Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cultural challenges and barriers through the voices of nurses.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To discover and describe challenges and barriers perceived by nurses in providing culturally competent care in their day-to-day encounters with diverse patient populations. BACKGROUND Nurses are challenged in today's healthcare environment to provide culturally competent care to a diverse patient population. To provide patient- and family-centred care, nurses must first acknowledge patient's and family's cultural differences, be willing to incorporate patient's and family's beliefs within the healthcare treatment plan, and respect the values and lifeways of differing cultures. DESIGN Qualitative description with thematic analysis was used to describe nurses' perceptions of barriers and challenges in providing culturally competent care. The qualitative component of the study was part of a larger research study that used a prospective, cross-sectional, descriptive survey. Participants responded to two open-ended questions about potential challenges and barriers to providing culturally competent health care. METHODS Nurses were recruited in a south-eastern state in the USA. Research surveys were mailed to 2000 nurses throughout the state using a stratified sampling method. RESULTS Three hundred and seventy-four nurses participated in the study. Three themes emerged from the qualitative description: great diversity, lack of resources, and prejudices and biases. CONCLUSIONS The provision of culturally competent patient- and family-centred care is an ethical imperative and professional mandate. Describing nurses' perspectives on challenges and barriers to providing culturally competent care is the first step in helping to redesign care delivery practices. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Challenges to providing culturally competent care included diversity in patient populations, lack of resources to provide culturally competent care and biases/prejudices. Strategies to address these challenges in the areas of nursing education, nursing research and nursing policy were proposed.
Physician Work Intensity Among Medical Specialties: Emerging Evidence on its Magnitude and Composition

Background:Similarities and differences in physician work intensity among specialties are poorly understood but have implications for quality of care, patient safety, practice organization and management, and payment. Objective:To determine the magnitude and important dimensions of physician work intensity for 4 specialties. Research Design:Cross-sectional assessment of work intensity associated with actual patient care in the examination room or operating room. Subjects:A convenience sample of 45 family physicians, 20 general internists, 22 neurologists, and 21 surgeons, located in Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia. Measures:Work intensity measures included the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), Subjective Work Assessment Technique (SWAT), and Multiple Resource Questionnaire. Stress was measured by the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire. Results:Physicians reported similar magnitude of work intensity on the NASA-TLX and Multiple Resource Questionnaire. On the SWAT, general internists reported work intensity similar to surgeons but significantly lower than family physicians and neurologists (P=0.035). Surgeons reported significantly higher levels of task engagement on the stress measure than the other specialties (P=0.019), significantly higher intensity on physical demand (P < 0.001), and significantly lower intensity on the performance dimensions of the NASA-TLX than the other specialties (P=0.003). Surgeons reported the lowest intensity for temporal demand of all specialties, being significantly lower than either family physicians or neurologists (P=0.014). Family physicians reported the highest intensity on the time dimension of the SWAT, being significantly higher than either general internists or surgeons (P=0.008). Conclusions:Level of physician work intensity seems to be similar among specialties.
Spatiotemporal patterns of wetland occurrence in the Prairie Pothole Region of eastern South Dakota

We evaluated changes in wetland abundance, size, and classification between average (1979–1986) and above-average (1995–1999) precipitation periods for two physiographic regions in eastern South Dakota. Temporal shifts in wetland numbers, area, and class varied by topographic location. In high wetland density areas (> 8 wetlands/100 ha), our data suggests that larger, semipermanent wetlands expanded and absorbed nearby wetland basins into their margins, resulting in a net “loss” or disappearance of temporary and seasonal wetlands in above-average water condition years. “Losses” described here are not deemed permanent as in cases of draining or filling, and wetlands may re-form when water conditions return to normal. Nevertheless, temporary disappearance of smaller more isolated wetlands may have implications for breeding waterfowl and other fauna. Percent change of semipermanent basin numbers was positively correlated with wetland density, whereas the opposite was true for seasonal wetlands. Loss of temporary wetlands was correlated with wetland aggregation within the sample area. However, in low wetland density areas, the number and size of seasonal and temporary wetlands generally increased following above-average precipitation. We suggest that wetlands’ spatial arrangement be considered along with traditional wetland quantification techniques to better account for shifts in wetland habitat in dry versus wet years.
A practical approach for RF circuit size reduction

In this paper, a practical approach to circuit miniaturisation using periodically loaded transmission lines (TL) is presented. A full investigation of T- and π-shaped unit cells that constitutes periodic structures (PS) has been conducted, leading to a straightforward method for miniaturizing passive RF/Microwave circuits and components. For the completion of the design method, the normalised 3 dB cutoff frequency of the unit cells has been thoroughly studied, providing a guideline for optimum structure parameters that meet the required bandwidth while ensuring a reasonable size reduction ratio. For demonstration, a broadband power divider/combiner with a frequency band of 1.0 - 3.0 GHz has been implemented, showing very good performance with a size reduction of about 47 % compared to the conventional design.
The complete nuleotide sequence and structure of the gene encoding bovine phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase

A cDNA clone for bovine adrenal phenylethanolamine N‐methyltransferase (PNMT) was used to screen a Charon 28 genomic library. One phage was identified, designated λP1, which included the entire PNMT gene. Construction of a restriction map, with subsequent Southern bloty analysis, allowed the identification of exon‐containing fragments. Dideoxy sequence analysis of these fragments, and several more further upstream, indicates that the bovine PNMT gene is 1,594 base pairs in length, consisting of three exons and two introns. The transcription initiation site was identified by two independent methods and is located iapproximately 12 base pirs upstream ffrom the ATG translation start site. The 3′ untranslted region is 88 base pairs in length and contains the expected poly‐adenylation signal (AATAAA). A putative promoter sequence (TATA box) is located about 25 base pairs upstream from the transcription initiation site. Computer comparison of the nucleotide sequence data with the consensus sequences of known regulatory elements revealed potential binding sites for glucocorticoid receptors and the Sp1 regulatory protein in the 5′ flanking region of the gene. Additionally, comparison of the sequence of the exons of the PNMT gene with cDNA sequences for other enzymes involved in biogenic amine synthesis revealed no significant homology, indicating that PNMT is not a member of a multigene family of catecholamine biosnthetic enzymes.
Bioinspired legged-robot based on large deformation of flexible skeleton

In this article we present STARbot, a bioinspired legged robot capable of multiple locomotion modalities by using large deformation of its skeleton. We construct STARbot by using origami-style folding of flexible laminates. The long-term goal is to provide a robotic platform with maximum mobility on multiple surfaces. This paper particularly studies the quasistatic model of STARbot’s leg under different conditions. We describe the large elastic deformation of a leg under external force, payload, and friction by using a set of non-dimensional, nonlinear approximate equations. We developed a test mechanism that models the motion of a leg in STARbot. We augmented several foot shapes and then tested them on soft to rough grounds. Both simulation and experimental findings were in good agreement. We utilized the model to develop several scales of tri and quad STARbot. We demonstrated the capability of these robots to locomote by combining their leg deformations with their foot motions. The combination provided a design platform for an active suspension STARbot with controlled foot locomotion. This included the ability of STARbot to change size, run over obstacles, walk and slide. Furthermore, in this paper we discuss a cost effective manufacturing and production method for manufacturing STARbot.
Silicon photonics based transponder aggregator for next generation ROADM systems

After a brief review of the CDC-ROADM technologies for dynamic network systems, we demonstrate silicon photonics based transponder aggregators for 8-degree CDC-ROADM systems. Transponder aggregators in such systems play a key role in realization of the CDC function between multiple input/output fibers and multiple transponders.
Dietary Strategies to Improve Nutritional Value, Oxidative Stability, and Sensory Properties of Poultry Products

Consumers demand both safer and more nutritious food products exempt of non-natural origin preservatives or other food additives. In this frame, products with lower fat content and/or a higher ratio in unsaturated fatty acids, especially n-3 fatty acids, are desired because these lipids can help prevent the development of cardiovascular and inflammatory pathologies. The intake of meat products is of interest because they are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. In addition, the shelf-life of meat products can be extended by the presence of natural antioxidants coming from different sources such as plant extracts. Therefore, different strategies have been studied to improve the nutritional value, oxidative stability, and sensory characteristics of meat products and eggs through different mineral and natural dietary supplements. In comparison to other strategies, dietary supplements present the advantage that first the living animals may efficiently distribute the compounds throughout the tissues and second, the dietary supplementation is safer because the resulting enriched meat products and eggs ensure tolerable amounts in humans. Poultry meats and eggs are widely consumed and their fatty acid profile and tocopherol content can be easily modified through different dietary strategies thus being excellent models to improve their nutritional value and oxidative stability.
Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Mapping Using a Multi-Shot Spiral MRI Sequence of the Rat Brain

Purpose: Commonly used diffusion weighted (DW) imaging such as DW spin echo (SE) type echo planar imaging (DW-SE-EPI) is known to be a snapshot-like acquisition and to have a relatively high signal-to-noise ratio. Spiral MRI sequence (SPIRAL) has characteristics similar to these of EPI, but it has rarely been used for diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). In vivo DW-SPIRAL of the rat brain has almost never been reported. Our purpose in this study was to examine the potential of SE-type two-dimensional (2D) multi-shot spiral acquisition MRI for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping of the rat brain in vivo. Materials and Methods: We made an SE-type DW-2D-spiral MRI sequence (DW-SPIRAL) which was prepared on a 2.0-T animal-experiment MR scanner. Comparing the phantom experimental result of DW-SPIRAL with the phantom experimental result of DW SE-type echo-planar imaging (DW-SE-EPI) and conventional DW spin echo imaging (DW-SE), we estimated the characteristics of DW-SPIRAL and assessed the clinical application of DW-SPIRAL in an animal experiment on the rat brain. Results: There was not much difference between the calculated water/glycerol phantom diffusion coefficient of DW-SPIRAL and the calculated diffusion coefficient of DW-SE. This result shows that the DW-SPIRAL sequence is appropriate for use in diffusion weighted imaging. There were fewer phantom image distortions and ghosting artifacts with DW-SPIRAL than with DW-SE-EPI, and this tendency was similar in the animal experiment on the rat brain. Conclusion: The DW-SPIRAL sequence had been successfully tested in phantom experiments and rat brain experiments. It has been demonstrated that the DW-SPIRAL sequence is capable of producing in vivo rat brain DWI.
Semantically intelligent semi-automated ontology integration

 Abstract — The problem of heterogeneity between ontologies may occur in the use of multiple ontologies of the same domain. The integration of ontologies provides a solution to the heterogeneity problem. In this study, we investigate the ontology integration problem and propose a layer based framework as a solution to the problem. The framework compares the concepts of reference ontologies based on their semantics along with their syntax in the concept matching process of ontology integration. The semantic relationship of a concept with other concepts between ontologies and the provision of user confirmation (only for the problematic cases) are also taken into account in this process. We cast the problem to find the effectiveness of proposed frameworks by providing a comparison of the proposed concept matching technique with the existing techniques. The result demonstrates the efficacy and success of the proposed framework.
Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Promotes the Proliferation and Invasion of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Cells

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is the catalytic subunit of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) that includes noncatalytic subunits suppressor of zeste 12 (SUZ12) and embryonic ectoderm development (EED). When present in PRC2, EZH2 catalyzes trimethylation on lysine 27 residue of histone H3 (H3K27Me3), resulting in epigenetic silencing of gene expression. Here, we investigated the expression and function of EZH2 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). When compared with primary human ovarian surface epithelial (pHOSE) cells, EZH2, SUZ12, and EED were expressed at higher levels in all 8 human EOC cell lines tested. Consistently, H3K27Me3 was also overexpressed in human EOC cell lines compared with pHOSE cells. EZH2 was significantly overexpressed in primary human EOCs (n = 134) when compared with normal ovarian surface epithelium (n = 46; P < 0.001). EZH2 expression positively correlated with expression of Ki67 (P < 0.001; a marker of cell proliferation) and tumor grade (P = 0.034) but not tumor stage (P = 0.908) in EOC. There was no correlation of EZH2 expression with overall (P = 0.3) or disease-free survival (P = 0.2) in high-grade serous histotype EOC patients (n = 98). Knockdown of EZH2 expression reduced the level of H3K27Me3 and suppressed the growth of human EOC cells both in vitro and in vivo in xenograft models. EZH2 knockdown induced apoptosis of human EOC cells. Finally, we showed that EZH2 knockdown suppressed the invasion of human EOC cells. Together, these data demonstrate that EZH2 is frequently overexpressed in human EOC cells and its overexpression promotes the proliferation and invasion of human EOC cells, suggesting that EZH2 is a potential target for developing EOC therapeutics. Mol Cancer Res; 8(12); 1610–8. ©2010 AACR.
Monopulse 77GHz Fresnel Zone Plate reflector

This paper describes the principle of combining circular or annular patches with C-patches on a Fresnel reflector. The latter can introduce radiation pattern diversity according to the polarization. Patches are designed to perform a 180° phase difference of the reflection phase between two orthogonal polarizations for a monopulse antenna purpose. Simulations on a small half-wavelength Fresnel Zone Plate (FZP) reflector have been conducted in order to check the antenna concept. The final antenna will include a (2πλ/8) Fresnel correction, i.e an 8 zones Fresnel reflector. C-patches have already been designed at 77 GHz and the reflector measurements have been conducted.
A Hardware/Software Platform to Acquire Bioelectrical Signals. A Case Study: Characterizing Computer Access through Attention

This paper describes a hardware/software platform to acquire human body signals. In the field of physiological computing it is desirable to have a system that allows the synchronized acquisition of signals coming from different sources. Here is described how to unify the whole process of acquiring signals from both customized hardware and low cost commercial devices such as Neurosky’s mindwave. A case study using this platform is also shown: studying the feasibility of using sustained attention to access a computer. In order to do that brain activity was measured using Neurosky’s mindwave. The participants in this study were asked to keep their attention high/low for as long as possible during several trials. Experimentation was performed by 7 normally developed subjects and 3 people with cerebral palsy (CP). Our preliminary work shows that 60% of participants might be potential users of this technology. Eventually, modulating the attention to access a communication board needs a scanning period greater than 5.76s.
Autoantibodies found after thymectomy in a patient later developing myasthenia gravis.

and rat diaphragm were used when testing for antibodies to muscle. Very strong nuclear fluorescence, indicating the pre- sence in the serum of an antinuclear factor, was seen with both specimens of serum. In addition, binding of gamma globulin to both skeletal muscle and rat diaphragm was demonstrated.When serial dilutions of both specimens of serum were tested for antinuclear factors and for antibodies to skeletal muscle, no consistent difference in titre was found. Paper electrophoresis of both specimens showed a normal protein pattern and were closely similar.
Evaluation of biochemical recurrence-free survival after radical prostatectomy by cancer of the prostate risk assessment post-surgical (CAPRA-S) score.

BACKGROUND The cancer of the prostate risk assessment (CAPRA) score has been defined to predict prostate cancer recurrence based on the pre-clinical data, then pathological data have also been incorporated. Thus, CAPRA post-surgical (CAPRA-S) score has been developed based on six criteria (prostate specific antigen (PSA) at diagnosis, pathological Gleason score, and information on surgical margin, seminal vesicle invasion, extracapsular extension and lymph node involvement) for the prediction of post-surgical recurrences. In the present study, biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free probabilities after open retropubic radical prostatectomy (RP) were evaluated by the CAPRA-S scoring system and its three-risk level model. MATERIALS AND METHODS CAPRA-S scores (0-12) of our 240 radical prostatectomies performed between January 2000-May 2011 were calculated. Patients were distributed into CAPRA-S score groups and also into three-risk groups as low, intermediate and high. BCR-free probabilities were assessed and compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression. Ability of CAPRA-S in BCR detection was evaluated by concordance index (c-index). RESULTS BCR was present in 41 of total 240 patients (17.1%) and the mean follow-up time was 51.7±33.0 months. Mean BCR-free survival time was 98.3 months (95% CI: 92.3-104.2). Of the patients in low, intermediate and high risk groups, 5.4%, 22.0% and 58.8% had BCR, respectively and the difference among the three groups was significant (P=0.0001). C-indices of CAPRA-S score and three-risk groups for detecting BCR-free probabilities in 5-yr were 0.87 and 0.81, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Both CAPRA-S score and its three-risk level model well predicted BCR after RP with high c-index levels in our center. Therefore, it is a clinically reliable post-operative risk stratifier and disease recurrence predictor for prostate cancer.
Comparison of a generic and a specific measure of oral health related quality of life.

OBJECTIVES The aims of the study were to compare the discriminant validity of a generic health state measure, the EuroQol, and a specific oral health measure, the Oral Health Impact Profile. PARTICIPANTS Patients treated by a random sample of South Australian dentists. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN Data were collected in 2001-02 using mailed self-complete questionnaires. Dentists recorded the diagnosis of dental conditions and provided patients with self-complete questionnaires to record the nature, severity and duration of symptoms using the EuroQol (EQ-5D+) and 14-item version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) instruments. Data were available from 375 patients (response rate = 72%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Three measures (simple counts, additive scores and scale scores) were used for each instrument and compared by oral health, patient demographic and visit factors, and main presenting dental condition. RESULTS Across all three measures the OHIP-14 was associated with the oral health factors of dentate status, number of teeth, denture wearing and number of decayed teeth while the EuroQol was associated with decayed teeth. For patient demographics both the EuroQol and OHIP-14 were associated with age of patient. For visit factors both the EuroQol and OHIP-14 were associated with visit type and insurance status, while only the EuroQol was associated with time since last visit. Both the EuroQol and OHIP-14 were associated with main dental condition. CONCLUSIONS There was little difference in the number of associations of either EuroQol or OHIP-14 scores regardless of whether simple counts, additive scores or scale score measures were used. In bivariate analyses the OHIP-14 was more sensitive to oral health factors, but the EuroQol performed as well or better than the OHIP-14 for patient demographics, visit factors and main dental condition, and was associated with the oral health factor of number of decayed teeth. Both measures performed similarly in multivariate analysis.