Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Demand for HIV Testing : Evidence from California Outpatients Clinics

This paper provides an initial empirical analysis of the impact of changing epidemiological, economic and sociological conditions on the amount of HIV testing in primary care, outpatient clinics. Particular attention is paid to examining whether changes in HIV/AIDS prevalence impact the amount of testing these clinics perform, and also how financial constraints impact this relationship. Using a sample of California clinics, we find that changing epidemiological conditions do impact the demand for HIV testing. Additionally, certain clinic characteristics, such as the type of practitioners providing care and the socio-economic characteristics of patients treated at each clinic also affect the demand for testing. However, we find little evidence supporting increased government or private grants, contracts and donations as a means of enhancing the demand for HIV testing. ©2007 Californian Journal of Health Promotion. All rights reserved.
Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulation in Biophysics and Systems Biology

Generation of large amount of biological data has provided us with some of its unique chal‐ lenges in modeling of biological systems. Recent advances in imaging techniques, such as confocal, FRET, multi-photon among others, led systems level information for biological processes and accumulation of even more biological data. There is a clear need for quantita‐ tive (mathematical and computational) tools that are capable of analyzing such large amount of information. Equally pressing is the need for theoretical models that can eluci‐ date the cellular and molecular mechanisms of complex biological processes. Systems biolo‐ gy modeling (differential equations, stochastic simulations, agent based models) is emerging as a powerful tool that can provide mechanistic insight into workings of complex biological systems as well as allow analysis of large datasets. Such computational models can be vali‐ dated using synergistic experiments (in an iterative manner) and also possess predictive power. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is a stochastic modeling approach that can be utilized to carry out in silico studies of biological problems.
NUCLEOSIDES, NUCLEOTIDES & NUCLEIC ACIDS

A series of permuted variants of antigenomic HDV ribozyme and trans-acting variants were constructed. The catalytic activity study of the ribozymes has shown that all the variants were capable of self-cleaving with equally biphasic kinetics. Ribonuclease and Fe(II)-EDTA cleavage have provided evidence that all designed ribozymes fold according to the pseudoknot model and the conformations of the initial and cleaved ribozyme are different. A scheme of HDV ribozyme self-cleavage reaction was suggested. The role of hydrogen bonds in the reaction was evaluated by substitution of ribose in the ribozyme for deoxyribose. It was found that the 2’-OH group of U23 and C27 is critical for the reaction to occur; the 2’-OH group of U32 and U39 is important, while 2’-OH groups of other nucleotides of loop 3, stem 4 and stem 1 are unimportant for the cleavage activity.
Radiographic study of prevalence and distribution of hypodontia in a pediatric orthodontic population in Venezuela.

PURPOSE This study's purpose was to determine prevalence and distribution of hypodontia in a pediatric orthodontic population in Caracas, Venezuela. METHODS A total of 607 dental records (radiographs, cast models, and photographs) from 5- to 11-year-old patients of an interceptive orthodontics clinic were studied for agenesis of permanent teeth. Patients with hypodontia of the third molars and syndromes of cleft lip or palate were excluded. Data were analyzed using t tests (=.05) and Pearson's chi-square (P=.001). RESULTS Hypodontia affected 25 patients (∼4%): 13 with unique and 12 with multiple tooth agenesis. Females were more affected than males (1.5:1). A total of 40 teeth were missing: permanent maxillary lateral incisors (40%); mandibular second premolars (~23%); maxillary second premolars (15%); permanent mandibular lateral incisors (15%); and permanent mandibular second molars (~8%). The maxilla was more affected (55%) vs. the mandible (45%). Symmetrical hypodontia was exhibited by the maxilla, whereas the left premolar region was most affected in the mandible. CONCLUSION The most affected tooth was the permanent maxillary lateral incisor, followed by the mandibular second premolar; symmetry was noted for hypodontia in the maxilla, and an inverse correlation was found between the maxillary and mandibular hypo- dontia. The overall results agree with other Latin American studies and differ from Caucasian or Asian populations.
The Decision to Invest in Information Systems: Case of Adopting ERP in the Moroccan Public Largest Companies

The decision to invest in information systems can be considered as one of the major challenge that most organizations may face nowadays. Even if Moroccan public large companies are investing huge amount of resources in adopting ERP tools, they are giving little attention to the factors behind this decision. The problem of this article is to determine the criteria that need to be taken by the Moroccan public large organizations in order to invest in information systems? Too many companies and executives cannot answer to these questions and most of them have no clearly defined decision procedures to decide on their investments in technology and to manage it. The aim of this article is to develop a conceptual model related to the Moroccan context based on exploratory interviews and models proposed by previous authors regarding the specificity of Moroccan context. As a preliminary result, we've found that the technological, organizational and environmental contexts have a great influence on the decision to invest in IS, but with different intensity.
Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia

The collaboration of the philosopher Gilles Deleuze and the psychoanalyst Felix Guattari has been one of the most profoundly influential partnerships in contemporary thought. Anti-Oedipus is the first part of their masterpiece, Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Ranging widely across the radical tradition of 20th Century thought and culture that preceeded them - from Foucault, Lacan and Jung to Samuel Beckett and Henry Miller - this revolutionary analysis of the intertwining of desire, reality and capitalist society is an essential read for anyone interested in postwar continental thought.
Lectinophagocytosis: a molecular mechanism of recognition between cell surface sugars and lectins in the phagocytosis of bacteria

serum factors enhance the rate of uptake of microorganisms by phagocytes. The serum factors were named opsonins (from opsonos, to eat, in Greek), and the process became known as opsonophagocytosis. Over the years it has been established that the primary role of the opsonins is to provide a means of recognition between the phagocytes and their targets, e.g., bacteria (26, 38). The opsonins function by binding specifically in a lock-and-key manner to integral surface membrane molecules on the phagocytes on the one hand and to the bacteria on the other. Two types of opsonin have been described: one is represented by the C3b and C3bi fragments of the third component of complement (C3), and the other is represented by antimicrobial antibodies (usually immunoglobulin G molecules). Opsonophagocytosis can occur in three modes. In the first, only antibodies participate by reacting via their (Fab)2 combining sites with the appropriate antigenic determinants on the bacterial surface. The Fc portion of the coating immunoglobulin G molecule binds the microorganisms to the corresponding Fc receptors on the surfaces of the phagocytes. In the second mode, only the C3b or C3bi fragment of complement participates. The C3b and C3bi fragments are generated from C3 as a result of its activation by contact with certain microbial surface constituents, a process known
Benefits of community-based education to the community in South African health science facilities

Abstract Background Community-based education (CBE) is utilised by health science faculties worldwide to provide a relevant primary care experience for students and a service to underserved communities and, hopefully, to affect student career choices. The benefits to training institutions and students are well documented, but it may well be that communities, too, will be able to benefit from a more balanced partnership, where they are consulted in the planning of such training programmes. Method An exploratory qualitative study was undertaken by three South African universities in the provinces of Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Focus group interviews were conducted in their local languages with groups of community leaders, patients and supervisors at community sites involved in CBE training. A thematic analysis of their views was undertaken with the aid of NVivo (version 9). Ethics approval was obtained from the respective universities and health care training sites. Results Benefits to the community could be categorised into short-term and long-term benefits. Short-term benefits included improved service delivery, reduction in hospital referrals, home visits and community orientated primary health care, improved communication with patients and enhanced professionalism of the health care practitioner. Long-term benefits included improved teaching through a relationship with an academic institution and student familiarity with the health care system. Students also became involved in community upliftment projects, thereby acting as agents of change in these communities. Conclusion Communities can certainly benefit from well-planned CBE programmes involving a training site - community site partnership.
Modelos predictivos aplicados a la conservación de invertebrados protegidos ibero-baleares

El objetivo general de esta tesis es contestar al siguiente interrogante: ? Es posible mejorar el estado de conservacion de los invertebrados protegidos Ibero-Baleares mediante la aplicacion de modelos predictivos? Para abordar este objetivo general se plantean los siguientes objetivos especificos: 1. Podemos conocer de una manera fiable la distribucion potencial de los invertebrados aunque no dispongamos de datos procedentes de muestreos exhaustivos? El primer objetivo especifico de la tesis consiste en: Evaluar el comportamiento de distintas tecnicas predictivas empleadas para la modelizacion de la distribucion potencial de invertebrados usando datos de presencia disponibles en museos, atlas y bases de datos. 2. Aportan los modelos predictivos informacion relevante sobre la ecologia de las especies? El siguiente objetivo sera: Determinar el nicho ambiental ocupado por una especie y las variables que afectan en mayor medida a su presencia mediante modelos predictivos. 3. Pueden las caracteristicas particulares de las especies afectar a los modelos? Este interrogante determina el tercer objetivo especifico: Evaluar los efectos que tanto los datos como las caracteristicas ecologicas de las especies pueden causar en la precision de los modelos de distribucion de invertebrados. R.M. Chefaoui (2010) Modelos predictivos de invertebrados protegidos _____________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Que informacion biogeografica pueden aportar los modelos de distribucion? Se plantea el siguiente objetivo: Buscar explicaciones sobre la dinamica de la distribucion de las poblaciones de determinadas especies coherentes con las predicciones obtenidas. 5. Se encuentran suficientemente protegidas estas especies? Esta tesis tiene tambien como objetivo: Evaluar el estado de conservacion de determinadas especies de invertebrados protegidos examinando la distribucion de sus poblaciones y la eficacia de las reservas para preservarlas.
A meta‐analysis of coffee drinking, cigarette smoking, and the risk of Parkinson's disease

We conducted a systematic review to summarize the epidemiological evidence on the association between cigarette smoking, coffee drinking, and the risk of Parkinson's disease. Case–control and cohort studies that reported the relative risk of physician‐confirmed Parkinson's disease by cigarette smoking or coffee drinking status were included. Study‐specific log relative risks were weighted by the inverse of their variances to obtain a pooled relative risk and its 95% confidence interval (CI). Results for smoking were based on 44 case–control and 4 cohort studies, and for coffee 8 case–control and 5 cohort studies. Compared with never smokers, the relative risk of Parkinson's disease was 0.59 (95% CI, 0.54–0.63) for ever smokers, 0.80 (95% CI, 0.69–0.93) for past smokers, and 0.39 (95% CI, 0.32–0.47) for current smokers. The relative risk per 10 additional pack‐years was 0.84 (95% CI, 0.81–0.88) in case–control studies and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.73–0.84) in cohort studies. Compared with non–coffee drinkers, relative risk of Parkinson's disease was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.59–0.80) for coffee drinkers. The relative risk per three additional cups of coffee per day was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.64–0.86) in case–control studies and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.46–1.00) in cohort studies. This meta‐analysis shows that there is strong epidemiological evidence that smokers and coffee drinkers have a lower risk of Parkinson's disease. Further research is required on the biological mechanisms underlying this potentially protective effect.
A social network analysis of communication about hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer genetic testing and family functioning.

Hereditary cancers are relational diseases. A primary focus of research in the past has been the biological relations that exist within the families and how genes are passed along family lines. However, hereditary cancers are relational in a psychosocial sense, as well. They can impact communication relationships within a family, as well as support relationships among family members. Furthermore, the familial culture can affect an individual's participation in genetic counseling and testing endeavors. Our aims are (a) to describe the composition of familial networks, (b) to characterize the patterns of family functioning within families, (c) to analyze how these patterns relate to communications about genetic counseling and testing among family members, and (d) to identify influential family members. Specifically, we asked how the relationship between mutation status, kinship ties, and family functioning constructs, e.g., communication, cohesion, affective involvement, leadership, and conflict, was associated with discussions about genetic counseling and testing. We used social network analysis and random graph techniques to examine 783 dyadic relationships in 36 members of 5 hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) families interviewed from 1999-2000. Results suggest that in these five HNPCC families, two family members are more likely to discuss genetic counseling and testing if either one carries the mutation, if either one is a spouse or a first-degree relative of the other, or if the relationship is defined by positive cohesion, leadership, or lack of conflict. Furthermore, the family functioning patterns suggest that mothers tend to be the most influential persons in the family network. Results of this study suggest encouraging family members who act in the mother role to take a "team approach" with the family proband when discussing HNPCC risks and management with family members.
Capital Flows and Macroeconomic Performance: Lessons from the Golden Era of International Finance

Where does international capital flow? Robert E. Lucas Jr. (1990) asked why capital did not flow from rich countries to poor, implicitly assuming that returns to capital in developing countries were higher than those in the devel oped world. Ohanian and Wright (2008) measured rates of return over the last 50 years to assess whether capital indeed flowed from low return countries to high return countries. We found that capital flows for much of the postWorld War II period are the reverse of the flows predicted by theory. That is, capital has tended to flow to countries with relatively low returns, rather than high returns. This paper analyzes where capital flowed dur ing the “golden era” of international flows from 1880–1913, when capital mobility is considered to have been quite high, and during the interwar period from 1918–1938, when capital flows were increasingly restricted following the First World War and the Great Depression. Following the methodology of our earlier paper, we construct two measures of the level of returns in a country and compare these returns to observed capital flows. The first measure, based on the marginal product of capital, is constructed using a CobbDouglas technology and measured from the observed capital-output ratio. The second measure is based on observed consumption growth, which is the return to capital when consumers have log preferences over consumption, and which otherwise is a good proxy for the return
Effects of glycine and methylprednisolone on hemorrhagic shock in rats.

BACKGROUND Methylprednisolone (MP), a synthetic glucocorticosteroid, has been broadly studied in experiments on endotoxin-induced shock and septic shock. This study was designed to ascertain whether glycine and MP can protect against organ injury and death caused by hemorrhagic shock, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these protective effects in rats. METHOD To establish a shock model, Wistar rats were bled to maintain mean arterial pressure at 30-50 mmHg for 1 hour and subsequently resuscitated with the shed blood and normal saline. Just prior to resuscitation, the rats were randomly assigned to four groups: sham group (operation performed without inducing shock), shock group, shock + glycine group (glycine injected at the beginning of resuscitation) and shock + MP group (MP injected at the beginning of resuscitation). RESULTS (1) Seventy-two hours after resuscitation, the survival rate of rats from the shock group had decreased to 20%, while the survival rates of rats from the shock + glycine and shock + MP groups were 77.8% and 80%, respectively. The difference was significant (P <0.05). (2) Eighteen hours after resuscitation, pathological alterations in the organs of the rats were apparent. In rats from the shock group, edema, interstitial leukocyte infiltration, and cellular degeneration occurred in the liver, lungs, kidneys, and heart. Glycine and MP reduced these pathological changes significantly. (3) Eighteen hours after resuscitation, the levels of creatine phosphokinase, transaminases, and creatine were elevated significantly in rats from the shock group, indicating injury to the heart, liver, and kidneys, while these levels were elevated only slightly in the shock + glycine and shock + MP groups. The differences were significant (P <0.01). (4) There were significant increases in intracellular calcium and production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) by isolated Kupffer cells stimulated by endotoxin after hemorrhagic shock. These changes were completely prevented by glycine and MP (P <0.01). CONCLUSION Glycine and MP reduce organ injury and mortality caused by hemorrhagic shock by preventing increase of intracellular calcium levels in Kupffer cell, suppressing Kupffer cell activation, decreasing the production of TNF-alpha by Kupffer cells, and blocking systemic inflammatory responses.
Indoor heating, house conditions, and health

Many studies have shown a relation between damp housing and health,1-3 however, there has been relatively little research concerned with the effect of cold homes on health. Recent evidence has suggested that inability to keep a house warm is more strongly associated with health outcomes than is damp housing.4 This paper aims to assess the relation between housing characteristics and ill health focusing in particular on adequacy of indoor heating. The subjects in this analysis were 858 respondents in the oldest cohort of the second sweep of the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study,5 surveyed in 1991. The response rate for this wave was 82% and the average age of respondents was 59. The survey recorded 13 variables concerning housing conditions. Some of these were from respondents' answers to questions such as how warm they felt in winter, others were objective opinions by …
A 25-year prospective study of visual acuity in the Japan Air Self Defense Force personnel.

BACKGROUND In the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF), new vision standards for student pilots allow lower uncorrected monocular acuity (from 1.0 to 0.8). In flight environments, where the use of corrective lenses may present problems, the risk of decreasing visual acuity in pilots who should wear corrective lenses must be defined. METHODS We conducted a 25-yr prospective study of visual acuity with regard to distance vision in 752 JASDF nonaviation personnel followed from ages 20 to 45. The test subjects were divided into four groups according to their right monocular visual acuity at entry: > or =1.0, between 0.9 and 0.7, between 0.6 and 0.2, and <0.2. RESULTS At entry, 94.1% of all subjects had visual acuity > or =0.7. The proportion of subjects who required corrective lenses for distance increased with age from 15.8% to 37.1%. After 25-yr, 30.2% of subjects with visual acuity > or =1.0 at entry and 62.7% of subjects with visual acuity between 0.9 and 0.7 at entry required corrective lenses. CONCLUSIONS Over 25 yr, the population with the best eyesight at age 20 had a lower increase in the need for corrective lenses than the population with visual acuity between 0.9 and 0.7 at age 20. These results suggest an increased risk of visual acuity loss in pilots over time as a result of the lower vision standards for student pilots in the JASDF.
Popular Ideology and Public Policy in Europe: Trends and Popular Ideology as a Determinant of Public Policies?

Does popular ideology affect public policies enacted in a country? The baseline argument links popular ideology input to policy output. Either a population more often elects a party with its favored ideology into office, which then implements policies in line with popular ideology. Alternatively, all parties pursue policies more in line with popular ideology. Under the first view, popular ideology should affect government composition, which then matters for policy. Under the second view, policies should track popular ideology, but there should not be an effect of government ideology. If governments were perfect agents, a shift in popular ideology would translate in policy. This is not the case. This leaves two explanations: either that all governments purse the same policies in response to the same problems, or that governments do not actually care about their principals’ ideological demands. Comparing, which policies track popular ideology and which are independent of it, indicates that governments follow popular ideology in policies, where they have no bureaucratic self-interest in certain policy developments, but otherwise pursue their own agenda.