Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The experience and psychosocial needs of patients with traumatic fractures treated for more than six months at Doctors on Call for Service Hospital, Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract Background: Trauma-related consultations, admissions and complications are the leading problems at Doctors on Call for Service (DOCS) Hospital, Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, and yet no studies have been carried out to document the experience of long-stay traumatic-fracture patients in this hospital. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experience and psychosocial needs of patients with traumatic fractures treated for more than six months at DOCS Hospital. Methods: Six free-attitude interviews were conducted with purposively selected patients. The interviews were recorded with a tape recorder and transcribed verbatim, and content analysis was used to identify themes from the interviews. Results: All patients could clearly connect the injury experience to severe pain that lingered on for weeks or months for some patients, accompanied by other symptoms such as insomnia, poor appetite and psychological symptoms. Most patients felt disabled, were abandoned by relatives or friends and experienced financial problems. Some benefited from the injury by way of strengthened marital links. Some patients complained of poor information about their illness and the management plan and did not appreciate the treatment from caregivers, while some disclosed their needs and expectations and appreciated the caregivers who showed interest in them. Conclusions: The experience of long-term trauma has negative effects on the whole person of the patient, including his or her work and family, and some patients continue to suffer from the effects of the traumatic event up to six months later. The needs of patients suffering from trauma include reassurance by physicians and nurses, more information and participation in the decision-making process, regular visits from friends and family, and better bedside manners from caregivers.
Graph-based data fusion of pedometer and WiFi measurements for mobile indoor positioning

We propose a graph-based, low-complexity sensor fusion approach for ubiquitous pedestrian indoor positioning using mobile devices. We employ our fusion technique to combine relative motion information based on step detection with WiFi signal strength measurements. The method is based on the well-known particle filter methodology. In contrast to previous work, we provide a probabilistic model for location estimation that is formulated directly on a fully discretized, graph-based representation of the indoor environment. We generate this graph by adaptive quantization of the indoor space, removing irrelevant degrees of freedom from the estimation problem. We evaluate the proposed method in two realistic indoor environments using real data collected from smartphones. In total, our dataset spans about 20 kilometers in distance walked and includes 13 users and four different mobile device types. Our results demonstrate that the filter requires an order of magnitude less particles than state-of-the-art approaches while maintaining an accuracy of a few meters. The proposed low-complexity solution not only enables indoor positioning on less powerful mobile devices, but also saves much-needed resources for location-based end-user applications which run on top of a localization service.
Hypertension in ethnic groups: epidemiological and clinical perspectives

In the UK and other developed nations, hypertension and its vascular complications are more common in ethnically African and South-Asian communities compared with Europeans. While these conditions are less common in rural India and Africa, they present a rising problem in expanding cities in all developing countries. Hypertension is, therefore, mainly related to environmental and lifestyle factors rather than genetically determined racial differences. Studies in the USA and elsewhere show that the striking differences in the prevalence of hypertension between people of African and European origin are greatly reduced after adjustment for socio–economic status. One important and probably genuine racial difference between ethnic groups is the significantly suppressed activity of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system in African-origin hypertensive patients. As a consequence of this, they are rather more sensitive to a low-salt diet but significantly less sensitive to drugs that block the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers) and β-blockers. There is also evidence that renin suppression is common in Japanese and Chinese hypertensive patients as well, although no direct comparisons between these two groups with European-origin patients have been carried out. The management and control of hypertension is unsatisfactory in all ethnic groups and all nations. No one group needs particular targeting; all need better quality systematic care.
Optimization of dental CBCT exposures through mAs reduction.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of tube current-exposure time (mAs) reduction on clinical and technical image quality for different CBCT scanners, and to determine preliminary minimally acceptable values for the mAs and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in CBCT. METHODS A polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom and an anthropomorphic skull phantom, containing a human skeleton embedded in polyurethane, were scanned using four CBCT devices, including seven exposure protocols. For all protocols, the mAs was varied within the selectable range. Using the PMMA phantom, the CNRAIR was measured and corrected for voxel size. Eight axial slices and one coronal slice showing various anatomical landmarks were selected for each CBCT scan of the skull phantom. The slices were presented to six dentomaxillofacial radiologists, providing scores for various anatomical and diagnostic parameters. RESULTS A hyperbolic relationship was seen between CNRAIR and mAs. Similarly, a gradual reduction in clinical image quality was seen at lower mAs values; however, for several protocols, image quality remained acceptable for a moderate or large mAs reduction compared with the standard exposure setting, depending on the clinical application. The relationship between mAs, CNRAIR and observer scores was different for each CBCT device. Minimally acceptable values for mAs were between 9 and 70, depending on the criterion and clinical application. CONCLUSIONS Although noise increased at a lower mAs, clinical image quality often remained acceptable at exposure levels below the manufacturer's recommended setting, for certain patient groups. Currently, it is not possible to determine minimally acceptable values for image quality that are applicable to multiple CBCT models.
Acurácia dos escores GRACE e TIMI na predição da gravidade angiográfica da síndrome coronariana aguda

FUNDAMENTO: A acuracia dos escores GRACE e TIMI em predizer a extensao da doenca coronariana em pacientes com sindromes coronarianas agudas sem supradesnivelamento do segmento ST (SCA) nao esta estabelecida. OBJETIVO: Testar a hipotese de que os escores de risco GRACE e TIMI predizem satisfatoriamente a extensao da doenca coronariana, em pacientes com SCA submetidos a coronariografia. METODOS: Individuos admitidos com criterios objetivos de SCA e que realizaram coronariografia durante o internamento foram consecutivamente analisados. A doenca coronariana angiografica foi descrita de tres formas: quantificacao da extensao da doenca coronariana pelo escore de Gensini; presenca de qualquer obstrucao coronariana (> 70% ou > 50% quando tronco de coronaria esquerda); presenca de doenca severa (triarterial ou tronco de coronaria esquerda). RESULTADOS: Em 112 pacientes avaliados, observou-se correlacao positiva do escore de Gensini com os escores GRACE (p = 0,017) e TIMI (p = 0,02), porem essa associacao foi de fraca magnitude (r = 0,23 e r = 0,27; respectivamente). O escore GRACE nao foi capaz de predizer doenca coronariana obstrutiva (area abaixo da curva ROC = 0,57; 95%IC = 0,46 - 0,69), nem doenca coronariana severa (ROC = 0,59; 95%IC = 0,48 -0,70). O Escore TIMI se mostrou modesto preditor em relacao a presenca de doenca coronariana (ROC = 0,65; 95%IC = 0,55 - 0,76) e presenca de doenca severa (ROC = 0,66; 95%IC = 0,56 - 0,76). CONCLUSAO: (1) Existe associacao positiva entre o valor dos escores TIMI ou GRACE e a extensao da doenca coronaria em pacientes com SCA; (2) No entanto, o grau dessa associacao nao e suficiente para que esses escores sejam preditores acurados dos resultados da coronariografia.
Impact of chronic diseases on health services and quality of life of a Chinese population

Background : Chronic diseases are becoming the major global burden of disease. Information on their impact on health services and quality of life of individual patients can facilitate the provision of appropriate care. Objectives : To determine the self reported prevalence of chronic diseases and their impact on health service utilization and quality of life of individual patients. Methods : A cross sectional random telephone survey was conducted on 2410 Chinese adults from the general population in Hong Kong using both a structured questionnaire and the 36 item short form Health Survey (SF-36). The effects of chronic diseases on consultation rates, hospitalization risk and the SF-36 scores were analyzed by multivariate stepwise regressions, controlling for sociodemographic variables and comorbidity. Results : A total of 38% of subjects reported one or more chronic diseases with 59% being less than 60 years. Chronic joint problems were the most common. Every additional chronic disease increased the annual number of consultations by 60% and the likelihood of hospitalization in the last year by 79%. Most chronic diseases had a negative impact on quality of life with most associated with psychological problems. Conclusions : One in three Chinese adults in Hong Kong reported having chronic diseases. The total number of chronic diseases had a linear relationship with service utilization, which could be a useful medical risk adjustment factor. Enhancing quality of life should be an important aim in the management of chronic diseases. © 2003 Blackwell Publishing Asia and Wonca
Avaliação da população canina da zona urbana do Município de Araçatuba, São Paulo, SP, Brasil

O planejamento de programas de controle de zoonoses urbanas como a raiva baseia-se no conhecimento do tamanho e estrutura da populacao canina e felina. Assim, no periodo de 21 de junho a 30 de agosto de 1994, foram realizadas visitas, casa a casa, com a finalidade de avaliar, mediante a aplicacao de um questionario, o tamanho das populacoes humana, canina e felina da zona urbana de Aracatuba. A relacao media cao/homem observada foi de 2,8:10, ou seja, 2,8 vezes maior que a geralmente utilizada para o planejamento de campanhas de vacinacao anti-rabica, de um cao para cada 10 habitantes.
Prioritizing the devices to test your app on: a case study of Android game apps

Star ratings that are given by the users of mobile apps directly impact the revenue of its developers. At the same time, for popular platforms like Android, these apps must run on hundreds of devices increasing the chance for device-specific problems. Device-specific problems could impact the rating assigned to an app, given the varying capabilities of devices (e.g., hardware and software). To fix device-specific problems developers must test their apps on a large number of Android devices, which is costly and inefficient. Therefore, to help developers pick which devices to test their apps on, we propose using the devices that are mentioned in user reviews. We mine the user reviews of 99 free game apps and find that, apps receive user reviews from a large number of devices: between 38 to 132 unique devices. However, most of the reviews (80%) originate from a small subset of devices (on average, 33%). Furthermore, we find that developers of new game apps with no reviews can use the review data of similar game apps to select the devices that they should focus on first. Finally, among the set of devices that generate the most reviews for an app, we find that some devices tend to generate worse ratings than others. Our findings indicate that focusing on the devices with the most reviews (in particular the ones with negative ratings), developers can effectively prioritize their limited Quality Assurance (QA) efforts, since these devices have the greatest impact on ratings.
Effect of changing the head position on accuracy of transverse measurements of the maxillofacial region made on cone beam computed tomography and conventional posterior-anterior cephalograms.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to assess the effect of head position on the accuracy of transverse measurements of the maxillofacial region on CBCT and conventional posteroanterior (PA) cephalograms. The second objective of this study was to find skull positions with the greatest and smallest effect on transverse measurements in the maxillofacial region. METHODS PA cephalograms and CBCT scans were obtained from 10 dry human skulls in 7 positions, namely the central position, 10° and 20° rotations, 10° and 20° tilts and 10° and 20° tips. The CBCT scans were converted to PA cephalograms on which distances from six landmarks, namely the nasal cavity, zygomatic arch, jugale, antegonion, condylion and zygomaticofrontal suture to the mid-sagittal plane, were measured on both sides using Dolphin two-dimensional software. The paired t-test was used to compare the mean values separately in each position (for each landmark) with the gold standard (central skull position). The interclass correlation coefficient and the Bland-Altman plot were used to compare the mean values measured by two observers. RESULTS The mean values of the distances measured on CBCT PA cephalograms were greater than those measured on conventional PA cephalograms; this difference was statistically significant for some landmarks (p < 0.005). The rotated position (as compared with the central position) caused the greatest change in values for most landmarks on both sides (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS The CBCT PA cephalogram was more accurate than the conventional PA cephalogram, and landmarks farther from the midline exhibited greater changes on cephalograms compared with those closer to the midline. Patients are at risk of improper positioning when undergoing extraoral radiography such as PA cephalograms. Changes in head position may affect the transverse measurements and thus the treatment plan.
Predicting user traits from a snapshot of apps installed on a smartphone

Third party apps are an integral component of the smartphone ecosystem. In this paper, we investigate how user traits can be inferred by observing only a single snapshot of installed apps. Using supervised learning methods and minimal external information we show that user traits such as religion, relationship status, spoken languages, countries of interest, and whether or not the user is a parent of small children, can be easily predicted. Using data collected from over 200 smartphone users, specifically the list of installed apps and the corresponding ground truth traits of the users, we show that for most traits we can achieve over 90% precision. Our inference method can be used to provide services such as personalized content delivery or recommender systems for users. We also highlight privacy loss that can occur from unrestricted access to the app lists in popular smartphone operating systems.
Smoking and stroke: the more you smoke the more you stroke

Cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for all forms of stroke. While both the general public and the global healthcare system are aware of the vascular risks associated with smoking, the prevalence of tobacco use has remained largely unchanged over the last quarter of a century. Approximately one in five US adults are classified as regular smokers, with the initiation of smoking typically occurring during the teenage years. Although the increased risk of stroke associated with smoking is generally acknowledged, it is less well recognized that considerable scientific evidence implicates a strong dose–response relationship between smoking and stroke risk. In this article, we summarize the literature regarding smoking-related stroke risk, the dose–response relationship, and the costs of this detrimental habit to both the individual and society as a whole.
Qualitative assessment of crisis services among persons using injection drugs in the city of Saskatoon

Objectives: Injection drug users (IDUs) are a population that exhibit poor utilization of health services, despite having a greater need for health care than people who do not use drugs. Although several studies have reported reasons for poor utilization, these investigations are usually carried out in large urban centres or outside of Canada. The purpose of this investigation is to examine barriers to accessing care for IDUs in the small urban centre of Saskatoon, Canada. Methods: Data were collected through group discussions and interviews with IDUs in Saskatoon. Two group discussions were held with a total of 13 adults, and 12 youth IDUs were individually interviewed. Qualitative content analysis was performed to determine major themes. Results: Five barriers to care were identified by participants: poor communication with health services; lack of system resources and restrictive policies; insufficient financial resources; discrimination and stigmatization; and social support. Conversely, there were many services that participants found helpful during times of crisis. Conclusion: Many barriers to service access were identified by IDUs. In order to achieve a more complete understanding of access to services in Saskatoon, views of health service providers will be examined in the future.
How concept maps change if a user does search or not?

Previous studies have shown that a concept map can capture changes in the user knowledge structure during a search. However, these studies could not exclude the possibility of the influence of instructions or time-dependent changes. In this study, we have compared differences between concept maps created before and after a search condition and a non-search condition to reveal whether these changes are due to searching. In the experiment, participants were required to gather information on the Web in preparation for a group discussion. The participants were divided into two groups representing two tasks, convergent and divergent tasks. The convergent task required gathering web pages for a specific and detailed discussion, and the divergent task required gathering web pages for a wide-ranging discussion. Participants performed each task under search and filler conditions. In the search condition, they searched the Web. In the filler condition, they played a typing game on a PC. We compared pre- and post-task concept maps. Analysis of the number of nodes in the concept maps indicated that changes in the search condition are significant, whereas changes in the filler condition are insignificant. The analysis of the number of nodes at each distance from the center nodes in the concept maps showed that tasks had a greater effect in the search condition than in the filler condition. Finally, we consider whether the experimental results support our hypotheses.
Radiation dose from X-ray examinations of impacted canines: cone beam CT vs two-dimensional imaging.

OBJECTIVES To compare the radiation dose to children examined for impacted canines, using two-dimensional (2D) examinations (panoramic and periapical radiographs) and cone beam CT (CBCT). METHODS Organ doses were determined using an anthropomorphic 10-year-old child phantom. Two CBCT devices, a ProMax3D and a NewTom5G, were examined using thermoluminescent dosimeters. For the panoramic radiograph, a Promax device was used and for periapical radiographs, a Prostyle device with a ProSensor digital sensor was used. Both the panoramic and the intraoral devices were examined using Gafchromic-QR2 dosimetric film placed between the phantom slices. RESULTS ProMax3D and NewTom5G resulted in an effective dose of 88 µSv and 170 µSv respectively. A panoramic radiograph resulted in an effective dose of 4.1 µSv, while a periapical radiograph resulted in an effective dose of 0.6 µSv and 0.7 µSv using a maxillary lateral projection and central maxillary incisor projection respectively. CONCLUSIONS The effective dose from CBCT ranged from 140 times higher dose (NewTom5G compared to two periapical radiographs) to 15 times higher dose (ProMax3D compared to three periapical and one panoramic radiograph) than a 2D examination.
Ageing in Fiji: how older teachers perceive ageing and their lives

Worldwide the population is ageing and data concerning how people want to age actively is limited. The paper is a description of an inductive interpretive-descriptive study of how a sample of older retired teachers in Fiji viewed ageing and their lives as older people. The objectives were to determine and describe perceptions of ageing held by a sample of retired teachers. The methodology consisted of responses to an open ended questionnaire similar to a phenomenographic approach and the analysis was interpretive – descriptive. A purposive sample of 30 retired teachers between the ages of 55 and 60 responded to the questionnaire. The results indicate that most of the respondents were positive about lifelong learning and in particular learning new things; that they were involved in a range of post retirement activities for personal and financial reasons; that there were some barriers and facilitators to their activities; that they generally accepted ageing and being older; and that more should be done by Government and other agencies to provide for a better life for older people in Fiji. These results should be considered in future planning for ageing populations in Fiji, the Pacific region and in other developing countries.
Correlation between elevated serum ferritin and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Serum Ferritin, an acute phase reactant is a marker of iron stores in the body. Recent studies indicate that increased body iron stores and subclinical hemochromatosis has been associated with the development of glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and possibly the development of diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy and vascular dysfunction. This study was carried out to examine and establish a relationship between Serum Ferritin with Type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome and to examine whether a correlation between S. ferritin and FBS, HbA1c exists. Methods: 86 type 2 diabetes subjects (M:F - 57:29, mean age 54.3±9.2 years, mean BMI 24.28kg/m 2 ) which included 24 patients with metabolic syndrome were studied and compared with controls. S. ferritin, Hb, ESR, FBS, PPBS, HbA1c and fasting lipid profile were measured. Results: Serum ferritin was significantly higher in diabetic patients when compared to controls and serum ferritin had a positive correlation with increasing duration of diabetes. Conclusions: There was a positive correlation between serum ferritin and FBS, HbA1c. There was no correlation between serum ferritin and age, sex, metabolic syndrome, coexistent hypertension, total cholesterol, LDL and serum triglycerides.