Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retirement Planning and Retirement Satisfaction: The Need for a National Retirement Program and Policy in Hong Kong

This study, based on a telephone survey, examines retirement planning behaviors and retirement satisfaction of 1,078 middle-aged respondents in Hong Kong. The findings show that, in general, middle-aged Hong Kong adults do little retirement planning. Retirement planning behaviors focus on a very narrow set of activities, including financial and health planning. Of the 19 planning variables, only a few were significantly related to perception of sufficiency in retirement planning and retirement satisfaction. More important, middle-aged adults in Hong Kong no longer feel that they can depend on their family for support for retirement planning or satisfaction during retirement. The lack of private and public support for retirement planning left the respondents feeling unsure as to whether they have the capability to plan sufficiently for retirement. The discussion concludes with policy implications related to assisting middle-aged individuals in planning for retirement.
DETERMINANTS OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICE QUALITY IN SHIRAZ UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES USING SERVQUAL AND KANO MODELS

Introduction: The quality of education sector is worth considering as this system has a significant effect on the economic growth of the country. This study aimed to determine the quality gap and rank the student’s expectation of educational services provided in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2013.Method: This research included two cross-sectional phases. The sample size of both phases included 220 students selected using multistage sampling. Servqual questionnaire was used in the first study which was designed to find the quality gap of the education system’s services. The data were entered into the SPSS statistical software and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Paired-Sample T-Test. Kano’s two-dimensional questionnaire was used in the second phase. Each indicator of quality which had a negative gap at a significance level of 5% in the first study was introduced to Kano’s two-dimensional questionnaire. Finally, better value and worse value formulas were used to analyze the data obtained in this step.Results: The results revealed that all quality items had a significance negative gap which were recognized as the voice of customers (P<0.05). Frequency analysis was done to determine the frequency of repetition. Accordingly, 11 out of the 30 requirements were identified as must be requirements and 19 as one-dimensional requirements.Conclusion: This study can help the authorities prioritize their policies, strategies and decisions in order to improve and guarantee the higher education quality and extremity obtains customer satisfaction.Keywords: Educational services, Expectations, Perceptions, Servqual, Kano model
Update on childhood pneumococcal vaccination

Since the efficacy of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) against invasive pneumococcal disease in young children was first demonstrated in clinical trials in California, USA, in the late 1990s, it has been studied in more diverse populations and introduced into infant vaccination programs in the USA, Australia, Canada and several European countries. This review briefly describes the epidemiology of pneumococcal disease, recent literature on PCV trials in various study populations, the impact of 7-valent PCV infant vaccination on the epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease, with special reference to indirect effects in older age groups and the emergence of serotype replacement disease. Variations in vaccine administration schedules, effects on noninvasive pneumococcal diseases, and the use of the polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine or future formulations of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines from the perspective of policy decisions for population-wide childhood pneumococcal vaccination programs are al.
How should a virtual agent present psychoeducation? Influence of verbal and textual presentation on adherence

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: With the rise of autonomous e-mental health applications, virtual agents can play a major role in improving trustworthiness, therapy outcome and adherence. In these applications, it is important that patients adhere in the sense that they perform the tasks, but also that they adhere to the specific recommendations on how to do them well. One important construct in improving adherence is psychoeducation, information on the why and how of therapeutic interventions. In an e-mental health context, this can be delivered in two different ways: verbally by a (virtual) embodied conversational agent or just via text on the screen. The aim of this research is to study which presentation mode is preferable for improving adherence. METHODS : This study takes the approach of evaluating a specific part of a therapy, namely psychoeducation. This was done in a non-clinical sample, to first test the general constructs of the human-computer interaction. We performed an experimental study on the effect of presentation mode of psychoeducation on adherence. In this study, we took into account the moderating effects of attitude towards the virtual agent and recollection of the information. Within the paradigm of expressive writing, we asked participants (n= 46) to pick one of their worst memories to describe in a digital diary after receiving verbal or textual psychoeducation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: We found that both the attitude towards the virtual agent and how well the psychoeducation was recollected were positively related to adherence in the form of task execution. Moreover, after controlling for the attitude to the agent and recollection, presentation of psychoeducation via text resulted in higher adherence than verbal presentation by the virtual agent did.
Predictors of success for african black physiotherapy students in South Africa

high school performance and aptitude tests are usually used to predict success at university, but this may not be applicable when the ethnic group of the student is considered. The aim of this study was to investigate factors that predict success of African black students in physiotherapy programmes and whether these factors are influenced by race. A mixed methods approach was used. one hundred and twenty eight graduates who graduated between 2000 and 2005 from eight universities in South Africa and six heads of Physiotherapy Departments participated in the research. A postal questionnaire comprising closed and open-ended questions was used for graduate and in-depth interviews were conducted with heads of Departments. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive analysis as well as inferential statistics using Chi square tests and logistic regression. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. of the participants, 59% of the African black students were successful compared to 90% of the white students. A significant association was found between race and success with factors such as sharing a residence room, obtaining information about university support systems from classmates, feeling part of the group of classmates and choosing physiotherapy as the first choice of career being predictors of success. Students also highlighted determination to succeed and become a physiotherapist, financial and family support, and a favourable learning environment to contribute to success. HOD interviews associated adequate knowledge about the physiotherapy profession, proficiency in the language of instruction, academic discipline, relevant support and integration in the class with success. It is recommended that matriculation results should not be the only predictors of success but tertiary institutions should consider broader factors such as residential accommodation and a supportive learning environment.
Validity and reliability of photographic diet diaries for assessing dietary intake among young children.

Obtaining valid, reliable dietary intake data for young children is challenging. The objective of this study was to assess the validity, reliability, and acceptability of the addition of photography to traditional written diet diaries for recording young children's dietary intake. Twenty-two parents of preschoolers enrolled to complete a 2-day photographic diet diary for their child. Diaries were coded by a trained nursing student for food weight, calories, and macronutrients. A random sample of diaries was evaluated by an independent nutritionist to determine interrater reliability. Convergent validity was tested by comparing visual estimates and actual values of photos of 24 researcher-created meals/snacks. Acceptability was assessed through participants' feedback, completion rates for the project, project costs, and quality of the data obtained. Reliability was assessed by computing intraclass correlations between caloric and macronutrient data from 2 independent diary evaluators. Convergent validity w.
Partially Nested Randomized Controlled Trials in Education Research: A Guide to Design and Analysis

This paper, commissioned by the National Center for Education Research, provides readers with an introduction to PN-RCTs and ways to design and analyze the results from them. This paper was written primarily for applied education researchers with introductory knowledge of quantitative impact evaluation methods. However, those with more advanced knowledge will also benefit from some of the technical examples and appendices.
Bacterial Dissemination to the Brain in Sepsis

Rationale: Sepsis causes brain dysfunction and neuroinflammation. It is unknown whether neuroinflammation in sepsis is initiated by dissemination of bacteria to the brain and sustained by persistent infection, or whether neuroinflammation is a sterile process resulting solely from circulating inflammatory mediators. Objectives: To determine if gut bacteria translocate to the brain during sepsis, and are associated with neuroinflammation. Methods: Murine sepsis was induced using cecal ligation and puncture, and sepsis survivor mice were compared with sham and unoperated control animals. Brain tissue of patients who died of sepsis was compared with patients who died of noninfectious causes. Bacterial taxa were characterized by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing in both murine and human brain specimens; compared among sepsis and nonsepsis groups; and correlated with levels of S100A8, a marker of neuroinflammation using permutational multivariate ANOVA. Measurements and Main Results: Viable gut‐associated bacteria were enriched in the brains of mice 5 days after surviving abdominal sepsis (P < 0.01), and undetectable by 14 days. The community structure of brain‐associated bacteria correlated with severity of neuroinflammation (P < 0.001). Furthermore, bacterial taxa detected in brains of humans who die of sepsis were distinct from those who died of noninfectious causes (P < 0.001) and correlated with S100A8/A9 expression (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Although bacterial translocation is associated with acute neuroinflammation in murine sepsis, bacterial translocation did not result in chronic cerebral infection. Postmortem analysis of patients who die of sepsis suggests a role for bacteria in acute brain dysfunction in sepsis. Further work is needed to determine if modifying gut‐associated bacterial communities modulates brain dysfunction after sepsis.
FAKTOR-FAKTOR DALAM DIRI AUDITOR DAN KUALITAS AUDIT: STUDI PADA KAP 'BIG FOUR' DI INDONESIA *

Penelitian ini merupakan pengembangan dari dua penelitian sebelumnya (Aji, 2009 dan Rahman, 2009), mengenai bagaimana independensi, pengalaman, due professional care dan akuntabilitas mempengaruhi kualitas audit. Penelitian ini dilakukan menggunakan metode survei dengan kuesioner. Populasi penelitian ini adalah semua auditor yang bekerja pada Kantor Akuntan Publik (KAP) â€œBig Fourâ€ Indonesia. Penelitian ini menggunakan random sampling sederhana yang dilakukan dengan penentuan jumlah sampel yang dihitung dengan menggunakan rumus Slovin formula sehingga hanya 125 kuesioner yang dapat diproses. Analisis data dilakukan dengan menggunakan model regresi ganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa independensi, pengalaman, due professional care dan akuntabilitas mempengaruhi kualitas audit secara berkelanjutan. Selain itu, penelitian ini membuktikan bahwa independensi, due professional care dan akuntabilitas secara parsial mempengaruhi kualitas audit akan tetapi pengalaman tidak berpengaruh pada kualitas audit. Penelitian ini juga membuktikan bahwa independensi merupakan faktor dominan yang berpengaruh pada kualitas audit. Untuk penelitian di masa yang akan datang, penelitian ini menyarankan pengembangan cakupan wilayah survei dan penambahan lebih banyak variabel yang dapat mempengaruhi kualitas audit. Kata kunci: independensi, pengalaman, due professional care, akuntabilitas, kualitas audit
Sorafenib Overcomes TRAIL Resistance of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through the Inhibition of STAT3

Purpose: Recombinant tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising antitumor agent. However, many hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells show resistance to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Here, we report that sorafenib improves the antitumor effect of TRAIL-related agents in resistant HCC. Experimental Design: HCC cell lines (PLC5, Huh-7, Hep3B, and Sk-Hep1) were treated with sorafenib and/or TRAIL-related agents (TRAIL or LBY135) and analyzed in terms of apoptosis and signal transduction. In vivo efficacy was determined in nude mice with PLC5 xenografts. Results: Sorafenib, the only approved drug for HCC, sensitizes resistant HCC cells to an agonistic DR5 antibody (LBY135) and TRAIL-induced apoptosis in TRAIL-resistant HCC cells. We found that STAT3 played a significant role in mediating TRAIL sensitization. Our data showed that sorafenib downregulated phospho-STAT3 (pSTAT3) and subsequently reduced the expression levels of STAT3-related proteins (Mcl-1, survivin, and cyclin D1) in a dose- and time-dependent manner in TRAIL-treated HCC cells. Knockdown of STAT3 by RNA interference overcame apoptotic resistance to TRAIL in HCC cells, and ectopic expression of STAT3 in HCC cells abolished the TRAIL-sensitizing effect of sorafenib. Moreover, SHP-1 inhibitor reversed downregulation of pSTAT3 and apoptosis induced by sorafenib, and silencing of SHP-1 by RNA interference abolished the effects of sorafenib on pSTAT3. Notably, sorafenib increased SHP-1 activity in PLC5 cells. Finally, sorafenib plus LBY135 significantly suppressed PLC5 xenograft tumor growth. Conclusions: Sorafenib sensitizes resistant HCC cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis at clinical achievable concentrations, and this effect is mediated via the inhibition of STAT3. Clin Cancer Res; 16(21); 5189–99. ©2010 AACR.
Adenosine Deaminase Level as an Indicator for Differentiating Between Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis Infection and Other Pulmonary Infections

Background: In spite of recent advents, and novel improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), definitive diagnosis of pulmonary TB in children is problematic. Therefore, measurement of the serum level of adenosine deaminase (ADA) was later introduced as a helpful marker for the diagnosis of TB. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of the ADA test in the diagnosis of pulmonary TB, and compare enzyme activity between patients with pulmonary TB and those with other pulmonary infections. The sampling strategy was randomized, and the design of study was case-control diagnostic descriptive, we used IBM SPSS V-16.0. 2 software for analyzing our data. Patients and Methods: This study was performed at the National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (NRITLD) in Tehran, IR Iran. In all, 49 children, divided into 3 groups, were examined. Of these, 22 had pulmonary TB, 17 had other pulmonary infections, and the remaining 10 children were normal and were assigned to the control group. Results: Serum ADA levels were higher in the pulmonary TB patients than in the control group (P < 0.05), however, these levels did not differ significantly between TB patients and patients with other pulmonary infections (P = 0.391). Our evaluation revealed that ADA level in TB patients with a positive smear of gastric washing were higher than those in patients with a negative smear (P = 0.006). Conclusions: Similar to the other studies, this study showed higher serum ADA level in pulmonary TB patients than in normal individuals. However, ADA was not found to be a suitable marker for differentiating between pulmonary TB and other pulmonary infections.
Quality of care in American Indian child and adolescent behavioral health: A pilot study of patient and family perspectives.

Research regarding the quality of behavioral health care for American Indian (AI) children and adolescents is extremely limited, and no study has considered the qualitative perspectives of the AI children receiving such services or that of their families. This pilot study investigated AI patient and family perspectives of what quality of care means to them. Data were drawn from interviews of parents (n = 15) and the youth (if they were age 11 or older; n = 11) of 16 children and adolescents who received treatment at three behavioral health programs serving AI communities. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for key themes that related to treatment structure, process, and outcomes. According to these participants, the principal indicator of treatment quality was "being able to trust the clinician. " The most valued treatment outcomes for improvement were the youth's "self-efficacy and self-worth," "functioning in school," and "relationship with the family. " Future research is needed on how to best integrate these domains into specific and objective indicators for standardized quality of care assessments of AI child and adolescent behavioral health services.
Factors Associated with Major Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Systemic Necrotizing Vasculitides: Results of a Longterm Followup Study

Objective. Systemic necrotizing vasculitides (SNV) are associated with more frequent subclinical atherosclerosis, suggesting that SNV might be associated with a higher risk of major cardiovascular events (MCVE). We aimed to identify factors predictive of MCVE in patients with SNV. Methods. Patients in remission from SNV were assessed for CV risk factors and subclinical atherosclerosis. MCVE was defined as myocardial infarction, stroke, arterial revascularization, hospitalization for unstable angina, and/or death from CV causes. MCVE-free survival curves were compared using the log-rank test. Results. Forty-two patients were followed for 7.1 ± 2.6 years. Eight patients (18.9%) had MCVE. The respective 5- and 10-year MCVE rates were 9.5% and 26.8%. National Cholesterol Education Program/Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP/ATP III)-defined high-risk status [hazard ratio (HR) 5.02 (95% CI: 1.17–27.4), p = 0.03], BMI > 30 kg/m2 [HR 4.84 (95% CI: 1.46–116), p = 0.02], and plaque detection in the abdominal aorta (p = 0.01) were significantly associated with MCVE. SNV characteristics, corticosteroid maintenance therapy, and C-reactive protein > 5 mg/l were not associated with MCVE. Plaque in the aorta was significantly associated with high-risk status (p < 0.001), while BMI and high-risk status were independent variables. Thus, a BMI > 30 kg/m2 and/or a high-risk status were strongly associated with MCVE (p = 0.004). Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) identified patients with early MCVE and was correlated with the time to MCVE (r2 = 0.68, p = 0.01). Conclusion. These results suggest that factors associated with a higher MCVE risk in patients with SNV are NCEP/ATP III-defined high-risk status and BMI > 30 kg/m2. Carotid IMT could help identify patients with SNV at risk of early MCVE.
Mouse Aorta Smooth Muscle Cells Differentiate Into Lymphoid Tissue Organizer-Like Cells on Combined Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-1/Lymphotoxin &bgr;-Receptor NF-&kgr;B Signaling

Objective—Mouse aorta smooth muscle cells (SMC) express tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 1A (TNFR-1) and lymphotoxin &bgr;-receptor (LT&bgr;R). Circumstantial evidence has linked the SMC LT&bgr;R to tertiary lymphoid organogenesis in hyperlipidemic mice. Here, we explored TNFR-1 and LT&bgr;R signaling in cultured SMC. Methods and Results—TNFR-1 signaling activated the classical RelA NF-&kgr;B pathway, whereas LT&bgr;R signaling activated the classical RelA and alternative RelB NF-&kgr;B pathways, and both signaling pathways synergized to enhance p100 inhibitor processing to the p52 subunit of NF-&kgr;B. Microarrays showed that simultaneous TNFR-1/LT&bgr;R activation resulted in elevated mRNA encoding leukocyte homeostatic chemokines CCL2, CCL5, CXCL1, and CX3CL1. Importantly, SMC acquired features of lymphoid tissue organizers, which control tertiary lymphoid organogenesis in autoimmune diseases through hyperinduction of CCL7, CCL9, CXCL13, CCL19, CXCL16, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1. TNFR-1/LT&bgr;R cross-talk resulted in augmented secretion of lymphorganogenic chemokine proteins. Supernatants of TNFR-1/LT&bgr;R–activated SMC markedly supported migration of splenic T cells, B cells, and macrophages/dendritic cells. Experiments with ltbr−/− SMC indicated that LT&bgr;R-RelB activation was obligatory to generate the lymphoid tissue organizer phenotype. Conclusion—SMC may participate in the formation of tertiary lymphoid tissue in atherosclerosis by upregulation of lymphorganogenic chemokines involved in T-lymphocyte, B-lymphocyte, and macrophage/dendritic cell attraction.
Hémolyse chronique des sujets drépanocytaires SS et SC en phase stationnaire: étude comparative au centre national de référence de la drépanocytose à Niamey

Les formes drepanocytaires SS et SC posent un probleme de sante publique au Niger ou le trait drepanocytaire est estime a 25% en milieu scolaire. Bien que la forme SS ait ete reconnue plus hemolysante que la forme SC, la quantification du degre d’hemolyse de ces deux entites genotypiques qui aurait permis de mieux prendre en charge ces patients n’etait pas faite. L’objectif de ce travail etait de comparer les profils hematologiques et les taux de bilirubines seriques de ces deux formes de syndrome drepanocytaire majeur en phase stationnaire. Il s’agit d’etude prospective realisee sur une population de sujets drepanocytaires inscrits et regulierement suivis au Centre National de Reference de la Drepanocytose de Niamey. Un echantillon de 304 patients a ete constitue de facon aleatoire pendant la periode de l’etude. L’etude a montre que la pâleur est retrouvee plus chez les sujets SS comparee aux sujets SC. La splenomegalie isolee est presente chez 36% des patients SS contre 15% chez les patients SC. L’hepatomegalie isolee est retrouvee chez 17% des patients SS contre 5,4% chez les patients SC. Le taux de reticulocyte est 2,5 fois plus eleve chez les homozygotes SS que chez les heterozygotes SC. Le nombre de globules rouges est 1,5 fois plus eleve chez les sujets SC que chez les SS. Le taux moyen d’hemoglobine etait de 10,7/dl chez les sujets SC, contre 7,8% chez les sujets SS. Le taux moyen de bilirubine libre etait de 15,8 mg/l chez les SS contre 7 mg/l chez les SC. La drepanocytose SS se distinguait de la forme SC par un degre d’hemolyse plus important et un taux d’hemoglobine plus bas en phase stationnaire. Du fait de cette particularite les homozygotes SS constituent une population plus exposee en cas de crises que les heterozygotes SC et doivent beneficier d’une prise en charge rapide. Mots-cles : Drepanocytose-phase stationnaire-Anemie-Bilirubine-Niger