Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Tobacco Control Scale: a new scale to measure country activity

Objectives: To quantify the implementation of tobacco control policies at country level using a new Tobacco Control Scale and to report initial results using the scale. Method: A questionnaire sent to correspondents in 30 European countries, using a scoring system designed with the help of a panel of international tobacco control experts. Results: The 30 countries are ranked by their total score on the scale out of a maximum possible score of 100. Only four countries (Ireland, United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland) scored 70 or more, with an eight point gap (most differences in scores are small) to the fifth country, Malta, on 62. Only 13 countries scored above 50, 11 of them from the European Union (EU), and the second largest points gap occurs between Denmark on 45 and Portugal on 39, splitting the table into three groups: 70 and above, 45 to 62, 39 and below. Ireland had the highest overall score, 74 out of 100, and Luxembourg was bottom with 26 points. However even Ireland, much praised for their ban on smoking in public places, did not increase tobacco taxes in 2005, for the first time since 1995. Conclusions: Although the Tobacco Control Scale has limitations, this is the first time such a scale has been developed and applied to so many countries. We hope it will be useful in encouraging countries to strengthen currently weak areas of their tobacco control policy.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students: Perceived Social Support in the High School Environment

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth (LGBT) continue to face extreme discrimination within the school environment. Existing literature suggests that LGBT youth are at high risk for a number of health problems, including suicide ideation and attempts, harassment, substance abuse, homelessness, and declining school performance. This exploratory study consists of face-to-face interviews with 12 male and female participants, 18-21 years old, who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The purpose of the study is to determine the types of social support (emotional, appraisal, instrumental and informational) available to these young adults in high school. In addition, the study examines the connection between social support and sexual identity development. Participants found non-family members, which included peers and non-family adults, to be more supportive than family members. More specifically, participants perceived heterosexual and LGBT-identified friends and non-family adults as providing emotional and instrumental support. However, participants perceived limitations to the emotional support they received from heterosexual peers to whom they disclosed their orientation. In addition to providing emotional support, peers and adults who also identified as LGBT provided valuable informational and appraisal, support. Finally, most participants did not disclose to their parents during high school and perceived their parents and family members as offering limited emotional, appraisal and informational support. Confronted with their own sense of alienation and confusion, as well as the overwhelmingly negative messages about homosexuality in their home and school environments, respondents described their sexual identity formation as a process characterized by varying degrees of denial and acceptance. The need for multiple resources emerged as a major theme from participant responses to questions about what types of services and support they would have valued from their high school.
Large gauge invariance in non-Abelian finite temperature effective actions

We analyze large gauge invariance in the non-Abelian, finite temperature context and its physical consequences for D = 3 effective actions. After briefly reviewing the structure of bundles and large gauge transformations that arise in nonsimply connected 3-manifolds and gauge groups, we discuss their connections to Chern-Simons terms and Wilson-Polyakov loops. We then provide an invariant characterization of the “Abelian” fluxes encountered in explicit computations of finite temperature effective actions. In particular we relate, and provide explicit realizations of, these fluxes to a topological index that measures the obstruction to global diagonalization of the loops around compactified time. We also explore the fate of, and exhibit some everywhere smooth, large transformations for nonvanishing index in various topologies.
Observations of HO x and its relationship with NO x in the upper troposphere during SONEX

Simultaneous measurements of the oxides of hydrogen and nitrogen made during the NASA Subsonic Assessment, Ozone and Nitrogen Oxide Experiment (SONEX) afforded an opportunity to study the coupling between these two important families throughout the free troposphere and lowermost stratosphere. Moreover, the suite of measurements made during the campaign was unprecedented in its completeness, thus providing a uniquely detailed picture of the radical photochemistry that drives oxidation and ozone production in this part of the atmosphere. On average, observed hydrogen oxides (HOx = OH + HO2) agree well with both instantaneous and diel steady-state models; however, there is a persistent deviation of the observations that correlates with the abundance of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) in the sampled air mass. Specifically, the observed HOx tends to exceed the model predictions in the presence of high NOx concentrations, by as much as a factor of 5 (> 500 pptv NOx), and is sometimes as little as half that expected by steady state at lower NOx levels. While many possibilities for these discrepancies are discussed, it is argued that an instrumental artifact is not probable and that the discrepancy may bespeak a shortcoming of our understanding of HOx chemistry. The consistently elevated HOx in the presence of elevated NOx leads directly to greater ozone production than expected, thereby extending the NOx-limited regime of the upper troposphere. These results could thus have bearing on the predicted impacts of increasing NOx emissions into this region of the atmosphere from, for example, the growth of global air traffic.
An Examination of the Effects of Voluntary Separation Incentives

Abstract : Between January 1992 and October 1995, the Department of Defense offered a voluntary separation incentive to mid-career personnel to induce them to leave service as a means of facilitating the defense drawdown. This incentive, the VSI/SSB (Voluntary Separation Incentive/Special Separation Benefit) program, was offered to those with specific combinations of occupation, rank, and years of service (YOS). The specific eligibility criteria were determined by the individual services. Two key questions for policymakers concerned about the success of this program are (1) Did the program induce substantial separations (over and above what would normally occur)? and (2) Did the program induce more low-quality personnel to leave than high-quality ones? Answers about the success of the program may also have broader interest. As shown by Asch and Warner (1994b), a voluntary-separation-pay program may play an important role in an alternative to the current military retirement system. Therefore, answers about the efficacy of the VSI/SSB program can give some insights into how such an alternative system might work.
Looking through the “greenwashing glass cage” of the green league table towards the sustainability challenge for UK universities

Purpose – This paper aims to critically focus on the UK's People & Planet's “green league table” in order to explore to what extent such league tables contribute to the transitional and transdisciplinary challenge of ecological sustainability for universities.Design/methodology/approach – By taking a narrative and metaphorical perspective, the paper endeavours to understand how the green league table impacts on university greening, particularly around the apparent disengagement of academic and non‐academic actors in their bio‐cultural connection.Findings – The paper conceptualizes the ecological sustainability challenge for universities by arguing that current sustainability managerial agendas and narratives, promoted by league tables are underpinned by what is conceptualized as the primacy of the “greenwashing glass cage” organisational metaphor. This highlights the self‐serving nature of sustainability approaches by managerial technocrats, consisting of carbon officers, sustainability managers predomina.
Grid and slot scan scatter reduction in mammography: comparison by using Monte Carlo techniques.

PURPOSE To evaluate a comprehensive array of scatter cleanup techniques in mammography by using a consistent methodology. MATERIALS AND METHODS Monte Carlo techniques were used to evaluate the Bucky factor (BF) and the contrast improvement factor (CIF) for linear and cellular grids and for slot scan and scanning multiple-slot assembly (SMSA) systems. RESULTS For a 28-kVp molybdenum anode-molybdenum filter spectrum with a standard detector and a 6-cm-thick 50% adipose-50% glandular breast phantom, slot scan techniques delivered an ideal BF. For slot widths greater than 4 mm, however, the CIF was lower than that achieved by the high-transmission cellular grid with a grid ratio of 3.8:1. A tungsten-septa air-interspaced cellular grid with a 4:1 grid ratio outperformed the high-transmission cellular grid in both BF and CIF. The SMSA was shown to be efficacious when 4-mm-wide slots were separated by at least 20 mm. In comparison with the literature, 3.6% agreement was achieved with other Monte Carlo studies, 3.3% with an experimental study that used a digital detector, and 13%-29% agreement was demonstrated in comparison to film-based experimental studies. CONCLUSION With use of consistent methods for comparison, cellular grids were shown to substantially outperform linear grids but have slightly higher BFs compared with that of slot scan geometries at the same CIF.
Business process maturity models: a systematic literature review

Context: The number of maturity models proposed in the area of Business Process Management (BPM) has increased considerably in the last decade. However, there are a number of challenges, such as the limited empirical studies on their validation and a limited extent of actionable properties of these models in guiding their application. These challenges hinder the widespread usage of the maturity models in the BPM field. Objective: In order to better understand the state of the research on business process maturity models (BPMMs) and identify opportunities for future research, we conducted a systematic literature review. Method: We searched the studies between the years 1990 and 2014 in established digital libraries to identify empirical studies of BPMMs by focusing on their development, validation, and application. We targeted studies on generic models proposed for business process maturity, business process management or orientation maturity, and selected 61 studies out of 2899 retrieved initially. Results: We found that despite that many BPMMs were proposed in the last decade, the level of empirical evidence that reveals the validity and usefulness of these models is scarce. Conclusion: The current state of research on BPM maturity is in its early phases, and academic literature lacks methodical applications of many mainstream BPMMs that have been proposed. Future research should be directed towards: (1) reconciling existing models with a strong emphasis on prescriptive properties, (2) conducting empirical studies to demonstrate the validity and usefulness of BPMMs, and (3) separating the assessment method used to evaluate the maturity level from the maturity model which acts as the reference framework for the assessment.
Comparison of Quantitative Competitive PCR with LightCycler-Based PCR for Measuring Epstein-Barr Virus DNA Load in Clinical Specimens

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to develop a LightCycler-based real-time PCR assay for monitoring the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA load in unfractionated whole blood. This assay was compared with quantitative competitive PCR (Q-PCR) for EBV. The LightCycler-based assay was highly sensitive and reproducible when quantifying plasmid DNA in either the presence or absence of healthy donor blood DNA. Amplifying plasmid DNA in DNA backgrounds from different donors slightly increased the variation of quantification, indicating that clinical specimen DNA has an influence on quantification. In most transplant recipients, a good correlation was observed between EBV DNA load dynamics determined by LightCycler and Q-PCR in follow-up samples, although the correlation between absolute values of EBV DNA loads was weak and occasional samples were false negative in the LightCycler assay. In 253 cross-sectional blood samples from patients with Burkitt's lymphoma, infectious mononucleosis, or human immunodeficiency virus infection, a weak but significant correlation between the two methods was found (r2 = 0.37, P < 0.001). Our results indicate that the clinical specimen DNA background may influence the absolute values of EBV DNA load in LightCycler analyses but that this effect is rare. LightCycler PCR is very well suited for monitoring of EBV DNA load dynamics, and its diagnostic value is comparable to that of Q-PCR. To avoid false negativity or underestimation of viral load, future internal calibration of the LightCycler is recommended. This would also enhance EBV load assay standardization and interinstitute comparisons.
Using Covariates to Improve Precision for Studies That Randomize Schools to Evaluate Educational Interventions

This article examines how controlling statistically for baseline covariates, especially pretests, improves the precision of studies that randomize schools to measure the impacts of educational interventions on student achievement. Empirical findings from five urban school districts indicate that (1) pretests can reduce the number of randomized schools needed for a given level of precision to about half of what would be needed otherwise for elementary schools, one fifth for middle schools, and one tenth for high schools, and (2) school-level pretests are as effective in this regard as student-level pretests. Furthermore, the precision-enhancing power of pretests (3) declines only slightly as the number of years between the pretest and posttests increases; (4) improves only slightly with pretests for more than 1 baseline year; and (5) is substantial, even when the pretest differs from the posttest. The article compares these findings with past research and presents an approach for quantifying their uncertainty.
RADIOACTIVE ESTROGENS IN TISSUES OF POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH BREAST NEOPLASMS.

Following the intravenous administration of estradiol-17β-4-C14 to postmenopausal women with mammary carcinoma, the concentrations of total radioactive estrogen and the individual radiometabolites estradiol and estrone, and an uncharacterized fraction (Ep), were determined in several body tissues. Specimens of mammary tissue, mammary tumor, abdominal fat, muscle, and skin were removed 30 minutes after the infusion of the radioactive hormone. The median concentration of radioactive hormone in the tissues 30 minutes after the infusion of 680 μg. of radioactive estradiol was 6.5 mμg/gm of tissue. Average concentrations of estradiol, estrone, and Ep fraction were 76, 12, and 12 per cent, respectively. Although there was considerable variation in the amounts of radioactive estrogen in the tissues analyzed, generally greater amounts of radioactivity were found in the malignant tumor in comparison to mammary tissue and body fat tissues. The mean per cent estradiol in malignant tumor was greater than the amounts present in the other tissues. A method is described for the analysis of radioactive estrogens in tissue specimens.
A Role for Sigma Factor σE in Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis Resistance to Nitric Oxide/Peroxide Stress

Pathogenic intracellular bacteria can respond to antimicrobial mechanisms of the host cell through transient activation of stress-responsive genes by alternative sigma (σ) factors of the RNA polymerase. We evaluated the contribution of the extracytoplasmic function sigma factor σE for Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis resistance to stress conditions resembling those found intracellularly during infection. A sigE-null mutant strain (ΔsigE) of this bacterium was more susceptible in vitro to acidic pH, cell surface stressors, and biologically relevant concentrations of nitric oxide (NO). The same mutant strain was unable to persist in C57BL/6 mice but remained infective in mice lacking inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), confirming the significance of σE for resistance to nitric oxide/peroxide stress in vivo. High-throughput proteomic analysis identified NO-responsive extracellular proteins of C. pseudotuberculosis and demonstrated the participation of σE in composition of this bacterium’s exoproteome.
Cognitive impact of a research-based school sex education programme

The cognitive impact of a research-based, teacher-delivered sex education programme for 13–15-year olds (SHARE) was evaluated in 25 Scottish schools. The relationship between cognitions targeted by SHARE and the sexual behaviour of teenagers who had first sexual intercourse after receiving sex education was assessed. The belief that there are alternatives to sexual intercourse in romantic/sexual relationships and the intention to resist unwanted sexual activities were significantly correlated with delayed sexual intercourse. An extended theory of planned behaviour, including descriptive norm and anticipated regret, provided a good model of the cognitive correlates of consistent condom use, explaining 25.9% of the variance. The impact of the SHARE programme on targeted cognitions was compared to that of conventional sex education by means of a randomised controlled trial, taking account of school effects. Those receiving SHARE had significantly higher scores on the belief that there are alternatives to sexual intercourse in romantic/sexual relationships, intentions to resist unwanted sexual activities and intentions to discuss condoms with sexual partners. SHARE recipients were also less likely to agree that condom use would interrupt sexual fun and reduce sexual enjoyment. However, mean differences between trial arms were small and no significant differences were found for the strongest cognitive correlates of consistent condom use, including the intention to always use a condom.
Autoregulation of expression of the yeast Dbp2p ‘DEAD‐box’ protein is mediated by sequences in the conserved DBP2 intron.

The human p68, Saccharomyces cerevisiae DBP2 and Schizosaccharomyces pombe dbp2 genes are closely related members of the ‘DEAD‐box’ RNA helicase superfamily. All three genes contain an intron at a conserved site in RNA helicase motif V. The S.cerevisiae intron is unusual both for its position near the 3′‐end of the open reading frame and for its size, 1001 nucleotides. We show here that precise deletion of the intron has no effect on cell viability but leads to an increase in Dbp2p protein expression. Inefficient splicing due to the size of the intron can not account for this difference because the intron is efficiently spliced in Dbp2p‐deficient cells. Instead, there is a reciprocal relationship between the amount of Dbp2p in the cell and the efficiency with which DBP2 intron‐containing genes are expressed. Inactive Dbp2p mutants are efficiently expressed from DBP2 intron‐containing plasmids, and fragments of the DBP2 intron confer Dbp2p‐responsiveness on heterologous reporter introns. This suggest that there is an intron‐mediated negative feedback loop regulating DBP2 expression, and provides a possible explanation for the retention of such an unusual intron in S.cerevisiae.
Rotavirus serotype G5 associated with diarrhea in Brazilian children

Rotavirus serotype G5 in fecal specimens of 38 Brazilian children with diarrhea was identified by PCR and enzyme immunoassays. The strains exhibited long RNA electropherotypes and either subgroup II or nonsubgroup I-nonsubgroup II specificities. Serotype G5 has been found in piglets and horses but not yet in humans.
Epistemologies of TV journalism

This article sketches a theoretical framework for studies of the epistemologies of journalism. In this context epistemology does not refer to philosophical inquiries into the nature of true knowledge but to the study of knowledge-producing practices and communication of knowledge claims. The focus in the article is mainly on TV journalism. The theoretical framework distinguishes three fundamental areas and three main questions for research on the epistemologies of journalism: (1) form of knowledge (What are the characteristics of the knowledge that television journalism produces and offers its audiences? ); (2) production of knowledge (What rules, routines, institutionalized procedures and systems of classification guide the production of knowledge and how do journalists decide what is sufficiently true and authoritative? ); and (3) public acceptance of knowledge claims (What conditions are decisive for the public's acceptance or rejection of the knowledge claims of television journalism? ). The article develops the framework by way of theoretical conceptualizations and empirical illustrations from concrete forms of TV journalism.
Quality of life of adolescents and young people arrive at an addiction treatment centers upon their admission, and 1, 4 and 8 months after methadone maintenance therapy

BACKGROUND: Drug abuse influences the quality of life significantly. Thus, the present study is designed to compare the quality of life of adolescents and young adults who have voluntarily referred to addiction treatment centers at different time slots of upon admission, and 1, 4, and 8 months after maintenance therapy. METHODS: The present paper is a longitudinal study on 141 of adolescents and young adults who had referred to various addiction treatment centers throughout Isfahan voluntarily. The population was selected through convenience sampling method and 137 of adolescents and young adults continued the research until the end. The results were analyzed using descriptive and analytic statistics (frequency, mean, standard deviation, repeated measure test, and post-hoc test) in SPSS 17. RESULTS: Results showed that the average of quality of life total score was sequential and not the same in the 4 times slots under study. The total quality of life score upon admission was significantly different from 1, 4, and 8 months after maintenance treatment. However, quality of life at 1-month was not significantly different to that at 4 and 8 months after the treatment; quality of life at 4 months after the treatment was not significantly different to that at 8 months after. DISCUSSION: According to the present study, it can be concluded that the quality of life of adolescents and young adults referring to addiction treatment centers increases 1-month after the treatment; nevertheless, it is worth to note that the degree of quality of life increase in 4 and 8 months after the treatment is not as much as that in 1-month after the treatment.