Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiological and Cost Analysis of Self-Poisoning Cases in Ankara, Turkey

Background: Poisoning is a global public health problem. Self-poisoning has potentially serious consequences. Follow-up studies have found that 3-10% of self-harm patients eventually succeed. Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the epidemiological, clinical and economical aspects of deliberate self-poisoning patients admitted to Yenimahalle State Hospital Intensive Care Unit. Patients and Methods: The study was carried out retrospectively in Ankara Yenimahalle State Hospital. It included Seventy-one patients over 16 years of age who were admitted to the hospital due to poisoning during 2012. Exposed poisons were classified into one of three categories; pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and alcohols. Cost account was based on the medical invoices at patient discharge. Data were compared using Student’s T test and chi-square test. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The female/male ratio was 2.55. The mean age of the 71 poisoned patients was 28.92 ± 11.51 years. Most of the poisoning agents were pharmaceuticals (68 cases). Among the pharmaceuticals, antidepressants were involved most often, followed by analgesics. There was no statistically significant difference between pharmaceutical agents in terms of hospital cost (P > 0.05). The mean length of hospital stay was 6.4 ± 4.3 days. There was a statistically significant difference between the lengths of stay of patients in terms of hospital cost (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The patient cost increased as the length of stay increased due to the policy of bundle pricing.
Providing Cancer and Palliative Care in Rural Areas: A Review of Patient and Carer Needs

Of 72 papers identified, 71 were obtained and 20 were considered to meet the inclusion criteria. One paper could not be traced by library sources, due to incorrect referencing. Of the total of 20, 11 focused on needs of patients or carers; five were surveys of place of death or end-of-life care; and four were reviews of services in specific areas, which included reporting of patient and caregiver needs. The papers identified all originate from the developed world and there were no studies specifically relating to ethnic minorities.
Full reinforcement operators in aggregation techniques

We introduce the concept of upward reinforcement in aggregation as one in which a collection of high scores can reinforce or corroborate each other to give an even higher score than any of the individual arguments. The concept of downward reinforcement is also introduced as one in which low scores reinforce each other. Our concern is with full reinforcement aggregation operators, those exhibiting both upward and downward reinforcement. It is shown that the t-norm and t-conorm operators are not full reinforcement operators. A class of operators called fixed identity MICA operators are shown to exhibit the property of full reinforcement. We present some families of these operators. We use the fuzzy system modeling technique to provide further examples of these operators.
Boyz N the Hood

Although several issues of consequence are addressed by John Singleton's Boyz N The Hood (1991), mainstream, capitalist media inquiry has emphasized the peripheral, sensational events surrounding the film, failing to provide the necessary structural and contextual analyses that Boyz merits. The raw human tragedy and triumph depicted by Singleton sears and energizes the consciousness of the viewer. In order that this energy not be squandered, it must be channeled into a holistic understanding of the psychological/political! economic/cultural matrix within which the phenomenology portrayed in the film is played out. This article will attempt to provide the structural and contextual analyses that have heretofore been lacking, further enhancing the didactic value of Boyz long after its run in the theaters has drawn to a close. Three interwoven factors lay at the roots of the crises treated in the film:
School-Level Effects of Teachers' Participation in Decision Making

This article presents findings from a study of teachers' participation in decision making. Data gathered from a large metropolitan district involved in restructuring are analyzed to isolate dimensions of participation and to explore linkages between these dimensions and several outcome variables. Results indicate that participation did not improve outcomes for teachers or students and that teachers did not feel sufficiently involved in decision making was sufficient despite working in a reform district. These findings suggest that restructuring models must be reexamined to identify and remedy obstacles that inhibit the success of reform efforts.
The financial crisis in the German and English press: Metaphorical structures in the media coverage on Greece, Spain and Italy

The German media presentation of the so-called Greek financial crisis caused an unexpected uproar in Germany. An anti-Greek sentiment evolved and spread among German citizens and solidarity for crisis-hit Greece was mostly rejected. Public surveys revealed that many Germans even wanted Greece to exit the Eurozone immediately. This article highlights the crucial role of the media in shaping the negative public opinion. In 2010, a period which has lately been referred to as Greek bashing, the German press had discussed the Greek financial crisis heatedly and controversially. Europe’s largest daily newspaper, BILD, published numerous reports that implicitly and explicitly constituted the myth of the corrupt and lazy Greeks in comparison to the hard-working Germans. In 2012, the crisis had spread much further, and not only Greece but other countries too were suffering from high debt, economic stagnation and unemployment. The news coverage became more moderate and conciliating and presented the dramatic social consequences for the respective population. This study highlights not only the development of the German media’s tenor on the Greek crisis through time, but adds an international perspective and widens the view by comparing the media treatment of the different countries involved. Based on 122 online articles, the study methodologically focuses on the analysis of metaphorical language in the news coverage of three comparable international news magazines: SPIEGEL (Germany), The Economist (the UK) and TIME (the USA), and contrasts the representation of Greece with the depiction of larger indebted European countries like Spain and Italy. The analysis shows remarkable differences in the evaluation and presentation of the crisis, which can be linked to the degree of involvement of Germany, the UK and the USA in European policies.
Efficient shared-path protection exploiting the knowledge of connection-holding time

Progress in network technologies and protocols is paving the road towards flexible optical transport networks, in which leasable circuits could be set up and released on a short-term basis. Thus we consider it reasonable that, at least for some types of services, the holding time of connection requests can be known in advance. In this paper, we propose to exploit the knowledge of connection-holding time to improve the performance of an algorithm for shared-segment protection (SSP). For a typical US nationwide network, we compared our approach to an holding-time-unaware, but otherwise shared segmented efficient, approach, obtaining savings on resource overbuild of up to 7% for practical scenarios. Index Terms— Optical network, WDM, lightpath, dynamic traffic, holding time, shared-segment protection.
Modeling Dynamic Inconsistency with a Changing Reference Point

A rational principle of decision making called dynamic consistency was tested by presenting decision makers with a sequence of two gambles. The first gamble was obligatory. Before playing the first gamble, participants were asked to make a planned choice as to whether they would take the second gamble. After experiencing the actual results of the first gamble, decision makers were asked to make a final choice regarding the second gamble. Dynamic consistency requires agreement between the planned and final choices. Violations of dynamic consistency were observed, e.g. anticipating a gain in the first gamble, decision makers planned to take the second gamble; after experiencing the gain, they changed their minds and rejected the second gamble. Two models of dynamic inconsistency were compared. One assumes that experience shifts the reference point and changes the utility associated with the gamble; another assumes that experience changes the subjective probability associated with the gamble. The reference point model provided the best account for the findings. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using High-Order Moments to Estimate Linear Independent Factor Models

We study the identification and estimation of linear factor models under the assumptions that factors and errors are independent and that factors are not normally distributed. High-order moments are shown to yield full identification of the matrix of factor loadings if factor distributions are sufficiently skewed or kurtotic. We develop simple algorithms to estimate the matrix of factor loadings from the second, third and fourth-order moments of the data. We run Monte Carlo simulations and apply our methodology to microdata on wages and education, and to financial data on stock returns. JEL codes: C13.
Use of the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 with a University Population

Abstract The Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 (OQ) was administered to a college student counseling and psychological services center sample of 435 students both before and after brief psychotherapeutic counseling. Initial ambivalence of the staff about the use of the instrument is described. Issues of implementation are discussed, and results reported including significant differences between pretreatment and postreatment scores on all subscales and the OQ total score. The amount of gain per session for the first ten sessions is presented and compared with other college and university data. This measured, positive change (symptom reduction) provides the administrator with data with which to garner support for the center and to respond to those skeptical of the efficacy of psychotherapeutic treatment.
Impact of Prior Concussions on Health-Related Quality of Life in Collegiate Athletes.

OBJECTIVE To investigate how self-reported sport-related concussion history affects health-related quality of life in collegiate athletes. DESIGN Cross sectional. SETTING Division I university, Division II university, and a junior college. PARTICIPANTS Three hundred two collegiate athletes (210 men, 92 women). ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS Participants completed a demographic information sheet and concussion history form; they were then grouped by number of previous self-reported concussions, designated as 0, 1-2, or 3+. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The Medical Outcomes Short Form (SF-36) and the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6). RESULTS Significant differences between groups were found for the bodily pain, vitality, and social functioning subscales of the SF-36. The 3+ group had significantly lower scores for bodily pain (48.1 ± 8.9) compared with the 1-2 group (P = 0.028, 52.1 ± 7.7) and 0 group (P < 0.01, 53.5 ± 8.3), for vitality (52.4 ± 8.4) compared with the 0 group (P = 0.011, 55.9 ± 8.6), and for social functioning (48.5 ± 9.4) compared with the 1-2 group (P = 0.028, 51.6 ± 7.3) and 0 group (P = 0.003, 51.9 ± 8.1). Significant differences were noted on the HIT-6 total score. The 3+ group reported greater impact of headache (46.7 ± 6.4) than the 1-2 group (P = 0.05, 44.6 ± 6.4) and 0 group (P < 0.001, 42.9 ± 5.8). The 1-2 group also had higher HIT-6 scores than the 0 group (P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that a collegiate athlete's perception of bodily pain, vitality, social functioning, and headache is adversely affected by previous sport-related concussions. However, by incorporating general and specific outcome measures into the standard evaluation of sport-related concussion, the clinician can better determine how the athlete is responding to treatment and recovery.
The Visual Search of an Illusory Figure: A Comparison between 6-Month-Old Infants and Adults

The aim of the present study was to investigate how perceptual binding and selective attention operate during infants' and adults' visual search of an illusory figure. An eye-tracker system was used to test adults and infants in two conditions: illusory and non-illusory (real). In the illusory condition, a Kanizsa triangle was embedded among distractor pacmen which did not generate illusory contours. In the non-illusory condition, a real triangle was included in the same pacmen's display. The results showed that adults detected both the Kanizsa and the real figure automatically and without focal attention (experiment 1). In contrast, 6-month-old infants showed a pop-out effect only for the real figure (experiment 2). The failure of the illusory figure to trigger infants' attention was not due to infants' inability to perceive the illusory figure per se, as infants preferred the illusory figure over a non-illusory control stimulus in a classical preferential-looking task (experiment 3). Overall, these findings indicate that the illusory Kanizsa triangle triggers visual attention in adults, but not in infants, supporting evidence that at 6 months of age the binding processes involved in the perception of a Kanizsa figure do not operate in an adult-like manner.
Acculturation and Discrimination in the Global Market Place

Abstract Mass international migrations to countries that promise economic, social, and political prosperity has created ethnic communities that are lucrative targets for many businesses. Members of these communities are often very brand loyal, conspicuous purchasers of prestige products, and willing to pay for quality products. Acculturation theory is used to explain how businesses can effectively communicate to these groups. Unlike past studies which rely on one acculturative dimension to understand its impact on marketing programs, this study employs multiple dimensions including the dimension of discrimination which has not previously been used in past consumer behavior research. An exploratory study using Hispanics in the U.S. as a sample population suggests that Hispanics with lower incomes and lower levels of education as well as Hispanics who use Spanish in the home and have perceived some level of discrimination in the past have greater levels of purchase intent for products when they are advertised in Spanish. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed, and limitations and directions for future research are offered.
Gender differences in symptoms related to sleep apnea in a general population and in relation to referral to sleep clinic.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To study the prevalence, risk factors, and gender differences in symptoms related to obstructive sleep apnea. A secondary objective was to study gender differences in relation to referral to a sleep clinic for sleep investigations. DESIGN AND SETTING A questionnaire study in a representative sample of the general population. A second cohort included patients referred for sleep apnea investigation between 1991 and 2000 in the same geographic region. PARTICIPANTS A representative sample of 5,424 subjects aged 20 to 69 years living in northern Sweden. Responses were obtained from 4,648 subjects (85.7%). RESULTS Of the male respondents, 17.9% stated that snoring was a problem or said that they had relatives who were concerned about witnessed sleep apnea, and of the female respondents, 7.4%. The prevalence of snoring and witnessed apneas increased with age. In men, there was a peak prevalence rate at 55 to 59 years of age, while the corresponding figure in women the peak prevalence rate was at 60 to 64 years of age. Having snoring as a problem and relatives who were concerned about witnessed sleep apnea were independently associated with male gender, age, and current smoking. Snoring as a problem also was associated with higher education. Women who snored reported significantly more daytime sleepiness than did men who snored. The estimated number of subjects aged 20 to 69 years who had snoring as a problem or had relatives who were concerned about witnessed sleep apnea in the population was 21,160. During the previous decade, 3,955 subjects had been referred to sleep laboratories, so < 20% of the estimated number of symptomatic subjects in the population had been referred during this 10-year period. The referral rate ratio for men/women after correction for population and prevalence of symptoms was 1.25:1 (p = 0.012). CONCLUSION Experiencing snoring as a problem or having relatives who are concerned about witnessed sleep apnea are common findings in the population. However, during the last decade, only about 20% of the subjects with snoring as a problem or with relatives who are concerned about witnessed sleep apnea were referred to sleep laboratories. Women were significantly underrepresented in sleep laboratory referrals, even though women who snored experienced more subjective daytime sleepiness than men.
Beta transforming growth factors are potential regulators of B lymphopoiesis

Members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) family of polypeptides were found to be potent in vitro inhibitors of kappa light chain expression on normal bone marrow-derived and transformed cloned pre-B cells, and of the maturation of these cells to mitogen responsiveness. The inhibition by TGF-beta was selective in that Ia expression was not blocked. Together with the observations that LPS, IL- 1, NZB serum factors, IL-4, and IFN-gamma preferentially induced either kappa or Ia, or both, on a pre-B cell line, these results further suggest that acquisition of Ig and class II molecules is independently controlled by different antagonists as well as agonists. In addition, kappa chain induction by IFN-gamma does not appear to be as sensitive to TGF-beta downregulation as that stimulated by other factors tested, and this raises the possibility that activation of the same gene may result from different transmembrane signaling pathways. In contrast to the inhibitory effects of TGF-beta on kappa acquisition by pre-B cells and on kappa increase after exposure of mature B cells to LPS, as measured by kappa RNA levels and/or surface fluorescence, no inhibition was observed on unstimulated spleen B cells or on two cloned B cell lines that constitutively produce kappa. Thus, TGF-beta may function during specific stages of B cell differentiation by inhibiting initiation of, or increased transcription of Ig genes, and therefore, may be an important negative regulator of B lymphopoiesis. It is the first natural substance found to have this effect.
Effect of a pharmacist on adverse drug events and medication errors in outpatients with cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND Adverse drug events and medication errors are threats to quality care. Inpatient studies suggest that a pharmacist may reduce these events, but outpatient studies have not been forthcoming. METHODS We conducted a pooled analysis of 2 randomized controlled trials to determine the effect of pharmacist intervention on adverse drug events and medication errors. We studied 800 outpatient cases of hypertension stratified into complicated (n = 535) and uncomplicated (n = 265). Patients in the complicated stratum had heart failure or other cardiovascular complication. Computer programs examined 1-year electronic record data to identify events classified as adverse drug events and preventable or potential adverse drug events. Medication errors included preventable and potential adverse drug events. RESULTS Of the 800 participants (mean [SD] age, 59 [10] years), 484 (90.5%) and 258 (97.4%) participants remained in the complicated and uncomplicated strata, respectively, at 12 months. Compared with the control group, the risk of any event was 34% lower in the intervention group (risk ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.50-0.88), including a lower risk of adverse drug events (risk ratio, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.47-0.90), preventable adverse drug events (risk ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.25-1.09), potential adverse drug events (risk ratio, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.40-1.22), and medication errors (risk ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.40-0.98). CONCLUSIONS This post hoc analysis suggests that pharmacist intervention to improve medication use in outpatients with cardiovascular disease decreases the risk of adverse drug events and medication errors. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.
The Influence of the College Environment on Honors Students' Outcomes

Honors programs at colleges and universities are one way to provide additional learning opportunities to enhance the undergraduate experience for students. Honors programs provide students academically enriching activities through small classes, research, internships, and community service (National Collegiate Honors Council, n.d.). To further the knowledge surrounding the influence of the living environment in honors programs, particularly living-learning communities (LLCs), we examined the experiences of honors students at one university. Current literature shows that honors students experience academic, cognitive, and other gains (e.g., critical thinking measures for class assignments) from involvement in an honors program, even when higher levels of cognitive ability were controlled as input variables (Seifert, Pascarella, Colan gelo, & Assouline, 2007; Soldner, McCarron, & Inkelas, 2007). Although honors program students in general reported bene fits from higher levels of academic-related peer discussions or interactions (Inkelas & Weisman, 2003; Seifert et al., 2007; Shushok, 2006), they were less likely than other students to study in groups. When they did, they often formed narrow peer groups that were not well integrated into the rest of the campus (Rinn, 2004). Honors students in LLCs were more likely than other students in LLCs to interact with faculty members socially outside of class (Inkelas & Weisman, 2003) and in conversations about career goals (Shushok, 2006). Despite many gains, the literature findings are inconclusive as to whether honors students in LLCs developed a stronger sense of belonging amongst peers with whom they could talk about ideas and have discussions outside of class (Dallas & Marwitz, 2003; Soldner et al., 2007).
Human neural stem cells: electrophysiological properties of voltage-gated ion channels

We have characterized the profile of membrane currents in an immortalized human neural stem cell line, HB1.F3 cells, using whole-cell patch clamp technique. Human neural stem cell line generated from primary cell cultures of embryonic human telencephalon using a replication-incompetent retroviral vector containing v-myc expresses nestin, a cell type-specific marker for neural stem cells. The human neural stem cells expressed both outward and inward K+ currents with no evidence for Na+ currents. The density of the outward, delayed rectifying type K+ current was 1.8 ± 0.015 nA/pF, and that of the inwardly rectifying K+ current was 0.37 ± 0.012 nA/pF (at 30 mM of [K+]o). In order to induce neuronal differentiation of the neural stem cells, a full-length coding region of NeuroD, a neurogenic transcription factor, was transfected into HB1.F3 cells. Introduction of NeuroD induced expression of Na+ currents with the current density of 0.042 ± 0.011 nA/pF. The presence of two types of K+ currents and expression of Na+ currents induced by NeuroD appear to reflect the characteristic physiological features of human neural stem cells.