LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Cost-effectiveness of topical imiquimod and fluorouracil vs. photodynamic therapy for treatment of superficial basal-cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND
A recent noninferiority randomized trial showed that in terms of clinical effectiveness imiquimod was superior and topical fluorouracil noninferior to methylaminolaevulinate photodynamic therapy (MAL-PDT) for treatment of superficial basal-cell carcinoma (sBCC). Although it was expected that MAL-PDT would be more costly than either cream, a full cost-effectiveness analysis is necessary to determine the balance between effectiveness and costs.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether imiquimod or topical fluorouracil are cost-effective treatments for sBCC compared with MAL-PDT.


METHODS
An economic evaluation was performed from a healthcare perspective. Data on resource use and costs were collected alongside the randomized clinical trial. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was expressed as the incremental costs per additional patient free of tumour recurrence.


RESULTS
At 12 months follow-up, the total mean costs for MAL-PDT were €680, for imiquimod cream €526 and for topical fluorouracil cream €388. Both imiquimod and topical fluorouracil were cost-effective treatments compared with MAL-PDT. Comparing costs and effectiveness of both creams led to a incremental investment of €4451 to achieve an additional patient free of tumour recurrence. The acceptability curve showed that, for a threshold value of €4451, the probability of imiquimod being more cost-effective than topical fluorouracil was 50%.


CONCLUSION
Based on the 12 months follow-up results, imiquimod and topical fluorouracil cream are more cost-effective than MAL-PDT for treatment of sBCC. Hence, substituting MAL-PDT with either imiquimod or topical fluorouracil results in cost savings; these savings will be larger for topical fluorouracil. Long-term follow-up effectiveness data are necessary to confirm the cost-effectiveness of imiquimod vs. topical 5-fluorouracil cream.
Pregnancy-related gigantomastia. Case report

The term gigantomastia has been used to describe breast enlargement to extreme size, with sloughing, haemorrhage and infection. The condition is rare and a case of pregnancy-related gigantomastia is reported.
SKF 38393 enhances odor detection performance

 The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the D1-selective partial agonist SKF 38393 on the odor detection performance of rats using high precision olfactometry and a go/no-go operant task. Previous studies have found that the D2 receptor partial agonist quinpirole decreases such performance, but the influences of D1 receptor activation are unknown. In experiment 1, such detection performance to the odorant ethyl acetate was enhanced by SKF 38393, relative to saline, in male rats at 7.5 and 10.0 mg/kg IP dose levels, but not at the lower doses of 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0 mg/kg. In experiment 2, this enhancement was replicated at the 7.5 and 10.0 mg/kg doses and was shown to occur at the 12.5 mg/kg dose as well. In experiment 3, similar enhancement was shown for the odorant eugenol in female rats at the 7.5, 10.0 and 12.5 mg/kg doses, suggesting this effect is neither sex-specific nor confined to the odorant ethyl acetate. In experiment 4, a 0.025 mg/kg dose of the D1 receptor antagonist SCH 23390 depressed the enhancement produced to ethyl acetate by 7.5 mg/kg SKF 38393 to control levels. Overall, these data demonstrate that, in contrast to quinpirole, SKF 38393 improves odor detection performance in the rat and that this phenomenon can be attenuated by the D1 receptor blocker SCH 23390.
’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs Presuppositions in Context : Constructing Bridges Book Section

Traditionally, a distinction is made between that what is as serted by uttering a sentence and that what is presupposed. Presuppositions are characte rized as those propositions which persist even if the sentence which triggers them is neg ated. Thus ‘The king of France is bald’ presupposes that there is a king of France , since this follows from both ‘The king of France is bald’ and ‘It is not the case that the kin g of France is bald’. Stalnaker (1974) put forward the idea that a presupposition of an asserted sentence is a piece of information which is assumed by the speaker to be part of the common background of the speaker and interpreter. The presuppositions as anaphors theory of Van der Sandt (1992) — currently the best theory of presuppos ition as far as empirical predictions are concerned (Beaver 1997:983)— can be seen as o e advanced realization of Stalnaker’s basic idea. The main insight of Van der Sa ndt is that there is an interesting correspondence between the behaviour of anaph oric pronouns in discourse and the projection of presuppositions (i.e., whether and ho w presuppositions survive in complex sentences). Like most research in this area, Van d er Sandt’s work concentrates on the interaction between presuppositions and the linguistic context (i.e., the preceding sentences). However, not only linguistic contex t interacts with presuppositions. Consider:
Chloride content of solutions used for regional citrate anticoagulation might be responsible for blunting correction of metabolic acidosis during continuous veno-venous hemofiltration

BACKGROUND
Citrate, the currently preferred anticoagulant for continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH), may influence acid-base equilibrium.


METHODS
The effect of 2 different citrate solutions on acid-base status was assessed according to the Stewart-Figge approach in two consecutive cohorts of critically ill adult patients. The first group received Prismocitrate 10/2 (PC10/2; 10 mmol citrate/L). The next group was treated with Prismocitrate 18/0 (PC18; 18 mmol citrate/L). Both groups received bicarbonate-buffered fluids in post-dilution.


RESULTS
At similar citrate flow, the metabolic acidosis present at baseline in both groups was significantly attenuated in PC18 patients but persisted in PC10/2 patients after 24 h of treatment (median pH 7,42 vs 7,28; p = 0.0001). Acidosis in the PC10/2 group was associated with a decreased strong ion difference and an increased strong ion gap (respectively 43 vs. 51 mmol/L and 17 vs. 12 mmol/L, PC10/2 vs. PC18; both p = 0.001). Chloride flow was higher in PC10/2 than in PC18 subjects (25.9 vs 14.3 mmol/L blood; p < 0.05).


CONCLUSION
Correction of acidosis was blunted in patients who received 10 mmol citrate/L as regional anticoagulation during CVVH. This could be explained by differences in chloride flow between the applied citrate solutions inducing hyperchloremic acidosis.
A DC-Side Sensorless Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Converter-Based Photovoltaic System

In this paper, a cascaded H-Bridge (CHB)-multilevel converter (MC)-based photovoltaic (PV) system with no voltage or current sensors at the dc-side is proposed. Eliminating the dc-side sensors simplifies the hardware, leading to lower cost and higher reliability of the PV system. A novel scheme estimating the capacitors' voltages from the ac output voltage of the inverter is developed. The scheme allows replacing all dc-side voltage sensors by a single-voltage sensor at the ac-side of the converter. Furthermore, the dc current sensors, conventionally required for the maximum power point tracking (MPPT), are also eliminated. Instead, the outputs from the capacitors' voltage control systems are utilized for the MPPT. The effectiveness of the proposed dc-side sensorless system is experimentally demonstrated on a 2-kW single-phase seven-level CHB converter-based PV system.
The Economic Order-Quantity (EOQ) Model

The economic order-quantity model considers the tradeoff between ordering cost and storage cost in choosing the quantity to use in replenishing item inventories. A larger order-quantity reduces ordering frequency, and, hence ordering cost/ month, but requires holding a larger average inventory, which increases storage (holding) cost/month. On the other hand, a smaller order-quantity reduces average inventory but requires more frequent ordering and higher ordering cost/month. The costminimizing order-quantity is called the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ). This chapter builds intuition about the robustness of EOQ, which makes the model useful for management decision-making even if its inputs (parameters) are only known to be within a range of possible values. This chapter also provides intuition about choosing an inventory-management system, not just an EOQ.
High impedance metamaterial surfaces using Hilbert-curve inclusions

A metamaterial surface, composed of a periodic arrangement of Hilbert Curve inclusions above a conducting ground plane, is analyzed numerically and is shown to possess the properties of a high impedance surface by investigating the phase and magnitude of the reflection coefficient, /spl Gamma/, for a plane wave of normal incidence. A parametric study is presented with respect to the iteration order of the Hilbert curve, the surface height above the ground plane, and the separation distance between the neighboring Hilbert elements within the surface array.
A systematic review of distributed Agile software engineering

Context: The combination of Agile methods and distributed software development via remote teams represents an emerging approach to addressing the challenges such as late feedback, slow project timelines, and high cost, typically associated with software development projects. However, when projects are implemented using an Agile model with distributed human resources, there are a number of challenges that need to be considered and mitigated. Objectives: The objectives of our work are multifold. First, we would like to understand the reasons and conditions that lead to the adoption of distributed agile software engineering practices. Second, we would like to investigate and find out the most important risks that threaten a distributed agile software engineering approach and what mitigation strategies exist to address them. Finally, would like to highlight which of the available approaches among the existing agile methodologies have been successfully adopted by the community. We intend to solidify our findings by exploring the strength of the evidence that has been reported in the literature. Methods: We carried out a systematic literature review of Distributed Agile Software Engineering techniques and approaches reported from January 1, 2007 until September 31, 2012. The adopted method follows the well-established guidelines in the literature for conducting systematic literature reviews. Results: Sixty-three distinct studies were selected and analyzed according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, which focused on identifying only those studies from the literature that had a significant empirical or experimental aspect to them. The results revealed a significant number of scenarios reported by the industry that documented challenges and solutions in a Distributed Agile setting. Communication, Coordination, Collaboration, and Cultural issues were listed as being the areas where challenges exist. Conclusions: This systematic literature review found time zone difference, knowledge of resources, lack of infrastructure, missing roles and responsibilities as being the primary challenges that needed to be addressed. In terms of solutions, most papers had recommended having a good infrastructure in place for communication, encouraging team members to engage in formal and informal communications, having more face-to-face visits, training human resources on DASE and organizational practices, policies, procedures, and utilizing tools to enhance the collaboration
The effect of surroundings on gaming experience

Today, digital games are available on a variety of mobile devices, such as tablet devices, portable game consoles and smart phones. Not only that, the latest mixed reality technology on mobile devices allows mobile games to integrate the real world environment into gameplay. However, little has been done to test whether the surroundings of play influence gaming experience. In this paper, we describe two studies done to test the effect of surroundings on immersion. Study One uses mixed reality games to investigate whether the integration of the real world environment reduces engagement. Whereas Study Two explored the effects of manipulating the lighting level, and therefore reducing visibility, of the surroundings. We found that immersion is reduced in the conditions where visibility of the surroundings is high. We argue that higher awareness of the surroundings has a strong impact on gaming experience.
The Effectiveness of Group Assertiveness Training on Happiness in Rural Adolescent Females with Substance Abusing Parents

BACKGROUND
Parental substance abuse confronts children with a variety of psychological, social, and behavioral problems. Children of substance abusing parents show higher levels of psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression and exert lower levels of communication skills. Weak social skills in this group of adolescents put them at a higher risk for substance abuse. Many studies showed school based interventions such as life skill training can effective on future substance abusing in these high risk adolescences.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
The participants consisted of 57 middles schools girls, all living in rural areas and having both parents with substance dependency. The participants were randomly assigned to intervention (n=28) and control (n=29) groups. The data were collected before and six weeks after training in both group. The intervention group received eight sessions of group assertiveness training. Participants were compared in terms of changes in scores on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and the Gambrills-Richey Assertion Inventory.


RESULTS
The total score for happiness change from 43.68 ±17.62 to 51.57 ±16.35 and assertiveness score changed from 110.33±16.05 to 90.40±12.84. There was a significant difference in pretest-posttest change in scores for intervention (7.89±4.13) and control (-2.51±2.64) groups; t (55) =2.15, p = 0.049. These results suggest that intervention really does have an effect on happiness and assertiveness.


CONCLUSION
Determining the effectiveness of these school based interventions on other life aspects such as substance abuse calls for further study on these rural adolescent girls.
Ethnic differences in ST height in the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND
ST elevation in precordial leads has been associated with genetic syndromes of arrhythmias and sudden death. ST height data in different ethnic groups are limited.


METHODS
ST height was determined in 4612 African-American, Chinese, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white men and women aged 45-84 years in the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). For leads I, II, and V(1) to V(6,) ST height, measured at the J point and 60 ms after the J point, adjusted for covariates were compared between non-Hispanic white and other ethnic groups using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).


RESULTS
Among men, ST height was significantly different across all ethnic groups at both time points for all leads (P < 0.01), except at the J point for limb lead II (P = 0.2). Among women, differences were also significant at the J point and 60 ms past the J point (P < 0.01). ST height was lowest for non-Hispanic whites in all leads and at both time points. At the J point, Chinese had the highest ST height for leads V(1) and V(2), whereas African Americans had the greatest ST height for leads I and V(3) to V(6). At 60 ms past the J point, Chinese men had the greatest ST height for lead I and V(1) to V(6;) and Chinese women had greatest ST height for leads V(1) to V(3).


CONCLUSIONS
There were significant differences in ST height among ethnic groups in all ECG leads. The physiological mechanisms and clinical significance of these differences and the possible association with arrhythmias require further study.
Prospective comparative study of intravenous cibenzoline and disopyramide therapy in the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation after cardiovascular surgery.

BACKGROUND
It has been reported that approximately one-third of patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery experience paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) during the postoperative period. There is, however, little information on the selection of anti-arrhythmic drugs for terminating postoperative paroxysmal AF.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Between April 2007 and March 2009, 118 patients (76 men, 42 women, mean age 68+/-10 years) who had postoperative paroxysmal AF lasting > or =30 min were randomly assigned to receive either iv cibenzoline (70 mg, n=60) or disopyramide (50 mg, n=58) for terminating postoperative paroxysmal AF. The success rate of iv cibenzoline therapy (47%) was significantly greater than that of iv disopyramide therapy (24%; P<0.05). To identify clinical factors to increase the termination efficacy of iv cibenzoline, multivariate logistic regression was used to adjust for several covariates and to generate adjusted odds ratios (OR). The significant variables for the termination of paroxysmal AF after iv cibenzoline therapy were pretreatment with oral beta-adrenergic blockers (OR =8.224, P=0.030) and smaller left atrial dimensions (OR =0.879, P=0.039).


CONCLUSIONS
The efficacy of iv cibenzoline for the termination of postoperative paroxysmal AF was significantly better than that of disopyramide, especially in patients with pre-administration of oral beta-adrenergic blockers and those with smaller left atrium.
Firefighters and on-duty deaths from coronary heart disease: a case control study

BACKGROUND
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is responsible for 45% of on-duty deaths among United States firefighters. We sought to identify occupational and personal risk factors associated with on-duty CHD death.


METHODS
We performed a case-control study, selecting 52 male firefighters whose CHD deaths were investigated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. We selected two control populations: 51 male firefighters who died of on-duty trauma; and 310 male firefighters examined in 1996/1997, whose vital status and continued professional activity were re-documented in 1998.


RESULTS
The circadian pattern of CHD deaths was associated with emergency response calls: 77% of CHD deaths and 61% of emergency dispatches occurred between noon and midnight. Compared to non-emergency duties, fire suppression (OR = 64.1, 95% CI 7.4-556); training (OR = 7.6, 95% CI 1.8-31.3) and alarm response (OR = 5.6, 95% CI 1.1-28.8) carried significantly higher relative risks of CHD death. Compared to the active firefighters, the CHD victims had a significantly higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in multivariate regression models: age >or= 45 years (OR 6.5, 95% CI 2.6-15.9), current smoking (OR 7.0, 95% CI 2.8-17.4), hypertension (OR 4.7, 95% CI 2.0-11.1), and a prior diagnosis of arterial-occlusive disease (OR 15.6, 95% CI 3.5-68.6).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings strongly support that most on-duty CHD fatalities are work-precipitated and occur in firefighters with underlying CHD. Improved fitness promotion, medical screening and medical management could prevent many of these premature deaths.
A Review of Localization and Tracking Algorithms in Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, a comprehensive survey of the pioneer as well as the state of-the-art localization and tracking methods in the wireless sensor networks is presented. Localization is mostly applicable for the static sensor nodes, whereas, tracking for the mobile sensor nodes. The localization algorithms are broadly classified as range-based and range-free methods. The estimated range (distance) between an anchor and an unknown node is highly erroneous in an indoor scenario. This limitation can be handled up to a large extent by employing a large number of existing access points (APs) in the range free localization method. Recent works emphasize on the use multisensor data like magnetic, inertial, compass, gyroscope, ultrasound, infrared, visual and/or odometer to improve the localization accuracy further. Additionally, tracking method does the future prediction of location based on the past location history. A smooth trajectory is noted even if some of the received measurements are erroneous. Real experimental set-ups such as National Instruments (NI) wireless sensor nodes, Crossbow motes and hand-held devices for carrying out the localization and tracking are also highlighted herein. Keywords—Wireless Sensor Networks, Localization, Tracking
Treating alcohol withdrawal with oral baclofen: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND
Abrupt cessation of alcohol intake causes habituated drinkers to experience symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-B agonist baclofen on the course of acute symptomatic AWS.


DESIGN
Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study.


SETTING
Two tertiary-care hospitals in Duluth, Minnesota.


PATIENTS
Inpatient adults admitted for any reason (including AWS) judged to be at high risk for AWS.


INTERVENTION
Inpatients who developed symptoms of AWS received symptom-triggered benzodiazepine treatment using lorazepam by standard protocol, and were randomized to receive baclofen 10 mg or placebo, 3 times per day, orally.


MEASUREMENTS
AWS severity was assessed using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar); lorazepam dose was monitored.


RESULTS
Seventy-nine subjects were enrolled. The 44 subjects who developed symptoms of AWS were randomized to baclofen or placebo. Thirty-one subjects (18 baclofen, 13 placebo) completed 72 hours of assessments, either entirely as inpatients or with outpatient follow-up. The need for high doses of benzodiazepines (20 mg or more of lorazepam over 72 hours) to control AWS was less likely in the baclofen treatment group (1 of 18) than in the placebo-treated group (7 of 13) (P = 0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
We found that the use of baclofen was associated with a significant reduction in the use of high doses of benzodiazepine (lorazepam) in the management of symptomatic AWS. The use of low-dose baclofen in the management of AWS deserves further study, as reduced dependence on high-dose benzodiazepines in AWS management could improve patient safety.
Quantitative measurements of autofluorescence with the scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

PURPOSE
To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of a standardized approach for quantitative measurements of fundus autofluorescence (AF) in images obtained with a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope (cSLO).


METHODS
AF images (30°) were acquired in 34 normal subjects (age range, 20-55 years) with two different cSLOs (488-nm excitation) equipped with an internal fluorescent reference to account for variable laser power and detector sensitivity. The gray levels (GLs) of each image were calibrated to the reference, the zero GL, and the magnification, to give quantified autofluorescence (qAF). Images from subjects and fixed patterns were used to test detector linearity with respect to fluorescence intensity, the stability of qAF with change in detector gain, field uniformity, effect of refractive error, and repeatability.


RESULTS
qAF was independent of detector gain and laser power over clinically relevant ranges, provided that detector gain was adjusted to maintain exposures within the linear detection range (GL < 175). Field uniformity was better than 5% in a central 20°-diameter circle but decreased more peripherally. The theoretical inverse square magnification correction was experimentally verified. Photoreceptor bleaching for at least 20 seconds was performed. Repeatability (95% confidence interval) for same day and different-day retests of qAF was ±6% to ±14%. Agreement (95% confidence interval) between the two instruments was <11%.


CONCLUSIONS
Quantitative AF imaging appears feasible. It may enhance understanding of retinal degeneration, serve as a diagnostic aid and as a sensitive marker of disease progression, and provide a tool to monitor the effects of therapeutic interventions.