Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HCV and HIV Infection among Heroin Abusers in a Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program

Over the years, it was getting attention to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immu-nodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among injected drug users (IDUs) in Taiwan. This study investigated the frequency of risky behaviors for HCV carriers and IDUs who were HIV carriers in methadone maintenance treatment program. The subjects, intravenously injected heroin abusers, were collected from a special methadone maintenance treatment clinic. The survey included characteristics of participants, sexual activity and attitude towards condom usage. The total number of subjects was 151. Data were analyzed using the statistical package SPSS 15.0. The analytical methods included descriptive analysis, Fisher’s exact test, and the logistic regression model. The study showed that 82% of intravenously injected heroin abusers were hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive, and 44.4% were hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive; 89.5% of HIV-positive heroin abusers were type C hepatitis positive. Only 21.2% of these intra-venously injected heroin abusers always used a condom, and 39.7% never used a condom during sexual activity. Logistic regression analysis showed smoking, sharing syringes needles, HBV status and condom use status were four main risk factors on HIV infection. Sharing or using contaminated syringes needles was the main cause of HIV, HBV, and HCV infection in the drug addiction group. Since our government has the policy of providing a methadone maintenance treatment program, the spread of HIV is under control, but knowledge about HIV and safe sex education still needs improvement.
Work team trust and effectiveness

This article aims to explore the nature and functioning of trust in work teams. Trust is defined as a multi‐component variable with distinct but related dimensions. These include propensity to trust, perceived trustworthiness, co‐operative and lack of monitoring behaviours. A model was tested relating trust with perceived task performance, team satisfaction, and two dimensions of organisational commitment, i.e. attitudinal and continuance. Survey data from 112 teams(n=395) was collected in three social care institutions in The Netherlands. The results are supportive of a multi‐component structure for trust and of its importance to the functioning of teams and organisations. Work team trust appeared strongly related with team member's attitudes towards the organisation. Trust between team members was positively associated with attitudinal commitment and negatively with continuance commitment. Trust was also positively related with perceived task performance and with team satisfaction. In addition, perceived task performance appeared strongly related to team satisfaction.
Learning as a Function of Time

AbstractMeasures of instructional time are grouped into four ranges-years, days, hours, and minutes-and the strength of the association to outcomes is reviewed within each grouping. Time predicts learning outcomes at a modest level in most of the research, but with exceptions. The use of composite or precise indicators of time-on-task and the use of content-specific outcome measures seem to strengthen the correlational evidence. Complexities such as diminishing returns, the existence of optimum amounts of time, the proper unit of analysis, and the question of causality imply that true experimental designs would clarify the nature of the relationship. The need to include time as one factor in a theory of educational productivity is presented.
Predictors of word decoding and reading fluency across languages varying in orthographic consistency.

Very few studies have directly compared reading acquisition across different orthographies. The authors examined the concurrent and longitudinal predictors of word decoding and reading fluency in children learning to read in an orthographically inconsistent language (English) and in an orthographically consistent language (Greek). One hundred ten English-speaking children and 70 Greek-speaking children attending Grade 1 were examined in measures of phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid naming speed, orthographic processing, word decoding, and reading fluency. The same children were reassessed on word decoding and reading fluency measures when they were in Grade 2. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that both phonological and orthographic processing contributed uniquely to reading ability in Grades 1 and 2. However, the importance of these predictors was different in the two languages, particularly with respect to their effect on word decoding. The authors argue that the orthography that children are learning to read is an important factor that needs to be taken into account when models of reading development are being generalized across languages.
Intergenerational Transmission of Conduct Norms for Drugs, Sexual Exploitation and Violence: A Case Study

This paper examines growing up in severely-distressed households typical of many in inner-city New York where drug abuse, sexual exploitation, and violence are the norm. The continual assault on young girls often leads to mortification of self, characterized by acceptance of their situation and socialization to these behaviors in adulthood. A case study of four generations of women show that they often recapitulate the prevailing conduct norms and replicate them in the next generation. Programs are clearly needed to help ameliorate conditions in many such inner-city households, establish healthier behavioral norms, and help young girls grow into more constructive adult lifestyles.
Real-time motion planning for personal robots using primitive motions

Real-time motion planning is one of the most challenging problems for successful employment of personal robots. A motion planning strategy via human commands is proposed. The human commands produce primitive motions which can form complex trajectories in real-time. Proper modifications to the primitive motions can generate trajectories which avoid obstacles. An automatic modification mechanism also can assist the robot to reach a target point quickly. Experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Conversational Grounding in Younger and Older Adults: The Effect of Partner Visibility and Referent Abstractness in Task-Oriented Dialogue

Many communicative situations present interlocutors with the opportunity to use multiple modalities to establish shared perspectives on conversational referents, a process known as grounding. In the current study, we use a card-matching task to examine how conversational grounding in younger and older adults is influenced both by direct visual access to the conversation partner and by the relative abstractness of task referents. On the whole, mutual visibility failed to moderate more general age-related differences in task performance; overall, dialogues between older adults involved more talk and more explicit negotiation of perspectives. A detailed examination of gaze behavior revealed that use of the visual channel in both older and younger adults was greatly constrained by task-related demands, such as the need to attend to one's cards, particularly when they were more difficult to describe. Even so, individuals in both age groups gazed at their partners more frequently and displayed more mutual gaze during extended negotiations of referential identity. Finally, older adults' rates of partner-directed gaze were strongly correlated with their short-term memory span, suggesting that cognitive capacity may be an important factor in shaping older adults' multimodal interactions with others.
AFSC PROCESSED REPORT 2006-02 Disturbance of Harbor Seals by Cruise Ships in Disenchantment Bay , Alaska : An Investigation at Three Spatial and Temporal Scales

This report does not constitute a publication and is for information only. All data herein are to be considered provisional. 1) Behavioral response of seals to approaching vessels (fine scale); 2) Variation in local seal abundance and distribution in relation to environmental factors including vessel traffic (medium scale); and 3) Comparing variation in seal abundance between nearby bays with and without cruise ship traffic (large scale) The mention of trade names, commercial products, or vendors in this report does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the United States Government ii Executive Summary Cruise tourism in Alaska has been growing rapidly since the early 1970s. Over the last decade there has been increasing concern about possible impacts on sensitive coastal ecosystems. Attention has focused most recently on the possible effects of tour vessels, particularly cruise ships, on subsistence resources that have been critically important to Alaska Natives for many generations. Harbor seals that haul out year-round on floating ice near tidewater glaciers are one such resource of concern because their habitat is a popular destination for tourism. This study examined the potential effects of cruise ships on the behavior, abundance, and distribution of harbor seals in Disenchantment Bay, Alaska, from early May 2002, at the onset of seal pupping, to mid-August 2002, during the molting season. Analyses presented here of the behavioral observations – conducted from cruise ships – indicate that the likelihood of harbor seals vacating ice floes rose steeply when ships approached to less than 500 m; seals approached by a ship at 100 m were 25 times more likely to enter the water than seals approached at 500 m. Seals were also four times more prone to enter the water when ships approached them directly rather than passing abeam. The proportion of seals that entered the water when ships passed within 200 m was nearly 75% compared to less than 10% entering the water at distances where seals showed no apparent overt response to vessels (i.e., > 600 m). Analysis of aerial strip-transect sampling (by video playback) showed pronounced shifts in seal abundance, with a decline of 75% in mid-May during early pup-rearing. Abundance rebounded to peak levels in late June, as cruise ship traffic reached maximum levels. Sightings of mother-pup pairs also peaked in late June. Seal abundance then stabilized at near-peak levels from late June until the end of the study in early August. …
The Pulsation Properties of Procyon A

A grid of stellar evolution models for Procyon A has been calculated. These models include the best physics available to us (including the latest opacities and equation of state) and are based on the revised astrometric mass of Girard et al. Models were calculated with helium diffusion and with the combined effects of helium and heavy-element diffusion. Oscillation frequencies for l = 0, 1, 2, and 3 p-modes and the characteristic period spacing for the g-modes were calculated for these models. We find that g-modes are sensitive to model parameters that effect the structure of the core, such as convective core overshoot, the heavy-element abundance, and the evolutionary state (main sequence or shell hydrogen burning) of Procyon A. The p-modes are relatively insensitive to the details of the physics used to model Procyon A and only depend on the evolutionary state of Procyon A. Hence, observations of p-mode frequencies on Procyon A will serve as a robust test of stellar evolution models.
Evaluating the instructional behaviors of peers with mild disabilities who served as first-aid instructors for students with moderate disabilities

The instructional behaviors demonstrated by peers with mild disabilities who served as first-aid instructors for participants with moderate disabilities were evaluated. Participant data were reported in another investigation (Marchand-Martella, Martella, Agran et al., 1992). Two peer instructors received first-aid skill training-specifically, to treat abrasions, burns, and severe cuts. Following this training, the instructors were taught the following instructional behaviors: (a) modeling first-aid skills; (b) error correction (i.e., praise the attempt; model correct performance, tell participant what to do, or indicate what was done incorrectly; and tell the participant to try the step again); (c) praise techniques; and (d) data collection. Each peer was assigned to work with two grade-level participants. Data were collected on the instructors behaviors of the peer instructors. Results indicated that the instructors were able to teach the first-aid skills to their peers. Verification of the integrity of .
Acquisition of Relative Clauses in Relation to Language Universals

The articles in this special issue present very interesting data on the acquisition of relative clauses (RCs) in Japanese, Korean, and Cantonese. The errors and developmental patterns are partially different from those that have been observed in European languages, and they appear to go against predictions made by the Keenan and Comrie (1977) noun phrase accessibility hierarchy (NPAH).
Identification of complement C3f‐desArg and its derivative for acute leukemia diagnosis and minimal residual disease assessment

Therapeutic conditions for acute leukemia (AL) mainly rely on diagnosis and detection of minimal residual disease (MRD). However, no serum biomarker has been available for clinicians to make diagnosis of AL and assessment of MRD. In this study, we performed bead fractionation/MALDI‐TOF‐MS analysis on sera from patients with AL. Support vector machine algorithm was used to obtain diagnostic model that discriminated proteomic spectra of patients with AL from that of controls. Twenty‐six features with p<0.00001 had optimal discriminatory performance, with 97% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Statistical analysis revealed that two peptides with m/z 1778 and 1865 were gradually decreased in their relative intensities with increase of remission degree. Moreover, the peptide with m/z 1865 was also found to be correlated with AL types. With FT‐ICR‐MS detection, both the peptides were identified as fragments of complement C3f. Linear regression analysis showed that the combined use of them could discriminate PML/RARα positive M3 from molecular remission M3. Two fragments of complement C3f were significantly correlated with MRD levels and could be used for clinical practice in MRD assessment.
An online multi-robot SLAM system for 3D LiDARs

Using multiple cooperative robots is advantageous for time critical Search and Rescue (SaR) missions as they permit rapid exploration of the environment and provide higher redundancy than using a single robot. A considerable number of applications such as autonomous driving and disaster response could benefit from merging mapping data from several agents. Online multi-robot localization and mapping has mainly been addressed for robots equipped with cameras or 2D LiDARs. However, in unstructured and ill-lighted real-life scenarios, a mapping system can potentially benefit from a rich 3D geometric solution. In this work, we present an online localization and mapping system for multiple robots equipped with 3D LiDARs. This system is based on incremental sparse pose-graph optimization using sequential and place recognition constraints, the latter being identified using a 3D segment matching approach. The result is a unified representation of the world and relative robot trajectories. The complete system runs in real-time and is evaluated with two experiments in different environments: one urban and one disaster scenario. The system is available open source and easy-to-run demonstrations are publicly available.
Narratives of the double bind: Intersectionality in life stories of women of color in physics, astrophysics and astronomy

This paper presents themes on the life stories of women of color in physics, astrophysics and astronomy. Drawing from our NSF-sponsored project, Beyond the Double Bind: Women of Color in STEM, we share findings from 10 interviews and 41 extant texts (about 23 women in varied life stages). Employing intersectionality theory and narrative analysis, our study contributes a critical analysis of how the intersection of gender and race affects performance, identity, persistence and overall career and education experiences in the physical sciences. Our findings both support existing literature on women of color in STEM, as well as bring to light two major, emergent issues: the importance of activism, and school/work-life balance. This research will add to the knowledge base about strategies for retaining women of color—widely considered an untapped source of domestic talent that could fill the country’s scientific workforce needs.
Cerebral Glucose Metabolic Features of Parkinson Disease and Incident Dementia: Longitudinal Study

Longitudinal studies in nondemented Parkinson disease (PD) subjects offer an opportunity to study the earliest regional cerebral subcortical and cortical metabolic changes underlying incident dementia in this disorder. Methods: Twenty-three PD subjects without dementia (Hoehn and Yahr stages I–III; age, 61.8 ± 9.7 y; Mini-Mental State Examination, 28.0 ± 1.4) and 27 controls (age, 59.8 ± 11.5 y) underwent 18F-FDG PET at study entry. PD subjects underwent yearly clinical assessment to determine conversion to dementia. The mean duration of follow-up was 3.9 ± 1.2 y (range, 2.0–6.8 y). Follow-up 18F-FDG PET was available in a subset of subjects at 2 or more years. Both volume-of-interest and 3-dimensional stereotactic surface projection (3D-SSP) analyses were performed. Results: Six subjects became demented (PDD), with a mean time of 3.8 ± 1.7 y (range, 1.9–6.0 y) to development of dementia. Mean duration of disease before onset of dementia was 9.7 ± 4.2 y (range, 3.1–14 y). There were significant metabolic reductions in the occipital (−11.8% vs. controls, F(2,22) = 7.0, P = 0.002) and posterior cingulate (−12.1% vs. controls, F(2,22) = 5.2, P = 0.009) cortices in PDD subjects at baseline, before diagnosis of dementia, compared with controls. Metabolism was most diminished in the visual association cortex (Brodmann area [BA] 18; −20.0% vs. control, F(2,22) = 8.45, P = 0.0007) of PDD subjects. There was mild hypometabolism in the caudate nucleus (−8.4% vs. control, F(2,22) = 3.2, P < 0.05). There was no significant hypometabolism in the temporal or frontal lobes. PD subjects who did not become demented (non-PDD), compared with controls, had reduced cerebral metabolism in the primary occipital cortex (BA 17) that was revealed only by 3D-SSP analysis. Follow-up scans in 5 PDD subjects at 2 y after study entry demonstrated a significant interval within-subject change in the thalamus (−11.4%), posterior cingulate (−9%), occipital (−7%), parietal (−7%), and frontal cortices (−7%) and mild reductions in the temporal cortex (−5%) and hippocampus (−3%), compared with study entry scans. Conclusion: Incident dementia in idiopathic PD is heralded by decreased metabolism in the visual association (BA 18) and posterior cingulate cortices, with mild involvement also of the caudate nucleus. Two-year follow-up data from 5 PDD converters show that progression to dementia is associated with mixed subcortical and cortical changes that involve the mesiofrontal lobes also. These findings provide insights into early metabolic features of parkinsonian dementia.
Hypoglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes - More Common Than You Think

Background: Hypoglycemia is often the limiting factor for intensive glucose control in diabetes management, however its actual prevalence in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is not well documented. Methodology: A total of 108 patients with T2DM wore a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) for 5 days. Rates and patterns of hypoglycemia and glycemic variability (GV) were calculated. Patient and medication factors were correlated with rates, timing, and severity of hypoglycemia. Results: Of the patients, 49.1% had at least 1 hypoglycemic episode (mean 1.74 episodes/patient/ 5 days of CGMS) and 75% of those patients experienced at least 1 asymptomatic hypoglycemic episode. There was no significant difference in the frequency of daytime versus nocturnal hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia was more frequent in individuals on insulin (alone or in combination) (P = .02) and those on oral hypoglycemic agents (P < .001) compared to noninsulin secretagogues. CGMS analysis resulted in treatment modifications in 64% of the patients. T2DM patients on insulin exhibited higher glycemic variability (GV) scores (2.3 ± 0.6) as compared to those on oral medications (1.8 ± 0.7, P = .017). Conclusions: CGMS can provide rich data that show glucose excursions in diabetes patients throughout the day. Consequently, unwarranted onset of hypo- and hyperglycemic events can be detected, intervened, and prevented by using CGMS. Hypoglycemia was frequently unrecognized by the patients in this study (75%), which increases their potential risk of significant adverse events. Incorporation of CGMS into the routine management of T2DM would increase the detection and self-awareness of hypoglycemia resulting in safer and potentially better overall control.
Novelty, familiarity, and infant reasoning

Where stimuli are possibly discriminable but do not elicit spontaneous differential looking it is customary to use one or other variation of the habituation–dishabituation method in order to investigate their discriminability, and the literature abounds with such studies. However, there are many variations on habituation–dishabituation procedures, varying both within and between the sensory modalities investigated. Additionally, infant attention is a dynamic process which is likely to change over time, and given the great variations in procedures it can often be difficult to know whether infants are giving a familiarity or a novelty preference at test, which can make interpretation of results a difficult, and often controversial problem. Houston-Price and Nakai give some clear examples of the changing nature of infant preferences, and relate them particularly to the amount of familiarisation prior to testing. The model they favour (and which receives a good deal of support) is that put forward by (among others) Hunter and Ames (1988) in which preferences change over the course of familiarisation time, from preference for neither familiarity or novelty, to familiarity, to no preference, to a novelty preference. They suggest that ‘If an attentional shift from what is familiar to what is novel is always found as the encoding of a familiar stimulus… is completed… then the pattern of change in preference over time should provide crucial information regarding the identity of the obtained effect’. I will argue that this attentional shift is not always found, and that in many instances we need converging evidence in order to clarify experimental findings. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Error estimates for the approximation of a class of variational inequalities

In this paper, we prove a general approximation theorem useful in obtaining order of convergence estimates for the approximation of the solutions of a class of variational inequalities. The theorem is then applied to obtain an "optimal" rate of convergence for the approximation of a second-order elliptic problem with convex set K = {v E Ho(): v > X a.e. in n}.