Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Training Pediatric Fellows in Palliative Care: A Pilot Comparison of Simulation Training and Didactic Education.

BACKGROUND Pediatric fellows receive little palliative care (PC) education and have few opportunities to practice communication skills. OBJECTIVE In this pilot study, we assessed (1) the relative effectiveness of simulation-based versus didactic education, (2) communication skill retention, and (3) effect on PC consultation rates. DESIGN Thirty-five pediatric fellows in cardiology, critical care, hematology/oncology, and neonatology at two institutions enrolled: 17 in the intervention (simulation-based) group (single institution) and 18 in the control (didactic education) group (second institution). Intervention group participants participated in a two-day program over three months (three simulations and videotaped PC panel). Control group participants received written education designed to be similar in content and time. MEASUREMENTS (1) Self-assessment questionnaires were completed at baseline, post-intervention and three months; mean between-group differences for each outcome measure were assessed. (2) External reviewers rated simulation-group encounters on nine communication domains. Within-group changes over time were assessed. (3) The simulation-based site's PC consultations were compared in the six months pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS Compared to the control group, participants in the intervention group improved in self-efficacy (p = 0.003) and perceived adequacy of medical education (p < 0.001), but not knowledge (p = 0.20). Reviewers noted nonsustained improvement in four domains: relationship building (p = 0.01), opening discussion (p = 0.03), gathering information (p = 0.01), and communicating accurate information (p = 0.04). PC consultation rate increased 64%, an improvement when normalized to average daily census (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS This simulation-based curriculum is an effective method for improving PC comfort, education, and consults. More frequent practice is likely needed to lead to sustained improvements in communication competence.
Differential benefits of volunteering across the life course.

OBJECTIVES Studies often fail to adequately test the causal relationship between volunteering and well-being. Yet the media and empirical research have focused attention on the impact of volunteering on the well-being of elderly persons. This study addresses two questions: First, does volunteering improve the psychological and physical well-being of elderly persons? Second, do elderly volunteers experience different benefits than younger adults? METHODS Using nationally representative panel data, I assessed the long-term impact of volunteering on the life satisfaction and perceived health of persons aged 60 and over. I then compared ordinary least squares regression results for seniors with those for younger adults. RESULTS I found that older volunteers experienced greater increases in life satisfaction over time as a result of their volunteer hours than did younger adult volunteers, especially at high rates of volunteering. Older adults experienced greater positive changes in their perceived health than did younger adult volunteers. DISCUSSION The type of volunteer work in which older and younger adults engage may be part of the reason for these differential effects. But the context in which older and younger adults volunteer and the meaning of their voluntarism are more likely explanations. Researchers should take into account volunteer commitment when studying volunteering's effect on well-being, not simply volunteer role.
Study of Deep Learning Techniques for Side-Channel Analysis and Introduction to ASCAD Database

To provide insurance on the resistance of a system against side-channel analysis, several national or private schemes are today promoting an evaluation strategy, common in classical cryptography, which is focussing on the most powerful adversary who may train to learn about the dependency between the device behaviour and the sensitive data values. Several works have shown that this kind of analysis, known as Template Attacks in the side-channel domain, can be rephrased as a classical Machine Learning classiﬁcation problem with learning phase. Following the current trend in the latter area, recent works have demonstrated that deep learning algorithms were very eﬃcient to conduct security evaluations of embedded systems and had many advantages compared to the other methods. Unfortunately, their hyper-parametrization has often been kept secret by the authors who only discussed on the main design principles and on the attack eﬃciencies. This is clearly an important limitation of previous works since (1) the latter parametrization is known to be a challenging question in Machine Learning and (2) it does not allow for the reproducibility of the presented results. This paper aims to address these limitations in several ways. First, completing recent works, we propose a comprehensive study of deep learning algorithms when applied in the context of side-channel analysis and we discuss the links with the classical template attacks. Secondly, we address the question of the choice of the hyper-parameters for the class of multi-layer perceptron networks and convolutional neural networks. Several benchmarks and rationales are given in the context of the analysis of a masked implementation of the AES algorithm. To enable perfect reproducibility of our tests, this work also introduces an open platform including all the sources of the target implementation together with the campaign of electromagnetic measurements exploited in our benchmarks. This open database, named ASCAD, has been speciﬁed to serve as a common basis for further works on this subject. Our work conﬁrms the conclusions made by Cagli et al. at CHES 2017 about the high potential of convolutional neural networks. Interestingly, it shows that the approach followed to design the algorithm VGG-16 used for image recognition seems also to be sound when it comes to ﬁx an architecture for side-channel analysis.
Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on BtoB Relational Performance

Recently, the influence of corporations has been increasing rapidly, and many types of stakeholders have become involved. Thus, the role of the corporate ability of stakeholder management has become more important in the overall performance of corporations. One of the most effective tools for managing various stakeholder groups is corporate social responsibility (CSR). Previous CSR studies have focused on how CSR activities influence relationships among corporations, customers, investors, and employees. The present study examines the effect of CSR on the relationship between corporations and their counterparts such as suppliers and partners, among others, which no study has explored. Thus, this study empirically examines the relationship between CSR activities and BtoB transaction performance. The results suggest that corporations with excellent CSR activities are likely to show better relationship performance in terms of satisfaction, relationship value, relationship commitment, dependence, cooperation, and communication.
Effects of dietary vitamin E supplementation on fattening performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality traits of Karya male lambs

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary vitamin E supplementation on performance, slaughter-carcass characteristics and meat quality traits of Karya male lambs. Lambs weaned approximately at 10 weeks of age were divided into two groups. After the 10 days adaptation period, control group (CG, n=7) and vitamin E group (VEG, n=6) lambs were fed on with concentrates ad libitum and 100 g hay/lamb/day for 70 days. In addition the VEG received a supplement on concentrates of 45 mg/lamb/day vitamin E during the fattening period. The meat quality traits were determined using m. longissimus dorsi (LD) obtained from split between 12th and 13th ribs on both groups lambs. Daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were 259 g and 5.3 for CG and 266 g and 4.7 for VEG, respectively. There was no vitamin E supplementation effect on the average daily weight gain and feed conversion efficiency (P>0.05). However, VEG had 10.5 % higher feed conversion efficiency than control lambs. Slaughter and carcass characteristics of lambs were not significantly affected from vitamin E supplementation (P>0.05). There were no effects of vitamin E supplementation on lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*) and pH during 12-day aerobic storage. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values at day 2 were not affected by the vitamin E treatment. However, TBARS values on day 4 and 8 (P<0.05), and day 12 (P<0.01) were higher in the CG than in the VEG. Although not significant, 10 % higher feed conversion efficiency in VEG animals might suggest that vitamin E supplementation is useful to improve fattening performance.
Neural Network–Based Intelligent Compaction Analyzer for Estimating Compaction Quality of Hot Asphalt Mixes

Continuous real-time estimating of compaction quality during the construction of a hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement is addressed in this paper. The densification of asphalt pavements during construction usually is accomplished by using vibratory compactors. During compaction, the compactor and the asphalt mat form a coupled system whose dynamics are influenced by the changing stiffness of the mat. The measured vibrations of the compactor along with process parameters such as lift thickness, mix type, mix temperature, and compaction pressure can be used to predict the asphalt mat density. Contrary to existing techniques in the literature in which a model is developed to fit experimental data and to predict mat density, a neural network-based approach is adopted that is model-free and uses pattern-recognition techniques to estimate density. The neural network is designed to read the entire frequency spectrum of roller vibrations and to classify these vibrations into different levels. The intelligent asphalt c.
Nursing skill mix and outcomes: a Singapore perspective.

AIM To summarize key evidence on nursing skill mix in acute care hospitals and their limitations; and identify the gaps in current literature vis-à-vis Singapore's nursing workforce. BACKGROUND Nursing skill mix has been theorized to be a factor influencing patient, nurse and organizational outcomes. While there is a growing body of literature explicating associations between nursing skill mix and positive outcomes, the evidence does not as yet provide firm directions in determining the best configuration. In addition, differences in nursing workforce characteristics also make it difficult to apply findings from one healthcare setting to another. CONCLUSIONS In reviewing key evidence from the United States of America and Canada, this paper highlights three critical gaps in the nursing skill mix literature when examined in the context of Singapore's nursing workforce. Issues related to the interface between local and foreign nurses, the impact of speciality education, and the possible effects that work roles and distribution may have on quality of care need to be further examined. This knowledge should provide a robust evidence base with which to inform national policy on skill mix and maximize nursing resources in order to achieve optimal outcomes.
Local immune alterations in oral mucosa of the edentulous patients; possible cause of teeth loss?

UNLABELLED Edentulous patients represent a difficult group of patients, especially in those cases when restorative prostheses are tempted on few remaining elements that eventually will be lost. MATERIAL AND METHOD We performed a comparative histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of 20 oral mucosa biopsies in total edentulous patients (15 cases - group A) and ofnontumoral mucosa in oncologic patients (5 cases - group B, control). RESULTS In group A the inflammatory infiltrate was dominated by the presence of numerous plasma cells (80%) and in 60% of the cases more numerous T cells than B cells were identified. We noticed various aspects of inflammatory infiltrate distribution in cases with epithelial ulceration (either CD8+ T cells intraepithelial and CD4+ T cells beneath the epithelium and perivascular or both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in both lamina propria and intraepithelial location). 5 of seven cases which included salivary gland tissue revealed moderately to severe inflammatory infiltrate consisting of lymphocytes and plasma cells with lymphoepithelial lesion stage 1 aspects (71.42%). The control group (group B) presented plasma cell inflammatory infiltrate in one case (20%). None of the control cases had lymphoepithelial-like lesions within the salivary tissue. CONCLUSIONS Presence of intraepithelial T citotoxic cells (CD8+) is correlated with presence of ulceration of the alveolar crest covering mucosa in the edentulous patients. Lymphoepithelial-like lesions of the minor salivary tissue in edentulous patients suggest an autoimmune response in local mucosa.
A New Patch Antenna Designed for CubeSat: Dual feed, L\/S dual-band stacked, and circularly polarized.

This article describes a dual-feed, L/S-dual-band-stacked, circularly polarized (CP) patch antenna designed for CubeSat. The antenna is formed by three layers and includes a stacked, dual-band patch antenna on the top and a metallic ground with an embedded feeding network at the bottom. Four stubs are symmetrically added around the periphery of each square patch to tune the operating frequency. The feeding network is made of two independent 3-dB branch-line hybrid couplers formed by striplines. A prototype of the designed antenna has been fabricated and measured. Simulated results show good agreement with measured results. Measured return loss is well below -15 dB, while the axial ratio (AR) is better than 2 dB at both operating frequency bands. Moreover, the measured half-power beamwidth (HPBW) exceeds 80? for both working frequencies. Space environment testing procedures were conducted and demonstrated high reliability and antenna stability.
Activity and expression of acetylcholinesterase in PC12 cells exposed to intermittent 1.8 GHz 217-GSM mobile phone signal

Abstract Purpose Due to its role in learning, memory and in many neurodegenerative diseases, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) represents an interesting endpoint to assess possible targets of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) generated by mobile phones. We investigated possible alterations of enzymatic activity, gene and protein expression of AChE in neuronal-like cells exposed to a 1.8 GHz Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) modulated signal (217-GSM). Materials and methods Rat PC12 cells were exposed for 24 h to 1.8 GHz 217-GSM signal. Specific adsorption rate (SAR) was 2 W/kg. AChE enzyme activity was assessed spectrophotometrically by Ellman’s method, mRNA expression level was evaluated by real time polymerase chain reaction, and protein expression was assessed by Western blotting. Results AChE enzymatic activity increased of 1.4-fold in PC12 cells exposed to 217-GSM signal for 24 h, whilst AChE transcriptional or translational pathways were not affected. Conclusion Our results provide the first evidence of effects on AChE activity after in vitro exposure of mammalian cells to the RF-EMF generated by GSM mobile phones, at the SAR value 2 W/kg. The obtained evidence promotes further investigations on AChE as a possible target of RF-EMF and confirm the ability of 1.8 GHz 217-GSM signal to induce biological effects in different mammalian cells.
Tuberous Sclerosis: from Tubers to mTOR

Tuberous sclerosis (TSC) is an autosomal dominant hamartoma syndrome whose causative genes (TSC1 and TSC2) were identified 5 and 9 years ago respectively. Their encoded proteins are large, and apart from a strong binding interaction with each other, relatively little was known about their biochemical function. Recent studies in Drosophila have pinpointed a critical function for the DrosophilaTSC1/TSC2 homologues in the regulation of cell size. Epistasis experiments and a variety of biochemical studies that followed have indicated a critical function for these proteins in the highly conserved PI‐3‐kinase‐Akt‐mTOR signalling pathway.
Perceptions of desirable tooth color among parents, dentists and children.

BACKGROUND As part of a large-scale fluoridation cessation study, standardized examiners assessed 8,281 school-aged children for dental fluorosis using the Thylstrup Fejerskov index, or TFI, in which scores range from 0 (no fluorosis) to 9 (severe loss of enamel with change of anatomical appearance). METHODS Dentists, parents and children were asked to respond to a statement, "The color of these teeth (mine or my child's) is pleasing and looks nice. " Agreement or disagreement with the statement was indicated on a five-level scale, with a rating of 1 representing total agreement with the reference statement. The authors used repeated-measures analysis of variance to ascertain differences in satisfaction with the esthetic appearance of the subject's tooth color across dentists', parents' and subjects' perceptions. RESULTS Girls were more critical of their tooth color than were boys; however, parents and dentists were more critical of boys' tooth color than of girls'. While younger subjects were more critical than older subjects, parents of younger subjects were less critical than those of older subjects. Dentists' ratings were not significantly associated with subjects' age group. Subjects with a TFI score of 1 or 2 were not significantly more critical than subjects with a TFI score of 0, while those with a TFI score of 3 of higher were. Similarly, only parents of subjects with a TFI score of 3 of higher had significantly different ratings. CONCLUSIONS The three stakeholders in the esthetic treatment of children-parents, dentists and patients-appear to see the potential outcome of such treatment differently. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Dentists should ensure that parents and children agree about the course of treatment, the rationale for undertaking it and the results that could reasonably be expected.
Factors Contributing to Phoneme Recognition Ability of Users of the 22-Channel Cochlear Implant System

A study was carried out to determine which factors contributed to the vowel and consonant recognition ability of recipients of the 22-channel cochlear implant system. On the basis of the statistical analysis, no isolated factor showed a strong correlation with vowel recognition score. On the other hand, negative correlations were found between patients' consonant recognition scores and postoperative psychophysical percepts such as threshold levels and maximum comfortable loudness levels. However, multiple regression analysis also showed that the combination of lower threshold levels, a larger number of usable electrodes, and wider dynamic ranges contributed to higher consonant recognition scores.
Brand Equity and Factors Affecting Consumer-s Purchase Intention towards Luxury Brands in Bangkok Metropolitan Area

— The purposes of this research were 1) to study consumer-based equity of luxury brands, 2) to study consumers’ purchase intention for luxury brands, 3) to study direct factors affecting purchase intention towards luxury brands, and 4) to study indirect factors affecting purchase intention towards luxury brands through brand consciousness and brand equity to analyze information by descriptive statistic and hierarchical stepwise regression analysis. The findings revealed that the eight variables of the framework which were: need for uniqueness, normative susceptibility, status consumption, brand consciousness, brand awareness, perceived quality, brand association, and brand loyalty affected the purchase intention of the luxury brands (at the significance of 0.05). Brand Loyalty had the strongest direct effect while status consumption had the strongest indirect effect affecting the purchase intention towards luxury brands. Brand consciousness and brand equity had the mediators through the purchase intention of the luxury brands (at the significance of 0.05).
Viral contribution to dissolved DNA in the marine environment as determined by differential centrifugation and kingdom probing

Dissolved or filterable (<0.2-(mu)m-pore-size filter) DNA is a ubiquitous component of the dissolved organic matter in the surface waters of this planet. In an effort to understand the composition and possible sources, we subjected dissolved DNA concentrated by vortex flow filtration from offshore and coastal environments to differential centrifugation and probing with 16S rRNA-targeted kingdom oligonucleotide probes. Initial studies with calf thymus soluble DNA and T2 phage particles indicated that high-speed ultracentrifugation (201,000 x g for 90 min), a method to separate viral particles from soluble DNA used by other investigators, resulted in pelleting of nearly all the DNA and virus particles. Lower-speed centrifugation (11,200 to 25,800 x g for 90 min) resulted in >99% of the virus particles being collected in the pellet and (equiv)65% of the calf thymus DNA remaining in the supernatant. Employing this approach, we estimate that approximately 50% of the filterable DNA from marine environments is truly soluble or free DNA and that the other half is composed of bound forms (viral particles and, potentially, colloids). Of the bound form, 17 to 30% could be accounted for by viral particles, by calculating the amount of viral DNA on the basis of viral abundance, leaving a portion of the bound form uncharacterized. Kingdom probing with universal, eubacterial, and eucaryotic probes indicated that dissolved DNA hybridized with all of these probes, while purified standard viral DNAs did not, or hybridized only slightly with the universal probe (tailed oligonucleotide only). Collectively, these data indicate that DNA in viral particles is a small component of the dissolved DNA, the majority being of eubacterial and eucaryotic origin.
E-business complaint management: perceptions and perspectives of online credibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate public online consumer complaint responses from three different perspectives: the complainer, the company and third party consumers. Consumer complaint behaviour and management has been studied in various streams of literature, yet the subsequent processes triggered by a company complaint response have not been studied so far. In particular, this paper seeks to divert from examining complaint participants in isolation by recognising interrelated communication effects of complaint dialogue and public media. Design/methodology/approach – Looking at credibility perceptions as a theoretical construct for measuring the utility of a complaint as well as attitude-orientation as an evaluative moderator, the paper highlights the ambiguity of meaning transfer in an online complaint forum. Findings – It is hypothesised that credibility and congruence in attitude orientation positively enhance complaint utility perceptions and strongly bias complaint dialogue evaluations. Originality/value – The paper highlights that expected relevant results for online complaint managers and marketers alike are the inclusion of post-complaint communication into corporate image and relationship management as well as using credibility perceptions as a benchmark for online customer satisfaction and potential positive electronic word-of-mouth.