Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Guidelines for Community-Based HIV/AIDS Stigma Reduction Intervention in a Rural Community

Research encourages evidence-based guidelines for practice. This paper describes the guidelines for HIV/AIDS stigma reduction in the community. These guidelines were developed by the authors based on findings of the study which was conducted to develop and evaluate HIV/AIDS stigma reduction intervention in a rural Namibian community. The developed intervention consisted of three strategies which are recommended as baseline for these guidelines. The three strategies were: education, community involvement and contacts with infected and affected groups that were implemented in this study. These strategies were implemented among the people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), their families and community members from the intervention group. The post-intervention results showed significant differences on stigma reduction between the intervention and control groups, therefore these strategies were recommended for future use. Furthermore, the study found that a combination of strategies was more effective than using a single approach. Another strategy that was absent in this study but was recommended in these guidelines for future stigma reduction was: counselling approach, which could be used to address internal stigma. This paper therefore recommends that these combined strategies: education, community involvement, contacts with affected and infected groups and continuous counselling, which will be named ECCC approach might be useful to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma in the community.
The statistical significance of selected sense–antisense peptide interactions

Sense and antisense peptides, encoded by sense and corresponding antisense DNA strands, are capable of specific interactions that could be a driving force to mediate protein–protein or protein–peptide binding associations. The complementary residue hypothesis suggests that these interactions are founded upon the sum of pairwise interactions between amino acids encoded by corresponding sense and antisense codons. Despite many successful experimental results obtained with the hypothesis, however, the physicochemical basis for these interactions is poorly understood. We examined the potential of the hypothesis for general identification of protein–protein interaction sites, and the possible role of the hypothesis in determining folding in a broad set of protein structures. In addition, we performed a structural study to investigate the binding of a complementary peptide to IL‐1F2. Our results suggest that complementary residue pairs are no more frequent or conserved than average in protein–protein interfaces, and are statistically under‐represented amongst contacting residue pairs in folded protein structures. Although our structural results matched experimental observations of binding between the peptide and IL‐1F2, complementary residue interactions do not appear to be dominant in the bound structure. Overall, our data do not allow us to conclude that the complementary residue hypothesis accounts for specific sense–antisense peptide interactions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Reconfigurable Sliding-IF Transceiver for 400 MHz/2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.6/ZigBee WBAN Hubs With Only 21% Tuning Range VCO

This paper presents a low-power transceiver with a reconfigurable sliding-IF (intermediate frequency) architecture targeted for wireless body area networks hubs covering 400 MHz and 2.4 GHz bands. By using this architecture, a 1608-1988 MHz PLL synthesizer with only 21% tuning range can fully cover all the available bands around 400 MHz and 2.4 GHz as defined by IEEE 802.15. 6 NB (narrow band) and ZigBee. The dual-band transceiver has been designed in 0.18 μm CMOS process. The design consists of a receiver with a wideband front-end and a reconfigurable amplifier-mixer, a transmitter with a reconfigurable two stage full quadrature mixer, a ΣΔ fractional-N PLL and some auxiliary circuits. The measurement result has demonstrated that the proposed transceiver can satisfy the dual-band requirements with comparable or even better performance in noise, receiver sensitivity and power consumption compared to previously-reported transceivers for only a single band.
On Uniform Asymptotic Stability of Switched Nonlinear Time-Varying Systems

This paper is concerned with the study of, both local and global, uniform asymptotic stability for general nonlinear and time-varying switched systems. Two concepts of Lyapunov functions are introduced and used to establish uniform Lyapunov stability and uniform global stability. With the help of output functions, an almost bounded output energy condition and a persistent excitation (PE) condition related to output functions are then proposed and employed to guarantee uniform (global) asymptotic stability. Based on this result, a generalized version of Krasovskii-LaSalle theorem in time-varying switched systems is proposed. Moreover, it is shown that the proposed PE condition can be verified by checking a zero-state observability condition for switched systems with persistent dwell-time. Particularly, our results can be used in the case where only some parts of the overall switched system are stable. It is shown that several existing results in past literature can be covered as special cases using the proposed criteria.
Design and Development of Directional Coupler for Ranging Transponder of IRNSS at 3.4 GHz

Directional couplers are used in RF and microwave signal routing for isolating, separating or combining signals. They find use in a variety of measurement applications: Power monitoring, Source leveling, Isolation of signal sources, Swept transmission and reflection measurements.But Directional couplers are operating at different frequency band for different application. I will design Directional couplerat 3.4GHz frequency in Ranging Transponder of IRNSS system using Microstrip Technique. Design of Directional coupler is done by using Advance Design System (ADS). For conventional microstrip directional coupler, we could not achieve the accepted results. By using lumped components (Inductive or capacitive compensation techniques) or multi section technique or different designs, results can be improved.
Assessing the Relationship between Local Health Department Workforce Diversity and Health Disparity Elimination Activities

Despite myriad well-funded local and national initiatives to achieve health equity in the U.S., significant disparities in health between racial groups persist. Local health departments (LHDs) are one of the most salient organizations in efforts to eliminate racial health disparities. Organizational research has shown that characteristics of an organizationâs workforce can affect its performance. However, little research has been conducted on the relationship between LHD workforce characteristics and LHD engagement in health disparity elimination (HDE) activities. This study uses regression analyses to assess the extent to which one organizational characteristicâracial diversity of the LHD workforceâis predictive of HDE activity among county-level LHDs nationwide. Results suggest that workforce racial diversity is a strong predictor of HDE activity among county-level LHDs. Findings presented here indicate a need for further research on organizational factors associated with HDE activity and promotion of racial health equity. Implications for such research as well as practical implications are discussed.
Differential Regulation of Sympathetic Outflows to Vasoconstrictor and Thermoregulatory Effectors

Abstract: The medullary premotor neurons determining the sympathetic outflow regulating cardiac function and vasoconstriction are located in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). The present study sought evidence for differential characteristics and baroreceptor reflex sensitivities between the sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) controlling brown adipose tissue (BAT) metabolism and thermogenesis and cardiovascular SNA such as that controlling mesenteric vasoconstriction via the splanchnic (SPL) nerve. The tonic discharge of sympathetic nerves is determined by the inputs to functionally specific sympathetic preganglionic neurons from supraspinal populations of premotor neurons. Under normothermic conditions, BAT SNA was nearly silent, while SPL SNA exhibited sustained, large‐amplitude bursts. Disinhibition of neurons in the rostral raphe pallidus (RPa), a potential site of sympathetic premotor neurons controlling BAT SNA, or icv injection of prostaglandin E2, a pyrogenic stimulus, elicited a dramatic increase in BAT SNA. SPL SNA was strongly influenced by the baroreceptor reflex as indicated by a high coherence to the arterial pressure, while activated BAT SNA exhibited no correlation with the arterial pressure. Since these characteristics and reflex responses in sympathetic outflow have been shown to arise from the ongoing or altered discharge of sympathetic premotor neurons, the marked differences between SPL SNA and BAT SNA provide strong evidence supporting the hypothesis that vasoconstriction and thermogenesis (metabolism) are controlled by distinct populations of sympathetic premotor neurons, the former in the RVLM and strongly baroreceptor‐modulated and the latter potentially in the RPa exhibiting little influence of baroreceptor reflex activation.
Postmenopausal estrogen use and Parkinson's disease with and without dementia

We investigated the effects of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) on the risk of development of dementia in 87 women with Parkinson's disease without dementia (PDND), 80 women with Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD), and 989 nondemented healthy women from the same community. ERT was protective for the development of dementia within the setting of PD (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.05-1.0) and when PDD patients were compared with controls (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.07-0.78), but did not affect the risk of PD. The results of the study suggest that a randomized clinical trial of ERT may be warranted.
Consequences of Money Laundering and Financial Crime

The officials — senior policy adviser John McDowell and program analyst Gary Novis of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs — say the practice distorts business decisions, increases the risk of bank failures, takes control of economic policy away from the government, harms a country’s reputation, and exposes its people to drug trafficking, smuggling, and other criminal activity.
Technology readiness aspect of E-government in Developing country: A case study of Jordan municipalities

The aim of this study is to identify the technological related factors impacting the readiness of the people in the Jordan to adopt E-government at the municipality level. To this end, through using extended form of technology acceptance model (TAM) a research framework was conceptualized that resulted in the identification of eight factors influencing E-Readiness of people in the Jordan. Those eight factors included perceived ease of usefulness (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), compatibility, trust, social influence, cultural influence, voluntarism and facilitating conditions. 200 responses were collected from the people in the Jordan through using online survey. Findings of the survey were further subjected to simple regression analysis in which all the factors were found to be positively associated with the intendent factors such as adoption of e-Government. In the light of these findings it has been suggested to the Jordanian government to increase public awareness about the benefits of using e-Government through using social and cultural means. Keywords— E-government; E-Readiness; Municipalities; Jordan
Rapid, high-resolution detection of environmental change over continental scales from satellite data – the Earth Observation Data Cube

ABSTRACT The effort and cost required to convert satellite Earth Observation (EO) data into meaningful geophysical variables has prevented the systematic analysis of all available observations. To overcome these problems, we utilise an integrated High Performance Computing and Data environment to rapidly process, restructure and analyse the Australian Landsat data archive. In this approach, the EO data are assigned to a common grid framework that spans the full geospatial and temporal extent of the observations – the EO Data Cube. This approach is pixel-based and incorporates geometric and spectral calibration and quality assurance of each Earth surface reflectance measurement. We demonstrate the utility of the approach with rapid time-series mapping of surface water across the entire Australian continent using 27 years of continuous, 25 m resolution observations. Our preliminary analysis of the Landsat archive shows how the EO Data Cube can effectively liberate high-resolution EO data from their complex sensor-specific data structures and revolutionise our ability to measure environmental change.
Cooperation of heterogeneous wireless networks in end-to-end congestion control for QoS provisioning

Sharing radio resources of multiple wireless networks with overlapped coverage areas has a potential of improving the transmission throughput. However, the improvement cannot be achieved in congestion scenarios using independent congestion control procedures among the end-to-end paths. Although various network characteristics make the congestion control complex, this variety can be useful for congestion avoidance if the networks cooperate with each other. In this way, the traffic can be shifted from a congested network to non-congested ones, and the overall transmission throughput does not degrade in a congestion scenario. In this paper, first, a cooperative congestion control algorithm is proposed in which the state of an end-to-end path is provided at the destination terminal by measuring the queuing delay and estimating the congestion level. Second, the decision on when to start/stop cooperation is determined based on the network characteristics, instantaneous traffic condition, and requested quality of service (QoS). Simulation results demonstrate the throughput improvement of the proposed scheme over non-cooperative congestion control.
After 10 years of land reform in Madagascar: is the process of land certification massive and inclusive?

The Malagasy reform ongoing since 2005 belongs to a new generation of land reforms in Africa. Two major innovations have emerged: decentralized land management through the creation of local land offices at commune level and land certification. The land reform objective is to overcome the pitfalls of the former land titling system and to provide tenure security to a majority of households thanks to a low cost, easy and participatory registration process. However, contrary to similar land reform in other African countries such as Ethiopia or Rwanda, land certification is “on demand” and not based on a systematic demarcation process. Is the Malagasy certification really massive and inclusive? To explore this issue, the paper analyzes the evolution and the determinants of land certificates demand. It puts a special emphasis on the forms of offer (promotional campaigns) and its impacts on the level and distribution of demand for land certificates. Policy implications to foster inclusivity and local and offices sustainability are debated. The paper uses first-band data that were collected through two specially designed survey conducted on a large sample of rural households in 2011 and 2015 (1 834 with 1 551 households in panel) in nine communes of Madagascar.
Performance Improvement for a Varactor-Loaded Reflectarray Element

The application of varactor diodes as phase-shifting devices in reflectarrays has received considerable attention because it represents a low-cost and low-complexity solution for the creation of scanning antennas with continuous phase tuning. The main issues related to the design of varactor-loaded reflectarrays are the difficulty in the correct characterization of the unit cell, and the limited phase range achievable by changing the polarization voltage of the device. The contribution presented in this communication attempts to cover both these aspects. In particular, a simple model for the analysis of a varactor-loaded microstrip reflectarray cell is presented, and then employed to increase the patch's phase response to 360° . The result is then validated experimentally, with the results showing good agreement between simulated and measured data.
A framework for information security governance in SMMEs

It has been found that many small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) do not comply with sound information security governance principles, specifically the principles involved in drafting information security policies and monitoring compliance, mainly as a result of restricted resources and expertise. Research suggests that this problem occurs worldwide and that the impact it has on SMMEs is great. The problem is further compounded by the fact that, in our modern-day information technology environment, many larger organisations are providing SMMEs with access to their networks. This results not only in SMMEs being exposed to security risks, but the larger organisations as well. In previous research an information security management framework and toolbox was developed to assist SMMEs in drafting information security policies. Although this research was of some help to SMMEs, further research has shown that an even greater problem exists with the governance of information security as a result of the advancements that have been identified in information security literature. The aim of this dissertation is therefore to establish an information security governance framework that requires minimal effort and little expertise to alleviate governance problems. It is believed that such a framework would be useful for SMMEs and would result in the improved implementation of information security governance.
AIDA, a Class I Metabotropic Glutamate‐receptor Antagonist Limits Kainate‐induced Hippocampal Dysfunction

Summary: Purpose: In the developing animal, intraperitoneal injections of kainic acid (KA) lead to a prolonged initial seizure followed by chronic recurrent seizures and long‐term hippocampal dysfunction. We investigated whether the class I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) antagonist 1‐aminoindan‐1,5‐dicarboxylic acid (AIDA) is neuroprotective in the KA model of epilepsy.
The Relationship Between Knowledge Characteristics And Knowledge Value

This paper seeks to define the relationship between knowledge characteristics and their perceived value. The research model proposes that the knowledge characteristics influence the perceived value of knowledge. The survey was conducted in eight large organizations in Thailand. The proposed hypotheses were examined by applying Structural Equation Model. The research reveals two knowledge characteristics that negatively affect perceived value of knowledge due to transfer difficulty. In addition, one knowledge characteristic is found to positively influence value perception of knowledge due to difficulty to imitate, which in turn leads to competitive advantage. The study contributes to richer understanding of the most crucial factor in knowledge transfer, that is, knowledge itself. This should be of interest to management responsible for organizational knowledge exchange agenda.
An Algorithm for Counting Microorganisms in Digital Images

Counting microorganisms is one of the main and most common actions in biological activities, including research and clinical analyses. In most cases, such counting procedure is performed manually, in a process that is often lengthy and tedious. As a response to that situation, many methods to automate such a process have been proposed in the literature, but virtually all of them have very strict limitations in their applicability, being effective only in very specific situations. This paper presents an algorithm for cell counting that aims to be more generic than its predecessors. To achieve such a goal, it requires a quick and easy input from the user, which is used to guide the identification and counting process. The resulting algorithm is robust to most situations found in practice, with a drop in performance occurring only when the objects are either strongly clustered or have large regions with the same shade as the background.
Epidemiology of Leishmania donovani infection in high‐transmission foci in Nepal

Objective Nepal reports a visceral leishmaniasis (VL) incidence of 5 per 10 000 per year on the basis of notification by health facilities, but little community‐based epidemiological information exists. We report data on prevalence rates of Leishmania donovani infection in ten communities in East Nepal.
Evaluation of abnormal liver-enzyme results in asymptomatic patients.

Now that routine laboratory testing is automated and is frequently part of an annual checkup, physicians are often faced with the problem of a patient with one abnormal result on measurement of serum aminotransferases or alkaline phosphatase but no symptoms. Many batteries of screening tests now include measurement of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and γ-glutamyltransferase. Although these enzymes are present in tissues throughout the body, they are most often elevated in patients with liver disease and may reflect liver injury. The first step in the evaluation of a patient with elevated liver-enzyme levels but no symptoms is .
The metabolism of 1-C-14-palmitic acid in rats with ethiomine-induced fatty livers.

C14-palmitic acid bound to albumin was injected into normal and ethionine-treated fasted female rats. Plasma, liver and carcass lipids were isolated and their specific activities determined. The initial halflives of the injected label were 0.61 and 0.92 minutes, the concentrations of plasma FFA 1.0 ± 0.3 and 1.6 ±; 0.4 μeq/ml, and the fluxes of plasma FFA calculated from this data, 9.0 and 9.3 μeq/min in the normal and ethionine-treated rats respectively. The fraction of the plasma FFA flux taken up by the liver was about the same in the two groups, namely about 30 %. The initial incorporation of label into the liver NFFA was similar. The further metabolism of liver NFFA was slower in the ethionine-treated group. Differences in liver PLFA metabolism were slight. In the normal rats a flux of approximately 10 % of the injected label through the plasma TGFA pool took place from 10–40 minutes after the injection. In the ethionine-treated rats this flux was less than 1 %. The concentrations of plasma TGFA and PLFA were also lowered in the ethionine-treated rats. The oxidation of the injected label was slower in the ethionine-treated rats than in the normal ones. The accumulation of NFFA in the livers of the ethionine-treated rats appears at least in part to be due to decreased transport of fatty acids from the liver in the form of plasma TGFA. Other factors may be depressed oxidation of fatty acids in the liver and/or increased liver uptake of fatty acids
Review on health assessment of urban water supply network

With the rapid increase of urbanization level in China, the accidents related to urban water supply network occurred frequently due to the impacts of pipeline aging, environmental change and human factors, thus the health assessment of urban water supply network has become one of the hot topics of global scholars in recent years. Based on analysing the concept of health assessment of water supply network, this paper summarizes several main methods and principles of health assessment of water supply network, and discusses the shortcomings and limitations of the existing methods. Finally, this paper points out that the mechanism oriented dynamic health evaluation system, with the core of quantitative and universal considering the factors of three aspects including the pipeline attributes, hydraulic characteristics and external environment, is the development trend.