Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The association between body mass index and clinical outcomes in acute lung injury.

BACKGROUND The association between body mass index (BMI) and outcomes in critically ill patients is unclear. Our objective was to determine the association between BMI and outcomes in a population-based cohort of patients with acute lung injury (ALI). METHODS In a prospective cohort study of all ICU patients in King County, Washington, with ALI in 1 year (1999 to 2000), 825 patients had a BMI recorded. Using multivariate analysis, patients in the abnormal BMI groups were compared to normal patients in the following areas: mortality, hospital length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS, duration of mechanical ventilation, and discharge disposition. RESULTS There was no mortality difference in any of the abnormal BMI groups compared to normal-weight patients. Severely obese patients had longer hospital LOS than normal-weight patients (mean increase, 10.5 days; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.8 to 16.2 days; p < 0.001); this was accentuated when analysis was restricted to survivors (mean increase, 14.3 days; 95% CI, 7.1 to 21.6 days; p < 0.001). ICU LOS and duration of mechanical ventilation were also longer in the severely obese group when analysis was restricted to survivors (mean increase, 5.6 days; 95% CI, 1.3 to 9.8 days; p = 0.01; and mean increase, 4.1 days; 95% CI, 0.4 to 7.7 days, respectively; p = 0.03). Severely obese patients were more likely to be discharged to a rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility than to home. CONCLUSIONS BMI is not associated with mortality in patients with ALI, but severe obesity is associated with increased morbidity and resource utilization in the hospital and after discharge.
Impact of Life Factors upon Attitudes toward Death

This study investigated the impact of life factors on college students' feelings about death. Participants completed a recently validated self-report scale and then were individually interviewed regarding their life experiences related to death. The interview process permitted identification of which life factors had affected death attitudes and the relative importance and specific impact of each factor. Regression analysis suggested that the most important life factor was a significant predictor of the participants' current feelings about death (r = −.51) and that other factors of lower ranked importance did not significantly increase the power of the regression equation. The most important life factors clustered into three categories: Death of Significant Other, Religious Upbringing, and Near-Death Experiences, but these factors tended to have mixed effects across individuals. Results stress the importance of an individualized approach in studying the impact of life factors on the development of death attitudes.
Stem Cells Grown in Osteogenic Medium on PLGA, PLGA/HA, and Titanium Scaffolds for Surgical Applications

Pluripotent adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hASCs) can differentiate into various mesodermal cell types such as osteoblasts, chondroblasts, and myoblasts. We isolated hASCs from subcutaneous adipose tissue during orthopaedic surgery and induced the osteogenic differentiation for 28 days on three different synthetic scaffolds such as polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA), polylactide-co-glycolide/hydroxyapatite (PLGA/HA), and trabecular titanium scaffolds (Ti6Al4V). Pore size can influence certain criteria such as cell attachment, infiltration, and vascularization. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of PLGA and PLGA/HA scaffolds with a higher porosity, ranging between 75% and 84%, with respect to Ti scaffolds but with smaller pore size, seeded with hASCs to develop a model that could be used in the treatment of bone defects and fractures. Osteogenesis was assessed by ELISA quantitation of extracellular matrix protein expression, von Kossa staining, X-ray microanalysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The higher amount of protein matrix on the Ti scaffold with respect to PLGA and PLGA/HA leads to the conclusion that not only the type of material but the structure significantly affects cell proliferation.
A Socioanalytic Model of Maturity

This article describes a point of view on maturity that departs from earlier treatments in two ways. First, it rejects the popular assumption from humanistic psychology that maturity is a function of self-actualization and stipulates that maturity is related to certain performance capacities—namely, the ability to form lasting relationships and to achieve one’s career goals. Second, the article is based on an explicit model of personality, and the model holds that personality is most productively viewed from the perspective of the actor and of the observer. This means that maturity must also be defined from two perspectives—how people feel about themselves and how others feel about them. The authors briefly review some data bearing on these observations.
Interdecadal modulation of ENSO teleconnections

Abstract Seasonal climate anomalies over North America exhibit rather large variability between years characterized by the same ENSO phase. This lack of consistency reduces potential statistically based ENSO-related climate predictability. The authors show that the North Pacific oscillation (NPO) exerts a modulating effect on ENSO teleconnections. Sea level pressure (SLP) data over the North Pacific, North America, and the North Atlantic and daily rainfall records in the contiguous United States are used to demonstrate that typical ENSO signals tend to be stronger and more stable during preferred phases of the NPO. Typical El Nino patterns (e.g., low pressure over the northeastern Pacific, dry northwest, and wet southwest, etc.) are strong and consistent only during the high phase of the NPO, which is associated with an anomalously cold northwestern Pacific. The generally reversed SLP and precipitation patterns during La Nina winters are consistent only during the low NPO phase. Climatic anomalies tend to.
Commemorating or celebrating? Reflections on the centenary of the Natives Land Act of 1913

While no policymaker would claim to be celebrating the centenary of the Natives Land Act, the form and content of the commemoration of this significant event on the website of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has some unsettling parallels with the celebratory countdown to the Soccer World Cup of 2010. Rather than using the centenary to acknowledge the significant changes in relations to land of the past century, the state is treating it as an opportunity for political theatre that deflects attention from serious weaknesses in its land reform programme. If the centenary of the 1913 Land Act is to be an opportunity for meaningful reflection, then a more thoughtful engagement is required with major processes of social change and regional differentiation over the past 100 years.
Selling Formal Insurance to the Informally Insured

Unpredictable rainfall is an important risk for agricultural activity, and farmers in developing countries often receive incomplete insurance from informal risk-sharing networks. We study the demand for, and effects of, offering formal index-based rainfall insurance through a randomized experiment in an environment where the informal risk sharing network can be readily identified and richly characterized: sub-castes in rural India. A model allowing for both idiosyncratic and aggregate risk shows that informal networks lower the demand for formal insurance only if the network indemnifies against aggregate risk, but not if its primary role is to insure against farmer-specific losses. When formal insurance carries basis risk (mismatches between payouts and actual losses due to the remote location of the rainfall gauge), informal risk sharing that covers idiosyncratic losses enhance the benefits of index insurance. Formal index insurance enables households to take more risk even in the presence of informal insurance. We find substantial empirical support of these nuanced predictions of the model by conducting the experiment (randomizing both index insurance offers, and the locations of rainfall gauges) on castes for whom we have a rich history of group responsiveness to household and aggregate rainfall shocks.
Trading Performance for Stability in Markov Decision Processes

We study the complexity of central controller synthesis problems for finite-state Markov decision processes, where the objective is to optimize both the expected mean-payoff performance of the system and its stability. We argue that the basic theoretical notion of expressing the stability in terms of the variance of the mean-payoff (called global variance in our paper) is not always sumcient, since it ignores possible instabilities on respective runs. For this reason we propose alernative definitions of stability, which we call local and hybrid variance, and which express how rewards on each run deviate from the run's own mean-payoff and from the expected mean-payoff, respectively. We show that a strategy ensuring both the expected mean-payoff and the variance below given bounds requires randomization and memory, under all the above semantics of variance. We then look at the problem of determining whether there is a such a strategy. For the global variance, we show that the problem is in PSPACE, and that the answer can be approximated in pseudo-polynomial time. For the hybrid variance, the analogous decision problem is in NP, and a polynomial-time approximating algorithm also exists. For local variance, we show that the decision problem is in NP. Since the overall performance can be traded for stability (and vice versa), we also present algorithms for approximating the associated Pareto curve in all the three cases. Finally, we study a special case of the decision problems, where we require a given expected mean-payoff together with zero variance. Here we show that the problems can be all solved in polynomial time.
Factors Precipitating Suicidality among Homeless Youth

Homeless youth are a population at a high risk for suicidal behavior. A previous exploratory study emphasized the importance of feeling trapped or helpless, which appeared to mediate the impact of other risk variables. Confirmatory work was needed to test this inductively derived model. Two hundred eight homeless youths completed surveys on the streets and in agencies in New York City and Toronto. Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical model developed from exploratory work, and regression analyses were used to examine the influence of home and street contextual variables. The centrality of the trapped experience in a model incorporating drug use and dependence, abusive family history, loneliness, low self-esteem, and suicidality was confirmed. Other findings included a marked reduction in reported suicidal behavior following participants’ leaving home, with family violence, being thrown out of the home, neglect, poor physical health, and having suicidal friends showing strong relationships with suicidality.
Dynamic model of diesel generator set for hybrid wind-diesel small grids applications

In order to reduce the carbon gas emissions, wind energy conversion systems are currently more and more connected to actual diesel power plants to provide electricity to small remote communities where the power grids are not available. As for classical power systems, the stability analysis, prediction, identification, control and diagnostic of hybrid wind-diesel small grids need accurate modelling of its main components. The state space representation is known as the more suitable system representation for simulation, identification/diagnostic and stability studies purposes. In this paper a linear state modelling of a diesel generator is proposed. The global diesel generator model obtained from the superposition principle of its components is applied for stability analysis using the eigenvalues calculation. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the model is assessed through numerical simulations of large transient tests such as load rejections and the synchronous generator automatic voltage regulation action is carried out. field transients during a Field short-circuit test with the stator in open circuit is also simulated.
Does it Make a Difference? Investigating the Assessment Accuracy of Teacher Tutors and Student Tutors

Tutors often have difficulty with accurately assessing a tutee's understanding. However, little is known about whether the professional expertise of tutors influences their assessment accuracy. In this study, the authors examined the accuracy with which 21 teacher tutors and 25 student tutors assessed a tutee's understanding of the human circulatory system in the course of tutoring. The authors found that the teacher tutors were more accurate than were the student tutors in assessing whether a tutee had a low or high level of knowledge about concepts relevant to the human circulatory system. In addition, in comparison with the student teachers, the teacher tutors more accurately assessed the number of concepts that a tutee would know. However, the teacher tutors and the student tutors did poorly in assessing a tutee's mental model of the human circulatory system even though the teacher tutors were more aware of their assessment difficulties than were the student tutors.
REHABILITATION IN PSYCHIATRY: AN OVERVIEW

The relationship between rehabilitation and psychiatry has been referred to as an "uneasy alliance" (Bachrach, 1992). Terms like psychiatric rehabilitation and psychosocial rehabilitation have been used interchangeably. While there is no commonly endorsed definition of rehabilitation in psychiatry, there appear to be several common concepts and values shared across 'models' or approaches. This shared philosophy is succinctly summarized by Bachrach (1992). She defines psychosocial rehabilitation as "a therapeutic approach to the care of mentally ill individuals that encourages capacities through learning procedures and environmental supports".
Mechanical Characterization of Biocompatible Microspheres and Microcapsules by Direct Compression

The mechanical properties of biocompatible microparticles including alginate microspheres and alginate–chitosan microcapsules with different wall thickness were determined using a micromanipulation technique. Single microparticles with diameters of 20–60 µm were compressed to a given deformation and held, and compressed to rupture at different speeds. The corresponding force imposed on them was measured simultaneously by a force transducer. Results showed that the force imposed on these particles increased when they were compressed, but relaxed significantly when they were held. For alginate microspheres, the faster the compression speed was, the greater the force being imposed on them at a given deformation. Alginate–chitosan microcapsules showed less force relaxation when they were held, compared with alginate microspheres. The thicker their wall was, the less significant force relaxation the microcapsules exhibited. The mean rupture force of alginate microspheres increased with the compression speed, but this effect in general became less for alginate–chitosan microcapsules, which depended on their wall thickness. However, the deformation at rupture for all three samples was independent of the compression speed. On average, the alginate–chitosan microcapsules were bigger than alginate microspheres and had a greater rupture force.
A Follow Up Study of Schizophrenia and Depression in Young Adults

The differential diagnosis of schizophrenia and depression is clinically important in so far as these diagnoses carry therapeutic and prognostic implications. The Kraepelinian dichotomy was foreshadowed in Griesinger's recognition that “a state of vague, objectless emotion, be it sad or cheerful, and vague general delirium, is always more favourable than the appearance and continuance of fixed ideas … In melancholia, too, the appearance of hallucinations is decidedly unfavourable; those especially which refer the malady to external agencies (to other persons, to witchcraft, etc.) are remarkably persistent, and introduce at a later period a condition of dementia” (Griesinger, 1861). Kraepelin's descriptions of maniacal-depressive conditions and of dementia praecox remain the basis of contemporary systems of classification of the functional psychoses.
Posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression among refugees: Assessment of a sample from a German refugee reception center

In 2015, a large number of refugees arrived in Germany, mostly driven to emigrate by devastating circumstances in their countries of origin. Arriving refugees are distributed to reception centers within the German federal states, frequently facing marginal conditions in terms of overcrowding or waiting time of several months until their application for asylum is processed. Most of these refugees underwent numerous traumatizing experiences—both in their country of origin and while fleeing from their country of origin. Furthermore, they faced and will likely continue to face various access barriers to mental health care. In this study, we assessed a sample of 85 refugees from a reception center in Germany selected due to their observed psychological strain. Results showed that the majority suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder, mostly with symptoms of intrusion, hyperarousal, avoidance, and dissociation. Most refugees also suffered from comorbid depression. We discuss implications of these findings for reception services and the need for more preventive psychiatric care.
Estimating the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes using population level pharmacy claims data: a cross-sectional study

Objective To estimate the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes using a national pharmacy claims database. Research design and methods We used data from the Health Service Executive-Primary Care Reimbursement Service database in Ireland for this cross-sectional study. Prevalent cases of type 2 diabetes were individuals using an oral hypoglycemic agent, irrespective of insulin use, in 2012. Incident cases were individuals using an oral hypoglycemic agent in 2012 who had not used one in the past. Population level estimates were calculated and stratified by age and sex. Results In 2012, there were 114 957 prevalent cases of type 2 diabetes giving a population prevalence of 2.51% (95% CI 2.49% to 2.52%). Among adults (≥15yrs), this was 3.16% (95% CI 3.15% to 3.18%). The highest prevalence was in those aged 70+ years (12.1%). 21 574 people developed type 2 diabetes in 2012 giving an overall incidence of 0.48% (95% CI 0.48% to 0.49%). In adults, this was 0.60% (95% CI 0.60% to 0.61%). Incidence rose with age to a maximum of 2.08% (95% CI 2.02% to 2.15%) in people aged 65–69 years. Men had a higher prevalence (2.96% vs 2.04%) and incidence (0.54% vs 0.41%) of type 2 diabetes than women. Conclusions Pharmacy claims data allow estimates of objectively defined type 2 diabetes at the population level using up-to-date data. These estimates can be generated quickly to inform health service planning or to evaluate the impact of population level interventions.
Early maternal hypothyroxinemia alters histogenesis and cerebral cortex cytoarchitecture of the progeny.

Epidemiological studies from both iodine-sufficient and -deficient human populations strongly suggest that early maternal hypothyroxinemia (i.e., low circulating free thyroxine before onset of fetal thyroid function at midgestation) increases the risk of neurodevelopmental deficits of the fetus, whether or not the mother is clinically hypothyroid. Rat dams on a low iodine intake are hypothyroxinemic without being clinically hypothyroid because, as occurs in pregnant women, their circulating 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine level is usually normal. We studied cell migration and cytoarchitecture in the somatosensory cortex and hippocampus of the 40-day-old progeny of the iodine-deficient dams and found a significant proportion of cells at locations that were aberrant or inappropriate with respect to their birth date. Most of these cells were neurons, as assessed by single- and double-label immunostaining. The cytoarchitecture of the somatosensory cortex and hippocampus was also affected, layering was blurred, and, in the cortex, normal barrels were not formed. We believe that this is the first direct evidence of an alteration in fetal brain histogenesis and cytoarchitecture that could only be related to early maternal hypothyroxinemia. This condition may be 150-200 times more common than congenital hypothyroidism and ought to be prevented both by mass screening of free thyroxine in early pregnancy and by early iodine supplementation to avoid iodine deficiency, however mild.
Title Optimization of fixation methods for observation of bacterial cell morphology and surface ultrastructures by atomic force microscopy

Fixation ability of five common fixation solutions, including 2.5% glutaraldehyde, 10% formalin, 4% paraformaldehyde, methanol/acetone (1:1), and ethanol/acetic acid (3:1) were evaluated by using atomic force microscopy in the present study. Three model bacteria, i.e., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida, and Bacillus subtilis were applied to observe the above fixation methods for the morphology preservation of bacterial cells and surface ultrastructures. All the fixation methods could effectively preserve cell morphology. However, for preserving bacterial surface ultrastructures, the methods applying aldehyde fixations performed much better than those using alcohols, since the alcohols could detach the surface filaments (i.e., flagella and pili) significantly. Based on the quantitative and qualitative assessments, the 2.5% glutaraldehyde was proposed as a promising fixation solution both for observing morphology of both bacterial cell and surface ultrastructures, while the methonal/acetone mixture was the worst fixation solution which may obtain unreliable results.
Merit Pay and the Music Teacher

Current proponents of education reform are at present seeking to fundamentally change the system of teacher compensation by eliminating the traditional single salary schedule and instituting a merit pay system that directly links teacher pay to student achievement. To date, the scholarly literature in music education has been silent on the subject of teacher compensation reform. This article reviews the political arguments and empirical evidence on teacher merit pay while considering these reforms’ potential deleterious effects on music educators. After examining the potential pitfalls of a merit pay system for music educators, I propose one possible framework for evaluating music teachers in a merit pay system.
Debating globalization and education after September 11

This article examines some of the ways in which debates about globalization and education have changed since the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath. From a postcolonial perspective, I argue that while some of the claims about the world ‘changing for ever’ are clearly simplistic and grossly exaggerated, there are at least three ways in which new elements have been introduced to the debates about globalization. First, there has emerged a new narrative of security, which has major implications for thinking about issues of mobility across national‐boundaries, both of people and of capital. Second, the view that the authority of the nation states is in decline has been shown to be overstated since nation states are now required to perform a range of new administrative, cultural and coercive functions. And finally, the antagonistic relationship between the West and Islam has become a major impediment to the realization of cosmopolitan objectives. Each of these developments has implications .