bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Correlation between Physician-Administered International Prostate Symptoms Score and Peak Urine Flow Rate in Assessment of Benign Prostatic Enlargement Patients
Authors: Affusim EA. , Amu OC. , Eneje CL. , Iwenofu C , Ugwumba F 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACT

Background:
To determine the correlation between international prostate symptom score (IPSS) questionnaire, completed by benign prostatic enlargement patients with the aid of their physicians and the peak urine flow rate from uroflowmetry.

Materials and Methods:
This was a prospective study carried out over a period of one year (which year and which period). IPSS questionnaire was administered, and uroflowmetry done for 76 consecutive patients from urology clinic of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) who consented to the study.

Results:
Seventy-six patients were recruited for the study. The mean age of the patients was 63.53 ± 9.84. Using the international prostate symptom score to assess symptoms severity, 16 patients had mild symptoms, 36 patients had moderate symptoms, while 24 patients had severe symptoms. The means quality-of-life score was 4.42 ± 1.83. Fifty-eight patients had obstructed peak flow rate (Qmax) on uroflowmetry, 14 patients had equivocal Qmax, while 4 patients had normal Qmax. Statistically significant, negative medium correlations were observed between Qmax and total IPSS, Qmax and the IPSS voiding and storage subscores, as well as Qmax and disease specific quality-of-life score (QoL).

Conclusion:
There is a statistically significant medium negative correlation between total IPSS and Qmax. This negative medium correlation was also observed between Qmax and IPSS subscores and between Qmax and QoL.
Public Awareness on Perio-systemic Interplay: A Cross-Sectional Survey in South India
Authors: Ramachandran L , Sathesh S , Prakash PSG , Parthasarathy H , Sudarsan A , Balaji TM , Halawani IF , Alzahrani FM , Alzahrani KJ , Patil S 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACT

Background:
The oral cavity has been referred to as “the gateway to overall health.” It is also said to be the meeting point of medicine and dentistry.

Aims:
Our study sought to determine the extent to which the public was aware of the connection between oral/periodontal conditions and general health.

Settings and Design:
The observational cross-sectional study’s questionnaire was sectioned into oral health awareness, systemic influence on oral health, and personal oral health assessment.

Materials and Methods:
A total of 994 responses were recorded and a Chi-square test was performed to uncover the relationships using SPSS version 22.0. According to responses, 70% of the population on average comprehended the responses to the majority of the oral health awareness-related questions.

Results:
It has been noticed that only 30% of the general public was aware of the prevalent health issues like diabetes, hypertension, and malnutrition’s impact on dental health. However, more than 60% had confidence in their oral health and gave a rating of at least 5.

Conclusion:
The study indicates that a good number of the population was prioritizing their oral health. However, there exists a definitive need to improve oral health awareness thereby ameliorating the overall health of an individual.
Skeletal Tuberculosis in Pediatric Population for 15 Years; Twenty Cases from Southern Turkey
Authors: Çay Ü , Alabaz D , Gündeşlioglu ÖÖ , Mirioglu A , Pehlivan UA 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACT

Background:
Skeletal tuberculosis is rarely seen among extrapulmonary tuberculosis, especially in childhood because the diagnosis may be delayed for years due to diagnostic difficulties. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, methods used in diagnosis, treatment specifics, and prognosis of patients diagnosed with bone joint tuberculosis in childhood.

Materials and Methods:
Twenty patients diagnosed with skeletal tuberculosis in our hospital between Jan 1, 2006, and Jan 1, 2021, were evaluated retrospectively.

Results:
The age of the patients ranged from seven to 191 months. 70% of the patients presented with complaints of pain, 50% with swelling, and 20% with limping. The duration of the complaints was 3.82 ± 4 months on average. While 65% of the patients had isolated skeletal TB, 30% were accompanied with pulmonary tuberculosis. Tuberculin skin test (TST) was positive in 13 (65%) patients. Seven (35%) of the patients were diagnosed with proven TB. The most frequent involvement was seen in knee bones (25%), followed by vertebra (15%), foot (15%), and wrist (15%) bones. In the radiological findings, 65% of the patients had mass, 45% destruction, 35% enhancement/edema, 5% calcification/sclerosis, 5% cyst, and 35% soft tissue abscess. In the follow-up, 50% of the patients recovered without sequelae.

Conclusion:
Skeletal tuberculosis can easily be missed in childhood due to its slow insidious course, non-specific symptoms, and bone findings, resulting in delayed diagnosis and may lead to sequelae which affect lifelong quality of life. We should keep the possibility of skeletal tuberculosis in mind when we see the patients with limping or localized lesions accompanied with pain or swelling.
Cardiorespiratory Responses to an Acute Bout of High Intensity Interval Training and Moderate Intensity Continuous Training on a Recumbent Handcycle in People With Spinal Cord Injury: A Within-Subject Design
Authors: Peters Joseph , Halloran Kellie , Focht Michael , Huang Kathryn , Kersh Mariana , Rice Ian 
Published: December 2023

Objectives
To compare acute cardiorespiratory responses during high intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) on a recumbent handcycle in persons with spinal cord injury (PwSCI).

Methods
Eleven males and nine females with chronic SCI (T3 – L5), aged 23 (9) years, participated in this within-subject design. Based off peak power outputs from an incremental test to exhaustion, participants engaged in a HIIT and MICT session at matched workloads on a recumbent handcycle. Workloads (Joules), time, oxygen uptake (VO2), metabolic equivalent of task (MET), heart rate (HR), and energy expenditure (kcal) were recorded during HIIT and MICT.

Results
Total workload was similar across HIIT (87820 ± 24021 Joules) and MICT sessions (89044 ± 23696 Joules; p &gt; .05). HIIT (20.00 [.03] minutes) was shorter in duration than MICT (23.20 [2.56]; p &lt; .01). Average VO2 (20.96 ± 4.84 vs. 129.38 ± 19.13 mL/kg/min O2), MET (7.54 ± 2.00 vs. 6.21 ± 1.25), and HR (146.26 ± 13.80 vs. 129.38 ± 19.13 beats per minute) responses were significantly greater during HIIT than MICT (p &lt; .01). Participants burned significantly more kilocalories during HIIT (128.08 ± 35.65) than MICT (118.93 ± 29.58; p &lt; .01) and at a faster rate (6.40 ± 1.78 [HIIT] vs. 5.09 ± 1.14 [MICT] kcal/min; p &lt; .01).

Conclusion
HIIT elicits greater increases in oxygen uptake and HR than MICT in PwSCI. In significantly less time, HIIT also burned more calories than MICT.
Relación entre habilidad física percibida y motivos de participación en nadadores vía modelos de ecuaciones estructurales (Relationship between perceived physical ability and participation motives in swimmers via structural equation modeling)
Authors: Pita Niño Víctor Alonso , VIillamizar Carrillo Diana Jaeneth , Cepeda Araque Carmen Helena , Florez Villamizar JairoAlberto 
Published: December 2023

El objetivo de esta investigación fue establecer la relación entre la habilidad física percibida y los motivos de participación en nadadores de competencia del departamento de Boyacá, Colombia. Para ello, se utilizó como instrumentos de medición los cuestionarios de Motivos de Participación Deportiva y la Escala de Habilidad Física Percibida, con los cuales se recopiló la percepción de 108 deportistas (57 mujeres y 51 hombres). Dada la naturaleza multivariada del estudio, en este caso se hizo uso de los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales mediante mínimos cuadrados parciales para explorar y explicar las interrelaciones entre las variables. Se encontró que la habilidad física percibida incide en los aspectos de motivación, tales como competencia, salud, forma física y la influencia de otros actores. En la medida en que el nadador tienda a valorar con mayor puntaje su habilidad física percibida específica en natación, aumenta su escala en algunos de los motivos de participación.
Palabras clave: motivos de participación, habilidad física percibida, modelos de ecuaciones estructurales por mínimos cuadrados parciales.

Abstract. The objective of this research was to establish the relationship between perceived physical ability and motives for participation in competitive swimmers from the department of Boyacá, Colombia, through the perception of 108 athletes, 57 women and 51 men. Using as measurement instruments the questionnaires of Motives for Sports Participation and the Perceived Physical Ability Scale. Given the multivariate nature of the study, in this case use was made of structural equation modeling using partial least squares to explore and explain the interrelationships between the variables. Perceived physical ability was found to influence motivational aspects such as competence, health and fitness, and the influence of other stakeholders. To the extent that the swimmer tends to rate his or her perceived physical ability specific to swimming with higher scores, he or she increases his or her scale in some of the participation motives.
Key words: participation motives, perceived physical ability, partial least squares structural equation modeling.
POTENCIAIS INTERAÇÕES MEDICAMENTOSAS EM AMBIENTE HOSPITALAR
Authors: Alves Karine Miranda 
Published: December 2023

Em um ambiente hospitalar é habitual na prática clínica o uso simultâneo de variados medicamentos, o que gera o aumento dos riscos de potenciais interações medicamentosas, que podem provocar uma falha no tratamento terapêutico e até mesmo o aumento dos custos hospitalares, fazendo com que o paciente necessite permanecer mais tempo internado. O objetivo deste estudo é explicar as potenciais interações medicamentosas que podem ocorrer nas prescrições hospitalares de pacientes internados, conscientizar e explicar a importância que a farmacovigilância hospitalar tem sobre detectar, avaliar, monitorar e notificar os problemas relacionados a medicamentos, e até mesmo prevenir os mesmos. A relevância do farmacêutico clínico na equipe multidisciplinar do hospital, para identificação e resolução de problemas relacionados a medicamentos e gerar ainda mais segurança durante o tratamento do paciente. E mostrar as estratégias utilizadas nos tempos de hoje para diminuir os erros de dispensação de medicamentos na farmácia hospitalar. Trata-se de um estudo teórico, onde foram desenvolvidas pesquisas em sites e artigos científicos sobre interação medicamentosa na área hospitalar e atuação da farmácia clínica, provenientes dos portais Scielo Scientific Electronic Library Online, Google acadêmico. As interações medicamentosas potenciais foram checadas no site Drugs.com.
Universities and the Challenge of Employability: Leveraging Labor Market Data for Relevant Lifelong Education
Authors: Fitó Àngels , Pagés Carmen 
Published: December 2023

The economy and society are experiencing significant transformations fueled by the emergence of new technological advancements. These changes are affecting not just the job market, but also social norms and interactions. In light of this, universities cannot confine themselves to the mere creation and dissemination of knowledge, as education alone does not assure employment prospects. Rather, universities must strive to enhance the transformative impact of education on both individuals' employability and organizations' competitiveness. To accomplish this objective, it is essential to leverage labor market insights and artificial intelligence technology.
The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) is an online university that serves almost 90,000 students and has over 100,000 alumni. Its primary mission is to provide lifelong learning opportunities to people. However, due to the rapidly changing job market and evolving skill requirements, the UOC is currently implementing a university-wide strategy to prioritize employability. This strategy involves three main components. Firstly, the UOC is establishing a scheme to collect, store, generate, analyze, and present labor market data in a user-friendly manner that supports informed decision-making. This scheme will also connect educational programs to learning outcomes that can be linked to labor market information. Secondly, new organizational roles are being created to ensure that labor market information is integrated into the design of course offerings and career guidance services. Lastly, an interface is being designed for students to independently evaluate their position in the labor market and make better career decisions. This strategy builds on existing employability services and creates a foundation for relevant lifelong learning.
The purpose of describing the UOC experience is to elucidate the strategy that universities should implement to enhance employability by capitalizing on the potential of artificial intelligence and big data.
Observations of leucistic Turkey Vultures (<em>Cathartes aura</em>) in Jamaica
Authors: Zeiger John M. , Proctor C. Justin , Inman Seth E. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract: While censusing for the Golden Swallow (Tachycineta euchrysea) in the Cockpit Country and Blue Mountain regions of Jamaica, we observed six unique leucistic Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) across 634 standardized point counts. Leucistic individuals accounted for 0.2% of the total 2,826 Turkey Vultures we documented from 16 January to 12 February (28 days) and from 4 to 27 March (24 days) 2015. Though not a complete island-wide census, our observations offer the first documented insight on the prevalence and distribution of leucism in Jamaican Turkey Vulture populations.
Keywords: Cathartes aura, Jamaica, leucism, Turkey Vulture
Resumen: Observaciones de individuos leucísticos de Cathartes aura en Jamaica—Durante un censo de Tachycineta euchrysea en las regiones de Cockpit Country y Blue Mountains de Jamaica, observamos seis singulares individuos leucísticos de Cathartes aura a lo largo de 634 puntos de conteo estandarizados. Los individuos leucísticos constituyen el 0,2% del total de 2.826 Cathartes aura que documentamos desde el 16 enero hasta el 12 febrero (28 días), y desde el 4 hasta el 27 marzo (24 días) de 2015. Aunque no realizamos un censo completo de toda la isla, nuestras observaciones representan la primera documentación acerca de la prevalencia y distribución de leucismo en poblaciones de Cathartes aura en Jamaica.
Palabras clave: Cathartes aura, Jamaica, leucismo
Résumé: Observations d’Urubus à tête rouge (Cathartes aura) leucistiques en Jamaïque—Lors du recensement des Hirondelles dorées (Tachycineta euchrysea) dans les régions de Cockpit Country et de Blue Mountains en Jamaïque, nous avons observé six Urubus à tête rouge (Cathartes aura) leucistiques sur les 634 points de comptage normalisé. Les individus leucistiques représentaient 0,2% des 2.826 Urubus à tête rouge observés du 16 janvier au 12 février (28 jours) et du 4 au 27 mars (24 jours) en 2015. Bien qu’il ne s’agisse pas d’un recensement complet de l’île, nos observations sont les premières à documenter la prévalence et la répartition du leucisme dans les populations d’Urubu à tête rouge en Jamaïque.
Mots clés: Cathartes aura, Jamaïque, leucisme, Urubu à tête rouge
Interview met Gert Jan de Vries en Naomi Meys
Authors: Fledderus Joost 
Published: December 2023

Interview met Gert Jan de Vries en Naomi Meys
Interview met de prijswinnaars van de Goudvink (het beste rekenkamerrapport van 2022), Gert Jan de Vries en Naomi Meys (Rekenkamer Utrecht), voor het rapport Onbegonnen werk – Onderzoek naar de verduurzaming van gemeentelijk vastgoed in Utrecht.
Forecasting Construction Price Index using Artificial Intelligence Models: Support Vector Machines and Radial Basis Function Neural Network
Authors: Tuan Thanh Nguyen  , Dam Duc Nguyen  , Son Duc Nguyen  , Indra Prakash  , Phong Van Tran  , Binh Thai Pham  
Published: December 2023

Estimation of Construction Price Index (CPI) is important for a market economy and it is a measure to manage construction investment costs. This is a tool to help organizations and individuals to reduce the effort and management of expenses for construction projects by reducing time of procedures for calculating and adjusting the total investment for the estimation and evaluation of contract price. The CPI is an indicator that reflects the level of construction price fluctuations of the type of work over time. In this study, the CPI data of Son La province, Vietnam from January 2016 to March 2022 (75 dataset) has been used for the modelling. Two Artificial Intelligence (AI) models namely Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFN) were proposed to predict the CPI based on limited input data. Performance of the models in correctly predicting CPI was evaluated using standard statistical indicators such as Coefficient of Determination (R2), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE) based on the historical CPI data. The results show that performance of both the models is good in predicting CPI, but performance of the SVM model (R2 train = 0.915, R2 test = 0.811) is the best in comparison to RBFN model (R2 train = 0.985, R2 test = 0.733). The proposed AI models can be used to quickly and accurately predict the CPI of an area to help management agencies, investors, construction contractors for assessing cost of construction for the purchase and development of properties/ infrastructures.
SISTEM INFORMASI PENGADUAN KERUSAKAN FASILITAS PADA KANTOR SKRETARIAT DAERAH KOTA (SETDAKO) LHOKSEUMAWE
Authors: Anggara Aji , Suwanda Rizki 
Published: December 2023

Masalah yang dihadapi dalam proses pengaduan kerusakan fasilitas di Kantor Sekretariat Daerah Kota (SETDAKO) Lhokseumawe adalah proses yang masih bersifat manual dalam pengaduan dan pendataannya, dimana pengguna (Pegawai dan Pihak Administrasi) harus mensurvey langsung dan mendata kerusakan yang masih manual sehingga mengakibatkan banyaknya pemborosan material dan resiko kehilangan data, sehingga tidak berjalan secara efektif dan efesien. Tujuan dari pemgembangan system yang akan dikembangkan adalah untuk mempermudah pengguna (Pegawai dan Pihak Administrasi) dalam proses perbaikan fasilitas dan mendata fasilitas yang rusak dan mencetak laporan fasilitas yang rusak perbulan jika dibutuhkan. Website ini di kembangkan menggunakan Bahasa pemograman PHP dan HTML, Framework, dan MySQL sebagai penyimpanan data. Solusi yang diterapkan dalam pengembangan aplikasi ini adalah dengan menggunakan metode perancangan Sistem UML (Unified Modeling Language). Pada proses ini, digunakan use case diagram untuk menjelaskan aktivitas yang dilakukan oleh pengguna, dan activity diagram untuk menjelaskan alur proses pengaduan kerusakan fasilitas dan pendataan fasilitas yang rusak. Hasil dari pengembangan sistem ini yang dikembangkan adalah sebuah aplikasi yang disebut Aplikasi Pengaduan Kerusakan Fasilitas Berbasis Website di Kantor Sekretariat Daerah Kota (SETDAKO) Lhokseumawe. . Pada aplikasi ini pengguna dapat mengisi data fasilitas yang rusak dan dilaporkan langsung melalui web dan petugas / pegawai dapat mencetak pendaatan perbulan pada keruskan fasilitas kantor data secara terkomputerisasi sehingga menjadi lebih efektif dan efisien.
Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Unemployment Rates in East African Community Founding Members: Who benefits the Most?
Authors: Mkuya Saada M. , Ngaruko Deus D. 
Published: December 2023

The study analyses comparative effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows on youth unemployment in East African Community (EAC) founding member countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Based on time series data from 1990 to 2016, the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) regression revealed that, FDI significantly influences reduction in unemployment rate in Kenya by 0.708%. The results in Tanzania and Uganda showed that, FDI inflows increases unemployment rates by 0.337% and 0.852% respectively. The results revealed that, FDI is significantly benefiting Kenya young generation through job creation, as compared to Tanzania and Uganda. Unemployment rate in Kenya has been reduced significantly due to FDI inflow by 0.14 % by each percentage of FDI inflow. The favourable economic and social policies in Kenya, have been well integrated into investment policies and result into positive prospects of employment creations. In Tanzania and Uganda, FDI inflows have not been much effective on youth unemployment. Every percentage of investment growth, causes an increase of 0.34% and 0.85 % of unemployment in Tanzania and Uganda respectively. Based on these results, it is recommended that, both Tanzania and Uganda should revisit their FDI related policies to ensure the FDI programmes are beneficial in reducing unemployment rates.
The Influence of Market Orientation on Export Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda
Authors: Kase Romain , Tonya Emmanuel , Magali Joseph 
Published: December 2023

Grounded on the resource-based theory, this study examined the role of market orientation (MO) dimensions in the export performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Rwanda. The study adopted an explanatory survey design and a cross-sectional strategy. Data were collected from a final sample of 105 respondents selected from 58 exporting firms purposively chosen due to the absence of a formal sampling frame. The collected data were analyzed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique with the analysis of moment structure (AMOS) version 25.0. The findings revealed that market intelligence generation (MIG) and market intelligence responsiveness (MIR) have a positive and significant influence on export performance but the influence of market intelligence diffusion (MID) was weak and insignificant. The mixed findings of this study confirmed that the development of MO is important for a firm to go international and that not all dimensions of MO are equally important factors for export performance, so much so that only MI and MIG contributed significantly to export performance. The proposed model, which was based on RBT, was therefore partially validated. The study recommends that policymakers develop an export education strategy for exporting SMEs to improve their performance.
Effects of Monetary Policy Shocks on Domestic and Foreign Banks Lending in Tanzania
Authors: Zawadi Ally 
Published: December 2023

This study investigated the effect of monetary policy shocks on bank loans extended by domestic and foreign banks in Tanzania over the period from 2006 to 2020. It adopted the impulse response functions and the variance decomposition analysis to study the responses of these types of lending to monetary policy shocks. The studyfound out that foreign banks do not react negatively to a monetary policy shock, supporting the view that foreign banks in Tanzania did not abandon the domestic market in times of economic distress. The policy implication was that the foreign banks in Tanzania had been supportive of the domestic economy even in times of economic distress. Empirical evidence provided by this study supported the positive role played by the foreign banks in contributing to the financial and economic stability of the Tanzanian economy. The theoretical contribution of the study is that despite a tight monetary condition, the foreign banks continued to resume lending, implying that the “capital flight” argument did not apply to the foreign banks' operations in Tanzania.