Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in teenage pregnancy rates among five developed countries: the roles of sexual activity and contraceptive use.

CONTEXT Adolescent pregnancy, birth, abortion and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates are much higher in the United States than in most other developed countries. METHODS Government statistics or nationally representative survey data were supplemented with data collected by private organizations or for regional or local populations to conduct studies of adolescent births, abortions, sexual activity and contraceptive use in Canada, the United States, Sweden, France and Great Britain. RESULTS Adolescent childbearing is more common in the United States (22% of women reported having had a child before age 20) than in Great Britain (15%), Canada (11%), France (6%) and Sweden (4%); differences are even greater for births to younger teenagers. A lower proportion of teenage pregnancies are resolved through abortion in the United States than in the other countries; however, because of their high pregnancy rate, U.S. teenagers have the highest abortion rate. The age of sexual debut varies little across countries, yet American teenagers are the most likely to have multiple partners. A greater proportion of U.S. women reported no contraceptive use at either first or recent intercourse (25% and 20%, respectively) than reported nonuse in France (11% and 12%, respectively), Great Britain (21% and 4%, respectively) and Sweden (22% and 7%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Data on contraceptive use are more important than data on sexual activity in explaining variation in levels of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing among the five developed countries; however, the higher level of multiple sexual partnership among American teenagers may help explain their higher STD rates.
Corticosteroids vs corticosteroids plus antiviral agents in the treatment of Bell palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE To review systematically and meta-analyze the results of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the treatment of patients with Bell palsy with corticosteroids vs corticosteroids plus antiviral agents. DATA SOURCES A MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and CENTRAL database search, followed by extensive hand-searching for the identification of relevant studies. No time and language limitations were applied. STUDY SELECTION Prospective RCTs on the treatment of patients with Bell palsy. DATA EXTRACTION Odds ratios (ORs), 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and tests for heterogeneity were reported. DATA SYNTHESIS Five studies were eventually identified and systematically reviewed. Meta-analysis was performed for 4 studies. Regarding the complete recovery rate of facial nerve paralysis 3 months after initiation of therapy, the current systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that the addition of an antiviral agent does not provide any benefit (OR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.74-1.42]; P = .88). The same conclusion emerged at posterior (fourth, sixth, and ninth) months of assessment. Subgroup analysis, conducted on the basis of time point of therapy initiation, type of antiviral agent, and blindness of assessments did not change the results obtained. The occurrence rate of adverse effects attributable to therapy choice was not significantly different between patients receiving corticosteroids and those following combined treatment. CONCLUSION The present systematic review and meta-analysis, based on the currently available evidence, suggests that the addition of an antiviral agent to corticosteroids for the treatment of Bell palsy is not associated with an increase in the complete recovery rate of the facial motor function.
Forms and Degrees of Religious Commitment: Intrinsic Orientation in a Swedish Context

The psychometric properties of the revised Swedish Religious Orientation Scale (SROS II) were tested in two academic environments. Intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest orientations and their relation to self-esteem were examined. An attempt was made to identify two sub-groups within the intrinsic sphere, specified as Intrinsic-Dogmatic (ID) and Intrinsic Reflective (IR), and to validate these, tentatively, in relation to degree of conservatism, using the revised Swedish Social Attitude Scale. The subjects were undergraduate students of psychology and theology. The results suggest that forms and degrees of religious commitment can be adequately measured by SROS II. The ID - IR hypothesis was supported and previous research findings with regard to self-esteem were partially replicated.
Model evolution with aspect-oriented mechanisms

Model-based development is a software development method in which models are created before source code is written. Although the method is effective, we have to modify models when we face evolution such as change of platforms. These modifications crosscut over many places in the models, and tend to cause unexpected errors. In order to tackle this problem, we propose a method for model evolution using model transformations based on aspect orientation, a mechanism that modularizes crosscutting concerns. A modeler can extend model transformation rules by defining new aspects in the process of modeling. In this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of aspect orientation in terms of model evolution.
Will and Motivation

It is a striking fact that the world of individuals is divided into those that can, and those that cannot, move themselves. The autographed baseball on my desk sits there, and will continue to do so unless someone picks it up. If it is thrown, it will move, but not under its own power. By contrast, human beings are all capable of initiating, and not merely undergoing, bodily motion. But what is it about humans that accounts for the fact that they can move themselves? One simple answer to this question is that, unlike baseballs, humans have a will, that the bodily motions that they themselves initiate are voluntary. It is also a striking fact that we often take human beings to be responsible, indeed praiseworthy and blameworthy, for their actions. Moreover, it is commonly supposed that responsibility, praise, and blame attach to free rather than to un-free actions. What we are inclined to say about these matters raises important philosophical questions with which British philosophers of the seventeenth century struggled valiantly. Which bodily motions are voluntary, and which involuntary? Does voluntariness require deliberation in advance of action? In particular, does voluntariness attach to habitual actions, actions performed under duress, or actions done in ignorance of the relevant circumstances? Are voluntary acts caused or uncaused? If caused are they caused by our appetites, inclinations, or judgments about what is best? Or are they caused by some special non-appetitive, non-cognitive, act of will? Supposing the latter, are acts of will themselves caused or uncaused? If they are caused, are they caused by something purely
Time-Reversibility in Atmospheric Dispersion

Due to the chaotic nature of atmospheric dispersion, small deviations, e.g., numerical errors in dispersion simulations, increase rapidly over time. Therefore, the accuracy of backward simulations is limited. In the paper, the degree of the fulfillment of time-reversibility over different time periods is investigated by a Lagrangian dispersion model at a global scale using pollutant clouds consisting of a large number of particles. The characteristics of the pollutant clouds in the backward simulation are compared to those in the forward simulation. In order to characterize the degree of time-reversibility, Lagrangian quantities, such as the fraction of particles that return to the initial volume, the center of mass and the standard deviation of the pollutant clouds, are determined. Furthermore, the overlap and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the forward and backward clouds are also investigated. Both a case study and global results are presented. Simulations reveal that the accuracy of time-reversibility decreases in general exponentially in time. We find that after the Lyapunov time of the dispersion (in our case three to four days), the results of the backward tracking become unreliable, and any sign of time-reversibility is lost.
Centre de Referència en Economia Analítica Barcelona Economics Working Paper Series Working Paper n o 24 Bidding at Sequential First-Price Auctions with ( out ) Supply Uncertainty : A Laboratory Analysis

We report on a series of experiments that test the effects of an uncertain supply on the formation of bids and prices in sequential first-price auctions with private-independent values and unit-demands. Supply is assumed uncertain when buyers do not know the exact number of units to be sold (i.e., the length of the sequence). Although we observe an important overbidding and a behavior that is nonmonotone in values when supply is certain, the data qualitatively support our price trend predictions and the risk neutral Nash equilibrium model of bidding for the last stage of a sequence, whether supply is certain or not. Our study shows that behavior in these markets changes significantly with the presence of an uncertain supply, and that it can be explained by assuming bidders formulate pessimistic beliefs about the occurrence of another stage.
Mucosal vaccine adjuvants update

Mucosal vaccination, capable of inducing protective immune responses both in the mucosal and systemic immune compartments, has many advantages and is regarded as a blue ocean in the vaccine industry. Mucosal vaccines can offer lower costs, better accessability, needle-free delivery, and higher capacity of mass immunizations during pandemics. However, only very limited number of mucosal vaccines was approved for human use in the market yet. Generally, induction of immune responses following mucosal immunization requires the co-administration of appropriate adjuvants that can initiate and support the effective collaboration between innate and adaptive immunity. Classically, adjuvant researches were rather empirical than keenly scientific. However, during last several years, fundamental scientific achievements in innate immunity have been translated into the development of new mucosal adjuvants. This review focuses on recent developments in the concepts of adjuvants and innate immunity, mucosal immunity with special interest of vaccine development, and basic and applied researches in mucosal adjuvant.
Dissociable contribution of somatosensory and superior lateral temporal cortices in social face recognition

Faces are multi-dimensional stimuli bearing many important social communicative signals, such as gaze direction and emotion expression. To test whether perception of these two facial dimensions relies on different cortical areas within the right hemisphere, we used single-pulse TMS in healthy participants while they performed two distinct tasks on the same face stimuli. TMS was applied over either the right somatosensory cortex or right superior lateral temporal cortex, 100 or 200 ms after the presentation of a face that had various eye gaze directions and emotional expressions. Participants performed a speeded sequential matching task on the faces across the two task conditions. Our results indicate a significant task x stimulation site interaction, showing a selective TMS-related interference following stimulations of the somatosensory cortex during the emotional expression task. Conversely, TMS of the superior lateral temporal cortex interfered with the gaze direction task. We also found that the interference effect was specific to the stimulus content in each condition, affecting the speed of judging gaze shifts (not static eye positions) with TMS over the right superior temporal cortex, and the speed of judging fearful expressions (not happy expressions) with TMS over the right somatosensory cortex. These results provide for the first time a double-dissociation in normal viewers for social face recognition during transient disruption of non-overlapping brain regions, supporting a critical role for somatosensory and superior lateral temporal regions in the perception of fear expression and gaze shift in seen faces, respectively.
An empirical comparison of evolution and coevolution for designing artificial neural network game players

In this paper, we compare two neuroevolutionary algorithms, namely standard NeuroEvolution (NE) and NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT), with three neurocoevolutionary algorithms, namely Symbiotic Adaptive Neuro-Evolution (SANE), Enforced Sub-Populations (ESP) and Evolving Efficient Connections (EEC). EEC is a novel neurocoevolutionary algorithm that we propose in this work, where the connection weights and the connection paths of networks are evolved separately. All these methods are applied to evolve players of two different board games. The results of this study indicate that neurocoevolutionary algorithms outperform neuroevolutionary algorithms for both domains. Our new method, especially, demonstrates that fully connected networks could generate noise which results in inefficient learning. The performance of standard NE model has been improved significantly through evolving connection weights and efficient connection paths in parallel in our method.
Urban road localization by using multiple layer map matching and line segment matching

In recent years, automated vehicle researches move on to the next stage, that is, auto-driving experiments on public roads. This study focuses on how to realize accurate localization based on the use of Lidar data and precise map. On different roads such as urban roads and expressways, the observed information of surrounding is significantly different. For example, on the urban roads, many buildings can be observed around the upper part of the vehicle. Such observation realizes accurate map matching. On the other hand, the upper part has no specific observation on the expressway. Therefore, it is necessary to observe the lower part for the map matching. To adapt the situation changes, we propose a localization method based on self-adaptive multi-layered scan matching and road line segment matching. The main idea is to effectively match the features observed from different heights and to improve the results by applying the line segment matching in certain scenes. Localization experiments show the ability to estimate accurate vehicle pose in urban driving.
The Role of Embeddedness Factors in Predicting the Paths of the Unfolding Model of Voluntary Turnover

A great deal of research has been conducted to determine the relationship between the job satisfaction of employees and the likelihood of their leaving or intending to leave an organization. However, research addressing other reasons why employees may leave their organizations has been lacking. Lee and Mitchell (1994) created the unfolding model of turnover to better define and classify the process employees go through in making decisions to leave their organizations. This model suggests that many people decide to leave their jobs/organizations for reasons other than job dissatisfaction. In a separate stream of research, Lee and Mitchell and their colleagues also began to examine a concept of embeddedness. They described embeddedness as the attachment employees have to the organization and surrounding environment (e.g., church, community organizations). Although Lee and Mitchell had not integrated their two lines of research, there was adequate evidence to indicate that the connections should be made. As a result, the goal of this dissertation was to extend the unfolding model of turnover by including embeddedness factors as predictors of how individuals decide to quit their jobs and organizations. Three studies were conducted in order to examine several hypotheses related to this goal. The findings indicated that conscientiousness was the embeddedness factor that was most consistently related to the way in which participants decided to leave their jobs. The implications of these findings and considerations for future research are discussed.
Endogenous endothelins and nitric oxide in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction

The effects of endothelin receptor blockade on the pulmonary circulation have been reported variably, possibly in relation to a more or less important associated release of endogenous nitric oxide (NO). The aim of this study was to test whether endothelin antagonism would inhibit hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, and if it would not, then would it do so after NO synthase inhibition. Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) was evaluated in anesthetised dogs by the increase in the mean pulmonary artery pressure (Ppa) minus occluded Ppa (Ppao) gradient in response to hypoxia (inspiratory oxygen fraction of 0.1) at constant pulmonary blood flow. Bosentan, an endothelin A and B receptor antagonist, did not affect baseline Ppa, Ppao or systemic arterial pressure (Psa) and did not alter HPV (n=8). The NO synthase inhibitor NGnitro‐l‐arginine (l‐NA) did not affect baseline Ppa and Ppao, but increased Psa and enhanced HPV (n=12). The addition of bosentan in these dogs did not affect baseline Ppa or Ppao, but decreased Psa and inhibited HPV. Exhaled NO was decreased by l‐NA and by bosentan and abolished by l‐NA+bosentan (n=9). The authors conclude that endogenous nitric oxide is released by, and opposes the vasoconstricting effects of, endothelins in vivo, reducing systemic blood pressure and limiting hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction.
High-Density Livestock Production and Molecularly Characterized MRSA Infections in Pennsylvania

Background: European studies suggest that living near high-density livestock production increases the risk of sequence type (ST) 398 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization. To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated associations between livestock production and human infection by other strain types. Objectives: We evaluated associations between MRSA molecular subgroups and high-density livestock production. Methods: We conducted a yearlong 2012 prospective study on a stratified random sample of patients with culture-confirmed MRSA infection; we oversampled patients from the Geisinger Health System with exposure to high-density livestock production in Pennsylvania. Isolates were characterized using S. aureus protein A (spa) typing and detection of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) and scn genes. We compared patients with one of two specific MRSA strains with patients with all other strains of MRSA isolates, using logistic regression that accounted for the sampling design, for two different exposure models: one based on the location of the animals (livestock model) and the other on crop field application of manure (crop field model). Results: Of 196 MRSA isolates, we identified 30 spa types, 47 PVL-negative and 15 scn-negative isolates, and no ST398 MRSA. Compared with quartiles 1–3 combined, the highest quartiles of swine livestock and dairy/veal crop field exposures were positively associated with community-onset-PVL-negative MRSA (CO-PVL-negative MRSA vs. all other MRSA), with adjusted odds ratios of 4.24 (95% CI: 1.60, 11.25) and 4.88 (95% CI: 1.40, 17.00), respectively. The association with CO-PVL-negative MRSA infection increased across quartiles of dairy/veal livestock exposure (trend p = 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that other MRSA strains, beyond ST398, may be involved in livestock-associated MRSA infection in the United States. Citation: Casey JA, Shopsin B, Cosgrove SE, Nachman KE, Curriero FC, Rose HR, Schwartz BS. 2014. High-density livestock production and molecularly characterized MRSA infections in Pennsylvania. Environ Health Perspect 122:464–470; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1307370
Thistlethwaite's theorem for virtual links

The celebrated Thistlethwaite theorem relates the Jones polynomial of a link with the Tutte polynomial of the corresponding planar graph. We give a generalization of this theorem to virtual links. In this case, the graph will be embedded into a (higher genus) surface. For such graphs we use the generalization of the Tutte polynomial discovered by B.Bollobas and O.Riordan.
Differentiation of tundra/taiga and boreal coniferous forest wolves: genetics, coat colour and association with migratory caribou

The grey wolf has one of the largest historic distributions of any terrestrial mammal and can disperse over great distances across imposing topographic barriers. As a result, geographical distance and physical obstacles to dispersal may not be consequential factors in the evolutionary divergence of wolf populations. However, recent studies suggest ecological features can constrain gene flow. We tested whether wolf–prey associations in uninterrupted tundra and forested regions of Canada explained differences in migratory behaviour, genetics, and coat colour of wolves. Satellite‐telemetry data demonstrated that tundra wolves (n = 19) migrate annually with caribou (n = 19) from denning areas in the tundra to wintering areas south of the treeline. In contrast, nearby boreal coniferous forest wolves are territorial and associated year round with resident prey. Spatially explicit analysis of 14 autosomal microsatellite loci (n = 404 individuals) found two genetic clusters corresponding to tundra vs. boreal coniferous forest wolves. A sex bias in gene flow was inferred based on higher levels of mtDNA divergence (FST = 0.282, 0.028 and 0.033; P < 0.0001 for mitochondrial, nuclear autosomal and Y‐chromosome markers, respectively). Phenotypic differentiation was substantial as 93% of wolves from tundra populations exhibited light colouration whereas only 38% of boreal coniferous forest wolves did (χ2 = 64.52, P < 0.0001). The sharp boundary representing this discontinuity was the southern limit of the caribou migration. These findings show that substantial genetic and phenotypic differentiation in highly mobile mammals can be caused by prey–habitat specialization rather than distance or topographic barriers. The presence of a distinct wolf ecotype in the tundra of North America highlights the need to preserve migratory populations.
Exploring Challenges of Adolescent Females in Child-headed Households in South Africa

ABSTRACT The adolescent females who take the responsibility of being foster-parents while young need emotional support and care. Owing to multiple factors such as the death of parents, adjustment in parents’ roles, inadequate social support and exposure to sexual and emotional abuse, majority of this group tend to face a bleak future. By employing the systematic review as the research methodology, the researchers explored previous research from doctoral dissertations, internet journals and explored the published research articles. This research paper is aimed at providing a broad picture of challenges of adolescent females in child-headed households in South Africa. Drawing from social exchange theory, alcohol myopic theory, integrated stress and coping process model and Children’s Acts, as conceptual framework which underpinned this study, research found that adolescent females in child-headed households are susceptible to early pregnancy, alcohol abuse, school dropout, prostitution and psychological problems as compared to their counterparts who live with authoritative significant others (example, extended family, step-parents, biological parents). Based on these findings, the study recommends a collaborative approach as there is no single model of best practice to effectively and appropriately address the needs of child-headed families.