Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
‘Sometimes people let love conquer them’: how love, intimacy, and trust in relationships between men who have sex with men influence perceptions of sexual risk and sexual decision-making

Men who have sex with men account for a disproportionate burden of HIV incidence in the USA. Although much research has examined the drivers of sexual risk-taking, the emotional contexts in which men make sexual decisions has received little attention. In this three-phase, 10-week longitudinal qualitative study involving 25 gay and bisexual men, we used timeline-based interviews and quantitative web-based diaries about sexual and/or dating partners to examine how emotions influence HIV risk perceptions and sexual decision-making. Participants described love, intimacy, and trust as reducing HIV risk perceptions and facilitating engagement in condomless anal intercourse. Lust was not as linked with risk perceptions, but facilitated non condom-use through an increased willingness to engage in condomless anal intercourse, despite perceptions of risk. Results indicate that gay and bisexual men do not make sexual decisions in an emotional vacuum. Emotions influence perceptions of risk so that they do not necessarily align with biological risk factors. Emotional influences, especially the type and context of emotions, are important to consider to improve HIV prevention efforts among gay and bisexual men.
CD 163 positive subsets of blood dendritic cells : The scavenging macrophage receptors CD 163 and CD 91 are coexpressed on human dendritic cells and monocytes

CD163 and CD91 are scavenging receptors with highly increased expression during the differentiation of monocytes into the anti-inflammatory macrophage phenotype. In addition, CD91 is expressed in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs), where the receptor is suggested to be important for internalization of CD91-targeted antigens to be presented on the dendritic cell surface for T-cell stimulation. Despite their overlap in functionality, the expression of CD91 and CD163 has never been compared and the expression of CD163 in the monocyte-dendritic cell lineage is not yet characterized. CD163 expression in dendritic cells (DCs) was investigated using multicolor flow cytometry in peripheral blood from 31 healthy donors and 15 HIV-1 patients in addition to umbilical cord blood from 5 newborn infants. Total RNA was isolated from MACS purified DCs and CD163 mRNA was determined with real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The effect of glucocorticoid and phorbol ester stimulation on monocyte and dendritic cell CD163 and CD91 expression was investigated in cell culture of mononuclear cells using multicolor flow cytometry. We identified two CD163 subsets in human blood with dendritic cell characteristics, CD163 and CD163, together constituting a substantial fraction of DCs. Both subsets were characterized as [lin] CD4ILT3HLA-DRCD11c by flow cytometry, and CD163 mRNA was readily detectable in MACS purified human DCs. CD163 on DCs was upregulated by glucocorticoid, and treatment by phorbol ester significantly decreased surface expression. Overall, the expression of CD163 on DCs was significantly increased in HIV-1 patients (19.3% [95% CI: 14.7–26.3%]) compared to healthy patients (10.5% [95% CI: 8.0–12.5]) po0:001. The CD163 subset was CD16, whereas the CD163 subset was CD16 . Both subsets were CD91, thereby constituting a subfraction of the recently described CD91CD11c dendritic cell subset. Coexpression of CD163 and CD91 was also demonstrated on human monocytes, which upon glucocorticoid treatment exhibited an increase in both CD163 and CD91 expression. We have now shown that CD163 and CD91 are coexpressed and coregulated on human monocytes. In addition, two subsets of CD163 DCs constituting a fraction of the recently described CD91CD11c dendritic cell subset have been e front matter r 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. bio.2006. 05.019 : a2M, a2macroglobulin; APC, antigen-presenting cells; DCs, dendritic cells; DEX, dexamethasone; FACS, fluorescence-activated cell , haptoglobin–hemoglobin; Hx-heme, hemopexin–heme; LRP, low density lipoprotein-related protein; mAbs, monoclonal C, mononuclear cells; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cells; PMA, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate ing author. Tel. : +4589 49 34 50; fax: +4589 49 30 60. ess: hjmol@as.aaa. dk (H.J. Møller).
Elevated fibrinogen levels are associated with risk of pulmonary embolism, but not with deep venous thrombosis.

RATIONALE It is unclear whether elevated plasma fibrinogen is associated with both deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and its complication, pulmonary embolism (PE), and whether elevated fibrinogen is a direct cause of these disorders. OBJECTIVES We tested the hypotheses that elevated plasma fibrinogen is associated with increased risk of DVT alone, with any PE, and with PE in combination with DVT. METHODS We studied 77,608 individuals from the Danish general population, of whom 1,679 were diagnosed with DVT alone, 1,119 with any PE, and 272 with both PE and DVT. To test a potential causal relationship using a Mendelian randomization approach, we genotyped for FGB (rs1800790; rs4220) encoding fibrinogen β chain. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Increasing plasma fibrinogen quintiles were associated with increased risk of PE in combination with DVT (P-trend < 0.0001): multivariable adjusted odds ratio was 2.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-3.8) in individuals with fibrinogen levels greater than or equal to 4.6 g/L (fifth quintile) versus less than or equal to 3.0 g/L (first quintile). Corresponding odds ratios were 1.7 (95% CI, 1.3-2.3) for any PE (P-trend < 0.0001) and 1.9 (95% CI, 1.0-3.6) for PE in those with DVT (P-trend = 0.003). There was, however, no association after multivariable adjustment between plasma fibrinogen quintiles and risk of DVT alone (P-trend = 0.4). Fibrinogen-increasing alleles were associated with a 7% lifelong increase in plasma fibrinogen levels; however, these genetic variants were not associated with risk of PE or DVT. CONCLUSIONS Elevated plasma fibrinogen levels are associated with increased risk of PE in combination with DVT but not with DVT alone. Elevated fibrinogen levels per se may not be causally associated with PE or DVT. Limitations include imprecise definitions of PE and DVT.
Social Responsibility in the Global Apparel Industry

Contents: -- What is social responsibility? -- Social responsibility, human rights, sustainability and the responsibility of companies -- Cultural, economic and political dimensions of social responsibility -- Stakeholder theory and social responsibility -- Key stakeholders for social responsibility -- Codes of conduct and monitoring -- How manufacturers and retailers organize for social responsibility: internally, collaboratively and strategically -- Strategies for environmental responsibility -- The future of social responsibility in the apparel industry
Mechanism-based profiling of enzyme families.

Genome sequencing projects have ushered biological research into a new age where scientists are confronted with the daunting undertaking of assigning functions to the full repertoire of proteins (the proteome) encoded by eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes. Toward this goal, the analysis of genomic data itself has advanced some hypotheses regarding protein function. For instance, genomic signatures, such as chromosomal translocation and gene amplification, have identified proteins that contribute to the pathology of cancer. 1,2 Moreover, daughter technologies to genome sequencing, including transcriptional profiling and siRNAbased gene silencing have provided insights into the molecular mechanisms of a range of physiological and pathological processes, including tumor invasion, 3,4 bacterial pathogenesis, 5,6 and insulin signaling. 7 Despite these successes, the general application of such methods for protein function assignment suffers from some inherent limitations, namely, the reliance on profiling and manipulation of gene expression to deduce the roles played by proteins in cellular processes. Most proteins are regulated by a complex array of posttranslational events that may or may not be directly reflected in gene expression signatures, 8,9 and therefore, more direct methods are needed to evaluate protein function on a global scale. Drawing conceptual and methodological inspiration from the success of genomic technologies, the field of proteomics has introduced several strategies for the global analysis of protein expression and function. Examples include liquid chromatography -mass spectrometry (LC -MS) platforms for shotgun analysis of protein expression and modification state, 10-12 yeast two-hybrid assays for the large-scale mapping of protein-protein interactions, 13,14and protein microarrays for the proteome-wide analysis of the biochemical activities * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cravatt@ scripps.edu.
ABNORMAL PHARMACOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF ISOLATED NERVE-MUSCLE PREPARATIONS FROM MUSCULAR DYSTROPHIC MICE.

Earlier in vivo studies of Bar Harbor strain 129 mice having a hereditary disease, dystrophia muscularis, showed them to be supersensitive to neostigmine and less sensitive to d-tubocurarine ( d -TC) when compared to litter-mates without the disease. By testing the pharmacological responses of suitable nerve-muscle preparations isolated from dystrophic and nondystrophic mice of this strain it has now been possible to establish the peripheral nature of this abnormal response to these compounds. First, it is shown that the peroneus longus muscle is supersensitive to neostigmine. The latter at a concentration of 0.02 µg/ml caused rapid, spontaneous twitching in all dystrophic peronei but produced only an occasional twitch in the peronei fromu normal litter-mates. Even five times this concentration failed to produce such violent twitching in the normal preparations. Increased contractile tension and spontaneous twitching were antagonized (a) by concentrations of d -TC below those which effected a neuromuscular block or (b) by increased concentration of neostigmine. Second, it was found that the hemidiaphragm, and, to a greater extent, the peroneus muscles were resistant to d -TC. Thus a 50% neuromuscular block was produced in the normal mouse diaphragmphrenic nerve preparation by an average of 0.73 µg of d -TC/ml, but it required 0.86 µg/ml to produce the same effect in the diaphragm isolated from dystrophic mice. Similarly, a 50% neuromuscular block was obtained in the normal peroneus longus muscle with 0.22 µg of d -TC/ml but with 0.45 µg/ml in the dystrophic peroneus. In contrast to the relative resistance of dystrophic muscle to the paralyzing effect of d -TC, these muscles appeared to be more sensitive to the second phase of a paralysis induced by decamethonium (C-10) than muscles from litter-mate controls.
The complete chloroplast genome of Armand pine Pinus armandii, an endemic conifer tree species to China

Abstract The complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) sequence of an endemic conifer species, Armand pine Pinus armandii Franch. , is determined in this study. The cpDNA was 117,265 bp in length, containing a pair of 475 bp inverted repeat (IR) regions those distinguished in large and small single copy (LSC and SSC) regions of 64,548 and 51,767 bp in length, respectively. The cpDNA contained 114 genes, including 74 protein-coding genes (74 PCG species), 4 ribosomal RNA genes (four rRNA species) and 36 transfer RNA genes (33 tRNA species). Out of these genes, 12 harbor a single intron and most of the genes occurred in a single copy. The overall AT content of the Armand pine cpDNA was 61.2%, while the corresponding values of the LSC, SSC and IR regions were 62.0%, 60.2% and 62.7%, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that P. armandii chloroplast genome is closely related to that of the P. koraiensis within the genus Pinus.
Real-time nonlinear model predictive footstep optimization for biped robots

A well known strategy in biped locomotion to prevent falling in the presence of large disturbances is to modify next footstep positions of the robot. Solving this complex control problem for the overall model of the robot is a challenging task. Published methods employ either linear models or heuristics to determine those positions. This paper introduces a new optimization method using a nonlinear and more accurate model of the robot. The resulting optimization problem to calculate the necessary footstep modification is solved by a direct shooting method. Using a problem formulation in an unconstrained way enables an optimization that performs in real-time rates. Further we present our overall framework that uses sensor feedback in trajectory generation. Experimental results of our biped robot LOLA show the effectiveness of the method under real world conditions.
Pulse-Stream Models in Time-of-Flight Imaging

This paper considers the problem of reconstructing raw signals from random projections in the context of time-of-flight imaging with an array of sensors. It presents a new signal model, coined as multi-channel pulse-stream model, which exploits pulse-stream models and accounts for additional structure induced by inter-sensor dependencies. We propose a sampling theorem and a reconstruction algorithm, based on ℓ -minimization, for signals belonging to such a model. We demonstrate the benefits of the proposed approach by means of numerical simulations and on a real non-destructive-evaluation application where the peak-signal-to-noise-ratio is increased by 3 dB compared to standard compressed-sensing strategies.
Treatment components for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke: a survey of UK national practice

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to delineate the type of treatment currently provided to rehabilitate the upper limb following stroke in order to inform the treatment protocol for a control arm of a future pragmatic clinical trial of assistive technologies. Method: A national survey of stroke teams was conducted. Using open-ended, free script questions, the survey was designed to capture the important components of treatment that are most commonly used to treat patients described as mild, moderate or severely impaired following stroke. Stroke teams were targeted within the 28 geographical areas covered by the Stroke Improvement Networks. Result: Treatment descriptions were returned by 53 stroke teams from 20 of the 28 geographical areas. In total, 998 treatment components were provided – 289 for mildly, 403 for moderately and 306 for severely impairment patients following stroke). These captured five substantive treatment categories in terms of most active, moderately active and non-active patient participation in treatment as well as assistive technologies and other. Conclusion: From the treatment components described, the highest number of treatment components was listed for the moderately impaired patient. The treatment components used by the units surveyed are quite consistent with the 2012 Clinical Guidelines for Stroke. Implications for Rehabilitation The survey captured five substantive categories of treatment that describe most active patient participation, moderately active patient participation, non-active patient participation, assistive technology and other. Overall, the treatment components described by the units are quite consistent with the 2012 UK Clinical Guidelines for Stroke. Assistive technologies were not widely used in the units surveyed but when used constraint-induced movement therapy was most commonly used with mildly impaired patients and electrical stimulation was most common with moderately and severely impaired patients.
A P 300-Based BCI Classification Algorithm Using Least Square Support Vector Machine

In this paper, we propose a classification algorithm for P300-based Brain Computer Interface (BCI). Brain Computer Interface (BCI) with P300 speller helps Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients to spell words with the help of their brain signal activities. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig's disease in which certain nerve cells in brain and spinal cord also called as motor neurons, slowly die. The main goal of the proposed research is to develop classification algorithms for P300-based Brian Computer Interface (BCI). The proposed model can be used to restore basic communicating ability for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients in a reliable and fast way.
Global encyclopaedia of welfare economics

Majority of entries are theoretical and historical in imphasis. This book is organized alphabetically into over 115 entries, covering the whole spectrum of the subject welfare economics. It is a branch of economics that uses microeconomic techniques to simultaneously determine allocative efficiency within an economy and income distribution associated with it. It analyses social welfare, however, measured in term of economic activities of the individuals. As such individuals, with associated economic activities are the basic units for aggregating to social welfare, whether of a group, a community, or a society and there is no social welfare apart from the welfare associated with its individual units. At the theoretical level, welfare economics has provided limited support for other economic theories and has contributed to philosophical debates about the role of the state. At the operational level, it has been widely applied by economic advisers to the problem of estimating the effect of proposed policy changes upon the well-being of those who would be affected.
A Sparse Decomposition of Low Rank Symmetric Positive Semidefinite Matrices

Suppose that $A \in \mathbb{R}^{N \times N}$ is symmetric positive semidefinite with rank $K \le N$. Our goal is to decompose $A$ into $K$ rank-one matrices $\sum_{k=1}^K g_k g_k^T$ where the modes $\{g_{k}\}_{k=1}^K$ are required to be as sparse as possible. In contrast to eigen decomposition, these sparse modes are not required to be orthogonal. Such a problem arises in random field parametrization where $A$ is the covariance function and is intractable to solve in general. In this paper, we partition the indices from 1 to $N$ into several patches and propose to quantify the sparseness of a vector by the number of patches on which it is nonzero, which is called patch-wise sparseness. Our aim is to find the decomposition which minimizes the total patch-wise sparseness of the decomposed modes. We propose a domain-decomposition type method, called intrinsic sparse mode decomposition (ISMD), which follows the "local-modes-construction + patching-up" procedure. The key step in the ISMD is to construct local pieces of the intrinsic sparse modes by a joint diagonalization problem. Thereafter a pivoted Cholesky decomposition is utilized to glue these local pieces together. Optimal sparse decomposition, consistency with different domain decomposition and robustness to small perturbation are proved under the so called regular-sparse assumption (see Definition 1.2). We provide simulation results to show the efficiency and robustness of the ISMD. We also compare the ISMD to other existing methods, e.g., eigen decomposition, pivoted Cholesky decomposition and convex relaxation of sparse principal component analysis [25] and [40].
Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Valuing Community: The Department of Neighborhoods' Origins2. Organizing Community: Involving All Neighbors and Other Programs3. Connecting Community: Neighborhood Service Centers and District Councils4. Building Community: The Neighborhood Matching Fund5. Cultivating Community: The P-Patch Program6. Sustaining Communities: The Neighborhood Planning Program7. Celebrating Community: Neighbor Appreciation Day8. Modeling Community: Columbia City9. Replicating Neighborhood Programs10. ConclusionAppendix A: MapsAppendix B: Neighborhood Matching Fund GuidelinesBibliographyIndex
Increased Platelet Distribution Width Is Associated With ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Thrombolysis Failure

We investigated 2 hypotheses: (1) a relationship between platelet indices and stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and (2) a relationship between platelet indices on admission and thrombolysis outcomes in patients with STEMI. A total of 260 patients were enrolled. The white blood cell (WBC) and platelet distribution width (PDW) were found to be increased in patients with STEMI (P for both < .001). White blood cell and PDW were independent predictors of acute STEMI. Mean platelet volume (MPV) and PDW were significantly higher in the thrombolysis failure group than in the thrombolysis success group (9.9 ± 1.8 vs 9.2 ± 1.5 fL, P = .021 and 17.7 ± 1.0 vs 16.4 ± 2.1 fL, P < .001, respectively). Mean platelet volume and PDW were independent predictors of thrombolysis failure. Patients with acute STEMI had higher PDW than did patients with stable CAD. In addition, higher PDW and MPV seem to correlate with thrombolysis failure in patients with STEMI.
Rechargeable Sodium All-Solid-State Battery

A reversible plating/stripping of a dendrite-free metallic-sodium anode with a reduced anode/ceramic interfacial resistance is created by a thin interfacial interlayer formed in situ or by the introduction of a dry polymer film. Wetting of the sodium on the interfacial interlayer suppresses dendrite formation and growth at different discharge/charge C-rates. All-solid-state batteries were obtained with a high cycling stability and Coulombic efficiency at 65 °C.
The complete chloroplast genome of Dipteronia sinensis (Aceraceae), an endangered endemic species to China

Abstract The complete chloroplast sequence of D. sinensis was reported in this study. The total length was 157 080 bp containing a pair of 26 766 bp inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb), which were separated by a small single copy regions and a large single copy regions (SSC and LSC) of 18 093 and 85 455 bp, respectively. A total of 138 functional genes were annotated, which included 90 protein-coding genes, 40 tRNAs, and eight rRNA genes. The overall GC content of the complete chloroplast genome is 37.8% and in LSC, SSC and IR regions were 35.9%, 32.1%, and 42.7%, respectively. The maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analysis revealed that D. sinensis was closely related to A. buergerianum subsp. Ningpoense in Sapindales order.
Making sense in dynamic development policy contexts: socio-cognitive environments as an analytic substitute for 'organizational culture'

This paper presents socio-cognitive environment (SCE) as an alternative conceptual framework to organizational culture to study dynamic development policy environments where groups of stakeholders engage in high degrees of organizational boundary-crossing to achieve collective aims. This paper summarizes a two year study of a group of Cambodian mid-level managers who were charged with implementing a participatory development policy. Such an effort required staff to engage in a collective sensemaking process that spanned organizational, cultural, social, and historical boundaries. SCE serves as a useful device to consider how both macro and micro interactions influence mid-level manager sensemaking. This paper presents a review of the key bodies of literature which have supported the development of the SCE model, before presenting the analytic model itself. The paper concludes with a discussion of how this model might be useful in other contexts.