Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Older adults’ experiences regarding discharge from hospital following orthopaedic intervention: A metasynthesis

Purpose: To identify and synthesise qualitative literature on the older adults’ perspectives of being discharged from hospital following orthopaedic intervention. Methods: A systematic search of nine databases, for qualitative research published between 1950 and December 2010, exploring the lived experience of older adults being discharged from hospital following orthopaedic surgery was undertaken. Included papers were evaluated using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) quality guidelines. Data were extracted and themes synthesised, using an EXCEL spreadsheet to assist with organisation of data. Results: From the 16 papers included in the review, four themes were identified: 1) mental outlook; 2) loss of independence; 3) function and activity limitations; and 4) coping with pain. Mental outlook was central to the other three themes. Conclusions: Older adults’ experiences around hospital discharge, collected through qualitative research, provide health authorities with valuable information that could be used in care pathway planning. Health professionals involved in in-patient and community care should be aware that a perceived loss of independence, function and activity limitations, and the ability to cope with pain can influence mental outlook and consequently rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation Mental outlook should be discussed prior to older adults being discharged home, as maintaining a positive mental outlook facilitates a successful transition home and the confidence to increase independence. Coping with pain, a loss of independence, and adjusting to limitations in function and participation in activities during the early and later stages of being discharged home are problems which are frequently encountered by older adults following lower limb orthopaedic surgery. Consistent reinforcement of clear information may help older adults feel more confident to cope with these problems.
Reliable Information Aggregation and Exchange for Autonomous Vehicles

The Stadtpilot project develops a vehicular technology targeting autonomous driving in metropolitan areas. Currently, demonstrations focus on the German city of Braunschweig. These activities are further supported by the AIM test bed, which provides communication infrastructure along Braunschweig's inner ring road. Besides communication capabilities, an autonomous vehicle needs to have a complete, consistent and correct understanding about its surroundings to enable safe driving. For this purpose, this paper presents a novel approach for information aggregation and exchange through a context model tailored for urban environments. Furthermore, integration of C2X hardware into the existing traffic infrastructure is shown.
Digital Gene Expression Analysis of Microsporum canis Exposed to Berberine Chloride

Berberine, a natural isoquinoline alkaloid of many medicinal herbs, has an active function against a variety of microbial infections including Microsporum canis (M. canis). However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. To study the effect of berberine chloride on M. canis infection, a Digital Gene Expression (DGE) tag profiling was constructed and a transcriptome analysis of the M. canis cellular responses upon berberine treatment was performed. Illimina/Hisseq sequencing technique was used to generate the data of gene expression profile, and the following enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology (GO) and Pathway function were conducted based on the data of transcriptome. The results of DGE showed that there were 8476945, 14256722, 7708575, 5669955, 6565513 and 9303468 tags respectively, which was obtained from M. canis incubated with berberine or control DMSO. 8,783 genes were totally mapped, and 1,890 genes have shown significant changes between the two groups. 1,030 genes were up-regulated and 860 genes were down-regulated (P<0.05) in berberine treated group compared to the control group. Besides, twenty-three GO terms were identified by Gene Ontology functional enrichment analysis, such as calcium-transporting ATPase activity, 2-oxoglutarate metabolic process, valine catabolic process, peroxisome and unfolded protein binding. Pathway significant enrichment analysis indicated 6 signaling pathways that are significant, including steroid biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, Parkinson’s disease, 2,4-Dichlorobenzoate degradation, and tropane, piperidine and Isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis. Among these, eleven selected genes were further verified by qRT-PCR. Our findings provide a comprehensive view on the gene expression profile of M. canis upon berberine treatment, and shed light on its complicated effects on M. canis.
EuroSCORE Overestimates the Cardiac Operative Risk

Introduction: It was the purpose of our study to assess the validity of EuroSCORE (European system for cardiac operative risk evaluation) in our patient population. Materials and Methods: Between March 1999 and August 2001, information on risk factors and mortality was collected for 1123 consecutive adult patients undergoing heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. EuroSCORE was used for risk stratification. Mean age ± standard deviation was 58.6 ± 10.9 and 29.1% of the patients were female. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated as an index for the predictive value of the scoring system. Results: The area under the ROC curve was 0.824 for all patients and 0.828 for the isolated CABG subgroup which shows an excellent predictive ability. When the scoring system was applied in low, medium, and high risk groups, there was no overlap between 95% confidence intervals of observed and expected mortality in all three groups both for the isolated CABG cases and for all patients. Decreased left ventricular ejection fraction, emergent operation, and preoperative unstable angina requiring i.v. nitrate treatment were significant predictive variables for early mortality. Conclusion: EuroSCORE is a simple and objective system for predicting the risk of heart surgery. The predictive power of the EuroSCORE is excellent, however it seems that mortally is considerably overestimated by this score.
A longitudinal, population-based, cohort study of childhood asthma followed to adulthood.

BACKGROUND The outcome of childhood asthma in adults has been described in high-risk cohorts, but few population-based studies have reported the risk factors for persistence and relapse. METHODS We assessed children born from April 1972 through March 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand, repeatedly from 9 to 26 years of age with questionnaires, pulmonary-function tests, bronchial-challenge testing, and allergy testing. RESULTS By the age of 26 years, 51.4 percent of 613 study members with complete respiratory data had reported wheezing at more than one assessment. Eighty-nine study members (14.5 percent) had wheezing that persisted from childhood to 26 years of age, whereas 168 (27.4 percent) had remission, but 76 (12.4 percent) subsequently relapsed by the age of 26. Sensitization to house dust mites predicted the persistence of wheezing (odds ratio, 2.41; P=0.001) and relapse (odds ratio, 2.18; P=0.01), as did airway hyperresponsiveness (odds ratio for persistence, 3.00; P<0.001; odds ratio for relapse, 3.03; P<0.001). Female sex predicted the persistence of wheezing (odds ratio, 1.71; P=0.03), as did smoking at the age of 21 years (odds ratio, 1.84; P=0.01). The earlier the age at onset, the greater the risk of relapse (odds ratio, 0.89 per year of increase in the age at onset; P<0.001). Pulmonary function was consistently lower in those with persistent wheezing than in those without persistent wheezing. CONCLUSIONS In an unselected birth cohort, more than one in four children had wheezing that persisted from childhood to adulthood or that relapsed after remission. The factors predicting persistence or relapse were sensitization to house dust mites, airway hyperresponsiveness, female sex, smoking, and early age at onset. These findings, together with persistently low lung function, suggest that outcomes in adult asthma may be determined primarily in early childhood.
A free-weighting matrix approach to wide-area coordinated control among multiple FACTS devices

With the wide application of flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) in power system, one of the major directions of FACTS development is the research of multi-FACTS coordinated control (MFCC) based on wide-area measurement system (WAMS). Since time-delay is unavoidable in WAMS, this study concentrates on the anti-delay coordinated control algorithm based on free-weighting matrix approach which utilizes the output feedback signals from WAMS. By taking time delay into consideration, the proposed algorithm ensures the minimum ratio of time-delay system, and the optimal gain of MFCC can be obtained through the quantum evolutionary algorithm. The validity and applicability of the proposed coordinated control algorithm is demonstrated in a four-machine, two-area system.
Role of aggregate size, multistability and communication in determining cell fate and patterning in M. xanthus

The emergence of multicellular organisms that exhibit cell differentiation and stereotypic spatial arrangements has been recognized as one of the major transitions in evolution. Myxobacteria have emerged as a useful study model to investigate multicellular evolution and development. Here, we propose a multiscale model that considers cellular adhesion and movement, molecular regulatory networks (MRNs), and cell-to-cell communication to study the emergence of cell fate determination and spatial patterning of Myxococcus xanthus fruiting bodies. The model provides a dynamic accounting of the roles of MRN multistability, intercellular communication and conglomerate size in determining cell fate and patterning during M. xanthus development. It also suggests that for cell fate determination and patterning to occur, the cell aggregate must surpass a minimum size. The model also allows us to contrast alternative scenarios for the C-signal mechanism and provides stronger support for an indirect effect (as a diffusible molecule) than a direct one (as a membrane protein).
Antigenic relationship between hantaviruses analysed by immunoprecipitation.

Antigenic relationships between seven hantaviruses isolated in Sweden, Belgium, Korea, European U.S.S.R. and Asian U.S.S.R. were studied by radioimmunoprecipitation assays (RIPA) and indirect immunofluorescence tests (IFT). Animal immune sera and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) patient sera from the above countries were used. The strains fell into three antigenic groups by both RIPA and IFT: nephropathia epidemica (NE)-type, Korean haemorrhagic fever (KHF)-type and urban rat-type. This antigenic grouping conforms to the clinical grouping of the respective HFRS patients. The major cross-reactive antigen between the antigenic groups was the nucleocapsid protein. Of the two viral glycoproteins, the G2 exhibited weak cross-reactivity between the groups, while the G1 protein appeared to be the least cross-reactive. Patient sera collected at different intervals after the onset of disease showed a marked difference in their capacity to immunoprecipitate the homologous viral glycoproteins, although by IFT all sera had high titres. Host species-related antibody response differences were found by both RIPA and IFT. Using patient sera, a one-way cross-reactivity was seen between the NE-type and the KHF-type viruses. However, animal immune sera clearly demonstrated a reciprocal cross-reactivity between the two virus groups.
Measuring the effectiveness of containerization to prevent power draining attacks

In the last years an increasing number of attacks targeting energy consumption in computing systems have been designed and deployed. In this paper we propose a methodology that can be used to limit the effect of all types of power attacks by using the isolation properties guaranteed by virtualization systems. We describe the idea underlying our approach and we present the power consumption measurements we have carried out to validate our approach.
Why Can't a Game Be More Like a Business? A Review of Co-Opetition by Brandenburger and Nalebuff

In this book, Brandenburger and Nalebuff use game theory to develop a set of guidelines that will "make it easier to explain the reasoning behind a proposed strategy. " The games that they use as analogies do not involve sports with their zero-sum outcomes; instead, they consider a variety of games that allow for mutual benefit, as well as harm, for the players. They use the term co-opetition, which is consistent with their message that cooperation pays off in some situations, competition in others. They encourage readers to think about not only how to play the game, but also how to change the rules. Examination of these games leads them to make recommendations for managers, many of which are relevant to marketing managers. So, to the extent that a game is like a business, this book should be useful. My aims in reviewing the book are to ask: (1) Is it new? (2) Is it useful? and (3) Is it supported? The book has flaws, particularly in the area of supporting evidence, but it is an important book.
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Korean Workers: Co-Exposure to Organic Solvents and Heavy Metals in Nationwide Industries

BACKGROUND Noise exposure is a well-known contributor to work-related hearing loss. Recent biological evidence suggests that exposure to ototoxic chemicals such as organic solvents and heavy metals may be additional contributors to hearing loss. However, in industrial settings, it is difficult to determine the risks of hearing loss due to these chemicals in workplaces accompanied by excessive noise exposure. A few studies suggest that the effect of noise may be enhanced by ototoxic chemicals. Therefore, this study investigated whether co-exposure to organic solvents and/or heavy metals in the workplace modifies the risk of noise exposure on hearing loss in a background of excessive noise. METHODS We examined 30,072 workers nationwide in a wide range of industries from the Korea National Occupational Health Surveillance 2009. Data on industry-based exposure (e.g., occupational noise, heavy metals, and organic solvents) and subject-specific health outcomes (e.g., audiometric examination) were collected. Noise was measured as the daily 8-h time-weighted average level. Air conduction hearing thresholds were measured from 0.5 to 6 kHz, and pure-tone averages (PTA) (i.e., means of 2, 3, and 4 kHz) were computed. RESULTS In the multivariate linear model, PTA increment with occupational noise were 1.64-fold and 2.15-fold higher in individuals exposed to heavy metals and organic solvents than in unexposed individuals, respectively. CONCLUSION This study provides nationwide evidence that co-exposure to heavy metals and/or organic solvents may exacerbate the effect of noise exposure on hearing loss in workplaces. These findings suggest that workers in industries dealing with heavy metals or organic solvents are susceptible to such risks.
A Phase I Study of Enzastaurin Combined with Pemetrexed in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction: Enzastaurin is an oral serine/threonine kinase inhibitor, which suppress signaling through protein kinase C-&bgr; and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT pathway. Preclinical studies suggested synergic antitumor activity of enzastaurin and pemetrexed. We conducted this phase I study to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and clinical activity of this combination in patients with previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: An oral daily dose of 500 mg enzastaurin was administered once daily (QD) or twice daily (BID) in combination with 500 mg/m2 pemetrexed on day 1 in repeated 21-day cycles. Cycle 1 started with a 7-day enzastaurin lead-in treatment that preceded pemetrexed administration: a loading dose of 1125 mg enzastaurin on day 1 followed by a 500 mg total daily dose on days 2–7. Results: Twelve patients were treated QD (n = 6) or BID (n = 6). One dose-limiting toxicity (grade 3 QTc prolongation) was reported in the QD cohort. Grade 3/4 hematological toxicities were slightly increased in the BID cohort compared with the QD cohort. After beginning the combination therapy, enzastaurin exposures decreased slightly but remained above the target plasma concentration of 1400 nmol/L. Compared with QD, there was a higher exposure with BID. The enzastaurin dosing regimen (QD or BID) had no effect on pemetrexed pharmacokinetics. Two patients had partial responses as defined by RECIST. Five patients received more than 10 cycles of treatment without disease progression. Conclusions: Both schedules of enzastaurin in combination with pemetrexed were well tolerated and clinically active in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Book review: Eric S Brown, The Black Professional Middle Class: Race, Class, and Community in the Post-Civil Rights Era

such as new demands on activity and skills required resulting from increased managerial and accountability practices. Chapter Six reflects upon how voluntary sector organizations survive or fail in this changing climate, through the concepts of ‘risk’ and ‘resilience’. Milbourne emphasizes that narratives of the success and failure of voluntary sector organizations are associated with individual actors and organizational structure, thereby overlooking wider structural problems in society. Within this narrative, resilience becomes important; that is, those voluntary sector organizations are likely to survive that are able to keep pace with dynamic processes of change and to adapt accordingly through mergers, collaborative bids and capacity growth. This is an interesting chapter because Milbourne explores, from her case studies, organizations which have either adapted to fit government policy or resisted to maintain their identity and operation. Her research demonstrates that while some organizations have complied with policy changes, this does not necessarily guarantee survival, whereas smaller organizations which have fought to maintain their grassroots identity exhibit greater robustness in the changing policy context. This survival may, however, relate to the case example’s focus on young people and anti-social behavior; and thus, be due to wider public concerns in this area of policy. It would have been interesting here if there had been a discussion of how these robust organizations comply with or challenge the government’s wider neo-liberal ideology that has shifted the operational context. This might then indicate whether voluntary sector organizations reflect neo-liberal ideas of community self-help and resilience or represent the independence of the voluntary sector movement and present an alternative view of society. This book will be of interest to readers for two reasons. First, it explores the role of the voluntary sector in delivering welfare services, touching upon issues of work and employment within welfare provision. Second, there are a number of discussions in the text which relate to changes in the wider mixed economy of welfare and to the roles of the private and voluntary sectors in delivering welfare, so providing a broader context for future research into employment and working conditions in welfare provision.
Child care and child health: use of population surveys.

While the health of children in the US has been a long-standing issue, concern has heightened as children are increasingly found in some type of child-care arrangement. Trends in a number of social forces in the US have resulted in more children spending greater amounts of time in the care of someone other than their parents. As children move out of the home into group-care settings such as day-care centers on preschools, they are in contact with many more children and the possibility of exposure to a variety of infectious diseases. Several studies have examined childhood disease within the context of center-based care.1-3 However, most preschool children are not in center-based care.4 A more general study of the health of children in child care requires an approach that provides data on children in a variety of child-care arrangements and covers a broader age range than that found in most day-care centers. This paper argues that the population-based sample-survey approach to the study of the health of children in child care provides the necessary breadth. However, there is a clear need for improving measurement of critical variables. SOCIAL TRENDS While researchers increasingly have become concerned with the child-care arrangements of children of nonemployed women, it is the revolution in women's labor-force participation that has driven the increase in use of child care in the last two decades. Among children under 6 years of age, the percentage with mothers in the labor force has increased from 29% in 1970 to 53% in 1990.5,6
4-(2-Iodobenzenesulfonamido)benzoic acid monohydrate

In the molecule of the title compound, C13H10INO4S·H2O, the coordination around the S atom is distorted tetrahedral. The aromatic rings are oriented at a dihedral angle of 74.18 (17)°. Intramolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds result in the formation of non-planar five- and six-membered rings, which adopt envelope and twist conformations, respectively. In the crystal structure, intermolecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the molecules. π–π Contacts between the phenyl rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.726 (3) Å] may further stabilize the structure. There is also a C—H⋯π interaction.
Business cycle synchronization between the Bulgarian economy and the European Union.

This paper analyzes the level of economic convergence within the EU and in particular within the EMU. The main purpose is to assess the level of business cycle synchronization between Bulgaria and the Eurozone. The research is conducted with data for the period 1995-2009 divided into two subsamples: 1995-2001 and 2002-2009. Business cycles are identified through detrending of GDP time series with Baxter-King and Hodrick-Prescott filters. The empirical results of this paper reveal that in the period 1995-2002 Bulgaria did not form an Optimum Currency Area with any of the EMU members and possibly suffered severe negative effects from the introduction ofthe Currency Board in 1997. The findings forthe second sub-period 2002-2009 suggest that the introduction of the Euro in Bulgaria will be highly beneficial because of the high level of synchronization of its business cycle fluctuations with the Eurozone.
Multicentre laboratory validation of the colorimetric redox indicator (CRI) assay for the rapid detection of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVES To perform a multicentre study to evaluate the performance of the colorimetric redox indicator (CRI) assay and to establish the MICs and critical concentrations of rifampicin, isoniazid, ofloxacin, kanamycin and capreomycin. METHODS The study was carried out in two phases. Phase I determined the MIC of each drug. Phase II established critical concentrations for the five drugs tested by the CRI assay compared with the conventional proportion method. RESULTS Phase I: a strain was considered resistant by the CRI assay if the MIC was ≥0.5 mg/L for rifampicin, ≥0.25 mg/L for isoniazid, ≥4.0 mg/L for ofloxacin and ≥5.0 mg/L for kanamycin and capreomycin. Sensitivity was 99.1% for isoniazid and 100% for the other drugs and specificity was 97.9% for capreomycin and 100% for the other drugs. Phase II: the critical concentration was 0.5 mg/L for rifampicin, 0.25 mg/L for isoniazid, 2.0 mg/L for ofloxacin and 2.5 mg/L for kanamycin and capreomycin giving an overall accuracy of 98.4%, 96.6%, 96.7%, 98.3% and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Results demonstrate that the CRI assay is an accurate method for the rapid detection of XDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The CRI assay is faster than the conventional drug susceptibility testing method using solid medium, has the same turnaround time as the BACTEC MGIT 960 system, but is less expensive, and could be an adequate method for low-income countries.