Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic conditions and mortality among the oldest old.

OBJECTIVES We sought to determine whether chronic conditions and functional limitations are equally predictive of mortality among older adults. METHODS Participants in the 1998 wave of the Health and Retirement Study (N=19430) were divided into groups by decades of age, and their vital status in 2004 was determined. We used multivariate Cox regression to determine the ability of chronic conditions and functional limitations to predict mortality. RESULTS As age increased, the ability of chronic conditions to predict mortality declined rapidly, whereas the ability of functional limitations to predict mortality declined more slowly. In younger participants (aged 50-59 years), chronic conditions were stronger predictors of death than were functional limitations (Harrell C statistic 0.78 vs. 0.73; P=.001). In older participants (aged 90-99 years), functional limitations were stronger predictors of death than were chronic conditions (Harrell C statistic 0.67 vs. 0.61; P=.004). CONCLUSIONS The importance of chronic conditions as a predictor of death declined rapidly with increasing age. Therefore, risk-adjustment models that only consider comorbidities when comparing mortality rates across providers may be inadequate for adults older than 80 years.
Public Policy Design and Implementation in Slovenia

Public policy design and implementation is a complex process, and so decision makers try to monitor all of the policy lifecycle stages in a particular policy domain. However, the question of coherent integration of various policy activities arises, including agenda-setting, ex-ante evaluation, formulation, decision-making, implementation, ex-post evaluation of individual policies, sector-specific ones, and even horizontal ones. Therefore, it is important to investigate and understand the reasons why an individual country, such as Slovenia, does not exploit all potential aspects of carrying out policy activities in a systematic and coherent manner. This article explores and analyzes Slovenian practice in policy design based on an in-depth empirical study among key public policyholders and decision makers. Furthermore, the authors identify the key success factors that facilitate or inhibit the development and progress of public policies, programs, and projects (PPPP) in Slovenia. The key findings indicate a particular lack of a professional policy unit to monitor the process holistically and the absence of ex-post evaluation. A need for a systemic solution in public policy design is established, which would merge different authorities’ efforts, epistemic communities, and the public in developing a structural multilevel model for good public governance.
Spatiotemporal mating pattern variation in a wind‐pollinated Mediterranean shrub

Spatiotemporal variation in mating patterns is poorly known in wind‐pollinated plant species. Here, we analysed mating patterns of the wind‐pollinated dioecious shrub Pistacia lentiscus by genotyping 904 seeds from 30 mother plants with eight microsatellite markers in a high‐density population in two consecutive flowering seasons. We found significant differences in some mating system estimates between years, particularly in the levels of correlated paternity. Overall, within‐mothers correlated paternity was higher in 2007 than in 2006 (rpWM = 0.085 and 0.030), which translated into an effective number of fathers (Nep) of 11.8 and 33.6 respectively. Using a smoothing interpolation technique, we show that the effective pollen cloud was spatially structured in patches of high‐ and low‐genetic diversity, which do not remain constant from year to year. In 2006, the among‐mothers correlated paternity (rpAM) showed no trend with distance, suggesting no restriction of pollen dispersal. However, in 2007, rpAM was greater than zero at short distances, revealing the existence of small‐scale patterns of pollen dispersal. The fact that the studied seasons were climatically homogeneous during the flowering time suggested that the observed differences might be ascribed to between‐year phenological variation of individuals in the studied population or other (unknown) factors. Numerical simulations, based on the real data set, indicated that the clumping of males and decreasing plant density, which is related to different types of pollen limitation, greatly increase correlated mating in this wind‐pollinated species, which is of relevance under the frame of the continuous anthropogenic habitat disturbance suffered by Mediterranean ecosystems.
Effectiveness of acupuncture/dry needling for myofascial trigger point pain

Abstract Background: Myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are widely accepted by clinicians and researchers as a primary source of pain. Needling is one common treatment, with dry needling as effective as injection. What is not clear is whether or not needling of any kind is superior to placebo. Objectives: To update a systematic literature review and meta-analysis (undertaken in 2007) investigating the effectiveness of direct MTrPs needling compared with placebo, and to discuss the variation in needling approaches adopted by randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating acupuncture/dry needling for MTrP pain. Methods: An electronic database search of RCTs published since the original review and a critical review of the literature. Results: Three RCTs of direct MTrP needling were identified as eligible for review. One concluded that needling was superior to standard care; two adopted a placebo control and were added to our original meta-analysis of four studies. Combining six studies (n = 183), needling was found to be statistically superior to placebo [weighted mean difference = 16·67 (95% CI: 3·23–30·11)]; however, marked statistical heterogeneity was observed (I2 = 82·6%). Conclusion: There is limited evidence that direct MTrP dry needling has an overall treatment effect when compared with standard care. While the results of the meta-analysis indicate that direct needling is superior to placebo, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the marked heterogeneity observed in this model. There remains a need for large-scale, adequately powered, high-quality placebo-controlled trials to provide a more trustworthy result.
Evolving therapies for hepatitis C virus in chronic kidney disease: the beginning of a new era

Purpose of review The current review highlights recent advances in treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection using new classes of agents, direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), with a focus on the evidence for their use in the setting of chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 4–5, hemodialysis, and kidney transplantation. Recent findings DAA agents target-specific proteins involved in the hepatitis C virus life cycle and interrupt viral replication. Sustained virologic response, a marker of viral eradication, occurs in more than 90% of patients treated with DAA agents in the general population. Emerging data demonstrate similar sustained virologic response rates for specific DAA-based regimens in patients with CKD stages 4–5, hemodialysis patients, and kidney-transplant recipients. Summary High sustained virologic response rates are seen with DAA agents in CKD populations. A thoughtful approach to the timing of treatment is required to facilitate timely access to kidney transplantation.
River Sharing: Implementation of Efficient Water Consumption

We examine the river sharing problem with a novel focus on implementing efficient outcomes. We introduce a class of two-stage games in which agents first announce desired levels of consumption and then bargain over monetary compensations. An outside observer with partial information connects the two stages by conditioning agents’ recognition probabilities in the second stage on the allocation realized in the first stage. We identify ways of setting recognition probabilities that give agents incentives to choose the efficient allocation of water all the while ensuring that the surplus obtained from efficient water usage ends up being shared in a fair way. In particular, we take an axiomatic approach to determine three new and implementable solutions.
A Follow-Up Study of Schizophrenics in North-East Scotland

I N recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on the community care of the mentally ill. It is important, therefore, to learn what happens to patients following their discharge from psychiatric care. This is especially true in the case of schizophrenic patients who occupy a large proportion of mental hospital beds, 49 per cent of the beds in this region in 1962.Social rehabilitative programmes and improved treatment regimes already favour early discharge from hospital and it is necessary to both planning and progress to determine the results following discharge and the factors which influence these. Brown (1959) reported that in a follow-up of chronic male schizophrenic patients their ability to remain out of hospital and their level of social adjustment were related to the type of living group to which the patients returned, those staying with siblings and in lodgings did better than those staying with parents, with wives,or in hostels. Renton and her colleagues (1963)showed in a similar study in Edinburgh that the severity of disturbance of mental state at the time of discharge was a major factor which significantly influenced various aspects of the post-hospital adjustment of schizophrenics. As well as this she indicated that age, sex and length of stay in hospital did not significantly relate to post-hospital performance. McWalter and his colleagues (1961) have demonstrated for this region a trend towards shorter hospitalisation and greater community retention of schizophrenic patients. This report deals with a follow-up study of schizophrenic patients resident in the area of the North-Eastern Regional Hospital Board (Scotland).
Systemic Bartonella henselae infection with hepatosplenic involvement.

BACKGROUND Systemic manifestations of Bartonella henselae infection are rare in the immunocompetent host. The infection generally has initial symptoms of prolonged fever and multiple granulomatous lesions in liver and spleen. METHODS Retrospective analysis of the records of all patients with hypoechogenic lesions in the liver and/or spleen diagnosed from 1990 through 1996 in three pediatric clinics in northern Italy. RESULTS Among the 13 patients reviewed, 9 had evidence of B. henselae infection and hepatosplenic involvement: five had prolonged and unexplained fever lasting from 3 to 16 weeks, and four had typical cat-scratch disease and peripheral lymphadenitis. All patients had increased sedimentation rate and normal aminotransferase serum activity. Five children had a liver biopsy, by laparotomy in three and by needle in two. In all, the predominant liver lesion was a necrotizing granuloma. All patients were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Fever lasted from 3 to 16 weeks, and hepatic and splenic lesions resolved in all with residual splenic calcification in one. CONCLUSIONS Systemic B. henselae infection represents an important cause of inflammatory hypoechogenic hepatosplenic lesions in children. Serology provides rapid diagnosis, avoiding multiple and invasive investigations. Hepatosplenic involvement can be found even in children with typical cat-scratch disease without apparent systemic manifestations. The frequency of liver and/or splenic involvement in cat-scratch disease is probably underestimated.
Self-dissolving microneedles for the percutaneous absorption of EPO in mice

Erythropoietin (EPO) loaded microneedles were prepared using thread-forming polymer as a base for the percutaneous administration of EPO. The used polymers were dextrin, chondroitin sulfate and albumin. Under room temperature, EPO solution was added to high concentration of polymer solution and microneedles were prepared by forming thread with polypropylene tips. The mean weight of microneedle was 0.59 ± 0.01 mg and length and basal diameter were 3.24 ± 0.16 and 0.55 ± 0.03 mm, respectively. Four microneedles were percutaneously (pc) administered to mice at the EPO dose levels of 100 IU/kg. After administration, blood samples were collected for 24 h and serum EPO levels were measured. Dextrin EPO microneedles were administered both pc and subcutaneously (sc) to mice. Serum EPO levels vs. time profiles showed Cmax of 138.6 ± 16.1 and 146.5 ± 8.0 mIU/ml, respectively. Tmax were 7.5 h. The values of bioavailability (BA) of EPO were 82.1 and 99.4%, respectively. By decreasing the dose from 100 to 50 and 25 IU/kg, dose-dependent serum EPO levels vs. time profiles were not clearly obtained. When chondroitin sulfate and albumin were used as the microneedle base, the serum EPO levels vs. time profiles showed almost the same pattern. Cmax of chondroitin sulfate and albumin microneedles were 96.3 ± 8.8 and 132.2 ± 18.9 mIU/ml, respectively. AUCs were 835.1 and 1098.7 mIU h/ml. Tmax were 8 and 6.8 h. These results suggest the usefulness of microneedles for the percutaneous administration of EPO.
The psychometric properties of the Hospital Anxiety and Depressions Scale adapted for use with people with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND There is increasing recognition of depression in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). There is a need to develop well-standardised self-report measures for both clinical and research purposes. This paper presents some psychometric properties of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) adapted for use with people with ID. The anhedonic emphasis in the depression scale of the HADS may be particularly useful for people with ID who present with high rates of physical co-morbidity. METHOD A total of 197 people with ID completed an adapted HADS; 32 participants also completed the Zung Depression Scale and 42 also completed the Glasgow Depression Scale. RESULTS The obtained factor structure is similar to the original form of the scale used with people without ID. However, the underlying question wording of the HADS, where most depression items are phrased positively and most anxiety items are phrased negatively, makes clear interpretation of the factor structure difficult. The HADS has an adequate internal reliability and correlates well with other self-report measures of depression. CONCLUSIONS The HADS may need further adaptation; however, the measurement of anhedonia is a useful addition to the self-report measures of depression available for people with ID.
The multidimensionality of anthropomorphism in advertising: the moderating roles of cognitive busyness and assertive language

ABSTRACT Anthropomorphized brands or products in advertisements are known to affect consumers’ attitudes in a positive direction. However, most research treats anthropomorphized stimuli as the same in both its design and effects. We explore the multidimensional nature of anthropomorphism in advertising by investigating two degrees of humanization (i.e. subtle vs. overt) that generate different outcomes in terms of advertising performance. For example, we find that consumers prefer ads that use overt humanization (compared to subtle and no humanization) when an ad uses assertive language (i.e. Buy NOW! ); however, they prefer ads that use subtle humanization when coupled with ads that do not include assertive language. We find a similar pattern when consumers are cognitively busy. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.
A Survey on Applications of Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System

In this paper we presented an architecture and basic learning process underlying in fuzzy inference system and adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system which is a hybrid network implemented in framework of adaptive network. In real world computing environment, soft computing techniques including neural network, fuzzy logic algorithms have been widely used to derive an actual decision using given input or output data attributes, ANFIS can construct mapping based on both human knowledge and hybrid learning algorithms. This study involves study of ANFIS strategy ANFIS strategy is employed to model nonlinear functions, to control one of the most important parameters of the induction machine and predict a chaotic time series, all yielding more effective, faster response or settling times.
Unusual recovery of animal staphylococci from septic wounds of hospital patients in Ile‐Ife, Nigeria

Two Staphylococcus species—Staphylococcus gallinarum and Staphylococcus sciuri—previously known to be of animal origin have been isolated from infected wounds of hospital patients in Ile‐Ife, Nigeria. These organisms were non‐typable at both RTD and 100×RTD and did not produce β‐lactamase detectable by the normal methods. Their actual involvement in the infection is not immediately clear, but their resistance to most common antibiotics, in addition to the production of DNase and phosphatase, may be indicating that these species could become important skin contaminants in humans and opportunistic zoonotics.
Green supply chain management in Croatian companies

The scope of this paper is to present current state and trends of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) in Croatian companies. Due to the need for reduction of GHG emissions related to the climate change, many standards, directives, concepts, methods and models dealing with sustainability have appeared. The first part of the paper consists of an overview of GSCM where the greening diagram of GSCM is presented. The second part of the paper presents the survey which has been carried out in the Croatian business sector in view of current state and trends, barriers and drivers of the GSCM implementation. According to the results of the survey, barriers and drivers of the GSCM implementation are ranked by its significance and are compared with similar surveys carried out in the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA). New categorization of the drivers of the GSCM implementation is presented using the factor analysis.
Repeated morphine treatment influences operant and spatial learning differentially.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether repeated morphine exposure or prolonged withdrawal could influence operant and spatial learning differentially. METHODS Animals were chronically treated with morphine or subjected to morphine withdrawal. Then, they were subjected to two kinds of learning: operant conditioning and spatial learning. RESULTS The acquisition of both simple appetitive and cued operant learning was impaired after repeated morphine treatment. Withdrawal for 5 weeks alleviated the impairments. Single morphine exposure disrupted the retrieval of operant memory but had no effect on rats after 5-week withdrawal. Contrarily, neither chronic morphine exposure nor 5-week withdrawal influenced spatial learning task of the Morris water maze. Nevertheless, the retrieval of spatial memory was impaired by repeated morphine exposure but not by 5-week withdrawal. CONCLUSION These observations suggest that repeated morphine exposure can influence different types of learning at different aspects, implicating that the formation of opiate addiction may usurp memory mechanisms differentially.
Effect of OPRM 1 and stressful life events on symptoms of major depression in African American adolescents

Background: In a community sample of low-income African American adolescents, we tested the interactive effects of variation in the mu 1 opioid receptor (OPRM1) gene and the occurrence of stressful life events on symptoms of depression. Method: Interactive effects of 24 OPRM1 simple nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and adolescent report of stressful life events on depression were tested using multilevel regressions. SNPs were dummy coded to test both additive and dominate forms of coding. Results: Five OPRM1 SNPs showed significant evidence of interaction with stressful life events to alter depression risk (or symptoms) after adjusting for multiple testing and the correlated nature of the SNPs. Follow-up analyses showed significant differences based on OPRM1 genotype at both lower and higher frequencies of stressful life events, suggesting that participants with a copy of the minor allele on OPRM1 SNPs rs524731, rs9478503, rs3778157, rs10485057, and rs511420 have fewer symptoms in low stress conditions but more symptoms in high stress conditions compared to major allele homozygotes. Limitations: The genetic variants associated with depression in African American adolescents may not translate to other ethnic groups. This study is also limited in that only one gene that functions within a complex biological system is addressed. Conclusions: This current study is the first to find an interaction between OPRM1 and life stress that is associated with depression. It also addressed an understudied population within the behavioral genetics literature. Further research should test additional genes involved in the opioid system and expand the current findings to more diverse samples. & 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A roadmap for applying qualitative comparative analysis in supply chain research

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to the field of supply chain management and provide a detailed roadmap that supply chain researchers can utilize when applying this methodology.Design/methodology/approachData collection focused on the evaluation of product returns management practices as perceived by business customers who operate in a supplier–customer context. In order to analyze the data using the QCA approach, a multi-step analysis was developed.FindingsThe results indicate five solutions that lead to high levels of customer satisfaction. The existence of multiple sufficient configurations for customer satisfaction indicates equifinality because multiple alternative solutions can lead to the same outcome.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors make a methodological contribution by applying the QCA method to the field of supply chain management and providing a detailed roadmap that supply chain researchers can utilize.Practical implicationsThe authors provide managers five different and novel combinations of antecedents that lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction.Originality/valueThis study offers supply chain researchers a better understanding of when it is appropriate to use QCA and how to apply this methodology. From a theoretical perspective, past studies focused exclusively on the “net effects” of these antecedents, thus, did not capture the complexity of the relationships between these various antecedents and customer satisfaction. This is a noteworthy contribution as it highlights the complexity of the amalgam of relationships and factors that impact customer satisfaction within the context of reverse supply chain.
Depressive disease: a genetic study.

One hundred depressive probands have been examined. A family history was obtained on each of the probands, and a family study was done on 129 primary relatives of these probands. An analysis of the genetic data is in favor of the possibility that at least two types of depressive illness exist. One of these may be called "depression spectrum disease. " The prototype of this would be a female with an onset prior to age 40 in whose family more depression is seen in female relatives than male relatives and the deficit in males is made up by alcoholism and sociopathy. The second prototype is that of pure depressive disease in which the proband is a male whose illness starts after age 40 and in whom there are equal amounts of depression in both male and female relatives and no large amount of alcoholism or sociopathy in the males.