Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Hospital‐Level Factors on Patients' Ratings of Physician Communication

The quality of physician-patient communication influences patient health outcomes and satisfaction with healthcare delivery. Yet, little is known about contextual factors that influence physicians' communication with their patients. The main purpose of this article is to examine organizational-level factors that influence patient perceptions of physician communication in inpatient settings. We used the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey and American Hospital Association data to determine patients' ratings of physician communication at the hospital level, and to collect information about hospital-level factors that can potentially influence physician communication. Our sample consisted of 2,756 hospitals. We ran a regression analysis to determine the predictors of poor physician communication, measured as the percentage of patients in a hospital who reported that physicians sometimes or never communicated well. In our sample of hospitals, this percentage ranged between 0% and 21%, with 25% of hospitals receiving poor ratings from more than 6% of patients. Three organizational factors had statistically significant negative associations with physician communication: for-profit ownership, hospital size, and hospitalists providing care in the hospital, On the other hand, the number of full-time-equivalent physicians and dentists per 10,000 inpatient days, physician ownership of the hospital, Medicare share of inpatient days, and public ownership were positively associated with patients' ratings of physician communication. Physician staffing levels are an understudied area in healthcare research. Our findings indicate that physician staffing levels affect the quality of physician communication with patients. Moreover, for-profit and larger hospitals should invest more in physician communication given the role that HCAHPS plays in value-based purchasing.
RSUME Enhances Glucocorticoid Receptor SUMOylation and Transcriptional Activity

ABSTRACT Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activity is modulated by posttranslational modifications, including phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and SUMOylation. The GR has three SUMOylation sites: lysine 297 (K297) and K313 in the N-terminal domain (NTD) and K721 within the ligand-binding domain. SUMOylation of the NTD sites mediates the negative effect of the synergy control motifs of GR on promoters with closely spaced GR binding sites. There is scarce evidence on the role of SUMO conjugation to K721 and its impact on GR transcriptional activity. We have previously shown that RSUME (RWD-containing SUMOylation enhancer) increases protein SUMOylation. We now demonstrate that RSUME interacts with the GR and increases its SUMOylation. RSUME regulates GR transcriptional activity and the expression of its endogenous target genes, FKBP51 and S100P. RSUME uncovers a positive role for the third SUMOylation site, K721, on GR-mediated transcription, demonstrating that GR SUMOylation acts positively in the presence of a SUMOylation enhancer. Both mutation of K721 and small interfering RNA-mediated RSUME knockdown diminish GRIP1 coactivator activity. RSUME, whose expression is induced under stress conditions, is a key factor in heat shock-induced GR SUMOylation. These results show that inhibitory and stimulatory SUMO sites are present in the GR and at higher SUMOylation levels the stimulatory one becomes dominant.
Is Microfinance Growing Too Fast?

The aggregate number of borrowers served by microfinance institutions (MFIs) reporting to MIX Market grew 21 percent per year on average in the 2003-2008 period, while the loan portfolio grew 34 percent per year on average in the same period. For many microfinance practitioners and analysts, this level of growth is a reason for celebration, as it points towards microfinance’s success in increasing access to financial services for poor and low-income households and businesses.During 2008, the global economy experienced a financial crisis and slowdown. Evidence from past years has shown that even though microcredit arrears do rise in periods of economic slowdown, delayed payments do not translate into significant portfolio losses on average. Results on portfolio quality of MFIs for 2008 confirm these findings, although some high-growth markets, like Morocco and Bosnia and Herzegovina, experienced a rise in delinquency during 2008. Consequently, concerns about the impact of high growth on portfolio quality of MFIs have been raised recently.This paper quantifies the point at which the level of growth appears to overstretch MFI resources and at which portfolio quality begins to decline for any higher growth level. This issue is important in order for microfinance institutions to understand the trade-offs between growth and portfolio quality. One additional question explored is whether the growth strategy has a significant effect on portfolio quality. In particular, this paper distinguishes between local growth (growth in the number of borrowers per branch) versus expansive growth (growth in the number of branches per MFI) and tries to measure how much is too much for each case, and whether differences in the growth path chosen by MFIs matter. Finally, the analysis concludes with a review of the market context in which MFIs are building their borrower bases and the extent to which that context impacts portfolio quality.Data Brief No. 5 is based on analysis of data from 821 MFIs that reported to MIX on the period from 2000 to 2008.
Myocardial Rac1 Exhibits Partial Involvement in Thyroxin-induced Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy and Its Inhibition Is Not Sufficient to Improve Cardiac Dysfunction or Contractile Abnormalities in Mouse Papillary Muscles

Abstract: Development of cardiac hypertrophy after thyroxin (T4) treatment is well recognized. Recently, we observed that T4-induced cardiac hypertrophy is associated with increased cardiac Rac1 expression and activity. Whether this Rac1 increase has a role in inducing this cardiac phenotype is, however, still unknown. Here, we showed that T4 treatment (500 µg/kg/d) for 2 weeks resulted in increased myocardial Rac1 activity with subsequent hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and left ventricular systolic dysfunction in vivo. Isolated right ventricular papillary muscles of T4-treated mice maintained their peak isometric active developed tension but exhibited significant decreases in their corresponding time to peak and in relaxation times. Positive inotropic responses to increasing pacing rate and &bgr;-adrenergic stimulation were also depressed in these muscles. Pravastatin (10 mg/kg/d), a Rac1 inhibitor, significantly decreased myocardial Rac1 activity, hypertension, and cardiomyocyte size in T4-treated mice but could not attenuate gross heart weight or functional cardiac changes in these mice. Our data showed that T4 could activate different signaling pathways with distinct cardiovascular outcomes. We also provide the first mechanistic evidence for the partial involvement of Rac1 activation in T4-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and reveal a putative role for Rac1 in the development of T4-induced hypertension.
Design and Evaluation of Antenna Selection Methods for Interference Rejection Combining

Co-channel interference is one of the major factors limiting the capacity in modern cellular networks. Interference rejection combining (IRC) is an effective technique to suppress co-channel interference, requiring receivers with multiple antennas. For terminals using IRC, the larger the number of available antennas, the more interfering signals that can be suppressed. However, production cost, size and energy consumption of the required radio-frequency units impose a limit in the number of practical antenna elements. In this paper, we investigate the combination of IRC with antenna selection (AS), as a cost-effective approach to improve the interference suppression performance of wireless receivers, and present different low-complexity AS algorithms. In addition, we propose algorithmic modifications in case the estimates of interfering channels are unknown at the receiver, and an estimate of the interference-plus-noise covariance matrix (CM) has to be used. It is found that, in the presence of channel estimation errors, AS techniques using the CM approach are able to provide better performance than techniques using estimates of interfering channels. These findings and the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms are validated by both computer simulations and experimental testing using a hardware prototype.
Performance measures for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: a European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) Quality Improvement Initiative

CI confidence interval EAC early adenocarcinoma EMR endoscopic mucosal resection ENT ear, nose, and throat ESGE European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy FAP familial adenomatous polyposis GAVE gastric antral vascular ectasia HGD high grade dysplasia LGD low grade dysplasia MAPS Management of precancerous conditions and lesions in the stomach OLGA Operative Link for Gastritis Assessment OLGIM Operative Link on Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia OR odds ratio PEG percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy PICO population/patient; intervention/indicator; comparator/control; outcome PPI proton pump inhibitor QIC Quality improvement committee SCC squamous cell cancer UEG United European Gastroenterology UGI upper gastrointestinal tract
Classifying Android Malware with Dynamic Behavior Dependency Graphs

Malware, a significant threat to maintain a healthy Android ecosystem, always receives considerable attentions. This paper proposes a new dynamic Android malware classification approach by constructing and analyzing the dynamic behavior dependency graphs together with both framework-level function call behaviors and their data dependencies. Features are extracted from behavior graphs of different malware families in an automated fashion, and are used to classify unknown Android apps. Towards verification, a prototype system is implemented, and both malicious and benign apps are used for test. The experiment results show that 94.7% of the evaluated malware are correctly classified and our approach is robust and can defeat multiple attacks.
Resistance Spot Welding of 50Mo-50Re Refractory Alloy Foils

Resistance spot welding (RSW) is widely used in the microwave tube industry. There are many parameters employed in the welding processing: weld current, weld time, electrode force, hold time, squeeze time, electrode material, electrode geometry, electric polarity, surface roughness, cover gas, et al. In this study, an attempt is made to improve the RSW quality of 50Mo-50Re refractory foils and to understand the typical characteristics of RSW 50Mo-50Re.alloys used in high power cathode assembly applications
Students' Perceptions and Intentions towards Entrepreneurship: The Empirical Findings from Croatia,

Entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as an important generator of growth, innovation and especially new job creation. As a result of that, there is progressively academic, political and corporate interest in entrepreneurship enhancing. In this context the formal education represents one of the possible ways of entrepreneurship endorsement. Many researches show that the entrepreneurship education has substantial effect on entrepreneurial success and they also illustrate the positive relationship between entrepreneurship education and economic development. Since today’s students are generators of future development their insights and attitudes on entrepreneurship could considerably determinate the future business activities. This paper deals with entrepreneurial intentions of students because of their potential effect on future context of entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entrepreneurship perception and entrepreneurship intention of Croatian university students and to find out whether they are ready for the market game and risk taking which arises from entrepreneurship activities. The empirical research is conducted on 176 graduate students of businesses who attended the course Entrepreneurship, and who are expected to enter in the process of the entrepreneurship. In order to investigate the perceptions of youth and their entrepreneurship intention, the research instrument which was used is the questionnaire with 16 questions which covered four dominant areas. The first group of questions is related to the type of potential business, the second group is about financial aspect of business, then follow the questions which deal with the ways of implementing a business idea, and the final set of questions considers the source of information needed to generate business idea and its successful implementation on the market. Based on the adequate descriptive statistical analysis we discovered the satisfying level of students’ intentions on entrepreneurship and their willingness to put their effort in entrepreneurship activities.
On Interest Rate Option Pricing with Jump Processes

In this study, we investigate the pricing of interest rate options in three arbitrage-free models with jump process which are Vasicek and Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) models of stochastic interest rate and Heath-Jarrow-Morton (HJM) model for stochastic forward rate. Solutions of Hull and White (HW) type model with jump are derived directly using a system of differential equations and the relationship between short rate and forward rate processes which is obtained under the extended restrictive condition on jump and volatility can be used to have the formula of bond price. We also analyse the option values of three proposed jump models obtained by Monte Carlo simulations.
Childhood Adversity and Perceived Need for Mental Health Care: Findings from a Canadian Community Sample

Previous community surveys have demonstrated that individuals with self-perceived need for mental health treatment in combination with meeting DSM-III-R criteria display the greatest levels of impairment in the community and have a higher likelihood of reporting parental psychopathology. The current investigation aims to replicate and extend these findings by examining the association between a wide range of childhood adversities with self-perceived need for mental health treatment and DSM-III-R diagnosis in a Canadian community sample (N = 8116). All respondents were questioned about their childhood experiences (physical and sexual abuse, emotional neglect, parental discord/separation, parental death, and parental psychopathology). After controlling for covariates in a multiple logistic regression, we found that emotional neglect (OR = 2.07), physical abuse (OR = 2.16), sexual abuse (OR = 2.39), paternal psychopathology (OR = 2.41), and maternal psychopathology (OR = 2.70) were independently and significantly associated with respondents meeting DSM criteria for a mental disorder and perceiving a need for treatment. These findings underscore the importance of future longitudinal studies considering the influence of a wide range of early childhood adversities on adult psychopathology and perceived need for treatment.
UM ESTUDO BIBLIOMÉTRICO SOBRE AVALIAÇÃO DE DESEMPENHO NO PROCESSO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO ÁGIL DE SOFTWARE SOB A PERSPECTIVA DO CONSTRUTIVISMO

O presente estudo propoe-se a apresentar um processo de selecao de artigos relevantes sobre a avaliacao de desempenho no processo de desenvolvimento agil de software a partir da perspectiva construtivista, estabelecendo um referencial que retrate uma amostra representativa do tema, respeitando-se aqui um criterio devidamente estruturado. Nesta pesquisa, foi aplicada a metodologia ProKnow-C ( Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist ), que resultou na identificacao de 18 artigos cientificos alinhados com o tema e indexados por duas bases de dados internacionais ( Scopus e ISI Web of Science ) servindo como um portfolio referencial pela comprovacao do seu reconhecimento cientifico. Diante dessa pesquisa observou-se que as publicacoes envolvendo a disciplina de avaliacao de desempenho e a busca da agilidade nos projetos de software pela adocao de metodos ageis sao incipientes e ainda pouco explorados. O estudo bibliometrico permitiu, portanto, consolidar esse conjunto de artigos que contem relevância cientifica, considerando pesquisas compreendidas entre os anos de 2006 e 2016, alem de alguns classicos teoricos, oportunizando que futuros pesquisadores possam desenvolver seus fundamentos a partir de uma colecao colaborativa de conhecimentos que sustentam o tema, definidos pela aplicabilidade de um processo construtivista estruturado, gerando conhecimento nos pesquisadores, reduzindo o uso da subjetividade e aleatoriedade durante o processo de identificacao e revisao da literatura. ----- DOI: 10.18226/23190639.v6n3. 01 Ewerton Sacco Calvetti*, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). Brasil. E-mail: escalvetti@gmail.com Rogerio Tadeu de Oliveira Lacerda, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). Brasil. E-mail: rogerlacerda@gmail.com Mayara Lucia Bernardes, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). Brasil. E-mail: mayaralbernardes@gmail.com Submetido: Outubro 2017 Aceito: Julho 2018 *Contato para Correspondencia
Analysis and Design of Tunable Amplifiers for Implantable Neural Recording Applications

In this paper, an in-depth design methodology for fully-integrated tunable low-noise amplifiers for neural recording applications is presented. In this methodology, a modified system design is proposed to optimize the area/noise/linearity performance. A novel linear pseudo-resistor with a wide range of tunability is also proposed. As a case study, a low-noise tunable and reconfigurable amplifier for neural recording applications is designed and simulated in a 0.18 <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\mu{\rm m}$</tex> </formula> complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor process in all process corners. Simulated characteristics of the amplifier include tunable gain of 54 dB, tunable high-cutoff frequency of 10 kHz, programmable low-cutoff frequency ranging from 4 to 300 Hz, and power consumption of 20.8 <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\mu{\rm W}$</tex></formula> at 1.8 V. According to postlayout simulations, integrated input-referred noise of the amplifier is 2.6 <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\mu{\rm V}_{\rm rms}$</tex></formula> and 2.38 <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\mu{\rm V}_{\rm rms}$</tex></formula> over the 0.5 Hz–50 kHz frequency range for low-cutoff frequency of 4 and 300 Hz, respectively. The amplifier also provides output voltage swing of 1 <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">${\rm V}_{\rm P-P}$</tex></formula> with total harmonic distortion of -46.24 dB at 300 Hz, and -45.97 dB at 10 kHz.
Breakdown of Rod-Plane Gaps in SF6 Under Positive Switching Impulses

The effect of the front of impulse voltages on the breakdown of nonuniform gaps in SF6 has long been reported to be unsystematic. The present study provides an explanation to this phenomenon by examining the breakdown probability distributions of rod- plane gaps in SF6 over a wide range of gas pressure and under different impulse wave forms. The unsystematic effects of the impulse front are experimentally confirmed and are attributed to the coexistence of two main aspects of discharge-corona stabilization which increases the breakdown strength and whose effect disappears beyond a certain gas pressure, and the statistical formation delay which is responsible, under impulse voltages, for the creation of a voltage range of uncertainty where breakdown may or may not occur. By considering the "impulse breakdown threshold", rather than the 50% breakdown voltage, the effects of statistical formation are deleted and the systematic effect of corona stabilization is singled out. The work applies this analysis to SF6 gaps with different degrees of field nonuniformity.
Glucose clearance is higher in arm than leg muscle in type 2 diabetes

Insulin‐mediated glucose clearance (GC) is diminished in type 2 diabetes. Skeletal muscle has been estimated to account for essentially all of the impairment. Such estimations were based on leg muscle and extrapolated to whole body muscle mass. However, skeletal muscle is not a uniform tissue and insulin resistance may not be evenly distributed. We measured basal and insulin‐mediated (1 pmol min−1 kg−1) GC simultaneously in the arm and leg in type 2 diabetes patients (TYPE 2) and controls (CON) (n= 6 for both). During the clamp arterio‐venous glucose extraction was higher in CON versus TYPE 2 in the arm (6.9 ± 1.0 versus 4.7 ± 0.8%; mean ±s.e.m.; P= 0.029), but not in the leg (4.2 ± 0.8 versus 3.1 ± 0.6%). Blood flow was not different between CON and TYPE 2 but was higher (P < 0.05) in arm versus leg (CON: 74 ± 8 versus 56 ± 5; TYPE 2: 87 ± 9 versus 43 ± 6 ml min−1 kg−1 muscle, respectively). At basal, CON had 84% higher arm GC (P= 0.012) and 87% higher leg GC (P= 0.016) compared with TYPE 2. During clamp, the difference between CON and TYPE 2 in arm GC was diminished to 54% but maintained at 80% in the leg. In conclusion, this study shows that glucose clearance is higher in arm than leg muscles, regardless of insulin resistance, which may indicate better preserved insulin sensitivity in arm than leg muscle in type 2 diabetes.
Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated With Prehypertension: Identification of Foci for Primary Prevention of Hypertension

Background and Research Objective:Prehypertension (pre-HT) has become an important public health issue in China because it identifies people at higher risk for hypertension (HT) and cardiovascular diseases. The aims of this study were to (1) examine the prevalence of pre-HT, (2) identify risk factors of pre-HT, and (3) identify factors that increase the likelihood of developing HT among the pre-HT group. Subject and Methods:This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Community-dwelling residents of an urban district in Wuhan, central China (obtained from stratified random sampling), aged between 35 and 74 years completed the study. Data were collected by using a structured self-reporting questionnaire and a standardized protocol for blood pressure measurement and risk screening. Blood pressure categories were defined according to the results of the seventh report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Results:Among the 1,448 participants, 618 (42.7%) had pre-HT. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed the risk factors of being overweight (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-2.98) or obese (aOR, 8.9; 95% CI, 1.14-62.3) and having above-optimal triglyceride level (aOR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.24-2.26) were associated with pre-HT. Age and lower educational level were also associated with pre-HT risk. There was a clear trend toward an increased risk of HT among the pre-HT group with every 10-year increment in age starting from 45 years (aORs were 3.47, 6.82, and 7.58, respectively). Participants with Pre-HT currently engaging in sedentary work were also found to have a higher risk of developing HT. Other risk factors for HT included being overweight (aOR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.50-2.68), a known family history of HT (aOR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.98-3.26), and presence of diabetes mellitus (aOR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.66-3.80). Conclusion:Prehypertension is common among residents in an urban district in central China. Findings of this study serve to identify the at-risk groups. Targeting these people early with therapeutic lifestyle changes may provide important long-term benefit for HT prevention.