Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of relationships in the choices of older users of cash for care in England

This PhD thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of how older users of long-term care make their choices regarding care; by exploring the nature of the relationships between older users of Direct Payments (DPs) and their carers, and how those relationships influence the choices and experiences (i.e. satisfaction with care) of users. This thesis used qualitative methods, including in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty-four older users of DPs across three Local Authorities within greater London, supplemented by documentary reviews and interviews with nine care managers. The thesis found that relationships have an intrinsic value for many users as an outcome of care. These users mostly chose to employ a Personal Assistant (PA) and went on to develop deep and caring relationships. The choice to employ PAs was also partly motivated by a desire to ensure continuity of care from the same person. Those purchasing care from agencies seemed to attach less weight to the development of a deep caring relationship, and preferred to have more detached relationships with their paid carers. At the same time, a number of PA employers chose not to employ an existing acquaintance in order to keep the care relationship separate from friendship relationships. All users recognised that the relationship with the paid carer could also have an instrumental value, by allowing PA employers greater leeway in the definition of care tasks than users of agency staff. Reciprocal gift exchanges were reported by those hiring PAs, and were perceived by users as an important way of cementing the relationship and allowing users to receive care tailored to their needs and preferences. Reciprocal exchanges were mostly absent from those purchasing care from agencies. These findings are discussed in relation to rational choice theories underlining user choice policies in England, as well as to the concept of care as an experience good. Findings highlight the potential role of DPs to allow for a better matching of people with different preferences regarding care, as well as the importance of caring relationships and continuity of care as aspects of home care quality.
Insulin resistance, inflammatory markers and alcohol consumption in IgA glomerulonephritis

9 ABBREVIATIONS. 11 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS. 13
The relationship between US7 ultrasound joint scoring system and disease activity score DAS28 in rheumatoid arthritis: A study in Indian population

Introduction: US7 (7 joint ultrasound score) is an emerging ultrasound (US) joint scoring system for the assessment of disease activity in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Methods and Material: The study was conducted at a tertiary care center in Southern India. Sixty-two patients of RA were recruited for this cross-sectional observational study. Patients' clinical & laboratory parameters were used to calculate the disease activity score DAS28. Grayscale and Power Doppler Ultrasound (GSUS & PDUS) were performed to calculate US7 score.Statistical analysis used: Spearman's rank-order correlation, Pearson interclass correlation and ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve analysis were performed. Results: Median DAS28 value was 4.04 with one patient in clinical remission. There was a statistically significant positive correlation (r=0.262) between synovitis by GSUS score & DAS 28 (p-value = 0.040) and synovitis by PDUS score and DAS 28 (r=0.340, p-value = 0.004). No significant correlation was found between DAS28 and tenosynovitis or erosions score. ROC curve analysis yielded the p values of 0.04 and 0.004 for synovitis by GSUS and synovitis by PDUS respectively in differentiating between the patients with low (DAS groups 1 & 2) and high disease activity (3 & 4). Conclusions: There is good correlation of the synovitis component of US7 score with DAS28. However, relationship of tenosynovitis and erosions with disease activity is questionable according to our results. An 'abbreviated US7' score with detection of only synovitis may be more suitable. This requires further validation.
Influence of timing of milk consumption coupled with endurance training on body composition and endurance training adaptations in humans.

Consumption of low-fat milk (LFM) after resistance training has been shown to have positive influences on body composition and training adaptations; however, little research has examined the effects of LFM consumption following endurance training. The purpose of the study was to look at the effects of combining additional servings of LFM following endurance exercise on body composition, bone health, and training adaptations. 40 healthy males were recruited. Individuals were randomized into 4 groups – DEI (750mL LFM immediately post exercise), DEA (750mL LFM 4 hrs prior to or 6 hrs post exercise), CEI (750mL carbohydrate beverage immediately post-exercise), and CEA (750mL carbohydrate beverage immediately post-exercise). Participants took part in a 12-week endurance training intervention (1 h/day, 3 d/wk, ~60% max HR). 22 participants completed the study. Analysis showed significant increases in lean mass, spinal bone mineral content, relative VO2peak, and a decrease in Trap 5β across all groups (p < 0.05).
Informed consent to AIDS-vaccine trials in Brazil: a pilot study.

A pilot study was conducted to assess the possibility of designing a study of the use of informed consent in HIV vaccine trials and to draw some preliminary conclusions about what aspects of the informed consent process need particular attention. 20 gay and bisexual men of mean age 25.6 years participated in the study. 14 stated their willingness to participate if asked in an HIV vaccine trial. They all noted the need to continue to avoid high-risk behavior even if they participated in such a trial. This proportion of participants willing to enter a vaccine trial is greater than that found by researchers in a recent study of drug users willingness to enroll in HIV vaccine trials. It is concluded that a study of the adequacy of the informed consent process must go beyond asking simple questions about the trials. One must instead ask more complex and deeper questions about the details of the trial design and potential participants understanding of the possible benefits and risks. Only then can researchers determine and report something of substance about whether potential participants understand enough to give truly informed consent.
Parkinson's disease and impairments in executive functions Assessment and treatment from a neuropsychological perspective : assessment and treatment from a neuropsychological perspective

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterised by motor but also non-motor symptoms, such as cognitive impairments. Executive functions (EF) are frequently impaired in patients with PD. EF are essential for performing goal-directed behavior. Impairments in EF have a negative impact on independence in everyday life and contribute subsequently to a lower Quality of Life (QOL). The main objectives of this thesis were to investigate how impairments in EF could be characterised based on neuropsychological assessment and to investigate in a RCT design whether cognitive treatment (strategy versus function training) would improve these impairments in everyday life. Patients with PD showed comparable profiles regarding impairments on neuropsychological tests of cognitive flexibility, inhibition and planning (aspects of EF) to those of patients with acquired brain injury (ABI), for whom cognitive treatment for impairments in EF is common practice. Needs and aims for cognitive treatment were also highly comparable between groups. Furthermore, both administration of neuropsychological tests and questionnaires had added value for the characterization of EF problems of patients with PD. Mental slowness had no significant impact on neuropsychological test performance, however motor slowness needs to be taken into account when interpreting results on specific tests of attention in patients with PD. Both strategy training (ReSET) and cognitive training (Cogniplus) lead to some self-reported subjective improvement of executive functioning in everyday life, but both treatments had no effect on patients’ overall participation level and QoL. No substantial evidence was found to conclude that strategy training should be preferred over function training.
Does Vitamin D Level Affect Grip Strength: a Cross-sectional Descriptive Study

7 Erciyes Med J 2020; 42(1): 7–11 • DOI: 10.14744/etd.2019. 15428 ORIGINAL ARTICLE – OPEN ACCESS This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Sevtap Badıl Güloğlu Does Vitamin D Level Affect Grip Strength: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study Objective: Although there is increasing evidence about the role of vitamin D on muscle function, its relationship with grip strength is still a controversial issue. The aim of this cross-sectional clinical study was to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D and grip strength in premenopausal Turkish women. Materials and Methods: A total of 127 women with an age range of 40–50 (44.7±4.3) years who were premenopausal and sedentary were included in this cross-sectional descriptive study. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 30.2±5.3 kg/m. Dominant and nondominant grip strengths were measured by digital hand dynamometer. Results: The mean dominant and nondominant grip strengths were 24.2±5.9 kg and 22.5±5.7 kg, respectively. Mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentration was 16.4±9.7 ng/ml. Participants were divided into three groups as vitamin D deficiency (70.9%), insufficiency (18.1%), and sufficiency (11.0%). No statistically significant difference was found between the groups with respect to age, BMI, and dominant and nondominant grip strengths (p>0.05). Furthermore, no significant relationship was found between serum 25OHD concentration and dominant and nondominant grip strengths (p>0.05). In addition, BMI was not associated with dominant and nondominant grip strengths (p>0.05). Conclusion: These results of this study provide evidence that vitamin D is not effective on grip strength at least in premenopausal Turkish women.
Glue (Toluene) Abuse: Increased QT Dispersion and Relation with Unexplained Syncope

Exposure to toluene, one of the major components of glue, can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden sniffing death syndrome. QT dispersion is a useful risk marker for cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of glue abuse on QT interval and QT dispersion. The study included 44 patients with inhalant abuse and 34 healthy controls. Patients were divided into three groups: glue abusers with history of unexplained syncope (n = 20), asymptomatic glue abusers (n = 24), and healthy control subjects (n = 34). QT intervals, QT dispersion, and corrected QT dispersion values were measured. QT and corrected QT duration were greater in the symptomatic group than in athe symptomatic group and greater in the asymptomatic group than in controls. QT and corrected QT dispersion in both symptomatic and asymptomatic group were significantly greater than controls (p= .001), and also QT and corrected QT dispersion in symptomatic group was greater in asymptomatic group (p = .001). These findings demonstrate that QT interval and corrected QT dispersion increase in symptomatic or asymptomatic toluene abusers. The QT and QTc dispersion were also found to be longer in the symptomatic group than those in the asymtomatic group.
Thrombopoietin receptor agonists for treatment of poor graft function after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adults

Tatiana A. Rudakova, Alexander D. Kulagin, Ivan S. Moiseev, Tatyana A. Bykova, Sergey N. Bondarenko, Maria V. Barabanshikova, Anastasia V. Beinarovich, Anna A. Osipova, Varvara N. Ovechkina, Alexander L. Alyanskiy, Elena I. Darskaya, Elena V. Morozova, Boris V. Afanasyev Raisa Gorbacheva Memorial Research Institute of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Transplantation, Chair of Hematology, Transfusiology and Transplantology, Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University, St. Petersburg, Russia Thrombopoietin receptor agonists for treatment of poor graft function after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adults Cellular Therapy and Transplantation (CTT). Vol. 8, No. 2, 2019 doi: 10.18620/ctt-1866-8836-2019-8-2-38-44 Submitted: 31 July 2019, accepted: 09 August 2019
Inpatient Evaluation of Intra-abdominal Pressure Completed With a Urinary Catheter as Compared With Ultrasonographic Vessel Measurements

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of ultrasonography as compared with intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measured with a urinary catheter. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The participants consisted of 146 patients hospitalized in the emergency wards of two hospitals in Isfahan (2017-2018). Following measurement of IAP through a urinary catheter, ultrasonographic measurement of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter, internal jugular vein diameter, common femoral vein (CFV) diameter, and ratio between the IVC and abdominal aortic diameters was completed. Correlation between these methods of measurements for IAP was investigated. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between intrabladder pressure and the right internal jugular vein (RIJV) and CFV (P < .001, R > 0). There was also a reverse significant correlation between intrabladder pressure and RIJV, IVC, IVC:aorta diameter, systolic blood pressure, and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (P < .001, r < 0). RIJV, CFV, and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion were suitable predictors for the estimation of intrabladder pressure or IAP (P < .05), but IVC, IVC:aorta, and systolic blood pressure were not suitable factors for estimating IAP (P > .05). Conclusion: Ultrasonographic measurement is a noninvasive method for determining IAP.
Computer-assisted diagnosis of actinic keratosis in dermatoscopic images

Actinic Keratosis is a skin lesion that presents as a coarse and scaly patch due to frequent exposure to ultraviolet radiation, its importance lies in the fact that the lesion can become squamous cell skin cancer, so it is very important its treatments in early stages. Computer-assign diagnostic (CAD) system leads to a pre-diagnosis of the lesion based on information regarding clinical criteria. In this work it is proposed develop a CAD system that allows the identiﬁcation of Actinic Keratosis in lesions of the skin by dermatoscopy images analysis using spatial domain methods and pattern recognition.
IDENTIFICATION AND PREVALENCE OF GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES IN BEEF CATTLE IN SIAK SRI INDRAPURA, RIAU, INDONESIA

Gastrointestinal (GI) parasites infection are one of the major constraints cattle farm in tropical countries including Indonesia and some of GI parasites in cattle have the potential to transmit to humans. This study was aimed to identify and determine the level of prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in beef cattle in Siak Sri Indrapura District, Riau Province, Indonesia. This research was conducted on 100 beef cattle consisted of, respectively, 32, 34 and 34 cattles from Bungaraya, Sabak Auh, and Dayun sub-district. The characteristic of sample such as age and sex cattle, cage management, feed and drinking water were recorded. Native, sedimentation and sucrose flotation methods were used to find protozoa and eggs worm. We assessed GI parasites based on finding eggs worm, protozoan cyst and coccidial oocysts in stool samples and identification of GI parasite was based on the morphology and size of the eggs worm and cysts or oocysts of protozoan. The result showed that all of 100 feces samples that examined 100% positive infection for parasites. There were eleven types of gastrointestinal parasites that have been identified, 6 genera of protozoan and 5 genera of worms. The prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in beef cattles in Siak Sri Indrapura District were Blastocystis sp. (100%), Entamoeba sp. (90%), Eimeria sp. (53%), Giardia sp. (7%), Balantidium coli (4%), Cryptosporidium sp. (2%) Oesophagustomum sp. (45%), Toxocara vitulorum (20%), Moniezia expansa (9%), Trichuris sp. (5%), and Fasciola sp. (4%). In conclusion, Siak Sri Indrapura Riau is an endemic GI parasite and this can threaten the health of livestock and potentially as a zoonotic transmission.
Use of electronic medical records to conduct surveillance of malaria among Peace Corps volunteers.

Objective The Peace Corps' disease surveillance for Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) was incorporated into an electronic medical records (EMR) system in 2015. We evaluated this EMR-based surveillance system, focusing particularly on malaria as it is deadly but preventable. Materials and Methods In 2016, we administered a survey to Peace Corps Medical Officers (PCMOs), who manage PCVs' medical care, and semistructured phone interviews to headquarters staff. We assessed the structure of the surveillance system and its utility to stakeholders, evaluated surveillance case definitions for malaria, and compared clinical information in the EMR for malaria cases captured by surveillance during the first half of 2016. Results Of 131 PCMOs, 77 (59%) completed the survey. Of 53 respondents in malaria-endemic nations, 98% believed most PCVs contact them about possible malaria. Of 134 cases with a malaria clinical diagnosis in the EMR between January and August 2016, 58 (43% sensitivity) were reported to the surveillance system by PCMOs. The remaining cases in the surveillance system were added during data cleaning, which is time-intensive. Among the 48 malaria cases identified by surveillance between January and June 2016, positive predictive value was 67%. Discussion Areas for improvement include streamlining PCMO documentation, refining case definitions, and improving data quality. With such improvements, surveillance data can be used to inform epidemiological analysis, clinical care, health education, and policy. Conclusion The EMR is an important tool for malaria surveillance among PCVs and, with the refinements mentioned, could serve as a framework for other multinational organizations to monitor their staff.
Spontaneous Treatment of Renal Artery Pseudoaneurysm after Partial Nephrectomy: A Case Report.

A partial nephrectomy has become a much more prevalent procedure due to the tremendous increase in tomographic imaging studies and improvements in surgical techniques [1]. The purpose of a partial nephrectomy is to preserve the maximum renal function without affecting the overall tumor-specific survival rate [1]. On the other hand, several complications can occur during the postoperative period after a partial nephrectomy. Some can be managed conservatively but serious complications require interventional treatment [2, 3]. A renal artery pseudoaneurysm (RAP) is one of the most serious complications after renal surgery. This paper describes a case of RAP after a partial nephrectomy. The patient was treated spontaneously by complete thrombosis of the RAP. The spontaneous treatment of a RAP in the present case is believed to be the largest in diameter reported thus far.
Dentigerous cyst in the maxilla associated with two supernumerary teeth: A rare entity

A dentigerous cyst is a developmental odontogenic cyst, which apparently develops by accumulation of fluid between the reduced enamel epithelium and the crown of an unerupted tooth. Through various cases that have been reported, it is observed that 95% of this cyst is associated with permanent dentition while only 5-6% is in association with supernumerary teeth. Mesiodens, a supernumerary tooth situated between the maxillary central incisors, has a prevalence of 0.15-1.9%. Here, a dentigerous cyst in association with a pair of impacted mesiodens is reported in a 56-year-old female patient.
Prevalence of cancer disease in Thi_Qar Provence

For the purpose of reaching and trying to control the causes of cancer, Data information about ( sex, age, location, type of cancer, year) was collected for 2892 patients and for five consecutive years from the health department of Dhi Qar and from the districts of (AL-Nasiriyah, Suq al-Shuyukh, AL- Shatrah, AL- Rifai, and AL-Chabaish ). The result was that the highest incidences of cancer (24.1%) in 2011 and the lowest rate of cancer (15.6%) in 2010, and the following cancers were the most common: lung, bladder, larynx, central nervous system, liver, lymphatic, ovary, stomach, breast, prostate, blood, pancreas, uterus, kidney, colon, rectum, skin, thyroid, soft tissue and cancers in other sites of the body. But, lung cancer is the most common, which was highest in 21.1% in 2014. The age group (greater than 75 years) was the most vulnerable to cancer (33.7%) in 2010 and (10-14 years) group was the least vulnerable to cancer and reached the highest rate (1.4%) in 2014.Nasiriyah included the highest number of cancer cases and the highest rate of cases (55.9%) in 2010. Numbers of males suffering from cancer were greater than numbers of females suffering from cancer and the highest rate was 57% for males in 2011.
Increased stress susceptibility and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction : early markers of psychosis vulnerability?

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS . 4 LIST OF TABLES . 7 LIST OF FIGURES . 10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 12 STATEMENT OF PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION . 13 ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS . 14 INTRODUCTION . 15 Aims. 20 Hypotheses . 20 THESIS OUTLINE . 22 DEFINITION OF RESEARCH TERMS . 24 CHAPTER 1 Strategies for identifying individuals at elevated risk for schizophrenia . 34 1.
Computational Methods for Biomarker Identification in Complex Disease

In a modern systematic view of biology, cell functions arise from the interaction between molecular components. One of the challenging problems in systems biology with high-throughput measurements is discovering the important components involved in the development and progression of complex diseases, which may serve as biomarkers for accurate predictive modeling and as targets for therapeutic purposes. Due to the non-linearity and heterogeneity of these complex diseases, traditional biomarker identification approaches have had limited success at finding clinically useful biomarkers. In this dissertation we propose novel methods for biomarker identification that explicitly take into account the non-linearity and heterogeneity of complex diseases. We first focus on the methods to deal with non-linearity by taking into account the interactions among features with respect to the disease outcome of interest. We then focus on the methods for finding disease subtypes with their subtype-specific biomarkers for heterogeneous diseases, where we show how prior biological knowledge and simultaneous disease stratification and personalized biomarker identification can help achieve better performance. We develop novel computational methods for more accurate and robust biomarker identification including methods for estimating the interactive effects, a network-based feature ranking algorithm that takes into account the interactive effects between biomarkers, different approaches for finding distances between somatic mutation profiles for better disease stratification using prior knowledge, and a network-regularized bi-clique finding algorithm for simultaneous subtype and biomarker identification. Our experimental results show that our proposed methods perform better than the state-of-the-art methods for both problems.