Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
P271 Implementing an Acute Asthma Care Bundle

Background In 2010/11 NHS Wakefield District had the highest rate of admissions for acute exacerbation, in adults, within Yorkshire and Humber. The 2009 BTS adult asthma audit highlighted readmission rates within one month to be 19% compared to the national average of 8%. Furthermore, the same audit demonstrated that Pinderfields and Pontefract hospitals (part of Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust) were markedly underperforming, compared to national average, in terms of asthma review, patient education and follow up according to BTS/SIGN guidance. Aims and objectives As part of a new asthma service we introduced an adult acute asthma ‘care bundle’ to improve the frequency of asthma review, patient education and improve post admission follow up. We also aimed to reduce 28 day readmission rates by 20% compared to 2010/11. Methods In February 2011 Pinderfields General Hospital merged its acute inpatient medical services with Pontefract General Infirmary enabling a restructuring of the respiratory team and creation of a Mid Yorskhire Asthma service. Following a programme of staff education the acute asthma care bundle was introduced for all adult patients attending the Emergency Department and Acute Medical Unit with an exacerbation of asthma. Data were collected prospectively following the introduction of the care bundle and is compared against the 2009 BTS audit data. Data presented is from the first 46 patients. Outcomes Following the introduction of the care bundle, inhaler technique assessment was performed in 75.6% of patients, compared to 38% previously. Asthma reviews (including self management plan and asthma education) were performed in 88.9% of patients, compared to 16% previously. Patients were recommended primary care follow up and had arranged secondary care follow up in 80 and 93.3% of admissions, compared to 19 and 37% previously. Furthermore, compared to 2010/11 there was a 66% reduction in 28 day readmissions, mean monthly average reduced from 5.0 to 1.67. Conclusion As part of a restructured respiratory and asthma service the introduction of an acute asthma care bundle led to marked improvements of patient management and 28 day readmission rates.
cGMP signaling inhibits platelet shape change through regulation of the RhoA‐Rho Kinase‐MLC phosphatase signaling pathway

Essentials Platelet shape change requires cytoskeletal rearrangement via myosin‐mediated actin contraction. We investigated whether nitric oxide (NO) affected thrombin‐induced platelet shape change. NO inhibits shape change, RhoA/ROCK signalling and myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation. NO promotes MLC phosphatase activity, thus prevents MLC phosphorylation and shape change.
Comparison of X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging in the definition of tibiofemoral joint osteoarthritis

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare knee cartilage volume with radiological grade of joint space narrowing (JSN) in the tibiofemoral joint. Methods: The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) determined cartilage volume was compared to the radiological JSN grade in 35 consecutive subjects (mean age 66.3±8.6 years, females 66%) participating in an intervention study of osteoarthritis. Results: A linear association was observed between the crude cartilage volume and the grading of JSN in the medial (r=−0.54, P =0.001) and lateral tibiofemoral joint (r=−0.67, P P P Conclusions: Cartilage volume correlates well with radiological grading of JSN. The cartilage volume adjusted for bone size discriminates between those with minimal or no JSN and those with moderate to severe JSN. Whether changes in this index will be useful for assessing disease progression in osteoarthritis (OA) will need to be determined in longitudinal studies.
An investigation of treatment scheduling for phonemic awareness with kindergartners who are at risk for reading difficulties.

PURPOSE This study examined 2 schedules of treatment for phonemic awareness. METHOD Forty-one 5- to 6-year-old kindergartners, including 22 English learners, with low letter-name and first-sound knowledge received 11 hr of phonemic awareness treatment: concentrated (CP, 3x/wk to December), dispersed (DP, 1x/wk to March), and dispersed vocabulary control (CON). RESULTS English learners performed similarly to native English speakers. Participants with moderate deficits in letter-names and first sounds showed significant benefits after both treatment conditions. Three times the intensity had no additional effect on phonemic awareness. CP continued to increase significantly during the no-treatment interval. In March, CP and DP were significantly greater than CON, but the 2 conditions did not differ other than with a minor DP advantage on last sounds. By May, there were no significant differences among the 3 conditions in meeting grade-level expectations for phoneme segmenting. CONCLUSION For phonemic awareness, over the course of a school year, with concomitant classroom instruction, the gains made from short, intense treatment were similar to those made from continuous weekly treatment. At-risk kindergartners with moderate deficits benefited more than those with mild deficits. Children, particularly those with mild deficits, may improve substantially with only classroom instruction and incidental self-regulatory gains from treatment for another area.
Venous thromboembolism and risk of cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Essentials Can venous thromboembolism (VTE) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients be marker of cancer? RA patients with VTE and comparison cohorts from population‐based registries were compared. Increased risk of cancer in RA patients with VTE during the first year of VTE was observed. Risk of cancer in RA patients was increased also during the longer period following VTE.
The National Outcomes Measurement System for pediatric speech-language pathology.

PURPOSE The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA's) National Outcomes Measurement System (NOMS) was developed in the late 1990s. The primary purpose was to serve as a source of data for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who found themselves called on to provide empirical evidence of the functional outcomes associated with their clinical services for child and adult clients who were exhibiting various speech-language pathologies. The present discourse focuses on data that were collected in school settings from the prekindergarten NOMS and the K-12 NOMS. This initial account describes how the data collection systems were developed and the data were collected as well as an overview of the information contained in these databases. METHOD ASHA's Functional Communication Measures (FCMs) were used to describe the disorder-specific communicative dysfunction(s) of each student. These data were obtained at the initiation of a child's speech-language pathology services and again at the time of discharge from these treatments by the SLP. RESULTS As of December 2007, data on more than 2,000 preschool students and 14,000 K-12 students have been reported to these 2 NOMS components by SLPs working in school settings. DISCUSSION The availability of these data has proven to be a very valuable tool with respect to the efforts of school-based SLPs and administrators to document the beneficial impact of speech-language pathology services in school settings.
Infrared stabilization of rice bran and its effects on γ-oryzanol content, tocopherols and fatty acid composition.

BACKGROUND Rice bran is a nutritionally valuable by-product of paddy milling. In this study an experimental infrared (IR) stabilization system was developed to prevent rice bran rancidity. The free fatty acid content of raw and IR-stabilized rice bran samples was monitored every 15 days during 6 months of storage. In addition, energy consumption was determined. RESULTS The free fatty acid content of rice bran stabilized at 600 W IR power for 5 min remained below 5% for 165 days. No significant change in γ-oryzanol content or fatty acid composition but a significant decrease in tocopherol content was observed in stabilized rice bran compared with raw bran. IR stabilization was found to be comparable to extrusion with regard to energy consumption. CONCLUSION IR stabilization was effective in preventing hydrolytic rancidity of rice bran. By optimizing the operational parameters of IR stabilization, this by-product has the potential for use in the food industry in various ways as a value-added commodity.
Tissue factor‐bearing microparticles and inflammation: a potential mechanism for the development of venous thromboembolism in cancer

Cancer is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE); the exact mechanisms for the induction of VTE remain to be fully elucidated, but it is widely acknowledged that tissue factor (TF)‐bearing microparticles (TF‐MPs) may play a significant role. However, TF‐MPs have yet to be accepted as a genuine biomarker for cancer‐associated VTE, as the presence of elevated TF‐MP levels is not always accompanied by thrombosis; interestingly, in certain cases, particularly in pancreatic cancer, VTE seems to be more likely in the context of acute inflammation. Although several potential mechanisms for the development of VTE in cancer have been postulated, this review explores the homeostatic disruption of TF‐MPs, as the main reservoir of bloodborne TF, in the context of cancer and inflammation, and considers the abrogated responses of the activated endothelium and mononuclear phagocyte system in mediating this disruption.
A roadmap for the study of conscious audition and its neural basis

How and which aspects of neural activity give rise to subjective perceptual experience—i.e. conscious perception—is a fundamental question of neuroscience. To date, the vast majority of work concerning this question has come from vision, raising the issue of generalizability of prominent resulting theories. However, recent work has begun to shed light on the neural processes subserving conscious perception in other modalities, particularly audition. Here, we outline a roadmap for the future study of conscious auditory perception and its neural basis, paying particular attention to how conscious perception emerges (and of which elements or groups of elements) in complex auditory scenes. We begin by discussing the functional role of the auditory system, particularly as it pertains to conscious perception. Next, we ask: what are the phenomena that need to be explained by a theory of conscious auditory perception? After surveying the available literature for candidate neural correlates, we end by considering the implications that such results have for a general theory of conscious perception as well as prominent outstanding questions and what approaches/techniques can best be used to address them. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Auditory and visual scene analysis’.
Assessment of flower number per inflorescence in grapevine by image analysis under field conditions.

BACKGROUND Flowers, flowering and fruit set are key determinants of grapevine yield. Currently, practical methods to assess the flower number per inflorescence, necessary for fruit set estimation, are time and labour demanding. This work aims at developing a simple, cheap, fast, accurate and robust machine vision methodology to be applied to RGB images taken under field conditions, to estimate the number of flowers per inflorescence automatically. RESULTS Ninety images of individual inflorescences of Vitis vinifera L. cultivars Tempranillo, Graciano and Carignan were acquired in the vineyard with a pocket RGB camera prior to flowering, and used to develop and test the 'flower counting' algorithm. Strong and significant relationships, with R(2) above 80% for the three cultivars were observed between actual and automated estimation of inflorescence flower numbers, with a precision exceeding 90% for all cultivars. CONCLUSION The developed algorithm proved that the analysis of digital images captured by pocket cameras under uncontrolled outdoors conditions was able to automatically provide a useful estimation of the number of flowers per inflorescence of grapevines at early stages of flowering.
The effect of test presentation on children with autism spectrum disorders and neurotypical peers.

PURPOSE The purpose of this experiment was to determine if there is alternate forms reliability for paper- and computer-administered standardized vocabulary tests. Another purpose was to determine whether the behavioral ratings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) would improve during the computer-administered testing sessions secondary to a decreased need for social interaction. METHOD Thirty-six school-age children (half with ASDs, half neurotypical [NT]) took 2 versions (i.e., paper vs. computer) of the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT-2000; Brownell, 2000a) and the Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (ROWPVT-2000; Brownell, 2000b). Order of presentation was counterbalanced across participants. Test sessions were videotaped, and randomly selected 1-min intervals were rated for behaviors. Standardized test scores and behavior ratings were compared for equivalence across the test presentation methods. RESULTS Standard scores for both versions of the tests were not significantly different for both groups of participants. There were no differences in behavioral ratings between the two methods of test presentation. CONCLUSION Alternate forms reliability was found, thus expanding the options for testing for school-age populations. The use of computers had no effect on the behaviors of the children with ASDs. The ramifications of this finding for assessment and intervention for children with ASDs are discussed.
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF FOOD RISK ISSUES AND FOOD RISK MESSAGES ON THE ISLAND OF IRELAND: THE VIEWS OF FOOD SAFETY EXPERTS

Food safety experts have a key role in constructing food risk messages and thus their perceptions will influence how food risk issues are communicated to the public. This research examined the perceptions of food safety experts regarding public understanding of food risk issues and food risk messages on the island of Ireland. It also looked into expert views of the barriers to effective food risk communication and how to improve food risk messages. One hundred and forty-three experts, working in areas related to food safety, completed an online questionnaire. Questionnaire and statement design was guided by the results of four in-depth interviews with food safety experts. The findings indicate that most experts surveyed have little confidence in the public's understanding of food risk issues, their assessment of food risks, their ability to deal with scientific information and their food safety practices. Experts are of the view that the public under-assesses the risk associated with some microbiological hazards and over-assesses the risk associated with other hazards such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The opinion of experts with regard to GMOs is not supported by previous consumer research. Experts noted that the level of education and age were important determinants for the level of understanding of food risk issues and messages. Experts were of the view that early intervention via school curricula was the best method to improve public understanding of food risk messages in the long term. Furthermore, experts are of the view that the media have the ability to improve awareness and knowledge about food risk issues but believe that the media tend to communicate information that is misleading. The majority of experts also believe that they should communicate uncertainty but are not confident that the public is able to cope with this uncertainty. Many of the experts also indicated a desire for training on how to interact with the media. The results may be used by those experts who are involved in the construction of food risk messages to improve the design and communication of food risk messages.
Quantifying direct effects of social determinants of health on glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to investigate if self-care is the pathway through which social determinants of health impact diabetes outcomes by analyzing the direct and indirect effects of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors on self-care and glycemic control. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Six hundred fifteen adults were recruited from two primary care clinics in the southeastern United States. A series of confirmatory factor analyses identified the latent factors underlying social status, psychosocial determinants (psychological distress, self-efficacy, and social support), and self-care (diet, exercise, foot care, glucose testing, and medication adherence). Structured equation modeling investigated the relationship among social determinants, self-care and glycemic control. RESULTS Latent variables were created for diabetes self-care, psychological distress, self-efficacy, social support, and social status. The final model [χ(2)(275)=450.07, P<0.001, R(2)=99, root mean square error of approximation=0.03, comparative fit index=0.98] showed lower psychological distress (r=-0.13, P=0.012), higher social support (r=0.14, P=0.01), and higher self-efficacy (r=0.47, P<0.001) were significantly related to diabetes self-care. Lower psychological distress (r=0.10, P=0.03), lower social support (r=0.10, P=0.02), and higher self-efficacy (r=-0.37, P<0.001) were significantly related to lower glycemic control. When social determinants of health variables were included in the model, self-care was no longer significantly associated with glycemic control (r=0.01, P=0.83). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests a direct relationship between psychosocial determinants of health and glycemic control. Although associated with self-care, the relationship between social determinants of health and glycemic control is not mediated by self-care. Development of interventions should take psychosocial factors into account as independent influences on diabetes outcomes, rather than as indirect influences via self-care behavior.
Deciding about Using Hormone Therapy for Prevention of Diseases of Advanced Age

The purpose of this study was to examine the decision processes in which women engage as they commit to use, and continue to use, postmenopausal hormone therapy and to consider the implications of these decision processes for health care. Data were collected from midlife women in a series of six focus groups encompassing multiple ethnic and social groups. Focus group transcripts were analyzed for themes reflecting components of women's decision processes and decision patterns, and points at which health care providers were involved were identified. Participants identified five phases of a decision process: precontemplation, contemplation, commitment, critical evaluation, and continuance of therapy. Health care providers have significant opportunities to interact with women during the transitions between these phases; hence these interactions need to be synchronized with women's decision processes and need to address affective as well as cognitive processes.
Phase asymmetries in normophonic speakers: visual judgments and objective findings.

PURPOSE To ascertain the amount of phase asymmetry of the vocal fold vibration in normophonic speakers via visualization techniques and compare findings for habitual and pressed phonations. METHOD Fifty-two normophonic speakers underwent stroboscopy and high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV). The HSV images were further processed into 4 visual displays: HSV playbacks, digital kymography (DKG) playbacks, mucosal wave kymography playbacks, and static kymographic images of the medial line from the DKG playback. Two types of phase asymmetries, left-right and anterior-posterior, were rated on a scale from 1 to 5. Objective measures of left-right phase asymmetry were obtained. RESULTS The majority of normophonic speakers (81%) were noted to display anterior-posterior asymmetry; however, 66% of those were characterized as mild. Seventy-nine percent of participants were noted to display left-right asymmetry; however, 72% of those were mild. A moderate relationship between the objective measures and subjective ratings was found. CONCLUSIONS Most normophonic speakers exhibit mild left-right and anterior-posterior asymmetries for both habitual and pressed phonations. Asymmetries were noted more often during habitual than pressed phonations, and when visualized by HSV and kymography than stroboscopy. Differences between objective measures and visual judgments support the need to quantify vocal fold vibratory features.
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of US practitioners who provide pre-travel advice.

BACKGROUND As international travel increases, many health care professionals are being asked to provide pre-travel advice. We designed an anonymous web-based survey to assess the extent to which primary care providers (PCPs) provide travel medicine advice and how their understanding and delivery of itinerary-specific advice and management compare with that of travel medicine specialists. METHODS We surveyed randomly selected US PCPs registered in the Pri-Med Institute (now pmiCME) database and US travel medicine specialists from the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM), American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yellow fever (YF) vaccine provider mailing lists. SAS software (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) was used for all analyses. RESULTS Of 14,932 e-mails sent to valid e-mail addresses, 902 yielded complete or partially completed surveys (6.0% response rate). Eighty percent of respondents personally provided pre-travel advice (95% of travel medicine specialists versus 73% of PCPs). About two thirds of PCPs (68%) providing pre-travel consultations saw <50 travelers per year whereas 30% of travel medicine specialists saw <50 travelers per year. More travel medicine specialists (59%) than PCPs (18%) saw >500 travelers per year. Familiarity with travel-specific vaccines (YF, Japanese encephalitis) and provision of written educational materials increased as volume of travelers increased. Familiarity with antimalarial side effects and malaria resistance patterns, and knowledge scores based on brief pre-travel scenarios were higher in travel medicine specialists, ASTMH or ISTM certificate holders, and respondents who saw more pre-travel patients. CONCLUSIONS Many PCP survey participants provided pre-travel advice, but most saw few travelers. Volume of travelers and holding an ASTMH or ISTM certificate had the greatest influence on knowledge of travel medicine and provision of appropriate advice and recommendations. Creating easily accessible travel medicine education programs for US providers from a wide range of disciplines is needed to improve the management of travelers.
Cultural evolution of military camouflage

While one has evolved and the other been consciously created, animal and military camouflage are expected to show many similar design principles. Using a unique database of calibrated photographs of camouflage uniform patterns, processed using texture and colour analysis methods from computer vision, we show that the parallels with biology are deeper than design for effective concealment. Using two case studies we show that, like many animal colour patterns, military camouflage can serve multiple functions. Following the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, countries that became more Western-facing in political terms converged on NATO patterns in camouflage texture and colour. Following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, the resulting states diverged in design, becoming more similar to neighbouring countries than the ancestral design. None of these insights would have been obtained using extant military approaches to camouflage design, which focus solely on concealment. Moreover, our computational techniques for quantifying pattern offer new tools for comparative biologists studying animal coloration. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Animal coloration: production, perception, function and application'.