Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sexual health and Canadian youth: How do we measure up?

This paper assesses the current sexual health status of Canadian youth in relation to sexually transmitted infection pregnancy rates and sexual practices. The paper begins with a discussion of the social and historical context of adolescence and adolescent sexuality in Canada. Of particular importance in understanding adolescent sexuality is that at present our society postpones the transition from adolescent to adult status well beyond the point of biological readiness for sexual activity. Insights are drawn from international comparisons of adolescent sexual health indicators and priorities for adolescent sexual health research and promotion are discussed. Among these priorities are Canadian-based research on adolescent sexual health greater collaboration among Canadians working to promote adolescent sexual health and most importantly a commitment to listen to our youth when developing programs and services. (authors)
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia: early diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment.

ary dysplasia.2 The incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia among ventilated infants varies, depending on gestational age, from 4-2% to as high as 40%,'1 4 but increases up to 70% among infants in whom it is necessary to prolong mechanical ventilation beyond two weeks.5 Such infants have an increased mortality and morbidity even after discharge from neonatal intensive care. Readmission is common during the first two years of life and infants suffer from recurrent respiratory symptoms with persistent lung function abnormalities. Thus it is most important to determine if the course of this disease may be altered and if it is preventable.
OPENING THE BLACK BOX: STRUCTURAL FACTOR MODELS WITH LARGE CROSS SECTIONS

This paper shows how large-dimensional dynamic factor models are suitable for structural analysis. We argue that all identification schemes employed in structural vector autoregression (SVAR) analysis can be easily adapted in dynamic factor models. Moreover, the “problem of fundamentalness,” which is intractable in SVARs, can be solved, provided that the impulse-response functions are sufficiently heterogeneous. We provide consistent estimators for the impulse-response functions and for (n, T) rates of convergence. An exercise with U.S. macroeconomic data shows that our solution of the fundamentalness problem may have important empirical consequences.
Control system tuning and stability analysis of Virtual Synchronous Machines

Virtual Synchronous Machines (VSMs) have been introduced as a control concept for emulating the behavior of traditional synchronous machines with power electronic converters. This paper analyses a VSM control scheme where an outer loop for inertia emulation provides references for two cascaded voltage and current controllers. This scheme offers several advantages compared to alternative VSM implementations. However, the interactions between the cascaded control loops and the complex functional dependency of the system dynamics with respect to the controller parameters prevents the effective application of classical tuning methods to this scheme at low switching frequencies. Therefore, a tuning approach for the VSM guided by the eigenvalue sensitivity matrix of a linearized system model is proposed in the paper. The method is implemented in the form of an iterative optimization procedure enforcing stability of the system and ensuring that the system eigenvalues are moved away from critical locations. Numerical simulations in the time domain are presented to verify the improvement in dynamic performance of the system when tuned with the presented algorithm compared to the results achieved by a more conventional tuning method.
Task complexity and task, goal, and reward interdependence in group performance management: A prescriptive model

A prescriptive model on how to design effective combinations of goal setting and contingent rewards for group performance management is presented. The model incorporates the constructs task complexity, task interdependence, goal interdependence, and reward interdependence and specifies optimal fit relationships between these constructs. Four propositions address the levels of goal interdependence that should be created given certain levels of task complexity and task interdependence. Based on the assumption that reward systems should reinforce goal attainment through a level of reward interdependence that is similar to the level of interdependence created by the goals, four additional propositions are formulated. These are confronted with the results of experimental studies on the effects of reward interdependence on group performance. We argue that the research on effective combinations of goal setting and contingent rewards for the performance management of groups will benefit from studies in which: (1) both task interdependence and task complexity are taken into account, and (2) goal interdependence and rewards interdependence are manipulated separately.
Tone Versus Information: Explaining the Impact of Negative Political Advertising

Recent findings from the literature on negative advertising conclude that its impact on campaign knowledge, interest, and turnout is beneficial. These conclusions are usually justified theoretically by the arguments that negativity prompts close attention in a way that positivity does not and that negative advertising contains more issue information than positive advertising. However, if negative advertising contains more issue information, we cannot separate the impact of its tone from information effects. Using an experiment that presented equal issue information in parallel negative and positive ads, little or no evidence is found of a greater impact of negative than positive ads. The conclusion is that the impact of negative advertising may be due more to the issue information it contains than to the arresting power of its negative tone.
Social support as a mediator between problem behaviour and gambling: a cross-sectional study among 14–16-year-old Finnish adolescents

Background During the adolescent period, risk-taking behaviour increases. These behaviours can compromise the successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine social support as a mediator of the relation between problem behaviour and gambling frequency among Finnish adolescents. Methods Data were obtained from the national School Health Promotion Study (SHPS) from the years 2010 and 2011 (N=102 545). Adolescents were classified in the most homogeneous groups based on their problem behaviour via latent class analysis. Results Path analysis indicated that social support was negatively associated with problem behaviour, and problem behaviour and social support were negatively related (except for social support from friends among boys) to gambling. Social support from parents and school mediated, albeit weakly, the relations between problem behaviour and gambling among girls and boys. Conclusions Problem behaviour may affect gambling through social support from school and parents. Thus prevention and intervention strategies should focus on strengthening adolescents' social support. In addition, because of the clustering of different problem behaviours instead of concentrating on a single form of problem behaviour multiple-behaviour interventions may have a much greater impact on public health.
Cumulative Loss, Current Stress, and the Family: A Pilot Investigation of Individual and Systemic Effects

While many clinical approaches to family therapy emphasize the impact of past stressors and losses on family functioning, there has been little empirical support for this position. This pilot study of twenty-four families examined the relationship between stressors and all deaths over four generations in a family's history, and the current functioning of family members. Results were mixed, but provided some intriguing findings about the differential impact of loss histories on mothers and fathers, and some evidence for the multigenerational and systemic effects of the stress/loss history. Methodological problems are discussed, and suggestions for future research are made.
A radical approach to early mixed utterances

We take a radical approach to the organizing principles of emergent grammars in bilingual children: (1) We adopt the framework of Radical Construction Grammar (Croft, 2001) and (2) we undertake an extensive analysis of a wide range of utterances, covering the first six months of word combinations in two children. We address two questions: (1) Do predicates fail to match the language context more often than arguments? (2) What is the nature of the mixed child predicates, and does it change over time? We find that (1) for both children predicates do fail to match the language context more often and (2) both children move from the use of non-verbs as predicates in the first months to adult-like use of verb predicates later. A third question arises from our findings: Why should bilingual children treat predicates differently from arguments in early word combination? We attribute this to the learning process itself and to a difference in accessibility established in adult studies for concrete or imageable as compared with abstract words. The arguments used in the first word combinations, derived directly from experience with objects and persons, are readily imageable, while early predicates have to be learned through a process of abstraction.
Transcription Factor GATA-4 Is Abundantly Expressed in Childhood but Not in Adult Liver Tumors

Objectives: Transcription factor GATA-4 is expressed in early fetal liver and essential for organogenesis. It is also implicated in carcinogenesis in several endoderm-derived organs. Hepatoblastoma (HB), the most common malignant pediatric liver tumor, has features of fetal liver including extramedullary hematopoiesis. We investigated the expression of GATA-4 and its purported target gene erythropoietin (Epo) in liver tumors and the role of GATA-4 in HB pathogenesis. Patients and Methods: Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used for liver samples from patients with HB or hepatocellular carcinoma. To further investigate the role of GATA-4 in pediatric liver tumors, we used adenoviral transfections of wild-type or dominant negative GATA-4 constructs in the human HB cell line, HUH6. Results: We found abundant GATA-4 expression in both types of liver tumors in children, whereas it was absent in adult hepatocellular carcinoma. A close family member GATA-6 was expressed in a minority of childhood but not adult liver tumors. Epo, present in the fetal liver, was also expressed in childhood liver tumors. Moreover, cell line HUH6 was GATA-4 positive and produced Epo. We found that altering the amount of functional GATA-4 in HUH6 cells did not significantly affect either proliferation or apoptosis. Conclusions: GATA-4 is abundant in pediatric liver tumors, but unraveling its exact role in these neoplasms requires further investigation.
Memory for Intentions Screening Test: Psychometric Properties and Clinical Evidence

Abstract As the field of prospective memory (ProM) research has expanded, recognition of the need to make a clinical diagnosis of ProM difficulties has also increased. In addition, there is increasing interest in understanding in more detail the ways in which ProM deficits differ in populations with different underlying neurological dysfunctions. While questionnaires, naturalistic studies and laboratory studies have all been invaluable in furthering our understanding of ProM, until recently there has not been a standardised clinical measure. The Memory for Intentions Screening Test (MIST) was designed to be a relatively brief clinical measure of ProM in clinical populations. The MIST allows for comparisons of performance with event-based and time-based cues. The MIST also has some items with a short (2-minute) and some with a long (15-minute) delay period. Finally, the MIST contains items that require a verbal response as well as items that require an action response. The MIST has now been used in studies of normal ageing as well as a range of clinical populations, including individuals with traumatic brain injury, individuals with HIV infection and individuals with schizophrenia. The psychometric properties of the MIST have been found to be acceptable. Data from each of the clinical populations that have been administered the MIST demonstrate good specificity and sensitivity of the measure as well as the ability to begin to make comparisons about different patterns of performance between disease types.
Maternal Predictors of Early Adolescent Achievement-Related Outcomes

Investigated in the present study was the association between maternal parenting practices and school and developmental achievements among early adolescents. Guided by theories and previous research on gender differences, of special interest in the present study was whether and how adolescent gender would moderate the association between individual parenting practices (warmth, monitoring, psychological autonomy giving) and adolescent school and developmental achievements (school grades and psychosocial maturity). Fifty-eight early adolescents participated in the study; all adolescents were attending or had just completed eighth grade. Results indicated that monitoring made the largest individual contribution to school grades and psychosocial maturity and that gender moderated the association between two of the three parenting practices and adolescent psychosocial maturity. Specifically, the associations between warmth and psychological autonomy giving and psychosocial maturity were stronger for girls than for boys. The importance of examining individual parenting practices as well as explanations for the moderating effect of gender are discussed.
Trying to Be Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitanism is often heralded as a cultural orientation ideally suited to the sociocultural and economic complexities emanating from the accelerating pace of globalization. In this study, we analyze the consumption stories of expatriate professionals who are trying to enact a cosmopolitan identity. For these participants, trying to be cosmopolitan precipitates a nexus of salient experiential tensions and conflicts that are negotiated through their consumption and leisure practices. Although these expatriates identify with dominant cosmopolitan ideals of nomadic mobility and cultural adaptability, their consumer stories reveal a host of countervailing tensions deriving from emotional and interpersonal ties to home, desires for communal affiliations, and enduring preferences for familiar goods and places. We trace the history of colonial and patriarchal meanings that form the ideological underpinnings to these tensions. We propose that these ideological complexities and contradictions foster a paradoxical effacement of the conventional boundaries between work and leisure and between touristic practices and everyday consumer experiences. We discuss the implications of our analysis for theoretical conceptions of postmodern consumption and for consumer research on consumption goals. Copyright 1999 by the University of Chicago.
Effect of treated sunflower meal with tannin extracted from pistachio hulls on in vitro gas production and ruminal fermentation

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of various amounts of treated sunflower meal (SFM) with extracted tannins from pistachio hulls on in vitro gas production and ruminal fermentation in ruminants. The SFM was treated with pistachio extract concentrate (PEC), which contained 111.40 g kg-1 total phenol and 71.30 g kg-1 total tannin per dry matter of extract, at six experimental treatment levels of 0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 g PEC per 100 g SFM on a dry matter basis. In vitro gas production, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), metabolizable energy (ME) and fermentative parameters of samples were measured. The PEC had no effect on fermentation rate, but asymptotic gas production was linearly decreased with increasing dose of extract. All fermentation parameters (i.e., apparent degraded substrate, short chain fatty acids, gas yield at 24 hr, partitioning factor at 96 hr, IVOMD, ME and microbial protein production (MP) linearly decreased with increasing PEC treatment. Inclusion of PEC linearly decreased ruminal ammonia nitrogen concentration (NH3-N), total protozoa population and pH in the all incubation times. In conclusion, the addition of PEC positively modified some rumen parameters such as NH3-N concentration and protozoa population.
Evolution, Multiple Acquisition, and Localization of Endosymbionts in Bat Flies (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea: Streblidae and Nycteribiidae)

ABSTRACT Bat flies are a diverse clade of obligate ectoparasites on bats. Like most blood-feeding insects, they harbor endosymbiotic prokaryotes, but the origins and nature of these symbioses are still poorly understood. To expand the knowledge of bacterial associates in bat flies, the diversity and evolution of the dominant endosymbionts in six of eight nominal subfamilies of bat flies (Streblidae and Nycteribiidae) were studied. Furthermore, the localization of endosymbionts and their transmission across developmental stages within the family Streblidae were explored. The results show diverse microbial associates in bat flies, with at least four ancestral invasions of distantly related microbial lineages throughout bat fly evolution. Phylogenetic relationships support the presence of at least two novel symbiont lineages (here clades B and D), and extend the geographic and taxonomic range of a previously documented lineage (“Candidatus Aschnera chinzeii”; here clade A). Although these lineages show reciprocally monophyletic clusters with several bat fly host clades, their phylogenetic relationships generally do not reflect current bat fly taxonomy or phylogeny. However, within some endosymbiont clades, congruent patterns of symbiont-host divergence are apparent. Other sequences identified in this study fall into the widely distributed, highly invasive, insect-associated Arsenophonus lineage and may be the result of symbiont replacements and/or transient infections (here clade C). Vertical transmission of endosymbionts of clades B and D is supported by fluorescent signal (fluorescent in situ hybridization [FISH]) and microbial DNA detection across developmental stages. The fluorescent bacterial signal is consistently localized within structures resembling bacteriomes, although their anatomical position differs by host fly clade. In summary, the results suggest an obligate host-endosymbiont relationship for three of the four known symbiont clades associated with bat flies (clades A, B, and D).
BACTERIAL DEGRADATION AND BIOREMEDIATION OF CHLORINATED HERBICIDES AND BIPHENYLS

Chlorinated herbicides (e.g. s-triazines) and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are widely distributed in the environment. s-Triazine herbicides are used in agriculture and forestry in diverse regions of the world. PCBs were produced worldwide for industrial applications, and an important amount of these compounds have been released into the environment. PCBs and s-triazines are toxic compounds that could act as endocrine disrupters and cause cancer. Therefore, environmental pollution with s-triazines and PCBs is of increasing concern. Bioremediation is an attractive technology for the decontamination of polluted sites. Microorganisms play a main role in the removal of POPs from the environment. Diverse bacteria able to degrade s-triazines and PCBs have been characterized. Bacterial degradation of s-triazine herbicides involves hydrolytic reactions catalyzed by amidohydrolases encoded by the atz genes. Anaerobic and aerobic bacteria are capable of biotransforming PCBs. Higher chlorinated PCBs are subjected to reductive dehalogenation by anaerobic microorganisms. Lower chlorinated biphenyls are oxidized by aerobic bacteria. Genome analyses of PCB-degrading bacteria have increased the knowledge of their metabolic capabilities and their adaptation to stressful conditions. For the removal of s-triazines and PCBs from the environment, efficient bioremediation processes have to be established. In this report, bacterial degradation of s-triazines and PCBs is described and novel strategies to improve bioremediation of these POPs are discussed.
Noise and power reduction in filters through the use of adjustable biasing

A technique that enables the variation of bias currents in a filter without causing disturbances at the output is presented. Thus, the bias current can be kept at the minimum value necessary for the total input signal being processed, reducing the noise and power consumption. To demonstrate this approach, a dynamically biased log-domain filter has been designed in a 0.25-/spl mu/m BiCMOS technology. The chip occupies 0.52 mm/sup 2/. In its quiescent condition, the filter consumes 575 /spl mu/W and has an output noise of 4.4 nA rms. Signal-to-noise ratio greater than 50 dB over 3 decades of input and total harmonic distortion less than 1% for inputs less than 2.5 mA peak are achieved. The bias can be varied to minimize noise and power consumption without disturbing the output.
Role of Gender and Rumination in Suicide Ideation: A Comparison of College Samples From Ghana and the United States

The role of ruminative coping and gender as potential moderators of cultural differences in suicide ideation among 194 college students from Ghana and the United States were studied. Participants completed the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire and the Rumination scale of the Response Style Questionnaire. Significant main effects for cultural group and gender were found for suicide ideation. Furthermore, gender and rumination together accounted for significant portions of the variance in suicide ideation scores. Implications for future research are discussed.
Proteome Analysis of Human Hair Shaft

The human hair proteome was investigated using two-dimensional LC-MS/MS. Among the 343 identified proteins, 70 were detected in high relative abundance, including keratin intermediate filament proteins, largely extractable with denaturants. Over 300 proteins were found to constitute the insoluble complex formed by transglutaminase cross-linking. The intracellular distribution of identified proteins is wide from cytoplasm to nucleus, mitochondria, ribosome, and plasma membrane. These results help rationalize ultrastructural features visible in the mature hair. Keratins and several substrates for transglutaminase were found to be posttranslationally modified by methylation and dimethylation. Evidence for ubiquitination of hair proteins was also obtained.
Mechanics background influences students’ conceptions in electromagnetism

The understanding of different aspects of the ‘field’ concept in electromagnetism was tested with high school students and prospective teachers of technological disciplines. Some of the observed difficulties could be interpreted as originating from the change in methodological approaches employed in different domains of physics: electromagnetism vis‐a‐vis mechanics. This may have encouraged students to misinterpret the nature of force interactions and work‐‐energy conversions in the presence of electromagnetic fields. Clarification of the rationale for introducing the ‘field’ concept, especially in its historical aspect, could be useful in coping with the teaching‐learning problems evidenced in this study and other research.