Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ADHERENCE TO A MEDITERRANEAN DIET IS ASSOCIATED 1 WITH LOWER PREVALENCE OF OSTEOARTHRITIS : 2 DATA FROM THE OSTEOARTHRITIS INITIATIVE 3 4

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Use of contraceptives among adolescents in Kintampo Ghana: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: The use of contraceptives is essential in preventing unwanted pregnancies unsafe abortions and abortion-related complications that expose adolescents to health-related risks such as infertility and sometimes death.Objective: To assess contraceptive use among adolescents as evidence to develop appropriate interventions for adolescent sexual health programs.Methods: A cross-sectional survey using both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted among 793 male and female adolescents (aged 15-19 years) in the Kintampo area of Ghana from October 2010-May 2011. Results: Knowledge of at least one contraceptive method was high (88.9%) among adolescents of both sexes (males 92.1% and females 86.6%). Knowledge of male condoms was highest (84.0%) and it was the most common contraceptive method used (82.0%). The use of other methods such as pills (7.9%) injection (0.9%) and foam (0.3%) amongst others was low. About 22.9% of adolescents used contraceptives consistently. Among adolescents consistent contraceptive use was significantly associated with discussions of contraceptive use between partners (P<0.01). Adolescents who discussed contraceptive use before their first sexual encounter were more likely to use contraceptives consistently when compared to those who had never discussed contraceptive use (odds ratio =0.06; 95% confidence interval: 0.02-0.17; P<0.01). Among sexually active adolescents 30.0% had experienced pregnancy with 34.0% of pregnancies resulting in abortions. Pregnancy was high among adolescents who did not use contraceptives consistently as compared to those who did (6.4% versus 93.6%; P<0.01). The most common source of contraceptives was the chemical sellers/pharmacy shop (62.1%). Conclusion: Though a high number of adolescents knew at least one contraceptive method this knowledge did not influence them to consistently use contraceptives. Only a small percentage of the sexually active adolescents used a contraceptive method consistently. It is therefore recommended that an intervention for improving consistent contraceptive use among adolescents be pursued. The creation of adolescent-friendly centers for reproductive health services is highly proposed.
SHORT TERM TEMPORAL TRENDS IN GENE EXPRESSION IN SENSITIVE AND TOLERANT SOYBEAN GENOTYPES EXPOSED TO OZONE

Soybean (Glycine max) is sensitive to O3. My work aimed to identify molecular mechanisms associated with the differential tolerance to O3 among tolerant (Fiskeby III) and sensitive (Mandarin Ottawa) soybean genotypes. Short-term changes in gene expression were investigated using quantitative real-time PCR techniques. Plants were exposed from 9 am to 5 pm at 19.3 + 0.43 ppb or 63.6 + 0.43 ppb O3. A single leaflet was collected just prior to exposure, and at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours post-exposure, and frozen in liquid N2 until processing. Gas exchange measurements were made on each plant at the end of the exposures to determine if there were changes due to O3 exposure and/or genotype. Photosynthetic rate was not significantly different between the treatments or genotypes, but stomatal conductance was higher in Mandarin than Fiskeby under both O3 conditions. Glutathione reductase 2 (GR2) expression in both genotypes was upregulated under high O3 treatment. Protein D1 (pD1) expression was downregulated in Mandarin but not affected in Fiskeby III, maybe due to the larger gs in Mandarin and subsequently higher dose. An improved understanding of the molecular factors influencing O3 sensitivity could help guide breeders to develop O3 tolerant genotypes.
Extension of the planting period of Norway spruce container seedlings: risks related to the drought – growth stage dynamics and handling practices

Helenius, P. 2005. Extension of the planting period of Norway spruce container seedlings: risks related to the drought − growth stage dynamics and handling practices. Dissertationes Forestales 3. 46 p. The first aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of extending the planting period of Picea abies container seedlings from May to June and July without the risk of excessive mortality and growth restrictions due to drought. The second aim was to investigate risks related to thawing practices of frozen-stored seedlings. To achieve the first aim, 1.5-yr-old actively growing seedlings were exposed to different preplanting drying and postplanting drought periods. Seedlings kept dormant (sensu shoots not elongating) by prolonged frozen storage were also exposed to postplanting drought periods. To achieve the second aim, 1-yr-old frozen-stored seedlings were exposed to different thawing durations and temperatures before planting in mid-June. Height growth and root egress of actively growing seedlings planted in late June–early July decreased when exposed to postplanting drought as affected by the soil water content at planting and atmospheric evaporative demand during drought periods. Survival and growth under drought were also decreased by preplanting drying of root plugs and seedlings. However, mortality of actively growing, well-watered seedlings was negligible when exposed to drought periods not longer than 2 to 3 weeks. Prolonged frozen storage until late June had no observable negative effect on needle carbohydrate concentration and subsequent seedling outplanting performance. Contrary to actively growing seedlings, drought periods had no effect on root egress and chlorophyll fluorescence, and only moderate effect on xylem water potential of dormant seedlings. However, actively growing seedlings showed much greater root egress than dormant seedlings, except when exposed to very long (≥ 3 weeks) drought periods after planting. Frozen-planting may adversely affect seedling performance at soil temperatures prevailing in Fennoscandia in spring or early summer, especially when soil is dry. Thawing over 4 to 8 days at 9−12 °C ensures complete thawing of the root plugs and unaffected field performance of frozen-stored seedlings.
Eyes Blinking Reaction and Its Use in Hypnotic Communication

There are many ways for the subject's unconsciousness to express the non-verbal message that is additional to the conscious message. Microanalysis of Dr. Erickson's videotaped communication shows that he used the subject's and his own non-verbal behavior for building rapport, getting the most important information and conducting the communication on the unconscious level. Following Dr. Erickson's approach, we have been investigating meanings and appropriate use of the non-verbal behavioral cues that every person demonstrates naturally and that can serve for delivering some messages. The investigation has shown that the unconscious mind can use automatic tongue movements (4), eyes blinking and many other natural reactions as signals of secondary language (the secondary language is the process of communication that helps in the delivery of indirect message). That means that if we take those reactions into consideration, decode their meanings and use them in communication we can move our communication to a deep unconscious level that will lead to strong, stable and predictable positive psychotherapeutic changes. The article describes different types of eyes blinking the way that each type can be used in psychotherapy as signals that turn unconscious understanding into conscious one. (Sleep and Hypnosis 2001;3(2):93-96)
SAGITTAL COUPLING ANALYSIS IN THE ROUNDHOUSE KICK IN TAEKWONDO

Analysis of coordination in taekwondo has been carried out by heterogeneous methods but no analysis of segment coupling has been done. The aim of this study was to analyse intralimb coordination in the roundhouse kick in taekwondo using Vector Coding. Four experienced (right-footed) female athletes participated in the study. Motion analysis was measured by two 3-D force plates and an eight-camera motion capture system. Data analyses were processed using Visual 3D and Matlab softwares. The prevalant coordination pattern changed throughout the roundhouse kick, with each phase of the movement having a different primary movement pattern.
UDC 621.391:519.7 ON THE COMPUTATIONAL SECURITY OF RANDOMIZED STREAM CIPHERS PROPOSED BY MIHALJEVIĆ AND IMAI

This paper yields a (computational) security analysis for a generic class of randomized stream ciphers based on joint employment of encryption, error-correction coding, and dedicated random coding. We show that the security of these ciphers can be considerably less than their designers claim. In contrast to the approach for security evaluation used before, our technique is significantly simpler and allows us to find out the code-theoretic sense of parameters that determine the security of these ciphers. We also propose another possible solution (based on nonlinear random coding) for design of randomized stream ciphers with enhanced security.
Interactive comment on “STUDY OF AFRICAN DUST WITH MULTI-WAVELENGTH RAMAN LIDAR DURING THE “SHADOW” CAMPAIGN IN SENEGAL” by I. Veselovskii et al

1. The authors conclude that the negative values of the BAEs measured for dust are due to the enhanced absorption in the UV. This is not supported by independent measurements. It is also well-known that the spheroid model assumes a spectrally independent phase function at 180 degrees. A possible spectral dependence on the 180 phase function could also be the source of negative BAEs and this limitation of the
Influence of Vertical Resolution on the Validation of Atmospheric Chemistry Instruments

A large number of validation campaigns for atmospheric chemistry instruments are being carried out and more such studies will be performed in the future. The aims of validation are to confirm the accuracy and precision of the measurement of a new instrument. There are many factors that may deteriorate the validation results and one of them is the vertical resolution of instruments when using the profiles intercomparison ap-proach. The influence from the vertical resolution can be eliminated by using the averaging kernel method but it is necessary to find the conditions for using the method. This study simulated the influence of vertical resolution for a certain curvature. The results show that both the curvature of a profile and the difference of vertical resolution between two instruments have positive correlation with the differences between their measurements. The quantitative estimations of influence for some practical vertical resolutions were ob-tained. The combined error of two instruments was defined as the criteria to judge the significance of influ-ence. A case study based on the simulated results was demonstrated to show when the influence from the vertical resolution should be considered and when such influence can be omitted in order to avoid some un-necessary works in validation.
A Multi-species Model for Fish and Marine Mammals in the Barents Sea

A detailed description is given of MULTSPEC, which is an area, age and length structured multispecies simulation model for the species capelin ( Mallotus villosus), herring (Clupea harengus ), cod (Gadus morhua ), harp seal ( Phoca groenlandica ) and minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata ) in the Barents Sea. In the model, both harp seals and minke whale, and cod, prey on capelin, herring and cod, and in addition, herring prey on capelin larvae. Cod is the most important predator. Information on food preferences and food requirements obtained from the Norwegian research program on marine mammals is used to quantify the predation by marine mammals on fish. The sensitivity of the model to the stock sizes and food preferences of harp seals and minke whales is investigated, together with the sensitivity to the food preferences of cod. A tentative conclusion on likely effects of an increasing whale stock is that the herring stock will be most heavily affected. An increasing harp seal stock will most heavily affect the capelin and cod stock. The model is more sensitive to changes in the food preferences of cod than to changes in food preferences or stock sizes of marine mammals.
A multiwavelength observation and investigation of six infrared dark clouds

Context. Infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) are ubiquitous in the Milky Way, yet they play a crucial role in breeding newly-formed stars. Aims. With the aim of further understanding the dynamics, chemistry, and evolution of IRDCs, we carried out multiwavelength observations on a small sample. Methods. We performed new observations with the IRAM 30 m and CSO 10.4 m telescopes, with tracers HCO+, HCN, N2H+, (CO)-O-18, DCO+, SiO, and DCN toward six IRDCs G031.97+00.07, G033.69-00.01, G034.43+00.24, G035.39-00.33, G038.95-00.47, and G053.11+00.05. Results. We investigated 44 cores including 37 cores reported in previous work and seven newly-identified cores. Toward the dense cores, we detected 6 DCO+, and 5 DCN lines. Using pixel-by-pixel spectral energy distribution (SED) fits of the Herschel 70 to 500 mu m, we obtained dust temperature and column density distributions of the IRDCs. We found that N2H+ emission has a strong correlation with the dust temperature and column density distributions, while (CO)-O-18 showed the weakest correlation. It is suggested that N2H+ is indeed a good tracer in very dense conditions, but (CO)-O-18 is an unreliable one, as it has a relatively low critical density and is vulnerable to freezing-out onto the surface of cold dust grains. The dynamics within IRDCs are active, with infall, outflow, and collapse;the spectra are abundant especially in deuterium species. Conclusions. We observe many blueshifted and redshifted profiles, respectively, with HCO+ and (CO)-O-18 toward the same core. This case can be well explained by model "envelope expansion with core collapse (EECC)".
Essays in Industrial Organization and Information Technology

Chapter 1 studies how consumers’ switching costs affect the pricing and profits of firms competing in two-sided markets such as Apple and Google in the smartphone market. When two-sided markets are dynamic – rather than merely static – I show that switching costs lower the first-period price if network externalities are strong, which is in contrast to what has been found in one-sided markets. By contrast, switching costs soften price competition in the initial period if network externalities are weak and consumers are more patient than the platforms. Moreover, an increase in switching costs on one side decreases the first-period price on the other side. Chapter 2 examines firms’ incentives to invest in local and flexible resources when demand is uncertain and correlated. I find that market power of the monopolist providing flexible resources distorts investment incentives, while competition mitigates them. The extent of improvement depends critically on demand correlation and the cost of capacity: under social optimum and monopoly, if the flexible resource is cheap, the relationship between investment and correlation is positive, and if it is costly, the relationship becomes negative; under duopoly, the relationship is positive. The analysis also sheds light on some policy discussions in markets such as cloud computing. Chapter 3 develops a theory of sequential investments in cybersecurity. The regulator can use safety standards and liability rules to increase security. I show that the joint use of an optimal standard and a full liability rule leads to underinvestment ex ante and overinvestment ex post. Instead, switching to a partial liability rule can correct the inefficiencies. This suggests that to improve security, the regulator should encourage not only firms, but also consumers to invest in security.
Experimental and numerical investigations of changes in flow and solute transport processes in porous media affected by bioclogging

Tracer studies in laboratory column and sandbox experiments were performed to investigate the processes of bioclogging. Model simulations of the experiments investigated the coupling between the bioclogging process, microbial migration, and attachment/detachment of biomass, and examined the effect of these processes on the flow pattern and solute transport in porous media. Tracer tests conducted in three column and three sandbox experiments revealed that the flow pattern, and hereby solute transport, changed due to bioclogging from being uniform to non-uniform exemplified through increasing hydrodynamic dispersion, diffusive mass transfer between the mobile phase and the immobile biomass, and development of preferential flow paths. The bulk hydraulic conductivity decreased by up to three orders of magnitude in the 5 cm long columns, and by two orders of magnitude in the 44 cm long sandbox. The most significant reduction in the hydraulic conductivity occurred quickly (within the first 20 days of the experiments). The changes in tracer transport revealed a reduction in the porosity down to 70%-80% of the initial value, i.e., only 20-30% of the pore space was filled with biomass. These observations indicate that bioclogging is controlled by biomass in micro-colonies plugging the pore throats, as biofilm models have revealed that a significantly larger amount of biomass as a biofilm (>90% of the porosity) is needed to produce the observed decrease in the hydraulic conductivity. The sandbox experiments revealed that microorganisms migrated upgradient toward the substrate source with a velocity of about 0.5 cm/day. Model simulations using a numerical bioclogging model, which was extended to include migration of microorganisms by random motility and chemotaxis, were able to reproduce the observed microbial migration and the subsequently upgradient bioclogging. In the model it was assumed that microorganisms migrated in pores with stagnant water or close to the sand grain surface where the pore water velocity is reduced. In the model simulations it was necessary to assume that the reduced pore water velocity affecting the microorganisms was 1% of the average pore water velocity. The migration of microorganisms is sensitive to the detachment rate of biomass from the solid to the aqueous phase, which depends on the substrate concentration. Sandbox experiments with different substrate concentrations revealed a faster microbial migration with a higher substrate concentration.
An Empirical Study on the Influence of Different Spreadsheet Models on End-Users Performance

Spreadsheets are widely used by end users, and studies have shown that most end-user spreadsheets contain non-trivial errors. To improve end users productivity, recent research proposes the use of a model-driven engineering approach to spreadsheets. In this paper we conduct the first systematic empirical study to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of this approach. A set of spreadsheet end users worked with two different model-based spreadsheets, and we present and analyze the results achieved.
Outlier Detection Model Based on SOM for Classification Problem

In many practical classification problems, it often contains some outliers in the data set, which may affect the performance of classification model. To solve this problem, this paper combines the self-organizing mapping network (SOM), the pruning technique and the local outlier factor (LOF), constructs the outlier detection model based on SOM (SOD). Firstly, it clusters with SOM on the training set, and then obtains the new training set by pruning the clustering results. Finally, it detects the outliers by the local outlier factor of each sample on the new training set. The empirical results show that the SOD model has better detection performance compared with some existing outlier detection models, and it can improve the classification accuracy more efficiently through the models trained without the outliers.
Electricity network charging in the presence of distributed energy resources: principles, problems and solutions

This paper discusses the principles of electricity network charging in the light of increasing amounts of distributed generation and the potential for significant increases in electric vehicles or distributed electrical energy storage. We outline cost reflective pricing, traditional public service pricing, platform market pricing and customer- focused business model pricing. We focus on the particular problem of how to recover network fixed costs and a recent example from Australia. We conclude that there are serious issues for regulators to address, but that potential solutions at the distribution level may already exist at the transmission level.
Quantum processing by remote quantum control

Client-server models enable computations to be hosted remotely on quantum servers. We present a novel protocol for realizing this task, with practical advantages when using technology feasible in the near term. Client tasks are realized as linear combinations of operations implemented by the server, where the linear coefficients are hidden from the server. We report on an experimental demonstration of our protocol using linear optics, which realizes linear combination of two single-qubit operations by a remote single-qubit control. In addition, we explain when our protocol can remain efficient for larger computations, as well as some ways in which privacy can be maintained using our protocol.