Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of the non-financial incentives in employees in the public sector in Norway

The focus of organizations is to achieve high productivity. To attain organizational goals, it is imperative for organizations to invest in employees. They are important part of any organization. The employees have to be motivated to perform. In the past, organizations have been using financial rewards; for example, salaries and bonuses to improve employee motivation. However, financial incentives are never enough since employees continue to demand higher salaries and allowances. In the contemporary world of business, the focus is shifted to the use of non-financial incentives. The study investigates the impact of non-financial incentives on the performance of employees in organizations with a focus on the public sector. By use of a quantitative research approach, this study will investigate the importance of non-monetary incentives in the Norwegian government department employees. A total of 100 employees drawn from four departments will be given questionnaires to fill and the data will be analyzed using inferential statistics.
Bacteriophages targeting Acinetobacter baumannii capsule induce antimicrobial resensitization

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is responsible for frequent, hard-to-treat and often fatal healthcare-associated infections. Phage therapy, the use of viruses that infect and kill bacteria, is an approach gaining significant clinical interest to combat antibiotic-resistant infections. However, a major limitation is that bacteria can develop resistance against phages. Here, we isolated phages with activity against a panel of A. baumannii strains and focused on clinical isolates AB900 and A9844 and their phages for detailed characterization. As expected, coincubation of the phages with their hosts in vitro resulted in the emergence of phage-resistant bacterial mutants. Genome sequence analysis revealed that phage-resistant mutants harbored loss-of-function mutations in genes from the K locus, responsible for the biosynthesis of the bacterial capsule. Using molecular biology techniques, phage adsorption assays, and quantitative evaluation of capsule production, we established that the bacterial capsule serves as the primary receptor for these phages. As a collateral phenotype of impaired capsule production, the phage-resistant strains could not form biofilms, became fully sensitized to the human complement system, showed increased susceptibility to beta-lactam antibiotics, and became vulnerable to additional phages. Finally, in a murine model of bacteremia, the phage-resistant A. baumannii demonstrated a diminished capacity to colonize blood and solid tissues. This study demonstrates that phages can be used not only for their lytic activity but, if combined with a posteriori knowledge of their receptors and the mechanism of bacterial resistance, for their potential synergy with other antimicrobial agents, thus providing even broader clinical options for phage therapy.
ProxSGD: Training Structured Neural Networks under Regularization and Constraints

In this paper, we consider the problem of training neural networks (NN). To promote a NN with specific structures, we explicitly take into consideration the nonsmooth regularization (such as L1-norm) and constraints (such as interval constraint). This is formulated as a constrained nonsmooth nonconvex optimization problem, and we propose a convergent proximal-type stochastic gradient descent (Prox-SGD) algorithm. We show that under properly selected learning rates, momentum eventually resembles the unknown real gradient and thus is crucial in analyzing the convergence. We establish that with probability 1, every limit point of the sequence generated by the proposed Prox-SGD is a stationary point. Then the Prox-SGD is tailored to train a sparse neural network and a binary neural network, and the theoretical analysis is also supported by extensive numerical tests.
Oxidative stress in cigarette smokers and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Cigarette smoking is the most important exogenous risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Oxidative stress induced by smoking is considered to play major roles in the pathogenesis of COPD. In this review, we describe the theory of oxidant/antioxidant imbalance and the cellular and molecular reactions induced by oxidative stress. In addition, we discuss the effects of cigarette smoking on oxidative stress in smokers and patients with COPD. Smoking leads to increased acute pulmonary and systemic oxidative stress in cigarette smokers. As chronic effects of smoking, both pulmonary and systemic oxidative stress are increased in cigarette smokers and patients with COPD compared to non-smokers, the level of oxidative stress increases in association with duration of smoking history. Furthermore, pulmonary and systemic oxidative stress has been reported to be increased in response to exercise in cigarette smokers with a short smoking history, compared to non-smokers, although no difference was seen in baseline oxidative stress levels. Cigarette smoking affects the pulmonary and systemic oxidative stress response even in cigarette smokers with a short smoking history as well as smokers with a long smoking history and COPD patients.
Lower Extremity Arterial Duplex, Toe-Brachial Index, and Computed Tomography Angiography Examinations in Peripheral Arterial Disease: A Case Presentation

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) commonly results from progressive narrowing of arteries in the extremities because of atherosclerosis. More than 8 million people in the United States have PAD. The majority of individuals with PAD are seniors with one or more cardiovascular disease risk factors. Because patients with PAD may be asymptomatic, the true incidence of PAD may be underreported. Accurate and timely diagnosis of PAD is very important for optimal treatment.
Strategic Alignment of Information Technology in Public and Private Organizations in India: A Comparative Study

Strategic alignment of information technology (IT) is required to be included in the firms’ core activity in today’s business environment. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of ‘IT connectivity, IT infrastructure and IT human resources’ on ‘IT business strategic alignment’ by developing a model, in public and private organizations in India. A questionnaire was used to measure the constructs after its validity and reliability. The findings discovered that firms’ IT strategic alignment was significantly impacted by three IT dimensions, that is, IT connectivity, IT infrastructure and IT human resources (combined as IT capability). The IT investments and expenditures of a firm are aligned with its business objectives and priorities. Furthermore, the significant role of these dimensions in public and private organizations in India was examined.
Advanced Interoperability Techniques: Structure Mapping Service in CrowdHEALTH Project

Introduction: Due to healthcare information systems interoperability issues, health-related events may be missed. Numerous techniques based on medical standards and technologies have been recommended to address this challenge. Nevertheless, these techniques do not follow a holistic approach. Aim: The purpose of the paper is to present the structure mapping service which is developed in the context of the initial design of the interoperability solution of the CrowdHEALTH project. Methods: In the CrowdHEALTH project, subcomponents responsible for providing the appropriate interoperability solution have been created with first the rule engine for the implementation of the business logic. Another subcomponent responsible for creating and managing the knowledge related to the link that exists between information structures, or mappings between them, is the Structure Mapping Service. The envisioned approach for structure mapping is based on ontology alignment. Besides, the Terminology Service is responsible for providing a set of operations on medical terminologies used for the coding of medical knowledge, which fills the information structures. Results: Within the development of the Structure Mapping component, the Ontology alignment process will be automated. Two phases exist when using the structure mapping service: the training phase and the run-time phase. In the training phase ontologies are created and are aligned, and data maps between the use case (source) data sets and the HHR Manager classes (target) are formed. Afterward, these data maps can be stored in the knowledge base. In the runtime phase, queries can be made to the structure mapping component by the data converter. The structure mapping controller can then access the Knowledge Base to retrieve the appropriate mapping and transformations and provide these as a response to the query. Conclusions: The initial design of the advanced interoperability techniques is described with emphasis put to Structural Mapping service which can be easily deployed and seamlessly integrated into healthcare settings. This design will be assessed and further enriched during the project life circle.
The dosimetric impact of manual adjustments following automated registration in prostate image-guided radiotherapy

Abstract Aim Although manual adjustment of automatic cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) matching may improve the target coverage in certain points of interest, concerns exist that this may lead to dosimetric uncertainties which would negate the theoretical benefit of this approach. The objective of this study is to evaluate the dosimetric impact of manual adjustments made after automatic bony registration on CBCT in prostate patients. Methods A total of 50 CBCT datasets of ten high-risk prostate cancer patients were randomly chosen. Each CBCT dataset was registered three times. Method (A): Automatic registration, Method (M1): Manual adjustment carried out by two experienced radiation therapists, Method (M2): Manual adjustment carried out by different radiation therapists with varying levels of experience. The clinical target volume (CTV), planning target volume (PTV), the bladder and the rectum were subsequently contoured on each CBCT dataset by a radiation oncologist blinded to the registration methods. The absolute difference of various dosimetric parameters were then analysed and compared with the original planning doses. A comparison of the three matching methods employed was also carried out. Results There was a statistically significant difference in the magnitude of move taken in the inferior superior direction between M1 and M2 method. There were no significant differences observed in any of the dosimetric parameters examined in relation to the rectum, bladder or CTV. The only significant difference observed was the volume of PTV covered by the prescription isodose (95%) which was statistically significant lower in method A compared with both M1 and M2. There was no difference observed between M1 and M2 methods. The mean duration of the automated registration and subsequent analysis was 64 seconds compared with 91 seconds for automated registrations which included the additional manual adjustment. Findings CBCT-based manual adjustments of automated bony-based registrations during the image-guided radiotherapy verification of prostate cancer patients can improve PTV coverage without impacting negatively on the doses received by the organs at risk. This strategy is associated with a small increase in overall treatment time.
Generalization of bipartite graphs

Abstract Let G = (V, E) be a graph with set of vertices V and set of edges E. An independent set in G is a subset S of V such that no two vertices of S are mutually adjacent. E. Sampathkumar et al. (2003) gave a generalization of independent sets. In this context, we define graph G = V, E) is said to be k-distance bipartite (or Dk -bipartite) if its vertex set can be partitioned into two Dk independent sets. If the diameter of G is < k, then G is distance k-bipartite and so if G is not distance k-bipartite then diameter of G is at least k. Given any integer k > 0, we can associate a graph G (k) as follows: The DK -graph of G, denoted by G (k) is the graph on same vertex set V and two vertices u and v are adjacent if and only if distance between them is equal to k. Clearly, a graph is Dk -bipartite if and only if G (k) is bipartite. In this paper, we presented several characterizations of k-distance bipartite graphs.
The Fundamental of Novel Drug Delivery System; Methodology, Role of Nanotechnology; Nanoparticles in Pharmaceutical Research.

Novel Drug Delivery system is the New and advanced branch of Pharmaceutical branch in this field covered Nano Particles, Nanosomes, etc. This system is advanced &amp; very easy to understand the Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic behavior of drug since, which approach of the development of optimal drug delivery system. This system cover several discipline includes Silver Nanosomes control phlebovirus using in RT- PCR Detection, targeted Drug delivery system is also part of novel drug delivery, Novel drug delivery system is also applicable for Alzheimer’s disease as well. Novel drug delivery system is divided into various disciplines for example – Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology is the study of extremely small structured molecule (size of 0.1 to 100 nm). Nano medicine is a new competitive field of science and technology. Nano medicine ranges from the medical applications of non materials and biological devices to Nano electronic biosensors used in medical field. Nanotechnology, or systems/device manufacture at the molecular level, and it is a multidisciplinary scientific field undergoing explosive development. In future it is widely used in Pharmaceutical and many novel nanoparticles and Nano devices are expected to be used, with an enormous positive impact on human health. In short NDDS maintain the drug concentration in therapeutic range for longer period of time. The future aspects of Novel Drug delivery system are broad; covering all field related to Nano device, Nano Medicine, Nano Particles, Nanosomes etc.
Secondary School Students Counseling Needs: What Components Are Important?

The purpose of this study was to identify the components of counseling needs as perceived important by secondary school students. The understanding of the needs is crucial for school counselors in tailoring the specific counseling programs for students. The study was conducted in qualitative method where the data was analyzed in three phases of reviewing exercises; a) focus group interviews that involved 16 (N=16) students as participants from two different secondary schools in Selangor, b) open-ended questionnaire was distributed randomly to 331 (N=331) respondents from three different secondary schools in Terengganu, Perak and Selangor, and c) interview sessions to gain school counselors’ opinions about student counseling needs that had involved 5 (N=5) school counselors. The findings of the study have shown that the components of counseling need as highlighted by the students can be grouped into six different categories; first is personal development, second emotional needs, third career development, fourth learning skills, fifth peer relationship and sixth family.
Perbandingan Metode Spektrofotometri UV Dan HPLC pada Penetapan Kadar Kafein dalam Kopi

Kafein merupakan salah satu alkaloid yang terkandung dalam kopi. Konsumsi kafein dalam jumlah besar bisa berdampak pada kesehatan manusia. Kebiasaan orang-orang jamun dulu minum kopi tradisional, maupun orang jaman sekarang minum kopi dengan berbagai varian tentu akan berpengaruh pada kondisi kesehatan. Sehingga perlu diketahui kandungan kafein dalam kopi. Peneliti terdahulu telah melakukan penetapan kadar kopi dengan metode HPLC maupun Spektrofotometri. Namun belum ada yang membandingkan kedua metode. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membandingkan metode spektrofotometri UV dan HPLC dalam penetapan kadar kafein dalam kopi. Sampel yang digunakan adalah sediaan kopi hijau dan kopi hitam. Perbandingan metode dilakukan dengan membandingkan data hasil validasi metode antara spektrofotometri UV dan HPLC. Metode spektrofotometri dilakukan dengan pelarut air, absorbansi kafein dibaca pada panjang gelombang 272 nm. Metode HPLC dilakukan dengan fase diam C18, fase gerak matanol-air (69:40 v/v) flow rate 1 ml/menit dan detector UV 272 nm. Hasil validasi metode analisis kafein secara spektrofotometri adalah sebagai berikut : linearitas (R= 0,9965), presisi (RSD= 0,899%), akurasi (recovery = 98,46%) LOD= 1,12 ug/ml, LOQ=3,75 ug/ml. Hasil validasi metode HPLC adalah: linearitas (R= 0,998), Presisi (RSD= 2,49%), akurasi (Recovery= 84%), LOD=0,565 ug/ml, LOQ= 1,88 ug/ml. Kadar kafein dalam sampel kopi hijau sediaan dan kopi hitam sediaan, secara Spektrofotometri UV bertrurut-turut (dalam %) adalah : (0,155± 0,053) dan (0,696 ± 0,014). Kadar kafein dalam kopi hijau sediaan, kopi hitam sediaan, secara HPLC berturut-turut (dalam %) adalah ; 0,121 dan 0,421. Metode spektrofotometri UV direkomendasikan sebagai metode pilihan pada penetapan kadar kafein dalam sampel kopi.
BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO GUIDELINE USE IN DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE OR DEMENTIA.

Abstract Despite the availability of clinical practice guidelines for the management of depression or anxiety in dementia or Parkinson’s disease (PD), these comorbidities remain under-diagnosed and under-treated. Our primary objective was to understand the barriers and facilitators associated with the implementation of high quality CPGs for depression and anxiety in patients with dementia or PD. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with participants experiencing PD, their caregivers and physicians involved in the care of persons with dementia or PD in Calgary, Alberta. The Theoretical Domains Framework and Behaviour Change Wheel were used to guide data collection and perform a framework analysis. Evidence from the available guidelines was compared to reported physician behaviours. A total of 33 physicians and 7 PD patients/caregivers participated. We were unable to recruit patients/caregivers with dementia. Data were divided into three categories based on the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of guideline recommendations for diagnosis, management and the use of the guidelines. An overarching theme was the lack of evidence for depression or anxiety disorders in dementia or PD. This was more prominent for anxiety versus depression. Other themes included the lack of consistency between guidelines, lack of clarity in the language used, lack of applicability to the practice population, and impractical or out of date recommendations. Patients noted difficulties with communication of symptoms and access to services. Although there are available guidelines, physicians have difficulty with the implementation of certain recommendations due primarily to a lack of evidence.
Loss Reserving Estimation With Correlated Run-Off Triangles in a Quantile Longitudinal Model

In this paper, we consider a loss reserving model for a general insurance portfolio consisting of a number of correlated run-off triangles that can be embedded within the quantile regression model for longitudinal data. The model proposes a combination of the between- and within-subportfolios (run-off triangles) estimating functions for regression parameter estimation, which take into account the correlation and variation of the run-off triangles. The proposed method is robust to the error correlation structure, improves the efficiency of parameter estimators, and is useful for the estimation of the reserve risk margin and value at risk (VaR) in actuarial and finance applications.
Lung cancer: review of recent advances

Lung cancer and lung cancer-related deaths have been increasing in epidemic proportions worldwide, largely reflecting increased rates of smoking. This disease is the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women globally with an estimated 1 million deaths in the year 2000. Nearly 75% of patients with lung cancer present with symptoms due to advanced local or metastatic disease that is not amenable to cure. Despite advances in therapy, five-year survival rates average between 10-16% for all individuals with lung cancer. Prevention, rather than screening, is the most effective strategy for reducing the burden of ____________________________________ Corresponding author Omer Abdel Ghayoum BM Khair MB, MSc, PhD, FRCPE, FRCP Consultant Physician and Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Birmingham, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Dudley Road, Birmingham, United Kingdom Email: Omer.khair@nhs.net lung cancer. The promotion of smoking cessation is essential, as cigarette smoking is felt to be causal in almost 90% of all cases. Early diagnosis and correct staging is the only hope for a better treatment outcome. The emergence of newer diagnostic techniques and novel therapies has led to a renewed excitement in lung cancer management. Adoption of a new staging system, novel therapeutic targets and combination therapy has shown promising success. This review summarizes important recent clinical advances that could have a significant impact for the future care of patients with lung cancer.
The effects of time on the performance of local government: the “Pact for Health Care” Program

Resumo Este estudo avaliou o impacto do tempo de adesão ao termo de compromisso de gestão (TCG), no âmbito do programa Pacto pela Saúde, sobre o nível de eficácia da política municipal de atenção básica, no período de 2008 a 2012. O TCG objetivou aprimorar a governança de política de saúde pelos entes federados, com especial atenção à gestão por resultados. O programa vigorou no Brasil entre 2006 e 2012, tendo recebido a adesão de 4.587 municípios (80% do total). Esta pesquisa buscou responder à seguinte questão: “qual foi o efeito causal do tempo de participação (em anos) no programa Pacto pela Saúde sobre o nível da eficácia da política local de atenção básica, para os municípios participantes? ”. Para tanto, adotou-se um desenho de pesquisa quase experimental, mediante estimação de um modelo de dose-resposta com escore de propensão generalizado. Estimou-se, via análise de componentes principais, um indicador de eficácia da política de atenção básica (IDEAB), tendo como referência as metas preconizadas pelo programa. Os resultados da estimação da função de dose-resposta evidenciaram que o tempo de adesão ao Pacto pela Saúde teve impacto positivo e estatisticamente significativo sobre o nível de eficácia das políticas de atenção básica nos municípios participantes. Para cada ano adicional de permanência da política, o IDEAB aumentou, em média, entre 0,011 e 0,019 unidades. Portanto, os resultados sugerem que as metas importam para a governança de política de saúde municipal brasileira.