Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Classroom Practices that Support Minoritized Engineering Students’ Sense of Belonging (Research)

Establishing and sustaining a sense of belonging is a necessary human motivation with particular implications for student learning, including in engineering. Students who experience a sense of belonging are more likely to display intrinsic motivation and establish a stronger sense of identity and persistence. It is important, however, to distinguish different domains of belonging, such as belonging to one’s university, belonging to a major, and belonging in the classroom setting. Our study examines if and how faculty support efforts contribute to diverse students’ sense of belonging in the classroom setting. Specifically, we sought to answer the following research questions: Which faculty support efforts promote a sense of classroom belongingness? Do faculty support efforts differentially promote a sense of classroom belongingness for students based on their demographic characteristics? Data for this study was collected in the Fall of 2018, across ten institutions, n = 819. We used the Faculty Support items from the STEM Student Perspectives of Support Instrument developed from Lee’s model of co-curricular support to answer our research questions. Demographic categories were created to understand if and how faculty support efforts differentially promote a sense of belonging for minoritized students compared to their counterparts. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the faculty support efforts that fostered a sense of belonging in the classroom. Interaction effects were included to understand how faculty support efforts affected classroom belongingness for the students in the demographic groups we identified. Minoritized women classroom when compared to Neither women believed that their instructors wanted to succeed, thus negatively their classroom There were, however, faculty support efforts that positively to a sense in the classroom minoritized women, including instructors’ when Our practices and strategies use
Pre-Transition Readiness in Adolescents and Young Adults with Four Chronic Medical Conditions in South East Nigeria – An African Perspective to Adolescent Transition

Introduction: When a child reaches a certain age, he or she moves over to the adult physician. For this to maximally bene ﬁ t the child, there has to be a process of equipping the child with skills required for taking on more responsibilities. Transitioning involves a process in which the adolescent with chronic illness is prepared ahead of time to enable them to eventually transfer to adult care with good outcomes. In high-income countries with well-organized health ﬁ nancing, the transitioning process begins as early as 12 years. In Africa, this process is not as organized and most hospitals would write a referral letter once the child turns 18 and transfer to adult clinic. In four of our chronic disease clinics (asthma, HIV, sickle cell anaemia and chronic kidney diseases) patients up to 24 years old are still attending the paediatric clinics. Understanding transition readiness among African adolescents remains a gap. Our ﬁ ndings will form a basis for informed practices for adolescent clinics in African countries. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of pre-transition readiness in adolescents and young adults with chronic illnesses attending four outpatient specialist clinics in a tertiary hospital in Enugu Nigeria. This was done using the validated STARx Questionnaire. Total scores were computed and scores nearer the upper limit of 90 were acceptable, while mean subdomain scores of 4 and above were considered as optimal level of transition readiness. Demographic and clinical data were also collected. Acceptability to move on to adult-oriented Conclusion: There is suboptimal transition readiness irrespective of the age. The older age groups were less willing to transfer to adult care. Better disease knowledge and better communication skills did not positively in ﬂ uence acceptability of transfer to adult care.
Does adiponectin play a role in gestational diabetes? Current Issues in Pharmacy and Medical Sciences

Current literature provides contradictory information on the role of adiponectin (AdipoQ) in the course of gestational diabetes (GDM). The aim of the study was to measure AdipoQ concentration in blood of women with GDM and to find relationships between this adipokine and clinical and biochemical parameters. The study group included 50 women diagnosed with GDM between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation who underwent routine prenatal tests for GDM in compliance with the guidelines of the Polish Diabetes Association. All patients underwent clinical and laboratory evaluation at GDM diagnosis. Laboratory tests included serum AdipoQ concentration, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, OGTT and lipid parameters in serum. AdipoQ concentrations did not differ significantly between the groups during gestation (p=0.7054). In the subgroup (2h glucose level in the OGTT 200 mg/dl) the concentration of AdipoQ tended to be decreased as compared to the remaining patients from the study and control groups, though the decline was insignificant (p=0.0541). The concentration of AdipoQ in the subgroup was about 20% lower than in the other patients from the study group. No correlations, except with the neonatal weight (r= - 0.29, p<0.05), were found between AdipoQ and the studied parameters. The GDM group showed significantly elevated fasting glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR values, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglicerydes, as compared with the control group (p.05). These results lead to the conclusion that women with newly diagnosed and promptly treated GDM have normal adiponectin level. A negative correlation between AdipoQ level and the birth weight may suggest that this adipokine plays a role in the control of the birth weight especially in the incidence of macrosomia.
TO COMPARE THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF RAMIPRIL VERSUS LOSARTAN IN POST-MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION PATIENTS

Objective: Renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) plays an important role in regulating post-myocardial infarction (post-MI) events. Ramipril and losartan act mainly by inhibiting RAAS. This study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of ramipril against losartan in post-MI patients. Methods: A total of 100 enrolled patients were divided into two groups A and B of 50 each by computer-generated random numbers. Group A (n=50) patients were given ramipril 1.25–2.5 mg once a day and Group B (n=50) patients were given losartan 25–50 mg once a day. The patients were followed after 0, 1, and 3 months and at 6 months (optional). Efficacy was compared based on the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF%) and New York Heart Association class improvement. Safety was compared by considering ADRs, mortality, and biochemical test profile. Data were analyzed using unpaired t-test and Chi-square test. p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean LVEF% at 0 month for Group A was 40.6 ± 4.48 and for Group B was 39.6 ± 4.02 (p=0.212). The mean LVEF% at 6 months for Group A was 45.12 ± 4.6 and for Group B was 43.57 ± 4.03 (p=0.11). The most common side effects were headache in Group A and hypotension in Group B. Conclusion: Both ramipril and losartan are equally efficacious; however, losartan has a better safety profile than ramipril.
Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Improving decision making through mindfulness Improving decision making through mindfulness

Decisions shape personal and organizational outcomes, and both researchers and practitioners look for ways to enhance decision making prowess. In this chapter, we explore whether and how mindfulness might help at various stages of decision making. We suggest that mindfulness may help notice when a decision should or could be made, increase goal awareness, enhance consistency of the decision with one’s fundamental values, facilitate option generation, reduce the sunk cost bias, and help recognize ethical challenges of decisions. We further argue that while mindfulness may diminish the scope of information search, it may also improve the quality of information used to make a decision. It may also reduce confirmation bias and overconfidence, allow decision makers to better differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information, reduce reliance on stereotypes, help appreciate uncertainty and productively deal with it, and reduce illusory pattern detection. Furthermore, mindfulness is likely to facilitate resolving trade-offs and help effectively reconcile intuition with analysis thereby reducing procrastination. Finally, mindful decision makers are more likely to learn to make better decisions over time because they are more open to feedback and less prone to misinterpret it by making self-serving attributions. The potential of mindfulness to improve judgment and decisions provides many promising opportunities for future research.
Safety and Immunogenicity of an Inactivated Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Vaccine in a Subgroup of Healthy Adults in Chile

Background. The development of effective vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 is a global priority. CoronaVac is an inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine with promising safety and immunogenicity profiles. This article reports safety and immunogenicity results obtained for healthy Chilean adults aged ≥ 18 years in a phase 3 clinical trial. Methods. Volunteers randomly received 2 doses of CoronaVac or placebo, separated by 2 weeks. A total of 434 volunteers were enrolled, 397 aged 18–59 years and 37 aged ≥ 60 years. Solicited and unsolicited adverse reactions were registered from all volunteers. Blood samples were obtained from a subset of volunteers and analyzed for humoral and cellular measures of immunogenicity. Results. The primary adverse reaction in the 434 volunteers was pain at the injection site, with a higher incidence in the vaccine than in the placebo arm. Adverse reactions observed were mostly mild and local. No severe adverse events were reported. The humoral evaluation was performed on 81 volunteers. Seroconversion rates for specific anti-S1-receptor binding domain (RBD) immunoglobulin G (IgG) were 82.22% and 84.44% in the 18–59 year age group and 62.69% and 70.37% in the ≥ 60 year age group, 2 and 4 weeks after the second dose, respectively. A significant increase in circulating neutralizing antibodies was detected 2 and 4 weeks after the second dose. The cellular evaluation was performed on 47 volunteers. We detected a significant induction of T-cell responses characterized by the secretion of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) upon stimulation with Mega Pools of peptides from SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions. Immunization with CoronaVac in a 0–14 schedule in Chilean adults aged ≥ 18 years is safe, induces anti-S1-RBD IgG with neutralizing capacity, activates T cells, and promotes the secretion of IFN-γ upon stimulation with SARS-CoV-2
Sleep Duration Is Associated with Academic Achievement of Adolescent Girls in Mathematics

Purpose: To examine the associations between objective measures of sleep during the school week and academic achievement in mathematics and languages in typically developing adolescent girls. Methods: Eighty adolescent girls aged 12 – 17 years (M=14.74, SD=1.3) participated. For ﬁ ve consecutive weeknights, sleep was assessed in the home environment using an actigraph. Academic achievement was assessed using report card grades. Results: Girls who obtained on average less sleep than the recommended amount of 8 to 10 hrs per night had signi ﬁ cantly lower grades in mathematics compared to girls who obtained the recommended amount (77.61 vs 86.16, respectively; η p2 =0.11). Hierarchical regression analyses adjusted for age, pubertal status, and socioeconomic status revealed that longer average sleep time was signi ﬁ cantly associated with higher grades in mathematics ( B =4.78, 95% CI [2.03,7.53]). No signi ﬁ cant associations were found between sleep variables and grades in languages. Conclusion: Longer average weekday sleep duration is associated with academic achievement of adolescent girls in mathematics.
QCD radiative corrections to $\chi_{cJ}$ production at hadron colliders

To clarify the outstanding problem in charmonium production that existing theories cannot explain the observed cross sections of $\chi_{cJ}$ (J=0,1,2) and ratio $R_{\chi_c}=\sigma_{\chi_{c2}}/\sigma_{\chi_{c1}}\approx 0.75$ (in contrast to the spin counting value 5/3) at the Tevatron, we study the complete next-to-leading order radiative corrections in nonrelativistic QCD, and find next-to-leading order contributions of $^3P_J^{[1]}$ are more important than leading order at high $p_T$, and $^3P_1^{[1]}$ decreases slower than $^3P_2^{[1]}$, implying a natural explanation for the $R_{\chi_c}$ puzzle. By fitting $R_{\chi_c}$, the predicted cross sections of $\chi_{cJ}$ are found to agree with data. The result indicates color-octet contribution is crucially needed, thus providing a unique test for heavy quarkonium production mechanisms. Feed-down contributions of $\chi_{cJ}$ to prompt $J/\psi$ production are estimated to be substantial, about $30-40%$ at $p_T=20$ GeV. Production of $\chi_{cJ}$ (J=0,1,2) at the LHC is also predicted.
Further improvement in postprandial glucose control when adding exenatide (EXE) or sitagliptin (SITA) to combination therapy with insulin glargine (GLAR) and metformin (MET) – a proof-of-concept study

This is an uncopyedited electronic version of an article accepted for publication in Diabetes Care. The American Diabetes Association, publisher of Diabetes Care, is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it by third parties. The definitive publisherauthenticated version will be available in a future issue of Diabetes Care in print and online at http://care.diabetesjournals. org. Diabetes Care Publish Ahead of Print, published online March 31, 2010
THE INFLUENCE OF SATISFACTION, VARIETY SEEKING, AND ALTERNATIVE ATTRACTIVENESS TO SWITCHING BEHAVIOUR THROUGH SWITCHING INTENTIONS

The purpose of this study was to examine the direct effect of satisfaction, variety seeking and alternative attractiveness on switching behavior through switching intentions. The population in this study are visitors to the Café Sisemoet Ungaran in May 2018. The technique of sampling used was incidental sampling with 115 respondents. The data collection included ques-tionnaires, documentation, and path analysis as the method of the data analysis. Data analysis is done by using partial test and path analysis test with help of SPSS 21 for Windows.The results showed that satisfaction has direct effect negatively and significantly toward switching behavior, while variety seeking and attractiveness alternatives have a positive and significant direct influence on switching behavior. The results of path analysis test proved that satisfaction, variety seeking, and attractiveness alternatives have indirect effect toward switching behavior through switching intentions.
Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of Movement Assessment Battery for Children Checklist in 6- to 7-Year-Old Children

Introduction: The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) checklist has been designed to investigate children’s movement disorders at school; however, the validation characteristics of this checklist in Iran have not been evaluated. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of MABC checklist. Materials and Methods: The participants in this study comprised 181 six-year-old children (87 girls and 94 boys) and 166 seven-year-old children (89 girls and 77 boys) from Isfahan City, Iran. Their sports teachers completed the MABC checklist. To measure concurrent validity, motor skills of 233 of these children were assessed using MABC. To measure construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis and convergent validity [Average Variance Extracted (AVE)] were used. Moreover, to measure reliability, Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and test-retest reliability were used. Results: AVE indicator was used to evaluate subscales of child stationary/environment stable, child moving/environment stable, child stationary/environment changing, child moving/environment changing, and behavioral problems related to motor difficulties. The overall scores obtained were 0.51, 0.5, 0.53, 0.54, 0.49, and 0.5, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability were 0.79 and 0.84 for the subscales of “the child is stationary and the environment is stable”, 0.85 and 0.88 for “the child is moving and the environment is stable”, 0.87 and 0.84 for “the child is stationary and the environment is changing”, 0.89 and 0.91 for “the child is moving and the environment is changing”, 0.81 and 0.82 for “behaviors related to physical activity”, and 0.92 and 0.94 for all the subscales. The correlation coefficient of MABC with MABC checklist was 0.37, which was significant at P < 0.001. Conclusion: The data indicate that MABC checklist is valid and reliable for 6- to 7-year-old children. Therefore, teachers are recommended to use this checklist in investigating children’s movement disorders in primary school children.
1 Accuracy of transbronchial needle aspiration for mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis

Background: The reported accuracy of transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) for mediastinal staging in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) varies widely. We performed a meta-analysis to estimate the accuracy of TBNA for mediastinal staging in NSCLC. Methods: We searched Medline, Embase and the bibliographies of retrieved articles, with no language restriction, for studies evaluating TBNA accuracy. We used meta-analytic methods to construct summary receiver-operating characteristic curves and to pool sensitivity and specificity. Results: Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria, including six studies that surgically confirmed all TBNA results and enrolled at least 10 patients with and without mediastinal metastasis (tier 1). Methodologic quality varied, but did not affect diagnostic accuracy. In tier 1 studies, the median prevalence of mediastinal metastasis was 34%. Using a random effects model, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 39% (95% CI, 17% to 61%) and 99% (95% CI, 96% to 100%), respectively. Compared with tier 1 studies, median prevalence of mediastinal metastasis (81%; p=0.002) and pooled sensitivity (78%; 95% CI, 71% to 84%; p=0.009) were higher in non-tier 1 studies. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that the sensitivity of TBNA depends critically on the prevalence of mediastinal metastasis. The pooled major complication rate was 0.3% (95%CI, 0.01% to 4%). Conclusions: When properly performed, TBNA is highly specific for identifying mediastinal metastasis in patients with NSCLC, but sensitivity depends critically on the study methods and patient population. In populations with a lower prevalence of mediastinal metastasis, the sensitivity of TBNA is much lower than reported in recent lung cancer guidelines.
Application of Activated Carbon Adsorbents Prepared from Prickly Pear Fruit Seeds and a Conductive Polymer Matrix to Remove Congo Red from Aqueous Solutions

: The present work was aimed to evaluate the adsorption properties of activated carbons based on prickly pear seeds (PPS) and conductive polymer matrix based on polyaniline (PANI) for the removal of anionic Congo red (CR) dye from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent was prepared by polymerization of aniline in the presence of activated PPS by phosphoric acid and sodium hydroxide. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) methods. The adsorption kinetics were studied using UV-visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy. The characterization data suggest that the adsorption of the Congo red dye is enhanced because PANI chain molecules, which are especially accountable for removal through π – π interaction and H–bonding with the CR, are adsorbed/tethered onto the acid-activated PPS (PPSH), and thus surmount the mass transfer limitation by being best exposed to the CR-adsorbed molecule. The adsorption kinetics follows the pseudo-second order process. The correlation coefﬁcients (R 2 ) for Langmuir, Freundlich and Tempkin showed that the adsorption values obey Freundlich and Tempkin isotherm models. Moreover, the isotherm was most accurately described by the Freundlich model, and the maximum removal percentage was calculated to be 91.14% under optimized conditions of pH 6.6, 1 g/L of adsorbent dosage, and an initial CR dye concentration of 20 mg · L − 1 . Importantly, the hybrid adsorbent exhibited the highest adsorption capacity (80.15%) after ﬁve cycles of the adsorption–desorption process. Thermodynamic parameters, such as entropy changes, enthalpy changes and Gibbs free energy, were also evaluated. These results indicated that the PANI matrix can generally be better utilized for the removal of Congo red dye when appropriately dispersed on the surface of suitable support materials. These results provide a new direction to promote the separable adsorbents with increasing performance for adsorption of dye impurities from wastewater.
D ebt S hifting anD t hin capitalization R uleS

A large body of literature in corporate finance argues that the trade-off between the cost and benefit of debt financing determines a firm’s optimal capital structure. One prominent benefit of debt relative to equity financing relates to the tax-deductibility of interest expenses. This asymmetry in tax treatment implies that, on average, firms’ capital structures will be distorted in favor of too much debt financing (see Graham, 2003, for a survey). Additional incentives to use debt instead of equity financing relate to the operations of multinational enterprises (MNEs) whose activities across jurisdictions with varying tax rates allow for profit shifting and reductions in overall tax burdens. Differences in tax rates across countries usually make it attractive to thinly capitalize foreign affiliates in high-tax countries and rely instead to an excessive extent on debt financing. In order to minimize the overall tax burden, MNEs may particularly use internal (related-party) debt as a vehicle for shifting profits by injecting equity financing into a foreign affiliate facing a low tax rate. This affiliate then provides loans to related entities within the MNE in high-tax countries. For the latter countries the implication is a reduction of the tax base (and tax revenue) due to the deductibility of interest expenses.
Clinical Characteristics of Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Japan: A Single-Center Case Series

We report a case series of 6 patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wakayama prefecture, Japan. All 6 of the patients tested positive via pharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, and 2 of the 6 were still positive at 3 weeks after onset. All of the patients exhibited bilateral ground glass opacities on computed tomography (CT). This article also reports narrative information on the spectrum of symptoms collected directly from the patients. It would be difficult to triage patients with COVID-19 based on the typical symptoms of fever and/or cough, although PCR and CT are definitive in diagnosis.