Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acceptability of routine offer of HIV Testing (opt-out approach) among pregnant women in the Wa municipality.

BACKGROUND With the introduction of the opt out HIV testing policy in Ghana, the HIV test is offered routinely to all pregnant women unless they decline testing. OBJECTIVE To assess acceptability of the routine offer of HIV testing antenatal clinic (ANC) clients in the Wa municipality, Ghana. DESIGN Cross-sectional study of 270 randomly selected ANC attendees. RESULTS More than 90% of respondents were in favour of the opt-out policy. The most commonly cited reasons were that it would help pregnant women know their status and facilitate prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). About 60% of respondents had tested for HIV in the current pregnancy with more than 90% reporting that the test was offered them in a manner in which they could have refused the test. HIV testing in the current pregnancy was associated with having heard of the opt-out policy (p <0.001) and awareness that the test was offered at the facility (p < 0.001), but there was no relationship with educational level. Out of the 112 clients who had not had HIV test in the current pregnancy, 61.8% claimed the test had not been offered to them while 82.4% expressed willingness to have the test done if offered. CONCLUSION The opt-out HIV testing policy is acceptable to the pregnant women surveyed in the Wa municipality. A well laid out process to ensure that all pregnant women are routinely offered HIV testing at the ANC may help minimize missed opportunities for utilizing PMTCT services.
Prenatal programming in an obese swine model: sex-related effects of maternal energy restriction on morphology, metabolism and hypothalamic gene expression

Maternal energy restriction during pregnancy predisposes to metabolic alterations in the offspring. The present study was designed to evaluate phenotypic and metabolic consequences following maternal undernutrition in an obese pig model and to define the potential role of hypothalamic gene expression in programming effects. Iberian sows were fed a control or a 50 % restricted diet for the last two-thirds of gestation. Newborns were assessed for body and organ weights, hormonal and metabolic status, and hypothalamic expression of genes implicated in energy homeostasis, glucocorticoid function and methylation. Weight and adiposity were measured in adult littermates. Newborns of the restricted sows were lighter (P <0·01), but brain growth was spared. The plasma concentration of TAG was lower in the restricted newborns than in the control newborns of both the sexes (P <0·01), while the concentration of cortisol was higher in females born to the restricted sows (P <0·04), reflecting a situation of metabolic stress by nutrient insufficiency. A lower hypothalamic expression of anorexigenic peptides (LEPR and POMC, P <0·01 and P <0·04, respectively) was observed in females born to the restricted sows, but no effect was observed in the males. The expression of HSD11B1 gene was down-regulated in the restricted animals (P <0·05), suggesting an adaptive mechanism for reducing the harmful effects of elevated concentrations of cortisol. At 4 and 7 months of age, the restricted females were heavier and fatter than the controls (P< 0·01). Maternal feed restriction induces asymmetrical growth retardation and metabolic alterations in the offspring. Differences in gene expression at birth and higher growth and adiposity in adulthood suggest a female-specific programming effect for a positive energy balance, possibly due to overexposure to endogenous stress-induced glucocorticoids.
Speaking of Participation

While participation in public life is generally agreed to be important for governance and citizenship, scholars focused on talk-oriented participation (in the Tocquevillian tradition) suggest that there is a participation deficit in the American public sphere. Qualitative analysis of responses from 60 interview respondents about whether or not they are participants in four prominent American debates suggests a novel explanation for this apparent deficit: Persons whom analysts classify as non-participants may believe that they are already participating, because their understanding of participation is not based on public political talk. Moreover, individual responses about participation vary substantially by debate, suggesting that what counts as participation is more fluid for respondents than for analysts. Implications for public sphere studies are discussed.
Performance of capture-division packet access with slow shadowing and power control

A new method for achieving improved spectrum reuse in cellular systems, called capture-division packet access (CDPA), has been introduced. The method uses a single frequency in all cells, but, unlike code-division multiple access (CDMA), it allows each transmitter to exploit the full bandwidth. Practically, the CDPA's way of operation can be seen as a slotted ALOHA scheme among different cells in which the mobile terminals belonging to the same cell transmit using a collision-free mechanism, which is easily obtained due to the very short intracell propagation delay. Parallel transmission in different cells is achieved through the "capture" capability. Packets that are not captured are almost immediately retransmitted, thus assuring that packets are eventually correctly received. We analyze the performance of the CDPA in the presence of slowly varying shadowing. The gain offered by power control techniques is also investigated. Finally, the effect of erroneous signaling information is studied, and a delay analysis is presented.
Modified particle implementation of the PHD filter for multi-target tracking

The particle probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter is a popular method for multi-target tracking problem in a Bayesian framework. However, the required resample procedure within this filter is traditionally performed on the whole particle set, which results in the loss of low weighted particles that represent some temporarily miss-detected targets. Another limitation is related to the characteristic of identity free within the particle PHD filter. This paper proposes a modified particle implementation of the PHD filter for multi-target tracking. The proposed method adds extra particle label to create target identities and the resample procedures are performed on the particle set with the same identity label. An identity label management procedure is devised, which sorts tracks into three disjoint subclasses, i.e., tentative, confirmed and terminated tracks. A modified adaptive target birth intensity is adopted to efficiently capture the birth targets that may appear anywhere in the state space. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed implementation can provide more reliable state estimations and keep record of track identities.
Transformation-based named entity extraction from spoken content for personal memory aid

This paper proposes an automatic transformation-based rule-based Named Entity (NE) extraction from spoken content for personal memory aid. The proposed automatic rule inference based on transformation has shown itself to be a viable alternative to the stochastic approach in NE extraction, while retaining the advantages of a rule-based approach: lightweight memory requirements and computation, and extensible to the inclusion of personal information. The performance of the proposed system is compared with one of the successful stochastic systems. When only the sequences of words are available, both systems show almost equal performance as is also the case with additional information such as punctuation, capitalisation and name lists. The best results of the proposed system were measured at 0.9134 in terms of F-measure. In cases where input texts are corrupted by speech recognition errors, the performance of both systems is degraded by almost the same level (0.0062 of F-measure loss per 1% of additional speech recognition error). However, the proposed system requires only 94KB and simple computation on the transition diagram of a finite automata.
Invasion by Non‐Native Annual Grasses: The Importance of Species Biomass, Composition, and Time Among California Native Grasses of the Central Valley

The Central Valley of California is noted for its dearth of remnant native grass populations and for low native grass seedling establishment within grasslands now dominated by non‐native annual species. In contrast, remnant populations are common along the coast, and studies have shown an ability for seedlings and adults to compete with non‐native annual grasses. The invasibility of well‐established populations of native grasses in the Central Valley remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to compare the invasibility of native grasses differing in density and species composition and, given the species in this study, to assess the ability of mixes with greater species richness to resist invasion relative to their abilities in monoculture. In the Sacramento Valley of California, six species of native grasses were planted at three densities in monospecific and mixed‐species plots. Percent cover of native perennial and non‐native annual grasses was measured in years 2 and 3, and biomass was sampled in year 5. Native grass biomass and, to a lesser extent, species composition were important in explaining variation in non‐native grass invasibility in the fifth year. Species‐rich treatments did not experience less invasion than would be expected by the proportional invasibility of each species in monoculture. However, invasibility of plots consisting of slower growing, shorter statured species decreased over time, suggesting a successional benefit to diverse communities. This study demonstrates that established stands of native grasses in the Sacramento Valley can resist invasion by non‐native annual grasses and that stand biomass is a particularly important factor in determining invasibility.
An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Metacognitive Strategies and Online-learning Behavior & Test Achievements

By using Wen Qiufang's Questionnaire on English Learning Strategies, 93 students from thirteen different majors in Beijing University of Technology are surveyed about their use of metacognitive strategies and self-learning on line. Based on the survey, the relationship between metacognitive strategies and online-learning behavior & test achievements is analyzed with suggestions for strategy training and ability development.
Clinical Note

Findings presented in this report from Cycle II of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) confirm a significant reversal of the trends in breast feeding among American mothers. These data show that the downward trend that had been in progress since the 1950’s was reversed in the early 1970’s. In 1973 the proportion of babies breast fed was 25 percent; in 1975 it was 35 percent. Breast feeding was more common among white women than black women: 33 percent of the babies born to white women in 1973-75 were breast fed, compared with only 15 percent of the babies born to black women. Also, breast feeding was more common among women with more years of education: 48 percent of babies born in 1973-75 to mothers with more than 12 years of education were breast
Low-Rank Atlas Image Analyses in the Presence of Pathologies

We present a common framework, for registering images to an atlas and for forming an unbiased atlas, that tolerates the presence of pathologies such as tumors and traumatic brain injury lesions. This common framework is particularly useful when a sufficient number of protocol-matched scans from healthy subjects cannot be easily acquired for atlas formation and when the pathologies in a patient cause large appearance changes. Our framework combines a low-rank-plus-sparse image decomposition technique with an iterative, diffeomorphic, group-wise image registration method. At each iteration of image registration, the decomposition technique estimates a “healthy” version of each image as its low-rank component and estimates the pathologies in each image as its sparse component. The healthy version of each image is used for the next iteration of image registration. The low-rank and sparse estimates are refined as the image registrations iteratively improve. For unbiased atlas formation, at each iteration, the average of the low-rank images from the patients is used as the atlas image for the next iteration, until convergence. Since each iteration's atlas is comprised of low-rank components, it provides a population-consistent, pathology-free appearance. Evaluations of the proposed methodology are presented using synthetic data as well as simulated and clinical tumor MRI images from the brain tumor segmentation (BRATS) challenge from MICCAI 2012.
Oral Verrucous Carcinoma: A Study of 12 Cases

Objectives: The purpose of this clinical study was to identify a clinical and histopathological relationship between verrucous hyperplasia, verrucous keratosis, and verrucous carcinoma. Methods: We evaluated 12 patients who had developed oral verrucous carcinoma in the past 10 years in a follow-up study. In this study, the diagnostic criteria included clinical and histopathological features of the lesions. Each lesion was examined by a single oral pathologist. Results: All the patients were diagnosed with verrucous carcinoma following excisional biopsy. One patient was diagnosed with verrucous hyperplasia and another with verrucous keratosis in their initial histological findings. Mandibular, posterior alveolar crest, and retromolar trigone were the most affected sites (41.6%), followed by the buccal mucosa (16.6%), the palate (16.6%), the floor of the mouth (16.6%), and the lip (8.3%). No patients had evidence of recurrence after treatment. Conclusions: Verrucous hyperplasia, verrucous keratosis, and verrucous carcinoma may not be distinguished clinically or may coexist, resulting in diagnostic difficulties. It should be kept in mind that verrucous hyperplasia may also develop from leukoplakic lesions, and it may transform into verrucous carcinoma or squamous-cell carcinoma, acting as a potential precancerous lesion.
Contract Learning As an Approach to Individualizing EFL Education in the Context of Assessment for Learning

Contract learning as an approach to individualizing education in the context of assessment for learning is relatively underexplored in English as a Foreign Language instruction. The present study used a mixed-methods design to investigate its efficacy to provide feedback to students and improve self-directed learning. Furthermore, it studied students’ impression of the assessment procedure and their agency. After taking a diagnostic test of grammatical knowledge, participants (N = 14 graduate students) received treatment, using learning contracts, and then took a posttest. A paired t test showed a significant improvement in their grammatical knowledge (t = 7.96, df = 13, p = .00), the effect size being r = . 91. The analysis of data from an open-ended questionnaire helped explain how the approach had a positive effect on learning of grammar. The results also indicated that the students had favorable attitudes toward contract learning, mentioning that it had a beneficial impact on their studying behavior. The article concludes with a discussion on the validity considerations of using contract learning in an assessment for learning context.
On the weak convergence of kernel density estimators in Lp spaces

Since its introduction, the pointwise asymptotic properties of the kernel estimator fˆn of a probability density function f on ℝd, as well as the asymptotic behaviour of its integrated errors, have been studied in great detail. Its weak convergence in functional spaces, however, is a more difficult problem. In this paper, we show that if fn(x)=(fˆn(x)) and (rn) is any nonrandom sequence of positive real numbers such that rn/√n→0 then if rn(fˆn−fn) converges to a Borel measurable weak limit in a weighted Lp space on ℝd, with 1≤p<∞, the limit must be 0. We also provide simple conditions for proving or disproving the existence of this Borel measurable weak limit.
Does eye gaze indicate implicit knowledge of false belief? Charting transitions in knowledge.

Three-year-olds sometimes look to the correct location but give an incorrect verbal answer in a false belief task. We examined whether correct eye gaze among 3- to 5-year-old children indexed unconscious knowledge or low confidence conscious knowledge. Children "bet" counters on where they thought a story character would go. If children were conscious of the knowledge conveyed by their eye gaze then they should have bet modestly on their explicit answer (i.e., been unsure whether this answer or the answer conveyed through eye direction was correct). We found that children bet very highly on the location consistent with their explicit answer, suggesting that they were not aware of the knowledge conveyed through their eye gaze. This result was supported by a number of conditions that showed that betting was a sensitive measure of even small degrees of uncertainty. The results shed light on false-belief understanding, the implicit-explicit distinction, and transitional knowledge. We argue that the transition to a full understanding of false belief is marked by periods of implicit knowledge and explicit understanding with low confidence.
The Generational Divide: Understanding Work Centrality, Organizational Commitment and Communication Satisfaction

Generational differences in the workforce have become topics of interest in popular management journals, which are keen to use anecdotes and stereotypes to make recommendations to their readers. However, little empirical research has been done on this topic, especially as it pertains to work/life balance, communication satisfaction and organizational commitment. The current study analyzes the potential generational differences in three industries: banking, teaching and marketing and media in a sample of 138 active members of the workforce from three different generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Affective and normative commitment, communication satisfaction and work centrality were the outcome variables of this study. Results from this study revealed that only work centrality was significantly different among the surveyed generations. Affective commitment, normative commitment and communication satisfaction showed no differences among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. Various age constructs were also used in this study, including subjective age, perceived relative age and chronological age. Results revealed that all age constructs were related to affective commitment, communication satisfaction, with subjective age having the strongest relationship to the outcome variables. Normative commitment and work centrality were not related to age measures. Implications for managers and future research were discussed.
The Role of Astroglia in the Epileptic Brain

Epilepsies comprise a family of multifactorial neurological disorders that affect at least 50 million people worldwide. Despite a long history of neurobiological and clinical studies the mechanisms that lead the brain network to a hyperexcitable state and to the intense, massive neuronal discharges reflecting a seizure episode are only partially defined. Most epilepsies of genetic origin are related to mutations in ionic channels that cause neuronal hyperexcitability. However, idiopathic epilepsies of unclear origin represent the majority of these brain disorders. A large body of evidence suggests that in the epileptic brain neurons are not the only players. Indeed, the glial cell astrocyte is known to be morphologically and functionally altered in different types of epilepsy. Although it is unclear whether these astrocyte dysfunctions can have a causative role in epileptogenesis, the hypothesis that astrocytes contribute to epileptiform activities recently received a considerable experimental support. Notably, currently used antiepileptic drugs, that act mainly on neuronal ion channels, are ineffective in a large group of patients. Clarifying astrocyte functions in the epileptic brain tissue could unveil astrocytes as novel therapeutic targets. In this review we present first a short overview on the role of astrocytes in the epileptic brain starting from the “historical” observations on their fundamental modulation of brain homeostasis, such as the control of water content, ionic equilibrium, and neurotransmitters concentrations. We then focus our review on most recent studies that hint at a distinct contribution of these cells in the generation of focal epileptiform activities.
The enabling practices scale: The development of an assessment instrument for disability services

Parental empowerment is widely regarded as a desirable outcome from the provision of disability services. However, although the theoretical literature gives direction as to the enabling service practices likely to lead to empowering outcomes, there has been little or no empirical work to test these assumptions. This paper reports the development of an instrument to measure the level of enabling practices used by disability services.
The Cultural Cringe

An opinion is presented that the Australian Cultural Cringe leads to compulsive, unfavourable comparisons of Australian literary output with English and French literary works, and also to the isolation of the Australian intellectuals. It is believed that Australian writers should come out of their Cringe and communicate their culture and way of life in a factual manner, rather than in an inferior or a possibly superior manner.
Tolling, Collusion and Equilibrium Problems with Equilibrium Constraints

An Equilibrium Problem with an Equilibrium Constraint (EPEC) is a mathematical construct that can be applied to private competition in highway networks. In this paper we consider the problem of finding a Nash Equilibrium in a situation of competition in toll pricing on a network utilising two alternative algorithms. In the first algorithm, we utilise a Gauss Seidel fixed point approach based on the cutting constraint algorithm for toll pricing. The second algorithm that we propose, a novel contribution of this paper, is the extension of an existing sequential linear complementarity programming approach for finding the competitive Nash equilibrium when there is a lower level equilibrium constraint. Finally we develop an intuitive approach to represent collusion between players and demonstrate that as the level of collusion goes from none to full collusion so the solution maps from the Nash to monopolistic solution. However we also show that there may be local solutions for the collusive monopoly which lie closer to the second best welfare toll solution than does the competitive Nash equilibrium.
Border Flow Rights and Contracts for Differences of Differences: Models for Electric Transmission Property Rights

In this paper, a property rights model for electric transmission is proposed and its properties analyzed. The proposed rights, called "border flow rights," support financial hedging of transmission risk and merchant transmission expansion through associated financial rights, called "contracts for differences of differences. " These financial rights allow for forward trading of both energy and transmission by a unified exchange, avoiding the bifurcation in current markets between decentralized long-term energy trading and centralized long-term transmission trading. Such long-term trading can help to support the financing of both generation and transmission assets. We consider incentive properties of such a right in the absence of lumpiness, economies of scale, and market power.