LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Patient-reported outcomes one year after primary hip replacement in a European Collaborative Cohort.

OBJECTIVE
To identify whether patients have symptomatic improvement 12 months following total hip replacement (THR) surgery.


METHODS
The European Collaborative Database of Cost and Practice Patterns of Total Hip Replacement study consists of 1,327 patients receiving primary THR for osteoarthritis (OA) across 20 European orthopedic centers. The primary outcome was the difference in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA Index (WOMAC) score between preoperative and 12-month postoperative measurements. To classify whether patients responded to THR at 12 months, we used return to normal, Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT)-OA Research Society International (OARSI) criteria, minimum important difference (MID), and minimum clinically important difference. Exposures were age, sex, obesity, employment, educational attainment, American Society of Anesthesiologists status, and radiographs.


RESULTS
On average, there was a large improvement in WOMAC scores 12 months after surgery, but whereas some patients improved, others got worse. The OMERACT-OARSI method classified 85.7% of patients as responders, MID 70.1%, and return to normal 64.1%. In general, each approach classified the same groups of patients as responding to THR. Based on total WOMAC score, patients who were younger, morbidly obese, employed, and better educated were more likely to respond to THR, but the effects were attenuated after adjustment for confounding, with only the effect of education remaining important.


CONCLUSION
The overall average response to THR was good, but approximately 14-36% of patients did not improve, or were worse, 12 months postsurgery. Although the OMERACT-OARSI criteria were originally designed for use in clinical drug trials, they performed well in classifying patient response 12 months post-THR. Further research is required to understand the determinants of patient outcomes following THR.
Effective Cache Prefetching on Bus-Based Multiprocessors

Compiler-directed cache prefetching has the potential to hide much of the high memory latency seen by current and future high-performance processors. However, prefetching is not without costs, particularly on a shared-memory multiprocessor. Prefetching can negatively affect bus utilization, overall cache miss rates, memory latencies and data sharing. We simulate the effects of a compiler-directed prefetching algorithm, running on a range of bus-based multiprocessors. We show that, despite a high memory latency, this architecture does not necessarily support prefetching well, in some cases actually causing performance degradations. We pinpoint several problems with prefetching on a shared-memory architecture (additional conflict misses, no reduction in the data-sharing traffic and associated latencies, a multiprocessor's greater sensitivity to memory utilization and the sensitivity of the cache hit rate to prefetch distance) and measure their effect on performance. We then solve those problems through architectural techniques and heuristics for prefetching that could be easily incorporated into a compiler: (1) victim caching, which eliminates most of the cache conflict misses caused by prefetching in a direct-mapped cache, (2) special prefetch algorithms for shared data, which significantly improve the ability of our basic prefetching algorithm to prefetch individual misses, and (3) compiler-based shared-data restructuring, which eliminates many of the invalidation misses the basic prefetching algorithm does not predict. The combined effect of these improvements is to make prefetching effective over a much wider range of memory architectures.
Analysis of Ethernet-switch traffic shapers for in-vehicle networking applications

Switched Ethernet has been proposed as network technology for automotive and industrial applications. IEEE AVB is a collection of standards that specifies (among other elements) a set of network traffic shaping mechanisms (i.e., rules to regulate the traffic flow) to have guaranteed Quality of Service for Audio/Video traffic. However, in-vehicle control applications like advanced driver-assistance systems require much lower latencies than provided by this standard. Within the context of IEEE TSN (Time Sensitive Networking), three new traffic shaping mechanisms are considered, named Burst Limiting, Time Aware and Peristaltic shaper respectively. In this paper we explain and compare these shapers, we examine their worst case end-to-end latencies analytically and we investigate their behavior through a simulation of a particular setup. We show that the shapers hardly satisfy the requirements for 100Mbps Ethernet, but can come close under further restrictions. We also show the impact the shapers have on AVB traffic.
Relationships between Measures of Leadership and School Climate.

Research has established relationships among leadership, school climate, and effective schools. In this study, we compared relationships between selected dimensions of leadership and measures of school climate in 31 elementary schools. In addition, principals' perceptions of their leadership styles were compared with teachers' perceptions of their principals' leadership styles. Results indicate that teachers' perceptions of their principals' effectiveness are related to school climate.
Mitochondrial Contribution to Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis

The identification of the etiologies and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) should play an important role in enabling the development of novel treatment strategies to prevent or slow the progression of the disease. The last few years have seen enormous progress in this respect. Abnormalities of mitochondrial function and increased free radical mediated damage were described in post mortem PD brain before the first gene mutations causing familial PD were published. Several genetic causes are now known to induce loss of dopaminergic cells and parkinsonism, and study of the mechanisms by which these mutations produce this effect has provided important insights into the pathogenesis of PD and confirmed mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress pathways as central to PD pathogenesis. Abnormalities of protein metabolism including protein mis-folding and aggregation are also crucial to the pathology of PD. Genetic causes of PD have specifically highlighted the importance of mitochondrial dysfunction to PD: PINK1, parkin, DJ-1 and most recently alpha-synuclein proteins have been shown to localise to mitochondria and influence function. The turnover of mitochondria by autophagy (mitophagy) has also become a focus of attention. This review summarises recent discoveries in the contribution of mitochondrial abnormalities to PD etiology and pathogenesis.
Geographically Isolated Wetlands are Important Biogeochemical Reactors on the Landscape

Wetlands provide many ecosystem services, including sediment and carbon retention, nutrient transformation, and water quality improvement. Although all wetlands are biogeochemical hotspots, geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) receive fewer legal protections compared with other types of wetlands because of their apparent isolation from jurisdictional waters. Here, we consider controls on biogeochemical functions that influence water quality, and estimate changes in ecosystem service delivery that would occur if these landscape features were lost following recent US Supreme Court decisions (i.e., Rapanos, SWANCC). We conclude that, despite their lack of persistent surfacewater connectivity or adjacency to jurisdictional waters, GIWs are integral to biogeochemical processing on the landscape and therefore maintaining the integrity of US waters. Given the likelihood that any GIW contributes to downstream water quality, we suggest that the burden of proof could be shifted to assuming that all GIWs are critical for protecting aquatic systems until proven otherwise.
Re-evaluation and modification of the Stuivenberg Hospital Acute Renal Failure (SHARF) scoring system for the prognosis of acute renal failure: an independent multicentre, prospective study.

BACKGROUND
A prognostic scoring system for hospital mortality in acute renal failure (Stuivenberg Hospital Acute Renal Failure, SHARF score) was developed in a single-centre study. The scoring system consists of two scores, for the time of diagnosis of acute renal failure (ARF) and for 48 h later, each originally based on four parameters (age, serum albumin, prothrombin time and heart failure). The scoring system was now tested and adapted in a prospective study.


METHODS
The study involved eight intensive care units. We studied 293 consecutive patients with ARF in 6 months. Their mortality was 50.5%. The causes of ARF were medical in 184 (63%) patients and surgical in 108 (37%). In the latter group, 74 (69%) patients underwent cardiac and 19 (18%) vascular surgery.


RESULTS
As the performance of the original SHARF scores was much lower in the multicentre study than in the original single-centre study, we re-analysed the multicentre data to customize the original model for the population studied. The independent variables were the score developed in the original study plus all additonal parameters that were significant on univariate analysis. The new multivariate analysis revealed an additional subset of three parameters for inclusion in the model (serum bilirubin, sepsis and hypotension). For the modified SHARF II score, r(2) was 0.27 at 0 and 0.33 at 48 h, respectively, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) values were 0.82 and 0.83, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit P values were 0.19 and 0.05.


CONCLUSION
After customizing and by using two scoring moments, this prediction model for hospital mortality in ARF is useful in different settings for comparing groups of patients and centres, quality assessment and clinical trials. We do not recommend its use for individual patient prognosis.
Rural health workers and their work environment: the role of inter-personal factors on job satisfaction of nurses in rural Papua New Guinea

BACKGROUND
Job satisfaction is an important focal attitude towards work. Understanding factors that relate to job satisfaction allows interventions to be developed to enhance work performance. Most research on job satisfaction among nurses has been conducted in acute care settings in industrialized countries. Factors that relate to rural nurses are different. This study examined inter-personal, intra-personal and extra-personal factors that influence job satisfaction among rural primary care nurses in a Low and Middle Income country (LMIC), Papua New Guinea.


METHODS
Data was collected using self administered questionnaire from rural nurses attending a training program from 15 of the 20 provinces. Results of a total of 344 nurses were available for analysis. A measure of overall job satisfaction and measures for facets of job satisfaction was developed in the study based on literature and a qualitative study. Multi-variate analysis was used to test prediction models.


RESULTS
There was significant difference in the level of job satisfaction by age and years in the profession. Higher levels of overall job satisfaction and intrinsic satisfaction were seen in nurses employed by Church facilities compared to government facilities (P <0.01). Ownership of facility, work climate, supervisory support and community support predicted 35% (R2 =0.35) of the variation in job satisfaction. The factors contributing most were work climate (17%) and supervisory support (10%). None of these factors were predictive of an intention to leave.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides empirical evidence that inter-personal relationships: work climate and supportive supervision are the most important influences of job satisfaction for rural nurses in a LMIC. These findings highlight that the provision of a conducive environment requires attention to human relations aspects. For PNG this is very important as this critical cadre provide the frontline of primary health care for more than 70% of the population of the country. Many LMIC are focusing on rural health, with most of the attention given to aspects of workforce numbers and distribution. Much less attention is given to improving the aspects of the working environment that enhances intrinsic satisfaction and work climate for rural health workers who are currently in place if they are to be satisfied in their job and productive.
Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Associated with Premature Senescence? A Review of the Literature.

OBJECTIVE
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has major public health significance. Evidence that PTSD may be associated with premature senescence (early or accelerated aging) would have major implications for quality of life and healthcare policy. We conducted a comprehensive review of published empirical studies relevant to early aging in PTSD.


METHOD
Our search included the PubMed, PsycINFO, and PILOTS databases for empirical reports published since the year 2000 relevant to early senescence and PTSD, including: 1) biomarkers of senescence (leukocyte telomere length [LTL] and pro-inflammatory markers), 2) prevalence of senescence-associated medical conditions, and 3) mortality rates.


RESULTS
All six studies examining LTL indicated reduced LTL in PTSD (pooled Cohen's d = 0.76). We also found consistent evidence of increased pro-inflammatory markers in PTSD (mean Cohen's ds), including C-reactive protein = 0.18, Interleukin-1 beta = 0.44, Interleukin-6 = 0.78, and tumor necrosis factor alpha = 0.81. The majority of reviewed studies also indicated increased medical comorbidity among several targeted conditions known to be associated with normal aging, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal ulcer disease, and dementia. We also found seven of 10 studies indicated PTSD to be associated with earlier mortality (average hazard ratio: 1.29).


CONCLUSION
In short, evidence from multiple lines of investigation suggests that PTSD may be associated with a phenotype of accelerated senescence. Further research is critical to understand the nature of this association. There may be a need to re-conceptualize PTSD beyond the boundaries of mental illness, and instead as a full systemic disorder.
Impact of ambient odors on mall shoppers ’ emotions , cognition , and spending A test of competitive causal theories

The authors tested the effect of ambient scents in a shopping mall environment. Two competing models were used. The first model is derived from the environmental psychology research stream by Mehrabian and Russel (1974) and Donovan and Rossiter (1982) where atmospheric cues generate pleasure and arousal, and, in turn, an approach/avoidance behavior. The emotion–cognition model is supported by Zajonc and Markus (1984). The second model to be tested is based on Lazarus’ (1991) cognitive theory of emotions. In this latter model, shoppers’ perceptions of the retail environment and product quality mediate the effects of ambient scent cues on emotions and spending behaviors. Positive affect is enhanced from shoppers’ evaluations. Using structural equation modeling the authors conclude that the cognitive theory of emotions better explains the effect of ambient scent. Managerial implications are discussed. D 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
A 5-year randomized controlled study of learning, problem solving ability, and quality of life modifications in people with type 2 diabetes managed by group care.

OBJECTIVE
To study time course changes in knowledge, problem solving ability, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes managed by group compared with individual care and education.


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We conducted a 5-year randomized controlled clinical trial of continuing systemic education delivered by group versus individual diabetes care in a hospital-based secondary care diabetes unit. There were 120 patients with non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetes enrolled and randomly allocated to group or individual care. Eight did not start and 28 did not complete the study. The main outcome measures were knowledge of diabetes, problem solving ability, quality of life, HbA1c, BMI, and HDL cholesterol.


RESULTS
Knowledge of diabetes and problem solving ability improved from year 1 with group care and worsened among control subjects (P<0.001 for both). Quality of life improved from year 2 with group care but worsened with individual care (P<0.001). HbA1c level progressively increased over 5 years among control subjects (+1.7%, 95% CI 1.1-2.2) but not group care patients (+0.1%, -0.5 to 0.4), in whom BMI decreased (-1.4, -2.0 to -0.7) and HDL cholesterol increased (+0.14 mmol/l, 0.07-0.22).


CONCLUSIONS
Adults with type 2 diabetes can acquire specific knowledge and conscious behaviors if exposed to educational procedures and settings tailored to their needs. Traditional one-to-one care, although delivered according to optimized criteria, is associated with progressive deterioration of knowledge, problem solving ability, and quality of life. Better cognitive and psychosocial results are associated with more favorable clinical outcomes.
ContextLocNet: Context-Aware Deep Network Models for Weakly Supervised Localization

• FC (fully-connected) layer takes the pooling results, produces features FROI, Fcontext, Fframe, and feeds them into two streams, inspired by [BV16]. • Classification stream produces a matrix of classification scores S = [FCcls(FROI1); . . . ;FCcls(FROIK)] ∈ RK×C • Localization stream implements the proposed context-aware guidance that uses FROIk, Fcontextk, Fframek to produce a localization score matrix L ∈ RK×C.
Comparative results of endoscopic and open methods of vein harvesting for coronary artery bypass grafting: a prospective randomized parallel-group trial

BACKGROUND
We compared wound complications between endoscopic and open great saphenous vein harvesting for coronary artery bypass surgery.


METHODS
A total of 228 consecutive patients were prospectively randomized into two groups: open vein harvesting (OVH), 115 patients; and endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH), 113 patients. Each group was assessed for post-operative wound complications, pain intensity, and neuropathy in the early post-surgical period. Lymphoscintigraphy of the lower limbs as well as morphological studies of vein walls using light and electron scanning microscopy were performed.


RESULTS
Vein harvesting time was shorter for EVH than OVH: 31.8 ± 6.2 min and 40.3 ± 15.8 min, respectively (p < 0.01). There were fewer complications after vein harvesting in the EVH group (11.5 %) than in the OVH group (44.4 %) (р = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that diabetes mellitus was the only risk factor for post-surgical complications after OVH (odds ratio = 3.95 %; 95 % confidence interval 1.03-8.6). Lymphoscintigraphic data in the EVH group did not demonstrate considerable disturbances in lymph drainage after surgery. In the OVH group, the accumulation of radiopharmaceutical drugs in the lymphatic nodes reduced two-fold (р ≤ 0.001). Histological evaluation of vein samples did not show considerable damage to the vein wall in either group.


CONCLUSIONS
Using electron microscopy of vein fragments, this study demonstrated that EVH reduces wound complications and provides good-quality conduits.
A quality analysis of facebook messenger's most popular chatbots

This work introduces a set of quality attributes for chatbots. The selection is grounded on scholarly but also reputed blog references from 2016 and 2017. In addition, attributes should be amenable to be extracted (semi) automatically. On these premises, we consider four attributes: "support of a minimal set of common commands", "foresee language variations in both inputs and ouput", "human-assistance provision" and "timeliness". These attributes are worked out for the 100 most popular chatbots in Facebook Messager. The aim is to look for correlations between these attributes and chatbot popularity in terms of number of "likes". Results show that there is no significance correlation with any of the attributes. However, the experiment come up with two main insights. First, the lack of common communication paterns that would permit users to move their experiences and expectations from one chatbot to another. Second, the existence of many programming errors that reflect that bot programming is still a nascent area.
Proactive maintenance therapy with a topical corticosteroid for vulvar lichen sclerosus: preliminary results of a randomized study.

BACKGROUND
The chronic and relapsing nature of vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) represents a challenge for its long-term management after an effective treatment with topical corticosteroids.


OBJECTIVES
To assess the effectiveness of proactive, twice-weekly application of mometasone furoate 0·1% ointment, compared with daily topical vitamin E or cold cream, in keeping VLS in remission and reducing the risk of relapse after 3 months of treatment with topical corticosteroid.


METHODS
In total, 27 patients affected with VLS were enrolled into a 12-week active treatment phase (AP) with topical mometasone furoate 0·1% ointment once daily. Those who achieved disease remission entered a 52-week maintenance phase (MP) in which patients were randomized to apply either mometasone furoate 0·1% ointment twice weekly, a cold cream once daily or topical vitamin E once daily. The primary efficacy parameters were the relapse rate and the mean time to relapse.


RESULTS
Twenty-five patients considered to have been completely or almost completely healed after the AP entered the MP. By the end of the 52-week MP, 10 patients (40%) experienced a relapse: five in the vitamin E group (56%) and five in the cold cream group (62%), while no patient in the mometasone furoate 0·1% ointment group had a relapse. The occurrence of VLS relapse for patients in therapy with both vitamin E and cold cream was significantly higher than for those in proactive therapy with topical corticosteroid. The median time to relapse was the same (21·6 weeks) for the vitamin E and the emollient groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Once VLS has been stabilized with topical corticosteroids, twice-weekly proactive application of mometasone furoate 0·1% ointment over 56 weeks was found to be an effective and safe therapy option in maintaining VLS remission and in preventing the occurrence of relapse.
ALICE: The Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph Aboard the New Horizons Pluto–Kuiper Belt Mission

The New Horizons ALICE instrument is a lightweight (4.4 kg), low-power (4.4 Watt) imaging spectrograph aboard the New Horizons mission to Pluto/Charon and the Kuiper Belt. Its primary job is to determine the relative abundances of various species in Pluto’s atmosphere. ALICE will also be used to search for an atmosphere around Pluto's moon, Charon, as well as the Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) that New Horizons hopes to fly by after Pluto-Charon, and it will make UV surface reflectivity measurements of all of these bodies as well. The instrument incorporates an off-axis telescope feeding a Rowland-circle spectrograph with a 520-1870 Å spectral passband, a spectral point spread function of 3-6 Å FWHM, and an instantaneous spatial field-of-view that is 6 degrees long. Different input apertures that feed the telescope allow for both airglow and solar occultation observations during the mission. The focal plane detector is an imaging microchannel plate (MCP) double delay-line detector with dual solar-blind opaque photocathodes (KBr and CsI) and a focal surface that matches the instrument’s 15-cm diameter Rowland-circle. In what follows, we describe the instrument in greater detail, including descriptions of its ground calibration and initial in flight performance.