Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Validity of Performance Assessments Using Simulation

BackgroundThe authors wished to determine whether a simulator-based evaluation technique assessing clinical performance could demonstrate construct validity and determine the subjects’ perception of realism of the evaluation process. MethodsResearch ethics board approval and informed consent were obtained. Subjects were 33 university-based anesthesiologists, 46 community-based anesthesiologists, 23 final-year anesthesiology residents, and 37 final-year medical students. The simulation involved patient evaluation, induction, and maintenance of anesthesia. Each problem was scored as follows: no response to the problem, score = 0; compensating intervention, score = 1; and corrective treatment, score = 2. Examples of problems included atelectasis, coronary ischemia, and hypothermia. After the simulation, participants rated the realism of their experience on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). ResultsAfter testing for internal consistency, a seven-item scenario remained. The mean proportion scoring correct answers (out of 7) for each group was as follows: university-based anesthesiologists = 0.53, community-based anesthesiologists = 0.38, residents = 0.54, and medical students = 0.15. The overall group differences were significant (P < 0.0001). The overall realism VAS score was 7.8. There was no relation between the simulator score and the realism VAS (R = −0.07, P = 0.41). ConclusionsThe simulation-based evaluation method was able to discriminate between practice categories, demonstrating construct validity. Subjects rated the realism of the test scenario highly, suggesting that familiarity or comfort with the simulation environment had little or no effect on performance.
Transport of a dilute active suspension in pressure-driven channel flow

Confined suspensions of active particles show peculiar dynamics characterized by wall accumulation, as well as upstream swimming, centreline depletion and shear trapping when a pressure-driven flow is imposed. We use theory and numerical simulations to investigate the effects of confinement and non-uniform shear on the dynamics of a dilute suspension of Brownian active swimmers by incorporating a detailed treatment of boundary conditions within a simple kinetic model where the configuration of the suspension is described using a conservation equation for the probability distribution function of particle positions and orientations, and where particle–particle and particle–wall hydrodynamic interactions are neglected. Based on this model, we first investigate the effects of confinement in the absence of flow, in which case the dynamics is governed by a swimming Péclet number, or ratio of the persistence length of particle trajectories over the channel width, and a second swimmer-specific parameter whose inverse measures the strength of propulsion. In the limit of weak and strong propulsion, asymptotic expressions for the full distribution function are derived. For finite propulsion, analytical expressions for the concentration and polarization profiles are also obtained using a truncated moment expansion of the distribution function. In agreement with experimental observations, the existence of a concentration/polarization boundary layer in wide channels is reported and characterized, suggesting that wall accumulation in active suspensions is primarily a kinematic effect that does not require hydrodynamic interactions. Next, we show that application of a pressure-driven Poiseuille flow leads to net upstream swimming of the particles relative to the flow, and an analytical expression for the mean upstream velocity is derived in the weak-flow limit. In stronger imposed flows, we also predict the formation of a depletion layer near the channel centreline, due to cross-streamline migration of the swimming particles towards high-shear regions where they become trapped, and an asymptotic analysis in the strong-flow limit is used to obtain a scale for the depletion layer thickness and to rationalize the non-monotonic dependence of the intensity of depletion upon flow rate. Our theoretical predictions are all shown to be in excellent agreement with finite-volume numerical simulations of the kinetic model, and are also supported by recent experiments on bacterial suspensions in microfluidic devices.
An investigation of assessment in fully asynchronous online math courses

This study is based on a voluntary survey of all listed Fall 2006 State University of New York (SUNY) Learning Network (SLN) mathematics faculty. The survey focuses on assessment in SLN math e-learning. Based on survey data, the study attempts to answer the following questions: What percentage of math e-learning courses overall, by course category and by institution (two year or four year) are proctored? In proctored and unproctored math e-learning courses, which assessment instruments are utilised and how? Comparing the two approaches, how does the practice of assessment in proctored math e-learning courses compare to the practice of assessment in unproctored math e-learning courses? Finally, what are the ten most popular strategies for assessing math e-learning courses? The paper concludes with questions, suggestions for further research and implications regarding the academic integrity of math e-learning courses.
A method for designing the communication structure of networked controllers

The paper analyses the command-following behaviour of synchronised systems in dependence upon the communication structure of the networked controller. Its focus lies on the transient behaviour before the subsystems reach a common trajectory. It considers the dynamics of the subsystems as the main reason for the delay that the information about the reference trajectory is exposed to between the leader and the followers on a communication path, whereas the communication network is assumed to provide instantaneous information transmission. An abstract model of the overall system is introduced that represents the coupling structure of the agents together with a quantitative delay measure. This model is used to determine communication structures in which all agent outputs follow the reference trajectory with small delay. It helps to find a trade-off between the number of communication links and the quality of the system performance. The results are illustrated by its application to a robot formation problem.
Effect of medium composition on results of macrobroth dilution antifungal susceptibility testing of yeasts

A total of 62 different clinical yeast isolates were examined for susceptibility to four antifungal agents, amphotericin B, 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), ketoconazole, and miconazole, using synthetic amino acid medium-fungi (SAAM-F), buffered yeast nitrogen broth (BYNB), Kimmig broth, casein-yeast-glucose broth (CYG), antibiotic medium 3-FDA (ANTI-3), and tryptic soy broth (TSB). A macrobroth dilution format was used with MICs determined after incubation for 24 and 48 h. All analyses were performed in duplicate. In general, MICs were more reproducible after 48 h of incubation. Furthermore, with certain medium-antifungal agent combinations, MICs determined after incubation for 48 h were significantly higher than those determined after 24 h. For instance, with 5-FC irrespective of the medium used, greater than 25% of all 48-h MICs were more than one twofold dilution higher than the corresponding MICs determined after incubation for 24 h. Similar observations were made with amphotericin B when tested with BYNB and CYG and with the imidazoles when tested in all of the media except CYG. The actual MICs obtained with the different antifungal agents were clearly influenced by the test medium used. The rank order of amphotericin B MICs according to test medium was as follows: BYNB greater than SAAM-F = Kimmig = CYG = ANTI-3 = TSB. With 5-FC, the following pattern was observed: Kimmig = ANTI-3 greater than SAAM-F = CYG = TSB greater than BYNB. For both imidazoles, ketoconazole and miconazole, the rank order of MICs according to test medium was BYNB = Kimmig = CYG = ANTI-3 = TSB greater than SAAM-F. The results of this investigation suggested that broth dilution susceptibility testing of yeasts is best performed with an incubation period of 48 h. Furthermore, medium composition can significantly influence the results of such testing.
Compressive sensing - basics, state-of-the-art, and advances in Electromagnetic engineering

Compressive Sensing (CS) represents a powerful and flexible paradigm that applies to the solution of both sampling problems (i.e. identifying the minimum [below Nyquist's limit] number of non-adaptive samples that enable to acquire all the informative content of a given signal) and of recovery problems (i.e., perfectly retrieving a signal from far fewer measurements than those expected by Shannon's law). Despite its recent introduction, the application of CS methodologies within Electromagnetics has already enabled several innovative design/synthesis methodologies and retrieval/diagnosis methods to be developed. The objective of this paper is to review fundamentals of Compressive Sensing, specifically focusing on their potential applicability to Electromagnetic engineering. Afterwards, the recent advances in the state-of-the-art concerning CS in Electromagnetics will be reviewed specifically highlighting applications in directions of arrival estimation, antenna array synthesis/diagnosis, and nondestructive testing/evaluation. Some open challenges and future trends will be finally discussed.
Gas chromatographic characterization of mycobacteria: analysis of fatty acids and trifluoroacetylated whole-cell methanolysates

Mycobacterium avium, M. bovis strain Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), M. kansasii, and M. tuberculosis were studied by gas-liquid chromatography. Methylated fatty acids of the mycobacterial lipids and trifluoroacetyl (TFA) derivatives of whole-cell methanolysates were analyzed. Both the fatty acid and the TFA chromatograms showed reproducible differences between the various mycobacteria studied. Chromatograms from different strains of one and the same species showed negligible differences. Fatty acid methyl esters and TFA methyl glycosides are probably the main constituents of the TFA chromatograms. TFA derivatives are easily prepared and the method provides a potential tool for species indentification of mycobacteria.
Weight-Loss Maintenance Among SHIFT Pilot Study Participants 30-Months After Intervention

Poor health amongst commercial truck drivers is a dangerous and costly public health problem. The high rate of obesity in truckers increases their risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer1. Driver health problems, especially obesity and related conditions like sleep apnea, are related to driving errors and increased crash rates,2-4 impacting both driver safety and the safety of the general public. While truck drivers have less than half the crash rate per vehicle mile compared to passenger car drivers,5 large truck crashes are deadly. In 2010 there were 3,413 fatalities in large truck crashes, and 85% of those fatalities were passenger car occupants, pedestrians, or cyclists.6 Annual healthcare costs for overweight and obese drivers are also over $200 higher compared to normal weight drivers.7 Furthermore, the costs to society per fatal large truck crash averaged $7.74 million during 2009 (in 2012 dollars). 6,8 While obesity in trucking is a multi-level public health problem involving workers, supervisors, company policies, federal regulations, and built environments,9 effective weight-loss interventions are essential if we are to produce meaningful health and economic improvements for both drivers and society.
Epidural and Intravenous Fentanyl Infusions Are Clinically Equivalent After Knee Surgery

The management of postoperative pain with continuous epidural fentanyl infusion was compared with continuous intravenous fentanyl infusion. In a randomized, double-blind protocol we prospectively studied 20 patients undergoing repair of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee. The quality of analgesia and the incidence of side effects were documented. Compared with patients receiving continuous intravenous fentanyl infusion, at 18 h postoperatively patients given continuous epidural fentanyl infusion reported similar pain scores both at rest (22 ± 25 vs 27 ± 21 P = 0.52) and with ambulation (59 ± 18 vs 56 ± 22, P = 0.82). Plasma fentanyl levels were 1.8 ± 0.4 and 1.7 ± 0.4 ng/m.L (P = 0.91) for the intravenous and epidural groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in the incidence of nausea, pruritus, or urinary retention. There was no respiratory depression in either group. We conclude that when compared with continuous intravenous fentanyl infusion, continuous epidural fentanyl infusion offers no clinical advantages for the management of postoperative pain after knee surgery.
Social Support and Adolescents’ Alcohol Use: An Integrative Literature Review

The trajectories at treatment of alcohol use and abuse among adolescents have become a major health concern. The purpose of this paper was to discuss alcohol use and abuse among adolescents and its relationship to social support. Integrative review has been utilized to address the issue. There is a presentation of findings from research examining social support concepts and their relationship to adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse. Treatment requires awareness of underlying causes in order to establish effective treatment approaches. Determining these underlying causes requires adequate knowledge of family, peers, and societal influences on adolescents’ alcohol use and abuse. Health professionals across disciplines have an important role in implementing multidisciplinary interventions. The purpose of this paper was to discuss alcohol use and abuse among adolescents and its relationship to social support. Results, controversies and concerns raised by the reported results are addressed. Implications for future research are delineated.
The Impact of In-Home Services Utilization on the Institutionalization of Older People in Korea

ABSTRACT As a result of aging populations, institutionalization of older people is creating an increasing financial burden in many countries. The purpose of the present study was to explore the impact of in-home service utilization on institutionalization. The subjects were newly certified as eligible for long-term care insurance between January and February 2009 in Korea. The follow-up period was 40 months, to April 2012. We used logistic regression models to identify factors influencing the transition to institutional service, adjusting for gender, age, living status, income level, activities of daily living, and chronic disease. The institutionalization rate was estimated to be 17.3% over 40 months. The interval from transitional living to institutionalization was 36 ± 8 months. Risk factors of transition to institutional services are being female, having advanced age, living with friends or cousins, getting dementia, and not using in-home services. We determined that institutionalization is mitigated by use of in-home services. Therefore, supplying appropriate in-home services to current nonusers would help to greatly reduce the rate of institutionalization of older people.
Regional citrate versus systemic heparin anticoagulation for continuous renal replacement in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND We determined the effect of regional citrate versus systemic heparin anticoagulation for continuous renal replacement therapy in critically ill subjects suffering from acute renal failure who were not at high risk for hemorrhagic complications. METHODS Between April 1999 and June 2002, 30 critically ill subjects requiring continuous renal replacement therapy and using 79 hemofilters were randomly assigned to receive regional citrate or systemic heparin anticoagulation. RESULTS The median hemofilter survival time was 124.5 hours (95% CI 95.3 to 157.4) in the citrate group, which was significantly longer than the 38.3 hours (95% CI 24.8 to 61.9) in the heparin group (P < 0.001). Increasing illness severity score, male gender, and decreasing antithrombin-III levels were independent predictors of an increased relative hazard of hemofilter failure. After adjustment for illness severity, antithrombin-III levels increased significantly more over the period of study in the citrate as compared to the heparin group (P= 0.038). Moreover, after adjustment for antithrombin-III levels and illness severity score, the relative risk of hemorrhage with citrate anticoagulation was significantly lower than that with heparin (relative risk of 0.14; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.96, P= 0.05). CONCLUSION Compared with systemic heparin anticoagulation, regional citrate anticoagulation significantly increases hemofilter survival time, and significantly decreases bleeding risk in critically ill patients suffering from acute renal failure and requiring continuous renal replacement therapy.
Telomerase Activity of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells From Patients With Laryngeal Carcinoma

This study investigated the activity of telomerase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with laryngeal carcinoma. We examined proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin and expression of telomerase activity of PBMCs from 30 patients with laryngeal carcinoma and 17 healthy volunteers. Both proliferative and telomerase activity of ⊗PBMCs in the patient group was lower than that in the healthy volunteer group. Telomerase activity may play a permissive role in cell division and clonal expansion of the immune cells in response to laryngeal squamous carcinoma. It may be related to lymph node metastasis of laryngeal cancer.
Rubella seroprofile of the Italian population: an 8-year comparison

SUMMARY The objective of this study is to evaluate how increasing MMR infant vaccination coverage in recent years has modified the epidemiology of rubella in Italy. A cross-sectional population-based seroprevalence study of rubella antibodies was conducted on 3094 sera, in 2004, and results were compared with data obtained by the same method in 1996. The overall proportion of rubella-seropositive individuals was found to be significantly higher in 2004 with respect to 1996 (84·6% vs. 77·4%). However, an increase in seropositivity was observed only in the 1–19 years age groups. Recent increases in childhood MMR vaccination coverage, therefore, have not had an impact on seroprevalence in women of childbearing age, over 5% of whom remain susceptible to rubella. Preconception screening and postpartum vaccination of susceptible women are fundamental if the WHO target of less than one case of congenital rubella syndrome per 100 000 live births is to be attained.
ENAES CCSA to preserve confidentiality of outsourced data in public cloud

Cloud storage must be secured for maintaining the confidentiality of data. To maintain the confidentiality, many researchers suggested cryptographic techniques to protect data against malevolent attackers in order to preserve data confidentiality. It is observed from various studies, a groundbreaking security system is required to maintain cloud data confidentiality, as the existing techniques are not adequate to protect data stored in Cloud storage. This paper proposes a Cryptographic Cloud Storage Algorithm (CCSA) namely, Enhanced Advanced Encryption Standard (EnAES) to ensure confidentiality of cloud stored data. The proposed CCSA is a symmetric encryption algorithm with data partition and data shuffling mechanisms. Same keys are used to encrypt and decrypt the data. Keys for EnAES CCSA are generated from cloud. EnAES CCSA takes less time for encrypting and decrypting date when compared to the existing AES algorithm. EnAES allows users to encrypt data with high security. The dynamic_S-box of Enhanced_substitute stage enhances the security level in the proposed CCSA. The Enhanced_MixColumns stage helps to reduce the execution time. Ciphertext produced by EnAES CCSA is not easily hacked by the illegitimate users. It confuses the cryptanalyst to get the original ciphertext as there are three mechanisms: data partition, data shuffling and encryption incorporated.
Phytosaur remains from the Norian Arnstadt Formation ( Leine Valley , Germany ) , with reference to European phytosaur habitats

Most inferences on phytosaur ecology are based on comparisons with extant crocodilians, in particular with reference to similarities in their skull morphology. In addition, the sedimentary environment of their place of embedding provides information on their life habitat and the potential lifestyle of these animals. Here we report on newly discovered phytosaur remains from the Norian Arnstadt Formation, which support the interpretation that the European phytosaur genera Mystriosuchus and Nicrosaurus had different ecological preferences. While Mystriosuchus, similar to Paleorhinus, was semi-aquatic and piscivorous, Nicrosaurus had a terrestrial lifestyle and probably preyed on tetrapods. Comparing the habitats of the different European phytosaur genera reported in literature, it is also concluded, that Mystriosuchus and Paleorhinus tolerated, contrary to Nicrosaurus, a wide range of salinity. K e y w o r d s : Phytosaurs, habitats, lifestyle, Triassic, Norian, Arnstadt Formation. Z u s a m m e n f a s s u n g Rückschlüsse zur Ökologie von Phytosauriern basieren meistens auf dem Vergleich mit lebenden Krokodilen, vor allem wegen der ähnlichen Schädelmorphologie. Neben diesen Merkmalen kann auch das Ablagerungsmilieu des Einbettungsortes Informationen zu Lebensraum und Lebensstil dieser Tiere liefern. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Neufunde von Phytosaurier-Resten aus der norischen Arnstadt Formation beschrieben. Diese unterstützen die Interpretation, dass die europäischen Phytosaurier-Gattungen Mystriosuchus und Nicrosaurus zwei unterschiedliche ökologische Nischen besetzten. Während Mystriosuchus, ähnlich wie Paleorhinus, einen semiaquatischen Lebensstil hatte und sich hauptsächlich von Fischen ernährte, hatte Nicrosaurus einen terrestrischen Lebensstil und machte wahrscheinlich Jagd auf Tetrapoden. Ein Vergleich der Habitate verschiedener Phytosaurier-Gattungen auf Grundlage von Literaturdaten legt die Schlussfolgerung nahe, dass Mystriosuchus und Paleorhinus im Gegensatz zu Nicrosaurus breite Salinitätsbereiche tolerierten.