Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Smart Sanctions Revisited

Targeted sanctions—often referred to as “smart sanctions”—began in large measure as a response to the UN Security Council sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990 and 1991, after its invasion of Kuwait. By 1991 it was clear that the sanctions on Iraq, initially welcomed by antiwar activists as a peaceful alternative to military action, were different from any sanctions seen before. Combined with the destruction from the bombing campaign of the Gulf War, they were devastating to the Iraq economy and infrastructure, resulting in widespread malnutrition, epidemics of water-borne diseases, and the collapse of every system necessary to ensure human well-being in a modern society. As the sanctions seemed to have no end in sight, there was considerable “sanctions fatigue” within the United Nations, as well as a growing body of literature that questioned whether sanctions were effective at obtaining compliance by the target state, even when there was considerable impact on its economy. In the wake of these concerns, there were efforts in many venues to design sanctions that would not have the humanitarian impact of broad trade sanctions, and that would also be more effective by putting direct pressure on individual national policy-makers. These targeted sanctions included arms embargoes, financial sanctions on the assets of individuals and companies, travel restrictions on the leaders of a sanctioned state, and trade sanctions on particular goods. Many viewed targeted sanctions as an especially promising tool for foreign policy and international governance, and many still see targeted sanctions as a natural and obvious solution to a broad array of difficult situations. But there are considerable difficulties with each type of targeted sanction, with regard to implementation, humanitarian impact, and, in some cases, due process rights. Some of these difficulties may be resolved as these measures continue to be refined. Others are rooted in fundamental conflicts between competing interests or intractable logistical challenges.
Country versus Region Effects in International Stock Returns

An empirical regularity in the portfolio diversification literature is the importance of country effects in explaining international return variation. A new decomposition here disaggregates these country effects into region effects and within-region country effects. Half of the return variation typically attributed to country effects seems attributable actually to region effects, a result robust across developed and emerging markets; the remaining variation is explained by within-region country effects. For the average investor, this means that diversifying across countries within Europe, for example, delivers half the risk reduction possible from diversifying across regions globally.
Commentary on “African American Spirituality: A Process of Honoring God, Others, and Self”

The exploratory study described in “African American Spirituality: A Process of Honoring God, Others, and Self,” conducted by Lewis, Hankin, Reynolds, and Ogedegbe (2007), addresses an important domain of African American culture. Although several studies have identified spirituality as an important dimension of African American culture (Kinney, Emery, Dudley, & Croyle, 2002; Newlin, Knafl, & Melkus, 2002; Underwood & Powell, 2006), very little is known about how this population group defines the concept of spirituality. The purpose of this study was to explore African American definitions of practicing spirituality and to describe the process of spirituality and its relationship to health promotion. Guided by the three questions—How do African Americans define spirituality? How is spirituality differentiated from religion in the African American community? And how does spirituality affect the health of African Americans? —the study provides definitions of the practice and process of spirituality among African Americans. Data were collected from 12 people who participated in one of two focus groups. The participants had to be English speaking, age 18 years or older, and selfidentified as African American. The groups consisted of an equal number of men and women, and all considered themselves as spiritual people. The researchers using qualitative grounded theory identified: love in action, relationships and connections, and unconditional love as three categories for spirituality. Participants identified various behaviors that they felt were spiritual rather than providing a definition of spirituality. Honoring God, self, and others was identified as the overall process of practicing spirituality and its relationship to health. The participants conveyed that this process includes the phases of believing in God or a higher power, establishing faith in God or a higher power, developing a relationship and connection with God, and living a spiritual life. They related that establishing faith in God enabled them to remain calm during adverse times and developing a relationship and connection with God in terms of their behaviors with others, especially those with different backgrounds than their own. These participants related that living a spiritual life includes taking care of one’s self and doing the things that will keep them healthy, such as exercising, eating nutritious food, praying, and reading of spiritual and nonspiritual material. The authors conclude that although the concept of spirituality is ambiguous, fluid, and subjective, it is an important domain of African American culture. For holistic nurses, this article suggests that spirituality must be recognized as an important component of cultural care for all patients and for African Americans in particular. The role that spirituality plays in health promotion, if nothing else, illustrates that honoring God requires a person to take care of one’s self, and thus holistic nurses can help people to tap into their spirituality when they adopt healthpromoting behaviors.
Exploración de las actitudes y conductas de jóvenes universitarios ante la violencia en las relaciones de pareja

In this paper, we present the results of a study on knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of young people to violence in couple relationships. Students at the University of Huelva has been the target population for the study, specifically those from Social Education, Psychology and Teaching (Kindergarten). For the study developed an evaluation tool and developed two discussion groups. Notably the data obtained some significant results with respect to sex of participants and couple status. They also indicate the evidence of the need for information and training for domestic violence prevention to the young people.
The Human W42R γD-Crystallin Mutant Structure Provides a Link between Congenital and Age-related Cataracts*♦

Background: The mechanism of cataract formation by the recently discovered γD-crystallin W42R mutant is unknown. Results: Structural, biochemical, and biophysical studies revealed a partially unfolded species of the W42R mutant. Conclusion: Partially unfolded species serve as nuclei for aggregation. Significance: The properties of the W42R mutant γD-crystallin provide the link to the pathogenesis of age-related cataract caused by photodamaged wild-type γD-crystallin. Some mutants of human γD-crystallin are closely linked to congenital cataracts, although the detailed molecular mechanisms of mutant-associated cataract formation are generally not known. Here we report on a recently discovered γD-crystallin mutant (W42R) that has been linked to autosomal dominant, congenital cataracts in a Chinese family. The mutant protein is much less soluble and stable than wild-type γD-crystallin. We solved the crystal structure of W42R at 1.7 Å resolution, which revealed only minor differences from the wild-type structure. Interestingly, the W42R variant is highly susceptible to protease digestion, suggesting the presence of a small population of partially unfolded protein. This partially unfolded species was confirmed and quantified by NMR spectroscopy. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments revealed chemical exchange between the folded and unfolded species. Exposure of wild-type γD-crystallin to UV caused damage to the N-terminal domain of the protein, resulting in very similar proteolytic susceptibility as observed for the W42R mutant. Altogether, our combined data allowed us to propose a model for W42R pathogenesis, with the W42R mutant serving as a mimic for photodamaged γD-crystallin involved in age-related cataract.
CD56 expression in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is associated with non-thymic phenotype and resistance to induction therapy but no inferior survival after risk-adapted therapy

The findings of this study indicate that CD56 is expressed on a subset of adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells with distinct immunophenotypic features and greater resistance to therapy. See related perspective article on page 160. Background Expression of CD56 has been associated with poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia and aggressive lymphoma. Design and Methods We analyzed the impact of CD56 expression in a cohort of 452 newly diagnosed adult T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) patients; clinical data were available for 306 patients. Treatment was according to the GMALL study protocols 06/99 and 07/03 stipulating stratification into standard (thymic T-ALL) and high risk (pre- and mature T-ALL) groups. Results CD56 expression was detected in 63/452 (13.9%) patients. CD56+ T-ALL were predominantly of non-thymic (pre-T 35%, mature 41%) immunophenotypic subtypes, whereas 53% of the CD56− cases were thymic T-ALL (p=0.00002). CD13, CD33, CD34 and HLA-DR were significantly more frequently expressed. A clonal T-cell receptor rearrangement was detected in 22/23 CD56+ ALL. No major clinical differences were observed at presentation. Treatment of CD56+ ALL resulted in a lower rate of complete remissions (70% vs. 88%) (p=0.001) and a higher rate of resistant disease (21% vs. 8%) (p=0.004). CD56 expression had no significant influence on overall (48% vs. 59%) and disease free survival (67% vs. 57%) at three years. Conclusions CD56 is expressed on a subset of adult T-ALL with distinct immunophenotypical features and higher resistance to therapy. Most CD56+ ALL were treated in the high-risk arm of the GMALL study protocols owing to their non-thymic phenotype. Thus after risk adapted treatment a prognostic impact of CD56 expression was not detectable.
Public service motivation of public- versus private-sector employees in a Chinese context

To investigate the public service motivation (PSM) of public- and private-sector employees in a Chinese context, comparative studies were conducted with 2 independent samples. In Study 1, confirmatory factor analysis was implemented to assess the level of PSM in 250 public employees. In Study 2, 247 respondents from private companies were evaluated. Results gained in these studies not only provided evidence supporting the construct validity of this measure of PSM in a Chinese context, but also demonstrated that, comparatively, public-sector employees’ levels of PSM were relatively higher than those of private-sector employees, especially in relation to the attraction to public policymaking and commitment to public interest dimensions of PSM.
Type-specific risk factors and outcome in an outbreak with 2 different Clostridium difficile types simultaneously in 1 hospital.

BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) due to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotype 027 (type 027) has been described worldwide. In some countries, an increase was reported of toxin A-negative PCR ribotype 017 (type 017). We encountered an outbreak due to these 2 types occurring simultaneously in a 980-bed teaching hospital in the Netherlands. METHODS In a case-control study from May 2005 through January 2007, we investigated general and type-specific risk factors as well as outcome parameters for CDI due to type 027 or 017. Clonal dissemination was investigated by multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). RESULTS We identified 168 CDI patients: 57 (34%) with type 017, 46 (27%) with type 027, and 65 (39%) with 1 of 36 different other types. As controls, we included 77 non-CDI diarrheal patients and 162 patients without diarrhea. Risk factors for CDI were nasogastric intubation, recent hospitalization, and use of cephalosporins and clindamycin. Type-specific risk factors were older age for both types 017 and 027, use of clindamycin and immunosuppressive agents for type 017, and use of fluoroquinolones for type 027. At day 30 of follow-up, the overall mortality among patients with types 017, 027, other types, non-CDI diarrheal patients, and nondiarrheal patients was 23%, 26%, 3%, 2%, and 6%, respectively. MLVA showed persistent clonal dissemination of types 017 and 027, despite appropriate infection control measures. CONCLUSIONS Patients with CDI have type-specific risk factors and mortality rates, with prolonged clonal spread of type 027 or 017.
Effective antigen presentation to helper T cells by human eosinophils

Although eosinophils are inflammatory cells, there is increasing attention on their immunomodulatory roles. For example, murine eosinophils can present antigen to CD4+ T helper (Th) cells, but it remains unclear whether human eosinophils also have this ability. This study determined whether human eosinophils present a range of antigens, including allergens, to activate Th cells, and characterized their expression of MHC class II and co‐stimulatory molecules required for effective presentation. Human peripheral blood eosinophils purified from non‐allergic donors were pulsed with the antigens house dust mite extract (HDM), Timothy Grass extract (TG) or Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative (PPD), before co‐culture with autologous CD4+ Th cells. Proliferative and cytokine responses were measured, with eosinophil expression of HLA‐DR/DP/DQ and the co‐stimulatory molecules CD40, CD80 and CD86 determined by flow cytometry. Eosinophils pulsed with HDM, TG or PPD drove Th cell proliferation, with the response strength dependent on antigen concentration. The cytokine responses varied with donor and antigen, and were not biased towards any particular Th subset, often including combinations of pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines. Eosinophils up‐regulated surface expression of HLA‐DR/DP/DQ, CD80, CD86 and CD40 in culture, increases that were sustained over 5 days when incubated with antigens, including HDM, or the major allergens it contains, Der p I or Der p II. Human eosinophils can, therefore, act as effective antigen‐presenting cells to stimulate varied Th cell responses against a panel of antigens including HDM, TG or PPD, an ability that may help to determine the development of allergic disease.
Piezoelectric Al1−xScxN thin films: A semiconductor compatible solution for mechanical energy harvesting and sensors

The transverse piezoelectric coefficient e31,f of Al1-xScxN thin films was investigated as a function of composition. It increased nearly 50% from x = 0 to x = 0.17. As the increase of the dielectric constant was only moderate, these films are very suitable for energy harvesting, giving a 60% higher transformation yield (x = 0.17) as compared to pure AlN. A higher doping might even lead to a 100% augmentation. The thickness strain response (d33,f) was found to increase proportionally to the ionic part of the dielectric constant. The e-type coefficients (stress response), however, did not augment so much as the structure becomes softer. As a result, the transverse voltage/strain response (h31,f-coefficient) was raised only slightly with Sc doping. The low dielectric loss obtained at all compositions suggests also the use of Al1−xScxN thin films in sensors.
The Role of FADS1/2 Polymorphisms on Cardiometabolic Markers and Fatty Acid Profiles in Young Adults Consuming Fish Oil Supplements

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids (FAs) known to influence cardiometabolic markers of health. Evidence suggests that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the fatty acid desaturase 1 and 2 (FADS1/2) gene cluster may influence an individual’s response to n-3 FAs. This study examined the impact of a moderate daily dose of EPA and DHA fish oil supplements on cardiometabolic markers, FA levels in serum and red blood cells (RBC), and whether these endpoints were influenced by SNPs in FADS1/2. Young adults consumed fish oil supplements (1.8 g total EPA/DHA per day) for 12 weeks followed by an 8-week washout period. Serum and RBC FA profiles were analyzed every two weeks by gas chromatography. Two SNPs were genotyped: rs174537 in FADS1 and rs174576 in FADS2. Participants had significantly reduced levels of blood triglycerides (−13%) and glucose (–11%) by week 12; however, these benefits were lost during the washout period. EPA and DHA levels increased significantly in serum (+250% and +51%, respectively) and RBCs (+132% and +18%, respectively) within the first two weeks of supplementation and remained elevated throughout the 12-week period. EPA and DHA levels in RBCs only (not serum) remained significantly elevated (+37% and +24%, respectively) after the washout period. Minor allele carriers for both SNPs experienced greater increases in RBC EPA levels during supplementation; suggesting that genetic variation at this locus can influence an individual’s response to fish oil supplements.
The relation between the working memory skills of sign language interpreters and the quality of their interpretations*

In two experiments we investigated the relationship between the working memory skills of sign language interpreters and the quality of their interpretations. In Experiment 1, we found that scores on 3-back tasks with signs and words were not related to the quality of interpreted narratives. In Experiment 2, we found that memory span scores for words and signs under oral articulatory suppression were related to the quality of interpreted narratives. We argue that the insensitivity to articulatory suppression in memory span tasks reflects the interpreters' ability to bind information from multiple sources in episodic memory. This enhanced ability leads to less reliance on the retention of information from the source language in memory during interpreting, and will positively affect the quality of interpretations (Padilla, Bajo & Macizo, 2005). Finally, in contrast to previous studies on the memory spans for signs and words (Hall & Bavelier, 2010), we found that the memory spans scores for spoken words and signs were equally large. We argue that the use of a large set of phonologically complex stimuli in the present study may have stimulated participants to use a speech-based code to store and retain the signs in short-term memory.
A Principal Components Analysis of the Lick Indices of Galactic Globular Clusters

We present a principal components analysis (PCA) of high-quality Lick/IDS absorption-line measurements for 11 indices in the wavelength range 4100–5400 Å for 39 Galactic globular clusters (GCs). Only the first principal component appears to be physically significant. We find that there is a tight linear relationship between this first component (PC1) and GC metallicity over a wide range in [m/H] (-1.8 ≤ [m/H] ≤ 0), suggesting that PC1 can be used to accurately estimate metallicities for old extragalactic GCs from their integrated spectra. (Metallicity calibrations for other sets of indices in this wavelength range can be furnished upon request.) The classic GC "second-parameter effect" is noticeable in the Balmer indices, although it does not appear in our PCA. We find little evidence for substantial differences in broad abundance patterns among Galactic GCs. One implication is that the metal-poor and metal-rich GC subpopulations formed from very similar physical processes.
Guaranteeing Real-Time Services for Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks With IEEE 802.15.4

Industrial applications of wireless sensor networks require timeliness in exchanging messages among nodes. Although IEEE 802.15. 4 provides a superframe structure for real-time communication, a real-time message-scheduling algorithm is still required to schedule a large number of real-time messages to meet their timing constraints. We propose a distance-constrained real-time offline message-scheduling algorithm which generates the standard specific parameters such as beacon order, superframe order, and guaranteed-time-slot information and allocates each periodic real-time message to superframe slots for a given message set. The proposed scheduling algorithm is evaluated and analyzed extensively through simulations. In addition, a guaranteed time service is implemented in a typical industrial sensor node platform with a well-known IEEE 802.15. 4-compliant transceiver CC2420 and ATmega128L to verify the feasibility of the guaranteed time service with the schedule generated by the proposed scheduling algorithm. Through experiments, we prove that the real system runs accurately according to the schedule calculated by the proposed algorithm.
Successful Identification of Clinical Dermatophyte and Neoscytalidium Species by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

ABSTRACT Dermatophytes are keratinolytic fungi responsible for a wide variety of diseases of glabrous skin, nails, and hair. Their identification, currently based on morphological criteria, is hindered by intraspecies morphological variability and the atypical morphology of some clinical isolates. The aim of this study was to evaluate matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) as a routine tool for identifying dermatophyte and Neoscytalidium species, both of which cause dermatomycoses. We first developed a spectral database of 12 different species of common and unusual dermatophytes and two molds responsible for dermatomycoses (Neoscytalidium dimidiatum and N. dimidiatum var. hyalinum). We then prospectively tested the performance of the database on 381 clinical dermatophyte and Neoscytalidium isolates. Correct identification of the species was obtained for 331/360 dermatophytes (91.9%) and 18/21 Neoscytalidium isolates (85.7%). The results of MALDI-TOF MS and standard identification disagreed for only 2 isolates. These results suggest that MALDI-TOF MS could be a useful tool for routine and fast identification of dermatophytes and Neoscytalidium spp. in clinical mycology laboratories.
Deciding when it's labor: the experience of women who have received antepartum care at home for preterm labor.

OBJECTIVE To describe how women who had received antepartum care at home for preterm labor managed subsequent episodes of preterm labor symptoms. DESIGN Grounded theory method. SETTING 2 Canadian antepartum home care programs. PARTICIPANTS 12 women who received antepartum care at home for preterm labor that had been diagnosed in hospital prior to 34 weeks gestation. RESULTS The core psychosocial process was reconciling body knowledge and professional knowledge. Study participants reported knowing something's not right and followed decision guides to seek help. If, when they returned to the hospital to see what's going on, they felt dissonance between what their bodies were telling them (body knowledge) and what their health care providers were telling them (professional knowledge) an overriding tension developed between not wanting to take a risk for the baby versus not wanting to overreact. These women reestablished their baselines of nonthreatening symptoms at a higher level by setting a new normal to avoid the humiliation associated with appearing to overreact. Attempting to ignore recurring symptoms of preterm labor delayed help seeking and caused anxiety. CONCLUSIONS To avoid delayed help seeking, nursing interventions should be geared to reducing anxiety and validating the experiences of women with recurring preterm labor symptoms.