Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Principais aspectos da valoração ambiental aplicada à gestão do desenvolvimento regional

Atualmente, tem se tornado premente a formulação de modelos organizacionais que possibilitem incorporar a variável ambiental na estrutura organizacional das instituições públicas e privadas. Esforços do ponto de vista teórico, os quais têm sido traduzidos em práticas organizacionais, têm surgido, de modo a minimizar os custos e maximizar os resultados para as organizações. Deste modo, a incorporação da variável ambiental nos organogramas das instituições tem permitido também demonstrar para a sociedade o quanto as organizações se preocupam com o meio ambiente.
Barriers to routine risk-score use for healthy primary care patients: survey and qualitative study.

BACKGROUND Risk scores for the primary prevention of chronic diseases in healthy adults are frequently recommended but often underused by general practitioners (GPs). The objectives of this study were to assess the use of and attitudes regarding the use of risk scores among GPs and to identify possible barriers to use. METHODS Between November 7, 2007, and April 4, 2008, 68 GPs in Berlin, Germany, participated in the survey, and 24 were additionally invited to participate in focus groups. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and qualitative data were analyzed according to grounded theory. RESULTS Survey data of 42 GPs indicated that physicians regularly perform risk assessments for healthy patients, although most did not use risk scores. The usefulness of risk scores was rated largely positive. Focus groups revealed some confusion about the definition of risk scores and that participants resisted general use. Barriers to risk-score use were lack of lifestyle recommendations, regulatory constraints, the patient's role, and lack of accuracy. Suggestions for improvement included computerized risk prediction for multiple diseases simultaneously, better computer-generated visual presentation, and the integration of lifestyle recommendations. CONCLUSIONS The GPs perceive the routine use of risk scores as infeasible because of regulatory constraints and the nature of the physician-patient relationship. These factors need to be considered to increase risk-score use. Training of physicians could also help somewhat to overcome underuse. Use of computerized approaches that enable the prediction of risks for several chronic diseases simultaneously and improved computer-generated visual presentation may increase acceptance. Risk profiles should further be related to recommendations for health-behavior modification.
CCK1 and 2 receptors are expressed in immortalized rat brain neuroblasts: Intracellular signals after cholecystokinin stimulation

Cholecystokinin (CCK) is one of the most abundant neuropeptides in the central nervous system (CNS) where it promotes important functions by activation of receptors CCK1 and CCK2. Our aim was to investigate CCK receptors expression and their downstream intracellular signaling in immortalized rat brain neuroblasts. Results show that CCK1 and CCK2 receptor mRNAs and CCK2 receptor protein are expressed in neuroblasts. CCK incubation of neuroblasts leads to stimulation in a time‐dependent manner of several signaling pathways, such as tyrosine phosphorylation of adaptor proteins paxillin and p130Cas, phosphorylation of p44/p42 ERKs as well as PKB (Ser473). Moreover, CCK‐8 stimulates the DNA‐binding activity of the transcription factor AP‐1. The CCK2 receptor agonist gastrin stimulates ERK1/2 phosphorylation in a comparable degree as CCK does. ERK1/2 phosphorylation activated by CCK‐8 was markedly inhibited by the CCK2 receptor antagonist CR2945. Incubation for 48 h with CCK‐8 increases neuroblasts viability in a similar degree as EGF. In summary, our data clearly identify CCK1 and CCK2 receptor mRNAs and CCK2 receptor protein in brain neuroblasts and show that incubation with CCK promotes cell proliferation and activates the phosphorylation of survival transduction pathways. Stimulation of ERK1/2 phosphorylation by CCK is mainly mediated by the CCK2 receptor. Moreover, this work might provide a novel model of proliferating neuronal cells to further study the biochemical mechanisms by which the neuropeptide CCK exerts its actions in the CNS. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 851–864, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Adapting the Iconic Pain Assessment Tool Version 2 (IPAT2) for Adults and Adolescents With Arthritis Pain Through Usability Testing and Refinement of Pain Quality Icons

Objectives:To evaluate usability and pain iconography of the Iconic Pain Assessment Tool Version 2 (IPAT2), a self-report instrument that combines word descriptors and representative images (icons) to assess pain quality, intensity, and location, among adults and adolescents with arthritis. Methods:Adults with inflammatory arthritis and adolescents with juvenile idiopathic arthritis partook in a single, semistructured, audio-recorded interview to evaluate: (1) the concreteness (object representativeness) and semantic distance (pain representativeness) of the IPAT2 iconography; (2) participants’ current pain; and (3) perceptions and likes/dislikes of the IPAT2. Quantitative data were summarized descriptively and a line-by-line coding analysis identified key concepts from interview transcripts. The criterion for icon acceptability was mean and median ratings ≥5.0 for concreteness, semantic distance, and satisfaction for describing arthritis pain. Results:The sample was comprised of 15 adults (87% female, mean 57 y) and 15 adolescents (67% female, mean age 15 y). The IPAT2 was reported to be easy to use and understand, well liked, quick to complete, and perceived as potentially valuable for communicating arthritis pain to health care providers. The median time needed to complete a single pain record, after 5-minute demonstration, was 2.3 minutes and 1.4 minutes for the adults and adolescents, respectively. All pain quality icons met or exceeded the criterion for acceptability. Discussion:All a priori objectives for the IPAT2 were achieved in this sample of rheumatology outpatients. With its unique blend of pain quality descriptors and representative images, the IPAT2 may importantly aid the assessment of pain in adults and adolescents with arthritis.
Influence of Urea Fertilization on Tropane Alkaloids Content of Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger L.) under Hydroponic Culture Conditions

Black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants belongs to solanaceae family which is a rich source of bioactive compounds such as tropane alkaloids, hyoscyamine and scopolamine. These compounds are widely used for scopolamine hydrobromide and hyoscyamine sulfate tablets production as anticholinergic, antispasmodic and sedative agents. The objective of present study was to investigate the effects of various concentrations of urea fertilizer (0, 16.6, 33.3 and 50 mg/l) on black henbane roots and leaves dry weight and their alkaloids content under hydroponic culture. The results indicated that the dry weight of total foliage of henbane increased with increasing the amount of nitrogen fertilization from 0 to 33.3 mg N/l, but decreased at 50 mg N/l. However, the highest root dry weight was recorded at the lowest nitrogen level. Results also showed that the maximum content of hyoscyamine and scopolamine in root and leaf were observed in 50 mg N/l, while the lowest content of both alkaloids were found in control plants. The results provided important information of nitrogen effects on alkaloids content of henbane plant for commercial production.
Living with Coeliac Disease: Controlled Study of the Burden of Illness

Background: Coeliac patients improve vastly when started on a gluten-free diet. After 10 years, however, women show a lower level of subjective health than men do. We investigated whether this could be explained by differences in the perceived disease burden. Methods : We studied 68 coeliac patients (34 women) (mean age 57 years, range 32-75) and matched type-2 diabetes controls treated for a mean of 10 years. They were examined by a 9-item Burden of Illness (BI) protocol comprising perceived worries, restrictions and subjective outcome. The subjective health was assessed with the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Results : The importance of complying with the diet was ranked similarly high by male and female coeliac patients. However, women were less satisfied with the outcome at 10 years than men were, and expressed more concern about the impact on socializing with friends and having to abstain from important things in life. None of these aspects distinguished male and female diabetic patients. Coeliac women showed a higher BI sum score than men did, and this was inversely related to their SF-36 General health, Vitality and Mental Health scores. Conclusions : Coeliac women adhering to the treatment regimen for several years perceive the disease burden to be worse than men do. In the light of similar differences in their quality of life, inquiry is warranted into the way coeliac men and women are coping with the disorder.
Pregnancy outcome after electrosurgical cervical cone biopsy using Fischer cone biopsy excisor

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the pregnancy outcomes of all patients who underwent electrosurgical cone biopsy of the cervix between January 2000 and December 2011 and subsequently became pregnant. Study design: Retrospective cohort study. Settings: District General Hospital in the North East of England. Methods: Patients were identified from the local colposcopy electronic data, Hospital Episode Statistics and Maternity electronic data. Data were collected on a pro forma with two sections: (1) treatment section and (2) pregnancy section. In the treatment section, year and indication for treatment, volume of cervix removed, histological results and marginal status of specimen were documented. In the pregnancy section, time interval between treatment and pregnancy, pre-treatment obstetric history, cervical length measurements, cervical suture, gestation and mode of delivery and neonatal outcome were documented. Data were analysed using SPSS. Results: 25 women achieved 47 pregnancies after electrosurgical cone biopsy treatment. Most common indication for cone biopsy was glandular neoplasia accounting for nearly half of the procedures; 21.2% of pregnancies ended in first-trimester miscarriages. The preterm delivery rate (<37 weeks) was 19.4%. Volume of cervix excised was significantly greater in women who delivered preterm compared to women who delivered at term (p = 0.028). The rate of preterm delivery was significantly higher in post treatment pregnancies when compared to pregnancies before treatment in the same women (p = 0.02). The preterm delivery in post-treatment pregnancies was not related to the time interval between treatment and pregnancy (p = 0.54). There was no significant difference in miscarriage rates in pre- and post-treatment pregnancies (p = 0.98). Conclusion: Electrosurgical cone biopsy of cervix is associated with increased risk of preterm labour that is related to the volume of cervix excised.
Altered expression of beta-adrenergic receptor kinase and beta 1-adrenergic receptors in the failing human heart.

BACKGROUND In chronic heart failure, the positive inotropic effects of beta-adrenergic receptor agonists are greatly reduced, in part as a result of two alterations of the cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors: loss of their function (receptor uncoupling) and reduction of their number (downregulation). In vitro studies have shown that a major mechanism leading to beta-adrenergic receptor uncoupling involves phosphorylation of the receptors by the specific beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK). METHODS AND RESULTS We have therefore investigated expression of beta ARK and beta-adrenergic receptors in samples from the left ventricles of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy or ischemic cardiomyopathy and from nonfailing control ventricles. Contractile responses to beta-receptor stimulation were decreased in the failing hearts compared with control hearts, whereas those to forskolin and calcium remained unchanged. The messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of beta ARK, beta 1- and beta 2-receptors, and of glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase and beta-actin as controls were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reactions. In addition, beta ARK enzyme activity assays were performed, and the levels of beta 1- and beta 2-receptors were determined by radioligand binding. beta ARK mRNA levels were increased almost threefold in both forms of heart failure, and beta ARK activity was enhanced. beta 1-Receptor mRNA levels and beta 1-receptor numbers were decreased by approximately 50% in both failing groups, whereas these levels were unaltered for beta 2-receptors. There were no differences between dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathy for any of these parameters. CONCLUSIONS In addition to other alterations found in failing hearts, the diminished response to beta-receptor agonists appears to involve the combined effects of enhanced expression of beta ARK and reduced expression of beta 1-receptors.
Minimizing Pattern Dependency in Millisecond Annealing

Millisecond annealing is a key enabling technology for creating the ultra-shallow junctions of the 65 nm node and beyond. The very short thermal diffusion distances inherent in millisecond annealing exacerbate larger scale pattern density differences and can result in corresponding differences in annealing temperatures. This paper considers the three different methods of achieving millisecond annealing times and the various ways that pattern effects can be minimized in each case. These include opaque coatings, dummification and careful selection of the wavelength, incidence angle and polarization of the radiation used for annealing. Each method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages and these are enumerated. The article concludes with a short comparison of the results obtained with three commercially available, millisecond annealing systems
Pyogenic liver abscess--a tropical centre's experience in management with review of current literature.

AIM OF STUDY To perform a retrospective study, with the help of literature review, of the management of patients with pyogenic liver abscess in a general hospital. METHOD A retrospective study of 73 consecutive patients treated atTanTock Seng Hospital between January 1994 and December 1997 was conducted to determine the demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological and microbiological characteristics of these patients, as well as the management strategies employed. RESULTS Liver abscess was more common in males, occurring more frequently in the right hepatic lobe. Most patients presented with non-specific clinical and biochemical features. A raised alkaline phosphatase level was the most common biochemical abnormality found in about two-thirds of patients. Ultrasonography was not as sensitive as computed tomographic scans in detecting abscesses. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common etiological agent detected in cultures of blood and abscess aspirates. All patients were treated with intravenous antibiotics. Twenty-two (30%) needed percutaneous catheter drainage and five (7%) required surgical management. There was no hospital mortality in our series. Prolonged hospitalisation was associated with advanced age, degree of loculation within the abscess, concomitant diabetes mellitus and Klebsiella septicaemia. CONCLUSION Pyogenic liver abscesses require a high index of suspicion for early diagnosis. When appropriate therapy in the form of antibiotics in combination with percutaenous drainage or surgery is administered, mortality is very low. However, significant morbidity is still a problem, particularly in the elderly, diabetic patient.
Adaptive compression for 3D laser data

This paper concerns the creation of efficient surface representations from laser point clouds created by a push broom laser system. We produce a continuous, implicit, non-parametric and non-stationary representation with an update time that is constant. This allows us to form predictions of the underlying workspace surfaces at arbitrary locations and densities. The algorithm places no restriction on the complexity of the surfaces and automatically prunes redundant data via an information theoretic criterion. This criterion makes the use of Gaussian Process Regression a natural choice. We adopt a formulation which handles the typical non-functional relation between XY location and elevation allowing us to map arbitrary environments. Results are presented that use real and synthetic data to analyse the trade-off between compression rate and reconstruction error. We attain decimation factors in excess of two orders of magnitude without significant degradation in fidelity.
Bone morphogenetic protein 6—a possible new player in pathophysiology of heart failure

Derangement of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling was observed in cardiovascular disorders. The present study assesses the diagnostic and prognostic value of BMP6 plasma concentration in chronic heart failure (CHF). 130 CHF patients and 32 controls participated in the study. BMP6 plasma level was measured at baseline. During 12‐month follow‐up death and hospitalisation with CHF exacerbation were recorded. BMP6 was significantly increased in CHF patients with highest concentration in most advanced disease. Individuals with pulmonary congestion or peripheral oedema had higher levels of BMP6 than isovolemic patients. BMP6 was not a predictor of all‐cause mortality or CHF hospitalisation. BMP6 may be involved in pathophysiology of systolic CHF. BMP6 plasma level is related to the disease severity and signs of exacerbation.
Participation of Informal Sector Workers in Indonesia’s National Health Insurance System

The implementation of Indonesia’s national health insurance programme in 2014 highlights the “missing middle” problem in which non-poor workers in the informal sector remain uncovered from the health care due to self-enrolment. This study aims at examining why informal workers are reluctant to join the national health insurance even though the benefits of the programme are very generous. Observing 400 households working in the informal sector and applying the Triple Bounded Dichotomies Choice Contingent Valuation Method to observe the Willingness to Pay, this study found that 70 per cent of respondents were willing to pay a premium that is lower than the current rate. Yet, only 18.7 per cent of households had registered for national health insurance. Our econometric estimations provide evidence that the availability of hospitals, insurance literacy, experiences of being an inpatient or outpatient, the number of family members, the sex of the head of the household, access to the Internet, and household income are highly correlated to the likelihood of workers in the informal sector joining the national health insurance programme. In contrast to other studies, we found that the insurance premium was not the primary impediment. Rather, the two main obstacles were: availability of health services; and a lack of insurance literacy. Hence, this study calls for increased investment on healthcare facilitates as well as campaigns to educate the public about the importance of health insurance.
Improving Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: Use of Farm-to-Consumer Venues Among US Adults

Improvements to the food environment including new store development and more farm-to-consumer approaches (ie, farmers' markets, roadside stands, pick-your-own produce farms, or community-supported agriculture programs) may aid Americans in making healthier dietary choices. We analyzed data from a subset of respondents (N = 1,994) in the National Cancer Institute's Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, a mail survey of US adults. We determined associations between primary grocery shoppers' region and sociodemographic characteristics and frequency of purchasing fruits and vegetables in the summer from farm-to-consumer venues. A little more than one-quarter (27%) of grocery shoppers reported a frequency of at least weekly use of farm-to-consumer approaches. Older adults and respondents who live in the Northeast were most likely to shop farm-to-consumer venues at least weekly, and no differences were found by sex, race/ethnicity, education, or annual household income. These findings suggest that farm-to-consumer venues are used by many Americans and could be expanded to increase access to fruits and vegetables.
Identification and characterization of acute infection with parvovirus B19 genotype 2 in immunocompromised patients in Poland

Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is divided into three genotypes. Genotypes 2 and 3 may cause diagnostic difficulties and their epidemiology is not well understood. In the present study the prevalence of B19V genotypes in patients with symptomatic infection in Poland was evaluated and the course of infection in patients infected with non‐genotype 1 strains is described. Real‐time PCR, able to detect all three genotypes of B19V was used to screen patient plasma samples. Sixty‐nine, mainly acute‐phase B19V DNA positive cases were identified in patients from hematological and obstetric/gynecological wards between 2004 and 2008. Thirty patients were studied in greater detail and genotyping was performed by analysis of the NS1/VP1u region. The majority of samples were genotype 1. However two (6.6%) strains were identified as genotype 2, associated with high viremia and identified in a kidney transplant recipient with anemia and a leukemia patient, following chemotherapy, with pancytopenia. A change of immunosuppression treatment in the former and treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin in latter, resulted in normalization of clinical parameters, and whilst viral loads fell, B19V DNA was still detectable. The kidney transplant recipient subsequently became pregnant with no clinical complications, although persistently infected with B19V genotype 2. This is the first description of symptomatic cases of genotype 2 B19V infection in Eastern Europe suggesting that acute infection, particularly among immunocompromised patients with these virus strains may be more prevalent than thought. J. Med. Virol. 83:142–149, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Kazakhstan’s Presidential Transition and the Evolution of Elite Networks

Much of the succession debate in Kazakhstan emphasizes who will succeed President Nazarbayev and how a new president will shape regime consolidation. While this debate sheds light on Kazakhstan’s authoritarian trajectory, the focus should turn away from regime consolidation and instead toward network dynamics to help explain how leadership transition will affect patron-client relations and the informal networks that rely on state resources. Building on our understanding of patronal politics, this paper examines those who will fail to win in Kazakhstan’s succession battle and how they will retain access to patronage networks and state resource wealth.
An Analysis of Household Rice and Noodle Consumption in the Philippines

By applying a Seemingly Unrelated Regression Model on Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) data, the study examines the relationship of household rice and noodle consumption in the Philippines. Results show that noodles are already a substitute good for rice, but rice is not a substitute good for noodles. In addition, their respective demand exhibits negative relationship with their own prices and positive relationship with respect to household income which supports the idea that both rice and noodles are normal goods. A number of significant variables on the characteristics of household heads suggest the importance of household heads in determining consumption decisions. These include age, sex, marital status and educational attainment. Spouse employment is also found to negatively influence rice consumption. Lastly, the study also reveals that households in the urban area, particularly in Luzon, which is the biggest island in the Philippines, are most likely to have lower demand for rice as compared to their rural counterparts. Meanwhile, the opposite is true for noodle consumption.