and in age-matched controls (n = 12). CSF-tau was increased in AD compared to controls and FTD (p < 0.001 for both). CSF-GAP-43 was increased in AD compared to controls (p < 0.05), and both CSF-GAP-43 and CSF-sAPP were increased in AD compared to FTD (p < 0.01). Positive and highly significant correlations were found between CSF-tau and CSF-GAP-43 in all groups and between CSF-tau, CSF-GAP-43 and CSF-sAPP in AD. The correlations found may reflect a common pathophysiologic process such as axonal degeneration.
The Northern HIPASS catalogue - data presentation, completeness and reliability measures

The Northern HIPASS catalogue (NHICAT) is the northern extension of the HIPASS catalogue, HICAT. This extension adds the sky area between the declination (Dec.) range of +2 degrees 300 km s(-1). Sources with -300 < nu(hel) < 300 km s(-1) were excluded to avoid contamination by Galactic emission. In total, the entire HIPASS survey has found 5317 galaxies identified purely by their HI content. The full galaxy catalogue is publicly available at http://hipass.aus-vo.org.
Exploring the Dimensionality of Trust in Risk Regulation

This article investigates possible differential levels of trust in government regulation across five different risk contexts and the relationship between a number of concepts that might be thought of as comprising distinctive “dimensions” of trust. It appeared that how people perceive government and its policies toward risk regulation was surprisingly similar for each of the five risk cases. A principal‐component analysis showed that the various trust items could best be described by two dimensions: a general trust dimension, which was concerned with a wide range of trust‐relevant aspects, such as competence, care, fairness, and openness, and a scepticism component that reflects a sceptical view regarding how risk policies are brought about and enacted. Again, the results were surprisingly similar across the five risk cases, as the same solution was found in each of the different samples. It was also examined whether value similarity has an additional value in predicting trust in risk regulation, compared to the more conventional aspects of trust. Based on the two independent trust factors that were found in this study, a typology of trust is proposed that ranges from full trust to a deep type of distrust. It is argued that for a functioning society it could well be more suitable to have critical but involved citizens in many situations.
The effectiveness of e-learning in pediatric medical student education

Background Electronic learning allows individualized education and may improve student performance. This study assessed the impact of e-modules about infection control and congenital infections on medical knowledge. Methods A descriptive study was conducted involving third-year medical students on pediatric clerkship. e-Module content in three different formats was developed: a text monograph, a PowerPoint presentation, and a narrated PowerPoint lecture. Students’ use of the e-modules was tracked, as was participation in the infectious disease rotation and the order of pediatric rotation. Pre- and posttests specific to the e-module content and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) pediatric exam scores were recorded. Results Among 67 participants, 63% of them visited at least one e-module. Neither accessing any e-modules, timing of pediatric clerkship, nor assignment to ID rotation resulted in improved posttest nor NBME scores. Seventy percent of students rated the e-modules as satisfactory and reported usage improved their confidence with the congenital infections topic. Discussion e-Modules did not improve student performance on NBME or posttest; however, they were perceived as satisfactory and to have improved confidence among those who used them. This study underscores the importance of formally evaluating electronic and other innovative curricula when implemented within existing medical education frameworks.
No Taxation of Elites, No Representation

Does state weakness lead to representation via taxation? A distinguished body of scholarship assumes that fiscal need forced weak(ened) states to grant rights and build institutions. The logic is traced to pre-modern Europe. However, the literature has misunderstood the link between state strength and the origins of representation. Representation emerged where the state was already strong. In pre-modern Europe, representation originally was a legal obligation, not a right. It became the organizing principle of central institutions where rulers could oblige communities to send representatives authorized to commit to decisions taken at the center. Representation thus presupposed strong state capacity, especially to tax. The revision amends our understanding of the historical paradigms guiding the literature, as well as the application of these paradigms to policies in the developing world. It suggests that societal demands for accountability and better governance (the assumed aims of representation) are more likely to emerge in response to taxation already effectively applied.