Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Male Circumcision, Peer Effects, and Risk Compensation

We study the impact of male circumcision on risky sexual behaviors and the role that peers play in the decision and consequences of being circumcised. It is based on a two-stage experiment that randomly offered free circumcision with transport support within 33 secondary schools in Malawi. We find an increase in the demand for circumcision for those assigned to treatment and evidence of peer effects in the decision to get circumcised among untreated students. A four-year follow-up using biomarkers of sexually transmitted infections shows evidence of risk compensation for those who circumcised due to the intervention, but not for those induced by peer effects. (JEL: C93, O33, I12) * We wish to thank Douglas Almond, John Cawley, Esther Duflo, Josh Graff Zivin, James Habyarimana, Ofer Malamud, Doug Miller, Roger Moon, Matthew Neidell, Harsha Thirumurthy, Miguel Urquiola, as well as seminar participants at Columbia University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Hitotsubashi University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Seoul National University, University College London, University of Seoul, University of Southern California, Yonsei University, NBER summer institute, and APPAM and AEA annual meetings. We also thank all members of ‘Project Malawi’ of Africa Future Foundation (AFF) for their excellent fieldwork. This research was supported by the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the research grant of KDI School of Public Policy and Management, and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF2018S1A3A2075117). All views expressed are ours, and all errors are our own. The study was approved by ethical review committees at the National Health Sciences Research Council (Malawi NHSRC Protocol #902), Columbia University (USA, IRB-AAAL8400), and Cornell University (USA, 1310004153). † hbkim@ust.hk, Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong and Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14835. ‡ booyuel@snu.ac. kr, Department of Environmental Planning, Graduate School of Environmental Studies / Environmental Planning Institute (EPI), Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea 08826. § cp2124@columbia.edu, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027. ¶ jjung6@kipf.re. kr, Korea Institute of Public Finance, Sejong, Republic of Korea 30147.
Nutritionally Variant Streptococcal Bacteremia in the 21st Century

We report the results of a 12-year retrospective study of nutritionally variant streptococcal (NVS) bacteremia in a 510-bed, a large medical school-affiliated teaching hospital. Twenty-six episodes of NVS bacteremia were identified in this institutional review board—approved study of all positive blood cultures for NVS from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2017. Most patients with NVS bacteremia were 50 years and older. Detection of bacteremia in the microbiology laboratory took from 2 to 11 days of incubation with an average of 4.65 days. Endocarditis was the most common source of bacteremia (7 patients), followed by primary bacteremia, skin and soft tissue infections, bone and joint infections, and device-associated infections. The mortality of patients in the study was 15% despite all but 1 patient who died receiving appropriate antimicrobial therapy immediately upon hospital admission. Nutritionally variant streptococcal bacteremia is uncommon, is frequently associated with infective endocarditis, is often detected late in the hospital course because of delayed growth of NVS organisms in blood culture media, and had a 15% mortality rate.
Open Programmable Architecture for Java-enabled Network Devices

1 Overview Current network devices enable connectivity between end systems given a set of protocol software bundled with vendor hardware. It is impossible for customers to add software functionality running locally on top of network devices to augment vendor software. Our vision is to open network devices so that customized software can be downloaded, allowing for more flexibility and with a focus on industry and customer specific solutions. This brings considerable value to the customer.
Effect of Fosamax on the duodenal mucosa in adult male albino rats and the possible protection by nigella sativa oil: a histological and immunohistochemical study

diseases. However, Fosamax therapy is associated with gastrointestinal toxicity that influences the treatment compliance. Nigella sativa (N sativa) is an annual herbaceous plant and have been safely used as a natural remedy in Egypt. It has a wide range of pharmacological activities and a proposed role in combating many gastrointestinal disorders.Aim: This work aimed to study the effect of Fosamax on the histological structure of the duodenal mucosa of albino rats and to evaluate the possible protective role of nigella sativa oil.Materials and methods: Forty adult male albino rats were divided into four equal groups: the control group, the N sativa oil-treated group (2.5 ml/kg), the Fosamax-treated group (0.05mg/kg), and both Fosamax and N sativa oil -treated group. Treatments were given orally once weekly for 13 weeks. Specimens from the duodenum were processed for light microscopy. Immunohistochemical study was carried out using antibodies against nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and Ki67 protein.Results: Specimens from Fosamax-treated rats showed a statistically significant decrease in the duodenal mucosal thickness. The lining epithelium showed nuclear alteration and vacuolated cytoplasm and there was mononuclear cellular infiltration. The immunohistochemical study of Fosamax-treated group showed a significant increase in NF-kB, COX-2 and Bax immunoreaction and a significant decrease in Bcl-2 and Ki67 expression. In contrast, minimal changes were observed in rats treated concomitantly with both Fosamax and N sativa oil with non-significant changes in the immunoreactions compared with the control group. Conclusion: Fosamax induced structural changes in the duodenal mucosa of adult albino rats, which could be ameliorated by concomitant treatment with nigella sativa oil.
Optimization of mosquitocidal toxins production by Lysinibacillus sphaericus under solid state fermentation using statistical experimental design

Taguchi’s experimental design of surface response methodology was applied to optimize the culture medium conditions for Lysinibacillus sphaericus (Ls) mosquitocidal toxins production under solid state fermentation (SSF). The predicted results of this design revealed that the optimum culture medium conditions for the maximum mosquitocidal activity against second instar Culex pipiens larvae were: 3.08 ± 0.05% substrate concentration, 33 ± 1.5% moisture content, 7.8 ± 0.1 initial pH, 1.35 ± 0.15% (5.7 × 107 CFU) inoculum size and 5.9 ± 0.2 days incubation period. Sporulation titer of Lysinibacillus sphaericus (Ls 14N1) and mortality percentage of second instar Culex pipiens larvae of the fermented culture under these conditions were 2.8 × 1010 CFU/g fermented culture and 97.5 ± 1%, respectively. The results of practical validation of the design were incomparable with the mathematical results. Sporulation titer was 2.7 × 10 10 CFU/g fermented culture; LC50 was 2.8 × 10-5 final fermented culturedilution and toxin protein concentration was 2.24 mg/g fermented culture.
Automatic Identification of O-Topic Regions of Conversation

A collection of recorded and transcribed telephone conversations clearly demonstrates the universality of small talk and other socially-motivated utterances. Building on theories about the linguistics of conversational speech, I consider various ways of describing each utterance, including which words were used, their part-of-speech, and the proximity to the beginning of the conversation. In order to better understand which of these features are most useful, I create a system for automatically distinguishing between onand off-topic utterances and compare its performance when using different combinations of these features. The central hypothesis is that conversational speech contains sufficient low-level clues to separate onand off-topic utterances with an automatic classifier. I find that the overall structure of conversations is predictable, and automatic classification can indeed be done with better-than-chance accuracy. But distinguishing more reliably between onand off-topic utterances will probably require deeper knowledge of the context and overall topic.
Peripheral blood mitochondrial DNA copy number, a potential marker of non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease?

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a spectrum of histological findings ranging from simple steatosis (SS) to non‐alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Although often considered the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome (MS), longitudinal studies suggest that NAFLD precedes MS. To date, liver biopsy is the most accurate method to differentiate between SS and NASH. However, recent studies indicate an association between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and NAFLD severity in liver biopsies. If a similar association exists in peripheral blood, mtDNA copy number could represent a non‐invasive alternative for differentiating NAFLD disease stages.
An ERP Study of Semantic Processing in Kannada-English Typical Bilingual Individuals - A Pilot Study

Considerable neurophysiological research has been conducted to explore the neural underpinning of semantic and syntactic processing in bilinguals by using various neuroimaging and electrophysiological techniques. However, the debate of the cortical organization of the two languages in bilinguals is still going on. The present study was carried out with aim of investigating how multiple languages are processed in the human brain. Event related brain potentials, specifically, N1 and N400 potentials were recorded from right handed typical bilinguals during a task involving silent reading. The participants in the experiment were five Kannada - English bilinguals of Karnataka state in southern part of India. The bilinguals, highly proficient in both languages, had exposure in both languages since the age of 5 years. The stimuli were words that would correctly complete a short, meaningful, previously shown sentence, or else were semantically incorrect. The task consisted in deciding whether the sentences were well formed or not, giving the response by pressing a button. The participants read 100 Kannada (50 correct & 50 incorrect) and 100 English (50 correct & 50 incorrect) sentences to compare the processing of the two languages within the group. The findings revealed subtle differences in the latency and amplitude measures of various ERP components such as N1, and N400 potentials. The present paper highlights the several processes that are involved in the differences in processing of these two languages and their implications to the understanding of language processing in clinical populations such as in bilingual aphasia.
A Breakthrough Method for the Effective Conditioning of PVA Brush Used for Post-CMP Process

Polyvinyl acetal (PVA) brush cleaning is one of the most important processes in the post chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) cleaning process. However, PVA brush could be severely contaminated due to strong direct contact with a large amount of abrasive particles during the long-time post CMP cleaning, and the particles on the brush can be easily transported to the next wafer substrate. In this study, we tested four different types of conditioning processes to remove the particles from the brush to increase the cleaning efficiency of post CMP process and comparatively evaluated using FE-SEM. The physical scrubbing method showed higher cleaning efficiency than the chemically dipping method, but some abrasive particles remained on the non-contacted surface. The flow-through method using pH 11 showed the higher removal ability than pH 3 and 7 due to strong repulsive force between silica abrasive particle and PVA brush, but some abrasive particles remained due to non-uniform flow of chemicals. The ultrasonication method with DIW was found to be very effective to remove the particles completely from the brush without damage. Consequently, the new developed conditioning process provides an environmentally friendly and cost effective alternative conditioning process to the existing conditioning process of contaminated PVA brushes.
The Role of Voluntariness in Distance Education Students' Usage of a Course Website

This study looks at the usage of a course website among distance learning business management students in a public institution of higher learning in Malaysia. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the basis of the research framework but voluntariness was added as a possible moderating factor. TAM postulates that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) are key determinants that inevitably lead to the actual usage of a particular technology or system. A total of 67 students responded to the survey out of the 155 students registered as this was a voluntary exercise. The findings show that these two variables were able to explain 64.1% of the variance in usage of the course website. Perceived voluntariness was also found to moderate this relationship. Some implications are discussed as a conclusion.
Gatekeeping in Family Science Programs

Family science programs strive to graduate students who are academically and personally competent to work effectively with families; however, little has been empirically documented about how students' academic and personal competencies are assessed and supported. Guided by Ecological Systems Theory, this study examined the gatekeeping practices of fifty undergraduate and graduate family science programs in the United States. Study findings indicated that the majority of family science programs support and assess their students' academic competencies, whereas fewer programs address students' personal competencies. It will be important for family science programs to consider the entire ecological system of their students to ensure their competence for future clients, institution, family science profession, and society.
GENE THERAPY FOR AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS: AN AAV MEDIATED RNAi APPROACH FOR AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT C9ORF72 ASSOCIATED ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons causing progressive muscle weakness and respiratory failure. In 2011, the presence of a hexanucleotide repeat expansion within chromosome 9 open reading frame 72(C9ORF72) was identified in ALS patient samples, becoming the major known genetic cause for ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Carriers of this mutation present reduced levels of C9ORF72 mRNA, RNA foci produced by the aggregating expansion and toxic dipeptides generated through repeat-associated non-ATG translation. These findings have led to multiple hypotheses on the pathogenesis of C9ORF72: 1) Haploinsufficiency, 2) RNA gain-of-function, 3) RAN Translation, and 4) Disrupted nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. Due to lack of treatments for this disease, we have pursued an AAV-RNAi dependent gene therapy approach, using an artificial microRNA (amiR) packaged in a recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV). After validating our in vitro results, we advanced to in vivo experiments using transgenic mice that recapitulate the major histopathological features seen in human ALS/FTD patients. Adult and neonate mice were injected through clinically relevant routes and our results indicate that AAV9-mediated amiR silencing not only reduced mRNA and protein levels of C9ORF72 but also the expansion derived toxic GP dipeptides. Although our amiR is not targeting the expansion itself but exon 3, we illustrate here that the evident dipeptide decrease is achievable due to the presence of aberrant transcripts in the cytoplasm containing miss-spliced Intron-HREC9ORF72 species. These encouraging results have led to the continued testing of this treatment as a therapeutic option for C9ORF72 ALS patients.
The Travel—Obesity Connection: Discerning the Impacts of Commuting Trips with the Perspective of Individual Energy Expenditure and Time Use

It has been widely reported that individual travel has significant implications for obesity. In this research we try to clarify the connection between travel and obesity from an individual energy-expenditure perspective. It is hypothesized here that individual travel affects the likelihood of becoming obese not only directly through a reliance on automobile-based travel that requires low amounts of individual energy expenditure, but also indirectly through the fatigue and stress stemming from driving, which reduces time available for physical activities and exercise. We use the American Time Use Survey (http://www.bls.gov/tus/) for 2003–08 and its Eating and Health Module for 2006 and 2007 to examine individual travel, energy expenditure, and obesity. Empirical analysis illustrates how individual body mass index (BMI) and individual travel are correlated and how this correlation can be explained from the perspective of individual energy expenditure. In addition, a distinction is drawn between commuting and noncommuting trips: Commuting trips have a relatively larger impact on individual BMI. Analysis results point to a potential to reduce obesity rates through planning efforts at the regional level.
Microbial quality and prevalence of foodborne pathogens of cheeses commercialized at different retail points in Mexico

amchavez@uach.mx Abstract Microbial quality and the prevalence of foodborne pathogens ( E. coli 0157I:H7, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni ) of cheeses sold at three retail points (supermarkets [SM], street markets [ST], and convenience grocery stores [CGS]) in Chihuahua, Mexico, were evaluated (n=90). The most commonly found cheeses in the retail points were Chihuahua (60%) and Ranchero (28.8%). According to Mexican standards, three SM, two CGS, and none of the ST cheeses complied with the regulations. Two cheeses (cheddar and Ranchero) from SM (2.22%) were positive for L. monocytogenes . Eight cheeses (8.88%) were positive for Salmonella spp. (5 from ST and 3 from CGS). E.coli 0157I:H7 and Campylobacter jejuni were negative in all samples. On the Ranchero cheese, total coliforms (TC), faecal coliforms (FC), and yeast and moulds (Y&M) showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) among retail points. Nevertheless, in Chihuahua cheese, the numbers of total coliforms, faecal coliforms, and yeast and moulds were statistically different (P < 0.05) among retail points. PSM Chihuahua cheese had the lowest numbers of total (0.99 ± 1.0 Log 10 CFU/g) and faecal coliforms (166 ± 154 Log 10 CFU/g). CGS cheeses had the lowest counts in terms of yeast and moulds (3.1 ± 2.2 Log 10 CFU/g). The results revealed that most cheeses, regardless of the retail point, did not conform to Mexican standards. The number of total and faecal coliforms indicates either flaws during the production and commercialization processes or the ill-handling of raw quality. from different retail México describes the potential risk that the cheeses might represent for the consumer. The results must also be considered when issuing public policies that aim to protect the health of the
Theory and practice of infant feeding in Singapore

The revision to infant feeding recommendations internationally, and nationally, stimulated interest in infant feeding practices in Singapore. Three independent cross-sectional studies were conducted to explore different aspects of this issue. (1) Three hundred and ten mothers (61% Chinese; 31% Malay; 8% Indian) were interviewed on their milk and complementary feeding practices of their infants from birth. At birth, exclusive breastfeeding was uncommon (11%) and rarely continued beyond the first 6 months. The majority of infants (77%) started complementary (solid) foods by 4 months of age. Chinese mothers had a significantly lower (p = 0.002) rate of breastfeeding (76%) than the other 2 groups (92%). Length was observed to be influenced by the type of milk fed, and not the age of introduction of solid food. (2) Total daily energy and selected nutrient intake of a cohort (n=30) of Chinese infants (aged 9-11 mo) was estimated using the 24-hour dietary recall method. Infants showed good growth performance when assessed against growth reference, despite total daily energy intake (808kcal/d) being lower than the Singapore Recommended Daily Dietary Allowance. The nutritional composition of home-prepared meals was comparatively inferior to the equivalent profile of a commercial cereal. (3) Two hundred and twenty healthcare professionals in the primary care completed a questionnaire on their proficiency and practices in infant feeding. Their understanding of infant feeding recommendations was below expectations and there were also inconsistencies in their advice on complementary feeding. There is a disparity between the infant feeding recommendations (theory) and the reality (practice), implying difficulties in the implementation of a global recommendation. Wide-scale surveys are needed to collect data that is generalisable to the Singapore infant population. Attention to the development of evidence-based infant feeding guidelines is a priority with the emergence of the concept of nutritional programming in later life.