LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The Nordic Back Pain Subpopulation Program: validation and improvement of a predictive model for treatment outcome in patients with low back pain receiving chiropractic treatment.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to develop a predictive model for treatment outcome in patients with low back pain (LBP) receiving chiropractic treatment.


METHODS
This multicenter practice-based predictive validity study was conducted in private chiropractic practices in Sweden. Of 64 previously compliant chiropractors, 58 recruited a maximum of 30 consecutive patients with LBP each. Information was provided on 1061 patients, of which 1057 questionnaires were valid. Chiropractic treatment was decided by the treating chiropractor. The outcome variable was the self-reported "definite improvement" at the fourth visit. The predictor variables included model 1, 3 hypothesized prognostic groups (best, intermediate, and least favorable) based on clinical information collected at baseline and at the second visit; and 4 additional models based on the following variables: age, sex, pain intensity during past 24 hours, description of disability, duration and pattern of pain during present attack, total duration of pain, and pain pattern during the past 12 months.


RESULTS
Three of our factors were best at predicting the absence of improvement by the fourth visit and were able to correctly classify 79% of patients and to cover 74% of the receiver operated characteristics curve. These were (1) no definite overall improvement by the second treatment, (2) presence of leg pain, and (3) the minimum total duration of pain over the last 12 months being 30 days.


CONCLUSION
In this study, patients with LBP who also had leg pain and LBP occurring sufficiently frequently or having lasted sufficiently long to add up to at least 30 days in the past year, and who did not report definite general improvement by the second treatment were not good candidates for short-term recovery. It is suggested that patients who fit the criteria of potential nonresponders should be carefully monitored to allow a selective approach of care.
Diagnosis and prognosis disclosure among cancer patients. Results from an Italian mortality follow-back survey.

BACKGROUND
The observed cultural changes in truth-telling attitudes suggest a radical change in the practice of delivering information to cancer patients, but limited research is available from countries known for their policy of non-disclosure. This study estimates the proportion of Italian who died of cancer who had received information about diagnosis and prognosis, and explores the variables associated with disclosure.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
This is a mortality follow-back survey of 1271 non-professional caregivers of Italians who died of cancer in 2002, representative of the approximate 160 000 Italian annual cancer deaths. Caregivers were interviewed after the patient's death about the process of diagnosis and prognosis disclosure.


RESULTS
It was estimated that 37% of people who died of cancer had received information about diagnosis and 13% about poor prognosis. A consistent proportion, although non-informed, knew the diagnosis (29%) and the poor prognosis (50%). The probability to be informed was higher for patients living in the north of Italy, young, well educated, with longer survival, and with breast or head and neck tumor.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that not necessarily the observed cultural changes towards a less paternalistic approach in medical care translate into an effective change in the quantity of information delivered to the patients.
Efficacy of two once-daily methylphenidate formulations compared across dose levels at different times of the day: Preliminary indications from a secondary analysis of the COMACS study data

BACKGROUND
Methylphenidate (MPH) is commonly prescribed in the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. Concerta and Metadate CD are once-daily formulations of MPH using different delivery mechanisms resulting in different pharmacokinetic profiles. A recent study (COMACS) showed that for near-milligram (mg) equivalent daily doses, Metadate CD provides greater symptom control in the morning (1.5 through 4.5 hours post-dose), while Concerta provides greater control in the early evening (12 hours post-dose). Non-inferential comparison of effects for different dose levels of the two formulations suggested that equivalent levels of morning symptom control could be obtained with lower daily doses of Metadate CD than Concerta; the situation being reversed in the evening. The current paper presents a secondary analysis that provides a statistical test of these observations.


METHOD
The COMACS study was a multi-center, double-blind crossover study of Metadate CD, Concerta and placebo with each treatment administered for 1 week. Children were assigned on the basis of their pre-trial dosage to either high (Metadate CD 60 mg; Concerta 54 mg), medium (Metadate CD 40 mg; Concerta 36 mg) or low doses (Metadate CD 20 mg; Concerta 18 mg) of MPH, and attended a laboratory school on the 7th day for assessment at 7 sessions across the day. For the post-hoc comparisons across dose levels presented here, total SKAMP scores with the active treatments (adjusted for placebo response) were analyzed using an analysis of covariance, with a combined measure modeling placebo response across all time period as the covariate.


RESULTS
Symptom control from 1.5 through 6.0 hours post-dose was as good with lower doses of Metadate CD (20 and 40 mg) as with higher doses of Concerta (36 and 54 mg, respectively). Lower daily doses of Concerta (18 and 36 mg) and higher doses of Metadate CD (40 and 60 mg, respectively) gave equivalent control at 7.5 and 12 hours with Metadate CD giving better control from1.5 through 6.0 hours post-dose.


CONCLUSIONS
Different delivery profiles of Metadate CD and Concerta can be exploited to limit total daily exposure to MPH while at the same targeting a specific, especially clinically significant, period of the day. These results need to be confirmed in a study in which children are randomly allocated to different dose levels of the two formulations and plasma MPH concentrations are assessed simultaneously.
Effects of frequency-dependent attenuation and velocity dispersion on in vitro ultrasound velocity measurements in intact human femur specimens

Numerous studies have shown that ultrasonic velocity measured in bone provides a good assessment of osteoporotic fracture risk. However, a lack of standardization of signal processing techniques used to compute the speed of sound (SOS) complicates the comparison between data obtained with different commercial devices. In this study, 38 intact femurs were tested using a through-transmission technique and SOS determined using different techniques. The resulting difference in measured SOS was determined as functions of the attenuation and the velocity dispersion. A numerical simulation was used to explain how attenuation and dispersion impact two different SOS measurements (group velocity, velocity based on the first zero crossing of the signal). A new method aimed at compensating for attenuation was devised and led to a significant reduction in the difference between SOS obtained with both signal processing techniques. A comparison between SOS and X-ray density measurements indicated that the best correlation was reached for SOS based on the first zero crossing apparently because it used a marker located in the early part of the signal and was less sensitive to multipath interference. The conclusion is that first zero crossing velocity may be preferred to group velocity for ultrasonic assessment at this potential fracture site.
Determinants of accepting wireless mobile data services in China

Data services via wireless networks and mobile devices have experienced rapid growth worldwide. We investigated the factors influencing adoption of wireless mobile data services (WMDS) in China and tested our model for explaining adoption intentions there. We argued that individuals form their intention to adopt WMDS under the influence of wireless mobile technology, the social environment, personal innovativeness of IT, trust awareness, and the facilitating conditions. We examined the simultaneous effects of these five influences on beliefs in the context of wireless Internet data services via mobile phones. Survey data were collected from 1432 participants in several metro cities across China. The findings suggest that WMDS adoption intention in China is determined by consumers’ perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of WMDS. Theoretical and practical implications are included in our paper. Published by Elsevier B.V. www.elsevier.com/locate/im Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Information & Management 45 (2008) 52–64
Formation of surface periodic microstructure at laser irradiation of the multilayer Ni/Cu/Cr system

Abstract The effect of periodic pulsed laser irradiation ( λ  = 1.06 μm and power density of 0.6–0.8 × 10 4  W/cm 2 ) on the solid-phase reaction in thin-film Ni/Cu/Cr structure (each layer of 100 nm thick) is studied by means of Auger electron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Thin-film structure is found to transform under irradiation into eutectic Cr–Ni structure with the particles of the leading Cr(Ni) phase having the radii equal to the total thickness of the film (300 nm). Eutectic colonies of these particles form the surface microstructure which consists of periodic arc-shaped bands with bars between them. The laser-induced diffusion is shown to occur under the sign-variable temperature gradient (∼10 5  K/s), high deformation rate (∼20 s −1 ), and large dislocation flow ( ρ v ∼ 10 11 c m − 1 s − 1 ) at low deformation degree (∼0.01).
A Survey About Impacts of Cloud Computing on Digital Forensics

Nowadays, digital storage of computer data is moving toward cloud computing which is a set of infrastructure provides data storage for organizations and individuals. Due to this large scale, in case an attack occurs in the network of a cloud it would be a big challenge to investigate the cloud. Therefore, digital forensics in cloud computing is a new discipline related to the increasing use of computers, networks and digital storage devices in numerous criminal activities in both traditional and Hi-Tech. This study reviews the literature on some challenges in cloud computing forensic investigation, and it is followed by evaluation and analysis of all types of information on cloud computing and its impacts on computer forensic investigations in publishing alliances with the survey was carried out in the field. Keyword: Cloud computing; Digital forensics; Digital investigation
An OFDM System Concept for Joint Radar and Communications Operations

In this paper the possibility of designing an OFDM system for simultaneous radar and communications operations is discussed. A novel approach to OFDM radar processing is introduced that overcomes the typical drawbacks of correlation based processing. A suitable OFDM system parameterization for operation at 24 GHz is derived that fulfills the requirements for both applications. The operability of the proposed system concept is verified with MatLab simulations. Keywords-OFDM; Radar, Communications
Differential modulation of chemical and electrical components of mixed synapses in the lobster stomatogastric ganglion

1. Two pairs of neurons in the pyloric network of the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus, communicate through mixed graded chemical and rectifying electrical synapses. The anterior burster (AB) chemically inhibits and is electrically coupled to the ventricular dilator (VD); the lateral pyloric (LP) and pyloric (PY) neurons show reciprocal chemical inhibition and electrical coupling. We examined the effects of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5HT) and octopamine (Oct) on these mixed synapses to determine the plasticity possible with opposing modes of synaptic interaction. 2. Dopamine increased net inhibition at all three pyloric mixed synapses by both reducing electrical coupling and increasing chemical inhibition. This reversed the sign of the net synaptic interaction when electrotonic coupling dominated some mixed synapses, and activated silent chemical components of other mixed synapses. 3. Serofonin weakly enhanced LP → PY net inhibition, by reducing electrical coupling without altering chemical inhibition. Serotonin reduced AB→ VD electrical coupling, but variability in its effect on the chemical component made the net effect non-significant. 4. Octopamine enhanced LP→ PY and PY→ LP net inhibition by enhancing the chemical inhibitory component without altering electrical coupling. 5. Differential modulation of chemical and electrical components of mixed synapses markedly changes the net synaptic interactions. This contributes to the flexible outputs that modulators evoke from anatomically defined neural networks. Two pairs of neurons in the pyloric network of the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus, communicate through mixed graded chemical and rectifying electrical synapses. The anterior burster (AB) chemically inhibits and is electrically coupled to the ventricular dilator (VD); the lateral pyloric (LP) and pyloric (PY) neurons show reciprocal chemical inhibition and electrical coupling. We examined the effects of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5HT) and octopamine (Oct) on these mixed synapses to determine the plasticity possible with opposing modes of synaptic interaction. Dopamine increased net inhibition at all three pyloric mixed synapses by both reducing electrical coupling and increasing chemical inhibition. This reversed the sign of the net synaptic interaction when electrotonic coupling dominated some mixed synapses, and activated silent chemical components of other mixed synapses. Serofonin weakly enhanced LP → PY net inhibition, by reducing electrical coupling without altering chemical inhibition. Serotonin reduced AB→ VD electrical coupling, but variability in its effect on the chemical component made the net effect non-significant. Octopamine enhanced LP→ PY and PY→ LP net inhibition by enhancing the chemical inhibitory component without altering electrical coupling. Differential modulation of chemical and electrical components of mixed synapses markedly changes the net synaptic interactions. This contributes to the flexible outputs that modulators evoke from anatomically defined neural networks.
Collective Creativity: Where we are and where we might go

Creativity is individual, and it is social. The social aspects of creativity have become of increasing interest as systems have emerged that mobilize large numbers of people to engage in creative tasks. We examine research related to collective intelligence and differentiate work on collective creativity from other collective activities by analyzing systems with respect to the tasks that are performed and the outputs that result. Three types of systems are discussed: games, contests and networks. We conclude by suggesting how systems that generate collective creativity can be improved and how new systems might be constructed.
The feasibility and benefit of a brief psychosocial intervention in addition to early palliative care in patients with advanced cancer to reduce depressive symptoms: a pilot randomized controlled clinical trial

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and potential benefit of a brief psychosocial intervention based on cognitive-behavioral therapy performed in addition to early palliative care (PC) in the reduction of depressive symptoms among patients with advanced cancer.MethodsAn open-label randomized phase II clinical trial with two intervention arms and one control group. Patients with advanced cancer starting palliative chemotherapy and who met the selection criteria were included. The participants were randomly allocated to three arms: arm A, five weekly sessions of psychosocial intervention combined with early PC; arm B, early PC only; and arm C, standard cancer treatment. Feasibility was investigated by calculating rates (%) of inclusion, attrition, and contamination (% of patients from Arm C that received PC). Scores of depression (primary aim), anxiety, and quality of life were measured at baseline and 45, 90, 120, and 180 days after randomization.ResultsFrom the total of 613 screened patients (10.3% inclusion rate), 19, 22, and 22 patients were allocated to arms A, B, and C, respectively. Contamination and attrition rates (180 days) were 31.8% and 38.0%, respectively. No interaction between the arms and treatments were found. Regarding effect sizes, there was a moderate benefit in arm A over arms B and C in emotional functioning (−0.66 and −0.61, respectively) but a negative effect of arm A over arm C in depression (−0.74).ConclusionsFuture studies to be conducted with this population group need to revise the eligibility criteria and make them less restrictive. In addition, the need for arm C is questioned due to high contamination rate. The designed psychosocial intervention was not able to reduce depressive symptoms when combined with early PC. Further studies are warrant to evaluate the intervention on-demand and in subgroups of high risk of anxiety/depression.Trial registrationClinical Trials identifier NCT02133274. Registered May 6, 2014.
Remembered parenting styles and adjustment in middle and late adulthood.

BACKGROUND
Authoritative parenting is the parenting style often associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents. This study considers whether remembered parenting styles in childhood predict multiple dimensions of functioning in adulthood.


METHODS
We used the 1995 National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States data set (N = 2,232) to assess the association between parenting behaviors remembered from childhood-classified as authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and uninvolved-and psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, and substance abuse, in a subsample of mid- and later-life adults. Differences in outcomes by sex, race, and childhood socioeconomic status were also examined across parenting styles.


RESULTS
Adults who remembered authoritative compared with authoritarian and uninvolved parents reported greater psychological well-being and fewer depressive symptoms, and those with uninvolved parents noted greater substance abuse. No outcome differences were found between remembered authoritative and indulgent parenting styles. A few sex and race interactions were identified: Authoritative parenting (compared with uninvolved) was more strongly associated with men's psychological well-being than women's, and authoritative parenting (compared with authoritarian) predicted reduced depressive symptoms for Whites more than non-Whites.


CONCLUSIONS
There is some support that remembered parenting styles continue to be related to functioning across the lifespan. There is also evidence of resiliency, flexibility, and malleability in human development.
Neat reducts and amalgamation in retrospect, a survey of results and some methods Part I: Results on neat reducts

Introduced by Leon Henkin back in the fifties, the notion of neat reducts is an old venerable notion in algebraic logic. But it is often the case that an unexpected viewpoint yields new insights. Indeed, the repercussions of the (seemingly very innocent) fact that the class of neat reducts is not closed under forming subalgebras turn out to be enormous. In this paper we review and, in the process, discuss, some of these repercussions in connection with the algebraic notion of amalgamation. Some new unpublished results (answering long-standing open problems in the field) concerning neat reducts and amalgamation are given. (Theorems 11, 13, 19 and 31-38 are such). Several counterexamples which convey the gist of techniques used in this area are presented two of which are new (Theorem 19, Theorem 38). It is known that the algebraic notion of amalgamation in a class of algebras corresponds to the metalogical notion of interpolation in the corresponding logic. Answers to open question in the recent paper [54] concerning both amalgamation and interpolation are summarized in tabular form at the end of this paper. This paper appears in two parts. The present first part contains results on neat reducts. The second part contains results relating the notion of neat embeddings to various amalgamation properties.1
Effect of gradually lowering dialysate sodium concentration on the interdialytic weight gain, blood pressure, and extracellular water in anuric hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND
The majority of hemodialysis (HD) patients are overhydrated and have high interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) which induces increased blood pressure (BP). The positive sodium balance resulting from a high sodium diet, a high dialysate sodium concentration (DNa), or a combination of both is major causes of this disease. We evaluated the effects of lowering DNa on IDWG, BP, and volume status in anuric HD patients with dietary sodium restriction.


METHODS
Thirty-two patients were enrolled in this study and the period was divided by phase 1 and 2 according to DNa which decreased from 140 to 135 mEq/L at a rate of 1 mEq/L per month; phase 1, 140 mEq/L; phase 2, 135 mEq/L. We compared the IDWG, BP, volume status measured by multifrequency bioimpedance spectroscopy, and adverse events such as intradialytic hypotension, cramps, and headache of both phases.


RESULTS
The IDWG was significantly reduced by 0.39 ± 0.38 kg (p = 0.000). Pre-dialysis BP showed significant reduction (systolic pressure 146 ± 18 vs. 138 ± 22 mmHg; p = 0.012, diastolic pressure 80 ± 10 vs. 75 ± 11 mmHg; p = 0.008). Pre-dialysis extracellular water (ECW) was reduced significantly by 0.13 ± 2.22 L (p = 0.02). There was no significant increase in adverse events (all p > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that gradually lowering DNa could bring a significant reduction in pre-dialysis IDWG, BP, and ECW without increased adverse events. Large and crossover designed study will be needed to demonstrate the clear causal relationship.
DICON: Interactive Visual Analysis of Multidimensional Clusters

Clustering as a fundamental data analysis technique has been widely used in many analytic applications. However, it is often difficult for users to understand and evaluate multidimensional clustering results, especially the quality of clusters and their semantics. For large and complex data, high-level statistical information about the clusters is often needed for users to evaluate cluster quality while a detailed display of multidimensional attributes of the data is necessary to understand the meaning of clusters. In this paper, we introduce DICON, an icon-based cluster visualization that embeds statistical information into a multi-attribute display to facilitate cluster interpretation, evaluation, and comparison. We design a treemap-like icon to represent a multidimensional cluster, and the quality of the cluster can be conveniently evaluated with the embedded statistical information. We further develop a novel layout algorithm which can generate similar icons for similar clusters, making comparisons of clusters easier. User interaction and clutter reduction are integrated into the system to help users more effectively analyze and refine clustering results for large datasets. We demonstrate the power of DICON through a user study and a case study in the healthcare domain. Our evaluation shows the benefits of the technique, especially in support of complex multidimensional cluster analysis.