Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hospital quality indicators: a systematic review.

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe hospital quality indicators, classifying them according to Donabedian's structure, process and outcome model and in specific domains (quality, safety, infection and mortality) in two care divisions: inpatient and emergency services. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH A systematic review identified hospital clinical indicators. Two independent investigators evaluated 70 articles/documents located in electronic databases and nine documents from the grey literature, 35 were included in the systematic review. FINDINGS In total, 248 hospital-based indicators were classified as infection, safety, quality and mortality domains. Only 10.2 percent were identified in more than one article/document and 47 percent showed how they were calculated/obtained. Although there are scientific papers on developing, validating and hospital indicator assessment, most indicators were obtained from technical reports, government publications or health professional associations. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS This review identified several hospital structure, process and outcome quality indicators, which are used by different national and international groups in both research and clinical practice. Comparing performance between healthcare organizations was difficult. Common clinical care standard indicators used by different networks, programs and institutions are essential to hospital quality benchmarking. ORIGINALITY/VALUE To the authors' knowledge, this is the first systematic review to identify and describe hospital quality indicators after a comprehensive search in MEDLINE/PubMed, etc., and the grey literature, aiming to identify as many indicators as possible. Few studies evaluate the indicators, and most are found only in the grey literature, and have been published mostly by government agencies. Documents published in scientific journals usually refer to a specific indicator or to constructing an indicator. However, indicators most commonly found are not supported by reliability or validity studies.
Organizational safety modelling and analysis of an air traffic application EUROCONTROL CARE Innovative Research III

EUROCONTROL CARE Innovative Research III Problem area It is now generally well realized that the level of safety of air traffic operations depends on the constraints and resources set by people working at the blunt end (e.g. managers), which determine the working conditions and thereby the performance of people (e.g. pilots, controllers) who are directly controlling potentially hazardous processes at the sharp end. Notwithstanding the recognition of the importance of organizational processes for safe operations, formal models describing organizational processes and their effect on safety-relevant scenarios are largely lacking in the current air traffic risk assessment practice.
INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY FOR A SERVICE COMPANY

In the current political and economic situation, globalization influences almost every company within every sector and industry. The international business environment becomes more and more globalized and integrated. Every year there is a growing number of companies, both SMEs and large ones, decide to take part in the global trade. Proactive and reactive motives of internationalization play a major role in this decision-making process. Once a company has decided to internationalize its operations, it seems to be vital to develop an internationalization strategy, taking into consideration various aspects. The aim of this thesis is to develop an internationalization strategy for MMD Networks OY, and particularly for its Internet advertising service Verkkomainos.com. In this thesis the author studies a possibility of entering the UK Internet advertising market, taking into account the strong and weak sides of the company, as well as market conditions and other various factors that might affect the internationalization process. Based on analytical and theoretical data, the most appropriate internationalization strategy for Verkkomainos.com was developed. The outcomes of this thesis might be valuable and useful for the company, as the personnel, who is in charge of the internationalization process, can assess whether it seems to be reasonable to enter the UK market or not.
Validation of models on uptake of organic chemicals by plant roots

The fate of a substance is governed by the distribution of the substance among soil, water, air, and biota, and by the concentration of the substance and its altered forms existing over a period of time in these media. As vegetable food forms a major part of the diet of both human beings and of cattle, the contamination of plants will have a large influence on the total daily intake of a substance. In this report the application of soil-plant transfer factors is investigated. The main goal was to find sufficient experimental data in the available literature, if possible adjusted for differences in experimental design, that could be used to evaluate the currently applied method in the uniform system for the evaluation of substances (USES). In this approach, concentrations in plant root and stem are estimated on the basis of an empirical relationship with the octanol/water partitioning coefficient. It was concluded that, for the purposes set in USES, the root concentration factor is an appropriate instrument for the estimation of residues in roots, whereas the application of the stem concentration factor is insufficient. Consequently, for aboveground plant parts, other approaches need to be explored, which can then be applied in the general risk assessment of substances.
Effects of Bond Deterioration due to Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete

Reinforced concrete structures exposed to aggressive environments throughout their design life often sustain high levels of deterioration due to corrosion of reinforcement. This causes large losses in cross-section and diminished bond performance resulting in reduced performance under seismic and everyday loading. This paper assesses the monotonic and cyclic bond performance of corroded reinforcing through a series of 24 tests that focus on reductions in bar cross-section between 15-25%. The effects of high levels of corrosion were substantial with over 50% reduction in bond rupture stress resulting from only 15% reduction in cross-sectional area due to corrosion. More importantly, when subjected to cyclic loading, the rate of bond degradation was much higher than would be expected if the uncorroded result was simply scaled by the reduced rupture stress.
Effect of Astrocyte-Conditioned Medium, Retinoic Acid and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor on Neural Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Received: 28/Dec/2006, Accepted: 14/Jun/2007 Objective: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells capable of extensive proliferation while maintaining their potential to differentiate into any cell type. The therapeutic potential of these cells are promising, but in many cases limited by our inability to promote their differentiation. In this study we examined the effect of inducer factors in direct differentiation of mouse ESCs into a neural fate in suspension culture systems. Materials and Methods: Mouse ESCs (Royan B1) were cultivated in suspension to form embryoid bodies (EBs) within 2 days (2d). They were induced using astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM), retinoic acid (RA, 1µM) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, 20 ng/ml) for 4 days (2+4d) and were cultured on poly-L-lysine coated dishes up to 5 days (2+4+5d) to differentiate. The expressions of neural specific genes were analyzed by immunocytochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Differences of means for percentage significance of differentiated EBs were tested by the Mann-Whitney Test and for length and thickness of neural processes by t-test. Results: Retinoic acid increased the percentage of EBs outgrowth with neural morphology and bFGF had synergistic effect (at least p<0.05), while ACM did not influence neural differentiation at all. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed the expression of β-tubulin III in neural cells and that the differentiated neural cells in RA+bFGF group were longer and thicker processes (at least p<0.05). The cells expressed Nestin, Pax6, NF-M, Islet-1, Lim1, and HB9. Conclusion: The results showed that ACM had no effect on neural differentiation from ESCs, however, RA was in favor of this and that bFGF increased neural differentiation synergistically by mechanisms that remain to be defined.
Detecção de chamados de ultrassom em capivara

The vocal repertoire of some animal species has been considered a non-invasive tool to predict distress reactivity. In rats ultrasound emissions were reported as distress indicator. Capybaras[ vocal repertoire was reported recently and seems to have ultrasound calls, but this has not yet been confirmed. Thus, in order to check if a poor state of welfare was linked to ultrasound calls in the capybara vocal repertoire, the aim of this study was to track the presence of ultrasound emissions in 11 animals under three conditions: 1) unrestrained; 2) intermediately restrained, and 3) highly restrained. The ultrasound track identified frequencies in the range of 31.8±3.5 kHz in adults and 33.2±8.5 kHz in juveniles. These ultrasound frequencies occurred only when animals were highly restrained, physically restrained or injured during handling. We concluded that these calls with ultrasound components are related to pain and restraint because they did not occur when animals were free of restraint. Thus we suggest that this vocalization may be used as an additional tool to assess capybaras[ welfare.
CLINICAL IMAGES IN MEDICINE: AN ABNORMAL ELECTROCARDIOGRAM IN A PATIENT WITH CHEST PAIN

A case study of 70 year old male patient with a history of long standing diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, dyslipidemia, peripheral vascular disease, severe ischemic cardiomyopathy with LV ejection fraction of 20% and a left bundle branch block. He presented to the ER complaining of retrosternal chest pain for less than 6 hours associated with shortness of breath, orthopnea and diaphoresis. No paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea or leg swelling.
The effect of diet on the γ- and δ-lactone and methyl ketone potentials of bovine butterfat

Summary The quantity of γ- and δ-lactones and of methyl ketones produced when bovine butterfat was heated in the presence of water vapour and the absence of air, and hence the flavour quality of the butterfat, varied widely with the diet of the lactating cows. There was a marked increase in the γ-dodecanolactone potential when the cows were transferred from pasture to a mixture of chopped lucerne hay plus crushed oats but not when they were transferred to lucerne hay only. Feeding crushed sunflower seeds, whose oil was protected against biohydrogenation in the rumen, but not feeding sunflower meal from which the oil had been extracted, raised the γ-dodec-cis-6-enolactone potential, lowered the saturated δ-lactone potential and the methyl ketone potential and simultaneously raised the proportion of linoleic acid in the butterfat at the expense of fatty acids up to and including C16.
Preservation of size constancy for action, but not perception, in a patient with bilateral occipital lesions

Size constancy is not only necessary for maintaining perceptual stability of the visual world but it is also critical for goal-directed actions such as grasping an object. To grasp an object successfully, one must pre-shape the hand to match the real size of the object even though the retinal image size will vary as a function of viewing distance. The neural mechanisms that underlie size constancy for perception and action are poorly understood. We therefore carried out two experiments with patient M.C. , who has large bilateral occipital lesions. In the first experiment, we measured M.C. ’s ability to estimate the perceived size and distance of a series of filled black circles that differed in physical size. The stimuli were positioned at varying distances such that their retinal image size was either matched or differed systematically. M.C. ’s size and distance estimates were poorly scaled to the physical size of the stimuli and were correlated instead with the retinal image size of the stimuli. Would M.C. ’s grasps be similarly governed by retinal image size? We asked M.C. to manually estimate or to reach out and pick up Efron blocks positioned at different distances. As expected, M.C. ’s manual estimates were poorly scaled to object width yet well correlated with their retinal image size. But when M.C. reached out to pick up the objects, her grip aperture scaled to object width at all distances while her hand velocity scaled to object distance. Importantly, her grip aperture was not governed by the retinal image size as one would expect if M.C. ’s visuomotor system relies on conscious percepts. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that the neural mechanisms that underlie size constancy for perception and action are distinct, and lend further support for models of visual function that separate conscious visual perception from action.
Function of Lysosomes and Lysosomal Enzymes in the Senescing Corolla of the Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)

The rapid senescence of the Ipomoea corolla is characterized by the breakdown of protein and nucleic acids. At the onset of wilting the activities of deoxyribonuclease (DNase), ribo- nuclease (RNase), and /J-glucosidase are increased dramatically, while other hydrolytic activities such as the actions of protease, aminopeptidase, a-glucosidase, phosphatase, esterase, and a-amylase are only slightly changed. Isolated corolla discs show a course of senescence similar to that of the intact organ. When floating on solutions of cycloheximide the activities of DNase, RNase, and |3-glucosidase do not increase. Actinomycin D inhibits the increase in RNase activity. It is concluded that protein synthesis is a prerequisite for the changes in these enzyme activities in the senescing corolla.The function of the lysosomal compartment in the process of senescence is illustrated by electron micrographs showing the autophagic activity of vacuoles. The last phase of senescence is characterized by the breakdown of the tonoplast and complete digestion of the cytoplasmic constituents in the autolysing cells.
Variation of leaf angle and incidence of rice blast disease

Blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae Cav. , one of the major foliar diseases of rice, appears sometimes in a devastating form in the seedling stage. The angles subtended by leaves may affect the establishment of the pathogen. Ono (1965) observed that leaf angles of rice plants, among many other factors, influenced deposition of spores. Gangopadhyay & Chattopadhyay (1974) found that brown spot disease (Helminthosporium oryzae) incidence in rice increased with increase in leaf angles. The present study is intended to find out the role of leaf angles in rice on the incidence of blast disease at the seedling stage.
Predictive and diagnostic value of red blood cell distribution width and mean platelet volume in autoimmune hepatitis related cirrhosis

Objective To assess the clinical significance of red blood cell distribution width (RDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in predicting cirrhosis in Chinese patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Methods Peripheral blood cell analysis was conducted in 111 AIH patients to calculate these inflammatory markers based on blood cell count. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors of liver cirrhosis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic value of each index in identifying cirrhosis patients from chronic patients with AIH. Results Serum levels of indicators reflecting liver function including total protein, albumin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were abnormal in patients with AIH, and there was a significant difference between AIH cirrhosis group and chronic AIH group (P<0.05). Inflammatory indices based on blood cell analysis including RDW, MPV and NLR were 15.75%(14.20%-17.60%), (11.75±1.30)f L and 2.60(1.76-3.94) respectively in AIH patients with cirrhosis, elevated remarkably compared to chronic AIH patients. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that RDW and MPV were identified to be independent risk factors of cirrhosis with OR(95%CI) of 1.349(1.128-1.614) and 1.465(1.044-2.056) respectively; ROC analysis showed that the areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of RDW and MPV were 0.736 and 0.675 respectively. Conclusion RDW and MPV were independent risk factors associated with AIH cirrhosis and can serve as reference indices to monitor disease course in AIH. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn. 0577-7402.2018. 12.08
The Evolution of Predator-Prey Interactions: Theory and Evidence

▪ Abstract Recent theories regarding the evolution of predator-prey interactions is reviewed. This includes theory about the dynamics and stability of both populations and traits, as well as theory predicting how predatory and anti-predator traits should respond to environmental changes. Evolution can stabilize or destabilize interactions; stability is most likely when only the predator evolves, or when traits in one or both species are under strong stabilizing selection. Stability seems least likely when there is coevolution and a bi-directional axis of prey vulnerability. When population cycles exist, adaptation may either increase or decrease the amplitude of those cycles. An increase in the defensive ability of prey is less likely to produce evolutionary counter-measures in its partner than is a comparable increase in attack ability of the predator. Increased productivity may increase or decrease offensive and defensive adaptations. The apparent predominance of evolutionary responses of prey to predat.
Identification of the genus Epimedium with DNA barcodes

The traditional identification for Epimedium is inadequate due to the morphological variation and complicated procedure. DNA barcoding is a new technique for species identification by a standard DNA region. However, there has been no consensus emerged for plant barcoding due to the low rates of evolution in plastid DNA. In this paper, we compared the performance of four candidate DNA regions (psbA-trnH, ITS, rbcL, matK) in ten species of Epimedium. To select a suitable barcode, ranking criteria included: the success efficiency of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing; genetic divergences; the barcoding gap. The psbA-trnH represented easy amplification, high level of interspecific divergence and well-separated barcoding gap. The other three loci (ITS, rbcL, matK) was inadequate for application. We concluded that the psbA-trnH region was the better potentially DNA barcode for the genus Epimedium. Key words: Epimedium, DNA barcode, ITS, rbcL, matK, psbA-trnH.
A statistical-spectral method for echo classification

The frequency dependence of sound-scatter intensity is commonly exploited to classify fish, zooplankton, and the seabed observed in acoustic surveys. Although less utilized, techniques based on the statistics of echo amplitudes can also be used to extract information. For example, single-frequency echo statistics have been used to determine whether backscatter originates from single or multiple fish or from rough or smooth seabeds, and to estimate scatterer sizes and densities. The efficacies of the amplitude-based techniques are challenged, however, by the usual requirement to group echo measurements to facilitate meaningful comparisons with model predictions. Groupings of data over space, time, or both, can combine scatter from multiple taxa or species, confounding the comparisons. These methods are improved with a hybrid, statistical-spectral method for target identification (SSID), which incorporates information contained in both the signal amplitudes and phases. The SSID uses multifrequency echo statistics from individual time-space intensities (pixels) to identify general scattering types, before applying model-based identification schemes for target identifications. The effectiveness of the SSID is demonstrated for fine-scale separation of scatter from demersal fish and the seabed and estimating seabed depth, within-beam slope, hardness and roughness, and the height of the dynamic acoustic dead zone.
Prognostic Value of Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in Patients with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, is reported to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether ADMA is an independent predictor for future mortality and adverse clinical events among patients with heart failure (HF). Methods Electronic literature databases (Central, MEDLINE, and Embase) were searched for relevant observational studies on the prognostic value of ADMA in HF patients published before January 2019. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratio and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for risk evaluation. Results 10 studies with 2195 participants were identified and analyzed. The pooled HR of composite clinical events for the highest vs. lowest quartiles from categorical variable results was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.15-1.57, P < 0.001, I2 = 0%), which is 1.31 (95% CI: 1.10-1.55, P < 0.005, I2 = 0%) in the subgroup of acute decompensated HF. The pooled HR of composite clinical events from continuous variable results was 1.41 (95% CI: 1.21-1.63, P < 0.001, I2 = 21.9%), with 0.1 μM increment accounting for the increasing 25% risk for composite adverse clinical events. The pooled HR for all-cause mortality was 2.38 (95% CI: 1.48-3.82, P < 0.001, I2 = 0%) after sensitivity analysis. Two studies reporting the HR of inhospital mortality in HF patients regarded it as a prognostic indicator, with categorical variable HR as 1.26 (95% CI: 1.07-1.84, P < 0.05) and continuous variable OR as 2.15 (95% CI: 1.17–4.29, P < 0.05). Conclusions ADMA is an independent predictor for composite clinical outcomes among HF patients with both short-term and long-term prognostic value.