LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Adapting agriculture to climate change: a review

The agricultural sector is highly vulnerable to future climate changes and climate variability, including increases in the incidence of extreme climate events. Changes in temperature and precipitation will result in changes in land and water regimes that will subsequently affect agricultural productivity. Given the gradual change of climate in the past, historically, farmers have adapted in an autonomous manner. However, with large and discrete climate change anticipated by the end of this century, planned and transformational changes will be needed. In light of these, the focus of this review is on farm-level and farmers responses to the challenges of climate change both spatially and over time. In this review of adapting agriculture to climate change, the nature, extent, and causes of climate change are analyzed and assessed. These provide the context for adapting agriculture to climate change. The review identifies the binding constraints to adaptation at the farm level. Four major priority areas are identified to relax these constraints, where new initiatives would be required, i.e., information generation and dissemination to enhance farm-level awareness, research and development (R&D) in agricultural technology, policy formulation that facilitates appropriate adaptation at the farm level, and strengthening partnerships among the relevant stakeholders. Forging partnerships among R&D providers, policy makers, extension agencies, and farmers would be at the heart of transformational adaptation to climate change at the farm level. In effecting this transformational change, sustained efforts would be needed for the attendant requirements of climate and weather forecasting and innovation, farmer’s training, and further research to improve the quality of information, invention, and application in agriculture. The investment required for these would be highly significant. The review suggests a sequenced approach through grouping research initiatives into short-term, medium-term, and long-term initiatives, with each initiative in one stage contributing to initiatives in a subsequent stage. The learning by doing inherent in such a process-oriented approach is a requirement owing to the many uncertainties associated with climate change.
A systematic review of interventions to improve handwriting.

BACKGROUND
Handwriting difficulties are among the most common reasons for referral of children to occupational therapy.


PURPOSE
To determine the effectiveness of handwriting interventions.


METHODS
A systematic review was carried out. Included studies were randomized or nonrandomized controlled trials of interventions that could be used by an occupational therapist to improve written output (printing or writing) among school-aged children identified as having difficulties with handwriting. Electronic searches of relevant databases were conducted up to January 2010.


FINDINGS
Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies tested (1) relaxation and practice with or without EMG, (2) sensory-based training without handwriting practice, and (3) handwriting-based practice (including sensory-focused or cognitive focused handwriting practice). Regardless of treatment type, interventions that did not include handwriting practice and those that included less than 20 practice sessions were ineffective.


IMPLICATIONS
Effective occupational therapy for improving handwriting must include adequate handwriting practice.
Perceptions of dental professionals and laypersons to altered dental esthetics: asymmetric and symmetric situations.

INTRODUCTION
Previous studies evaluated the perception of laypersons to symmetric alteration of anterior dental esthetics. However, no studies have evaluated the perception of asymmetric esthetic alterations. This investigation will determine whether asymmetric and symmetric anterior dental discrepancies are detectable by dental professionals and laypersons.


METHODS
Seven images of women's smiles were intentionally altered with a software-imaging program. The alterations involved crown length, crown width, midline diastema, papilla height, and gingiva-to-lip relationship of the maxillary anterior teeth. These altered images were rated by groups of general dentists, orthodontists, and laypersons using a visual analog scale. Statistical analysis of the responses resulted in the establishment of threshold levels of attractiveness for each group.


RESULTS
Orthodontists were more critical than dentists and laypeople when evaluating asymmetric crown length discrepancies. All 3 groups could identify a unilateral crown width discrepancy of 2.0 mm. A small midline diastema was not rated as unattractive by any group. Unilateral reduction of papillary height was generally rated less attractive than bilateral alteration. Orthodontists and laypeople rated a 3-mm distance from gingiva to lip as unattractive.


CONCLUSIONS
Asymmetric alterations make teeth more unattractive to not only dental professionals but also the lay public.
Development of the risk appraisal measure: a brief screen to identify risk areas and guide interventions for dementia caregivers.

OBJECTIVES
To develop and validate a brief screening measure for use in research, healthcare, and community settings to systematically assess well-being and identify needed areas of support for caregivers of patients with dementia.


DESIGN
This study used data from Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH II), a multisite randomized clinical trial of a behavioral intervention designed to improve the quality of life of caregivers in multiple domains.


SETTING
REACH II.


PARTICIPANTS
Two hundred twelve Hispanic, 211 black, and 219 white family caregivers providing in-home care to patients with dementia.


MEASUREMENT
Based on conceptual and psychometric analyses, a 16-item measure was developed that assesses six domains linked to caregiver risk and amenable to intervention: depression, burden, self-care and health behaviors, social support, safety, and patient problem behaviors. The reliability and validity of the instrument was evaluated with 642 dementia caregiver dyads from the REACH II program.


RESULTS
The measure was found to have acceptable internal consistency for a multidimensional scale and similar measurement properties for each of the racial and ethnic groups. Concurrent validity was also demonstrated for the measure.


CONCLUSION
The REACH Risk Appraisal Measure developed in this study shows promise as an assessment tool that can be used in research, clinical, and community settings to guide, prioritize, and target needed areas of support for caregivers of patients with dementia.
Prognostic factors for outcome of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy in patients with primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction

To evaluate the prognostic factors for outcome of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) in patients with primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Eighty-three consecutive cases of endoscopic DCR performed for primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction by a single surgeon were included in a retrospective, noncomparative case series. The outcome was assessed at a minimum of 5 months after surgery, being at least 3 months after removal of stents. Surgical success was defined both subjectively and objectively. Subjective success was defined as absence of epiphora. Objective anatomical success was defined as patency on syringing, and presence of a functioning rhinostomy evaluated using the functional endoscopic dye test. Variables assessed included age at surgery, gender, side, duration of intraoperative mitomycin C application, and duration of stent left in-situ. The prognostic factors for outcome were analyzed by the logistic regression test. Of the 79 analyzed cases, 74 (93.7 %) had successful surgical outcomes. The mean age at time of surgery was 55.5 ± 13.3 years, and the majority of patients were female (85 %). The mean follow-up period was 23.3 ± 16.8 months. Age at surgery is a significant factor influencing the surgical outcome (P < 0.05). Gender, side, duration of intraoperative mitomycin C application, and duration of stent left in-situ had no significant association with the outcome (P > 0.05). In endoscopic DCR for primary acquired nasolacrimal duct obstruction, younger patient age at time of surgery was associated with a higher rate of failure.
Author ' s personal copy FlashReport The more you play , the more aggressive you become : A long-term experimental study of cumulative violent video game effects on hostile expectations and aggressive behavior

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: FlashReport The more you play, the more aggressive you become: A long-term experimental study of cumulative violent video game effects on hostile expectations and aggressive behavior ► A 3-day experiment tested the cumulative effects of violent video games. ► Hostile expectations increased over 3 days for violent video game players. ► Aggression increased over 3 days for violent video game players. ► Hostile expectations mediated the effect of violent video games on aggression. ► Nonviolent video games did not influence hostile expectations or aggression. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o It is well established that violent video games increase aggression. There is a stronger evidence of short-term violent video game effects than of long-term effects. The present experiment tests the cumulative long-term effects of violent video games on hostile expectations and aggressive behavior over three consecutive days. Participants (N = 70) played violent or nonviolent video games 20 min a day for three consecutive days. After gameplay, participants could blast a confederate with loud unpleasant noise through headphones (the aggression measure). As a potential causal mechanism, we measured hostile expectations. Participants read ambiguous story stems about potential interpersonal conflicts, and listed what they thought the main characters would do or say, think, and feel as the story continued. As expected, aggressive behavior and hostile expectations increased over days for violent game players, but not for nonviolent video game players, and the increase in aggressive behavior was partially due to hostile expectations. Introduction In a classic Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, Calvin is shown watching a violent television program. He has the following internal dialog: " Violence in the media. Does it glamorize violence? Sure. Does it desen-sitize us to violence? Of course. Does it help us tolerate violence? You bet. Does it stunt our empathy for our fellow beings? Heck yes. Does it CAUSE violence? …Well, that's hard to prove. The trick is to ask the right question. " Contrary to what Calvin thinks, experimental studies do allow for causal inferences. Although it is not ethical for researchers to allow assaults , rapes, and murders to occur in …
Acupuncture on Renal Function in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Single-Blinded, Randomized, Preliminary Controlled Study.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the feasibility effect of acupuncture on renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).


METHODS
In total, 59 patients with CKD were randomized into acupuncture (AG; n = 30) and sham acupuncture (CG; n = 29) treatment groups. In the AG, acupuncture was applied to bilateral Hegu (LI4), Zusanli (ST36), and Taixi (KI3) to obtain qi, and electroacupuncture (2 Hz) was applied to two acupoint pairs (right Zusanli and Taixi and left Zusanli and Taixi) once per week for 12 weeks. In the CG, the acupuncture methods were identical to in the AG, and the acupuncture needle was applied to the subcutaneous layer at 1.5 cm lateral to the aforementioned acupoints, without electrical discharge. The levels of serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were measured at 3 months (observation period; O), immediately before the acupuncture treatment (baseline; B), at 12 weeks (after treatment completion; T12), and at the 3-month follow-up (postacupuncture treatment; P).


RESULTS
In total, 53 patients (AG, n = 28; CG, n = 25) with CKD completed the trial. The serum creatinine levels at baseline (B) were 1.45 mg/dL in the AG and 1.67 mg/dL in the CG (p = 0.1298). Furthermore, the change in serum creatinine levels after the acupuncture treatment (T12) was 1.41 mg/dL in the AG and 1.65 mg/dL in the CG (p = 0.0489). The eGFR at baseline was 51.85 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the AG and 42.50 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the CG (p = 0.0855). The change in the eGFR after the acupuncture treatment was 54.50 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the AG and 43.60 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the CG (p = 0.0470).


CONCLUSION
Acupuncture at bilateral Hegu, Zusanli, and Taixi for 12 weeks reduced creatinine levels and increased eGFR levels. The study only provided a feasibility method for the treatment of patients with CKD. However, the results of this preliminary study warrant further investigation.
Distribution and Ecophysiology of Calanoid Copepods in Relation to the Oxygen Minimum Zone in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) affect distribution patterns, community structure and metabolic processes of marine organisms. Due to the prominent role of zooplankton, especially copepods, in the marine carbon cycle and the predicted intensification and expansion of OMZs, it is essential to understand the effects of hypoxia on zooplankton distribution and ecophysiology. For this study, calanoid copepods were sampled from different depths (0-1800 m) at eight stations in the eastern tropical Atlantic (3 °47'N to 18 °S) during three expeditions in 2010 and 2011. Their horizontal and vertical distribution was determined and related to the extent and intensity of the OMZ, which increased from north to south with minimum O2 concentrations (12.7 µmol kg(-1)) in the southern Angola Gyre. Calanoid copepod abundance was highest in the northeastern Angola Basin and decreased towards equatorial regions as well as with increasing depth. Maximum copepod biodiversity was observed in the deep waters of the central Angola Basin. Respiration rates and enzyme activities were measured to reveal species-specific physiological adaptations. Enzyme activities of the electron transport system (ETS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) served as proxies for aerobic and anaerobic metabolic activity, respectively. Mass-specific respiration rates and ETS activities decreased with depth of occurrence, consistent with vertical changes in copepod body mass and ambient temperature. Copepods of the families Eucalanidae and Metridinidae dominated within the OMZ. Several of these species showed adaptive characteristics such as lower metabolic rates, additional anaerobic activity and diel vertical migration that enable them to successfully inhabit hypoxic zones.
Proportional-Fair Resource Allocation for Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission in LTE-Advanced

Coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission and reception are introduced as a promising technology in the 3GPP LTE-advanced standard, to manage interference, improve the overall system performance, and enhance system reliability. In this paper, a resource allocation problem is studied for downlink CoMP coordinated beamforming systems, where each base station (BS) serves its own mobile stations. Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) transmit precoding and resource allocation are linked to the underlying proportional-fair scheduling to ensure a good trade-off between cell-average and cell-edge user spectral-efficiency. Due to the coupled interference among mobile stations, the resulting proportional-fair resource allocation optimization problem becomes nonconvex. To solve for optimal operating point for MIMO CoMP network, a parallel successive convex approximation-based algorithm is introduced. The introduced scheme enables all BSs to update their optimization variables in parallel by solving a sequence of strongly convex subproblems. Closed-form expressions of the locally optimal solution in both the high and low signal-to-noise regimes are characterized. The performance of the introduced scheme is also investigated through simulations. Numerical results show the efficiency of the introduced algorithm.
Early treatment of stroke with monosialoganglioside GM-1. Efficacy and safety results of the Early Stroke Trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The Early Stroke Trial (EST) is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the effect of monosialoganglioside GM-1 in improving recovery in patients who experienced an ischemic supratentorial stroke.


METHODS
Sixteen clinical centers recruited 805 patients, of whom 792 were confirmed to be eligible. Treatment, consisting of a first dose of either 200 mg GM-1 or placebo, was initiated within 5 hours of the onset of stroke; a second dose of either 100 mg GM-1 or placebo was administered 12 hours later. Thereafter, patients received a daily injection of 100 mg GM-1 or placebo intravenously from day 2 through 10 and intramuscularly from day 11 through 21. Patients were followed up for a total of 4 months.


RESULTS
Survival was similar in the two treatment groups. Improvement in neurological status, as measured by the change in Canadian Neurological Scale score between baseline and 4-month assessments, was greater in the group receiving GM-1; the observed difference between treatment groups was 0.22 (P = .06). A post hoc analysis in the subgroup of patients treated within 4 hours showed a statistically significant difference, with Canadian Neurological Scale mean improvement of 0.41 (P = .016). GM-1 use was not associated with differences in frequency, nature, or severity of adverse experiences.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that GM-1 is safe in the dose and treatment schedule used and that its efficacy in ischemic stroke is greater when given soon after onset of stroke.
Using NLG and Sensors to Support Personal Narrative for Children with Complex Communication Needs

We are building a tool that helps children with Complex Communication Needs 1 (CCN) to create stories about their day at school. The tool uses Natural Language Generation (NLG) technology to create a draft story based on sensor data of the child’s activities, which the child can edit. This work is still in its early stages, but we believe it has great potential to support interactive personal narrative which is not well supported by current Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools.
Using the WHOQOL-DIS to measure quality of life in persons with physical disabilities caused by neurodegenerative disorders.

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Neurodegenerative disorders (ND) have a major impact on quality of life (QoL) and place a substantial burden on patients, their families and carers; they are the second leading cause of disability. The objective of this study was to examine QoL in persons with ND.


METHODS
A battery of subjective assessments was used, including the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life - Disability (WHOQOL-DIS). Psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS were investigated using classical psychometric methods.


RESULTS
Participants (n = 149) were recruited and interviewed at two specialized centers to obtain information on health and disability perceptions, depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Depression, HADS-D), Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS), Satisfaction with Life (SWL), generic QoL (WHOQOL-BREF, WHOQOL-DIS), specific QoL (Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale, MSIS-29; Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, PDQ-39) and sociodemographics. Internal consistency was acceptable, except for the WHOQOL-BREF social (0.67). Associations, using Pearson's and Spearman's rho correlations, were confirmed between WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS with MSIS-29, PDQ-39, HADS-D, FAS and SWL. Regarding 'known group' differences, Student's t tests showed that WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS scores significantly discriminated between depressed and nondepressed and those perceiving a more severe impact of the disability on their lives.


CONCLUSION
This study is the first to report on use of the WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-DIS in Spanish persons with ND; they are promising useful tools in assessing persons with ND through the continuum of care, as they include important dimensions commonly omitted from other QoL measures.
Spanish version of the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey (KiKS) in Peru: cross-cultural adaptation and validation.

INTRODUCTION
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 50 million people globally. Several studies show the importance of implementing interventions that enhance patients knowledge about their disease. In 2011 the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey (KiKS) was developed: a questionnaire that assesses the specific knowledge about chronic kidney disease in pre-dialysis patients.


OBJECTIVE
To translate to Spanish, culturally adapt and validate the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey questionnaire in a population of patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease.


METHODS
We carried out a Spanish translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey questionnaire. Subsequently, we determined its validity and reliability. We determined the validity through construct validity; and reliability by evaluating its internal consistency and its intra-observer reliability (test-retest).


RESULTS
We found a good internal consistency (Kuder-Richardson = 0.85). The intra-observer reliability was measured by the intra-class correlation coefficient that yielded a value of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.5-1.0). This value indicated a good reproducibility; also, the mean difference of -1.1 test-retest SD 6.0 (p = 0.369) confirms this finding.


CONCLUSION
The translated Spanish version of the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey is acceptable and equivalent to the original version; it also has a good reliability, validity and reproducibility. Therefore, it can be used in a population of patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease.