Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Nursing Education on the Image of Nursing as a Profession in Israel

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of nursing students in Israel regarding nursing as a profession and nurses public image, and whether there is a difference between the perceptions of first-year and more advanced nursing students. A questionnaire based on the work of Tzeng (2006) was administered to 200 first-year nursing students and 200 more advanced students. Most of the students felt the nursing profession needs to undergo an image change, while first-year students perceived nurses as more angelic and romantic than more advanced students. A positive correlation was found between satisfaction with nurses in the field and the image of nursing. In order to reinforce a positive image of nursing as a career, nurse educators should alter negative stereotypes about the profession.
EFFECT OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS IN THE VALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF THE SERVICE: A REVIEW

1 Candidato a Doctor en Ciencias Sociales, mención Gerencia, profesor adscrito a la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Universidad de Cartagena (Colombia), Avenida del consulado Calle 30 N°48 – 152, e-mail: jvergaras@unicartagena.edu. co; 2 Doctor en Ingeniería de la Organización, profesor (jubilado). Universidad de Cartagena (Colombia), e-mail: vquesadaibarguen@gmail.com; 3 Doctor en Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas, profesor adscrito a la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y al Instituto Internacional de Estudios del Caribe. Universidad de Cartagena (Colombia), Avenida del consulado Calle 30 N°48 – 152, e-mail: fmazaa@unicartagena.edu. co
A longitudinal, prospective study on emotional adjustment before, during and after consecutive fertility treatment cycles.

BACKGROUND A longitudinal study into the course of the emotional response to IVF from pre-treatment to 6 months post-treatment and factors that contributed to that course. METHODS A total of 148 IVF patients and 71 partners completed self-report questionnaires on anxiety, depression, personality characteristics, meaning of fertility problems, coping, marital relationship and social support at pre-treatment. Assessments of anxiety and depression were repeated immediately following the final treatment cycle and again 6 months later (follow-up). RESULTS Women showed an increase of both anxiety and depression after unsuccessful treatment and a decrease after successful treatment. Men showed no change in anxiety and depression either after successful or after unsuccessful treatment. In the 6 months after unsuccessful treatment, women showed no recovery. At follow-up, >20% of the women showed subclinical forms of anxiety and/or depression. Personality characteristics, meaning of the fertility problems, and social support determined the course of the emotional response. CONCLUSIONS Most women adjusted well to unsuccessful treatment, but at follow-up, a considerable proportion still showed substantial emotional problems. Personality characteristics, pre-treatment meaning of the fertility problems and social support have demonstrated the adjustment to unsuccessful IVF in women. This allows early identification of women at risk as well as tailored interventions.
High‐dose intravenous‐penicillin in neurosyphilis: effect on intrathecal synthesis of IgG, IgM, IgA and IgD

Abstract We evaluated occurrence and levels of intrathecal synthesis of IgG, IgM, IgA and IgD by calculating corresponding index values in 8 patients with definite and 4 with suspected or possible neurosyphilis, prior to, during and after high‐dose intravenous penicillin therapy. Four patients with active neurosyphilis displayed intrathecal synthesis of IgG, IgM and IgA. Only 2 of them showed elevated IgD index, and both had taboparesis, pleocytosis and positive VDRL in CSF, and simultaneous elevation of the IgG, IgA and especially of the IgM indices. This suggests that intrathecal synthesis of IgD may occur in patients with severe CNS inflammation in response to diffuse CNS treponemal damage. Penicillin therapy incited transitory elevation of one or more of the immunoglobulin index values in most patients, possibly in response to massive treponemal lysis inside the CNS. Thereafter, the values became mostly normalized but exceptions occurred, including one patient who had elevated IgG and IgM index which persisted 31 months after therapy. Our data indicate that determinations of immunoglobulin indices performed on consecutive specimens from individual patients with neurosyphilis may be helpful in the evaluation of treatment.
Oil Booms and Inequality in Iran

We study the response of income inequality to positive per capita oil and gas revenue shocks in Iran. Using historical data from 1973 to 2016 and vector autoregression (VAR) as well as vector error correction (VECM) model‐based impulse‐response functions, we find a positive and statistically significant response of income inequality to oil booms. We also explore possible channels through which oil booms may increase inequality, including private sector credit growth, construction investment, international trade (imports) and real economic output. We find that following an oil boom, higher imports, private sector credit growth, and real economic output can explain the increased income gap to a certain degree in Iran's oil‐based economy. Our analysis can help policymakers evaluate and accommodate the possible positive or negative effects of inequality in Iran resulting from the 2016 lifting of the embargo against the country.
European Scleroderma Study Group to define disease activity criteria for systemic sclerosis. III. Assessment of the construct validity of the preliminary activity criteria

Objective: To further assess the construct validity of the three European Scleroderma Study Group (EScSG) preliminary activity indices for systemic sclerosis (SSc): for SSc as a whole, for diffuse SSc (dcSSc), and for limited SSc (lcSSc). Methods: 30/290 SSc clinical charts collected for the EScSG study used to develop activity criteria for SSc were selected and sent to four clinical experts in SSc. The experts ranked the charts from 1 to 30 (1=lowest activity, 30=highest activity). The relationships among the ranks given by each investigator and each of the three scores, and between any two of the ranks were investigated. Results: A consistently significant correlation (rs=0.530–0.712) was found between the ranks given by each of the four investigators and the index for the entire patient group. A similar level of agreement was detected between each couple of the four experts (rs=0.428–0.720). Moreover, the ranks given in patients with an index >3 were significantly higher than those given for patients with an index ⩽3. This cut off point had previously been shown to best discriminate patients with active disease. Conclusions: Of the originally developed activity indexes, the whole series index has been externally validated. The index comprises the first preliminary, but necessary, groundwork to improve the concept of disease activity in SSc, which is still ill defined. It can be used as a preliminary activity index in clinical investigational studies.
Mapping the typology of transition systems in a liberal market economy: the case of Canada

Abstract This research explores links between tertiary education institutions and between tertiary education and the labour market as determinants of provincial and national transition patterns in Canada. The study consists of a provincial analysis that maps the typology of transition systems across Canada’s devolved federated tertiary education structure. The results show that, nationally: the links between education and work are relatively loose aside from regulated occupations; there is an emphasis on general education; and qualifications are used as a screen for entry to the labour market. However, while Canada can be broadly understood as a liberal market economy, there is provincial diversity within the nation; and there are varying logics for the development of skill, deployment of labour, and relations between institutions. The institutional and policy frameworks, structure of jobs, and formation of skill in Canada’s largest provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec reveal diverse characteristics of transition systems. However, despite internal differentiation in the value of vocational education, variations at the provincial level have not been enough to shift the federal pattern as a whole. Instead, in Canada vocational education is generally stigmatised and viewed as signalling low ability and motivation.
Pricing of guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits in variable annuities under stochastic volatility, stochastic interest rates and stochastic mortality via the componentwise splitting method

This paper values guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit (GMWB) riders embedded in variable annuities assuming that the underlying fund dynamics evolve under the influence of stochastic interest rates, stochastic volatility, stochastic mortality and equity risk. The valuation problem is formulated as a partial differential equation (PDE) which is solved numerically by employing the operator splitting method. Sensitivity analysis of the fair guarantee fee is performed with respect to various model parameters. We find that (i) the fair insurance fee charged by the product provider is an increasing function of the withdrawal rate; (ii) the GMWB price is higher when stochastic interest rates and volatility are incorporated in the model, compared to the case of static interest rates and volatility; (iii) the GMWB price behaves non-monotonically with changing volatility of variance parameter; (iv) the fair fee increases with increasing volatility of interest rates parameter, and increasing correlation between the underlying fund and the interest rates; (v) the fair fee increases when the speed of mean-reversion of stochastic volatility or the average long-term volatility increases; (vi) the GMWB fee decreases when the speed of mean-reversion of stochastic interest rates or the average long-term interest rates increase. We investigate both static and dynamic (optimal) policyholder's withdrawal behaviours; we present the optimal withdrawal schedule as a function of the withdrawal account and the investment account for varying volatility and interest rates. When incorporating stochastic mortality, we find that its impact on the fair guarantee fee is rather small. Our results demonstrate the importance of correct quantification of risks embedded in GMWBs and provide guidance to product providers on optimal hedging of various risks associated with the contract.
Alterations in seedling vigour and antioxidant enzyme activities in Catharanthus roseus under seed priming with native diazotrophs

An experiment was conducted on Catharanthus roseus to study the effect of seed treatments with native diazotrophs on its seedling growth and antioxidant enzyme activities. The treatments had significant influence on various seedling parameters. There is no significant influence on dry matter production with the diazotrophs, Azospirillum and Azotobacter. However, the vital seedling parameters such as germination percentage and vigour index were improved. Azotobacter treatment influenced maximum of 50% germination, whereas Azospirillum and Azotobacter were on par with C. roseus with respect to their vigour index. There was significant difference in the population of total diazotrophs. Azospirillum and Azotobacter between rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils of C. roseus had the same trend and were observed at various locations of the study. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) were increased to a significant extent due to the treatment with diazotrophs.
Phenotypic spectrum of autosomal recessive cone-rod dystrophies caused by mutations in the ABCA4 (ABCR) gene.

PURPOSE To describe the phenotype of 12 patients with autosomal recessive or isolated cone-rod types of progressive retinal degeneration (CRD) caused by mutations in the ABCA4 gene. METHODS The charts of patients who had originally received a diagnosis of isolated or autosomal recessive CRD were reviewed after molecular analysis revealed mutations in the ABCA4 gene. RESULTS In two of the patients both the photopic and scotopic electroretinogram were nonrecordable. In the remainder, the photopic cone b-wave amplitudes appeared to be more seriously affected than the scotopic rod b-wave amplitudes. Although the clinical presentation was heterogeneous, all patients experienced visual loss early in life, impaired color vision, and a central scotoma. Fundoscopy revealed evidence of early-onset maculopathy, sometimes accompanied by involvement of the retinal periphery in the later stages of the disease. CONCLUSIONS Mutations in the ABCA4 gene are the pathologic cause of the CRD-like dystrophy in these patients, and the resultant clinical pictures are complex and heterogeneous. Given this wide clinical spectrum of CRD-like phenotypes associated with ABCA4 mutations, detailed clinical subclassifications are difficult and may not be very useful.
MPEG-7 Based Intellectual Digital Album

In recent years the digital camera has become an essential personal accessory. The increased storage space of the memory cards result in difficulties of finding the desired photos in the traditional digital camera for the users. The described intellectual digital album is an innovative scheme to this problem. In this paper, several algorithms that can process digital content easily are employed for the implementation of the intellectual digital album prototype. The developed system can perform the feature extraction operation on the pictures in the database of photos and compare the acquired features automatically with the desired feature selected by the users to obtain the desired pictures. The proposed approach follows the MPEG-7's color, texture and shape descriptor and defines five feature selections
Multiplexed buses: the endian wars continue

The issue of data exchange between type-1 and type-2 buses, which multiplex the first data byte (which has the lowest address) with the least and most significant portions of the address, respectively, is considered. In an analogy based on Gulliver's Travels, the associated architectures have been dubbed little-endian and big-endian processors, respectively. It is pointed out that the byte order within integers and the byte order during transmission can differ. Therefore, the big and little adjectives are used to describe the order of bytes within integers, and the acronyms Mad and Sad to describe the order of bytes (most versus least important first) during transmission on a multiplexed address-data bus. After a review of the endian ordering issues, it is concluded that big- and little-endians can use the same bus standard. For high-performance serialized buses, the mad-endian order seems superior to a sad-endian order. For consistency between serialized and multiplexed parallel buses of various widths, the mad-endian order is proposed for future multiplexed standards. To minimize the interface costs to mad-endian buses, a big-endian order is proposed for shared data also. <<ETX>>
Risk-adjusting Hospital Mortality Using a Comprehensive Electronic Record in an Integrated Health Care Delivery System

Objective:Using a comprehensive inpatient electronic medical record, we sought to develop a risk-adjustment methodology applicable to all hospitalized patients. Further, we assessed the impact of specific data elements on model discrimination, explanatory power, calibration, integrated discrimination improvement, net reclassification improvement, performance across different hospital units, and hospital rankings. Design:Retrospective cohort study using logistic regression with split validation. Participants:A total of 248,383 patients who experienced 391,584 hospitalizations between January 1, 2008 and August 31, 2011. Setting:Twenty-one hospitals in an integrated health care delivery system in Northern California. Results:Inpatient and 30-day mortality rates were 3.02% and 5.09%, respectively. In the validation dataset, the greatest improvement in discrimination (increase in c statistic) occurred with the introduction of laboratory data; however, subsequent addition of vital signs and end-of-life care directive data had significant effects on integrated discrimination improvement, net reclassification improvement, and hospital rankings. Use of longitudinally captured comorbidities did not improve model performance when compared with present-on-admission coding. Our final model for inpatient mortality, which included laboratory test results, vital signs, and care directives, had a c statistic of 0.883 and a pseudo-R2 of 0.295. Results for inpatient and 30-day mortality were virtually identical. Conclusions:Risk-adjustment of hospital mortality using comprehensive electronic medical records is feasible and permits one to develop statistical models that better reflect actual clinician experience. In addition, such models can be used to assess hospital performance across specific subpopulations, including patients admitted to intensive care.
Creating Special Purpose Nonprofits to Lessen the Cost of Public Infrastructure

From a policy, practice, and theoretical perspective, this article promotes the use of the nonprofit to lessen the financial burden on government in advancing the wellbeing of the general public. The burden in this article is the cost of providing critical physical infrastructure for the benefit of an entire population or jurisdiction. How can the nonprofit materially lessen this financial burden? How may the trade-off between government agency appropriations and tax expenditures to nonprofits favor the use of a nonprofit? What about accountability to citizens and to government-why is this not an obstacle? Why is the nonprofit a versatile design for the provision of infrastructure either singularly or in any combination of public- private partnership? Why should this strategy be embraced if infrastructure requires a large upfront and continuous flow of cash and debt? Could this strategy bring infrastructure online quicker and at a lower government cost?
School leadership: Results from a case study at a teacher training school in Benguela province

In the present study, the research problem lies in school leaders’ context, particularly in how teachers at a teacher ́s training school in Benguela province perceives the leadership of the school principal. To answer the research problem were defined three objectives: i) characterize how teachers of the training school for teachers in Benguela province perceive the leadership led by the school principal; ii) understand the influence of the school principal in the teaching work dynamics iii) develop knowledge about the style of leadership developed in the training school for teachers in Benguela province. The adopted research methodology assumed predominantly a qualitative nature, and case study was the chosen research strategy. The empirical study took place in the academic year 2014 in a teacher training school in Benguela province. The main data collection technique was the MLQ questionnaire of Avolio & Bass (2004) applied to all the teachers (n=20). A simple statistical analysis was the privileged data processing technique. The school principal of the teacher ́s training school in Benguela province reveal behavioral attitudes and positions in line with the Laissez-Faire Leadership and some categories of Transformational Leadership were the main results of this
Genetic Polymorphism of KCNH2 Confers Predisposition of Acquired Atrial Fibrillation in Chinese

Introduction: Nonfamiliar atrial fibrillation (AF) is usually associated with acquired structural heart disease, including valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, and hypertension. Suggestive evidence indicates that these forms of acquired AF are more likely to occur in individuals with a genetic predisposition. We investigated the effect of the potassium channel voltage‐gated subfamily member 2 (KCNH2) gene on the prevalence of acquired AF in a Chinese population.
Neural coding in the Non-Pacinian I tactile channel: A psychophysical and simulation study of magnitude estimation

Psychophysical experiments and model simulations were performed to identify plausible neural codes representing stimulus magnitude in the Non-Pacinian I (NP I) tactile channel associated with rapidly adapting fibers. Sinusoidal mechanical displacements were applied on the fingertips of eight human subjects. The NP I channel was isolated by elevating the thresholds of the Pacinian (P) channel during forward masking. Psychophysical magnitude estimates were obtained at 40 Hz for the NP I channel and at 250 Hz for the P channel by using a small contactor (radius: 2 mm). The P channel was additionally tested with a larger contactor (radius: 4.3 mm) to compensate for the lower innervation density of the Pacinian fibers. The magnitude estimates were fitted by power functions. The exponent (1.02) obtained with the large contactor for the P channel was higher than the exponent (0.68) obtained with the small contactor, but it was not statistically different from the exponent (1.21) obtained with the small contactor for the NP I channel. This suggests that the exponent increases when more fibers are recruited in the P channel. Six hypothetical neural codes were tested by using a computational population model for the rapidly adapting afferents. The validity of each code was evaluated by comparing psychophysical and simulation exponents, by finding the correlations between the magnitude estimates and the neural code results, and by a novel distance metric for measuring the proximity between the data sets. The codes based on the number of active fibers, the total spike count, the mean and the standard deviation of the spike count distribution yielded the best results, while the codes based on the interspike intervals were not related with the magnitude estimates.
A Set of Glycosylphosphatidyl Inositol-Anchored Membrane Proteins of Plasmodium falciparum Is Refractory to Genetic Deletion

ABSTRACT Targeted gene disruption has proved to be a powerful approach for studying the function of important ligands involved in erythrocyte invasion by the extracellular merozoite form of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Merozoite invasion proceeds via a number of seemingly independent alternate pathways, such that entry can proceed with parasites lacking particular ligand-receptor interactions. To date, most focus in this regard has been on single-pass (type 1) membrane proteins that reside in the secretory organelles. Another class of merozoite proteins likely to include ligands for erythrocyte receptors are the glycosylphosphatidyl inositol (GPI)-anchored membrane proteins that coat the parasite surface and/or reside in the apical organelles. Several of these are prominent vaccine candidates, although their functions remain unknown. Here, we systematically attempted to disrupt the genes encoding seven of the known GPI-anchored merozoite proteins of P. falciparum by using a double-crossover gene-targeting approach. Surprisingly, and in apparent contrast to other merozoite antigen classes, most of the genes (six of seven) encoding GPI-anchored merozoite proteins are refractory to genetic deletion, with the exception being the gene encoding merozoite surface protein 5 (MSP-5). No distinguishable growth rate or invasion pathway phenotype was detected for the msp-5 knockout line, although its presence as a surface-localized protein was confirmed.