Adult Romantic Attachment Style, Global Self-Esteem, and Specific Self-Views as Predictors of Feedback Preference in Potential Romantic Relationships

This study examined how adult romantic attachment (anxiety and avoidance dimensions), global self-esteem, and social and academic self-views relate to one another and how well they predict preference for a specific feedback type (enhancing, verifying, or no feedback) from a potential romantic partner in times of distress. It also investigated the relation between the type of feedback one receives and attraction to the partner who gives that type of feedback. Multiple regression analyses supported some predicted relations between romantic attachment and feedback preference. Neither global self-esteem nor social and academic self-views predicted preference for a particular feedback type, nor did social self-views moderate the relation between attachment and feedback preference. Although global self-esteem was found to moderate the relation between attachment style and feedback preference, the moderation effects were not in the predicted directions. However, academic self-views were found to moderate the relation between attachment and feedback preference. In addition, anxious and avoidant attachment related negatively to global self-esteem, social self-views, and academic self-view. Global self-esteem related positively to both social and academic self-views. Receiving one\u27s preferred feedback predicted attraction to the potential romantic partner who gave that type of feedback. Limitations of the study and direction for future research are discussed

miRExpress: Analyzing high-throughput sequencing data for profiling microRNA expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs of 19 to 25 nt, play important roles in gene regulation in both animals and plants. In the last few years, the oligonucleotide microarray is one high-throughput and robust method for detecting miRNA expression. However, the approach is restricted to detecting the expression of known miRNAs. Second-generation sequencing is an inexpensive and high-throughput sequencing method. This new method is a promising tool with high sensitivity and specificity and can be used to measure the abundance of small-RNA sequences in a sample. Hence, the expression profiling of miRNAs can involve use of sequencing rather than an oligonucleotide array. Additionally, this method can be adopted to discover novel miRNAs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This work presents a systematic approach, miRExpress, for extracting miRNA expression profiles from sequencing reads obtained by second-generation sequencing technology. A stand-alone software package is implemented for generating miRNA expression profiles from high-throughput sequencing of RNA without the need for sequenced genomes. The software is also a database-supported, efficient and flexible tool for investigating miRNA regulation. Moreover, we demonstrate the utility of miRExpress in extracting miRNA expression profiles from two Illumina data sets constructed for the human and a plant species.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We develop miRExpress, which is a database-supported, efficient and flexible tool for detecting miRNA expression profile. The analysis of two Illumina data sets constructed from human and plant demonstrate the effectiveness of miRExpress to obtain miRNA expression profiles and show the usability in finding novel miRNAs.</p

VI-Band Follow-Up Observations of Ultra-Long-Period Cepheid Candidates in M31

The ultra-long period Cepheids (ULPCs) are classical Cepheids with pulsation periods exceeding $\approx 80$ days. The intrinsic brightness of ULPCs are ~1 to ~3 mag brighter than their shorter period counterparts. This makes them attractive in future distance scale work to derive distances beyond the limit set by the shorter period Cepheids. We have initiated a program to search for ULPCs in M31, using the single-band data taken from the Palomar Transient Factory, and identified eight possible candidates. In this work, we presented the VI-band follow-up observations of these eight candidates. Based on our VI-band light curves of these candidates and their locations in the color-magnitude diagram and the Period-Wesenheit diagram, we verify two candidates as being truly ULPCs. The six other candidates are most likely other kinds of long-period variables. With the two confirmed M31 ULPCs, we tested the applicability of ULPCs in distance scale work by deriving the distance modulus of M31. It was found to be $\mu_{M31,ULPC}=24.30\pm0.76$ mag. The large error in the derived distance modulus, together with the large intrinsic dispersion of the Period-Wesenheit (PW) relation and the small number of ULPCs in a given host galaxy, means that the question of the suitability of ULPCs as standard candles is still open. Further work is needed to enlarge the sample of calibrating ULPCs and reduce the intrinsic dispersion of the PW relation before re-considering ULPCs as suitable distance indicators.Comment: 13 pages, with 14 Figures and 4 Tables (one online table). AJ accepte

Conceptualizing socioscientific decision making from a review of research in science education

Abstract: This article proposes a theoretical framework for conceptualizing socioscientific decision making, reviews current research in this area, and intends to shed some light on the instructional design for the classroom implementation of socioscientific decision making. The framework involves 3 phases: formulate the decision-making space, posit a decision-making strategy, and reflect on the decision-making process. A total of 24 articles that specifically focused on socioscientific decision making were included. They were classified into 2 groups. The first group explored students’ socioscientific decision-making behavior and its relationships with their cognitive conditions. The second examined the effectiveness of the interventions, that is, task conditions. The analysis showed that most of the studies in both groups focused on phase 1 and studied 3 research themes: informal reasoning, evidence-based reasoning, and social interactions. The findings indicated the challenges phases 1 and 2 posed to students, such as prioritizing criteria and employing a suitable decision-making strategy. Two cognitive conditions, scientific knowledge and scientific epistemological beliefs, appeared to have a more direct impact on evidence-based reasoning rather than on informal reasoning. Group 2 studies designed various interventions and looked into divergent socioscientific decision-making performances across 3 phases. The framework helps conceptualize socioscientific decision making in a more structural and holistic way. The content review provides instructional insights for the socioscientific decision-making process and suggests several future research directions

A Follow-up Study of Neonatal Interatrial Shunt with Echocardiography until Twelve to Fifteen Months of Age

ObjectiveTo assess the incidence and natural history of full-term neonates with interatrial shunt (IAS).MethodsA follow-up study of 1389 neonates who received screening echocardiography between 2003 and 2006. Babies with IAS at 2 to 4 days of life underwent follow-up echocardiography at 2 to 4 months, 6 to 9 months and 12 to 15 months of age until closure of IAS.ResultsThe ratio of IAS was 68.3% initially. No significant demographic differences were identified between infants with and without initial IAS. Among 949 neonates with initial IAS, 84.5% infants had a left-to-right interatrial shunt, 13.5% had bidirectional shunt and 2% had predominantly right-to-left shunt. The persistence rate of IAS at 12 to 15 months of age was 3.8% (44/1166). The initial size of IAS ranged from 1.2 to 7.7 mm (4.3 ± 1.1 mm) detected by color Doppler flow mapping and cases were divided into three groups: small (≦5 mm), medium (5 to 8 mm) and large group (≧8 mm). There were 74.6% infants in the small group and 25.4% in the medium group initially. The neonates in the initial small group would always see their IAS close or else they would remain in the small group. Those in the final medium and large size groups always came from the initial medium group. The late closure rate of IAS was 93.9% of infants with initial IAS. The closure curves of initial small and medium sized groups were significantly different, and their late closure rates were 95.1% and 90.4%, respectively.ConclusionsIAS was very common during early neonatal stage, but most cases would close after 1 year. The late closure rate of initial IAS was different if using a cutpoint of 5 mm

Sliding and pressure evaluation on conventional and V-shaped seats of reclining wheelchairs for stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia: a crossover trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Reclining wheelchairs are commonly used to transport elderly stroke patients in Taiwan. However, there is concern that the patient's body in the wheelchair often slides forward when they return to a seated position, increasing the sitting pressure. Therefore, a novel reclining wheelchair with an ergonomic "V-Seat" was designed to prevent forward sliding and pressure sores. The use of these reclining chairs by stroke patients has not yet been studied. Thus, we investigated the effects of V-shaped and conventional seats in reclining wheelchairs on the extent of forward sliding and on the sitting pressure of stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia and of able-bodied elders.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We recruited 13 able-bodied elders and 11 stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia and performed 5 reclining cycles in both types of wheelchair. The amount of sliding along the backrest (BS) plane and the seat (SS) plane, the mean sitting pressure (MP), and the sacral peak pressure (SPP) of the subjects were recorded. We used the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to compare the BS, SS, MP, and SPP in wheelchairs with conventional and V-shaped seats, and we used the Wilcoxon rank sum test to compare the differences in BS and SS between stroke patients and able-bodied elders in both types of reclining wheelchair.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The BS, SS, and SPP of stroke patients were significantly lower in the wheelchairs with V-shaped seats than in conventional wheelchairs in most comparisons; however, the BS of able-bodied elders was higher in V-shaped seats than in conventional seats. The SS and SPP of stroke patients were significantly higher than those of able-bodied elders in both types of reclining wheelchair, and the BS of stroke patients was significantly higher than that of able-bodied elders only in conventional reclining wheelchairs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The use of V-shaped seats in reclining wheelchairs can help reduce the forward sliding and sacral peak pressure of stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia. The back displacement of able-bodied subjects when using both conventional and V-shape seats in reclining positions differs from the back displacement of stroke patients with flaccid hemiplegia when using such seats. These results are of paramount value and should be considered when prescribing the use of reclining wheelchairs to subjects with flaccid hemiplegia.</p

What influences geography teachers' usage of geographic information systems? A structural equation analysis

Understanding the usage of the geographic information system (GIS) among geography teachers is a crucial step in evaluating the current dissemination of GIS knowledge and skills in Taiwan's educational system. The primary contribution of this research is to further our understanding of the factors that affect teachers' GIS usage. The structural equation model was employed to analyze the data collected from 725 senior high school geography teachers. This was done using a survey questionnaire inspired by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which postulates the importance of how teachers perceived the usefulness and ease of use of GIS. Further, this study investigates the direct effect of GIS workshop attendance on actual GIS usage and assesses whether GIS workshop attendance mediates the relationship between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and actual usage. Structural equation modeling results suggest that the perceived usefulness of adopting GIS is vital as it directly affects teachers' attendance at GIS training, and can further prompt their application of GIS in lectures. The perceived ease of GIS use does not influence actual usage directly, but does affect teachers' GIS usage in teaching through perceived usefulness and workshop attendance. Finally, workshop attendance can increase teachers' usage of GIS and mediate the association between perceived usefulness and actual usage