Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a formal care worker educational intervention on pressure ulceration in the community

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To develop and evaluate an educational intervention for formal care workers on pressure ulceration in the community. BACKGROUND Pressure ulcers are a major burden to health care and with an ageing population likely to increase. Formal care workers are ideally placed to identify high risk but lack standardised educational provision. DESIGN An insider approach to action research in one provider organisation, November 2014-May 2015. METHODS Number and categorisation of pressure ulcers, within three community nursing teams before and four months after intervention was delivered to a purposive sample (n = 250) of formal care workers, were assessed and the taught element evaluated using a questionnaire and verbal feedback. RESULTS Total number of pressure ulcers reduced from 28-20, category II, 19-11, III unchanged at 6 and IV from 2-0 following the educational intervention. Key risk factors included impaired mobility (71%), urinary incontinence (61%) and previous pressure damage (25%), and 71% had formal care worker input. The intervention was highly rated 4·95/5 by 215 (86%) formal care workers in the evaluation questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS Formal care workers receive little, if any, education on pressure ulceration. An educational intervention can have a positive effect within community care, with the potential to reduce direct costs of care. However, a standardised approach to education is required; an urgent review of the education provision to formal care workers, in the UK and around the world, is therefore essential if the potential that formal care workers offer is to be realised. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Formal care workers are ideally placed to help identify and alert healthcare professionals about patients at high risk of developing pressure ulcers. If this potential is to be realised, a standardised approach to education is required.
Respiratory phase resetting and airflow changes induced by swallowing in humans.

1. Relationships between the timing of respiration and deglutition were studied in thirty awake healthy subjects at rest. Deglutition was monitored by submental electromyography, pharyngeal manometry and videofluoroscopy. Respiration was recorded by measurement of oronasal airflow and chest wall movement. Three types of deglutition were studied: injected bolus swallows, spontaneous swallows, and visually cued swallows of boluses previously placed in the mouth. 2. The effect of each swallow on respiratory rhythm was characterized by measurement of cophase, defined as the interval between the onset of deglutitive submental EMG activity to the onset of subsequent rescheduled inspirations. Cophase was determined for swallows initiated at different phases of the respiratory cycle. In all subjects deglutition caused phase resetting of respiratory rhythm. Cophase was largest for swallows initiated near the the inspiratory‐expiratory (E‐I) transition and smallest for swallows initiated near the expiratory‐inspiratory (E‐I) transition. The pattern of respiratory resetting by deglutition was topologically classified as type 0. This pattern was shown for swallows induced by bolus injection or visual cue, and for spontaneous swallows. 3. The incidence of spontaneous deglutition was influenced by the position of the swallow in the respiratory cycle. Few spontaneous swallows were initiated near the E‐I transition whereas most occurred from late inspiration to mid‐expiration. 4. Deglutition caused an abrupt decrease in airflow leading to an interval of apnoea, followed by a period of expiration. The duration of deglutition apnoea for spontaneous swallows was shorter than that for 5 ml bolus swallows, and was unaffected by the respiratory phase of swallow initiation. The period of expiration after swallowing was longest for swallows initiated at the I‐E transition, and shortest for E‐I swallows. 5. The intervals between bolus injection and the onset of deglutition apnoea, and the timing of swallowing events, were not significantly altered by the phase in the respiratory cycle at which swallowing was exhibited. 6. To quantify the relationship between bolus flow and respiration, we determined the latencies between cessation of inspiratory airflow and arrival of the bolus at the larynx (alpha), and between laryngeal bolus departure and resumption of inspiratory airflow (delta). Both values were dependent upon the respiratory phase of swallowing. The lowest values for alpha and delta were found for early‐inspiratory and late‐expiratory swallows, respectively. 7. We conclude that swallowing causes respiratory phase resetting with a pattern that is characteristic of the strong perturbations of an attractor‐cycle oscillator. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
7.9 pJ/Step Energy-Efficient Multi-Slope 13-bit Capacitance-to-Digital Converter

In this brief, an energy-efficient capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) is presented. The proposed CDC uses digitally controlled coarse-fine multi-slope integration to digitize a wide range of capacitance in short conversion time. Both integration current and frequency are scaled, which leads to significant improvement in the energy efficiency of both analog and digital circuitry. Mathematical analysis for circuit nonidealities, noise, and improvement in energy efficiency is provided. A prototype fabricated in a 0.35-μm CMOS process occupies 0.09 mm2 and consumes a total of 153 μA from 3.3 V supply while achieving 13-bit resolution. The operation of the prototype is experimentally verified using MEMS capacitive pressure sensor. Compared to recently published work, the prototype achieves an excellent energy efficiency of 7.9 pJ/Step.
Genetic improvement of computational biology software

There is a cultural divide between computer scientists and biologists that needs to be addressed. The two disciplines used to be quite unrelated but many new research areas have arisen from their synergy. We selectively review two multi-disciplinary problems: dealing with contamination in sequencing data repositories and improving software using biology inspired evolutionary computing. Through several examples, we show that ideas from biology may result in optimised code and provide surprising improvements that overcome challenges in speed and quality trade-offs. On the other hand, development of computational methods is essential for maintaining contamination free databases. Computer scientists and biologists must always be sceptical of each others data, just as they would be of their own.
Analysis of Small Fragment Deletions of the APC gene in Chinese Patients with Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, a Precancerous Condition.

BACKGROUND Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is an autosomal dominant inherited disease mainly caused by mutations of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene with almost complete penetrance. These colorectal polyps are precancerous lesions that will inevitable develop into colorectal cancer at the median age of 40-year old if total proctocolectomy is not performed. So identification of APC germline mutations has great implications for genetic counseling and management of FAP patients. In this study, we screened APC germline mutations in Chinese FAP patients, in order to find novel mutations and the APC gene germline mutation characteristics of Chinese FAP patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS The FAP patients were diagnosed by clinical manifestations, family histories, endoscope and biopsy. Then patients peripheral blood samples were collected, afterwards, genomic DNA was extracted. The mutation analysis of the APC gene was conducted by direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequencing for micromutations and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) for large duplications and/or deletions. RESULTS We found 6 micromutations out of 14 FAP pedigrees, while there were no large duplications and/or deletions found. These germline mutations are c.5432C>T(p. Ser1811Leu), two c. 3926_3930delAAAAG (p.Glu1309AspfsX4), c. 3921_3924delAAAA (p.Ile1307MetfsX13), c3184_3187delCAAA(p.Gln1061AspfsX59) and c4127_4126delAT (p.Tyr1376LysfsX9), respectively, and all deletion mutations resulted in a premature stop codon. At the same time, we found c. 3921_3924delAAAA and two c. 3926_3930delAAAAG are located in AAAAG short tandem repeats, c3184_3187delCAAA is located in the CAAA interrupted direct repeats, and c4127_4128 del AT is located in the 5'-CCTGAACA-3' ,3'-ACAAGTCC-5 palindromes (inverted repeats) of the APC gene. Furthermore, deletion mutations are mostly located at condon 1309. CONCLUSIONS Though there were no novel mutations found as the pathogenic gene of FAP in this study, we found nucleotide sequence containing short tandem repeats and palindromes (inverted repeats), especially the 5 bp base deletion at codon 1309, are mutations in high incidence area in APC gene.
Exercise in the community for people with minimal gait impairment due to MS: an assessor-blind randomized controlled trial

Background: While there is an increasing body of evidence supporting the efficacy of exercise in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), additional information on the effectiveness of combining aerobic and resistance training, and yoga is required. Objectives: This study evaluated the effectiveness of community exercise interventions for people with MS having minimal gait impairment. Methods: A multi-centred, block-randomised, assessor-blinded, controlled trial was conducted. Participants were randomised in groups of eight to physiotherapist (PT)-led exercise (n = 80), yoga (n = 77), fitness instructor (FI)-led exercise (n = 86) and they took part in weekly community-based group exercise sessions. Those in the control group were asked not to change of their exercise habits (n = 71). The primary outcome was the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS) 29v2 physical component, measured before and after the 10-week intervention. Secondary outcomes were the MSIS 29v2 psychological component, the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) and the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT). Results: The group x time interaction approached significance for the MSIS-29v2 physical component (f = 2.48, p = 0.061) and MFIS total (f = 2.50, p = 0.06), and it was significant for the MFIS physical subscale (f = 4.23, p = 0.006). All three exercise interventions led to a statistically significant improvement on the MSIS-29 psychological component and both the MFIS total and physical subscales, which were greater than the control (p < 0.05). Only the PT-led and FI-led interventions significantly improved the MSIS-29 physical and 6MWT to levels greater than the control (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the positive effect of exercise on the physical impact of MS and fatigue. The group nature of the classes may have contributed to the positive effects seen on the psychological impact of MS.
Hybrid gel electrophoresis using skin fibroblasts to aid in diagnosing mitochondrial disease

Objective We developed a novel, hybrid method combining both blue-native (BN-PAGE) and clear-native (CN-PAGE) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, termed BCN-PAGE, to perform in-gel activity stains on the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) complexes in skin fibroblasts. Methods Four patients aged 46–65 years were seen in the Metabolic Clinic at Alberta Children's Hospital and investigated for mitochondrial disease and had BN-PAGE or CN-PAGE on skeletal muscle that showed incomplete assembly of complex V (CV) in each patient. Long-range PCR performed on muscle-extracted DNA identified 4 unique mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions spanning the ATP6 gene of CV. We developed a BCN-PAGE method in skin fibroblasts taken from the patients at the same time and compared the findings with those in skeletal muscle. Results In all 4 cases, BCN-PAGE in skin fibroblasts confirmed the abnormal CV activity found from muscle biopsy, suggesting that the mtDNA deletions involving ATP6 were most likely germline mutations that are associated with a clinical phenotype of mitochondrial disease. Conclusions The BCN-PAGE method in skin fibroblasts has a potential to be a less-invasive tool compared with muscle biopsy to screen patients for abnormalities in CV and other mitochondrial ETC complexes.
Expression of Non-Native Genes in a Surrogate Host Organism

Genetic engineering can be utilized to improve the function of various metabolic and functional processes within an organism of interest. However, it is often the case that one wishes to endow a specific host organism with additional functionality and/or new phenotypic characteristics. Under these circumstances, the principles of genetic engineering can be utilized to express non-native genes within the host organism, leading to the expression of previously unavailable protein products. While this process has been extremely valuable for the development of basic scientific research and biotechnology over the past 50 years, it has become clear during this time that there are a multitude of factors that must be considered to properly express exogenous genetic constructs.
Different antibiotic protocols in the treatment of severe chronic periodontitis: A 1‐year randomized trial

AIM To evaluate the clinical effects of different dosages of metronidazole (MTZ) and durations of MTZ + amoxicillin (AMX) in the treatment of generalized chronic periodontitis (GChP). MATERIAL AND METHODS Subjects with severe GChP were randomly assigned to receive scaling and root planing (SRP)-only, or combined with 250 or 400 mg of MTZ + AMX (500 mg) thrice a day (TID), for 7 or 14 days. Subjects were monitored for 1 year. RESULTS One hundred and nine subjects were enrolled. At 1 year, 61.9% and 63.6% of the subjects receiving AMX + 250 or 400 mg of MTZ for 14 days, respectively, reached the clinical endpoint for treatment (≤4 sites with probing depth ≥5 mm), against 31.8% of those taking 250 or 400 mg of MTZ for 7 days (p < .05) and 13.6% of those receiving SRP-only (p < .05). Fourteen days of MTZ + AMX was the only significant predictor of subjects reaching the clinical endpoint at 1 year (OR, 5.26; 95% CI, 2.3-12.1, p = .0000). The frequency of adverse events did not differ among treatment groups (p > .05). CONCLUSION The adjunctive use of 400 or 250 mg of MTZ plus 500 mg of AMX/TID/14 days offers statistically significant and clinically relevant benefits over those achieved with SRP alone in the treatment of severe GChP. The added benefits of the 7-days regimen in this population were less evident. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02735395).
Current Understanding of Streptococcal Urinary Tract Infection

Group B streptococcus (GBS), also known as Streptococcus agalactiae is a Gram-positive, β-hemolytic, chain-forming bacterium and a commensal within the genital tract flora in approximately 25% of healthy adult women (Campbell et al., 2000). The organism is a leading cause of serious infection in newborns, pregnant women, and older persons with chronic medical illness (Baker et al., Edwards&Baker, 2005). In neonates GBS infection most commonly causes pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. In addition to maternal cervicovaginal colonization and neonatal infection that can result from vertical transmission of GBS from mothers to their infants, the bacterium can also cause urinary tract infection (UTI). The spectrum of GBS UTI includes asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU), cystitis, pyelonephritis, urethritis, and urosepsis (Bronsema et al., 1993, Edwards&Baker, 2005, Farley et al., 1993, Lefevre et al., 1991, McKenna et al., 2003, Munoz et al., 1992, Ulett et al., 2009). GBS ABU is particularly common among pregnant women, although those most at risk for cystitis due to GBS appear to be elderly individuals (Edwards&Baker, 2005, Falagas et al., 2006, Muller et al., 2006). In addition to acute and asymptomatic UTI other invasive diseases caused by GBS infection include skin infections, bacteraemia, pneumonia, arthritis, and endocarditis (Liston et al., 1979, Patil & Martin, 2010, Tissi et al., 1997, Trivalle et al., 1998). Thus, GBS is considered unique in terms of its ability to cause a spectrum of diseases in newborns and adult humans and its ability to colonize the genital tract of healthy women in a commensal-type manner.
The Greek system of collective bargaining in (the) crisis

The Greek system of labour market regulation has traditionally been characterised by a legal structure that arose from the interventionist role of the Greek state. The basic institutions of the industrial relations system – trade union freedom, the structure and internal organisation of trade unions, collective bargaining and the right to strike – have traditionally been regulated by statute (Yannakourou 2005). Because industrial growth had a delayed start in Greece, labour legislation started taking shape only at the beginning of the twentieth century and accelerated following the Second World War (Koukiadis 2009). The modernisation of the Greek labour market and collective autonomy started in the 1970s with the aim of accommodating conflict-based industrial relations and social movements (Ioannou 2012b: 204). The 1975 Constitution democratised labour relations and extended and enlarged the existing list of fundamental rights and Law 1264/19822 later established a number of trade union freedoms. These developments were followed by changes made mainly through Law 1876/1990, which created the legal conditions for the development and expansion of collective bargaining in Greece based on the clear precedence that it gave to collective agreements vis-á-vis legislative intervention.
Context-based Project Management

Context-based computing has become an integral part of the software infrastructure of modern society. Better software are made adaptive to suit the surrounding environment. Context-based applications best fit into environments that undergo constant and frequent changes. Temperature management, Time management, GPS are just few examples where context-awareness becomes inevitable. Project Management is another domain that requires constant monitoring. The current tools of project management handle data gathering, plotting, and organizing, but requires high-level of human intervention to analyze data and integrate it. To the extent of our knowledge there is no efforts to introduce context awareness to project management domain. In this work, we introduce context and formally model project context using FCA. Additionally, we provide the results of the full implementation of our approach on a real-world software project. We show that our approach can formally answer queries that traditional tools could not answer. Also, we introduce a brief comparison between our approach and traditional project management software. Finally, we show that our approach can improve project management tools and minimize the effort spent by project managers.
Contribution of PO2, P50, and Hb to changes in arteriovenous O2 content during exercise in heart failure.

Arteriovenous O2 content (a-vCO2) differences increase during exercise in normal subjects through several mechanisms including PO2, O2 pressure at which hemoglobin (Hb) is half saturated with O2 (P50), and Hb concentration changes. The present study was undertaken to evaluate how much these biochemical changes are relevant to a-vCO2 difference through exercise in patients with heart failure. Twenty-seven patients with congestive heart failure [10 patients in functional class A (peak exercise O2 uptake >20 ml x kg-1 x min-1), 9 in class B (20-15 ml x kg-1 x min-1), and 8 in class C (15-10 ml x kg-1 x min-1)] underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test with once-per-minute simultaneous blood sampling from the pulmonary and systemic arteries for determination of Hb, PO2, PCO2, pH, O2 content (CO2), Hb saturation and lactic acid (pulmonary artery only), and calculation of P50. Analysis of data was done at six exercise stages: the first at rest, the last at peak exercise, and the second to the fifth at one-, two-, three-, and four-fifths of O2 consumption increase. a-vCO2 difference at peak exercise was 14.3 +/- 2.1, 16.9 +/- 2.4, and 14.7 +/- 2.1 (SD) ml/dl in class A, B, and C patients, respectively. The contribution of Hb, P50, and PO2 changes to the increments of a-vCO2 difference during exercise was 21, 17, and 63%, respectively; the only interclass difference observed was for P50, which plays a greater role in a-vCO2 difference in class A. Hb changes act mainly at the arterial site, whereas P50 and PO2 act at the venous site. Hb increase was constant through the test, venous P50 increase was greater above anaerobic threshold, and venous PO2 reduction was most remarkable at the onset of exercise; in class C patients, no venous PO2 change was recorded in the second half of exercise. Thus a-vCO2 difference increase during exercise is notable in patients with heart failure but unrelated to the severity of the syndrome. Hb, P50, and, to the greatest degree, PO2 changes participate in the increment of a-vCO2 difference. In class C patients, the lack of PO2 reduction in the second half of exercise suggests the achievement of a "whole body critical venous PO2. "
Interactive Media for Diabetes Self-Management: Issues in Maximizing Public Health Impact

Background . Diabetes self-management presents a series of challenging tasks, and primary care, where the majority of cases of adult diabetes are treated, is hard-pressed to address these issues given competing demands. This article discusses how interactive media (IM) can be used to support diabetes self-management. Methods . Following a brief review of the literature, the 5 As framework for enhancing the effectiveness of health behavior counseling and the RE-AIM model for estimating and enhancing public health impact are used to frame discussion of the strengths and limitations of IM for diabetes shared decision making and self-management support. Results . Data and lessons learned from a series of randomized trials of IM for diabetes self-management education are summarized around 2 key issues. The first is enhancing patient engagement in decision making and includes enhancing user experience and engagement, improving quality of care, and promoting collaborative action planning and follow-up. The second is getting such resources into place and sustaining them in real-world primary care settings and involves enhancing participation at patient, clinician, and health care system levels and enhancing the generalizability of results. Conclusions . Key opportunities for IM to support diabetes self-management include assessment of information for shared decision making, assistance with problem-solving self-management challenges, and provision of follow-up support. A key current challenge is the linkage of IM supports to the rest of the patient’s care, and collection of cost-effectiveness data is a key need for future research.
trans-Bis(2-acetamido-5-methylbenzoato-κO 1)tetraaquazinc

In the title compound, [Zn(C10H10NO3)2(H2O)4], the ZnII atom lies on a crystallographic inversion center and is six-coordinated by two monodentate trans-related 2-(N-acetylamino)-5-methylbenzoato ligands and four water molecules, giving a slightly distorted octahedral geometry. There are two intramolecular hydrogen bonds [amine N—H⋯Ocarboxyl and water O—H⋯Ocarboxyl], while extensive intermolecular water O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding interactions extend the complex units into a two-dimensional network structure along (100).