LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Early results for new lightweight mesh in laparoscopic totally extra-peritoneal inguinal hernia repair

Prosthetic mesh reinforcement is now routine in the management of inguinal hernia but can cause considerable pain and stiffness around the groin. The aim of this study was to compare the outcome after laparoscopic TEP inguinal repair using new lightweight or traditional heavyweight mesh performed in a single unit. Between November 2004 and March 2005, 113 patients underwent laparoscopic TEP inguinal repair using either lightweight (28 g/m2) or heavyweight (85 g/m2) mesh. Follow-up data was obtained using case note review and telephone-based questionnaire in April 2005. Follow-up information was obtained for 93 (83%) out of 113 patients. There was no difference between the two groups in the incidence of pain/discomfort at mean 3-month follow-up (45 vs 41%, Mann–Whitney U, P=0.641). However, there was a significant inverse correlation between the length of time since operation and severity of pain/discomfort in the lightweight group (P=0.001, Pearson test), suggesting a faster speed of recovery with lightweight mesh. Laparoscopic TEP inguinal hernia repair with lightweight mesh yields promising early results. Whilst there was no significant difference in pain or recurrence in the short term, post-operative pain scores improved earlier in patients with lightweight mesh compared to heavyweight mesh. This merits further study, with larger cohorts and longer follow-up, to determine the benefits of lightweight mesh.
Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing in improving lipid level in patients with dyslipidemia assisted by general practitioners: Dislip-EM study protocol

BACKGROUND
The non-pharmacological approach to cholesterol control in patients with hyperlipidemia is based on the promotion of a healthy diet and physical activity. Thus, to help patients change their habits, it is essential to identify the most effective approach. Many efforts have been devoted to explain changes in or adherence to specific health behaviors. Such efforts have resulted in the development of theories that have been applied in prevention campaigns, and that include brief advice and counseling services. Within this context, Motivational Interviewing has proven to be effective in changing health behaviors in specific cases. However, more robust evidence is needed on the effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing in treating chronic pathologies -such as dyslipidemia- in patients assisted by general practitioners. This article describes a protocol to assess the effectiveness of MI as compared with general practice (brief advice), with the aim of improving lipid level control in patients with dyslipidemia assisted by a general practitioner.


METHODS/DESIGN
An open, two-arm parallel, multicentre, cluster, controlled, randomized, clinical trial will be performed. A total of 48-50 general practitioners from 35 public primary care centers in Spain will be randomized and will recruit 436 patients with dyslipidemia. They will perform an intervention based either on Motivational Interviewing or on the usual brief advice. After an initial assessment, follow-ups will be performed at 2, 4, 8 and 12 months. Primary outcomes are lipid levels (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides) and cardiovascular risk. The study will assess the degree of dietary and physical activity improvement, weight loss in overweight patients, and adherence to treatment guidelines.


DISCUSSION
Motivational interview skills constitute the primary strategies GPs use to treat their patients. Having economical, simple, effective and applicable techniques is essential for primary care professionals to help their patients change their lifestyle and improve their health. This study will provide scientific evidence on the effectiveness of Motivational interviewing, and will be performed under strict control over the data collected, ensuring the maintenance of therapeutic integrity.


TRIALS REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01282190).
Diagnosis of TIA (DOT) score – design and validation of a new clinical diagnostic tool for transient ischaemic attack

BACKGROUND
The diagnosis of Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) can be difficult and 50-60% of patients seen in TIA clinics turn out to be mimics. Many of these mimics have high ABCD2 scores and fill urgent TIA clinic slots inappropriately. A TIA diagnostic tool may help non-specialists make the diagnosis with greater accuracy and improve TIA clinic triage. The only available diagnostic score (Dawson et al) is limited in scope and not widely used. The Diagnosis of TIA (DOT) Score is a new and internally validated web and mobile app based diagnostic tool which encompasses both brain and retinal TIA.


METHODS
The score was derived retrospectively from a single centre TIA clinic database using stepwise logistic regression by backwards elimination to find the best model. An optimum cutpoint was obtained for the score. The derivation and validation cohorts were separate samples drawn from the years 2010/12 and 2013 respectively. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated and the diagnostic accuracy of DOT was compared to the Dawson score. A web and smartphone calculator were designed subsequently.


RESULTS
The derivation cohort had 879 patients and the validation cohort 525. The final model had seventeen predictors and had an AUC of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.89-0.93). When tested on the validation cohort, the AUC for DOTS was 0.89 (0.86-0.92) while that of the Dawson score was 0.77 (0.73-0.81). The sensitivity and specificity of the DOT score were 89% (CI: 84%-93%) and 76% (70%-81%) respectively while those of the Dawson score were 83% (78%-88%) and 51% (45%-57%). Other diagnostic accuracy measures (DOT vs. Dawson) include positive predictive values (75% vs. 58%), negative predictive values (89% vs. 79%), positive likelihood ratios (3.67 vs. 1.70) and negative likelihood ratios (0.15 vs. 0.32).


CONCLUSION
The DOT score shows promise as a diagnostic tool for TIA and requires independent external validation before it can be widely used. It could potentially improve the triage of patients assessed for suspected TIA.
Vitamin E supplements in asthma: a parallel group randomised placebo controlled trial.

BACKGROUND
Increased dietary vitamin E intake is associated with a reduced incidence of asthma, and combinations of antioxidant supplements including vitamin E are effective in reducing ozone induced bronchoconstriction. A study was undertaken to investigate the effect of supplementation with vitamin E for 6 weeks on bronchial hyperresponsiveness in atopic adults with asthma.


METHODS
72 participants from a clinical trial register of adults with asthma were randomised to receive 500 mg natural vitamin E or matched placebo for 6 weeks in a placebo controlled, double blind parallel group clinical trial. Inclusion criteria included age 18-60 years, maintenance treatment of at least one dose of inhaled corticosteroid per day, a positive skin prick test to one of three common allergens, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine (defined as a dose provoking a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) (PD(20)) of 12.25 micromol). Secondary outcomes were FEV(1), forced vital capacity, mean morning and evening peak flow, symptom scores, bronchodilator use, and serum immunoglobulin E levels.


RESULTS
In the primary intention to treat analysis the change in PD(20) was similar in the vitamin E and placebo groups with a mean difference of +0.25 doubling doses of methacholine (95% confidence interval -0.67 to +1.16 greater with vitamin E). There was no effect of vitamin E supplementation on any other measure of asthma control, either in the intention to treat or per protocol analysis. There was also no effect of vitamin E supplementation on serum immunoglobulin levels.


CONCLUSION
Dietary supplementation with vitamin E adds no benefit to current standard treatment in adults with mild to moderate asthma.
Effects of different forms of hazelnuts on blood lipids and α-tocopherol concentrations in mildly hypercholesterolemic individuals

Background/Objectives:Diets high in nuts reduce cholesterol, probably due to their favorable lipid profile and other bioactive substances. However, the physical form of the nut may be important as the cell wall of intact nuts may limit the hypocholesterolemic effect of nuts by reducing lipid bioavailability. Therefore, we investigated the effects on blood lipids of incorporating three different forms of hazelnuts (ground, sliced and whole) into the usual diet.Subjects/Methods:In a randomized crossover study with three phases, 48 mildly hypercholesterolemic participants were asked to consume 30 g of ground, sliced or whole hazelnuts for 4 weeks. Body weight, plasma total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triacylglycerol (TAG), apolipoprotein (apo) A1, apo B100 and α-tocopherol were measured at baseline and at the end of each dietary phase.Results:There were no significant differences in any outcome variable between the different forms of nuts (all P⩾0.159). However, compared with baseline, mean values at the end of each hazelnut intervention were significantly higher for HDL-C (P=0.023) and α-tocopherol (P=0.005), and significantly lower for TC (P<0.001), LDL-C (P<0.001), TC:HDL-C ratio (P<0.001), apo B100 (P=0.002) and apo B100:apo A1 ratio (P<0.001), with no significant difference in body weight (P=0.813).Conclusions: The ingestion of three different forms of hazelnuts equally improved the lipoprotein profile and α-tocopherol concentrations in mildly hypercholesterolemic individuals. Hazelnuts can therefore be incorporated into the usual diet as a means of reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
Effects of various factors including the CYP2D6 genotype and coadministration of flunitrazepam on the steady-state plasma concentrations of bromperidol and its reduced metabolite

 The effects of various factors, including the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 genotype and the coadministration of flunitrazepam, on the steady-state plasma concentrations (Css) of bromperidol and its reduced metabolite were studied in 62 schizophrenic inpatients receiving bromperidol 12 mg/day. By use of allele-specific PCR analysis, the wild type allele (CYP2D6 * 1A) and four mutated alleles causing either absent (CYP2D6 * 3, CYP2D6 * 4 and CYP2D6 * 5) or decreased (CYP2D6 * 10) CYP2D6 activity were identified. The means (ranges) of the Css of bromperidol and reduced bromperidol corrected to the median body weight were 7.2 (1.3–17.4) and 2.2 (0.4–8.9) ng/ml, respectively. Neither the Css of bromperidol nor that of reduced bromperidol significantly differed among the patients with no (n = 28), one (n = 30) and two mutated alleles (n = 4). The patients coadministered with flunitrazepam (n = 52) had significantly (P < 0.05) higher Css of bromperidol, but not reduced bromperidol, than those not (n = 10). Age, sex and smoking had no significant effects on the Css of these compounds. The present study thus suggests that the polymorphic CYP2D6 is not involved in the metabolism of bromperidol and reduced bromperidol to a major extent. The coadministration of flunitrazepam inhibits the metabolism of bromperidol, but age, sex and smoking do not affect it.
Online Semantic Activity Forecasting with DARKO

Imagine your daily activities. Perhaps you will be at home today, relaxing and completing chores. Maybe you are a scientist, and plan to conduct a long series of experiments in a laboratory. You might work in an office building: you walk about your floor, greeting others, getting coffee, preparing documents, etc. There are many activities you perform regularly in large environments. If a system understood your intentions it could help you achieve your goals, or automate aspects of your environment. More generally, an understanding of human intentions would benefit, and is perhaps prerequisite for, AI systems that assist and augment human capabilities. We present a framework that continuously forecasts long-term spatial and semantic intentions (what you will do and where you will go) of a first-person camera wearer. We term our algorithm “Demonstrating Agent Rewards for K-futures Online” (DARKO). We use a first-person camera to meet the challenge of observing the wearer’s behavior everywhere. In Figure 1, DARKO forecasts multiple quantities: (1) the user intends to go to the shower (out of all possible destinations in their house), (2) their trajectory through Figure 1: Forecasting future behavior from first-person video. The overhead map shows where the person is likely to go, predicted from the first frame. Each s
IPP-rich milk protein hydrolysate lowers blood pressure in subjects with stage 1 hypertension, a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Milk derived peptides have been identified as potential antihypertensive agents. The primary objective was to investigate the effectiveness of IPP-rich milk protein hydrolysates (MPH) on reducing blood pressure (BP) as well as to investigate safety parameters and tolerability. The secondary objective was to confirm or falsify ACE inhibition as the mechanism underlying BP reductions by measuring plasma renin activity and angiotensin I and II.


METHODS
We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, crossover study including 70 Caucasian subjects with prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension. Study treatments consisted of daily consumption of two capsules MPH1 (each containing 7.5 mg Isoleucine-Proline-Proline; IPP), MPH2 (each containing 6.6 mg Methionine-Alanine-Proline, 2.3 mg Leucine-Proline-Proline, 1.8 mg IPP), or placebo (containing cellulose) for 4 weeks.


RESULTS
In subjects with stage 1 hypertension, MPH1 lowered systolic BP by 3.8 mm Hg (P = 0.0080) and diastolic BP by 2.3 mm Hg (P = 0.0065) compared with placebo. In prehypertensive subjects, the differences in BP between MPH1 and placebo were not significant. MPH2 did not change BP significantly compared with placebo in stage I hypertensive or prehypertensive subjects. Intake of MPHs was well tolerated and safe. No treatment differences in hematology, clinical laboratory parameters or adverse effects were observed. No significant differences between MPHs and placebo were found in plasma renin activity, or angiotensin I and II.


CONCLUSIONS
MPH1, containing IPP and no minerals, exerts clinically relevant BP lowering effects in subjects with stage 1 hypertension. It may be included in lifestyle changes aiming to prevent or reduce high BP.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00471263.
Imitation of second language sounds in relation to L2 perception and production

This study reports findings from two experiments on second language learners, comparing their performance in an Imitation task to that in Identification and Read-Aloud tasks. Experiment 1 targeted English speakers' learning of Mandarin tones, while Experiment 2 investigated Korean speakers' learning of English consonants. The results of Experiment 1 showed that the Imitation task was generally easier for English speakers than the Identification and Read-Aloud tasks, suggesting that imitation was performed without some of the skills required by the other two tasks. As for Experiment 2, the Koreans were consistently less accurate in Imitation than in Read-Aloud, while their Imitation was more accurate than their Identification when the L2 sounds have a close counterpart in Korean. The results from both experiments revealed that the accuracy in Imitation was not always constrained by that in the Identification and Read-Aloud tasks. Hence it can be inferred that L2 imitation may not involve all the skills required by the other two tasks and probably bypasses some aspect of phonological encoding. More detailed predictions of the error patterns in the Imitation task based on Perception, Production, and Cascade models were compared. It was found that English speakers' confusion patterns in imitating Mandarin tones correlated to the same degree with the predictions of all three models, which may be because the learners' difficulty in perception and production was largely similar. On the other hand, Korean learners' errors in imitating English consonants were overall more accurately predicted by a Cascade model, suggesting that both perceptual and production imprecision aggravated imitation performance. The comparison of these two experiments corroborates that various factors may affect the relationships between L2 imitation, perception, and production. & 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A primary care-based needs assessment of people with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common cause of chronic progressive neurological disability where reduction in quality of life is an important feature. Many GPs have MS patients with a range of disabilities. Little is known about the supply of medical and community services and how this compares with demand.


AIM
We aim to describe a community based sample of MS patients and investigate how disease characteristics, benefits, services accessed and perceived needs relate to sense of wellbeing.


DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey.


SETTING
Participants were recruited from a representative network of 30 GP practices across Northern Ireland.


METHOD
MS patients answered a professionally administered questionnaire and agreed to their medical records being examined. Information was collected about their medical condition, sociodemographic characteristics, receipt of benefits and services, perceived needs and sense of wellbeing.


RESULTS
Of the 149 participants, 23% were mildly affected (Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] 0-4.5), 41% were moderately disabled (EDSS 5.0-6.5) and 36% were severely disabled (EDSS 7.0-9.5). Disability was related to employment, receipt of benefits and services. Physiotherapy was a commonly perceived need. Other perceived needs differed between the moderately and severely disabled groups. Scores relating to wellbeing were related to disability and perceived needs.


CONCLUSIONS
The relationship between use of medical and community services and disability is important for planning service provision. We have shown that perceived needs are related to wellbeing. In a progressive illness these developing needs could be anticipated.
Blood oxidative stress biomarkers: influence of sex, exercise training status, and dietary intake.

BACKGROUND
Sex and lifestyle factors are known to influence the oxidation of protein, lipids, and DNA. Biomarkers such as protein carbonyls (PC), malondialdehyde (MDA), and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) have been commonly used in an attempt to characterize the oxidative status of human subjects.


OBJECTIVE
This study compared resting blood oxidative stress biomarkers, in relation to exercise training status and dietary intake, between men and women.


METHODS
Exercise-trained and sedentary men and women (with normal menstrual cycles; reporting during the early follicular phase) were recruited from the University of Memphis, Tennessee, campus and surrounding community via recruitment flyers and word of mouth. Participants were categorized by sex and current exercise training status (ie, trained or untrained). Each completed a detailed 5-day food record of all food and drink consumed. Diets were analyzed for kilocalories and macro- and micronutrient (vitamins C, E, A) intake. Venous blood samples were obtained at rest and analyzed for PC, MDA, and 8-OHdG.


RESULTS
In the 131 participants (89 men, of whom 74 were exercise trained and 15 untrained, and 42 women, of whom 22 were exercise trained and 20 untrained; mean [SD] age, 24 [4] years), PC did not differ significantly between trained men and women or between untrained men and women. However, trained participants had significantly lower plasma PC (measured in nmol . mg protein(-1)) (mean [SEM] 0.0966 [0.0055]) than did untrained participants (0.1036 [0.0098]) (P < 0.05). MDA levels (measured in micromol . L(-1)) were significantly lower in trained women (0.4264 [0.0559]) compared with trained men (0.6959 [0.0593]); in trained men and women combined (0.5621 [0.0566]) compared with untrained men and women combined (0.7397 [0.0718]); and in women combined (0.5665 [0.0611]) compared with men combined (0.7338 [0.0789]) (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). No significant differences were noted between any groups for 8-OHdG. Neither PC nor 8-OHdG were correlated to any dietary variable, with the exception of PC and percent of protein in untrained men (r = 0.552; P = 0.033). MDA was positively correlated to protein intake and negatively correlated to percent of carbohydrate and vitamin C intake, primarily in trained men (P < or = 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
In this sample of young healthy adults, oxidative stress was lower in women than in men and in trained compared with untrained individuals, particularly regarding MDA. With the exception of MDA primarily in trained men, dietary intake did not appear to be correlated to biomarkers of oxidative stress.
Total thyroidectomy alone versus ipsilateral versus bilateral prophylactic central neck dissection in clinically node-negative differentiated thyroid carcinoma. A retrospective multicenter study.

BACKGROUND
Central neck dissection (CND) remains controversial in clinically node-negative differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) patients. The aim of this multicenter retrospective study was to determine the rate of central neck metastases, the morbidity and the rate of recurrence in patients treated with total thyroidectomy (TT) alone or in combination with bilateral or ipsilateral CND.


METHODS
The clinical records of 163 clinically node-negative consecutive DTC patients treated between January 2008 and December 2010 in three endocrine surgery referral units were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were divided into three groups: patients who had undergone TT alone (group A), TT with ipsilateral CND (group B), and TT with bilateral CND (group C).


RESULTS
The respective incidences of transient hypoparathyroidism and unilateral recurrent nerve injury were 12.6% and 1% in group A, 23.3% and 3.3% in B, and 36.7% and 0% in C. Node metastases were observed in 8.7% in group A, 23.3% in B, and 63.3% in C. Locoregional recurrence was observed in 3.9% of patients in group A and in 0% in B and C.


CONCLUSIONS
We found no statistically significant differences in the rates of locoregional recurrence between the three groups. Therefore, TT appears to be an adequate treatment for these patients; CND is associated with higher rates of transient hypoparathyroidism and cannot be considered the treatment of choice even if it could help for more appropriate selection of patients for RAI. Ipsilateral CND could be an interesting option considering the lower rate of hypocalcemia to be validated by further studies.