Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The health care professionals' perspectives of collaboration in rehabilitation - an interview study.

BACKGROUND In previous literature, it has been recognised that the extent to which different healthcare professionals collaborate may affect both the quality and safety of care, and patient outcomes. Collaboration appears to be an essential part of professional practice, yet there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of collaboration in the context of short-term care units. Therefore, this study was undertaken to better understand how professionals in this context view collaboration. AIM To describe collaboration in rehabilitation from the perspective of healthcare professionals. METHODS Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten healthcare professionals, including: occupational therapists, physiotherapists and nurses, who worked in three different short-term care settings. The interviews were transcribed, and qualitative content analysis was used. FINDINGS Four categories, all of which included both positive and negative descriptions of collaboration, were identified: (i) Crossing professional and organisational boundaries (ii) Awareness of own professional identity (iii) Information and knowledge transfer and (iv) Balancing between patient, system and process. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate the importance of leadership and organisational structures for stimulating communication, and promoting collaboration between team members. In addition, working as a professional in short-term care requires individual skills in collaboration efforts, including awareness of one's own professional identity. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Opportunities for supervision could be one way to increase individuals' awareness of their own role in the team.
Effect of ischemic preconditioning in whole liver transplantation from deceased donors. A pilot study

The effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has not yet been clarified. We performed a pilot study to evaluate the effects of IPC in OLT by comparing the outcomes of recipients of grafts from deceased donors randomly assigned to receive (IPC+ group, n = 23) or not (IPC− group, n = 24) IPC (10‐min ischemia + 15‐min reperfusion). In 10 cases in the IPC+ group and in 12 in the IPC− group, the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), neutrophil infiltration, and hepatocellular apoptosis were tested by immunohistochemistry in prereperfusion and postreperfusion biopsies. Median aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were lower in the IPC+ group vs. the IPC− group on postoperative days 1 and 2 (398 vs. 1,234 U/L, P = 0.002; and 283 vs. 685 U/L, P = 0.009). Alanine aminotransferases were lower in the IPC+ vs. the IPC− group on postoperative days 1, 2, and 3 (333 vs. 934 U/L, P = 0.016; 492 vs. 1,040 U/L, P = 0.008; and 386 vs. 735 U/L, P = 0.022). Bilirubin levels and prothrombin activity throughout the first 3 postoperative weeks, incidence of graft nonfunction and graft and patient survival rates were similar between groups. Prereperfusion and postreperfusion immunohistochemical parameters did not differ between groups. iNOS was higher postreperfusion vs. prereperfusion in the IPC− group (P = 0.008). Neutrophil infiltration was higher postreperfusion vs. prereperfusion in both groups (IPC+, P = 0.007; IPC−, P = 0.003). Prereperfusion and postreperfusion apoptosis was minimal in both groups. In conclusion, IPC reduced ischemia/reperfusion injury through a decrease of hepatocellular necrosis, but it showed no clinical benefits. Liver Transpl 12:628–635, 2006. © 2006 AASLD.
Intensive expansion of natural killer T cells in the early phase of hepatocyte regeneration after partial hepatectomy in mice and its association with sympathetic nerve activation

When C57BL/6 mice were partially hepatectomized (PHx), severe lymphocytosis was induced in the liver in the early phase of hepatocyte regeneration (4 to 12 hours after PHx). A major lymphocyte subset expanding in this organ was estimated to be natural killer 1.1+ (NK1.1+) intermediate CD3 (CD3int) cells (i.e., NKT cells). CD3int cells are extrathymic T cells generated in situ in the liver. These changes were suppressed when mice with PHx were pretreated with a β‐adrenergicD antagonist (i.e., β‐blocker), propranolol (PPL). This might have been caused by sympathetic nerve stimulation during hepatocyte regeneration. An α‐blocker showed a similar effect, although the magnitude of suppression was lower than that of the β‐blocker. We previously showed that NK and NKT cells express surface β‐adrenergic receptors and are activated in number by sympathetic nerve stimulation. In the present study, NK cytotoxicity mediated by liver lymphocytes obtained from mice with PHx decreased, whereas NKT cytotoxicity against syngeneic thymocytes increased. Purified CD3int cells were also found to be able to mediate NKT cytotoxicity against regenerating hepatocytes. These results suggest that sympathetic nerve stimulation after PHx results in subsequent activation of NKT cells and that these NKT cells might be associated with immunologic surveillance during hepatocyte regeneration.
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR INTERNATIONALIZING THE LAND GRANT UNIVERSITY

Some faculty in colleges of agriculture at land grant universities wish their institutions had more emphasis on international programming. Penn State University decided to conduct an internal study of the current resources, opportunities, barriers, and desired actions to internationalize the university. Faculty, staff, and students were involved in committees to identify the resources, opportunities, and barriers, and then recommend specific activities for strengthening international programs at Penn State. After eight months of discussion, data gathering, and analysis, 33 recommendations were made. A vision statement was drafted to guide the implementation of these recommendations. The recommendations generated by this study may be useful for other colleges and universities who wish to strengthen international programming in an increasingly interdependent global community. Anyone who has represented a land grant university as an educational consultant abroad recognizes that this role has advantages and disadvantages. In spite of the resources, the support of colleagues, and the institutional base of a mutually supporting system of three parts-extension, resident education, and research-most land grant universities also present problems. They are large, bureaucratic institutions which respond slowly to the needs of individual employees; administrators often support international commitments in word but not in deed; promotion and tenure pressures seem to trouble consultants working abroad; and the vast resources which the consultant needs from the home university are often poorly organized, inaccessible, or difficult to mobilize. These disadvantages decrease the effectiveness of the land grant university as a partner in international development. They hamper relationships between the university and institutions abroad, between the university and governmental agencies both abroad and in the United States, and between the university and non-governmental organizations. They also hamper the effectiveness of individual consultants who are working abroad. The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State, initiated an institutionwide effort to address these problems during the 1993-94 academic year by conducting an internal study of its international function. At the beginning of this effort the concept of "internationalizing a university" was not well understood. Deutsch (1970) has described three strategic options which can be viewed as aspects of internationalization: (a) increase the number of U.S. students studying abroad, (b) provide more opportunities for foreign students to study in the U.S., and (c) focus on curricula by offering more courses on international topics and adding international content to current
An ensemble method for detecting shilling attacks based on ordered item sequences

Collaborative filtering systems are vulnerable to shilling attacks in which malicious users bias the systems' recommendation output by inserting fake profiles. While many approaches have been proposed to detect shilling attacks, they suffer from low precision. To solve this problem, an ensemble method for detecting shilling attacks based on ordered item sequences is proposed. Firstly, by analyzing the differences of rating patterns between genuine and attack profiles, we construct ordered popular item sequences and ordered novelty item sequences, and based on which, the popular and novelty item rating series are constructed for each user profile. Secondly, we propose six features to characterize the attack profiles. Particularly, we extract two features based on the popular and novelty item rating series. We partition the item set according to the ordered item sequences and combine them with mutual information to extract another four features. Finally, we propose an ensemble framework to detect shilling attacks. In particular, we create base training sets with great diversities using bootstrap resampling technique. Based on these base training sets, we train decision tree algorithm to generate diverse base classifiers. The simple majority voting strategy is used to combine the predictive results of these base classifiers. Experimental results indicate that ensemble method for detecting shilling attacks based on ordered item sequences can significantly improve the precision while maintaining a high recall. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cooperation and self-regulation in a model of agents playing different games.

A simple model for cooperation between "selfish" agents, which play an extended version of the prisoner's dilemma game, in which they use arbitrary payoffs, is presented and studied. A continuous variable, representing the probability of cooperation, p(k)(t) in [0,1], is assigned to each agent k at time t. At each time step t a pair of agents, chosen at random, interact by playing the game. The players update their p(k)(t) using a criterion based on the comparison of their utilities with the simplest estimate for expected income. The agents have no memory and do not use strategies based on direct reciprocity or "tags. " Depending on the payoff matrix, the system self-organizes-after a transient-into stationary states characterized by their average probability of cooperation p(eq) and average equilibrium per-capita income p(eq),U(infinity). It turns out that the model exhibits some results that contradict the intuition. In particular, some games that a priori seem to favor defection most, may produce a relatively high degree of cooperation. Conversely, other games, which one would bet lead to maximum cooperation, indeed are not the optimal for producing cooperation.
A framework for tailoring clinical guidelines to comorbidity at the point of care.

BACKGROUND Evidence is accumulating to suggest that clinical guidelines should be modified for patients with comorbidities, yet there is no quantitative and objective approach that considers benefits together with risks. METHODS We outline a framework using a payoff time, which we define as the minimum elapsed time until the cumulative incremental benefits of a guideline exceed its cumulative incremental harms. If the payoff time of a guideline exceeds a patient's comorbidity-adjusted life expectancy, then the guideline is unlikely to offer a benefit and should be modified. We illustrate the framework by applying this method to colorectal cancer screening guidelines for 50-year-old men with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and 60-year-old women with congestive heart failure (CHF). RESULTS We estimated that colorectal cancer screening payoff times for 50-year-old men with HIV would range from 1.9 to 5.0 years and that colorectal cancer screening payoff times for 60-year-old women with CHF would range from 0.7 to 2.9 years. Because the payoff times for 50-year-old men with HIV were lower than their life expectancies (12.5-24.0 years), colorectal cancer screening may be beneficial for these patients. In contrast, because payoff times for 60-year-old women with CHF were sometimes greater than their life expectancies (0.6 to >5 years), colorectal cancer screening is likely to be harmful for some of these patients. CONCLUSION Use of a payoff time calculation may be a feasible framework to tailor clinical guidelines to the comorbidity profiles of individual patients.
Treatment with endotracheal therapeutics after sarin microinstillation inhalation exposure increases blood cholinesterase levels in guinea pigs

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities were measured in the blood and tissues of animals that are treated with a number of endotracheally aerosolized therapeutics for protection against inhalation toxicity to sarin. Therapeutics included, aerosolized atropine methyl bromide (AMB), scopolamine or combination of AMB with salbutamol, sphingosine 1-phosphate, keratinocyte growth factor, adenosine A1 receptor antisense oligonucleotide (EPI2010), 2,3-diacetyloxybenzoic acid (2,3 DABA), oxycyte, and survanta. Guinea pigs exposed to 677.4 mg/m3 or 846.5 mg/m3 (1.2 LCt50) sarin for 4 min using a microinstillation inhalation exposure technique and treated 1 min later with the aerosolized therapeutics. Treatment with all therapeutics significantly increased the survival rate with no convulsions throughout the 24 h study period. Blood AChE activity determined using acetylthiocholine as substrate showed 20% activity remaining in sarin-exposed animals compare to controls. In aerosolized AMB and scopolamine-treated animals the remaining AChE activity was significantly higher (45–60%) compared to sarin-exposed animals (p < 0.05). Similarly, treatment with all the combination therapeutics resulted in significant increase in blood AChE activity in comparison to sarin-exposed animals although the increases varied between treatments (p < 0.05). BChE activity was increased after treatment with aerosolized therapeutics but was lesser in magnitude compared to AChE activity changes. Various tissues showed elevated AChE activity after therapeutic treatment of sarin-exposed animals. Increased AChE and BChE activities in animals treated with nasal therapeutics suggest that enhanced breathing and reduced respiratory toxicity/lung injury possibly contribute to rapid normalization of chemical warfare nerve agent inhibited cholinesterases.
Stable isotopes in tissues discriminate the diet of free-living wild boar from different areas of central Italy

The use of isotopic signatures in animal tissues provides information on the environment where they are living and, notably, on their diet. Carbon and, whenever possible, nitrogen stable isotope analyses were performed in animal hairs, muscles and fat. Particularly, we analyzed both carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions (δ13C and δ15N) on wild boar samples across three different areas of central Italy (Latium region): Tyrrhenian Coast (TC), Maremma (MA) and Central Plains (CP). The agricultural habits of these areas imply that, in winter, no crops are available for wild boars, which feed mainly on acorns and natural feeds (tubers, earthworms etc.). In addition, the three areas were influenced by oak masting. One of these areas (CP) was characterised by the spreading of corn during the hunting season to attract the animals. For each area, we sampled 10 animals aged between 12 and 24 months and balanced by gender. Anenrichment of δ13C in CP area, where corn was used, was observed in all the analysed tissues in comparison to other areas (MA and TC). In CP area, enriched values of δ15N were also observed in all the tissues. The research demonstrates that both δ13C andδ15N in free-living wild boar tissues are influenced by sampling area. According to feeding habits of the species and wildlife management (feed supplementation), the differences observed in δ13C and δ15Nare based on the specific feeding regime; particularly the use of corn in wintertime. Furthermore, the research highlights and discusses diversities and relationships among δ13C and δ15N in the hair, fat and muscles of free-living wild boar.
Three Essays on Fiscal Policy and Government Production

This research investigates government production function, explores its dynamic properties and studies the e ects of scal policy implemented through government production channels. The rst chapter estimates the production function of the U.S. government. The results indicate that we should be cautious when using a CobbDouglas function to represent the government production whenever intermediate goods are included. The analysis also shows the CES function has more superior properties to represent the U.S. government production function based on two new measures derived from exact index theory. The second chapter explores the cyclical movement of government spending components as a result of endogenous responses to exogenous private sector and government sector productivity shocks. This chapter also quanti es the relative contributions of exogenous shocks to the volatility of government spending components. The third chapter argues that scal policies that can allocate government inputs and determine the categories of government outputs are able to span the whole range to theoretical results on the responses of private consumption, private output, real wage, and private labor to a government spending shock. Index words: Government, Production Function, Fiscal Policy, Business Cycle
Development of an autonomous bridge deck inspection robotic system

The threat to safety of aging bridges has been recognized as a critical concern to the general public due to the poor condition of many bridges in the United States. Currently, the bridge inspection is conducted manually, and it is not efficient to identify bridge condition deterioration in order to facilitate implementation of appropriate maintenance or rehabilitation procedures. In this paper, we report a new development of the autonomous mobile robotic system for bridge deck inspection and evaluation. The robot is integrated with several nondestructive evaluation (NDE) sensors and a navigation control algorithm to allow it to accurately and autonomously maneuver on the bridge deck to collect visual images and conduct NDE measurements. The developed robotic system can reduce the cost and time of the bridge deck data collection and inspection. For efficient bridge deck monitoring, the crack detection algorithm to build the deck crack map is presented in detail. The impact‐echo (IE), ultrasonic surface waves (USW), and electrical resistivity (ER) data collected by the robot are analyzed to generate the delamination, concrete elastic modulus, corrosion maps of the bridge deck, respectively. The presented robotic system has been successfully deployed to inspect numerous bridges in more than ten different states in the United States.
Stable Inducible Expression of a Functional Rat Liver Organic Anion Transport Protein in HeLa Cells (*)

Recently we expression cloned a rat liver organic anion transport protein in Xenopus laevis oocytes (Jacquemin, E., Hagenbuch, B., Stieger, B., Wolkoff, A. W., and Meier, P. J.(1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 91, 133-137). In the present study, we have stably transfected the cDNA encoding this protein into HeLa cells by using a vector containing a zinc-inducible promoter. The parent cells have virtually no baseline transport of [S]sulfobromophthalein, whereas the induced transfected cells express a novel 74-kDa protein and avidly transport this ligand. Transport by these cells is saturable (K = 3.3 μM, Vmax = 257 pmol/min/mg protein), bidirectional, and highly temperature-dependent. In the presence of albumin, uptake of [S]sulfobromophthalein requires the presence of extracellular Cl, whereas in the absence of albumin, this Cl dependence is not seen. These studies indicate that cellular uptake of sulfobromophthalein does not result from direct interaction with the plasma membrane lipid bilayer but rather requires the presence of a specific plasma membrane transporter.
Spatial Dispersion of Action Potential Duration Restitution Kinetics Is Associated with Induction of Ventricular Tachycardia/Fibrillation in Humans

Introduction: Action potential duration restitution (APDR) plays a role in initiation and maintenance of ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF). We hypothesized that the steeply sloped APDR and its spatial heterogeneity contribute to VT/VF inducibility in patients with ventricular arrhythmia.
Rapid Diversification of a Species-Rich Genus of Neotropical Rain Forest Trees

Species richness in the tropics has been attributed to the gradual accumulation of species over a long geological period in stable equatorial climates or, conversely, to speciation in response to late Tertiary geological events and unstable Pleistocene climates. DNA sequence data are consistent with recent diversification inInga, a species-rich neotropical tree genus. We estimate that speciation was concentrated in the past 10 million years, with many species arising as recently as 2 million years ago. This coincides with the more recent major uplifts of the Andes, the bridging of the Isthmus of Panama, and Quaternary glacial cycles. Inga may be representative of other species-rich neotropical genera with rapid growth and reproduction, which contribute substantially to species numbers in the world's most diverse flora.
Skin cancer in black patients

Skin cancer is rare in black patients. The clinical course and pathology of 58 cases are presented and reviewed. These include 38 squamous cell carcinomas, 13 malignant melanomas, and 7 basal cell carcinomas. Sixty‐one percent of the squamous cell carcinomas developed in unexposed areas, with sunlight exposure apparently not being an important etiologic factor. Forty‐one percent of the squamous cell carcinomas had predisposing factors such as burn scars or chronic infection. Squamous cell carcinoma in black patients is an aggressive disease, with 29% developing regional lymph node metastasis, and a mortality of 29%. Malignant melanomas occurred most frequently on the plantar surface of the foot (76%). Melanoma is also a virulent tumor in black patients, with 11 of 13 patients developing lymph node metastasis and only 2 patients surviving. Skin cancer in black patients presents a very different clinical picture than that seen in white patients. It is important that these factors be considered when planning therapy.