Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Courtesy stigma: a hidden health concern among workers providing services to sex workers

Supervisory Committee Dr. Cecilia M. Benoit, (Department of Sociology) Supervisor Dr. Helga K. Hallgrimsdottir, (Department of Sociology) Departmental Member Dr. Karen M. Kobayashi, (Department of Sociology) Departmental Member Dr. Bonnie J. Leadbeater, (Department of Psychology) Courtesy stigma is the public disapproval evoked as a consequence of associating with a stigmatized individual or group. While there are few examples of research applying the concept of courtesy stigma to the professional associates of stigmatized persons, courtesy stigma has been shown to limit the social support and social opportunities available to family members who come to share some of the shame, blame and loss associated with their family member’s stigma(s). Research on the occupational health of persons performing frontline service work examines various sources of workplace demands and rewards, including the availability of public funding for the health and social service sectors, the devaluation of feminized forms of careoriented work, and the downloading of responsibility for providing care to poorly paid or unpaid workers in the community and home. This research project blends the literatures on courtesy stigma and the occupational health of frontline service workers to understand the work experiences of those providing frontline social services to sex workers. A mixed methods design is used to study the workplace experiences of a small group of workers in a non-profit organization providing support and educational services to sex workers. The findings reveal that courtesy stigma is a discernable experience among this vulnerable group of service workers, affecting their work, community and family contexts. Courtesy stigma played a significant role in staff perceptions of others’ support for themselves and their work activities, leading to diminished opportunities for collaborative relationships, emotional exhaustion, altered service practices, and a low sense of workplace accomplishment. Thus, courtesy stigma forms part of the package of conditions that leads to high turnover, diminished workplace health, and a loss of service capacity in the frontline health and social service sector. The dissertation concludes with a consideration of the implications of the findings for the literatures on courtesy stigma and frontline service work, arguing that courtesy stigma is an underestimated determinant of occupational health for frontline service providers serving socially denigrated groups.
Coordinated regulation of differentiation and proliferation of embryonic cardiomyocytes by a jumonji (Jarid2)-cyclin D1 pathway

In general, cell proliferation and differentiation show an inverse relationship, and are regulated in a coordinated manner during development. Embryonic cardiomyocytes must support embryonic life by functional differentiation such as beating, and proliferate actively to increase the size of the heart. Therefore, progression of both proliferation and differentiation is indispensable. It remains unknown whether proliferation and differentiation are related in these embryonic cardiomyocytes. We focused on abnormal phenotypes, such as hyperproliferation, inhibition of differentiation and enhanced expression of cyclin D1 in cardiomyocytes of mice with mutant jumonji (Jmj, Jarid2), which encodes the repressor of cyclin D1. Analysis of Jmj/cyclin D1 double mutant mice showed that Jmj was required for normal differentiation and normal expression of GATA4 protein through cyclin D1. Analysis of transgenic mice revealed that enhanced expression of cyclin D1 decreased GATA4 protein expression and inhibited the differentiation of cardiomyocytes in a CDK4/6-dependent manner, and that exogenous expression of GATA4 rescued the abnormal differentiation. Finally, CDK4 phosphorylated GATA4 directly, which promoted the degradation of GATA4 in cultured cells. These results suggest that CDK4 activated by cyclin D1 inhibits differentiation of cardiomyocytes by degradation of GATA4, and that initiation of Jmj expression unleashes the inhibition by repression of cyclin D1 expression and allows progression of differentiation, as well as repression of proliferation. Thus, a Jmj-cyclin D1 pathway coordinately regulates proliferation and differentiation of cardiomyocytes.
Multiple Perceived Reasons for Major Discrimination and Depression

Although perceived discrimination is linked to poor mental health, little is known about the mental health significance of the number of perceived reasons for discrimination. Using survey data from a community-based sample of adults living in Miami, Florida (n = 1,944), this study tests whether those reporting multiple perceived reasons for major discriminating events are at increased risk for depression. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses reveal those reporting multiple reasons for major discrimination are at increased risk for lifetime major depression and subsequent depressive symptoms. While social support and mastery partially mediated the link between multiple perceived reasons for discrimination and subsequent depressive symptoms, this psychological risk was not fully explained by these coping resources. Together the findings underscore the psychological toxicity of perceived discrimination and the importance of considering multiple perceived reasons for discrimination as a risk factor for poor mental health.
Performance Analysis of M/G/1 Retrial Queue with Finite Source Population Using Markov Regenerative Stochastic Petri Nets

This paper aims to present an approach for modeling and analyzing an M/G/1//2 retrial queue, using the MRSPN ( Markov Regenerative Stochastic Petri Nets ) tool. The consideration of the retrials and finite source population introduce analytical di culties. The expressive power of the MRSPN formalism provides us with a detailed modeling of retrial systems. In addition to this modeling, this formalism gives us a qualitative and a quantitative analysis which allow us to obtain the steady state performance indices. Indeed, some illustrative numerical results will be given by using the software package Time Net.
FAA Aircraft Systems Information Security Protection overview

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of Aircraft Systems Information Security Protection (ASISP) from an FAA AVS perspective. Increased aircraft connectivity to aircraft systems and networks to Air Traffic Service (ATS) providers, including NextGen and public networks (e.g, Internet), may require additional security risk considerations. When the aircraft connects electronically to the infrastructure the safety, performance and interoperability requirements of both the aircraft and the systems that the aircraft are connected to should be considered. The FAA solution set includes safety, security, and environment. Improving safety, security, and the environment is an inherent part of the FAAs overall mission and is embedded in the activities of individual programs agency-wide. This solution set involves activities directly related to ensuring that NextGen systems contribute to steadily reducing risks to safety and information security while mitigating adverse effects on the environment and ensuring environmental protection that allows sustained aviation growth. Security issues related to individuals that could gain physical access to aircraft to cause malicious damage to the aircraft systems (e.g., improper maintenance procedures, cutting wire bundles, etc.) are not addressed in this paper. Physical aircraft security is enforced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) . This paper is not a FAA official document and is the opinion of the author only. The pictures and figures contained in this paper were obtained from various internet sites, including the FAA NextGen program office. A list of acronyms and references used herein are included in the back of this paper.
Resource allocation in a heterogeneous wireless network using fuzzy logic

A new scheduling and link adaptation scheme is designed for a heterogeneous wireless network where a) different links are using the shared media with various throughput requirement based on their applications, b) links have different characteristics, c) various bit error rate constraints are to be considered at the receivers, d) based on the available power supplies different average transmission power constraints are to be met. A fuzzy based scheme with a low complexity is presented which may be implemented in a wide range of networks where channel's specifications are not available and network structure may be unknown. It is shown that the proposed fuzzy based scheme gives a close performance to analytical approach, however, with substantially lower CSI load and computational cost.
Empirical Evaluation of Test Driven Modeling

Declarative approaches to process modeling are regarded well suited for highly volatile environments as they provide a high degree of flexibility. However, problems in understanding and maintaining declarative process models impede their usage. To compensate for these shortcomings, Test Driven Modeling TDM has been proposed. This paper reports on an empirical investigation in which TDM is viewed from two different angles. First, the impact of TDM on communication is explored in a case study. Results indicate that domain experts are inclined to use test cases for communicating with the model builder system analyst and prefer them over the process model. The second part of the investigation, a controlled experiment, investigates the impact of TDM on process model maintenance. Data gathered in this experiment indicates that the adoption of test cases significantly lowers cognitive load and increases the perceived quality of changes.
Características psicométricas das versões completa e reduzida do IQCODE-BR em idosos de baixa renda e escolaridade

Objective : To study the psychometric characteristics of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-BR) using a sample of low income elderly persons with a low educational level, and compare the full and short versions of the questionnaire. Method : A cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of a population with a low educational level was performed. The IQCODE-BR was applied to the informants of 87 elderly persons (60-90 years old), who were triaged by psychiatrists and neurologists for the diagnosis of depression, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia. Results : The median age of the sample was 72 and the majority were women (72.4%). A total of 31 (35.6%) were illiterate, 30 (34.5%) had dementia, 21 (24.1%) suffered from depression, 20 (23.0%) had MCI, and 16 (18.4%) were diagnosed with none of these conditions. The median IQCODE-BR was higher in the groups with depression and MCI than the normal group, and was highest of all in the group with dementia. The full and reduced versions of the IQCODE-BR had similar levels of accuracy. Conclusion : In this sample the IQCODE-BR was shown to be an effective tool for tracking MCI and dementia. The use of the short version with cut-off points of 3.22 for MCI excluding a diagnosis of depression, and 3.48 for dementia irrespective of the presence of symptoms of depression, is suggested.
Natural Biology of Polyomavirus Middle T Antigen

SUMMARY “It has been commented by someone that ‘polyoma’ is an adjective composed of a prefix and suffix, with no root between—a meatless linguistic sandwich” (C. J. Dawe). The very name “polyomavirus” is a vague mantel: a name given before our understanding of these viral agents was clear but implying a clear tumor life-style, as noted by the late C. J. Dawe. However, polyomavirus are not by nature tumor-inducing agents. Since it is the purpose of this review to consider the natural function of middle T antigen (MT), encoded by one of the seemingly crucial transforming genes of polyomavirus, we will reconsider and redefine the virus and its MT gene in the context of its natural biology and function. This review was motivated by our recent in vivo analysis of MT function. Using intranasal inoculation of adult SCID mice, we have shown that polyomavirus can replicate with an MT lacking all functions associated with transformation to similar levels to wild-type virus. These observations, along with an almost indistinguishable replication of all MT mutants with respect to wild-type viruses in adult competent mice, illustrate that MT can have a play subtle role in acute replication and persistence. The most notable effect of MT mutants was in infections of newborns, indicating that polyomavirus may be highly adapted to replication in newborn lungs. It is from this context that our current understanding of this well-studied virus and gene is presented.
On feedback stabilization of a class of stochastic nonlinear systems with delays

In this paper, the problem of feedback stabilization of stochastic differential delay systems is considered. The systems under study are nonlinear and nonaffine. By using a LaSalle-type theorem for stochastic systems, general conditions for stabilizing the closed-loop system with delays are obtained. In addition, stabilizing state feedback control laws are proposed.
Reconciliation: A comprehensive framework for empirical analysis

There appears to be a rift between the theoretical and normative understandings of what reconciliation means and offers, and what people expect to happen in postconflict scenarios. Here we present a conceptual framework that captures the definitional diversity surrounding the concept of reconciliation and then operationalizes it in order to analyze responses from postconflict populations. The illustrative application of our framework to responses from a representative survey of 1,843 Colombian citizens reveals that people’s convictions are just as diverse as scholars’. Nevertheless, significant proportions of respondents seem to understand reconciliation to be primarily a psychological and political process which aims to achieve the re-establishment of quotidian or day-to-day relations and cooperation; which should be preceded by the cessation of violence, dialogue, goodwill, and attitudinal and emotional change; and which should be accompanied by social welfare and security. It is noteworthy that understandings of reconciliation as a process mediated by justice, truth, and memory are scarce. The application of this framework will help to reveal differences between hopes and promises, and inform scholarly work and policymaking that is more realistically rooted.
Virosome-Formulated Plasmodium falciparum AMA-1 & CSP Derived Peptides as Malaria Vaccine: Randomized Phase 1b Trial in Semi-Immune Adults & Children

Background This trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of two virosome formulated malaria peptidomimetics derived from Plasmodium falciparum AMA-1 and CSP in malaria semi-immune adults and children. Methods The design was a prospective randomized, double-blind, controlled, age-deescalating study with two immunizations. 10 adults and 40 children (aged 5–9 years) living in a malaria endemic area were immunized with PEV3B or virosomal influenza vaccine Inflexal®V on day 0 and 90. Results No serious or severe adverse events (AEs) related to the vaccines were observed. The only local solicited AE reported was pain at injection site, which affected more children in the Inflexal®V group compared to the PEV3B group (p = 0.014). In the PEV3B group, IgG ELISA endpoint titers specific for the AMA-1 and CSP peptide antigens were significantly higher for most time points compared to the Inflexal®V control group. Across all time points after first immunization the average ratio of endpoint titers to baseline values in PEV3B subjects ranged from 4 to 15 in adults and from 4 to 66 in children. As an exploratory outcome, we found that the incidence rate of clinical malaria episodes in children vaccinees was half the rate of the control children between study days 30 and 365 (0.0035 episodes per day at risk for PEV3B vs. 0.0069 for Inflexal®V; RR = 0.50 [95%-CI: 0.29–0.88], p = 0.02). Conclusion These findings provide a strong basis for the further development of multivalent virosomal malaria peptide vaccines. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00513669
Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell (hESC) Derived Pyramidal Neurons

The mammalian cerebral neocortex is a complex six-layered structure containing multiple types of neurons. Pyramidal neurons of the neocortex are formed during development in an inside-out manner, by which deep layer (DL) neurons are generated first, and upper layer (UL) neurons are generated last. Neurons within the six-layered neocortex express unique markers for their position, showing whether they are subplate, deep layer, upper layer, or Cajal-Retzius neurons. The sequential generation of cortical layers, which exists in vivo, has been partially recapitulated in vitro by differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (Gaspard et al., 2008) and human embryonic stem cells (hESC) (Eiraku et al., 2008). The timeline of generation of cortical neurons from hESC is still not well defined, and could be very important in the future of cell therapy. In this study we will define timeline for UL and DL neurons for our experimental paradigm as well as test the effects of fibroblast growth factors (FGF) 2 and 8 on this neuronal differentiation. Recent papers suggest that FGFs are critical for forebrain patterning (Storm et al., 2003). Neuronal differentiation after treatment with either FGF2 or FGF8 from hESCs will be examined and the proportion of specific neuronal markers will be analyzed using immunocytochemistry. Our results show that the generated pyramidal neurons will express DL and UL laminar markers in vitro as they do in vivo and that the presence of FGF8 in induction media creates a proliferative effect, while FGF2 induces hESC to differentiate at a higher rate.
Chemohormonal Therapy in Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) has been the backbone of treatment for metastatic prostate cancer since the 1940s. We assessed whether concomitant treatment with ADT plus docetaxel would result in longer overall survival than that with ADT alone. METHODS We assigned men with metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer to receive either ADT plus docetaxel (at a dose of 75 mg per square meter of body-surface area every 3 weeks for six cycles) or ADT alone. The primary objective was to test the hypothesis that the median overall survival would be 33.3% longer among patients receiving docetaxel added to ADT early during therapy than among patients receiving ADT alone. RESULTS A total of 790 patients (median age, 63 years) underwent randomization. After a median follow-up of 28.9 months, the median overall survival was 13.6 months longer with ADT plus docetaxel (combination therapy) than with ADT alone (57.6 months vs. 44.0 months; hazard ratio for death in the combination group, 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). The median time to biochemical, symptomatic, or radiographic progression was 20.2 months in the combination group, as compared with 11.7 months in the ADT-alone group (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.72; P<0.001). The rate of a prostate-specific antigen level of less than 0.2 ng per milliliter at 12 months was 27.7% in the combination group versus 16.8% in the ADT-alone group (P<0.001). In the combination group, the rate of grade 3 or 4 febrile neutropenia was 6.2%, the rate of grade 3 or 4 infection with neutropenia was 2.3%, and the rate of grade 3 sensory neuropathy and of grade 3 motor neuropathy was 0.5%. CONCLUSIONS Six cycles of docetaxel at the beginning of ADT for metastatic prostate cancer resulted in significantly longer overall survival than that with ADT alone. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00309985.).
Authenticated Online Data Integration Services

Data integration involves combining data from multiple sources and providing users with a unified query interface. Data integrity has been a key problem in online data integration. Although a variety of techniques have been proposed to address the data consistency and reliability issues, there is little work on assuring the integrity of integrated data and the correctness of query results. In this paper, we take the first step to propose authenticated data integration services to ensure data and query integrity even in the presence of an untrusted integration server. We develop a novel authentication code called homomorphic secret sharing seal that can aggregate the inputs from individual sources faithfully by the untrusted server for future query authentication. Based on this, we design two authenticated index structures and authentication schemes for queries on multi-dimensional data. We further study the freshness problem in multi-source query authentication and propose several advanced update strategies. Analytical models and empirical results show that our seal design and authentication schemes are efficient and robust under various system settings.
Improvement of Error Correction in the Networks using Generative Programming

This paper focuses on impelling the FEC towards TCP transmission through generative frameworks based on existing error correction codes. It categorizes existing error correction algorithms on various bases and uses them as an outline for a generative program that monitors the present network parameters and generates a correction code accordingly. Required modifications in TCP packets are depicted and discussed with the challenges involved. Also need for smarter nodes has been emphasized based on discussed topics, considering the increasing load on servers. General Terms
Combining body sensors and visual sensors for motion training

We present a new framework to build motion training systems using machine learning techniques. The goal of our approach is the design of a training method based on the combination of body and visual sensors. We introduce the concept of a Motion Chunk to analyze human motion and construct a motion data model in real-time. The system provides motion detection and evaluation and visual feedback generation. We discuss the results of user tests regarding the system efficiency in martial art training. With our system, trainers can generate motion training videos and practice complex motions precisely evaluated by a computer.
Brushless DC torque motors quality level indexes for servo drive applications

The paper is devoted to motors static and dynamic qualitative characteristics required to compare and select brushless DC torque motors of different models and manufacturers for control systems and servo drives. By analyzing of 16 torque motors from 6 manufacturers it is shown that the most informative energetic index is the static torque quality factor measuring a developing torque per units of consumer power and the motor mass. Two dynamic indexes also discussed: mechanical and electrical time constants reflecting a torque motor structure. Selection of one of these indexes as the main factor depends of a drive application and design (gear or gearless).