Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OSTEOPROTEGERIN (OPG) AND SOLUBLE RECEPTOR ACTIVATOR OF NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPA B LIGAND (S-RANKL) IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that may result in debilitating joint deformities with destruction of bone and cartilage. Inflammation is still considered the pivotal inducer of both components of joint damage. A mechanism of bone destruction that could be dissociated from inflammation was proposed in which osteoclasts activation play a prominent role in bone resorption. RANKL and its natural decoy receptor, osteoprotegerin (OPG), play key roles in osteoclast activation. Objective: To evaluate osteoprotegrin (OPG) and soluble RANKL (s-RANKL) level in serum of rheumatoid arthritis patients, and to correlate their levels in serum to disease activity and radiological findings (bone loss). Patients and methods: Fifty five rheumatoid arthritis patients were included in the study. They were classified according to disease activity into 2 groups: The first group was active RA group, and the second was inactive RA group. In addition, RA group was classified according to bone erosions into 2 groups: The first group was RA group with bone erosions and the second group was RA group without bone erosions. The study included 25 healthy individuals of matched age and sex as a control group. All participants were exposed to complete clinical examination, radiological examination, and full laboratory evaluation including osteoclast activity markers (OPG/ RANKL ratio), inflammation markers (ESR, CRP and DAS-28 score), immunological markers (RF and anti-CCP), biochemical markers (calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase) and complete blood picture (CBC). Results: OPG/ RANKL ratio was significantly lower in RA group compared to control group. OPG/RANKL ratio was significantly lower in active RA group compared to inactive RA group. OPG/ RANKL ratio was significantly lower in RA group with bone erosion compared to RA group without bone erosions. OPG/ RANKL ratio showed significant negative correlation with both disease duration (in all RA groups) and inflammatory markers (in some not all RA groups). OPG/ RANKL ratio did not correlate with biochemical markers in all RA groups. Conclusion: OPG/ RANKL ratio could be used to monitor joint damage (bone erosions) progression in patients with RA. Progression of joint damage (bone erosions) due to osteoclast over activity could, at least in part, be dissociated from inflammation. Therefore, targeting OPG/ RANKL ratio may be effective in preventing bone damage in RA patients.
Using Friendship Ties to Understand the Prevalence of, and Factors Associated With, Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Kenya: Cross-Sectional, Respondent-Driven Survey Study

Background Optimization of innovative approaches is required for estimating the intimate partner violence (IPV) burden among adolescents and young adults (AYA). Further investigation is required to identify risk and protective factors associated with IPV among AYA. There remain significant gaps in understanding these factors among this vulnerable population. Objective The goal of our study was to determine the prevalence of IPV among an urban population of AYA and to identify factors associated with IPV among AYA. Methods A cross-sectional study design utilizing respondent-driven sampling was adopted. The study was conducted among 887 AYA, aged 15 to 24 years, residing in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected through a phone-based survey using the REACH (Reaching, Engaging Adolescents and Young Adults for Care Continuum in Health)-AYA app. Questions on behavioral and psychosocial factors were adopted from different standardized questionnaires. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable statistics were used to describe the characteristics of the study sample. Results Of the 887 participants, a higher proportion were male (540/887, 60.9%) compared to female (347/887, 39.1%). The prevalence of IPV was 22.3% (124/556). IPV was associated with being unsure if it was okay for a boy to hit his girlfriend, living in a home with physical violence or abuse, and being bullied (P=.005). The likelihood of experiencing IPV was higher among respondents whose friends and family members used alcohol (odds ratio [OR] 1.80, 95% CI 1.09-2.98) and among those who had repeated a class at school in the past two years (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.11-3.23). Respondents who visited a health facility or doctor for reproductive health services were 2 times more likely to experience IPV (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.40-3.70). Respondents who had used illicit drugs were 2 times more likely to experience IPV (OR 4.31, 95% CI 2.64-7.04). The probability of experiencing IPV decreased by 63% (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.16-0.85) among respondents who refused to have sex with someone who was not prepared to use a condom. Conclusions IPV remains a significant public health priority because of its impact to society. Our results are in congruence with other similar studies. Efforts toward incorporating appropriate IPV core measures into the comprehensive care package for every AYA seeking health services should be explored. Programs need to address constellations of risk and protective factors linked to IPV in an effort to prevent its occurrence.
Influence of Health Beliefs on Adherence to COVID-19 Preventative Practices: International, Social Media–Based Survey Study

Background Health behavior is influenced by culture and social context. However, there are limited data evaluating the scope of these influences on COVID-19 response. Objective This study aimed to compare handwashing and social distancing practices in different countries and evaluate practice predictors using the health belief model (HBM). Methods From April 11 to May 1, 2020, we conducted an online, cross-sectional survey disseminated internationally via social media. Participants were adults aged 18 years or older from four different countries: the United States, Mexico, Hong Kong (China), and Taiwan. Primary outcomes were self-reported handwashing and social distancing practices during COVID-19. Predictors included constructs of the HBM: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action. Associations of these constructs with behavioral outcomes were assessed by multivariable logistic regression. Results We analyzed a total of 71,851 participants, with 3070 from the United States, 3946 from Mexico, 1201 from Hong Kong (China), and 63,634 from Taiwan. Of these countries, respondents from the United States adhered to the most social distancing practices (χ23=2169.7, P<.001), while respondents from Taiwan performed the most handwashing (χ23=309.8, P<.001). Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy was a positive predictor for handwashing (odds ratio [OR]United States 1.58, 95% CI 1.21-2.07; ORMexico 1.5, 95% CI 1.21-1.96; ORHong Kong 2.48, 95% CI 1.80-3.44; ORTaiwan 2.30, 95% CI 2.21-2.39) and social distancing practices (ORUnited States 1.77, 95% CI 1.24-2.49; ORMexico 1.77, 95% CI 1.40-2.25; ORHong Kong 3.25, 95% CI 2.32-4.62; ORTaiwan 2.58, 95% CI 2.47-2.68) in all countries. Handwashing was positively associated with perceived susceptibility in Mexico, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, while social distancing was positively associated with perceived severity in the United States, Mexico, and Taiwan. Conclusions Social media recruitment strategies can be used to reach a large audience during a pandemic. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor for handwashing and social distancing. Policies that address relevant health beliefs can facilitate adoption of necessary actions for preventing COVID-19. Our findings may be explained by the timing of government policies, the number of cases reported in each country, individual beliefs, and cultural context.
Complex Power: An Analytical Approach to Measuring the Degree of Urbanity of Urban Building Complexes

The importance of designing urban building complexes so that they obtain ‘urban’ power, rather than become isolated from the surrounding urban context, has been well recognized by both researchers and practitioners. Nevertheless, most current discussions are made from architects’ personal experiences and intuition, and lack a quantitative understanding, to which obstacles include an in-depth exploration of the ‘urban’ power between building complexes and the urban environment. This paper attempts to measure this feature of ‘urban’, i.e., ‘urbanity,’ through a new analytical approach derived from the opendata environment. Three measurements that can be easily collected though the Google Maps API and Open Street Map are applied herein to evaluate high or low values of urbanity. Specifically, these are ‘metric depth’, i.e., the scale of extended public space, ‘development density’, i.e., density and distribution of point of interests (POIs), and ‘type diversity’, i.e., diversity of different commercial types. Six cases located in Japan, China and Hong Kong respectively are ranked based on this analytical approach and compared with each other. It shows that Japanese cases, i.e., Osaka Station City and Namba Parks, Osaka, obtained clearly higher values than cases in Shanghai and Hong Kong. On one hand, the insight generated from measuring and explaining ‘urban’ power would help to assist better implementation of this feature in the design of urban building complexes. On the other hand, this analytical approach can be easily extended to achieve a large-scale measurement and comparison among different urban building complexes, which is also helpful for design practitioners.
Indonesian Mitochondrial DNA and Its Opposition to a Pleistocene Era Origin of Proto-Polynesians in Island Southeast Asia

The origin of modern Polynesians, the route of their expansion into the Pacific Ocean, and the timing of their movements all remain contentious topics in modern anthropology. Numerous studies have used molecular data to elucidate settlement patterns in the Indo-Pacific region, but the same evidence is often interpreted in opposing ways by different researchers. Above all, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity has been used to discriminate between competing migration models and has narrowed the probable source of proto-Polynesian peoples to southern China and Taiwan or eastern Indonesia. Richards et al. (1998) used a dating method employing the ρ statistic to argue for an origin of Polynesian peoples in eastern Indonesia during the Pleistocene (>10,000 years ago). Here, the time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) is recalculated for a new series of Indonesian mtDNA sequences with Polynesian affinities. These data, which incorporate additional sequences published after 1998, produce dates that cannot rule out the possibility of a common ancestor for these sequences during the Holocene (<10,000 years ago). This implies that previous estimates of TMRCA dates for Indonesian sequences lacked the statistical robustness necessary for replicability. The extant mtDNA evidence can no longer be viewed as favoring a Polynesian origin in eastern Indonesia, but instead remains consistent with an origin of proto-Polynesian peoples in southern China and Taiwan.
[Rheumatoid factor positivity rather than anti-CCP positivity, a lower disability and a lower number of anti-TNFalpha agents failed are associated with response to rituximab in rheumatoid arthritis].

OBJECTIVE Predictors of response to biologics in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an important issue in the current era. Rituximab (RTX) has been demonstrated effective and safe in active RA, resistant to traditional or biologic DMARDs. METHODS Fifty-seven patients with active longstanding RA were treated with RTX after traditional DMARD or anti-TNF alpha therapy failure. RESULTS Number of anti-TNF treatment previously failed (p=0.005), HAQ (p=0.013), rheumatoid factor (RF) (p=0.0002) and anti-CCP (p=0.006) were associated with an ACR response > or =50 at the end of 6th month by univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis confirmed that the number of anti-TNF previously failed, baseline HAQ and RF, but not anti-CCP were associated with an ACR response > or =50. EULAR moderate/good response was associated with ESR value (p=0.036), HAQ (p=0.032), and RF (p=0.01) by univariate analysis, while only RF positivity was associated with EULAR moderate/good response by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS RF positivity rather than anti-CCP positivity is a predictor of response to RTX, suggesting that RF-positive patients with low disability may obtain a clinical response when treated to RTX after the first anti-TNF agent failure or after traditional DMARD therapies. Larger studies are required to confirm these results.
Predicting Paired-Associate Learning Speed

The essence of experimental design is to control those sources of extraneous variation that are easy to control and to randomize over the rest. In studies of paired-associate learning one variable which is potentially important but which is seldom controlled, is rote learning ability. This is a report of a preliminary invesrigation of predicting paired-associate learning speed using a simple, standardized paper and pencil test which may be group administered and either hand or machine scored. The test, Part V of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) (Carroll & Sapon, 1958), consists of 24 pairs of English-PseudoKurdish words to be studied by Ss for 4 min. The study period is followed by a 4-min. multiple choice test in which Ss are to select the appropriate English word to go with rhe Kurdish stem. Including directions, rota1 resting time is less than 10 min. The above test was given to two groups of Ss; one group ( N = 38) was then required to learn partially a paired-associate list made up of eight pairs of low-frequency words raken from rhe Horton and Kjeldergaard srudy (1960). ' The words were projected onto a screen using a film strip projector wich 3-sec. , 2-sec. , and 1-sec. intervals for the stimulus word, sti~nulus and response words, and interpair interval, respectively. The dependent variable was the mean number of correct anticipzrions on Trials 3 through 12. The producr-moment correlation between correct anticipations and scores on Part V of the MLAT was . 60 ( p < .01). The second group ( N = 120) was required to learn similar materials presented via a memory drum in individual experimental sessions. The exposure times were sti~nulus word alone, 1-sec. , stimulus and response word together and interpair interval, 2-sec. each. The response measure was the number of trials to the criterion of three successive errorless trials. The product-moment correlation between this measure and MLAT scores was . 41 ( 9 < .01). The distribution of MLAT scores for Group 2 was markedly skewed wich 25% of the Ss obtaining perfect scores. The notion that a restricted range of scores on this
Safe and unsafe sexual intentions and behavior: The effects of norms and attitudes.

Studied 252 heterosexual men and women and homosexual men to examine the variables that influence intentions to engage in different sexual practices (SPs) and actual sexual behavior. The authors (1) predicted that the strength of intentions (SOIs) would be related to whether behavior was in accord with intentions and (2) proposed that attitudes toward one's SPs and norms would be related to intentions to engage in safe sex. The SOI to engage in 6 different SPs (e.g., vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, oral sex) and the 3 strategies that modify the risk of HIV transmission (e.g., sex with an exclusive partner) predicted actual behavior. Five safety intention groups were formed to reflect differential levels in the safety of behavioral intentions.
Evaluation of the Condom Barriers Scale for Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men: Reliability and Validity of 3 Subscales

Background Reliable and valid scale measures of barriers to condom use are not available for young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Condom Barriers Scales for application with YBMSM. Methods A clinic-based sample of 600 YBMSM completed a computer-assisted self-interview. The primary measure was a 14-item abbreviated version of the Condom Barriers Scale. Reliability and criterion validity were assessed. Results All 3 subscales were reliable: partner-related barriers (Cronbach &agr;=0.73), sensation-related barriers (&agr;=0.70), and motivation-related barriers (&agr; =0.81). A complete absence of barriers was common: 47.0% (partner-related), 30.7% (sensation-related), and 46.5% (motivation-related). Dichotomized subscales were significantly associated with reporting any condomless insertive anal sex (all Ps < 0.001) and any condomless receptive anal sex (all Ps < 0.001). The subscales were significantly associated with these measures of condomless sex preserved at a continuous level (all Ps <0.001, except for sensation barriers associated with condomless receptive anal sex = 0.03). Further, the subscales were significantly associated with reporting any condom use problems (all Ps <0.001) and a measure of condomless oral sex (all Ps <0.001, except for partner-related barriers=0.31). Finally, the sensation-related barriers subscale was significantly associated with testing positive for Chlamydia and/or gonorrhea (P=0.049). Conclusions The 3 identified subscales yielded adequate reliability and strong evidence of validity, thereby suggesting the utility of these brief measures for use in observational and experimental research with YBMSM.
controlling births and bodies in village China

China has been able to achieve contraceptive usage of 60% or higher within a more 25 years through control of women by the state and its political and medical cadres. The process of accommodation involved not just acquiescence but involvement of women in local cadres negotiating terms for informal rules that were desired. Local policy was a deviation from national and provincial family planning policy. Womens resistance had undesirable consequences: the greater risk of tubal ligations repeated IUD insertions and extractions frequent abortions late-term abortions and operations poorly performed in haste during birth control campaigns. Another consequence of the regulatory system was womens fight for upholding the patriarchal system and the desire for sons only. Even though the state was no longer directly controlling behavior women and peasants embraced the state notions about family construction social and cultural behavior. The family became a political construction and the one-child policy dominated; the family became a family construction in that it acceded to family demands. The examination of family demography particularly in the case of China should include feminist and political economic literatures. The feminist literature would draw on the examination of the human reproductive potential and the fight over whether the individual or state has control of the state strategies of manipulation and acceptance of reproductive technologies and of tradeoffs made by families in balancing reproductive decisions health and safety and ideal family sizes. A political economic study would focus on the state the medical profession and international agencies and their impact on fertility control and strategies of resistance to state control. The state in developing countries with the support of foreign governments and international agencies had directly affected family formation through their family planning programs. In the case of China the state has been so strong that people have come to "internalize it accept it and even reproduce it in their daily lives. " The evidence for this reality was presented for a village in Shaanxi province based on anthropological research conducted before 1989 and the Tiananmen Square massacre.
The limited reach of authoritarian powers

ABSTRACT Authoritarian states often command tremendous resources, but their ability to fundamentally change regimes abroad remains in question. Proponents of an “authoritarian resurgence” have speculated that China and Russia are rolling back democracy around the world, much like fascist powers in the interwar period. By contrast, the introductory article of this special issue theorizes that current authoritarian powers are not catalyzing autocracy far afield. Rather, they are prudentially defending the surrounding political order. The present article applies this framework to make sense of cross-national trends in democracy and authoritarianism. The bulk of evidence supports the notion that authoritarian powers have regionally shored up existing regimes, rather than globally subverting democracy. Evidence from around the world indicates the number of electoral democracies has been growing, democracy has remained tenuous in lower-income countries, and democratic breakdowns have owed more to unfavourable local conditions than predacious external actors.
Association of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody levels with PADI4 haplotypes in early rheumatoid arthritis and with shared epitope alleles in very late rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies are rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-specific serologic markers. RA susceptibility has been associated with HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) alleles and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) haplotypes in the peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 gene (PADI4). This study was undertaken to determine whether anti-CCP levels are associated with PADI4 haplotypes and/or SE alleles in Korean patients with RA. METHODS Three nonsynonymous SNPs in PADI4 (padi4_89, padi4_90, and padi4_92) and SE alleles were genotyped, and serum anti-CCP levels were measured, in 311 patients with nonerosive or erosive RA. The relationships between anti-CCP levels and PADI4 haplotypes and/or SE alleles were analyzed statistically. RESULTS Anti-CCP levels were significantly higher in patients carrying the PADI4 RA risk haplotype than in patients who did not have the risk haplotype, among anti-CCP-positive patients with RA with a disease duration of <or=34 months (P = 0.041), but not among patients with a longer disease duration or among those who had erosive RA versus nonerosive RA. In contrast, the levels were significantly higher in SE carriers than in noncarriers among patients with RA with a disease duration of >or=141 months (P = 0.0037) and among those who had erosive RA (P = 0.000098), but not among patients who had a shorter disease duration or those who had nonerosive RA. CONCLUSION The PADI4 RA risk haplotype is associated with increased anti-CCP levels in RA patients with disease of short duration, and PADI4 may play a role in early RA. In contrast, SE alleles are associated with increased anti-CCP levels in RA patients with very longstanding disease and in patients with erosive RA, suggesting that SE alleles play a role in very late RA.
Investment Dynamics of the Greater China Securitized Real Estate Markets

This paper focuses on securitized real estate markets. It investigates simultaneously the effects of volatility spillover and conditional correlation on the cross-market relationships among three real estate securities markets, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in Greater China (GC), as well as their international links with the securitized real estate markets in the United States over 1995â€“2009. Overall, the results indicate that the three GC markets are integrated among themselves, as well as with the U.S. markets. The conditional correlations between the GC markets have outweighed their conditional correlations with the U.S. market, indicating closer integration between the GC markets due to geographical proximity and closer economic links. Moreover, higher levels of volatility spillovers and correlations are detected across all markets during the 2007 global financial crisis period. Finally, the orthogonalized real estate results indicate that unsecuritized real estate could behave differently from real estate securities in volatility interdependence and correlation relationship across the four economies.