Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preventable emergency admissions of older adults: an observational mixed-method study of rates, associative factors and underlying causes in two Dutch hospitals

Objective Older adults are hospitalised from the emergency department (ED) without potentially needing hospital care. Knowledge about rates, associative factors and causes of these preventable emergency admissions (PEAs) is limited. This study aimed to determine the rates, associative factors and causes for PEAs of older adults. Design A mixed-method observational study. Setting The EDs of two Dutch hospitals. Participants 492 patients aged >70 years and hospitalised from the ED. Measurements Quantitative data were retrospectively extracted from the electronical medical record over a 1-month period. Admissions were classified (non)preventable based on a standardised approach. Univariate and multivariate multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to identify possible associations between PEAs and demographic, clinical and care process factors. Qualitative data were prospectively collected by email and telephone interviews and analysed thematically to explore hospital physician’s perceived causes for the identified PEAs. Results Of the 492 included cases, 86 (17.5%) were classified as PEA. Patients with a higher age (adjusted OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.08; p=0.04), a low urgency classification (adjusted OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.15; p=0.01), and attending the ED in the weekend (adjusted OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.22 to 3.37; p<0.01) were associated with an increased likelihood of a PEA. 49 physicians were interviewed by telephone and email. Perceived causes for PEAs were related to patient’s attitudes (eg, postponement of medical care at home), provider’s attitudes (eg, deciding for admission after family pressure), health system deficiencies (eg, limited access to community services during out-of-hours and delayed access to inpatient diagnostic resources) and poor communication between primary care and hospital professionals about patient treatment preferences. Conclusions Our findings contribute to existing evidence that many emergency admissions of older adults are preventable, thereby indicating a possible source of unnecessary expensive, and potentially harmful, hospital care.
Réalisation et caractérisation d'un gyromètre à ondes de de Broglie

Un capteur inertiel a interferometrie atomique utilisant des atomes froids d'un atome alcalin, le cesium 133, est realise a l'observatoire de Paris. Il se compose de deux interferometres temporels a ondes de Broglie disposes tete-beche. Chacun d'eux permet de mesurer les accelerations et rotations du referentiel de laboratoire par rapport au referentiel inertiel des atomes. L'acceleration de Coriolis est calculee par soustraction des deux signaux obtenus. On utilise comme source un nuage d'atomes captures dans un piege magneto-optique. Lances en vol parabolique, la trajectoire classique des atomes est separee en deux chemins interferometriques distincts par action sur l'etat interne de l'atome couple a un changement de son impulsion. L'interferometre est de type ramsey-borde symetrique. La separation, la deviation et la recombinaison des fonctions d'onde coherentes sont assurees par trois transitions Raman a deux photons, entre les niveaux hyperfins du niveau fondamental du cesium, par un seul et unique faisceau module temporellement. Ce travail dresse un premier bilan metrologique de l'appareil. La mesure est intrinsequement limitee par le bruit blanc de projection quantique. Les bruits mecaniques de rotation et de temperature des atomes ont un niveau plus eleve. Un terme croise entre la non-superposition des trajectoires des deux faisceaux atomiques contra-propageants et les defauts de front d'ondes des faisceaux Raman degrade la stabilite du signal. Les bruits de phase des faisceaux Raman, meme s'ils sont identiques sur les deux interferometres et disparaissent par soustraction, doivent etre minimises. Il en va de meme des accelerations parasites. L'etude theorique de la diffraction suivant la loi des matrices A,B,C,D d'un paquet d'ondes de mode hermito-gaussien, et regie par l'equation de Schrodinger a hamiltonien quadratique en positon et impulsion, affine le calcul de l'effet Sagnac et du dephasage residuel du aux aberrations optiques.
Sciatica Presentations and Predictors of Poor Outcomes Following Surgical Decompression of Herniated Lumbar Discs: A Review Article

Pain associated with sciatica is one of the most common indications for surgery. The annual rate of discectomy has increased over recent years, with a significant number of patients reporting a poor outcome or symptom recurrence after surgery. This study aims to evaluate the predictors of poor outcome for patients undergoing lumbar discectomy for sciatica. A comprehensive search was conducted to find relevant literature published between 1985 and 2019. All literature with a clear methodology were included. Many factors that affect postoperative recovery after lumbar discectomy have been reported. Some evidence suggests that sociodemographic factors, including female gender, smoking, increased age, low socioeconomic status, and low education level may be associated with less favorable outcomes after surgery. Symptom duration does not appear to be associated with a significant difference in long-term outcomes; however, early surgery (within one year) may result in a faster postoperative recovery with better early results. Furthermore, patients who had discectomy for predominant leg pain had better outcomes compared to those who had the surgery for back pain as the main presentation. There was no evidence to suggest a correlation between the size of the herniated disc and long-term outcomes of sciatica; however, a higher anatomical level of herniation (L1-2, L2-3) was associated with poorer outcomes compared to the lower level of herniation (L3-4, L4-5). A few studies suggested slow postoperative recovery correlates with unemployment and depression. We recommend that the predictors of postoperative outcomes should be taken into consideration when selecting or counseling patients for lumbar disc decompression.
Dielectric and mechanical properties of polymers at macro and nanoscale

The idea was first to understand the physical theories that describe the dynamics of linear polymers at the macroscopic scale. Rouse and the reptational tube theory describe the large scale dynamics of unentangled and entangled polymers respectively. Using Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy (BDS) and rheology we have studied the different transition between these two regimes. Avoiding the segmental relaxation contribution and introducing a distribution in the molecular weight we have been able to perform a detailed comparison of the Rouse model with dielectric and rheological data. Effects of entanglement on dielectric spectra have been discussed. BDS and rheology are commonly used techniques to measure dielectric and mechanical properties but they do not have spatial resolution. Therefore the study of the local dynamics or heterogeneous system is always model dependant. We have developed EFM-based methods in order to study this local dynamics. Using the numerical simulation of the Equivalent Charge Method, the value of the static dielectric permittivity has been quantified from the measurement of the force gradient created by a Vdc potential between a tip and a grounded dielectric. This method allows a quantitative mapping of dielectric properties with a 40 nm spatial resolution and is therefore suitable for the study of nano-defined domains. The electrical phase shift in the 2 omega component of the force gradient created by Vac voltage is related with dielectric losses. We have developed a method to image the temperature-frequency dependence of the dielectric losses. These methods would allow the study of soft matter or biological phenomena at the local scale.
Patient Experiences with Colonoscopy: A Qualitative Study

Abstract Background Patient perspectives have important roles in improving the quality of colonoscopy services. The purpose of this qualitative study was to obtain the perspectives of patients who recently had undergone colonoscopy procedures, about their experiences with bowel preparation, the procedure itself, and communication of follow-up results and recommendations. Methods We recruited adults who had undergone a colonoscopy, to participate in semistructured interviews. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed using inductive qualitative methods. Results Twenty-four adults (58% female) with an average age of 53.8 years participated. Results were categorized within the themes of bowel preparation, the colonoscopy procedure and communication of the results. Participants appreciated having clear consistent plain language messages about bowel preparation. Some participants experienced additional challenges to understanding, and navigating, colonoscopy procedures. At the time of the procedure, positive and reassuring interactions with, and between, members of the health care team, in addition to management of physical pain and discomfort, were important. Participants wanted clear and timely information about the results of their test. Conclusions Understanding patients’ needs for information and support can promote higher quality colonoscopy services. Our findings suggest that quality indicators should include: patients’ perspectives of the clarity of bowel instructions; the need for supports that are not routinely provided; the extent to which concerns about the procedure are addressed; interactions with the endoscopy team; the endoscopy team’s interactions with each other; comfort during the procedure, and the timeliness and clarity of results and follow-up instructions. These indicators should be included in annual patient surveys.
Prevalence of Premenstrual Syndrome Levels and Its Management Among Female Students of Medical and Non-Medical Colleges in Riyadh

Objective The purpose of this study is to measure the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), its management, and its possible association with depression, anxiety, and stress among female medical and non-medical students. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at King Khalid University Hospital and King Saud University Female Campus. A self-administered questionnaire following the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) criteria was used to measure levels of PMS. It also included the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. The inclusion criteria were: females of reproductive age who had menstrual cycles for two consecutive months. Meanwhile, the exclusion criteria included gynecological or psychological problems, pregnancy, and the use of oral contraceptive pills. Of the 513 responses, 414 met the above criteria and were used in the study. An analysis was done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version. 21.0, IBM Armonk, NY). To compare the mean values of quantitative variables, the student’s t-test for independent samples was used. Accordingly, Pearson’s correlation quantified the linear relationship between the two quantitative variables. Results The majority of female students have a moderate level of PMS, and only 8% have severe PMS. Notably, 8.9% of the students have moderate anxiety while 1.7% and 0.7% have severe and extremely severe anxiety, respectively. Moreover, 11.8% and 3.4% of the students have moderate depression and stress, respectively, whereas 1.7% have severe depression. The results show a positive correlation between PMS and anxiety, depression, and stress. Depression and stress scores vary significantly between medical and non-medical students. Conclusion Premenstrual syndrome is a prevalent issue among females, and it can negatively affect their health. There is a need to study PMS thoroughly to optimize and guide its management for further improving women’s health.
Speciation and fractionation of heavy metals in soil experimentally contaminated with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn together and effects on soil negative surface charge

Speciation and fractionation of heavy metals in soil subsamples experimentally loaded with Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in orthogonal design was investigated by sequential extraction, and operationally defined as water-soluble and exchangeable(SE), weakly specific adsorbed( WSA),Fe and Mn oxides-bound(OX) and organic-bound( ORG). The results showed that fractions of heavy metals in the soil subsamples depended on their speciation. About 90% of Cd and 75% of Zn existed in soil subsamples in the SE fraction. Lead and Cu existed in soil subsamples as SE, WSA and OX fractions simultaneously, although SE was still the major fraction. Organic-bound heavy metals were not clearly apparent in all the soil subsamples. The concentration of some heavy metal fractions in soil subsamples showed the good correlation with ionic impulsion of soil, especially for the SE fraction. Continuous saturation of soil subsamples with 0.20 mol/L NH4CI, which is the first step for determination of the negative surface charge of soil by the ion retention method, resulted in desorption of certain heavy metals from the soil. It was found that the percentage desorption of heavy metals from soil subsamples depended greatly on pH, the composition and original heavy metal content of the soil subsamples. However, most of the heavy metals in the soil subsamples were still be retained after multiple saturation. Compared with the parent soil, the negative surface charge of soil subsamples loaded with heavy metals did not show difference significantly from that of the parent one by statistical analysis. Heavy metals existed in the soil subsamples mainly as exchangeable and precipitated simultaneously.
Invasive potential of C3-C4 intermediate Parthenium hysterophorus under elevated CO2

An experiment was conducted in open top chambers (OTCs) to study the growth, water-use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ 13 C) in Parthenium hysterophorus in response to elevated CO 2 . Parthenium plants were grown in OTCs maintained at ambient (370±20 ppm) and elevated (550±30) CO 2 levels as well as under open field conditions. Water-use efficiency (WUE) was determined by gravimetric method. The carbon isotope discrimination (Δ 13 C) was determined by Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS). The CO 2 enrichment enhanced both the above and below ground biomass in Parthenium. Water-use efficiency (WUE) and Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ 13 C) were higher in plants grown under elevated CO 2 compared to plants under ambient CO 2 conditions. The growth stimulation and increased water-use efficiency in Parthenium indicates that this weed could become more aggressive in future if the atmospheric CO 2 continue to rise coupled with the rise in temperature.
ETUDE DES REMANIEMENTS LIPIDIQUES DES CELLULES VEGETALES EN CARENCE DE PHOSPHATE

Dans de nombreux sols, le phosphate est un element limitant pour la croissance des plantes. Au niveau cellulaire, la carence de phosphate induit une diminution de la teneur en phospholipides, permettant la mobilisation du phosphate contenu dans ces molecules. Cette baisse est compensee par une augmentation de la teneur en glycolipides plastidiaux non phosphores tels que le digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG). Nous avons montre qu'au cours de la carence de phosphate, une partie des phospholipides est reconvertie en phosphatidylcholine (PC), produisant, au temps court de carence, une accumulation transitoire de PC dans les cellules. La PC est ensuite hydrolysee en diacylglycerol (DAG) qui s'accumule en carence de phosphate et nourrit la synthese du DGDG. Nos resultats suggerent un transfert direct du DAG a partir des membranes non plastidiales vers l'enveloppe des plastes, lieu de synthese du DGDG. Le DGDG est ensuite exporte dans des membranes extraplastidiales. Nous avons mis en evidence la presence de DGDG dans les mitochondries et son transfert des plastes vers les mitochondries a partir de contacts entre des domaines specialises de l'enveloppe des plastes et des mitochondries. Enfin, pour identifier des proteines impliquees dans ces mecanismes de remaniement des lipides, nous avons collabore a une analyse transcriptomique du genome d'Arabidopsis thaliana en carence de phosphate. Nous avons notamment selectionne une phospholipase D, PLDzeta2, qui semble impliquee dans le controle de la teneur intracellulaire en phosphate inorganique et dans l'hydrolyse de la PC pour l'approvisionnement en DAG de la synthese des galactolipides.
Oscillatory dynamics in the dilemma of social distancing

Social distancing as one of the main non-pharmaceutical interventions can help slow down the spread of diseases, like in the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective social distancing, unless enforced as drastic lockdowns and mandatory cordon sanitaire, requires consistent strict collective adherence. However, it remains unknown what the determinants for the resultant compliance of social distancing and their impact on disease mitigation are. Here, we incorporate into the epidemiological process with an evolutionary game theory model that governs the evolution of social distancing behaviour. In our model, we assume an individual acts in their best interest and their decisions are driven by adaptive social learning of the real-time risk of infection in comparison with the cost of social distancing. We find interesting oscillatory dynamics of social distancing accompanied with waves of infection. Moreover, the oscillatory dynamics are dampened with a non-trivial dependence on model parameters governing decision-makings and gradually cease when the cumulative infections exceed the herd immunity. Compared to the scenario without social distancing, we quantify the degree to which social distancing mitigates the epidemic and its dependence on individuals’ responsiveness and rationality in their behaviour changes. Our work offers new insights into leveraging human behaviour in support of pandemic response.
Nurses' burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical and mental health of the nurses is greatly challenged since they work under unprecedented pressure and they are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of the disease. Aim: To examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses' burnout and to identify associated risk factors. Methods: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines for this systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and pre-print services (medRxiv and PsyArXiv) were searched from January 1, 2020 to November 15, 2020 and we removed duplicates. We applied a random effect model to estimate pooled effects since the heterogeneity between results was very high. Findings: Fourteen studies, including 17,390 nurses met the inclusion criteria. Five standardized and valid questionnaires were used to measure burnout among nurses; Maslach Burnout Inventory, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Professional Quality of Life Scale version 5, Mini-Z, and Spanish Burnout Inventory. The overall prevalence of emotional exhaustion was 34.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 22.5-46.6%), of depersonalization was 12.6% (95% CI: 6.9-19.7%), and of lack of personal accomplishment was 15.2% (95% CI: 1.4-39.8%). The following factors were associated with increased nurses' burnout: younger age, higher educational level, higher degree, decreased social support, having a relative/friend diagnosed with COVID-19, low family and colleagues readiness to cope with COVID-19 outbreak, increased perceived threat of Covid-19, longer working time in quarantine areas, working in a high-risk environment (a COVID-19 designated hospital, a COVID-19 unit, etc.), working in hospitals with inadequate and insufficient material and human resources, decreased working safety while caring for COVID-19 patients, increased workload, decreased self-confidence in self-protection, and lower levels of specialized training regarding COVID-19, job experience, and self-confidence in caring for COVID-19. Conclusion: Nurses experience high levels of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, while several sociodemographic, social, and occupational factors affect this burnout. Several interventions need to be implemented to mitigate mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses, e.g. screening for mental health illness and early supportive interventions for high-risk nurses, immediate access to mental health care services, social support to reduce feelings of isolation, sufficient personal protective equipment for all nurses to provide security, etc. Governments, health care organizations, and policy makers should act in this direction to prepare health care systems, individuals, and nurses for a better response against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Understanding and exploiting interactions between cellular proteostasis pathways and infectious prion proteins for therapeutic benefit

Several neurodegenerative diseases of humans and animals are caused by the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc), a self-propagating protein infectious agent that aggregates into oligomeric, fibrillar structures and leads to cell death by incompletely understood mechanisms. Work in multiple biological model systems, from simple baker's yeast to transgenic mouse lines, as well as in vitro studies, has illuminated molecular and cellular modifiers of prion disease. In this review, we focus on intersections between PrP and the proteostasis network, including unfolded protein stress response pathways and roles played by the powerful regulators of protein folding known as protein chaperones. We close with analysis of promising therapeutic avenues for treatment enabled by these studies.
Environmental sustainability of biofuels: a review

Biofuels are being promoted as a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels as they could help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the related climate change impact from transport. However, there are also concerns that their wider deployment could lead to unintended environmental consequences. Numerous life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have considered the climate change and other environmental impacts of biofuels. However, their findings are often conflicting, with a wide variation in the estimates. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review and analyse the latest available evidence to provide a greater clarity and understanding of the environmental impacts of different liquid biofuels. It is evident from the review that the outcomes of LCA studies are highly situational and dependent on many factors, including the type of feedstock, production routes, data variations and methodological choices. Despite this, the existing evidence suggests that, if no land-use change (LUC) is involved, first-generation biofuels can—on average—have lower GHG emissions than fossil fuels, but the reductions for most feedstocks are insufficient to meet the GHG savings required by the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). However, second-generation biofuels have, in general, a greater potential to reduce the emissions, provided there is no LUC. Third-generation biofuels do not represent a feasible option at present state of development as their GHG emissions are higher than those from fossil fuels. As also discussed in the paper, several studies show that reductions in GHG emissions from biofuels are achieved at the expense of other impacts, such as acidification, eutrophication, water footprint and biodiversity loss. The paper also investigates the key methodological aspects and sources of uncertainty in the LCA of biofuels and provides recommendations to address these issues.