LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Validation and comparative evaluation of the osteoporosis self-assessment tool (OST) in a Caucasian population from Belgium.

BACKGROUND
Risk indices have been developed to identify women at risk of low bone mineral density (BMD) who should undergo BMD testing.


AIM
To compare the performance of four risk indices in White ambulatory women in Belgium.


DESIGN
Epidemiological cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Records were analysed for 4035 postmenopausal White women without Paget's disease or advanced osteoarthritis, seen at an out-patient osteoporosis centre between January 1996 and September 1999. Osteoporosis risk index scores were compared to bone density T-scores. The ability of each risk index to identify women with low BMD (T-score < -2.0) or osteoporosis (T < -2.5) was evaluated.


RESULTS
Using an Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool (OST) score <2 to recommend DXA referral, sensitivity ranged from 85% at the lumbar spine to 97% at the total hip to detect BMD T-scores of <or= -2.5, and specificity ranged from 34% at the total hip to 37% at the femoral neck and lumbar spine. The negative predictive value was high at all skeletal sites (89-99%), demonstrating the usefulness of the OST to identify patients who have normal BMD and should not receive DXA testing. All risk indices performed similarly, although the OST had somewhat better sensitivity and somewhat lower specificity than the other indices at the cut-offs evaluated. Among the 11-12% of women who were classified as highest risk using OST or the Osteoporosis Index of Risk (OSIRIS), 81-85% had low bone mass and 68-74% had osteoporosis.


DISCUSSION
The performance of these risk indices among women in Belgium was similar to that reported earlier for other samples in Asian countries, the US, and the Netherlands. The OST and other risk indices are effective and efficient tools to help target high-risk women for DXA testing.
Longitudinal Changes in Body Composition in Patients After Initiation of Hemodialysis Therapy: Results From an International Cohort.

OBJECTIVE
In patients with advanced kidney disease, metabolic and nutritional derangements induced by uremia interact and reinforce each other in a deleterious vicious circle. Literature addressing the effect of dialysis initiation on changes in body composition (BC) is limited and contradictory. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in BC in a large international cohort of incident hemodialysis patients.


METHODS
A total of 8,227 incident adult end-stage renal disease patients with BC evaluation within the initial first 6 months of baseline, defined as 6 months after renal replacement therapy initiation, were considered. BC, including fat tissue index (FTI) and lean tissue index (LTI), were evaluated by Body Composition Monitor (BCM, Fresenius Medical Care, Bad Homburg, Germany). Exclusion criteria at baseline were lack of a BCM measurement before or after baseline, body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m(2), presence of metastatic solid tumors, treatment with a catheter, and prescription of less or more than 3 treatments per week. Maximum follow-up was 2 years. Descriptive analysis was performed comparing current values with the baseline in each interval (delta analysis). Linear mixed models considering the correlation structure of the repeated measurements were used to evaluate factors associated with different trends in FTI and LTI.


RESULTS
BMI increased about 0.6 kg/m(2) over 24 months from baseline. This was associated with increase in FTI of about 0.95 kg/m(2) and a decrease in LTI of about 0.4 kg/m(2). Female gender, diabetic status, and low baseline FTI were associated with a significant greater increase of FTI. Age > 67 years, diabetes, male gender, high baseline LTI, and low baseline FTI were associated with a significant greater decrease of LTI.


CONCLUSIONS
With the transition to hemodialysis, end-stage renal disease patients presented with distinctive changes in BC. These were mainly associated with gender, older age, presence of diabetes, low baseline FTI, and high baseline LTI. BMI increases did not fully represent the changes in BC.
Visual perceptual and handwriting skills in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

OBJECTIVE
Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder demonstrate a lack of automaticity in handwriting as measured by pauses during writing. Deficits in visual perception have been proposed in the literature as underlying mechanisms of handwriting difficulties in children with DCD. The aim of this study was to examine whether correlations exist between measures of visual perception and visual motor integration with measures of the handwriting product and process in children with DCD.


METHOD
The performance of twenty-eight 8-14year-old children who met the DSM-5 criteria for DCD was compared with 28 typically developing (TD) age and gender-matched controls. The children completed the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS). Group comparisons were made, correlations were conducted between the visual perceptual measures and handwriting measures and the sensitivity and specificity examined.


RESULTS
The DCD group performed below the TD group on the VMI and TVPS. There were no significant correlations between the VMI or TVPS and any of the handwriting measures in the DCD group. In addition, both tests demonstrated low sensitivity.


CONCLUSION
Clinicians should execute caution in using visual perceptual measures to inform them about handwriting skill in children with DCD.
Pharmacogenomic analysis of cytogenetic response in chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated with imatinib.

PURPOSE
To better understand the molecular basis of cytogenetic response in chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated with imatinib, we studied gene expression profiles from a total of 100 patients from a large, multinational Phase III clinical trial (International Randomized Study of IFN-alpha versus STI571).


EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Gene expression data for >12,000 genes were generated from whole blood samples collected at baseline (before imatinib treatment) using Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays. Cytogenetic response was determined based on the percentage of Ph(+) cells from bone marrow following a median of 13 months of treatment.


RESULTS
A genomic profile of response was developed using a subset of individuals that exhibited the greatest divergence in cytogenetic response; those with complete response (0% Ph(+) cells; n = 53) and those with minimal or no response (>65% Ph(+) cells; n = 13). A total of 55 genes was identified that were differentially expressed between these two groups. Using a "leave-one-out" strategy, we identified the optimum 31 genes from this list to use as our genomic profile of response. Using this genomic profile, we were able to distinguish between individuals that achieved major cytogenetic response (0-35% Ph(+) cells) and those that did not, with a sensitivity of 93.4% (71 of 76 patients), specificity of 58.3% (14 of 24 patients), positive predictive value of 87.7%, and negative predictive value of 73.7%.


CONCLUSIONS
Interestingly, many of the genes identified appear to be strongly related to reported mechanisms of BCR-ABL transformation and warrant additional research as potential drug targets. The validity and clinical implications of these results should be explored in future studies.
Understanding the context of design: towards tactical user centered design

It is widely recognized that system usability requires active involvement of end-users in all phases of software development, and there is currently a broad consensus among researchers and practitioners in the field as to what constitutes a good user-centered design process. Despite this, many systems development projects still fail when it comes to addressing usability issues and appropriately involving users in the design process. We find that a project's boundary conditions are becoming increasingly important for the potential impact of user-centered design activities, and hence the success of the end result of the project. We propose and define "context of design" as a concept to embrace the socio-technical system in which user-centered design takes place. The context of design includes, but is not limited to, the internal structure of the developer and the client organizations, contractual and tender issues, software engineering tools, and stakeholder agendas and relations. We illustrate the reasoning with various cases in which user-centered design has been constrained by factors in the context of design. We recommend that user-centered-design projects give priority to an early identification of factors in the context of design that pose risks to end-product usability. By analyzing the context of design for each project, we may be able to better tailor user-centered design activities to reach the goal of building a more usable end-result.
Survival in Patients with Degenerative Mitral Stenosis: Results from a Large Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND
Severe mitral annular calcification causing degenerative mitral stenosis (DMS) is increasingly encountered in patients undergoing mitral and aortic valve interventions. However, its clinical profile and natural history and the factors affecting survival remain poorly characterized. The goal of this study was to characterize the factors affecting survival in patients with DMS.


METHODS
An institutional echocardiographic database was searched for patients with DMS, defined as severe mitral annular calcification without commissural fusion and a mean transmitral diastolic gradient of ≥2 mm Hg. This resulted in a cohort of 1,004 patients. Survival was analyzed as a function of clinical, pharmacologic, and echocardiographic variables.


RESULTS
The patient characteristics were as follows: mean age, 73 ± 14 years; 73% women; coronary artery disease in 49%; and diabetes mellitus in 50%. The 1- and 5-year survival rates were 78% and 47%, respectively, and were slightly worse with higher DMS grades (P = .02). Risk factors for higher mortality included greater age (P < .0001), atrial fibrillation (P = .0009), renal insufficiency (P = .004), mitral regurgitation (P < .0001), tricuspid regurgitation (P < .0001), elevated right atrial pressure (P < .0001), concomitant aortic stenosis (P = .02), and low serum albumin level (P < .0001). Adjusted for propensity scores, use of renin-angiotensin system blockers (P = .02) or statins (P = .04) was associated with better survival, and use of digoxin was associated with higher mortality (P = .007).


CONCLUSIONS
Prognosis in patients with DMS is poor, being worse in the aged and those with renal insufficiency, atrial fibrillation, and other concomitant valvular lesions. Renin-angiotensin system blockers and statins may confer a survival benefit, and digoxin use may be associated with higher mortality in these patients.
Pheme: Veracity in Digital Social Networks

PHEME attempts to identify four kinds of false claim in social media and on the web, in real time: rumours, disinformation, misinformation and speculation. This brings challenges in modelling the behaviour of individual users, networks of users and information diffusion. This presentation proposal discusses the issues addressed by the project and the challenges it faces, in this emerging and rapidly-developing domain.
Intracranial angioplasty and/or stent placement in octogenarians is associated with a threefold greater risk of periprocedural stroke or death.

PURPOSE
To compare the clinical and angiographic outcomes of endovascular treatment of symptomatic intracranial stenosis between octogenarian and younger patients.


METHODS
Data for 244 consecutive patients (173 men; mean age 61.6 years) who underwent angioplasty and/or stenting for intracranial atherosclerotic disease at 5 specialized centers were pooled. Baseline, 30-day, and follow-up clinical and angiographic information were collected. Rates of clinical and angiographic endpoints were compared between patients >or=80 years old versus those <80 years.


RESULTS
Patients >or=80 years (n = 15) were more likely to be hypertensive (87% versus 69%) and have underlying coronary artery disease (73% versus 36%, p<0.05) compared to younger patients (n = 229). The rate of periprocedural stroke and/or death was 3-fold higher among patients aged >or=80 years compared with those <80 years (20% versus 7%, p = 0.11). No recurrent stroke or death (excluding periprocedural events) was observed during follow-up in the octogenarian group. In patients who had follow-up angiography, a similar rate of >or=50% restenosis was observed among patients aged >or=80 years and those aged <80 years (25% versus 29%, p>0.1).


CONCLUSION
The 3-fold higher periprocedural death and/or stroke rate suggests cautious use of intracranial angioplasty and/or stent placement in octogenarians.
Title Anisotropic Magnetoresistance Effect : General Expression of AMR Ratio and Intuitive Explanation for Sign of AMR Ratio

We derive the general expression of the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) ratio of ferromagnets for a relative angle between the magnetization direction and the current direction. We here use the two-current model for a system consisting of a spin-polarized conduction state (s) and localized d states (d) with spin-orbit interaction. Using the expression, we analyze the AMR ratios of Ni and a half-metallic ferromagnet. These results correspond well to the respective experimental results. In addition, we give an intuitive explanation about a relation between the sign of the AMR ratio and the s-d scattering process. Introduction The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) effect, in which the electrical resistivity depends on a relative angle θ between the magnetization (Mex) direction and the electric current (I) direction, has been studied extensively both experimentally [1-5] and theoretically [1,6]. The AMR ratio is often defined by ( ) ( ) ρ θ ρ θ ρ ρ ρ ⊥
How are family physicians managing osteoporosis? Qualitative study of their experiences and educational needs.

OBJECTIVE
To explore family physicians' experiences and perceptions of osteoporosis and to identify their educational needs in this area.


DESIGN
Qualitative study using focus groups.


SETTING
Four Ontario sites: one each in Thunder Bay and Timmins, and two in Toronto, chosen to represent a range of practice sizes, populations, locations, and use of bone densitometry.


PARTICIPANTS
Thirty-two FPs participated in four focus groups. Physicians were identified by investigators or local contacts to provide maximum variation sampling.


METHOD
Focus groups using a semistructured interview guide were audiotaped and transcribed. The constant comparative method of data analysis was used to identify key words and concepts until saturation of themes was reached.


MAIN FINDINGS
Family physicians order bone densitometry and try to manage osteoporosis appropriately, but lack a rationale for testing and are confused about management. Participants' main concern was clinical management, followed by disease prevention and their educational needs.


CONCLUSION
Family physicians are confused about how to manage osteoporosis. To reduce the burden of illness due to osteoporosis, educational interventions should be tailored to family physicians' needs.
Randomized trial of buprenorphine for treatment of concurrent opiate and cocaine dependence.

BACKGROUND
Buprenorphine is a partial mu-opiate agonist and kappa-opiate antagonist with established efficacy in the treatment of opiate dependence. Its efficacy for cocaine dependence is uncertain. This study evaluated buprenorphine for the treatment of concomitant cocaine and opiate dependence.


METHODS
Two hundred outpatients currently dependent on both cocaine and opiates were randomly assigned to double-blind groups receiving a sublingual solution of buprenorphine (2, 8, or 16 mg daily, or 16 mg on alternate days, or placebo), plus weekly individual drug abuse counseling, for 13 weeks. The chief outcome measures were urine concentrations of opiate and cocaine metabolites (quantitative) and proportion of urine samples positive for opiates or cocaine (qualitative). Group differences were assessed by use of mixed regression modeling.


RESULTS
The target dose of buprenorphine was achieved in 179 subjects. Subjects receiving 8 or 16 mg buprenorphine daily showed statistically significant decreases in urine morphine levels (P =.0135 for 8 mg and P <.001 for 16 mg) or benzoylecgonine concentrations (P =.0277 for 8 mg and P =.006 for 16 mg) during the maintenance phase of the study. For the 16-mg group, mean benzoylecgonine concentrations fell from 3715 ng/mL during baseline to 186 ng/mL during the withdrawal phase; mean morphine concentrations fell from 3311 ng/mL during baseline to 263 ng/mL during withdrawal. For the 8-mg group, mean benzoylecgonine concentrations fell from 6761 ng/mL during baseline to 676 ng/mL during withdrawal; mean morphine concentrations fell from 3890 ng/mL during baseline to 661 ng/mL during withdrawal. Qualitative urinalysis showed a similar pattern of results. Subjects receiving the highest dose showed concomitant decreases in both urine morphine and benzoylecgonine concentrations. There were no significant group differences in treatment retention or adverse events.


CONCLUSIONS
A sublingual buprenorphine solution at 16 mg daily is well tolerated and effective in reducing concomitant opiate and cocaine use. The therapeutic effect on cocaine use appears independent of that on opiate use.
Primary brain tumour epidemiology in Georgia: first-year results of a population-based study

A population-based cohort study was initiated in Georgia in March 2009 to collect epidemiologic data of malignant and non-malignant primary brain tumours. During the first year, 473 incident cases were identified. For a population of 4.3 million, the annual incidence rate was 10.25 per 100,000 inhabitants, age-standardized to the year 2000 US population. Non-malignant tumours constituted about 66 % of all tumours. Males accounted for 40 % and females for 60 % of the cases. Crude incidence rates by histology were highest for meningiomas (2.92/100,000), pituitary adenoma (1.16/100,000) and glioblastomas (0.64/100,000), which was in agreement with the frequency of reported histology: meningiomas—45.2 %, pituitary adenoma—18.0 % and glioblastomas—9.9 %. The age-standardized incidence rates were higher among females than males for all primary brain tumours (11.05 vs. 8.44/100,000) as well as for individual histologies except for glioblastoma and several other neuroepithelial tumours. Some differences compared with 2004–2005 Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States data may be explained by a higher percentage of unclassified tumours (37 %) in our study. We suggest further studies to clarify the nature of this discrepancy.
Biogenic silver nanoparticles using Rhinacanthus nasutus leaf extract: synthesis, spectral analysis, and antimicrobial studies

Nanotechnology is gaining momentum due to its ability to transform metals into nanoparticles. The synthesis, characterization, and applications of biologically synthesized nanomaterials have become an important branch of nanotechnology. Plant extracts are a cost-effective, ecologically friendly, and efficient alternative for the large-scale synthesis of nanoparticles. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNps) were synthesized using Rhinacanthus nasutus leaf extract. After exposing the silver ions to the leaf extract, the rapid reduction of silver ions led to the formation of AgNps in solution. The synthesis was confirmed by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the AgNps synthesized using R. nasutus leaf extract was investigated against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus flavus using a disc diffusion method. The AgNps showed potential activity against all of the bacterial strains and fungal colonies, indicating that R. nasutus has the potential to be used in the development of value-added products in the biomedical and nanotechnology-based industries.
A conceptual framework for serious games and its validation

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS SCHOOL OF ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE Doctor of Philosophy A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR SERIOUS GAMES AND ITS VALIDATION
Competing through service : Insights from service-dominant logic

Service-dominant logic (S-D logic) is contrasted with goods-dominant (G-D) logic to provide a framework for thinking more clearly about the concept of service and its role in exchange and competition. Then, relying upon the nine foundational premises of S-D logic [Vargo, Stephen L. and Robert F. Lusch (2004). â€œEvolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing,â€​ Journal of Marketing, 68 (January) 1â€“17; Lusch, Robert F. and Stephen L. Vargo (2006), â€œService-Dominant Logic as a Foundation for Building a General Theory,â€​ in The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing: Dialog, Debate and Directions. Robert F. Lusch and Stephen L. Vargo (eds.), Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 406â€“420] nine derivative propositions are developed that inform marketers on how to compete through service. a c, 2 Purchase Export
Modelling of solar-wind hybrid renewable energy system architectures

Solar and wind are the most promising among the renewable energy sources. The objective of this paper is to investigate the optimal techno-economically feasible model to mitigate a large scale demand in decentralized scenario. Solar, and wind energy potential in a hybrid scenario is closely assessed with an intermittent support from diesel generator and battery banks. Based on the general usage of appliances in a residential demand for 200 families that comprises of 1000 people a suitable load pattern is developed for this study. Demand in northern Europe predominantly constitutes of heating requirement in the form of water and space heating. The proposed model demonstrates convincing reliability in terms of techno-economical prospective. EnergyPRO, HOMER, and Balmorel software environments were used to simulate the models, results are assessed in the paper.
Personality determinants of online shopping : Explaining online purchase intentions using a hierarchical approach

What determines whether one purchases products online or through another channel? Just as retailers seek to develop online retail websites as profitable channels of distribution, researchers have pursued answers to this very question. In pursuing this line of research, several approaches have been utilized including those based upon behavioral economics, lifestyle analysis, and merchandising effects. While some of this work identifies the potential moderation of personality traits most of it focuses on factors related to time, costs and benefits, and shopping context. Following the hierarchical approach to personality developed by Mowen (Mowen J. The 3M Model of Motivation and Personality. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Press, 2000.), this study seeks to understand online purchase intent using personality constructs. The present study uses data from an online consumer panel to develop a hierarchical model of personality useful for predicting consumer intentions to purchase products and services online. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A Compact Multiband Inverted-F Antenna for LTE/WWAN/GPS/WiMAX/WLAN Operations in the Laptop Computer

An inverted-F antenna with multiband operations for Long-Term Evolution (LTE700/2300/2500), wireless wide area network (WWAN), GPS, WiMAX (2.3/2.5/3.5 GHz), and WLAN (2.4 GHz) applications is presented. The antenna consists of multibranch strips and is fabricated on both sides of an Al2O3 ceramic substrate, which has a compact size of 97 (L) × 11.2 (W) × 0.5 (T) mm3 to be embedded inside the laptop computer as an internal antenna. Four operating bands covering 646-983, 1503-1589, 1696-2963, and 3396-3646 MHz for the LTE, WWAN, GPS, WiMAX (2.3/2.5/3.5 GHz) and WLAN (2.4 GHz) systems are achieved with good radiation efficiencies.