LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A randomized multicenter study comparing a paclitaxel drug-eluting balloon with a paclitaxel-eluting stent in small coronary vessels: the BELLO (Balloon Elution and Late Loss Optimization) study.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of drug-eluting balloons (DEB) compared with paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) for the reduction of restenosis in small vessels.


BACKGROUND
DEB have been shown to be effective in the treatment of coronary in-stent restenosis, but data are limited regarding their efficacy in de novo disease.


METHODS
BELLO (Balloon Elution and Late Loss Optimization) is a prospective, multicenter trial that randomized 182 patients with lesions located in small vessels (reference diameter <2.8 mm) to treatment with paclitaxel DEB and provisional bare-metal stenting (n = 90) or PES implantation (n = 92). The primary endpoint was noninferiority of angiographic in-stent (in-balloon) late loss with a delta of 0.25 mm. Secondary endpoints were angiographic restenosis, target lesion revascularization, and major adverse cardiac events (MACE; death, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization) at 6 months.


RESULTS
Baseline characteristics were well matched, except for a smaller vessel size in the DEB group (2.15 ± 0.27 mm vs. 2.25 ± 0.24 mm; p = 0.003). The majority (89%) of lesions involved vessels with a diameter <2.5 mm. Bailout stenting was required in 20% of lesions in the DEB group. The primary endpoint of in-stent (in-balloon) late loss was significantly less with DEB compared with PES (0.08 ± 0.38 mm vs. 0.29 ± 0.44 mm; difference -0.21; 95% CI: -0.34 to -0.09; p(noninferiority) < 0.001; p(superiority) = 0.001). At 6 months, DEB and PES were associated with similar rates of angiographic restenosis (10% vs. 14.6%; p = 0.35), [corrected] target lesion revascularization (4.4% vs. 7.6%; p = 0.37), and MACE (10% vs. 16.3%; p = 0.21). [corrected].


CONCLUSIONS
Treatment of small-vessel disease with a paclitaxel DEB was associated with less angiographic late loss and similar rates of restenosis and revascularization as a PES. (Balloon Elution and Late Loss Optimization [BELLO]; Study NCT01086579).
Flexible dosing of tincture of opium in the management of opioid withdrawal: pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

AIMS
The aim was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of a range of Tincture of Opium (TOP) doses in the management of opioid withdrawal.


METHODS
Forty-five opium-dependent Thai subjects were allocated to three dosing groups (6.66, 13.3 and 20 mg morphine equivalents, twice daily) depending on their self-reported prior opium use. On day 5 of dosing subjects underwent an interdosing interval study where blood, withdrawal scores, heart rate and blood pressure (BP) were collected at 0, 1, 3 and 8 h. Plasma morphine concentrations were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography, and plasma morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) concentrations by LCMS.


RESULTS
Thirty-two subjects completed the study. Withdrawal scores were low for all subjects (range 9-23% of maximum response). There were dose-dependent changes in both systolic and diastolic BP (P = 0.021 and P = 0.01, respectively), but these were not considered clinically significant. There were no effects of dose on respiratory rate. Plasma morphine concentrations changed significantly across the interdosing interval (P = 0.0001), rising to a maximum at 1 h after dosing. Plasma morphine concentrations also differed according to dose (P < 0.05). The mean ratios of the morphine glucuronides were found to be: M3G/M6G = 7.7, M3G/morphine = 35.6 and M6G/morphine = 4.9, values comparable to those previously reported.


CONCLUSION
The management of opioid withdrawal can be achieved, with minimal adverse effects, by using flexible dosing of TOP.
Thermal Unit Commitment Problem by Using Genetic Algorithm, Fuzzy Logic and Priority List Method

In electrical power industries saving in fuel costs can be achieved by optimized commitment of available generating units. This paper describes the application of genetic algorithm and fuzzy logic for determining short-term commitment of thermal units in electrical power generation. Feasibility of these methods is examined and preliminary results to determine near optimal commitment order of thermal units in studied power system over short term are reported. The results obtained from genetic algorithm and fuzzy logic based approach are compared with the priority list method solution to unit commitment problem. The comparison proves that genetic algorithm and fuzzy logic based approach are powerful tools for solving such highly non-linear, multi constrained optimization problems in electrical power systems.
An algorithm for fingerprint image postprocessing

Most of the current fingerprint identification and verification systems performs fingerprint matching based on different attributes of the minutia details present in fingerprints. The minutiae (i.e. ridge endings and ridge bifurcations) are usually detected in the thinned binary image of the fingerprint. Due to the presence of noise as well as the use of different preprocessing stages the thinned binary image contains a large number of false minutiae which may highly decrease the matching performance of the system. A new algorithm of fingerprint image postprocessing is proposed. The algorithm operates onto the thinned binary image of the fingerprint in order to eliminate the false minutiae. The proposed algorithm is able to detect and cancel the minutiae associated with most of the false minutia structures which may be encountered in the thinned fingerprint image.
Data-Driven Methods for Solving Algebra Word Problems

We explore contemporary, data-driven techniques for solving math word problems over recent large-scale datasets. We show that well-tuned neural equation classifiers can outperform more sophisticated models such as sequence to sequence and self-attention across these datasets. Our error analysis indicates that, while fully data driven models show some promise, semantic and world knowledge is necessary for further advances.
Energy Conversion in Photosynthesis: A Paradigm for Solar Fuel Production

Solar energy has the capacity to fulfill global human energy demands in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, provided efficient, low-cost systems can be developed for its capture, conversion, and storage. Toward these ends, a molecular-based understanding of the fundamental principles and mechanistic details of energy conversion in photosynthesis is indispensable. This review addresses aspects of photosynthesis that may prove auspicious to emerging technologies. Conversely, areas in which human ingenuity may offer innovative solutions, resulting in enhanced energy storage efficiencies in artificial photosynthetic constructs, are considered. Emphasis is placed on photoelectrochemical systems that utilize water as a source of electrons for the production of solar fuels.
There is no association between the circadian clock gene HPER3 and cognitive dysfunction after noncardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND
The specific clock-gene PERIOD3 is important with regard to circadian rhythmicity, sleep homeostasis, and cognitive function. The allele PER3(5/5) has been associated with worse cognitive performance in response to sleep deprivation. We hypothesized that patients with the PER3(5/5) genotype would have an increased risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) 1 week after noncardiac surgery.


METHODS
Blood samples were analyzed from 93 patients with POCD and 186 patients without POCD from a completed multicenter study. The study population comprised patients ages 40 years and older undergoing noncardiac surgery who were tested preoperatively and 1 week after surgery with a neuropsychological test battery comprising 7 subtests. PER3 genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction analysis of DNA from blood samples (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01088100).


RESULTS
The frequencies of the 3 genotypes were 11.8% (32 patients) PER3(5/5), 41.7% (113 patients) PER3(4/5), and 46.5% (126 patients) PER3(4/4). No significant difference was found in the distribution of the 3 genotypes according to POCD at 1 week (P = 0.68). Twelve percent (6% to 21%) of the patients with POCD and 12% (7% to 17%) of the patients without POCD had the PER3(5/5) genotype. The difference of the incidence of POCD/-POCD for the PER3(5/5) genotype was 1% (-7% to 10%). A significantly higher Z score was found in patients having the PER3(4/4) in 1 of the neuropsychological tests (error score of the Concept Shifting Test) (Bonferroni corrected P = 0.042).


CONCLUSION
No significant association was found between the clock-gene PER3(5/5) genotype and POCD at 1 week after noncardiac surgery. If PER3(5/5) does worsen cognitive performance, the incidence is <10% of patients.
Economist and the environment

Abstract This paper attempts to apply economic reasoning to explain the research behavior of professional economists. The argument is straightforward. We proxy the scholarly output of economists by their rates of publication in major economics journals. We then augment a scholarly production function with variables reflecting the local climate, arguing that warmer and drier climates are less conducive to scholarly output. The results do not refute the basic hypothesis.
Lorentz's electromagnetic mass: a clue for unification?

We review in the present article the conjecture of electromagnetic mass by Lorentz. The philosophical perspectives and historical accounts of this idea are described, especially, in the light of Einstein's special relativistic formula {E = mc^2}. It is shown that the Lorentz's electromagnetic mass model has taken various shapes through its journey and the goal is not yet reached.
Using technology to support clinical care and research in rheumatoid arthritis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW
As digital technology becomes more ubiquitous, understanding the current state-of-the-art in digital information use for clinical care and research for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is timely and relevant.


RECENT FINDINGS
The opportunities for recording and utilizing high-quality data from rheumatologists are reviewed, as well as opportunities from collecting, integrating and analysing patient-generated data to deliver a step-change in the support and management of RA.


SUMMARY
Once greater adoption, standardization and implementation of relevant RA measures are in place within electronic health records (EHRs), patient care will improve and the ability to learn from aggregate experiences increases dramatically. Incorporating passive and patient-reported outcomes into self-management apps and integrating such data into the patient's health record will provide more responsive and better treatment results.
The Educational Affordances of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM): Results of Whatsapp® Used in Higher Education

The﻿popularity﻿of﻿Mobile﻿Instant﻿Messaging﻿(MIM)﻿has﻿prompted﻿educators﻿to﻿integrate﻿it﻿in﻿teaching﻿ and﻿learning﻿in﻿higher﻿education.﻿WhatsApp®﻿is﻿a﻿multi-platform﻿instant﻿messaging﻿application﻿widely﻿ used﻿worldwide,﻿however,﻿there﻿is﻿still﻿little﻿applied﻿research﻿on﻿its﻿use﻿as﻿a﻿platform﻿for﻿educational﻿ activities﻿ in﻿management﻿higher﻿education.﻿ In﻿ this﻿ article,﻿ the﻿authors﻿present﻿a﻿quantitative﻿and﻿ qualitative﻿assessment﻿of﻿a﻿concrete﻿experience﻿of﻿WhatsApp®﻿use﻿that﻿involved﻿140﻿undergraduate﻿ management﻿ students.﻿ Data﻿ were﻿ collected﻿ through﻿ questionnaires﻿ answered﻿ by﻿ the﻿ participants﻿ after﻿the﻿end﻿of﻿the﻿experience﻿of﻿use,﻿and﻿also﻿via﻿content﻿analysis﻿of﻿their﻿conversations﻿inside﻿ their﻿ WhatsApp®﻿ groups.﻿ The﻿ results﻿ indicate﻿ five﻿ main﻿ educational﻿ affordances﻿ of﻿ MIM﻿ that﻿ can﻿be﻿considered﻿in﻿management﻿education:﻿interactivity,﻿knowledge﻿sharing,﻿sense﻿of﻿presence,﻿ collaboration﻿and﻿ubiquity.﻿The﻿article﻿also﻿explores﻿the﻿limitations﻿of﻿this﻿tool﻿and﻿provides﻿suggestions﻿ of﻿good﻿practices﻿of﻿MIM﻿use﻿for﻿teaching﻿and﻿learning. KEyWoRDS Educational Affordances, Higher Education, Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM), Mobile Learning, WhatsApp®
Development and validation of self-reported line drawings for assessment of knee malalignment and foot rotation: a cross-sectional comparative study

BACKGROUND
For large scale epidemiological studies clinical assessments and radiographs can be impractical and expensive to apply to more than just a sample of the population examined. The study objectives were to develop and validate two novel instruments for self-reported knee malalignment and foot rotation suitable for use in questionnaire studies of knee pain and osteoarthritis.


METHODS
Two sets of line drawings were developed using similar methodology. Each instrument consisted of an explanatory question followed by a set of drawings showing straight alignment, then two each at 7.5 degrees angulation and 15 degrees angulation in the varus/valgus (knee) and inward/outward (foot) directions. Forty one participants undertaking a community study completed the instruments on two occasions. Participants were assessed once by a blinded expert clinical observer with demonstrated excellent reproducibility. Validity was assessed by sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratio (LR) using the observer as the reference standard. Reliability was assessed using weighted kappa (kappa). Knee malalignment was measured on 400 knee radiographs. General linear model was used to assess for the presence of a linear increase in knee alignment angle (measured medially) from self-reported severe varus to mild varus, straight, mild valgus and severe valgus deformity.


RESULTS
Observer reproducibility (kappa) was 0.89 and 0.81 for the knee malalignment and foot rotation instruments respectively. Self-reported participant reproducibility was also good for the knee (kappa 0.73) and foot (kappa 0.87) instruments. Validity was excellent for the knee malalignment instrument, with a sensitivity of 0.74 (95%CI 0.54, 0.93) and specificity of 0.97 (95%CI 0.94, 1.00). Similarly the foot rotation instrument was also found to have high sensitivity (0.92, 95%CI 0.83, 1.01) and specificity (0.96, 95%CI 0.93, 1.00). The knee alignment angle increased progressively from self reported severe varus to mild varus, straight, mild valgus and severe valgus knee malalignment (ptrend <0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The two novel instruments appear to provide a valid and reliable assessment of self-reported knee malalignment and foot rotation, and may have a practical use in epidemiological studies.
Is there a role for renin profiling in selecting chronic heart failure patients for ACE inhibitor treatment?

BACKGROUND
It remains uncertain whether angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors benefit all heart failure patients or just those with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) activation.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the response to an ACE inhibitor, assessed by urine sodium excretion, was different in patients with low renin versus those with high renin.


DESIGN
Plasma renin activity (PRA) was measured in 38 patients with stable chronic heart failure (21 male, 17 female; mean (SD) age 71 (6) years, range 59-82 years) on chronic diuretic treatment alone. They were divided into three groups: low (PRA </= 1.5 ng/ml/h, n = 11); normal (1.5 < PRA < 5, n = 14); and high (PRA > 5, n = 13). The effect of ACE inhibition was then assessed on diuretic induced natriuresis with respect to renin status.


RESULTS
There were no significant differences in age and sex distribution between the groups. Plasma angiotensin II and aldosterone increased serially from low to high renin groups, while 24 h urinary sodium concentrations fell from low to high renin groups (low PRA, 96.7 (39.5); normal PRA, 90.4 (26.7); high PRA, 66. 3 (18.9) mmol/l; p = 0.033), despite a higher diuretic dose in the high renin group. This blunted natriuretic effect of loop diuretics was caused by RAAS activation, which could partly be reversed by ACE inhibition. ACE inhibitors increased natriuresis by 22% in the high renin group (p = 0.029), but had no effect in the normal and low renin groups. Within the low renin group, five of the 11 patients had persistently low renin levels despite ACE inhibition. There was a non-significant reduction in natriuresis (-9.6%, p = 0.335) following ACE inhibition in this subgroup of patients.


CONCLUSIONS
About one third of heart failure patients in our study had low renin status and a non-activated RAAS, despite diuretic treatment. ACE inhibitors did not alter natriuresis significantly in this subgroup of patients, and enhanced natriuresis only in patients with high renin. There is thus tentative support for renin profiling in targeting ACE inhibitors to the most deserving, by showing that short term sodium retention does not occur in low renin patients if ACE inhibitors are withdrawn.
0.1. Minimizing Finite State Machines 1 0.1 Minimizing Finite State Machines

Here we discuss the problem of minimizing the number of states of a DFA. We will show that for any regular language L, there is a unique DFA that recognizes L and minimizes the number of states it contains. Further, that DFA can be found by an efficient algorithm, given any DFA M that recognizes L. We will use the DFA shown in Figure 1 to illustrate the ideas and the algorithm. First, it is obvious that if DFA M has a state q that cannot be reached from the start state of M , then q can be removed and the resulting DFA recognizes exactly the same language as M does. Removing such states is the first step of minimization algorithm. As a side consequence, after such states have been removed, the resulting DFA is connected. In the example, state d should be removed, and we assume it has been. b c 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 e f g h d a Figure 1: The DFA we will use for the running example. Definition Two states q and q in a DFA M are distinguishable if there is some string w ∈ Σ * where the computation on w from q leads to a final state, wlog, while the computation on w from q leads to a non-final state. For example, states a and b are distinguishable, using the w = 01, since final state c is reached from a on string 01, while non-final state e is reached from b
Profile of cognitive problems in schizophrenia and implications for vocational functioning.

AIM
This literature review attempts to profile specific areas of cognition that have shown unique and consistent evidence of dysfunction among people with schizophrenia. In addition, their impact on vocational functioning is illustrated, so as to highlight the importance of managing these cognitive difficulties in vocational rehabilitation.


METHODS
Literature search was carried out on seven key cognitive domains identified by the National Institute of Mental Health in the USA. Their impact on vocational function was also reviewed.


RESULTS
It is found that attention, declarative and working memory, reasoning, problem-solving and social cognition are areas of impairment that have great impact on vocational functioning. Attention and memory problems affect learning of new work tasks. Executive function is particularly crucial in determining supported and open employment outcomes, as executive dysfunction cannot be easily compensated. Lastly, social cognition plays a major role in determining the success of workplace social exchanges.


CONCLUSION
Occupational therapists need to have a good understanding of the profile of cognitive problems among people with schizophrenia, in order to tailor our intervention according to their cognitive strengths and difficulties. Several cognitive remediation strategies and programs have been designed specifically for people with mental illness. Equipping ourselves with skills in conducting such programs will augment our expertise in vocational rehabilitation.
Electoral Accountability and Corruption: Evidence from the Audits of Local Governments

We show that political institutions affect corruption levels. We use corruption audit reports in Brazil to construct new measures of political corruption in local governments and test whether electoral accountability affects the corruption practices of incumbent politicians. We find significantly less corruption in municipalities where mayors can get reelected. Mayors with re-election incentives misappropriate 27 percent fewer resources than mayors without re-election incentives. These effects are more pronounced among municipalities with less access to information and where the likelihood of judicial punishment is lower. Overall our findings suggest that electoral rules that enhance political accountability play a crucial role in constraining politician’s corrupt behavior.
RHSBoost: Improving classification performance in imbalance data

Imbalance data are defined as a dataset whose proportion of classes is severely skewed. Classification performance of existing models tends to deteriorate due to class distribution imbalance. In addition, over-representation by majority classes prevents a classifier from paying attention tominority classes, which are generally more interesting. An effective ensemble classificationmethod called RHSBoost has been proposed to address the imbalance classification problem. This classification rule uses random undersampling and ROSE sampling under a boosting scheme. According to the experimental results, RHSBoost appears to be an attractive classification model for imbalance data. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The duality theorem for min-max functions

Abstract The set of min-max functions F : ℝ n → ℝ n is the least set containing coordinate substitutions and translations and closed under pointwise max, min, and function composition. The Duality Conjecture asserts that the trajectories of a min-max function, considered as a dynamical system, have a linear growth rate (cycle time) and shows how this can be calculated through a representation of F as an infimum of max-plus linear functions. We prove the conjecture using an analogue of Howard's policy improvement scheme, carried out in a lattice ordered group of germs of affine functions at infinity. The methods yield an efficient algorithm for computing cycle times.
Fat, meat, and prostate cancer.

For more than 25 years, epidemiologic studies have reported on the relation of dietary fat to the risk of prostate cancer. Indeed, fat per se, or food sources of fat, has probably been the most studied of all dietary factors with regard to this cancer site. Despite this extensive investigative effort, the role of dietary fat in prostate cancer remains unclear. The hypothesis that dietary fat increases the risk of prostate cancer grew out of early ecologic studies that showed a positive correlation between prostate cancer mortality and per capita intake of fat, meat, and milk in international comparisons (1, 2). These findings were consistent with the recognition that prostate cancer risk is modifiable, as evidenced by such observations as the changing incidence and mortality rates in Japanese migrants to Hawaii and the substantial variations in incidence among ethnically similar populations in different geographic locations, e.g., Chinese men in different countries of Asia and the United States (3, 4). Fat and meat are considered together in this presentation because most research has been done in Western populations (United States, Canada, and Europe) where meat is an important contributor to total and saturated fat intake. Many investigators, therefore, interpreted associations with meat intake to reflect an effect of dietary fat. However, other constituents of meat could also contribute to a carcinogenic effect, as discussed below.