Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Negotiating sexuality in home care settings: older lesbians and bisexual women's experiences

There is evidence that lesbians and bisexual women often face prejudice and stigma when accessing routine primary healthcare services. However, limited research to date has examined their experiences outside of primary healthcare contexts or the perspectives of older healthcare users. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study of older lesbians and bisexual women in Ontario who accessed publicly-funded home care services. In qualitative in-depth interviews, 16 women responded to questions about their decision making around disclosure of their sexuality, home care workers' reactions to disclosure and their experiences of receiving care. The thematic analysis of participants' responses demonstrated that they experienced isolation and ongoing anxiety, as well overt and subtle examples of heterosexism and discrimination. However, there was also evidence of participants' resilience and resistance to heteronormativity and sexual minority stress. These findings have implications for our understanding of lesbians' and bisexual women's healthcare experiences and for policy recommendations.
Development and Testing of a Bacterial Biosensor for Toluene-Based Environmental Contaminants

ABSTRACT A bacterial biosensor for benzene, toluene, and similar compounds has been constructed, characterized, and field tested on contaminated water and soil. The biosensor is based on a plasmid incorporating the transcriptional activator xylR from the TOL plasmid ofPseudomonas putida mt-2. The XylR protein binds a subset of toluene-like compounds and activates transcription at its promoter, Pu. A reporter plasmid was constructed by placing theluc gene for firefly luciferase under the control of XylR and Pu. When Escherichia coli cells were transformed with this plasmid vector, luminescence from the cells was induced in the presence of benzene, toluene, xylenes, and similar molecules. Accurate concentration dependencies of luminescence were obtained and exhibited K1/2 values ranging from 39.0 ± 3.8 μM for 3-xylene to 2,690 ± 160 μM for 3-methylbenzylalcohol (means ± standard deviations). The luminescence response was specific for only toluene-like molecules that bind to and activate XylR. The biosensor cells were field tested on deep aquifer water, for which contaminant levels were known, and were able to accurately detect toluene derivative contamination in this water. The biosensor cells were also shown to detect BETX (benzene, toluene, and xylene) contamination in soil samples. These results demonstrate the capability of such a bacterial biosensor to accurately measure environmental contaminants and suggest a potential for its inexpensive application in field-ready assays.
Does Corporate Philanthropy Increase Firm Value? The Moderating Role of Corporate Governance

The link between corporate philanthropy and firm value has been controversial. On one hand, corporate philanthropy is often criticized as an agency cost because it may serve narrow managerial self-interests. On the other hand, corporate philanthropy may enhance firm value because it improves the relationships between firms and their stakeholders. In this study, we argue that this controversy is contingent upon whether corporate governance mechanisms can stimulate the financial benefit of corporate philanthropy. Based on a sample of U.S. firms from 1996 to 2003, we find that CEO long-term pay positively moderates the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm value while multiboard outside directors negatively moderate this relationship. Contrary to our expectations, we find that the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm value enhances as CEO tenure increases. Our findings show that corporate governance plays an important moderating role in the relationship between corporate philanthropy and firm value.
Phospholipids and Their Degrading Enzyme in the Tears of Soft Contact Lens Wearers

Purpose: Low tear phospholipids levels are associated with tear film instability in soft contact lens wearers. We assayed levels of phospholipids and their degrading enzyme secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) both in tears and deposited on contact lenses composed of 2 hydrophilic materials after 1 day of routine use. Methods: Polymacon (Medalist; FDA group 1, low water/nonionic) and Etafilcon A (One Day Acuvue; group 4, high water/ionic) contact lenses were worn for 12 hours by 16 experienced contact lens wearers. Phospholipids in tear fluids and deposited on contact lenses were estimated by phosphorus determination with ammonium molybdate through enzymatic digestion. Double-antibody sandwich ELISA was used to determine group IIa sPLA2 concentrations, and sPLA2 activity was assayed using 1,2-diheptanoyl thio-phosphatidylcholine as substrate. Results: Phospholipids concentrations in tears with Polymacon and Etafilcon A were 186 ± 39 and 162 ± 33 μg/mL, respectively. The latter concentration was significantly lower than that observed in the same subjects when not wearing contact lenses (P = 0.0023). In tears, both group IIa sPLA2 concentrations and enzymatic activity remained unchanged, regardless of lens wearing. However, Etafilcon A (0.57 ± 0.09 μg/lens) showed more group IIa sPLA2 deposition than Polymacon (0.01 ± 0.01 μg/lens; P < 0.001). Furthermore, group IIa sPLA2 deposited on Etafilcon A but not on Polymacon lenses retained its enzymatic activity. Conclusion: Significant differences of group IIa sPLA2 deposition were found in the 2 lenses tested. Such deposition might induce phospholipid hydrolysis in tears and thereby promote tear film instability in hydrophilic contact lens wearers.
Simultaneous Monetary Policies in the Context of the Trilemma: Evidence from the Central Bank of Turkey

Many central banks that have opted for monetary autonomy have also been reluctant to relinquish control over the value of their currencies. As a result, they have operated through both interest rate and foreign exchange interventions. However, in the context of the monetary trilemma, both effects can potentially offset each other. Using daily data from the Central Bank of Turkey during the period of 2002 - 2010, we study the effects of simultaneous policies by first purging the intended monetary decisions from responses to real-time macroeconomic variables, and then determining their impact on economic activity. We find that the Central Bank of Turkey adjusted its policy rate mostly in response to inflation levels relative to both the yearly target and agents’ expectations, and conducted purchases and sales of foreign currency in response to exchange rate behavior. These responses varied depending on whether interventions were pre-announced. We also find that unannounced purchases of foreign currency had a significant effect in reducing exchange rate volatility but appeared to have no effect on exchange rate changes. On the other hand, changes in the policy rate significantly affected inflation but had no discernible effect on output growth.
The cost of dishonesty on optimal distributed frequency control of power networks

Optimal frequency controllers for power networks based on distributed averaging have previously been shown to be an effective means of distributing control authority among agents while maintaining a globally optimal operating point. Distributed control architectures however require an implicit trust between participating agents, in that each must faithfully communicate the appropriate control variables to neighboring agents. Here we study the case where some agents attempt to “cheat the system” by adding a bias to the averaging controller in order to lower their generation cost. We quantify the effect of this dishonesty on the resource allocation problem and introduce a “cost graph” whose weights measure the effect of the bias on the optimal equilibrium. Moreover, we propose an “honesty-enforcing” controller which counteracts the dishonest agents, and restores the optimal setpoint of the network.
Equity Carve-Outs - A Matter of Time?

We develop properties of abnormal return for equity offers that have been timed to periods of firm-specific overvaluation and empirically test a sample of 174 equity carve-outs for these characteristics. While carve-outs exhibit clear signs of market timing, these phenomena are not detectable uniformly across time but can be traced to the 1998-2000 "hot-market" period. Our arguments imply that pre-offer run-ups of abnormal return and decreasing cross-sectional variance of event-time post-offer abnormal return, rather than long-term underperformance or the level of a market index, can serve as indicators for market timing. Results provide a basis to empirically reassess the time variance of long-term IPO and SEO performance.
Acupuncture and homeostasis: physiological, physical (postural) and psychological.

When the subject of homeostasis is discussed, one automatically thinks of physiological homeostasis, in particular such things as fluid and electrolyte balance, and the maintenance of body temperature, blood pressure and blood sugar, etc. In fact, two other concepts of homeostasis exist in the literature, namely physical or postural homeostasis, and also psychological homeostasis. The former applies to the situation where the line of gravity of the body in the erect posture passes in the frontal or coronal plane directly through the center of the axis of the atlanto-occipital, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle joints. Only a very small proportion of people attain this ideal balanced posture. Psychological homeostasis refers to emotional control or tranquility. It has been stated that the biological function of human emotion is primarily homeostatic. Repression is a homeostatic mechanism. Evidence is presented to show that a feedback type of relationship probably exists between these forms of homeostasis, and any of the body-mind type of therapies (including acupuncture and T'ai chi ch'uan) thus have a three-fold effect on man, i.e. on his physiology, his posture and his mind.
Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Three Novel Lysozyme-Like Genes, Predominantly Expressed in the Male Reproductive System of Humans, Belonging to the C-Type Lysozyme/Alpha-Lactalbumin Family1

Abstract Lysozymes, especially c-type lysozymes, are well-recognized bacteriolytic factors widely distributed in the animal kingdom and play a mainly protective role in host defense. The relatives of c-type lysozymes, alpha-lactalbumins, however, are only found in mammalian milk and possess a distinct biological function. These two proteins, having similar amino acid sequences, gene structure, and dimensional conformation, belong to the c-type lysozyme/alpha-lactalbumin family. Using human lysozyme as an information probe, we cloned four human cDNAs encoding homologues of human lysozyme; these were named LYZL2, LYZL4, LYZL6, and SPACA3 by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee. Of these four, SPACA3 has been reported to code an intra-acrosomal sperm protein SLLP1. To our knowledge, the other three are reported here for the first time. Using Northern blot hybridization, including 16 different human tissues, we found that these four lysozyme-like genes were all highly expressed in the testis/epididymis. Further analysis of one, LYZL4, by in situ hybridization revealed that its mRNA was only detected in the epithelium of human epididymis, most abundantly in the caput, suggesting that LYZL4 plays a physiological role in male reproduction. By sequence analysis, we found that two essential catalytic residues of the human lysozyme were conserved in LYZL2 and LYZL6, whereas one site in LYZL4 and two sites in SPACA3 were replaced. The LYZL2, LYZL4, LYZL6, and SPACA3 genes were mapped to human chromosome 10p11.23, 3p21.33, 17q11.2, and 17q12, respectively, and displayed a similar genomic structure. Our data suggest that these four lysozyme-like genes, which have arisen from a common progenitor gene, play a major role in human reproduction.
Feature-Based Test Oracles to Categorize Synthetic 3D and 2D Images of Blood Vessels

Automated testing activities contribute significantly to reduce the cost and to increase the productivity during the software development process. Programs with complex outputs limit the application of automated testing strategies. A possible solution is the use of feature-based oracles. In this study, we use the framework O-FIm/CO (Oracle for Images and Complex Outputs), which uses CBIR (Content-based Image Retrieval) concepts to evaluate the similarity of synthetic images of blood vessels through the "feature-based test oracle" approach. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach, we evaluated the ability and accuracy of the test oracle in automated the process of categorization of synthetic images of blood vessels in 3D and 2D models through the similarity between features. Furthermore, we compared the accuracy of the categorization of the test oracle relative to random classifiers. The results obtained in two empirical studies revealed an AVG (average) of precision, recall, and specificity of, respectively, 77%, 100%, and 88% in the categorization performed by the test oracle for 3D images and 71%, 81%, and 93% in the categorization performed by the test oracle for 2D images.
Effects of Sextupolar Undulator Magnetic Field Contributions on Inverse Free Electron Laser Accelerator

In this paper, we include the important effects of sextupolar field contributions on saturation gain and length of a linear polarized undulator driven inverse free electron laser (IFEL) that arise when the electrons are injected off axis. The modified IFEL equations are derived and analyzed. Both the accelerating gradient and the saturation length of the IFEL are influenced by the imperfect beam trajectory. For a fixed laser wavelength, the effects are more pronounced in the case of short period undulator in comparison with a larger period undulator IFEL. A useful empirical fit is prescribed to estimate the tolerance of the IFEL for imperfect beam trajectory.
The Contribution of Drugs and Helicobacter pylori to Gastric Mucosa Changes in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Background The nature and rate of gastric mucosal (GM) damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) remain to be among the unsolved problems. Objective To define the role of H. pylori and drugs in the development of GM damages in SLE and APS. Methods A study was conducted on 85 patients with SLE and APS. All the patients underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with targeted biopsy of the mucosa of the gastric body and antrum. The presence of H. pylori in the gastric biopsy specimens was determined using polymerase chain reaction. Results Endoscopic examination revealed that the patients with SLE and APS on admission had the following GM changes: antral gastritis (82.4%), erosions (24.7%), hemorrhages (8.2%), and pangastritis (8.2%). SLE and APS patients showed no direct correlation between the found GM damages and the presence of H. pylori. The use of glucocorticoid, low-dose acetylsalicylic acid, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and anticoagulant in SLE and APS patients is accompanied by GM damage. Conclusion There was no evidence of the role of H. pylori in GM damage in the SLE and APS patients. More frequent detection of H. pylori was observed in anticoagulants or low-dose acetylsalicylic acid users than in glucocorticoids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ones.
Quantitative evaluation of the effect of visually-induced motion sickness using causal coherence function between blood pressure and heart rate

To evaluate the effect of visually-induced motion sickness on the human, blood pressure variability (BP) and heart rate variability (HR) of 51 normal subjects watching a 15min-long video image taken by a vibrating handy camera were analyzed. Not only coherence function (K/sup 2/) between BP and HR but also two causal coherence functions: K/sup 2//sub BP/spl rarr/HR/ from BP to HR and K/sup 2//sub HR/spl rarr/BP/ from HR to BP were introduced to divide causal linearity of the cardiovascular system regarded as a closed-loop system. K/sup 2/ represents total linearity of the system. K/sup 2//sub BP/spl rarr/HR/ and K/sup 2//sub HR/spl rarr/BP/ correspond to the baroreflex system and the mechanical hemodynamics, respectively. The results revealed that K/sup 2//sub BP/spl rarr/HR/ at the Mayer wave-band (around 0.1 Hz) of the subjects prone to motion sickness decreased gradually and was significantly lower than that of the subjects not prone to in later scenes. This result has never been obtained from conventional methods dealing with a cardiovascular system as an open-loop system.
Structural Adjustment's Gendered Impacts: The Case of Serbia and Montenegro

On the 25 anniversary of the World Bank structural adjustment program, Gender Action is unrolling its gendered impacts of structural adjustment program with its first case study in Serbia and Montenegro. Globally, during 1999 and 2002 structural adjustment lending (SAL) constituted more than half of total Bank lending and in every year since 1998 it surpassed the Bank’s own 25 percent ceiling on SAL spending. Gender Action believes that it is very important to ensure that SALs assist and do not harm the poor among whom the majority are females. Since their 1979 inception SALs have had deleterious socioeconomic impacts especially on women who constitute 70% of the world’s poor. Our analysis questions the appropriateness of SALs given their painful social impacts in general, and in particular in the fragile young democracies in Serbia and Montenegro. Because SALs have composed at least four fifths of Bank loans to these republics, they constitute a particularly interesting adjustment case study. Serbia and Montenegro’s structural adjustment objectives mirror those in virtually all countries and especially in other transition countries. They consist of: public expenditure cutbacks and civil service reforms including in the social sectors – in health, education, labor and social protection programs; State Owned Enterprise (SOE) closing, restructuring and/or privatizing; and bank commercialization and downsizing. Analyzing Serbia and Montenegro’s entire structural adjustment loan package highlights the cohesiveness of its objectives. Our analysis found a distinct pattern of SAL neglect of gendered impacts. The analysis not only addresses gender and other social impacts of adjustment operations but also describes how local citizen’s groups are using this analysis to conduct advocacy to mitigate negative impacts and achieve social reforms. The analysis explains how SAL measures affect poor women and men differently. It includes a background section providing an historical picture of the evolution of structural adjustment lending, then it describes Serbia and Montenegro’s structural adjustment program, summarizes its gender and other social impacts and concludes by discussing positive outcomes on the ground of this analysis. It also contains a detailed general and gender analysis of SALs and practical recommendations to reduce their negative impacts. Obtaining World Bank SAL documents to prepare this analysis underlined how non-transparent these documents remain and how the Bank needs to become a more accountable institution. Gender Action plans to produce similar SAL analyses in other countries as a basis for advocacy to ensure IFI investments better promote women’s rights and gender equality.
A Digital Hypocenter Catalog for the International Seismological Summary

A reliable catalog of earthquake locations and magnitudes spanning long periods of time is a fundamental requirement for a wide variety of seismological studies, including seismotectonics, Earth structure, and seismic hazard. On a global scale, the most comprehensive source of earthquake locations, phase data, and magnitudes is the Bulletin of the International Seismological Centre (ISC). Locations, magnitudes, the data used to compute them ( i.e. , phase arrival times and amplitude/period readings), and other data are collected and processed at ISC and made readily accessible in digital form (Willemann and Storchak, 2001). ISC, which published its first bulletin for the year 1964, was established to continue the task of the International Seismological Summary (ISS), the organization that compiled phase arrival times and earthquake locations from observatories and agencies all over the world and produced bulletins from 1918 to 1963, both inclusive. Unlike ISC, which was constituted as an international nongovernmental center funded by institutions from various countries, ISS was essentially a British enterprise, and its origin can be traced back to the work of John Milne. A detailed account of the history of ISS can be found in Stoneley (1970). The level of completeness of the ISC Bulletin and the easy data availability in digital form make it the preferred source for global and regional studies. Conversely, the ISS bulletins are available only in printed form and therefore any quantitative study of pre-1964 seismicity (hereafter referred to as early instrumental seismicity) using arrival-time data involves first the tedious and time-consuming task of hand-entering the observations from the ISS bulletins. This circumstance has effectively limited the use of ISS data for global studies, including the systematic analysis and relocation of early instrumental seismicity using modern, advanced techniques. A long-term project is currently underway to convert the ISS data to digital form …
Optimal beam pattern design for very large sensor arrays with sparse sampling

The main goal of this work is to adaptively employ a large set of microphone sensors distributed in multiple dimensions to scan an acoustic field. Processing data from a large set of sensors will necessarily involve intelligent definition of suitable subsets of sensors active at various times. This paper presents a novel method for optimal beam pattern design for large scale sensor arrays using convex and non-convex optimization techniques to define optimal subsets of sensors capable to select a target location while suppressing a large number of interferences. The first of two optimization techniques we present, uses a LASSO-type approach to convexify the corresponding combinatorial optimization problem. The second approach employs simulated annealing to search for optimal solutions with a fixed size subset of active sensors. Our numerical simulations show that for scenarios of practical interest, the convex optimization solution is almost optimal.