LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Lack of cortisol response in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) undergoing a diagnostic interview

BACKGROUND
According to DSM-IV, the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) requires the experience of a traumatic event during which the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. In order to diagnose PTSD, clinicians must interview the person in depth about his/her previous experiences and determine whether the individual has been traumatized by a specific event or events. However, asking questions about traumatic experiences can be stressful for the traumatized individual and it has been cautioned that subsequent "re-traumatization" could occur. This study investigated the cortisol response in traumatized refugees with PTSD during a detailed and standardized interview about their personal war and torture experiences.


METHODS
Participants were male refugees with severe PTSD who solicited an expert opinion in the Psychological Research Clinic for Refugees of the University of Konstanz. 17 patients were administered the Vivo Checklist of War, Detention, and Torture Events, a standardized interview about traumatic experiences, and 16 subjects were interviewed about absorption behavior. Self-reported measures of affect and arousal, as well as saliva cortisol were collected at four points. Before and after the experimental intervention, subjects performed a Delayed Matching-to-Sample (DMS) task for distraction. They also rated the severity of selected PTSD symptoms, as well as the level of intrusiveness of traumatic memories at that time.


RESULTS
Cortisol excretion diminished in the course of the interview and showed the same pattern for both groups. No specific response was detectable after the supposed stressor. Correspondingly, ratings of subjective well-being, memories of the most traumatic event(s) and PTSD symptoms did not show any significant difference between groups. Those in the presumed stress condition did not perform worse than persons in the control condition after the stressor. However, both groups performed poorly in the DMS task, which is consistent with memory and concentration problems demonstrated in patients with PTSD.


CONCLUSION
A comprehensive diagnostic interview including questions about traumatic events does not trigger an HPA-axis based alarm response or changes in psychological measures, even for persons with severe PTSD, such as survivors of torture. Thus, addressing traumatic experiences within a safe and empathic environment appears to impose no unacceptable additional load to the patient.
Using sparse representations for missing data imputation in noise robust speech recognition

Noise robustness of automatic speech recognition benefits from using missing data imputation: Prior to recognition the parts of the spectrogram dominated by noise are replaced by clean speech estimates. Especially at low SNRs each frame contains at best only a few uncorrupted coefficients. This makes frame-by-frame restoration of corrupted feature vectors error-prone, and recognition accuracy will mostly be sub-optimal. In this paper we present a novel imputation technique working on entire words. A word is sparsely represented in an overcomplete basis of exemplar (clean) speech signals using only the uncorrupted time-frequency elements of the word. The corrupted elements are replaced by estimates obtained by projecting the sparse representation in the basis. We achieve recognition accuracies of 92% at SNR -5 dB using oracle masks on AURORA-2 as compared to 61% using a conventional frame-based approach. The performance obtained with estimated masks can be directly related to the proportion of correctly identified uncorrupted coefficients.
The LMC Skills, Confidence & Preparedness Index (SCPI): development and evaluation of a novel tool for assessing self-management in patients with diabetes

BACKGROUND
Optimal diabetes care requires a specific set of self-management behaviours. The purpose of this study was to present the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a new tool to measure three key aspects of a patient's diabetes self-management: knowledge of the skill, confidence in being able to perform the skill and preparedness to implement the skill.


METHODS
A sequential exploratory mixed-methods design was used. A panel of educators, researchers and clinicians established a scale with items that would adequately capture skills, confidence and preparedness in seven core health behaviours central to diabetes care. The psychometric properties of the items were pilot tested on 120 participants with diabetes from a tertiary referral centre, and repeated 6 months later on 70 participants. Item selection was informed by factor analysis, item-total statistics and the need for brevity.


RESULTS
Twenty five items from a pool of 36 were retained, with an excellent overall intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.94 (95% CI 0.92-0.99; p < 0.001). Internal consistency for the subscales (skills-9 items, confidence - 8 items, preparedness - 8 items) was very good (intraclass correlation between 0.83 and 0.88), and retest reliability after 6 months was also good (r = 0.48; p < 0.01). The scale was positively correlated to established scales that assess skill (Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test) (r = 0.21;p = 0.01), and assess skill and confidence (Diabetes Empowerment Scale) (r = 0.28;p < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
The Skills, Confidence & Preparedness Index is a brief and easy to administer new scale that is more comprehensive than existing tools. It should be used to assess self-management in patients with diabetes, optimize the resources applied to each patient, and determine educational needs and direct clinical management. The scale should be further evaluated in a broader population of patients with diabetes.
Quantitative 13C NMR spectroscopy. Chemical structure of kraft and nitrosated lignins

Quantitative 13C NMR spectroscopy has been used to study the chemical structure of industrial kraft lignin, obtained from softwood pulping, and its nitrosated derivatives, which demonstrate high inhibition activity in the polymerization of unsaturated hydrocarbons.
Measurement Accuracy Analysis of Distance Between Cameras in Stereo Vision

Stereo vision is one of the most interesting topic research in the last decades. It follows the human's vision principle with two eyes to produce the depth estimation. Many recent works have started to use this technique for many implementations. Two cameras in stereo system generate the disparity map. The distance estimation of the object could be generated using this map. The position of cameras is crucial for getting a good result. This paper is trying to analyze the relation of distance between the camera and measurement accuracy in the stereo vision system. The result shows that the area of measurement depending on the distance between cameras. When an object located too close with cameras, the system cannot measure the distance properly. As the result of this experiment, the optimal distance of measurement when the distance between cameras 10cm is 40 to 200cm, with average the measurement error 1%.
Ultrasound-guided intratumoral indigo carmine injection for intraoperative, surgeon-performed tumor localization.

BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of ultrasound-guided intratumoral indigo carmine injections for intraoperative localization of small head and neck tumors and to introduce our surgeon-performed technique.


METHODS
In total, 23 patients who had tumors ≤1.5 cm that were not palpable by 2 head and neck surgeons were enrolled in this prospective study.


RESULTS
Ultrasound-guided intratumoral indigo carmine injections successfully targeted tumors in 22 patients (95.7%). The mean preinjection target tumor size was 0.8 cm. After an average injection of 0.7 mL indigo carmine, the mean target tumor size increased to 1.0 cm, which enhanced visual demarcation because of the increased tumor size. In these patients, we successfully and uneventfully resected the target tumors with ultrasound-guided intratumoral indigo carmine injection assistance.


CONCLUSION
Ultrasound-guided intratumoral indigo carmine injections were technically feasible as an intraoperative procedure and were performed safely by a head and neck surgeon to facilitate localization of small head and neck tumors, even in revision cases.
A model of prostate-specific antigen screening outcomes for low- to high-risk men: information to support informed choices.

BACKGROUND
Information is needed to aid individual decision making about prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening.


METHODS
We aimed to provide such information for men aged 40, 50, 60, and 70 years at low, moderate, and high risk for prostate cancer. A Markov model compared patients with vs without annual PSA screening using a 20% relative risk (RR) reduction (RR = 0.8) in prostate cancer mortality as a best-case scenario. The model estimated numbers of biopsies, prostate cancers, and deaths from prostate cancer per 1000 men over 10 years and cumulated to age 85 years.


RESULTS
Benefits and harms vary substantially with age and familial risk. Using 60-year-old men with low risk as an example, of 1000 men screened annually, we estimate that 115 men will undergo biopsy triggered by an abnormal PSA screen result and that 53 men will be diagnosed as having prostate cancer over 10 years compared with 23 men diagnosed as having prostate cancer among 1000 unscreened men. Among screened men, 3.5 will die of prostate cancer over 10 years compared with 4.4 deaths in unscreened men. For 1000 men screened from 40 to 69 years of age, there will be 27.9 prostate cancer deaths and 639.5 deaths overall by age 85 years compared with 29.9 prostate cancer deaths and 640.4 deaths overall in unscreened men. Higher-risk men have more prostate cancer deaths averted but also more prostate cancers diagnosed and related harms.


CONCLUSIONS
Men should be informed of the likely benefits and harms of PSA screening. These estimates can be used to support individual decision making.
Understanding Chinese Students' Use of Language Learning Strategies from Cultural and Educational Perspectives

This study investigated Chinese students’ use of language learning strategies, and then interpreted the data from cultural and educational perspectives. Using a Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, the researcher discovered some common features shared by Chinese students in their use of learning strategies. An in-depth analysis of the results revealed that these features could be linked to three factors concerning their cultural and educational background: cultural beliefs and values, traditional Chinese education pattern and English as Foreign Language (EFL) setting. The findings suggest that, as EFL teaching and learning in China is deeply rooted in Chinese culture and education, English teachers should avoid going to extremes in adopting teaching methods in the English classroom, and that Chinese learners of English should diversify their learning strategies so that they can select appropriate learning strategies for various learning tasks.
Virtual Worlds for Education: River City and EcoMUVE

Multi-user virtual environments are 3-D graphical worlds used to construct simulated immersive experiences. In a MUVE, each user has a virtual representation, called an avatar, and moves this graphical avatar through the 3-D virtual world. These simulated contexts provide rich environments in which participants interact with digital objects and tools, with each other and with computer-based agents. MUVEs are a rapidly growing platform for entertainment applications such as multi-player Internet games and "virtual places" (e.g., Second Life). MUVEs are also a promising platform for educational applications, in part because MUVEs can simulate environments and experiences otherwise impossible in school settings.
Siblings of myocardial infarction patients are overlooked in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

AIMS
Patients with arterial hypertension or hypercholesterolaemia may benefit from medical therapy for primary prevention of myocardial infarction. Preventive therapy may be particularly effective in individuals with a positive family history for myocardial infarction since such subjects are at high risk for coronary events. The objective of this population-based study was to analyse the risk profile as well as the current utilization of preventive strategies in asymptomatic siblings of patients with myocardial infarction.


METHODS AND RESULTS
We studied siblings of 325 patients with premature myocardial infarction from the Augsburg MONICA myocardial infarction registry by standardized questionnaire, blood pressure recordings, and biochemical measurements. Out of 580 siblings, 510 were free of coronary heart disease symptoms. With multiple risk factors being present in most asymptomatic siblings, 29.4% of asymptomatic individuals had an estimated individual 10-year risk for a major cardiovascular event of > or = 20%, or when projected to the age of 60. According to the guidelines of the European Societies of Cardiology, Atherosclerosis, and Hypertension (ESC/EAS/ESH) from 1994 (1998 guidelines in parenthesis) dietary and lifestyle interventions were indicated for arterial hypertension in 48.1% (43.0%) and/or for hypercholesterolaemia in 17.3% (78.8%). Drug treatment was indicated for arterial hypertension in 27.9% (30.6%) and for hypercholesterolaemia in 13.6% (19.1%) of asymptomatic siblings. Of those individuals with the respective indication, actual drug treatment was given for arterial hypertension in 91.5% (83.3%) and for hypercholesterolaemia in 46.4% (33.0%). However, treatment targets were reached in only 31.0% (28.2%) with arterial hypertension and in 7.2% (5.2%) with hypercholesterolaemia, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Most asymptomatic individuals with positive fraternal family history have more than one modifiable risk factor. Interestingly, a large number of these individuals appears to be under medical surveillance as many receive some sort of drug treatment. However, this therapy did not meet the treatment goals in the majority of those with arterial hypertension and/or hypercholesterolaemia. Thus, although individuals with a positive fraternal history for myocardial infarction can be easily identified, implementation of sufficient preventive strategies continues to be poor in a Western European country.
Duration of acute kidney injury and mortality in critically ill patients: a retrospective observational study

BACKGROUND
The addition of relevant parameters to acute kidney injury (AKI) criteria might allow better prediction of patient mortality than AKI criteria alone. Here, we evaluated whether inclusion of AKI duration could address this issue.


METHODS
AKI was defined according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines in 2,143 critically ill patients, within 15 days of patient admission. AKI cases were categorized according to tertiles of AKI duration: 1st tertile, 1-2 days; 2nd tertile, 3-5 days; and 3rd tertile, ≥6 days. The hazard ratios (HRs) for overall survival rates in three groups were calculated after adjustment for multiple covariates compared with ICU patients without AKI as the reference group. The predictive ability for mortality was assessed by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve.


RESULTS
AKI increased the HRs for overall mortality, and the mortality rate increased with AKI duration: the adjusted HRs were 1.99 (1st tertile), 2.67 (2nd tertile), and 2.85 (3rd tertile) compared with the non-AKI group (all Ps < 0.001). The AUC of the ROC curve for overall mortality based on the AKI duration groups (0.716) was higher than the AUC of AKI staging using the KDIGO guidelines (0.696) (P = 0.001). When considering KDIGO stage and AKI duration together, the AUC (0.717) was also significantly higher than that using the KDIGO stage alone (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
AKI duration is an additional parameter for the prediction of mortality in critically ill patients. The inclusion of AKI duration could be considered as a refinement of the AKI criteria.
On Canonical Forms and Simplification

This paper deals with the simplification problem of symbolic mathematics. The notion of canonical form is defined and presented as a well-defined alternative to the concept of simplified form. Following Richardson it is shown that canonical forms do not exist for sufficiently rich classes of mathematical expressions. However, with the aid of a nmnber- theoretic conjecture, a large subclass of the negative classes is shown to possess a canonical form.
Delayed autonomous self-pollination in the colonizer Crotalaria micans (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae): structural and functional aspects

We investigated the reproductive biology of Crotalaria micans, a colonizing species that occurs in disturbed sites. The flowers have two whorls of stamens with differential growth and dimorphic anthers. The inner anthers serve two functions: 1) to cooperate with the stylar brush in the pollen presentation, and 2) to push the remaining pollen within the keel onto the stigma at the end of the receptivity period. Flowers pass through three phases: a) male phase, when outer anthers release their pollen, but stigmas are not receptive; b) female phase, when stigmas are receptive, but still separated from flowers' own pollen, and c) an autogamous phase, when the round anthers grow towards the stigma, leading to delayed autonomous self-pollination. Because C. micans is completely self-compatible, delayed self-pollination and geitonogamy result in approximately 76% of seeds being self-fertilized.
Right ventricular remodeling due to pulmonary regurgitation is associated with reduced left ventricular free wall strain in surgically repaired tetralogy of fallot.

BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of pulmonary regurgitation (PR) and right ventricle (RV) volume on left ventricle (LV) longitudinal strain (LS) in patients with surgically repaired tetralogy of Fallot (r-TOF).


METHODS AND RESULTS
The study subjects were 32 adolescent asymptomatic r-TOF subjects and 30 adolescent healthy controls. Two-dimensional (2-D) and 3-dimensional (3-D) echocardiography were performed in all subjects using Vivid E9 (GE Healthcare). On 3-D analysis, LV and RV volumes were measured using 4D auto LVEF and TomTec RV analysis. PR fraction (PRF) was calculated by the volumetric method (PRF=[RV stroke volume-LV stroke volume]/RV stroke volume). LV-LS was assessed on 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography, and "free wall LS" represented the average of 3 lateral segments. Although RVEF and LVEF were not different between the 2 groups, free wall LS (-17.1 ± 3.2%) was reduced significantly in the r-TOF group compared to the control (-20.5 ± 4.9%, P=0.008), and correlated with the RV variables RVEDVI, RV/LV EDVI ratio and PRF. On multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis, RVEDVI was the only risk factor for the reduction of free wall LS (P=0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
Free wall LS was significantly reduced despite preserved LVEF. The severity of LS reduction was correlated with RV dilation even in asymptomatic r-TOF patients.
Effect of far infrared therapy on arteriovenous fistula maturation: an open-label randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND
Malfunction of the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is an important cause of morbidity and hospitalization in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of far infrared therapy on the maturation and patency of newly created AVFs in patients with chronic kidney disease stage 4 or 5.


STUDY DESIGN
Randomized controlled study.


SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
Patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate of 5-20 mL/min/1.73 m².


INTERVENTION
40 minutes of far infrared therapy 3 times weekly for a year.


OUTCOMES
The primary outcome is the rate of AVF malfunction within 12 months, with malfunction defined as either: (1) thrombosis without thrill for AVFs not undergoing HD or (2) receiving any type of interventional procedure due to a lower Kt/V (<1.2) for patients undergoing HD. Secondary outcomes include: (1) cumulative primary unassisted AVF patency, defined as time from creation of the AVF to the first episode of AVF malfunction; (2) physiologic maturation of the AVF by the definition of AVF access blood flow (Qa) ≥500 mL/min and AVF diameter ≥4 mm at 3 months; and (3) clinical maturation of the AVF suitable for HD at 1 year.


MEASUREMENTS
AVF Qa was measured by Doppler ultrasonography at 2 days and 1, 2, 3, and 12 months.


RESULTS
We enrolled 122 patients who were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 60) and control (n = 62) groups. In comparison to controls, patients in the intervention group had higher Qa values at 1, 2, 3, and 12 months; a higher rate of physiologic maturation (90% vs 76%; P = 0.04) at 3 months; and a lower rate of AVF malfunction (12% vs 29%; P = 0.02) but higher rates of AVF cumulative unassisted patency (87% vs 70%; P = 0.01) and clinical maturation (82% vs 60%; P = 0.008) within 12 months.


LIMITATIONS
This is a single-center nonblinded study.


CONCLUSIONS
Far infrared therapy improves the access flow, maturation, and patency of newly created AVFs in patients with chronic kidney disease stages 4 and 5.
Searching for hematopoietic stem cells: evidence that Thy-1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+ cells are the only stem cells in C57BL/Ka-Thy-1.1 bone marrow

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are defined in mice by three activities: they must rescue lethally irradiated mice (radioprotection), they must self-renew, and they must restore all blood cell lineages permanently. We initially demonstrated that HSCs were contained in a rare (approximately 0.05%) subset of bone marrow cells with the following surface marker profile: Thy-1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+. These cells were capable of long-term, multi-lineage reconstitution and radioprotection of lethally irradiated mice with an enrichment that mirrors their representation in bone marrow, namely, 1,000-2,000-fold. However, the experiments reported did not exclude the possibility that stem cell activity may also reside in populations that are Thy-1.1-, Sca-1-, or Lin+. In this article stem cell activity was determined by measuring: (a) radioprotection provided by sorted cells; (b) long-term, multi-lineage reconstitution of these surviving mice; and (c) long-term, multi-lineage reconstitution by donor cells when radioprotection is provided by coinjection of congenic host bone marrow cells. Here we demonstrate that HSC activity was detected in Thy-1.1+, Sca-1+, and Lin- fractions, but not Thy-1.1-, Sca-1-, or Lin+ bone marrow cells. We conclude that Thy-1.1lo Lin- Sca-1+ cells comprise the only adult C57BL/Ka-Thy-1.1 mouse bone marrow subset that contains pluripotent HSCs.