Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants and Impact of Generalist–Specialist Communication About Pediatric Outpatient Referrals

OBJECTIVE. Effective communication between primary care and specialty physicians is essential for comanagement when children are referred to specialty care. We sought to determine rates of physician-reported communication between primary care physicians and specialists, the clinical impact of communication or its absence, and patient- and practice system–level determinants of communication for a cohort of children referred to specialty care. METHODS. We enrolled 179 patients newly referred from general pediatricians in 30 community practices to 15 pediatric medical specialists in 5 specialties. Primary care physicians and specialists completed questionnaires at the first specialty visit and 6 months later. Questions covered communication received by primary care physicians and specialists, its impact on care provision, system characteristics of practices, and roles of physicians in treatment. We used multivariate logistic regression to determine associations between practice system and patient characteristics and the dependent variable of reported primary care physician–specialist communication. RESULTS. Specialists reported communication from referring primary care physicians for only 50% of initial referrals, whereas primary care physicians reported communication from specialists after 84% of initial consultations. Communication was strongly associated with physicians' reported ability to provide optimal care. System characteristics associated with reported primary care physician–specialist communication were computer access to chart notes and lack of delays in receipt of information. Associated patient characteristics included non-Medicaid insurance, no additional specialists seen, and specialty to which referred. Physicians favored comanagement of referred patients in more than two thirds of the cases. CONCLUSIONS. Although a prerequisite for optimal care, communication from primary care physicians to specialists is frequently absent. Interventions should promote widely accessible clinical information systems and target children with complex needs and public insurance.
Gender heterogeneity, entrepreneurial orientation and international diversification

Purpose – Although diversifying internationally appears to be beneficial, relatively few small and medium‐sized firms actually participate. Building on recent research exploring the international diversification of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) the purpose of this paper is to examine the relation among ownership and management team gender heterogeneity, entrepreneurial orientation, and firm international diversity.Design/methodology/approach – The authors' hypotheses were tested using data gathered from members of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a national (US) public policy organization that advocates for women in business.Findings – Results indicate that top management team gender composition and entrepreneurial orientation are significantly related to international diversification but that ownership gender composition is not. The authors found that team entrepreneurial orientation may be useful when teams are more homogeneous on relations‐oriented characteristics such as gender.Origin.
The Study of Factor Structure and Reliability of an Abbreviated School Climate Survey

The concept of school climate has been an important variable in research on quality of school life and student learning. One of the challenges in such a research effort is to develop instruments that could effectively and efficiently measure the construct. The purpose of the current study was to examine the factor structure and reliability of an abbreviated version of the Developmental Study Center’s School Climate Survey. Based on data from a comprehensive character education project implemented in an urban school district in 2007 (n = 5,914), 2008 (n = 5,874) and 2009 (n = 5,149), results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) revealed a seven-factor structure across 3 years, indicating a stable factor structure of the abbreviated form. The scales in the abbreviated form demonstrated similar reliability to those of the original form.
Accurate Placement of Central Venous Catheters Using a 16-cm Catheter

We determine if use of 16-cm central venous catheters (CVC) minimizes dangerous intracardiac catheter placements. We conducted a prospective study in a large community teaching hospital. Consecutive patients (n = 127) who required a CVC via either the internal jugular (IJV) or the subclavian vein (SCV) were assessed using 16 (n = 102) or 20-cm (n = 25) catheters. The main outcome measurements were (1) intracardiac placement of central venous catheters, and (2) relationship of right- or left-sided internal jugular or subclavian vein insertions to intracardiac catheter placement. Use of a 20-cm CVC resulted in 14 of 25 (56%) intracardiac placements compared with 11 of 102 (11%) using a 16-cm catheter (p < 0.0001). All intracardiac placements with the 16-cm CVC were from right-sided approaches: IJV 7 of 38 (16%), SCV 4 of 18 (18%). Use of a 16-cm CVC to access the central circulation from either the SCV or the IJV results in a significantly greater proportion of safe catheter placements than using longer CVCs, and it should become the standard of care.
The role of biomedical engineering in health system improvement and nation's development

Biomedical Engineering (BME) undergraduate programs are incipient in Brazil and in other South American countries. Accreditation concerns and the Health system modernization make necessary for countries such as Brazil to plan the education and investments strategy for the next 15 years. BME curricula are not well defined in Brazil and this study intends to present the minimum needs. The importance of implantation of new BME programs in Brazil and other Latin American countries is also discussed.
The “Chivalrous” Treatment of the Female Offender in the Arms of the Criminal Justice System: A Review of the Literature

The available literature on the “chivalrous” treatment of the female offender by the criminal justice system is reviewed in an effort to ascertain the nature of such treatment. Three characterizations of the female offender which have influenced the perpetuation and survival of the “chivalry” proposition are discussed: the instigative female offender, the sexualized female offender, and the protected female offender. The author concludes that the notion of a “chivalrous” justice system is largely a myth, and directions for future research are presented.
What alternatives post-austerity? Importance of targeted employment advice for refugee young people in London, UK

The impact of the UK Coalition government's cuts has catastrophically impacted advisory and support services to refugee young people. Many bespoke refugee services have ceased with the alternative being conventional information sources that lack specialist knowledge of the unique situation of refugees. Taking an autonomy approach, this qualitative research study discusses the benefits of the now obsolete refugee advisory service, the Refugee Integration and Employment Service, with current sources of welfare-to-work programmes. In conclusion, it argues that without targeted sources of information, advice and support refugee young people will struggle to make informed strategic decisions about their future careers.
On the Move: Migration in an Italian Community, 1865–1921

Internal migration remains one of the most important issues in European social history. Our entire concept of community and of social life rests on certain assumptions about residential stability, yet these assumptions have only been inadequately tested for most historical periods and in most places. We now know that previously accepted characterizations of the stable peasant community are erroneous, for numerous studies have documented the great population flux in much of western Europe in preindustrial times (Schofield, 1970; Tilly, 1978). Yet, for the most part, our ideas about life in communities of the past tend to rest on an assumption of a bedrock of residential stability to which the limited population movement is anchored.
IMPROVING THE TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION SKILLS OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS THROUGH PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY

Rapid developments in invented technologies lead educational institutions to effectively integrate these technologies into the teaching-learning processes. However, both institutions and individuals face different obstacles because of these integration processes. By taking various precautions maybe overcome. Thus, this study was designed to explore to what extend the course “Instructional Technology & Material Development,” from a non-thesis graduate teacher’s preparation program, contributed to pre-service teachers’ perceived computer competencies, attitudes toward computers and technology vision. The participants were 114 preservice teachers with a degree from the faculty of arts and science. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were used to collect data in order to validate the findings. Participants were asked to fill out a computer attitude scale and a computer competency scale both at the beginning and end of the course, as well as an open-ended questionnaire at the end of the course. Besides, the researcher had observed all the participants during their weekly assignments. The results showed that pre-service teachers developed a positive attitude towards using computers in their future classrooms and enhanced their computer competencies. Furthermore, they became desirous and curious about technology and more willing to use technology in their future careers. Although one can find numerous similar articles in the literature that produced similar results, in Turkish context, this article has valuable information for those teaching in non-theses teaching programs.
Idiopathic and neurogenic detrusor overactivity: do the different patterns have urodynamic characteristics related to gender or neurological condition?

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the urodynamic characteristics of the two patterns (phasic, P and terminal, T) of detrusor overactivity (DO) according to gender and neurological condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS Urodynamic characteristics of DO were analysed in a population with proven urodynamic DO (127 women and 76 men, respectively with 48 and 43 neurological diseases (encephalic, incomplete medullar lesion or peripheral)). Phasic DO is characterized by phasic waves with or without leakage while terminal DO is defined by a single non-inhibited contraction resulting in incontinence. Parameters analysed for both patterns of DO (among other parameters) included: volume and amplitude of the first non-inhibited detrusor contraction (NIDC#1), and for phasic DO: duration of pressure rise during NIDC#1 and number of NIDC. RESULTS Phasic DO was observed in younger patients in the whole population whatever the gender (women: 55.9 years vs. 64.7 years, p = 0.0052; men: 57.4 years vs. 67.8 years, p = 0.0038). Volume at NIDC#1 was greater for neurological PDO (significant in women: 185 vs. 125 mL, p = 0.0223). Other parameters were not significantly different whatever the gender. Amplitude of NIDC#1 during PDO was significantly lower than that of NIDC during terminal DO (TDO) in both genders whatever the neurological condition (p < 0.0001). Volume at NIDC#1 in both patterns was dependent on the level of neurological lesion. CONCLUSION The main difference between the patterns of DO is that PDO occurs in younger individuals. There is no significant difference between urodynamic characteristics of each pattern whatever gender or neurological status. Further studies will provide additional information on the impact of the level of neurological lesion on the pattern of DO.
Tracking Influential Nodes in Dynamic Networks

In this paper, we tackle a challenging problem inherent in many applications: tracking influential nodes in dynamic networks. Specifically, we model a dynamic network as a stream of edge weight updates. This general model embraces many practical scenarios as special cases, such as edge and node insertions, deletions as well as evolving weighted graphs. Under the popularly adopted linear threshold model and independent cascade model, we consider two essential versions of the problem: finding the nodes whose influences passing a user specified threshold and finding the top-$k$ most influential nodes. Our key idea is to use the polling-based methods and maintain a sample of random RR sets so that we can approximate the influence of nodes with provable quality guarantees. We develop an efficient algorithm that incrementally updates the sample random RR sets against network changes. We also design methods to determine the proper sample sizes for the two versions of the problem so that we can provide strong quality guarantees and, at the same time, be efficient in both space and time. In addition to the thorough theoretical results, our experimental results on three real network data sets clearly demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithms.
A Novel Semiblind Signal Extraction Approach for the Removal of Eye-Blink Artifact from EEGs

A novel blind signal extraction (BSE) scheme for the removal of eye-blink artifact from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is proposed. In this method, in order to remove the artifact, the source extraction algorithm is provided with an estimation of the column of the mixing matrix corresponding to the point source eye-blink artifact. The eye-blink source is first extracted and then cleaned, artifact-removed EEGs are subsequently reconstructed by a deflation method. The a priori knowledge, namely, the vector, corresponding to the spatial distribution of the eye-blink factor, is identified by fitting a space-time-frequency (STF) model to the EEG measurements using the parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis method. Hence, we call the BSE approach semiblind signal extraction (SBSE). This approach introduces the possibility of incorporating PARAFAC within the blind source extraction framework for single trial EEG processing applications and the respected formulations. Moreover, aiming at extracting the eye-blink artifact, it exploits the spatial as well as temporal prior information during the extraction procedure. Experiments on synthetic data and real EEG measurements confirm that the proposed algorithm effectively identifies and removes the eye-blink artifact from raw EEG measurements.
Locational Determinants of Emissions from Pollution-Intensive Firms in Urban Areas

Industrial pollution has remained as one of the most daunting challenges for many regions around the world. Characterizing the determinants of industrial pollution should provide important management implications. Unfortunately, due to the absence of high-quality data, rather few studies have systematically examined the locational determinants using a geographical approach. This paper aimed to fill the gap by accessing the pollution source census dataset, which recorded the quantity of discharged wastes (waste water and solid waste) from 717 pollution-intensive firms within Huzhou City, China. Spatial exploratory analysis was applied to analyze the spatial dependency and local clusters of waste emissions. Results demonstrated that waste emissions presented significantly positive autocorrelation in space. The high-high hotspots generally concentrated towards the city boundary, while the low-low clusters approached the Taihu Lake. Their locational determinants were identified by spatial regression. In particular, firms near the city boundary and county road were prone to discharge more wastes. Lower waste emissions were more likely to be observed from firms with high proximity to freight transfer stations or the Taihu Lake. Dense populous districts saw more likelihood of solid waste emissions. Firms in the neighborhood of rivers exhibited higher waste water emissions. Besides, the control variables (firm size, ownership, operation time and industrial type) also exerted significant influence. The present methodology can be applicable to other areas, and further inform the industrial pollution control practices. Our study advanced the knowledge of determinants of emissions from pollution-intensive firms in urban areas.
Microsurgical access flap in conjunction with enamel matrix derivative for the treatment of intra-bony defects: a controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES The aims of this controlled study were to clinically and radiographically evaluate the effect of a microsurgical approach for the treatment of intra-bony defects with and without an enamel matrix derivative (EMD). Parts of this study population were already published by Wachtel and colleagues in 2003. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seventy intra-bony defects were randomly assigned to a microsurgical access flap with application of EMD (test group) and on the contra-lateral side to a microsurgical access flap alone (control group). Clinical and radiographic parameters were assessed at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. RESULTS Both test and control treatments resulted in a statistically significant mean clinical attachment level (CAL) gain, probing pocket depth (PPD) reduction and radiographic bone fill. The test group yielded statistically significantly more CAL gain, PPD reduction and radiographic bone fill than the control group. Gingival recession increase after 12 months averaged 0.5 and 0.7 mm for the test and control groups, and did not reach statistical significance. Two weeks after surgery, primary wound closure was maintained in 91% of the test sites and 97% of the control sites. CONCLUSION The combination of a microsurgical access flap with EMD seems to be superior to open flap debridement in terms of PPD reduction, CAL gain and radiographic bone fill. In the test as well as the control group, primary wound closure was successfully achieved.
Research of sediment flux from Yellow River to the sea based on wavelet analysis and wavelet neural Network

Research on sediment flux from river to the sea is a frontier topic in Earth science worldwide. This paper analyzes the characteristics of annual sediment flux from Yellow River to the sea from 1950 to 2007, and presents a feasible approach to predict annual sediment flux. Methods used in this research include wavelet analysis and neural network. The results show that: (1) annual sediment flux variations from Yellow River to the sea have decline tendencies with an average decreasing rate of −20.09 million t/a between 1950 and 2007, and four catastrophe points detected are 1959, 1969, 1985 and 1997; (2) annual sediment flux series has the principal periods of 3–4 years, 8–11 years and 24 years, and the period of 3–4 years was influenced by human activities significantly; (3) prediction of annual sediment flux with the help of wavelet neural network (WNN) model is acceptable, which gives a better result than RBFN (Radial Basis Function Network) model.
A Liver Index and its Relationship to Indices of HCC Aggressiveness

A Hepatocellular (HCC) Aggressiveness Index was recently constructed, consisting of the sum of the scores for the 4 clinical parameters of maximum tumor size, multifocality, presence of portal vein thrombus and blood alphafetoprotein levels. It was observed that there was an association with several liver function tests. We have now formed a Liver Index from the 4 liver parameters with the highest hazard ratios with respect to HCC aggressiveness, namely: blood total bilirubin, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP), albumin and platelet levels (cirrhosis surrogate). We found that the scores for the Liver Index related significantly to survival, but also to the Aggressiveness Index and to its individual HCC components as well as showing significant trends with the components. These results support the hypothesis that liver function is not only an important prognostic factor in HCC patients, but may also be involved in HCC biology and aggressiveness. Blood albumin, GGTP, albumin and platelet levels were used to create a Liver Index that related significantly to parameters of HCC aggressiveness.
Jordanian nurses' job satisfaction, patients' satisfaction and quality of nursing care.

PURPOSE To study nurses' job satisfaction, patients' satisfaction, and quality of nursing care in a Jordanian educational hospital. DESIGN A descriptive cross-sectional comparative design was used. The total populations at the educational hospital where the study was conducted were: 200 nurses (response rate 60%), 510 patients (response rate 49%), and 26 head nurses (NHs) (response rate 92%). Mueller/McCloskey Satisfaction Scale (MMSS) 1990; Eriksen's (1988) scale of The Satisfaction with Nursing Care; and Quality of Nursing Care Questionnaire-Head Nurse of Safford & Schlotfeldt (1960) were used to measure the phenomena of interest. FINDINGS Nurses were 'neither satisfied nor dissatisfied' in their jobs, nurses who work in wards reported a slightly better job satisfaction than nurses who work in critical care units. Patients reported that they were 'moderately' satisfied, and head nurses reported that nurses 'usually (practically)' provide a high of quality of nursing care. There were no significant differences between critical care units and wards in regard to patients' satisfaction and quality of nursing care. CONCLUSIONS Jordanian nurses' job satisfaction is on the borderline, which arguably requires more interventions. Patients' satisfaction and quality of nursing care have to be enhanced to reach the levels of 'very satisfied' and 'always' consecutively.
Simultaneous and Sequential Radiation Effects on NPN Transistors Induced by Protons and Electrons

This paper examines individual radiation effects caused by 110 keV electrons and 170 keV protons, and combined radiation effects induced by 110 keV electrons together with 170 keV protons on the forward current gain of NPN bipolar junction transistors (3DG130, 3DG112). Key parameters were measured in-situ and the change in current gain of the NPN bipolar junction transistors is obtained at a fixed voltage of base-emitter junction (VBE) during simultaneous and sequential exposures. Experimental results show that the current gain degradation of the NPN bipolar junction transistors is sensitive to both of ionization and displacement damage. The ionization damage is primarily caused by 110 keV electrons, while the displacement damage is mainly induced by 170 keV protons in this investigation. Based on the simultaneous and sequential exposure results, the ionization damage caused by 110 keV electrons can give an enhancing effect to displacement damage induced by 170 keV protons for NPN bipolar junction transistors.
The investigation of optimal experience and apathy : developmental and psychosocial implications

Abstract. Individuals, as living open systems, actively interact with their environment. Throughout their life, they preferentially replicate a subset of the available opportunities for action. This process has been labeled psychological selection, and it is based on the quality of experience reported in daily situations. Empirical evidence has shown that individuals preferentially select, reproduce, and cultivate the activities associated with optimal experience, a distinctively positive and complex state of consciousness characterized by the perception of high challenges balanced with adequate skills, concentration and engagement, clear goals and rules, and control of the situation. From this perspective, optimal experience fosters the development of individual competencies, shaping the pattern of psychological selection. Empirical evidence was also gathered for apathy, the negative pole of experience fluctuation, characterized by disengagement, disruption of attention, negative affect, and low perceive.