Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attitude of employees of a university clinic to complementary and alternative medicine in oncology.

BACKGROUND Cancer patients often use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), yet discussion with the oncologist is often missing and oncologists lack knowledge in CAM. PATIENTS AND METHODS In order to learn more about the attitude of professionals in oncology toward CAM, a survey was conducted on employees of a German university clinic using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS In total, 547 employees took part in the survey. One-third would definitely use CAM on cancer patients. Female employees are more interested in CAM than males (80% versus 20%; P = 0.001); physicians are less interested than nurses (57% versus 72%; P = 0.008). 2.5% of physicians and 9% of nurses are convinced that CAM is as effective as conventional therapy in cancer. Fifty-two percent of physicians and 12% of nurses agree that adverse effects due to CAM may be possible. Seventy-three percent did not consider themselves adequately informed on CAM for their professional work. CONCLUSIONS As a substantial part of participants would use CAM on cancer patients and most are interested in but not trained on this topic, there is a need for training of professionals from different professions working in oncology.
VISUAL NAVIGATION USING THE MONTE CARLO ALGORITHM

In order to be fully autonomous, a mobile robot must possess the skill of finding its location in a particular environment. In other words, while navigating, a mobile robot must be capable of finding its location in a map of the environment (i.e. its pose < x, y, θ >), otherwise the robot will not be able to complete its task. The problem becomes specially challenging if the robot does not possess any external measure of its global position. Naively, the position/orientation of the robot can be determined using odometry sensors or inertial systems. However, these sensors lack of accuracy when used for long periods of time, due to wheel slippage, drifts and other problems. Localization techniques are used instead, in order to find the position of the mobile agent in the space. The great majority of localization methods rely on finding salient characteristics sensed by the robot and relating them with a map of the environment. These salient characteristics of space are usually called landmarks, and constitute the basis that enables the robot to deduce its location in a previously built map of the environment. In this paper we present a localization method based on the Monte Carlo algorithm.
Implementing bedside handover: strategies for change management.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To identify factors influencing change in two hospitals that moved from taped and verbal nursing handover to bedside handover. BACKGROUND Bedside handover is based on patient-centred care, where patients participate in communicating relevant and timely information for care planning. Patient input reduces care fragmentation, miscommunication-related adverse events, readmissions, duplication of services and enhances satisfaction and continuity of care. DESIGN Analysing change management was a component of a study aimed at developing a standard operating protocol for bedside handover communication. The research was undertaken in two regional acute care hospitals in two different states of Australia. METHOD Data collection included 532 semi-structured observations in six wards in the two hospitals and 34 in-depth interviews conducted with a purposive sample of nursing staff involved in the handovers. Observation and interview data were analysed separately then combined to generate thematic analysis of factors influencing the change process in the transition to bedside handover. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Themes included embedding the change as part of the big picture, the need to link the project to standardisation initiatives, providing reassurance on safety and quality, smoothing out logistical difficulties and learning to listen. We conclude that change is more likely to be successful when it is part of a broader initiative such as a quality improvement strategy. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Nurses are generally supportive of quality improvement initiatives, particularly those aimed at standardising care. For successful implementation, change managers should be mindful of clinicians' attitudes, motivation and concerns and their need for reassurance when changing their practice. This is particularly important when change is dramatic, as in moving from verbal handover, conducted in the safety of the nursing office, to bedside handover where there is greater transparency and accountability for the accuracy and appropriateness of communication content and processes.
An Investigation on Training Deep Neural Networks Using Probabilistic Transcriptions

In this study, a transfer learning technique is presented for cross-lingual speech recognition in an adverse scenario where there are no natively transcribed transcriptions in the target language. The transcriptions that are available during training are transcribed by crowd workers who neither speak nor have any fa-miliarity with the target language. Hence, such transcriptions are likely to be inaccurate. Training a deep neural network (DNN) in such a scenario is challenging; previously reported results have described DNN error rates exceeding the error rate of an adapted Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). This paper investigates multi-task learning techniques using deep neural networks which are suitable for this scenario. We report, for the ﬁrst time, absolute improvement in phone error rates (PER) in the range 1.3-6.2% over GMMs adapted to probabilistic transcriptions. Results are reported for Swahili, Hungarian, and Mandarin.
A Luciferase-Expressing Leishmania braziliensis Line That Leads to Sustained Skin Lesions in BALB/c Mice and Allows Monitoring of Miltefosine Treatment Outcome

Background Leishmania braziliensis is the most prevalent species isolated from patients displaying cutaneous and muco-cutaneous leishmaniasis in South America. However, there are difficulties for studying L. braziliensis pathogenesis or response to chemotherapy in vivo due to the natural resistance of most mouse strains to infection with these parasites. The aim of this work was to develop an experimental set up that could be used to assess drug efficacy against L. braziliensis. The model was tested using miltefosine. Methodology/Principal Findings A L. braziliensis line, originally isolated from a cutaneous leishmaniasis patient, was passaged repeatedly in laboratory rodents and further genetically manipulated to express luciferase. Once collected from a culture of parasites freshly transformed from amastigotes, 106 wild type or luciferase-expressing stationary phase promastigotes were inoculated subcutaneously in young BALB/c mice or golden hamsters. In both groups, sustained cutaneous lesions developed at the site of inoculation, no spontaneous self- healing being observed 4 months post-inoculation, if left untreated. Compared to the wild type line features, no difference was noted for the luciferase-transgenic line. Infected animals were treated with 5 or 15 mg/kg/day miltefosine orally for 15 days. At the end of treatment, lesions had regressed and parasites were not detected. However, relapses were observed in animals treated with both doses of miltefosine. Conclusions/Significance Here we described experimental settings for a late-healing model of cutaneous leishmaniasis upon inoculation of a luciferase-expressing L. braziliensis line that can be applied to drug development projects. These settings allowed the monitoring of the transient efficacy of a short-term miltefosine administration.
Discordance between presumed standard of care and actual clinical practice: the example of rubber dam use during root canal treatment in the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network

Objectives Use of a rubber dam during root canal treatment is considered the standard of care because it enhances patient safety and optimises the odds of successful treatment. Nonetheless, not all dentists use a rubber dam, creating disconnect between presumed standard of care and what is actually done in clinical practice. Little is known about dentists’ attitudes towards use of the rubber dam in their practices. The objectives were to: (1) quantify these attitudes and (2) test the hypothesis that specific attitudes are significantly associated with rubber dam use. Setting National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (NationalDentalPBRN.org). Participants 1490 network dentists. Outcome measures Dentists completed a questionnaire about their attitudes towards rubber dam use during root canal treatment. Three attitude scales comprised 33 items that used a 5-point ordinal scale to measure beliefs about effectiveness, inconvenience, ease of placement, comparison to other isolation techniques and patient factors. Factor analysis, cluster analysis and multivariable logistic regression analysed the relationship between attitudes and rubber dam use. Results All items had responses at each point on the 5-point scale, with an overall pattern of substantial variation across dentists. Five attitudinal factors (rubber dam effectiveness; inconvenient/time-consuming; ease of placement; effectiveness compared to Isolite; patient factors) and 4 clusters of practitioners were identified. Each factor and cluster was independently and strongly associated with rubber dam use. Conclusions General dentists have substantial variation in attitudes about rubber dam use. Beliefs that rubber dam use is not effective, inconvenient, time-consuming, not easy to place or affected by patient factors, were independently and significantly associated with lower rubber dam use. These attitudes explain why there is substantial discordance between presumed standard of care and actual practice.
Congruence between NOTCH3 mutations and GOM in 131 CADASIL patients

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is the most common hereditary subcortical vascular dementia. It is caused by mutations in NOTCH3 gene, which encodes a large transmembrane receptor Notch3. The key pathological finding is the accumulation of granular osmiophilic material (GOM), which contains extracellular domains of Notch3, on degenerating vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). GOM has been considered specifically diagnostic for CADASIL, but the reports on the sensitivity of detecting GOM in patients’ skin biopsy have been contradictory. To solve this contradiction, we performed a retrospective investigation of 131 Finnish, Swedish and French CADASIL patients, who had been adequately examined for both NOTCH3 mutation and presence of GOM. The patients were examined according to the diagnostic practice in each country. NOTCH3 mutations were assessed by restriction enzyme analysis of specific mutations or by sequence analysis. Presence of GOM was examined by electron microscopy (EM) in skin biopsies. Biopsies of 26 mutation-negative relatives from CADASIL families served as the controls. GOM was detected in all 131 mutation positive patients. Altogether our patients had 34 different pathogenic mutations which included three novel point mutations (p.Cys67Ser, p.Cys251Tyr and p.Tyr1069Cys) and a novel duplication (p.Glu434_Leu436dup). The detection of GOM by EM in skin biopsies was a highly reliable diagnostic method: in this cohort the congruence between NOTCH3 mutations and presence of GOM was 100%. However, due to the retrospective nature of this study, exact figure for sensitivity cannot be determined, but it would require a prospective study to exclude possible selection bias. The identification of a pathogenic NOTCH3 mutation is an indisputable evidence for CADASIL, but demonstration of GOM provides a cost-effective guide for estimating how far one should proceed with the extensive search for a new or an uncommon mutations among the presently known over 170 different NOTCH3 gene defects. The diagnostic skin biopsy should include the border zone between deep dermis and upper subcutis, where small arterial vessels of correct size are located. Detection of GOM requires technically adequate biopsies and distinction of true GOM from fallacious deposits. If GOM is not found in the first vessel or biopsy, other vessels or additional biopsies should be examined.
Galaxy clusters in the CFHTLS First matched filter candidate catalogue of the Deep fields

We apply a matched-filter cluster detection algorithm to the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS) i-band data for the Deep-1, Deep-2, Deep-3 and Deep-4 fields covering a total of 4square degrees. To test the implemented procedure we carry out simulations for assessing the frequency of noise peaks as well as estimate the recovery efficiency. We estimate that up to z~0.7 the catalogue is essentially complete for clusters of richness class R>~1. The recovered redshifts are in general overestimated by dz=0.1 with a scatter of sigma_dz~0.1, except at redshifts z>~1 where the estimated redshifts are systematically underestimated. The constructed cluster candidate catalogue contains 162 detections over an effective area of 3.112 square degrees corresponding to a density of ~52.1 per square degree. The median estimated redshift of the candidates is z=0.6. The estimated noise frequency is 16.9+-5.4 detections per square degree. From visual inspection we identify systems that show a clear concentration of galaxies with similar colour. These systems have a density of ~20 per square degree.
Faraway, Yet So Close: Organizations in Demographic Flux

Change in firm governance is often associated with inbound and outbound movements of key decision makers. This research extends that observation by treating mobility as a trigger of demographic change in management teams that, in turn, influences organizational survival. Mobility occasions transformations in demographic profiles both within a firm and among firms sharing a competitive arena. In the former case, shifts in diversity may alter the quasi-resolution of conflict achieved by the firm's upper echelons, or, conversely, serve to inject novel views and ideas. In the latter case, migration may modify the demographic overlap among firms and thus rearrange their competitive positioning. We present here an empirical test of this two-pronged manifestation of demographic change and stress the moderating roles of team age and competitive intensity.
Offline Gurmukhi script recognition using knowledge based approach & Multi-Layered Perceptron neural network

The research area of handwriting recognition attracted number of researchers because of the challenges exist in it. The main difficulties in this area of research are: variations in handwriting styles of different writers, complex behavior of different languages used for writing etc. This paper focuses on Offline handwriting recognition process for an Indian language “Punjabi”. The script used to write Punjabi in India is Gurmukhi script. This paper presents a system which recognizes the handwritten words of Gurmukhi script. The technique used for recognition purpose in this work is based on Multi-Layered Perceptron (MLP) neural network. This paper presents a three layered architecture of neural network consisting Input layer, Hidden layer or training layer and Output layer. The segmentation phase in this work is implemented, using knowledge based approach. In segmentation phase, the success rate of 94.87 % is achieved to extract characters from Gurmukhi words and the overall recognition rate is observed as 82.06% for complete Gurmukhi words.
The Dose-Related Effects of Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective To investigate the dose-related effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for knee osteoarthritis. Methods Seventy-five subjects were recruited, 60 of which met the inclusion criteria. The patients were randomly classified into two groups: group L, which was a low-energy group (n=30; 1,000 shocks/session; energy flux density [EFD], 0.040 mJ/mm2) and group M, which was a medium-energy group (n=30; 1,000 shocks/session; EFD, 0.093 mJ/mm2). For each group, 1,000 shock waves were delivered to the medial tibial plateau area, once a week, for 3 weeks. The main outcome measures were the visual analogue scale (VAS), the Roles and Maudsley (RM) score, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, and the Lequesne index. Each assessment was performed at the baseline and at 1, 4, and 12 weeks after ESWT. Results In both groups, the VAS, the RM and WOMAC scores, and the Lequesne index were significantly improved over time (p<0.001), and group M showed greater improvement over group L at the 1, 4 and 12 weeks assessments. Conclusion In this study, medium-energy group (group M) showed greater improvement in regard to relieving pain and restoring functional outcome than the low-energy group (group L). Therefore, EFD can be considered to have significant influence when treating with ESWT for knee osteoarthritis.
Political Communication in Media Society: Does Democracy Still Enjoy an Epistemic Dimension? The Impact of Normative Theory on Empirical Research

I first compare the deliberative to the liberal and the republican models of democracy, and consider possible references to empirical research and then examine what empirical evidence there is for the assumption that political deliberation develops a truth-tracking potential. The main parts of the paper serve to dispel prima facie doubts about the empirical content and the applicability of the communication model of deliberative politics. It moreover highlights 2 critical conditions: mediated political communication in the public sphere can facilitate deliberative legitimation processes in complex societies only if a self-regulating media system gains independence from its social environments and if anonymous audiences grant a feedback between an informed elite discourse and a responsive civil society. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006. 00280.x In Aristotle’s Politics, normative theorizing and empirical research go hand in hand. Yet, contemporary theories of liberal democracy express a demanding ‘‘ought’’ that faces the sobering ‘‘is’’ of ever more complex societies. Especially, the deliberative model of democracy, which claims an epistemic dimension for the democratic procedures of legitimation, appears to exemplify the widening gap between normative and empirical approaches toward politics. Let me first compare the deliberative to the liberal and the republican models of democracy, and consider possible references to empirical research. I will then examine what empirical evidence there is for the assumption that political deliberation develops a truth-tracking potential. The main parts of the paper serve to dispel prima facie doubts about the empirical content and the applicability of the deliberative model. The communication model of deliberative politics that I wish to present highlights two critical conditions: Mediated political communication in the public sphere can facilitate deliberative legitimation processes in complex societies only if
The Relationship Between Parental Expectations and Post-secondary Choices of High School Seniors

Parental involvement is a driving force in guiding the post-secondary plans of high school students. Although there are current studies that examine the link between parental involvement and the choice of secondary students to pursue college as well as parental involvement and students’ future career choice decisions, little research is available addressing whether parental involvement influences students to pursue careers contrary to the students’ wishes. Research shows that as students move into middle and high school, parental involvement in the form of parental expectations becomes important and often guides much of students’ decision making. This correlational study sought to determine if parental involvement could predict the postsecondary choices of high school seniors in a Southwest Louisiana parish. The study examined if a predictive relationship existed using data collected from 153 high school seniors from two high schools located in a Southwest Louisiana parish. The Career Related Parent Support scale was used to measure the amount of perceived parental support, and the My Vocational Identity scale was used to measure students’ overall satisfaction and assurance of their career choices. The intended method of data analysis was the Pearson’s Product Moment r, but the dataset did not meet the assumption of bivariate normal distribution, therefore Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient was the method of data analysis.
Development of a robot which can simulate swallowing of food boluses with various properties for the study of rehabilitation of swallowing disorders

Many patients suffer from swallowing disorders (dysphagia). There are many treatments for these disorders, such as swallowing therapy, surgery, and dietary modification. In our study, we focuse on dietary modification, a common approach. Normally, the swallowing is affected by food bolus properties such as hardness, stickiness and rheological characteristics, and dietary modifications can prevent swallowing disorder patients from suffering dysphagia (aspiration), as well as promote good nutrition. Based on these facts, our goal is to find foods which do not cause dysphagia, and develop food for swallowing disorder patients accordingly. Therefore, we are proposing an in-vitro Dynamic VFSS (Video Fluorographic Swallowing Study) simulation system which uses advanced robotics technology to mimic the dynamic process of swallowing and monitors the status and movement of the food bolus inside the system, for objective evaluation of the swallowing process. The dynamic VFSS simulation system consists of a head, mandible, neck, tongue, pharynx, and larynx which reproduce human anatomy. It is driven by 16 actuators with wire driving mechanisms. In this paper, we will present the dynamic VFSS simulation unit in detail. In addition, we will detail a set of the experiments carried out to determine whether food bolus properties can affect dysphagia or not. To observe the movement of the food bolus, we use a Video Fluoroscopy (VF) unit. The results of the experiments show that thickened boluses have a tendency to leave residue in the epiglottic vallecula. In contrast, liquids cause less residue, and increase the risk of dysphagia (aspiration). Moreover, this study shows that the frontal image, as well as the lateral image, is important for evaluating residual food in the oral- pharyngeal space.