bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Detection and localization of double compression in MP3 audio tracks
Authors: Bianchi Tiziano , Rosa Alessia De , Fontani Marco , Rocciolo Giovanni , Piva Alessandro 
Published: May 2014

AbstractIn this work, by exploiting the traces left by double compression in the statistics of quantized modified discrete cosine transform coefficients, a single measure has been derived that allows to decide whether an MP3 file is singly or doubly compressed and, in the last case, to devise also the bit-rate of the first compression. Moreover, the proposed method as well as two state-of-the-art methods have been applied to analyze short temporal windows of the track, allowing the localization of possible tampered portions in the MP3 file under analysis. Experiments confirm the good performance of the proposed scheme and demonstrate that current detection methods are useful for tampering localization, thus offering a new tool for the forensic analysis of MP3 audio tracks.
iDrug: a web-accessible and interactive drug discovery and design platform
Authors: Wang Xia , Chen Haipeng , Yang Feng , Gong Jiayu , Li Shiliang , Pei Jianfeng , Liu Xiaofeng , Jiang Hualiang , Lai Luhua , Li Honglin 
Published: May 2014

Abstract

Background
The progress in computer-aided drug design (CADD) approaches over the past decades accelerated the early-stage pharmaceutical research. Many powerful standalone tools for CADD have been developed in academia. As programs are developed by various research groups, a consistent user-friendly online graphical working environment, combining computational techniques such as pharmacophore mapping, similarity calculation, scoring, and target identification is needed.

Results
We presented a versatile, user-friendly, and efficient online tool for computer-aided drug design based on pharmacophore and 3D molecular similarity searching. The web interface enables binding sites detection, virtual screening hits identification, and drug targets prediction in an interactive manner through a seamless interface to all adapted packages (e.g., Cavity, PocketV.2, PharmMapper, SHAFTS). Several commercially available compound databases for hit identification and a well-annotated pharmacophore database for drug targets prediction were integrated in iDrug as well. The web interface provides tools for real-time molecular building/editing, converting, displaying, and analyzing. All the customized configurations of the functional modules can be accessed through featured session files provided, which can be saved to the local disk and uploaded to resume or update the history work.

Conclusions

iDrug is easy to use, and provides a novel, fast and reliable tool for conducting drug design experiments. By using iDrug, various molecular design processing tasks can be submitted and visualized simply in one browser without installing locally any standalone modeling softwares. iDrug is accessible free of charge at http://lilab.ecust.edu.cn/idrug.
Parental experience of a risky environment leads to improved offspring growth rate
Authors: Besson Anne A. , Guerreiro Romain , Bellenger Jérôme , Ragot Kevin , Faivre Bruno , Sorci Gabriele 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Parasites (or diseases) are major selective force for the evolution of life history traits and parasite-host evolution. Mothers can show a variety of responses to parasites during pregnancy with different consequences for them or their offspring. However, whether information in the maternal environment before pregnancy can cause a change in the phenotype of the offspring is unknown. To avoid the confounding effect of pathogens and to reduce the risk of direct effect of mother's immune activation, we injected female laboratory mice with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) before mating. In order to provide a constant information on the potential infectious risk of the environment, females were mated with males that were also exposed to LPS before mating. Offspring from immune-challenged parents were larger and grew at a faster rate than offspring from control parents (injected with PBS). Additionally, offspring from immune-challenged parents that suffered the most from inflammation grew at a faster rate than offspring from low suffering parents. Producing heavier offspring that will reach sexual maturity earlier is likely to have fitness benefit for parents and offspring through improved reproductive success.
Conditioned hearing sensitivity reduction in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Authors: Nachtigall Paul E. , Supin Alexander Ya. 
Published: May 2014

AbstractThe conditioned change in hearing sensitivity during a warning sound preceding a loud sound was investigated in the bottlenose dolphin. Hearing sensitivity was measured using pip-train test stimuli and auditory evoked potential recording. When the test/warning stimulus with a frequency of 22.5 or 32 kHz preceded the loud sound with a frequency of 22.5 kHz and a sound pressure level of 165 dB re 1 μPa rms, hearing thresholds before the loud sound increased relative to the baseline. The threshold increased up to 15 dB. In order to further investigate whether the observed threshold increase was due to conditioning, the dependence of the effect on warning duration and inter-trial interval was investigated. The duration of the warning substantially influenced the effect. Shorter warnings resulted in deeper suppression of responses and higher threshold increases than longer warnings. Alternatively, the effect was nearly independent of the duration of the inter-trial interval, i.e. independent of the delay from the loud sound to the test/warning sound in the subsequent trial. These data are considered as evidence that the observed hearing threshold increases were not a result of the unconditioned effect of the loud sound and were instead a manifestation of a conditioned dampening of hearing when the subject anticipated the quick appearance of a loud sound in the bottlenose dolphin in the same way as previously demonstrated in the false killer whale.
Solid-phase Synthesis of Bacterial Cell Wall Peptidoglycan Fragments
Authors: Kadonaga Yuichiro , Wang Ning , Fujimoto Yukari , Fukase Koichi 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan (PGN) is a major innate immunostimulant of bacteria and an important antibiotic target. Chemically prepared PGN fragments are indispensable for the investigation of their function. In this research, the PGN fragments containing acid- and base-labile functional groups were practically synthesized by utilizing a newly developed solid-phase method employing the JandaJel™ Wang resin.
Competency-Building Approach as a Methodic Determinant in Training Bachelor-Degree Social-Work Specialists
Authors: ���������  , Poddubnaya Tatiana 
Published: May 2014

The paper presents arguments in support of competency-building approach as a methodic determinant of modern-level education in the light of globalization
process; justifies, that competence should be considered as innovation standard in the Third Generation Federal State Educational Standard
of Higher Professional Education. Also presented is a set of competencies stipulated by the FSES for the training direction 040400.62 �Social Work� (with
the degree (qualification) of Bachelor). The author reveals her own views on how to draw out an exemplary map of proper blend composition of competencies
for a Bachelor-degree social worker with further integrating this map in the educational process, as one of the ways to implement competencybuilding
approach. Challenge areas in developing and assessing competencies and benchmarks for eradicating these shortcomings are suggested with
respect to implementing Third-generation FSES of Higher Professional Education.
To Question of Development of Key Competences for Officers of Divisions Related to Special Rapid Response Detachment (SOBR) Embodied in Ministry of the Interior of Russian Federation
Authors: ����������  , Zhovtovskiy Fedor 
Published: May 2014

The concept of professional competence expresses Russia�s Ministry of Internal Affairs� staff unity of theoretical and practical readiness for effective enjoyment
of official activities. Professional competence characterizes the quality of Russia�s Ministry of Internal Affairs stuff training, inter alia the efficiency
of vocational training including service and fighting training.
Causes of death and wounds of interservice rapid response teams� staff are insufficient training of divisions to service in North Caucasus region conditions.
This circumstance demands improvement of service and fighting training quality of officers of divisions related to special rapid response detachment
(SOBR) embodied in Ministry of the Interior of Russian Federation. Proceeding from the general system of pedagogical goal-setting related to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia training process, and stating the absence of theoretical justification of service and fighting training organization in
pedagogical science, it is supposed that the process of service and fighting training needs to be organized on the basis of competence-based approach.
Besides, the innovative model of service and fighting training�s topographical section demands a methodological support which tasks is development
of key competences as the most universal abilities and skills of officers of divisions related to special rapid response detachment (SOBR) embodied in
Ministry of the Interior of Russian Federation.
Coping mechanisms and support groups: women with cervical cancer
Authors: Kohi Thecla W 
Published: May 2014

A diagnosis of cervical cancer creates such great stress for a woman that she may not be able to cope well with the symptoms of the disease. Social support groups have been extensively documented to be effective in improving coping and quality of life of persons with cancer or other illnesses. The main objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of social support groups on women newly diagnosed with cervical cancer in Tanzania and their ways of coping. The hypotheses of this study were: (1) Women receiving formal social support would use adaptive coping strategies more than women not receiving formal social support. (2) Women receiving formal social support would use maladaptive coping strategies less than women not receiving formal social support. The illness-coping and quality of life model guided the study. A six-point control group time series design was used to investigate the effectiveness of formal social support on ways of coping of women newly diagnosed with cervical cancer, utilizing a validated tool. Formal social support groups were administered for a period of six months. This study revealed that before the intervention (provision of formal social support) there were no significant differences in the women's ways of coping with the disease. However, after the intervention there were significant differences found in the ways the subjects coped. Significant differences were found in the use of seven out of eight coping strategies between the experimental and control groups. These findings contribute to knowledge and understanding of complex coping mechanisms of women with cervical cancer, especially Tanzanians. The findings should enable health professionals, including nurses, to carry on with the facilitation of already established social support groups, and even multiply the groups within the country in order to improve the wellbeing of women with cervical cancer.
Pattern of uptake of maternal health services in a rural community in Nigeria
Authors: Ndikom Chizoma Millicent 
Published: May 2014

The care and assistance that women receive during pregnancy and delivery are key underlying factors affecting the maternal mortality ratio. This study examines the pattern of use of maternal health services in a rural community in Ibadan, Nigeria. in a crosssectional study, a questionnaire was administered to collect data from 150 women, who had been pregnant and given birth at least once before, of childbearing age. Educational status of the women was low and they used more of the services from informal settings. Availability of the health facility was the main factor that influenced the use of maternal health services. The major barriers to the use of formal services were unavailability of health workers at the health institutions, attitude of the workers, as well as cost of purchase of various items. Educational status had significant association with use of various maternal health services. This study recommends that maternal health services should be made accessible in the rural communities and education of women should be re-emphasized.
Birth practices of Nigerian women: A literature review
Authors: Dike Priscilla 
Published: May 2014

This literature review was carried out in the UK to explore the cultural practices of Nigerian women during pregnancy and childbirth both within and outside their indigenous community, in order to highlight aspects of birth practices that may serve to enhance their health and wellbeing or to constrain these. Literature was sourced from journals of related disciplines.To encapsulate current knowledge and broaden the scope of the literature review, only articles published within the last 2 decades were selected for this review.Themes drawn from the literature review sum up core beliefs and practices of Nigerian women in childbirth and uncover existing knowledge on the topic in relation to: beliefs and traditions through the birth continuum, the influence of culture on birth practices and beliefs within and outside their indigenous community, challenges of culture to maternal adaptation and/or transition to motherhood in terms of migration and acculturation, the value of motherhood and children in Nigerian culture, social support or the lack of it, religion and spirituality and the interplay of these in their birth experiences. These themes bear relevance to Nigerian women's experience of pregnancy, birth and maternity care experience both within and outside of their home country.
The African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative (ARC) at two years
Authors: McCarthy Carey F , Zuber Alexandra , Kelley Maureen A , Verani Andre R , Riley Patricia L 
Published: May 2014

Background The African Health Profession Regulatory Collaborative (ARC) for nurses and midwives was created in response to the increasing reliance on shifting HIV tasks to nurses and midwives without the necessary regulation supporting this enhanced professional role. ARC Approach The ARC initiative comprises regional meetings, technical assistance, and regulatory improvement grants which enhance HIV service delivery by nurses and midwives, and systematic evaluation of project impact. Results Eight of 11 countries funded by ARC advanced a full stage in regulatory capacity during their 1-year project period. Countries in ARC also demonstrated increased capacity in project management and proposal writing. Discussion The progress of country teams thus far suggests ARC is a successful model for regulation strengthening and capacity building, as well as presenting a novel approach for sustainability and country ownership. The ARC platform has been a successful vehicle for regional harmonisation of updated regulations and promises to help facilitate the enhancement of HIV service delivery by nurses and midwives.
Cardiac assessment teams: A focused ethnography of nurses’ roles
Authors: Smallwood Andrew 
Published: May 2014

Objective: Development of a tertiary cardiology ser vice in an acute hospital trust prompted evolution of a cardiac assessment team to assist in the management of all acute coronary syndrome patients. This study aimed to explore the roles of nurses working in the team, delivering care in two main settings; a medical assessment unit and the emergency department (two of the main portals of patient entry to hospital and on-site cardiac ser vices). Method: A focused ethnographic approach was used to explore, describe and interpret the roles of nurses in the culture established in the cardiac assessment team. Data were collected by inter view, participant observation and the use of a field journal. Results: Four main roles, encapsulating the clinical practice of the cardiac assessment team, emerged from the data; gatekeeper, specialist consultancy practice, catalyst and diplomat. These roles appeared to flex dependent on the prevailing organizational culture of the clinical areas in which they practiced. Conclusions: Dimensions of this interface role were revealed as team members facilitated managed care in an, at times, uncertain organizational culture.
Appraisal and illness delay with symptoms of ACS: A questionnaire study of illness representations
Authors: Farquharson Barbara , Johnston Marie , Bugge Carol 
Published: May 2014

Background: Reducing patient delay is key to reducing mortality in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Interventions to date have had little success. Aim: To explore whether illness representations (Leventhal's Commonsense Model of Self-Regulation (CS-SRM)) are associated with patient delay (appraisal or illness delay) in those with symptoms of ACS. Design: A CS-SRM questionnaire study Methods: A random sample of 182 patients who contacted NHS 24 with symptoms of ACS completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire and gave access to data from their NHS 24 records. Results: Median appraisal delay was 2 hours. Median illness delay was 75 minutes. Women were more likely than men to have long appraisal delays (>2 hours) (57% vs 43%, c2(df=1)=3.93, P=0.047) but did not differ regarding illness delay. Gender and illness representations (identity, emotion and consequences) predicted appraisal delay category (c2=19.907, df=4, P=0.001). Conclusions: Appraisal and illness delays may be associated with different factors. Interventions addressing illness representations might reduce appraisal delay, especially in women.
The intra-aortic balloon pump: a nursing care study
Authors: Piper Rosy , Bowden Tracey 
Published: May 2014

Cardiogenic shock is an uncommon but potentially fatal complication of acute myocardial infarction and must be managed carefully to maximise recovery and patient prognosis. Current guidelines aim to manage this by earliest possible revascularisation along with potential mechanical interventions such as intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) therapy (and continuous positive airway pressure) and pharmacological management such as intravenous diuresis, opiates, vasodilators, inotropes and vasopressors. Nursing care of the patient with an IABP focuses on assessing the patient's cardiac output, assessing the efficacy of pressure augmentation, observing for and managing any potential complications of this invasive therapy and psychological and spiritual care of the patient.
Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in men diagnosed with heart failure: implications for practice
Authors: Steggall Martin , Butler Jane 
Published: May 2014

The management of heart failure is often a complex process and therefore best managed via a multidisciplinary approach. Patients with heart failure express anxiety in relation to sexual activity and need guidance and support from their clinical team. One anxiety reported is erectile dysfunction (ED). ED has a prevalence of 8% in 40-year-old men which increases to 40% in 60-year-old men. In a survey of 52 men attending a heart failure clinic, the prevalence was 90%. Quality of life was adversely affected and men erroneously believed that treatment was unavailable or contra-indicated by virtue of their diagnosis of heart failure. Quality of erection was established using the self-reported Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) which is a 5-item questionnaire examining various aspects of sexual function. The mean SHIM score was 11.1, indicating moderate ED. The aim of this paper is to identify the prevalence of ED in a convenience sample of men attending a heart failure clinic in East London, and to discuss how nurses can raise the profile of ED and outline treatment options.
The effect of sleep quality on patients in a coronary care unit
Authors: Mashayekhi Fateme , Rafiei Hossein , Arab Mansour , Abazari Farokh , Ranjbar Hadi 
Published: May 2014

Background: Patients in coronary care units (CCUs) are at risk of sleep deprivation. This study investigated the effects of ear plugs, eye masks and both together on the sleep quality of patients in a CCU. Materials and methods: This randomised-controlled trial was conducted on 90 patients in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Jiroft. Patients were randomly assigned to three groups: eye mask (group 1), ear plugs (group 2), and both together (group 3). Using the Verran and Snyder-Halpern Sleep Scale, perception of patients' sleep with and without intervention were evaluated. This tool consists of 16 items grouped into three main subscales: disturbance, effectiveness, and supplementation. Results: The mean length of time patients slept for was 6.34±1.2 hours. In group 1, the quality of sleep improved significantly in relation to disturbance and effectiveness. In group 2, all three subscales showed significant improvements. In group 3, which used the eye mask and ear plugs together, only the disturbance subscale showed significant improvement. Conclusion: The use of ear plugs and eye masks is an easy and cheap method of improving the quality of sleep in CCU patients. Nurses should consider these devices for reducing environmental factors that disturb the sleep of CCU patients.
Employing a grounded theory approach: core characteristics
Authors: Maz Julia 
Published: May 2014

Nurses have embraced grounded theory (GT) as a useful research methodology. This paper presents an overview of the main characteristics when using GT to explore clinical practice. There is no consensual definition or single procedure to follow when using GT. This is largely attributable to the re-contextualisation of it over time through diversification in and across many disciplines. Thus, it is imperative to consider some of GT's core characteristics. To identify core characteristics, I have collated my own experience of using the methodology and a scoping review of pertinent GT textbooks, journal articles, attendance at GT workshops and discussion with principle GT theorists. Essentially, GT is a method for gathering, synthesising, analysing and conceptualizing qualitative data to construct theory. While GT is aligned to the interpretive tradition, there is divergence between researchers on its objectivist or constructivist position, but there is consensus that it investigates social process(es) and that data analysis drives the data collection phase and also the theory construction. This paper will consider constant comparative method, theoretical sampling, theoretical saturation or sufficiency, and core category construction as fundamental features considered in comprising a GT approach.
Traditional and modern Asian weaning patterns in Britain
Authors: Rote Sandra 
Published: May 2014

This paper enquires into the traditional beliefs of Asian women when weaning children, and how these are translated into practice. Asian children tend to be weaned later than is considered advisable in Britain, and when weaning does begin there is said to be an over-reliance on commercially produced food. It is noted that both parents and health professionals do not have the knowledge to prepare suitable home cooked foods for Asian babies. Consequently these children are more likely to have problems such as anaemia, rickets and a failure to thrive. Asian grandmothers who raised at least one child in India or Pakistan were interviewed by interpreters to explore the issues and concepts surrounding the weaning of children onto solid food. A topic guide was used to structure the focused interviews. The results of this research confirm that it is traditional practice to wean children later than is considered normal in Britain. Recommendations are made to health professionals in relation to advising Asian parents about weaning.