Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feature-level analysis of a novel smartphone application for smoking cessation

Abstract Background: Currently, there are over 400 smoking cessation smartphone apps available, downloaded an estimated 780,000 times per month. No prior studies have examined how individuals engage with specific features of cessation apps and whether use of these features is associated with quitting. Objectives: Using data from a pilot trial of a novel smoking cessation app, we examined: (i) the 10 most-used app features, and (ii) prospective associations between feature usage and quitting. Methods: Participants (n = 76) were from the experimental arm of a randomized, controlled pilot trial of an app for smoking cessation called “SmartQuit,” which includes elements of both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Utilization data were automatically tracked during the 8-week treatment phase. Thirty-day point prevalence smoking abstinence was assessed at 60-day follow-up. Results: The most-used features – quit plan, tracking, progress, and sharing – were mostly CBT. Only two of the 10 most-used features were prospectively associated with quitting: viewing the quit plan (p = 0.03) and tracking practice of letting urges pass (p = 0.03). Tracking ACT skill practice was used by fewer participants (n = 43) but was associated with cessation (p = 0.01). Conclusions: In this exploratory analysis without control for multiple comparisons, viewing a quit plan (CBT) as well as tracking practice of letting urges pass (ACT) were both appealing to app users and associated with successful quitting. Aside from these features, there was little overlap between a feature’s popularity and its prospective association with quitting. Tests of causal associations between feature usage and smoking cessation are now needed.
Electroconvulsive Treatment of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome: A Review and Report of Cases

Objective: Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a potentially lethal adverse effect of neuroleptic medication, with no satisfactory treatment currently available. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been anecdotally reported to be effective in its treatment. We review 45 published case reports of ECT for NMS and describe nine new cases, to examine its effectiveness, the likelihood of adverse reactions, and the theoretical implications of such treatment. Method: The authors used Medline to identify reports in the English literature where ECT was used in cases of suspected NMS. In addition, the charts of patients referred to the second author for treatment of NMS were reviewed and cases in which ECT used were identified. Results: The case reports suggest that ECT is effective in many individuals with NMS, even when drug therapy has failed. The response is usually apparent after a few treatments, generally up to six. The response is not predictable on the basis of age, gender, psychiatric diagnosis or any particular feature of NMS including catatonia. Electroconvulsive therapy is a relatively safe treatment in NMS, although the risk of cardiovascular complications should be considered. Malignant hyperthermia due to the anaesthesia associated with ECT has not been reported in patients with NMS, and succinylcholine has been used safely with the exception of one report of fever and raised creatine kinase levels and another report of hyperkalemia. Conclusions: Electroconvulsive therapy is the preferred treatment in severe NMS, cases where the underlying psychiatric diagnosis is psychotic depression or catatonia, and in cases where lethal catatonia cannot be ruled out. The effectiveness of ECT for the treatment of NMS has theoretical implications for the relationship between NMS and catatonia, and the possible pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie these disorders.
Secondhand Smoke and Adverse Fetal Outcomes in Nonsmoking Pregnant Women: A Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of adverse fetal outcomes of secondhand smoke exposure in nonsmoking pregnant women. METHODS: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis in accordance with Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. We searched Medline and Embase (to March 2009) and reference lists for eligible studies; no language restrictions were imposed. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by using random-effect models. Our search was for epidemiologic studies of maternal exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy in nonsmoking pregnant women. The main outcome measures were spontaneous abortion, perinatal and neonatal death, stillbirth, and congenital malformations. RESULTS: We identified 19 studies that assessed the effects of secondhand smoke exposure in nonsmoking pregnant women. We found no evidence of a statistically significant effect of secondhand smoke exposure on the risk of spontaneous abortion (OR: 1.17 [95% CI: 0.88–1.54]; 6 studies). However, secondhand smoke exposure significantly increased the risk of stillbirth (OR: 1.23 [95% CI: 1.09–1.38]; 4 studies) and congenital malformation (OR: 1.13 [95% CI: 1.01–1.26]; 7 studies), although none of the associations with specific congenital abnormalities were individually significant. Secondhand smoke exposure had no significant effect on perinatal or neonatal death. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women who are exposed to secondhand smoke are estimated to be 23% more likely to experience stillbirth and 13% more likely give birth to a child with a congenital malformation. Because the timing and mechanism of this effect is not clear, it is important to prevent secondhand smoke exposure in women before and during pregnancy.
A Longitudinal Investigation of the Associations Among Parenting, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Externalizing Behaviors: A Monozygotic Twin Differences Design

Non-shared parenting and deviant peer affiliation are linked to differences in externalizing behaviors between twins. However, few studies have examined these two non-shared environments simultaneously. The present study examined the transactional roles of differential parenting (i.e., warmth and hostility) and deviant peer affiliation on monozygotic (MZ) twin differences in externalizing behaviors using a two-wave longitudinal study of twins and their parents. The sample consisted of 520 pairs of MZ twins (46.5% males, 53.5% females), with a mean age of 13.86 years (SD = 2.10) at the T1 assessment, residing in Beijing, China. The association between non-shared hostility in parenting and adolescent externalizing behaviors was mainly explained by a child-driven effect whereby the twin with a higher level of externalizing behaviors than his or her co-twin was more likely to receive more hostility from the parents. Similarly, the relationship between deviant peer affiliation and adolescent externalizing behaviors supported the selection effect whereby the twin with a higher level of externalizing behaviors than his or her co-twin was more likely to affiliate with deviant peers. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Human astrovirus, norovirus (GI, GII), and sapovirus infections in Pakistani children with diarrhea

Fecal specimens from 517 infants and young children admitted to the Civil Karachi Hospital, Dow Medical College, Karachi city, Pakistan with acute gastroenteritis from 1990 to 1994 were collected and screened by RT‐PCR for human astrovirus (AstV), norovirus (NV), and sapovirus (SV). The specific epidemiological data for illness caused by these viruses in Pakistan are not available. AstV, NV, and SV were detected in 58, 51, and 17 of 517 fecal specimens, and this represented 11.2, 9.9, and 3.2%, respectively. An outbreak of gastroenteritis attributable to AstV serotype 1 was identified during September and October 1990. Moreover, one specimen with a triple mixed infection between AstV (serotypes 1 and 3) and NV GII was found. NV and SV were subjected to molecular analysis by sequencing. One of the sequenced specimens positive for SV turned out to be similar to a strain tentatively called a genogroup IV. The result underscores the importance of these viruses in association with acute gastroenteritis in Karachi city, Pakistan. J. Med. Virol. 73:256–261, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The determinants and growth implications of venture creation speed

Time is central to our understanding of entrepreneurship. However, while prior research has shown a general link between decision speed and venture performance, little is known about what factors influence the speed of venture creation. Equally, little research has been conducted on how venture creation speed impacts on venture growth. This paper examines the determinants and growth implications of venture creation speed from a social constructionist perspective, which sees that time both shapes and is shaped by individuals, social contexts and spatial structures. We, therefore, investigate the influence of entrepreneurial characteristics, external support, institutional influences and the regional context in which venture creation speed occurs and subsequently impacts on growth in new ventures. Results from structured interviews with 381 active de novo entrepreneurs in Catalonia (Spain) show a positive relationship between prior entrepreneurial experience and speed. Interestingly, support from potential suppliers and customers is useful not only for speed but also for the subsequent growth of the venture. In contrast, business planning retards venture creation and fails to lead to an improvement in growth. Results also indicate a positive, but weak, relationship between speed and growth, once entrepreneurial, environmental and venture characteristics are held constant. The paper subsequently discusses these findings and suggests further research directions and practical implications.
Microscopic Simulation of Financial Markets: From Investor Behavior to Market Phenomena

From the Publisher: "Levy, Levy, and Solomon's Microscopic Simulation of Financial Markets points us towards the future of financial economics. If we restrict ourselves to models which can be solved analytically, we will be modeling for our mutual entertainment, not to maximize explanatory or predictive power. " (-Harry M. Markowitz, President, Harry Markowitz Co., and Nobel Laureate in Economics)
Contract Hope and Sovereign Redemption

Sovereign immunity has served as a partial substitute for bankruptcy protection, but it has encouraged a minority of creditors to pursue unorthodox legal remedies with spillover effects far beyond the debtor-creditor relationship. The attempt to enforce Argentina’s pari passu clause in New York is an example of such a remedy, which relies primarily on collateral damage to other creditors and market infrastructure to obtain settlement from a debtor that would not pay. The District Court decision, now on appeal before the Second Circuit, may not make holding out more attractive in future restructurings – but it would make participation less attractive for creditors, and create uncertainty for trustees, clearing and payments systems. Contractual innovations that support debt restructuring, such as collective action clauses (CACs), will not diminish the impact of the remedy for the foreseeable future, among other reasons because they are not designed to work across the debt stock. The Greek debt restructuring, where over half of the foreign-law issues with CACs failed to clear the voting threshold, is a case in point. The latest pari passu episode illustrates the challenge of a purely contractual framework for debt restructuring: interpretation uncertainty, institutional barriers to contract change, and a well-resourced constituency with every incentive to take advantage of the combination, make for an irreducible risk. Options going forward range from contract reform to reviving treaty-based sovereign bankruptcy. The former will be slow and incomplete; the latter has dim political prospects. If the District Court decision stands, it strengthens the hand of sovereign bankruptcy proponents. This article suggests a mix of contractual and institutional reform focusing on financial markt infrastructure, as an interim fix for what remains a deeply dysfunctional regime.
Company-Scientist Locational Links: The Case of Biotechnology

In recent years, the significance of geography among firms has declined due to the introduction of electronic methods of communication. However, with the increasing presence of the biotechnology industry, with its affiliated university-based scientists, the issue of geography is proposed as a significant issue for consideration. Most notably, researchers cite that the role of the scientist within the firm impacts the geographic proximity between the firm and the scientist. The types of links between scientists and firms are examined, drawing on a database of biotech firms that have issued IPOs. The data analyses indicate that firm proximity is often influenced not only by the scientist's role in the firm, but also by his or her status in the scientific community and by his or her age. Although past studies have cited the relationship between informal knowledge spillovers and proximity, the current research suggests that geographic proximity plays a less significant role when knowledge is transmitted through formal ties between scientists and corporations. Areas of future research are identified, including the impact of factors such as the proximity of other firm locations and research institutions, and how the role of geography differs between regions. (AKP)
Intervening in Interruptions: What Exactly Is the Risk We Are Trying to Manage?

Abstract Interruptions are thought to be significantly associated with medication administration errors. Researchers have tried to reduce medication errors by decreasing or eliminating interruptions. In this article, we argue that interventions are often (perhaps unreflectively) based on one particular model of risk reduction—that of barriers placed between the source of risk and the object-to-be-protected. Well-intentioned interventions can lead to unanticipated effects because the assumptions created by the risk model are not critically examined. In this article, we review the barrier model and the assumptions it makes about risk and risk reduction/prevention, as well as the model’s incompatibility with work in healthcare. We consider how these problems lead to interruptions interventions with unintended negative consequences. Then, we examine possible alternatives, viz organizing work for high reliability, preventing safety drift, and engineering resilience into the work activity. These all approach risks in different ways, and as such, propose interruptions interventions that are vastly different from interventions based on the barrier model. The purpose of this article is to encourage a different approach for designing interruptions interventions. Such reflection may help healthcare communities innovate beyond old, ineffective, and often counterproductive interventions to handle interruptions.
Characteristics of the injuries of Syrian refugees sustained during the civil war.

BACKGROUND During a war, many civilians are severely injured by firearms, bombs, and shrapnel. The triage of war injuries involves difficult and complicated processes requiring surgical procedures and patient monitoring in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of hospitals. In this study, we examine the demographic, traumatic, and critical care characteristics of cases injured during the civil war in Syria and requiring emergency surgery. METHODS Electronic data of the traumatic, surgical, and ICU monitoring features of 707 patients admitted to Kilis Public Hospital between March 2012 and January 2013 were analyzed retrospectively RESULTS: Most of the patients reported having been injured due to firearms (83.75%). Of the 707 cases studied in this work, 93.2% was male. Male patients reported a mean age of 26.1±12.1 years, while pediatric cases reported a mean age of 11.7±3.41 years. The most frequently injured region of the body was the head-neck region (52.7%). The New Injury Severity Score (NISS) of the cases was 42.5±11.2 and their American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score was 3.2±0.7. The number of cases with intraoperative exitus was 7, while the number of cases who had undergone damage control surgery was 204. The number of cases hospitalized in the ICU during the postoperative period was 233, and the average hospitalization duration in the ICU was 4.67±1.32 days. Among survivor patients, the first 24-hour invasive measurements (i.e., pH, hemoglobin, body temperature, and mean arterial blood pressure) and international normalized ratio were found to be high. The number of blood products used for surviving patients was fewer relative to that used for non-surviving patients, and these NISS of these patients was 29.7±10.1. The mortality rate of all patients followed up in the ICU after emergency surgery was 45%, and neurosurgical cases showed the lowest level of survival (24.1%). CONCLUSION The results of this study indicated that head-neck, chest-abdomen, and multiple body injuries are the most widely seen among civilians brought to Turkey because of gunshot injuries sustained during the Civil War in Syria. The number of emergency operations performed in the study sample was high, and critical care follow-up durations were long. In addition, the NISS and ASA scores of mortal cases were fairly high.
Analysis of the 23 June 2001 Mw = 8.4 Peru underthrusting earthquake and its aftershocks

On 23 June 2001, a Mw = 8.4 underthrusting earthquake occurred in the southern Peru subduction zone, followed by several large aftershocks, including 26 June (Mw = 6.7) and 7 July (Mw = 7.5). Broadband analyses of seismic data for the largest of these earthquakes show southeastward rupture of 180 km along the portion of the subduction zone previously ruptured in 1868 (Mw 8.8–9). Moment release distributions determined are consistent with aftershock location patterns. Earthquake rupture mode varies along southern Peru, from larger multi‐segment rupture in 1868 to several smaller segment ruptures in 2001, similar to rupture variation observed in northern Peru and other subduction zones. Based on models of subduction zone segment interaction, the 2001 earthquake sequence may suggest a shorter recurrence time for future earthquakes along this portion of the Peru‐Chile subduction zone.
Dynamics of rice prices and agricultural wages in the Philippines

Rice trade liberalization in the Philippines should decrease domestic rice prices impacting both agricultural wages and the welfare of agricultural wage earners. This study examines the short-run and long-run relationship between rice prices and agricultural wages in the Philippines using a neoclassical wage determination model. Three empirical frameworks are used-a cointegration/error correction framework, which assumes nonstationary variables in long-run equilibrium, a first difference model that assumes nonstationary variables but no long-run equilibrium, and an OLS framework that assumes the model variables are stationary. Conclusions are reasonably robust across the three empirical frameworks with wages adjusting positively to rice price changes with a short-run elasticity of 0.29 to 0.57, and a long-run elasticity of 0.70 to 1.0 in preferred models. An analysis of welfare implications suggests that although households that are heavily reliant on agricultural wages for income will be adversely affected by rice price decreases, other households will benefit. Copyright (c)2008 International Association of Agricultural Economists.
From vendors to partners: Information technology and incomplete contracts in buyer‐supplier relationships

As search costs and other coordination costs decline, theory predicts that firms should optimally increase the number of suppliers with which they do business. Despite recent declines in these costs due to information technology, there is little evidence of an increase in the number of suppliers used. On the contrary, in many industries, firms are working with fewer suppliers. This suggests that other forces must be accounted for in a more complete model of buyer supplier relationships. This article uses the theory of incomplete contracts to illustrate that incentive considerations can motivate a buyer to limit the number of employed suppliers. To induce suppliers to make investments that cannot be specified and enforced in a satisfactory manner via a contractual mechanism, the buyer must commit not to expropriate the ex post surplus from such investments. Under reasonable bargaining mechanisms, such a commitment will be more credible if the buyer can choose from fewer alternative suppliers. Information technology increases the importance of noncontractible investments by suppliers, such as quality, responsiveness, and innovation; it is shown that when such investments are particularly important, firms will employ fewer suppliers, and this will be true even when search and transaction costs are very low.
The Role of Institutions in Sustaining Mandatory Low-Income Housing

Abstract State intervention is crucial in delivering adequate housing for the urban poor. In 1982, the Malaysian government introduced a policy mandating low-income housing of prescribed building standards within new developments. Basically, private developers are required to have a certain proportion of low-cost housing in new developments above a certain size. The “low-cost housing quota” (LCHQ) policy has delivered almost 600,000 low-cost houses. Although the literature has described housing regulations as costly and inefficient, little is known of how Malaysia’s LCHQ requirement has continued to successfully produce low-income housing. Employing an institutional approach, this study provides a meso-level analysis of LCHQ in an understudied state in Malaysia. Findings show that planners adopt a semi-flexible stance in interpreting housing regulations, whereas developers assume strategic compliance behaviour. Furthermore, the study indicates that the mandatory low-cost housing has been sustained due to the reconciliation of actors’ motivations, negotiations between actors and reasonable regulatory mediations. By focusing on the behaviours of the two main actors in low-cost housing provision, this paper contributes to an understanding of on the ground operation of the LCHQ and, thus, informs policymakers on improvements to the existing system.
Blood group antigens in health and disease

Purpose of reviewBlood group antigens are polymorphic, inherited structures located on the surface of the red blood cell. They have long played an important role in identifying matched blood products for transfusion. Recent studies have identified varied and important functions for some of these molecules in cell physiology and human pathology. Recent findingsMany novel functions associated with blood group antigens have recently been identified. These include contributing to erythrocyte membrane structural integrity, transport of molecules through the membrane, and complement regulation as well as acting as adhesion molecules, receptors for extracellular ligands, and enzymes. Importantly, deficiency of these membrane components is associated with certain red cell disorders. Furthermore, as the same components are expressed in a variety of non-erythroid cells, deficiency of these proteins can also result in various other pathologies. SummaryNovel functions for red cell membrane components carrying blood group antigens are being identified. These findings are providing new molecular insights into the pathophysiology of both red cell disorders as well as various related pathologies in other organ systems.