Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequent callers to the ambulance service: patient profiling and impact of case management on patient utilisation of the ambulance service

Background A minority of patients make frequent and excessive calls to the ambulance service, placing a significant burden on limited resources at a time when demand on urgent and emergency care systems is steadily increasing. Little is known about the reasons underlying frequent caller behaviour or the best way to manage this group of patients. Objectives The present study aimed to (i) profile frequent callers to the ambulance service and (ii) evaluate the impact of a case management interventional approach on frequent caller behaviour. Methods A retrospective review of data from a 2-year period (from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2011) was conducted. Patients were included in the analysis if they had been accepted for case management intervention by the Patient-Centred Action Team during this period and met the study inclusion criteria. Results The review identified 110 frequent callers who met the study inclusion criteria. The majority of frequent callers (86%) had multiple and complex reasons for calling, including frequent medical need, acute or chronic mental health condition, older age and unmet personal or social care needs. In the majority of cases (82%), multiple interventional strategies were required. A significant reduction in median call volume was observed from preintervention to postintervention (from five calls/month to zero calls/month). Conclusions Effective management of this complex patient group requires an individualised case management approach in order to identify and tackle the underlying causes of behaviour.
Men and women watching and reading: Gender and information processing opportunity effects in advertising

This study examines gender differences in responses to advertising for low-involvement products. I argue that when an opportunity for detailed information processing is present, females will be inclined to use it and engage in systematic consideration of message content, whereas males will tend to ignore it and instead process an ad in a heuristic manner. I further suggest that this difference in cognitive styles will have implications for advertising effectiveness. In line with predictions, two experiments supported moderation effect of processing opportunity on behavioral intentions in responses to advertising. After viewing the ad in the conditions that allowed extensive elaboration on message arguments, females were more willing to engage in word-of-mouth (WOM) communication about the advertised product compared to males. No gender differences were observed when the opportunity for ad processing was low. Cognitive responses to advertising mediated the gender by processing opportunity interaction effect on WOM intentions.
The contexts and structures of relating to others: How memberships in different types of groups shape the construction of interpersonal relationships

A study tested hypotheses derived from relational models theory on how four models — communal sharing, authority ranking, equality matching, and market pricing — are used to structure relationships in different types of social groupings. Portuguese participants rated 10 relationships on the Modes of Relationships Questionnaire and reported their shared group memberships. The four-factor structure of the models was confirmed, and a bottom-up approach identified families, friendships, and organizations as the main distinct types of social groupings. The main results showed that relations within families combine mostly communal relations with authority between age groups, whereas relations in organizations combine mostly market relations with authority between age groups as well as professions. Friendships feature a mix of all models, except authority.
Multi-Robot Voronoi Coverage under Actuation and Measurement Noise

In this paper, we study the problem of multi-robot coverage when the evolution of the robots’ positions is uncertain. More precisely, we use the popular Voronoi coverage control approach [1], which is based on the iterative construction of a centroidal Voronoi tessellation, and ask what happens to the control law and the Voronoi tessellation under actuation and measurement noise. We present a first description and analysis of the phenomena (stability of the controller, uncertainty of the Voronoi cells) and show future research directions.
Depletion of PCBM at the Cathode Interface in P3HT/PCBM Thin Films as Quantified via Neutron Reflectivity Measurements

[*] Dr. A. J. Parnell, A. J. Pearson, Dr. P. A. Staniec, A. J. C. Dennison, Dr. H. Hamamatsu, Prof. D. G. Lidzey, Prof. R. A. L. Jones Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH (UK) E-mail: a.j.parnell@sheffield.ac. uk; d.g. lidzey@sheffield.ac. uk Dr. A. D. F. Dunbar Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, The University of Sheffield Sir Robert Hadfield Building, Mappin St, Sheffield S1 3JD (UK)
Cyclic Tetrapyrrole Sulfonation, Metals, and Oligomerization in Antiprion Activity

ABSTRACT Cyclic tetrapyrroles are among the most potent compounds with activity against transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs; or prion diseases). Here the effects of differential sulfonation and metal binding to cyclic tetrapyrroles were investigated. Their potencies in inhibiting disease-associated protease-resistant prion protein were compared in several types of TSE-infected cell cultures. In addition, prophylactic antiscrapie activities were determined in scrapie-infected mice. The activity of phthalocyanine was relatively insensitive to the number of peripheral sulfonate groups but varied with the type of metal bound at the center of the molecule. The tendency of the various phthalocyanine sulfonates to oligomerize (i.e., stack) correlated with anti-TSE activity. Notably, aluminum(III) phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate was both the poorest anti-TSE compound and the least prone to oligomerization in aqueous media. Similar comparisons of iron- and manganese-bound porphyrin sulfonates confirmed that stacking ability correlates with anti-TSE activity among cyclic tetrapyrroles.
Further evidence on dimensionality and correlates of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire

Using data from 2379 American Navy recruits, the present study examined several issues related to interpretation and use of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), including dimensionality, relationships with actual mishaps, and the relationship to handedness. With regard to dimensionality, evidence suggests that the CFQ measures only two replicable factors, a dominant ‘general cognitive failures’ factor and a minor name-processing factor. The analysis of actual mishaps suggests a linkage between high CFQ scores and accidents, a finding in agreement with other research showing that many accidents result from distractibility, poor selective attention and mental error. Other results indicate that, although both CFQ scores and accident rates are elevated in left-handers, a causal linkage cannot be inferred.
Determinants of Slow Walking Speed in Ambulatory Patients Undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis

Walking ability is significantly lower in hemodialysis patients compared to healthy people. Decreased walking ability characterized by slow walking speed is associated with adverse clinical events, but determinants of decreased walking speed in hemodialysis patients are unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with slow walking speed in ambulatory hemodialysis patients. Subjects were 122 outpatients (64 men, 58 women; mean age, 68 years) undergoing hemodialysis. Clinical characteristics including comorbidities, motor function (strength, flexibility, and balance), and maximum walking speed (MWS) were measured and compared across sex-specific tertiles of MWS. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine whether clinical characteristics and motor function could discriminate between the lowest, middle, and highest tertiles of MWS. Significant and common factors that discriminated the lowest and highest tertiles of MWS from other categories were presence of cardiac disease (lowest: odds ratio [OR] = 3.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26–8.83, P<0.05; highest: OR = 2.84, 95% CI = 1.18–6.84, P<0.05), leg strength (OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.40–0.95, P<0.05; OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.39–0.82, P<0.01), and standing balance (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.63–0.92, P<0.01; OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.68–0.97, P<0.05). History of fracture (OR = 3.35, 95% CI = 1.08–10.38; P<0.05) was a significant factor only in the lowest tertile. Cardiac disease, history of fracture, decreased leg strength, and poor standing balance were independently associated with slow walking speed in ambulatory hemodialysis patients. These findings provide useful data for planning effective therapeutic regimens to prevent decreases in walking ability in ambulatory hemodialysis patients.
Dixon techniques for water and fat imaging

In 1984, Dixon published a first paper on a simple spectroscopic imaging technique for water and fat separation. The technique acquires two separate images with a modified spin echo pulse sequence. One is a conventional spin echo image with water and fat signals in‐phase and the other is acquired with the readout gradient slightly shifted so that the water and fat signals are 180° out‐of‐phase. Dixon showed that from these two images, a water‐only image and a fat‐only image can be generated. The water‐only image by the Dixon's technique can serve the purpose of fat suppression, an important and widely used imaging option for clinical MRI. Additionally, the availability of both the water‐only and fat‐only images allows direct image‐based water and fat quantitation. These applications, as well as the potential that the technique can be made highly insensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneity, have generated substantial research interests and efforts from many investigators. As a result, significant improvement to the original technique has been made in the last 2 decades. The following article reviews the underlying physical principles and describes some major technical aspects in the development of these Dixon techniques. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;28:543–558. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of Spouses' Characteristics on the Social Roles and Activities of Married Elderly Persons in Israel

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present findings from a recent national study of elderly persons in Israel which cover two related questions: I. How do spouses' characteristics and activities affect the social participation of married older men and women? 2. Is the effect of husbands' characteristics and activities on wives equivalent or symmetrical to that of wives' characteristics and activities on husbands? The study is based on analyses of data collected in the Israel Survey of Persons Aged 60 and Over in Households, 1985, a national sample survey of households conducted by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics which included approximately 4,500 persons age 60 and over. An innovation of our study has been the design of a data file which enables us to study the activities, role incumbency, and participation of the respondents in relation to the characteristics and activities of their spouses. We study the performance by husbands and wives of social roles designated as ‘major commitment’ roles (MCRs), in that they are roles performed in social contexts invoving commitments over time to the activity and to the social units in which they are carried out: (a) employment, (b) continued parenting involving assistance to adult children, (c) full housekeeping, and (d) volunteer activity. Characteristics and roles of the wives of older married male respondents, and of the husbands of older married female respondents in Israel, are significantly associated with the respondents' performance of the MCRs which we have identified. However, the ‘marginal effects coefficients’ based on logistic regression equations show that the relative weight of spouses' characteristics and roles is small compared with that of the respondents' own characteristics and other competing or mutually supportive roles. There are both symmetries and assymmetries in the patterns of effects of husbands' and wives' characteristics and roles on prevalences of MCRs among the older married respondents.
Development of school leaders in Hong Kong: contextual changes and future challenges

Schools in Hong Kong have been operating in a fast changing external environment in the last two decades; not only have they had to follow the international trend of implementing various educational reform initiatives but they also have had to adjust to the social changes brought about by the transfer of political governance. These changes have led to new expectations of the roles of school leaders and the ways potential leaders are prepared for these roles. This article reviews the development of leadership preparation in Hong Kong and explores future development opportunities, taking into consideration the unique nature of Chinese culture and the history of Hong Kong.
Aortic valve calcification: association with bone mineral density and cardiovascular risk factors

BackgroundCardiovascular risk factors are reported to increase the incidence of aortic valve calcification. Among older women, low bone mineral density appears to be associated with increased prevalence of aortic calcification. We aimed to assess and compare cardiovascular risk factors and bone mineral density of patients with and without aortic valve calcification. Materials and methodsCardiovascular risk factors and bone mineral density measurements have been assessed in 49 patients with aortic valve calcification and in 65 patients without aortic valve calcification. All patients were subsequently referred to the nuclear medicine department to measure bone mineral density after echocardiographic evaluation. ResultsNo statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups with respect to sex, body mass index, history of coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking status. Although height and weight of the patients with aortic valve calcification were significantly lower than those of patients without aortic valve calcification, they were not independent risk factors. Age and hypertension were found to be independent positive risk factors for aortic valve calcification, whereas T score was found to be negatively associated with aortic valve calcification. ConclusionWe have shown that aortic valve calcification is positively associated with age and hypertension, whereas bone mineral density is negatively associated with aortic valve calcification. The mechanism underlying the association between decreased bone mineral density and aortic valve calcification remains to be clarified in further studies.
Regulation of cell signaling cascades by influenza A virus

There were a lot of studies related to global gene expression in cells infected with in- fluenza A virus. However, few studies have focused on the systematic analysis of the regulation of cell signaling cascade by influenza A virus. To understand fully the regulation of cell signaling cascade associated with influenza virus infection, we used cDNA microarray to investigate the gene expression of A549 infected with influenza A virus A/PR/8/34. Then we used the KEGG pathway database to analyze the up-regulated genes. From the results, we can see that different pathways in- cluding Antigen processing and presentation, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, Apoptosis, Jak- STAT signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and Complement and coagulation cascades were effected by the infection of influenza A virus. Our results will provide a good platform to understand the host genes regulated by influenza virus and targets for drug design.
The Construction and Validation of the Heat Vulnerability Index, a Review

The occurrence of extreme heat and its adverse effects will be exacerbated with the trend of global warming. An increasing number of researchers have been working on aggregating multiple heat-related indicators to create composite indices for heat vulnerability assessments and have visualized the vulnerability through geographic information systems to provide references for reducing the adverse effects of extreme heat more effectively. This review includes 15 studies concerning heat vulnerability assessment. We have studied the indicators utilized and the methods adopted in these studies for the construction of the heat vulnerability index (HVI) and then further reviewed some of the studies that validated the HVI. We concluded that the HVI is useful for targeting the intervention of heat risk, and that heat-related health outcomes could be used to validate and optimize the HVI. In the future, more studies should be conducted to provide references for the selection of heat-related indicators and the determination of weight values of these indicators in the development of the HVI. Studies concerning the application of the HVI are also needed.
Timeline Editing of Objects in Video

We present a video editing technique based on changing the timelines of individual objects in video, which leaves them in their original places but puts them at different times. This allows the production of object-level slow motion effects, fast motion effects, or even time reversal. This is more flexible than simply applying such effects to whole frames, as new relationships between objects can be created. As we restrict object interactions to the same spatial locations as in the original video, our approach can produce high-quality results using only coarse matting of video objects. Coarse matting can be done efficiently using automatic video object segmentation, avoiding tedious manual matting. To design the output, the user interactively indicates the desired new life spans of objects, and may also change the overall running time of the video. Our method rearranges the timelines of objects in the video whilst applying appropriate object interaction constraints. We demonstrate that, while this editing technique is somewhat restrictive, it still allows many interesting results.
Exploring neuro-muscular synergies of reaching movements with unified independent component analysis

The coordinated recruitment of group of muscles through muscles synergies is known to simplify the control of movements. However, how and to what extent such control scheme is encoded at a cortical level is poorly understood. So far, electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) have been used, separately, to investigate the cortical regions of the human brain which may be involved in activating muscle synergies. Here we aim at extending these results by looking for a hierarchical relationship between cortical and muscular sources of activity (neuro-muscular synergies) with a unified analysis of independent components (IC) simultaneously extracted from both EEG and EMG signals. We show for the first time how the direct fusion of EEG and EMG signals to extract unified ICs (unICs) can overcome the limitations of previous approaches, i.e., the difficulty in linking neural with muscular activations, and the lack of reliability of separate preprocessing techniques. Our results show that unified ICs were physiologically meaningful components in agreement with previous works. UNICA (Unified Independent Component Analysis) can also be considered as a solution for estimating overcomplete ICA on EEG and EMG data. These findings are an important step towards an understanding of the cortical control of human muscles synergies, and may have important applications for understanding movement dysfunction and to develop novel approaches for brain-computer interfaces and neuroprostheses.
Distinct DNA Damage Spectra Induced by Ionizing Radiation in Normoxic and Hypoxic Cells

Ionizing radiation induces more cell death under normoxic conditions than under hypoxic conditions. This phenomenon, which is known as the oxygen enhancement effect, occurs primarily because ionizing radiation causes more DNA lesions in the presence of oxygen than in its absence. However, the roles these lesions play in terms of cell survival and chromosome damage have not been fully characterized. We exposed a panel of chicken DT40 mutant cells to ionizing radiation to categorize the type of lesion induced and the DNA-repair pathway involved under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Among the mutant panel, RAD54–/–/KU70–/– cells exhibited the greatest radiosensitivity, which was found to be significantly higher under normoxic conditions. This indicates that double-strand breaks (DSBs) were the major cause of cell death and that ionizing radiation induces more DSBs under normoxic condition. Interestingly, the sensitivity of the REV3–/– cells increased under hypoxic conditions. Indeed, the REV3–/– mutant exhibited a greater number of chromosomal aberrations under hypoxic conditions than under normoxic conditions. These results suggest that the Rev3-mediated translesion-synthesis pathway is more critical for cellular tolerance to ionizing radiation in hypoxic cells than in normoxic cells, and that more chemically modified DNA might be induced under hypoxic conditions. In this study, we identify a previously unappreciated radiation-induced pattern of DNA damage under hypoxic conditions.
ENDONASAL VERSUS SUPRAORBITAL KEYHOLE REMOVAL OF CRANIOPHARYNGIOMAS AND TUBERCULUM SELLAE MENINGIOMAS

OBJECTIVE Endonasal and supraorbital “eyebrow” craniotomies are increasingly being used to remove craniopharyngiomas and tuberculum sellae meningiomas. Herein, we assess the relative advantages, disadvantages, and selection criteria of these 2 keyhole approaches. METHODS All consecutive patients who had endonasal or supraorbital removal of a craniopharyngioma or tuberculum sellae meningioma were analyzed. RESULTS Of 43 patients, 22 had a craniopharyngioma (18 endonasal, 4 supraorbital), and 21 had a meningioma (12 endonasal, 7 supraorbital, 2 both routes); 33% had prior surgery. Craniopharyngiomas were primarily retrochiasmal in location in 78% of endonasal cases versus 25% of supraorbital cases (P = 0.08). Meningiomas were larger when approached by the supraorbital route versus the endonasal route (33 ± 10 versus 25 ± 8 mm, respectively; P = 0.008). Endoscopy was used in 84% of endonasal approaches and in 31% of supraorbital approaches (P = 0.001). Of patients having first-time surgery for a craniopharyngioma (n = 14) or meningioma (n = 15), total/near total removal was achieved in 83% and 80% of patients by the endonasal route and in 50% and 80% of patients by the supraorbital route, respectively. Vision improved in 87% and 70% of patients who had surgery by an endonasal versus supraorbital route, respectively (P = 0.3). Visual deterioration occurred in 2 patients with meningiomas, 1 by endonasal (7%), and 1 by supraorbital (11%) removal. The endonasal approach was associated with a higher rate of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leaks (16 versus 0%; P = 0.3), 4 of 5 of which occurred in patients with meningioma. CONCLUSION The endonasal route is preferred for removal of most retrochiasmal craniopharyngiomas, whereas the supraorbital route is recommended for meningiomas larger than 30 to 35 mm or with growth beyond the supraclinoid carotid arteries. For smaller midline tumors, either approach can be used, depending on surgeon experience and tumor anatomy. Compared with traditional craniotomies, the major limitation of both approaches is a narrow surgical corridor. The endonasal approach has the added challenges of restricted lateral suprasellar access, a greater need for endoscopy, and a more demanding cranial base repair.