Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A predictive validity study of the Pharmacy College Admission Test.

OBJECTIVE To examine the validity of Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) scores for predicting grade point averages (GPAs) of students in years 1-4 of pharmacy programs. METHODS Data were collected from 11 colleges and schools of pharmacy: entering cumulative and math/science GPAs, PCAT scaled scores, pharmacy program GPAs for years 1-4, student status after 4 years. Correlation, regression, discriminant, and diagnostic accuracy analyses were used to determine the validity of the PCAT for predicting subsequent GPAs. RESULTS PCAT scaled scores and entering GPAs were positively correlated with subsequent GPAs. Regression analyses showed the predictive value of the PCAT scores, especially in combination with entering GPAs. Discriminant and diagnostic accuracy analyses supported these findings and provided practical suggestions regarding optimal PCAT scores for identifying students most likely to succeed. CONCLUSION Both PCAT scaled scores and entering cumulative GPAs showed moderate to strong predictive validity as indicators of candidates likely to succeed in pharmacy school.
Paper Friction at the Various Measuring Conditions -Effect of Relative Humidity-

Friction of commercial papers under dry, moderate and humid atmospheres was examined, comparing with those of cellulose film and aluminum foil. The friction coefficient between different papers generally gave their intermediate value. The coefficient between equal cellulosic materials including paper increased with humidity, while that of aluminum against aluminum was constant irrespective of surrounding humidity. However the surface wetting with a slight amount of water on aluminum caused rapid increase in the coefficient. The capillary force may cause this phenomenon, and the sharp increase of friction between cellulose films in humid atmosphere was similar to that observed with aluminum foils which were wetted with a slight amount of water. These suggest that the capillary force by a slight amount of water may raise frictional force of cellulosic materials including paper at high humidity.
An improved model of charge transfer inefficiency and correction algorithm for the Hubble Space Telescope

Charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors, widely used to obtain digital imaging, can be damaged by high energy radiation. Degraded images appear blurred, because of an effect known as Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI), which trails bright objects as the image is read out. It is often possible to correct most of the trailing during post-processing, by moving flux back to where it belongs. We compare several popular algorithms for this: quantifying the effect of their physical assumptions and tradeoffs between speed and accuracy. We combine their best elements to construct a more accurate model of damaged CCDs in the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys/Wide Field Channel, and update it using data up to early 2013. Our algorithm now corrects 98 per cent of CTI trailing in science exposures, a substantial improvement over previous work. Further progress will be fundamentally limited by the presence of read noise. Read noise is added after charge transfer so does not get trailed – but it is incorrectly untrailed during post-processing.
Age‐Dependent Sex Effects on Outcomes After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

Background Sex has been linked to differential outcomes for cardiovascular disease in adults. We examined potential sex differences in outcomes after pediatric cardiac surgery. Methods and Results We retrospectively analyzed data from the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium (1982–2007) by using logistic regression to evaluate the effects of sex on 30‐day within‐hospital mortality after pediatric (<18 years old) cardiac operations and its interaction with age, risk category, z‐score for weight, and surgical year for the whole cohort. Of 76 312 operations, 55% were in boys. Unadjusted mortality was similar for boys and girls (5.2% versus 5.0%, P=0.313), but boys were more likely to have cardiac surgery as a neonate and to have more complex operations. After adjustment, the overall test of any association between postsurgical mortality and sex was significant (P=0.002), but the overall test of any interaction was not (P=0.503). However, a potential age‐dependent sex effect on postsurgical mortality was observed among infants subjected to high‐risk operations, with girls doing worse during the first 6 months of life. Conclusions Patient sex has a significant effect on mortality after pediatric cardiac operations, with an increased risk of death in early infancy for girls after high‐risk cardiac operations. This age‐dependent relationship supports a sex‐related biological effect on postoperative cardiovascular stress.
High Prevalence of HIV Drug Resistance Among Newly Diagnosed Infants Aged <18 Months: Results From a Nationwide Surveillance in Nigeria

Background: WHO recommends protease-inhibitor-based first-line regimen in infants because of risk of drug resistance from failed prophylaxis used in prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). However, cost and logistics impede implementation in sub-Saharan Africa, and >75% of children still receive nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimen (NNRTI) used in PMTCT. Methods: We assessed the national pretreatment drug resistance prevalence of HIV-infected children aged <18 months in Nigeria, using WHO-recommended HIV drug resistance surveillance protocol. We used remnant dried blood spots collected between June 2014 and July 2015 from 15 early infant diagnosis facilities spread across all the 6 geopolitical regions of Nigeria. Sampling was through a probability proportional-to-size approach. HIV drug resistance was determined by population-based sequencing. Results: Overall, in 48% of infants (205 of 430) drug resistance mutations (DRM) were detected, conferring resistance to predominantly NNRTIs (45%). NRTI and multiclass NRTI/NNRTI resistance were present at 22% and 20%, respectively, while resistance to protease inhibitors was at 2%. Among 204 infants with exposure to drugs for PMTCT, 57% had DRMs, conferring NNRTI resistance in 54% and multiclass NRTI/NNRTI resistance in 29%. DRMs were also detected in 34% of 132 PMTCT unexposed infants. Conclusion: A high frequency of PDR, mainly NNRTI-associated, was observed in a nationwide surveillance among newly diagnosed HIV-infected children in Nigeria. PDR prevalence was equally high in PMTCT-unexposed infants. Our results support the use of protease inhibitor-based first-line regimens in HIV-infected young children regardless of PMTCT history and underscore the need to accelerate implementation of the newly disseminated guideline in Nigeria.
Landsat Imagery Spectral Trajectories - Important Variables for Spatially Predicting the Risks of Bark Beetle Disturbance

Tree mortality caused by bark beetle infestation has significant effects on the ecology and value of both natural and commercial forests. Therefore, prediction of bark beetle infestations is critical in forest management. Existing predictive models, however, rarely consider the influence of long-term stressors on forest susceptibility to bark beetle infestation. In this study we introduce pre-disturbance spectral trajectories from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery as an indicator of long-term stress into models of bark beetle infestation together with commonly used environmental predictors. Observations for this study come from forests in the central part of the Sumava Mountains, in the border region between the Czech Republic and Germany, Central Europe. The areas of bark beetle-infested forest were delineated from aerial photographs taken in 1991 and in every year from 1994 to 2000. The environmental predictors represent forest stand attributes (e.g., tree density and distance to the infested forest from previous year) and common abiotic factors, such as topography, climate, geology, and soil. Pre-disturbance spectral trajectories were defined by the linear regression slope of Tasseled Cap components (Wetness, Brightness and Greenness) calculated from a time series of 16 Landsat TM images across years from 1984 until one year before the bark beetle infestation. Using logistic regression and multimodel inference, we calculated predictive models separately for each single year from 1994 to 2000 to account for a possible shift in importance of individual predictors during disturbance. Inclusion of two pre-disturbance spectral trajectories (Wetness slope and Brightness slope) significantly improved predictive ability of bark beetle infestation models. Wetness slope had the greatest predictive power, even relative to environmental predictors, and was relatively stable in its power over the years. Brightness slope improved the model only in the middle of the disturbance period (1996). Importantly, these pre-disturbance predictors were not correlated with other predictors, and therefore bring additional explanatory power to the model. Generally, the predictive power of most fitted model decreases as time progresses and models describing the initial phase of bark beetle outbreaks appear more reliable for conducting near-future predictions. The pre-disturbance spectral trajectories are valuable not only for assessing the risk of bark beetle infestation, but also for detection of long-term gradual changes even in non-forest ecosystems.
Clinical implications and validity of nursing assessments: a longitudinal measure of patient condition from analysis of the Electronic Medical Record

Objectives This study investigates risk of mortality associated with nurses’ assessments of patients by physiological system. We hypothesise that nursing assessments of in-patients performed at entry correlate with in-hospital mortality, and those performed just before discharge correlate with postdischarge mortality. Design Cohort study of in-hospital and postdischarge mortality of patients over two 1-year periods. Setting An 805-bed community hospital in Sarasota, Florida, USA. Subjects 42 302 inpatients admitted for any reason, excluding obstetrics, paediatric and psychiatric patients. Outcome measures All-cause mortalities and mortality OR. Results Patients whose entry nursing assessments, other than pain, did not meet minimum standards had significantly higher in-hospital mortality than patients meeting minimums; and final nursing assessments before discharge had large OR for postdischarge mortality. In-hospital mortality OR were found to be: food, 7.0; neurological, 9.4; musculoskeletal, 6.9; safety, 5.6; psychosocial, 6.7; respiratory, 8.1; skin, 5.2; genitourinary, 3.0; gastrointestinal, 2.3; peripheral-vascular, 3.9; cardiac, 2.8; and pain, 1.1. CI at 95% are within ±20% of these values, with p<0.001 (except for pain). Similar results applied to postdischarge mortality. All results were comparable across the two 1-year periods, with 0.85 intraclass correlation coefficient. Conclusions Nursing assessments are strongly correlated with in-hospital and postdischarge mortality. No multivariate analysis has yet been performed, and will be the subject of a future study, thus there may be confounding factors. Nonetheless, we conclude that these assessments are clinically meaningful and valid. Nursing assessment data, which are currently unused, may allow physicians to improve patient care. The mortality OR and the dynamic nature of nursing assessments suggest that nursing assessments are sensitive indicators of a patient's condition. While these conclusions must remain qualified, pending future multivariate analyses, nursing assessment data ought to be incorporated in risk-related health research, and changes in record-keeping software are needed to make this information more accessible.
Changes in medical student attitudes as they progress through a medical course.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the way ethical principles develop during a medical education course for three groups of medical students--in their first year, at the beginning of their penultimate (fifth) year and towards the end of their final (sixth) year. DESIGN: Survey questionnaire administered to medical students in their first, fifth and final (sixth) year. SETTING: A large medical school in Queensland, Australia. SURVEY SAMPLE: Approximately half the students in each of three years (first, fifth and sixth) provided data on a voluntary basis, a total of 385 students. RESULTS: At the point of entry, minor differences were found between medical students and first year law and psychology students. More striking were differences between male and female medical students, suggesting early socialization had a substantial impact here. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that substantial changes in attitude have developed by the beginning of fifth year with little change thereafter. Gender difference persisted. Some difference in ethical attitudes were found when groups of different ethnic backgrounds were compared. The impact of a move to a graduate medical course, which gives high priority to ethics within a professional development domain, can now be evaluated.
E cient and Generalized Group Signatures

The concept of group signatures was introduced by Chaum et al. at Eurocrypt '91. It allows a member of a group to sign messages anonymously on behalf of the group. In case of a later dispute a designated group manager can revoke the anonymity and identify the originator of a signature. In this paper we propose a new e cient group signature scheme. Furthermore we present a model and the rst realization of generalized group signatures. Such a scheme allows to de ne coalitions of group members that are able to sign on the group's behalf.
SAMSN1 Is Highly Expressed and Associated with a Poor Survival in Glioblastoma Multiforme

Objectives To study the expression pattern and prognostic significance of SAMSN1 in glioma. Methods Affymetrix and Arrystar gene microarray data in the setting of glioma was analyzed to preliminarily study the expression pattern of SAMSN1 in glioma tissues, and Hieratical clustering of gene microarray data was performed to filter out genes that have prognostic value in malignant glioma. Survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier estimates stratified by SAMSN1 expression was then made based on the data of more than 500 GBM cases provided by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project. At last, we detected the expression of SAMSN1 in large numbers of glioma and normal brain tissue samples using Tissue Microarray (TMA). Survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier estimates in each grade of glioma was stratified by SAMSN1 expression. Multivariate survival analysis was made by Cox proportional hazards regression models in corresponding groups of glioma. Results With the expression data of SAMSN1 and 68 other genes, high-grade glioma could be classified into two groups with clearly different prognoses. Gene and large sample tissue microarrays showed high expression of SAMSN1 in glioma particularly in GBM. Survival analysis based on the TCGA GBM data matrix and TMA multi-grade glioma dataset found that SAMSN1 expression was closely related to the prognosis of GBM, either PFS or OS (P<0.05). Multivariate survival analysis with Cox proportional hazards regression models confirmed that high expression of SAMSN1 was a strong risk factor for PFS and OS of GBM patients. Conclusion SAMSN1 is over-expressed in glioma as compared with that found in normal brains, especially in GBM. High expression of SAMSN1 is a significant risk factor for the progression free and overall survival of GBM.
Impact energy attenuation performance of football headgear

Objectives—Commercially available football head protectors were tested to determine their impact energy attenuation performance and ability to reduce the likelihood of concussion. Methods—Prospective study using standardised impact test methods with both rigid (magnesium) and Hybrid III headforms. Results—Eight commercially available head protectors from six manufacturers were tested. The magnitude of the headform accelerations increased as the drop height was increased, ranging from a minimum of 64 g from a height of 0.2 m to a maximum of 1132 g from a height of 0.6 m. The head injury criterion and maximum headform acceleration values followed a similar trend. A steep increase was noted in the magnitude of maximum headform acceleration and head injury criterion when the drop height was increased from 0.4 to 0.5 m. This indicates that the foam material was completely compressed at an impact energy above about 20 J and therefore offers little protection against impacts of greater severity. Repeated tests using a drop height of 0.3 m showed that some helmets exhibit a “memory” effect, whereby impact performance is reduced by up to 50% with repeated impacts. Conclusions—Laboratory tests indicate that current commercially available football headgear performance will not reduce the likelihood of concussion. The absence of internationally recognised standards for soft headgear designed to ameliorate concussion is a major deficiency in sports injury prevention.
Radiofrequency Ablation Versus Hepatic Resection for Small Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Background and Goals: Whether radiofrequency ablation or hepatic resection is superior for improving the survival in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains controversial. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to examine this issue. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were used to identify all randomized controlled trials comparing the survival between small HCC patients receiving radiofrequency ablation and hepatic resection. The hazard ratio (HR) was pooled to compare the overall survival and recurrence-free survival rates. The odds ratio was pooled to compare the incidence of treatment-related complications. The mean difference was pooled to compare the hospitalization duration. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed. Results: Three randomized controlled trials were included in this meta-analysis. All patients met the Milan criteria. Hepatic resection was superior to radiofrequency ablation for the improvement of overall survival [HR=1.41; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06-1.89; P=0.02] and recurrence-free survival (HR=1.41; 95% CI, 1.14-1.74; P=0.001). Heterogeneity among studies was not significant (overall survival: P=0.14; recurrence-free survival: P=0.28). Patients treated with hepatic resection had a significantly higher incidence of treatment-related complications (odds ratio=0.12; 95% CI, 0.03-0.47; P=0.002) and a significantly longer hospitalization duration (mean difference: −8.77; 95% CI, −10.36 to −7.18; P<0.00001) than those treated with radiofrequency ablation. Heterogeneity among studies was significant (treatment-related complications: P=0.006; hospitalization duration: P=0.003). No hospital death occurred in the 2 groups. Conclusions: Evidence from the meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials suggested that hepatic resection might improve the overall survival and recurrence-free survival in small HCC patients, whereas increase the complications and hospitalization duration. However, this conclusion should be explained with caution, due to the absence of further subgroup analysis with respect to the outcome in patients with different tumor size (<3 and 3 to 5 cm).
EFFECT OF SPECIMEN THICKNESS ON DELAY IN FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH

The effect of specimen thickness on delay in fatigue crack growth, produced by load interactions in variable-amplitude loading, was examined. Experiments were carried out on 7075-T6 aluminum alloy sheets. The results indicate that delay is a function of specimen thickness. This influence of thickness, along with variations in behavior among different materials, suggest that extensive extrapolation of existing data should not be made.
A Clumping-independent Diagnostic of Stellar Mass-Loss Rates: Rapid Clump Destruction in Adiabatic Colliding Winds

Clumping in hot star winds can significantly affect estimates of mass-loss rates, the inferred evolution of the star, and the environmental impact of the wind. A hydrodynamical simulation of a colliding winds binary (CWB) with clumpy winds reveals that the clumps are rapidly destroyed after passing through the confining shocks of the wind-wind collision region (WCR) for reasonable parameters of the clumps if the flow in the WCR is adiabatic. Despite large density and temperature fluctuations in the postshock gas, the overall effect of the interaction is to smooth the existing structure in the winds. Averaged over the entire interaction region, the resulting X-ray emission is very similar to that from the collision of smooth winds. The insensitivity of the X-ray emission to clumping suggests it is an excellent diagnostic of the stellar mass-loss rates () in wide CWBs and may prove to be a useful addition to existing techniques for deriving , many of which are extremely sensitive to clumping. Clumpy winds also have implications for a variety of phenomena at the WCR: particle acceleration may occur throughout the WCR due to supersonic MHD turbulence, reacceleration at multiple shocks, and reconnection; a statistical description of the properties of the WCR may be required for studies of nonequilibrium ionization and the rate of electron heating; and the physical mixing of the two winds will be enhanced, as seems necessary to trigger dust formation.
Tribological testing of DLC coatings for automotive applications

In this work, the friction and wear behavior of three DLC coatings was evaluated in various conventional and alternative fuels as well as in commercially available formulated engine oils and additive-free synthetic oil. The first DLC has a thin top-coating of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H), the second consists of Si-doped DLC (a-C:H:Si) and the third is a W-doped multilayered structure of a-C:H and a-C:H:W.The tribological tests were performed using a ball-on-flat reciprocating rig at low contact pressures. Methods such as white light interferometry (VSI), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron spectroscopy (TEM) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA/XPS) were used for analyzing and characterizing the coatings and counter surfaces in an effort to gain an understanding of the tribological mechanisms involved.