LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
ABT-450/r-ombitasvir and dasabuvir with or without ribavirin for HCV.

BACKGROUND
The interferon-free regimen of ABT-450 with ritonavir (ABT-450/r), ombitasvir, and dasabuvir with or without ribavirin has shown efficacy in inducing a sustained virologic response in a phase 2 study involving patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection. We conducted two phase 3 trials to examine the efficacy and safety of this regimen in previously untreated patients with HCV genotype 1 infection and no cirrhosis.


METHODS
We randomly assigned 419 patients with HCV genotype 1b infection (PEARL-III study) and 305 patients with genotype 1a infection (PEARL-IV study) to 12 weeks of ABT-450/r-ombitasvir (at a once-daily dose of 150 mg of ABT-450, 100 mg of ritonavir, and 25 mg of ombitasvir), dasabuvir (250 mg twice daily), and ribavirin administered according to body weight or to matching placebo for ribavirin. The primary efficacy end point was a sustained virologic response (an HCV RNA level of <25 IU per milliliter) 12 weeks after the end of treatment.


RESULTS
The study regimen resulted in high rates of sustained virologic response among patients with HCV genotype 1b infection (99.5% with ribavirin and 99.0% without ribavirin) and among those with genotype 1a infection (97.0% and 90.2%, respectively). Of patients with genotype 1b infection, 1 had virologic failure, and 2 did not have data available at post-treatment week 12. Among patients with genotype 1a infection, the rate of virologic failure was higher in the ribavirin-free group than in the ribavirin group (7.8% vs. 2.0%). In both studies, decreases in the hemoglobin level were significantly more common in patients receiving ribavirin. Two patients (0.3%) discontinued the study drugs owing to adverse events. The most common adverse events were fatigue, headache, and nausea.


CONCLUSIONS
Twelve weeks of treatment with ABT-450/r-ombitasvir and dasabuvir without ribavirin was associated with high rates of sustained virologic response among previously untreated patients with HCV genotype 1 infection. Rates of virologic failure were higher without ribavirin than with ribavirin among patients with genotype 1a infection but not among those with genotype 1b infection. (Funded by AbbVie; PEARL-III and PEARL-IV ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01767116 and NCT01833533.).
An improved K-means algorithm combined with Particle Swarm Optimization approach for efficient web document clustering

Searching and discovering the relevant information on the web have always been challenging task. It is very hard to wade through the large number of returned documents in a response to a user query. This leads to the need to organize a large set of documents into categories through clustering. There is a need of efficient clustering algorithms for organizing documents. Clustering on large dataset can be effectively done using partitional clustering algorithms. The K-means algorithm is the appropriate partitional clustering approach for handling large dataset because of its efficiency with respect to execution time. But this algorithm is highly susceptible to the selection of initial positions of cluster centers. This paper introduces a new hybrid method using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) combined with an improved K-means algorithm for document clustering. We have tested K-means, PSO, our proposed PSOK, KPSO and KPSOK algorithms on various text document collections. The document range varies from 204 to 878 in the dataset and the terms ranges from 5804 to 7454. There is clear evidence from our results that the proposed method achieves better clustering than other methods taken for study.
Script identification in natural scene image and video frames using an attention based Convolutional-LSTM network

Script identification plays a significant role in analysing documents and videos. In this paper, we focus on the problem of script identification in scene text images and video scripts. Because of low image quality, complex background and similar layout of characters shared by some scripts like Greek, Latin, etc., text recognition in those cases become challenging. In this paper, we propose a novel method that involves extraction of local and global features using CNN-LSTM framework and weighting them dynamically for script identification. First, we convert the images into patches and feed them into a CNN-LSTM framework. Attention-based patch weights are calculated applying softmax layer after LSTM. Next, we do patch-wise multiplication of these weights with corresponding CNN to yield local features. Global features are also extracted from last cell state of LSTM. We employ a fusion technique which dynamically weights the local and global features for an individual patch. Experiments have been done in four public script identification datasets: SIW-13, CVSI2015, ICDAR-17 and MLe2e. The proposed framework achieves superior results in comparison to conventional methods. Keywords-Script Identification, Convolutional Neural Network, Long Short-Term Memory, Local feature, Global feature, Attention Network, Dynamic Weighting.
Earnings management , stock issues , and shareholder lawsuits $

Abnormal accounting accruals are unusually high around stock offers, especially high for firms whose offers subsequently attract lawsuits. Accruals tend to reverse after stock offers and are negatively related to post-offer stock returns. Reversals are more pronounced and stock returns are lower for sued firms than for those that are not sued. The incidence of lawsuits involving stock offers and settlement amounts are significantly positively related to abnormal accruals around the offer and significantly negatively related to post-offer stock returns. Our results support the view that some firms opportunistically manipulate earnings upward before stock issues rendering themselves vulnerable to litigation. r 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: G14; G24; G32; K22; M41
Transcatheter pacemaker implantation in a patient with a bioprosthetic tricuspid valve

A 66-year-old white female s/p mitral and tricuspid valve replacement was seen in cardiac consultation and diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and high-degree atrioventricular (AV) block with symptomatic bradycardia, thus pacemaker placement was recommended. For this particular patient, a standard, single-lead implantable pacemaker, while not contraindicated, was not a preferable solution due to the patient’s newly implanted bioprosthetic tricuspid valve and the potential complications transvalvular lead placement may bring [1]. No FDAapproved leadless pacemaker is available in the USA at this time; however, initial safety and feasibility trials have shown comparable results to traditional transvenous leads [2].
Genomic Profiling Reveals the Potential Role of TCL1A and MDR1 Deficiency in Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity

BACKGROUND
Anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin (Adriamycin), are highly effective chemotherapeutic agents, but are well known to cause myocardial dysfunction and life-threatening congestive heart failure (CHF) in some patients.


METHODS
To generate new hypotheses about its etiology, genome-wide transcript analysis was performed on whole blood RNA from women that received doxorubicin-based chemotherapy and either did, or did not develop CHF, as defined by ejection fractions (EF)≤40%. Women with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy unrelated to chemotherapy were compared to breast cancer patients prior to chemo with normal EF to identify heart failure-related transcripts in women not receiving chemotherapy. Byproducts of oxidative stress in plasma were measured in a subset of patients.


RESULTS
The results indicate that patients treated with doxorubicin showed sustained elevations in oxidative byproducts in plasma. At the RNA level, women who exhibited low EFs after chemotherapy had 260 transcripts that differed >2-fold (p<0.05) compared to women who received chemo but maintained normal EFs. Most of these transcripts (201) were not altered in non-chemotherapy patients with low EFs. Pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes indicated enrichment in apoptosis-related transcripts. Notably, women with chemo-induced low EFs had a 4.8-fold decrease in T-cell leukemia/lymphoma 1A (TCL1A) transcripts. TCL1A is expressed in both cardiac and skeletal muscle, and is a known co-activator for AKT, one of the major pro-survival factors for cardiomyocytes. Further, women who developed low EFs had a 2-fold lower level of ABCB1 transcript, encoding the multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1), which is an efflux pump for doxorubicin, potentially leading to higher cardiac levels of drug. In vitro studies confirmed that inhibition of MDR1 by verapamil in rat H9C2 cardiomyocytes increased their susceptibility to doxorubicin-induced toxicity.


CONCLUSIONS
It is proposed that chemo-induced cardiomyopathy may be due to a reduction in TCL1A levels, thereby causing increased apoptotic sensitivity, and leading to reduced cardiac MDR1 levels, causing higher cardiac levels of doxorubicin and intracellular free radicals. If so, screening for TCL1A and MDR1 SNPs or expression level in blood, might identify women at greatest risk of chemo-induced heart failure.
Subcallosal cingulate deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: a multisite, randomised, sham-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate white matter has shown promise as an intervention for patients with chronic, unremitting depression. To test the safety and efficacy of DBS for treatment-resistant depression, a prospective, randomised, sham-controlled trial was conducted.


METHODS
Participants with treatment-resistant depression were implanted with a DBS system targeting bilateral subcallosal cingulate white matter and randomised to 6 months of active or sham DBS, followed by 6 months of open-label subcallosal cingulate DBS. Randomisation was computer generated with a block size of three at each site before the site started the study. The primary outcome was frequency of response (defined as a 40% or greater reduction in depression severity from baseline) averaged over months 4-6 of the double-blind phase. A futility analysis was performed when approximately half of the proposed sample received DBS implantation and completed the double-blind phase. At the conclusion of the 12-month study, a subset of patients were followed up for up to 24 months. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00617162.


FINDINGS
Before the futility analysis, 90 participants were randomly assigned to active (n=60) or sham (n=30) stimulation between April 10, 2008, and Nov 21, 2012. Both groups showed improvement, but there was no statistically significant difference in response during the double-blind, sham-controlled phase (12 [20%] patients in the stimulation group vs five [17%] patients in the control group). 28 patients experienced 40 serious adverse events; eight of these (in seven patients) were deemed to be related to the study device or surgery.


INTERPRETATION
This study confirmed the safety and feasibility of subcallosal cingulate DBS as a treatment for treatment-resistant depression but did not show statistically significant antidepressant efficacy in a 6-month double-blind, sham-controlled trial. Future studies are needed to investigate factors such as clinical features or electrode placement that might improve efficacy.


FUNDING
Abbott (previously St Jude Medical).
Randomized controlled trial of pulsating cupping (pneumatic pulsation therapy) for chronic neck pain.

BACKGROUND
Pneumatic pulsation therapy may combine the effects of cupping therapy and massage. This study investigated the effect of pneumatic pulsation therapy on chronic neck pain compared to standard medical care.


METHODS
50 patients (79.15% female; 46.17 ± 12.21 years) with chronic nonspecific neck pain were randomized to treatment group (TG; n = 25) or control group (CG; n = 25). The TG received 5 pneumatic pulsation treatments over a period of 2 weeks utilizing a mechanical device. Treatment was applied as a combination of moving and stationary pulsating cupping. Main outcome measure was pain intensity in pain diaries (numerical rating scale). Secondary outcome measures included functional disability (NDI), quality of life (SF-36), and pain at motion. Sensory thresholds, including pressure pain threshold, were measured at pain-related sites.


RESULTS
After the intervention, significant group differences occurred regarding pain intensity (baseline: 4.12 ± 1.45 in TG and 4.20 ± 1.57 in CG; post-intervention: 2.72 ± 1.62 in TG and 4.44 ± 1.96 in CG; analysis of covariance: p = 0.001), NDI (baseline: 25.92 ± 8.23 and 29.83; post-intervention: 20.44 ± 10.17 and 28.83; p = 0.025), and physical quality of life (baseline: 43.85 ± 7.65 and 41.66 ± 7.09; post-intervention: 47.60 ± 7.93 and 40.49 ± 8.03; p = 0.002). Further significant group differences were found for pain at motion (p = 0.004) and pressure pain threshold (p = 0.002). No serious adverse events were reported.


CONCLUSION
Pneumatic pulsation therapy appears to be a safe and effective method to relieve pain and to improve function and quality of life in patients with chronic neck pain.
The efficacy of a volunteer-administered cognitive stimulation program in long-term care homes.

BACKGROUND
Cognitive impairment (CI) that arises in some older adults limits independence and decreases quality of life. Cognitive stimulation programs delivered by professional therapists have been shown to help maintain cognitive abilities, but the costs of such programming are prohibitive. The present study explored the feasibility and efficacy of using long-term care homes' volunteers to administer a cognitive stimulation program to residents.


METHODS
Thirty-six resident participants and 16 volunteers were alternately assigned to one of two parallel groups: a control group (CG) or stimulation group (SG). For eight weeks, three times each week, CG participants met for standard "friendly visits" (casual conversation between a resident and volunteer) and SG participants met to work through a variety of exercises to stimulate residents' reasoning, attention, and memory abilities. Resident participants were pre- and post-tested using the Weschler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-Second Edition, Test of Memory, and Learning-Senior Edition, a modified Letter Sorting test (LS), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Action Word Verbal Fluency Test.


RESULTS
Two-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for dementia diagnosis indicated statistically greater improvements in the stimulation participants than in the control participants in Immediate Verbal Memory, p = 0.011; Non-Verbal Memory, p = 0.012; Learning, p = 0.016; and Verbal Fluency, p = 0.024.


CONCLUSIONS
The feasibility and efficiency of a volunteer-administered cognitive stimulation program was demonstrated. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are recommended in order to continue investigating the breadth and depth volunteer roles in the maintenance of the cognitive abilities of older adults.
Distracted driver behaviors and distracting conditions among adolescent drivers: findings from a naturalistic driving study.

PURPOSE
The proliferation of new communication technologies and capabilities has prompted concern about driving safety. This concern is particularly acute for inexperienced adolescent drivers. In addition to being early adopters of technology, many adolescents have not achieved the degree of automaticity in driving that characterizes experienced adults. Consequently, distractions may be more problematic in this group. Yet little is known about the nature or prevalence of distracted driving behaviors or distracting conditions among adolescent drivers.


METHOD
Vehicles of 52 high-school age drivers (N=38 beginners and N=14 more experienced) were equipped for 6 months with unobtrusive event-triggered data recorders that obtain 20-second clips of video, audio, and vehicle kinematic information when triggered. A low recording trigger threshold was set to obtain a sample of essentially random driving segments along with those indicating rough driving behaviors.


RESULTS
Electronic device use (6.7%) was the most common single type of distracted behavior, followed by adjusting vehicle controls (6.2%) and grooming (3.8%). Most distracted driver behaviors were less frequent when passengers were present. However, loud conversation and horseplay were quite common in the presence of multiple peer passengers. These conditions were associated with looking away from the road, the occurrence of serious events, and, to a lesser extent, rough driving (high g-force events).


CONCLUSIONS
Common assumptions about adolescent driver distraction are only partially borne out by in-vehicle measurement. The association of passengers with distraction appears more complex than previously realized. The relationship between distractions and serious events differed from the association with rough driving.
An inventory model for deteriorating items with stock-dependent consumption rate and shortages under inflation and time discounting

This paper derives an inventory model for deteriorating items with stock-dependent consumption rate and shortages under inflation and time discounting over a finite planning horizon. We show that the total cost function is convex. With the convexity, a simple solution algorithm is presented to determine the optimal order quantity and the optimal interval of the total cost function. The results are discussed with a numerical example and particular cases of the model are discussed in brief. A sensitivity analysis of the optimal solution with respect to the parameters of the system is carried out. 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Improvement of intestinal permeability with alanyl-glutamine in HIV patients: a randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

CONTEXT
Glutamine is the main source of energy of the enterocyte and diarrhea and weight loss are frequent in HIV infected patients.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of alanyl-glutamine supplementation on intestinal permeability and absorption in these patients.


METHODS
Randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled study using isonitrogenous doses of alanyl-glutamine (24 g/day) and placebo (glycine, 25 g/day) during 10 days. Before and after this nutritional supplementation lactulose and mannitol urinary excretion were determined by high performance liquid chromatography.


RESULTS
Forty six patients with HIV/AIDS, 36 of whom were male, with 37.28 ± 3 (mean ± standard error) years were enrolled. Twenty two and 24 subjects were treated with alanyl-glutamine and with glycine respectively. In nine patients among all in the study protocol that reported diarrhea in the 14 days preceding the beginning of the study, mannitol urinary excretion was significantly lower than patients who did not report this symptom [median (range): 10.51 (3.01-19.75) vs. 15.37 (3.93-46.73); P = 0.0281] and lactulose/mannitol ratio was significantly higher [median (range): 0.04 (0.00-2.89) vs. 0.02 (0.00-0.19); P = 0.0317]. There was also a significant increase in mannitol urinary excretion in the group treated with alanyl-glutamine [median (range): 14.38 (8.25-23.98) before vs 21.24 (6.27-32.99) after treatment; n = 14, P = 0.0382].


CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that the integrity and intestinal absorption are more intensely affected in patients with HIV/AIDS who recently have had diarrhea. Additionally, nutritional supplementation with alanyl-glutamine was associated with an improvement in intestinal absorption.
Brushless alternator in automotive applications

This paper deals with reliability problems of common types of generators in hard conditions. It shows possibilities of construction changes that should increase the machine reliability. This contribution is dedicated to the study of brushless alternator for automotive industry. There are described problems with usage of common types of alternators and main benefits and disadvantages of several types of brushless alternators.
Differentiation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma from Other Hepatic Malignancies in Patients at Risk: Diagnostic Performance of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System Version 2014.

Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic performance and interrater reliability of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) version 2014 in differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from non-HCC malignancy in a population of patients at risk for HCC. Materials and Methods This retrospective HIPAA-compliant institutional review board-approved study was exempt from informed consent. A total of 178 pathology-proven malignant liver masses were identified in 178 patients at risk for HCC but without established extrahepatic malignancy from August 2012 through August 2015. Two readers blinded to pathology findings and clinical follow-up data independently evaluated a liver protocol magnetic resonance or computed tomography study for each lesion and assigned LI-RADS categories, scoring all major and most ancillary features. Statistical analyses included the independent samples t test, x2 test, Fisher exact test, and Cohen k. Results This study included 136 HCCs and 42 non-HCC malignancies. Specificity and positive predictive value of an HCC imaging diagnosis (LR-5 or LR-5V) were 69.0% and 90.5%, respectively, for reader 1 (R1) and 88.3% and 95.5%, respectively, for reader 2 (R2). Tumor in vein was a common finding in patients with non-HCC malignancies (R1, 10 of 42 [23.8%]; R2, five of 42 [11.9%]). Exclusion of the LR-5V pathway improved specificity and positive predictive value for HCC to 83.3% and 92.9%, respectively, for R1 (six fewer false-positive findings) and 92.3% and 96.4%, respectively, for R2 (one fewer false-positive finding). Among masses with arterial phase hyperenhancement, the rim pattern was more common among non-HCC malignancies than among HCCs for both readers (R1: 24 of 36 [66.7%] vs 13 of 124, [10.5%], P < .001; R2: 27 of 35 [77.1%] vs 21 of 123 [17.1%], P < .001) (k = 0.76). Exclusion of rim arterial phase hyperenhancement as a means of satisfying LR-5 criteria also improved specificity and positive predictive value for HCC (R1, two fewer false-positive findings). Conclusion Modification of the algorithmic role of tumor in vein and rim arterial phase hyperenhancement improves the diagnostic performance of LI-RADS version 2014 in differentiating HCC from non-HCC malignancy. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.
Peak Load Curtailment in a Smart Grid Via Fuzzy System Approach

Among many significant smart grid initiatives and challenges considered by many utilities and within the research community, are those associated with the energy management and conservation, in particular the management of energy demand during peak load periods. In this paper, a novel method for peak load curtailment by using a fuzzy system approach is presented. The proposed method is based on the application of fuzzy logic principles for peak load curtailment in a smart grid environment. The inputs to the system are the utility peak load data consisting of many energy demand scenarios, and the outputs are the necessary demand response power reductions required for the load curtailment during the peak load periods. The proposed method considers different peak load profiles and power consumption sources for multiple city regions. Furthermore, it is adaptable for use in many scenarios, such as those encompassing many input sources of power consumption with diverse input parameters of control (i.e., temperature offsets, duty cycle control, etc.) within numerous city regions. Thus, it can be applied to multiple output variables of control.