Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scaling up HIV testing in resource-constrained settings: Debates on the role of VCT and Routine ‘Opt-in or Opt-out’ HIV Testing

Scaling up of the numbers of people voluntarily undergoing HIV testing has become vital, especially in resource-constrained settings, where the need for knowledge of HIV status for both prevention and care is critical. The reality is that for most people in Africa, access to HIV testing and to voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) has been very limited, and this has human rights implications – missing the opportunity to be diagnosed with a disease that is now well understood, manageable and treatable means certain death. The key challenge in our current context is how scaling up of HIV testing should be done. In responding to this challenge, we are guided by Gruskin and Loff,1 who state that ‘A human rights approach mandates that any public strategy, whether or not rights are to be restricted, be informed by evidence and widely debated. This approach protects against unproved and potentially counterproductive strategies, even those motivated by the genuine despair in the face of overwhelming public health challenges. \' This article describes the arguments and discussion raised during a session on models for increasing access to HIV testing at the 2nd National Conference on HIV/AIDS held in Durban in June 2005. It describes the legal framework for HIV testing in South Africa, frames the issues at the heart of the debate, and describes and discusses the various models of HIV testing, routine HIV testing, VCT and mandatory or compulsory HIV testing, within the context of HIV prevention and care. It concludes with recommendations. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine Vol. 6 (3) 2005: pp. 45-48
Genetic diversity, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium in the context of genome-wide association mapping of northern corn leaf blight resistance

Information about the genetic diversity and population structure in breeding material is of fundamental importance for the improvement of crops. The objectives of our study were to (i) examine the population structure and the genetic diversity in elite maize germplasm based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, (ii) compare these results with those obtained from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, and (iii) compare the coancestry coefficient calculated from pedigree records with genetic distance estimates calculated from both marker types. Our study was based on 1,537 elite maize inbred lines genotyped with 359 SSR and 8,244 SNP markers. The average number of alleles per locus, of group specific alleles, and the gene diversity (D) were higher for SSRs than for SNPs. Modified Roger’s distance (MRD) estimates and membership probabilities of the STRUCTURE matrices were higher for SSR than for SNP markers but the 14 Van Inghelandt et al. (2010) Theor Appl Genet 120:1289–1299 germplasm organization in four heterotic pools was consistent with STRUCTURE results based on SSRs and SNPs. MRD estimates calculated for the two marker systems were highly correlated (0.87). Our results suggested that the same conclusions regarding the structure and the diversity of heterotic pools could be drawn from both types of markers. Furthermore, although our results suggested that the ratio of the number of SSRs and SNPs required to obtain MRD or D estimates with similar precision is not constant across the various precision levels, we propose that between 7 and 11 times more SNPs than SSRs should be used for analyzing population structure and genetic diversity. Van Inghelandt et al. (2011) Theor Appl Genet 123:11–20 15 Extent and genome-wide distribution of linkage disequilibrium in commercial maize germplasm Delphine Van Inghelandt, Jochen C. Reif, Baldev S. Dhillon, Pascal Flament and Albrecht E. Melchinger D. Van Inghelandt, B. S. Dhillon, A. E. Melchinger: Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science, and Population Genetics, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany D. Van Inghelandt, P. Flament: Limagrain Europe, Site ULICE, BP 173, 63204 Riom Cedex, France J. C. Reif: State Plant Breeding Institute, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany Theoretical and Applied Genetics (2011) 123:11-20 The original publication is available at www.springerlink. com
Bands in lattices of operators

We consider the lattice of regular operators on a Dedekind complete Banach lattice. We show that in general the projection onto a band generated by a lattice homomorphism need not be continuous and that the principal bands need not be closed for the operator norm. In fact it is possible to find a convergent sequence of operators all the members of which are disjoint from the limit.
The Effects of Hypertension on the Neural Correlates of Compensation in Older Adults: An fMRI Investigation

The present study examined the effect of hypertension on older adults’ brain activity during semantic and episodic memory tasks of two difficulty levels using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Previous research has shown that hypertension has both structural and functional effects on the aging brain and that aging is associated with poorer memory. Imaging studies have shown that older adults who perform as well as younger adults on memory tasks show a bilateral pattern of frontal activation while older adults who perform more poorly than younger adults show the same unilateral pattern of activation as younger adults. The bilateral activation has been interpreted as compensation for neurocognitive changes. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether hypertension affects older adults’ ability to compensate. We hypothesized that if hypertension affects compensation, then hypertensive participants would show less compensatory frontal activation than normotensive participants and demonstrate poorer performance; if hypertension does not affect compensation, then hypertensive and normotensive participants would show similar activation and performance. The results showed that hypertensive participants were as accurate as normotensive participants on the tasks but slower to respond. During the semantic task, hypertensive participants had similar activation to normotensive participants; during the episodic task, they had a greater extent of activity, consistent with the hypothesis that the task was more difficult for them. Hypertensive participants also had more increases in activation and suppression of default network areas when the difficulty of the tasks increased. Since both groups exhibited bilateral activation, we conclude that hypertension is not what clearly determines older adults’ ability to engage in frontal bilateral compensatory patterns. Hypertension does have an effect on activity, however, in that hypertensive participants engaged in compensatory brain changes during the tasks to achieve a similar level of performance as normotensive participants.
Alternative methods to attach components in printed circuit boards to improve their recyclability

Printed circuit boards (PCB), which form the basis of the electronics industry, generate wastes that are difficult to dispose of and recycle due to the diversity of their materials and components and their difficult separation. The replacement of Pb-Sn welding for lead-free alloys to attach components in printed circuit boards is an attempt to minimize the problem of Pb toxicity, but it does not change the problem of separation of the components for later reuse and/or recycling. This article presents a review of the environmental problem of printed circuit boards, the initial development of alternative fixation studies, and reliability tests for comparison with conventional boards and commercial systems to validate or serve as a basis for future research, focused on PCB disassembly for recycling. At present, initial studies were performed by using prototypes for visual and functional tests.
Gender and social determinants of health

The existing paradoxical differences in the mortality and morbidity rates (death rates and illness rates) between men and women, which are difficult to explain by biological factors, have called researchers' attention to social and cultural factors as a possible explanation. The world- wide statistics indicate that women outlive men in almost all countries, while at the same time they suffer from higher morbidity rates than men, due to chronic physical and affective disorders. In addition, the data shows that women, as compared to men, are underprivileged in several material resources that are important to preserve good health. This puzzling situation has invited a search for socio-cultural factors that could shed some light on the nature of different health patterns of men and women. This article uses a sociological perspective in an attempt to show that the observed dif- ferences may be attributable to differing socio-cultural and structural arrangements of both genders.
Prey element stoichiometry controls ecological fitness of the flagellate Ochromonas danica

In aquatic systems, the protist−bacteria consumer−resource interaction is one of the few interactions that link and regulate the flow of dissolved nutrients to higher trophic levels. While this interaction is well characterized from the perspective of top-down control of bacteria, less understood is how the interaction may regulate consumer success. Here, we consider the protist−bacteria consumer−resource interaction and explore relationships among food quality (measured as ratios of C:N, C:P, or N:P), prey type (measured by prey-size and taxonomic affiliation), and consumer success (measured by growth rate). We use a model consumer, the flagellate Ochromonas danica, and a variety of bacterial species as resources. Rates at which prey were ingested corresponded to prey quality for metrics of food quality based on C (C:N and C:P). Prey quality also strongly influenced consumer fitness. A large imbalance between the element ratio of the consumer and that of its prey had a negative impact on consumer fitness, particularly when excess C or excess N was consumed. Prey type, as a phylogenetic group of bacteria, also influenced consumer success. Betaproteobacteria were readily consumed but failed to support consumer growth, mainly as a result of a nutrient imbalance between consumer and resource.
ANALYTICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF THE SUMUDU TRANSFORM AND APPLICATIONS TO INTEGRAL PRODUCTION EQUATIONS

The Sumudu transform, whose fundamental properties are presented in this paper, is little known and not widely used. However, being the theoretical dual to the Laplace transform, the Sumudu transform rivals it in problem solving. Having scale and unit-preserving properties, the Sumudu transform may be used to solve problems without resorting to a new frequency domain. Here, we use it to solve an integral production-depreciation problem.
The effect of strength training on 3km performance in recreational female endurance runners

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a strength training program, as an additive to endurance training, would cause significant improvements in 3km run time in a group of recreational female endurance runners when compared to endurance training only. Subjects were 16 active women, randomly assigned to either a running only group (control group, n=9) or a combined strength and ei,. durance training group (experimental group, n=7). The ten-week training program for both groups consisted of an endurance running program three times per week, which included steady�state endurance running, tempo runs and interval training. The experimental group however, partic. ;pated in additional strength training with heavy loads (up to five Mpetition maximum). Subjects were tested preand post-training in a 3lon time trial, Vc>i peak, running economy, muscular strength ( lRM), as well as body composition and girth. A one-way ANCOVA, with the pre-training values as the covariate, was used to analyse the data. Both training groups showed a non-significant improvement in 3km performance times after the respective training programs. However, it was found that the experimental group tir. ,es were not significantly different (p>0.05) to the control group post training. There was a trend (p=0.08) evident in the experimental group's tiree which improved 106.7 ± 91.4 seconds, while the control group improved 77.3 ± 93.0 seconds. The combined strength and endurance training group showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in lower body strength for the parallel squat (6% increase) and hamstring curl (45.1 % increase) and a strong trend (p=0.06) for an increase in upper body strength for the bench press (11.9% increase). No significant strength changes were found for the control group. Theri! were no significant differences evident in either group for Vo2 peak, running economy, body composition or girth measurements. This study found a non­ significant trend for improvement in 3lon times when low repetition strength training was added to a running program. The main reason for the trend in improvement in the experimental group seemed to be the increased lower limb strength levels, which may improve variables such as increased stride length. It is concluded that combined strength and endurance training may improve running perfonnance and its inclusion is recommended in the training programs of recreational athletes.
Pragmatic competence and social power awareness : The case of written and spoken discourse in non-native English environments

Following one of the new challenges suggested by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, a treatment was developed to enhance pragmatic competence, since this competence is not easy to acquire by non-native speakers. Within this context, we focused on pragmatic awareness in the workplace, an area of expertise in growing demand today. Specifically, we centred on the power variable and the distinction between powerful and powerless speech styles through negotiation, co-planning and goal-oriented interactions. Powerful speech has been envisaged as the language of success; however, the positive implications of powerless speech in the workplace have been recently posited. After an instruction phase, the results confirmed that powerless markers were prone to be used adequately in writing, while in oral interactions non-native speakers were not able to employ them fluently or, at least, naturally. The treatment encouraged the critical engagement of students in the process of learning new ways of communicating at work.
ON ASYMPTOTIC EXPANSION AND CENTRAL LIMIT THEOREM OF LINEAR EIGENVALUE STATISTICS FOR SAMPLE COVARIANCE MATRICES WHEN N / M → 0

Abstract. We study the renormalized real sample covariance matrixH = XTX/ √ MN−M/N withN/M → 0 asN,M → ∞. We always assumeM = M(N). HereX = [Xjk]M×N is anM×N real random matrix with independent identically distributed entries, and we assume E|X11|5+δ < ∞ with some small positive δ. The Stieltjes transform mN (z) = N −1Tr(H − z)−1 and the linear eigenvalue statistics of H are considered. We mainly focus on the asymptotic expansion of E{mN (z)} in this paper. Then for some fine test function, a central limit theorem for the linear eigenvalue statistics of H is established. We show that the variance of the limiting normal distribution coincides with the case of a real Wigner matrix with Gaussian entries.
Late Holocene fluctuations of Lillooet Glacier, southern Coast Mountains, British Columbia

Geomorphic reconstructions of glacier fluctuations are commonly hampered by poor preservation of landforms that predate the extensive Little Ice Age advances of the late Holocene. This thesis presents the results of a detailed study of lateral moraine stratigraphy at Lillooet Glacier in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Five tills, separated by laterally extensive organic horizons and lines of large woody debris, were found in three cross-sectional exposures through the lateral moraine and two shallow gullies incised into its steep proximal face. Eighteen new radiocarbon ages constrain the timing of five separate advances of Lillooet Glacier: (1) prior to 3000 14c yr BP; (2) -3000 14c yr BP; (3) -2500 14c yr BP; (4) -1700 to 1400 14c yr BP; and (5) during the Little Ice Age, after 470 14c yr BP. The Lillooet Glacier chronology is broadly synchronous with other glacier records from the Coast Mountains and adjacent areas. Data from Lillooet Glacier and other sites in the Coast Mountains provide clear evidence for a previously unrecognised period of glacier advance -1700-1400 14c BP, here termed the Bridge Advance. The glacier chronology emerging from the Coast Mountains suggests that regional late Holocene climate was more variable than is apparent from many proxy paleoenvironmental records. North Pacific ocean-atmosphere variability is the dominant control on the spatial and temporal variability of present glacier mass balance regimes in the coastal cordillera of North America. Thus, changes in the intensity of North Pacific ocean-atmosphere circulation patterns may provide a plausible forcing mechanism for late Holocene glacier advances in the region, particularly during coincident periods of summer drought.
What websites know about you : privacy policy analysis using information extraction

The need for privacy protection on the Internet is well recognized. Everyday users are asked to release personal information in order to use online services and applications. Service providers do not always need all the data they gather to be able to offer a service. Thus users should be aware of what data is collected by a provider to judge whether this is too much for the services offered. Providers are obliged to describe how they treat personal data in privacy policies. By reading the policy users could discover, amongst others, what personal data they agree to give away when choosing to use a service. Unfortunately, privacy policies are long legal documents that users notoriously refuse to read. In this paper we propose a solution which automatically analyzes privacy policy text and shows what personal information is collected. Our solution is based on the use of Information Extraction techniques and represents a step towards the more ambitious aim of automated grading of privacy policies.
An empirical analysis of online price dispersion in the Italian airline industry

Firms operating in the electronic marketplace set and adjust prices to affect demand and profitability. In service markets, such as airline markets, different prices are commonly offered by diverse firms to accommodate to a variety of market segments having particular sets of consumer attitudes. This variation in prices is the price dispersion and is based on market distinctiveness deriving from customer heterogeneity as well as the peculiar competition in the specific market arena. In this paper we use a panel dataset from the Italian airline market to investigate the role of competition and different online channels in the emergence of price dispersion. Specifically, we examine the unclear role of competition in price dispersion with novel data collected from different online channels, namely direct and Online Travel Agency (OTA) channels. We find that price dispersion is higher in routes where competition is higher even in presence of only one segment, namely the business segment. Our results also show that price dispersion significantly differs across different types of online channels.
INCREASED SENSITIVITY TO, AND REDUCED PRODUCTION OF, ETHYLENE IN AN ABA-OVERPRODUCING TOMATO MUTANT

The single-gene male-sterile 7B-1 mutant in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) shows reduced de-etiolation of hypocotyl growth, has an elevated level of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) and reduced amounts of growth-active gibberellins (GAs), is supersensitive to exogenous ABA, and is resistant to abiotic stresses in light but not in the dark. The existence of crosstalk between light signaling and plant hormones, and the interaction of ABA and GA biosynthetic pathways with ethylene, led us to investigate the possible role of ethylene in the 7B-1 mutant. In the dark, 7B-1 seedlings exhibited the normal triple response to 1-aminocyclopropane–1-carboxylic acid (ACC), an ethylene precursor, similar to the wild type. In light, however, hypocotyl growth of mutant seedlings was more sensitive to ACC but less sensitive to the inhibitors of ethylene’s action, such as silver thiosulfate, than the wild type. The 7B-1 mutant seedlings produced reduced levels of ethylene, which could account for the increased sensitivity to exogenous ACC. The mutant leaf discs also contained higher chlorophyll content and showed greater chlorophyll degradation in response to ACC than the wild type, and these could also be related to low ethylene production by the mutant. Fluridone, an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, countered the ACC-induced inhibition of hypocotyl elongation, and it also restored the wild-type phenotype in 7B-1 plants. The results suggest that the reduced de-etiolation of hypocotyl growth and the increased sensitivity of the mutant to ethylene in light are due to reduced ethylene production, which in turn may be related to high endogenous ABA. The data presented support our earlier findings that the 7B-1 mutant has a defect in light perception which affects both hormonal sensitivity and endogenous levels, thereby affecting hypocotyl and shoot growth.
Soybean seed protein, oil, and fatty acids are altered by S and S + N fertilizers under irrigated or non-irrigated environments *

Information on the effect of sulfur (S) or sulfur+nitrogen (S + N) on soybean seed composition is scarce. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of S, and S + N fertilizers on soybean [(Glycine max (L.) Merr. )] seed composition in the Early Soybean Production System (ESPS) under irrigated (I) and nonirrigated (NI) environments. Two separate field experiments were conducted from 2005 to 2007. One experiment was irrigated, and the second experiment was nonirrigated. Under I condition, S at a rate of 44.8 kg/ha alone or with N at 112 kg/ha resulted in a consistent increase in seed protein and oleic acid concentrations, and a decrease in oil and linolenic acid concentrations compared with the control (C). For example, in 2006 and compared with the C, application of S + N increased the percentage up to 11.4% and 48.5% for protein and oleic acid, respectively. However, oil concentration decreased by 3%. Protein and oleic acid increase were accompanied by a higher percentage of leaf and seed N and S. Under NI conditions, seed protein and oleic acid concentrations were significantly higher in C than in any S or S + N treatments, but the oil and linolenic acid concentrations were significantly lower. The results indicate that specific rate of S alone or S + N combined can alter seed composition under irrigated or nonirrigated conditions. This knowledge may help plant breeders to develop and release cultivars to suit specific target locations to grow new value-added soybeans or select for specific seed composition traits under specific environmental stress factors such as drought.