Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multisource ascertainment of Huntington disease in Canada: Prevalence and population at risk

There is uncertainty surrounding the accuracy of prevalence estimates for Huntington's disease (HD). The aims of this study were to provide a best estimate of the prevalence and population at risk for HD in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, in 2012. HD patients with a clinical and/or genetic diagnosis of HD and individuals at risk for HD were ascertained from multiple sources. Clinical and genetic data were obtained from all available medical, social service, and genetic testing records. Six hundred and thirty‐one HD patients and 3,763 individuals at 25% or 50% risk for HD were identified. Prevalence of HD was estimated at 13.7 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.6–14.8 per 100,000) in the general population, and 17.2 per 100,000 (95% CI: 15.8–18.6 per 100,000) in the Caucasian population. The population at 25% to 50% risk was estimated at 81.6 per 100,000 (95% CI: 79.0–84.2 per 100,000) individuals. These figures suggest there may be up to 4,700 individuals affected with HD and 14,000 at 50% risk for HD in Canada as well as up to 43,000 individuals affected with HD and 123,000 at 50% risk for HD in the United States. This is the first direct assessment of HD epidemiology in Canada in over three decades. These findings suggest that underascertainment may have led to previous underestimates of prevalence, namely, in Caucasian populations, and will aid in the planning of appropriate resource allocation and service delivery for the HD community. © 2013 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Washback, impact and validity: ethical concerns

For many years it was asserted that language tests had a negative impact on teach ing and thereby on learning/learners. This impact has become widely known in language testing as 'washback' ('backwash'). A theory of washback is emerging and its domain being delineated; in this article the theory of washback is linked with the broader concept of 'impact' in educational measurement, and thence to the recent debate on construct validity associated with Messick.
East African Pastoralism in Transition: Maasai, Boran, and Rendille Cases

Abstract Pastoralist societies in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) face more demands on their way of life than at any previous time. Population growth, loss of herding lands to farmers, ranchers, game parks, and urban growth, increased commoditization of the livestock economy, out-migration by poor pastoralists, and dislocations brought about by drought, famine, and civil war are increasing throughout the region. These problems are intensified as international development programs encourage privatization and individuation of formerly communally held resources. The examples of the Maasai, Boran, and Rendille of Kenya demonstrate that East African pastoralists are responding to the social, political, and economic challenges with increased economic diversification including agro-pastoralism, wage labor, and increased market integration. These changes result in increased social and economic stratification, urban migration, and diminished nutrition for women and children.
Solution Combustion Synthesis: Low‐Temperature Processing for p‐Type Cu:NiO Thin Films for Transparent Electronics

Low‐temperature solution processing opens a new window for the fabrication of oxide semiconductors due to its simple, low cost, and large‐area uniformity. Herein, by using solution combustion synthesis (SCS), p‐type Cu‐doped NiO (Cu:NiO) thin films are fabricated at a temperature lower than 150 °C. The light doping of Cu substitutes the Ni site and disperses the valence band of the NiO matrix, leading to an enhanced p‐type conductivity. Their integration into thin‐film transistors (TFTs) demonstrates typical p‐type semiconducting behavior. The optimized Cu5%NiO TFT exhibits outstanding electrical performance with a hole mobility of 1.5 cm2 V−1 s−1, a large on/off current ratio of ≈104, and clear switching characteristics under dynamic measurements. The employment of a high‐k ZrO2 gate dielectric enables a low operating voltage (≤2 V) of the TFTs, which is critical for portable and battery‐driven devices. The construction of a light‐emitting‐diode driving circuit demonstrates the high current control capability of the resultant TFTs. The achievement of the low‐temperature‐processed Cu:NiO thin films via SCS not only provides a feasible approach for low‐cost flexible p‐type oxide electronics but also represents a significant step toward the development of complementary metal–oxide semiconductor circuits.
User Acceptance of Micro-Blogging in the Enterprise

In this paper, following the IT acceptance theory framework, we analyze factors that affect users’ acceptance of micro-blogging in a large corporate environment. We categorized users into 4 groups based on their posting and reading behaviors: Actives, Dabblers, Lurkers and Skeptics. Groups show different perceived benefits, cost concerns, and social influence factors. The work can help both practitioners and scholars build an initial understanding of user acceptance of micro-blogging in the Enterprise.
An Analysis of Errors in English Writing of Sinhala Speaking Undergraduates

Error analysis is a type of linguistic analysis that focuses on the errors learners make. It consists of a comparison between the errors made in the Target Language (TL) and that TL itself. For learners themselves, errors are ‘indispensable,’ since the making of errors can be regarded as a device the learner uses in order to learn. Researchers are interested in errors because they are believed to contain valuable information on the strategies that learners use to acquire a language. Hence, an error analysis is the best tool for describing and explaining errors made by speakers of other languages in order to know the sources of these errors and the reasons behind their continued occurrence year after year with different groups of learners. This study focuses on errors in English essay writing of Sinhala speaking undergraduates in order to identify whether the L1 transfer is the major cause for errors in English writing of Sinhala undergraduates. If this were to be true, then it could be concluded that the reason behind all those errors is Negative L1 transfer/ Mother Tongue interference. This paper further attempts to identify and describe Sinhala speaking undergraduates’ errors in English essay writing and thereby make efforts to minimize the problems encountered in their English writing. Target Population were the selected Sinhala speaking undergraduates who are offering English as a Second language for their BA (General) Degree at the Universities of Kelaniya, Peradeniya and the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. For the selection of a corpus of language, following the guidelines offered by (Ellis, 1995) samples of written assignments were collected from 60 students who are in the first and the second academic years of their degree programmes. These students were provided with the topics ‘An Unforgettable Day in My Life’ or ‘My University Life’ and asked to write on them in 200 to 250 words. They were given sufficient time to write (Ellis, 1997). They started with an outline, then a first draft and a final draft. This highly objective and outcome-oriented investigation reflects negative L1 transfer/interference is not the major cause for errors in the English writings of Sinhala speaking undergraduates. This would enable the academic researchers, language teachers, linguists to build up a further discussion on errors of Sinhala speakers’ English writing. Key words: Errors; Undergraduates; Sinhala; Second Language; L1 Transfer DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.4038/suslj.v9i1. 3737 Sabaramuwa University Journal , Volume 9 Number 1; December 2010, pp 97-114
Prevention of Vaginal Trichomoniasis by Compliant Use of the Female Condom

BACKGROUND Several case-control studies suggest that the male condom protects women against some sexually transmitted diseases. The female condom is the first barrier device under the woman's control that may be effective in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. GOAL OF THIS STUDY To determine if appropriate use of the female condom decreased the rate of recurrent vaginal trichomoniasis in previously diagnosed and treated women. STUDY DESIGN One hundred and four sexually active women with vaginal trichomoniasis were treated with metronidazole and assigned to a group using the female condom or a control group during a 45-day period of continued sexual activity. Fifty women served as controls, and 54 women were assigned to use the female condom. RESULTS Only 20 women used the female condom each time they had sexual intercourse. Reinfection with trichomonas occurred in 7/50 (14%) controls, in 5/34 (14.7%) noncompliant users, and in 0/20 compliant users of the female condom. CONCLUSION The compliant use of the female condom is effective in preventing recurrent vaginal trichomoniasis.
Assessment of WERA long-range HF-radar performance from the user's perspective

Since April 2006, long range (8.3MHz) WERA HF radars have been operated on the Southeastern United States coastline, as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and in particular the national HF Radar network. These radars measure currents operationally, and waves and winds experimentally across the wide continental shelf of Georgia (GA) and South Carolina (SC). Half-hourly data at 3km horizontal resolution are acquired to a range of approximately 200 km, providing measurements across the wide continental shelf and into the adjacent Gulf Stream at the shelf edge. Radar performance in range and quality is discussed. Ease in siting of these space and cable intensive systems along populated coastlines, and the feasibility of their operation by non-radar specialists is also briefly discussed.
PREDICTORS OF SATISFACTORY SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF DIVORCED SINGLE PARENTS

This study examined factors related to satisfactory post-divorce social adjustment of 206 randomly selected single parents who had custody of their children. Data were collected from personal interviews. A social adjustment scale served as the criterion measure of adjustment. The strongest single predictor of adjustment was the parent's subjective feelings of well-being and absence of distress. Other significant factors included the proportion of family income emanating from welfare, the family's current social status, the quality of relationship with significant others, perceived size of and satisfaction with social network support and remarriage of the custodial parent.
Quenched chiral perturbation theory for heavy-light mesons.

Quenched chiral perturbation theory is extended to include heavy-light mesons. Nonanalytic corrections to the decay constants, Isgur-Wise function, and masses and mixing of heavy mesons are then computed. The results are used to estimate the error due to quenching in lattice computations of these quantities. For reasonable choices of parameters, it is found that quenching has a strong effect on [ital f][sub [ital B][ital s]]/[ital f][sub [ital B]], reducing it by as much as 28%. The errors are essentially negligible for the Isgur-Wise function and the mixing parameter.
Psychological Acculturation and Parenting Behaviors in Mexican-Immigrant Families

This study examined the relation between mothers’ and fathers’ psychological acculturation and parenting behaviors in two samples of Mexican-immigrant families. The middle childhood sample included 47 mothers, 38 fathers, and 46 children in families with children aged 9 to 12 years, and the early childhood sample included 185 mothers and 155 fathers in families with children aged 2 to 6 years. In both samples, compared with families in which fathers reported feeling connected only to Latino culture, fathers who reported feeling connected to both Latinos and Americans engaged in fewer aversive and withdrawn interactions and more warm interactions with children. In families where fathers reported feeling connected to both Latinos and Americans, mothers also engaged in fewer aversive and withdrawn interactions and more warm interactions with children. Results were consistent across the two samples and across different family member reports of parent–child interactions.
Comparative limb bone loading in the humerus and femur of the tiger salamander: testing the ‘mixed-chain’ hypothesis for skeletal safety factors

ABSTRACT Locomotion imposes some of the highest loads upon the skeleton, and diverse bone designs have evolved to withstand these demands. Excessive loads can fatally injure organisms; however, bones have a margin of extra protection, called a ‘safety factor’ (SF), to accommodate loads that are higher than normal. The extent to which SFs might vary amongst an animal's limb bones is unclear. If the limbs are likened to a chain composed of bones as ‘links’, then similar SFs might be expected for all limb bones because failure of the system would be determined by the weakest link, and extra protection in other links could waste energetic resources. However, Alexander proposed that a ‘mixed-chain’ of SFs might be found amongst bones if: (1) their energetic costs differ, (2) some elements face variable demands, or (3) SFs are generally high. To test whether such conditions contribute to diversity in limb bone SFs, we compared the biomechanical properties and locomotor loading of the humerus and femur in the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). Despite high SFs in salamanders and similar sizes of the humerus and femur that would suggest similar energetic costs, the humerus had lower bone stresses, higher mechanical hardness and larger SFs. SFs were greatest in the anatomical regions where yield stresses were highest in the humerus and lowest in the femur. Such intraspecific variation between and within bones may relate to their different biomechanical functions, providing insight into the emergence of novel locomotor capabilities during the invasion of land by tetrapods. Summary: Safety factors against skeletal failure differ between the forelimbs and hindlimbs of salamanders; this may relate to differing locomotor roles, potentially bearing on the invasion of land by vertebrates.
Relation of Contextual Supports and Barriers to Choice Behavior in Engineering Majors: Test of Alternative Social Cognitive Models.

Social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. w. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) and general social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1999, 2000) posit somewhat different relations between contextual variables and choice actions. The authors tested the predictions of these 2 model variations. Participants (328 students in an introductory engineering course) completed measures of SCCT's person (self-efficacy, coping efficacy, outcome expectations, interests, academic goals) and contextual variables (environmental supports and barriers) related to the pursuit of engineering majors. Findings indicated good support for a model portraying contextual supports and barriers as linked to choice goals and actions (i.e., persistence in engineering) indirectly, through self-efficacy, rather than directly, as posited by SCCT. Implications for future research on SCCT's choice and environmental hypotheses are discussed.
Towards an Acceptable Level of Violence: Institutional Lessons From Northern Ireland

Institutional and economic development has recently returned to the forefront of economic analysis. The use of case studies (both historical and contemporary) has been important in this revival. Likewise, it has been argued recently by economic methodologists that historical context provides a kind of “laboratory” for the researcher interested in real world economic phenomena. Counterterrorism economics, in contrast with much of the rest of the literature on terrorism, has all too rarely drawn upon detailed contextual case studies. This article seeks to help remedy this problem. Archival evidence, including previously unpublished material on the DeLorean case, is an important feature of this article. The article examines how an inter-related strategy, which traded-off economic, security, and political considerations, operated during the Troubles. Economic repercussions of this strategy are discussed. An economic analysis of technical and organizational change within paramilitarism is also presented. A number of institutional lessons are discussed including: the optimal balance between carrot versus stick, centralization relative to decentralization, the economics of intelligence operations, and tit-for-tat violence. While existing economic models are arguably correct in identifying benefits from politico-economic decentralization, they downplay the element highlighted by institutional analysis.
Awareness of stroke risk factors, signs and treatment in a Pakistani population.

OBJECTIVE To assess the level of awareness in the general public on risk factors, symptomatology and immediate treatment of stroke. METHOD A cross sectional study was conducted in a sample of subjects visiting a tertiary care university hospital by means of a self-designed questionnaire. The study period extended between May and June, 2007. RESULTS A total of 398 individuals were surveyed. Hypertension (69.1%) and stress (55.8%) were identified as two major risk factors for stroke. Among them 50.8% identified "Brain" as the principal organ involved in stroke out of which 78.2% of the response came from people whose level of education was intermediate-and-above. Around 13% of the study respondents did not know of any risk factor for stroke, while 11.6% of the study respondents didn't know about the alarming signs of stroke. The most frequent response (26.16%) to immediate management of stroke was to take the individual to Emergency Department/hospital. In all 56% reported that basic information about stroke was given to them by friend/relative. CONCLUSIONS The overall awareness of the study population regarding stroke was shown to be inadequate by this study. Knowledge was significantly greater in participants of younger age and a higher level of education.
An Object Oriented Approach to Web-Based Applications Design

In this paper we discuss the use of an object-oriented approach for web-based applications design, based on a method named Object-Oriented Hypermedia Design Method (OOHDM). We first motivate our work discussing the problems encountered while designing large scale, dynamic web-based applications, which combine complex navigation patterns with sophisticated computational behavior. We argue that a method providing systematic guidance to design is needed. Next, we introduce OOHDM, describing its main activities, namely: conceptual design, navigational design, abstract interface design and implementation, and discuss how OOHDM designs can be implemented in the WWW. Finally, related work and future research in this area are further discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Evaluation of tongue coating indices.

AIM The purpose of this study was to determine inter-examiner reproducibility of two modified Winkel tongue coating indices and to study the relationship between each of these two indices and the amount of tongue coating as determined by wet weight of scrapings from the dorsum of the tongue. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-five participants were selected for the study from among dental students. The selection was made to assure that a wide range of degrees of tongue coating were represented. Two independent examiners scored the tongue coatings using the two modified Winkel tongue coating indices (mWTCI 1 + 2 and mWTCI 2). After completion of index recordings, tongue scrapings were performed by one of the examiners. RESULTS Inter-examiner reproducibility of mWTCI 1 + 2 and mWTCI 2 using Pearson's coefficients of correlation amounted to r = 0.48 and 0.93 respectively. Overall, mWTCI 2 showed higher correlations to wet weight of tongue scrapings than mWTCI 1 + 2. CONCLUSION The mWTCI 2 was found to be highly reproducible and also valid as related to wet weight of tongue scrapings. This index would seem suitable for further studies on tongue coatings; effect of tongue cleaning; and rate of reformation of coatings after cleaning.
Learning Political Information From the News: A Closer Look at the Role of Motivation

This paper investigates how motivations that drive news use affect the process of learning political information from the news. A model that traces the influence of motivational factors on following news about general public affairs is proposed. Tests conducted with nationally representative surveys revealed that motivations for following general public affairs in the news are conceptually and empirically distinct. Results showed that certain psychological needs drive motivations toward following general news, and that various types of motives have independent effects on exposure and attention to news. Finally, we found that motivations have significant indirect effects on knowledge about politics. Implications on theoretical developments in political knowledge and learning are discussed.
Quality of Life of Individuals With Heart Failure: A Randomized Trial of the Effectiveness of Two Models of Hospital-to-Home Transition

Background. The growing number of patients with congestive heart failure has increased both the pressure on hospital resources and the need for community management of the condition. Improving hospital-to-home transition for this population is a logical step in responding to current practice guidelines’ recommendations for coordination and education. Positive outcomes have been reported from trials evaluating multiple interventions, enhanced hospital discharge, and follow-up through the addition of a case management role. The question remains if similar gains could be achieved working with usual hospital and community nurses. Methods. A 12-week, prospective, randomized controlled trial was conducted of the effect of transitional care on health-related quality of life (disease-specific and generic measures), rates of readmission, and emergency room use. The nurse-led intervention focused on the transition from hospital-to-home and supportive care for self-management 2 weeks after hospital discharge. Results. At 6 weeks after hospital discharge, the overall Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) score was better among the Transitional Care patients (27.2 ± 19.1 SD) than among the Usual Care patients (37.5 ± 20.3 SD;P = 0.002). Similar results were found at 12 weeks postdischarge for the overall MLHFQ and at 6- and 12-weeks postdischarge for the MLHFQ’s Physical Dimension and Emotional Dimension subscales. Differences in generic quality life, as assessed by the SF-36 Physical component, Mental Component, and General Health subscales, were not significantly different between the Transition and Usual Care groups. At 12 weeks postdischarge, 31% of the Usual Care patients had been readmitted compared with 23% of the Transitional Care patients (P = 0.26), and 46% of the Usual Care group visited the emergency department compared with 29% in the Transitional Care group (&khgr;2 = 4.86, df 1, P = 0.03). Conclusions. There were significant improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQL) associated with Transitional Care and less use of emergency rooms.