Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of abstinence and comprehensive sex and STD/HIV education programs on adolescent sexual behavior

In an effort to reduce unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) in adolescents, both abstinence and comprehensive sex and STD/HIV education programs have been proffered. Based on specified criteria, the author searched for and reviewed 56 studies that assessed the impact of such curricula (8 that evaluated 9 abstinence programs and 48 that evaluated comprehensive programs) on adolescents’ sexual behavior. Study results indicated that most abstinence programs did not delay initiation of sex and only 3 of 9 had any significant positive effects on any sexual behavior. In contrast, about two thirds of comprehensive programs showed strong evidence that they positively affected young people’s sexual behavior, including both delaying initiation of sex and increasing condom and contraceptive use among important groups of youth. Based on this review, abstinence programs have little evidence to warrant their widespread replication; conversely, strong evidence suggests that some comprehensive programs should be disseminated widely.
Negative affect and sexual risk behavior: comment on Crepaz and Marks (2001).

In this commentary, the authors highlight the findings of the meta-analysis by N. Crepaz and G. Marks (2001). The role of affect in sexual risk behavior, although intuitively obvious, is not well understood and has been largely ignored by HIV prevention researchers in favor of social-cognitive models of behavior. Crepaz and Marks synthesized the results from studies that have examined the relation of negative affect (e.g., depression, anxiety, anger) to sexual risk behavior and concluded that in the literature to date, these variables appear unrelated. The authors suggest that the Crepaz and Marks findings are not surprising given the methods used in the reviewed studies and suggest methodological approaches that will allow more sensitive analyses of the association between affect and sexual risk behavior.
Intimate partner violence among Canadian women with activity limitations

Objective: To determine the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the previous five years among women reporting activity limitations (AL). Design and setting: A community based, representative telephone survey of Canadians aged 15 and over. AL was assessed by the question: “Does a long term physical or mental condition or health problem reduce the amount or the kind of activity that you can do at home, at school, at work or in other activities? ” Response categories were: often, sometimes, or never. Participants: 8771 women who had a current/former partner of whom 1483 reported AL. Main results: IPV was reported more often for AL (often or sometimes) compared with no AL women (emotional abuse (27.1, 26.4 v 17.7%, p<0.0001), physical—severe (7.3, 6.7 v 3.6%, p<0.0001), sexual abuse (3.5, 3.6 v 1.4%, p<0.0001)), or any IPV (30.5, 27.8 v 19.6%, p<0.0001). Adjusting for age, marital status, education, income, employment, children in the household, Aboriginal or visible minority status, place of birth, urban or rural residence, region of Canada, time in current residence, and religious attendance, AL women had higher odds of IPV (adjusted odds ratio: AL often = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.64, 2.74; AL sometimes: OR = 1.64; 95% CI:1.40, 2.29). Conclusion: These findings call for increased recognition of violence that occurs in the lives of women with AL. This community based study suggests that abuse among those reporting AL is high. Women with AL represent a high risk group to be targeted in terms of IPV prevention and intervention.
The developmental potentialities of regeneration blastema cell nuclei as determined by nuclear transplantation.

Formerly, many embryologists believed that the blastema cells in regenerating amphibian tails and limbs arose from a reserve of undifferentiated cells, but since the work of Hertwig (1927) and Butler (1935) few modern investigators would support this view. Others have suggested that blastema cells are of epidermal origin (Godlewski, 1928; Rose, 1948). However, this idea has largely fallen into disrepute following the investigations of Karczmar & Berg (1951), Chalkley (1954) and Hay & Fischman (1961). There is now abundant evidence that blastema cells arise by the dedifferentiation of some of the stump tissues, in particular the stump muscle and cartilage (Thornton, 1938 a, b ; Hay, 1958, 1959, 1962; Hay & Fischman, 1961), and that contributions may also arise from fibroblasts when they are present. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of confusion concerning the exact meaning and implications of the term ‘dedifferentiated’.
Digital camera filter design for colorimetric and spectral accuracy

A filter optimization was investigated to design a set of filters for a five channel multi-spectral camera, three of which result in high colorimetric performance when used alone, and the full set having high quality spectral performance. Each candidate filter was selected from a set of 33 glass filters with three different thicknesses where filters may be combined in optical series. The effectiveness of the filter selection is demonstrated by computer simulation taking into account the spectral sensitivity of the imaging system, and a comprehensive database of natural and man-made object spectral reflectances.
A Buddhist Take on Gilbert Ryle’s Theory of Mind

Gilbert Ryle’s The Concept of Mind (1949/2002. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press) is generally considered a landmark in the quest to refute Cartesian dualism. The work contains many inspirational ideas and mainly posits behavioral disposition as the referent of mind in order to refute mind–body dualism. In this article, I show that the Buddhist theory of ‘non-self’ is also at odds with the belief that a substantial soul exists distinct from the physical body and further point out similarities between the Buddhist outlook and Ryle’s ideas in three parts. First, I illustrate that Ryle’s ‘category mistake’ has certain points in common with the Buddhist refutation of ‘self’. Within the Buddhist framework, referents such as ‘mind’ and ‘self’ are merely imputed terms. The presumed existence of an independent substance such as a ‘soul’, when considered in isolation from the expedient usage of the term ‘mind’, can therefore also be viewed as a ‘category mistake’. Second, attempting to solve the questions of ‘what mind is’ and ‘how mind operates’ are two entirely different approaches to the study of mind. I argue that it is necessary to focus on ‘knowing-how’ rather than ‘knowing-that’, if we are to gain a more comprehensive understanding of mind and avoid any kind of category mistake such as those that follow from isolating the physical properties of brain or drawing inferences from a mystical soul. Third, I aim to show why investigating mind from the perspective of ‘dispositions’ of behavior is a valid approach. The Buddhist concept of karma-vāsanā elucidates the habitual tendency to act or not act in various situations. Based on this theory, I argue that the workings of the human mind bears strong links to the formation of karma and as such have important axiological implications that cannot be ignored. I conclude by pointing out that Ryle’s insightful ideas could in certain ways be complemented by the Buddhist theory of mind. In my view, his philosophy is not only a mediator between Analytic Philosophy and Phenomenology, but could perhaps also be seen as a mediator between traditional Eastern systems of thought and contemporary philosophies of mind.
Hydrologic effects of land and water management in North America and Asia: 1700–1992

Abstract. The hydrologic effects of land use changes, dams, and irrigation in North America and Asia over the past 300 years are studied using a macroscale hydrologic model. The simulation results indicate that the expansion of croplands over the last three centuries has resulted in 2.5 and 6 percent increases in annual runoff volumes for North America and Asia, respectively, and that these increases in runoff to some extent have been compensated by increased evapotranspiration caused by irrigation practices. Averaged over the year and the continental scale, the accumulated anthropogenic impacts on surface water fluxes are hence relatively minor. However, for some regions within the continents human activities have altered hydrologic regimes profoundly. Reservoir operations and irrigation practices in the western part of USA and Mexico have resulted in a 25 percent decrease in runoff in June, and a 9 percent decrease in annual runoff volumes reaching the Pacific Ocean. In the area in South East Asia draining to the Pacific Ocean, land use changes have caused an increase in runoff volumes throughout the year, and the average annual increase in runoff is 12 percent.
Nonlinear Thermal Stress/Strain Analyses of Copper Filled TSV (Through Silicon Via) and Their Flip-Chip Microbumps

Most TSVs are filled with copper; siliconpoly and tungsten are the alternatives. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of copper (~17.5 times 10-6/degC) is a few times higher than that of silicon (~2.5 times10-6/degC). Thus, when the copper filled through silicon via (TSV) is subjected to temperature loadings, there is a very large local thermal expansion mismatch between the copper and the silicon/dielectric (e.g., SiO2), which will create very large stresses and strains at the interfaces between the copper and the silicon and between the copper and the dielectric. These stresses/strains can be high enough to introduce delamination between the interfaces. In this paper, the nonlinear thermal stresses and strains at the interfaces between the copper, silicon, and dielectric have been determined for a wide-range of aspect ratios (of the silicon thickness and the TSV diameter). One of the major applications of TSV is as an interposer. Because of Moore's (scaling/integration) law, the silicon chip is getting bigger, the pin-out is getting higher, and the pitch is getting finer. Thus, the conventional substrates, e.g., BT (bismaleimide triazine) cannot support these kinds of silicon chips anymore and a silicon interposer (substrate) is needed to redistribute the very fine-pitch and high pin-count pads on the chip to much larger pitch and less pin-count through the silicon vias on the silicon substrate. Depending on the via-size and pitch of the copper filled TSV, the effective CTE of the copper filled TSV interposer could be as high as 10 times 10-6/degC. Consequently, the global thermal expansion mismatch between the silicon chip and the copper filled TSV substrate can be very large and the bumps (usually very small, e.g., microbumps) between them may not be able to survive under thermal conditions. In this study, the nonlinear stresses and strains in the microbumps between the silicon chip and copper filled TSV interposer (with and without underfills) have been determined for a wide-range of via sizes and pitches, and various temperature conditions. These results should be useful for 1) making a decision if underfill is necessary for the reliability of microbumps and 2) selecting underfill materials to minimize the stresses and strains in the microbumps.
Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell Treatment Induces Specific Alloantibodies in Horses

Background. It is unknown whether horses that receive allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) injections develop specific humoral immune response. Our goal was to develop and validate a flow cytometric MSC crossmatch procedure and to determine if horses that received allogeneic MSCs in a clinical setting developed measurable antibodies following MSC administration. Methods. Serum was collected from a total of 19 horses enrolled in 3 different research projects. Horses in the 3 studies all received unmatched allogeneic MSCs. Bone marrow (BM) or adipose tissue derived MSCs (ad-MSCs) were administered via intravenous, intra-arterial, intratendon, or intraocular routes. Anti-MSCs and anti-bovine serum albumin antibodies were detected via flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively. Results. Overall, anti-MSC antibodies were detected in 37% of the horses. The majority of horses (89%) were positive for anti-bovine serum albumin (BSA) antibodies prior to and after MSC injection. Finally, there was no correlation between the amount of anti-BSA antibody and the development of anti-MSC antibodies. Conclusion. Anti allo-MSC antibody development was common; however, the significance of these antibodies is unknown. There was no correlation between either the presence or absence of antibodies and the percent antibody binding to MSCs and any adverse reaction to a MSC injection.
Framed Deformation of Galois Representation

We studied framed deformations of two dimensional Galois representation of which the residue representation restrict to decomposition groups are scalars, and established a modular lifting theorem for certain cases. We then proved a family version of the result, and used it to determine the structure of deformation rings over characteristic zero fields. These can be applied to the study of exceptional zero of p-adic L-function.
A Binding Site for SH3 Domains Targets Dynamin to Coated Pits (*)

Dynamin is a GTPase that plays a critical role in the very early stages of endocytosis, regulating the scission of clathrin-coated and non-clathrin-coated pits from the plasma membrane. While the ligands through which dynamin exerts its in vivo effects are unknown, dynamin exhibits in vitro binding to several proteins containing Src homology 3 (SH3) domains, as well as to microtubules and anionic phospholipids, via a basic, proline-rich C-terminal domain. To begin to identify the in vivo binding partners of dynamin, we have examined by immunofluorescence the association of mutant and wild-type forms of dynamin with plasma membranes prepared by sonication of transiently transfected cells. Wild-type dynamin was found almost exclusively in association with clathrin-containing domains. Binding to these regions was abolished by removal of a nine-amino acid sequence within the C-terminal domain encoding a candidate SH3 domain binding site. Binding did not require clathrin and resisted extraction at both high and low ionic strength, consistent with an interaction with an SH3 domain. Surprisingly, we also find that dynamin contains multiple regions involved in binding to non-clathrin-containing domains, including a 13-amino acid sequence directly upstream of the C-terminal domain. These observations suggest that a protein containing an SH3 domain is involved in recruiting dynamin to coated pits and provide the first evidence for a biological role for SH3 domains in dynamin function.
Agorins: major structural proteins of the plasma membrane skeleton of P815 tumor cells

Plasma membranes of P815 mastocytoma cells contain a set of proteins that remain selectively insoluble upon extraction of the membranes with Triton X-100, and appear to form a membrane skeletal matrix independent of the filamentous cytoskeletal systems. EGTA treatment of the matrix was found to release approximately 25% of the protein as polypeptides of 70, 69, 38, and 36 kD, all of which appear to be peripheral components associated with the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane via divalent cation-dependent interactions. About 75% of the total matrix protein was recovered in the EGTA-insoluble fraction. Actin accounted for approximately 5% of the total protein in the EGTA- insoluble fraction. The rest was accounted for by two novel proteins of 20 and 40 kD which, despite their relatively low molecular weights, do not enter SDS PAGE gels. Together these proteins account for approximately 15% of the total plasma membrane protein, and are thus present in much higher amounts than any other characterized protein of nucleated cell plasma membranes. Based on the extensive associations of these proteins to form very large detergent-insoluble structures, we propose that they may be named agorin I, the 20-kD protein, and agorin II, the 40-kD protein, from the Greek agora meaning assembly. The amount and properties of these proteins and the appearance of the EGTA- insoluble material in thin-section electron micrographs indicate that the agorins are the major structural elements of the membrane matrix, and thus of the putative membrane skeleton.
THE EVOLUTION OF THEORETICAL APPROACHES OF THE CORPORATIONS’ ANALYSIS

The article explores the basis of methodology of the corporations' analysis. It is summarized the theoretical approaches to determine their economic substance. Characteristic features inherent in corporations are identified. It is stated that the study of the evolution of scientific views on the problem of the formation and development corporations in the world economic literature has revealed the most significant in terms of theoretical and methodological concept, updated the need for scientific development of the problem of formation of corporations in the economic system. Nowadays the scientists are united by a perception of corporations as a difficult economic institution, but there is no unity of opinion on its essential features. Thus, a holistic theory of corporations is at the stage of active formation.
ISOLATION AND DETECTION OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI FROM PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM PEPTIC ULCER USING BIOCHEMICAL TESTS AND MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES

Helicobacter pylori is the causative agent of most cases of gastritis. There is no established gold standard for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. A reliable diagnosis is crucial to conf irm that eradication therapy has been successful. Eighty gas tric biopsy and blood samples were obtained from fasting Jordanian patients with Esophago-Gastro-Dou denoscopy (EGD). Several diagnosis tests for H. pylori infections were used and compared including: Cultu re, microscopic examination, histopathology, Rapid Urease Test (RUT), serology, biochemical tests, antibiotic susceptibility test a nd molecular method. Forty two patients were considere d H. pylori positive in both histopathology examination and RUT test. On the other hand, 57 pat ient were detected to have anti-IgA, IgG H. pylori antibody positive by ELISA test. Ten patients had e quivocal results but not in both tests. A total of 19 biopsy samples were positive for H. pylori according to culture test. This result was confirm ed by endoscopic examination, urease, catalase and oxidas e. A high percentages of resistance to vancomycin, polymyxin B and amoxicillin was observed (100, 100 and 94.7%, respectively) with various degree of sensitivity to all of the first line of antibiotics . Molecular technique (PCR) was used to detect CagA gene which appeared positive in 14 patients. We con clude that the histopathology and RUT tests are reliable invasive diagnosis for H. pylori . However, culture test appear to be the most impor tant (if the therapy failed) to detect antibiotic susceptibility to H. pylori strains.
Moving beyond heterogeneity and process complexity: A new vision for watershed hydrology

Field studies in watershed hydrology continue to characterize and catalogue the enormous heterogeneity and complexity of rainfall runoff processes in more and more watersheds, in different hydroclimatic regimes, and at different scales. Nevertheless, the ability to generalize these findings to ungauged regions remains out of reach. In spite of their apparent physical basis and complexity, the current generation of detailed models is process weak. Their representations of the internal states and process dynamics are still at odds with many experimental findings. In order to make continued progress in watershed hydrology and to bring greater coherence to the science, we need to move beyond the status quo of having to explicitly characterize or prescribe landscape heterogeneity in our (highly calibrated) models and in this way reproduce process complexity and instead explore the set of organizing principles that might underlie the heterogeneity and complexity. This commentary addresses a number of related new avenues for research in watershed science, including the use of comparative analysis, classification, optimality principles, and network theory, all with the intent of defining, understanding, and predicting watershed function and enunciating important watershed functional traits.
Inflammation Determines the Pro-Adhesive Properties of High Extracellular D-Glucose in Human Endothelial Cells In Vitro and Rat Microvessels In Vivo

Background Hyperglycemia is acknowledged as an independent risk factor for developing diabetes-associated atherosclerosis. At present, most therapeutic approaches are targeted at a tight glycemic control in diabetic patients, although this fails to prevent macrovascular complications of the disease. Indeed, it remains highly controversial whether or not the mere elevation of extracellular D-glucose can directly promote vascular inflammation, which favors early pro-atherosclerotic events. Methods and Findings In the present work, increasing extracellular D-glucose from 5.5 to 22 mmol/L was neither sufficient to induce intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression, analyzed by flow cytometry, nor to promote leukocyte adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro, measured by flow chamber assays. Interestingly, the elevation of D-glucose levels potentiated ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression and leukocyte adhesion induced by a pro-inflammatory stimulus, such as interleukin (IL)-1β (5 ng/mL). In HUVEC, high D-glucose augmented the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) and nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) elicited by IL-1β, measured by Western blot and electromobility shift assay (EMSA), respectively, but had no effect by itself. Both ERK 1/2 and NF-κB were necessary for VCAM-1 expression, but not for ICAM-1 expression. In vivo, leukocyte trafficking was evaluated in the rat mesenteric microcirculation by intravital microscopy. In accordance with the in vitro data, the acute intraperitoneal injection of D-glucose increased leukocyte rolling flux, adhesion and migration, but only when IL-1β was co-administered. Conclusions These results indicate that the elevation of extracellular D-glucose levels is not sufficient to promote vascular inflammation, and they highlight the pivotal role of a pro-inflammatory environment in diabetes, as a critical factor conditioning the early pro-atherosclerotic actions of hyperglycemia.
Live demonstration: Memristor synaptic array with FPGA-implemented neurons for neuromorphic pattern recognition

Memristors were mathematically found by L. O. Chua in 1971 and experimentally demonstrated by HP researchers in 2008 [1], [2]. Since then, memristors have been considered suitable for neuromorphic circuits and systems, because they have some similarities with brain's neuronal systems [3], [4], [5]. Memristors are possibly 3-dimensioanl, parallel, analog, defective, etc like brain's neuronal systems [6], [7]. In spite of these similarities, memristors are fundamentally electronic devices, not biological cells. The difference of electronic devices versus biological cells leads to very distinctive phenomenal gaps which can be stated as follows; externally-designed versus self-organized, externally-programmed versus self-learned, defect-susceptible versus defect-curable, etc.