Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward Transgender Affirmative Social Work Education

ABSTRACT Social work has professional and academic standards consistent with transgender affirmative education and practice. Nevertheless, a growing body of research suggests that transgender issues are largely absent from social work education, resulting in practitioners who are uninformed or biased against transgender issues. The present study expands the literature through a mixed methods study exploring perceptions of transgender issues in social work education from the perspectives of transgender social work students (n = 97). Quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal barriers to transgender affirmative social work education including (1) transphobic microaggressions within classroom and field settings, (2) the absence of transgender specific education and expertise, and (3) the general lack of visibility of transgender issues. Recommendations for transgender affirmative social work education are provided.
Bonamia perspora n. sp. (Haplosporidia), a Parasite of the Oyster Ostreola equestris, is the First Bonamia Species Known to Produce Spores

ABSTRACT. Examination of the oyster Ostreola equestris as a potential reservoir host for a species of Bonamia discovered in Crassostrea ariakensis in North Carolina (NC), USA, revealed a second novel Bonamia sp. Histopathology, electron microscopy, and molecular phylogenetic analysis support the designation of a new parasite species, Bonamia perspora n. sp. , which is the first Bonamia species shown to produce a typical haplosporidian spore with an orifice and hinged operculum. Spores were confirmed to be from B. perspora by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Bonamia perspora was found at Morehead City and Wilmington, NC, with an overall prevalence of 1.4% (31/2,144). Uninucleate, plasmodial, and sporogonic stages occurred almost exclusively in connective tissues; uninucleate stages (2–6 μm) were rarely observed in hemocytes. Spores were 4.3–6.4 μm in length. Ultrastructurally, uninucleate, diplokaryotic, and plasmodial stages resembled those of other spore‐forming haplosporidians, but few haplosporosomes were present, and plasmodia were small. Spore ornamentation consisted of spore wall‐derived, thin, flat ribbons that emerged haphazardly around the spore, and which terminated in what appeared to be four‐pronged caps. Number of ribbons per spore ranged from 15 to 30, and their length ranged from 1.0 to 3.4 μm. Parsimony analysis identified B. perspora as a sister species to Bonamia ostreae.
Twilight Times: Light and the Circadian System

The spatial and temporal features of the environment have provided the abiotic selection pressures that have shaped the evolution of life on earth. We are accustomed to accept that the spatial world offers specialized niches. However, we rarely consider that the temporal structure of our planet offers similar opportunities. Most organisms have evolved specializations that allow them to exploit their environment in terms of both space and time, and this demands that individuals have an endogenous representation of these environmental features. We know surprisingly little about the endogenous representation of space, but in recent years an understanding of how organisms build a representation of their temporal world has begun to emerge. Organisms do not merely respond to their environment, they also have the capacity to adjust physiology and behavior in anticipation of changing environmental conditions. In a competitive world, “being prepared” offers a great selective advantage. It takes considerable time to bring about the complex realignments of physiological systems that permit an optimal expression of different behavioral states (e.g. activity and rest or exploitation of temporally restricted resources). By fine-tuning physiology in advance of the changing conditions, an organism can be ready to exploit the changed conditions to its best advantage. At the heart of the biological machinery that “creates” a day within us is a biological or Circadian clock. In mammals, for example, this resides within a small paired nucleus in the brain located above the crossing of the optic nerves, the suprachiasmatic nuclei or SCN. The neuronal activity of this nucleus continues to oscillate with a 24 h rhythmicity
Influence of transport uncertainty on annual mean and seasonal inversions of atmospheric CO2 data

[1] Inversion methods are often used to estimate surface CO2 fluxes from atmospheric CO2 concentration measurements, given an atmospheric transport model to relate the two. The published estimates disagree strongly on the location of the main sources and sinks, however. Are these differences due to the different time spans considered, or are they artifacts of the method and data used? Here we assess the uncertainty in such estimates due to the choice of time discretization of the measurements and fluxes, the spatial resolution of the fluxes, and the transport model. A suite of 27 Bayesian least squares inversions has been run, given by varying the number of flux regions solved for (7, 12, and 17), the time discretization (annual/annual, annual/monthly, and monthly/monthly for the fluxes/data), and the transport model (TM2, TM3, and GCTM), while holding all other inversion details constant. The estimated fluxes from this ensemble of inversions for the land + ocean sum are stable over large zonal bands, but the spread in the results increases when considering the longitudinal flux distribution inside these bands. On average for 1990–1994 the inversions place a large CO2 uptake north of 30°N (3.2 ± 0.3 GtC yr−1), mostly over the land regions, with more in Eurasia than North America. The ocean fluxes are generally smaller than given by Takahashi et al. [1999], especially south of 15°S and in the global total, where they are less than half as large. A small uptake is found for the tropical land regions, suggesting that growth more than compensates for deforestation there. The results for the different transport models are consistent with their known mixing properties; the longitudinal pattern of their land biosphere rectifier, in particular, strongly influences the regional partitioning of the flux in the north. While differences between the transport models contribute significantly to the spread of the results, an equivalent or even larger spread is due to the time discretization method used: Solving for annual mean fluxes with monthly mean measurements tended to give spurious land/ocean flux partition in the north. We suggest then that this time discretization method be avoided. Overall, the uncertainty quoted for the estimated fluxes should include not only the random error calculated by the inversion equations but also all the systematic errors in the problem, such as those addressed in this study.
On the Formation Patterns Under Generalized Cyclic Pursuit

The technical note proposes the use of the generalized cyclic pursuit control strategy for distributed control of a set of agents to render global formation patterns that are characterized in terms of epicyclic motions. By investigating the root distribution of the generalized cyclic pursuit control system, a unique configuration with multiple imaginary-axis eigenvalues is identified. Design criteria to achieve such a configuration are delineated. The design leads to a class of epicyclic trajectories for agents and, as a result, a class of patterns can be established to serve the purpose of cooperative tracking, area surveillance, and exploration.
RbsB (NTHI_0632) mediates quorum signal uptake in nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae strain 86‐028NP

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) is a respiratory commensal and opportunistic pathogen, which persists within biofilms on airway mucosal surfaces. For many species, biofilm formation is impacted by quorum signalling. Our prior work shows that production of autoinducer‐2 (AI‐2) promotes biofilm development and persistence for NTHI 86‐028NP. NTHI 86‐028NP encodes an ABC transporter annotated as a ribose transport system that includes a protein (RbsB) with similarity to the Escherichia coli LsrB and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans RbsB proteins that bind AI‐2. In this study, inactivation of rbsB significantly reduced uptake of AI‐2 and the AI‐2 precursor dihydroxypentanedione (DPD) by NTHI 86‐028NP. Moreover, DPD uptake was not competitively inhibited by ribose or other pentose sugars. Transcript levels of rbsB increased in response to DPD and as bacteria approached stationary‐phase growth. The NTHI 86‐028NP rbsB mutant also formed biofilms with significantly reduced thickness and total biomass and reduced surface phosphorylcholine, similar to a luxS mutant. Infection studies revealed that loss of rbsB impaired bacterial persistence in the chinchilla middle ear, similar to our previous results with luxS mutants. Based on these data, we conclude that in NTHI 86‐028NP, RbsB is a LuxS/AI‐2 regulated protein that is required for uptake of and response to AI‐2.
A Study of Protocols for Grid Computing Environment

Using grid systems efficiently has to face many challenges. One of them is the efficient exchange of data between distant components exacerbated by the diversity of existing protocols for communicating participants. Grid computing will reach its vast potential if and only if, the underlying networking infrastructure is able to transfer data across quite long distances in a very effective manner. Experiences show that advanced distributed applications executed in existing large scale computational grids are often able to use only a small fraction of available bandwidth. The reason for such a poor performance is the TCP, which works only in low bandwidth and low delay networks. Several new transport protocols have been introduced, but a very few are widely used in grid computing applications, these protocols can be categorized in three broad categories viz. TCP based, UDP based and Application layer protocols. We study these protocols and present its performance and research activities that can be done in these protocols.
Peripheral Protein Quality Control Removes Unfolded CFTR from the Plasma Membrane

Peripheral Quality Control Protein misfolding diseases often lead to the retention and degradation of important proteins within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Strategies to reduce the stringency of ER quality control that allow the proteins to carry on through the secretory pathway to reach their destination at the cell surface have shown some promise. Okiyoneda et al. (p. 805, published online 1 July; see the Perspective by Hutt and Balch) wanted to understand how, even if a protein reaches its destination, it may still be subjected to a second level of quality control and be cleared from the plasma membrane. Using functional small-interfering RNA screens in cells expressing the common cystic fibrosis mutation F508CFTR, the authors identified a pair of chaperones that promoted clearance of defective proteins from the plasma membrane. This peripheral quality-control step will also need to be overcome to increase the effectiveness of strategies to overcome protein misfolding disorders. Cells clear misfolded and damaged proteins from the cell surface, sometimes frustrating attempts to treat protein-folding diseases. Therapeutic efforts to restore biosynthetic processing of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator lacking the F508 residue (ΔF508CFTR) are hampered by ubiquitin-dependent lysosomal degradation of nonnative, rescued ΔF508CFTR from the plasma membrane. Here, functional small interfering RNA screens revealed the contribution of chaperones, cochaperones, and ubiquitin-conjugating and -ligating enzymes to the elimination of unfolded CFTR from the cell surface, as part of a peripheral protein quality-control system. Ubiquitination of nonnative CFTR was required for efficient internalization and lysosomal degradation. This peripheral protein quality-control mechanism probably participates in the preservation of cellular homeostasis by degrading damaged plasma membrane proteins that have escaped from the endoplasmic reticulum quality control or are generated by environmental stresses in situ.
Social support protects against the negative effects of partner violence on mental health.

OBJECTIVES Social support for abused women may reduce the impact of abuse on mental health, yet few studies have addressed this issue. We wish to determine associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health outcomes and to assess the protective role of abuse disclosure and support on mental health among abused women. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 1152 women, ages 18-65, recruited from family practice clinics from 1997 through 1999. They were screened for IPV during a brief in-clinic interview, and physical and mental health status was assessed in a follow-up interview. RESULTS IPV, defined as sexual, physical, or psychological abuse, was associated with poor perceived mental and physical health, substance abuse, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), current depression, anxiety, and suicide ideation/actions. Among women experiencing IPV and controlling for IPV frequency, higher social support scores were associated with a significantly reduced risk of poor perceived mental health (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 0.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3, 0.6) and physical health (aRR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.8), anxiety (aRR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2, 0.4), current depression (aRR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.8), PTSD symptoms (aRR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4, 0.8), and suicide attempts (aRR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4, 0.9). CONCLUSIONS Healthcare providers can be instrumental in identifying IPV and helping women develop skills, resources, and support networks to address IPV. Physicians, family, or friends may provide needed social support.
The Macrostructure and Rhetorical Structures of Research Articles in Linguistics

Research article(RA) is an important means of communication within discourse community and the furtherance of researchers' professional standing.The prevailing IMRD model in RA analysis does not give sufficient attention to variation between the different disciplines.We propose a revised IBMRD model and verify it in our corpus of 30 English RAs and 30 Chinese RAs in linguistics.We find the linear Introduction-Background-Method-Results-Discussion structure,complicated with cyclicity.
Patient-controlled Epidural Analgesia with Ropivacaine and Fentanyl: Experience with 2,276 Surgical Patients

Background Good postoperative pain control is an important part of adequate postoperative care. Patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) provided better postoperative analgesia compared to other conventional analgesic methods, but several risks have been observed as well. We therefore surveyed the efficacy and safety of PCEA in this retrospective observational study. Methods We analyzed collected data on 2,276 elective surgical patients who received PCEA with ropivacaine and fentanyl. Patients were assessed by a PCA service team in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), at 1-6 h, 6-24 h, and 24-48 h postoperatively for adequate pain control. The presence of PCEA-related adverse events was also assessed. Results Numerical pain score (median [interquartile range]) were 3 [1-4], 5 [4-7], 4 [3-5], and 3 [3-5] in the PACU, at 1-6 h, 6-24 h, and 24-48 h postoperatively. Median pain scores in patients underwent major abdominal or thoracic surgery were higher than other surgical procedure in the PACU, at 1-6 h after surgery. Nausea and vomiting (20%) and numbness and motor weakness (15%) were revealed as major PCEA-related adverse events during the postoperative 48 h period. There were 329 patients (14%) for whom PCEA was ceased within 48 h following surgery. Conclusions Our data suggest that the use of PCEA provides proper analgesia in the postoperative 48 h period after a wide variety of surgical procedures and that is associated with few serious complications. However, more careful pain management and sustainable PCEA monitoring considering the type of surgical procedure undergone is needed in patients with PCEA.
Differential Ligand Binding Affinities of Human Estrogen Receptor-α Isoforms

Rapid non-genomic effects of 17β-estradiol are elicited by the activation of different estrogen receptor-α isoforms. Presence of surface binding sites for estrogen have been identified in cells transfected with full-length estrogen receptor-α66 (ER66) and the truncated isoforms, estrogen receptor-α46 (ER46) and estrogen receptor-α36 (ER36). However, the binding affinities of the membrane estrogen receptors (mERs) remain unknown due to the difficulty of developing of stable mER-transfected cell lines with sufficient mER density, which has largely hampered biochemical binding studies. The present study utilized cell-free expression systems to determine the binding affinities of 17β-estradiol to mERs, and the relationship among palmitoylation, membrane insertion and binding affinities. Saturation binding assays of human mERs revealed that [3H]-17β-estradiol bound ER66 and ER46 with Kd values of 68.81 and 60.72 pM, respectively, whereas ER36 displayed no specific binding within the tested concentration range. Inhibition of palmitoylation or removal of the nanolipoprotein particles, used as membrane substitute, reduced the binding affinities of ER66 and ER46 to 17β-estradiol. Moreover, ER66 and ER46 bound differentially with some estrogen receptor agonists and antagonists, and phytoestrogens. In particular, the classical estrogen receptor antagonist, ICI 182,780, had a higher affinity for ER66 than ER46. In summary, the present study defines the binding affinities for human estrogen receptor-α isoforms, and demonstrates that ER66 and ER46 show characteristics of mERs. The present data also indicates that palmitoylation and membrane insertion of mERs are important for proper receptor conformation allowing 17β-estradiol binding. The differential binding of ER66 and ER46 with certain compounds substantiates the prospect of developing mER-selective drugs.
CONTROL OF THE LOW LEVEL RF SYSTEM OF THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

The radiofrequency (RF) acceleration system of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) comprises 8 superconducting 400MHz cavities in each of the two LHC rings, with each cavity driven by a klystron amplifier. The phase and radial position of the beam and the accelerating voltage and phase in the cavities are controlled by a complex system of feedbacks collectively known as the low-level RF (LLRF) system. The LLRF system is implemented in mixed analogue and digital hardware modules using a custom form factor based on the VMEbus platform. The control system, from the crate controller CPU and timing modules, through the front-end software and communications middleware to the application software interface, is implemented using tools and components provided by the CERN accelerator controls group, such as the new Front-End Software Architecture (FESA). This paper describes the controls architecture of the LLRF system and discusses the hardware and software choices made in its implementation.
Basic figures of merit for A 1.575 GHz low noise amplifier in 0.35 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology

A design of 1.575 GHz two-stage low noise amplifier (LNA) in a BiCMOS 0.35 µm process is presented. First LNA stage is common source amplifier in cascode configuration with source degeneration set for input matching. Additional stage is introduced in order to increase S21 of the LNA. Simulation results for S11, S12, S21 and S22, together with NF, Kf and B1f are given for presented LNA topology.
Reverse mapping of referral links from storage hierarchy for Web documents

Due to the lack of back-pointers, information about the referral parent(s) of a given Web page is not usually available to Web surfers. This significantly reduces the effectiveness of Web surfing and information discovery. We propose a mechanism to locate the referral parent(s) for a given fragment of a Web document (in terms of an URL address) from the client side. The basic idea is to explore the hierarchical hyperlink structure of a Web document fragment from its storage path directory information that is embedded in its URL. Two mechanisms were proposed: exhaustibility first search (EFS) and generalization first search (GFS). Results showed that through direct mapping of the storage hierarchy path to the URL address and then performing reverse tracing along the hyperlink structure, the chance of discovering a referral parent ranged from 41% to 51%. Compared to EFS, GFS was found to reduce the average search space from 26 pages to 4 pages.
Competing Risks Analysis of African American Breast Cancer Patients

Purpose: Recent studies showed that African Americans (AA) breast cancer patients experience lower survival than any other race. The knowledge of cause-specific survival of such patients is necessary to investigate the different factors associated with the disease and support the clinical practice. Methods: The parametric competing risk method is applied to build up the survival models and the parametric mixture model is used to study the overall survival of these patients. The Kaplan-Meier survival estimation is also computed to compare the results. Results: The overall death rate decreases sharply immediately after the diagnosis and increases thereafter. The risk of death from breast cancer itself is the highest at the first five years; other causes, however, pose more threats to patients after this period. The patients who received only surgery have higher survival rate in long run. The use of radiation only does not have the significant effect on patients’ survival. Conclusion: Our study shows that the parametric competing risk models are promising in estimating the cause-specific survival of AA breast cancer patients and can be used for clinical practice. We also observed that heart and other diseases pose more threat to breast cancer patients in the long run.
Topological Entropy Bounds for Hyperbolic Plateaus of the Henon Map

Combining two existing rigorous computational methods, for verifying hyperbolicity (Arai [1]) and for computing topological entropy bounds (Day et al. [4]), we prove lower bounds on topological entropy for 43 hyperbolic plateaus of the Henon map. We also examine the 16 areapreserving plateaus studied by Arai and compare our results with related work. Along the way, we augment the entropy algorithms of Day et al. with routines to optimize the algorithmic parameters and simplify the resulting semi-conjugate subshift.