Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Barriers to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care: Urban Male Adolescents Speak Out

Context: Risky sexual behaviors among adolescent males put them at risk for sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and unplanned fatherhood, yet few facilities in the United States provide focused sexual and reproductive health services to these young men. A general acknowledgement exists that the development of such services is needed, yet there is little research to guide providers in making existing services more attractive to young males and in developing new sexual health services for this population. Objectives: This research aimed to explore attitudes and perceptions of urban black male adolescents regarding the availability of and access to reproductive healthcare. Methods: Eighteen black male adolescents participated in three focus group discussions held in a central New Jersey city. Transcripts of the discussions were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Resulting categories were grouped into themes, which reflected the adolescents' perceptions and experiences. Member checks were used to verify findings. Results: The adolescents felt that obtaining sexual health services was a stressful experience fraught with both internal and external barriers. Internal barriers included a fear of stigma and a loss of social status, shame, and embarrassment. External barriers included disrespectful providers, a lack of privacy/confidentiality, and challenges in accessing and negotiating the healthcare system. The young males described an idealized clinic environment as informal, welcoming, and respectful. Discussion and Conclusions: Providers should focus on improving the quality of care in existing clinics, particularly in the areas of access, privacy, and confidentiality, and on developing adolescent-friendly clinics focusing on male services. Adolescents should be encouraged to visit clinics prior to an acute need for services. There also is a need for providers who are comfortable with and able to communicate with male adolescents.
STAR™ Ankle: Long-Term Results

Background: There has been a resurgence of interest in total ankle replacement (TAR) due to improved results with newer prostheses. However, long-term survivorship data has been limited. The STAR™ Ankle prosthesis is the first three-part prosthesis approved for use in the United States. Materials and Methods: Eighty-four total ankle replacements were performed in 80 patients using the STAR™ Ankle prosthesis and followed prospectively. Postoperatively, patients were evaluated with the AOFAS score for pain and function, and serial radiographs were evaluated for stability and alignment of the prosthesis. Implant failure, secondary procedures, and complications were recorded. Results: Ninety-one percent of prostheses remain implanted at an average followup of 9.1 years. The probability of implant survival was 96% at 5 years and 90% at 10 years. An average 39-point improvement in the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score was noted, from a mean of 43 to a mean of 82 points. We noted a statistically significant increase in both average pain and function sub-scores. Postoperative range of motion averaged 4.5 degrees of dorsiflexion and 35 degrees of plantarflexion. Ninety-two percent of the patients were satisfied with their outcome. Ten patients (13%) developed concerning osteolytic lesions. Change in prosthetic alignment and adjacent joint arthritis were similar to previous reports. We report 21 complications, which included 14 additional surgical procedures. Conclusion: The first U.S. prospective long-term survivorship data with the STAR™ Ankle prosthesis found it to be an excellent long-term option for the treatment of ankle arthritis. Level of Evidence: IV, Case Series
Release of PDGF-BB and bFGF by human endothelial cells seeded on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene vascular grafts.

BACKGROUND The majority of endothelial cell (EC) seeded graft failures are due to anastomotic neointimal fibrous hyperplasia. We investigated the PDGF-BB and bFGF release in vitro by umbilical vein EC seeded on precoated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) prostheses. MATERIALS EC harvested from human umbilical veins were seeded into ePTFE (30 microns internodal distance, 1 cm2 in diameter) disks. ePTFE disks uncoated or precoated with collagen type I, fibronectin, and Matrigel were used, and EC seeded into plastic wells coated as ePTFE disks or uncoated plastic wells served as controls. Scanning electron microscopy study assessed EC coverage. The presence of bFGF and PDGF-BB in serum-free conditioned media from EC seeded into ePTFE grafts and EC seeded into wells was determined by the inhibition antibody-binding assay 72 h after seeding. RESULTS EC coverage was similar in uncoated and coated ePTFE grafts. The release of PDGF-BB and bFGF by EC seeded into ePTFE grafts was significantly higher than that observed in EC seeded into plastic wells. The release of PDGF-BB and bFGF was independent from the various substrates used in the experiments in EC seeded into either ePTFE grafts or plastic wells. CONCLUSIONS Our findings pointed out that in seeded ePTFE grafts, anastomotic smooth muscle cell proliferation and intimal thickening could take place underneath an intact endothelium because seeded EC may release several growth factors.
Tissue‐resident mesenchymal stem cells attract peripheral blood neutrophils and enhance their inflammatory activity in response to microbial challenge

Human MSCs may respond to TLR ligation, and recent research has suggested that many tissues contain tissue‐specific MSCs, possibly located in periendothelial and perivascular regions. At present, the functional consequences of these findings are unclear. We hypothesized that tissue‐specific MSCs could play an instructional role during early phases of bacterial challenge. To investigate this hypothesis further, we set up a coculture system of glandular MSCs and peripheral blood neutrophils so that we could analyze the cellular interactions of these cells in response to LPS challenge. We found that stimulation with bacterial endotoxin induced chemokine receptor expression and mobility of MSCs. Activated MSCs secreted large amounts of inflammatory cytokines and recruited neutrophils in an IL‐8‐ and MIF‐dependent manner. Recruited and activated neutrophils showed a prolonged lifespan, an increased expression of inflammatory chemokines, and an enhanced responsiveness toward subsequent challenge with LPS. Our findings demonstrate a complex, functional interaction between tissue‐resident MSCs and peripheral blood neutrophils upon bacterial challenge and suggest a role for MSCs in the early phases of pathogen challenge, when classical immune cells have not been recruited yet.
Le SYSCOA, vers des normes comptables uniformes dans l'UEMOA ?. Une analyse de la pratique togolaise

The implementation of the West African Economic Union’s (WAEU) new accounting standards, the SYSCOA, in 1998 was intended to define a conceptual accounting framework in order to harmonize accounting practices in the WAEU zone. A study of management information systems (MIS) of a sample of togolese companies suggests that most of them have effective MIS which provide information for both reporting and strategic decisions making purposes. Furthermore, SYSCOA is assumed to improve information relevancy and to standardize accounting practices.
Variability-aware parametric yield enhancement via post-silicon tuning of hybrid redundant MAC units

Variations in process parameter jeopardize the parametric yield which imposes severe cost implication on the semiconductor industry. Post-silicon tunning, such as Adaptive Body Bias (ABB) and Dynamic Voltage Scaling (DVS) is a powerful technique that mitigates the impacts of process parameter variations. However, since process parameter variations are getting aggravated with continued CMOS technology scaling, the achievable performance by ABB or DVS alone is becoming limited. In this paper, to enhance the parametric yield, we integrate ABB and DVS for the Hybrid Redundant Multiply-and-Accumulate (HR-MAC) units. Simulation results based on the PTM 32nm CMOS technology show that the proposed approach enhances the parametric yield at Fast-Fast (FF), Fast-Slow (FS), Slow-Fast (SF) and Slow-Slow (SS) process corners by 81.5%, 45.3%, 59.92% and 89.08%, respectively.
Surface Charge Characterization of Anatase and Rutile using Flow Adsorption Microcalorimetry

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) attracts extensive attention due to its widespread technological and environmental applications. This study seeks to investigate the surface charging behavior of the two TiO2 polymorphs, anatase and rutile, using Flow Adsorption Microcalorimetry (FAMC). FAMC allows direct quantitative measurement of the heat of a surface reaction; these calorimetric heats are directly proportional to the surface charge. Determining the magnitude of positive and negative charges at the surface over a range of pHs allows for the determination of the point of zero net charge (PZNC) via a unique calorimetric method that removes many of the shortcomings related to the other analytical techniques used for such measurements. INDEX WORDS: Surface charge, Ion-exchange, Heats of adsorption, TiO2, Zero Point of Charge, Metal-oxide solution interface SURFACE CHARGE CHARACTERIZATION OF ANATASE AND RUTILE USING FLOW ADSORPTION MICROCALORIMETRY
Causality analysis of P300 recordings focused on the localization of active brain areas

This paper focuses on the causal influence in the brain. These effects are analyzed by stimulating visually or aurally a patient with an external sensorial stimulus and investigating the outcome into the brain (event-related potentials) in order to detect causal influences from one neuron or neuronal population to another. This analysis is achieved by applying time varying multivariate autoregressive models to the ERP signals. The causal interaction is measured using the Granger Causality Index (GCI). The obtained results using causality can validate the analysis performed by an specialist, and they demonstrate the causal interactions between electrophysiological signals of different sites of the cortex, occurring during cognitive processes related with ERP.
Differential regulation of mTOR signaling determines sensitivity to AKT inhibition in diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Agents that target components of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway are under investigation for the treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Given the highly heterogeneous nature of DLBCL, it is not clear whether all subtypes of DLBCL will be susceptible to PI3K pathway inhibition, or which kinase within this pathway is the most favorable target. Pharmacological profiling of a panel of DLBCL cell lines revealed a subset of DLBCL that was resistant to AKT inhibition. Strikingly, sensitivity to AKT inhibitors correlated with the ability of these inhibitors to block phosphorylation of S6K1 and ribosomal protein S6. Cell lines resistant to AKT inhibition activated S6K1 independent of AKT either through upregulation of PIM2 or through activation by B cell receptor (BCR) signaling components. Finally, combined inhibition of AKT and BTK, PIM2, or S6K1 proved to be an effective strategy to overcome resistance to AKT inhibition in DLBCL.
A New Version of Bayesian Rough Set Based on Bayesian Confirmation Measures

Bayesian Confirmation Measures (BCM) quantify the strength of the confirmation where an evidence confirm, disconfirm or conformational irrelevance to the hypothesis under the test. In this paper BCM within Bayesian Rough Set approach (BRS) are applied to introduce a parametric extension of the BRS in order to handle totally ambiguous and enhance the precision of Rough set, and to deal with both two decision classes and multi decision classes. This concept is demonstrated by an example. The simulated result gives good accuracy and precise information with few computational steps.
On the Analog Self-Interference Cancellation for Full-Duplex Communications With Imperfect Channel State Information

This paper studies the performance of the analog multi-tap (MT) canceller, where the tap coefficients are calculated based on the estimated self-interference (SI) channel state information (CSI). In this paper, both the time-invariant and the time-varying SI channels scenarios are investigated, considering the dynamic range of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and the linearity of the receiver chain. Closed-form expressions are first developed to calculate the residual SI power after the MT cancellation, characterizing the joint effects of the imperfect SI CSI, reconstruction errors on the estimated SI CSI, and the variation of the SI channels. Then, the achievable rate of the full-duplex transceivers is derived as a function of the residual SI power after the MT cancellation, dynamic range of the ADC, and the linearity of the receiver chain. Theoretical and simulated results show that with imperfect SI CSI, deploying more taps may harm the amount of analog SI cancellation. The sensitivity of the canceller to the doppler frequency shift reduces the amount of analog SI cancellation, and thus brings rate gain loss even with a doppler negligible in conventional communications.
Underwater MASW to evaluate stiffness of water-bottom sediments

Stiffness measurements are often necessary for geotechnical characterization of an underwater site. Seismically, these measurements can be made through the dispersion analysis of the Rayleigh-type surface waves. Successful terrestrial application of this method has been reported by many investigators using spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) and more recently using multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW). The MASW method was originally developed as a land survey method to investigate the near-surface materials for their elastic properties: for example, the shear-wave velocity (VS), by recording and analyzing Rayleigh-type surface waves using a vertical (impulsive) seismic source and receivers. The acquired data are first analyzed for dispersion characteristics and, from these the shear-wave velocity is estimated using an inversion technique.
Cooperative Transcriptional Activation by Klf4, Meis2, and Pbx1

ABSTRACT The Kruppel-like factor Klf4 is implicated in tumorigenesis and maintaining stem cell pluripotency, and Klf4 can both activate and repress gene expression. We show that the Pbx1 and Meis2 homeodomain proteins interact with Klf4 and can be recruited to DNA elements comprising a Klf4 site or GC box, with adjacent Meis and Pbx sites. Meis2d and Pbx1a activate expression of p15Ink4a and E-cadherin, dependent on the Meis2d transcriptional activation domain. In HepG2 cells, reducing expression of endogenous Meis2 or Pbx1 decreases p15 gene expression and increases the number of cells entering S phase. Although DNA binding by all three proteins contributes to full cooperative activation, the sequence requirements for binding by Meis2 and Pbx1 are variable. In the E-cadherin promoter, a Pbx-like site is required for full activation, whereas in the p15 promoter, the Klf4 site appears to play the major role. Through a bioinformatics search we identified additional genes with conserved binding sites for Klf4, Meis2, and Pbx1 and show that at least some of these genes can be activated cooperatively by Klf4 and Meis2/Pbx1. We suggest a model in which genes with Klf4 sites can be cooperatively activated by Meis2/Pbx1 and Klf4, dependent primarily on recruitment by Klf4. This provides a mechanism to modulate transcriptional regulation by the multifunctional Klf4 transcription factor.
Removal of MAP4 from microtubules in vivo produces no observable phenotype at the cellular level

Microtubule-associated protein 4 (MAP4) promotes MT assembly in vitro and is localized along MTs in vivo. These results and the fact that MAP4 is the major MAP in nonneuronal cells suggest that MAP4's normal functions may include the stabilization of MTs in situ. To understand MAP4 function in vivo, we produced a blocking antibody (Ab) to prevent MAP4 binding to MTs. The COOH-terminal MT binding domain of MAP4 was expressed in Escherichia coli as a glutathione transferase fusion protein and was injected into rabbits to produce an antiserum that was then affinity purified and shown to be monospecific for MAP4. This Ab blocked > 95% of MAP4 binding to MTs in an in vitro assay. Microinjection of the affinity purified Ab into human fibroblasts and monkey epithelial cells abolished MAP4 binding to MTs as assayed with a rat polyclonal antibody against the NH2-terminal projection domain of MAP4. The removal of MAP4 from MTs was accompanied by its sequestration into visible MAP4-Ab immunocomplexes. However, the MT network appeared normal. Tubulin photoactivation and nocodazole sensitivity assays indicated that MT dynamics were not altered detectably by the removal of MAP4 from the MTs. Cells progressed to mitosis with morphologically normal spindles in the absence of MAP4 binding to MTs. Depleting MAP4 from MTs also did not affect the state of posttranslational modifications of tubulin subunits. Further, no perturbations of MT- dependent organelle distribution were detected. We conclude that the association of MAP4 with MTs is not essential for MT assembly or for the MT-based functions in cultured cells that we could assay. A significant role for MAP4 is not excluded by these results, however, as MAP4 may be a component of a functionally redundant system.
Study on the modulation ratio of wavelet modulation technique

This paper introduces the principle and implementation of the wavelet technique, and points out that the output voltage cannot be adjusted by using the original wavelet modulation (WM) technique. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a concept of modulation ratio for wavelet modulation, analyses the feasibility of wavelet modulation with modulation ratio theoretically. Finally, the experimental results show that the inverter using the modified WM technique has higher magnitude of the output fundamental along with lower total harmonic distortion by comparing with SPWM on the same modulation ratio.
A ug 2 00 6 Multidimensional Worldline Instantons

We extend the worldline instanton technique to compute the vacuum pair production rate for spatially inhomogeneous electric background fields, with the spatial inhomogeneity being genuinely two or three dimensional, both for the magnitude and direction of the electric field. Other techniques, such as WKB, have not been applied to such higher dimensional problems. Our method exploits the instanton dominance of the worldline path integral expression for the effective action.
Football players and ball trajectories projection from single camera's image

In this paper, we propose a method to track multiple players in a football match video which is captured by a single camera. The camera pans and brings the players and the ball into the view, enabling to record the whole pitch. The players' trajectories in frames and camera movement are obtained to estimate the trajectories on the pitch. Moreover, we propose an effective tracking method for solving occlusion problem by combining Particle Filter and Real AdaBoost Classifier. In ball tracking, we calculate likelihood edge and color feature. The player's points project to pitch by projection transform. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed tracking method.
Exploring the Linkage between Political Resources and Corporate Politics: An Adaptation of the Resource-Based Theory

This study explored the linkage between corporate politics and the resource based theory. The first part featured a conceptualization of organizational resources and review of the theoretical underpinnings of the resource based view. This was followed by a review of the classifications of resources. The second part featured an over view of corporate politics as a concept and the link between corporate politics and the resource based view. The last part featured an outline of organizational factors that motivate political behaviour as well as a highlight of some political resources employed by individuals within an organization. Finally the study concludes with an overview of the implication of political resources to management as a field. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016. v7n2s1p359
Computational Conformal Geometry and Its Applications

PCT No. PCT/DE82/00203 Sec. 371 Date May 20, 1983 Sec. 102(e) Date May 20, 1983 PCT Filed Sep. 20, 1982 PCT Pub. No. WO83/01085 PCT Pub. Date Mar. 31, 1983.With roof windows of any inclination and orientation, it should be possible to adjust the sunshade effect throughout the year and to have at the same time a good transparence to daylight. For this purpose, there is used a prismatic plate, flat at the outside, and which is provided at the inside with parallel prismatic bars having a surface free of a reflecting layer on a right angle side. According to the invention, the other surface on the other side is provided with a reflecting layer and forms with the non-reflecting surface a right angle. Furthermore, the prismatic bars are arranged perpendicularly to the intersection line which is defined by the intersection plane with which the solar beams, during the longest day, form the maximum incidence angle psi max with respect to the plane of the window. For the angle alpha of the base of the non-reflecting surface, a value may be selected with which there is obtained a sunshade effect and at the same time optimum conditions of transparency to daylight.
Estrutura fatorial de uma Escala de Motivação de Adolescentes para Leitura

Factor structure of Adolescents' Motivation for Reading Questionnaire The aim of this study was to investigate factor structure of a questionnaire elaborated to assess adolescent students' motivation for reading. The sample was composed of 566 students in either 9th grade or the 2nd year of high school, from public and private schools in Parana state. Construction procedures for the Likert-type scale were described, having Self-Determination theory as its framework. Factor analysis through principal components extraction was conducted and achieved a three-factor structure related to intrinsic motivation, identified motivation, and extrinsic motivation, with a satisfactory internal consistency among items. The correlations between the factors align with the postulates of the theory. The results were discussed based on the Theory of Self-Determination and
A deep network based integrated model for disease named entity recognition

Automatic disease named entity recognition (NER) plays a fundamental and essential role in knowledge extraction from biomedical literature. In this paper, we proposed a novel integrated model for disease mentions detection using deep network in combination with decoding algorithm and dictionary. To build the network, we implemented Bi-directional LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) layers to capture long-term context information and fully-connected layers to improve the fitting capability, using concatenation of word embedding trained from raw biomedical texts and character embedding to encode the input. Viterbi algorithm was used to decode the previous output to access initial labeled sequence. On top of that, a disease names dictionary was constructed to label the disease mentions by exact string matching, which provided extra information to optimize the initial output. While training and testing on NCBI disease corpus, our model achieved F-score of 89.58% which performed better than current reported systems.