Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender Differences in Academic Performance the Role of Exam Design in Multiple-Choice Tests

We investigate whether penalizing wrong answers on multiple-choice tests makes females worse off than males relative to an exam with no penalties. We conducted a field experiment in the Microeconomics course with a cohort of more than 500 undergraduate students at a major Spanish university. We created a final exam, which was composed of two parts: one with penalties for wrong answers and one without. Students were randomly allocated to different exam permutations, which differed in the questions that carried penalties for wrong answers. We find that the penalties did not harm female students. Females performed better than males on both parts of the exam and did so to a greater extent on the part with penalties. Whereas risk aversion did not affect overall scores (despite affecting answering behavior), ability did. High-ability students performed relatively better with negative marking, and these were more likely to be women. However, controlling for ability, gender no longer affected performance.
Nutritional Issues in Pulmonary Rehabilitation

A nutritional assessment and appropriate intervention, if necessary, should be part of a comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation program. Many individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are overweight, a situation contributed to not only by advancing age with its associated decreased caloric needs, but also by the decrease in activity level associated with dyspnea due to impaired lung mechanics and decreased ventilatory capacity. Weight loss in the overweight COPD patient can be enhanced by careful dietary modification along with the exercise training component of the rehabilitation program. Weight loss in these patients may be expected to improve the capacity for physical activity, since less energy expenditure and lower ventilation are required for exercise in lean individuals. On the other hand, patients with COPD may present with weight loss. The consequences of weight loss to levels below ideal body weight (IBW) are even more significant for COPD patients (Table 1) than for otherwise healthy individuals. In patients with COPD, malnutrition contributes to respiratory muscle weakness and is associated with an increased frequency of hospitalizations, cor pulmonale, heart failure, and increased mortality. It is therefore important to identify patients with COPD who lose weight and who might benefit from nutritional intervention. It has not been demonstrated, however, that weight gain decreases morbidity and mortality. Because of recent interest in the COPD patient who presents below IBW, this article will focus on the effects of weight loss in patients with COPD and will outline practical approaches to weight management. WEIGHT LOSS IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
Ireland ’ s Revealed Comparative Advantage by Diarmaid

The growth in the Irish economy over the last decade has been attributed to many factors one of which has been the success of the foreign owned or high-technology manufacturing sectors. With the enlargement of the EU and with an increasingly competitive international environment, it is timely to examine the extent to which Ireland has become more specialised in various sectors. Specifically, through analysing trade data for Ireland and the rest of the world by commodity type it is possible to reveal in which sectors and products our comparative advantage lies. The latter term is used in economics to describe the tendency for countries to specialise and export those goods and services that they produce at a lower relative cost compared with other countries. This paper seeks to quantify the extent to which Ireland has a comparative advantage in certain industries and how this has changed over the period between 1997 and 2002. The analysis shows that Ireland has a strikingly high comparative advantage in predominantly foreign-owned sectors and principally in the broad chemicals sector. In contrast, the mainly indigenous sectors seem to be losing comparative advantage due presumably to declining competitiveness combined with wider and ongoing structural changes within the economy.
Inhaling Hydrogen Ameliorates Early Postresuscitation EEG Characteristics in an Asphyxial Cardiac Arrest Rat Model

Background Electroencephalography (EEG) is commonly used to assess the neurological prognosis of comatose patients after cardiac arrest (CA). However, the early prognostic accuracy of EEG may be affected by postresuscitation interventions. Recent animal studies found that hydrogen inhalation after CA greatly improved neurological outcomes by selectively neutralizing highly reactive oxidants, but the effect of hydrogen inhalation on EEG recovery and its prognostication value are still unclear. The present study investigated the effects of hydrogen inhalation on early postresuscitation EEG characteristics in an asphyxial CA rat model. Methods Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated after 5 min of untreated CA in 40 adult female Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were randomized for ventilation with 98% oxygen plus 2% hydrogen (H2) or 98% oxygen plus 2% nitrogen (Ctrl) under normothermia for 1 h. EEG characteristics were continuously recorded for 4 h, and the relationships between quantitative EEG characteristics and 96 h neurological outcomes were investigated. Results No differences in baseline and resuscitation data were observed between groups, but the survival rate was significantly higher in the H2 group than in the Ctrl group (90% vs. 40%, P < 0.01). Compared to the Ctrl group, the H2 group showed a shorter burst onset time (21.85 [20.00–23.38] vs. 25.70 [22.48–30.05], P < 0.01) and time to normal trace (169.83 [161.63–208.55] vs. 208.39 [186.29–248.80], P < 0.01). Additionally, the burst suppression ratio (0.66 ± 0.09 vs. 0.52 ± 0.17, P < 0.01) and weighted‐permutation entropy (0.47 ± 0.16 vs. 0.34 ± 0.13, P < 0.01) were markedly higher in the H2 group. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the 4 EEG characteristics in predicting survival were 0.82, 0.84, 0.88, and 0.83, respectively. Conclusions In this asphyxial CA rat model, the improved postresuscitation EEG characteristics for animals treated with hydrogen are correlated with the better 96 h neurological outcome and predicted survival.
Quantifying Variability in drug disposition, response and public health outcomes: The implementation of pharmacometric based modeling and simulation approaches

The aim of the dissertation was to identify the systematic contributors that modify the estimated population parameters and that explain sources of variability in drug exposure (Chapter 2-4), response, and clinical outcome (Chapter 5-7). The source of measurable variability evaluated in the thesis include patient characteristics in chapter 2-3, patient behavior in chapter 4 (e.g. dosing history), biological system in chapter 5-7, and inferior clinical practice in chapter 5-7. The dissertation was predominantly non-linear mixed effect modeling and Monte Carlo simulation methods in NONMEM® and R. Our results in chapter 2-4 showed that incorporating covariate information into population PK models identified substantial systematic contributors to the variability in drug exposure for both perphenazine and escitalopram. Race and smoking status in the past week were identified as two significant covariates affecting clearance of perphenazine. CYP 2C19 genotype, age, and weight strongly influenced the CL/F of escitalopram. The measurement error associated with an incorrect or incomplete dosing history affected the population PK parameter estimation of escitalopram in the non-linear mixed effect modeling process. Furthermore, our simulation results in chapter 5-7 showed that three intervention approaches may lead to lower cardiovascular risk compared to current clinical practice strategy: 1) BP can be calibrated with respect to clinic visit times with consideration of PK/PD/dosing regimen. 2) BP-misclassification in current clinical practice is around 20~45% depends on clinic visit time. Optimal clinic visit time exists. In general, patients should avoid early morning and late afternoon visit which lead to the highest BP misclassification. 3) It is important to decrease patients' BP in a timely fashion. Initiating antihypertensive treatment with the higher tolerable dose as well as setting a lower goal BP of 120 mm Hg resulted in a significantly lower cardiovascular risk. In conclusion, the dissertation identified three potential interventions to be considered in the clinical practice or antihypertensive drug labeling for better BP management: BP calibration based on clinic visit time; patients should generally have post treatment clinic visit times between 11:00 AM ~ 3:00 PM; a high dose strategy for antihypertensive drug therapy.
Predictors of Home Deliveries in Rakai District, Uganda

In order to identify independent predictors for home delivery, 211 women from 21 clusters, who had a delivery in the previous one year, were interviewed in Rakai District, Uganda, from June 2 to 30, 1997. Mothers answered questions regarding socio-economic, local, reproductive and self-efficacy variables and whether they delivered at home or not. Ninety-four (44.5%) of the women delivered at home. On univariate analysis, the factors that favoured home delivery were: not being from Kyotera Country, mother not having at least primary education, not being a Muganda, not being a Catholic, father not having secondary education, mother being a peasant or housewife, father being a peasant, living more than 5 kilometres from a maternity centre, living within more than one hour walking distance to a maternity centre, not attending antenatal clinic, saying that choice of delivery site is dependent on the mother, saying that safe delivery depends on God, previous delivery at home, and not being of high social status. On stepwise multivariate analysis, the independent factors that favoured home delivery were: not being from Kyotera Country, father being a peasant, previous delivery with an adjusted odds ration of 16.52. These data suggest that in addition to improving access to maternity services, educating fathers about safer delivery may discourage home deliveries. (Afr J Reprod Health 1999; 3[2]: 79-86) Key Words: Predictors, home-deliveries, Uganda
The Health of Older Persons in OECD Countries: Is it Improving Fast Enough to Compensate for Population Ageing?

This study extends research on the impact of age-specific disability trends internationally, with a specific emphasis on long-term care needs. It focuses on changing patterns of disability in populations over 65 for a set of OECD countries for which cross-sectional evidence is available for at least two points in time five years or more apart (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States). It analyses the policy implications of trends in health outcomes among older populations, both in terms of financing and with respect to the balance of care between home and institutions.Information related to severe disability, as measured by the ability to carry out activities of daily living, was obtained for the population aged 65 and over, and cross-classified into four age groups and by gender. Two projections were made: one assumes stable rates of disability, and the other reflects the rate of change based on .
Etiologic and clinical studies in primary sclerosing cholangitis

Background/Aims: The etiology of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is unknown. We recently found evidence of elevated seroprevalence of Chlamydia antibodies. This finding was retested against three control groups. Moreover, serological subtyping in Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae was carried out. In addition, Chlamydia specific heat shock proteins were assessed. Finally, the presence of Chlamydias in liver tissue of PSC patients was looked for. Methods: Anti-lipo polysaccharide (LPS) antibodies were determined by ELISA in 41 well-established PSC patients and three race matched control groups ( an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) group, n=35; a non-IBD patients group, n=39; a healthy blood donor (BD) group, n=40 ). Subtyping in Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae serotypes by specific anti-major outer membrane protein (MOMP) assays was done in the four groups. Immunohistochemical staining using specific markers for Chlamydias, was done on liver biopsies of 14 PSC patients. Furthermore, Chlamydia-heat shock proteinóO (HSP60) antibodies were determined in the PSCand BD-groups. Results: Seroprevalence of anti-Chlamydia-anli-LPS antibodies was markedly elevated in the PSC patients compared to the IBD-, the non-IBD-, and the BDgroups. The outcomes in the C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae anti-MOMP assays did not correlate with the anti-LPS positive PSC sera. HSP60 antibodies were significantly elevated in the PSC-group compared to the BD-group. The presence of Chlamydias in liver tissue could not be demonstrated. Conclusions: Our findings suggest an association between PSC and (previous) infection with Chlamydia. This supports the hypothesis of an aberrant immune response directed towards certain constituents of the bile duct, possibly incited via mimicry by a Chlamydia infection.
VIH y vulnerabilidad: una comparación de tres grupos en Cali, Colombia

Objetivo: Determinar las caracteristicas socio-demograficas, comportamientos de riesgo para VIH/SIDA y su relacion con presencia de VIH. Metodos: Entre 2005 y 2007, Durante campanas de busqueda activa focal integral de VIH, 4055 participantes dieron voluntariamente su consentimiento informado, respondieron un cuestionario estructurado, recibieron asesoria de VIH pre-prueba y post prueba, asi como prueba para diagnostico presuntivo de VIH. Los participantes fueron agrupados en tres categorias: personas de bajo estrato socio-economico (n=1217), trabajadores empleados de estrato socio-economico medio (n=899) y estudiantes universitarios de estrato socio-economico medio-alto (n=1939). Se determinaron caracteristicas socio-demograficas, comportamientos sexuales y auto percepcion de conocimientos sobre VIH. Analisis estadistico: uso de Chi-Cuadrado, test exacto de Fisher y prueba de muestras independientes t-student, significancia Resultados: La prevalencia global de VIH 0.62%; sin embargo, para personas de bajo estrato socio-economico, la prevalencia fue 1.97%, con diferencias significativas al compararla con la de los otros dos grupos (p Conclusiones: Una alta prevalencia de VIH en el grupo BESC fue evidente, junto con una historia previa mas frecuente de ETS y pobre auto-percepcion de conocimientos sobre VIH, destacando la necesidad de fortalecer las estrategias de prevencion y tamizaje de ETS y VIH dirigidas a este grupo.
Histopathological study of renal tumors in resected nephrectomy specimens-An experience from teritary care centre. -

Objectives: To study the histopathological spectrum of renal tumors in resected nephrectomy specimens at a tertiary care hospital and to analyse the age distribution of renal tumors . Materials and Methods: 184 patients from department of Pathology, Sheri-kashmir institute of medical sciences, Srinagar Kashmir were included in this study. Renal tumors in resected nephrectomy specimens over a period of 10 years from June 2002 to May 2012 were studied . Relevant clinical details were collected from record section of the department. Results: Of the total of 184 renal tumors studied (89.13%) were found to be malignant and (10.86%) were benign tumors . Most of of patients presented in 4th to5th decade of life with male to female ratio of1.70:1. Most common presentation in our patients was flank pain. Histopathologically RCC-clear cell type was the most common subtype in adults and Wilms tumor was the most common childhood tumor. Conclusion: Histopathological spectrum of renal tumors in this study was consistent with previous studies with renal cell carcinoma(RCC) being the commonest malignant tumor and conventional/clear cell RCC as the most common subtype in adults. Wilms tumor was the most common childhood tumor.
The role of the message convergence framework in obstetricians' clinical and communicative practices

OF DISSERTATION THE ROLE OF THE MESSAGE CONVERGENCE FRAMEWORK IN OBSTETRICIANS’ CLINICAL AND COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICES Over the past few years, the rate of elective interventions in pregnancy in the United States, including elective inductions of labor and elective cesarean deliveries, has increased dramatically. While scholars attribute some of the increase in elective interventions to the female patients who request elective procedures from obstetricians, some literature contradicts that notion and suggests physicians are actually the primary perpetuators of the growth in elective procedures. Although pregnant women may seek elective interventions because of desired convenience, physicians can also claim the benefit of convenience in scheduling deliveries. In addition, elective procedures provide physicians greater monetary compensation than labor and deliveries which evolve without intervention. The current dissertation investigates the communicative role of obstetricians in women’s delivery decisions through in-depth interviews with obstetricians practicing in the state of Kentucky (N=28). Guided by the framework of Message Convergence, the study assesses how obstetricians manage uncertainty surrounding patient care and make clinical decisions in the midst of either unclear evidence or competing messages. The study also reveals the ways that physicians utilize their medical expertise to engage in decision-making with patients. In addition, specific scenarios of decision-making regarding delivery are discussed, including patients’ requests and physicians’ provisions of requests; patients’ requests and physicians’ refusals of requests; and physicians’ recommendations for treatment and patients’ refusals of recommendations for treatment. Finally, the internal tensions and conflicts experienced by physicians in the decision-making process with patients are also examined.
Therapeutic Effect of Hydroxy Urea in Thalassemia Intermedia

هدیکچ و همدقم فده : دشاب یم دیدش و هدنورشیپ یثرا ینوخ مک کی روژام یمسلااتاتب . نیرتعیاش زا یرامیب نیا تسا ام روشک رد کیتنژ تلالاتخا . توگیزومه دارفا ) روژام ( هکدنهد یم ناشن ار یرامیب نیا زا یرت فیفخ مرف یهاگ دوش یم قلاطا ایدمرتنیا اهنآ هب . روا یسکوردیه دننام یئایمیش داوم یضعب تسا هدش ناحتما یمسلاات هب نایلاتبم رد ه . یور وراد رثا هعلاطم نیا رد یاهلاس رد یراس انیس یلعوب ناتسرامیب یمسلاات زکرم هب نیعجارم 78 1377 تفرگ رارق یسررب دروم . اه شور و داوم : عورش هک تسا کیمسلاات هدش هتخانش نارامیب یور ینیلاب ییامزآراک کی ام هعلاطم ریگ نوخ اهنآ ی 4 دنا هتشادن دیدش یگتسباو نویزوفسنارت هب رمع لوط رد ای و هدوب رتشیب ای یگلاس . هروا یسکوردیه لوسپک اهنآ نیدلاو ای نارامیب تیاضر بسک و حرط هیجوت زا سپ ) Syrea هناخراک تخاس
The Prevalence of Temporomandibular Disorders in Fibromyalgia Patients Compared to That of Failed Back Syndrome Patients: A Blinded Prospective Study

OF THESIS The Prevalence of Temporomandibular Disorders in Fibromyalgia Patients Compared to That of Failed Back Syndrome Patients: A Blinded Prospective Study. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in fibromyalgia (FM) patients compared to failed back syndrome (FBS) patients. In addition, the FM and FBS patients were assessed and compared with regard to their psychosocial dysfunction. The study included 51 adult patients (FM = 32, FBS = 19) recruited from a physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic and a FM workshop. Questionnaires included an orofacial pain questionnaire and a battery of psychological questionnaires that included the Symptom Check List-90-Revised, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Multi-dimensional Pain Inventory, the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version, and Multidimensional Fatigue Symptoms Inventoryshort form. Each patient underwent a clinical examination by a dentist who was blind to the diagnostic category and if applicable was diagnosed with TMD based on the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD. Fifty three percent of the FM patients reported having face pain compared to 11% of the FBS patients (P=0.002). Of those FM patients who reported face pain, 71% fulfilled the criteria for TMD. The psychometric data revealed that the FM patients had higher scores for somatization (P=0.02) and obsessive-compulsive (P=0.009) subscales compared to the FBS patients. The mean score of medication used to sleep was higher among the FM patients compared to FBS patients (P=0.002). Eighty seven percent of the FM patients reported a stressful event (P=0.036). Of those FM patients who reported a stressful event 42.3% were deemed post-traumatic stress disorder positive. FM patient also had higher scores for general fatigue (P<0.0001), emotional fatigue (P=0.008), physical fatigue (P<0.0001) and mental fatigue (P<0.0001) as compared to FBS patients. The high prevalence of TMD and psychosocial dysfunction among FM patients suggests a dysfunctional hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and dysregulated autonomic nervous system.
Non‐invasive Blood Volume Monitoring During Hemodialysis: Technical and Physiological Aspects

Removal of excess body water from the overhydrated patient is an integral part of all blood purification techniques. With hemodialysis, and especially with short treatment times such as with high efficiency hemodialysis, fluid removal of 2 t o 4 L is often done at a rate that leaves the patient hypovolemic. More often than not treatment times that could be reduced based on urea kinetics have to be maintained or extended because of high ultrafiltration rates and intradialytic complications. Hypovolemia is considered to be the single most important etiologic factor in causing intradialytic morbidity such as hypotension and cramps (1). It was recognized early that on-line measurement of blood volume change would be helpful in recognizing and preventing ultrafiltration induced hypovolemia. This would be one step towards a ‘‘physiologic dialysis’’ where parameters of the dialysis treatment such as ultrafiltration rates, dialysate conductivities, and dialysate temperatures are not preset by the operator but dynamically changed by feedback control of physiologic variables such as blood volume changes, plasma electrolyte levels, and body temperatures (2). Though blood volume, the volume contained in the vascular space, is a term familiar to the lay person, its noninvasive measurement is accompanied by technical and conceptual (physiologic) difficulties. It is the aim of this contribution to review and discuss technical and physiologic concepts of noninvasive, on-line blood volume methodology.
Teaching humanization in undergraduate nursing course subjects

Objective. To describe teaching on humanization in the subjects included in nursing curricula in Sao Paulo city (Brazil). Method. Descriptive and cross-sectional study of subjects included in the curricula of all Higher Education Institutions (HEI) accredited by the Ministry of Education (Brazil) in Sao Paulo City. Humanization in nursing was defined as the encounter of subjectivities in and through the care act. Results. Thirteen curricula were studied, totaling 588 subjects. Although 59% contained some term related to humanization, when assessing compatibility with the definition used in the study, findings showed: 3% full compatibility, 28% partial, 62% no compatibility and, in 7% of the subjects, comparison was impossible. Conclusion. The undergraduate nursing subjects analyzed showed ambiguous intentionality as, although the majority contained some term related to humanization, only a minority was in accordance with the concept.