Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Slapping and spanking in childhood and its association with lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a general population sample.

BACKGROUND Little information is available in Canada about the prevalence of and outcomes associated with a history of slapping and spanking in childhood. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of a history of slapping or spanking in a general population sample and to assess the relation between such a history and the lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders. METHODS In this general population survey, a probability sample of 9953 residents of Ontario aged 15 years and older who participated in the Ontario Health Supplement was used to examine the prevalence of a history of slapping and spanking. A subgroup of this sample (n = 4888), which comprised people aged 15 to 64 years who did not report a history of physical or sexual abuse during childhood, was used to assess the relation between a history of slapping or spanking and the lifetime prevalence of 4 categories of psychiatric disorder. The measures included a self-administered questionnaire with a question about frequency of slapping and spanking during childhood, as well as an interviewer-administered questionnaire to measure psychiatric disorder. RESULTS The majority of respondents indicated that they had been slapped or spanked, or both, by an adult during childhood "sometimes" (33.4%) or "rarely" (40.9%); 5.5% reported that this occurred "often. " The remainder (20.2%) reported "never" experiencing these behaviours. Among the respondents without a history of physical or sexual abuse during childhood, those who reported being slapped or spanked "often" or "sometimes" had significantly higher lifetime rates of anxiety disorders (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.96), alcohol abuse or dependence (adjusted OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.27-3.21) and one or more externalizing problems (adjusted OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.36-3.16), compared with those who reported "never" being slapped or spanked. There was also an association between a history of slapping or spanking and major depression, but it was not statistically significant (adjusted OR 1.64, 95% CI 0.96-2.80). INTERPRETATION There appears to be a linear association between the frequency of slapping and spanking during childhood and a lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorder, alcohol abuse or dependence and externalizing problems.
The Determinants of Child Labor and Schooling in the Philippines

The previous literature suggests that the determinants of child labor are largely country specific, indicating that any policies aimed at reducing child labor must look carefully at the causes of child labor in context. My thesis adds to the empirical work on child labor by investigating what household and community characteristics are most common among working children in the Philippines, using data collected by the International Labour Organization. I use a multinomial logit model with child activity as the dependent variable, where the three possible outcomes are work only, work and study, and study only. I find that poverty has a strong negative impact on the probability a child works full time or part time (relative to study only), especially in rural areas, as do the years of the household head’s education and having electricity and access to drinking water. Having a close biological relation to the head has a significantly positive effect on the probability of studying only for all groups of children, and especially for urban girls. The results also indicate that government programs like welfare and community organizations do little to reduce child labor, probably due to the lack of awareness among the majority of the populace.
Direct Testing for Allele-Specific Expression Differences Between Conditions

Allelic imbalance (AI) indicates the presence of functional variation in cis regulatory regions. Detecting cis regulatory differences using AI is widespread, yet there is no formal statistical methodology that tests whether AI differs between conditions. Here, we present a novel model and formally test differences in AI across conditions using Bayesian credible intervals. The approach tests AI by environment (G×E) interactions, and can be used to test AI between environments, genotypes, sex, and any other condition. We incorporate bias into the modeling process. Bias is allowed to vary between conditions, making the formulation of the model general. As gene expression affects power for detection of AI, and, as expression may vary between conditions, the model explicitly takes coverage into account. The proposed model has low type I and II error under several scenarios, and is robust to large differences in coverage between conditions. We reanalyze RNA-seq data from a Drosophila melanogaster population panel, with F1 genotypes, to compare levels of AI between mated and virgin female flies, and we show that AI × genotype interactions can also be tested. To demonstrate the use of the model to test genetic differences and interactions, a formal test between two F1s was performed, showing the expected 20% difference in AI. The proposed model allows a formal test of G×E and G×G, and reaffirms a previous finding that cis regulation is robust between environments.
Competition Between Aquatic Insects and Vertebrates: Interaction Strength and Higher Order Interactions

Replicated experiments in artificial ponds demonstrated that an assemblage of aquatic insects competed with tadpoles of the frogs Hyla andersonii and Bufo woodhousei fowleri. We independently manipulated the presence or absence of aquatic insects, and the abundance of an anuran competitor (O or 150 Bufo w. fowleri per experimental pond), using a completely crossed design for two—factor variance analysis, and observed the responses of initially similar cohorts of Hyla andersonii tadpoles to neither, either, or both insect and anuran competitors. Insects and Bufo significantly depressed the mean individual mass at metamorphosis of Hyla froglets and the cumulative biomass of anurans leaving the ponds at metamorphosis. Neither insects nor Bufo affected the survival or larval period of Hyla. Insects also significantly reduced the mean mass of Bufo, showing that both anurans responded to competition from insects. The intensity of competition between natural densities of insects and Hyla tadpoles was comparable to the intensity of competition between Bufo and Hyla, as a density of 150 Bufo/1000 L.
The effect of military service on soldiers’ time preferences — Evidence from Israel

The current field study compares the time preferences of young adults of similar ages but in two very different environments, one more dangerous and uncertain than the other. Soldiers, college students and a control group of teenagers answered questionnaires about their time preferences. During mandatory service, soldiers live in a violent atmosphere where they face great uncertainty about the near future and high risk of mortality (measured by probability of survival). University students and teenagers live in much calmer environment and are tested for performance only periodically. The soldier-subjects show relatively high subjective discount rates when compared to the other two groups. We suggest that the higher subjective discount rate among soldiers can be the result of high perceived risk in the army as an institution, or higher mortality risk.
Controls on Early‐Rift Geometry: New Perspectives From the Bilila‐Mtakataka Fault, Malawi

We use the ∼110‐km long Bilila‐Mtakataka fault in the amagmatic southern East African Rift, Malawi, to investigate the controls on early‐rift geometry at the scale of a major border fault. Morphological variations along the 14 ± 8‐m high scarp define six 10‐ to 40‐km long segments, which are either foliation parallel or oblique to both foliation and the current regional extension direction. As the scarp is neither consistently parallel to foliation nor well oriented for the current regional extension direction, we suggest that the segmented surface expression is related to the local reactivation of well‐oriented weak shallow fabrics above a broadly continuous structure at depth. Using a geometrical model, the geometry of the best fitting subsurface structure is consistent with the local strain field from recent seismicity. In conclusion, within this early‐rift, preexisting weaknesses only locally control border fault geometry at subsurface.
Up and Down Mini-Buckets: A Scheme for Approximating Combinatorial Optimization Tasks

The paper addresses the problem of computing lower bounds on the optimal costs associated with each unary assignment of a value to a variable in combinatorial optimization problems. This task is instrumental in probabilistic reasoning and is also important for the development of admissible heuristic functions that can guide search algorithms for optimal solutions. The paper presents UD-MB, a new algorithm that applies the mini-bucket elimination idea [Dechter and Rish, 1997 ] to accomplish this task. We show empirically that UD-MB may achieve a substantial speed up over a bruteforce approximation method via mini-buckets.
Predicting emergency department admissions

Objective To develop and validate models to predict emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital admissions for time and day of the year. Methods Initial model development and validation was based on 5 years of historical data from two dissimilar hospitals, followed by subsequent validation on 27 hospitals representing 95% of the ED presentations across the state. Forecast accuracy was assessed using the mean average percentage error (MAPE) between forecasts and observed data. The study also determined a daily sample size threshold for forecasting subgroups within the data. Results Presentations to the ED and subsequent admissions to hospital beds are not random and can be predicted. Forecast accuracy worsened as the forecast time intervals became smaller: when forecasting monthly admissions, the best MAPE was approximately 2%, for daily admissions, 11%; for 4-hourly admissions, 38%; and for hourly admissions, 50%. Presentations were more easily forecast than admissions (daily MAPE ∼7%). When validating accuracy at additional hospitals, forecasts for urban facilities were generally more accurate than regional forecasts (accuracy is related to sample size). Subgroups within the data with more than 10 admissions or presentations per day had forecast errors statistically similar to the entire dataset. The study also included a software implementation of the models, resulting in a data dashboard for bed managers. Conclusions Valid ED prediction tools can be generated from access to de-identified historic data, which may be used to assist elective surgery scheduling and bed management. The paper provides forecasting performance levels to guide similar studies.
Climate Niches of Tick Species in the Mediterranean Region: Modeling of Occurrence Data, Distributional Constraints, and Impact of Climate Change

Abstract In this study, we used ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA) and principal components analysis (PCA) of climate variables to define the climate niches and areas of potential colonization of six species of ticks in the Mediterranean region: Dermacentor marginatus Sulzer, Rhipicephalus bursa Canestrini & Fanzago, Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantsev, Matikashvili & Lototsky, Hyalomma marginatum Koch, Hyalomma excavatum Koch, and Boophilus annulatus (Say). ENFA generated distribution models that varied in accuracy from high to very high (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.87–0.97), with the lowest AUC obtained for B. annulatus. PCA provided an adequate separation of the climate niches of different species in the reduced space of the variables. Climate scenarios and factorial consensus analysis were used to evaluate the geographic impact of climate change (as turnover in habitat suitability) on the niches of the ticks and net variations in habitat availability. The scenario that was most compatible with estimates of future climate in the Mediterranean region (increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall) was predicted to produce a sharp increase in the extent of suitable habitat for R. bursa, R. turanicus, and H. marginatum. This scenario would result in a northward expansion of suitable habitat areas for these three species. The highest impact (highest species turnover) would be recorded at the margin of the current distribution range of the three species. A sensitivity analysis of the ecological response of the ticks to the climate change scenarios showed that the response is statistically different in different regions of the PCA-derived niche. These results outline the need to further investigate the potential of bioclimate models to obtain accurate estimations of tick species turnover under conditions of climate change over wide areas.
Gender Differences on Self-Estimates of Multiple Intelligences: A Comparison Between Indian and Lebanese Youth

Abstract A sample of 648 Lebanese and 252 Indian students estimated their multiple intelligences based on Gardner’s conceptualization. Males rated the body kinesthetic component higher than females while females estimated their verbal and intra-personal intelligence higher than males. Differences appeared between Indian and Lebanese samples on the cognitive components, namely, verbal, spatial and logical abilities. Using the educational level of the parent as a covariate, significant differences were found between the Indian and Lebanese sample on verbal, spatial, and logical abilities. Interaction effects of gender and nationality were observed on the logical component. While Lebanese males rated the logical component higher than the Lebanese females, Indian females rated the logical component higher than their male counterparts but lower than the male and female Lebanese students.
Effect of Different Zilpaterol Hydrochloride Levels and Feeding Methods on the Growth Performance, Carcass Traits and Blood Parameters of Male Japanese Quails During Two Weeks of the Finishing Period

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) levels and feeding methods on the growth performance and carcass traits of Japanese quails. In this trial, 224 male quails with 34 days of age were distributed into seven treatments. A factorial arrangement with three ZH levels (0.2, 0.225, and 0.25 mg zilpaterol/kg of live weight−1) × two feeding methods (ZH supplementation daily or every two days) plus a control treatment (no ZH supplementation) was applied. The weight gain of birds fed ZH every two days was significantly higher than those fed ZH daily during the period of 41-47 days (p=0.03). During the period of 34-40 days, ZH-supplemented birds presented higher weight gain (p<0.001) and better feed conversion ratio (p=0.005) compared with the control group. Moisture, protein, ash, and cholesterol levels of the combination of breast and leg were not affected (p≥0.10) by zilpaterol supplementation. Leg muscle fat and protein contents of control birds were higher and lower compared with ZH-supplemented birds, respectively (p=0.002 and p=0.05). In conclusion, ZH supplementation in the diet of male Japanese quail improved growth performance during the finishing period (34-40d), and the most economical level of ZH is 0.2 (mg/kg of LW−1 d−1), when supplemented every two days.
Structure–property relationships of porous materials for carbon dioxide separation and capture

There is an urgent need to identify porous materials that can efficiently separate CO2 from mixtures of gases, such as the exhaust of fossil-fuel-based power plants and from impure sources of CH4 (e.g., natural gas and landfill gas). Recently, researchers have investigated collections of porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with the intent of finding correlations between CO2 separation ability and various material properties. However, due to the limited size of the collections, no clear correlations were found for material properties such as pore size, surface area, and pore volume, leaving researchers with little guidance in the design of new materials. In this work we drastically expand the scope of previous studies to include over 130000 hypothetical MOFs, using molecular simulation to generate the adsorption properties. The resulting data exhibit sharply defined structure–property relationships that were not apparent when smaller collections of MOFs were considered. We show clear correlations between purely structural characteristics (e.g., pore size, surface area, and pore volume), as well as chemical characteristics (i.e., functional groups), with five adsorbent evaluation criteria taken from the engineering literature. These reported structure–property relationships can serve as a map for experimental synthesis going forward.
Design of a New Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Based on Compound Two-Stage Force Amplification Frame

This paper presents the design and verification of a piezoelectric energy harvester with compound two-stage force amplification frame and compact footprint size to achieve high power output for a piezoelectric stack. An improved design of the conventional bridge-type force amplification frame is proposed with compound beam, which is able to maintain the large force amplification ratio while bearing a large loading force. Analytical model is developed based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory to predict the force amplification ratio of the compound two-stage force amplifier. The architectural parameters are optimally tuned to achieve the largest force amplification ratio, so as to obtain the maximum power output for the piezoelectric stack under other constraints. Simulation study is carried out by finite element analysis to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed compound two-stage force amplifier over conventional design. Moreover, a prototype harvester is fabricated for experimental testing. Results indicate that the proposed harvester features high safety factor, large amplification ratio, and compact size, which can be adopted in practical application for scavenging energy induced by human footstep during walking.
Oral Health Attitudes and Behavior Among Dental Students in Ajman, United Arab Emirates

The aim of this study was to identify the oral health attitudes and behavior among dental students and analyse the variations in oral health attitudes based on the level of education, United Arab Emirates. This study included 279 dental students. The Hiroshima University – Dental Behavior Inventory (HU-DBI) was used to assess oral health attitudes and behavior of the participants. Data were tabulated and analyzed by using Chi-square test, and statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Students from the higher years had better oral health attitudes, behavior, especially towards gingival health, oral hygiene practice, tooth brushing and visiting the dentist. In this study the overall knowledge of oral health was good, even though there were deficits in their knowledge in a few areas. The oral health attitudes and behavior of dental students improved with increasing level of education. Clinical article (J Int Dent Med Res 2013; 6: (2), pp. 84-87)
Evolving hierarchical gene regulatory networks for morphogenetic pattern formation of swarm robots

Morphogenesis, the biological developmental process of multicellular organisms, is a robust self-organising mechanism for pattern formation governed by gene regulatory networks (GRNs). Recent findings suggest that GRNs often show the use of frequently recurring patterns termed network motifs. Inspired by these biological studies, this paper proposes a morphogenetic approach to pattern formation for swarm robots to entrap targets based on an evolving hierarchical gene regulatory network (EH-GRN). The proposed EH-GRN consists of two layers: the upper layer is for adaptive pattern generation where the GRN model is evolved by basic network motifs, and the lower layer is responsible for driving robots to the target pattern generated by the upper layer. Obstacle information is introduced as one of environmental inputs along with that of targets in order to generate patterns adaptive to unknown environmental changes. Besides, splitting or merging of multiple patterns resulting from target movement is addressed by the inherent feature of the upper layer and the k-means clustering algorithm. Numerical simulations have been performed for scenarios containing static/moving targets and obstacles to validate the effectiveness and benefit of the proposed approach for complex shape generation in dynamic environments.
Investigating Measurement Invariance by Means of Parameter Instability Tests for 2PL and 3PL Models

M-fluctuation tests are a recently proposed method for detecting differential item functioning in Rasch models. This article discusses a generalization of this method to two additional item response theory models: the two-parametric logistic model and the three-parametric logistic model with a common guessing parameter. The Type I error rate and the power of this method were evaluated by a variety of simulation studies. The results suggest that the new method allows the detection of various forms of differential item functioning in these models, which also includes differential discrimination and differential guessing effects. It is also robust against moderate violations of several assumptions made in the item parameter estimation.
Diagnosis of prostate cancer using anti-PSMA aptamer A10-3.2-oriented lipid nanobubbles

In this study, the lipid targeted nanobubble carrying the A10-3.2 aptamer against prostate specific membrane antigen was fabricated, and its effect in the ultrasound imaging of prostate cancer was investigated. Materials including 2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidic acid, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol, carboxyl-modified 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, and polyethyleneglycol-2000 were for mechanical oscillation, and nanobubbles were obtained through the centrifugal flotation method. After mice were injected with nanobubbles, abdominal color Doppler blood flow imaging significantly improved. Through left ventricular perfusion with normal saline to empty the circulating nanobubbles, nanobubbles still existed in tumor tissue sections, which demonstrated that nanobubbles could enter tissue spaces via the permeability and retention effect. Fluorinated A10-3.2 aptamers obtained by chemical synthesis had good specificity for PSMA-positive cells, and were linked with carboxyl-modified 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine lipid molecules from the outer shell of nanobubbles via amide reaction to construct targeted nanobubbles. Gel electrophoresis and immunofluorescence confirmed that targeted nanobubbles were fabricated successfully. Next, targeted nanobubbles could bind with PSMA-positive cells (C4-2 cells), while not with PSMA-negative cells (PC-3 cells), using in vitro binding experiments and flow cytometry at the cellular level. Finally, C4-2 and PC-3 xenografts in mice were used to observe changes in parameters of targeted and non-targeted nanobubbles in the contrast-enhanced ultrasound mode, and the distribution of Cy5.5-labeled targeted nanobubbles in fluorescent imaging of live small animals. Comparison of ultrasound indicators between targeted and non-targeted nanobubbles in C4-2 xenografts showed that they had similar peak times (P>0.05), while the peak intensity, half time of peak intensity, and area under the curve of ½ peak intensity were significantly different (P<0.05). In PC-3 xenografts, there were no differences in these four indicators. Fluorescent imaging indicated that targeted nanobubbles had an aggregation ability in C4-2 xenograft tumors. In conclusion, targeted nanobubbles carrying the anti-PSMA A10-3.2 aptamer have a targeted imaging effect in prostate cancer.