Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of male prostitutes in spread of sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiency virus.

Sir, Homosexual men are at a high risk of contracting a variety of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), the risk depending primarily on the sexual techniques performed and the number of partners.1 Partners are mostly chosen on the basis ofa voluntary non-paid relationship. Male prostitution does occur, but it is not known what role these prostitutes play in the transmission of STDs. To study this, in 1986 we approached the owners of five brothels for homosexual men in Amsterdam, four of whom agreed to co-operate. The prostitutes were informed about the nature of the study, and 37 men participated. We questioned each of them about his lifestyle and sexual variables, and a blood sample was collected for serological tests for syphilis, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We also studied 13 male prostitutes who visited our STD clinics. The mean age of the 50 men was 22 7 (SD 45, range 15-38); nine were intravenous drug users and 10 used cocaine regularly; 25 men had been prostitutes for more than one year. The mean number of clients a month was 24-5 (SD 24 3) and the mean total number of partners (including clients) in the past year was 147-1 (SD 168-6). Of the 50 men, 22 men said that they were predominantly homosexual, 18 bisexual, and 10 predominantly heterosexual. Sexual techniques performed with clients were independent of the prostitutes' private sexual preference, and mostly consisted of masturbation and orogenital contact, whereas anogenital and oroanal contact were practised only rarely (table). A history of syphilis was mentioned by 11 men, and two new cases of syphilis were detected in this study by serological tests; 29 men had had gonorrhoea at least once. A positive Treponema pallidum haemagglution assay (TPHA) result was found in 13/50, 21/ 49 had antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen or to surface antigen, or both, and 4/32 had antibodies to HIV, which were confirmed by western blotting (1/4 used intravenous drugs). No correlation was found between the duration of prostitution and the presence of HBV markers, TPHA positivity, or a history of gonorrhoea. The 22 men who said that they were predominantly homosexual,
Do We Really Need a Reason to Indulge?

The authors document consistent discrepancies among consumers’ predicted, actual, and remembered feelings related to indulgence episodes and conceptualize the underlying processes. Consistent with previous research, consumers expect more negative and less positive feelings when they indulge without a reason than when they indulge with a reason (Study 1) or when they indulge as a consolation for poor performance than when they indulge as a reward for high effort (Study 2). However, episodic reports pertaining to the last indulgence episode show no influence of having versus not having a reason (Study 1), nor do concurrent reports show a difference between indulging as a consolation and indulging as a reward (Study 2). When asked how they “usually” feel when indulging with versus without a reason (Study 3), consumers’ global memories are consistent with their expectations rather than with their actual experiences. These findings have implications for the conditions under which consumers learn from experience.
Activated Human Plasma Carboxypeptidase B Is Retained in the Blood by Binding to α2-Macroglobulin and Pregnancy Zone Protein*

A 66-kDa glycosylated carboxypeptidase, plasma pro-carboxypeptidase B (pro-plasma CPB), has recently been identified in human blood (Eaton, D. L., Malloy, B. E., Tsai, S. P., Henzel, W., and Drayna, D. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 21833-21838). The pro-enzyme binds to plasminogen and the active enzyme is specific for COOH-terminal Lys or Arg residues. These properties implicate a role in the fibrinolytic or coagulation system. However, we show that the molecular mass of the active plasma CPB is approximately 36 kDa, which is below the glomerular filtration limit. Since activated plasma CPB no longer binds plasminogen, the active enzyme may not be retained in the circulation. To investigate this, we performed plasma elimination studies in mice which showed that 125I-plasma CPB remains in the circulation despite its small size. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of blood samples removed from the mice revealed that plasma CPB migrated as a high molecular weight band. Similar bands were observed in vitro when 125I-plasma CPB was added to plasma from humans and other species. The plasma CPB-binding proteins were purified from human plasma and identified as α2-macroglobulin (α2M) and pregnancy zone protein. Only the active enzyme bound to the two α-macroglobulins, and the interaction was specific for α2M in its native conformation, but not its receptor recognized forms. The complex between human α2M and plasma CPB dissociated during SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transverse urea gel electrophoresis suggesting that the interaction was noncovalent and depended on the tertiary structure of the native α2M molecule. The catalytic activity of plasma CPB was not significantly affected by its binding to α2M. The specific binding of plasma CPB to α-macroglobulins suggest that these proteins may function as a “shuttle” in vivo to modulate the clearance of plasma CPB from the circulatory system.
DNA microarray analysis of stage progression mechanism in myelodysplastic syndrome

Summary. Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal disorder of haematopoietic stem cells. Despite the high incidence of MDS in the elderly, effective treatment of individuals in its advanced stages is problematic. DNA microarray analysis is a potentially informative approach to the development of new treatments for MDS. However, a simple comparison of ‘transcriptomes’ of bone marrow mononuclear cells among individuals at distinct stages of MDS would result in the identification of genes whose expression differences only reflect differences in the proportion of MDS blasts within bone marrow. Such a ‘population shift’ effect has now been avoided by purification of haematopoietic stem‐like cells that are positive for the cell surface marker AC133 from the bone marrow of healthy volunteers and 30 patients at various stages of MDS. Microarray analysis with the AC133+ cells from these individuals resulted in the identification of sets of genes with expression that was specific to either indolent or advanced stages of MDS. The former group of genes included that for PIASy, which catalyses protein modification with the ubiquitin‐like molecule SUMO. Induction of PIASy expression in a mouse myeloid cell line induced apoptosis. A loss of PIASy expression may therefore contribute directly to the growth of MDS blasts and stage progression.
Factors associated with domestic violence in low-income Lebanese families.

PURPOSE To analyze the cultural context of domestic violence in low-income Moslem and Christian-Armenian families living in Lebanon. Analysis also included an identification of family stressors, conflict management strategies, and Moslem and Christian-Armenian cultural differences. The study was part of a larger project designed to identify patterns of wife and child abuse in low-income Middle Eastern families living in Lebanon and Egypt. DESIGN Qualitative content analysis of descriptive narratives by 60 low-income women who self-reported spouse abuse in two urban Lebanese clinics during a 2-month period in 1992. METHODS Narratives describing exemplary incidents were obtained during a semi-structured interview and recorded in the participant's native language then translated to English for coding and content analysis. FINDINGS Contextual factors for violence included unmet gender role expectations, conflict with husband's relatives, and alcohol abuse. Family stressors were: emotional, financial, and work. Women used three types of conflict management: negotiation, taking initiative, and passive resignation. CONCLUSION From a cultural perspective, the analysis revealed both strengths and vulnerabilities of Lebanese women who experienced domestic violence. The study raised several questions, including whether it is appropriate to apply Western-generated domestic violence theories to a Middle Eastern population. Culturally-specific nursing interventions should be directed toward bolstering strong family and social resources to cope with family stressors and to modify patterns of maladaptive communication.
Who Am I and What Am I Going to Do With My Life? Personal and Collective Identities as Motivators of Action

Who am I? What am I about? What is my place in my social group? What is important to me? What do I value? What do I want to do with my life? These are all questions related to what psychologists call identity. Many theorists have argued that we are driven to answer these questions, particularly during adolescence. In this article, I summarize an expectancy value perspective on identity and identity formation. Within this framework, identity can be conceptualized in terms of two basic sets of self perceptions: (a) perceptions related to skills, characteristics, and competencies, and (b) perceptions related to personal values and goals. Together these two sets of self perceptions inform both individuals' expectations for success and the importance they attach to becoming involved in a wide range of tasks. Within this perspective, then, I focus on the role personal and collective identities can play on motivated action through their influence on expectations for success and subjective task values. I also discuss briefly how personality and collective identities develop over time.
The Fidelity of Mutans Streptococci Transmission and Caries Status Correlate with Breast–Feeding Experience among Chinese Families

Our previous study reported that the fidelity of mutans streptococci (MS) transmission from mother to infant was gender– and race–specific within a Birmingham, Ala. , population. We hypothesized that fidelity might be a function of postnatal nurturing practices. The purpose of the present study was to investigate those factors that could be correlated with MS transmission among Chinese children whose nurturing histories were known. Forty–eight families with 2– to 3–year–old children were selected from two kindergartens of Beijing, China. A questionnaire concerning the childhood nursing practice was obtained from the parents. Dental caries status was examined, and bacterial samples were collected for all participants twice at 6–month intervals. An average of six isolates of MS was picked at random from selective medium from each individual at each visit. Chromosomal DNA fingerprints were performed for all MS isolates to determine the genomic similarity within each family and among individuals. The results showed that 66% of the children at 2–3 years of age harbored MS, and 46% were caries–active. Of those children, 70% were breast–fed. Among the children whose chromosomal DNA fingerprint genotypes of MS matched that of their mothers, 88% were breast–fed compared with only 12% who were not breast–fed (p = 0.03). We also found that children who were breast–fed for more than 9 months were likely to harbor strains of MS common to their mothers (p = 0.04) and experience more dental caries (dmft = 4.4) at 3 years of age compared with children who were breast–fed less than 9 months (dmft = 1.4, p = 0.04). The data suggest that breast–feeding, especially prolonged breast–feeding, may correlate with the fidelity of transmission and that prolonged breast–feeding may contribute to a higher caries rate.
Using the Clinical Information System Implementation Evaluation Scale as a Clinical Implementation Strategy

The American Nurses Association mandates nursing informaticists to evaluate clinical system implementation processes. When implementing electronic documentation systems, the use of an evaluation tool aids in the identification of end-user concerns and recommendations, which leads to process improvement. At two community hospitals in South Florida, a Clinical Information System Implementation Evaluation Scale was used to evaluate nursing perceptions during the implementation of a new pediatric electronic documentation system (eDocumentation). The goals were to identify barriers and resistance, as well as opportunities to improve the implementation process, and thus gain acceptance among end users.
Firm-to-Firm Connections in Colombian Imports

The vast majority of world trade flows is between firms. Only recently has research in international trade started to emphasize the importance of the connections between exporters and importers both in aggregate trade flows and in the negative relationship between trade and geographic distance. This chapter documents the role of firm-to-firm connections in trade flows and the formation and duration of these importer-exporter relationships. Using customs data from Colombia for 1995-2014, we are able to identify both the Colombian importing firm and the foreign exporter in every Colombian import and export transaction. We document both the nature of these bilateral trading relationships and their evolution over time.
Pedicle screw fixation against burst fracture of thoracolumbar vertebrae.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the application of vertebral pedicle screw fixation in the treatment of burst fracture of thoracolumbar vertebrae. METHODS A total of 48 cases (31 males and 17 females, aged from 18-72 years, mean: 41.3 years) with thoracolumbar vertebrae burst fracture were treated by pedicle screw system since January 2004. According to the AO classification of thoracolumbar vertebrae fracture, there are 36 cases of Type A, 9 of Type B and 3 of Type C. RESULTS All patients were followed up for 6-25 months (average 12 months), no secondary nerve root injury, spinal cord injury, loosening or breakage of pedicle screw were observed. The nerve function of 29 patients with cauda equina nerve injury was restored to different degrees. The vertebral body height returned to normal level and posterior process angle was rectified after operation. CONCLUSIONS The vertebral pedicle screw internal fixation was technologically applicable, which can efficiently reposition and stabilize the bursting fractured vertebrae, indirectly decompress canalis spinalis, maintain spine stability, scatter stress of screw system, reduce the risk of loosening or breakage of screw and loss of vertebral height, and prevent the formation of posterior convex after operation.
Development and Emergence of the Alfalfa Pollinator Megachile rotundata (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

Abstract Megachile rotundata (F.), a gregarious, cavity-nesting, leaf-cutting bee, is used throughout North America for the pollination of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. , seed crops. We examined the influence of various temperature regimes on development, survival, emergence, and longevity in both nondiapausing and diapausing forms of this species. In general, development rates increased with increasing constant temperatures used in this study (18, 22, 26, and 29°C), but the 26 and 29°C treatments were clearly superior as rearing temperatures for immatures. In diapausing individuals, a variable temperature treatment 14:27°C (8:16 h daily cycle, mean 22°C) reduced the length of prepupal and pupal development stages following incubation in the early summer when compared with individuals reared under the constant 22°C treatment. We discuss the importance of differing temperature regimes on M. rotundata development, survival, and longevity over the entire life cycle. We also discuss the importance of making a connection between immature development and sufficient wintering conditions to postdiapause development, a topic that has received much more attention in the literature.
Social Incentives in Organizations

We review the evidence on social incentives, namely on how social interactions with colleagues, subordinates, bosses, customers, and others shape agents’ effort choices in organizations. We propose a two-way taxonomy based on ( a) whether the social group is horizontal (peers at the same level of the hierarchy) or vertical (individuals at different levels within or outside of the organization) and ( b) whether the agent's effort creates externalities for the other members of their social group. We show settings in which social incentives improve productivity and settings in which they reduce it. In most cases, the size of the effect is approximately 10%, which is half of the typical effect of performance pay. We also show that social incentives can interfere with financial incentives, making them ineffective or even detrimental. We conclude that social incentives are a powerful motivator that must be taken into account in the design of organizational policies and that more research is needed to understand how policies can shape the preferences that underpin these incentives.
Radiomics of NSCLC: Quantitative CT Image Feature Characterization and Tumor Shrinkage Prediction

Radiomics is the high-throughput extraction and analysis of quantitative image features. For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, radiomics can be applied to standard of care computed tomography (CT) images to improve tumor diagnosis, staging, and response assessment. The first objective of this work was to show that CT image features extracted from pre-treatment NSCLC tumors could be used to predict tumor shrinkage in response to therapy. This is important since tumor shrinkage is an important cancer treatment endpoint that is correlated with probability of disease progression and overall survival. Accurate prediction of tumor shrinkage could also lead to individually customized treatment plans. To accomplish this objective, 64 stage NSCLC patients with similar treatments were all imaged using the same CT scanner and protocol. Quantitative image features were extracted and principal component regression with simulated annealing subset selection was used to predict shrinkage. Cross validation and permutation tests were used to validate the results. The optimal model gave a strong correlation between the observed and predicted shrinkages with 0.81. The second objective of this work was to identify sets of NSCLC CT image features that are reproducible, non-redundant, and informative across multiple
Brand Personality Usage in Crisis Communication in Facebook

ABSTRACT This study examines the role of brand personality in organizational crisis communication within the context of social media. Content analysis methods are employed to analyze brands' official Facebook posts pre- and post-crisis for a period of 7 months. Relationship maintenance strategies are examined through the lens of two sincere brands (Chick-fil-A and Susan G. Komen for the Cure) and two exciting brands (Netflix and Facebook). Findings demonstrate that organizations communicate with the public about a crisis differently depending on their products' brand personalities, both pre- and post-crisis. Findings indicated that sincere brands were more active in the management of crises by increasing networking strategy and decreasing positivity strategy. In contrast, exciting brands were relatively passive in crisis response communications, sustaining instead such pre-crisis strategies as openness. At the conclusion of this study, implications and future research are discussed.
Adaptation of the inert gas FRC technique for use in heavy exercise.

We automated the inert gas rebreathe technique for measurement of end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) during heavy exercise. We also assessed the use of two gas tracers (He and N2) vs. a single gas tracer (He) for measurement of this lung volume and compared the two-tracer EELV to changes in the inspiratory capacity (defined with transpulmonary pressure) and shifts in the end-expiratory pressure from rest through heavy exercise. A computer program switched a pneumatic valve when flow crossed zero at end expiration and defined points in the He and N2 traces for calculation of EELV. An inherent delay of the rebreathing valve (50 ms) caused virtually no error at rest and during light exercise and an error of 74 +/- 9 ml in the EELV at peak inspiratory flow rates of 4 l/s. The measurement of EELV by the two gas tracers was closely correlated to the single-gas tracer measurement (r = 0.97) but was consistently higher (120 +/- 10 ml) than when He was used alone. This difference was accentuated with increased work rates (2-5% error in the EELV, rest to heavy exercise) and as rebreathe time increased (2-7% error in the EELV with rebreathe times of 5-20 s for all work loads combined). The double-gas tracer measurement of EELV agreed quite well with the thoracic gas volume at rest (P greater than 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Molecular tools for presymptomatic testing in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1

Abstract. The aim of this workshop session was to define a set of molecular tools for pre‐clinical diagnosis in affected families, and to assess presence or absence of linkage to 11q13 in families with classical MEN1 as well as with MEN 1‐related clinical features. A consensus linkage map of first‐ and second‐choice markers based on PCR as well as Southern blotting was established at the workshop. Based on the results from linkage analysis in 87 families with classical MEN1, presymptomatic testing using the suggested panel of markers, can now be performed with great accuracy.
Changes of brachial flow-mediated vasodilation in different ischemic stroke subtypes

The relationship between endothelial dysfunction and stroke subtypes is unclear. We prospectively measured brachial flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) in 143 patients with acute ischemic stroke and 40 controls. The overall stroke patients had impaired FMD, but only lacunar infarction had significantly impaired FMD vs the controls. Impaired FMD was an independent predictor for lacunar infarction. Ischemic stroke is associated with endothelial dysfunction, which is more conspicuous in lacunar infarction.
Potentials of Bridelia ferruginea stem bark extracts in wound care

The methanol extract of Bridelia ferruginea Benth (Euphorbiaceae) stem bark obtained by 48 h cold maceration (BFME), was fractionated in a silica gel column to yield the petroleum ether (PF), dichloromethane (DF) and methanol (MF) fractions successively. The effects of the extract and fractions on bleeding, wound contraction and rate of epithelialization of excision wounds, as well as carrageenan-induced leucocyte migration in vivo were evaluated in rats. They were also subjected to antimicrobial assay. The extract and fractions significantly (P<0.05) reduced bleeding time and also reduced the coagulation time of whole rat blood. They significantly (P<0.05) increased the rate of wound contraction and epithelialization of excision wounds; on day 17, extract treated rats showed 99.5 – 100% wound contraction. The extracts reduced leucocyte migration on acute oral administration, and also exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Eschericia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Klebsiella pneumonia with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 12.7, 6.3, 6.3, 12.3, 12.2 and 12.1 mg/ml respectively for BFME, and 25.0, 6.3, 25.3, 12.6, 12.6, 12.6 mg/ml respectively for MF. The results demonstrate that B. ferruginea stem bark exerts beneficial effects in wound management through hemostatic, wound contraction and antimicrobial activities.