LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Psychometric properties of two measures of psychological well-being in adult growth hormone deficiency

BACKGROUND
Psychometric properties of two measures of psychological well-being were evaluated for adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD): the General Well-being Index, (GWBI)--British version of the Psychological General Well-being Index, and the 12-item Well-being Questionnaire (W-BQ12).


METHODS
Reliability, structure and other aspects of validity were investigated in a cross-sectional study of 157 adults with treated or untreated GHD, and sensitivity to change in a randomised placebo-controlled study of three months' growth hormone (GH) withdrawal from 12 of 21 GH-treated adults.


RESULTS
Very high completion rates were evidence that both questionnaires were acceptable to respondents. Factor analyses did not indicate the existence of useful GWBI subscales, but confirmed the validity of calculating a GWBI Total score. However, very high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.96, N = 152), probably indicated some item redundancy in the 22-item GWBI. On the other hand, factor analyses confirmed the validity of the three W-BQ12 subscales of Negative Well-being, Energy, and Positive Well-being, each having excellent internal reliability (alphas of 0.86, 0.86 and 0.88, respectively, N from 152 to 154). There was no sign of item redundancy in the highly acceptable Cronbach's alpha of 0.93 (N = 148) for the whole W-BQ12 scale. Whilst neither questionnaire found significant differences between GH-treated and non-GH-treated patients, there were correlations (for GH-treated patients) with duration of GH treatment for GWBI Total (r = -0.36, p = 0.001, N = 85), W-BQ12 Total (r = 0.35, p = 0.001, N = 88) and for all W-BQ12 subscales: thus the longer the duration of GH treatment (ranging from 0.5 to 10 years), the better the well-being. Both questionnaires found that men had significantly better overall well-being than women. The W-BQ12 was more sensitive to change than the GWBI in the GH-Withdrawal study. A significant between-group difference in change in W-BQ12 Energy scores was found [t(18) = 3.25, p = 0.004, 2-tailed]: patients withdrawn from GH had reduced energy at end-point. The GWBI found no significant change.


CONCLUSION
The W-BQ12 is recommended in preference to the GWBI to measure well-being in adult GHD: it is considerably shorter, has three useful subscales, and has greater sensitivity to change.
Long-term changes of sexual function in men with obstructive sleep apnea after initiation of continuous positive airway pressure.

INTRODUCTION
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly intermittent nocturnal hypoxemia, is associated with erectile dysfunction (ED).


AIM
We investigated in patients with OSA whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy has a long-term effect on sexual function, including ED, in the presence of other risk factors for ED.


METHODS
Within a long-term observational design, we reassessed 401 male patients who had been referred for polysomnography, with respect to erectile and overall sexual function. Mean ± standard deviation follow-up time was 36.5 ± 3.7 months. Patients with moderate to severe ED were stratified according to the regular use of CPAP.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Changes of sexual function were assessed by the 15-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) questionnaire, including the domains erectile function (EF), intercourse satisfaction, orgasmic function (OF), sexual desire (SD), and overall satisfaction (OS).


RESULTS
Of the 401 patients, 91 returned a valid IIEF-15 questionnaire at follow-up. Their baseline characteristics were not different from those of the total study group. OSA (apnea-hypopnea index >5/hour) had been diagnosed in 91.2% of patients. In patients with moderate to severe ED (EF domain <17), CPAP users (N = 21) experienced an improvement in overall sexual function (IIEF-15 summary score; P = 0.014) compared with CPAP non-users (N = 18), as well as in the subdomains OF (P = 0.012), SD (P = 0.007), and OS (P = 0.033). Similar results were obtained in patients with poor overall sexual dysfunction (IIEF-15 summary score <44). In patients with moderate to severe ED and low mean nocturnal oxygen saturation (≤93%, median), also the EF subdomain improved in CPAP users vs. non-users (P = 0.047).


CONCLUSIONS
These data indicate that long-term CPAP treatment of OSA and the related intermittent hypoxia can improve or preserve sexual function in men with OSA and moderate to severe erectile or sexual dysfunction, suggesting a certain reversibility of OSA-induced sexual dysfunctions.
Semi-automated modular modeling of buildings for model predictive control

A promising alternative to standard control strategies for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and blinds positioning of buildings is Model Predictive Control (MPC). Key to MPC is having a sufficiently simple (preferably linear) model of the building's thermal dynamics.
 In this paper we propose and test a general approach to derive MPC compatible models consisting of the following steps: First, we use standard geometry and construction data to derive in an automated way a physical first-principles based linear model of the building's thermal dynamics. This describes the evolution of room, wall, floor and ceiling temperatures on a per zone level as a function of external heat fluxes (e.g., solar gains, heating/cooling system heat fluxes etc.). Second, we model the external heat fluxes as linear functions of control inputs and predictable disturbances. Third, we tune a limited number of physically meaningful parameters. Finally, we use model reduction to derive a low-order model that is suitable for MPC.
 The full-scale and low-order models were tuned with and compared to a validated EnergyPlus building simulation software model. The approach was successfully applied to the modeling of a representative Swiss office building. The proposed modular approach flexibly supports stepwise model refinements and integration of models for the building's technical subsystems.
Methods for Collecting Milk from Mice

Mouse models offer unique opportunities to study mammary gland biology and lactation. Phenotypes within the mammary glands, especially those caused by genetic modification, often arise during lactation, and their study requires the collection of adequate volumes of milk. We describe two approaches for collecting milk from lactating mice. Both methods are inexpensive, are easy to use in the laboratory or classroom, are non-invasive, and yield adequate volumes of milk for subsequent analyses.
Examining the Importance of Social Relationships and Social Contexts in the Lives of Children With High-Incidence Disabilities:

Within the fields of psychology, sociology, and education, there has been a rapid expansion of research focused on understanding individual development within social contexts (Lerner & Simi, 1995; Moos, 2003; Rutter, 2000). Much of this work has been drawn from perspectives that place an emphasis on the dynamic interplay among the developing individual, family, and peer relationships; neighborhood and community contexts; and broader cultural forces. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982), theories of ecological development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998), and developmental systems theory (Ford & Lerner, 1992; Lerner, 1998) all emphasize the interactive nature of individual development within contexts. Approaches that rely on such perspectives have the potential to deepen our understanding of the stressors, risks, and supports that can negatively and positively affect development across time (Sameroff, Bartko, Baldwin, Baldwin, & Seifer, 1998). However, despite growing awareness of the importance of social and contextual experiences in the social sciences in general, less is known about how social relationships and contexts influence the lives of children and youth with highincidence disabilities. This is a vulnerable population whose members are more likely to experience peer rejection, depression, anxiety, behavioral and conduct problems, delinquency, poor academic adjustment, school dropout, and poorer longExamining the Importance of Social Relationships and Social Contexts in the Lives of Children With High-Incidence Disabilities
Platelet inhibition by abciximab bolus-only administration and oral ADP receptor antagonist loading in acute coronary syndrome patients: the blocking and bridging strategy.

INTRODUCTION
Current guidelines still recommend the bolus and infusion administration of glycoprotein IIbIIIa inhibitors in patients with high-risk acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. We sought to evaluate the extent of platelet inhibition by a blocking and bridging strategy with intracoronary abciximab bolus-only administration and oral loading of adenosine diphosphate receptor antagonists.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
Fifty-six consecutive high-risk acute coronary syndrome patients with bolus-only abciximab administration (0.25 mg/kg i.c.) and loading with 600 mg clopidogrel (55%) or 60 mg prasugrel (45%) were included in this study. Platelet aggregation induced by thrombin receptor-activating peptide and adenosine diphosphate was measured by multiple electrode aggregometry up to 7 days.


RESULTS
Thrombin receptor-activating peptide induced platelet aggregation was significantly suppressed for a minimum of 48 h (45±17U) and returned to a normal range (>84 U) after 6 days (90±26U; p<0.001). Co-medication with prasugrel significantly reduced adenosine diphosphate-induced (p=0.002) and thrombin receptor-activating peptide-induced (p=0.02) platelet aggregation compared with clopidogrel throughout the observation period. No stent thrombosis or repeat myocardial infarction occurred at 30-day follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Immediate blocking of platelet aggregation in high-risk acute coronary syndrome patients by intracoronary abciximab bolus-only administration and bridging to prolonged inhibition via oral blockade of ADP receptors effectively inhibited overall platelet reactivity for at least 48 h, questioning the value of continuous abciximab infusion. Co-medication with prasugrel vs. clopidogrel synergistically augmented platelet inhibition.
Technical efficiency in tilapia farming of Bangladesh: a stochastic frontier production approach

Genetically improved farmed tilapia is increasingly getting popular in Bangladesh. It has high production potential. Its dominant production technology ranges from extensive to improved extensive particularly in the rural areas. This study estimates levels and determinants of farm-level technical efficiency of tilapia farmers of Bangladesh using stochastic frontier production function involving a model for technical inefficiency effects. Data from fifty tilapia farmers of Jessore district are used in the analysis. The mean technical efficiency level of the tilapia farmers is 78%, and thus, the farmers operate 22% below the frontier production. Inefficiency effect is significant, and age, education, income, culture length, pond age, pond depth, water colour and pond tenure, as a group, are significant determinants of technical inefficiency. By operating at full technical efficiency levels, tilapia yield can be improved from the current level of 7.36–8.96 tons per hectare. The decision to add or not to add inputs is sometimes taken arbitrarily and not based on technology requirement. There is a lack of understanding of the technology practices. Fisheries extension efforts are required for proper understanding of the technology practices, further adoption and spread. For promotion of tilapia production, quality feed and seed at affordable price needs to be ensured.
A TEST OF THE CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING * By

A critical period for language learning is often defined as a sharp decline in learning outcomes with age. This study examines the relevance of the critical period for English speaking proficiency among immigrants in the US. It uses microdata from the 2000 US Census, a model of language acquisition, and a flexible specification of an estimating equation based on 64 age-at-migration dichotomous variables. Self-reported English speaking proficiency among immigrants declines more-or-less monotonically with age at migration, and this relationship is not characterized by any sharp decline or discontinuity that might be considered consistent with a “critical” period. The findings are robust across the various immigrant samples, and between the genders. (110 words).
Long range communications in urban and rural environments

Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) are prominent technologies in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT). Due to the long range capabilities and low energy consumption, Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) are the ideal technologies to send small data occasionally. With their unique characteristics, LPWANs can be used in many applications and in different environments such as urban, rural and even indoor. The work in this paper presents a study on the LPWAN LoRa technology, by testing and evaluating its range, signal quality properties and its performance in delivering data. Three distinct scenarios are proposed and tested, one rural and two urban scenarios in Portugal. The maximum communication range achieved was 5660 meters for the rural scenario and around 2000 meters for the urban ones, and we concluded that there are three essential scenario characteristics that influence the achieved results: distance, elevation difference and obstacles in the signal path.
Environmental Impacts of Distributed Manufacturing from 3-D Printing of Polymer Components and Products

Although additive layer manufacturing is well established for rapid prototyping the low throughput and historic costs have prevented mass-scale adoption. The recent development of the RepRap, an open source self-replicating rapid prototyper, has made low-cost 3-D printers readily available to the public at reasonable prices (<$1,000). The RepRap (Prusa Mendell variant) currently prints 3-D objects in a 200x200x140 square millimeters build envelope from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA). ABS and PLA are both thermoplastics that can be injection-molded, each with their own benefits, as ABS is rigid and durable, while PLA is plant-based and can be recycled and composted. The melting temperature of ABS and PLA enable use in low-cost 3-D printers, as these temperature are low enough to use in melt extrusion in the home, while high enough for prints to retain their shape at average use temperatures. Using 3-D printers to manufacture provides the ability to both change the fill composition by printing voids and fabricate shapes that are impossible to make using tradition methods like injection molding. This allows more complicated shapes to be created while using less material, which could reduce environmental impact. As the open source 3-D printers continue to evolve and improve in both cost and performance, the potential for economically-viable distributed manufacturing of products increases. Thus, products and components could be customized and printed on-site by individual consumers as needed, reversing the historical trend towards centrally mass-manufactured and shipped products. Distributed manufacturing reduces embodied transportation energy from the distribution of conventional centralized manufacturing, but questions remain concerning the potential for increases in the overall embodied energy of the manufacturing due to reduction in scale. In order to quantify the environmental impact of distributed manufacturing using 3-D printers, a life cycle analysis was performed on a plastic juicer. The energy consumed and emissions produced from conventional large-scale production overseas are compared to experimental measurements on a RepRap producing identical products with ABS and PLA. The results of this LCA are discussed in relation to the environmental impact of distributed manufacturing with 3-D printers and polymer selection for 3-D printing to reduce this impact. The results of this study show that distributed manufacturing uses less energy than conventional manufacturing due to the RepRap's unique ability to reduce fill composition. Distributed manufacturing also has less emissions than conventional manufacturing when using PLA and when using ABS with solar photovoltaic power. The results of this study indicate that opensource additive layer distributed manufacturing is both technically viable and beneficial from an ecological perspective. Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 1492 © 2013 Materials Research Society DOI: 1 557/op 013 0.1 l.2 .319
Prospective Randomized Long-Term Study on the Efficacy and Safety of UV-Free Blue Light for Treating Mild Psoriasis Vulgaris.

BACKGROUND
Blue light irradiation reduces the proliferation of keratinocytes and modulates T-cell immune response in vitro and has been shown to reduce the severity of psoriasis vulgaris (Pv) in two clinical trials.


OBJECTIVE
Evaluation of safety and efficacy of long-term UV-free blue light treatment at home for mild Pv.


METHODS
Forty-seven patients with mild Pv were randomized for receiving high-intensity blue light treatment (HI: 453 nm LED, 200 mW/cm(2), n = 24) and low-intensity treatment (LI: 453 nm LED, 100 mW/cm(2), n = 23) of one Pv plaque for 12 weeks. A contralateral control plaque remained untreated.


RESULTS
Patient compliance and satisfaction were high. The primary endpoint, change from baseline (CfB) of the Local Psoriasis Severity Index, revealed a significant improvement of the target compared to the control plaques (ΔCfB for the HI group: -0.92 ± 1.10, p = 0.0005; for the LI group: -0.74 ± 1.18, p = 0.0064).


CONCLUSION
UV-free blue light home treatment is safe and improves Pv plaques.
FDTD simulation of TE and TM plane waves at nonzero incidence in arbitrary Layered media

Plane wave scattering is an important class of electromagnetic problems that is surprisingly difficult to model with the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method if the direction of propagation is not parallel to one of the grid axes. In particular, infinite plane wave interaction with dispersive half-spaces or layers must include careful modeling of the incident field. By using the plane wave solutions of Maxwell's equations to eliminate the transverse field dependence, a modified set of curl equations is derived which can model a "slice" of an oblique plane wave along grid axes. The resulting equations may be used as edge conditions on an FDTD grid. These edge conditions represent the only known way to accurately propagate plane wave pulses into a frequency dependent medium. An examination of grid dispersion between the plane wave and the modeled slice reveals good agreement. Application to arbitrary dispersive media is straightforward for the transverse magnetic (TM) case, but requires the use of an auxiliary equation for the transverse electric case, which increases complexity. In the latter case, a simplified approach, based on formulating the dual of the TM equations, is shown to be quite effective. The strength of the developed approach is illustrated with a comparison with the conventional simulation based on an analytic incident wave specification with half-space, single frequency reflection and transmission for the edges. Finally, an example of a possible biomedical application is given and the implementation of the method in the perfectly matched layer region is discussed.
Flexible stabilization of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis: clinical and biomechanical considerations: a review of the literature

Syndesmotic rupture is present in 10 % of ankle fractures and must be recognized and treated to prevent late complications. The method of fixation is classically rigid fixation with one or two screws. Knowledge of the biomechanics of the syndesmosis has led to the development of new dynamic implants to restore physiologic motion during walking. One of these implants is the suture-button system. The purpose of this paper is to review the orthopaedic trauma literature, both biomechanical and clinical, to present the current state of knowledge on the suture-button fixation and to put emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of this technique. Two investigators searched the databases of Pubmed/Medline, Cochrane Clinical Trial Register and Embase independently. The search interval was from January 1980 to March 2011. The search keys comprised terms to identify articles on biomechanical and clinical issues of flexible fixation of syndesmotic ruptures. Ninety-nine publications met the search criteria. After filtering using the exclusion criteria, 11 articles (five biomechanical and six clinical) were available for review. The biomechanical studies involved 90 cadaveric ankles. The suture-button demonstrated good resistance to axial and rotational loads (equivalent to screws) and resistance to failure. Physiologic motion of the syndesmosis was restored in all directions. The clinical studies (149 ankles) demonstrated good functional results using the AOFAS score, indicating faster rehabilitation with flexible fixation than with screws. There were few complications. Preliminary results from the current literature support the use of suture-button fixation for syndesmotic ruptures. This method seems secure and safe. As there is no strong evidence for its use, prospective randomized controlled trials to compare the suture-button to the screw fixation for ankle syndesmotic ruptures are required.
A new image thresholding method based on Gaussian mixture model

Abstract: In this paper, an efficient approach to search for the global threshold of image using Gaussian mixture model is proposed. Firstly, a gray-level histogram of an image is represented as a function of the frequencies of gray-level. Then,to fit the Gaussian mixtures to the histogram of image, the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm is developed to estimate the number of Gaussian mixture of such histograms and their corresponding parameterization. Finally, the optimal threshold which is the average of these Gaussian mixture means is chosen. And the experimental results show that the new algorithm performs better. In this paper, an efficient approach to search for the global threshold of image using Gaussian mixture model is proposed. Firstly, a gray-level histogram of an image is represented as a function of the frequencies of gray-level. Then,to fit the Gaussian mixtures to the histogram of image, the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm is developed to estimate the number of Gaussian mixture of such histograms and their corresponding parameterization. Finally, the optimal threshold which is the average of these Gaussian mixture means is chosen. And the experimental results show that the new algorithm performs better.