LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Effects of chiropractic care on pain and function in patients with hip osteoarthritis waiting for arthroplasty: a clinical pilot trial.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to explore the short-term effects of chiropractic care on pain and function in patients with hip osteoarthritis.


METHODS
A convenience sample of 14 patients waiting to undergo unilateral hip arthroplasty at a large university hospital received either chiropractic care (n = 7) or no additional treatment (n = 7) during a 3-week period. The main outcome was the change in self-rated hip pain on a 100 mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS, 0-100). Secondary outcomes were the change in the five Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Subscales (HOOS, 0-100), which include pain, other symptoms, function in daily living, function in sport and recreation and hip related quality of life. Nonparametric statistics were used to explore outcome changes from baseline to follow-up after three weeks within and between the groups.


RESULTS
Patients receiving chiropractic care, on average 4.4 (SD +/-1.0) treatments over 3 weeks, showed a clinically and statistically significant improvement in self-rated hip pain, VAS - 26.0 (SD +/-28.4), P = .043. The chiropractic patients also had clinically important, but not statistically significant, improvement scores in HOOS function in daily living 18.6 (SD +/-18.5), pain 15.4 (SD +/-17.2), and hip-related quality of life 12.4 (SD +/-19.6). The waiting list controls had no statistically significant improvements in any outcome measured, but a clinically relevant improvement in HOOS Pain 12.2 (SD +/-18.2), P = .051 was observed. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups due to the small sample size. Approximately 25 patients per arm would be required to adequately power a full scale randomized controlled trial with VAS for hip pain as the main outcome measure.


CONCLUSIONS
Chiropractic care may provide a short-term benefit in decreasing hip pain for patients with hip osteoarthritis waiting for hip arthroplasty. The pilot findings warrant larger scale randomized controlled trials with longer-term follow-ups.
Discrete choice models

Discrete choice models have played an important role in transportation modeling for the last 25 years. They are namely used to provide a detailed representation of the complex aspects of transportation demand, based on strong theoretical justiications. Moreover, several packages and tools are available to help practionners using these models for real applications, making discrete choice models more and more popular. Discrete choice models are powerful but complex. The art of nd-ing the appropriate model for a particular application requires from the analyst both a close familiarity with the reality under interest and a strong understanding of the methodological and theoretical background of the model. The main theoretical aspects of discrete choice models are reviewed in this paper. The main assumptions used to derive discrete choice models in general, and random utility models in particular, are covered in detail. The Multinomial Logit Model, the Nested Logit Model and the Generalized Extreme Value model are also discussed.
Startling acoustic stimuli can evoke fast hand extension movements in stroke survivors

OBJECTIVE
A startling loud acoustic stimulus can involuntarily elicit planned movements, a phenomenon referred to as startReact. Following stroke, startReact elbow flexion in stroke survivors are improved from voluntary movements. Specifically, startReact elbow flexion in unimpaired individuals is not statistically different from stroke survivors in terms of onset latency and muscle activation patterns. As hand movements are particularly impacted by stroke, our objective was to determine if startReact was intact in the hand following stroke.


METHODS
Data were collected in 8 stroke survivors and 10 age-matched subjects performing hand extension following two non-startling acoustic stimuli representing "get ready" and "go" respectively. Randomly, the "go" was replaced with a startling acoustic stimulus. We hypothesized that (1) startReact would be intact during hand extension in stroke survivors and that (2) the latency of movement would be the same as in age-matched subjects.


RESULTS
We found that startReact was intact in stroke subjects and further that the onset latency of these movements was not different from age-matched subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that startReact is intact in the hand following stroke.


SIGNIFICANCE
An intact startReact response indicates that this reflex may be an attractive therapeutic target for initiating hand extension in stroke survivors.
Probiotics Reduce Inflammation in Antiretroviral Treated, HIV-Infected Individuals: Results of the “Probio-HIV” Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND
HIV infection results in damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, microbial translocation and immune activation. These are not completely normalized with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Moreover, increate morbidity and mortality of cART-treated HIV-infected individuals is associated with inflammation.


METHODS
In order to enhance GI tract immunity, we recruited and treated 20 HIV-infected humans with cART supplemented with probiotics and followed inflammation and immunological parameters (clinical trial number NCT02164344). 11 HIV seronegative subjects were included as control group. The enumeration of CD4+, CD8+, CD38+ and HLA-DR+ lymphocytes were evaluated on peripheral blood; HIV-RNA levels, sCD14, d-dimer, C-reactive protein (CRP) high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), IL-6 and Lipopolysaccharide Binding Protein (LBP) were assayed on plasma.


RESULTS
We observe that cART does not normalize the levels of immune activation in HIV positive patients anyway inflammation and markers of microbial translocation were significantly reduced with probiotic supplementation. Patients show a clear and statistically significant reduction in the levels of immune activation on CD4 T-lymphocytes, for both markers CD38 and HLA-DR and their simultaneous expression, LBP and hsCRP plasma levels after probiotic diet supplementation settling to values comparable to controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Supplementing cART with probiotics in HIV-infected individuals may improve GI tract immunity and there by mitigate inflammatory sequelae, ultimately improving prognosis.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02164344.
Hydromechanical modeling of pulse tests that measure both fluid pressure and fracture-normal displacement of the Coaraze Laboratory site, France

In situ fracture mechanical deformation and fluid flow interactions are investigated through a series of hydraulic pulse injection tests, using specialized borehole equipment that can simultaneously measure fluid pressure and fracture displacements. The tests were conducted in two horizontal boreholes spaced 1 m apart vertically and intersecting a near-vertical highly permeable fault located within a shallow fractured carbonate rock. The entire test cycle, both the initial pressure increase and subsequent pressure fall-off, was carefully monitored and used for the evaluation of the in situ hydromechanical behaviour. The field data were modelled using both distinct-element and finite-element modelling techniques, in two and three dimensions. Field test data were evaluated by plotting fracture normal displacement as a function of fluid pressure, measured at the same borehole. The curves for the normal displacement of the fracture as a function of fluid pressure showed hysteresis loops, in which the paths for loading (pressure increase) and unloading (pressure decrease) are different. By matching this behaviour, the fracture normal stiffness and an equivalent stiffness (Young's modulus) of the surrounding rock mass were back-calculated. Evaluation of the field tests by coupled numerical hydromechanical modelling showed that the pressure-increase path of the normal displacement-versus-pressure curve is highly dependent on the hydromechanical parameters of the tested fracture and the stiffness of the matrix near the injection point, whereas the pressure-decrease path is influenced by mechanical processes within a larger portion of the surrounding fractured rock.
High Level Information Fusion (HLIF): Survey of models, issues, and grand challenges

High-level information fusion (situation and threat assessment, process and user refinement) requires novel solutions for the operational transition of information fusion designs. Low-level (signal processing, object state estimation and characterization) is well-vetted in the community as compared to high-level information fusion (control and relationships to the environment). Specific areas of interest include modeling (situations, environments), representations (semantic, knowledge, and complex), information management (ontologies, protocols) systems design (scenario-based, user-based, distributed-agent) and evaluation (measures of performance/effectiveness, and empirical case studies).
Aligning English Strings with Abstract Meaning Representation Graphs

We align pairs of English sentences and corresponding Abstract Meaning Representations (AMR), at the token level. Such alignments will be useful for downstream extraction of semantic interpretation and generation rules. Our method involves linearizing AMR structures and performing symmetrized EM training. We obtain 86.5% and 83.1% alignment F score on development and test sets.
Performance and characterization of high frequency linear arrays

A new approach for fabricating high frequency (> 20 MHz) linear array transducers, based on laser micromachining, has been developed. The capabilities of this approach will be presented using a 30 MHz 64-element, 74-micron pitch and 8micron kerf design. Each fabricated array has been integrated onto a flex circuit for ease of handling and the flex has been integrated onto a custom circuit board for ease of testing. Examples of measured characteristics of arbitrary array elements are as follows: Electrical impedance, measured in air, of about 120 Ohms with –20 degrees of phase. All transducer elements were acoustically tested using a +/30V single cycle drive pulse and a 40μm needle hydrophone. The average center frequency was found to be 28.1 +/0.7 MHz with a 1-way bandwidth of 83 +/1.2 %. The average peak-to-peak pressure measured at an axial distance of 10 mm from a transducer element was 590 +/24 kPa. The combined acoustic and electrical cross talk for nearest neighbours, averaged across the bandwidth of the device was determined to be –40 dB. Simulations of the array characteristics based on finite element analysis performed with PZFlex show good agreement with experimental results. Synthesized images based on the measured performance of the array elements for a given fabricated transducer will also be presented. Keywordslinear array; transducer; and high frequency
Inside packet sampling techniques: exploring modularity to enhance network measurements

Traffic sampling is viewed as a prominent strategy contributing to lightweight and scalable network measurements. Although multiple sampling techniques have been proposed and used to assist network engineering tasks, these techniques tend to address a single measurement purpose, without detailing the network overhead and computational costs involved. The lack of a modular approach when defining the components of traffic sampling techniques also makes difficult their analysis. Providing a modular view of sampling techniques and classifying their characteristics is, therefore, an important step to enlarge the sampling scope, improve the efficiency of measurement systems, and sustain forthcoming research in the area. Thus, this paper defines a taxonomy of traffic sampling techniques resorting to a comprehensive analysis of the inner components of existing proposals. After identifying granularity, selection scheme, and selection trigger as the main components differentiating sampling proposals, the study goes deeper on characterizing these components, including insights into their computational weight. Following this taxonomy, a general-purpose architecture is established to sustain the development of flexible sampling-based measurement systems. Traveling inside packet sampling techniques, this paper contributes to a clearer positioning and comparison of existing proposals, providing a road map to assist further research and deployments in the area. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bundling Information Goods : Pricing , Profits and Efficiency

Internet-based technologies such as micropayments increasingly enable the sale and delivery of small units of information. This paper draws attention to the opposite strategy of bundling a large number of information goods, such as those increasingly available on the Internet, for a fixed price that does not depend on how many goods are actually used by the buyer. We analyze the optimal bundling strategies for a multiproduct monopolist, and we find that bundling very large numbers of unrelated information goods can be surprisingly profitable. The reason is that the law of large numbers makes it much easier to predict consumers' valuations for a bundle of goods than their valuations for the individual goods when sold separately. As a result, this "predictive value of bundling" makes it possible to achieve greater sales, greater economic efficiency and greater profits per good from a bundle of information goods than can be attained when the same goods are sold separately. Our results do not extend to most physical goods, as the marginal costs of production typically negate any benefits from the predictive value of bundling. While determining optimal bundling strategies for more than two goods is a notoriously difficult problem, we use statistical techniques to provide strong asymptotic results and bounds on profits for bundles of any arbitrary size. We show how our model can be used to analyze the bundling of complements and substitutes, bundling in the presence of budget constraints and bundling of goods with various types of correlations. We find that when different market segments of consumers differ systematically in their valuations for goods, simple bundling will no longer be optimal. However, by offering a menu of different bundles aimed at each market segment, a monopolist can generally earn substantially higher profits than would be possible without bundling. The predictions of our analysis appear to be consistent with empirical observations of the markets for Internet and on-line content, cable television programming, and copyrighted music. ________________________________________ We thank Timothy Bresnahan, Hung-Ken Chien, Frank Fisher, Michael Harrison, Paul Kleindorfer, Thomas Malone, Robert Pindyck, Nancy Rose, Richard Schmalensee, John Tsitsiklis, Hal Varian, Albert Wenger, Birger Wernerfelt, four anonymous reviewers and seminar participants at the University of California at Berkeley, MIT, New York University, Stanford University, University of Rochester, the Wharton School, the 1995 Workshop on Information Systems and Economics and the 1998 Workshop on Marketing Science and the Internet for many helpful suggestions. Any errors that remain are only our responsibility. BUNDLING INFORMATION GOODS Page 1
Physical activity and mental health in a student population.

BACKGROUND
A growing body of literature indicates that physical activity can have beneficial effects on mental health. However, previous research has mainly focussed on clinical populations, and little is known about the psychological effects of physical activity in those without clinically defined disorders.


AIMS
The present study investigates the association between physical activity and mental health in an undergraduate university population based in the United Kingdom.


METHOD
One hundred students completed questionnaires measuring their levels of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and their physical activity regime using the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ).


RESULTS
Significant differences were observed between the low, medium and high exercise groups on the mental health scales, indicating better mental health for those who engage in more exercise.


CONCLUSIONS
Engagement in physical activity can be an important contributory factor in the mental health of undergraduate students.
Association between fetal abdominal circumference and birthweight in maternal hyperglycemia.

OBJECTIVES
To compare fetal abdominal circumference and its relationship with birthweight at increasing gestational ages in the context of maternal hyperglycemia of varying severity.


DESIGN
Retrospective cohort study.


SETTING
Two centers participated in building one database.


POPULATION
A total of 1538 Korean pregnant women were subjected to a two-step approach to diagnose gestational diabetes mellitus.


METHODS
Pregnant women were classified into gestational diabetes mellitus, borderline gestational diabetes mellitus, and normal groups. Fetal abdominal circumferences, which were measured with ultrasound at 4-week intervals starting at 16 weeks of gestation and ending prior to delivery, were evaluated in the groups.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
The significance of fetal abdominal circumferences as predictors or risk factors of macrosomia/large-for-gestational age.


RESULTS
Fetal abdominal circumferences measured from 16 weeks of gestation until prior to delivery predicted birthweight in all groups with some exceptions. Fetal abdominal circumferences measured from 32 weeks of gestation until prior to delivery were predictive of macrosomia in all groups. Fetal abdominal circumferences measured from 28 weeks of gestation until prior to delivery were predictive of neonates being large-for-gestational age in all groups. Fetal abdominal circumferences measured at 16 and 24 weeks of gestation were also predictive of large-for-gestational age in the borderline gestational diabetes mellitus group. Fetal abdominal circumference measured at 24 weeks of gestation was also a predictor of macrosomia/large-for-gestational age in normal women.


CONCLUSIONS
Fetal abdominal circumferences measured during the second and especially third trimesters were significantly associated with excessive birthweight, irrespective of the severity of maternal glucose intolerance.
Chapter 2 Genetic Aspects of Gender Identity Development and Gender Dysphoria

B.P.C. Kreukels et al. (eds.), Gender Dysphoria and Disorders of Sex Development: Progress in Care and Knowledge, Focus on Sexuality Research, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-7441-8_2, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract The development of gender identity, its variance, and gender dysphoria is thought to be a complex process involving biological and psychosocial factors. Heritability studies have demonstrated a genetic factor for the development of gender dysphoria. The brain is regarded as the anatomical substrate of gender identity, and sex differences of the brain are studied to elucidate the process of gender identity development. Many sex differences have been attributed to hormonal action, and the fi rst genetic studies in transsexuals were focused on sex-steroid-related genes. To this day, a convincing candidate gene has not been identifi ed, and it is now known that sex chromosomes have a direct effect on sex differentiation and that they may play a role in gender identity development. For future studies of the genetic base of gender dysphoria, new techniques, such as genome-wide studies, have become available. In addition, epigenetic studies may provide for a different association perspective of the genetics of gender dysphoria. Chapter 2 Genetic Aspects of Gender Identity Development and Gender Dysphoria
Clustering Incomplete Data Using Kernel-Based Fuzzy C-means Algorithm

There is a trend in recent machine learning community to construct a nonlinear version of a linear algorithm using the 'kernel method', e.g. Support Vector Machines (SVMs), kernel principal component analysis, kernel fisher discriminant analysis and the recent kernel clustering algorithms. In unsupervised clustering algorithms using kernel method, typically, a nonlinear mapping is used first to map the data into a potentially much higher feature space, where clustering is then performed. A drawback of these kernel clustering algorithms is thatthe clustering prototypes lie in high dimensional feature space and hence lack clear and intuitive descriptions unless using additional projection approximation from the feature to the data space as done in the existing literatures. In this paper, a novel clustering algorithm using the 'kernel method' based on the classical fuzzy clustering algorithm (FCM) is proposed and called as kernel fuzzy c-means algorithm (KFCM). KFCM adopts a new kernel-induced metric in the data space to replace the original Euclidean norm metric in FCM and the clustered prototypes still lie in the data space so that the clustering results can be reformulated and interpreted in the original space. Our analysis shows that KFCM is robust to noise and outliers and also tolerates unequal sized clusters. And finally this property is utilized to cluster incomplete data. Experiments on two artificial and one real datasets show that KFCM hasbetter clustering performance and more robust than several modifications of FCM for incomplete data clustering.
Factorial experiments: efficient tools for evaluation of intervention components.

BACKGROUND
An understanding of the individual and combined effects of a set of intervention components is important for moving the science of preventive medicine interventions forward. This understanding can often be achieved in an efficient and economical way via a factorial experiment, in which two or more independent variables are manipulated. The factorial experiment is a complement to the RCT; the two designs address different research questions.


PURPOSE
To offer an introduction to factorial experiments aimed at investigators trained primarily in the RCT.


METHODS
The factorial experiment is compared and contrasted with other experimental designs used commonly in intervention science to highlight where each is most efficient and appropriate.


RESULTS
Several points are made: factorial experiments make very efficient use of experimental subjects when the data are properly analyzed; a factorial experiment can have excellent statistical power even if it has relatively few subjects per experimental condition; and when conducting research to select components for inclusion in a multicomponent intervention, interactions should be studied rather than avoided.


CONCLUSIONS
Investigators in preventive medicine and related areas should begin considering factorial experiments alongside other approaches. Experimental designs should be chosen from a resource management perspective, which states that the best experimental design is the one that provides the greatest scientific benefit without exceeding available resources.
Cross-Domain Object Recognition Via Input-Output Kernel Analysis

It is of great importance to investigate the domain adaptation problem of image object recognition, because now image data is available from a variety of source domains. To understand the changes in data distributions across domains, we study both the input and output kernel spaces for cross-domain learning situations, where most labeled training images are from a source domain and testing images are from a different target domain. To address the feature distribution change issue in the reproducing kernel Hilbert space induced by vector-valued functions, we propose a domain adaptive input-output kernel learning (DA-IOKL) algorithm, which simultaneously learns both the input and output kernels with a discriminative vector-valued decision function by reducing the data mismatch and minimizing the structural error. We also extend the proposed method to the cases of having multiple source domains. We examine two cross-domain object recognition benchmark data sets, and the proposed method consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art domain adaptation and multiple kernel learning methods.