Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drivers of Bushmeat Hunting and Perceptions of Zoonoses in Nigerian Hunting Communities

Bushmeat hunting threatens biodiversity and increases the risk of zoonotic pathogen transmission. Nevertheless, limited information exists on patterns of contact with wildlife in communities that practice bushmeat hunting, especially with respect to social drivers of hunting behavior. We used interview responses from hunters and non-hunters in rural hunting communities in Nigeria to: 1) quantify contact rates with wildlife, 2) identify specific hunting behaviors that increase frequency of contact, 3) identify socioeconomic factors that predispose individuals to hunt, and 4) measure perceptions of risk. Participants engaged in a variety of behaviors that increased contact with wild animals, including: butchering to sell (37%), being injured (14%), using body parts for traditional medicine (19%), collecting carcasses found in forests and/or farms (18%), and keeping as pets (16%). Hunters came into contact with wildlife significantly more than non-hunters, even through non-hunting exposure pathways. Participants reported hunting rodents (95%), ungulates (93%), carnivores (93%), primates (87%), and bats (42%), among other prey. Reported hunting frequencies within taxonomic groups of prey were different for different hunting behaviors. Young age, lower education level, larger household size, having a father who hunts, and cultural group were all associated with becoming a hunter. Fifty-five percent of respondents were aware that they could contract diseases from wild animals, but only 26% of these individuals reported taking protective measures. Overall, hunters in this setting frequently contact a diversity of prey in risky ways, and the decision to become a hunter stems from family tradition, modified by economic necessity. Conservation and public health interventions in such settings may be most efficient when they capitalize on local knowledge and target root socio-economic and cultural drivers that lead to hunting behavior. Importantly, interventions that target consumption alone will not be sufficient; other drivers and modes of interaction with wildlife must also be considered.
Structural consequences of modification of the oxygen atom of guanine in DNA by the carcinogen N-hydroxy-1-naphthylamine.

Abstract Since the ultimate carcinogen N -hydroxy-1-naphthylamine (N-HO-1-NA) reacts selectively with DNA at the O 6 atom of the guanine base, an investigation of the consequences of this potentially mispairing lesion upon DNA structure was under-taken. Fluorescence spectroscopic studies, which detected only the major N-HO-1-NA- O 6 -guanine adduct, showed that the fluorescence decay rate for the naphthyl residue in DNA was similar to that for N-HO-1-NA in solution. Furthermore, the naphthyl fluorescence was efficiently quenched by O 2 and was relatively unaffected by Ag + , indicating the free accessibility of the bound naphthyl moiety to the surrounding solution. Electric linear dichroism studies revealed that the transition moment of the 1-naphthylamine adducts, which are aligned along the short axis of the naphthyl ring, tended to be parallel (within 20°) to the transition moment of the DNA bases and thus perpendicular to the DNA helical axis. From these data, spacefilling molecular models of DNA containing the major O 6 -substituted guanine-naphthylamine adduct were constructed. A model is shown in which the naphthyl residue resides in the major groove of the DNA with complete freedom of rotation about the naphthyl-1-NH bond without causing major conformational changes in the DNA helical structure. Quite unexpectedly, N-HO-1-NA decreased the thermal stability of the DNA in proportion to the degree of reaction. However, derivative melting curves suggested that a major part of this effect is due to preferential reaction with high-melting satellite components (guanine:cytosine-rich regions) of the DNA and that the effect on the stability of the main component is considerably less. In contrast, reaction of DNA with N -acetoxy-2-acetylaminofluorene had qualitatively different effects on thermal stability, indicating that binding of the fluorene residues to DNA occurred randomly. The role of N-HO-1-NA-DNA adducts as promutagenic, site-selective lesions leading to the initiation of N-HO-1-NA carcinogenesis is proposed.
Intrathymic presentation of circulating non-MHC antigens by medullary dendritic cells. An antigen-dependent microenvironment for T cell differentiation

We present evidence for intrathymic presentation of soluble circulating antigens in vivo. Our results show that proteins of different molecular weight enter the mouse thymus rapidly after i.v. injection. The intrathymic presence of antigen was assayed by proliferation of cloned antigen-specific T helper cells, which were cocultured with purified thymic stromal cells; stromal cells were isolated and purified as lymphostromal cell complexes, which preexist in vivo. Antigen presentation copurified with non-adherent medullary dendritic cells (DC) (interdigitating cells). I-A- cortical macrophages forming thymocyte rosettes in vivo and I-A+ cortical epithelial cells forming thymic nurse cells (TNC) in vivo did not act as antigen presenting cells (APC) after antigen pulsing in vivo or in vitro. Thymic APC turn over physiologically and are rapidly replaced (within 2-5 wk) after lethal irradiation by donor bone marrow-derived cells. The frequency of thymocyte-DC interactions in vivo strictly correlates with thymic T cell differentiation, and is independent of the immune status of the animal. Fetal thymic APC seem to be secluded from antigen in the maternal circulation. Thymic DC-ROS probably represent the microenvironment where maturing T cells first encounter non-MHC antigens in the context of self-MHC antigens.
Posture Related to Myoelectric Silence of Erectores Spinae During Trunk Flexion

Electromyographic activity of erectores spinae exhibits points of abrupt change during trunk flexion from the erect position and return extension. This study examined the positions at which the myoelectric activity suddenly disappeared and later reappeared. Forty adults were investigated to define accurately the inclinations of the trunk, pelvis, and vertebral column at these positions. The positions at the commencement and cessation of the period of electrical silence both occurred at two-thirds of maximum trunk flexion (&OV0335;= 80° ± 13° SD). At these positions, all flexion measurements were significantly less than their maxima (P <0.001). Hip flexion at the commencement of electrical silence was slightly above one-half its maximum range, and similar to the position at the recommencement of electrical activity (&OV0335;= 40° ± 12° SD). The most reproducible measurement (r=0.88) in both positions was vertebral flexion (89% Max.; &OV0335;= 48° ± 6° SD). Eleven of the male subjects repeated the experimental task holding 10.1 kg in their hands. The effect of this was to produce inhibition and reactivation of erectores spinae at a greater degree of vertebral flexion.
The Relation between Memory of the Traumatic Event and PTSD: Evidence from Studies of Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: This paper focuses on the relation between memory and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More specifically, it addresses the debate regarding the role of memory of the traumatic event in the development of PTSD. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is used as a naturally occuring model for traumatic exposure that is often associated with memory impairment. Method: We present a critical review of the literature on studies assessing the relation between TBI and PTSD, with a focus on memory of the traumatic event as a critical factor. We also discuss results from recent studies conducted by our group. Results: The literature review offers an inconclusive picture wherein a significant proportion of the studies indicate that PTSD and TBI are mutually exclusive, especially in individuals who exhibit lack of memory for the traumatic event. This finding supports the possibility that lack of memory may protect against the development of PTSD. However, some studies show that PTSD does occur in patients with head injury, suggesting that PTSD may develop in TBI survivors—even in those who cannot remember the traumatic event. Generally speaking, though, the overall balance of the findings (including our own findings) seems to support the possibility that, in subjects with TBI, impaired memory of the traumatic event is associated with reduced prevalence of PTSD. Conclusions: The suggestion that amnesia regarding the traumatic event may protect against the development of PTSD has both theoretical and practical importance. This review focused on the case of trauamtic brain injury as a model for impaired memory for the traumatic event. However, it still remains to be proven that the conclusions based on these findings are generalizable beyond the case of TBI. While some patients with posttraumatic amnesia do develop PTSD despite lack of memory for the traumatic event, the majority of those who lack memory for the event seem to be protected from developing the disorder. Nevertheless, based on this assumption, we suggest that pharmacologic disruption of newly acquired—or even old—traumatic memories, which has been shown to be possible in animals, might therapeutically benefit trauma survivors.
Desarrollo y Estudio Psicométrico de una Escala para Evaluar Conducta Prosocial en Adolescentes

espanolLos comportamien tos prosociales, acciones intencionales que se llevan a cabo con el proposito de beneficiar a otros, implican consecuencias positivas para la sociedad, favoreciendo ampliamente las relaciones interpersonales. Dada la importancia de su evaluacion y promocio n, el objetivo de este trabajo fue la construccion y validacion de un instrumento para evaluar la conducta prosocial en adolescentes de 12 a 18 anos. Una version conformada por 30 items fue administrada a una muestra de 492sujetos. Se realizo un Analisis F actorial Exploratorio, el cual arrojo evidencias de que la escala posee una estructura unidimensional. Se estudio la consistencia interna del instrumento, el poder discriminativo de los items y se realizaron analisis de validez de constructo hipotetico, co nvergente y discriminante. A partir de los resultados obtenidosse concluye que el funcionamiento psicometrico del instrumento es adecuado, permitiendo evaluar de manera valida y confiable el constructo conducta prosocial en los adolescentes escolarizados a rgentinos. EnglishProsocial behaviors, intentional actions that are carried out with the purpose of benefiting others, imply positive consequences for society, favoring interpersonal relationships widely. Given the importance of its evaluation and promotion, the objective of this work was the construction and validation of an instrument to evaluate prosocial behavior in adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. A 30 - item version was administere d to a sample of 492 subjects. An Exploratory Factorial Analysis was performed, which showed evidence that the scale has a one - dimensional structure. The internal consistency of the instrument, the discriminative power of the items, and validity analysis o f hypothetical, convergent and discriminant constructs were studied. Based on the results obtained, it is concluded that the psychometric functioning of the instrument is adequate, allowing a valid and reliable evaluation of the construct of prosocial beha vior in Argentinian students.
JITPR: A framework for supporting fast application's implementation onto FPGAs

The execution runtime usually is a headache for designers performing application mapping onto reconfigurable architectures. In this article we propose a methodology, as well as the supporting toolset, targeting to provide fast application implementation onto reconfigurable architectures with the usage of a Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation framework. Experimental results prove the efficiency of the introduced framework, as we reduce the execution runtime compared to the state-of-the-art approach on average by 53.5×. Additionally, the derived solutions achieve higher operation frequencies by 1.17×, while they also exhibit significant lower fragmentation ratios of hardware resources.
Relationship between Attitude towards Advertisement Appeals and Consumer Buying Behaviour among Young Adults in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of young adults’ attitude towards advertisement appeals on consumer buying behaviour among young adults. Advertisement has been a very common communication tool used in marketing products to consumers. However, the attitude of young adults towards the use of these ad appeals particularly fear, sex, and guilt) and its influence on their buying behaviour is yet to be investigated in Malaysia. The empirical study was conducted at Subang Parade, Selangor and a total of two hundred respondents were selected through multistage random sampling. The results showed that young adults have likeable attitude towards both fear and guilt appeals and it showed both significant relationship towards consumer buying behaviour; whereas dislikeable attitude is shown towards sex appeal and it show non-significant relationship towards consumer buying behaviour. Multiple regressions analysis is used to examine the influence of each appeal and the most influential appeal towards consumer buying behaviour. The results found out that the most influential attitude towards consumer buying behaviour is attitude towards fear appeal. Understanding the attitude of young adults towards advertisement appeals might support the recognition of its influences and provide information towards the improvement of the use of advertisement appeals in future.
Relationship stigma and well-being among adults in interracial and same-sex relationships

Stigmatization of interracial and same-sex relationships persists, with negative consequences for relationship functioning and mental health. We extended past research to examine consequences of relationship stigma from different sources (family, friends, public) for well-being (anxiety, depressive symptoms, overall self-rated health), potential buffers (egalitarianism, dyadic coping), and possible mediated pathways (to overall self-rated health through anxiety and/or depressive symptoms). Among 467 U.S. adults in interracial and/or same-sex relationships, relationship stigma from friends was associated with greater depressive symptoms. Being in a same-sex relationship moderated the associations of relationship stigma from family with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Egalitarianism moderated the association of relationship stigma from public with anxiety symptoms, and dyadic coping moderated the association of relationship stigma from family with depressive symptoms. Relationship stigma from friends was also indirectly associated with poorer overall self-rated health through the mechanism of greater depressive symptoms. Findings support that relationship stigma may have adverse consequences for individual well-being. Further, egalitarianism and dyadic coping may be buffers. More research is important to identify how to support the increasing numbers of individuals in stigmatized relationships.
A hierarchical particle swarm optimizer and its adaptive variant

A hierarchical version of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) metaheuristic is introduced in this paper. In the new method called H-PSO, the particles are arranged in a dynamic hierarchy that is used to define a neighborhood structure. Depending on the quality of their so-far best-found solution, the particles move up or down the hierarchy. This gives good particles that move up in the hierarchy a larger influence on the swarm. We introduce a variant of H-PSO, in which the shape of the hierarchy is dynamically adapted during the execution of the algorithm. Another variant is to assign different behavior to the individual particles with respect to their level in the hierarchy. H-PSO and its variants are tested on a commonly used set of optimization functions and are compared to PSO using different standard neighborhood schemes.
iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us

Small Group Discussion Split into groups and discuss the positions presented in the book (see handout). Answer the following questions: • Do you agree or disagree with the author’s argument? o What data does the author use to back up this argument? o What are some of the implications of this argument? • Have you seen this issue play out in students’ lives? • What suggestions do you have to address this/these issue(s)? Think about your professional role. • Are there additional take-aways from this position?
Design of regular (2,d/sub c/)-LDPC codes over GF(q) using their binary images

In this paper, a method to design regular (2, dc)- LDPC codes over GF(q) with both good waterfall and error floor properties is presented, based on the algebraic properties of their binary image. First, the algebraic properties of rows of the parity check matrix H associated with a code are characterized and optimized to improve the waterfall. Then the algebraic properties of cycles and stopping sets associated with the underlying Tanner graph are studied and linked to the global binary minimum distance of the code. Finally, simulations are presented to illustrate the excellent performance of the designed codes.
Is the Motor System Necessary for Processing Action and Abstract Emotion Words? Evidence from Focal Brain Lesions

Neuroimaging and neuropsychological experiments suggest that modality-preferential cortices, including motor- and somatosensory areas, contribute to the semantic processing of action related concrete words. Still, a possible role of sensorimotor areas in processing abstract meaning remains under debate. Recent fMRI studies indicate an involvement of the left sensorimotor cortex in the processing of abstract-emotional words (e.g., “love”) which resembles activation patterns seen for action words. But are the activated areas indeed necessary for processing action-related and abstract words? The current study now investigates word processing in two patients suffering from focal brain lesion in the left frontocentral motor system. A speeded Lexical Decision Task on meticulously matched word groups showed that the recognition of nouns from different semantic categories – related to food, animals, tools, and abstract-emotional concepts – was differentially affected. Whereas patient HS with a lesion in dorsolateral central sensorimotor systems next to the hand area showed a category-specific deficit in recognizing tool words, patient CA suffering from lesion centered in the left supplementary motor area was primarily impaired in abstract-emotional word processing. These results point to a causal role of the motor cortex in the semantic processing of both action-related object concepts and abstract-emotional concepts and therefore suggest that the motor areas previously found active in action-related and abstract word processing can serve a meaning-specific necessary role in word recognition. The category-specific nature of the observed dissociations is difficult to reconcile with the idea that sensorimotor systems are somehow peripheral or ‘epiphenomenal’ to meaning and concept processing. Rather, our results are consistent with the claim that cognition is grounded in action and perception and based on distributed action perception circuits reaching into modality-preferential cortex.
The significance of meaning-making, agency and social support: a narrative study of how poor women cope with perinatal loss

Perinatal loss (stillbirth or the death of a neonate) can result in considerable psycho-social disruption for mothers. As women grieve, they try to make meaning of the death of their baby. In contexts of social and economic deprivation, perinatal loss often occurs alongside other difficulties which may affect and limit women’s ability to make meaning. A narrative approach was used to explore how meaning-making functions in such contexts. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 women who had experienced perinatal loss while attending a state maternity hospital. Narratives which the mothers constructed of the event were examined in order to understand what meanings they derived from the loss, and how these were (or not) achieved. These narratives were often linked to other stories of pervasive life difficulties. Despite their difficult contexts, the bereaved mothers engaged in meaningmaking in similar ways to those described in previous studies in more affluent settings: they attempted to integrate the loss with their identity and goals, they affirmed the baby as a real person to be mourned and they searched for reasons for the loss. The effect of their contexts on meaning-making was mediated by social support and personal agency. Where one or both of these were present, the bereaved mothers were able to find meaning in their loss; women who had neither seemed unable to do so. Those who portrayed themselves as agentic were able to reflect on their experience and make decisions to change their lives. Mothers with strong social support made meaning through conversations, social validation of the loss and social help which mitigated against the sense of helplessness engendered by their loss and circumstances. It is recommended that hospital and counselling services implement practices which help to build or consolidate personal agency and social support to facilitate successful meaning-making following perinatal loss.
Enhancing Brain Tissue Segmentation and Image Classification via 1 D Kohonen Networks and Discrete Compactness : An Experimental Study

The Discrete Compactness is a factor that describes the shape of an object. One of its main strengths lies in its low sensitivity to variations, due to noise or capture defects, in the shape of an object. Then, we use Discrete Compactness in order to propose a new approach for non-supervised classification of tissue in Computed Tomography brain slices. The proposal is sustained on the use of One-Dimensional Kohonen Self-Organizing Maps. The images are segmented is such way tissue is characterized according to its geometrical and topological neighborhood. Our main contribution is based in the use of a new similarity metric which makes use of Discrete Compactness. We will present arguments to sustain the fact, from an experimental point of view, that the use of Discrete Compactness as a similarity metric for segmentation purposes impacts additional processes such as the classification of segmented images. The impact will be boarded in two ways: a) respect to the differences existing between segmented images in a same class, and b) respect to the way a representative relates with the members of its class. In both cases, we will be assisted by some simple error functions. Index Terms Kohonen Networks, Automatic Image Segmentation, Pattern Recognition, Discrete Compactness, Non-Euclidean Metrics, Automatic Image Classification.
Does Electrical Conductivity of Linear Polyelectrolytes in Aqueous Solutions Follow the Dynamic Scaling Laws? A Critical Review and a Summary of the Key Relations

In this review, we focus on the electrical conductivity of aqueous polyelectrolyte solutions in the light of the dynamic scaling laws, recently proposed by Dobrynin and Rubinstein, to take into account the polymer conformations in different concentration regimes, both in good and poor solvent conditions. This approach allows us to separate contributions due to polymer conformation from those due to the ionic character of the chain, and offers the possibility to extend the validity of the Manning conductivity model to dilute and semidilute regimes. The electrical conductivity in the light of the scaling approach compares reasonably well with the observed values for different polyelectrolytes in aqueous solutions, over an extended concentration range, from the dilute to the semidilute regime.