Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Breaching cultural silence: enhancing resilience among Ugandan orphans

Cultural silence is frequently the outcome of deep-seated taboos regarding adults talking to children about sex and death. This paper examines the impact of cultural silence on the resilience of children orphaned by AIDS in Uganda. Cultural silence is often linked with denial. This article explores the complexities of cultural silence in terms of its causes, justifications and impacts. The findings from two small, in-depth qualitative studies among orphans who were being supported by community-based organisations in Kampala illustrate the impacts of cultural silence and disclosure on the coping ability of orphaned children. The first study involved 11 children orphaned by AIDS (four boys and seven girls, aged 12 to 17 years) and four parents widowed by AIDS (two men and two women) who were themselves living with HIV. (None of the parents interviewed were related to the orphans in the study.) In the second study, 10 HIV-positive mothers (aged 25 to 40) and nine children (six boys and three girls, aged 11 to 18) with HIVpositive mothers were interviewed. The discussion examines the findings by using a model of resilience, centred on the concepts of closeness and competence as conditions for coping. Cultural silence emerges as a risk factor that increases children's vulnerability through undermining both closeness and competence, while disclosure and openness — the breaching of cultural silence — are revealed as protective factors that may enhance resilience among children.
Asbestos-related pleural disease

Purpose of review Asbestos exposure is the cause of significant pleural disease – both benign and malignant. Although there is increased awareness, individuals continue to be exposed, and we will continue to see its sequelae for years to come because of the delay between exposure and disease manifestation. Asbestos-related pleural disease includes pleural plaques, diffuse pleural thickening, benign asbestos-related pleural effusions (BAPEs), and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Recent findings Several recent studies are highlighted throughout this review, including a comparative analysis of diagnostic imaging modalities for identifying and characterizing pleural plaques, the effect of pleural plaques on lung volumes and flows, and how pain is a relatively common feature in patients with pleural plaques. Advances in the treatment of MPM are limited, but a recent publication highlights the increased morbidity associated with surgical debulking procedures and questions the benefit of these procedures. Summary Asbestos-related pleural disease will continue to present a significant burden of illness. Recent publications have suggested potential treatment benefit and point to areas that would require further investigation.
The Effects of a 10‐Week, Periodized, Off‐Season Resistance‐Training Program and Creatine Supplementation Among Collegiate Football Players

The periodized resistance-training model has not been well documented in the literature. Further research is needed to determine if periodized resistance training in conjunction with creatine supplementation can cause changes in strength, performance, total body weight, girth, and lean muscle mass. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of periodized resistance training in conjunction with low-dose (LD) and high-dose (HD) creatine supplementation on strength, body composition, and anaerobic muscular endurance. Subjects were divided into 3 groups: LD, HD, and placebo (P). Testing took place pre-, mid-, and postsupplementation for the following: weight, body composition (fat-free mass and fat mass), 1 repetition maximum squat, and anaerobic muscular endurance testing. Results revealed no significant differences in either creatine group when compared with the P group. However, significant differences were noted over time. These data suggest that 10 weeks of periodized resistance training was effective for causing changes in strength, body composition, and anaerobic muscular endurance.
NCAA Coaches Survey: The Role of the Coach in Identifying and Managing Athletes with Disordered Eating

The primary objective of the present study was to survey collegiate coaches with respect to how female athletes with disordered eating or eating disorders are identified, how coaches are involved, and the identification criteria used. An additional objective was to determine how symptomatic athletes are managed regarding treatment and sport participation. Participants were 2,894 coaches representing 23 sports. Findings indicated that athletic trainers, teammates, and coaches are frequently involved in identification. Eating disorder symptoms were most often used to identify symptomatic athletes, and athletes from high-risk sports were more often identified. Coaches rated symptoms as being serious, both in terms of how they affect the athlete’s health and her athletic performance, with amenorrhea being a notable exception. Implications of the study were discussed in terms of education and training of coaches and athletic trainers.
In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the evaluation of the endometrium

Background. The purposes of this study were to compare proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic evaluation of the endometrium with histology obtained by endometrial biopsy in women undergoing diagnostic curettage and to determine whether screening with MR spectroscopy (MRS) might be useful in the evaluation of the endometrium.
Local Government Decision-Making and Access to Primary Physician Services in Norway

Public responsibility for health care can be justified by ambitious egalitarian objectives, as it is commonly believed that the private sector generates greater disparities than the public sector. Government institutions can be designed to achieve equality in provision of health services. The article addresses the geographical distribution of primary care physicians in Norway, where primary physician services are the responsibility of local governments, primarily financed by general taxation. The authors analyze the allocation of physicians using a local government demand model, a synthesis of consumers' demand and local government resource allocation. Analyses were performed on a panel data set of all Norwegian municipalities covering the period 1986–1992. The results are encouraging. A decentralized system of primary physician services does seem to be fairly effective in securing equity in access to these services for the municipal population. In particular, local governments seem to respond well to the health care needs of their populations. Distribution of physicians is only to a very small extent dependent on the wealth of the municipality.
Prevalence of Cutaneous Bacterial Colonization in Thai Patients with Psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE To determine bacterial colonization of skin, scalp, nares, nails, and psoriasis lesion in Thai psoriasis patients and compare findings with those of healthy controls. MATERIAL AND METHOD Sixty patients with chronic plaque-type psoriasis and 60 healthy controls of similar age and gender were enrolled. Swabs of nares, scalp, nails, and non-lesional skin were taken from all subjects. Swabs of lesional skin were taken from psoriasis patients. Aerobic bacteria were isolated from swab specimens. RESULTS Patients with psoriasis had significantly higher rate of bacteria colonization in nares, scalp, and nails than those of healthy controls. Firmicutes spp. was the most common phyla, followed by Proteobacteria spp. in both groups. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) were the most common pathogens isolated from lesional skin, non-lesional skin, scalp, and nares of psoriasis patients. Streptococcus spp. was found only in psoriasis patients. CONCLUSION Similar to findings from Caucasian psoriasis patients, Firmicutes spp. was found to be the most common phyla colonizing the skin of Asian psoriasis patients. Streptococcus spp. was found to colonize only the skin. Further studies are needed to determine the clinical significance of streptococcal skin colonization in psoriasis patients.
Dimensioning Large-Scale Membership Services

Motivated by workforce planning problems in health care, professional, warranty, and repair services, we propose modeling service centers that are exclusively dedicated to fixed client constituencies as closed multiserver queueing systems, a framework we refer to as membership services. We provide fluid and diffusion approximations of the number of users within the membership who are requesting service. The approximations are obtained via many-server limit theorems, where the limiting regime assumptions of each theorem correspond to a particular staffing strategy a manager might employ. Accordingly, we propose staffing rules designed to meet a certain desired performance criterion. In particular, when the objective is to minimize the staffing size subject to a constraint on the probability of delay for a service-requesting customer, we suggest staffing rules inspired by the so-called quality-and efficiency-driven (QED), or Halfin-Whitt, limiting regime. Numerical evaluations of our proposed QED scheme indicate that, although justified for large systems, the staffing rule performs well for memberships of all sizes.
Pancreatic cancer associated fibroblasts display normal allelotypes

Background: Recent studies have reported widespread copy number alterations and p53 mutations arising in cancer associated stromal cells. The aim of this study was to determine if pancreatic cancer associated fibroblasts display similar genetic alterations. Design: Cancer-associated fibroblast cultures were established from 7 primary pancreatic adenocarcinomas. These fibroblasts and corresponding normal tissues when available were analyzed for genome-wide copy number changes using Affymetrix 250K SNP microarrays. Evidence of p53 protein expression, an indicator of p53 mutation was determined by immunohistochemical labeling of tissue microarrays containing 117 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas. Results: Pancreatic cancer associated fibroblasts did not show any evidence of somatic copy number gains or losses. p53 protein expression was confined to invasive pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells and was not expressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts. Conclusions: We find no evidence that pancreatic cancer associated fibroblasts harbor somatic copy number changes or immunohistochemical evidence of p53 mutations.
The Association Between Adult Attachment Style, Mental Disorders, and Suicidality: Findings From a Population-Based Study

Abstract Attachment theory categorically assesses how a person perceives and experiences interpersonal relationships. Attachment style is linked to numerous physical and psychological phenomena; however, there is a paucity of research examining its relationship to suicide ideation and attempt in adults. Our study addresses this and investigates the relationship of adult attachment style and mental disorders in a nationally representative sample. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (N = 5692, aged >18 years), multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine these relationships. After adjusting for confounding variables, insecure attachment styles were associated with greater reporting of suicidal ideation, attempt, and all mental disorder categories analyzed (adjusted odds ratio range, 1.13–1.81). Secure attachment styles were associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting suicidal ideation, attempt, and any anxiety disorder (adjusted odds ratio range, 0.67–0.91). Clinicians should be aware of attachment issues in their patients to ensure better health outcomes and more effective physician-patient relationships.
Genetic Variability in Four Alouatta Species Measured by Means of Nine DNA Microsatellite Markers: Genetic Structure and Recent Bottlenecks

We used microsatellite DNA to study the population genetics of 4 Alouatta species from Central and South America. Our main findings include the following: (1) A. seniculus had the highest level of microsatellite variability while A. caraya and A. palliata had the lowest mean number of alleles per locus and the lowest expected heterozygosity, respectively; (2) the samples of A. seniculus and A. palliata came from different regions and were not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) which may indicate a Wahlund effect and differentiated gene pools – in contrast, A. macconnelli and A. caraya were in HWE; (3) the microsatellite genetic heterogeneity of the 4 Alouatta species was similar to the karyotype divergence found among these Alouatta species; the species pair with the lowest level of heterogeneity (genetic differentiation) was A. seniculus/A. caraya, while the Central American species, A. palliata, was highly differentiated from the other 3 South American species; (4) we recommend the establishment of a conservation plan to help protect A. caraya because the Cornuet and Luikart procedure demonstrated a recent bottleneck for this species.
MOCA Induces Membrane Spreading by Activating Rac1*

The modifier of cell adhesion protein (MOCA), or Dock3, initially identified as presenilin-binding protein (PBP), belongs to the Dock180 family of proteins and is localized specifically in neurons. Here we demonstrate that MOCA binds to Rac1 and enhances its activity, which leads to the activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and causes changes in cell morphology. Farnesylated MOCA, which is localized in the plasma membrane, enhances the activation of Rac1 and JNK more markedly than wild-type MOCA, and cells expressing farnesylated MOCA show flattened morphology similar to those expressing a constitutive active mutant of Rac1, Rac1Q61L. On poly-d-lysine-coated dishes, endogenous MOCA is concentrated on the leading edge of broad membrane protrusions (lamellipodia) where actin filaments are co-localized. MOCA is also concentrated with actin on the growth cone in primary cultures of cortical neurons. These observations suggest that MOCA may induce cytoskeletal reorganization and changes in cell adhesion by regulating the activity of Rac1.
Role of Clp protease subunits in degradation of carbon starvation proteins in Escherichia coli

When deprived of a carbon source, Escherichia coli induces the synthesis of a group of carbon starvation proteins. The degradation of proteins labeled during starvation was found to be an energy-dependent process which was inhibited by the addition of KCN and accelerated when cells were resupplied with a carbon source. The degradation of the starvation proteins did not require the ATP-dependent Lon protease or the energy-independent proteases protease I, protease IV, OmpT, and DegP. During starvation, mutants lacking either the ClpA or ClpP subunit of the ATP-dependent Clp protease showed a partial reduction in the degradation of starvation proteins. Strains lacking ClpP failed to increase degradation of starvation proteins when glucose was added to starving cells. The clpP mutants showed a competitive disadvantage compared with wild-type cells when exposed to repeated cycles of carbon starvation and growth. Surprisingly, the glucose-stimulated, ClpP-dependent degradation of starvation proteins did not require either the ClpA or ClpB protein. The patterns of synthesis of starvation proteins were similar in clpP+ and clpP cells. The clpP mutants had reduced rates of degradation of certain starvation proteins in the membrane fraction when a carbon source was resupplied to the starved cells.
Factors influencing independence in adolescents with sickle cell disease.

PROBLEM Factors that predict successful transition from pediatric to adult care for adolescents with sickle cell disease are not fully understood, making transfer decisions difficult. METHODS Seventy-four adolescents (14-21 years) participated in this descriptive correlational study to investigate the relationships of age, gender, knowledge about sickle cell disease, disease severity, and family relationships to independence. FINDINGS Knowledge, severity, and family relationships explained only 25% of the variance for independence in the final model; family relationships were inversely correlated. CONCLUSIONS Factors exerting stronger influences on independence remain unknown. Cultural factors may be important among this predominantly African American population.
Size at birth and adult fat mass in twin sheep are determined in early gestation

• Reduced size at birth and shorter gestation length are both associated with increased risks of non‐communicable diseases (NCD) in later adult life. • Twins are born both smaller and earlier than singletons and adult twins also are reported to be at increased risk of common NCDs such as diabetes. • The smaller size and shorter gestation length of twins has been presumed to be due to a lack of intrauterine space and/or limitations of placental nutrient supply in late gestation, but there are few data to support this. • We show that size at birth and adult fat mass in twin sheep are determined largely in early gestation. • Knowledge of the mechanisms underlying early pregnancy determination of fetal growth and gestation length in twins are likely to increase understanding of how early pregnancy factors influence lifelong health for offspring from all pregnancies.
Information Technology and Social Relations: Portrayals of Gender Roles in High Tech Product Advertisements

Advertisements for technology products were sampled from professional journals in the fields of business, computing science/engineering, and library and information science. Content analyses revealed that men are portrayed in the ads more frequently than women, although the distribution of male and female figures in various poses is more egalitarian in ads found in traditional library journals. The depictions of male and female roles in relation to technology is largely stereotypic. Men are often portrayed as deep thinkers who are connected to the future, whereas women are often present in ads in order to convey the notion of simplicity of product use. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DINOSAUR PHYSIOLOGY AND THE ORIGIN OF MAMMALS

Today and throughout the Cenozoic mammals have been the dominant class of land vertebrates. Mammals are the most conspicuous elements in most terrestrial vertebrate communities, and the vast majority of large land vertebrates (50 kg and larger) are mammals. The success of mammals probably is due in large measure to their high metabolic rates, great scope for increasing metabolism during activity, and their ability to maintain constant body temperatures by complex mechanisms of heat production, insulation, and heat loss. Mammals evolved from their therapsid reptilian ancestors in the Late Triassic, only a few million years after the first dinosaurs appeared (Crompton, 1968). Although they are common and diverse in most Jurassic and Cretaceous terrestrial microvertebrate faunas, mammals showed little or no promise of developing into the grand variety of large animals seen in modern mammalian communities. From their beginnings in the Late Triassic until the very end of the Cretaceous, a total of over 120 million years, twice the length of the entire Cenozoic, mammals were consistently tiny or at most small vertebrates, with the largest herbivores reaching the size of a large squirrel and the largest carnivores, the size of a cat. The greatest Cretaceous mammals were dwarfed by the largest contemporary lizards-the superficially iguana-like herbivore Polyglyphanodon (Gilmore, 1942) reached a length of a full meter, while some of the Cretaceous flesh-eating monitors such as Sanziwa and Parasaniwa (Gilmore, 1928) were even larger. Dinosaurs dominated the JuraCretaceous, but not in all size categories. Although the two orders of dinosaurs (Saurischia and Ornithischia) included virtually all the large fully terrestrial vertebrates, and many dinosaur genera were elephant-size or larger, the fossil evidence strongly suggests that no small (adult weight 10 kg or less) dinosaurs ever existed in either Jurassic or Cretaceous. The smallest, fairly complete dinosaur skeletons usually indicate a length of a meter from nose to tail tip (Compsognathus, Hypsilophodon, Microvenator, Tenontosaurus). But most of these small specimens probably are juveniles. In some cases, other conspecific specimens show that the adult size was much larger-up to 2.5 meters for Hypsilophodon (Galton, in press), and up to seven meters for Tenontosaurus (Ostrom, 1970a). Skeletal characters, such as the open sutures between centra and arches in the Microvenator vertebrae (Ostrom, 1970a) indicate immaturity in other cases. The most convincing proof of the lack of truly small dinosaur species is their absence in the carefully studied microvertebrate concentrates. In the Late Cretaceous localities at Bug Creek, Montana, and Lance Creek, Wyoming, several dozen species of small vertebrates are found including a wealth of lizards (monitors, skinks, teiids, and alligator lizards) and mammals, and yet nearly all the dinosaur specimens are small fragments of large genera (horned dinosaurs, duck-bills, deinonychids-Estes, 1964; Estes and Berberian, 1970). The author has examined the Yale samples from these localities and has found many
Effects of ompA Deletion on Expression of Type 1 Fimbriae in Escherichia coli K1 Strain RS218 and on the Association of E. coli with Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that outer membrane protein A (OmpA) and type 1 fimbriae are the bacterial determinants involved in Escherichia coli K1 binding to human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC), which constitute the blood-brain barrier. In investigating the role of OmpA in E. coli K1 binding to HBMEC, we showed for the first time that ompA deletion decreased the expression of type 1 fimbriae in E. coli K1. Decreased expression of type 1 fimbriae in the ompA deletion mutant was largely the result of driving the fim promoter toward the type 1 fimbrial phase-OFF orientation. mRNA levels of fimB and fimE were found to be decreased with the OmpA mutant compared to the parent strain. Of interest, the ompA deletion further decreased the abilities of E. coli K1 to bind to and invade HBMEC under the conditions of fixing type 1 fimbria expression in the phase-ON or phase-OFF status. These findings suggest that the decreased ability of the OmpA mutant to interact with HBMEC is not entirely due to its decreased type 1 fimbrial expression and that OmpA and type 1 fimbriae facilitate the interaction of E. coli K1 with HBMEC at least in an additive manner.
On explicit ‘replacement’ models in Island Southeast Asia: a reply to Stephen Oppenheimer

The simplest form of the basic hypothesis – that prehistoric agriculture dispersed handin-hand with human genes and languages – is that farmers and their culture replace neighbouring hunter-gatherers and the latter’s culture. This hypothesis would be supported if all five independent types of evidence coincided in attesting the replacement of local hunter-gatherers by expanding farmers bearing their own archaeologically visible culture, domesticates, skeletal types, genes, and languages, and if all those indicators were traceable back to the farmers’ homeland of origin. Our two clearest examples of such concordance of evidence are the colonizations of previously uninhabited Polynesia and Micronesia by Neolithic populations speaking Austronesian languages (Fig. 2, no. 8), and the expansion of farmers speaking Bantu languages out of their tropical West African agricultural homeland after 1000 B.C. over most summer-rainfall regions of sub-equatorial Africa (Fig. 2, no. 1). (Diamond and Bellwood 2003: 598, emphases added for the purposes of the following discussion)