Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Have Echocardiograms Affected Recommended Therapy in Geriatric Trauma Patients?

Goal: Geriatric trauma patients tend to have worse outcomes than their younger counterparts. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends preoperative cardiac clearance to stratify patients according to perioperative cardiac risk. The utility of this in the trauma setting remains unclear. We sought to identify the role of preoperative echocardiograms (echo) in geriatric trauma patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of geriatric trauma patients who required operative intervention over a 1-year period. Patients with echocardiograms performed were compared with those who did not. Results: Three-hundred thirty geriatric trauma patients required an operation. A preoperative echo was performed in 25% (82/330). Abnormalities on echocardiogram were identified in 13% (11/82) of patients. One patient had a change in management based on the echo. None of the patients who died in the perioperative period had a management alteration as a result of the echo. Echo patients had a longer LOS and to operative intervention (P < .006). Conclusion: Echocardiograms had an exceeding low rate of management change in the acutely injured geriatric trauma patient. Further studies to evaluate the need for echocardiogram in this population are warranted.
Accommodative error, adaptation and myopia

Accommodative adaptation, resulting from the sustained output of slow blur‐driven accommodation during the course of a sustained near‐vision task, has generally been assessed under open‐loop conditions. This study examined whether adaptation influences closed‐loop accommodation during the course of a sustained near‐vision task. Accommodative adaptation was assessed in 18 fully‐corrected subjects by comparing pre‐ and post‐task values of dark accommodation recorded objectively with an infra‐red optometer. Subjects performed a continuous 10 min binocular near‐vision task at a viewing distance of 33 cm, with the within‐task accommodative response being assessed at 1 min intervals during this period. Subjects were categorized into adaptors (N=11) and non‐adaptors (N=7) on the basis of whether their initial 10 sec post‐task adaptation exceeded +0.30D. The adapting group exhibited a significant decline in the lag of accommodation during the first 3 min of the near‐task, whereas no significant change in the within‐task response over time was observed in the non‐adapting group. These results indicate that accommodative adaptation increases the accuracy of the within‐task, closed‐loop accommodative response. Furthermore, we speculate that a deficit in accommodative adaptation, being accompanied by increased retinal defocus during near fixation, may contribute to the development of nearwork‐induced myopia.
Transcending from Virtual Reality into Tele-Immersive Technologies and Applications: A Perspective

The goal of this paper is to investigate the basic principles of a tele-immersive system, its main components, development history, demonstrations and potential uses as one of today's most challenging technologies which takes all our knowledge of virtual reality, networks, haptics etc to the limits and beyond. Ultimately the paper presents a future research and development roadmap for this technology. Tele-immersion involves combining teleconferencing, tele-presence and virtual reality to allow individuals to manipulate a shared environment, converse, interact and even see each other. But the ultimate objective of tele-immersion is not solely to reproduce a real face-to-face meeting in detail, but also to provide the interface for collaborators, world-wide, to work together in a shared virtual environment, even though they may be miles apart physically. Tele-immersion stands at the crossroad of researches related to virtual reality and networking, computer visualization and user interfaces and can be said to unify all of these research areas.
Approach to establish carbon emission benchmarking for construction materials

Abstract The construction industry will play a crucial rule in global carbon emission reduction as the embodied carbon of construction materials shares an increasing portion of a building’s life-cycle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In order to reduce CO2 emissions by selecting low-carbon construction materials, it is inevitable that a proper benchmarking mechanism and severity representation of different emission levels should be established, as benchmarking is a useful tool for pursuing consumer purchasing habits toward selection of low-carbon materials. In addition, high variation of carbon emissions is observed among the large number of studies and databases, and there is no consensus on how these should be used in practice. Therefore, standardization and benchmarking of emissions for construction materials are essential. In this study, a novel benchmarking approach was developed for embodied carbon emissions of commonly used construction materials by applying a fuzzy set theory. Given that a reliable local database is lacking, the benchmark was developed by referring to the existing carbon inventories, linguistic variables of severity levels from a questionnaire survey, and the fuzzy set analysis. A six-step method was proposed based on a horizontal and graphical approach. This study offers an alternative approach in benchmarking where a database or a set of real data is not available. It is expected that the developed benchmarks will help practitioners and decision-makers compare the embodied CO2 emissions of a specific batch of construction materials and select low-carbon materials in construction projects.
Creating m-learning opportunities to facilitate collaborative learning: A mobile SMS based Twitter implementation

Mobile learning opens up for collaboration and sharing of contents. This study discusses the outcome of a mobile SMS based Twitter implementation to facilitate collaborative learning among a group of young farmers. The mobile learning approach (mLA) was developed in collaboration with the study community using a design based research process for a period of two years. The objectives of the study were to analyse the learning process based on constructivism learning theories, study the learner interactions in the mLA, the impact of mLA, and the potential uses of the mLA in collaborative learning. Data were collected using questionnaires, follow up discussions and through logged data in the devices. The data were analysed using descriptive methods, qualitative data analysis methods, and network analysis methods respectively. The mLA assisted learners to construct knowledge, and obtain useful feedback to reinforce learning through the interaction within mobile learning environment. The participants were satisfied with the mobile learning experience however there were some drawbacks needed to be addressed in the future. Since participants didn't have adequate previous experience, they faced some technical difficulties in receiving tweets in the mobile phones. Difficulty in moving for higher order learning skills and limited opportunities for collaborations due to SMS based platform and interface were the other drawbacks. Learners needed more technical support and assistance together with better interface to promote collaborative learning opportunities in the future.
Use of Transgenic Mice in Carcinogenicity Hazard Assessment

Determining the carcinogenic potential of materials to which humans have significant exposure is an important, complex and imperfect exercise. Not only are the methods for such determinations protracted, expensive and utilize large numbers of animals, extrapolation of data from such studies to human risk is imprecise. Toxicologists have long recognized these shortcomings but the 2-year chronic rodent study has remained the gold standard. Recent developments in the field of molecular oncology and development of methods to insert or inactivate specific genes in animals have provided the tools with which to develop the next generation of carcinogenicity assays. With improved understanding of oncogene activation and tumor suppressor gene inactivation a number of animal models have been developed to dramatically reduce latency for chemically induced cancers. This has led to the development of shorter carcinogenicity assays. Also, because the spontaneous tumor frequencies in these animals are low during the in-life portion of the study, and studies are terminated well before the health complications of advanced aging are observed, it has been possible to reduce the group sizes and reduce animal usage. FDA's adoption of ICH S1B in 1997, (ICH, 1997) “Testing for the Carcinogenicity of Pharmaceuticals,” opened the door for the use of such transgenic models in regulatory toxicology. This presentation reviews the current state of the science and its application to regulatory issues.
Chile’s Fight against Obesity

The greatest and worst consequence of these two factors is mortality, with no shadow of doubt. Although mortality in the population, who is unintentionally gaining weight is stable, for various reasons, be it greater access to health services or be it by changing behavior, mainly not lifestyle, are making the “healthy obese”, we should not stop fighting for this cause, we should, unite powers, that is, unite the areas, or the experts in the corresponding areas, such “multidisciplinary” teams that work in the areas according to the socio-ecological model [2-4].
Molecular forms of NGF in human and rat neuropathic tissues: decreased NGF precursor‐like immunoreactivity in human diabetic skin

Abstract Precursors of NGF have been shown to be the predominant forms of this neurotrophin in human brain and peripheral tissues, and proNGF has been shown recently to preferentially bind p75NTR with high affinity. In our studies of human and rat skin and nerve extracts, a 53 kDa band was detected by Western blot using antibodies against rhNGF or prepro‐NGF (−91 to −60), that could correspond to a previously described modified prepro‐NGF‐like molecule. The relative optical intensity of the 53‐kDa bands was markedly reduced in skin extracts from patients with subclinical diabetic neuropathy (diabetic: 1.5, 1.0–8.0, n = 6; controls: 52.0, 23.0–85.0, n = 6, p = 0.0022) but was increased in extracts of inflamed colon from patients with Crohn's disease (inflamed: median 12.0, range 0.1–12.0, n = 11: controls: 0.1, 0.1–3.0, n = 8, p = 0.0055). Antibodies to both rhNGF and prepro‐NGF immunostained basal keratinocytes in tissue sections of normal human and rat skin showed accumulation of immunoreactivity in nerve fibers distal to sciatic nerve ligation in rats. Prepro‐NGF antibody immunostained rat large/medium sensory neurons, whereas only small sensory neurons were stained with antibodies to mature rhNGF, suggesting that prepro‐NGF may be preferentially taken up and transported by p75NTR. The different molecular forms derived from prepro‐NGF are likely to be of importance in sensory mechanisms, and deserve further investigation.
Motivationale Aspekte bei Supported Employment

5 1 EINFÜHRUNG: EINORDNUNG DIESER DISSERTATION 6 2 THEORETISCHER HINTERGRUND UND FRAGESTELLUNG 6 2.1 Supported Employment 6 2.2 Motivationspsychologie 7 2.2.1 Motive 8 2.2.2 Motivation 10 2.2.2.1 Anschlussmotivation 10 2.2.2.2 Leistungsmotivation 11 2.2.2.3 Machtmotivation 11 2.2.2.4 Motivationsmodelle 11 2.2.3 Volition 16 2.3 Fragestellung 17
A data-driven approach to guest experiences and satisfaction in sharing

ABSTRACT Accommodation sharing provides unique experiences for tourists. This study collects 33,892 guest reviews of Airbnb. A text analytic approach to deconstruct the nature of sharing experiences is explored. The data-driven approach extracts the following dimensions contributing to the core experiences of sharing, namely, housing, location, host-guest interaction, facility, overall sensation and others. A regression analysis further demonstrates a strong association between attributes of sharing experiences and guest satisfaction. Factors such as room facilities and home experience convey different semantic space and significantly affect guest satisfaction. They serve as hygiene factor and motivator, respectively, confirming the two-factor theory.
Generic 2-D gaussian smoothing filter for noisy image processing

This work presents a generic two-dimensional (2-D) Gaussian smoothing filter for noise image processing. The filter includes the power-of-two approximation arithmetic algorithm for the Gaussian coefficients and effective hardware design. We hope the proposed generic Gaussian smoothing filter is able to provide various levels of noise smoothing and reduction, which are highly desired in early stages of the image processing flow. By using the power-of-two terms, the generic 2-D Gaussian filter can be implemented by using simple hardware shifters and adders. An embedded multi-access SRAM concept is also adopted to raise the hardware throughput. The synthesized hardware of such combination exhibits that the proposed filter can attain a real-time high frame-rate and high-resolution video processing.
Fabrication and in vitro evaluation of stable collagen/hyaluronic acid biomimetic multilayer on titanium coatings

Layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly technique has been proved to be a highly effective method to immobilize the main components of the extracellular matrix such as collagen and hyaluronic acid on titanium-based implants and form a polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) film by electrostatic interaction. However, the formed PEM film is unstable in the physiological environment and affects the long-time effectiveness of PEM film. In this study, a modified LBL technology has been developed to fabricate a stable collagen/hyaluronic acid (Col/HA) PEM film on titanium coating (TC) by introducing covalent immobilization. Scanning electron microscopy, diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the PEM film. Results of Sirius red staining demonstrated that the chemical stability of PEM film was greatly improved by covalent cross-linking. Cell culture assays further illustrated that the functions of human mesenchymal stem cells, such as attachment, spreading, proliferation and differentiation, were obviously enhanced by the covalently immobilized Col/HA PEM on TCs compared with the absorbed Col/HA PEM. The improved stability and biological properties of the Col/HA PEM covalently immobilized TC may be beneficial to the early osseointegration of the implants.
Causality Analysis of Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Indonesia

This study aims to investigate the relationship between PPI inflation and CPI inflation in Indonesia both in general and for each group of commodity, and to identify whether PPI inflation can be a leading indicator for CPI inflation or vice versa. This study employs Granger causality based on VAR model for monthly data series from January 2010 until August 2016. The results show that there are unidirectional relationship between PPI inflation and CPI inflation generally, bidirectional relationship from PPI inflation to CPI inflation for foodstuffs group, unidirectional from CPI inflation to PPI inflation for clothing group, and no causality between PPI inflation and CPI inflation for processed food, beverage, cigarette, and tobacco group.Keywords: Granger causality, producer price index, consumer price index, VAR JEL classification: E31, C22
Nurse Engagement and Contributions to the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Initiative

CTSAs are mandated to follow a multidisciplinary model. Requests for applications direct responsive applications to “integrate clinical and translational science across multiple departments, schools,” listing disciplines in addition to medicine such as engineering, nursing, and public health. This inventory of nurse engagement in CTSAs describes the extent of nursing's CTSA engagement from the perspective of participating nurse scientists within individual CTSAs, including institutional/national contributions and best practices that foster a multidisciplinary model. Of the 50 CTSAs affiliated with a nursing school, 44 responded (88% response rate). Of the ten CTSAs not affiliated with a nursing school, four responded (40% response rate). Overall funding success rates of nurse applicants are: TL1 fellowships 81%, KL2 fellowships 54%, and nurse‐led pilots 58%. At most CTSAs nursing is contributing to the accomplishment of the CTSA mandate. The strongest categories of contribution are community engagement, implementation science, and training. Best practices to enhance multidisciplinary collaboration are: (1) inclusion of multiple disciplines on key committees who meet regularly to guide individual core and overall CTSA strategic planning and implementation; (2) required multidisciplinary co‐mentors (ideally from different schools within the CTSA) on training grants and as co‐investigators on pilot projects; and (3) documentation of multidisciplinary activity in annual reports.
Drug Extrusion, 125I− Efflux and the Control of Intracellular [Ca2+] in Drug‐Resistant Ovarian Epithelial Cells

Experiments were undertaken using an ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line (A2780) and a drug‐resistant strain (A2780.ad) derived from this line. P‐glycoprotein could not be detected in A2780 cells but was essentially ubiquitous in A2780.ad cells, although removing the selective pressure for drug resistance led to reduced expression. However, the amount of P‐glycoprotein present was used to predict the capacity of these cells to extrude rhodamine‐123 (R‐123) and their resistance to adriamycin, a cytotoxic drug. This accords with the role of P‐glycoprotein as a drug pump. Although hypotonic solutions increased anion efflux from A2780 and A2780.ad cells, larger responses occurred in the parental line. Moreover, R‐123 extrusion and anion efflux appeared to be mutually independent processes and so these data do not support the view that P‐glycoprotein is involved in the control of volume‐sensitive anion channels. Hypotonic solutions increased intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i) in drug‐resistant cells but not in the parental line, and so establishing a drug‐resistant strain may affect the control of [Ca2+]i during osmotic swelling. This could account for effects that were previously attributed to P‐glycoprotein.
Safety of long-acting beta agonists and inhaled corticosteroids in children and adolescents with asthma

The introduction of long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) was considered a major advance in bronchodilator therapy for adult, as well as pediatric, patients with asthma. However, the use of LABAs has raised safety concerns, especially the potential for severe asthma exacerbations (SAEs) resulting in hospitalizations or even death. Meanwhile, the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs), a cornerstone in the treatment of mild-to-severe persistent asthma, has been associated with growth suppression in children. The purpose of this review was to identify and discuss the major published safety studies surrounding LABA, ICS, and combined LABA/ICS usage in children. By way of a critical search for influential published clinical trials, meta-analyses, and observational studies, six studies relevant to the safety of LABA monotherapy, seven studies relevant to ICS monotherapy, and four studies on the subject of LABA/ICS combination usage were identified and reviewed. Based on the reviewed literature, the controversy surrounding these anti-asthma medications was clearly exposed. On the one hand, there is some evidence that LABA monotherapy may be associated with SAEs and asthma-related death, while ICS monotherapy may be associated with a higher risk of growth suppression. On the other hand, the concurrent use of a LABA with an ICS has been associated with positive outcomes including symptom reduction and reduced rate and severity of exacerbations. Further clinical research is warranted and has been called for by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Innate immunity in Drosophila: Pathogens and pathways

Following in the footsteps of traditional developmental genetics, research over the last 15 years has shown that innate immunity against bacteria and fungi is governed largely by two NF‐κB signal transduction pathways, Toll and IMD. Antiviral immunity appears to stem from RNA interference, whereas resistance against parasitoids is conferred by Toll signaling. The identification of these post‐transcriptional regulatory mechanisms and the annotation of most Drosophila immunity genes have derived from functional genomic studies using “model” pathogens, intact animals and cell lines. The D. melanogaster host has thus provided the core information that can be used to study responses to natural microbial and metazoan pathogens as they become identified, as well as to test ideas of selection and evolutionary change. These analyses are of general importance to understanding mechanisms of other insect host‐pathogen interactions and determinants of variation in host resistance.
Relationships between socioeconomic backgrounds, caries associated microflora and caries experience in 12-year-olds in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2004.

AIM To present the prevalence of dental caries in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), to estimate the levels of salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli and compare them with caries prevalence in 12-years-old children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS A survey was carried out in 8 cantons of the Federation of BH (FBH) and in Republic Srpska (RS) in 2004. The final sample included 560 12-year-olds. The clinical examinations focused on dental status, expressed as DMFT index, and they were carried out by one examiner, following WHO standard methodologies. Additionally, the study involved 109 12-years old children from Sarajevo, divided in three groups, based on their socioeconomic background. For measuring lactobacillus and mutans streptococci (MS) count in saliva Dentocult LB and Dentocult SM-Strip Mutans were used. Levels of MS and lactobacilli were expressed as a score between 0 and 3, indicating very low to very high levels of SM and lactobacilli. RESULTS The average DMFT of the 12-year-olds was 4.16+/-2.92. On average, 91% of the 12-year-olds were affected with dental caries. The SiC Index was 7.41+/-3.31. Investigating the relationship between caries associated microflora and caries experience in children of different socioeconomic status showed the following: significant difference in caries prevalence was found in children with different living conditions, where children with high socioeconomic status had better oral health compared to the other two groups. For mutans streptococci, 25.7% of the children had mutans class 0, 24.8% class 1, 34.9% class 2 and 14.6% class 3. The mean DMFT for mutans class 0 was 3.50, for class 1 was 4.30, for class 2 was 5.62 and for class 3 was 6.0. For lactobacilli, 38.5% of the children had lactobacilli class 0, 25.7% class 1, 23.9% class 2 and 11.9% class 3. The mean DMFT for lactobacilli class 0 was 4.3, for class 1 was 4.9, for class 2 was 4.8 and for class 3 was 6.0. No significant differences in the level of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli were found between the groups. CONCLUSION There is moderate caries prevalence among BH 12-year-olds (DMFT 4.16+/-2.92). Caries experience varies between children with different living condition but no relation between levels of salivary mutans streptococci and lactobacilli and socioeconomic status of children could be found.