Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vulnerability and risk perception in the management of HIV/AIDS: Public priorities in a global pandemic

Understanding the way perception of risk is shaped and constructed is crucial in understanding why it has been so difficult to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS. This paper uses the Pressure and Release (PAR) model, used to predict the onset of natural disasters as the conceptual framework. It substitutes vulnerability and risk perception as the trigger factors in the model, in making the case that HIV/AIDS can be characterized as a slow onset disaster. The implications are that vulnerability must be managed and reduced by addressing root causes, dynamic pressures, and unsafe conditions that contribute to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. HIV/AIDS programs must be culturally appropriate and work toward influencing risk perception, while addressing social norms and values that negatively impact vulnerable populations. By impacting cultural and social expectations, individuals will be able to more readily adopt safer sex behaviors. The development of policies and programs addressing the issues in context, as opposed to individual behaviors alone, allows for effective public health intervention. This may have implications for public health measures implemented for combating the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Rating crowdsourced annotations: evaluating contributions of variable quality and completeness

Crowdsourcing has become a popular means to acquire data about the Earth and its environment inexpensively, but the data-sets obtained are typically imperfect and of unknown quality. Two common imperfections with crowdsourced data are the contributions from cheats or spammers and missing cases. The effect of the latter two imperfections on a method to evaluate the accuracy of crowdsourced data via a latent class model was explored. Using simulated and real data-sets, it was shown that the method is able to derive useful information on the accuracy of crowdsourced data even when the degree of imperfection was very high. The practical potential of this ability to obtain accuracy information within the geospatial sciences and the realm of Digital Earth applications was indicated with reference to an evaluation of building damage maps produced by multiple bodies after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Critically, the method allowed data-sets to be ranked in approximately the correct order of accuracy and this could help ensure that the most appropriate data-sets are used.
Online Topic-Aware Influence Maximization

Influence maximization, whose objective is to select k users (called seeds) from a social network such that the number of users influenced by the seeds (called influence spread) is maximized, has attracted significant attention due to its widespread applications, such as viral marketing and rumor control. However, in real-world social networks, users have their own interests (which can be represented as topics) and are more likely to be influenced by their friends (or friends' friends) with similar topics. We can increase the influence spread by taking into consideration topics. To address this problem, we study topic-aware influence maximization, which, given a topic-aware influence maximization (TIM) query, finds k seeds from a social network such that the topic-aware influence spread of the k seeds is maximized. Our goal is to enable online TIM queries. Since the topic-aware influence maximization problem is NP-hard, we focus on devising efficient algorithms to achieve instant performance while keeping a high influence spread. We utilize a maximum influence arborescence (MIA) model to approximate the computation of influence spread. To efficiently find k seeds under the MIA model, we first propose a best-effort algorithm with 1 − 1/e approximation ratio, which estimates an upper bound of the topic-aware influence of each user and utilizes the bound to prune large numbers of users with small influence. We devise effective techniques to estimate tighter upper bounds. We then propose a faster topic-sample-based algorithm with e · (1 − 1/e) approximation ratio for any e ∈ (0, 1], which materializes the influence spread of some topic-distribution samples and utilizes the materialized information to avoid computing the actual influence of users with small influences. Experimental results show that our methods significantly outperform baseline approaches.
Detection of antinuclear antibodies by solid-phase immunoassays and immunofluorescence analysis.

BACKGROUND Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are associated with several inflammatory rheumatic diseases. The aim of the present work was to evaluate enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) and compare them with classic immunofluorescent analysis (IFA) for the detection of ANA. METHODS Seven enzyme immunoassays were used in this study. All assays were applied as described by the manufacturers. Three populations were included in the study: (a) a population of patients with well-established autoimmune inflammatory disease (n = 102); (b) a population in which a rheumatic disease was diagnosed up to 5 years after an IFA was performed (n = 164); and (c) a population of consecutive outpatients suspected to have a rheumatic disease (n = 101). The current clinical diagnoses of the patients served as the standard against which performance of the assays was evaluated. RESULTS In patients with well-established rheumatic disorders, the newly developed EIA in which HEp-2 extracts were included had sensitivities and specificities comparable to or in some instances better than the IFA. The assays without HEp-2 extracts included had significantly lower sensitivities and specificities. In the outpatient population, up to 51% of patients had positive ANA tests that did not correspond to classic ANA-associated disease. However, in the assays in which the HEp-2 extracts were not included, the false-positive rate was <10%. The false-negative rate judged against IFA differed from assay to assay and disease to disease and was mostly <10%. CONCLUSIONS In this study, the sensitivities of EIAs and IFA were largely comparable. However, EIAs without HEp-2 extracts included had a low sensitivity but a high specificity, particularly in nonselected populations. The choice of test is highly dependent on the clinical setting in which the ANA test is to be used and on laboratory policy.
Measuring Ambiguity Aversion

Loss Set A Set A Set A Set A Investment Set B Set B Set B Set B Insurance Set B Set B Set B Set B Furthermore, the subjects face four different types of information in both decision frames and treatments. The ‘precise’ information frame has exact probabilities and exact payments stated. In the ‘ambiguity in probability’ frames, the probability is stated as a range and the payment is fixed. Conversely, in the ‘ambiguity in payment’ frames, the probability is fixed and
Urinary ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulfate testing for recent drinking in alcohol-dependent outpatients treated with acamprosate or placebo.

AIMS Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS) are sensitive and specific biomarkers for recent alcohol ingestion. This study compared urinary EtG and EtS measurement with self-reports for detection of prior drinking in alcohol-dependent outpatients treated with the anti-craving medication acamprosate or placebo. METHODS Alcohol-dependent outpatients (26 women, 30 men) were randomized to 21 days of oral acamprosate (2 g/day) or placebo treatment in a double-blind design. They were instructed to refrain from drinking during the study. Return visits to the ward for blood and urine sampling and filling out questionnaires were made on Day 7, 14 (urine sample optional) and 22 (urine sample mandatory). EtG and EtS were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS On the first day (Day 0), 72% of all patients (acamprosate 65%, placebo 78%) tested positive for recent drinking according to urinary EtG (reporting limit ≥ 0.5 mg/l) and EtS (≥ 0.1 mg/l). On the final day (Day 22), the frequency of positive tests was significantly reduced to 30% in the acamprosate group (P = 0.0374) and 33% for placebo (P = 0.0050). However, there was no difference between the treatment groups. When both groups were combined, the EtG (P = 0.025) and EtS (P = 0.015) concentrations were lower on the final day. Altogether, EtG and EtS were detected in 76 of 156 (49%) urine samples. When drinking in the day before sampling was admitted, 93% of urines tested positive; when drinking was denied, still 28% of the samples were positive. CONCLUSION These results confirmed the value of urinary EtG and EtS as reliable indicators of recent drinking during outpatient treatment of persons with alcohol-related problems, and as objective outcome measures when evaluating new alcohol treatment strategies and pharmacotherapies.
Growing Older Does Not Always Mean Moving Slower: Examining Aging and the Saccadic Motor System

Although humans typically move more slowly as they age, one exception may be the saccadic motor system. To fully determine whether the execution of saccades is affected by age, the authors examined detailed kinematics of vertical and horizontal saccades across a range of saccadic amplitudes (4°, 8°, and 12°). Ten younger and 20 older adults participated in each experiment. Whereas in the 1st experiment, the authors assessed volitionally generated saccades, in the 2nd experiment, they evaluated reflexively generated saccades. The results of those experiments showed that the saccadic motor system is relatively impervious to the effects of aging; in fact, the differences between vertical and horizontal saccades were more evident than were differences between saccades produced by younger and older adults. The authors discuss possible reasons for that relative resistance to aging.
A Survey of Collaborative Robotics Core Technologies and Their Military Applications

The military forces of the future will use multi-agent robotic workforces for reconnaissance and surveillance, logistics and support, communications infrastructure, forward-deployed offensive operations, and as tactical decoys to conceal maneuver by manned assets. Towards this end, there is a clear and definite need for optimal, or pareto-optimal, multi-robot control strategies in the synthesis, design, implementation, and fielding of autonomous and semi-autonomous teams of combat robots for military systems. Proven coordination methods are essential to enable interactions with in dynamic and hostile environments, synchronized maneuvers, sensible and robust rules of engagement (ROE), and reliable field behavior. This paper surveys the state-of-the art in autonomous multi-robot work systems and investigates the relative strengths and weaknesses of each of approach with respect to military applications. Further, it outlines guidance for future research directions and new capabilities that could provide the scalability, robustness, and flexibility necessary for the production of combat-worthy robotic forces. From this survey, we have concluded that current multi-robot coordination and cooperation architectures alone are not fully sufficient to handle the scale and scope of future combat – that new methods and design approaches (potentially ones currently under development) will be required to provide the foundation for the realization of military-grade robotic workforces needed for combat by 2010 FCS field deployment deadline.
Deconstructing sociotechnical identity in maker cultures

In this paper we argue that Makers engage in various degrees of sociotechnical identity formation. We explore the role of gender in maker identity formation and how the masculine characteristics of maker spaces create challenges for feminine identity construction and expression. Our ethnographic study of German computer clubs indicated that children as Makers synthesize gender and technical identities within the context of STEAM skill building activities.
Recovery from acidification of lakes in Finland, Norway and Sweden 1990–1999

Abstract. Sulphate deposition has decreased by about 60% in the Nordic countries since the early 1980s. Nitrogen deposition has been roughly constant during the past 20 years, with only a minor decrease in the late 1990s. The resulting changes in the chemistry of small lakes have been followed by national monitoring programmes initiated in the 1980s in Finland (163 lakes), Norway (100 lakes) and Sweden (81 lakes). These lakes are partly a subset from the survey of 5690 lakes in the Northern European lake survey of 1995. Trend analyses on data for the period 1990-1999 show that the non-marine sulphate concentrations in lakes have decreased significantly in 69% of the monitored lakes. Changes were largest in lakes with the highest mean concentrations. Nitrate concentrations, on the other hand, were generally low and showed no systematic changes. Concentrations of non-marine base cations decreased in 26% of the lakes, most probably an ionic-strength effect due to the lower concentrations of mobile strong-acid anions. Acid neutralising capacity increased in 32% of the lakes. Trends in recovery were in part masked by large year-to-year variations in sea-salt inputs and by increases in total organic carbon concentrations. These changes were most probably the result of climatic variations. Nordic lakes, therefore, show clear signs of recovery from acidification. Recovery began in the 1980s and accelerated in the 1990s. Reductions in sulphur deposition are the major "driving force" in the process of recovery from acidification. Further recovery can be expected in the next 10 years if the Gothenburg protocol on emissions of acidifying pollutants is implemented. Keywords: Nordic countries, sulphur deposition, lakes, recovery
The effect of the bottom boundary on diapycnal mixing in enclosed basins

Tracers released into the pelagic, stratified center of lakes, show that interior mixing - based on both mode-related internal shear and higherfrequency internal waves â is extremely weak. After horizontal spreading, the tracers "feel" the local bottom boundaries (BBL) and the basin-scale diapycnal (vertical) mixing increases by more than one order of magnitude. Balancing kinetic energy and dissipation reveals that the observed internal energetics and mixing can be explained by classical bottom friction of the basin-scale (seiches)
Distributed Processing of Conjunctive Queries

We distinguish that Web query processing is composed of two phases: (a) retrieving information on documents related to the queries and ranking them, and (b) generating snippets, title, and URL information for the answer page. Using real data and a small cluster of index servers, we study four basic and key issues related to this first phase of query processing: load balance, broker behavior, performance by individual index servers, and overall throughput. Our study reveals interesting tradeoffs: (1) that load unbalance at low query arrival rates can be controlled with a simple measure of randomizing the distribution of documents among the index servers, (2) that the broker is not a bottleneck, (3) that disk and CPU utilization at individual servers depends on the relationship between memory size and the distribution of frequencies for the query terms, and (4) that load unbalance at high loads prevents higher throughput.
An intragenic methylated region in the imprinted Igf2 gene augments transcription

DNA methylation is usually associated with transcriptional silencing, but in the imprinted mouse Igf2 gene, the paternally expressed copy is methylated in two discrete differentially methylated regions (DMRs). DMR1 is located upstream of the fetal promoters and has been shown to be a methylation sensitive silencer. Here we examine the role of the intragenic DMR2 by gene targeting. In contrast to DMR1, deletion of DMR2 on the maternal allele did not lead to activation of the silent Igf2 gene. Deletion of a 54 bp methylated core region in DMR2 on the paternal allele, however, reduced Igf2 mRNA levels and was associated with fetal growth retardation. Nuclear run‐on assays showed that the core region influenced transcription initiation, and luciferase reporter assays suggested that its methylation increases transcription. These results reveal a novel mechanism of gene expression whereby intragenic methylation can increase levels of transcription.
Precipitation model validation in 3RD generation aeroturbine disc alloys

In support of application of the DARPA-AIM methodology to the accelerated hybrid thermal process optimization of 3rd generation aeroturbine disc alloys with quantified uncertainty, equilibrium and diffusion couple experiments have identified available fundamental thermodynamic and mobility databases of sufficient accuracy. Using coherent interfacial energies quantified by Single-Sensor DTA nucleation undercooling measurements, PrecipiCalc(TM) simulations of nonisothermal precipitation in both supersolvus and subsolvus treated samples show good agreement with measured gamma particle sizes and compositions. Observed longterm isothermal coarsening behavior defines requirements for further refinement of elastic misfit energy and treatment of the parallel evolution of incoherent precipitation at grain boundaries.
Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 in human corneal epithelium.

PURPOSE To examine normal human corneal epithelium in vivo and in vitro for expression and status of plasniinogcn activ:ltor inhibitor type 2 (PAI-2). METHODS Normal hiuman corneas were prepared for frozen sections and for culture of corneal keratinocytes. PAI-2 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis uising antibodies that recognize all forms of PAI-2. RESULTS In vivo and in vitro, PAI-2 was immunohistochemically localized to the superficial corneal keratinocytes. Immunostaining also revealed the presence of PAI-2 in its relaxed (i.e., cleaved) conformation. In vivo, the staining pattern of the relaxed form was identical with that of total PAI-2, but in vitro the relaxed form was detected in a smaller subpopulation of superficial cells. In vitro, the staining pattern indicated a cytoplasmic localization for PAI-2. Western blot analysis revealed that most of the PAI-2 was cell associated and functionally active. CONCLUSIONS The present results are the first to show that PAI-2 is found in normal human corneal epithelium in vivo and in vitro, where it can be considered as a differentiation product. At least in vitro, all detectable PAI-2 is cell associated, with a cytoplasmic distribution. A subpopulation of keratinocytes also contains PAI-2 in its relaxed (i.e., cleaved) conformation. Cleavage by an as yet unidentified cytoplasmic proteinase may constitute a crucial aspect of the function of corneal epithelial PAI-2, which may be relevant to terminal differentiation and death of the corneal keratinocyte.
Relationship among Environmental Pointing Accuracy, Mental Rotation, Sex, and Hormones

Humans rely on internal representations to solve a variety of spatial problems including navigation. Navigation employs specific information to compose a representation of space that is distinct from that obtained through static bird’s-eye or horizontal perspectives. The ability to point to on-route locations, off-route locations, and the route origin illustrates the unique types of spatial knowledge that can be acquired during navigation. This research explores the accuracy with which men and women perform these types of pointing tasks to better understand the development and structure of their cognitive maps as a result of experience in the environment. Interestingly, it appears that endogenous concentrations of the sex hormone testosterone significantly predict pointing accuracy. This pattern is consistent with what is observed with pencil-and-paper tasks of spatial ability that may relate to environmental spatial abilities such as navigation.
Gender, nature and dominance : an analysis of interconnections between patriarchy and anthroparchy, using examples of meat and pornography

This thesis investigates the relationship between gender and ecology. It conceptualizes relations of difference and inequality socially constructed upon gender and nature as part of specific systems of oppression: patriarchy (male domination) and anthroparchy (human domination of the environment). It does not see these oppressions as isolated, but as relatively autonomous and interconnected. It critiques green theory as gender-blind, and feminist theory, with the exception of eco-feminism, as nature-blind. Drawing upon analyses within eco-feminism, radical feminism and other literature in sociology, it develops a dual systems approach in order to examine the relationship between patriarchy and anthroparchy as one characterized both by harmony and mutual reinforcement, and by conflict and difference in terms of the forms dominance assumes and the degrees to which such forms may operate. The thesis is substantiated via comparison of two contemporary case studies: meat and pornography, which are examined as cultural phenomena (regimes of representations), and as industries. Green theory has seen meat as ‘speciesist’ (discriminating against Other animals on the basis of species membership), and radical feminism has largely understood pornography as a patriarchal construction. This thesis attempts to show the problems with such approaches, and argues the specific instances of oppression of meat and pornography involve the articulation of both patriarchy and anthroparchy, although these oppressive systems operate in different forms, to different degrees, and at different levels, depending on case and context.
Robotic Tentacles with Three‐Dimensional Mobility Based on Flexible Elastomers

Soft robotic tentacles that move in three dimensions upon pressurization are fabricated by composing flexible elastomers with different tensile strengths using soft lithographic molding. These actuators are able to grip complex shapes and manipulate delicate objects. Embedding functional components into these actuators (for example, a needle for delivering fluid, a video camera, and a suction cup) extends their capabilities.
ON ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS ON GENUS TWO CURVES

We study arithmetic progression in the x-coordinate of rational points on genus two curves. As we know, there are two models for the curve C of genus two: C : y 2 = f5(x) or C : y 2 = f6(x), where f5, f6 2 Q(x), deg f5 = 5, deg f6 = 6 and the polynomials f5, f6 do not have multiple roots. First we prove that there exists an infinite family of curves of the form y 2 = f(x), where f 2 Q(x) and deg f = 5 each containing 11 points in arithmetic progression. We also present an example of F 2 Q(x) with deg F = 5 such that on the curve y 2 = F(x) twelve points lie in arithmetic progression. Next, we show that there exist infinitely many curves of the form y 2 = g(x) where g 2 Q(x) and deg g = 6, each containing 16 points in arithmetic progression. Moreover, we present two examples of curves in this form with 18 points in arithmetic progression.