Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Mini‐Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini‐MAC) scale: construct validation with a Greek sample of breast cancer patients

This investigation is a Greek validation of the Mini‐Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini‐MAC) scale, an instrument derived from the MAC and designed to measure styles of coping with cancer. A sample of 225 women diagnosed with breast cancer completed this questionnaire. Statistical analyses using structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed Watson's original five first‐order factors underlying Mini‐MAC items: Helplessness/Hopelessness (HH), Anxious Preoccupation (AP), Fighting Spirit (FS), Avoidance (AV) and Fatalism (F). On a higher‐order level, SEM and Multidimensional Scaling revealed two second‐order factors: adaptive coping (being measured by FS, AV, and F) and maladaptive coping (being measured by HH and AP). Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical framework needed to account for the relationships among Mini‐MAC factors and the refinement of the applications of SEM in the study of the mental adjustment to cancer construct. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Predictors of Sexual Risk Reduction Among Mexican Female Sex Workers Enrolled in a Behavioral Intervention Study

Objective: We recently showed efficacy of an intervention to increase condom use among female sex workers (FSWs) in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, situated on the Mexico-United States border. We determined whether increases in condom use were predicted by social cognitive theory and injection drug user status among women randomized to this intervention. Methods: Four hundred nine HIV-negative FSWs aged ≥18 years having unprotected sex with clients within the prior 2 months received a brief individual counseling session integrating motivational interviewing and principles of behavior change (ie, HIV knowledge, self-efficacy for using condoms, and outcome expectancies). Results: Increases in self-efficacy scores were associated with increases in percent condom use (P = 0.008), whereas outcome expectancies were not. Female sex workers who inject drugs (FSW-IDUs) increased condom use with clients but not to the same extent as other FSWs (P = 0.09). Change in HIV knowledge was positively associated with change in percent condom use among FSW-IDUs (P = 0.03) but not noninjection drug users. Conclusions: Increases in self-efficacy significantly predicted increased condom use among FSWs, consistent with social cognitive theory. Increased HIV knowledge was also important among FSW-IDUs, but their changes in condom use were modest. Enhanced interventions for FSW-IDUs are needed, taking into account realities of substance use during sexual transactions that can compromise safer sex negotiation.
Sketch-based Image Retrieval using Generative Adversarial Networks

For sketch-based image retrieval (SBIR), we propose a generative adversarial network trained on a large number of sketches and their corresponding real images. To imitate human search process, we attempt to match candidate images with theimaginary image in user single s mind instead of the sketch query, i.e., not only the shape information of sketches but their possible content information are considered in SBIR. Specifically, a conditional generative adversarial network (cGAN) is employed to enrich the content information of sketches and recover the imaginary images, and two VGG-based encoders, which work on real and imaginary images respectively, are used to constrain their perceptual consistency from the view of feature representations. During SBIR, we first generate an imaginary image from a given sketch via cGAN, and then take the output of the learned encoder for imaginary images as the feature of the query sketch. Finally, we build an interactive SBIR system that shows encouraging performance.
Arabidopsis Transporter MGT6 Mediates Magnesium Uptake and Is Required for Growth under Magnesium Limitation[W]

Magnesium (Mg2+) is an essential mineral for plant growth and development. This study identifies a transporter responsible for absorbing magnesium ion from the soil into the roots. This transporter is expressed in the roots only under low-Mg2+ conditions and thus represents a mechanism for low-Mg2+ sensing in plants. Although magnesium (Mg2+) is the most abundant divalent cation in plant cells, little is known about the mechanism of Mg2+ uptake by plant roots. Here, we report a key function of Magnesium Transport6 (MGT6)/Mitochondrial RNA Splicing2-4 in Mg2+ uptake and low-Mg2+ tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. MGT6 is expressed mainly in plant aerial tissues when Mg2+ levels are high in the soil or growth medium. Its expression is highly induced in the roots during Mg2+ deficiency, suggesting a role for MGT6 in response to the low-Mg2+ status in roots. Silencing of MGT6 in transgenic plants by RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in growth retardation under the low-Mg2+ condition, and the phenotype was restored to normal growth after RNAi plants were transferred to Mg2+-sufficient medium. RNAi plants contained lower levels of Mg2+ compared with wild-type plants under low Mg2+ but not under Mg2+-sufficient conditions. Further analysis indicated that MGT6 was localized in the plasma membrane and played a key role in Mg2+ uptake by roots under Mg2+ limitation. We conclude that MGT6 mediates Mg2+ uptake in roots and is required for plant adaptation to a low-Mg2+ environment.
A taxonomic revision of the soil-feeding termite genus Anhangatermes (Isoptera: Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae).

The taxonomy of Anhangatermes Constantino 1990 is revised. Four new species are described: Anhangatermes anhanguera, sp. n. , Anhangatermes eurycephalus, sp. n. , Anhangatermes juruena, sp. n. , and Anhangatermes pilosus, sp. n. The imago of Anhangatermes is described for the first time (A. pilosus). A key to the species of the genus based on soldiers and workers is provided. The diagnosis of the genus is updated to accommodate the new species. The geographic range of the genus is expanded to the Cerrado region of Central Brazil. The gizzard armature of the worker of Anhangatermes is described in detail for the first time.
Marriage Arrangements and Customs in India

The present study attempts to analyse the marriage arrangements and customs in India using the data from India Human Development Survey II (2011-12) and Census of India.The result shows that age at marriage for males and females has increased by 3 and 5 years respectively during 1960-2011. The bivariate analysis discloses that two-thirds of women in India met their husbands only on wedding day or the day of Gauna. Only 5 per cent of them have chosen their husbands independently. The prevalence of inter-caste marriages is observed to be 5.4 per cent at the national level. Results of multivariate analysis indicate that marrying outside the caste and blood relations is influenced by socio-economic factors. Results also show that marriage expenditure for girls is higher than for boys.
A Fast Face Detection Method Based on Improved Sample Selection

AdaBoost algorithm is an efficient face detection method whose effectiveness is mainly influenced by the selection of weak classifier during the early process of training. To some extent, the selection of weak classifier depends on the selected sample set. Thus the training sample set is one of the most important factors in face detection. In this paper, the relationship between cascade classifier and weak classifier is analyzed in detail. Based on the factors of detection rate, undetected rate and false detection rate, an improved sample selection method is present and a fast face detection method which is divided into training and detection is proposed. The method is capable of optimizing the proportion of training samples and merging the detection window. The experimental results show that the proposed method is more effective than traditional ones.
Compact Dual-Band HTS Bandpass Filter Using Spirally Asymmetric Stepped-Impedance Resonators

In this paper, a compact dual-band high-temperature superconducting (HTS) bandpass filter (BPF) is constructed by spirally asymmetric stepped-impedance resonators (SIRs) and a pair of parallel-coupled feed lines. The resonant characteristics of spirally asymmetric SIRs with one step discontinuity are investigated in the dual-band BPF design. Owing to its intrinsic characteristics and the multipath propagation effect, multiple transmission zeros are created to improve the selectivity of the passband and the rejection level of stopband. For demonstration purposes, a compact HTS filter operating at 2.4/5.8 GHz for wireless local area networks is fabricated. Measured insertion losses at each passband are 0.12 and 0.18 dB, respectively. A good agreement between the measurements and the simulations is observed, which verifies the circuit design methodology. Finally, the temperature dependence and the input-power dependence of microwave nonlinear properties of the dual-band HTS filter at each passband are also measured and analyzed. Measured results have a good agreement with simulations.
Performance Evaluation of CoDel Queue Mechanism and TFRC Transport Protocol when Using VoIP Flows

There is an increasing demand for delivering real-time interactive voice traffic with Quality of Experience (QoE) requirements over a best-effort IP network. Therefore, the use of either TCP or UDP has become problematic since TCP is not well suited for interactive traffic and UDP is unresponsive to congestion. As a result a number of Congestion Control Mechanism (CCM) have been proposed with emphasis on achieving fair share of network resources among competing flows, but little attention has been paid to the QoE requirements of interactive applications. Furthermore, such traffic is affected by the bufferbloat phenomenon, which causes high latency and jitter. Therefore, intelligent queue management techniques need to be explored for this problem. This paper experimentally evaluates and analyses the performance benefits for VoIP using a Congestion Framework, which includes: (a) the congestion responsive transport protocol TFRC and (b) Active Queue Management (AQM) variant, called Controlled Delay (CoDel) at the network layer. The simulations were carried in network simulator, ns2, to evaluate how CoDel maintains QoE if round trip time (RTT) between source and destination is increased. The findings show that CoDel can maintain QoE for the VoIP flows under RTTs of 160 ms, however over longer RTTs the network queue size is larger compared to RED the delay experienced is greater, which impacts the overall end-to-end delay, hence loss of QoE.
Sensorless small-scale variable speed wind energy conversion system incorporating DTC-SVM of direct-drive PMSG with RLC filter

In this study a complete mechanical sensorless small-scale, fixed-pitch variable speed, wind energy conversion system is implemented that uses a permanent magnet synchronous generator with RLC filter, that is controlled using direct torque control with space vector modulation. Mathematical models of the system are derived and presented. The system is simulated in VHDL-AMS using Mentor Graphics System Vision as well as MATLAB Simulink and results are presented. A gain scheduling algorithm is designed for stable operation across the entire operating range. The system is then implemented on a laboratory setup and results are presented.
Barriers to Compliance With Infant-Feeding Recommendations Among Low-income Women

Focus groups were used to examine relationships among maternal beliefs, feeding intentions, and infant-feeding behaviors among 65 Women, Infants and Children-eligible (28 English-speaking and 37 Spanish-speaking) mothers. Participants shared common beliefs that breast-feeding was beneficial; nevertheless, many believed that early introduction of formula and solid foods was unavoidable in certain situations. Medical providers and Women, Infants and Children staff were sources of infant-feeding information, and the Spanish-speaking mothers attempted to adhere to the guidance. However, the English-speaking mothers often ignored this advice if it was not perceived as working for the family’s circumstances. Mothers, believing that providers would not understand that they were compelled to reject infant-feeding recommendations, would not ask for assistance when facing difficulties. Instead, mothers relied on relatives and others for infant-feeding guidance. Educational efforts should acknowledge mothers’ true circumstances, target support to each situation, and emphasize the health value of complementary foods rather than their association with infant motor development.
Decoupling Asia Revisited

The issue of decoupling is controversial. On the back of Asia’s sustained high growth, the hypothesis that the region’s business cycles would become increasingly independent of the global trend gained considerable attention. Asia was nonetheless hit hard by the global financial crisis and subsequent economic downturn. This paper focuses on the evolution and nature of macroeconomic interdependence between emerging East Asia and Group of 3 economies. First, the progress of regional economic integration has positively impacted the direction and magnitude of macroeconomic interdependence and growth spillovers both intraregionally and interregionally. Second, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) playing a central role in the regional production and trade network, its ongoing structural changes will likely influence Asia’s economic integration both within and beyond the region through evolving trade and investment links. Finally, the paper employs a vector autoregression model to assess the impact of the United States (US) output, world trade, financial volatility, and the PRC output shocks on emerging East Asia. Findings suggest that the US economy remains an important source of external demand shock for the regional economy, although the impact of the PRC has increased sharply.
The Performance of Long-Serving Fund Managers

Apparently “there is no substitute for experience”. This and similar phrases are often heard in the worlds of politics, business, sport and others. It is the sort of proposition that makes sense to people. However, while the performance of actively managed funds has attracted a great deal of attention in the past, the performance of managers with long track records has attracted relatively little. In this paper we focus on managers with track records of at least ten years, that is, managers that have been the sole manager of a fund for at least a decade. We find that the average, net of fee, risk-adjusted performance of these managers over the ten years of our sample is attractive compared to similar values calculated for wider samples of the manager population. However, this result may be a reflection of survivorship bias, since we find little evidence of performance persistence from year to year amongst these managers, and evidence to suggest that risk-adjusted performance over the ten year sample period declined. However, for those investors that would still prefer to invest with an experienced fund manager, the disaggregated analysis in this paper reveals certain key traits that are related to positive risk-adjusted performance of long-serving managers, such as relatively low fund fees, more concentrated portfolios and a small cap style bias.
Riding the 1/N Premium

It is well understood that factor premiums, identified as contributing to portfolios risk and return, are time-varying and conditional on market phases. Besides, Amenc et al. [2016] report alternative weighting schemes not to yield similar performances, based on a common value and small-cap exposure, but identify alternative performance drivers. Thereon, we build on the existing literature regarding the factor exposure of value-weighted and equal-weighted portfolios and make us of the diversity-weighted indexing approach, in order to dynamically derive the degree of tilt towards an equal-weighting. We show that such strategies correspond to a factor rotation, whilst demonstrating favorable after-cost properties regarding risk-adjusted returns, downside deviation, portfolio concentration and tracking error. As such, it fulfills the characteristics of what Lo [2016] refers to as 'dynamic indexes. '
Candidate Genetic Modifiers for Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk in BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutation Carriers

Background: BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers are at substantially increased risk for developing breast and ovarian cancer. The incomplete penetrance coupled with the variable age at diagnosis in carriers of the same mutation suggests the existence of genetic and nongenetic modifying factors. In this study, we evaluated the putative role of variants in many candidate modifier genes. Methods: Genotyping data from 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 mutation carriers, for known variants (n = 3,248) located within or around 445 candidate genes, were available through the iCOGS custom-designed array. Breast and ovarian cancer association analysis was performed within a retrospective cohort approach. Results: The observed P values of association ranged between 0.005 and 1.000. None of the variants was significantly associated with breast or ovarian cancer risk in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, after multiple testing adjustments. Conclusion: There is little evidence that any of the evaluated candidate variants act as modifiers of breast and/or ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. Impact: Genome-wide association studies have been more successful at identifying genetic modifiers of BRCA1/2 penetrance than candidate gene studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(1); 308–16. ©2014 AACR.
Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas sp. HUK17, Isolated from Hexachlorocyclohexane-Contaminated Soil

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas sp. HUK17 has been isolated from hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) long-term contaminated soil. The genome of strain HUK17 was sequenced to elucidate its adaptation toward HCH and to evaluate the presence of pesticide degradation pathways. Here, we report the annotated draft genome sequence (~2.6 Mbp) of this strain.
Is it All About Money? – Affective Commitment and the Difference between Family and Non‐Family Sellers in Buyouts

In this paper we investigate private equity firm perceptions of sellers’ affective deal commitment in buyout transactions. Using a sample of 174 buyouts, we test trust, goal congruence and private equity reputation as potential antecedents of perceived deal commitment. We also examine whether and how different types of sellers, family versus non‐family firms, moderate sources of perceived affective deal commitment. In sum, we find evidence that non‐financial factors play a role in buyouts, particularly for family firm sellers.
Employee Retention Factors: The Case of Hotels in Cape Town, South Africa

High turnover of employees in the hotel sector has been widely reported in academic papers. This high turnover has associated costs, such as financial costs, inconsistency in delivering service quality, and probable loss of customer loyalty. This empirical study investigates hotel employeesâ€™ responses to statements that relate to work conditions that support employee retention. Selected three, four and five star hotels in Cape Town, South Africa participated in this study. A structured respondent-completed questionnaire was used to collect data that were subjected to descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses. Result highlights suggest that hotel employees, dominated by the female population, are mostly not so desperate to leave their employment soon, however not many of them have worked in the hotel for more than five years. There are positive inter-correlations among â€˜employee retentionâ€™ factor and other factors that relate to work conditions that support employee retention (compensation, employee development, work engagement, work relations, and working hours). Results also show that â€˜strict supervisionâ€™, â€˜long working hoursâ€™ and â€˜perceived unfair salaryâ€™ are the top major concerns for hotel employees. These findings will enable hotel employers address employee concerns in order to curb the high employee turnover costs. Possible comparative research in other nations and continents will help establish cultural similarities and differences among nations or continents.
A novel approach to incorporating evidence-based medicine into an emergency medicine clerkship.

OBJECTIVES Despite the growing emphasis of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in the medical school curriculum, and the recognition of EBM's role in the practice of emergency medicine (EM), there are no current guidelines on how to teach EBM to fourth-year medical students during their EM rotations. The goal was to create a unique EM clerkship curriculum that teaches students to incorporate EBM into their clinical decision-making and complies with the core curriculum recommendations of the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine (CDEM). PROJECT DESCRIPTION Prior to a scheduled, case-based small group discussion, students are provided with a clinically relevant question to investigate. Case discussions are led by EM faculty with each case highlighting a core EM topic developed by CDEM. During the case discussion, the assigned clinical question is addressed and a plan of care is presented based on the tenets of EBM. Faculty members function as moderators for these discussions and provide individual feedback regarding search strategies, appraisal of the literature findings, and applicability to the patient population. This multifaceted approach to EBM through the incorporation of individual student literature searches, clinical vignettes, small group discussion with consensus building, and faculty moderation with timely feedback is an innovative educational technique. Future educational research must explore the efficacy of this curriculum and whether or not the model produces greater long-term understanding of EBM by students and if similar curricula can be executed at other institutions. CONCLUSIONS The authors have developed a novel fourth-year EM clerkship curriculum that integrates EBM through the use of a highly interactive, faculty-led, small group-learning environment that encourages students to develop the necessary skills to integrate EBM into their clinical practice.