Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parents’ understanding of their child’s congenital heart disease

Objectives: To assess parents’ understanding of their child’s congenital heart disease in various knowledge domains and to identify significant determinants of parental knowledge. Design: Cross sectional questionnaire survey Setting: Tertiary paediatric cardiac centre. Patients: 156 parents of children with relatively simple congenital heart defects were recruited from the outpatient clinic of a tertiary cardiac centre over a three month period. The questionnaire comprised 10 items of knowledge under three domains: nature of heart disease and its treatment; impact of heart disease on exercise capacity; and infective endocarditis and its prevention. The frequency distribution of the parents’ knowledge in the different domains was determined. Univariate analyses and logistic regression were performed to identify significant determinants of knowledge in selected items. Results: While 59% of parents correctly named their child’s congenital heart disease, only 28.8% correctly indicated the heart lesion(s) diagrammatically. However, more than 80% of parents were aware of the indications and aims of previous surgical and transcatheter interventions. About half of the parents were aware of possible aetiologies and of the hereditary nature and symptoms attributable to underlying heart disease. Disappointingly, of the 56 parents whose children were taking cardiac medications, only 25 (44.6%) and 4 (7.1%) knew correctly the functions and important side effects of the medications, respectively. With regard to exercise capacity, 59% of parents indicated its level appropriate for the heart lesion. While 26.9% of parents had heard of the term “infective endocarditis”, slightly more than half of the parents were aware of the need for antibiotics before dental procedures. Significant determinants of knowledge in the nature of heart disease were cardiac diagnosis, occupation of parents, and their educational level. Logistic regression failed to identify any significant determinants of parental knowledge in the other two domains. Conclusions: Parents of children with congenital heart disease have important knowledge gaps. Our findings suggest that the current educational programme is inadequate and needs to be refined to promote better parental understanding of their child’s heart disease, with the ultimate aim of enabling parents to impart such knowledge accurately to their children.
Governments, publics, and enemies: Intragroup dynamics as barriers to conflict resolution

Scholars and political commentators have long noted that domestic or internal politics can play a significant role in the development of foreign (or other intergroup) relations. In the context of international (or other intergroup) conflicts, the literature notes that such features as disparate interests within a group or leader–constituent dynamics can impede the prospects for intergroup conflict resolution. Scholarly writing on the topic, however, tends to be cabined along disciplinary lines. This article is interdisciplinary and draws lessons from different fields, particularly from political science and social psychology, to describe various intragroup structures and dynamics that can constitute barriers to intergroup conflict resolution. Among other observations, the article notes the unintended effect that statements directed towards one audience in a conflict setting (i.e. the negotiating adversary or key outside actors in the international community) may have on the other audience (i.e. the speaker's domestic constituency), and how these effects can serve to diminish the prospects for conflict resolution.
[Tolerance and adverse events of treatment with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in a clinical sample of patients with very slight and mild Alzheimer s disease over a six-month period].

INTRODUCTION At present acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) are used in the treatment of the cognitive deterioration associated with Alzheimer s disease (AD). The side effects of these drugs are linked with the increase in acetylcholine, which limits their effectiveness, and must be adjusted to the patient close to the maximum tolerated dose. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a comparative retrospective study of the tolerance and the adverse events (AE) of two AChEI in a group of patients with very slight and mild probable AD over a 6 month period. RESULTS The sample was made up of 175 patients, of which 134 began therapy with 5 10 mg/day of donepezil and 41 with 6 12 mg/day of rivastigmine. 20% of the patients presented AE and 8% abandoned the treatment. Gastrointestinal disorders (GID) were the main AE observed (57.1%). Only 6% of the patients treated with donepezil abandoned the therapy because of the AE as opposed to 14.6% of the patients treated with rivastigmine. Patients treated with rivastigmine displayed a higher incidence of GID and the relative risk of presenting GID was 4.4 times higher than in the patients treated with donepezil. CONCLUSIONS The GID associated to therapy with AChEI are the main reason for abandoning treatment and occur more frequently in patients treated with rivastigmine.
The Development of a Research Design to Assess the Effects of Individual Music Therapy with Mentally Ill Children and Adolescents

This paper introduces a research design to measure effects of individual music therapy with mentally ill children and adolescents on symptoms, competencies, and quality of life. In a pilot project, seven children (five boys and two girls, 4 to 11 years of age) who suffered from various mental and behavioural problems were assessed. Five children received music therapy, and two did not. The two groups were compared with regard to the kind and severity of their problems. The main therapeutic aspects of music therapy were the children s needs for relationship and presence and opportunities for emotional expression. At post–treatment, the children who received music therapy were improved in all three outcome domains. Through the pilot study, the sensitivity and relevance of the instruments and the feasibility of a parallel no–treatment control group could be confirmed, and further details of the research design could be clarified. The results support the continuation of this research with a larger sample.
From trait to state: understanding privacy concerns

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance our understanding of how information privacy concerns are derived from the combination effects of individual traits, compound traits, situational traits and surface traits that ultimately influence the consumer’s attitude toward data collection programs. The study investigates a hierarchical model of individual traits, information privacy orientation and consumer privacy concerns. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical research utilizes structural equation modeling to analyze the responses from 964 respondents. Findings – The results suggest that consumer attitudes toward data collection programs associated with personal shopping information (e.g. retail loyalty card programs) are determined through a hierarchical model of personal traits and contextual-dependent variables. Specifically, the authors find that the compound traits of risk orientation and need for cognition influence the situational trait of information privacy orientation which leads to.
Three-Hour Molecular Detection of Campylobacter, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Shigella Species in Feces with Accuracy as High as That of Culture

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella, Shigella, and Yersinia species (along with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli) are the most common causes of acute bacterial diarrheal disease in the United States. Current detection techniques are time-consuming, limiting usefulness for patient care. We developed and validated a panel of rapid PCR assays for the detection and identification of C. jejuni, C. coli, Salmonella, and Yersinia species and Shigella and enteroinvasive E. coli in stool samples. A total of 392 archived stool specimens, previously cultured for enteric pathogens, were evaluated by PCR. Overall, 104 stool specimens had been culture positive (C. jejuni/coli [n = 51], Salmonella species [n = 42], Shigella species [n = 6], and Yersinia species [n = 5]). Compared to culture, the overall sensitivity and specificity of PCR detection of these organisms were 92 and 98% (96/104 and 283/288), respectively, from fresh or Cary Blair stool (P = 0.41); 87 and 98% (41/47 and 242/246), respectively, from fresh stool (P = 0.53); and 96 and 98% (55/57 and 41/42), respectively, from Cary Blair stool (P = 0.56). For individual genera, PCR was as sensitive as the culture method, with the exception of Salmonella culture using selenite enrichment for which PCR was less sensitive than culture from fresh, but not Cary Blair (P = 0.03 and 1.00, respectively) stools. This PCR assay panel for the rapid diagnosis of acute infectious bacterial diarrheal pathogens has a sensitivity and specificity equivalent to that of culture for stools in Cary Blair transport medium. Paired with reflexive culture of stools testing positive, this should provide an improvement in care for patients with acute infectious diarrheal disease.
Regulation of Cilium Length and Intraflagellar Transport by the RCK-Kinases ICK and MOK in Renal Epithelial Cells

Primary cilia are important sensory organelles. They exist in a wide variety of lengths, which could reflect different cell-specific functions. How cilium length is regulated is unclear, but it probably involves intraflagellar transport (IFT), which transports protein complexes along the ciliary axoneme. Studies in various organisms have identified the small, conserved family of ros-cross hybridizing kinases (RCK) as regulators of cilium length. Here we show that Intestinal Cell Kinase (ICK) and MAPK/MAK/MRK overlapping kinase (MOK), two members of this family, localize to cilia of mouse renal epithelial (IMCD-3) cells and negatively regulate cilium length. To analyze the effects of ICK and MOK on the IFT machinery, we set up live imaging of five fluorescently tagged IFT proteins: KIF3B, a subunit of kinesin-II, the main anterograde IFT motor, complex A protein IFT43, complex B protein IFT20, BBSome protein BBS8 and homodimeric kinesin KIF17, whose function in mammalian cilia is unclear. Interestingly, all five proteins moved at ∼0.45 µm/s in anterograde and retrograde direction, suggesting they are all transported by the same machinery. Moreover, GFP tagged ICK and MOK moved at similar velocities as the IFT proteins, suggesting they are part of, or transported by the IFT machinery. Indeed, loss- or gain-of-function of ICK affected IFT speeds: knockdown increased anterograde velocities, whereas overexpression reduced retrograde speed. In contrast, MOK knockdown or overexpression did not affect IFT speeds. Finally, we found that the effects of ICK or MOK knockdown on cilium length and IFT are suppressed by rapamycin treatment, suggesting that these effects require the mTORC1 pathway. Our results confirm the importance of RCK kinases as regulators of cilium length and IFT. However, whereas some of our results suggest a direct correlation between cilium length and IFT speed, other results indicate that cilium length can be modulated independent of IFT speed.
The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government’s “free schools” in England

Free schools are new state-funded but privately-run schools set up under the academies legislation. Free schools represent the most overtly market-oriented policy within the Conservative-led Coalition government’s school reform programme in England and have provoked intense controversy, centring on issues of pupil attainment, social equality, democracy and privatisation. This paper evaluates the evidence for the performance of the models on which the policy is based: charter schools in the US, free schools in Sweden, and Labour’s academies. The potential impact on local schools is assessed. Issues of democratic accountability are discussed, in terms of the application process, the governance of free schools, and their impact on local authorities. Factors affecting the future trajectory of the free school initiative are discussed, including the opportunities for private companies to set up and run free schools for profit. The paper concludes by considering the challenge which free schools represent to their critics.
Daily life moment-to-moment variation in coping in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia: state within trait psychosis

Introduction Coping is a dynamic concept, associated with variability in stress and the individual’s response. It was hypothesized that coping responses vary from moment to moment in daily life in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. Methods Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 25) were studied using the Experience Sampling Method to assess ongoing coping. Three subcategories of coping, social (interaction with environment), activity (behaviour to relief stress) and abuse (use of substances to deal with stress) were combined in a single coping variable expressed both dichotomously (present or not, representing frequency) and dimensionally (representing intensity). Results The frequency of coping did not vary over the day with exception of abuse coping variance: 0.48; 95% CI 0.02–10.5). In contrast, the intensity of coping did vary during the day, except for abuse coping (coping combined variance = 0.05, 95% CI 0.01–0.20; social coping variance = 0.13, 95% CI 0.04–0.39; and activity coping variance = 0.10, 95% CI 0.02–0.51). Conclusion In patients with schizophrenia, coping is stable from moment to moment, indicating a trait mechanism. However, coping varies in intensity, which refers to state properties of coping. Validity problems may arise if studies do not consider the partial variability of coping.
Occupant Interactions and Effectiveness of Natural Ventilation Strategies in Contemporary New Housing in Scotland, UK

The need to reduce carbon emissions and fuel poverty has led to increased building envelope air tightness, intended to reduce uncontrolled ventilation heat losses. Ventilation strategies in dwellings still allow the use of trickle ventilators in window frames for background ventilation. The extent to which this results in “healthy” Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in recently constructed dwellings was a concern of regulators in Scotland. This paper describes research to explore this. First a review of literature was conducted, then data on occupant interactions with ventilation provisions (windows, doors, trickle vents) gathered through an interview-based survey of 200 recently constructed dwellings, and measurements made on a sample of 40 of these. The main measured parameter discussed here is CO2 concentration. It was concluded after the literature review that 1000 ppm absolute was a reasonable threshold to use for “adequate” ventilation. The occupant survey found that there was very little occupant interaction with the trickle ventilators e.g., in bedrooms 63% were always closed, 28% always open, and in only 9% of cases occupants intervened to make occasional adjustments. In the measured dwellings average bedroom CO2 levels of 1520 ppm during occupied (night time) hours were observed. Where windows were open the average bedroom CO2 levels were 972 ppm. With windows closed, the combination of “trickle ventilators open plus doors open” gave an average of 1021 ppm. “Trickle ventilators open” gave an average of 1571 ppm. All other combinations gave averages of 1550 to 2000 ppm. Ventilation rates and air change rates were estimated from measured CO2 levels, for all dwellings calculated ventilation rate was less than 8 L/s/p, in 42% of cases calculated air change rate was less than 0.5 ach. It was concluded that trickle ventilation as installed and used is ineffective in meeting desired ventilation rates, evidenced by high CO2 levels reported across the sampled dwellings. Potential implications of the results are discussed.
Effect of nitric oxide on mortality of mice after whole body hyperthermia

The objective of this study is to find the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the haemodynamics of mice subjected to heat stress caused by Whole Body Hyperthermia (WBH) treatment. L-arginine (L-arg), a natural substrate for NO synthase (NOS), N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a preferential inhibitor of endothelial NOS, and dexamethasone, a preferential inhibitor of inducible NOS, have been used to study the role of NO in thermal injury caused by WBH treatment. Nitrite in plasma and mortality of Swiss male mice subjected to WBH treatment induced by radiant heat (40°C fo 1 h at 50-55% relative humidity), were monitored in mice pre-treated with either L-NAME, dexamethasone or L-arg. A batch of mice subjected to 24 h fasting prior to WBH treatment was also used to study the above parameters. Injections with 1.5 mg/kg or above of L-NAME just before WBH treatment, induced mortality in mice, with a corresponding drop in plasma nitrite values. L-arg (8 mg/kg) pre-treatment reversed the killing caused by L-NAME in WBH treated mice. L-arg (60 mg/kg) pre-treatment induced mortality in mice subjected to WBH treatment. In the fasted group, a very low dose of L-arg (8 mg/kg) given before WBH treatment led to a significant increase in plasma nitrite levels. In both the normal and fasted groups of mice, 120 mg/kg of L-arg pre-treatment resulted in a sharp increase in plasma nitrite values and subsequent death of mice. The results throw up an important finding, in that the interaction of elevated body temperature, with either a decrease or over production of nitrite oxide, leads to modulation of thermal injury of mice, caused by WBH treatment.
Human Computer Symbiosis

Human Computer Symbiosis is similar to Human Computer Interaction in the sense that it is about how humans and computer interact with each other. For this interaction to be made there needs to be a symbiotic relationship between man and computer. Man can interact with computer in many ways, either just by typing with the keyboard or surfing the web. The cyber-physical-socio space is an important aspect to be looked into when referring to the interaction between man and computer. This paper investigates various aspects related to human computer symbiosis. Alongside the aspects related to the topic, this paper would also look into the limitations of Human Computer Symbiosis and evaluate some previously proposed solutions.
Transitions, inventories and aspirations. New learners and their longer-term learning goals

In the UK, Personal Development Planning (PDP) is now an important part of a student’s time at university. Its aim is to help students develop skills that will help them at university and in the workplace. However, research has shown that students do not always engage with this element of the curriculum. The aim of this article is to report on an intervention designed to encourage reflection in this area. For this study work was undertaken with a group of new students making the transition to higher education. This article reports on the rationale for making the intervention and the impact, or otherwise, of introducing this cohort to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).
Canonical failure modes of real-time control systems: insights from cognitive theory

Newly developed necessary conditions statistical models from cognitive theory are applied to generalisation of the data-rate theorem for real-time control systems. Rather than graceful degradation under stress, automatons and man/machine cockpits appear prone to characteristic sudden failure under demanding fog-of-war conditions. Critical dysfunctions span a spectrum of phase transition analogues, ranging from a ground state of ‘all targets are enemies’ to more standard data-rate instabilities. Insidious pathologies also appear possible, akin to inattentional blindness consequent on overfocus on an expected pattern. Via no-free-lunch constraints, different equivalence classes of systems, having structure and function determined by ‘market pressures’, in a large sense, will be inherently unreliable under different but characteristic canonical stress landscapes, suggesting that deliberate induction of failure may often be relatively straightforward. Focusing on two recent military case histories, these results provide a caveat emptor against blind faith in the current path-dependent evolutionary trajectory of automation for critical real-time processes.
Spinal motor neurones in murine muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy

Recent electrophysiological studies of human and mouse muscular dystrophy have prompted the hypothesis that both are of neurogenic rather than myogenic origin. A decreased number of spinal motor neurones might be expected if this hypothesis were correct. The total number of neurones in the anterior grey horns of seven normal mice, six Bar Harbor 129 strain dystrophic mice, and six mice suffering from genetically-determined spinal muscular atrophy have been counted. The number of neurones in the cell types believed to include the motor neurones was significantly reduced to 13 to 71% of normal in mice with spinal muscular atrophy. In mice with muscular dystrophy, the number of anterior horn neurones was higher rather than lower than normal. The significance of these findings is discussed.
Electronic meetings and established decision groups: audioconferencing effects on performance and structural stability

Abstract Two studies used 90 small, well-established decision teams to examine the effects of a one-time use of audioconferencing on group decision performance and status structure across two different problem-solving tasks - one intellective, the other value-laden. Audio did not affect performance or structural stability in either study. Audioconferencing groups were no more or less likely to produce high-quality solutions or to support their groups′ decisions than were face-to-face groups. Status differentiation and leader influence remained relatively stable regardless of medium. The results contradict popular wisdoms (mainly derived from studies of ad hoc groups) and provide a needed baseline for further research on EMS in established groups. The lack of disruption by audio has important practical implications.
Brief dynamic counselling: Making the right choice

Abstract Brief dynamic counselling has become a frequently practised method of treatment. This paper examines the usefulness of short-term therapy for certain clients and describes the relevant selection criteria. However, it is argued that there exists a real danger to the client should they be inappropriately referred for this work. Demands upon therapy services often mean that therapists are under pressure to have a rapid ‘through-put’ of clients. This may lead to some clients being treated in a way that is unsuitable and inadequate for their needs. It is suggested that, more than being inadequate, such a situation could cause additional harm to the client. Professional assessment is considered to be of vital importance. Case material is included in order to illustrate the difference between clients who are likely to benefit from short-term counselling work and those for whom the longer time duration is an essential part of the therapeutic relationship and process. In terms of therapy service provision.