Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How confident are medical students about making clinical decisions relying on the evidence? A cross-sectional questionnaire study

Objective: Giving information and providing advice on diagnostic tests is one of the tasks physicians must carry out personally. To do so, they must evaluate the evidence and integrate their findings into everyday practice. Clinical decisions should be based on evidence. How well current medical education prepares for such evidence-based clinical decision-making is largely unclear. Therefore, it was examined how confident medical students are in clinical decision-making based on evidence using epidemiological data. It was examined whether the decision-making confidence increases the higher the semester. Further questions were whether scientifically active medical students show higher decision-making confidence and whether the representation of figures as pictograms rather than tables positively influences the decision-making confidence. Methods: An online survey of the medical students of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg was carried out. Respondents were presented with three clinical decision-making situations in random order for evaluation in the form of screening scenarios. In each case, the decision-making confidence also had to be specified. The scenarios contained only epidemiological data on existing screening tests. For each scenario, the numbers were presented as a table or a pictogram in a random fashion. In order to avoid false confidence resulting from preconceived opinions neither the illnesses nor the screening tests were mentioned by name. Results: Answers from 171 students were evaluated. Decision-making confidence in dealing with the numbers does not increase in higher semesters (rPearson=0.018, p=0.41). Scientific work is not associated with a higher decision-making confidence (t(169)=-1.26, p=0.11, d=-0.19). Presentation as a pictogram leads to a higher decision-making confidence compared to tables (Pictogram: M=2.33, SD=1.07, Table with numbers: M=2.64, SD=1.11, t(511)=3.21, p<0.01, d=0.28). Conclusions: Medical students from higher semesters show no higher decision-making confidence compared to medical students from lower semesters. Curricular events and scientific work, such as a doctoral thesis, do not seem to strengthen the required skills sufficiently. If evidence is presented in the form of pictograms, this seems to improve student confidence in decision-making.
Exploring profile and potential influencers of vaginal microbiome among asymptomatic pregnant Chinese women

Background This study was designed to explore the profile and potential influencers of the vaginal microbiome (VMB) among asymptomatic pregnant Chinese women and its possible association with pregnancy outcomes. Methods A prospective study was conducted among pregnant Chinese women receiving regular prenatal care at a hospital in Shanghai, China from March 2017 to March 2018. Vaginal swabs were obtained from 113 asymptomatic pregnant women in mid-pregnancy and sequenced by the V3–V4 region of 16S rRNA on an Ion S5™ XL platform. Demographic characteristics and major pregnancy outcomes were collected through questionnaires and electronic medical records. Results The predominant vaginal community state types (CSTs) were CST I (45.1%) and CST III (31.9%). Participants were divided into a lactobacilli-dominant group (LD, CST I/II/III/I–III/V, n = 100, 88.5%) and a less lactobacilli-dominant group (LLD, CST IV-A/B, n = 13, 11.5%). Women in the LLD group showed an increased alpha diversity [median (interquartile range, IQR): 2.41 (1.67, 2.49) vs. 0.30 (0.17, 0.59), P < 0.001], which was related to a lower pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.012), and a greater instance of passive smoking (P = 0.033). The relative abundance of Lactobacillus was correlated positively with the pre-pregnancy BMI (r = 0.177, P = 0.041), but negatively with passive smoking (r = − 0.204, P = 0.030). Conclusion The vaginal flora of asymptomatic pregnant Chinese women was mostly dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus and L. iners. A lower BMI and greater instance of passive smoking may contribute to a less lactobacilli-dominant VMB. However, a larger sample size is needed.
Individual and institutional influencing factors on completion rates in a medical education master’s program in Germany

Background: The increasing significance of didactic aspects in medical education has also led to the development of special postgraduate programs. Completion rates represent an important outcome criterion for these programs of study. Up to today, detailed studies on what factors influence these completion rates have been lacking. Methods: Within the framework of outcomes research, a semi-structured online survey of students was conducted in the Master of Medical Education Germany program. Of the 90 items, 21 referred to the master's thesis that is required for graduation. Results: 157 out of 246 (63.8%) of students from classes 1-10 of the program (study period 2004-2014) participated in the survey. 109 participants had submitted a master's thesis, whereas 45 participants had not completed their studies by submitting a master's thesis. Influencing factors of successful completion were, among other things, little difficulty in choosing the topic, retention of the originally chosen topic, general support by the program administration in the modules and ensuring timely feedback from the advisor, and the provision of temporal, staff and financial resources by the home faculty. The failure to turn in the project report and a lengthy interruption of master thesi's work could be identified as critical parameters. Conclusion: Taking into account these results can contribute to increasing completion rates in medical education graduate programs. Systematic outcomes research leads, moreover, to quality assurance. Such studies should be conducted in a standardized manner in the future, in order to facilitate comparisons between medical education programs.
Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using a Mentha spicata extract and evaluation of its anticancer and cytotoxic activity

In this study, silver nanoparticles (NP) were synthesized by two methods: using an aqueous extract of Mentha spicata leaves and using citrate ions as stabilizing agent, and the cytotoxicity and anticancer activity of both NP were evaluated in vitro. The particles synthesized with the aqueous extract were spherical with a size ranging from 15 to 45 nm. These NP decreased cell viability in all of the cells studied; however, the IC50 could only be estimated in the Chang liver cells (IC50 = 21.37 µg/mL). These particles also decreased the generation of reactive oxygen species in Chang and SiHa cells. Additionally, the dispersions decreased the activity of caspase-3. There was no significant difference between the biological activities of the NP obtained with the aqueous extract and the NP synthesized using citrate ions. This study showed that an aqueous extract of M. spicata is an excellent alternative for the synthesis of silver NP. These NP showed cytotoxicity and anticancer activity in vitro. Although more experiments are required, the cell death occurs probably through a mechanism different from apoptosis.
Clinical Significance of Minimal Residual Disease at the End of Remission Induction Therapy in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

BACKGROUND: Detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) in the early phase of therapy is the most powerful predictor of relapse risk in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). AIM: We aimed to determine the significance of MRD at the end of remission induction therapy in the prediction of treatment outcome in children with ALL. METHODS: Sixty-four consecutive patients aged 1-14 years with newly diagnosed ALL were enrolled in this study from January 2010 to October 2017. All patients were treated according to the ALL IC BFM 2002 protocol. MRD was detected at the end of remission induction therapy (day 33) by multiparameter 6-colour flow cytometry performed on bone marrow specimens with a sensitivity of 0.01%. RESULTS: Overall, 42.2% of patients had detectable MRD on day 33 of therapy. MRD measurements were not significantly related to presenting characteristics but were associated with a poorer blast clearance on day 8 and 15 of remission induction therapy. Patients with negative MRD status on day 33 had a 5-year event-free survival of 94.6% compared with 76.1% for those with positive MRD status (P = 0.044). CONCLUSION: MRD levels at the end of remission induction therapy measured by multiparameter flow cytometry have clinical significance in childhood ALL. High levels of MRD are strongly related to poor treatment outcome.
Gastrointestinal transcription factors drive lineage-specific developmental programs in organ specification and cancer

Gastrointestinal transcription factors drive lineage-specific programs in organ specification and cancer. Transcription factors (TFs) are spatially and temporally regulated during gut organ specification. Although accumulating evidence shows aberrant reactivation of developmental programs in cancer, little is known about how TFs drive lineage specification in development and cancer. We first defined gastrointestinal tissue–specific chromatin accessibility and gene expression during development, identifying the dynamic epigenetic regulation of SOX family of TFs. We revealed that Sox2 is not only essential for gastric specification, by maintaining chromatin accessibility at forestomach lineage loci, but also sufficient to promote forestomach/esophageal transformation upon Cdx2 deletion. By comparing our gastrointestinal lineage-specific transcriptome to human gastrointestinal cancer data, we found that stomach and intestinal lineage-specific programs are reactivated in Sox2high/Sox9high and Cdx2high cancers, respectively. By analyzing mice deleted for both Sox2 and Sox9, we revealed their potentially redundant roles in both gastric development and cancer, highlighting the importance of developmental lineage programs reactivated by gastrointestinal TFs in cancer.
Spatial genetic structure in Pinus cembroides Zucc. at population and landscape levels in central and northern Mexico

Background Spatial genetic structure (SGS) analysis is a powerful approach to quantifying gene flow between trees, thus clarifying the functional connectivity of trees at population and landscape scales. The findings of SGS analysis may be useful for conservation and management of natural populations and plantations. Pinus cembroides is a widely distributed tree species, covering an area of about 2.5 million hectares in Mexico. The aim of this study was to examine five natural seed stands of P. cembroides in the Sierra Madre Occidental to determine the SGS at population (within the seed stand) and landscape (among seed stands) levels in order to establish guidelines for the conservation and management of the species. We hypothesized that P. cembroides, in which the seeds are dispersed by birds and mammals, creates weaker SGS than species with wind-dispersed seeds. Methods DNA fingerprinting was performed using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. In order to estimate the SGS at population and landscape levels, we measured the geographical (spatial) distance as the Euclidean distance. We also estimated the genetic distances between individuals using the pairwise kinship coefficient. Results The results showed non-significant autocorrelation in four out of five seed stands studied (i.e., a mainly random distribution in the space of the genetic variants of P. cembroides at population level). Discussion SGS was detected at the landscape scale, supporting the theory of isolation by distance as a consequence of restricted pollen and seed dispersal. However, the SGS may also have been generated by our sampling strategy. We recommended establishing a close network of seed stands of P. cembroides to prevent greater loss of local genetic variants and alteration of SGS. We recommend seed stands of P. cembroides of a minimum width of 225 m.
An appraisal of building control and regulations practice in Nigeria: Project managers’ perspectives

Abstract Development and certification of buildings for health and safety of building users necessitated the building control and regulations agencies in Nigeria, and the protection of the built-up regions from human injuries is man’s major obligation. The article aims to determine and assess the level of practice of building control and regulations in the country with a view to advance their practice. A questionnaire instrument was used, and 35 building control performance indicators were recognized, and categorised into four groups and assessed. A total of 117 questionnaires were distributed to survey participants. Statistical tools of mean, chi-square, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance and Kruskal–Wallis test by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences v.23 were used. The result obtained revealed that the level of practice of the four groups of building control performance indicators is average. On the basis of the survey findings, the top most five building control performance indicators as considered by the participants are as follows: zero tolerance to illegal development and building collapse, enforcement of building control regulations, processing and scrutinizing of building plans for approval, cooperation among staff members and public enlightenment on building control and regulations. The degree of agreement between the participants concerning the performance indicators that influence building control and regulations practice in Nigeria was established. The result obtained revealed that there is a statistically significant degree of agreement among the three different classes of project managers regarding their responses. The study also revealed the drawback in the implementation and enforcement of building control and regulations in the country. Recommendations were also made to improve the practice.
Bacteria from Jatropha curcas rhizosphere, degrades aromatic hydrocarbons and promotes growth in Zea mays

Abstract The rhizosphere is one of the most important reservoirs of microorganisms. Because of the microbial metabolic activities, these can be used for various biotechnological, agricultural and environmental purposes. In this study we evaluated five genetically related bacterial strains; Pseudomonas aeruginosa N7B1 (MG457074), Pseudomonas sp. (MG457075), Pseudomonas sp. , Bf1 (MG457076) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa F23 (MG457077), isolated from Jatropha curcas rhizosphere, capable of growing and degradating benzene and phenanthrene. The hydrocarbon degradation by these strains was quantified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrophotometry. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa N7B1 strain removed 84% of phenanthrene and 45% of benzene in a seven-day period, while the other strains showed a lower hydrocarbon degradation capacity. Another biotechno-logical feature of these strains is maize growth promotion, in a substrate enriched with 0.5% of phenanthrene and 1.0% of benzene. Pseudomonas aeruginosa N7B1 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa F23 showed an increase in root and shoot fresh and dry weight, plant height and root length variables. These results open the possible use of these strains as bioinoculants to promote the growth of maize plants in phenanthrene and benzene polluted soils.
Repositioning sales as an influence on innovation and a source of sustainable competitive advantage

Abstract The main purpose of this paper was to analyze the relationship between the company’s sales activity, innovation and competitive advantage using a representative sample of firms analyzed in dynamics in 2014-2018 time period. Scientific literature on the determinants of innovation has shown that large firms are more likely to innovate when compared to small firms and that innovation inputs significantly increase innovation output. The types of innovation to which this work refers are process, product, organizational and marketing innovation. Thus, looking at the history and evolution of companies, in terms of financial statement and, more specifically, sales, we can reveal relevant information about their innovation activities and potential sustainable competitive advantage emerging from innovation. Sales can be considered input into the innovation process through the information gathered from customers, thus contributing to the innovation process. For example, when it comes to launching a new product or improving the existing one, sales feedback could be of great help because the salesperson has the ability to collect important customer feedback such as: what are the issues with the present product, what could be improved and how etc. So, we ask: Does sales contribute to the innovation process and gaining sustainable competitive advantage? If so, what happens with the degree of innovation according to the volume of sales, the size of the company, the number of employees? To highlight the relationship between sales, innovation and competitive advantage, and to estimate the predictability of the model, multiple linear regression was used. Thus, the analysis has shown that sales activity positively and significantly influences innovation when it comes to the information that sales can make available, contributing in some cases as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Research also identified a significant but negative influence between sales, innovation and sustainable competitive advantage when we talk about sales in terms of their volume.
Understanding the internet banking adoption factors in the Romanian market

Abstract Online banking services create a way to reduce costs, attracting new segments of population and growing the bank performance and improvement of services. Client’s satisfaction is the main benefits of the banks. The aim of the paper is to investigate and to analyze the factors that influence the adoption of internet banking system in Romania. One of the problems faced by consumers using Internet banking is confidentiality. This makes security in transactions to be essential. For this, the main objectives are: identifying critical factors that contribute to the acceptance of internet banking system and the link between them and also identifying the demographic factors that influence the adoption of this system in Romania. The data collection was done by a quantitative research using the questionnaire method as a survey tool and it was made up of questions measured using the Likert scale. It contains variables based on the construct’s relevance to Internet Banking. All assumptions about the relationship between dependent variables and independent variables are developed and tested using multiple reliability, validity, and regression. It was used a statistical software and with it were analised 6 independent variables, named social influence, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived risk, perceived confidence and intention to use Internet banking. The attitude toward using Internet banking system will be the dependent variable. To verify the acceptability model’s validity, it was used the Structural Equations Model. The results are partly supported by the developed hypotheses and are presented after the reliability test where Cronbach’s Alpha is calculated suggesting the internal reliability of the consistency for the scale. The significant effect that influences the attitude toward using Internet banking system is represented by the perceived usefulness, the perceived risk, the perceived confidence and the intention to use internet banking.
Cloud Computing as a Prospect for the Sector of Small – and Medium-Size Companies in the Polish Market

Abstract Efficient functioning in the contemporary market is a fundamental need of every organization. In times of globalization and an intensive technological and engineering progress, attaining a proper position and retaining it is a big challenge in almost every branch of industry. This is especially difficult for the SME sector, as it requires financial expenditures on system solutions and the IT base, among other things. This is where “Cloud Computing” comes in. Cloud computing services consist in providing and making available IT resources (efficient, scalable and tailored to the customer’s needs) through the Web. Thanks to wide access to intensively developing mobile systems, the low costs of computer components and the associated increasingly common use of Internet of Things (IoT) in numerous devices connected to the Internet, data processing is being gradually moved onto the Web peripheries. The purpose of the study is to highlight advantages and possible threats associated with the use of Cloud Computing-based solutions for aiding the activity of enterprises at a varying organizational level following the 4th industrial revolution.
A comparative study of the crystal structures of 2-(4-(2-(4-(3-chlorophenyl)pipera -zinyl)ethyl) benzyl)isoindoline-1,3-dione by synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction

Abstract The crystal structures of the title compound, C27H26ClN3O2, were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction. The simulated annealing approach and rigid-body Rietveld refinement were applied to the structure solution from powder data. Direct methods and full-matrix least-squares techniques were used to solve and refine the crystal structure from single-crystal data. The title compound crystallized in space group P 1 ¯ $\bar{1}$ with lattice parameters a=17.396(7) Å, b= 10.010(4) Å, c=6.833(3) Å, α=77.345(12) °, β= 93.534(6) °, γ=97.210(9) °, unit-cell volume V= 1151.0(2) Å3, Z=2 from powder data, and in space group P 1 ¯ $\bar{1}$with lattice parameters α=82.485(2) °, β= 86.5110(10) °, γ=77.518(2) °, a=6.8159(6) Å, b= 10.0003(9) Å, c=17.4140(15) Å, unit-cell volume V =1148.3(2) Å3, Z=2 from single-crystal data. No detectable impurities were observed.
Validation of Four New Plant Fossil Names from Turkey

Abstract Fossil-wood descriptions from Turkey have been increasing in recent years. The aim of the present paper is to redefine four new fossil species according to the protologue for new plant fossil names. As result, these four new fossil species are verified: Cupressinoxylon pliocenica Akkemik sp. nov., Cercioxylon zeynepae Akkemik sp. nov., Zelkovoxylon yesimae Akkemik et I.Poole sp. nov. and Pistacioxylon ufukii Akkemik et I.Poole sp. nov.
The role of the emotional intelligence in the relationship between medical personnel and the patient

Abstract The way we recognize and manage emotions, empathy, stress management, and the ability to build harmonious relationships, or emotional intelligence, are little explored in the medical field, although they have been shown to play a very important role in recovering patients and increasing the degree of their satisfaction with the accessed medical services. The purpose of the research is to highlight, based on the results of an investigation, whether the emotional intelligence of medical staff influences the quality of the medical services offered and patients’ satisfaction. Towards this end, the authors performed a survey based on the emotional intelligence test developed by Daniel Goleman and presented in his book “Emotional Intelligence”, and modified and adapted by Mihaela Roco. The patients included in the sample answered to a questionnaire related to their satisfaction when they used medical services.