Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A psycholexical route to content coverage in personality assessment

The psycholexical approach to personality, which has resulted in a widely accepted framework of personality trait description, is used for the development of the construction of a personality questionnaire. The principles and theoretical notions leading to the Big Five trait model are discussed, and a brief description is given of the recently developed circumplex representation (AB5C) of the five factors. The AB5C trait representation is employed in an integrated approach with the central idea of the facet methodology, enabling an optimal coverage of the contents of the trait sphere. The resulting faceted presentation is used for the generation of items for a encompassing personality questionnaire. The procedure for item-production is described. A unique feature in the construction of the item-pool is the fact that the items are constructed in an interactive process between English-American, German, and Dutch teams. Coverage of the trait domain following the described procedure is tested by relating the .
Feminist Epistemology: An Interpretation and a Defense

Feminist epistemology has often been understood as the study of feminine “ways of knowing. ” But feminist epistemology is better understood as the branch of naturalized, social epistemology that studies the various influences of norms and conceptions of gender and gendered interests and experiences on the production of knowledge. This understanding avoids dubious claims about feminine cognitive differences and enables feminist research in various disciplines to pose deep internal critiques of mainstream research.
Probable early-onset group B streptococcal neonatal sepsis: a serious clinical condition related to intrauterine infection

Background: The estimated incidence of true early-onset group B streptococcal (GBS) neonatal infection is based on positive GBS blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture results, but the real burden of disease is underestimated owing to the high incidence of culture-negative sepsis possibly because of antibiotic administration to the mother. Objective: To examine the rate of probable early-onset GBS neonatal sepsis and to assess its impact on total GBS neonatal disease. Design: A multicentre longitudinal prospective surveillance of 107 021 deliveries. Results: The rates of culture-proven and probable early-onset GBS sepsis were 0.39 and 0.47 per 1000 live births, respectively. Of great concern was the finding of three deaths related to the infection in the group with probable early-onset GBS sepsis. Conclusions: The use of chemoprophylaxis in GBS-colonised pregnant women, especially when it is incomplete, may not be sufficient to prevent clinical neonatal infection, but may inhibit the growth of GBS in blood and CSF cultures. In assessing the effectiveness of GBS prophylaxis, it is advisable to consider the incidence of culture-positive and probable culture-negative GBS neonatal infection.
Cerebral metabolic changes in men after chiropractic spinal manipulation for neck pain.

BACKGROUND Chiropractic spinal manipulation (CSM) is an alternative treatment for back pain. The autonomic nervous system is often involved in spinal dysfunction. Although studies on the effects of CSM have been performed, no chiropractic study has examined regional cerebral metabolism using positron emission tomography (PET). OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of CSM on brain responses in terms of cerebral glucose metabolic changes measured by [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). METHODS Twelve male volunteers were recruited. Brain PET scanning was performed twice on each participant, at resting and after CSM. Questionnaires were used for subjective evaluations. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was rated by participants before and after chiropractic treatment, and muscle tone and salivary amylase were measured. RESULTS Increased glucose metabolism was observed in the inferior prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulated cortex, and middle temporal gyrus, and decreased glucose metabolism was found in the cerebellar vermis and visual association cortex, in the treatment condition (P < .001). Comparisons of questionnaires indicated a lower stress level and better quality of life in the treatment condition. A significantly lower VAS was noted after CSM. Cervical muscle tone and salivary amylase were decreased after CSM. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that CSM affects regional cerebral glucose metabolism related to sympathetic relaxation and pain reduction.
Attachment, personality and female perpetrators of intimate partner violence

This study examined explanations of intimate partner violence in female offenders. The sample of 92 female offenders completed measures of attachment, borderline and anti-social personality dimensions, psychological and physical aggression. Participant’s most recent and previous relationships were explored to examine the patterns of perpetrating and being victimised in relationships. Female offenders reported higher levels of attachment anxiety than attachment avoidance. Attachment insecurity was found to predict victimisation but not perpetrating intimate partner violence in recent relationships. Borderline and anti-social personality dimensions were significantly associated with offenders perpetrating intimate partner violence and being victimised in their most recent relationship. In previous relationships, borderline personality scores were associated with victimisation whereas anti-social personality scores were associated with perpetrating intimate partner violence. Personality dimensions were also found to mediate relationships between attachment anxiety and victimisation in offenders’ most recent relationships. Potential treatment pathways for this population are discussed and future research directions are recommended.
Quality Classified Image Analysis with Application to Face Detection and Recognition

Motion blur, out of focus, insufficient spatial resolution, lossy compression and many other factors can all cause an image to have poor quality. However, image quality is a largely ignored issue in traditional pattern recognition literature. In this paper, we use face detection and recognition as case studies to show that image quality is an essential factor which will affect the performances of traditional algorithms. We demonstrated that it is not the image quality itself that is the most important, but rather the quality of the images in the training set should have similar quality as those in the testing set. To handle real-world application scenarios where images with different kinds and severities of degradation can be presented to the system, we have developed a quality classified image analysis framework to deal with images of mixed qualities adaptively. We use deep neural networks first to classify images based on their quality classes and then design a separate face detector and recognizer for images in each quality class. We will present experimental results to show that our quality classified framework can accurately classify images based on the type and severity of image degradations and can significantly boost the performances of state-of-the-art face detector and recognizer in dealing with image datasets containing mixed quality images.
Our history is not false: perspectives from the revitalisation culture

Two dominant themes in architectural conservation doctrine are to (1) avoid the fabrication of ‘false’ histories through the clear differentiation of ‘new’ from ‘old’ building fabric; and (2) the deprecation of subjective ways in which the perception of building fabric engenders sense of place. This study explores the cultural values of a group of citizens engaged in revitalising their historic downtown through the ‘Main Street’ program in Anderson, South Carolina, United States. This ‘revitalisation culture’ values and promotes treatments to its historic environment that emphasise the conjectural fabrication of ‘historic’ elements to existing buildings and the use of historicised design for new, infill construction. Whilst these values go against the grain of conservation doctrine, the revitalisation culture is preserving a kind of authenticity that stems from socially and culturally constructed values in an effort to maintain the ability of the historic environment to engender ‘spontaneous fantasies’, which serve to emotionally attach the revitalisation culture with its historic downtown. Ultimately, the revitalisation culture is engaging in ‘unethical’ behaviour from the perspective of conservation professionals, which begs the question of whose values deserve attention and if the field of heritage conservation is able and willing to accept pluralistic concepts of how the authenticity of historic places can and should be conserved.
Linguistic Biases and Persuasion in Communication About Objects

Research on language abstraction has primarily been focused on the language that is used to describe (intergroup) behaviors, while limited attention has been given to communication about objects. This article aims to fill this gap and studies biases in language abstraction in the descriptions of interactions with objects. Study 1 demonstrated a linguistic expectancy bias in this setting: People described expectancy-congruent experiences with objects more abstractly than incongruent experiences. Study 2 examined a mediator, and provides data suggesting that expectancy-congruent (vs. incongruent) experiences were more likely attributed to the object (vs. the situation/user), and this causal inference mediated the effect of expectancy-(in)congruence on language use. Study 3 examined the impact of communication goals, and found that the goal to convince a receiver of the high quality of a product (vs. no persuasion goal) led to more abstract descriptions of positive experiences with objects and to more concrete language for negative experiences.
The relationship between coping style, tinnitus severity and emotional distress in a group of tinnitus sufferers

A self-report questionnaire was constructed to assess the coping style of tinnitus sufferers (N = 116) attending a specialist out-patient tinnitus clinic. The questionnaire assessed the frequency with which sufferers reported using each of 40 coping strategies. The sufferers' responses to this questionnaire were factor analysed, revealing three tinnitus coping styles. These were labelled: ‘maladaptive coping’, ‘effective coping’ and ‘passive coping’. The relationship between these coping styles, tinnitus severity and adjustment was examined. Coping style was found to be strongly associated with both tinnitus severity and adjustment and some tentative clinical implications are drawn from these results.
An exploration of the psychological factors affecting remote e‐worker's job effectiveness, well‐being and work‐life balance

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of remote e-working on the key research areas of work-life balance, job effectiveness and well-being. The study provides a set of generalisable themes drawn from the key research areas, including building trust, management style and the quality of work and non-working life. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is an exploratory study into the psychological factors affecting remote e-workers using qualitative thematic analysis of eleven in-depth interviews with e-workers, across five organisations and three sectors. All participants worked remotely using technology independent of time and location for several years and considered themselves to be experts. Findings: The paper provides insights into the diverse factors affecting remote e-workers and produces ten emerging themes. Differentiating factors between e-workers included access to technology, ability to work flexibly and individual competencies. Adverse impacts were found on well-being, due to over-working and a lack of time for recuperation. Trust and management style were found to be key influences on e-worker effectiveness. Research limitations/implications: Because of the exploratory nature of the research and approach the research requires further testing for generalisability. The emerging themes could be used to develop a wide-scale survey of e-workers, whereby the themes would be further validated. Practical implications: Practical working examples are provided by the e-workers and those who also manage e-workers based on the ten emerging themes. Originality/value: This paper identifies a number of generalisable themes that can be used to inform the psychological factors affecting remote e-worker effectiveness.
Marine Mammal Behavioral Response Studies in Southern California: Advances in Technology and Experimental Methods

Abstract : Behavioral response studies (BRS) are increasingly being conducted to better understand basic behavioral patterns in marine animals and how underwater sounds, including from human sources, can affect them. These studies are being enabled and enhanced by advances in both acoustic sensing and transmission technologies. In the design of a 5-year project in southern California (SOCAL-BRS) the development of a compact, hand-deployable, ship-powered, 15-element vertical line array sound source enabled a fundamental change in overall project configuration from earlier efforts. The reduced size and power requirements of the sound source, which achieved relatively high output levels and directivity characteristics specified in the experimental design, enabled the use of substantially smaller research vessels. This size reduction favored a decentralization of field effort, with greater emphasis on mobile small boat operations capable of covering large areas to locate and tag marine mammals. These changes in configuration directly contributed to significant increases in tagging focal animals and conducting sound exposure experiments. During field experiments, received sound levels on tagged animals of several different species were within specified target ranges, demonstrating the efficacy of these new solutions to challenging field research problems.
Somatic transposition and meiotically driven elimination of an active helitron family in Pleurotus ostreatus

Abstract Helitrons constitute a superfamily of DNA transposons that were discovered in silico and are widespread in most eukaryotic genomes. They are postulated to mobilize through a “rolling-circle” mechanism, but the experimental evidence of their transposition has been described only recently. Here, we present the inheritance patterns of HELPO1 and HELPO2 helitron families in meiotically derived progeny of the basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus. We found distorted segregation patterns of HELPO2 helitrons that led to a strong under-representation of these elements in the progeny. Further investigation of HELPO2 flanking sites showed that gene conversion may contribute to the elimination of such repetitive elements in meiosis, favouring the presence of HELPO2 vacant loci. In addition, the analysis of HELPO2 content in a reconstructed pedigree of subclones maintained under different culture conditions revealed an event of helitron somatic transposition. Additional analyses of genome and transcriptome data indicated that P. ostreatus carries active RNAi machinery that could be involved in the control of transposable element proliferation. Our results provide the first evidence of helitron mobilization in the fungal kingdom and highlight the interaction between genome defence mechanisms and invasive DNA.
Between the real school and the ideal school: another step in building a teaching identity

During their teaching practicum future teachers become acquainted with the rights, duties and obligations of their profession in their trajectory of building a teaching identity. In this process, they go through a number of critical incidents, where we observe that student teachers struggle to integrate the meaning of these incidents with their ideas about the imagined teacher and their own perceived identity. The detailed analysis of discourse generated by two pre-service teachers, grounded in the theory of Communities of Practice and in the theory of meaning called Positioning Theory, allows us to understand how a crucial period in the building of a teaching identity evolves through the seeking of creative solutions to the dilemmas and conflicts they face in their daily interactions with students, teaching colleagues, and the practicum supervisor. In this article we argue that the imagined professional identity that the next generation of teachers forges, far from making them more vulnerable, can become a powerful impetus for innovation and educational change.
X-ray radiation and the risk of multiple sclerosis: Do the site and dose of exposure matter?

Background: The sporadic cases of radiation-activated multiple sclerosis (MS) has been previously described, with a few studies focused on the relationship between radiation and the risk of MS. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between history of X-ray radiation and MS. Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 150 individuals including 65 MS patients and 85 age- and sex-matched healthy controls enrolled using non-probability convenient sampling. Any history of previous Xray radiation consisted of job-related X-ray exposure, radiotherapy, radiographic evaluations including chest Xray, lumbosacral X-ray, skull X-ray, paranasal sinuses (PNS) X-ray, gastrointestinal (GI) series, foot X-ray and brain CT scanning were recorded and compared between two groups. Statistical analysis was performed using independent t test, Chi square and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve methods through SPSS software. Results: History of both diagnostic [OR=3.06 (95% CI: 1.32-7.06)] and therapeutic [OR=7.54 (95% CI: 1.5935.76) X-ray radiations were significantly higher among MS group. Mean number of skull X-rays [0.4 (SD=0.6) vs. 0.1 (SD=0.3), p=0.004] and brain CT scanning [0.9 (SD=0.8) vs. 0.5 (SD=0.7), p=0.005] was higher in MS group as well as mean of the cumulative X-ray radiation dosage [1.84 (SD=1.70) mSv vs. 1.11 (SD=1.54) mSv; p=0.008]. Conclusion: Our study was one of the first to show higher history of X-ray radiation in patients with MS compared to healthy controls. A possible association was also found between the dose and the site exposed to X-ray radiation and risk of developing MS
Visualization of Dewetting of Molecularly Thin Lubricant on Magnetic Disks by Ellipsometric Microscopy

The effect of the surface energy profile and roughness on dewetting of molecularly thin lubricant films on magnetic disks has been investigated by visualizing the dewetting process directly. The growth of the dewetting is determined not only by the well-known instability of films but also by the disjoining pressure and surface topography of a disk even if it has sub-nanometer roughness
Toward a scale-out data-management middleware for low-latency enterprise computing

Emerging transactional workloads from Internet and mobile commerce require low-latency, massive-scale, and integrated data analytics to enhance user experience and to improve up-selling opportunities. These analytics require new application platforms that must be able to absorb large volumes of data, provide low-latency access to the data, and cache data objects to improve access times in distributed environments. This paper reports on recent technologies built at IBM Research to address challenges in data access latency, data ingestion, and caching in the exemplary context of an online product recommendation application. We describe three technologies related to the issues and optimizations of key-value data object store and access. First, we describe the architecture of a global secondary index to greatly improve data access latency of Hadoop™ Database (HBase™), an open-source key-value distributed data store. Second, we present an in-memory write-ahead log feature on HBase that significantly improves write operations for high-volume data ingestion. Third, we detail an innovative distributed caching system that exploits low-latency interconnects to use hash maps of data keys on each server for local lookup, while data resides and are accessed across clustered systems. The distributed cache can achieve a 100-to 1,000-fold performance gain over many caching methods. These technologies together form some necessary building blocks for a next-generation data-centric middleware for integrated transaction and analytic workloads.
Unsharp masking-based approach for color image processing

In this paper, we present an unsharp masking-based approach for noise smoothing and edge enhancing. And apply it to color image processing. The proposed structure is similar to the conventional unsharp masking structure, however, a nonlinear function is added to control the behavior of the operator. The proposed scheme enhances the true details, limits the overshoot near sharp edges and attenuates the noise in flat areas. Moreover the use of the control function eliminates the need for the subjective coefficient λ used in the conventional unsharp masking technique. Simulations show that the processed image presents sharp edges which makes it more pleasant to the human eye. Moreover, the amount of noise in the image is clearly reduced.
Complete Genomic Sequence of the Lytic Bacteriophage φYeO3-12 of Yersinia enterocolitica Serotype O:3

ABSTRACT φYeO3-12 is a T3-related lytic bacteriophage of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:3. The nucleotide sequence of the 39,600-bp linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) genome was determined. The phage genome has direct terminal repeats of 232 bp, a GC content of 50.6%, and 54 putative genes, which are all transcribed from the same DNA strand. Functions were assigned to 30 genes based on the similarity of the predicted products to known proteins. A striking feature of the φYeO3-12 genome is its extensive similarity to the coliphage T3 and T7 genomes; most of the predicted φYeO3-12 gene products were >70% identical to those of T3, and the overall organizations of the genomes were similar. In addition to an identical promoter specificity, φYeO3-12 shares several common features with T3, nonsubjectibility to F exclusion and growth on Shigella sonneiD2371-48 (M. Pajunen, S. Kiljunen, and M. Skurnik, J. Bacteriol. 182:5114–5120, 2000). These findings indicate that φYeO3-12 is a T3-like phage that has adapted to Y. enterocolitica O:3 or vice versa. This is the first dsDNA yersiniophage genome sequence to be reported.