Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of Male Batterers in Treatment

Abstract This article presents information on the characteristics of a clinical population of male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) court-ordered for batterers' treatment, and how these characteristics co-varied with treatment attrition. The average demographic profile of male batterers in a midwestern treatment program that met present-day treatment guidelines was similar to that found in other studies. In addition, relationship length and status, alcohol/drug use, self-reports of past treatment and mental health issues, and self-report of witnessing or experiencing violence within the home during childhood was also similar. Batterers' self-reports of their own violent behavior were found to vary by data collection technique, with face-to-face interviews eliciting greater admission of violent behavior than paper-and-pencil questionnaires. However, the only predictors of successful treatment outcome were living arrangement at the time of treatment and racial category. Implications of these findings are discussed, and “local effects” program evaluation approaches are suggested.
Genotypic Detection of Polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing Bacilli and Characterization of phaC Synthase of Bacillus sp. SW1-2

A group of bacilli phenotypically screened for synthesis and intracellular accumulation of PHAs granules by the use of Sudan Black B stain, eight strains were detected. Pair of specific PCR primers was designed and applied for genotypic detection of phaC synthase gene. Approximately, 760 bp DNA fragment was successfully amplified in the eight strains. Among the positive strains, Bacillus sp SW1-2, produced 36 g/L of the biopolymer during growth on modified E2 medium supplemented with glucose. Spectroscopic analysis by C 13 NMR and H 1 NMR revealed four narrow peaks (lines) (CH3; 21.2 ppm, CH2; 42.7, CH; 68.5 and C=O; 169.7 ppm) and 3 groups of signals (2.45, 2.58 and 5.2 ppm) identical and characteristic to polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB); respectively. Furthermore, the amplied PCR fragment, from genomic DNA of Bacillus sp SW1-2, was cloned in pGEM-T-Easy vector and sequenced with universal T7 and SP6 primers. The sequence showed 99% identity to phaC gene for polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase of many B. megaterium strains deposited in Genbank. While, showed 73% and 72% identity to synthases of Bacillus mycoides and Bacillus sp. INT005, respectively. [Mahmoud M. Berekaa. Genotyic Detection of Polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing Bacilli and Characterization of phaC Synthase of Bacillus sp. SW1-2. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):518-529] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 78
The Empirical Relationship between the Constructs of Traditional and Symbolic Racism

The theory of symbolic racism contends that white resistance to social policies such as affirmative action is rooted in prejudiced attitudes towards black people, and represents a more sophisticated form of racism than traditional or rednecked racism. However, the notion of symbolic racism has been severely criticized on theoretical and empirical grounds. The present study sought to clarify the nature of the empirical relationship between symbolic and traditional racism. The Subtle Racism Scale (Duckitt, 1991) and Heaven and Moerdyk's adaptation of Ray's anti-black scale were administered to 150 school-children. The findings revealed no significant difference in mean scores obtained on the measures of symbolic and traditional racism. A series of factor analyses consistently yielded four factors, accounting for 54% of the variance, suggesting that racism involves hitherto unaccounted for components in addition to traditional and subtle expressions of racial prejudice.
Phosphorylcholine mimics the effects of ES‐62 on macrophages and dendritic cells

Modulation of macrophage/dendritic cell (DC) cytokine production by the filarial nematode phosphorylcholine (PC)‐containing product, ES‐62, is mediated by Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 4 and signal transduction depends on the TLR adaptor MyD88. Intriguingly, comparison of TLR4 knock‐out (ko) mice with TLR4 mutant C3H/HeJ mice indicates that ES‐62 cytokine responses are not dependent on the Pro712 residue of TLR4, which is crucial for the response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Because other immunomodulatory effects of ES‐62 have been attributed to PC we have now investigated, using PC conjugated to ovalbumin (PC‐Ova), whether PC is responsible for the interaction of ES‐62 with TLR4. PC‐Ova mimicked the modulation of interleukin (IL)‐12 production by ES‐62 in a TLR4‐ and MyD88‐dependent manner and as with native ES‐62, PC‐Ova effects were not dependent on Pro712. Furthermore, both native ES‐62 and PC‐Ova suppressed Akt phosphorylation, whereas neither altered the activation of p38 or Erk MAP kinases. To rule out any role for the ES‐62 protein component, we tested a PC‐free recombinant ES‐62 (rES‐62) generated in the yeast Pichia pastoris. Surprisingly, rES‐62 also modulated IL‐12 production, but in a TLR4/MyD88‐independent manner. Furthermore, rES‐62 strongly activated both the p38 and Erk MAP kinases and Akt. However, recent biophysical analysis suggests there are differences in folding/shape between native and rES‐62 and hence data obtained with the latter should be treated with caution. Nevertheless, although our study indicates that PC is likely to be primarily responsible for the modulation of cytokine production observed with native ES‐62, an immunomodulatory role for the protein component cannot be ruled out.
Abused women with children or children of abused women? A study of conflicting perspectives at women's refuges in Norway

Women's refuges were established in Norway in the late 1970s by and for women. From the very outset, abused women have also brought their children to the refuges. With an increasing political, practical and research focus on the situation of children exposed to violence, the Norwegian refuge movement today is expected to apply both the woman's and the child's perspective in their work. By analysing the discourse of children staying at women's refuges, this paper discusses and sheds light on situations where the two perspectives come into conflict and the implications of these conflicts for the children and for the women's refuge movement as a whole.
A principal component analysis based method to automatically inspect wear of throw-away tips

The automatic inspection of throw-away tips is very important for quality control in precision cutting. We proposed an image processing based method for automatic inspection of the processing wear of throw-away tips. After image denoising, the proposed method utilized image-patch based principal component analysis method to enhance the cutting worn region while suppress the background region. Then the enhanced worn region was automatically segmented by a simple thresholding method followed by post-processing. The area of the segmented worn region was used as a measure of cutting wear degree. We collected three datasets of time-series images that recorded the processing of throw-away tips on a product line. One dataset was used to choose optimal parameters of the proposed method, and the other two datasets were used for evaluate its performances. Experimental results showed that the proposed method was able to inspect the cutting wear with high accuracy. Additionally, it was also showed that the proposed method outperformed the conventional thresholding based method.
Are Children Like Werewolves? Full Moon and Its Association with Sleep and Activity Behaviors in an International Sample of Children

In order to verify if the full moon is associated with sleep and activity behaviors, we used a 12-country study providing 33,710 24-h accelerometer recordings of sleep and activity. The present observational, cross-sectional study included 5812 children ages 9–11 years from study sites that represented all inhabited continents and wide ranges of human development (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States). Three moon phases were used in this analysis: full moon (±4 days; reference), half moon (±5–9 days), and new moon (±10–14 days) from nearest full moon. Nocturnal sleep duration, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and total sedentary time (SED) were monitored over seven consecutive days using a waist-worn accelerometer worn 24 h a day. Only sleep duration was found to significantly differ between moon phases (~5 min/night shorter during full moon compared to new moon). Differences in MVPA, LPA, and SED between moon phases were negligible and non-significant (<2 min/day difference). There was no difference in the associations between study sites. In conclusion, sleep duration was 1% shorter at full moon compared to new moon, while activity behaviors were not significantly associated with the lunar cycle in this global sample of children. Whether this seemingly minimal difference is clinically meaningful is questionable.
Monitoring Forest Dynamics in the Andean Amazon: The Applicability of Breakpoint Detection Methods Using Landsat Time-Series and Genetic Algorithms

The Andean Amazon is an endangered biodiversity hot spot but its forest dynamics are less studied than those of the Amazon lowland and forests from middle or high latitudes. This is because its landscape variability, complex topography and cloudy conditions constitute a challenging environment for any remote-sensing assessment. Breakpoint detection with Landsat time-series data is an established robust approach for monitoring forest dynamics around the globe but has not been properly evaluated for implementation in the Andean Amazon. We analyzed breakpoint detection-generated forest dynamics in order to determine its limitations when applied to three different study areas located along an altitude gradient in the Andean Amazon in Ecuador. Using all available Landsat imagery for the period 1997–2016, we evaluated different pre-processing approaches, noise reduction techniques, and breakpoint detection algorithms. These procedures were integrated into a complex function called the processing chain generator. Calibration was not straightforward since it required us to define values for 24 parameters. To solve this problem, we implemented a novel approach using genetic algorithms. We calibrated the processing chain generator by applying a stratified training sampling and a reference dataset based on high resolution imagery. After the best calibration solution was found and the processing chain generator executed, we assessed accuracy and found that data gaps, inaccurate co-registration, radiometric variability in sensor calibration, unmasked cloud, and shadows can drastically affect the results, compromising the application of breakpoint detection in mountainous areas of the Andean Amazon. Moreover, since breakpoint detection analysis of landscape variability in the Andean Amazon requires a unique calibration of algorithms, the time required to optimize analysis could complicate its proper implementation and undermine its application for large-scale projects. In exceptional cases when data quality and quantity were adequate, we recommend the pre-processing approaches, noise reduction algorithms and breakpoint detection algorithms procedures that can enhance results. Finally, we include recommendations for achieving a faster and more accurate calibration of complex functions applied to remote sensing using genetic algorithms.
Chaos and the continuum limit in charged particle beams

We investigate the validity of the Vlasov-Poisson equations for calculating properties of systems of N charged particles governed by time-independent Hamiltonians. Through numerical experiments we verify that there is a smooth convergence toward a continuum limit as N ! 1 and the particle charge q ! 0 such that the system charge QqN remains fixed. However, in real systems N and q are always finite, and the assumption of the continuum limit must be questioned. We demonstrate that Langevin simulations can be used to assess the importance of discreteness effects, i.e., granularity, in systems for which the physical particle number N is too large to enable orbit integrations based on direct summation of interparticle forces. We then consider a beam bunch in thermal equilibrium and apply Langevin techniques to assess whether the continuum limit can be safely applied to this system. In the process we show, especially for systems supporting a sizable population of chaotic orbits that roam globally through phase space, that for the continuum limit to be valid, N must sometimes be surprisingly large. Otherwise the influence of granularity on particle orbits cannot be ignored.
Interpreting estimates of treatment effects: implications for managed care.

How should health care professionals choose among the many therapies claimed to be efficacious for treating specific disorders? The practice of evidence-based medicine provides an answer. Advocates of this approach urge health care professionals to base treatment choices on the best evidence from systematic research on both the efficacy and adverse effects of various therapeutic alternatives. Ideally, health care professionals would compare different treatments by referring to randomized, double-blind, head-to-head trials that compared the treatment options. Although individual medications are typically well researched when these placebo-controlled studies are performed, studies that directly compare treatments are rare. In the absence of direct head-to-head trials, other evidence comes from indirect comparisons of two or more therapies by examining individual studies involving each treatment. This article provides an introductory review of methods of such indirect comparisons of therapies across studies, provides examples of how these methods can be used to make treatment decisions, and presents a general overview of relevant issues and statistics for readers interested in understanding these methods more thoroughly.
Comparative study of immunological and structural properties of two recombinant vaccine candidates against botulinum neurotoxin type E.

BACKGROUND Recently, botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT)-derived recombinant proteins have been suggested as potential botulism vaccines. Here, with concentrating on BoNT type E (BoNT/E), we studied two of these binding domain-based recombinant proteins: a multivalent chimer protein, which is composed of BoNT serotypes A, B and E binding subdomains, and a monovalent recombinant protein, which contains 93 amino acid residues from recombinant C-terminal heavy chain of BoNT/E (rBoNT/E-HCC). Both proteins have an identical region (48 aa) that contains one of the most important BoNT/E epitopes (YLTHMRD sequence). METHODS The recombinant protein efficiency in antibody production, their structural differences, and their BoNT/E-epitope location were compared by using ELISA, circular dichroism, computational modeling, and hydrophobicity predictions. RESULTS Immunological studies indicated that the antibody yield against rBoNT/E-HCC was higher than chimer protein. Cross ELISA confirmed that the antibodies against the chimer protein recognized rBoNT/E-HCC more efficiently. However, both antibody groups (anti-chimer and anti-rBoNT/E-HCC antibodies) were able to recognize other proteins. Structural studies with circular dichroism showed that chimer proteins have slightly more secondary structures than rBoNT/E-HCC. CONCLUSION The immunological results suggested that the above-mentioned identical region in rBoNT/E-HCC is more exposed. Circular dichroism, computational protein modeling and hydrophobicity predictions indicated a more exposed location for the identical region in rBoNT/E-HCC than the chimer protein, which is strongly in agreement with immunological results.
Biomechanics and hydrodynamics of prey capture in the Chinese giant salamander reveal a high-performance jaw-powered suction feeding mechanism

During the evolutionary transition from fish to tetrapods, a shift from uni- to bidirectional suction feeding systems followed a reduction in the gill apparatus. Such a shift can still be observed during metamorphosis of salamanders, although many adult salamanders retain their aquatic lifestyle and feed by high-performance suction. Unfortunately, little is known about the interplay between jaws and hyobranchial motions to generate bidirectional suction flows. Here, we study the cranial morphology, as well as kinematic and hydrodynamic aspects related to prey capture in the Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus). Compared with fish and previously studied amphibians, A. davidianus uses an alternative suction mechanism that mainly relies on accelerating water by separating the ‘plates’ formed by the long and broad upper and lower jaw surfaces. Computational fluid dynamics simulations, based on three-dimensional morphology and kinematical data from high-speed videos, indicate that the viscerocranial elements mainly serve to accommodate the water that was given a sufficient anterior-to-posterior impulse beforehand by powerful jaw separation. We hypothesize that this modified way of generating suction is primitive for salamanders, and that this behaviour could have played an important role in the evolution of terrestrial life in vertebrates by releasing mechanical constraints on the hyobranchial system.
Differences in search engine evaluations between query owners and non-owners

The query-document relevance judgments used in web search engine evaluation are traditionally provided by human assessors who have no particular association with the specific queries selected for the evaluation. Most commonly, queries are randomly sampled from search logs and in turn randomly assigned to the human assessors. In this paper, we consider a very different approach in which we instead ask the human assessors to provide their own queries from their recent search experiences. Using these queries as our sample, we compare the relevance judgments from the "owners" of the queries to the relevance judgments of the non-owners. We conduct experiments which reveal that query ownership has a substantial and beneficial impact on the accuracy of relevance judgments. In particular, we observe that owners are more consistently able to distinguish a higher quality set of search results from a lower quality set in a blind comparison. The implication for web search evaluation is that query owners provide more valuable relevance judgments than non-owners, presumably due to the background knowledge associated with their queries. We quantify the benefit of using owner assessments versus non-owner assessments in terms of sample size reduction. We also touch on some of the practical challenges associated with using query owners as assessors.
Traumatic Transitions

This article presents traumatic experiences among 21 women residing in budget hotels after housing displacement. Framed in feminist and cumulative trauma theories, the purpose of this study was to explore types of trauma and adversity prior to and during housing at budget hotels. In this qualitative study, narrative and categorical content-analysis approaches were conducted to identify common themes across women’s narratives. Findings revealed trauma narratives of physical and emotional abuse, childhood maltreatment, loss, financial exploitation, sexual intimidation, eviction anxiety, environmental stress, crime exposure, and systematic subjugation. Trauma-informed intervention approaches for social work practice are outlined to promote women’s empowerment.
An Experimental Test of Cognitive Dissonance Theory in the Domain of Physical Exercise

The present study examined cognitive dissonance-related attitude change in the domain of exercise. Experimental participants made a decision to perform a boring exercise task (stepping on a bench/chair) under three different conditions: a free-choice condition (n = 33, Male = 17 female = 16, Age = 14.57), under a no-choice/control condition (n = 28, Male = 15, Female = 13, Age = 14.50), and under a condition that compelled participants to practice bench/chair stepping (forced-choice condition) (n = 31, Male = 15, Female = 16, Age = 14.61). Results showed that participants in the free-choice condition reported more positive attitudes than participants in the control condition and participants in the forced-choice condition. Ancillary analysis indicated that cognitive dissonance is experienced as an aversive state, and that the amount of frustration that participants experienced immediately after the free-choice paradigm predicted attitudes.
The usage of coarse wordage: a study of the mob rule on China's internet

In 2006 the foreign media put forward the mob of internet to describe some internet users who had interfere other persons' normal life and believed the practice was a serious infringement to personal right. There are also some other famous incidents of violence of the Internet. Now, the mob of Internet in China has attracted researchers' attention. Generally, people believe that the mob of Internet is a meaning of irrational expression that adopted by individuals or groups in Internet. The abuse of extreme or offensive wordage is a phenomenon of the mob of Internet. In this paper, we take the preference of using damaging, aggressive and insulting words as our unit of analysis, and analyze these external factors that are predictive of a cyber user expressing his ideas with coarse wording. Drawing upon the comments of the auction in Paris of two historic bronze sculptures from five main sites, we argue that the topic and the characteristic of a forum are two of the external influences that could affect the usage of coarse wordage and the mob of Internet.
Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Human Dentin Structure

It has been hypothesized that hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) bleaching may cause destruction of dentin by a mechanism of protein oxidation. However, to our knowledge, there has been no direct chemical evidence to validate this viewpoint. To investigate the effects of H2O2 on the structure of human dentin, we used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy. Human intact dentin specimens were treated either with 30% H2O2 or Hanks’ balanced salt solution (HBSS). Significant differences were observed in ATR spectra parameters. Additionally, demineralized dentin specimens were also tested. They were completely dissolved in the H2O2, but remained intact in the 0.1 N HCl and HBSS. The results suggested that H2O2 attacked both the organic and mineral components of dentin. Destruction of the organic components was mainly because of the oxidizing ability of H2O2, while changes in the mineral components were probably due to its acidity.
What Does the Single Monetary Policy Do? A SVAR Benchmark for the European Central Bank

This paper puts forward a characterization of the structural features of the economic system relevant to the monetary-policy decisions of the European Central Bank. The econometric analysis adopts a parsimonious VAR representation of three key macroeconomic variables (interest rates, prices and GDP) aggregated across countries to obtain area-wide time series. The exogenous disturbances driving the multivariate system are identified imposing restrictions based on economic theory. The dynamic properties of the estimated models are analyzed and compared with the available evidence for the US. The robustness of this characterization is corroborated by the estimates from a different sample period and by the findings from an alternative model that singles out German monetary policy in view of its anchor role within the ERM. JEL Classification: C32, E58