Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing board oversight on quality of hospital care: an agency theory perspective.

BACKGROUND Community hospitals in the United States are almost all governed by a governing board that is legally accountable for the quality of care provided. Increasing pressures for better quality and safety are prompting boards to strengthen their oversight function on quality. PURPOSE In this study, we aimed to provide an update to prior research by exploring the role and practices of governing boards in quality oversight through the lens of agency theory and comparing hospital quality performance in relation to the adoption of those practices. METHODOLOGY Data on board practices from a survey conducted by The Governance Institute in 2007 were merged with data on hospital quality drawn from two federal sources that measured processes of care and mortality. The study sample includes 445 public and private not-for-profit hospitals. We used factor analysis to explore the underlying dimensions of board practices. We further compared hospital quality performance by the adoption of each individual board practice. FINDINGS Consistent with the agency theory, the 13 board practices included in the survey appear to center around enhancing accountability of the board, management, and the medical staff. Reviewing the hospital's quality performance on a regular basis was the most common practice. A number of board practices, not examined in prior research, showed significant association with better performance on process of care and/or risk-adjusted mortality: requiring major new clinical programs to meet quality-related criteria, setting some quality goals at the "theoretical ideal" level, requiring both the board and the medical staff to be as involved as management in setting the agenda for discussion on quality, and requiring the hospital to report its quality/safety performance to the general public. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Hospital governing boards should examine their current practices and consider adopting those that would enhance the accountability of the board itself, management, and the medical staff.
Prevalence of Rubella Virus Infection among Pregnant Women Accessing Antenatal Clinic at Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nigeria

The virus which has an incubation period of 2 – 3 weeks is transmitted through the respiratory route ( WHO, 2011; Kolawole et al., 2014; Mounerou et al., 2015). The disease is characterized by a rash and lymphadenopathy that affects children and young adults. It is the mildest of common viral exanthema (Al-Rubaiet al., 2010). Rubella has symptoms are similar to that flu, however, the primary symptom of rubella virus infection is the appearance of rash (exanthema) on the face which spreads to the trunk and usually fades after three days. Other symptoms include low-grade fever, swollen glands (sub occipital and International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 6 (2016) pp. 171-178 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
RNA polymerase II subunit RPB3 is an essential component of the mRNA transcription apparatus

To improve our understanding of RNA polymerase II, the gene that encodes its third-largest subunit, RPB3, was isolated from a lambda gt11 DNA library by using antibody probes. The RPB3 DNA sequence predicts a 318-amino-acid protein whose sequence was confirmed, in part, by microsequence analysis of the gel-purified RNA polymerase II subunit. RPB3 was found to be an essential single-copy gene that is tightly linked to HIS6 on chromosome IX. An RPB3 temperature-sensitive mutant that arrested growth after three to four generations at the restrictive temperature was isolated. When the mutant was shifted to the restrictive temperature, RNA polymerase II could no longer assemble, previously assembled functional enzyme was depleted, and mRNA levels were consequently reduced. These results demonstrate that RPB3 is an essential component of the mRNA transcription apparatus. Finally, the RPB3 protein is similar in sequence and length to RPC5, a subunit common to RNA polymerases I and III, suggesting that these subunits may play similar roles in RNA polymerases I, II, and III.
Increased levels of laminin and collagen type VI may reflect early remodelling in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Objective — The development of left ventricular remodelling (LVR) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a predictor of heart failure and mortality.The extracellular matrix (ECM) is highly susceptible to ischaemic injury. Laminin and collagen type VI (CVI) contribute to ECM formation in the infarct zone.To determine whether these markers can be detected in blood samples, we measured laminin and CVI in patients with AMI and control subjects. Methods — A total of 60patients scheduled for coronary angiography and 31patients with AMI were included.We subdivided the patients into three groups: (1) AMI, (2) stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and (3) exclusion of CAD. Laminin and CVI serum concentrations were recorded using the ELISA-technique. Results — Laminin was significantly higher in patients with AMI than in subjects with stable CAD (36.5 vs. 23.9, P<0.01) or without CAD (36.5 vs. 24.6ng/ml, P<0.05). CVI-levels were significantly elevated in patients with AMI compared to subjects without CAD (7.5ng/ml vs. 5.4ng/ml, P<0.05) or stable CAD (7.5ng/ml vs. 5.7ng/ml, P=0.01). Laminin and CVI were significantly higher in patients with severely reduced left ventricular function. Laminin and CVI values were significantly correlated (r=0.6). Conclusion — Our data suggest that laminin and CVI serum levels can be potential surrogate parameters of ECM remodelling after AMI.We hypothesize that serum laminin reflects early ECMremodelling involved in the process of postischaemic tissue degradation and repair, and CVI may be a marker of collagen denaturation and shifts in the collagen phenotype ratios.
Feasibility Study of a Table-Based SET-Pulse Estimation in Logic Cells From Heavy-Ion-Induced Transient Currents Measured in a Single MOSFET

A table-based technique for estimating single-event transient pulses is evaluated in the most crucial case for bulk MOSFET technologies where an ion penetrates the drain region. A device model of a bulk MOSFET is built in a 2-D numerical device simulation framework, and heavy-ion-induced transient currents flowing through its drain terminal are calculated. From the currents, single-event transient voltage pulses in an inverter are estimated with the table-based estimation technique. The results are compared with ones simulated in the mixed mode with the same device model and circuit configuration. The estimated pulses are comparable to the results in the mixed-mode device simulations. Moreover, the estimation accuracy can be improved by using a drain-capacitance compensation technique. An extrapolation technique based on the drain-voltage dependency of heavy-ion-induced transient currents is also presented to reduce the experimental costs for modeling.
A silencing pathway to induce H 3K 9 and H 4K 20 trimethylation at constitutive heterochromatin

Histone lysine methylation is a central modification to mark functionally distinct chromatin regions. In particular, H3-K9 trimethylation has emerged as a hallmark of pericentric heterochromatin in mammals. Here we show that H4-K20 trimethylation is also focally enriched at pericentric heterochromatin. Intriguingly, H3-K9 trimethylation by the Suv39h HMTases is required for the induction of H4-K20 trimethylation, although the H4 Lys 20 position is not an intrinsic substrate for these enzymes. By using a candidate approach, we identified Suv4-20h1 and Suv4-20h2 as two novel SET domain HMTases that localize to pericentric heterochromatin and specifically act as nucleosomal H4-K20 trimethylating enzymes. Interaction of the Suv4-20h enzymes with HP1 isoforms suggests a sequential mechanism to establish H3-K9 and H4-K20 trimethylation at pericentric heterochromatin. Heterochromatic H4-K20 trimethylation is evolutionarily conserved, and in Drosophila, the Suv4-20 homolog is a novel PEV modifier to regulate position-effect variegation. Together, our data indicate a function for H4-K20 trimethylation in gene silencing and further suggest H3-K9 and H4-K20 trimethylation as important components of a repressive pathway that can index pericentric heterochromatin.
DNA vaccination against tumors

DNA vaccines have been used to generate protective immunity against tumors in a variety of experimental models. The favorite target antigens have been those that are frequently expressed by human tumors, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), ErbB2/neu, and melanoma‐associated antigens. DNA vaccines have the advantage of being simple to construct, produce and deliver. They can activate all arms of the immune system, and allow substantial flexibility in modifying the type of immune response generated through codelivery of cytokine genes. DNA vaccines can be applied by intramuscular, dermal/epidermal, oral, respiratory and other routes, and pose relatively few safety concerns. Compared to other nucleic acid vectors, they are usually devoid of viral or bacterial antigens and can be designed to deliver only the target tumor antigen(s). This is likely to be important when priming a response against weak tumor antigens. DNA vaccines have been more effective in rodents than in larger mammals or humans. However, a large number of methods that might be applied clinically have been shown to ameliorate these vaccines. This includes in vivo electroporation, and/or inclusion of various immunostimulatory molecules, xenoantigens (or their epitopes), antigen‐cytokine fusion genes, agents that improve antigen uptake or presentation, and molecules that activate innate immunity mechanisms. In addition, CpG motifs carried by plasmids can overcome the negative effects of regulatory T cells. There have been few studies in humans, but recent clinical trials suggest that plasmid/virus, or plasmid/antigen‐adjuvant, prime‐boost strategies generate strong immune responses, and confirm the usefulness of plasmid‐based vaccination. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Virtual Environment to Support Classroom Face-to-Face Teaching of Engineering Courses

The objective of our study is to answer three questions: a) How to build a low cost online teaching tool to support face-to-face classrooms of introductory engineering disciplines? b) What is the effectiveness of the use of virtual environment in promoting learning? c) Does the number of accesses by the students onto the virtual environment increases their grades and reduces their failure in introductory engineering disciplines? The online teaching tool was developed in Moodle environment, being composed by three components for each discipline: a) video lectures, b) video lessons explaining how to solve proposed exercises, c) a list of unsolved exercises. To evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual environment we collected data during JanDec/2016, amongst engineer students. The main predictor variable, the number of access to the online support tool, was firstly evaluated in univariate analysis. Multiple linear regression was used to assess how the outcome of “final grade” were influenced by all predictors variables together, in a multivariate way. The number of accesses by the students onto the virtual environment increases their grades and reduces their failure in introductory engineering disciplines, especially for General Chemistry, Differential Calculus, Physics Electricity and Algorithms.
Communicating Real-Time State Machines

Communicating real-time state machines (CRSMs), a complete and executable notation for specifying concurrent real-time systems including the monitored and controlled physical environment, are introduced. They are essentially state machines that communicate synchronously in a manner much like the input-output in Hoare's CSP. In addition, CRSMs have a novel and small set of facilities for describing timing properties and accessing real time. The author defines the CRSM language, gives many examples of its use in requirements specification, outlines an algorithm for executing or simulating CRSMs, introduces some techniques for reasoning about the specifications, and discusses some open problems and issues. >
Stage-models for public e-services - investigating conceptual foundations

Information technology has since the turn of the millennia been one of the core issues in the reform of public administration in government agencies. Aiding this development has in some countries and in the research community been discussed through the development of stage models describing the evolution of services in stages. This is the case in Sweden where the Swedish agency for administrative development has been using a model to describe, evaluate and promote the emerging services. This paper pivots on the discussion about the conceptual foundation for models such as the Swedish model and other models. The discussion is conceptually founded in information systems actability theory and IS usage situations. This paper addresses the issue of stage models and the concept of stages itself. The models discussed lack in the categorization of the described stages; borders between stages are undistinguishable and unclear. A refined model that addresses the discovered issues is presented in the paper.
Spectrum Map: Toward Predicting the Spatial Distribution of Spectrum Usage in CRNs

Recent measurements on radio spectrum usage have revealed the abundance of under-utilized bands of spectrum that belong to licensed users. Prior knowledge about occupancy of such bands and corresponding achievable performance metrics can potentially help secondary networks to devise effective strategies to improve utilization. In this paper, we use Shepard’s method of interpolation to create a spectrum map that provides a spatial distribution of spectrum usage over a region of interest. It is achieved by intelligently fusing the spectrum usage reports shared among the secondary nodes at various locations. We further use this spectrum usage distribution to estimate different radio and network performance metrics like channel capacity, network throughput, spectral efficiency and bit error rate. Through simulation experiments we show the correctness of the prediction model and how it can be used by secondary networks for strategic positioning of secondary pairs and selecting candidate channels.
Rule-Based Spanish Morphological Analyzer Built From Spell Checking Lexicon

Preprocessing tools for automated text analysis have become more widely available in major languages, but non-English tools are often still limited in their functionality. When working with Spanish-language text, researchers can easily find tools for tokenization and stemming, but may not have the means to extract more complex word features like verb tense or mood. Yet Spanish is a morphologically rich language in which such features are often identifiable from word form. Conjugation rules are consistent, but many special verbs and nouns take on different rules. While building a complete dictionary of known words and their morphological rules would be labor intensive, resources to do so already exist, in spell checkers designed to generate valid forms of known words. This paper introduces a set of tools for Spanish-language morphological analysis, built using the COES spell checking tools, to label person, mood, tense, gender and number, derive a word's root noun or verb infinitive, and convert verbs to their nominal form.
The relation between the work performed and the energy liberated in muscular contraction

MEASUREMENTS by Hartree and A. V. Hill(i) of the initial heat production of the sartorius muscle of the frog arranged to contract isometrically have shown that the total energy so liberated, I, is equal to A, the energy necessary to set up the tension, plus Bt, the energy necessary to maintain it for the duration of the contraction. Thus: I=A+Bt . (1). In a previous paper (2) based upon similar measurements of the initial heat produced when the muscle is allowed to shorten during stimulation, I have shown that when work is done by the muscle an extra supply of energy is liberated which does not appear in an isometric contraction and which is roughly proportional to the work, W, which is done. Thus the total energy, E, liberated is given by the formula: E =A+ Bt +kTs= I+kW . (2), where T is the tension of the muscle during shortening and s is the amount of shortening. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the significance of the term kW, particularly from the point of view of the theory that a stimulated muscle can be regarded as an elastic body, and to present further experiments which make possible a more detailed analysis of the excess energy, kW.
Differential Perceptions of Alcohol Policy Effectiveness

Public support is crucial to sustained success for alcohol policies—but some may be supported precisely because they are expected to have the least impact on most drinkers. This paper offers an in-depth look at this “prevention dilemma,” in an analysis of two alcohol control policies, higher alcohol taxes and health warning labels. In a recent national survey (n=2000), respondents were asked about their perceptions of these policies' effects on moderate drinkers, on heavy drinkers, and on their drinking. Those who believed the label had affected their drinking were more likely to support the label policy, but the corresponding perception about higher prices' effect was not a significant predictor of support for higher taxes; heavier drinkers were less likely than others to endorse either policy. These data do not offer evidence that policy endorsement hinges on the belief that one's drinking is unaffected by the policy.
Excess of metalloproteases over tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease may contribute to cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND In an attempt to identify the factor(s) involved in the modulation of the degradative pathway of articular cartilage, we previously reported a possible imbalance between the levels of biologically active forms of metalloproteases and tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease (TIMP) in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We extended our analysis on the protein level and the synthesis of stromelysin-1, collagenase, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 in normal, OA, and RA cartilages, and provided information on the synthesis pattern of these proteins in respect to the action of interleukin-1 (IL-1). These protein concentrations were determined by specific sandwich EIA assays. RESULTS This study allowed us to establish that the concentration of stromelysin-1 and collagenase is elevated in both OA and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cartilages when compared with normal, with significantly higher levels of collagenase found in OA (p < 0.0003) and RA (p < 0.0001), and of stromelysin-1 in RA (p < 0.02). In all cases, the level of stromelysin-1 significantly exceeded (a few 100-fold) the collagenase level. The cartilage TIMP-1 level was notably enhanced only in RA, whereas TIMP-2 was increased in both OA and RA cartilage. RA patients with active disease had a higher level of metalloproteases and TIMP than those patients with inactive disease. Moreover, patients taking steroids alone or in combination with methotrexate had a markedly lower metalloprotease level without any changes in the TIMP-1 level. In culture cartilage explants, the synthesis of stromelysin-1 was enhanced in RA cartilage, whereas the level of collagenase was increased both in OA and RA explants. When compared with normal patients, the TIMP-1 synthesis was essentially unchanged in arthritic explants, whereas the level of TIMP-2 was decreased in RA explants when compared to OA. IL-1 induced a statistically significant increased synthesis of metalloproteases with the highest level found in arthritic explants. IL-1 also significantly decreased the TIMP-1 synthesis in OA and RA explants, and the TIMP-2 synthesis in OA. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that stromelysin-1 is the predominant metalloprotease synthesized in human articular cartilage and that both TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 are present in this tissue. The differential regulation of metalloprotease and TIMP syntheses by IL-1 suggests that this cytokine, during inflammatory conditions, may promote cartilage degradation by creating an imbalance between the level of these enzymes and their inhibitors.
Design and numerical characterization of a low voltage power MOSFET in 4H-SiC for photovoltaic applications

Higher efficiency in photovoltaic (PV) conversion calls for the use of small Maximum Power Point Trackers (MPPT) to be placed on board the PV modules. Such circuits require in turn power transistors with low energy losses, high switching speed and blocking voltages lower than 150 V. Thus, starting from a conventional 4H-SiC power MOSFET, a novel device for photovoltaic applications has been designed and numerically simulated in order to determine its on-state resistance (RON) for different device structures and bias voltages. The resulting value of RON is compared to that of a commercial Si-based MOSFET performing the same breakdown voltage.
2 . Neurodegeneration in DR and the Role of VEGF

1CIBERDEM (CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabolicas Asociadas) and Diabetes and Metabolism Research Unit, Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Passeig Vall d’Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Spain 2Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via San Zeno 31, 56127 Pisa, Italy 3Interdepartmental Research Center Nutrafood “Nutraceuticals and Food for Health”, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Medicinal Plants Used by Traditional Healers in Jordan, the Tafila Region

Background: The reporting of the medicinal plants and their traditional uses is important in order to prevent this knowledge from being lost. The aims of this study were to collect information concerning the traditional use of medicinal plants in the region of Tafila; identify the most important medicinal plants; determine the relative importance of the species surveyed; and calculate the informant consensus factor (Fic) in relation to medicinal plant use. Materials and Methods: Data on the traditional medicinal uses of local plants were collected using qualitative tools. The informant consensus factor (Fic) for the category of aliments and the use value (UV) of the plant species were calculated. Results and Conclusions: The survey revealed that 41 plant species are still in use in Tafila for the treatments of various diseases. Problems of the digestive system had the highest Fic values, while Allium cepa L. and Matricaria aurea (Loefl.) Sch. Bip. scored the highest UV. Abbreviations used: Fic: Informants consensus factor, nur: number of use reports per each category, nt: number of taxa used, UV: use value of a species, U: number of uses per species, n: number of informants
Modeling a realistic 3D physiological tongue for visual speech synthesis

We built a 3D anatomically and biomechanically accurate physiological tongue model for use in visual speech synthesis. For the anatomical modeling part, the tongue and its muscles are constructed based on accurate medical data. Due to their complexity, muscles geometry and fiber arrangement are specified by a proposed interactive muscle marking method. For the biomechanical modeling part, a nonlinear, quasi-incompressible, hyperelastic constitutive model is applied for describing the tongue tissues. Particularly, tongue muscles are additionally endowed with an anisotropic constitutive model, which reflects the active and passive mechanical behavior of muscle fibers. The dynamic deformation of tongue is simulated based on finite element method (FEM). Simulation results of tongue movements subjected to certain muscle activations are presented and validated with experimental data. This tongue model can be applied in many areas, like media art, education, entertainment.