Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overdose Risk Perceptions and Behaviours among Heroin Users in Sydney, Australia

A sample of 312 heroin users were interviewed about their experience of non-fatal heroin overdose. Non-fatal overdose was common, with 61 % of subjects reporting one, on a median of 2 occasions. Those subjects who had used heroin in the preceding 6 months were interviewed about overdose risk perceptions and risk behaviours (n = 266). The majority of these subjects (80%) believed they had a low risk of overdose, there being no difference in risk perception between those who had overdosed in the last 6 months and those who had not. While the majority (73%) claimed to use various strategies to avoid overdose, these were sporadically practised. Those who had overdosed in the past 6 months had used heroin on more days in that time, had higher levels of heroin dependence, more often used alcohol and benzodiazepines in combination with heroin, and were less likely to be enrolled in methadone maintenance during that time. Methadone maintenance thus had a protective effect against overdose, even for patients who continued heroin use over the preceding 6 months.
“Coming to a Strange Land”

Purpose: Migrating and establishing a new life in another culture can have diverse health effects especially for women. This article explores the struggles and social adjustment issues that might constitute negatively to the health of West African migrant women living in Australia. Design: Qualitative storytelling. Audiotaped voluntary stories from 20 West African migrant women living in Sydney, Australia were transcribed and analyzed. Findings: Three themes are presented for discussion: (1) But it is different here: life in a new country; (2) I have to do it all by myself: communal versus individual living; and (3) They don’t listen to parents: perceived threats to the family unit. Conclusion/Implication for Practice: The demand for and the importance of nurses and midwives in supporting migrant families is demonstrated by findings suggesting that social adjustment into the Australian culture has a significant impact on both the nuclear and extended family unit of women.
Network Performance Aware Optimizations on IaaS Clouds

Network performance aware optimizations have long been a hot research topic to optimize distributed applications on traditional network environments. However, those optimization techniques rely on a few measurements on pair-wise network performance, and such direct use of network measurements is no longer valid on Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) clouds. First, the direct calibration is ineffective. Network performance measurements may not represent the long-term performance (informally the stable component inside network performance) because of virtualization and network performance interference in the cloud. Second, the direct calibration is inefficient because the measurement overhead of all pair-wise link performance in a cluster becomes prohibitively high as the number of instances increases. To effectively and efficiently utilize existing network performance aware optimizations on IaaS clouds, we propose to reduce the measurement overhead and decouple the constant component from the dynamic network performance while minimizing the difference between the network performance and the constant component. For effectiveness, we use the constant component to guide the network performance aware optimizations. For efficiency, we exploit a non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) method to reduce the calibration overhead. Furthermore, we observe a tradeoff between effectiveness and efficiency, and develop an adaptive approach to capture this tradeoff. We demonstrate effectiveness and efficiency of our approach by adopting network performance aware optimizations on two kinds of basic applications, collective communications of MPI and generic topology mapping, and two real-world applications, namely N-body and conjugate gradient (CG). Our experiments on Amazon EC2 and simulations demonstrate significant calibration overhead reduction and performance improvement on guiding network performance aware optimizations, when comparing our approach to other state-of-the-art approaches.
Whole brain EEG synchronization likelihood modulated by long term evolution electromagnetic fields exposure

In this paper, we aimed to investigate the possible interactions between human brain and radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) with electroencephalogram (EEG) technique. Unlike the previous studies which mainly focused on EMF effect on local brain activities, we attempted to evaluate whether the EMF emitted from Long Term Evolution (LTE) devices can modulate the functional connectivity of brain electrical activities. Ten subjects were recruited to participate in a crossover, double-blind exposure experiment which included two sessions (real and sham exposure). In each session, LTE EMF exposure (power on or off) lasted for 30 min and the EEG signals were collected with 32 channels throughout the experiment. Then we applied the synchronization likelihood method to quantify the neural synchronization over the whole brain in different frequency bands and in different EEG record periods. Our results illustrated that the short-term LTE EMF exposure would modulate the synchronization patterns of EEG activation across the whole brain.
American physician perceptions of direct-to-consumer advertising: A qualitative study

Abstract Although scientific evidence concerning harms and benefits of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is constantly growing, there is a paucity of published research focusing on gaining a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of involved parties. This gap in the literature becomes even more salient when it comes to the indirect target audiences of DTCA, such as healthcare providers. This study explores American physician perceptions of prescription drug advertising, while elucidating the perceived impact of DTCA in a US context. Our results suggest that 15 years after the introduction of DTCA, physician concerns about its impact on the doctor–patient relationship persist. Negative effects of DTCA include patient acquiring a false sense of autonomy; requests for unnecessary or more expensive drugs; exaggerated perception of advertised drugs’ side effects; as well as additional workload and time commitment. Nevertheless, DTCA is also viewed as a stimulus for ‘opening communication opportunities’ with the patient. Results of this study can be used to inform the dialogue not only in the United States, but also in other countries where efforts are being made to reduce restrictions on DTCA.
Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of Filial Piety and Depression in Older People

Background: Studies have indicated that one of the key factors in relieving depression in older people is social network support, especially from the family. In Chinese society, the traditional value of filial piety strongly influences daily interactions and behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine older people’s perceptions of filial piety and to explore the correlation between filial piety and depression in older people. Method: In this systematic literature review of seven databases (CEPS, Cochrane, PubMed/Medicine, OVID, CINAHL, ProQuest, and PsycINFO), eight studies on the correlation between filial piety and depression in older people were selected, six of which were included in the present meta-analysis. Results: The studies included in this review lacked consistency regarding the screening and measurement instruments used. Two groups of meta-analyses (four studies) illustrated that filial piety was negatively correlated with depression in older people (r = −0.196,p < .001, 95% confidence interval [CI] [−0.283, −0.106] and r = −0.139, p = .006, 95% CI [−0.235, −0.041]), suggesting that an increase in older people’s perception of their children’s filial piety was correlated with a reduction in their depression. Conclusions: Filial piety was correlated with depression in older people. Future studies should focus on clarifying the concept of filial piety to aid in the application of appropriate measurement tools and the development of intervention measures that could enhance the care provided for depression in older people.
Symmetry in running.

Symmetry plays a key role in simplifying the control of legged robots and in giving them the ability to run and balance. The symmetries studied describe motion of the body and legs in terms of even and odd functions of time. A legged system running with these symmetries travels with a fixed forward speed and a stable upright posture. The symmetries used for controlling legged robots may help in elucidating the legged behavior of animals. Measurements of running in the cat and human show that the feet and body sometimes move as predicted by the even and odd symmetry functions.
Prevalence of Obesity among Adult Hypertensive Patients attending the Lagos State Hospital, Ikeja South West, Nigeria

Objective: Nutritional assessment of hypertensive patients attending the Lagos State Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria was assessed to determine prevalence of overweight and obesity among the patients. Subjects and methods: The study involved three hundred and forty (340) adult males and females hypertensive patients. Pretested interviewer- administered questionnaires were used to obtain information on the socio- demographic characteristics and the feeding pattern of the patients. The weight, height, waist and hip circumferences of the patients were assessed. The body mass index (BMI) of the patients was determined as weight (Kg)/ height (m)2 to detect underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity. The waist/hip ratio of the patient was also determined. Results: The mean (SD) age of the patients was 57(13.2) years. Forty percent of the patients were males while 203(60.0) % were females. The weights and heights of the male and female patients were 72.6 (13.8)kg and 80.5 (12.3)kg and also 1.67(0.12)m and 1.58(0.33)m respectively. The mean (SD) waist/hip ratio of the male and female patients were 1.01 (0.08) and 0.97 (0.06) respectively. Only 0.9% of the patients were underweight, 20.9% had normal weight while 78.2% were either overweight or obese. Among the overweight and obes patients, the percentage (50.5%) of the female patients was significantly higher than their male counterparts (27.6%) (p< 0.001). Conclusion: A high incidence of overweight and obesity was observed among the hypertensive patients. The females were significantly more overweight than the females. Low-calorie diet and regular moderate exercise should be emphasized in the management of overweight and obese hypertensive patients.
The Bill Henderson Protocol

This study sought to describe how consumers found the Bill Henderson protocol, a dietary intervention for cancer treatment, and to describe their perceptions and evaluation of its effects. In all, 630 surveys were completed online. Most respondents were ages 55 to 74 years old, well-educated, and had experience with a cancer diagnosis. Most respondents identified the Bill Henderson protocol through Internet searches. More than two thirds had used the protocol, although adherence to its components varied. A number of positive attributions were made to the protocol, including cancer cure (n = 73) and improvements in health status indicators (n = 170). Negative attributions included disease progression (n = 10) and death (n = 2). Consumers search for disease management options online. Attributions regarding this intervention’s success or failure are based on anecdotal experience. There has been no empirical investigation of the Bill Henderson protocol’s safety and efficacy to date, limiting the information on which choice can be made. This could place protocol adherents at risk.
Effects of taurine supplementation and swimming, associated or not, on obesity and glucose homeostasis in mice

Studies show that physical exercise (PE) is associated with a reduced fat accumulation and increased insulin sensitivity, and taurine (TAU) improves glucose homeostasis in lean rodents. The aim in this work was evaluate the effects of supplementing TAU and practice of PE, associated or not, on obesity and glucose homeostasis on obese MSG-mice. Neonate male Swiss mice received injections of monosodium glutamate (MSG group) or saline (CON group). From the 30 th to the 90 th day of life, one group of animals received TAU in drinking water (MSG TAU group), another was subjected to PE (MSG PE group) and a third group underwent both procedures (MSG PE TAU group). Mice treated with MSG become obese, hypertriglyceridemic, glucose intolerant and insulin resistant. The supplementation with TAU and the PE, isolated or associated, reduced the triglycerides (38%), glucose intolerance (around 30%) and KITT (79%) in MSG-obese animals, but did not influence the accumulation of fat. Interestingly, the combination of both strategies significantly reduced the insulin resistance, compared to animals subjected to isolated strategies. In conclusion, the supplementation with TAU and PE, isolated or associated, did not influence the accumulation of fat in MSG-obese mice, however, reduce the triglycerides and insulin resistance.
How Do Subjectively-Constructed Meanings Ascribed to Anti-HIV Treatments Affect Treatment-Adherent Practice?

Anti-HIV treatment-adherent practice is a significant issue in HIV medical discourses on effective disease treatment and management. Findings from research studies into treatment (non)adherence have positioned the act as a medical issue that could be remedied by behavioral strategies. The present study, conducted in Sydney, Australia, aims to examine treatment-(non)adherent practice as a subjective expression of meanings ascribed to treatments by employing a narrative analytical approach informed by poststructuralist epistemology. The findings indicate that people with HIV negotiate and position treatments in particular ways that lead to multiple and varied understanding of treatments. The ways treatments are positioned in their everyday lives suggest that meanings ascribed to treatments impact on the way individuals negotiate demands embedded in the medically-constructed practice of adherence.
Séries anuais de temperatura máxima média do ar no Estado de São Paulo: variações e tendências climáticas

The aim of the work was to detect climate trends or climate variations in eight annual average maximum air temperature series (Tmax) of the State of Sao Paulo. The study was based on parametric and non-parametric tests. In the Pindorama and Ubatuba series, positive trends in Tmax values were detected during the last 28/24 years. No significant trends were detected in the Cordeiropolis, Mococa, Monte Alegre do Sul, and Ribeirao Preto series. The probability density function associated with the series of Campinas and Piracicaba, shows significant shifts to the right. In the Campinas data series this shift on Tmax data distribution occurred 30 years (approximately) earlier than in the Tmax of Piracicaba data distribution. Thus, despite the majority of the data series have shown important variations on their statistical parameters, it was not possible to identify a temporal variability pattern on the eight Tmax analyzed series.
The Influence of Family and Culture on Physical Activity Among Female Adolescents From the Indian Diaspora

In this study we explored the role of personal, familial, and cultural attitudes and social norms for physical activity (PA) on actual PA behavior among female adolescents of the Indian diaspora. Six girls, 15 to 19 years of age, from a spiritual center participated in interviews and a focus group. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Participants were high in familism, and felt that PA was important for physical and mental health, and to strengthen relationships with family. Fathers and brothers were considered most influential on PA patterns. Differentiated gender roles in PA emerged: boys were deemed more aggressive and competitive, and girls were perceived to promote fun-based learning environments. The importance of religion and spirituality as influences on PA emerged among participants with strong affinities for Indian cultures. Results show that cultural heritage impacts PA norms, attitudes, and patterns, and must be considered when evaluating adolescent PA participation in multicultural societies.
An Accelerator for High Efficient Vision Processing

In recent years, neural network accelerators have been shown to achieve both high energy efficiency and high performance for a broad application scope within the important category of recognition and mining applications. Still, both the energy efficiency and performance of such accelerators remain limited by memory accesses. In this paper, we focus on image applications, arguably the most important category among recognition and mining applications. The neural networks which are state-of-the-art for these applications are convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and they have an important property: weights are shared among many neurons, considerably reducing the neural network memory footprint. This property allows to entirely map a CNN within an SRAM, eliminating all DRAM accesses for weights. By further hoisting this accelerator next to the image sensor, it is possible to eliminate all remaining DRAM accesses, i.e., for inputs and outputs. In this paper, we propose such a CNN accelerator, placed next to a CMOS or CCD sensor. The absence of DRAM accesses combined with a careful exploitation of the specific data access patterns within CNNs allows us to design an accelerator which is highly energy-efficient. We present a single-core implementation down to the layout at 65 nm, with a modest footprint of 5.94mm $^{\boldsymbol {2}}$ and consuming only 336mW, but still about $\boldsymbol {30\times }$ faster than high-end GPUs. For visual processing with higher resolution and frame-rate requirements, we further present a multicore implementation with elevated performance.
Using a Socioecological Approach to Examine Participation in Sport and Physical Activity Among Rural Adolescent Girls

Adolescence is a critical time for developing lifelong healthy behaviors, including active lifestyles. Participation in sport and physical activity, however, declines during adolescence, and few studies have comprehensively identified why, particularly among rural girls. This article identifies a range of independent and interacting factors that influence sport and physical activity participation of rural adolescent girls. The socioecological model of health was used to guide four focus group discussions with Grade 7 girls (n = 34). The results showed that adolescent girls were positively influenced when sports or physical activities were fun, when they involved being with friends, and when they were supported by families and teachers through role modeling and positive feedback. A range of intrapersonal and organizational factors affected perceived self-competence, particularly the coeducational nature of school physical education classes and peer teasing, which supported social comparisons of skill level. In promoting sport and physical activity to rural adolescent girls, focus must be directed on developmentally appropriate activities that are fun, offering opportunities for single-sex classes, and generating cultural changes that encourage noncompetitive and self-referencing activities.
Current Concepts of Positive Mental Health.

This is the first of a series of books derived from a national mental health survey by a Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health and supported by the national government through grants authorized by Congress to the National Institute of Mental Health and from some private sources. It is expected that ten monographs will be published in time, followed by a final report, with a summary of findings and recommendations for national and state mental health programs. Certainly this first volume augurs well for the total series, because the author has presented the problems of mental health in succinct and scientific style, with extremely worth-while suggestions for future research. The author starts out with the assumption that mental health is not the negative of mental illness. It suggests that there is a condition that could be called positive mental health, and this the author takes as her focus for
Evaluation of self-medication practices among undergraduate dental students of tertiary care teaching dental hospital in South India

Background: The practice of self-medication may lead to lack of clinical evaluation by a trained medical professional and delay in effective therapy. It is known that even the students of health-care sciences indulge in it. The present study is aimed at assessing the attitude and behavior of dental students toward self-medication. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire based study was conducted in a private dental teaching hospital in South India. The undergraduate dental students from first year to final year who gave consent were included in the study. Information regarding the reason for self-medication, condition for which they self-medicated, type of drugs used, awareness about the drugs used and their source of information was collected. Data was summarized as the number and percentage. Chi-square test was used to test the significance and P Results: The prevalence of self-medication is 62.5%. Headache and mouth ulcers were the most common indications of self-medication. The most commonly used drugs were analgesics, antibiotics and antipyretics. Conclusion: The findings of this study reveal that the majority of the students self-medicate. As these students are future dental practitioners, self-medication as a regular practice by them should be curbed as their behavior may indirectly influence their patient's health.
The effectiveness of a caring protocol: An evaluation study

Abstract Caring has long been affirmed as the essence in nursing. A caring protocol was developed to enhance professional caring and served as a tool to establish a caring culture within a cluster of hospitals. The protocol encompasses three essential elements of professional caring: image, attitude and behaviour. It aims to assess the effectiveness of the protocol in two convalescent hospitals with the objectives to: (1) gain the responses from patients and relatives and (2) explore the feedback from nursing and supporting staff. A mixed method was adopted: a pre- and post-test design and focus group interviews. Nursing and supporting staff from 18 wards were recruited for the study using the caring protocol in two convalescent hospitals. A positive response was obtained from patients and relatives after the implementation of the protocol. Nursing and supporting staff appreciated the implementation process, which could enhance caring. Valuable suggestions were also gathered to maintain the caring culture in wards. The caring protocol is an effective way in enhancing professional caring in hospitals shown by the positive responses from patients and relatives. The protocol was also well accepted by nursing and supporting staff and had a significant impact demonstrated on supporting staff.