Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Barriers to Accessing Detox Facilities, Substance Use Treatment, and Residential Services among Women Impacted by Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking

ABSTRACT More than 50% of women entering substance use treatment in the United States reported having traded sex for money or drugs. Women's participation in addiction treatment and related services is essential to their recovery and increased safety, stabilization, and quality of life. This article's aim is to explore the barriers related to accessing detox facilities and essential services including substance use treatment and residential services for women impacted by commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). Data are drawn from a larger, community-based, grounded theory study. In-depth interview data were collected from 30 adult women who traded sex as adults (through maximum variation and snowball sampling), as well as 20 service providers who come into contact with adult women who trade sex (through nominations and purposive sampling). Finding suggest that women often encountered sobriety requirements, which created barriers to accessing addiction treatment or residential services. Some organizations' policies required evicting women if they were caught using, which created additional challenges for women who relapsed. Women wanted to avoid becoming “dopesick” on the streets or at home, which partially contributed to them needing to maintain their addiction. Consequently, some returned to sex trading, thus increasing their risk of trafficking. Some women engaged in creative strategies, such as claiming they were suicidal, in order to access the detox facilities in hospitals. Some women indicated they were only able to detox when they were forced to do so in jail or prison, often without medical assistance. Implications to improve health care delivery for this population are discussed.
Capabilities for Magnus Prediction in Subsonic and Transonic Flight

Abstract : The Magnus characteristics of three spin-stabilized projectiles were characterized using steady-state RANS and time-accurate RANS/LES computational fluid dynamic simulations. RANS/LES simulations improved the Magnus moment prediction for projectiles with rounded or chamfered bases. No difference was found between the RANS and RANS/LES simulations for the projectile with a sharp-cornered base? either with or without a boattail. The near-body flow field was similar for RANS and RANS/LES simulations; but the RANS/LES simulations resolved the turbulent eddies in the projectile wake. Magnus moment effects were found to be confined to the rear end of the projectile. The effects of projectile base shape on Magnus were characterized, demonstrating that boattail and hemispherical base configurations have the largest effect on Magnus moment.
Evaluation of Genotypic and Phenotypic Methods for Detection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Eastern Odisha.

INTRODUCTION Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus has emerged as an important pathogen in nosocomial and community acquired infections. Accurate and rapid identification of MRSA in clinical specimens is essential for timely decision of effective antimicrobial chemotherapy. AIM The present study was conducted to compare efficacy of four conventional phenotypic methods, with mec- A based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for MRSA identification. MATERIALS AND METHODS Methicillin resistance was determined in 200 S.aureus isolates by oxacillin disc diffusion, cefoxitin disc diffusion, Oxacillin Resistance Screening Agar and E-test. The results were compared with mec-A based PCR. RESULTS Among 200 S.aureus isolates 62 (31%) were positive for mec-A gene by PCR. Cefoxitin disc diffusion, Oxacillin Resistance Screening Agar and E-test showed 100% specificity. Oxacillin disc diffusion had lowest sensitivity (82.5%) and specificity (98.5%) among all. The conventional methods take more time than PCR for diagnosing MRSA. Linezolid, Vancomycin & Dalfopristin were the highly sensitive drugs against MRSA isolates. CONCLUSION Cefoxitin disc diffusion, is rapid, simple and cheaper, hence can be used routinely as an alternative to PCR for detection of MRSA in resource constraint laboratories.
A review of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists and their effects on lowering postprandial plasma glucose and cardiovascular outcomes in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities, with CV disease being the most common cause of death in adults with T2DM. Although glucocentric therapies may improve glycaemic control (as determined by glycated haemoglobin levels), evidence suggests that this approach alone has limited beneficial effects on CV outcomes relative to improvements in lipid and blood pressure control. This may be explained in part by the fact that current antidiabetic treatment regimens primarily address overall glycaemia and/or fasting plasma glucose, but not the postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) excursions that have a fundamental causative role in increasing CV risk. This literature review evaluates the relationship between PPG and the risk of CV disease, discusses the treatment of T2DM with glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1 RAs) and examines the associated CV outcomes. The literature analysis suggests that exaggerated PPG excursions are a risk factor for CV disease because of their adverse pathophysiologic effects on the vasculature, resulting in increased all‐cause and CV‐related mortality. Although GLP‐1 RAs are well established in the current T2DM treatment paradigm, a subgroup of these compounds has a particularly pronounced, persistent and short‐lived effect on gastric emptying and, hence, lower PPG substantially. However, current long‐term data on CV outcomes with GLP‐1 RAs are contradictory, with both beneficial and adverse effects having been reported. This review explores the opportunity to direct treatment towards controlling PPG excursions, thereby improving not only overall glycaemic control but also CV outcomes.
COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ISSUES IN THE NET NEUTRALITY DEBATE, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EUROPE 1

The debate about of net neutrality in Europe has lagged behind that in the United States by several years, and has taken place in a context where access-based competition has genetrated less concentrated retail broadband markets than in the US. While some discussions have embraced broad objectives such as maintaining the openness of the internet, much of the discussion has focussed on a range of possible harms to consumers which might require additional regulatory intervention. Legislative revisions to the Directives governing electronic communications services passed in 2009 enhanced transparency and gave regulators some additional powers, but most recent discussions have focussed upon four issues in particular: the need for end users to be furnished with better information; the desirability of imposing a minimum quality of service (QoS) on internet providers; traffic management and exclusion policies; and charges levied by ISPs on service providers. The paper reviews whether these issues are likely to require regulatory intervention in Europe, concluding that there is very limited evidence to suggest that existing powers are not adequate to deal with any problems. It expresses concern that European regulators with a power to set minimum quality of service levels may be tempted to use them when they are not necessary. But it also notes that a 2011 Communication on net neutrality from the European Commission, while pressing for further examination of the conduct of internet providers, makes no further proposals for intervention.
DOTS: a five-point strategy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends treating tuberculosis (TB) using the DOTS (directly observed treatment short course) approach in which TB patients are observed swallowing each dose of their medicines by a health worker or trained volunteer. DOTS involves the use of anti-TB drugs given in combination. The 5 elements of the strategy are described, each of which is essential in order for any DOTS program to reach the target cure rate of 85%. While TB workers in some countries claim that they already achieve high cure rates without DOTS, WHO argues that it is unlikely that any program not using DOTS is achieving a rate of 85% or higher. In developing countries not using DOTS, cure rates are rarely higher than 50% and are often far lower. Despite a major TB campaign run by WHO's Global TB Program which actively promotes the application of DOTS, worldwide, only 10% of TB patients are treated using the approach.
The impact of Jade Goody's diagnosis and death on the NHS Cervical Screening Programme

Objectives In August 2008 the British reality TV star Jade Goody made public her diagnosis of cervical cancer. In February 2009 it was announced that she was terminally ill and she died a few weeks later. A surge in cervical screening attendances associated with these events was widely reported. This paper aims to quantify the size of that effect across England, its duration, and whether it affected some groups of women more than others. Setting The Cervical Screening Programme in England. Methods Routinely collected statistics for the months around Jade Goody's diagnosis and death were compared with those for other periods. Results About half a million extra cervical screening attendances occurred in England between mid-2008 and mid-2009, the period during which Jade Goody was diagnosed and died; among these were 370 attendances where the test result was suspected neoplasia. At its peak in March 2009, attendance was 70% higher than expected. Increases were seen in both initial and follow-up screening attendances and in colposcopy attendances, and at all ages, though the magnitude was greater for women aged under 50. A substantially greater proportion of the extra attendances of women aged 25–49 on routine recall occurred in women whose attendance was overdue (28% occurred at 60 months or more) and relatively little represented over-screening (8% had been screened within the last 30 months). Conclusions The pattern of increased attendance mirrored the pattern of media coverage of Jade Goody's diagnosis and death. It is likely that the increased screening resulted in a number of lives saved.
Improving Follow-up to Newborn Hearing Screening: A Learning-Collaborative Experience

Although ∼95% of US newborns are now screened for hearing loss at birth, more than half of those who do not pass the screen lack a documented diagnosis. In an effort to improve the quality of the follow-up process, teams from 8 states participated in a breakthrough-series learning collaborative. Teams were trained in the Model for Improvement, a quality-improvement approach that entails setting clear aims, tracking results, identifying proven or promising change strategies, and the use of small-scale, rapid-cycle plan-do-study-act tests of these changes. Parents acted as equal partners with professionals in guiding system improvement. Teams identified promising change strategies including ensuring the correct identification of the primary care provider before discharge from the birthing hospital; obtaining a second contact number for each family before discharge; “scripting” the message given to families when an infant does not pass the initial screening test; and using a “roadmap for families” as a joint communication tool between parents and professionals to demonstrate each family's location on the “diagnostic journey. ” A learning-collaborative approach to quality improvement can be applied at a state-system level. Participants reported that the collaborative experience allowed them to move beyond a focus on improving their own service to improving connections between services and viewing themselves as part of a larger system of care. Ongoing quality-improvement efforts will require refinement of measures used to assess improvement, development of valid indicators of system performance, and an active role for families at all levels of system improvement.
The ferric iron‐binding protein of pathogenic Neisseria spp. functions as a periplasmic transport protein in iron acquisition from human transferrin

The ferric iron‐binding protein (Fbp) expressed by pathogenic Neisseria spp. has been proposed to play a central role in the high‐affinity acquisition of iron from human transferrin. The results of this investigation provide evidence that Fbp participates in this process as a functional analogue of a Gram‐negative periplasmic‐binding protein component, which operates as a part of a general active transport process for the receptor‐mediated, high‐affinity transport of iron from human transferrin. Known properties of Fbp are correlated with those of other well‐characterized periplasmic‐binding proteins, including structural features and the reversible binding of ligand. Predictive of a periplasmic‐binding protein, which functions in the high‐affinity acquisition of iron, is that Fbp is a transient participant in the process of iron acquisition from human transferrin. Evidence for this is demonstrated by results of pulse–chase experiments. Taken together, the data described here and elsewhere suggest that pathogenic Neisseria spp. use a periplasmic‐binding protein‐mediated active transport mechanism for the acquisition of iron from human transferrin.
A prototype scintillation dosimeter customized for small and dynamic megavoltage radiation fields

A prototype plastic scintillation dosimeter has been developed with a small sensitive volume, rapid response and good dosimetric performance. The novelty of this design is the use of an air core light guide to transport the scintillation signal out of the primary radiation field. The significance of this innovation is that it eliminates the Cerenkov background signal that is generated in conventional optical fibres. The dosimeter performance was compared to existing commercial dosimeters in 6 MV and 18 MV photon beams and 6 MeV and 20 MeV electron beams, in both static and dynamic fields. The dosimeter was tested in small static fields and in dynamically delivered fields where the detector volume is shielded, while the stem is irradiated. The depth dose measurements for the photon beams agreed with ionization chamber measurements to within 1.6%, except in the build-up region due to positional uncertainty. For the 6 MeV and 20 MeV electron beams, the percentage depth dose measurements agreed with the ionization chamber measurements to within 3.6% and 4.5%, respectively. For field sizes of 1 cm × 1 cm and greater, the air core dosimeter readings agreed with diamond detector readings to within 1.2%. The air core dosimeter was accurate in dynamically delivered fields and had no measurable stem effect. The air core dosimeter was accurate over a range of field sizes, energies and dose rates, confirming that it is a sensitive and accurate dosimeter with high spatial resolution suitable for use in megavoltage photon and electron beams.
Oncogenes and Tumor Suppressors NEDD 9 Regulates 3 D Migratory Activity Independent of the Rac 1 Morphology Switch in Glioma and Neuroblastoma

Metastasizing tumor cells must transmigrate the dense extracellular matrix that surrounds most organs. The use of three-dimensional (3D) collagen gels has revealed that many cancer cells can switch between different modes of invasion that are characterized by distinct morphologies (e.g., rounded vs. elongated). The adhesion protein NEDD9 has the potential to regulate the switch between elongated and rounded morphologies; therefore, its role was interrogated in the invasion switch of glioblastoma and neuroblastoma tumors that similarly derive from populations of neural crest cells. Interestingly, siRNA-mediated depletion ofNEDD9 failed to induce cell rounding in glioma or neuroblastoma cells, contrasting the effects that have been described in other tumor model systems. Given that Rac1 GTPase has been suggested to mediate the switch between elongated and rounded invasion, the functionality of the Rac1 morphology switch was evaluated in the glioma and neuroblastoma cells. Using both dominant-negative Rac1 and Rac1-specific siRNA, the presence of this morphologic switch was confirmed in the neuroblastoma, but not in the glioma cells. However, in the absence of a morphologic change following NEDD9 depletion, a significant decrease in the cellular migration rate was observed. Thus, the data reveal that NEDD9 can regulate 3D migration speed independent of the Rac1 morphology switch. Implications: NEDD9 targeting is therapeutically viable as it does not stimulate adaptive changes in glioma and neuroblastoma invasion. Mol Cancer Res; 12(2); 264–73. 2013 AACR.
Political Parties in Western Democracies: Some Sceptical Reflections

Anthony King is Professor of Government and Chairman of the department at the University of Essex, Colchester, England. He did his undergraduate work at Oxford and was a Fellow of Magdalen College before assuming his position at Essex. He and David Butler are the co-authors of the well-known books on the 1964 and 1966 British general elections. He is currently working on an interpretive volume on the American political system.
Microbiological equivalence of serum bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of the sera from healthy volunteers receiving original meropenem (Meronem) and generic meropenem (Mero).

BACKGROUND Several generic meropenem formulations have been approved by Thai Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Public Health since 2008. Meropenem is a parenteral drug. Therefore, a study demonstrating a biological equivalence of generic meropenem is not required for drug registration in Thailand. The objective of the study was to determine microbiological equivalence of serum bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities of the sera from healthy volunteers receiving original meropenem (Meronem) and generic meropenem (Mero). MATERIAL AND METHOD This was a randomized crossover study in 16 adult healthy volunteers. Each subject received one gram of Meronem and Mero in 50 ml of normal saline via intravenous infusion for 30 minutes. The blood samples were drawn at baseline prior to receiving the study drug, at 30 minutes after initiating infusion, and at 8 hours after initiating infusion. The serum bacteriostatic activity against E. coli ATCC 25922, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and A. baumannii was performed by disk diffusion. The serum bactericidal activity against E. coli ATCC 25922 was performed by Serum Bactericidal Titre. RESULTS The average inhibition zone diameter of the serum samples from the subjects while receiving Mero against each tested organisms was < 1 mm smaller than that while receiving Meronem and such difference was not significantly different. All serum samples taken at 30 minutes after initiating Meronem and Mero had bactericidal titres against E. coli ATCC 25922 > or = 1:256. Only 3 serum samples taken from the subjects while receiving Mero at 8 hours had less bactericidal titre for 1-fold dilution when compared with that of Meronem. CONCLUSION The sera from healthy volunteers receiving Meronem and Mero had microbiological equivalence in terms of serum bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities.
"Caseness" for depression and anxiety in a depressed outpatient population: symptomatic outcome as a function of baseline diagnostic categories.

OBJECTIVE To examine the diagnostic status of patients enrolled in the Factors Influencing Depression Endpoints Research (FINDER) study and symptomatic outcomes and baseline characteristics associated with remission 6 months after commencing antidepressant therapy. METHOD Status of clinically diagnosed depressed patients was based on self-rated Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores. Five diagnostic categories were defined: noncaseness, mixed anxiety-depression (subthreshold depressive and anxious symptomatology), caseness for depression, caseness for anxiety, and caseness for comorbid anxiety-depression. Assessments included the Somatic Symptom Inventory and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. Remission rates (based on HADS noncaseness for both depression and anxiety) and their associations with baseline characteristics were investigated. Patients were enrolled between May 2004 and September 2005. RESULTS Of the 3,353 patients enrolled, 66.4% met the HADS criteria for probable depressive disorder and 74.1% met the HADS criteria for probable anxiety disorder. Somatic symptom severity (painful and nonpainful) was highest and HRQoL was lowest in the comorbid anxiety-depression group. After 6 months, remission rates were 50.2% for caseness for depression, 40.4% for caseness for anxiety, and 40.6% for caseness for comorbid anxiety-depression. A lower number of previous depressive episodes, shorter current episode duration, lower painful and nonpainful somatic symptom scores, being married, a higher educational level, and working for pay were most consistently associated with higher remission rates. CONCLUSIONS Physicians do not always differentiate between anxiety and depressive symptoms when making a clinical diagnosis of depression. At baseline, most enrolled patients had significant emotional depressive and anxious symptoms, as well as significant nonpainful and painful somatic symptomatology, and these factors were associated with outcome.
Finance and Economics Discussion Series Divisions of Research & Statistics and Monetary Affairs Federal Reserve Board , Washington , D . C . Default Risk and Private Student Loans : Implications for Higher Education Policies

In recent years, the proportion of students facing a binding constraint on government student loans has grown. This has led to substantially increased use of private loans as a supplementary source of finance for households’ higher education investment. A critical aspect of the private market for student loans is that loan terms must reflect students’ risk of default. College investment will therefore differ from a world in which government student loans, whose terms are not sensitive to credit risk, are expanded to no longer bind. Moreover, beyond simply crowding out private lending, expansions of the government student loan program will feed back into default risk on private loans. The goal of this paper is to provide a quantitative assessment of the likely effects of the private market for student loans on college enrollment. We build a model of college investment that reflects uninsured idiosyncratic risk and a well-defined life-cycle that is consistent with observed borrowing and default behavior across family income and college preparedness. We find that higher government borrowing limits increase college investment but lead to more default in the private market for student loans, while tuition subsides increase college investment and reduce default rates in the private market. Consequently, higher limits on government student loans have small negative welfare effects, while tuition subsidies increase aggregate welfare. JEL Codes: D53; E21; I22; I28