Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Intention to Save Water: Theory of Planned Behavior, Response Efficacy, Vulnerability, and Perceived Efficiency of Alternative Solutions

These 2 studies attempted to predict people's intention to save water. Study 1 used a model based on Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) and other variables: vulnerability, 2 collective efficacy variables, and subjective effectiveness of alternative solutions (SEAS) to ease drought impact. Study 2 tested a model similar to that of Study 1, but with 2 personal efficacy variables added. Respondents in both studies were residents of Taiwan (Ns= 166 and 210). Analysis indicated that the modified models (R2>.32) were better than the TPB model (R2<.19), and SEAS and response efficacy had crucial effects on people's intentions to retrofit. The studies also found some significant but inconsistent effects of income, dwelling, and education.
Attitudes and behaviors toward lesbian and gay persons: Critical correlates and mediated relations.

With data from 255 college women and men, this study examined the relative strength of relations of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and traditional gender role attitudes (TGRA) with anti-lesbian and gay (LG) attitudes. This study also tested the mediating role of anti-LG attitudes in the relations of RWA, SDO, and TGRA with LG-rejecting and -affirming behaviors. Results pointed to the importance of the relations of TGRA and RWA, but not SDO, with anti-LG attitudes and LG-rejecting behaviors. Furthermore, anti-LG attitudes mediated the links of RWA and TGRA with LG-rejecting behaviors. With regard to LG-affirming behaviors, TGRA was the only unique correlate, and anti-LG attitudes did not serve as a mediator. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Teachers’ perceptions of the concomitance of emotional behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities in children referred for learning disabilities in Oman

Research has documented overlapping and coexisting characteristics of learning disabilities (LD) and emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). Such concomitance may impact teacher referrals of children at risk for LD which in turn may influence service delivery. Using the Learning Disabilities Diagnostic Inventory (LDDI) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), we examined teachers’ ratings of EBD and LD symptoms in 439 students referred for LD in elementary schools in Oman. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that there were no gender differences in LD symptoms, whereas there were significant gender differences in teachers’ ratings of hyperactivity and conduct problems in referred children. There was an association between teachers’ ratings on the LDDI and SDQ dimensions, reflecting children’s concurrent display of LD and EBD symptoms. Implications are discussed within an Omani context in which there is a need to increase teachers’ awareness of the behavioural and emotional profile of children at risk for LD.
The nphp-2 and arl-13 Genetic Modules Interact to Regulate Ciliogenesis and Ciliary Microtubule Patterning in C. elegans

Cilia are microtubule-based cellular organelles that mediate signal transduction. Cilia are organized into several structurally and functionally distinct compartments: the basal body, the transition zone (TZ), and the cilia shaft. In vertebrates, the cystoprotein Inversin localizes to a portion of the cilia shaft adjacent to the TZ, a region termed the “Inversin compartment” (InvC). The mechanisms that establish and maintain the InvC are unknown. In the roundworm C. elegans, the cilia shafts of amphid channel and phasmid sensory cilia are subdivided into two regions defined by different microtubule ultrastructure: a proximal doublet-based region adjacent to the TZ, and a distal singlet-based region. It has been suggested that C. elegans cilia also possess an InvC, similarly to mammalian primary cilia. Here we explored the biogenesis, structure, and composition of the C. elegans ciliary doublet region and InvC. We show that the InvC is conserved and distinct from the doublet region. nphp-2 (the C. elegans Inversin homolog) and the doublet region genes arl-13, klp-11, and unc-119 are redundantly required for ciliogenesis. InvC and doublet region genes can be sorted into two modules—nphp-2+klp-11 and arl-13+unc-119—which are both antagonized by the hdac-6 deacetylase. The genes of this network modulate the sizes of the NPHP-2 InvC and ARL-13 doublet region. Glutamylation, a tubulin post-translational modification, is not required for ciliary targeting of InvC and doublet region components; rather, glutamylation is modulated by nphp-2, arl-13, and unc-119. The ciliary targeting and restricted localization of NPHP-2, ARL-13, and UNC-119 does not require TZ-, doublet region, and InvC-associated genes. NPHP-2 does require its calcium binding EF hand domain for targeting to the InvC. We conclude that the C. elegans InvC is distinct from the doublet region, and that components in these two regions interact to regulate ciliogenesis via cilia placement, ciliary microtubule ultrastructure, and protein localization.
Statistical lessons learned for designing cluster randomized pragmatic clinical trials from the NIH Health Care Systems Collaboratory Biostatistics and Design Core

Background/aims: Pragmatic clinical trials embedded within health care systems provide an important opportunity to evaluate new interventions and treatments. Networks have recently been developed to support practical and efficient studies. Pragmatic trials will lead to improvements in how we deliver health care and promise to more rapidly translate research findings into practice. Methods: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Health Care Systems Collaboratory was formed to conduct pragmatic clinical trials and to cultivate collaboration across research areas and disciplines to develop best practices for future studies. Through a two-stage grant process including a pilot phase (UH2) and a main trial phase (UH3), investigators across the Collaboratory had the opportunity to work together to improve all aspects of these trials before they were launched and to address new issues that arose during implementation. Seven Cores were created to address the various considerations, including Electronic Health Records; Phenotypes, Data Standards, and Data Quality; Biostatistics and Design Core; Patient-Reported Outcomes; Health Care Systems Interactions; Regulatory/Ethics; and Stakeholder Engagement. The goal of this article is to summarize the Biostatistics and Design Core’s lessons learned during the initial pilot phase with seven pragmatic clinical trials conducted between 2012 and 2014. Results: Methodological issues arose from the five cluster-randomized trials, also called group-randomized trials, including consideration of crossover and stepped wedge designs. We outlined general themes and challenges and proposed solutions from the pilot phase including topics such as study design, unit of randomization, sample size, and statistical analysis. Our findings are applicable to other pragmatic clinical trials conducted within health care systems. Conclusion: Pragmatic clinical trials using the UH2/UH3 funding mechanism provide an opportunity to ensure that all relevant design issues have been fully considered in order to reliably and efficiently evaluate new interventions and treatments. The integrity and generalizability of trial results can only be ensured if rigorous designs and appropriate analysis choices are an essential part of their research protocols.
Comparing Quality of Public Primary Care between Hong Kong and Shanghai Using Validated Patient Assessment Tools

Objectives Primary care is the key element of health reform in China. The objective of this study was to compare patient assessed quality of public primary care between Hong Kong, a city with established primary care environment influenced by its colonial history, and Shanghai, a city leading primary care reform in Mainland China; and to measure the equity of care in the two cities. Methods Cross sectional stratified random sampling surveys were conducted in 2011. Data were collected from 1,994 respondents in Hong Kong and 811 respondents in Shanghai. A validated Chinese version of the primary care assessment tool was employed to assess perceived quality of primary care with respect to socioeconomic characteristics and health status. Results We analyzed 391 and 725 respondents in Hong Kong and Shanghai, respectively, who were regular public primary care users. Respondents in Hong Kong reported significant lower scores in first contact accessibility (1.59 vs. 2.15), continuity of care (2.33 vs. 3.10), coordination of information (2.84 vs. 3.64), comprehensiveness service availability (2.43 vs. 3.31), comprehensiveness service provided (2.11 vs. 2.40), and the total score (23.40 vs. 27.40), but higher scores in first contact utilization (3.15 vs. 2.54) and coordination of services (2.67 vs. 2.40) when compared with those in Shanghai. Respondents with higher income reported a significantly higher total primary care score in Hong Kong, but not in Shanghai. Conclusions Respondents in Shanghai reported better quality of public primary care than those in Hong Kong, while quality of public primary care tended to be more equitable in Shanghai.
Dominant Effects of CCR2-CCR5 Haplotypes in HIV-1 Disease Progression

Three haplotypes for the CCR2-CCR5 region previously have been shown to affect AIDS progression; however, it is not known if the protective and accelerating effects of the haplotypes are relatively constant throughout infection or exert their effects early or late in HIV type 1 infection. The authors report the relative contributions to AIDS progression of CCR2 64I, CCR5 Δ32, and the CCR5 promoter haplotype +. P1. + in the GRIV cohort, which included patients representing the extremes of the distribution for AIDS progression: rapid progressors (RP) who developed CD4+ T-cell counts of <300/ mm3 within 3 years after the last HIV-1-seronegative test and slow progressors (SP) who were HIV-1 infected for ≥8 years with CD4+ T-cell counts of >500/mm3. Comparing the RP with a seroconverter control group including intermediate progressors to AIDS, we observed the early protective effect of CCR5 Δ32 (odds ratio = 0.25; P = 0.007) was similar in strength to the early susceptible effect of CCR5 +. P1. + (odds ratio = 2.1, P = 0.01). Comparison of the intermediate control group to the SP showed weaker and less significant odd ratios, suggesting that the effect of these factors tended to be stronger on early progession; the tendency towards a disproportionately early effect was significant for CCR5 Δ32 (P = 0.04) but not for CCR5 +. P1. + (P = 0.12). Follow-up of SP demonstrated that these polymorphisms have little effect after 8 years, because the subset of SP who had progression after study entry had the same genotype distribution as the global population of SP, suggesting that factors other than CCR5 or CCR2 genetic variants must be responsible for the long-term maintenance of nonprogression.
Oral Carbohydrate Rinse: Placebo or Beneficial?

Carbohydrates during exercise can improve exercise performance even when the exercise intensity is high (>75% V˙O2max) and the duration relatively short (approximately 1 h), but the underlying mechanisms for the ergogenic effects are different from those during more prolonged exercise. Studies have even shown effects of oral carbohydrate mouth rinses compared to placebo with improvements typically between 2% and 3% during exercise lasting approximately 1 h. The effects appear more profound after an overnight fast, but effects are still present even after ingestion of a meal. Brain imaging studies have identified brain areas involved, and it is likely that the oral carbohydrate mouth rinse results in afferent signals capable of modifying motor output. These effects appear to be specific to carbohydrate and are independent of taste. Further research is warranted to fully understand the separate taste transduction pathways for various carbohydrates as well as the practical implications.
Counseling Students' Interest in Gerocounseling: A Survey Study

Recent trends in counselor education are moving away from a standardized academic track in gerocounseling. In response to this, we surveyed 385 counseling students regarding issues related to gerocounseling, such as their interest in gerocounseling topics, willingness to participate in gerocounseling training, how prepared they feel to work with older adults, and if they would engage in specialized training. Results showed counseling students have a substantial interest in gerocounseling, and many are willing to seek specialized training. Strategies are provided for counselor education faculty who wish to develop a gerocounseling specialization within their program.
Managing Cancer Pain With Nonpharmacologic and Complementary Therapies

Abstract Nonpharmacologic interventions are important adjuncts to treatment modalities for patients with cancer pain. A variety can be used to reduce pain and concomitant mood disturbance and increase quality of life. Physicians may feel relatively uninformed about which modalities have been used for patients with cancer and have scientific support. This article reviews several nonpharmacologic and complementary and alternative modalities commonly used by patients with cancer pain. It focuses on those having empirical support or promising preliminary evidence, with the goal of familiarizing physicians with therapies that may complement regular oncologic care. This review updates an article published in November 2005. An anecdotal case study has been added to illustrate incorporation of nonpharmacologic and complementary therapies in the treatment of a patient with cancer-related pain.
Best Practice Recommendations for Designing and Implementing Experimental Vignette Methodology Studies

We describe experimental vignette methodology (EVM) as a way to address the dilemma of conducting experimental research that results in high levels of confidence regarding internal validity but is challenged by threats to external validity versus conducting nonexperimental research that usually maximizes external validity but whose conclusions are ambiguous regarding causal relationships. EVM studies consist of presenting participants with carefully constructed and realistic scenarios to assess dependent variables including intentions, attitudes, and behaviors, thereby enhancing experimental realism and also allowing researchers to manipulate and control independent variables. We describe two major types of EVM aimed at assessing explicit (i.e., paper people studies) and implicit (i.e., policy capturing and conjoint analysis) processes and outcomes. We offer best practice recommendations regarding the design and implementation of EVM studies based on a multidisciplinary literature review, discuss substantive domains and topics that can benefit from implementing EVM, address knowledge gaps regarding EVM such as the need to increase realism and the number and diversity of participants, and address ways to overcome some of the negative perceptions about EVM by pointing to exemplary articles that have used EVM successfully.
Validity Studies Psychometric Properties of Scores on the French and Korean Versions of the Hexaco Personality Inventory

Recent lexical studies of personality structure suggest that there are six independent major dimensions of personality. TheHEXACOPersonality Inventory (HEXACO-PI), a new questionnaire that measures these six lexically derived personality constructs, was examined in two different cultural contexts using samples of 149 Francophone and 211 Korean respondents. Scores on the scales of the French and Korean versions of the HEXACO-PI were shown to have acceptable psychometric properties, including appropriate score distributions, high internal-consistency reliabilities, and low scale intercorrelations. In addition, the HEXACO-PI variables showed the expected pattern of correlations with markers of the Big Five and of lexical Honesty-Humility.
A test of competing models of the influence of social support on school engagement in the presence of neighborhood danger

This study tested competing models of the relationship of social support to school engagement in the presence of neighborhood danger and personal danger: the direct effects model (i.e., social support directly influences school engagement); the indirect effects model (i.e., social support influences school engagement by moderating the effects of neighborhood and personal danger); and the full model which holds that social support has both direct and indirect effects. The three models were tested using both nested path analysis and structural equation modeling. The model with the best fit for the data indicated that social support has both indirect and direct effects, with the indirect effect traveling down a path from personal danger to perceived neighborhood danger to school engagement. Implications for enhancing school engagement are discussed.
Enhancement of AWiFS Spatial Resolution with SVM Learning

The ability of space borne sensors is limited to acquire images having wide swath with high temporal resolution and high spatial resolutions simultaneously. Fine details of the earth's surface features can be captured using high resolution (HR) remote sensors in remote sensing (RS) data collection. Data fusion from two or more sensors can be used to derive enough information to satisfy observation needs for a specified application. This work aims to predict a HR image for the corresponding low resolution (LR) image using a LR-HR image pair. Quality Assessment is performed for original HR and predicted HR images. Simulation results proved the strength of the proposed method of HR image prediction.
An instructional practice based on handwritten answer sheets with a course management system

Since the start of the 21st century, information technology (IT) was introduced in many universities to support effective instruction. One solution intended to support STEM classes took the form of a classroom management system, such as DyKnow Vision™, which was different from a course management system (CMS), such as Moodle™. This may be because HTML editors on web-based CMSs do not easily allow both instructors and students to produce freehand scientific information such as equations, charts, and illustrations. However, classroom management systems require special devices such as Tablet PCs and force instructors to perform complex system operations. Moreover, in some cases these systems are not necessarily designed to accumulate learning activities for ABET or e-Portfolio. To support both writing by hand and the accumulation of learning activities in a class, the system proposed here, developed on the basis of the key concept of “No special devices in a class,” makes use of sheets of paper and digitizes the papers after the class so that they can be stored in a CMS. A multifunctional peripheral with a digital watermark enables this educational setting. Our demonstration experiment for three classes functioned well. This paper presents a system overview and the preliminary results.
The hDcp2 protein is a mammalian mRNA decapping enzyme

Decapping of mRNA is a critical step in eukaryotic mRNA turnover, yet the proteins involved in this activity remain elusive in mammals. We identified the human Dcp2 protein (hDcp2) as an enzyme containing intrinsic decapping activity. hDcp2 specifically hydrolyzed methylated capped RNA to release m7GDP; however, it did not function on the cap structure alone. hDcp2 is therefore functionally distinct from the recently identified mammalian scavenger decapping enzyme, DcpS. hDcp2-mediated decapping required a functional Nudix (nucleotide diphosphate linked to an X moiety) pyrophosphatase motif as mutations in conserved amino acids within this motif disrupted the decapping activity. hDcp2 is detected exclusively in the cytoplasm and predominantly cosediments with polysomes. Consistent with the localization of hDcp2, endogenous Dcp2-like decapping activity was detected in polysomal fractions prepared from mammalian cells. Similar to decapping in yeast, the presence of the poly(A) tail was inhibitory to the endogenous decapping activity, yet unlike yeast, competition of cap-binding proteins by cap analog did not influence the efficiency of decapping. Therefore the mammalian homologue of the yeast Dcp2 protein is an mRNA decapping enzyme demonstrated to contain intrinsic decapping activity.
New load-based resource allocation algorithms for packet scheduling in CDMA uplink

Packet scheduling plays a key role in radio resource management of a wireless access network to best utilize the available radio resource. A radio-link packet scheduling consists of two steps: prioritization and resource allocation. Prioritization is a procedure that prioritizes users' order of service so as to guarantee QoS (quality of services), user's fairness and achieve as high as possible system throughput. Resource allocation, on the other hand, executes the "real" resource allocation under the constraints of physical limitations imposed by the radio segment of the access system. This paper proposes two new load-based resource allocation methods for packet scheduling in CDMA (code division multiple access) uplink with multiple services. One is called maximum-load based power allocation (MLBPA), and the other real-load based power allocation (RLBPA). MLBPA is easier to implement, but RLBPA has the better performance. By taking into consideration of the realistic channel conditions such as imperfect power control and transmit power variation, both of our methods outperform the current methods in terms of system throughput, frame loss rate and transmission delay. In addition, by monitoring the system load at all times, the planned coverage of the system can always be guaranteed.
FAnToM - Lessons Learned from Design, Implementation, Administration, and Use of a Visualization System for Over 10 Years

Scientific visualization has become a central tool in many research areas since it has been established as a research discipline in 1987 [2]. Naturally, this development resulted in software tools specifically tailored for the visualization task at hand. While many such tools exist, the design choices underlying them vary greatly. This abstract describes some aspects of the FAnToM visualization system that is being developed since 1999. Initially created to support research in topological methods for vector and tensor fields, the system quickly grew into a visualization platform for general flow visualization specialized to data represented on unstructured grids. From this origin, FAnToM derives advanced data structures for point location and interpolation over unstructured meshes, as well as fast integral curve capabilities. More recently, FAnToM has gradually been extended to serve a wider area of visualization applications, including medical and graph visualization. Throughout the development of FAnToM, close collaboration with application domain scientists has been a strong priority to facilitate the system’s usefulness on state-of-the-art problems. The continuous development of this system over a period of ten years revealed a number of important aspects that are crucial for the usefulness of a visualization system. Furthermore, some design choices underlying FAnToM are uncommon among visualization systems in general. Here, it is our aim to discuss some aspects and design choices underlying the FAnToM system to illustrate some of its properties and differences from other visualization systems. During the discussion, we will point out some experiences and lessons learned in working with the system on modern visualization applications.