LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Incidence of long-term disability following traumatic brain injury hospitalization, United States, 2003.

OBJECTIVE
Develop and validate a predictive model of the incidence of long-term disability following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and obtain national estimates for the United States in 2003. DATA/METHODS: A logistic regression model was built, using a population-based sample of persons with TBI from the South Carolina Traumatic Brain Injury Follow-up Registry. The regression coefficients were applied to the 2003 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample data to estimate the incidence of long-term disability following traumatic brain injury hospitalization.


RESULTS
Among 288,009 (95% CI, 287,974-288,043) hospitalized TBI survivors in the United States in 2003, an estimated 124,626 (95% CI, 123,706-125,546) had developed long-term disability.


CONCLUSION
TBI-related disability is a significant public health problem in the United States. The substantial incidence suggests the need for comprehensive rehabilitative care and services to maximize the potential of persons with TBI.
Factors affecting engineers' acceptance of asynchronous e-learning systems in high-tech companies

With the rapid change in all types of working environment, there is a need to implement electronic learning (e-learning) systems to train people in new technologies, products, and services. However, the large investment in e-learning has made user acceptance an increasingly critical issue for technology implementation and management. Although user acceptance received fairly extensive attention in prior research, efforts were needed to examine or validate previous results, especially in different technologies, user populations, and/or organizational contexts. We therefore proposed a new construct, perceived credibility, to examine the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM) in explaining engineers’ decisions to accept e-learning, and address a pragmatic technology management issue. Based on a sample of 140 engineers taken from six international companies, the results strongly support the extended TAM in predicting engineers’ intention to use e-learning. # 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Stepping up of MCQs' quality through a multi-stage reviewing process.

BACKGROUND
Assessment is a crucial and complex process. Thus quality assurance of assessment Methods is essential when assessment is used for the purposes of certification.


AIM
To evaluate the effect of continuous well-structured process of the question bank revision, enlightened by item analysis, in improving the quality of Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs).


SETTING
The Family Medicine (FM) training certification exam for the Egyptian Board accredited for International Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP[INT]).


METHOD
The results of the item analysis of Applied Knowledge Tests (AKTs) of two academic years (2009, 2013) were included in the study. The AKT test consisted of two papers, each of 100 MCQS, and blue printed against the FM training curriculum. A total of 226 candidates sat for the two exams; 102 in 2009 and 124 in 2013.


RESULTS
There were more MCQs with moderate difficulty and higher discrimination in 2013. Significant improvement was found in the discrimination index (DI) values in 2013 (p < 0.001). and questions with a high facility and classified as easy decreased from 40.5 to 28.7%. The average number of functioning distractors per item increased from 1.99 in 2009 to 2.19 in 2013 (p = 0.015).


CONCLUSION
Revision of well-constructed MCQs on a regular basis, and in a structured manner, improved the quality of the MCQs and consequently improved the validity of the examination.
Purinergic signalling in the gastrointestinal tract and related organs in health and disease

Purinergic signalling plays major roles in the physiology and pathophysiology of digestive organs. Adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), together with nitric oxide and vasoactive intestinal peptide, is a cotransmitter in non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory neuromuscular transmission. P2X and P2Y receptors are widely expressed in myenteric and submucous enteric plexuses and participate in sympathetic transmission and neuromodulation involved in enteric reflex activities, as well as influencing gastric and intestinal epithelial secretion and vascular activities. Involvement of purinergic signalling has been identified in a variety of diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, ischaemia, diabetes and cancer. Purinergic mechanosensory transduction forms the basis of enteric nociception, where ATP released from mucosal epithelial cells by distension activates nociceptive subepithelial primary afferent sensory fibres expressing P2X3 receptors to send messages to the pain centres in the central nervous system via interneurons in the spinal cord. Purinergic signalling is also involved in salivary gland and bile duct secretion.
Application of hybrid fuzzy logic proportional plus conventional integral-derivative controller to combustion control of stoker-fired boilers

Combustion control of an industrial stoker-"red boiler is to provide a continuous supply of steam at the desired condition of pressure. Because no e$cient mathematical model of the stoker-"red boiler is available, it would be very hard to design its controller by using any traditional model-based method. Therefore, the most widely used controller for the boiler system is a conventional PID-type controller due to its simple control structure and ease of design. However, control performance of the PID-type controller su!ers greatly from high uncertainty and nonlinearity of the system, large disturbances and so on. This paper presents a hybrid fuzzy logic proportional plus conventional integral-derivative (FUZZY P#ID) controller to improve the control performance yielded by the PID-type controller. The proposed FUZZY P#ID controller is constructed by using an incremental fuzzy logic controller in place of the proportional term in the conventional PID controller. The basic idea of this study is to reduce the parameters of a fuzzy controller to be tuned so that, in comparison with the PID-type controller, only one additional parameter should be adjusted. The proposed hybrid FUZZY P#ID controller is applied to several stoker-"red boilers. In order to demonstrate the e!ectiveness of the hybrid controller, the real application results on control of the stoker-"red boilers are reported and analyzed. ( 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Determining Influential Users in Internet Social Networks

School of Business, University of Maryland (e-mail: mtrusov@rhsmith. umd.edu). Anand V. Bodapati is Associate Professor of Marketing (e-mail: anand.bodapati@anderson.ucla.edu), and Randolph E. Bucklin is Peter W. Mullin Professor (e-mail: rbucklin@anderson.ucla.edu), Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles. The authors are grateful to Christophe Van den Bulte and Dawn Iacobucci for their insightful and thoughtful comments on this work. John Hauser served as associate editor for this article. MICHAEL TRUSOV, ANAND V. BODAPATI, and RANDOLPH E. BUCKLIN*
Curvilinear Mesh Generation in 3D

Issues related to curvilinear mesh generation starting from a CAD model are addressed. Curvilinear mesh geometry representation in the context of p-version finite elements and its impact on the validity of curvilinear meshes is discussed. A set of meshing tools is described for generation and modification of curved meshes in three-dimensional space. An iterative algorithm for curved meshing of existing straight-edged meshes is described and example curvilinear meshes of complex geometric models are presented.
Iterating between lessons on concepts and procedures can improve mathematics knowledge.

BACKGROUND
Knowledge of concepts and procedures seems to develop in an iterative fashion, with increases in one type of knowledge leading to increases in the other type of knowledge. This suggests that iterating between lessons on concepts and procedures may improve learning.


AIMS
The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the instructional benefits of an iterative lesson sequence compared to a concepts-before-procedures sequence for students learning decimal place-value concepts and arithmetic procedures.


SAMPLES
In two classroom experiments, sixth-grade students from two schools participated (N=77 and 26).


METHOD
Students completed six decimal lessons on an intelligent-tutoring systems. In the iterative condition, lessons cycled between concept and procedure lessons. In the concepts-first condition, all concept lessons were presented before introducing the procedure lessons.


RESULTS
In both experiments, students in the iterative condition gained more knowledge of arithmetic procedures, including ability to transfer the procedures to problems with novel features. Knowledge of concepts was fairly comparable across conditions. Finally, pre-test knowledge of one type predicted gains in knowledge of the other type across experiments.


CONCLUSIONS
An iterative sequencing of lessons seems to facilitate learning and transfer, particularly of mathematical procedures. The findings support an iterative perspective for the development of knowledge of concepts and procedures.
Can electroacupuncture or transcutaneous nerve stimulation influence cognitive and emotional outcome after stroke?

OBJECTIVE
The authors know of no controlled randomized studies on the cognitive effects of acupuncture following stroke. The aim of this study is to assess the effects of acupuncture combined with electroacupuncture and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on emotional and cognitive functioning.


METHODS
Five to 10 days after stroke, 54 patients with moderate or severe functional impairment were randomized to 1 of 3 interventions: (i) acupuncture, including electroacupuncture; (ii) sensory stimulation with high-intensity, low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation that induced muscle contractions; and (iii) low-intensity (subliminal) high-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (control group). Twenty treatment sessions were performed over 10 weeks. Outcome measures included cognitive performance and emotional functioning. Measures were obtained prior to any stimulation treatment and at 3 and 12 months.


RESULTS
At baseline, groups were comparable with regard to demographic, medical, emotional and functional status. The control group demonstrated lower cognitive performances, but this difference did not remain at 3 or 12 months. There were no treatment effects on emotional status. When pooling treatment groups, there were significant cognitive and emotional improvements.


CONCLUSION
Although patients from all 3 groups demonstrated cognitive and emotional improvements, the present study does not suggest any treatment effects on emotional status or cognitive functioning.
Modeling DCE-MRI at low temporal resolution: a case study on rheumatoid arthritis.

PURPOSE
To identify the optimal tracer-kinetic modeling strategy for dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) data acquired at low temporal resolution.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
DCE-MRI was performed on 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis of the hand before and after anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) therapy, using a 3D sequence with a temporal resolution of 13 seconds, imaging for 4 minutes postcontrast injection. Concentration-time curves were extracted from regions of interest (ROIs) in enhancing synovium and fitted to the 3-parameter modified Tofts model (MT) and the 4-parameter two-compartment exchange model (2CXM). To assist the interpretation of the data, the same analysis was applied to simulated data with similar characteristics.


RESULTS
Both models fitted the data closely, and showed similar therapy effects. The MT plasma volume was significantly lower than with 2CXM, but the differences in permeability and interstitial volume were not significant. 2CXM was less precise than MT, with larger standard deviations relative to the mean in most parameters. The additional perfusion parameter determined with 2CXM did not provide a statistically significant trend due to low precision.


CONCLUSION
The standard MT model is the optimal modeling strategy at low temporal resolution. Advanced models improve the accuracy and generate an additional parameter, but these benefits are offset by low precision.
VERSE: Versatile Graph Embeddings from Similarity Measures

Embedding aweb-scale information network into a low-dimensional vector space facilitates tasks such as link prediction, classification, and visualization. Past research has addressed the problem of extracting such embeddings by adopting methods from words to graphs, without defining a clearly comprehensible graph-related objective. Yet, as we show, the objectives used in past works implicitly utilize similarity measures among graph nodes. In this paper, we carry the similarity orientation of previous works to its logical conclusion; we propose VERtex Similarity Embeddings (VERSE), a simple, versatile, and memory-efficient method that derives graph embeddings explicitly calibrated to preserve the distributions of a selected vertex-to-vertex similarity measure. VERSE learns such embeddings by training a single-layer neural network. While its default, scalable version does so via sampling similarity information, we also develop a variant using the full information per vertex. Our experimental study on standard benchmarks and real-world datasets demonstrates that VERSE, instantiated with diverse similarity measures, outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of precision and recall in major data mining tasks and supersedes them in time and space efficiency, while the scalable sampling-based variant achieves equally good results as the nonscalable full variant. ACM Reference Format: Anton Tsitsulin, Davide Mottin, Panagiotis Karras, and Emmanuel Müller. 2018. VERSE: Versatile Graph Embeddings from Similarity Measures. In WWW 2018: The 2018 Web Conference, April 23–27, 2018, Lyon, France. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 10 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3178876.3186120
Single incision laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair

Various single incision laparoscopic surgeries (SILS) and natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgeries (NOTES) have been reported recently. Herein we performed SILS for totally extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair (TEP) on three cases. Three males of 72, 49, and 73 years old with the diagnoses of bilateral primary inguinal hernia underwent single incision TEP. The operative steps of single incision TEP are very similar to those of a traditional laparoscopic TEP. The difference between them is a 2 cm infraumbilical incision for the placement of three (5 mm) trocars in single incision TEP. We preferred to use a 30° 5 mm laparoscope with some routine laparoscopic instruments during the surgical procedure. All the hernia defects were repaired with VyproII of 15 × 10 cm (Ethicon, NJ, USA). The operations took 32, 26, and 65 min, respectively, with no obvious inconvenience. All three patients were discharged on the second postoperative day uneventfully. The postoperative follow-up showed no recurrence in the three patients up to now. The single incision TEP using an access port device is safe and feasible. Meanwhile SILS may reduce medical costs and complication rates through practice and improvement of SILS instruments.
A worldwide survey of tomato yellow leaf curl viruses

The name tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) has been given to several whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses affecting tomato cultures in many tropical and subtropical regions. Hybridization tests with two DNA probes derived from a cloned isolate of TYLCV from Israel (TYLCV-ISR) were used to assess the affinities of viruses in naturally infected tomato plants with yellow leaf curl or leaf curl symptoms from 25 countries. Probe A which included most of the intergenic region was expected to detect only isolates closely related to TYLCV-ISR, especially after high stringency washes. In contrast probe B, which included the full-length genome, was expected to detect a wide range of whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses. Tomato samples from six countries in the Middle East, from Cuba or the Dominican Republic proved to be closely related to TYLCV-ISR and probably were infected by strains of the same virus. Samples from Senegal and Cape Verde Islands were also related to the Middle Eastern virus. Samples from nine other countries in the western Mediterranean area, Africa, or South-East Asia were more distantly related and probably represent one or more additional geminivirus species. Samples from five countries in Africa, Central or South America gave hybridization signals with the full-length viral genome, only after low stringency wash, indicating that these samples were infected by remote viruses. These results were supported by DNA and protein sequence comparison, which indicate that tomato geminiviruses fall into three main clusters representing viruses from 1) the Mediterranean/Middle East/African region, 2) India, the Far East and Australia, and 3) the Americas. Within the first cluster, two sub-clusters of viruses from the western Mediterranean or from the Middle East/Caribbean Islands were distinguished. The incidence of tomato yellow leaf curl diseases has increased considerably between 1990 and 1996.
Computational principles of memory

The ability to store and later use information is essential for a variety of adaptive behaviors, including integration, learning, generalization, prediction and inference. In this Review, we survey theoretical principles that can allow the brain to construct persistent states for memory. We identify requirements that a memory system must satisfy and analyze existing models and hypothesized biological substrates in light of these requirements. We also highlight open questions, theoretical puzzles and problems shared with computer science and information theory.
Robotic Self-replication in Structured Environments: Physical Demonstrations and Complexity Measures

In this paper we define a complexity ratio that measures the degree to which a robot is self-replicating based on the number and complexity of subsystems that it can assemble to form a functional replica. We also quantify how structured the environment must be in order for a robot to function. This calculation uses Sanderson’s concept of parts entropy. Together, the complexity measure of the robot and environmental entropy provide quantitative benchmarks to assess the state of the art in the subfield of self-replicating robotic systems, and provide goals for the design of future systems. We demonstrate these principles with three prototype systems that show different degrees of robotic self-replication. The first robot is controlled by a microprocessor and consists of five subsystems. The second has no microprocessor and is implemented as a finite-state machine consisting of discrete logic chips that are distributed over five subsystems. The third design consists of six subsystems and is able to handle greater environmental entropy. These systems demonstrate the desired progression towards self-replicating robots consisting of greater numbers of subsystems, each of lower complexity, and which are able to function in environments with increasing levels of disorder. KEY WORDS—robotic self-replication, self-assembly, modular robots, distributed robotic systems
Whose quality of life is it anyway? Discrepancies between youth and parent health-related quality of life ratings in type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a critical diabetes outcome, yet differences between youth and parent-proxy ratings can make interpretation difficult. This study aims to explore potential differences between self- and parent-reports of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) scores from youth with type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) and to evaluate associations between discrepancies, PedsQL scores, and glycemic control (HbA1c). Youth and parents in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (T1D: age 5–18, n = 3402; T2D: age 8–18, n = 353) completed the PedsQL Generic and Diabetes Modules, and youth provided a blood sample to assess HbA1c. Discrepancies (youth minus parent PedsQL ratings) were calculated and examined by age and diabetes type, and associations with youth PedsQL scores and HbA1c were evaluated. Discrepancies existed between youth and parent-proxy reports of generic and diabetes PedsQL scores in T1D and T2D (all p values < 0.01). Higher (more favorable) ratings were reported by youth except for those 5–7-years old, where parents’ scores were higher. When parent-proxy scores were higher, discrepancies were largest when the child reported low PedsQL scores. Higher HbA1c was associated with larger discrepancies (youth scores higher) for adolescents with T1D. Discrepant PedsQL ratings suggest that parents may often underestimate youths’ HRQOL except in the youngest children. Although examining both reports is optimal, the youth report should be prioritized, particularly for young children with T1D and for adolescents with either T1D or T2D.
Predicting a clinically important outcome in patients with low back pain following McKenzie therapy or spinal manipulation: a stratified analysis in a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Reports vary considerably concerning characteristics of patients who will respond to mobilizing exercises or manipulation. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to identify characteristics of patients with a changeable lumbar condition, i.e. presenting with centralization or peripheralization, that were likely to benefit the most from either the McKenzie method or spinal manipulation.


METHODS
350 patients with chronic low back pain were randomized to either the McKenzie method or manipulation. The possible effect modifiers were age, severity of leg pain, pain-distribution, nerve root involvement, duration of symptoms, and centralization of symptoms. The primary outcome was the number of patients reporting success at two months follow-up. The values of the dichotomized predictors were tested according to the prespecified analysis plan.


RESULTS
No predictors were found to produce a statistically significant interaction effect. The McKenzie method was superior to manipulation across all subgroups, thus the probability of success was consistently in favor of this treatment independent of predictor observed. When the two strongest predictors, nerve root involvement and peripheralization, were combined, the chance of success was relative risk 10.5 (95% CI 0.71-155.43) for the McKenzie method and 1.23 (95% CI 1.03-1.46) for manipulation (P = 0.11 for interaction effect).


CONCLUSIONS
We did not find any baseline variables which were statistically significant effect modifiers in predicting different response to either McKenzie treatment or spinal manipulation when compared to each other. However, we did identify nerve root involvement and peripheralization to produce differences in response to McKenzie treatment compared to manipulation that appear to be clinically important. These findings need testing in larger studies.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00939107.