LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Operative mortality in resource-limited settings: the experience of Medecins Sans Frontieres in 13 countries.

OBJECTIVE
To determine operative mortality in surgical programs from resource-limited settings.


DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
A retrospective cohort study of 17 surgical programs in 13 developing countries by 1 humanitarian organization, Médecins Sans Frontières, was performed between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2008. Participants included patients undergoing surgical procedures.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Operative mortality. Determinants of mortality were modeled using logistic regression.


RESULTS
Between 2001 and 2008, 19,643 procedures were performed on 18,653 patients. Among these, 8329 procedures (42%) were emergent; 7933 (40%) were for obstetric-related pathology procedures and 2767 (14%) were trauma related. Operative mortality was 0.2% (31 deaths) and was associated with programs in conflict settings (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 4.6; P = .001), procedures performed under emergency conditions (AOR = 20.1; P = .004), abdominal surgical procedures (AOR = 3.4; P = .003), hysterectomy (AOR = 12.3; P = .001), and American Society of Anesthesiologists classifications of 3 to 5 (AOR = 20.2; P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Surgical care can be provided safely in resource-limited settings with appropriate minimum standards and protocols. Studies on the burden of surgical disease in these populations are needed to improve service planning and delivery. Quality improvement programs are needed for the various stakeholders involved in surgical delivery in these settings.
Topic segmentation: algorithms and applications

TOPIC SEGMENTATION: ALGORITHMS AND APPLICATIONS Je rey C. Reynar Supervisor: Mitchell P. Marcus Most documents are about more than one subject, but the majority of natural language processing algorithms and information retrieval techniques implicitly assume that every document has just one topic. The work described herein is about clues which mark shifts to new topics, algorithms for identifying topic boundaries and the uses of such boundaries once identi ed. A number of topic shift indicators have been proposed in the literature. We review these features, suggest several new ones and test most of them in implemented topic segmentation algorithms. Hints about topic boundaries include repetitions of character sequences, patterns of word and word n-gram repetition, word frequency, the presence of cue words and phrases and the use of synonyms. The algorithms we present use cues singly or in combination to identify topic shifts in several kinds of documents. One algorithm tracks compression performance, which is an indicator of topic shift because self-similarity within topic segments should be greater than between-segment similarity. Another technique relies on word repetition and places boundaries by minimizing word repetitions across segment boundaries. A third method compares the performance of a language model with and without knowledge of the contents of preceding sentences to determine whether a topic shift has occurred. We use the output vi of this algorithm in a statistical model which incorporates synonymy, bigram repetition and other features for topic segmentation. We benchmark our algorithms and compare them to algorithms from the literature using concatenations of documents, and then perform further evaluation of our techniques using a collection of news broadcasts transcribed both by annotators and using a speech recognition system. We also test the e ectiveness of our algorithms for identifying both chapter boundaries in works of literature and story boundaries in Spanish news broadcasts. We suggest ways to improve information retrieval, language modeling and various natural language processing algorithms by exploiting the topic segmentation. vii
The global diversion of pharmaceutical drugs. India: the third largest illicit opium producer?

AIMS
This paper explores India's role in the world illicit opiate market, particularly its role as a producer. India, a major illicit opiate consumer, is also the sole licensed exporter of raw opium: this unique status may be enabling substantial diversion to the illicit market.


METHODS
Participant observation and interviews were carried out at eight different sites. Information was also drawn from all standard secondary sources and the analysis of about 180 drug-related criminal proceedings reviewed by Indian High Courts and the Supreme Court from 1985 to 2001.


FINDINGS
Diversion from licit opium production takes place on such a large scale that India may be the third largest illicit opium producer after Afghanistan and Burma. With the possible exceptions of 2005 and 2006, 200-300 tons of India's opium may be diverted yearly. After estimating India's opiate consumption on the basis of UN-reported prevalence estimates, we find that diversion from licit production might have satisfied a quarter to more than a third of India's illicit opiate demand to 2004.


CONCLUSIONS
India is not only among the world's largest consumer of illicit opiates but also one of the largest illicit opium producers. In contrast to all other illicit producers, India owes the latter distinction not to blatantly illicit cultivation but to diversion from licit cultivation. India's experience suggests the difficulty of preventing substantial leakage, even in a relatively well-governed nation.
Plasma neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) is associated with kidney function in uraemic patients before and after kidney transplantation

BACKGROUND
Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a biomarker of kidney injury. We examined plasma levels of NGAL in a cohort of 57 kidney allograft recipients (Tx group, 39 ± 13 years), a uraemic group of 40 patients remaining on the waiting list (47 ± 11 years) and a control group of 14 healthy subjects matched for age, sex and body mass index (BMI). The kidney graft recipients were studied at baseline before transplantation and 3 and 12 months after transplantation and the uraemic group at baseline and after 12 months.


METHODS
NGAL was measured using a validated in-house Time-Resolved Immuno-flourometric assay (TRIFMA). Repeated measurements differed by < 10% and mean values were used for statistical analyses. Spearman rank order correlation analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test were used to evaluate the association of NGAL concentrations with clinical parameters.


RESULTS
Plasma NGAL levels before transplantation in the Tx and uraemic groups were significantly higher than in the healthy controls (1,251 μg/L, 1,478 μg/L vs. 163 μg/L, p < 0.0001). In the Tx group NGAL concentrations were associated with serum creatinine (R = 0.51, p < 0.0001), duration of end-stage renal failure (R = 0.41, p = 0.002) and leukocyte count (R = 0.29, p < 0.026). At 3 and 12 months plasma NGAL concentrations declined to 223 μg/L and 243 μg/L, respectively and were associated with homocysteine (R = 0.39, p = 0.0051 and R = 0.47, p = 0.0007).


CONCLUSIONS
Plasma NGAL is a novel marker of kidney function, which correlates to duration of end-stage renal failure (ESRD) and serum creatinine in uraemic patients awaiting kidney transplantation. Plasma NGAL is associated with homocysteine in transplanted patients. The prognostic value of these findings requires further studies.
Blueprint for implementing USP chapter 797 for compounding sterile preparations.

PURPOSE
Guidelines for adopting and successfully implementing the requirements of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) chapter 797 for compounding sterile preparations are presented.


SUMMARY
The quality of a compounded sterile preparation (CSP) is directly related to the methods used to ensure that the CSP achieves the desired goal of purity, potency, and sterility. A properly designed, constructed, and maintained cleanroom contributes to the quality of CSPs. Design criteria of a sample clean-room are supplied, as are a summary and comparison of the liquid disinfectants that can be used to clean and sanitize the facility and maintain environmental controls. All activities associated with cleaning the cleanroom, including air and surface sampling, must be properly documented in logs, examples of which are provided. A robust employee-training program for properly teaching aseptic technique and a method to verify that personnel have successfully completed the program are integral to compliance with chapter 797 and thoroughly discussed herein. Emerging compounding and testing technology is also discussed.


CONCLUSION
Although the task of compliance with the requirements of USP chapter 797 may appear overwhelming, complicated, expensive, and even unattainable, quality can be established via a methodical and organized approach. After the systems have been implemented, maintaining them requires vigilance and follow-up. Compliance with chapter 797 involves up-front and ongoing costs associated with establishing these systems, but the time, energy, and cost required to maintain them are far less than those of retrospective or manual systems of collecting, reviewing, and collating quality assurance data on a monthly basis.
Onabotulinumtoxin-A injection for disabling lower limb flexion in hemiplegic patients.

BACKGROUND
Hemiplegic patients with supraspinal spasticity can present with a flexor pattern at the hip and knee that hampers both passive and active functions.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of OnabotulinumtoxinA injections on this flexor scheme.


METHODS
This open-label observational study included eleven patients who had suffered a unilateral stroke or traumatic brain injury. All had impairment in the activities of daily living caused by severe hip and knee flexion. OnabotulinumtoxinA injections of 300-400U (total dose) were administered to the iliopsoas (iliacus) and knee flexors and, when necessary, to other muscles of the hip and knee. Evaluations were performed pre-treatment (weeks -4 to -8, and day 1) and post-treatment (week 10 and week 21): spasticity, range of motion, limb positioning, passive functions and pain.


RESULTS
A modest improvement in hip and knee extension was observed, as evidenced by the Modified Ashworth Score and range of passive extension movements. Limb positioning was also improved. Clear benefits were found on passive functioning, including toileting, dressing and bed facilities, as well as pain levels. Active functions remained unchanged. More definite improvement was found in patients with severe difficulties.


CONCLUSIONS
OnabotulinumtoxinA injection can contribute to reducing the consequences of disabling lower limb flexion.
Analyzing MOOC Entries of Professionals on LinkedIn for User Modeling and Personalized MOOC Recommendations

The main contribution of this work is the comparison of three user modeling strategies based on job titles, educational fields and skills in LinkedIn profiles, for personalized MOOC recommendations in a cold start situation. Results show that the skill-based user modeling strategy performs best, followed by the job- and edu-based strategies.
Redshift and distances in a ΛCDM cosmology with non-linear inhomogeneities

Motivated by the dawn of precision cosmology and the wealth of forthcoming high precision and volume galaxy surveys, in this paper we study the effects of inhomogeneities on light propagation in a flat ΛCDM background. To this end we use exact solutions of Einstein’s equations (Meures & Bruni 2011) where, starting from small fluctuations, inhomogeneities arise from a standard growing mode and become non-linear. While the matter distribution in these models is necessarily idealised, there is still enough freedom to assume an arbitrary initial density profile along the line of sight. We can therefore model over-densities and voids of various sizes and distributions, e.g. single harmonic sinusoidal modes, coupled modes, and more general distributions in a ΛCDM background. Our models allow for an exact treatment of the light propagation problem, so that the results are unaffected by approximations and unambiguous. Along lines of sight with density inhomogeneities which average out on scales less than the Hubble radius, we find the distance redshift relation to diverge negligibly from the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) result. On the contrary, if we observe along lines of sight which do not have the same average density as the background, we find large deviations from the FLRW distance redshift relation. Hence, a possibly large systematic might be introduced into the analysis of cosmological observations, e.g. supernovae, if we observe along lines of sight which are typically more or less dense than the average density of the Universe. In turn, this could lead to wrong parameter estimation: even if the Cosmological Principle is valid, the identification of the true FLRW background in an inhomogeneous universe maybe more difficult than usually assumed.
A Multi-Broadband Planar Antenna for GSM/ UMTS/LTE and WLAN/WiMAX Handsets

A compact multi-broadband planar antenna is proposed for wireless handsets. The proposed antenna covers multiple broad frequency bands, including the 900-MHz band with a bandwidth of 29% (790-1061 MHz), the 2-GHz band with a bandwidth of 51% (1650-2775 MHz), and the 3.5/5-GHz band with a bandwidth of 68% (3132-6382 MHz). The multi-broadband antenna consists of a folded monopole coupling to an S-shaped strip for the 900-MHz band, a C-shaped monopole coupling with a C-shaped strip for the 2-GHz band, and a trapezoidal monopole with an inverted-F monopole for the 3.5/5-GHz band. All these monopoles with coupled strips are printed on a planar substrate with a compact size of 15 mm×60 mm×0.5 mm, suitable for emerging ultra-slim GSM/UMTS/LTE and WLAN/WiMAX handsets.
Optical coherence tomography of glass reinforced polymer composites

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-destructive and non-contact technique to image microstructure within scattering media. The application of OCT to highly scattering materials such as polymer composites is especially challenging. In this work, OCT is evaluated as a technique to image fiber tows and voids in two materials: an epoxy E-glass reinforced composite and a vinyl ester E-glass reinforced composite. Features detected using OCT are compared with optical microscopy. Fiber architecture and voids of glass reinforced polymer composites can be successfully imaged using OCT. The quality of the OCT image is strongly affected by the refractive index mismatch between the fibers and reinforcement. The largest sources of noise in the images arise from fiber lens effects, interference from within the sample, and a very large reflection at the surface.
Phase I study of capecitabine and oxaliplatin in combination with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib in patients with advanced solid tumors.

PURPOSE
The combination of capecitabine and oxaliplatin has clinical benefit in a variety of gastrointestinal malignancies. The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib enhances the cytotoxic activity of fluoropyrimidines and platinum agents in vivo, and targeting of NF-kappaB may overcome chemotherapy resistance. Thus, we performed this phase I study to document the safety and obtain preliminary efficacy data for the combination of capecitabine, oxaliplatin, and bortezomib.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients with advanced solid tumors were treated with oxaliplatin 130 mg/m(2) intravenously on day 1, capecitabine 750-900 mg/m(2) twice daily orally for 14 days, and bortezomib 1.0, 1.3, or 1.6 mg/m(2) intravenously on days 1 and 8 of 21 day cycles. CT scans were repeated every 2 cycles.


RESULTS
Thirteen patients received 45 cycles of treatment (median, 2; range, 1-8). No dose-limiting toxicities were noted at all bortezomib dose levels when administered with full dose capecitabine and oxaliplatin. The most common grade 3 nonhematologic toxicities during any cycle of therapy included elevated transaminases (3), vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration (2 each). Only one patient experienced grade 3 peripheral neuropathy in cycle 8. Three objective tumor responses were noted (squamous cell of anus, adenocarcinoma of unknown primary, adenocarcinoma of rectum).


CONCLUSIONS
Weekly bortezomib can be safely combined with full doses of capecitabine and oxaliplatin. As 1.6 mg/m(2) weekly of bortezomib is the maximum tolerated dose in single-agent studies, no further dose escalation was performed in this study. Preliminary evidence of antitumor activity is demonstrated. The further evaluation of this combination in diseases for which capecitabine and oxaliplatin have efficacy should be considered.
Towards Creation of a Corpus for Argumentation Mining the Biomedical Genetics Research Literature

Argumentation mining involves automatically identifying the premises, conclusion, and type of each argument as well as relationships between pairs of arguments in a document. We describe our plan to create a corpus from the biomedical genetics research literature, annotated to support argumentation mining research. We discuss the argumentation elements to be annotated, theoretical challenges, and practical issues in creating such a corpus.
MultiMATLAB Integrating MATLAB with High Performance Parallel Computing

MATLAB is the most popular scientific computing environment available on uniprocessors today. Unfortunately, no such environment is currently available for multiprocessors. MultiMATLAB [1] is a general extension of the MATLAB environment to any distributed memory multiprocessors. This paper presents a new MultiMATLAB system designed to provide high-performance on multiprocessors while maintaining the functionality and usability of the MATLAB environment. This system will enable users to access high-performance parallel routines from within the MATLAB environment, to extend the environment with new parallel routines, and to use these routines to develop parallel applications with the MATLAB language. We discuss a general MultiMATLAB architecture, present two implementations based upon the MPI communication standard [2], and demonstrate the use of this system. Preliminary results indicate that the MultiMATLAB system can offer the full performance of the underlying multiprocessor to the MATLAB environment.
EXPATRIATE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER , SUBSIDIARY ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY , AND SUBSIDIARY PERFORMANCE

In this study, we theoretically identify three dimensions of expatriate competenciesability, motivation, and opportunity seeking—for knowledge transfer. Integrating the ability-motivation-opportunity framework and the absorptive capacity perspective, we propose that expatriate competencies in knowledge transfer influence a subsidiary's performance through the knowledge received by the subsidiary, but tbat this indirect eñect is stronger when subsidiary absorptive capacity is greater. We collected multisource, time-lagged data from 162 British subsidiaries of Taiwanese multinational ñrms. The results support our hypotheses. Overall, we contribute to expatriation theory and research by revealing speciñc expatriate competencies as well as identifying boundary conditions for successful expatriate knowledge transfer.
Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin as Adjuvant Therapy for Stage I-III Operable Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND
Conventional anthracyclines play an essential role for the treatment of breast cancer and have potent cytotoxic activity, but are associated with severe toxicity. In metastatic breast cancer, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) is a formulation with efficacy similar to conventional doxorubicin but with reduced toxicity. This multicenter study evaluated the efficacy and safety of PLD-based adjuvant chemotherapy for women with stage I-III operable breast cancer.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
One hundred and eighty women with stage I-III breast cancer who received PLD-based adjuvant chemotherapy at six different Institutions in Taiwan from February 2002 to March 2008 were included and followed-up until April 2015. Treatment efficacy was determined by disease-free survival (DFS) rate and safety was evaluated by adverse events.


RESULTS
The 5- and 10-year DFS rates were 76.3 and 72.6%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that tumor size >5 cm (p=0.045; hazard ratio=3.31) and stage III (hazard ratio=3.54; p=0.019) were each associated with shorter DFS. Only stage III (hazard ratio=5.60; p=0.018) retained statistical significance with regard to DFS in the multivariate analysis. Grade 3/4 hematological toxicity was neutropenia (n=13; 7.2%). The women receiving PLD had low-grade 3 or 4 nausea/vomiting, mucositis, and alopecia. Grade 3 hand-foot syndrome occurred in three patients (1.7%).


CONCLUSION
PLD could be considered an effective and safe alternative to conventional anthracyclines in the treatment of stage I-III operable breast cancer.
Non-response bias in estimates of HIV prevalence due to the mobility of absentees in national population-based surveys: a study of nine national surveys

OBJECTIVES
To measure the bias in national estimates of HIV prevalence in population-based surveys caused by mobility and refusal to test.


METHODS
Data from nine demographic and health surveys and AIDS indicator surveys were used. Non-responders were divided into three groups: (i) "refusals" who were interviewed but not tested; (ii) "refusals" who were present in the household but not interviewed or tested; and (iii) "absentees" who were absent from the household. Correction for HIV status was made for the non-responders using multiple imputation methods with logistic regression models based on a common set of household-level and individual-level sociodemographic and behavioural factors for those tested and stratified by mobility status.


RESULTS
The non-response groups were corrected to have higher risks of HIV than those who participated in the HIV tests, although these were only detected to be statistically significant in some of the countries. In Lesotho, the corrected prevalence for the absent household members was significantly higher than for those who were present in the household. However, the adjusted prevalences differed by less than a percentage point from the prevalences observed among those who were tested, so the overall effects of non-response on national estimates of HIV prevalence are minimal.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that the mobility of absentees does not substantially bias estimates of HIV prevalence from population-based surveys. None the less, if levels of non-response are high or if non-responders differ greatly from those who participate in HIV testing with respect to HIV status, non-response could still bias national estimates of HIV prevalence.
Charter Schools and Student Achievement in Florida

I utilize longitudinal data covering all public school students in Florida to study the performance of charter schools and their competitive impact on traditional public schools. Controlling for student-level fixed effects, I find achievement initially is lower in charters. However, by their fifth year of operation new charter schools reach a par with the average traditional public school in math and produce higher reading achievement scores than their traditional public school counterparts. Among charters, those targeting at-risk and special education students demonstrate lower student achievement, while charter schools managed by for-profit entities peform no differently on average than charters run by nonprofits. Controlling for preexisting traditional public school quality, competition from charter schools is associated with modest increases in math scores and unchanged reading scores in nearby traditional public schools.
[Analysis of the French urban structure: its development up to the beginning of the twentieth century and growth throughout the nineteenth century].

The author analyzes the evolution of the urban structure in France since the tenth century. The rural and urban populations in France are compared with those in the neighboring countries of England and Germany. Urbanization from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century is characterized as a hierarchization of the recently created urban structures into a network that controlled provincial life and formed the basis for a new administrative system. (ANNOTATION)