Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Construct Validation of Partner Awareness Risk Among Seronegative Heterosexual Couples

xi 1. SPECIFIC AIMS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE . 1 2. RELEVANCE AND IMPACT STATEMENT . 6 Epidemiologic Profile of Heterosexually Acquired HIV/AIDS Problems with “Know Your Partner” Messages Negligence of Partner Awareness Risk Individualism in HIV Research Rationality and HIV Risk Gender Bias in HIV Research 3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE . 17 Partner-Specific Research Obstacles of Partner Risk Awareness Partner HIV-related Risk Limitations of Partner-Specific Research Couple-Level Research HIV Serodiscordance Interpartner Response Concordance Interpartner Response Discordance 4. HYPOTHESES . 39 Hypotheses Regarding Internal Structure Cross-Structural Hypotheses Sociodemographic Characteristics Behavioral Risk Factors Relational and Communicative Factors Psychosocial Factors Health-Protective Outcomes 5. METHODS AND ANALYTICAL APPROACH . 63 Sample Assessment of Selectivity Bias Measures Analytical Approach Dimensionality of Partner Awareness Risk Nomological Validation of Partner Awareness Risk
Interleukin-1 ( 3 ( IL-1 / 3 ) , IL-1 receptor antagonist , and TNFa production in whole blood

T he abil ity o f an in d iv idua l to m ount defense responses to infection depend in part on the capacity to produce cytokines such as in terleukin 1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (T N F ). T he specialized equ ipm ent, labor intensity, and sterile practice required for the standard in vitro evaluation of cytokine production can make such evaluation impractical in some clinical situations. We report a m ethod for st im ulating whole blood to produce cytokines that can be im plem ented in laboratories without tissue culture facilities and requires m in im al sample preparation. I L -1/3 and T N F a production in whole blood samples was stimulated w ith endotox in and/or p h yto ­ hem agglutin in in standard ED TA -contain ing vacuum col­ lection tubes. After incubation , plasma was removed and frozen for later assay. C om parison of this whole blood m ethod with isolated m ononuclear cell cultures indicated a significant correlation for I L -1/3 production (r = 0 .746 , P = 0 .005). T h is technique also produced the newly d e ­ scribed cytokine, IL-1 receptor antagonist. We conclude that the whole blood method is an acceptable alternative to isolated cell culture methods for m easuring IL-1/3 in situations that preclude the standard in vitro approach. J . L eu ko c . B io l. 52: 6 8 7 -6 9 2 ; 1992. K e y W ords: interleukin-1 • tumor necrosis factor * interleukin-1 receptor antagonist • whole blood assay • cytokine
Source Identification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Urban Particulate Matter of Tangshan, China

The presence of particle-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was investigated in mixed residential/light industrial, industrial and commercial zones in summer 2000 and winter 2001 in Tangshan, China. Thirteen PAHs were measured with the total average concentrations (ng/m^3) of PAHs ranged from 26.5 to 313.6 in summer and from 142.4 to 672.4 in winter. The average concentrations of ΣPAHs were 161.97 in summer and 326.80 in winter. PAH concentrations in mixed residential/light industrial zones were the lowest. Mixed residential/light industrial is a major land-use pattern in many cities in China. This study paid more attention to the source category in the mixed residential/light industrial zone. Particle PAH emissions may be contributed from industrial or domestic activities. Diagnostic ratio analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) show major sources to be crude oil (by industrial activities mainly) in summer; and coal combustion (by domestic activities mainly) in winter. In addition, coal combustion was a principal source in the industrial zone. Traffic (combustion engine) was an important source in commercial zones. Finally, analysis by coefficient of divergence got similar results.
Pseudo‐Anosov stretch factors and homology of mapping tori

We consider the pseudo‐Anosov elements of the mapping class group of a surface of genus g that fix a rank k subgroup of the first homology of the surface. We show that the smallest entropy among these is comparable to (k+1)/g . This interpolates between results of Penner and of Farb and the second and third authors, who treated the cases of k=0 and k=2g , respectively, and answers a question of Ellenberg. We also show that the number of conjugacy classes of pseudo‐Anosov mapping classes as above grows (as a function of g ) like a polynomial of degree k .
Safety of Influenza Vaccine Administration in Egg-Allergic Patients

OBJECTIVE: Current guidelines recommend that egg-allergic patients receive an influenza vaccine skin test before the influenza vaccine. This study evaluated the safety of bypassing the skin test and administering graded doses of influenza vaccine to egg-allergic children. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart-review study of egg-allergic patients aged 6 months to 18 years who received the vaccine skin test and/or a 2-dose graded influenza vaccine. Between influenza seasons 2002–2003 and 2006–2007, egg-allergic patients underwent a vaccine skin test before influenza vaccine administration. Starting in 2006–2007, the skin test was removed from our protocol and egg-allergic patients received the influenza vaccine in 2 graded doses. All vaccinated patients were observed for adverse reactions. RESULTS: Two hundred sixty-one egg-allergic patients were evaluated for influenza vaccine administration, and 171 went on to receive the vaccine. Of the 56 patients who received the skin test before the influenza vaccine, 95% (exact 95% confidence interval [CI]: 85.1–98.9) tolerated the vaccine without a serious adverse reaction. This rate was unchanged after the vaccine skin test was removed from the protocol. Of the 115 patients who received the vaccine without a preceding skin test, 97% (exact 95% CI: 91.3–99.0) tolerated the vaccine without serious adverse reaction. The tolerance rate ratio was 1.01 (95% CI: 0.97–1.06). CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that egg-allergic patients without anaphylaxis to egg may safely receive the influenza vaccine in a 2-dose, graded fashion without a vaccine skin test.
Comparison of IVF/ICSI outcome in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome or tubal factor infertility.

BACKGROUND One of the recognized treatment options for patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Fears are however sometimes raised concerning the likely outcome of treatment in such patients compared with their counterparts with tubal factor infertility. OBJECTIVE To compare the IVF/ICSI performance in women with PCOS and those with tubal factor infertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective analysis. Case notes of 30 patients, 35 years and below, with PCOS and who underwent 33 IVF/ICSI cycles and those of 42 age-controlled patients with tubal factor infertility and who had 43 cycles between December 2004 and April 2008 were retrieved. Data including duration of down-regulation, dose of human Menopausal Gonadotropin (hMG), number of cancelled treatments, endometrial thickness, number of oocytes retrieved and fertilization rate, in addition to the number of embryos transferred with resultant pregnancy outcome were compared between the two groups. The main outcome measures were response to gonadotropin stimulation, fertilization rate and clinical pregnancy rate. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the PCOS group and the tubal factor infertility group in the hMG dose (2.7 vs. 3.4 vials, respectively), endometrial thickness (10.5 vs. 10.1 mm, respectively) and embryos transferred (3.1 vs. 2.9, respectively). The fertilization rate was significantly higher in the tubal factor infertility group, which was 81.48% as against 63.24% for the PCOS group ( P < 0.0001). While more cases of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) occurred in the PCOS group ( P = 0.049), overall clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was similar (45.45% vs. 42.85%; P = 1), with similar miscarriage rates. CONCLUSION IVF/ICSI performance in patients with PCOS is probably similar to their counterparts with tubal factor infertility with, however, a reduced fertilization rate and higher incidence of OHSS.
Multiple Instance Learning with the Optimal Sub-Pattern Assignment Metric

Multiple instance data are sets or multi-sets of unordered elements. Using metrics or distances for sets, we propose an approach to several multiple instance learning tasks, such as clustering (unsupervised learning), classification (supervised learning), and novelty detection (semi-supervised learning). In particular, we introduce the Optimal Sub-Pattern Assignment metric to multiple instance learning so as to provide versatile design choices. Numerical experiments on both simulated and real data are presented to illustrate the versatility of the proposed solution.
Eye Movements, Prosody, and Word Frequency Among Average- and High- Skilled Second-Grade Readers

Abstract. The present study explored how average- and high-skilled second-grade readers (as identified by their Woodcock-Johnson III Test of Academic Achievement Broad Reading scores) differed on behavioral measures of reading related to comprehension: eye movements during silent reading and prosody during oral reading. Results from silent reading implicate word processing efficiency: high skilled readers had fewer fixations and intraword regressions, and shorter first fixation, gaze duration, and total word reading times. Their skipping and regression patterns during silent reading were representative of a more systematic approach to passage reading, suggesting that meta-cognitive or motivational factors may also differentiate the groups. Compared to high-skilled readers, average readers' oral reading was characterized by longer pauses, less differentiation across pause types, and more intrusions. Counter to prior research, aspects of prosody associated with expressivity favored average readers: they had a sharper pitch declination at the end of declarative sentences and used a wider range of pitch within sentences. High- and low-frequency target words yielded frequency effects during both silent and oral reading. Interactions with skill level on the oral reading task are discussed in terms of potential differences in strategic approaches to reading challenges.
Infections in early childhood and risk of atopic disease

Having more siblings has been shown to be associated with lower risk of atopic diseases. This might be due to the higher number of infections in larger families. Because children attending day care centres have more respiratory infections, we analysed the association of number of siblings and day care attendance in children aged 1‐3 y with atopic disease in a cross sectional survey of 8387 schoolchildren aged 13‐14 y and their parents in four regions of Finland. Having no siblings, compared to three or more siblings, was associated with significantly higher risk of lifetime history of hay fever (odds ratios (OR) 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25‐1.86) and atopic eczema (OR 1.28, 95%CI 1.04‐1.56), and higher risk (ns) of doctor‐diagnosed asthma ever (OR 1.26, 95%CI 0.85‐1.88). Less strong associations were observed with the number of older siblings (birth order). No associations were observed with current symptoms of these diseases during the last 12 mo. Attending a day care centre at the age of 1‐3 y was not associated with decreased risk of any of the atopic diseases studied, but, in contrast to the hypothesis, was associated with slightly increased risk of current symptoms of hay fever (OR 1.34, 95%CI 1.12‐1.60). The present results suggest that other factors than early childhood respiratory infections explain the association between number of siblings and future risk of atopic disease. □Atopic disease, early life, infections
Approaches to learning in science: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND Longitudinal studies of students' approaches to learning in higher education can tell us much about the impact of the tertiary experience. More information about teaching and learning practices and how students respond to these may enable educators to better assist students to gain the maximum benefit from their tertiary studies. AIMS The study set out: (i) to monitor the change in approaches to learning over a three-year period; (ii) to evaluate the relationship between student age, sex and university entry mode on students' approaches to learning; and (iii) to evaluate the predictive validity of the SPQ scales on one mode of learning outcome, that being annual GPA. SAMPLES The sample consisted of 200 commencing students studying in a science course at an Australian university. METHOD The Biggs SPQ was administered in a first-year chemistry class and repeated at intervals of 4 and 8 months. This was followed by administration by post after 16 months and 30 months. RESULTS Student approach to learning is dynamic and amenable to change as a result of the learning experience. Of the three SPQ scales, the achieving approach appears to undergo the greatest change with time, while the deep approach showed a consistent positive correlation with assessment outcomes. Student age was a major factor in both the SPQ scores and assessment outcomes but no gender effect was evident. CONCLUSIONS Students see university study, and in particular the first year, as a survival course and adopt strategies suited to that task. Older students adopt approaches to study which differ from their younger colleagues and as a consequence they are in general more successful in the tertiary environment.
Use of Organic Selenium Supplements in Soybean Meal- Based Diets for Juvenile Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi)

Sustainable aquaculture, from both ecological and economic perspectives, demands a substantial reduction of the amount of fishmeal used in aqua feed. Instead, plant-derived protein feed stuff, which provide a nutritious diet offer a promising alternative for inclusion in aqua feed. In this study, the effects of organic selenium supplementation in low and high soybean meal-based practical diets for yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) were evaluated over a 60-day feeding experiment. The juvenile yellowtail kingfish (initial weight 5.02 ± 0.04 g fish −1 ) were fed five iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric diets containing 49% crude protein and 22 MJ kg −1 gross energy. The control diet(C) includes 46% fishmeal, whereas the other diets used soybean meal to replace 25% and 75% of the fishmeal protein, both without and with organic selenium supplementation (SBM 25 , SBM 25+Se , SBM 75 , and SBM 75+Se ). Fish were fed ad libitum two times a day at 09:00 and 15:00 hours. No differences were observed in feed intake among dietary treatment groups (P > 0.05). Organic selenium-supplemented diets improved final weight; however, final weight was significantly reduced when fish were fed high soybean meal diets (P < 0.05). Organic selenium supplementation had a significant effect on specific growth rate at low soybean meal diets, but did not affect specific growth rate when fish were fed high soybean meal diets. Selenium accumulation in fish fillet was strongly correlated with selenium concentration in the diets. While fish fed the SBM 25+Se diets had significantly higher glutathione peroxidase activity than those fed other diets, the lowest glutathione peroxidase activity was found in fish fed SBM 75 diets. Histologically, selenium-deficient diets induced myopathy and alterations in tissue structure were most prevalent in fish fed the SBM 75 diet. The findings of this study indicate that, with Se supplementation, soybean meal could supply 25% of the protein in yellowtail kingfish diets.
AM-FM separation using auditory-motivated filters

A new approach to the joint estimation of sine-wave amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) is presented based on the transduction of frequency modulation into amplitude modulation by digital filters, being motivated by the hypothesis that the auditory front end uses a similar transduction mechanism in measuring sine-wave FM. An AM-FM estimation algorithm is derived which uses the amplitude envelope of the output of two transduction filters of piecewise-linear spectral shape. The piecewise-linear constraint is then relaxed, allowing a wider class of transduction filters for AM-FM separation. The particular class of Gaussian filters is shown to yield a closed form solution to AM-FM estimation. Solution stability analysis and error evaluation are performed, and the FM transduction method is shown to typically compare favorably with the Teager energy operator and the Hilbert transform for AM-FM estimation. Finally, the amenability of cochlear gammatone-filter pairs to separate AM and FM is demonstrated.
Teaching in twenty-first-century higher education: reading Chekhov’s ‘A boring story’ to stimulate reflective practice

Chekhov’s novella A boring story: From an old man’s journal, provides a rich stimulus for reflecting upon the practice of teaching in higher education. The narrator’s beliefs about academia, science and medicine alongside his tacit theories of learning and encounters with students and colleagues are reflected upon and speculated upon in light of contemporary teaching practice and pedagogic literature.
Comparing immigrant and US born Hispanic business professionals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study comparing perceptions of discrimination for immigrant and US‐born Hispanics, focusing on Hispanic business professionals.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via nationwide survey of over 1,500 Hispanic business professionals and analyzed via analysis of variance.Findings – No significant differences with regard to perceptions of discrimination were found, although both groups reported some level of discrimination. Immigrants had comparatively lower salaries and higher levels of Hispanic identity, yet, no differences in job satisfaction between groups were found. Post hoc analyses found that immigrants were significantly more likely to seek out mentors and US‐born Hispanics were more likely to join affinity groups at work.Practical implications – Too often, immigrants are misunderstood and mistreated in the workplace. The present study provides an examination of how immigrants might perceive these differences and potentia.
Reconciling Spirituality with the Naturalistic Sciences

Abstract Contemporary lived spirituality appears to be grounded in intuitions that life has meaning, value and purpose in an axiologically uplifting sense, that it matters how things are, and that people can make a difference to how things turn out (Rousseau 2014a). Such a life-view is in tension with the currently dominant scientific world-views, which consider such opinions to be social constructions or delusions. In this paper, I argue, using the example of moral intuitions, that is possible to investigate the validity of such ‘spiritual notions’ in a scientific manner, and that, in the case of moral intuitions at least, the validity of spiritual intuitions is likely to be scientifically confirmed. This is only a step towards reconciling spiritual and scientific views in a mutually supportive manner, but on the basis of this example it can be tentatively proposed that the other spiritual intuitions are amenable to similar investigation and validation.
Bifurcations and exceptional points in dipolar Bose–Einstein condensates

Bose–Einstein condensates are described in a mean-field approach by the nonlinear Gross–Pitaevskii equation and exhibit phenomena of nonlinear dynamics. The stationary states can undergo bifurcations in such a way that two or more eigenvalues and the corresponding wavefunctions coalesce at critical values of external parameters. For example, in condensates without long-range interactions a stable and an unstable state are created in a tangent bifurcation when the scattering length of the contact interaction is varied. At the critical point, the coalescing states show the properties of an exceptional point. In dipolar condensates fingerprints of a pitchfork bifurcation have been discovered by Rau et al (2010 Phys. Rev.A 81 031605). We present a method to uncover all states participating in a pitchfork bifurcation, and investigate in detail the signatures of exceptional points related to bifurcations in dipolar condensates. For the perturbation by two parameters, namely the scattering length and a parameter breaking the cylindrical symmetry of the harmonic trap, two cases leading to different characteristic eigenvalue and eigenvector patterns under cyclic variations of the parameters need to be distinguished. The observed structures resemble those of three coalescing eigenfunctions obtained by Demange and Graefe (2012 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 45 025303) using perturbation theory for non-Hermitian operators in a linear model. Furthermore, the splitting of the exceptional point under symmetry breaking in either two or three branching singularities is examined. Characteristic features are observed when one, two or three exceptional points are encircled simultaneously.
Does Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Use Modify the Effect of a Low-Fat, High-Fiber Diet on Recurrence of Colorectal Adenomas?

The Polyp Prevention Trial was designed to evaluate the effects of a high-fiber (18 g/1,000 kcal), high-fruit and -vegetable (3.5 servings/1,000 kcal), low-fat (20% energy) diet on recurrence of adenomatous polyps. Participants ≥35 years of age, with histologically confirmed colorectal adenoma(s) removed in the prior 6 months, were randomized to the intervention or control group. Demographic, dietary, and clinical information, including use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), was collected at baseline and four annual visits. Adenoma recurrence was found in 754 of 1,905 participants and was not significantly different between groups. NSAID use was associated with a significant reduction in recurrence [odds ratio (OR), 0.77; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.63-0.95]. In this analysis, NSAIDs modified the association between the intervention and recurrence at baseline (P = 0.02) and throughout the trial (P = 0.008). Among participants who did not use NSAIDs, the intervention was in the protective direction but did not achieve statistical significance (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.69-1.09). The intervention was protective among males who did not use NSAIDs at baseline (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54-0.94), but not among NSAIDs users (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.74-1.62). For females, corresponding OR estimates were 1.28 (95% CI, 0.86-1.90) and 2.30 (95% CI, 1.24-4.27), respectively. The protective association observed for NSAID use was stronger among control (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.47-0.84) than for intervention group participants (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.74-1.28). These results should be interpreted cautiously given that they may have arisen by chance in the course of examining multiple associations and Polyp Prevention Trial study participants were not randomly assigned to both dietary intervention and NSAID use. Nevertheless, our results suggest that adopting a low-fat, high-fiber diet rich in fruits and vegetables may lower the risk of colorectal adenoma recurrence among individuals who do not regularly use NSAIDs.