Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expediency and coincidence in re-engineering a health system: an interpretive approach to formation of family medicine in Iran.

BACKGROUND Analysing the evidence generated over decades, the World Health Report 2008 recommended the expansion of primary health care (PHC) to achieve better population health, higher equity and lower costs. Over the last two decades, the Iranian model of PHC has resulted in population health indices that match the best in the region. Despite the extensive PHC networks in rural areas, there was an expansion of private outpatient care and hospital-based services. This model has been inadequate to meet the evolving health needs of the population and increasingly difficult to afford. In response, a family medicine (FM) programme has been implemented since August 2005, funded through Behbar, a model of social insurance. In this paper, we aim to identify facilitators of and barriers to implementation of FM in Iran. METHODS Data were collected between November 2006 and May 2007 through semi-structured interviews at national (19 interviews), provincial (9) and local (43) levels, and through a purposive document analysis. The framework approach was used for analysing interviews. Document analysis followed a narrative contextual framework. We interpreted data using an interpretive framework consisting of multiple streams and network theories. RESULTS The introduction of Behbar provided FM advocates with the opportunity to place FM on the policy agenda. They skillfully coupled the two policies and defined FM as the only solution to fulfill Behbar. However, the manner in which policy was formed was the main obstacle to desired FM implementation. CONCLUSION The interpretive framework links the concept of outreach to the poor and enhancing equity to rationing health services at a particularly opportune moment in Iran. However, using windows of opportunity to implement a major policy change, if it results in sacrifices in planning and preparedness, may harm the policy and the future success in achieving its objectives.
Ephedrine Blocks Rat Sciatic Nerve In Vivo and Sodium Channels In Vitro

Background:The sympathomimetic drug ephedrine has been used intrathecally as the sole local anesthetic for labor and delivery. Because ephedrine may be a useful adjuvant to local anesthetics, the authors investigated the local anesthetic properties of ephedrine in a rat sciatic nerve block model and the underlying mechanism in cultured cells stably expressing Na+ channels. Methods:After approval of the animal protocol, the sciatic nerves of anesthetized rats were exposed by lateral incision of the thighs, 0.2 ml ephedrine at 0.25, 1, 2.5, or 5% and/or bupivacaine at 0.125% was injected, and the wound was closed. Motor and sensory/nociceptive functions were evaluated by the force achieved by pushing against a balance and the reaction to pinch, respectively. The whole cell configuration of the patch clamp technique was used to record Na+ currents from human embryonal kidney cells stably transfected with Nav1.4 channels. Results:The nociception blockade was significantly longer than the motor blockade at test doses of 2.5 and 5% of ephedrine, or when 1% ephedrine was combined with 0.125% bupivacaine (analysis of variance with repeated measures, P < 0.001, n = 8/group). In vitro, the 50% inhibitory concentrations of ephedrine at −150 and −60 mV were 1,043 ± 70 and 473 ± 13 &mgr;m, respectively. High-frequency stimulation revealed a use-dependent block of 18%, similar to most local anesthetics. Conclusions:Because ephedrine’s properties are at least partly due to Na+ channel blockade, detailed histopathologic investigations are justified to determine the potential of ephedrine as an adjuvant to clinically used local anesthetics.
Towards an understanding business intelligence. a dynamic capability-based framework for Business Intelligence

Although Business Intelligence (BI) is one of the most essential technologies to be purchased, the implementation of many BI applications fails. The reasons for this failure are not clear and still not well investigated. Resource-based View (RBV) and dynamic capability theory could help to overcome this gap and to provide an appropriate theoretical basis for future research in BI area. It is considered that BI capabilities may be critical functionalities that help organizations to improve their performance and adopt to environmental change. The research objectives for this study are: (1) conceptualization and discussion on BI dynamic capability, (2) building the comprehensive framework of BI capabilities. In order to address these objectives, the remainder of the paper is structured as follows: The first sections provide the theoretical foundations of BI, RBV and dynamic capability theory. Next, the BI capability was conceptualized. Finally, a model of BI as a dynamic capability, was proposed. The study was based mainly on: (1) a critical analysis of literature, (2) an observation of different BI initiatives undertaken in various organizations, as well as on (3) interviews with managers and experts in BI. The results of this study can be used by IT and business leaders as they plan and develop BI capabilities in their organizations.
A comparative study on heuristic algorithms for generating fuzzy decision trees

Fuzzy decision tree induction is an important way of learning from examples with fuzzy representation. Since the construction of optimal fuzzy decision tree is NP-hard, the research on heuristic algorithms is necessary. In this paper, three heuristic algorithms for generating fuzzy decision trees are analyzed and compared. One of them is proposed by the authors. The comparisons are twofold. One is the analytic comparison based on expanded attribute selection and reasoning mechanism; the other is the experimental comparison based on the size of generated trees and learning accuracy. The purpose of this study is to explore comparative strengths and weaknesses of the three heuristics and to show some useful guidelines on how to choose an appropriate heuristic for a particular problem.
Reliability and Construct Validity of Two Versions of Chalder Fatigue Scale among the General Population in Mainland China

The 14-item Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS) is widely used, while the 11-item version is seldom to be found in current research in mainland China. The objectives of the present study is to compare the reliability and construct validity between these two versions and to confirm which may be better for the mainland Chinese setting. Based on a cross-sectional health survey with a constructive questionnaire, 1887 individuals aged 18 years or above were selected. Socio-demographic, health-related, gynecological data were collected, and 11-item and 14-item Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS) were used to assess fatigue. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) were performed to test the fit of models of the two versions. Confirmatory factor analysis of the two versions of CFS did not support the two-factor theorized models. In addition, a three-factor ESEM model of the 11-item version, but not the 14-item version, showed better factor structure and fitness than the other models examined. Both the versions had good internal consistency reliability and a satisfactory internal consistency (Ω = 0.78–0.96, omega coefficient indicates the internal consistency reliability) was obtained from the optimal model. This study provided evidence for satisfactory reliability and structural validity for the three-factor model of the 11-item version, which was proven to be superior to the 14-item version for this data.
Electrically Stable, Solution-Processed Amorphous Oxide IZO Thin-Film Transistors Through a UV-Ozone Assisted Sol-Gel Approach

Metal acetylacetonates are conventional sol-gel precursors used to deposit thin amorphous metal oxide films of In-Zn-O (IZO) suitable for thin-film field effect transistors (TFTs). In this paper, we couple this traditional approach with a postdeposition UV-ozone treatment to effectively reduce carbon impurities prior to any thermal treatment steps. Therefore, we find that the rate of bulk metal oxide formation is enhanced, thus enabling a significant reduction of the processing temperature necessary to achieve high-mobility transistors. Optimized TFT structures processed at 300 °C show n-type mobility of 35 cm2/Vs with on and off ratio of 107. Moreover, positive bias stress tests of such devices are found to exhibit one the lowest threshold voltage shifts of any solution-processed amorphous TFT fabricated without a passivation layer.
Tagging with Movement: Somatic Strategies for Digital Image Classification

ion Movement as a Form of Investigation Acting/Actors Movements Activity Type Observing vs. Performing Affinities Between Gestures (where they align) Participant Contradicts Earlier Statements Agreement With Another Participant’s Idea Participants Alternate way of thinking Performing for an Audience Athletes Personal/Emotional/Cultural History Awareness Level Post-Movement Reflection Benefit of Warm-up Process of Creating Movement for Images Chaos Process of Distilling Images City Process of Interpreting Images Conceptual Difficulties Process of Interpreting Movement Dancing Process of Sorting Images Differences Between Efforts Reactions
Studying the laws of software evolution in a long-lived FLOSS project

Some free, open‐source software projects have been around for quite a long time, the longest living ones dating from the early 1980s. For some of them, detailed information about their evolution is available in source code management systems tracking all their code changes for periods of more than 15 years. This paper examines in detail the evolution of one of such projects, glibc, with the main aim of understanding how it evolved and how it matched Lehman's laws of software evolution. As a result, we have developed a methodology for studying the evolution of such long‐lived projects based on the information in their source code management repository, described in detail several aspects of the history of glibc, including some activity and size metrics, and found how some of the laws of software evolution may not hold in this case. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Iterative Defect Correction and Multigrid Accelerated Explicit Time Stepping Schemes for the Steady Euler Equations

Analytical and experimental convergence results are presented for a novel pseudo-unsteady solution method for higher-order accurate upwind discretizations of the steady Euler equations. Comparisons are made with an existing pseudo-unsteady solution method. Both methods make use of nonlinear multigrid for acceleration and nested iteration for the fine-grid initialization. The new method uses iterative defect correction. Analysis shows that it not only has better stability but it also has better smoothing properties. The analytical results are confirmed by numerical experiments, which show better convergence and efficiency.
Development of a flexure-based XY positioning stage for micro/nano manipulation

This paper presents the design and modeling methodologies of a novel flexure-based positioning stage with capable of traveling along two translational directions. A 4-PP parallel configuration is utilized to implement two planar translational motions. Each prismatic joint is achieved using a translational flexure hinge with a large deformation for smooth motion. The two layers are assembled in a top-down and stacked manner for a compact structure. Furthermore, the flexure-based stage has a totally decoupled kinematic characteristic in theory, which is crucial in micro/nano scale manipulation. Classical beam theory is utilized to conduct the statics, stiffness and dynamics modeling to predict the primary response of the flexure-based stage. Finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to examine the mechanical performances and validate the established models. The finite element simulation shows that the proposed flexure-based stage can achieve a large displacement within the millimeter level, and high natural frequencies of about 134 Hz for two translational vibrations.
Activity of N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidase and its isoenzymes in serum and synovial fluid from patients with different arthropathies.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the activity of N-acetyl-Beta-hexosaminidase (HEX) and its isoenzymes in the serum and synovial fluid of healthy volunteers and patients with an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament and/or meniscus (ACL) osteoarthritis (OA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS The activity of HEX and its isoenzymes was determined according to Zwierz et al. method. Protein content was determined by the biuret method. RESULTS The specific activity of HEX and its isoenzymes in the serum of patients with JIA showed a tendency to increase in comparison to the reference group. The specific activity of total HEX in the serum of RA patients was significantly increased in comparison to control. Our results show, that specific activity of HEX in synovial fluid, in the reference group 4.2 +/- 0.21 microkat/kg protein (0.25 unit/mg protein), is similar to activity in normal temporomandibular joint fluid (0.3 unit/mg protein). Therefore, we included this group in our research. In patients with OA and ACL injuries, HEX and its isoenzymes showed a tendency to increase in the specific activity in synovial fluid. The specific activity of HEX and its isoenzymes in the synovial fluid of patients with RA and JIA was significantly elevated in comparison to the control and the remaining groups. CONCLUSION In the synovial fluid of patients with JIA and RA, the specific activity of HEX and its isoenzymes significantly increased in comparison to control and patients with diseases of a non-inflammatory etiology (OA and ACL). In the synovial fluid of control and diseased groups, HEX constituted a higher percent of total proteins than in serum.
Getting Hearing and Deaf Students to Write to Each other through Dialogue Journals

so • THE COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN Wouldn't you like to see your students make comments like these about their writing? It's possible, if you begin a dialogue journal project. Real writing. Real audiences. Real content. That's dialogue writing in a nutshell; and once you get students (and teachers) sold on the idea, they enthusiastically take ownership by writing to each other; building relationships; and, in the process, improving their communication skills. This article describes how to get a dialogue writing project going. It is based on a project involving hundreds of deaf students exchanging journals with hearing peers (Kluwin & Kelly, 1991; see box describing this project), but it has the potential to be applied to other combinations of students where physical or social isolation is a problem.
LOCO: an interactive code (De)obfuscation tool

This paper presents LOCO, a graphical, interactive environment to experiment with code obfuscation and deobfuscation transformations, which can be applied automatically, semi-automatically and by hand. LOCO is an extension of the multi-platform visualization tool LANCET, combined with an obfuscation infrastructure in the underlying link-time program rewriter DIABLO. By use of LOCO, a developer can easily navigate through the control flow graph of a program and do fine-grained obfuscation, test new obfuscation transformations, test the robustness of existing transformations or improve existing transformations.
Flipping the Classroom to Improve Student Performance and Satisfaction

This study aimed to determine the eff ects of a fl ipped classroom (i.e., reversal of time allotment for lecture and homework) and innovative learning activities on academic success and the satisfaction of nursing students. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare three approaches to learning: traditional lecture only (LO), lecture and lecture capture back-up (LLC), and the fl ipped classroom approach of lecture capture with innovative classroom activities (LCI). Examination scores were higher for the fl ipped classroom LCI group ( M = 81.89, SD = 5.02) than for both the LLC group ( M = 80.70, SD = 4.25), p = 0.003, and the LO group ( M = 79.79, SD = 4.51), p < 0.001. Students were less satisfi ed with the fl ipped classroom method than with either of the other methods ( p < 0.001). Blending new teaching technologies with interactive classroom activities can result in improved learning but not necessarily improved student satisfaction. [ J Nurs Educ . 2013;52(10):597-599. ]
Convergence behavior of affine projection algorithms

A class of equivalent algorithms that accelerate the convergence of the normalized LMS (NLMS) algorithm, especially for colored inputs, has previously been discovered independently. The affine projection algorithm (APA) is the earliest and most popular algorithm in this class that inherits its name. The usual APA algorithms update weight estimates on the basis of multiple, unit delayed, input signal vectors. We analyze the convergence behavior of the generalized APA class of algorithms (allowing for arbitrary delay between input vectors) using a simple model for the input signal vectors. Conditions for convergence of the APA class are derived. It is shown that the convergence rate is exponential and that it improves as the number of input signal vectors used for adaptation is increased. However, the rate of improvement in performance (time-to-steady-state) diminishes as the number of input signal vectors increases. For a given convergence rate, APA algorithms are shown to exhibit less misadjustment (steady-state error) than NLMS. Simulation results are provided to corroborate the analytical results.
The determinants of discrimination against daughters in China: Evidence from a provincial-level analysis

This paper reports a provincial-level analysis of the way in which various socio-economic and socio-demographic determinants influence the decision to discriminate against daughters in China. While most existing studies use the infant or child sex ratio as the only variable to be explained, this study analyses separately the two main discriminatory practices: sex-selective abortion (with sex ratio at birth as a proxy) and neglect of girls’ health care (with excess infant mortality among females as a proxy). The analysis helps to illuminate the circumstances that encourage sex-selective behaviours, which appear to be dictated mainly by extreme poverty, family support to the elderly, and father's education, together with the social pressure on couples to adhere to traditional values and roles and the constraints on family size. While sex-selective abortion appears to result from long-term strategies to optimize family composition, lethal neglect is the immediate result of economic constraints.
Comparison of developmental capacity for intra‐ and interspecies cloned cat (Felis catus) embryos

Interspecies nuclear transfer is an invaluable tool for studying nucleus–cytoplasm interactions; and at the same time, it provides a possible alternative to clone animals whose oocytes are difficult to obtain. In the present study, we investigated the possibility of cloning cat embryos using rabbit oocytes, and compared the developmental capacity; the timing of embryogenesis of the cat–rabbit cloned embryos with that of the cat–cat or the rabbit–rabbit cloned embryos. When cultured in M199, the rate of blastocyst formation of the cat–rabbit embryos was 6.9%, which was not significantly different than that of the cat–cat embryos (10.5%). However, the rate of blastocyst formation of rabbit–rabbit embryos (22.9%) was significantly greater than that of both the cat–rabbit and the cat–cat embryos (P < 0.05). The timing of the first three cleavages for the cat–rabbit embryos was similar to that of the rabbit–rabbit embryos, but significantly faster than that of the cat–cat embryos (P < 0.05), while the time to form blastocysts was similar to that of cat–cat embryos, but significantly slower than that of the rabbit–rabbit embryos (P < 0.05). Both M199 and SOF medium were evaluated for culturing cat–rabbit embryos; the rate of blastocyst formation in SOF (14.5%) was significantly greater than that in M199 (6.9%) (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that: (1) the cat–rabbit embryos possess equal developmental capacity as cat–cat embryos; (2) the timing of the first three cleavages for the cat–rabbit embryos is recipient‐specific, while the time to form blastocysts is donor nucleus‐specific; and (3) SOF medium may be beneficial to overcome the morula‐to‐blastocyst block for cat–rabbit cloned embryos. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 66: 38–45, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Atherosclerosis and Dementia: A Cross-Sectional Study With Pathological Analysis of the Carotid Arteries

Background and Purpose— Previous ultrasound-based studies have shown an association between carotid artery atherosclerosis and dementia. Our aim was to investigate this association using postmortem examination. Methods— Postmortem morphometric measurements of carotid stenosis and intima-media thickness were performed in individuals with dementia (n=112) and control subjects (n=577). Multivariate logistic regression models were applied. Results— High-grade left internal carotid stenosis (≥70%) was associated with increased odds for dementia (OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.14–4.74; P=0.02). Intima-media thickness was not associated with dementia. Conclusions— The likelihood of dementia is increased with high-grade left internal carotid artery atherosclerosis after adjusting for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors.
An Algorithm with Polylog Parallel Complexity for Solving Parabolic Partial Differential Equations

The standard numerical algorithms for solving parabolic partial differential equations are inherently sequential in the time direction. This paper describes an algorithm for the time-accurate solution of certain classes of parabolic partial differential equations that can be parallelized in both time and space. It has a serial complexity that is proportional to the serial complexities of the best-known algorithms. The algorithm is a variant of the multigrid waveform relaxation method where the scalar ordinary differential equations that make up the kernel of computation are solved using a cyclic reduction-type algorithm. Experimental results obtained on a massively parallel multiprocessor are presented.
De Substance Use Risk Profile Scale voor zwakbegaafde en licht verstandelijk gehandicapte mensen

De Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) is een vragenlijst gebaseerd op een persoonlijkheidsmodel waarvan de persoonlijkheidstrekken Hopeloosheid, Angstgevoeligheid, Impulsiviteit en Sensation Seeking een risico vormen voor gebruik van onder andere alcohol, cannabis en tabak. In dit onderzoek is de SURPS-NL-LVG (Substance Use Risk Profile Scale- Nederland- Licht Verstandelijk Gehandicapten) ontwikkeld, een aangepaste versie van de SURPS-NL. De aangepaste vragenlijst is speciaal ontwikkeld voor zwakbegaafde en licht verstandelijk gehandicapten. De vragenlijst is in de vorm van een gestructureerd interview afgenomen bij 33 volwassen zwakbegaafde en licht verstandelijk gehandicapte mensen. De betrouwbaarheid is gemeten door middel van een Cronbach‟s Alpha, voor Hopeloosheid is de Cronbach‟s Alpha . 86, voor Angstgevoeligheid . 71, voor Impulsiviteit . 77 en voor Sensation Seeking . 77. Uit een factoranalyse kwamen vier factoren duidelijk naar voren die verantwoordelijk waren voor 60% van de variantie. Tijdens het interview werden tevens vragen gesteld over de frequentie en intensiteit van alcohol-, cannabis- en tabakgebruik. Spearmans rangcorrelatie analyses ondersteunen de criteriumvaliditeit van de SURPS-NL-LVG: persoonlijkheid hangt samen met de Gebruiksfrequentie en Gebruiksintensiteit van alcohol, cannabis en tabak.