Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depression and key associated factors in female sex workers and women living with HIV/AIDS in the Dominican Republic

Little is known about the mental health of female sex workers and women living with HIV/AIDS in the Dominican Republic, which impedes HIV prevention, testing, and treatment. This project estimates the prevalence of depression and identifies key contributing factors to this outcome in female sex workers, women living with HIV/AIDS, and a comparison group. Participants were female sex workers (N = 349), women living with HIV/AIDS (N = 213), and a comparison group of HIV-negative women who were not sex workers (N = 314) from the Dominican Republic. Participants completed questionnaires assessing demographic characteristics and depression. Female sex workers and women living with HIV/AIDS completed additional questionnaires ascertaining HIV or sex work-related internalized stigma. Depression was prevalent among female sex workers (70.2%), women living with HIV/AIDS (81.1%), and the comparison group (52.2%). Adjusted logistic regressions showed that internalized stigma was associated with depression for female sex workers (OR = 2.73; 95% CI = 1.95–3.84) and women living with HIV/AIDS (OR = 3.06; 95% CI = 1.86–5.05). Permanent income was associated with this outcome for female sex workers (OR = 0.08; 95% CI = 0.01–0.80) and the comparison group (OR = 0.04; 95% CI = 0.00–0.45).
C-type lectin receptor DCIR modulates immunity to tuberculosis by sustaining type I interferon signaling in dendritic cells

Significance Tuberculosis (TB) is an immunopathology, mostly of the lung, due to an overexuberant immune response to the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Here, we demonstrate in vitro and in vivo that dendritic cell (DC) immunoreceptor (DCIR), a C-type lectin receptor expressed by DCs, modulates immunity to TB by sustaining type I IFN signaling in DCs. These findings were generalized beyond TB, in a model of in vivo antigen-presentation assay unrelated to M. tuberculosis, suggesting that they may extend to other pathologies, such as viral infections or autoimmune disorders. Thus, modulating DCIR activity may help to develop type I IFN-targeting therapies for a large repertoire of inflammatory disorders, including TB. Immune response against pathogens is a tightly regulated process that must ensure microbial control while preserving integrity of the infected organs. Tuberculosis (TB) is a paramount example of a chronic infection in which antimicrobial immunity is protective in the vast majority of infected individuals but can become detrimental if not finely tuned. Here, we report that C-type lectin dendritic cell (DC) immunoreceptor (DCIR), a key component in DC homeostasis, is required to modulate lung inflammation and bacterial burden in TB. DCIR is abundantly expressed in pulmonary lesions in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected nonhuman primates during both latent and active disease. In mice, we found that DCIR deficiency impairs STAT1-mediated type I IFN signaling in DCs, leading to increased production of IL-12 and increased differentiation of T lymphocytes toward Th1 during infection. As a consequence, DCIR-deficient mice control M. tuberculosis better than WT animals but also develop more inflammation characterized by an increased production of TNF and inducible NOS (iNOS) in the lungs. Altogether, our results reveal a pathway by which a C-type lectin modulates the equilibrium between infection-driven inflammation and pathogen’s control through sustaining type I IFN signaling in DCs.
CorpEus , a ‘ web as corpus ’ tool designed for the agglutinative nature of Basque

Having the possibility of querying the web as if it were a corpus is very interesting as well as useful, and even more so in the case of a language like Basque, in view of the fact that the corpora this language has are few in number and limited in size, and that the process to standardize the language started relatively recently. But existing services of this kind are not suitable for Basque, due to its agglutinative nature and the fact that it is not a language to which search engines restrict their results. In this paper we present CorpEus, a solution that allows the use of the web as a Basque corpus, featuring lemma-based searching, language filtering, variation searching, multiple text formats, parallel downloading, on-the-fly ordering of the KWICs in accordance with different criteria, lemma and POS analysis of the occurrences and occurrence counts and charts. We also explain the methodology used by CorpEus to obtain a lemma-based and language-filtered search with the option of variant searching, which we think could be useful for building similar tools for other agglutinative and minority languages.
Health Care Disparity and Pregnancy-Related Mortality in the United States, 2005-2014.

OBJECTIVE To quantitate the contribution of various demographic factors to the U.S. maternal mortality ratio. METHODS This was a retrospective observational study. We analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics database and the Detailed Mortality Underlying Cause of Death database (CDC WONDER) from 2005 to 2014 that contains mortality and population counts for all U.S. counties. Bivariate correlations between the maternal mortality ratio and all maternal demographic, lifestyle, health, and medical service utilization characteristics were calculated. We performed a maximum likelihood factor analysis with varimax rotation retaining variables that were significant (P<.05) in the univariate analysis to deal with multicollinearity among the existing variables. RESULTS The United States has experienced an increase in maternal mortality ratio since 2005 with rates increasing from 15 per 100,00 live births in 2005 to 21-22 per 100,000 live births in 2013 and 2014. (P<.001) This increase in mortality was most pronounced in non-Hispanic black women, with ratios rising from 39 to 49 per 100,000 live births. A significant correlation between state mortality ranking and the percentage of non-Hispanic black women in the delivery population was demonstrated. Cesarean deliveries, unintended births, unmarried status, percentage of deliveries to non-Hispanic black women, and four or fewer prenatal visits were significantly (P<.05) associated with the increased maternal mortality ratio. CONCLUSION The current U.S. maternal mortality ratio is heavily influenced by a higher rate of death among non-Hispanic black or unmarried patients with unplanned pregnancies. Racial disparities in health care availability and access or utilization by underserved populations are important issues faced by states seeking to decrease maternal mortality.
Design and Evaluation of a Bowden-Cable-Based Remote Actuation System for Wearable Robotics

Wearable robots can assist motor-impaired individuals in activities of daily living, but weight is paramount for usability. Proximally placed actuators and remote actuation systems (RAS) minimize weight on users’ extremities. State-of-the-art RAS employ pneumatics, hydraulics, or Bowden cables, which all have considerable limitations. Here, we present a novel Bowden-cable-based bidirectional RAS featuring high power-to-mass and power-to-volume ratios, easily accessible components, and compact mechanical design. A rack-and-pinion mechanism reduces the force transmitted through the Bowden cables, permitting use of extremely compliant sheaths. The feed-forward friction compensation model, integrated bending angle sensor, and series elastic elements ensure accurate force control across all bending angles of the Bowden cables and the user's full range of motion. As a proof-of-concept, an RAS was designed for a hand exoskeleton with a maximal output force of 150 N. With a power-to-volume and a power-to-mass ratio of 127 kW/m<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^\mathrm {3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and 56 W/kg at the output, and of 2.0 kW/m<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^\mathrm {3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and 1.6 W/kg for the entire system, it outperforms other state-of-the-art RAS. With the implemented speed- and current-limiting, the system operates for at least 2 h continuously. It is water- and dustproof, meeting hygienic and practical demands. Importantly, this novel system can be scaled to the requirements of various applications in wearable robotics.
Stress-strain and strength characteristics of clay during post-cyclic monotonic loading

An important consideration in the design of clay foundation for seismic or wave loading is the undrained response of clay during and after cyclic loading . Cyclic loading of clays causes, in general, a reduction in both stiffness and undrained strength on subsequent static loading. No systematic study has been carried out to assess this loss in stiffness, and there are conflicting conclusions as to the magnitude of strength reduction in studies reported in the literature. This thesis presents a study of the influence of cyclic loading on the post-cyclic undrained stress-strain characteristics of a marine clay. The influence of factors, such as, cyclic stress level, number of cycles, amplitude of maximum axial strain during cyclic loading, residual pore pressure and residual strain at the conclusion of cyclic loading is systematically investigated. In addition, the influence of initiating cyclic loading with the type of loading pulse (compression and extension) and the sense of residual strain in relation to the sense of strain during post-cyclic monotonic loading is studied. It is shown that the loss in undrained stiffness and undrained strength of the undisturbed clay as a consequence of cyclic loading are not uniquely related to the amplitude.of strain during cyclic loading, as commonly assumed. Nor can they be explained in terms of overconsolidation induced as a result of pore pressure generated due to cyclic loading. A rational explanation and correlation of both the changes in post-cyclic stress-strain and strength of clay is provided in terms of hysteretic work absorbed by the clay during cyclic loading. ii T A B L E OF CONTENTS
Implementation of Multispectral Image Classification on a Remote Adaptive Computer

As the demand for higher performance computers for the processing of remote sensing science algorithms increases, the need to investigate new computing paradigms is justified. Field Programmable Gate Arrays enable the implementation of algorithms at the hardware gate level, leading to orders of magnitude performance increase over microprocessor based systems. The automatic classification of spaceborne multispectral images is an example of a computation intensive application that can benefit from implementation on an FPGA-based custom computing machine (adaptive or reconfigurable computer). A probabilistic neural network is used here to classify pixels of a multispectral LANDSAT-2 image. The implementation described utilizes Java client/server application programs to access the adaptive computer from a remote site. Results verify that a remote hardware version of the algorithm (implemented on an adaptive computer) is significantly faster than a local software version of the same algorithm (implemented on a typical general-purpose computer).
Non-Arbitrariness in Mapping Word Form to Meaning: Cross-Linguistic Formal Markers of Word Concreteness

Arbitrary symbolism is a linguistic doctrine that predicts an orthogonal relationship between word forms and their corresponding meanings. Recent corpora analyses have demonstrated violations of arbitrary symbolism with respect to concreteness, a variable characterizing the sensorimotor salience of a word. In addition to qualitative semantic differences, abstract and concrete words are also marked by distinct morphophonological structures such as length and morphological complexity. Native English speakers show sensitivity to these markers in tasks such as auditory word recognition and naming. One unanswered question is whether this violation of arbitrariness reflects an idiosyncratic property of the English lexicon or whether word concreteness is a marked phenomenon across other natural languages. We isolated concrete and abstract English nouns (N = 400), and translated each into Russian, Arabic, Dutch, Mandarin, Hindi, Korean, Hebrew, and American Sign Language. We conducted offline acoustic analyses of abstract and concrete word length discrepancies across languages. In a separate experiment, native English speakers (N = 56) with no prior knowledge of these foreign languages judged concreteness of these nouns (e.g., Can you see, hear, feel, or touch this? Yes/No). Each naïve participant heard pre-recorded words presented in randomized blocks of three foreign languages following a brief listening exposure to a narrative sample from each respective language. Concrete and abstract words differed by length across five of eight languages, and prediction accuracy exceeded chance for four of eight languages. These results suggest that word concreteness is a marked phenomenon across several of the world's most widely spoken languages. We interpret these findings as supportive of an adaptive cognitive heuristic that allows listeners to exploit non-arbitrary mappings of word form to word meaning.
Comparison of : Passive-Assertive-Aggressive Characteristics of Passive , Assertive , and Aggressive Problem Solving Styles Passive Assertive Aggressive

Characteristics of Passive, Assertive, and Aggressive Problem Solving Styles Passive Assertive Aggressive Not standing up for self Standing up for self Standing on others Non-assertiveness (being passive) is permitting other people to treat you, your thoughts and your feelings in whatever way they wish without any challenge from you. It is doing what others want you to do regardless of your own desires or preferences. Assertiveness is thinking and acting in ways that stand up for your legitimate personal rights. It is an expression of your thoughts and feelings which defines your perspective without subtracting from the legitimate rights of others. Aggressiveness is standing up for what you want regardless of the rights and feelings of others. Aggression can be either verbal or physical. Aggressive behavior is often done in anger and is usually intimidating or manipulating.
Telomerase reverse transcriptase mutations are independent predictor of disease‐free survival in Middle Eastern papillary thyroid cancer

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer. Tumor recurrence occurs in ∼20% of PTCs and some reach advanced stages. Promoter mutation in the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene is identified to be a prognostic marker in PTC. However, the contribution of TERT promoter mutation to cancer progression in PTC patients is still not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the incidence of TERT promoter mutations and TERT protein expression and their association with clinicopathological outcomes in a large cohort of PTC samples using direct sequencing technology and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, two PTC cell lines were utilized to investigate role of TERT mutations in mediating metastasis. Two promoter hotspot mutations C228T and C250T were identified in 18.0% (167/927) of our cohort and were significantly associated with poor 5 years disease‐free survival and distant metastasis of PTC. TERT protein overexpression was noted in 20.1% of our PTC cohort and was significantly associated with poor prognostic markers such as older age, extrathyroidal extension and Stage IV tumors. A significant association was also found between TERT overexpression and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers. Functional analysis showed that TERT inhibition reduced cell growth, invasion, migration and angiogenesis in PTC via suppression of EMT in PTC cells. Our results suggest that TERT promoter mutation is an independent predictor of disease‐free survival and might drive the metastasis, and downregulation of TERT could potentiate antitumor and antimetastatic activities in PTC.
Analysis of dose rate around molten corium deposited on the seabed after a severe bottom of the ship melt-through nuclear accident

After a severe nuclear accident in nuclear powered ship, molten corium may pass through the bottom and enter the sea, which will cause severe marine radioactive consequences. There are few reports about the marine radioactive consequences caused by cooled molten corium deposited on seabed. This paper uses MELCOR code to establish the model to analyze severe nuclear accident induced by the blackout in ship, calculates the amount of radionuclides in the molten corium entered in sea, uses MCNP5 code to calculate the dose rate in sea water around the sedimentary debris. It is found that (1) on surface of debris, dose rate can reach 4.5×106 mSv/h; (2) sea water has a good shielding effect on radiation, there are almost not affected by radiation at 150 cm away from the debris; (3) Within 100 cm around the debris, the dose rate is too high, the survival of marine biological resources received great threat. This research can provide technical support for emergency response after a severe nuclear accident in nuclear powered ship and the protection of marine ecological environment.
Face attribute prediction with convolutional neural networks

In the background of big data and better computer hardware, convolutional neural network (CNN) has also made great progress. Since AlexNet model won the ILSVRC-2012 competition, CNN has been widely applied to computer version tasks including prediction task of face attributes. Different with single attribute prediction, multi-attribute task is subject to different attributes and is difficult to achieve particularly good performance. With the aim of building a CNN network with good performance and simple framework, ATNet is born as a based network with 4 convolution layers. Based on strong correlation, attributes have a positive effect on optimization of network weights, and conversely will be a negative effect. Therefore, 40 attributes of CelebA dataset are grouped to 3 groups. Because the correlation between groups is also different, groups are trained by branching from different depth. Meanwhile, 1×1 convolution layer is used to reduce dimension and limit the size of networks. Finally, we use a network named ATNet_GT with the above skills and get a good performance on CelebA dataset. The average accuracy of 40 attributes is 90.18%, and the standard deviation of accuracies is 7.25%.
Landmarks based human-like guidance for driving navigation in an urban environment

Driving is a cognitively demanding task, and many current navigation systems present confusing guidance instructions that add to the distraction. Human navigators, by contrast, schedule their advice to minimise distraction, and phrase instructions in terms of visible landmarks to avoid confusion. In this paper, we present the basis for a ‘natural navigation’ system which interprets distances as references to landmarks. We use Extended Kalman Filtering to integrate visual odometry with other sensor data in order to obtain precise vehicle motion, then, based on the filtered motion parameters, we characterize recognised visual landmarks as locations on the navigational map. The navigation system can then use references to these landmarks in its driver instructions rather than absolute distances. Experimental results show that landmarks can be located on the navigational map with sufficient accuracy using normal vehicle telemetry and a dashboard camera.
A 2-GS/s 8-bit Non-Interleaved Time-Domain Flash ADC Based on Remainder Number System in 65-nm CMOS

A non-interleaved 2-GS/s, 8-bit flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) utilizing the remainder number system (RNS) quantization principle is presented. The RNS quantization reduces the number of comparators and thus improves the figure of merit of the flash ADC. A time-domain implementation is adopted to reduce the ADC input capacitance with a voltage-to-time converter (VTC) front end. The ring oscillator-based time-to-digital converter (TDC) also provides a linear and efficient modulo (folding) operation for the RNS quantization with built-in dynamic element matching. Offline TDC mismatch calibration based on a histogram (code density) test is also employed to further improve the ADC linearity. The prototype RNS ADC was fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process with an active area of 0.08 mm2. It measures an SNDR of 40.7 dB for a Nyquist input and an effective resolution bandwidth of 1.74 GHz.
Promises and Pitfalls of Computer-Supported Mindfulness: Exploring a Situated Mobile Approach

Computer-supported mindfulness (CSM) is a burgeoning area filled with varied approaches such as mobile apps and EEG headbands. However, many of the approaches focus on providing meditation guidance. The ubiquity of mobile devices may provide new opportunities to support mindfulness practices that are more situated in everyday life. In this paper, a new situated mindfulness approach is explored through a specific mobile app design. Through an experimental design, the approach is compared to traditional audio-based mindfulness meditation, and a mind wandering control, over a one-week period. The study demonstrates the viability for a situated mobile mindfulness approach to induce mindfulness states. However, phenomenological aspects of the situated mobile approach suggest both promises and pitfalls for computer-supported mindfulness using a situated approach.
Acquisition, Persistence, and Clearance of Human Papillomavirus Infection Among Male Virgins Residing in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States

Background Little is known about the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in male virgins. This study estimated the incidence and clearance of genital HPV infection and the factors associated with these measures among men who denied at baseline ever having penetrative sex. Methods A cohort of 4123 men residing in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States were followed every 6 months for up to 10 visits. Genital exfoliated cells were collected and genotyped for 36 HPV types. Eighty-seven men were classified as virgins and included for analysis. Cox proportional hazards models identified factors associated with the incidence and clearance of genital HPV infection. Results The incidence rates for any HPV infection among virgins who did and those who did not initiate sex during follow-up were 26.2 and 14.6 cases/1000 person-months, respectively. After penetrative sex initiation, 45.5% of men acquired HPV within 24 months. Younger age, current smoking, no recent female sex partners, and prevalent HPV infection were associated with high-risk HPV clearance. Conclusion Virgins who did not initiate sex during follow-up still acquired HPV infection, possibly through nonpenetrative sexual contact. Further prospective cohort studies are needed to better understand factors associated with HPV acquisition and clearance in male virgins and recent nonvirgins.
An Overview and Performance Evaluation of Classification-Based Least Squares Trained Filters

An overview of the classification-based least squares trained filters on picture quality improvement algorithms is presented. For each algorithm, the training process is unique and individually selected classification methods are proposed. Objective evaluation is carried out to single out the optimal classification method for each application. To optimize combined video processing algorithms, integrated solutions are benchmarked against cascaded filters. The results show that the performance of integrated designs is superior to that of cascaded filters when the combined applications have conflicting demands in the frequency spectrum.