Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Religion, Sex, and Family: The Role of Family Religiosity and Sex Communication in Emerging Adults’ Sexual Behaviors

Title: RELIGION, SEX, AND FAMILY: THE ROLE OF FAMILY RELIGIOSITY AND SEX COMMUNICATION IN EMERGING ADULTS’ SEXUAL BEHAVIORS Deirdre A. Quinn, Doctor of Philosophy, 2017 Directed by: Amy Lewin, PsyD Assistant Professor, Department of Family Science Religion plays an important role in many people’s lives and can impact both physical and mental health. A growing body of research has examined potential links between religiosity and health behaviors and outcomes in adolescents and young adults, in particular adolescents’ sexual risk behaviors. Consequences of sexual risk represent a major health concern in the United States, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Risky sexual behavior is common among college students; campus “hook-up” culture promotes casual and unplanned sexual encounters (Burdette, Hill, Ellison, & Glenn, 2009; Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006), and students often perceive potentially risky sexual behaviors (including oral sex and anal sex) to be less intimate (and therefore more allowable) than sexual intercourse (Chambers, 2007; Kelly & Kalichman, 2002; H. Lyons, Manning, Giordano, & Longmore, 2013). Parents have consistently been identified as the most important source of religious influence, both in childhood and adolescence, and into adulthood. Research also shows that parents can play an important role in adolescents’ sexual health decision making through their parent-teen relationships, parenting practices, and communication about sex and sexual risk. The current study of undergraduate students (n=608) extends the literature in order to improve our understanding of the relationships between multi-dimensional aspects of family religiosity and family sex communication and college students’ religiosity, attitudes about sex, sexual activity, and sexual risk and protective behaviors. Based on social learning theory’s principles of observation, communication, and social interaction, this study examined the ways in which college students’ religiosity and attitudes about sex, and ultimately their sexual risk and protective behaviors, are associated with family modeling of religiosity and family communication about sex. Findings suggest that a higher degree of family religiosity is significantly associated with aspects of students’ sexual activity and sexual risk, while more comprehensive family communication about sex is significantly associated with some aspects of students’ sexual activity. Potential mediation of parental monitoring during high school and students’ current sex attitudes is also explored. RELIGION, SEX, AND FAMILY: THE ROLE OF FAMILY RELIGIOSITY AND SEX COMMUNICATION IN EMERGING ADULTS’ SEXUAL BEHAVIORS
Clinical significance of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype IV infection

Abstract Background: Symmetric polyarthritis associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection frequently displays a clinical picture like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) have high specificity for the diagnosis of RA. This study examined the frequency and clinical significance of anti-CCP antibodies in patients with chronic HCV infection, with and without manifestations of joint involvement, compared to RA patients. Methods: Serum anti-CCP antibodies and rheumatoid factor (RF) were evaluated in 30 patients with RA and 47 patients with chronic HCV infection. Of those with HCV infection, 20 patients had chronic HCV infection associated with articular involvement and 27 patients had chronic HCV infection without any articular involvement. Results: Anti-CCP antibody level was positive in 70% of RA patients, 8.5% of HCV-infected patients, and in 20% of HCV patients with articular manifestations. RF was positive in 76% of RA patients and in 60% of HCV patients with articular involvement. Cryoglobulins were found in 29% of HCV-infected patients and in 16% of RA patients. Cryoglobulins were more frequent among HCV patients with articular affection (35%) compared to HCV patients without articular affection (26%). Conclusions: Although anti-CCP antibodies remain a useful diagnostic tool for RA, their interpretation in HCV-infected patients with arthritis should be applied with caution. The possibility that those patients could be prone to develop RA cannot be ruled out. Those patients need careful clinical and radiological follow-up. Further large-scale studies are warranted. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:842–7.
Structure of Benthic Communities along the Taiwan Latitudinal Gradient

The distribution and the structure of benthic assemblages vary with latitude. However, few studies have described benthic communities along large latitudinal gradients, and patterns of variation are not fully understood. Taiwan, lying between 21.90°N and 25.30°N, is located at the center of the Philippine-Japan arc and lies at the northern margin of coral reef development. A wide range of habitats is distributed along this latitudinal gradient, from extensive fringing coral reefs at the southern coast to non-reefal communities at the north. In this study, we examined the structure of benthic communities around Taiwan, by comparing its assemblages in four regions, analyzing the effects of the latitudinal gradient, and highlighting regional characteristics. A total of 25 sites, 125 transects, and 2,625 photographs were used to analyze the benthic communities. Scleractinian corals present an obvious gradient of increasing diversity from north to south, whereas macro-algae diversity is higher on the north-eastern coast. At the country scale, Taiwanese coral communities were dominated by turf algae (49%). At the regional scale, we observed an important heterogeneity that may be caused by local disturbances and habitat degradation that smooths out regional differences. In this context, our observations highlight the importance of managing local stressors responsible for reef degradation. Overall, this study provides an important baseline upon which future changes in benthic assemblages around Taiwan can be assessed.
Anticyclic Citrullinated Protein Antibodies Are Implicated in the Development of Cardiovascular Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective— Previous studies have suggested a relationship between anticyclic citrullinated protein (CCP) levels and development of cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, a limited number of studies have demonstrated an involvement of anti-CCPs in those processes. This study was aimed to define the specific role of these auto-antibodies in the pro-oxidative, inflammatory, and proatherogenic profile observed in leukocytes from RA patients. Approach and Results— Seventy-five RA patients and 31 healthy donors were enrolled. Carotid intima media thickness was evaluated as atherosclerosis marker. Several procoagulant and inflammatory factors, leukocyte activation, and oxidative stress markers were analyzed in plasma and leukocyte subsets. Anti-CCPs were purified from plasma of RA patients, and in vitro treatment of healthy leukocytes was conducted. High titers of anti-CCPs were associated to altered expression of prothrombotic and inflammatory markers, high oxidative stress, and pathological carotid intima media thickness in RA patients. Notably, gene expression analysis showed that lymphocytes were major players in altered inflammatory profile, monocytes were responsible for the protrombotic and atherogenic status, and neutrophils mainly displayed a pro-oxidative feature. In vitro treatment with purified anti-CCPs fully recapitulated that pathogenic profile, promoting the activation of leukocytes. Conclusions— Anti-CCPs are key players in the inflammatory and proatherogenic status of RA patients. The effects are specific of the immune cell targeted, promoting overexpression of thrombotic, inflammatory, and pro-oxidative markers in monocytes; pro-oxidative status in neutrophils; and proinflammatory profile in lymphocytes. Targeting these autoantibodies would be an excellent strategy to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease in RA.
A Comparison of Death Penalty Opinion Among University Students in the United States and Taiwan(superscript

While American opinion about the death penalty has been extensively studied, there have been remarkably few such studies carried out in Taiwan, a country that saw a dramatic increase in executions during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but that is now debating the possible abolishment of capital punishment. Using data from samples drawn from university students in Denver, Colorado and Taipei, Taiwan, the researchers compared expressed reasons for death penalty attitudes, factors that aggravated and mitigated that support, and opinions regarding who should be sentenced to death. The findings suggest support for the death penalty runs rampant in Taiwan, leading to the puzzling question: Why is Taiwan on the verge of abolishing it? The authors suggest the current government movement in Taiwan to abolish the death penalty is tied to it foreign policy objectives.
Demand for Ground Transportation Fuel and Pricing Policy in Asian Tigers: A Comparative Study of Korea and Taiwan

This paper examines the demand for gasoline and diesel in the ground transportation sectors of South Korea and Taiwan, comparing the effects of their different pricing policies and stages of economic growth. To account for substitutability between the two fuels, the model proposed here uses a system of equations estimated simultaneously with time-series data from 1973-1992. Results yield demand elasticities that confirm previous research showing that oil product demand is generally price inelastic, while income elasticities (reflecting a longer period of economic growth than previous studies in the Asian region) are lower than those previously reported. The estimated demand functions are then used to generate forecasts for both countries and, in particular, for an assumed reduction in a 180% tax on gasoline in Korea. Forecasted increases in demand by the year 2010 range from 40 to 180%, while the tax analysis suggests that Korea's pricing policy has reduced total demand and promoted the use of diesel over gasoline.
Growing Up in the Era of AIDS: The Well-Being of Children Affected and Infected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa

Children may be affected by HIV/AIDS in numerous ways. When parents fall ill from HIVrelated infections, household income falls or is diverted to medical expenses, food insecurity increases and children may have to drop out of school to take on care responsibilities. When parents die, children are orphaned and, besides coping with grief at the loss of their mother or father, they face new care arrangements which may involve separation from siblings and migration to a new location. Most of the children who are orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. UNAIDS (2010, p. 180) estimates that 67.6 percent of people living with HIV globally are found in sub-Saharan Africa, but nearly 90 percent of all children orphaned by AIDS 12.1 million children live in sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS, 2010, p. 186). Children may be infected with HIV through mother to child transmission (MTCT) during pregnancy, at birth or through breast milk. Such paediatric AIDS is increasingly being discovered and treated through programmes to prevent MTCT (PMTCT). Adolescents may be living with HIV: they may have been infected by MTCT and survived through childhood or they may have been infected through sexual intercourse, sadly often through being raped. UNICEF et al. (2010, p. 15) call this a “hidden epidemic” because many adolescents living with HIV do not know they are infected, they have never been tested and do not access treatment. UNICEF et al. (2010, p. 41) estimate that in 2009 92 percent of children (under the age of 15) who were living with HIV were in sub-Saharan Africa (nearly 2 million children) and 70 percent of these were found in East and southern Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa in 2009 only 26 percent of children deemed to require antiretroviral treatment (ART) were estimated to receive it (UNICEF, et al., 2010, p. 41). Sub-Saharan Africa clearly bears a disproportionate burden when it comes to the effects of HIV/AIDS, particularly on children. This chapter gives an overview of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the well-being of affected and infected children, and reviews the responses at community, national and international levels.
In search of Confucian HRM: theory and practice in Greater China and beyond

This contribution is part of a wider Symposium on people management in the heartland of Asia. It sets out in search of what might be conceptualized as ‘Confucian human resource management (HRM)’, in Greater China and beyond. It will cover not only the People's Republic of China (PRC) but also the Overseas Chinese (Nanyang) Diaspora, namely in Hong Kong and Taiwan, among other places. It will seek to understand how far traditional Chinese values still continue to influence the degree to which HRM has been adopted. The main conclusion we come to is that the continuity of traditional Chinese values is empirically still observable in the contemporary practice of people management but with varying degrees of emphasis.
A nationwide survey on epidemiological characteristics of childhood Henoch-Schönlein purpura in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the annual incidence and other epidemiological characteristics of Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) among children in Taiwan. METHODS The records of patients were derived from the research database of the Bureau of National Health Insurance, Taiwan, Republic of China, from January 1999 to December 2002. Children younger than 17 yr of age with the diagnosis of HSP were included into this study. Data for each patient including sex, age, date of onset and length of hospitalization were recorded and analysed. RESULTS A total of 2759 cases were included with an annual incidence of 12.9 (11.8-13.4) per 100 000 children <17 yr of age. The occurrence of HSP had a peak at the age of 5 to 6 yr. In this study, 1118 (40.5%) patients had been hospitalized at some stage. There were 1454 males and 1305 females, for a male to female ratio of 1.11. Males had a higher annual incidence before the age of 10 yr (P = 0.04), and had a lower incidence than females at older ages (P = 0.02). Disease onset was more common in autumn and winter, and no apparent change in seasonal pattern was noted over 4 yr. CONCLUSIONS Insurance claim data provide useful information on the epidemiology of HSP in Taiwan. Childhood HSP in Taiwan, with an incidence of 12.9 per 100 000 children, occurs commonly in autumn and winter; and at the age of 5 to 6 yr. The characteristics presented in this study may provide valuable data for understanding and further studies of HSP.
Chronic Exposure to the Fusarium Mycotoxin Deoxynivalenol: Impact on Performance, Immune Organ, and Intestinal Integrity of Slow-Growing Chickens

This study investigates the long-term effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) consumption on avian growth performance, on the proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA damage of spleen cells, and on intestinal integrity. Two hundred and eight 5-day-old black-feathered Taiwan country chickens were fed diets containing 0, 2, 5, and 10 mg/kg of DON for 16 weeks. Body weight gain of male birds in the 2 mg/kg group was significantly lower than that in the 5 mg/kg group. At the end of trial, feeding DON-contaminated diets of 5 mg/kg resulted in heavier spleens. Moreover, the increase in DON induced cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA damage signals in the spleen, the exception being female birds fed 10 mg/kg of DON showing reduced proliferation. Expression of claudin-5 was increased in jejunum of female birds fed 2 and 5 mg/kg of DON, whereas decreased expression levels were found in male birds. In conclusion, our results verified that DON may cause a disturbance to the immune system and alter the intestinal barrier in Taiwan country chickens, and may also lead to discrepancies in growth performances in a dose- and sex-dependent manner.
Chilean Universities: Not So Tuition-free After All

In 2011, massive student demonstrations disturbed the proper functioning of universities, with students making free higher education one of their key demands. In 2013, Michele Bachelet, a socialist, was elected president - free higher education being one of her most important electoral promises. This article summarizes the "Short Tuition Free Act" of December 2015 in Chile which is supposed to be the first step toward a free tuition higher education for all. It analyses the current conditions under which students can have access to subsidized tuition and the pitfalls of the current law. It also provides critics of the current approach and questions the possibility of implementing a free for all policy.
A high body mass index has a protective effect on the amount of joint destruction in small joints in early rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Obesity is a state of chronic low-grade inflammation that predisposes people to several diseases and that is increasingly prevalent. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is marked by the presence of proinflammatory cytokines and, in general, the presence of high levels of inflammatory markers is associated with a severe disease course and joint damage. Objectives: To evaluate prospectively (a) whether obesity is a risk factor for the development of RA and (b) whether the body mass index (BMI) is associated with the amount of joint destruction in early RA after 3 years’ follow-up. Methods: In a cohort of 570 patients with undifferentiated arthritis, the relation between the BMI and the development of RA during 1 year of follow-up was assessed. In a cohort of 488 patients with early RA the correlation between the BMI and degree of radiological joint destruction (Sharp–van der Heijde score) after 3 years of follow-up was determined. The findings were replicated in an independent cohort of 247 patients with early RA. Results: Obesity did not influence the likelihood of developing RA. In both RA cohorts, the BMI was inversely correlated with the Sharp–van der Heijde score after 3 years’ follow-up (r = −0.15, p = 0.025 for the Leiden EAC and r = −0.27, p<0.001 for the replication cohort). Linear regression analyses in both cohorts showed that the BMI was independently and inversely associated with the level of joint destruction in anti-CCP-positive patients with RA, but not in anti-CCP-negative patients. Conclusions: A high BMI is associated with a less severe disease outcome in anti-CCP-positive patients with RA.
When is blacklisting effective? Stigma, sanctions and legitimacy: the reputational and financial costs of being blacklisted

ABSTRACT Blacklisting is a policy tool that is used extensively in the international political economy, and blacklists have been invoked following the Panama Papers scandal, Russia's annexation of Crimea and the Democratic Republic of North Korea's proliferation activities. To analyse the principal mechanisms at work in what is an understudied tool of global governance, this paper compares the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s and the Financial Action Task Force's blacklisting of secrecy havens in the years 2000–2009. We show that blacklisting can be used to impose both reputational and financial costs on a state and highlight three factors that contribute to a blacklist's effectiveness: the stigma attached to the act that led to the blacklisting, the nature of any sanctions that it imposes and the blacklist's legitimacy. The blacklisting of Liechtenstein and Nauru highlight the interplay between these factors, but they also raise questions about the legitimacy of blacklisting itself.
Prevalence and progression of refractive errors among medical students.

Wearing spectacles was a province of adults over 40 years age till half century earlier. Now we find more children and adolescents wearing spectacles. There have been dramatic rise both in prevalence as well as progression of refractive errors especially myopia in children and adolescents. Various studies in Asian population demonstrate a rise in refractive error (RE) among school and college students in epidemic proportions. Studies in Singapore and Taiwan have shown a prevalence of more than 80% among medical students (1, 2). However European Caucasian population seems to have less prevalence compared to Asian (3, 4). Studies among Indian school chi ldren show a prevalence of refractive errors of 25% or less, however studies among medical students are lacking (5, 6). This study was undertaken to explore the prevalence of refractive errors among medical students in Gujarat, India as wel l as to study factors a f fect ing i ts progression among them.
Serological Association with Extra-articular conditions in Saudi Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Objectives: To assess the extra-articular manifestations (EAMs) in Saudi rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and their association with serological markers [rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide (Anti-CCP)]. Methods: Retrospectively, we studied 205 Saudi RA patients at DR Dhia private center (Jeddah, SA) over three years (2/2011-2/2014). Positivity of RF and of anti-CCP, demographic and clinical features were recorded. Disease activity was scored for 28 joints (DAS28). Results: Prevalence of EAMs was 33%, and was higher in male (45%) than female (32%). EAMs included: Hypertension(HTN) [25 patient (12.5%)], Diabetes Melittus (DM) (22(11%)], Hypothyroidism [15(7.3%)],nodule [8(4%)], low WBC [5(2.4%)], ANA positivity [4(2%)], Gout [3(1.5%)], Sjögren's syndrome [2(1%)], and one case (0.5%) of each of lung affect, kidney atrophy, Sickle cell, high CK, high creatinin and epilepsy. EAMs showed no association with the serological markers, neither with RF nor with anti-CCP. Only hypertension showed significant correlation (P= 0.017) with DAS28. Conclusion: The low levels of nodules and EAMs in Saudi RA patients are different from European and North American populations. They are similar concerning the higher levels of EAMs in males than females. Only hypertension had correlation with disease activity. EAMs showed no association with the serological markers. Presence of discrepancies in rats of EAMs between centers in Saudi Arabia. Key-words: Saudi Arabia; Extra-articular ; EAMs; Anti-CCP antibodies; Rheumatoid arthritis; Rheumatoid factor; Association. Abbreviations: DM-Diabetes Melittus; WBC-White blood cell; ANA-Anti-nuclear antibody; HTN-Hypertension; EAMs-Eextra-articular manifestations; RF-Rheumatoid arthritis; Anti-CCP-anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide; CRP-C-reactive protein; ESR-Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate; RF-Rheumatoid factor; DAS28-Disease Activity Score in 28 Joints. Medical Science ANALYSIS The International Weekly journal ISSN 2321 – 7359 EISSN 2321 – 7367
[Aggressive nature of rheumatic arthritis with citrullinated cyclic peptide antibodies].

UNLABELLED Numerous studies demonstrate the high specificity (90-98%) of the anticyclic citrullinated antibodies (antiCCP) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their correlation with the erosive arthritis, these antibodies being a disease activity marker and a prognostic factor. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 53 RA patients (48 women, 5 men), mean age 47.3 years old, diagnosed according to the ACR criteria were evaluated. The clinical evaluation was centered upon: tender joint count, swollen joint count, patient pain (VAS), morning stiffness and disease activity score (DAS28). The laboratory tests had in view: the inflammatory syndrome, blood count, immunological syndrome (antinuclear antibodies, rheumatoid factor, antiCCP antibodies), radiographs of the hands and feet. RESULTS The high levels of the anti-CCP antibodies founded in 28 patients with RA were correlated with severity of the inflammatory syndrome, the immunological abnormalities and with the precocity appearance of the joint erosions. CONCLUSIONS The presence of the anti-CCP antibodies at patients with RA are correlated with severe joint destruction and it represents a marker of the disease activity and progression.