Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parity of Esteem as a guiding principle for commissioning, service provision and laws related to health care: what do we know

The distinction between mind and body has a long history of philosophical debate has had a significant impact on generations of researchers and practitioners. This distinction is still found in current health care; policy and legislation disregards evidence showing that mental illness and physical illnesses share causation and coexistence (Thornicroft et al. 2008). Not only does this create fertile ground for a failure of illness-management in patient care, this duality points to the poverty in the level of discourse surrounding the understanding of mental illness, associated stigma and discrimination (Corrigan et al. 2004, Corrigan 2005,). Consequently, there is a lack of informed deliberation about the long-term costs of sustaining the current approach. Research has shown that people with serious mental illnesses have higher rates of physical illness and die on average 17 24 years earlier than the general population (Thornicroft et al. 2008). This premature mortality is largely from treatable conditions associated with modifiable risk factors such as smoking, obesity, substance abuse and inadequate medical care (Thornicroft et al. 2008). This results in increasing not only long-term treatment costs, but also societal costs that include economic productivity, employment and financial stability, making people with mental ill health more vulnerable to social exclusion, poverty, unemployment and multiple social and family difficulties (Knapp et al. 2011). Epidemiologic surveys indicate that one in four people in the UK have a psychiatric illness. Many studies show that of the 280 million consultations with a general practitioner in the UK, 30% are related to mental health (Royal College of General Practitioners 2006). Between 12% and 18% of all NHS expenditure on longterm conditions is linked to poor mental health and well-being between £8 and £13 billion in England each year (Naylor et al. 2012). The Royal College of Psychiatrists public health position statement summarises the evidence and economic arguments. It states that the total cost of mental illness is estimated to be £105 billion in the UK. This suggests that integration of physical and mental health care makes sense, and that mental illness should no longer be neglected if better patient outcomes are to be pursued within a sound public health economy. An approach that is gaining popularity is ‘Parity of Esteem’ as a guiding value and principle for all health care; this approach offers a partial solution to the disparities found between physical and mental health-related mortality and morbidity. The core principle is that behavioural health should be treated equally with physical illnesses. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) in the United States (The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) 2008) has brought forward concrete evidence of the benefits by legislating for parity of mental health (Barry et al. 2010). The law in the USA was Ethnicity & Health Vol. 17, Nos. 1 2, February April 2012, 13 15
Effect of protein binding on penetration of beta-lactams into rabbit peripheral lymph

The relevance of protein binding to penetration of beta-lactams into body fluids was investigated by examining the distribution of amoxicillin, ceftriaxone, clavulanic acid, temocillin, and ticarcillin into rabbit peripheral lymph after intravenous administration. The elimination half-lives in rabbit plasma varied between 0.34 h (temocillin) and 1.80 h (ceftriaxone), and the half-lives measured in lymph were similar to those in plasma (0.37 to 1.76 h). The percent penetration (area under the concentration-time curve in lymph/area under the concentration-time curve in plasma x 100) was high for amoxicillin (97.6%), temocillin (89.4%), and clavulanic acid (90.8%) but was lower for ticarcillin (76.0%) and for ceftriaxone (67.3%). There was a direct correlation between plasma protein binding and percent penetration. Correction for plasma and tissue binding increased the percent penetration for all compounds, and figures approached 100%. The results presented demonstrate the use of this model to examine the relationships between plasma pharmacokinetics, protein binding, and distribution of antibiotics.
Implications of low English standards among overseas students at Australian universities: beyond reproductive stereotypes

The results of the English tests required of overseas students who obtained permanent residence visas in 2005–06 after graduating reveal that at least a third scored below the level normally required for employment as professionals in Australia. This article explores how students with limited English gained entry to Australian higher education courses in the first place and how they subsequently passed their examinations. It also examines the responses to this situation on the part of the Australian Government and of the Australian accrediting authorities whose task is to assess the adequacy of students’ credentials (including English) within their jurisdiction.
Glabridin Suppresses Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Expression in Tumor Necrosis Factor-α-Stimulated Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells by Blocking Sphingosine Kinase Pathway: Implications of Akt, Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase, and Nuclear Factor-κB/Rel Signaling Pathways

(R)-4-(3,4-Dihydro-8,8-dimethyl)-2H,8H-benzo[1,2-b:3,4-b′] dipyran-3yl)-1,3-benzenediol (glabridin) is known to have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and cardiovascular protective activities. In the present study, we report the inhibitory effect of glabridin on intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Glabridin inhibited THP-1 cell adhesion to HUVECs stimulated by TNF-α and cell surface expression of ICAM-1 in TNF-α-stimulated HUVECs. The mRNA expression of adhesion molecules, including ICAM-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin, was also suppressed by glabridin. Further study demonstrated the inhibitory effect of glabridin on nuclear factor (NF)-κB/Rel DNA binding, inhibitory factor-κBα (IκBα), and IκBβ degradation, IκB kinase activation, and p65 nuclear translocation in TNF-α-stimulated HUVECs. Treatment of a variety of cell lines with glabridin revealed that inhibitory effect of glabridin on NF-κB/Rel activation is not cell type-specific, and both inducible and constitutive NF-κB/Rel activation was suppressed by glabridin treatment. Moreover, TNF-α-induced phosphorylation of Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) was blocked by glabridin treatment in HUVECs. Glabridin also suppressed sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)-induced cell surface expression and mRNA expression of ICAM-1. Further study demonstrated that TNF-α-induced sphingosine kinase activity was inhibited by glabridin, and the inhibitory effect of glabridin on TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 expression was reversed by addition of exogenous S1P. Together, our results indicate that the inhibitory effect of glabridin on ICAM-1 expression might be mediated, at least in part, by inhibiting sphingosine kinase pathway and subsequent inhibition of signaling pathways, including Akt, ERK, and NF-κB/Rel signaling pathway.
Evaluating peer learning and assessment in online collaborative learning environments

ABSTRACT Transformation of learning and teaching in higher education now offers greater educational equality through enhanced access and collaboration within the framework of lifelong learning in the digital age. This study aims to evaluate online peer learning and assessment in the collaborative learning process in higher education practices. The study also investigates the impact of online peer learning on the development of skills within collaborative learning through the use of volunteered responses from learners concerning their experiences with and perceptions of online learning. Therefore, a quantitative approach is applied through the administration of a survey with 32 items that is distributed to 715 participants. According to the objective of the study, a set of inferential statistical analyses are performed. The theoretical framework of this study is the CHAT (cultural historical activity theory) which reconstructs the knowledge of learners through the application of the Adobe Connect program to demonstrate how learners can be collaborative and social with their peers in an online context. The results revealed that the collaborative online peer learning process in higher education encourages critical reflection and self-assessment. The study contributes to the understanding of the value of learner satisfaction in online collaborative learning environments through the experiences of learners.
Is Honesty the Best (Judicial) Policy in Affirmative Action Cases? Fisher v. University of Texas Gives the Court (Yet) Another Chance to Say Yes

This essay explores the likely options the Supreme Court has before it in the pending Fisher v. University of Texas affirmative action case, and locates the case in a larger framework that is rife with doctrinal and historical inconsistency, both as to substance and procedure, and that as a result opens the Court to the charge of intellectual dishonesty (or at least under-explanation).
Proceedings of the International Consensus Conference on Breast Cancer Risk, Genetics, & Risk Management, April, 2007

A consensus conference including 30 experts was held in April, 2007, to discuss risk factors for breast cancer and their management. Four categories of risk were outlined, from “average” through “very high” risk, the latter including individuals with high penetrance BRCA1/2 gene mutations. Guidelines for management of patients in each of these categories were discussed, with the major portion of the conference devoted to individuals with BRCA1/2 mutations. Prevalence of these mutations in the general population was estimated to be 1 in 250‐500 individuals, with an increased prevalence in Ashkenazi Jews and other founder groups. Risk‐reduction strategies for these individuals included surveillance, with or without chemoprevention drugs, or surgical procedures to remove the organs at risk, ie, bilateral mastectomy and/or bilateral salpingo‐oophorectomy. These risk reduction strategies were evaluated fully, and recommendations were made for the care of patients in each risk category. These guidelines for patient care were approved by the entire group of experts. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS' COLLEGE TRANSITION TRAJECTORY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECTS OF HIGH SCHOOL COMPOSITION AND EXPECTATIONS ON DEGREE ATTAINMENT

In essence, abstract ideas are the reflection of students’ beliefs in what they believe education can do for them. In some cases “abstract attitudes take the form of general ideological beliefs,” (p. 46) such as a belief in the reality of the American Dream, which is to. Moreover, such a conceptualization allows students to shapes their academic desires based on the dominant ideology. The abstract attitude signifies an “underlying faith that education will bring opportunity” (p. 46). Mickelson’s (1990) findings regarding abstract attitudes are consistent with her hypothesis as well as what we still see today with regard to what Black students say they want and what they actually achieve. She found that African-American students accept the dominant ideology regarding the positive relationship between education and mobility more so than Whites. Therefore, it seems as according to Mickelson and prior research, as stated in the previous chapter, researchers can assume, as does this dissertation that African-American students have adopted the abstract attitude regarding education causing them to have higher expectations than what their academic and social status say they should. Concrete The second of the attitude systems is concrete. Here Mickelson (1990) explains such attitudes neither adhere strictly to one dominant ideology nor to general hopes for the future. Instead, concrete attitudes are grounded in tangible realities that express the possibility of education leading (or not leading) to social mobility based on family and community experiences. “They offer insights into the ways in which class, race, and gender differences in the opportunity structure shape students’ efforts in school and are expressions of students’ lived
Cultural Diversity in the Internet Age: In Search of New Tools That Work

The article considers the key media policy objective of enhancing cultural diversity and explores one of the possible paths towards it in the digital media space – namely, by addressing the new intermediaries that have an increasingly critical role in contemporary media experiences. It sketches some particular problems that policy-makers need to take into account, such as tailored content consumption, as well as some ways to solve them, such as through content curation in the public interest.
Perceptive Home Energy Interfaces: Navigating the Dynamic Household Structure

Much discussion has taken place regarding environmental sustainability, fossil fuels and other efforts to reverse the trend of global climate change. Unfortunately, individuals often choose the path of least resistance when making home energy decisions. Thus, it is imperative to consider all of the underlying causes that influence home energy consumption in an effort to build a more perceptive interface that addresses the variety of household occupant needs. This research seeks to explore the dynamic nature of household occupancy, individual comfort and situational variants that impact home energy consumption in an effort to discover critical design factors for building novel interfaces for home energy systems.
Calculation of Volatility in a Jump-Diffusion Model

A common way to incorporate discontinuities in asset returns is to add a Poisson process to a Brownian motion. The jump-diffusion process provides probability distributions that typically fit market data better than those of the simple diffusion process. To compare the performance of these models in option pricing, the total volatility of the jump-diffusion process must be used in the Black-Scholes formula. A number of authors, including Merton (1976a \& b), Ball and Torous (1985), Jorion (1988), and Amin (1993), miscalculate this volatility because they do not include the effect of uncertainty over the jump size. We calculate the volatility correctly and show how this affects option prices.
PERCUTANEOUS TRANSLUMINAL ANGIOPLASTY: THE PROCEDURE OF CHOICE IN THE HYPERTENSIVE RENAL ALLOGRAFT RECIPIENT WITH RENAL ARTERY STENOSIS

A retrospective review of 547 renal transplants performed over a six-year period revealed allograft renovascular hypertension secondary to RTAS in 39 (7.1%) patients. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) resulted in immediate cure or improvement in 76% of the patients, increasing to 83% in patients with functioning kidneys at a mean follow-up period of 30 months (1–72 months). The renal artery stenosis (RTAS) was equally distributed between living-related and cadaver kidney recipients and did not appear to be more prevalent in end-to-end or end-to-side anastomoses. The blood pressures fell from pre-PTA levels of 167 ± 22 mmHg systolic to 141 ± 23.7 post-PTA and 102 ± 11 mmHg diastolic pre-PTA to 88 ± 12 mmHg post-PTA (P < 0.01). Of 25 cured or improved patients, 24 are on significantly less hypertensive medication. Two patients died of causes unrelated to the PTA and only one patient lost a kidney because of the procedure. Compared with operation, PTA is a safer and more effective procedure for the initial treatment of RTAS.
Responses to Stimulation of Coronary and Carotid Baroreceptors and the Coronary Chemoreflex at Different Ventricular Distending Pressures in Anaesthetised Dogs

Stimulation of left ventricular mechanoreceptors was believed not only to exert important effects on the circulation, but also to influence the responses to baroreceptor reflexes. However, most previous work is flawed due to inadequate localisation of stimuli to specific reflexogenic areas. In this study, we applied a discrete stimulus to left ventricular mechanoreceptors to examine other reflexes known to effect the circulation. Dogs were anaesthetised, artificially ventilated and a cardiopulmonary bypass established. The pressure distending the left ventricle was controlled through an apical cannula with the aortic valve obstructed by a balloon. Changes in ventricular systolic and end‐diastolic pressure had only a small effect on vascular resistance, assessed as perfusion pressure in the systemic circulation (flow constant). Responses to changes in carotid or coronary pressure or to stimulation of chemosensitive afferents by injecting veratridine into the coronary circulation were always much larger. Responses to stimulation of these reflexes were little affected by the level of stimulus to the ventricular receptors. These experiments confirm that responses to stimulation of ventricular mechanoreceptors are very small and show that they remain small at different levels of input to other baroreceptive regions. There was no evidence of interaction between ventricular mechanoreceptor reflexes and carotid or coronary baroreceptors or ventricular chemosensitive reflexes.
Use of oesophageal stress response proteins as potential biomarkers in the screening for Barrett's oesophagus

Introduction Oesophageal adenocarcinoma is an increasingly common diagnosis and cause of death; risk factors include ‘Barrett's epithelium’ (BE). Endoscopic surveillance is most commonly used but is expensive. Other methods of surveillance have been suggested including nonendoscopic balloon cytology, but are handicapped by relying on cytological techniques; hence the need for a partner technology such as a biomarker. From earlier work we know the most commonly expressed oesophageal stress response proteins are SEP 53, SEP70 and anterior gradient-2 (AG-2). We set out to map the expression of these stress response proteins and explore their potential as prototype biomarkers of BE. Methods Patients (n=192) presenting to the endoscopy unit of a large teaching hospital with symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease or a known BE were recruited, endoscopically examined and the biopsies obtained were examined for heat shock protein expression. Results and discussion Normal controls and those with oesophagitis predominantly expressed SEP 53 (76.9/91.95%) and SEP 70 (79.48/89.65%). Although those with BE expressed AG-2; using this expression as a marker for BE, gives a sensitivity of 65.15% and specificity of 89.68% (positive predictive value of 76.78% and negative predictive value of 84.9%) and in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease a sensitivity of 65.15% and specificity of 90.80% (positive predictive value of 84.31% and negative predictive value of 77.45%). We confirmed that AG-2 is preferentially expressed in BE; suggesting its use would allow a screening tool with specificity of around 90%.
A Cross Cultural Comparison of Consumers' Acceptance of the Web Marketing Facilities

ABSTRACT This article examines attitudes toward Acceptance of Web Marketing Facilities (AWMF) in Britain, Denmark and Turkey to compare cross-cultural differences. This study was inspired by Fred Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The TAM's components have been adapted to Web Marketing Facilities (WMF), and components of usefulness, ease of use, attitude and intention of WMF have been constructed and detailed in order to show main differences in these countries' AWMF. An AWMF scale was developed with satisfactory reliability scores. Findings showed that the differences of AWMF between young internet users of Turkey and the other two countries originate from information technology infrastructural problems in Turkey rather than cultural background.
Anomalous expansion of the copper-apical-oxygen distance in superconducting cuprate bilayers

We have introduced an improved x-ray phase-retrieval method with unprecedented speed of convergence and precision, and used it to determine with sub-Ångstrom resolution the complete atomic structure of epitaxial La2-xSrxCuO4 ultrathin films. We focus on superconducting heterostructures built from constituent materials that are not superconducting in bulk samples. Single-phase metallic or superconducting films are also studied for comparison. The results show that this phase-retrieval diffraction method enables accurate measurement of structural modifications in near-surface layers, which may be critically important for elucidation of surface-sensitive experiments. Specifically we find that, while the copper-apical-oxygen distance remains approximately constant in single-phase films, it shows a dramatic increase from the metallic-insulating interface of the bilayer towards the surface by as much as 0.45 Å. The apical-oxygen displacement is known to have a profound effect on the superconducting transition temperature.
Corporate Governance – Getting Back to Market Basics

In this timely book, the law and economics of corporate governance is approached from various angles. Alessio Pacces shows that perspectives are evolving and that they differ between the economic and the legal standpoint, as well as varying between countries. A group of leading scholars offers their views and provides fresh empirical evidence on existing theories as well as developing new theoretical insights based on empirical puzzles. They all analyse the economics of corporate governance with a view to how it should, or should not, be regulated.
What is smart? A real estate introduction to cities and buildings in the digital era

This article introduces the concepts of smart cities and smart buildings from the viewpoint of commercial real estate. It summarizes the current academic thinking on how the widespread implementation of digital technologies embodied by smart grids and digital skins impacts cities and buildings in two classic smart city models: ubiquitous city and augmented city. It then explores the consequences of these innovations on commercial real estate at both the city and building levels. In doing so, it presents the concept of a new “omni-use” property type whose characteristics derive from ubiquitous computing in smart urban environments. It also proposes guidelines for smart building scores to define a methodology relevant to the real estate sector and conducive to constructing price indices of smart buildings. It concludes by stressing the dominating role that technology will play in defining property heterogeneity in the digital era.