Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measures of crowding in the emergency department: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES Despite consensus regarding the conceptual foundation of crowding, and increasing research on factors and outcomes associated with crowding, there is no criterion standard measure of crowding. The objective was to conduct a systematic review of crowding measures and compare them in conceptual foundation and validity. METHODS This was a systematic, comprehensive review of four medical and health care citation databases to identify studies related to crowding in the emergency department (ED). Publications that "describe the theory, development, implementation, evaluation, or any other aspect of a 'crowding measurement/definition' instrument (qualitative or quantitative)" were included. A "measurement/definition" instrument is anything that assigns a value to the phenomenon of crowding in the ED. Data collected from papers meeting inclusion criteria were: study design, objective, crowding measure, and evidence of validity. All measures were categorized into five measure types (clinician opinion, input factors, throughput factors, output factors, and multidimensional scales). All measures were then indexed to six validation criteria (clinician opinion, ambulance diversion, left without being seen (LWBS), times to care, forecasting or predictions of future crowding, and other). RESULTS There were 2,660 papers identified by databases; 46 of these papers met inclusion criteria, were original research studies, and were abstracted by reviewers. A total of 71 unique crowding measures were identified. The least commonly used type of crowding measure was clinician opinion, and the most commonly used were numerical counts (number or percentage) of patients and process times associated with patient care. Many measures had moderate to good correlation with validation criteria. CONCLUSIONS Time intervals and patient counts are emerging as the most promising tools for measuring flow and nonflow (i.e., crowding), respectively. Standardized definitions of time intervals (flow) and numerical counts (nonflow) will assist with validation of these metrics across multiple sites and clarify which options emerge as the metrics of choice in this "crowded" field of measures.
Emotional mental imagery as simulation of reality: Fear and beyond

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Cytokine transcripts in pediatric tuberculosis: a study with bronchoalveolar cells.

Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) differs from adult TB in many features. To date, cytokine expression has not been studied in children with TB. The relative amounts of the various cytokines released at the site of infection may be important determinants of TB disease development and pathology. We determined cytokine transcripts in bronchoalveolar cells (BACs) recovered from 9 children presenting with TB and from 9 children with pulmonary diseases other than TB. An RT-PCR-based method was developed to quantify the mRNAs encoding six cytokines (IFN- gamma, IL-12, TNF- alpha, IL-10, IL-4, TGF- beta 1) known to play key roles in mycobacterial infections. Expression of mRNA encoding TGF- beta, TNF- alpha and IFN- gamma was statistically significantly higher in BACs from children with TB than in BACs from children with other pulmonary diseases; whereas the levels of mRNA transcription for TGF- beta is high, the levels of mRNA transcription for IFN- gamma and TNF- alpha remain low. All children had low levels of mRNA for IL-12(p40). IL-4 was barely detectable in all cases. Children with miliary TB had high levels of IL-10 transcripts and low levels of mRNA encoding TGF- beta. The immunosuppressive cytokines TGF- beta and IL-10, are overproduced in children with non-miliary TB and miliary TB respectively and are probably involved in the progression of the disease. These data suggest that Th1 responses are reduced in children with TB.
BioSAMs for the EU Member States: Constructing Social Accounting Matrices with a detailed disaggregation of the bio-economy

The bio-based economy will be crucial in achieving sustainable development, covering all ranges of natural resources. In this sense, it is very relevant to analyse the economic links between the bioeconomic sectors and the rest of the economy, determining their total and decomposed impact on economic growth. One of the major problems in carrying out this analysis is the lack of information and complete databases that allow analysis of the bioeconomy and its effects on other economic activities. To overcome this issue, highly disaggregated (in biobased and agriculture sectors) Social Accounting Matrices of the 28 European Union member states (and one EU28 aggregate) have been estimated. This report presents this set of Social Accounting Matrices, called BioSAMs, describing its specific structure and the basis for its estimation.
Peroxisomal Malate Dehydrogenase Is Not Essential for Photorespiration in Arabidopsis But Its Absence Causes an Increase in the Stoichiometry of Photorespiratory CO2 Release1[W][OA]

Peroxisomes are important for recycling carbon and nitrogen that would otherwise be lost during photorespiration. The reduction of hydroxypyruvate to glycerate catalyzed by hydroxypyruvate reductase (HPR) in the peroxisomes is thought to be facilitated by the production of NADH by peroxisomal malate dehydrogenase (PMDH). PMDH, which is encoded by two genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), reduces NAD+ to NADH via the oxidation of malate supplied from the cytoplasm to oxaloacetate. A double mutant lacking the expression of both PMDH genes was viable in air and had rates of photosynthesis only slightly lower than in the wild type. This is in contrast to other photorespiratory mutants, which have severely reduced rates of photosynthesis and require high CO2 to grow. The pmdh mutant had a higher O2-dependent CO2 compensation point than the wild type, implying that either Rubisco specificity had changed or that the rate of CO2 released per Rubisco oxygenation was increased in the pmdh plants. Rates of gross O2 evolution and uptake were similar in the pmdh and wild-type plants, indicating that chloroplast linear electron transport and photorespiratory O2 uptake were similar between genotypes. The CO2 postillumination burst and the rate of CO2 released during photorespiration were both greater in the pmdh mutant compared with the wild type, suggesting that the ratio of photorespiratory CO2 release to Rubisco oxygenation was altered in the pmdh mutant. Without PMDH in the peroxisome, the CO2 released per Rubisco oxygenation reaction can be increased by over 50%. In summary, PMDH is essential for maintaining optimal rates of photorespiration in air; however, in its absence, significant rates of photorespiration are still possible, indicating that there are additional mechanisms for supplying reductant to the peroxisomal HPR reaction or that the HPR reaction is altogether circumvented.
Blended Mentoring

This study is an integrative literature review to analyze the different approaches of mentoring methods and propose a good model of blended mentoring that can be used in various educational settings. The main foci of this study have been the different forms of mentoring used in educational settings, strengths and limitations of the different forms of mentoring, definition of blended mentoring, different approaches of blended mentoring, and benefits and limitations of blended mentoring. Based on the literature review, this study proposes a model of blended mentoring. Also, this study provides in-depth discussions about the research and practice implications for using blended mentoring in educational settings. The authors expect that school administrators, faculty, and instructors will find this chapter useful as they strive to identify more efficient and effective ways of mentoring.
A circularly polarized loop antenna without perturbation segments

A loop antenna radiates a circularly polarized (CP) wave, when two perturbation segments are added to the loop [1–3], as shown in Fig. 1(a). The antenna has an advantage over a circular patch antenna in that it has a smaller circumference [2]. A smaller antenna size is suitable for use as an array element, from the point of view of there being lower mutual effects among the elements [2], [3].
The Impact of Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors on Intravascular Ultrasound‐Derived Morphologic Indices of Human Coronaries

Objective: The relationship of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)‐derived measurements of atherosclerotic plaque to various coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors is not well known. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of percent coronary luminal stenosis by IVUS to other IVUS measures of CAD, as well as the relationship of common IVUS measures of CAD to traditional CAD risk factors. We hypothesized that one or more IVUS measures of CAD might relate more strongly to CAD risk factors than does percent luminal coronary stenosis. Methods: The records of 897 consecutive patients (57% men, mean age 62 years) who underwent IVUS investigation of their coronary arteries from 1996 through 2001 were retrospectively reviewed. IVUS was performed using a 20‐MHz probe (Jomed, Rancho Cordoba, CA) and a manual pull‐back technique to image the coronary arteries. Coronary artery remodeling ratio—i.e., the ratio of coronary lesion external elastic membrane cross‐sectional area (EEM CSA) to proximal reference artery EEM CSA; plaque burden—i.e., plaque plus media CSA divided by EEM CSA; calcium arc; and percent stenosis of luminal cross‐sectional area were measured by a single reader. Results: Percent area stenosis, the most commonly used IVUS parameter, did not correlate with the other three IVUS‐derived parameters, nor was it related to any of the CAD risk factors considered. In contrast, remodeling ratio was directly correlated with plaque burden (r = 0.22, P < 0.001), but inversely related to calcium arc (r =−0.13, P = 0.01). IVUS plaque burden was significantly correlated with male gender (P < 0.0001) and diabetes mellitus (DM) (P = 0.003). In multivariate analyses including age, gender, and CAD risk factors, plaque burden was significantly associated with age, male gender, and DM, but not with chronic renal failure, hypertension, or hypercholesterolemia. The multivariate model also revealed that the calcium arc was significantly associated with male gender and age. These IVUS findings provide anatomic documentation that the traditional CAD risk factors relate more strongly to plaque burden than to percent coronary arterial luminal narrowing.
Regulation of the enteric nervous system in the colon of patients with slow transit constipation.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The cause of impaired motility in patients with slow transit constipation is unknown. To clarify the physiological significance of cholinergic, adrenergic, non-adrenergic non-cholinergic inhibitory nerves in the colon of patients with slow transit constipation, we investigated the enteric nerve responses on lesional and normal bowel segments derived from patients with slow transit constipation and patients who underwent colon resection for colonic cancers. METHODOLOGY Twenty preparations were taken from the lesional colon of 6 patients with slow transit constipation (2 men and 4 women, aged 23 to 68 years, with a mean age of 44.0 years). Thirty-six preparations were taken from the normal colon of 12 patients with colonic cancer (6 men and 6 women, aged 40 to 60 years, with a mean age of 52.2 years). A mechanographic technique was used to evaluate in vitro muscle responses to acetylcholine, adrenalin, electrical field stimulation of adrenergic and cholinergic nerves before and after treatment with various autonomic nerve blockers. RESULTS The contraction reaction to acetylcholine in the colon with slow transit constipation was significantly weaker than in the normal colon (P < 0.01). The relaxation reaction to adrenalin in the colon with slow transit constipation was stronger than in the normal colon. The colon with slow transit constipation was more strongly innervated by non-adrenergic non-cholinergic inhibitory nerves than the normal colon, significantly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that a decrease of cholinergic nerve and an increase of non-adrenergic non-cholinergic inhibitory nerve play an important role in the impaired motility observed in the colon of patients with slow transit constipation.
[Relationship between brain-derived neurotrophic factor and birth weight in neonates].

OBJECTIVE Recent research has shown that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can improve obesity. This study aimed to explore the relationship between BDNF and birth weight by measuring BDNF levels in the umbilical cord blood of neonates. METHODS Based on birth weight, 51 first-born full-term healthy neonates were classified into 3 groups: small for gestational age (SGA, n=8), appropriate for gestational age (AGA, n=31) and large for gestational age (LGA, n=12). Height and birth weight as well as umbilical concentrations of BDNF, leptin, insulin, total cholesterol and triglyceride were determined. RESULTS BDNF level in the SGA group (19980.00 +/- 5470.54 pg/mL) was significantly higher than that in the AGA (10598.00 +/- 6295.71 pg/mL) and LGA (7508.57 +/- 3767.81 pg/mL) groups (P <0.05). There was no significant difference in the BDNF level between the AGA and LGA groups. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the value of BDNF was negatively correlated with birth weight and BMI of neonates, but had no correlation with leptin and insulin levels. Leptin levels showed positive correlations with birth weight and BMI of neonates. There were no significant differences in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS BDNF is closely correlated to birth weight but not correlated with leptin and insulin in neonates.
A 0.05- to 10-GHz, 19- to 22-GHz, and 38- to 44-GHz Frequency Synthesizer for Software-Defined Radios in 0.13-  $\mu\mbox{m}$ CMOS Process

This brief presents a fully integrated frequency synthesizer for software-defined radios covering not only all the existing wireless standards from 47 MHz to 10 GHz [including 14-band multiband orthogonal frequency-division modulation (MB-OFDM) ultrawideband (UWB)] but also the gigabits per second wireless communication around 60 GHz. A dual-band quadrature output voltage-controlled oscillatior reconfigurable as either a one-port oscillator for low power consumption or a two-port oscillator for low phase noise is employed as the core to generate all the frequencies from 47 MHz to 6 GHz. A multimode x3/x5/x7 injection-locked frequency multiplier and a single-sideband mixer with a tunable transformer-based narrow-band load are proposed to generate the carrier frequencies for the 14 MB-OFDM and impulse UWB bands with fast settling time, low power, and small chip area. An automatic amplitude calibration (APC) technique is proposed to greatly increase the locking range of the subharmonic injection-locked oscillators with achieving a given output amplitude. Implemented in a 0.13-μm CMOS process, the synthesizer prototype occupies an active area of 3 μm2, consumes 33-83 mW in total, and measures phase noise of -139.6 dBc/Hz at 3-MHz offset from a 1.7-GHz carrier.
Diagnosis Service for Software Component and Its Application to a Heterogeneous Sensor Data Management System

Component-based software development paradigm enables the construction of complex applications by assembling existing self-contained components. The cost of the software development process can then be sharply reduced. Current software systems are becoming more distributed and operate in highly dynamic environments. Therefore, dependability of component-based applications is an important research issue. Our contribution consists of a diagnosis service that enhances dependability of component-based applications. This diagnosis service provides the ability of detection and location of faulty components during runtime. In this paper, we describe the application of the proposed diagnosis service to an industrial case study that consists of a heterogeneous sensor data management system.
Social Media and Customer-Based Brand Equity: An Empirical Investigation in Retail Industry

As customer-brand engagement progressively shifts to digital domains, understanding social media effects in branding has become a vital issue. Social media effectiveness is especially important for the US retail sector due to intense competition among retailers for consumer attention and engagement on digital channels. Yet, the research on the effectiveness of social media in the retail industry remains sparse. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how social media affects US retailers’ customer-based brand equity (CBBE) which is an important indicator of brand success. Using a dataset of 15,717 retailer-day observations, the authors empirically test the dynamics between owned and earned social media and CBBE using panel vector autoregression (PVAR). The authors find strong impacts of owned and earned social media on CBBE across the board. However, they find that owned social media harms CBBE of retailers dealing in hedonic and high involvement products. Whereas owned social media helps general retailers in building CBBE, it reduces CBBE of specialty retailers.
Maximizing Lifetime of Three-Dimensional Corona-Based Wireless Sensor Networks

In a wireless sensor network (WSN), the energy of nodes closer to the sink node is usually exhausted sooner than others. This is known as the energy hole problem, which heavily affects the lifetime of the network. In this work, we study the lifetime maximization problem of a three-dimensional corona-based WSN with uniformly distributed sensor nodes and data transmission workload. We first derive the optimal configuration of the first layer of the corona to maximize the lifetime of the network. Then, we propose two strategies to configure nodes outside the first layer: the equal energy strategy (EES) which minimizes the number of hops to transmit data from sensor nodes to the sink and the local optimal energy (LOE) which stands for the fact that under this strategy each individual layer reaches its minimal energy consumption. Furthermore, the optimal equal distance strategy (OEDS) which is a simple deployment strategy was proposed to prolong the lifetime of the network by optimizing layer number k.
Functional expression of aquaporins in embryonic, postnatal, and adult mouse lenses

Aquaporin 0 (AQP0) and AQP1 are expressed in the lens, each in a different cell type, and their functional roles are not thoroughly understood. Our previous study showed that these two AQPs function as water transporters. In order to further understand the functional significance of these two different aquaporins in the lens, we investigated their initiation and continued expression. AQP0 transcript and protein were first detected at embryonic stage (E) 11.25 in the differentiating primary fiber cells of the developing lens; its synthesis continued through the adult stage in the secondary fiber cells. Low levels of AQP1 expression were first seen in lens anterior epithelial cells at E17.5; following postnatal day (P) 6.5, the expression gradually progressed towards the equatorial epithelial cells. In the postnatal lens, the increase in membrane water permeability of epithelial cells and lens transparency coincides with the increase in AQP1 expression. AQP1 expression reaches its peak at P30 and continues through the adult stage both in the anterior and equatorial epithelial cells. The enhancement in AQP1 expression concomitant with the increase in the size of the lens suggests the progression in the establishment of the lens microcirculatory system. In vitro and in vivo studies show that both aquaporins share at least one important function, which is water transport in the lens microcirculatory system. However, the temporal expression of these two AQPs suggests an apparently unique role/s in lens development and transparency. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the expression patterns of AQP0 and AQP1 during lens development and differentiation and their relation to lens transparency. Developmental Dynamics 236:1319–1328, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Clinical Applications in Neurorehabilitation

Some patients are no longer able to communicate effectively or even interact with the outside world in ways that most of us take for granted. In the most severe cases, tetraplegic or post-stroke patients are literally 'locked in' their bodies, unable to exert any motor control after, for example, a spinal cord injury or a brainstem stroke, requiring alternative methods of communication and control. But we suggest that, in the near future, their brains may offer them a way out. Non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCI) can be characterized by the technique used to measure brain activity and by the way that different brain signals are translated into commands that control an effector (e.g., controlling a computer cursor for word processing and accessing the internet). This review focuses on the basic concepts of EEG-based BCI, the main advances in communication, motor control restoration and the downregulation of cortical activity, and the mirror neuron system (MNS) in the context of BCI. The latter appears to be relevant for clinical applications in the coming years, particularly for severely limited patients. Hypothetically, MNS could provide a robust way to map neural activity to behavior, representing the high-level information about goals and intentions of these patients. Non-invasive EEG-based BCIs allow brain-derived communication in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and motor control restoration in patients after spinal cord injury and stroke. Epilepsy and attention deficit and hyperactive disorder patients were able to downregulate their cortical activity. Given the rapid progression of EEG-based BCI research over the last few years and the swift ascent of computer processing speeds and signal analysis techniques, we suggest that emerging ideas (e.g., MNS in the context of BCI) related to clinical neurorehabilitation of severely limited patients will generate viable clinical applications in the near future.
Event management research over the past 12 years: What are the current trends in research methods, data collection, data analysis procedures, and event types?

ABSTRACT The meetings, expositions, events, and conventions sector has gained recognition as an academic field by growth in higher education programs including courses, programs, and textbooks, as well as research. The purpose of the extant research is to review event, tourism, and hospitality journals from 2004 to 2016 to provide insight into the current state of research in terms of data collection and data analysis procedures. Results can assist researchers identify the type of journal to target for publication with consideration of the type of event, methods, and data analysis procedures.