Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of orthostatic stress on multiscale entropy of heart rate and blood pressure

Cardiovascular control acts over multiple time scales, which introduces a significant amount of complexity to heart rate and blood pressure time series. Multiscale entropy (MSE) analysis has been developed to quantify the complexity of a time series over multiple time scales. In previous studies, MSE analyses identified impaired cardiovascular control and increased cardiovascular risk in various pathological conditions. Despite the increasing acceptance of the MSE technique in clinical research, information underpinning the involvement of the autonomic nervous system in the MSE of heart rate and blood pressure is lacking. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of orthostatic challenge on the MSE of heart rate and blood pressure variability (HRV, BPV) and the correlation between MSE (complexity measures) and traditional linear (time and frequency domain) measures. MSE analysis of HRV and BPV was performed in 28 healthy young subjects on 1000 consecutive heart beats in the supine and standing positions. Sample entropy values were assessed on scales of 1–10. We found that MSE of heart rate and blood pressure signals is sensitive to changes in autonomic balance caused by postural change from the supine to the standing position. The effect of orthostatic challenge on heart rate and blood pressure complexity depended on the time scale under investigation. Entropy values did not correlate with the mean values of heart rate and blood pressure and showed only weak correlations with linear HRV and BPV measures. In conclusion, the MSE analysis of heart rate and blood pressure provides a sensitive tool to detect changes in autonomic balance as induced by postural change.
Review Article: Child health in Greenland

Aim: To review the knowledge on child health and child health problems in Greenland. Method: The review was based on theses, national statistics, national and international reports, and a search in Pub Med, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and WHOLIB databases from 1985 to 2005. The resulting articles were sorted by topic, type, quality of study, and relevance for child health today, providing 47 articles. Results: Children in Greenland have become taller and have improved their general health. The morbidity found in Greenlandic children is similar to that found elsewhere even though the magnitude of problems might differ. The child mortality is relatively high and unevenly distributed. The acute disease pattern is dominated by infections, mostly airway infections. Otitis and its sequelae is a problem. An increase in chronic conditions such as atopy, asthma, obesity, and disabilities has taken place. Overweight and obesity have tripled in 20 years and are a health threat as well as constituting negative health behaviour. Social ill health, socioeconomic inequity, and sociocultural changes also influence health but their consequences are not well investigated in children. Conclusions: A relatively high child mortality but the same morbidity pattern as in other Western societies was found. Negative health behaviour is frequent in schoolchildren. The influence of rapid cultural changes, and familial and societal factors related to social ill health, together with socioeconomic inequity, are of major importance to the health of children in Greenland. More accurate data on child health are necessary in the future to secure better prioritization. It is suggested to construct a set of reliable indicators of child health in Greenland to monitor the health of children on a national and regional basis.
Social media for the purpose of knowledge creation and creativity management - a study of knowledge workers in Germany

Internet users apply social media platforms such as blogs, social networks, and wikis to create and share content. This phenomenon not only dramatically influences sales and marketing but also affects knowledge management and creative collaboration. Social media in working environment seems to be on the verge of establishment due to its potential capabilities. On the other hand, concerns persist that social media use at workplace may reduce productivity, reliability, and work performance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand if and how the usage of social media in working environments for networking, information search, and idea generation may influence creativity, knowledge creation, and innovation. On the basis of structured interviews with knowledge workers from universities and public research institutes in Germany, the paper aims to examine the sources of information in the course of idea generation as well as the impact of social media on creative processes.
Telehealth for patients with Parkinson’s disease: delivering efficient and sustainable long-term care

ABSTRACT Objectives: We set out to demonstrate the benefits of providing long-term care via telehealth for patients with Parkinson’s disease living in continuous care facilities. Methods: A cohort of 16 patients with Parkinson’s disease residing at one of 2 locations of a multi-facility continuous care retirement organization were seen virtually in follow-up over a 3-year period by Telehealth Services at a large, academic, tertiary care hospital in southeastern Pennsylvania. The data collected during that period, studied retrospectively, included demographic information, number of telehealth visits, and UPDRS scores obtained at each visit. Satisfaction and potential cost savings were also reviewed. Results: UPDRS scores declined over the period of observation, from a range of 18-60 at study start to 28-72 at study end. Actual cost savings are difficult to define; however, the cost per telehealth visit at $117.30 was often lower than the facility’s average cost for transporting patients to a visit in the neurologist’s office. Patients, families, subspecialists, and the nursing staff expressed uniformly high satisfaction with telehealth. Conclusion: This model for providing care proved to be sustainable and efficient, and promoted collaboration among the providers at the long-term care facility and those at the remote site. These benefits may be applicable to patients with degenerative disorders in similar settings.
Migratory activation of parasitized dendritic cells by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii 14‐3‐3 protein

The obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii exploits cells of the immune system to disseminate. Upon infection, parasitized dendritic cells (DCs) and microglia exhibit a hypermigratory phenotype in vitro that has been associated with enhancing parasite dissemination in vivo in mice. One unresolved question is how parasites commandeer parasitized cells to achieve systemic dissemination by a ‘Trojan‐horse’ mechanism. By chromatography and mass spectrometry analyses, we identified an orthologue of the 14‐3‐3 protein family, T. gondii 14‐3‐3 (Tg14‐3‐3), as mediator of DC hypermotility. We demonstrate that parasite‐derived polypeptide fractions enriched for Tg14‐3‐3 or recombinant Tg14‐3‐3 are sufficient to induce the hypermotile phenotype when introduced by protein transfection into murine DCs, human DCs or microglia. Further, gene transfer of Tg14‐3‐3 by lentiviral transduction induced hypermotility in primary human DCs. In parasites expressing Tg14‐3‐3 in a ligand‐regulatable fashion, overexpression of Tg14‐3‐3 was correlated with induction of hypermotility in parasitized DCs. Localization studies in infected DCs identified Tg14‐3‐3 within the parasitophorous vacuolar space and a rapid recruitment of host cell 14‐3‐3 to the parasitophorous vacuole membrane. The present work identifies a determinant role for Tg14‐3‐3 in the induction of the migratory activation of immune cells by T. gondii. Collectively, the findings reveal Tg14‐3‐3 as a novel target for an intracellular pathogen that acts by hijacking the host cell's migratory properties to disseminate.
Glycemic Variability and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Aim : The purpose of the present study was to quantify glucose variability in type 2 diabetic patients and establishing relationship with cardiometabolic parameters and type of glucose-lowering treatment. Material and Methods : Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) was used in 373 type 2 diabetic patients . Glycemic variability (GV) was evaluated by many indices based on CGM data such as mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), standard deviation (SD), nMAGE (calculating MAGE from glucose monitoring data using the algorithm proposed by Baghurst) and mean interstitial glucose values (MG). Results : GV increases significantly from diet to insulin group (p=0.001) and from oral therapy to insulin therapy (p=0.001) by MAGE, SD and nMAGE indices and less powerful for MG (p=0.042 and 0.003 respectively). All GV indices are correlated with each other, the strong relationship being shown between MAGE, SD and nMAGE (p=0.0001). Conclusions : There exists a progressive alteration of GV from diet to insulin therapy in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The simple standard deviation of CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) readings appears to be the best practical pathway to quantify glucose variability.
Understanding barriers to blood donation by sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees: Preliminary focus group results

Blood donation rates in Australia are relatively low (i.e., around 3%) but are even lower among migrants. For Sub-Saharan African migrants, availability of blood is more problematic as they have higher rates of rare blood types and increased incidence of diseases requiring blood transfusions. Meeting their increased need for blood products requires blood services to understand socio-cultural beliefs and practices associated with blood and blood donation. This research sought to address this gap. Nine focus groups were conducted with Sub-Saharan African migrant community members in order to understand the barriers inhibiting blood donation in this sub-population. Preliminary analyses of results indicate this group is positively disposed to blood donation, but there are some negative attitudes and knowledge gaps that contribute to low donation rates. Additionally, there is a general feeling of discrimination that is also inhibiting donation. The implications of this study are discussed for enhancing blood donation levels within the Sub-Saharan community.
Health Risk Behavior Patterns in a National Adult Population Survey

Background: The aim of this paper is to analyze the co-occurrence of health risk behaviors (HRBs), namely, tobacco smoking, alcohol risk drinking, overeating, and physical inactivity, as well as their 16 combinations (patterns), which are stratified by age and gender. Methods: The data of 19,294 study participants, from a telephone survey among the adult general population of Germany that was conducted in 2012, were analyzed. Results: In adults, two or more of the four HBRs were found among 51.5% of females and 61.9% of males. The single most prevalent HRB pattern among all of the female (20.7, 19.6–21.8%) and male participants (18.2, 17.1–19.3%) was being overweight combined with a lack of physical activity, and its prevalence increased by 4% with each year of life. A multinomial regression analysis revealed that education was inversely associated with 11 of the 15 HRB patterns. The risk of having four, compared to zero, HRBs was 3.3 (2.5–4.4) for males relative to females. Conclusion: Similar to the findings from other western countries, the majority of the participants in this adult national sample from Germany had two or more HRBs. The most common of all possible HRB patterns was overweight and inactivity. The data confirm inverse relations between education and most HRB patterns.
Planck 2013 results. XI. All-sky model of thermal dust emission

This paper presents an all-sky model of dust emission from the Planck 857, 545 and 353 GHz, and IRAS 100 micron data. Using a modified black-body fit to the data we present all-sky maps of the dust optical depth, temperature, and spectral index over the 353-3000 GHz range. This model is a tight representation of the data at 5 arcmin. It shows variations of the order of 30 % compared with the widely-used model of Finkbeiner, Davis, and Schlegel. The Planck data allow us to estimate the dust temperature uniformly over the whole sky, providing an improved estimate of the dust optical depth compared to previous all-sky dust model, especially in high-contrast molecular regions. An increase of the dust opacity at 353 GHz, tau_353/N_H, from the diffuse to the denser interstellar medium (ISM) is reported. It is associated with a decrease in the observed dust temperature, T_obs, that could be due at least in part to the increased dust opacity. We also report an excess of dust emission at HI column densities lower than 10^20 cm^-2 that could be the signature of dust in the warm ionized medium. In the diffuse ISM at high Galactic latitude, we report an anti-correlation between tau_353/N_H and T_obs while the dust specific luminosity, i.e., the total dust emission integrated over frequency (the radiance) per hydrogen atom, stays about constant. The implication is that in the diffuse high-latitude ISM tau_353 is not as reliable a tracer of dust column density as we conclude it is in molecular clouds where the correlation of tau_353 with dust extinction estimated using colour excess measurements on stars is strong. To estimate Galactic E(B-V) in extragalactic fields at high latitude we develop a new method based on the thermal dust radiance, instead of the dust optical depth, calibrated to E(B-V) using reddening measurements of quasars deduced from Sloan Digital Sky Survey data.
A new estimate of Ukrainian population losses during the crises of the 1930s and 1940s

Ukraine experienced two very acute demographic crises during the Soviet era: the 1933 famine and the Second World War. While different estimates of total losses have been produced previously, we have tried here to distinguish the specific impact of the crises on mortality from their impact on fertility and migration. Taking into account all existing sources of registered data and estimates, a painstaking reconstruction of annual demographic changes has been produced and complete annual life tables have been computed for the years 1926–59. Life expectancy at birth fell to a level as low as 10 years for females and 7 for males in 1933 and plateaued around 25 for females and 15 for males in the period 1941–44.
Repatriation and the psychological contract: a Saudi Arabian comparative study

Abstract This research explores repatriates’ perceptions of their psychological contract pre- and post-international assignment, upon return to Saudi Arabia. As international assignments can last several years, expectations are likely to change, to the extent that repatriates perceive a gap between their expectations and organizational obligations upon their return. The paper draws on findings from two case studies. These revealed significant differences across the two organizations indicating that human resource policies and practices, as well as informal organizational norms, specifically associated with the expatriation and repatriation process, can have a profound impact on repatriates’ perceptions of whether their psychological contracts have been fulfilled or breached upon their return. The findings also demonstrate the importance of well-defined, explicit HR policies and practices, particularly regarding career development/promotion, if repatriates are to perceive that their psychological contract has been fulfilled upon their return.
Reduction in subthalamic 8–35 Hz oscillatory activity correlates with clinical improvement in Parkinson's disease

Strong synchronization of neuronal activity occurs in the 8–35 Hz band in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and is evident as oscillatory local field potential (LFP) activity. To test whether such synchronization may contribute to bradykinesia and rigidity, we sought correlations between the suppression of synchronization at 8–35 Hz in STN and the reduction in Parkinsonism with levodopa. LFPs were recorded on and off medication from STN deep‐brain stimulation electrodes in nine PD patients. LFP power was calculated over the frequencies of the most prominent spectral peak within the 8–35 Hz frequency band on each of 17 sides (off medication), and over the frequencies of any peak in the 60–90 Hz band, if present (seven sides, on medication). Levodopa‐induced reduction of LFP power over these two frequency ranges was then correlated with improvement in motor impairment as assessed by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). The reduction in peak activity in the 8–35 Hz band with levodopa positively correlated with the improvement in the contralateral hemibody motor UPDRS score with levodopa (r = 0.811, P < 0.001) as well as with hemibody subscores of akinesia‐rigidity (r = 0.835, P < 0.001), but not tremor. A trend for negative correlations was found between peak 60–90 Hz LFP power and UPDRS hemibody score, suggesting that positive correlations were relatively frequency‐specific. Our results support a link between levodopa‐induced improvements in bradykinesia and rigidity and reductions in population synchrony at frequencies < 35 Hz in the region of the STN in patients with PD.
Outcomes in an obstetrical population with hereditary thrombophilia and high tobacco use

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine birth outcomes in women treated or untreated for thrombophilia during pregnancies affected or not by tobacco exposure. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of consecutive women from a single maternal fetal medicine clinic who delivered between January 2009 and December 2013. We compared birth outcomes by four groups of thrombophilia and smoking combinations and then by treated or untreated groups. Results: Of the 8889 pregnant women in this study, 113 had thrombophilia and 97 received treatment. Thromboprophylaxis included: low molecular weight heparin, aspirin, unfractionated heparin, folic acid, and combinations of these. Smokers with thrombophilia had significantly higher rates of preeclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation) and low birth weight (all p ≤ .001). Conversely, this group had significantly lower rates of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count (HELLP syndrome) and placental abruption. Women with thrombophilia who received thromboprophylaxis had lower rates of adverse birth outcomes, reaching significance for preterm birth <32 weeks gestation (4.3% versus 21.1%, p = .026). Conclusion: Pregnant women who smoke and have thrombophilia may be more likely to experience adverse birth outcomes and receive more benefit from thromboprophylaxis than their nonsmoking counterparts.
Back to School: Pathways for Reengagement of Out-of-School Youth in Education

This study identifies what interventions work for reengagement of at-risk and out-of-school adolescents and youth based on effect sizes and systematic evidence. Two core interventions are found: mentoring and psychosocial support. How these can be made effective for addressing the specific needs of at-risk and out-of-school youth further points to enabling interventions: awareness building and outreach work, individualized case management along with integrated support services such as housing, healthcare, money management, assessments and referrals, and financial incentives. Vast literature in substantive fields of science (neuro-science, cognitive theory, behavioral economics, resilience, etc.) provide the underlying logic of why the above core and enabling interventions contribute to the outcome of interest: school reengagement. In chapter 1, the study identifies and characterizes the risks youth face, explains their association with developmental outcomes, and develops an integrative model of risk, resilience, and positive youth development. Chapter 2 conceptually unpacks the causal relationship between education (dis-)engagement and outcomes and, building on the integrative model in the previous chapter, develops a hypothesis on the mechanism of education reengagement. The purpose, outcomes, and benefits of reengagement are discussed. In chapter 3, a methodological framework is developed to identify the factors that can influence reengagement outcomes. This framework embraces more complex explanations of the reengagement process for whom, in what context, what interventions, how, and why and is used to analyze the research findings on reengagement, including program evaluations. For this purpose, the study reviews research from a mix of methods and disciplines. In chapter 4, in addition to identifying interventions with statistically significant effect sizes, we offer further insights about how each of these interventions can shape program outcomes. The study then delves deeper into some of the science that can explain why these interventions work and clarifies for whom and in what context the identified interventions can have impact. In chapter 5, embracing the complex nature of the reengagement phenomena leads to an analysis of evidence from multi-component programs to develop best practices. We include an initial attempt to identify some underlying generalizable mechanisms across core and enabling reengagement interventions that canguide program design. Chapter 6 provides some initial guidance on how to use a more complexreview of the available literature on re-engaging at-risk adolescents and youth into education by drawing out the interlinkages between the interventions, the stakeholders, and the context for the construction of ‘theories of change’ for education reengagement. Chapter 7 offers a brief conclusion on the overall findings of the study.
Using automatic machine assessment to teach computer programming

Abstract We report on an intervention in which informal programming labs were switched to a weekly machine-evaluated test for a second year Data Structures and Algorithms module. Using the online HackerRank system, we investigated whether greater constructive alignment between course content and the exam would result in lower failure rates. After controlling for known associates, a hierarchical regression model revealed that HackerRank performance was the best predictor of exam performance, accounting for 18% of the variance in scores. Extent of practice and confidence in programming ability emerged as additional significant predictors. Although students expressed negativity towards the automated system, the overall failure rate was halved, and the number of students gaining first class honours tripled. We infer that automatic machine assessment better prepares students for situations where they have to write code by themselves by eliminating reliance on external sources of help and motivating the development of self-sufficiency.