Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Developing evidence-based clinical indicators: a state of the art methods primer.

OBJECTIVE To describe steps in developing and testing clinical indicators based on state of the art methods in previous literature and experience in the Danish National Indicator Project. ANALYSIS The development process includes a planning phase, where the clinical area to be evaluated is chosen and the measurement team selected and organized. The planning phase is followed by a development phase where clinical indicators are prioritized and selected by the measurement team on the basis of documentation and knowledge from the scientific literature. When clinical indicators have been selected, specific measure specifications should be designed, including inclusion and exclusion criteria for the target population, description of a risk adjustment strategy, identification of data sources, description of data collection procedures, and an analytical plan for data analyses. Before clinical indicators are implemented they should be tested for reliability and validity. Preliminary tests may identify areas requiring further modifications and specifications of the indicators. CONCLUSION Using clinical indicators for quality assessment represents an important approach to documenting the quality of care. Consumers of indicator information (clinicians, administrators, purchasers, regulators, and patients) need reliable and valid information for benchmarking, making judgments, and determining priorities, accountability and quality improvement. This underlines the fact that clinical indicators must be developed and tested with scientific rigor in a transparent process.
La narrazione scritta come elemento di valutazione del tirocinio universitario

Il contributo si propone l'obiettivo di mostrare come la scrittura narrativa si dimostri un valido strumento di formazione e di valutazione dell'attivita del tirocinio universitario. In particolare la narrazione scritta dell'esperienza vissuta consente di valutare: il tipo di attivita che gli studenti hanno svolto durante il tirocinio e le competenze acquisite; la capacita degli studenti di riflettere sull'esperienza e di integrarla con le conoscenze e competenze gia possedute. La relazione di tirocinio assume, in tal modo, la forma di una scrittura epistemica che determina una crescita di comprensione e di conoscenza e, insieme agli altri strumenti di monitoraggio del tirocinio, consente una migliore riflessione sull’esperienza formativa. This paper presents narrative writing as a tool to evaluate university internship program and students training. In particular, narrative writing allows to evaluate: activities that students have done during the internship; students’ ability to reflect on the experience and integrate it with previous knowledge and skills. Thus, the internship's report becomes an epistemic writing that determines growth of understanding and knowledge. For this reason the internship's report with other evaluation tools allow a better reflexion on the students’ experience.
Persistent Poverty and Excess Inequality: Latin America, 1970–1995

This work assesses the changes in aggregate poverty and inequality that have taken place in Latin America during the past 26 years. With this objective, we put together the largest number of observations on income distribution for the region for the period 1970–1995. We find that poverty and inequality have not declined during the 1990s in spite of improvements at the macroeconomic level. The characteristics of our data allow us to perform various comparisons between countries. Our results show that even though there are differences in levels across countries, inequality and poverty in most of them follow similar trends during the period under study.
Language-independent Gender Prediction on Twitter

In this paper we present a set of experiments and analyses on predicting the gender of Twitter users based on language-independent features extracted either from the text or the metadata of users’ tweets. We perform our experiments on the TwiSty dataset containing manual gender annotations for users speaking six different languages. Our classification results show that, while the prediction model based on language-independent features performs worse than the bag-of-words model when training and testing on the same language, it regularly outperforms the bag-of-words model when applied to different languages, showing very stable results across various languages. Finally we perform a comparative analysis of feature effect sizes across the six languages and show that differences in our features correspond to cultural distances.
Conceptualizing Interpersonal Relationships in Agile is Development

Agile information systems development (ISD) is a people-centered approach that emphasizes frequent interaction and genuine co-operation between customers and developers. While business relationships are the norm in the workplace, agile ISD leads to the creation of close interpersonal relationships. Drawing on relationship theory and friendship literature we propose a theoretical framework of three types of workplace relationships. The framework is used for deriving theoretical preconceptions about agile relationships and their impact on the agile ISD team’s ability to deliver valuable, working software frequently. We also present the interpretive approach we will apply. An understanding of the relationship specific aspects of agile ISD as well as of the importance and impact of certain relationship characteristics can help explain why some agile projects succeed, while others fail. Such knowledge can also be used to foster friends-like behavior for the benefit of the software outcome in future projects.
Integrating Large Language Models for Severity Classification in Traffic Incident Management: A Machine Learning Approach

This study evaluates the impact of large language models on enhancing machine learning processes for managing traffic incidents. It examines the extent to which features generated by modern language models improve or match the accuracy of predictions when classifying the severity of incidents using accident reports. Multiple comparisons performed between combinations of language models and machine learning algorithms, including Gradient Boosted Decision Trees, Random Forests, and Extreme Gradient Boosting. Our research uses both conventional and language model-derived features from texts and incident reports, and their combinations to perform severity classification. Incorporating features from language models with those directly obtained from incident reports has shown to improve, or at least match, the performance of machine learning techniques in assigning severity levels to incidents, particularly when employing Random Forests and Extreme Gradient Boosting methods. This comparison was quantified using the F1-score over uniformly sampled data sets to obtain balanced severity classes. The primary contribution of this research is in the demonstration of how Large Language Models can be integrated into machine learning workflows for incident management, thereby simplifying feature extraction from unstructured text and enhancing or matching the precision of severity predictions using conventional machine learning pipeline. The engineering application of this research is illustrated through the effective use of these language processing models to refine the modelling process for incident severity classification. This work provides significant insights into the application of language processing capabilities in combination with traditional data for improving machine learning pipelines in the context of classifying incident severity.
Tactile sensor based on piezoelectric resonance

We discuss the realization of tactile sensor based on the principle of change in piezoelectric resonance frequency with applied pressure. An array of electrodes has been adopted on either side of the PZT material to achieve independent resonators. The common areas sandwiched between the electrodes and excitable at the resonance frequency of the PZT material are used to form the sensitive area of the tactile sensor. The electrodes were deposited using a sputtering technique. Tactile sensors with 3/spl times/3, 7/spl times/7 and 15/spl times/15 array of electrodes are developed with different electrode dimensions and separation between the electrodes. The tactile sensor has been interfaced to a computer for the convenience of automatic scanning and making it more user interactive. The tactile sensors developed with different spatial resolution were tested for different shaped objects placed in contact with the sensor. The 3/spl times/3 matrix tactile sensor showed relatively poor spatial resolution whereas 15/spl times/15-matrix tactile sensor showed improved spatial resolution. The sensor with 7/spl times/7 matrix elements was tested for its sensitivity to different extents of applied force/pressure. The output response study carried out on the sensors indicated that these sensors can provide information not only about the extent of force/pressure applied on the object, but also the contour of the object which is in contact with the sensor.
The association of human fibulin-1 with elastic fibers: an immunohistological, ultrastructural, and RNA study.

We examined the pattern of fibulin-1 mRNA and protein expression in human tissues and cell lines. Fibulin-1 transcripts were found in RNA isolated from most tissues and a variety of cultured cells, including fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and several epithelial cell lines, but not endothelial cells, lymphomyloid cells, or a number of carcinoma and melanoma lines. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that fibulin-1 is an intercellular component of connective tissues, predominantly associated with matrix fibers in tissues such as the cervix, dermis, intimal and medial layers of blood vessels, heart valves, meningeal tissue of the brain, Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord, testis, and lung. Most of the fibers that were immunoreactive with fibulin-1 antibodies also stained with antibodies to the elastic fiber proteins elastin and fibrillin, as well as with Verhoeff's elastin stain. Immunoelectron microscopic analysis of elastin fibers of skin and saphenous vein revealed that fibulin-1 was located within the amorphous core of the fibers, similar to elastin, but it was not in the fibrillin-containing, elastin-associated microfibrils. Our finding that fibulin-1 is an elastic fiber component suggests several possible new functions for fibulin-1, e.g., that it is a structural protein that contributes to the elastic properties of connective tissue fibers or that is involved with the process of fibrogenesis.
Recommender algorithms in activity motivating games

Physical activity motivating game design encourages players to perform real physical activity in order to gain virtual game rewards. Previous research into activity motivating games showed that they have the potential to motivate players to perform physical activity, while retaining the enjoyment of playing. However, it was discovered that a uniform motivating approach resulted in different levels of activity performed by players of varying gaming skills. In this work we present and evaluate two adaptive recommendation-based techniques, which aim to balance the amount of physical activity performed by players by adapting the level of motivation to their observed gaming skills. Experimental evaluation showed that the adaptive techniques not only increase the amount of activity performed and retain the enjoyment of playing, but also balance the amount of activity performed by players of varying gaming skills and allow for game difficulty to be set in a player-dependent manner.
O SIGNIFICADO DO USO DE DROGAS NO DISCURSO DE JOVENS CONSUMIDORES

The goal of this study is to understand the meanings that a youth sample associates to their drug consumption. The sampling process was conducted using a snowball sampling. The sample was composed by a group of 22 individuals aged between 20 and 34 years old, that have had or still have experience with some kind of drug. We used a qualitative method and a semi-structured interview following the Guide For Life Story and Drug Uses, which is an adaptation from McAdams (2000), Fernandes and Carvalho (2003), and Matos (2008). The data was analysed under the principles of Grounded Theory and using the Software QSRNvivo 8, a software for qualitative data analysis. We highlight the extremely negative meanings, like physical, psychological and social degradation that were connected to heroin and the generalization of the cannabis use to all individuals, which acquires a day-to-day dimension. Cocaine also appears among the substances with more expression in our sample, and it is located between the concepts of degradation and leasure. In general terms, we found, during this study, that the drug use seems to be connected to the idea of a shared common cultural code that links individuals, experience and meaning of their drug uses.
Evidence that the Mg-dependent low-affinity binding site for ATP and Pi demonstrated on the isolated beta subunit of the F0.F1 ATP synthase is a catalytic site.

Binding sites for one Pi and two ATP or ADP molecules have been identified on the isolated, reconstitutively active beta subunit from the Rhodospirillum rubrum F0.F1 ATP synthase. Chemical modification of this beta subunit by the histidine reagent diethyl pyrocarbonate or by the carboxyl group reagent Woodword's reagent K results in complete inhibition of Pi binding to beta. The same reagents inhibit the binding of ATP to a Mg-dependent low-affinity site but not to a Mg-independent high-affinity site on this beta subunit. The binding stoichiometry of ADP to either site is not affected by these modifications. The beta subunit modified by either one of these reagents retains its capacity to rebind to beta-less chromatophores but not its ability to restore their photo-phosphorylation. These results indicate that the low-affinity Pi binding site on beta is located at the binding site of the gamma-phosphate group of ATP in the Mg-dependent low-affinity nucleotide binding site. This site contains histidine and carboxyl group residues, both of which are required for the binding of Pi and of the gamma-phosphate group of ATP. The same residues must also be involved in the capacity of the isolated beta subunit to restore the catalytic activity of the beta-less ATP synthase. It is therefore concluded that the low-affinity Mg-dependent substrate binding site identified on the isolated beta subunit of the R. rubrum F0.F1 ATP synthase is the catalytic site of this enzyme complex.
Three-dimensional motifs from the SCOR, structural classification of RNA database: extruded strands, base triples, tetraloops and U-turns.

Release 2.0. 1 of the Structural Classification of RNA (SCOR) database, http://scor.lbl. gov, contains a classification of the internal and hairpin loops in a comprehensive collection of 497 NMR and X-ray RNA structures. This report discusses findings of the classification that have not been reported previously. The SCOR database contains multiple examples of a newly described RNA motif, the extruded helical single strand. Internal loop base triples are classified in SCOR according to their three-dimensional context. These internal loop triples contain several examples of a frequently found motif, the minor groove AGC triple. SCOR also presents the predominant and alternate conformations of hairpin loops, as shown in the most well represented tetraloops, with consensus sequences GNRA, UNCG and ANYA. The ubiquity of the GNRA hairpin turn motif is illustrated by its presence in complex internal loops.
NMR‐Observed Phosphate Trafficking and Polyphosphate Dynamics in Wild‐Type and vph1–1 Mutant Saccharomyces cerevisae in Response to Stresses

The phosphagenic, osmotic, and metabolic roles of polyphosphate in chemostat‐cultivated yeast were investigated with a new NMR cultivator. Wild‐type yeast and a vacuolar vph1‐1 mutant, which lacks polyphosphate, were subjected to different stimuli. Starved wild‐type yeast exclusively directed phosphate to vacuoles despite other competing sinks. After DNP or iodoacetate exposure, which significantly affected cytosolic pH or ATP metabolism, polyphosphate hydrolysis did not occur, which casts doubt on the phosphagen function of vacuolar polyphosphate. It took about 1 h for Mn2+ to traffic to vacuoles, and some evidence was obtained for polyphosphate responding to osmotic challenges. Fast NMR scans show that rapid polyphosphate hydrolysis to small polymers follows alkalinization. The small polymers then degrade to orthophosphate, which coincides with sugar phosphates increasing and subsequent reacidification. In contrast, when vph1‐1 mutants were subjected to alkalinization, the absence of a vacuolar source of phosphate slowed reacidification. Based on known yeast physiology and observed sugar phosphate dynamics, polyphosphate degradation may enable rapid glycogen mobilization to glycolysis for considerable acid and ATP production. Overall, maintaining both polyphosphate and carbohydrate reserves may endow yeast with the ability to rapidly manage the extracellular environment.
A 2‐D gel reference map of the basic human heart proteome

We have undertaken the identification of basic proteins (pH 6–11) of the human heart using 2‐DE. Tissue from the left ventricle of human heart was lysed and proteins were separated in the first dimension on pH 6–11 IPG strips using paper‐bridge loading followed by separation on 12% SDS polyacrylamide gels in the second dimension. Proteins were then identified by mass spectrometry and analysed using Proline, a proteomic data analysis platform that was developed in‐house. The proteome map contains 176 identified spots with 151 unique proteins and has been made available as part of the UCD‐2DPAGE database at http://proteomics‐portal.ucd. ie:8082. The associated mass spectrometry data have been submitted to PRIDE (Accession number ♯10098). This reference map, and the other heart reference maps available through the UCD‐2DPAGE database, will aid further proteomic studies of heart diseases such as dilated cardiomyopathy and ischaemic heart disease.
Pericardial effusion after cardiac surgery: incidence, site, size, and haemodynamic consequences.

OBJECTIVE--To evaluate the incidence, characteristics, and haemodynamic consequences of pericardial effusion after cardiac surgery. DESIGN--Clinical, echocardiographic, and Doppler evaluations before and 8 days after cardiac surgery; with echocardiographic and Doppler follow up of patients with moderate or large pericardial effusion after operation. SETTING--Patients undergoing cardiac surgery at a tertiary centre. PATIENTS--803 consecutive patients who had coronary artery bypass grafting (430), valve replacement (330), and other types of surgery (43). 23 were excluded because of early reoperation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Size and site of pericardial effusion evaluated by cross sectional echocardiography and signs of cardiac tamponade detected by ultrasound (right atrial and ventricular diastolic collapse, left ventricular diastolic collapse, distension of the inferior vena cava), and Doppler echocardiography (inspiratory decrease of aortic and mitral flow velocities). RESULTS--Pericardial effusion was detected in 498 (64%) of 780 patients and was more often associated with coronary artery bypass grafting than with valve replacement or other types of surgery; it was small in 68.4%, moderate in 29.8%, and large in 1.6%. Loculated effusions (57.8%) were more frequent than diffuse ones (42.2%). The size and site of effusion were related to the type of surgery. None of the small pericardial effusions increased in size; the amount of fluid decreased within a month in most patients with moderate effusion and in a few (7 patients) developed into a large effusion and cardiac tamponade. 15 individuals (1.9%) had cardiac tamponade; this event was significantly more common after valve replacement (12 patients) than after coronary artery bypass grafting (2 patients) or other types of surgery (1 patient after pulmonary embolectomy). In patients with cardiac tamponade aortic and mitral flow velocities invariably decreased during inspiration; the echocardiographic signs were less reliable. CONCLUSIONS--Pericardial effusion after cardiac surgery is common and its size and site are related to the type of surgery. Cardiac tamponade is rare and is more common in patients receiving oral anticoagulants. Echo-Doppler imaging is useful for the evaluation of pericardial fluid accumulations after cardiac surgery. It can identify effusions that herald cardiac tamponade.
I.15 Population Genetics and Ecology

About 40 years ago, scientists first strongly advocated the integration of population ecology and population genetics into population biology (Singh and Uyenoyama, 2004). Even today these two disciplines are not really integrated, but there is a general appreciation of population genetic con­ cepts in population ecology and vice versa. For example, the new subdiscipline molecular ecology, and many articles in the journal Molecular Ecology, use genetic markers and principles to examine both ecological and evolutionary questions. Although some aspects of population genet­ ics have changed quickly in recent years, many of its fun­ damentals are still important for aspects of ecological study.
Muscle-specific Transcriptional Regulation of theslowpoke Ca2+-activated K+Channel Gene*

Transcriptional regulation of theDrosophila slowpoke calcium-activated potassium channel gene is complex. To date, five transcriptional promoters have been identified, which are responsible for slowpokeexpression in neurons, midgut cells, tracheal cells, and muscle fibers. The slowpoke promoter called Promoter C2 is active in muscles and tracheal cells. To identify sequences that activate Promoter C2 in specific cell types, we introduced small deletions into the slowpoke transcriptional control region. Using transformed flies, we asked how these deletions affected the in situ tissue-specific pattern of expression. Sequence comparisons between evolutionarily divergent species helped guide the placement of these deletions. A section of DNA important for expression in all cell types was subdivided and reintroduced into the mutated control region, a piece at a time, to identify which portion was required for promoter activity. We identified 55-, 214-, and 20-nucleotide sequences that control promoter activity. Different combinations of these elements activate the promoter in adult muscle, larval muscle, and tracheal cells.