Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strengthening a Whole Child Approach within Residential Care Settings Through Psychosocial Support and Nutritional Guidance

ABSTRACT Malnutrition and a lack of sufficient psychosocial support from caregivers both have a tremendous effect on children’s development. Initiatives to support healthy child development in a context of poverty include caregiver interventions. There is growing evidence to support interventions that integrate psychosocial and nutritional support. The current study explores a psychosocial support intervention based on the International Child Development Programme integrated with a health and nutritional supplement to child center staff in the Maputo area in Mozambique. A wait list comparison group of staff from other child centers received the same training after the current study. The study draws on both quantitative and qualitative approaches in order to investigate children’s physical health measured through weight and height scores, children’s self-report to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire before and after the intervention, and caregivers’ perceived changes following the intervention provided through open-ended questions. Measures of weight and height scores (N = 334) from children belonging to the intervention centers showed that 52.4 percent (N = 175) were at risk or at high risk from malnutrition at pre-test of whom 139 were measured again after the intervention. Results suggest improvement among 93.5 percent of the children categorized as malnourished before the intervention. Children’s self-reported data on strengths and difficulties (N = 79) suggest significant increases in prosocial behavior in the intervention group. Caregivers (N = 40) reported strengthened relationships, improved communication, and improved nutritional menus within the intervention centers. Despite limitations due to lack of randomization, adequate comparison data, and longer-term follow-up, this study shows the suitability of implementing integrated psychosocial and nutritional training among professional caregivers responsible for the care of orphaned and vulnerable children.
Political Polarization in the American Public

For more than two decades political scientists have discussed rising elite polarization in the United States, but the study of mass polarization did not receive comparable attention until fairly recently. This article surveys the literature on mass polarization. It begins with a discussion of the concept of polarization, then moves to a critical consideration of different kinds of evidence that have been used to study polarization, concluding that much of the evidence presents problems of inference that render conclusions problematic. The most direct evidence—citizens' positions on public policy issues—shows little or no indication of increased mass polarization over the past two to three decades. Party sorting—an increased correlation between policy views and partisan identification—clearly has occurred, although the extent has sometimes been exaggerated. Geographic polarization—the hypothesized tendency of like-minded people to cluster together—remains an open question. To date, there is no conclusive e.
Constraints on the dark energy equation of state from the separation of CMB peaks and the evolution of {alpha}

We introduce a simple parametrization of the dark energy equation of state, {omega}, which is motivated from theory and recent experimental data. The theory is related to the tracker solution to alleviate the fine-tuning problem. Recent experimental data indicates that the present value of {omega} is close to -1. We analyze the evolution of {omega} from the separation of CMB peaks and the time variation of the fine structure constant, {alpha}. We find that -1.00{<=}{omega}{sup (0)}{<=}-0.971{sub -0.027}{sup +0.017} and 1.76{sub -0.42}{sup +0.29}x10{sup -4}{<=}(d{omega}/dz){sub z=0}{<=}0.041{sub -0.037}{sup +=} 0{sup . 016} at 95% confidence level.
Impacto de una intervención en salud transcultural liderada por adolescentes autóctonos e inmigrantes sobre la actividad física de niños y niñas de Educación Primaria

The formation of multicultural societies requires the definition of new educational approaches in understanding of the similarities and cultural differences of socio-cultural groups that coexisting, recognizing their potentialities and their different problems. The objective of this study is to know the effects on the physical activity of an intervention education program in cross-cultural health led by Spanish, Moroccan and Romanian - as cultural mediators in health - on primary school students. Method. Quasiexperimental study with experimental group and control with the participant students of sixth of Primary Education. Instruments. Scale of evaluation of the attitudes towards the physical activity. Results. High levels of physical activity in the Moroccan population are to the other two cultural groups. After the intervention, an improvement in the knowledge on the benefits of physical activity and an increase in motivation. At the Attitudinal Level there is an increase in attitudes toward marginally significant physical activity in men of the experimental group, both Primary Education and Education High school.
Protocol of Taste and See: A Feasibility Study of a Church-Based, Healthy, Intuitive Eating Programme

Obesity treatment remains a high global priority. Evidence suggests holistic approaches, which include a religious element, are promising. Most research is from the USA, but recent evidence suggests a need within the UK population. The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of running and evaluating a Christian-based, healthy, intuitive-eating programme, in a UK church. This is the protocol of a mixed-methods single-group feasibility study of a ten-week programme. The programme focuses on breaking the “diet and weight regain” cycle using principles from intuitive eating uniquely combined with biblical principles of love, freedom, responsibility, forgiveness, and spiritual need. We will recruit at least ten adult participants who are obese, overweight, or of a healthy weight with problematic eating behaviours. Participants can be from any faith or none. Robust measures of physical, psychological and spiritual outcomes will be used. Results are not yet available. Findings will be used to design a cluster-randomised controlled trial to test efficacy through many churches. If weight reduces by a small amount, there will be substantial benefits to public health. With a strong association between obesity and mental-ill health, a holistic intervention is particularly important. Using churches addresses religious and spiritual health, and uses existing social structures and a voluntary workforce that are sustainable and cost-effective.
A circular cone relaxation primal interior point algorithm for LP

We consider a primal interior point algorithm for LP. The method uses a search direction obtained by minimizing the original objective over a linearly transformed section of the circular cone circumscribed around the nonnegative orthant. If the latter problem has a finite solution, it provides a lower bound for the optimal objective and a target point specifying a descent direction. Otherwise, the target point is constructed with the objective value equal to the current lower bound. The method is monotonous and requires main iterations to attain ε-optimality.
Effects of sex education on young peoples sexual behaviour.

The provision of sex education to children and young adults remains highly controversial in some countries. While public opinion in the US is generally in favor of such education vocal and radical opponents have managed to severely limit the scope and implementation of sex education programs for children and youths. The authors reviewed approximately 1050 database and journal articles on sex education dating back to the mid-1970s. The articles reported findings for controlled intervention studies quasi-experimental designs and reviews but research dealing solely with knowledge and attitudes about sex has been excluded. Moreover only the behavioral outcomes of other studies are reported. The overwhelming majority of articles reviewed despite the variety of methodologies countries under investigation and year of publication find no support for the claim that sex education encourages sexual experimentation or increased activity. Instead and almost without exception data indicate that sex education targeted to children and young adults helps postpone the initiation of sexual intercourse and/or fosters the effective use of contraceptives. The best outcomes are obtained when education is given prior to the onset of sexual activity. Since some young people may be sexually active at age 12 instruction on sexuality and sex should therefore be initiated well before that age. It should be clear that children in virtually all cultural settings like adults are barraged with sexual messages in the media. They will be taught about sex in some manner by adult role models television advertisements and parents which may or may not be accurate and appropriate. In this context sex education should be provided to children and youths in the interest of ensuring that all people receive the accurate and complete information on sex which they need and deserve.
How retinal microcircuits scale for ganglion cells of different size

Ganglion cell receptive field centers are small in central retina and larger toward periphery. Accompanying this expansion, the distribution of sensitivity across the centers remain Gaussian, but peak sensitivities decline. To identify circuitry that might explain this physiology, we measured the density of bipolar cell synapses on the dendritic membrane of beta (X) and alpha (Y) ganglion cells and the distribution of dendritic membrane across their dendritic fields. Both central and peripheral beta cells receive bipolar cell synapses at a density of approximately 28/100 microns2 of dendritic membrane; central and peripheral alpha cells receive approximately 13/100 microns2. The distribution of dendritic membrane across the dendritic field is dome- like; therefore, the distribution of bipolar cell synapses is also dome- like. As the dendritic field enlarges, total postsynaptic membrane increases with field radius, but only linearly. Consequently, density of postsynaptic membrane in the dendritic field declines, and so does density of synapses within the field. The results suggest a simple model in which the receptive field center's Gaussian profile and peak sensitivity are both set by the density of bipolar cell synapses across the dendritic field.
From the NIH: Proceedings of a Workshop on the Importance of Self-Obtained Vaginal Specimens for Detection of Sexually Transmitted Infections

On June 27, 2006, the NIH conducted a workshop to review published data and current field practices supporting the use of self-obtained vaginal swabs (SOVs) as specimens for diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The workshop also explored the design of studies that could support FDA clearance of SOVs for STI testing, particularly for specimens collected in nonclinical settings including patients’ homes. This report summarizes the workshop findings and recommendations. Participants concluded that self-obtained vaginal swabs are well accepted by women of all ages and that SOVs perform as well as or better than other specimen types for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae detection using transcription-mediated amplification. In addition, workshop participants recommended the validation of SOV testing by public health practitioners and manufacturers of STI diagnostic tests to expedite incorporation of SOVs as a diagnostic option in clinical and nonclinical settings for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae testing. Similarly, SOVs should be explored for use in the diagnosis of other sexually transmitted pathogens.
Filaments and Pancakes in the IRAS 1.2 Jy Redshift Catalog

We explore the shapes of clusters and superclusters in the IRAS 1.2 Jy redshift survey with three reconstructions spanning the range β=0.1, 0.5, and 1.0, where β=Ω0. 6/b; b is the bias factor, and Ω is the present value of the dimensionless matter density. Comparing our results with Gaussian randomized reconstructions of the IRAS catalog, we find structures having both planar and filamentary properties. For β=0.5 and 1.0, the largest structures in the survey have a distinct tendency to be filament-like, in general agreement with the results of N-body simulations.
The Accuracy of Tensor and Directional Methods for MIMO Channel Modeling

The goal of this work is to identify MIMO modeling strategies with high accuracy and relatively few parameters. Candidates are existing correlation tensor models (Kronecker, Weichselberger, and maximum entropy), a new generalized tensor model based on the higher-order singular value decomposition (HOSVD), and an unstructured diffuse directional model. The performance of the models is investigated by applying them to 8×8 MIMO reference channels generated with a realistic doubledirectional cluster channel model. It is shown that all of the existing models exhibit high error in the reconstructed spatial spectra (10-30%) and even higher error in the reconstructed full covariance (20-35%). Analysis of a new sparse core tensor model indicates that this error decays slowly (logarithmically) as the number of parameters is increased. For the same number of parameters as the simple Kronecker model, the directional model is able to reconstruct the spectrum with improved accuracy (about 3% error). More surprisingly, the error in the reconstructed covariance matrices (about 16%) is also substantially lower than all of the reduced-order correlation tensor methods.
Steering nonholonomic systems via nilpotent approximations: the general two-trailer system

Existing methods for nonholonomic motion planning can only be applied to exactly nilpotentizable or flat systems. For nonholonomic systems that do not fall into the above classes, we conjecture that globally defined nilpotent approximations will allow the synthesis of efficient steering and stabilization strategies. In the paper, a car towing two off-hooked trailers is considered as a case study. First, it is shown how to derive a nilpotent approximation that is valid in the neighborhood of both regular and singular points. Then, such approximate model is used to compute steering controls. Simulation results are reported to show the satisfactory performance of the method.
Dynamic Regulation of a Cell Adhesion Protein Complex Including CADM1 by Combinatorial Analysis of FRAP with Exponential Curve-Fitting

Protein components of cell adhesion machinery show continuous renewal even in the static state of epithelial cells and participate in the formation and maintenance of normal epithelial architecture and tumor suppression. CADM1 is a tumor suppressor belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion molecule and forms a cell adhesion complex with an actin-binding protein, 4.1B, and a scaffold protein, MPP3, in the cytoplasm. Here, we investigate dynamic regulation of the CADM1-4.1B-MPP3 complex in mature cell adhesion by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) analysis. Traditional FRAP analysis were performed for relatively short period of around 10min. Here, thanks to recent advances in the sensitive laser detector systems, we examine FRAP of CADM1 complex for longer period of 60 min and analyze the recovery with exponential curve-fitting to distinguish the fractions with different diffusion constants. This approach reveals that the fluorescence recovery of CADM1 is fitted to a single exponential function with a time constant (τ) of approximately 16 min, whereas 4.1B and MPP3 are fitted to a double exponential function with two τs of approximately 40-60 sec and 16 min. The longer τ is similar to that of CADM1, suggesting that 4.1B and MPP3 have two distinct fractions, one forming a complex with CADM1 and the other present as a free pool. Fluorescence loss in photobleaching analysis supports the presence of a free pool of these proteins near the plasma membrane. Furthermore, double exponential fitting makes it possible to estimate the ratio of 4.1B and MPP3 present as a free pool and as a complex with CADM1 as approximately 3:2 and 3:1, respectively. Our analyses reveal a central role of CADM1 in stabilizing the complex with 4.1B and MPP3 and provide insight in the dynamics of adhesion complex formation.
Formal Analysis and Improvement of ZG Non-repudiation Protocol

A non-repudiation protocol aims to provide non-repudiation service. Non-repudiation service, one of the essential security services in computer networks, protects the parties involved in a transaction against the other party denying that a particular event or action took place. Non-repudiation protocols are a special type of fair exchange protocols, and fairness is a key property that must be respected in non-repudiation. Zhou and Gollmann proposed two well-known non-repudiation protocols, one with an online-TTP (ZG online) and the other with an offline-TTP (ZG offline). Both non-repudiation protocols were extensively analyzed in literature, but the ZG offline protocol was widely regarded as secure, that is, satisfying the properties of fairness. In this paper, however, using a formal method based on the strand space theory, we analyzed the ZG offline protocol and found a weakness that may endanger the fairness of the protocol. An improvement of the protocol was proposed and formally analyzed.
Physical theory for near-bed turbulent particle-suspension capacity

The inability to capture the physics of solid-particle suspension in turbulent fluids in simple formulas is holding back the application of multiphase fluid dynamics techniques to many practical problems in nature and society involving particle suspension. We present a force balance approach to particle suspension in the region near no-slip frictional boundaries of turbulent flows. The force balance parameter Γ contains gravity and buoyancy acting on the sediment and vertical turbulent fluid forces; it includes universal turbulent flow scales and material properties of the fluid and particles only. Comparison to measurements shows that Γ = 1 gives the upper limit of observed suspended particle concentrations in a broad range of flume experiments and field settings. The condition of Γ > 1 coincides with the complete suppression of coherent turbulent structures near the boundary in direct numerical simulations of sediment-laden turbulent flow. Γ thus captures the maximum amount of sediment that can be contained in suspension at the base of turbulent flow, and it can be regarded as a suspension capacity parameter. It can be applied as a simple concentration boundary condition in modelling studies of the dispersion of particulates in environmental and man-made flows.
A Test Automation Framework for Mercury

This paper presents a test automation framework for Mercury programs. We developed a method that generates runnable Mercury code from a formalized test suite, and which code provides a report on execution about the success of test cases. We also developed a coverage tool for the framework, which identifies and provide a visualization of the reached parts of the program when executing a given test suite.
Root canal disinfection of immature dog teeth with apical periodontitis: Comparison of three different protocols

Objectives: The present in vivo study was designed to assess the efficacy of 3 root canal disinfection protocols in immature dog teeth with apical periodontitis (AP). Material and Methods: Forty immature premolars with pulp necrosis and AP of five Beagle dogs were used. Three experimental disinfection protocols were established. After irrigation with 40 ml 5.25% sodium hypochlorite using the Endovac system, in Group 1 canals were flushed with QMix solution; in Group 2, canals were flushed with QMix solution and 2% chlorhexidine gel dressing was placed for two weeks; and in Group 3, triantibiotic paste dressing was placed for two weeks. Canals were sampled after periapical lesions were radiographically visible (S1), after the first disinfection session (S2) and, in groups 2 and 3, after dressing (S3). Results: After the first session of the disinfection protocol (S2), there was significant (p < 0.05) bacterial reduction in the three experimental groups. Microorganisms were absent in 100% of S2 samples in groups 1 and 2, and in 75% of group 3 (p > 0.05). After dressing, 87.5% of the S3 samples showed increased bacterial count: in group 2, CFU counts (median = 891) were significantly higher than in group 3 (median = 18) (p = 0.03). Conclusions: In immature dog teeth with AP, root canal irrigation using QMix solution, with or without chlorhexidine gel dressing, or a triantibiotic paste dressing, provides the same level of disinfection than irrigation with 5.25% sodium hypochlorite alone in only one session. Key words:Apical periodontitis, chlorhexidine, Endovac, immature teeth, QMix solution, root canal disinfection, triantibiotic paste.
The VIMOS VLT Deep Survey: The build-up of the colour-density relation

We investigate the redshift and luminosity evolution of the galaxy colour-density relation using the data from the First Epoch VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS). The size (6582 galaxies), depth (I_AB<=24) and redshift sampling rate of the survey enable us to reconstruct the 3D galaxy environment on relatively local scales (R=5 Mpc) up to z~1.5. Particular attention has been devoted to calibrate a density reconstruction scheme, which factors out survey selection effects and reproduces in an unbiased way the underlying 'real' galaxy environment. While at lower redshift we confirm the existence of a steep colour-density relation, with the fraction of the reddest(/bluest) galaxies of the same luminosity increasing(/decreasing) as a function of density, this trend progressively disappears and eventually reverses in the highest redshift bins investigated. The rest frame U-V colour-magnitude diagram shows a bimodal pattern in both low and high density environments up to z ~ 1.5. The bimodal distribution is not universal but strongly depends upon environment: at lower redshifts the colour-magnitude diagrams in low and high density regions are significantly different while the progressive weakening of the colour-density relation causes the two bimodal distributions to nearly mirror each other in the highest redshift bin investigated. Both the colour-density and colour-magnitude relations appear to be a transient, cumulative product of genetic and environmental factors operating over at least a period of 9 Gyr. These findings support an evolutionary scenario in which star formation/gas depletion processes are accelerated in more luminous objects and in high density environments.
Inadvertent exposures in children with peanut allergy

To cite this article: Nguyen‐Luu NU, Ben‐Shoshan M, Alizadehfar R, Joseph L, Harada L, Allen M, St‐Pierre Y, Clarke A. Inadvertent exposures in children with peanut allergy. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011: Doi: 10.1111/j.1399‐3038.2011. 01235.x