LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Knowledge and Attitudes about Organ Donation Among Medical Students

In almost every country, the organ supply for transplantation does not match the increasing demand; health professionals may play an important role in eliminating barriers and increasing organ donation. Therefore, assessing medical students’ knowledge and attitudes regarding organ donation is important for the future organ supply. Some 409 of 508 firstand second-year medical students answered an anonymous, multiple-choice questionnaire about demographic variables, knowledge about transplant issues, and willingness to donate organs. The mean age was 20.3±1.8 years (range: 17 to 29 years); 50.1% were male, 49.9% were female. Some 44.8% of the total respondents reported that they had sufficient knowledge about organ donation, and 40.1% reported knowledge about organ transplantation. The primary source of their knowledge was reported as the media (72.1%). Willingness to donate their own organs was 58.4% and willingness as to their relatives’ organs was 39.9%. The acceptance of live organ donation was higher (74.6%) than cadaver donation. Only 1.2% had a organ donation card. Female students were more willing to donate their own and their relatives’ organs. Since medical students are prospective leaders of promoting organ donation action, these issues should be taught within the context of social medicine lessons, and desirable behavioral changes should be implemented.
Compressive Sensing

Compressive sensing is a new type of sampling theory, which predicts that sparse signals and images can be reconstructed from what was previously believed to be incomplete information. As a main feature, efficient algorithms such as l1-minimization can be used for recovery. The theory has many potential applications in signal processing and imaging. This chapter gives an introduction and overview on both theoretical and numerical aspects of compressive sensing.
Ensemble Learning Using Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms

Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms for the construction of neural ensembles is a relatively new area of research. We recently proposed an ensemble learning algorithm called DIVACE (DIVerse and ACcurate Ensemble learning algorithm). It was shown that DIVACE tries to find an optimal trade-off between diversity and accuracy as it searches for an ensemble for some particular pattern recognition task by treating these two objectives explicitly separately. A detailed discussion of DIVACE together with further experimental studies form the essence of this paper. A new diversity measure which we call Pairwise Failure Crediting (PFC) is proposed. This measure forms one of the two evolutionary pressures being exerted explicitly in DIVACE. Experiments with this diversity measure as well as comparisons with previously studied approaches are hence considered. Detailed analysis of the results show that DIVACE, as a concept, has promise. Mathematical Subject Classification (2000): 68T05, 68Q32, 68Q10.
Detecting Direction of Movement Using Pyroelectric Infrared Sensors

Pyroelectric infrared (PIR) sensors are widely used as a simple but powerful people presence triggers, e.g., automatic lighting systems. In particular, by alternating the effective polarization of the sensing elements in a PIR sensor, it is possible to determine the relative direction of the movement of an object moving on the motion plane of the PIR sensor. In this paper, we present a novel method of detecting a relative direction of human movement (in eight directions uniformly distributed) with two pairs of PIR sensors whose sensing elements are orthogonally aligned. We have developed a data collection unit with four dual sensing element PIR sensors with modified lenses, and collected data set from six subjects walking in eight directions each. Based on the collected PIR signals, we have performed classification analysis with well known machine learning algorithms, including instance-based learning and support vector machine. Our findings show that with the raw data set captured from two orthogonally aligned PIR sensors with modified lenses, we were able to achieve more than 98% correct detection of direction of movement. We also found that with the reduced feature set composed of three peak values for each PIR sensor, we could achieve 89%-95% recognition accuracy according to machine learning algorithms.
Analysis of BLDC motor with zigzag and rhombic winding

The paper presents a detailed analysis and comparison of two types of non-axial windings used for slotless permanent magnet (PM) motors: zigzag and rhombic ones. The motor mathematical model is verified by 3D FEM software. Finally, the motor prototype is presented.
Rank Minimization under LMI constraints: A Framework for Output Feedback Problems

Convex optimisation techniques for solving linear matrix inequalities have been recently applied to robust state-feedback synthesis for uncertain systems. The approach does not seem to extend easily to the output feedback problem. In this paper, we propose a single framework for addressing a number of output feedback stabilization problems for LTI systems. This includes static output feedback stabilization, dynamic reduced-order output-feedback stabilization, reduced-order H 1 synthesis and synthesis with constant scalings.
Poor agreement between QuantiFERON-TB Gold test and tuberculin skin test results for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy controls

BACKGROUND/AIMS
We investigated the agreement between the QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-Gold) test and the tuberculin skin test (TST) in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), compared with healthy controls, in Korea.


METHODS
We recruited 64 patients with RA and 79 healthy controls at two university hospitals in South Korea. The participants underwent both the QFT-Gold test and the TST simultaneously between August 2006 and February 2009. All patients were diagnosed using the classification criteria for RA revised in 1987 by the American College of Rheumatology. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination status and current medications were evaluated, and disease activities were assessed using the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints. Eleven patients with RA produced indeterminate QFT-Gold test results and were thus excluded from the kappa analysis.


RESULTS
Based on an induration of 10 mm in diameter as the TST cutoff value, the QFT-Gold test and TST demonstrated 75.0% agreement (κ = 0.23) in patients with RA and 75.9% agreement (κ = 0.19) in healthy controls. Among the 56 patients with RA who had negative TST results, 11 patients (17.2%) also yielded indeterminate QFT-Gold results.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study showed poor agreement between the results of the QFT-Gold test and the TST in both RA patients and healthy controls. Based on these findings, we emphasize the importance of making clinical decisions in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis in Koreans with or without RA.
Effects of dihydrocapsiate on adaptive and diet-induced thermogenesis with a high protein very low calorie diet: a randomized control trial

BACKGROUND
Dihydrocapsiate (DCT) is a natural safe food ingredient which is structurally related to capsaicin from chili pepper and is found in the non-pungent pepper strain, CH-19 Sweet. It has been shown to elicit the thermogenic effects of capsaicin but without its gastrointestinal side effects.


METHODS
The present study was designed to examine the effects of DCT on both adaptive thermogenesis as the result of caloric restriction with a high protein very low calorie diet (VLCD) and to determine whether DCT would increase post-prandial energy expenditure (PPEE) in response to a 400 kcal/60 g protein liquid test meal. Thirty-three subjects completed an outpatient very low calorie diet (800 kcal/day providing 120 g/day protein) over 4 weeks and were randomly assigned to receive either DCT capsules three times per day (3 mg or 9 mg) or placebo. At baseline and 4 weeks, fasting basal metabolic rate and PPEE were measured in a metabolic hood and fat free mass (FFM) determined using displacement plethysmography (BOD POD).


RESULTS
PPEE normalized to FFM was increased significantly in subjects receiving 9 mg/day DCT by comparison to placebo (p < 0.05), but decreases in resting metabolic rate were not affected. Respiratory quotient (RQ) increased by 0.04 in the placebo group (p < 0.05) at end of the 4 weeks, but did not change in groups receiving DCT.


CONCLUSIONS
These data provide evidence for postprandial increases in thermogenesis and fat oxidation secondary to administration of dihydrocapsiate.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrial.govNCT01142687.
Engineering nanostructures of PGM-free oxygen-reduction catalysts using metal-organic frameworks

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is one of the essential electrochemical reactions for the energy conversion and storage devices such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. However, a large amount of Pt is required for catalyzing the kinetically sluggish ORR at the air cathode, therefore greatly limiting their large scale implementation. Development of high-performance platinum group-metal (PGM)-free ORR catalysts has been a long-term goal for these clean energy technologies. However, current PGM-free catalysts are still significantly suffering from insufficient activity and limited durability especially in more challenging acidic media, such as proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), constructed from bridging metal ions and ligands, have emerged as a new type of attractive precursors for the synthesis of PGMfree catalysts, which has led to encouraging performance improvement. Compared to other catalyst precursors, MOFs have well-defined crystal structure with readily tunable chemistry and contain all required elements (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, and metal). Here, we provide an account of recent innovative PGM-free catalyst design and synthesis derived from the unique MOF precursors with special emphasis on engineering nanostructure and morphology of catalysts. We aim to provide new insights into the design and synthesis of advanced PGM-free catalysts with increased density of active sites and controlled bonding in 3D frame network. In addition, we also discuss the possibility to use the well-defined MOF precursors for building up model systems to elucidate the structure-property correlations and the nature of active sites.
Assessing Business-IT Alignment Maturity

Business and IT practitioners, researchers, and consultants have been asking for an effective tool to assess IT-business alignment. Until now, none was available. This chapter introduces the strategic alignment maturity assessment. This assessment tool is based on the authors research and consulting experience that identified the major enablers and inhibitors in the achievement of business-IT alignment and the methodology that leverages the most important enablers and inhibitors. Alignment focuses on the activities that management performs to achieve cohesive goals across the IT (information technology) and other functional (e.g., finance, marketing, H/R, manufacturing) organizations. Therefore, alignment addresses both how IT is in harmony with the business, and how the business should/could be in harmony with IT. Alignment evolves to a relationship where IT and business adapt their strategies together. Achieving alignment is evolutionary and dynamic. IT requires strong support from senior management, good working relationships, strong leadership, appropriate prioritization, trust, and effective communication, as well as a thorough understanding of the business and technical environments. Achieving and sustaining alignment demands focusing on maximizing the enablers and minimizing the inhibitors. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss an approach for assessing the maturity of the business-IT alignment. Once the maturity is understood, an organization can identify opportunities for enhancing the harmonious relationship of business and IT. INTRODUCTION Decades have passed. Billions of dollars have been invested on information technology (IT). Today, every organization is in the information business. Alignment  applying IT in an appropriate and timely way, in harmony with business strategies, goals and needs  remains a key concern of business executives. This This chapter appears in the book, Strategic Information Technology: Opportunities for Competitive Advantage by Raymond Papp. Copyright © 2001, Idea Group Publishing. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey PA 17033-1117, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com ITB7957 IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING
Throughput-maximizing timeslot scheduling for interactive satellite multiclass services

We develop an efficient method for optimal timeslot scheduling in an interactive satellite multimedia network. We formulate the timeslot assignment problem as a binary integer programming (BIP) problem, where the throughput is maximized, and decompose this BIP problem into two sub-problems. With this decomposition, we promote the computational efficiency in finding the optimal solution of the original BIP problem.
Randomized controlled trial of an intravitreous dexamethasone drug delivery system in patients with diabetic macular edema.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a dexamethasone intravitreous drug delivery system (DDS) in eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME).


METHODS
Patients with persistent macular edema (> or = 90 days' duration) were randomized to treatment with 700 microg or 350 microg of dexamethasone DDS or observation. One eye from each patient was designated as the study eye. The analysis is of the eyes in this study with DME (n = 171).


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The primary outcome measure was the proportion of eyes that achieved an improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 10 letters or more from baseline at day 90. Other outcome measures included fluorescein leakage, central retinal thickness, and safety parameters.


RESULTS
At day 90, a BCVA improvement of 10 letters or more was seen in more eyes in the 700-microg group (33.3%) and 350-microg group (21.1%) than the observation group (12.3%; P = .007 vs 700-microg group). At day 180, a BCVA improvement of 10 letters or more was seen in 30% of eyes in the 700-microg group, 19% in the 350-microg group, and 23% in the observation group (P > or = .4 for treated vs observed eyes). There were also significantly greater improvements in central retinal thickness and fluorescein leakage in treated eyes than observed eyes (P = .03; day 90). Dexamethasone DDS was well tolerated.


CONCLUSIONS
In eyes with persistent DME, treatment with 700 microg of intravitreal dexamethasone DDS is well tolerated and produces significant improvements in BCVA, central retinal thickness, and fluorescein leakage compared with observation (statistically significant at day 90).


APPLICATION TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Dexamethasone DDS, 700 microg, may have potential as a treatment for persistent DME.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00035906.
Enhancing coaching skills and emotional intelligence through training

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the impact of a long-term (13-week, spaced learning) with a short-term (two-day, block intensive) coaching skills training programme on participants’ coaching skills and emotional intelligence. Design/methodology/approach – In the study 23 participants completed a 13-week coaching skills training course which consisted of weekly 2.5-hour workshops and action learning. In comparison, 20 participants completed a two-day ‘‘Manager as Coach’’ training programme, with a three-week action learning break between day one and day two. Both training programmes used the same coaching frameworks, with the two-day programme being more condensed. Findings – Participation in the 13-week training course was associated with increases in both goal-focused coaching skills and emotional intelligence, whereas the two-day block intensive training was associated with increased goal-focused coaching skills, but not emotional intelligence. Further, the magnitude of the increase in goal-focused coaching skills was less for the two-day programme than for the 13-week programme. Research limitations/implications – These studies used a quasi-experimental pre-post design, and the long-term effects were not measured. Future research should use control groups and random assignment to shortor long-term training. Practical implications – The main implications of these findings are that, while short, intensive programmes may improve participants’ goal-focused coaching skills, organisations seeking to deepen the impact of ‘‘Manager as Coach’’ training programmes and improve the underlying emotional intelligence of participants should use a spaced learning approach over a number of weeks. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine the impact of different approaches to coaching skills training and their impact on emotional intelligence.
Pain among ambulatory HIV/AIDS patients: multicenter study of prevalence, intensity, associated factors, and effect.

UNLABELLED
This study aimed to determine the prevalence, intensity, associated factors, and effect of pain among ambulatory HIV/AIDS patients. Three-hundred two adult ambulatory HIV/AIDS patients were consecutively recruited from HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics at 2 teaching hospitals in Uganda. The presence and intensity of pain were self-reported using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI); symptom data were collected using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS-SF); and quality of life (QOL) was assessed using the Medical Outcome Scale-HIV. Forty-seven percent reported pain in the 7 days prior to the survey and pain was a symptom at the time of diagnosis for 68%. On the 0 to 10 numeric scale, 53% reported mild pain (1-4 rating), 20% reported moderate pain (5-6 rating) while 27% reported severe pain (7-10 rating). Gender was not associated with pain intensity, but reduced functional performance, increasing number of symptoms, advanced HIV disease , physical symptom distress (MSAS-SF), and number of health comorbidities were significantly associated with pain intensity (P < .04). Increasing pain intensity was associated with greater functional ability impairment (BPI functional interference index) and poorer QOL. Pain is a common symptom among ambulatory HIV/AIDS patients and has a debilitating effect on QOL. There is a significant unmet need for pain relief in the population.


PERSPECTIVE
This article discusses the characteristics and effect of pain on function and QOL in East African patients. It also contributes information on characteristics of HIV/AIDS adult patients in the East Africa demonstrating the aspects in which pain is similar across different cultures.
Surface EMG pattern recognition for real-time control of a wrist exoskeleton

BACKGROUND
Surface electromyography (sEMG) signals have been used in numerous studies for the classification of hand gestures and movements and successfully implemented in the position control of different prosthetic hands for amputees. sEMG could also potentially be used for controlling wearable devices which could assist persons with reduced muscle mass, such as those suffering from sarcopenia. While using sEMG for position control, estimation of the intended torque of the user could also provide sufficient information for an effective force control of the hand prosthesis or assistive device. This paper presents the use of pattern recognition to estimate the torque applied by a human wrist and its real-time implementation to control a novel two degree of freedom wrist exoskeleton prototype (WEP), which was specifically developed for this work.


METHODS
Both sEMG data from four muscles of the forearm and wrist torque were collected from eight volunteers by using a custom-made testing rig. The features that were extracted from the sEMG signals included root mean square (rms) EMG amplitude, autoregressive (AR) model coefficients and waveform length. Support Vector Machines (SVM) was employed to extract classes of different force intensity from the sEMG signals. After assessing the off-line performance of the used classification technique, the WEP was used to validate in real-time the proposed classification scheme.


RESULTS
The data gathered from the volunteers were divided into two sets, one with nineteen classes and the second with thirteen classes. Each set of data was further divided into training and testing data. It was observed that the average testing accuracy in the case of nineteen classes was about 88% whereas the average accuracy in the case of thirteen classes reached about 96%. Classification and control algorithm implemented in the WEP was executed in less than 125 ms.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study showed that classification of EMG signals by separating different levels of torque is possible for wrist motion and the use of only four EMG channels is suitable. The study also showed that SVM classification technique is suitable for real-time classification of sEMG signals and can be effectively implemented for controlling an exoskeleton device for assisting the wrist.
Synthesis, characterization and preliminary cytotoxicity evaluation of five lanthanide(III)-plumbagin complexes.

Plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, H-PLN) was isolated from Plumbago zeylanica, the anticancer traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Five new lanthanide(III) complexes of deprotonated plumbagin: [Y(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)] (1), [La(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)] (2), [Sm(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)]⋅H(2)O (3), [Gd(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)] (4), and [Dy(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)] (5) were synthesized by the reaction of plumbagin with the corresponding lanthanide salts, in amounts equal to ligand/metal molar ratio of 3:1. The PLN-lanthanide(III) complexes were characterized by different physicochemical methods: elemental analyses, UV-visible, IR and (1)H NMR and ESI-MS (electrospray ionization mass spectrum) as well as TGA (thermogravimetric analysis). The plumbagin and its lanthanide(III) complexes 1-5, were tested for their in vitro cytotoxicity against BEL7404 (liver cancer) cell lines by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. The five PLN-lanthanide (III) complexes 1-5 effectively inhibited BEL7404 cell lines growth with IC(50) values of 11.0±3.5, 5.1±1.3, 6.1±1.1, 6.4±1.3, and 9.8±1.5 μM, respectively, and exhibited a significantly enhanced cytotoxicity compared to plumbagin and the corresponding lanthanide salts, suggesting a synergistic effect upon plumbagin coordination to the Ln(III) ion. The lanthanide complexes under investigation also exerted dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic activity. [La(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)] (2) and plumbagin interact with calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) mainly via intercalation mode, but for [La(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)] (2), the electrostatic interaction should not be excluded; the binding affinity of [La(PLN)(3)(H(2)O)(2)] (2) to DNA is stronger than that of free plumbagin, which may correlate with the enhanced cytotoxicity of the PLN-lanthanide(III) complexes.
Parental Ethnic Identity and Child Development

We examine the relationship between parental ethnic identity and cognitive development in ethnic minority children. This aspect of parental identity may shape children’s cognitive outcomes through a direct influence on parenting behaviour, or by mediating parental access to social resources. Drawing an ethnic minority sample from a detailed UK cohort study, we find a negative association between maternal majority identity and children’s cognitive test scores. This result is driven by poor households, by those who lack local family support networks, and by those who mostly speak a foreign language at home. We suggest that differential access to social resources is the most persuasive explanation of this result. Differences in parenting behaviour do not seem to play an important role. JEL codes : I21; J13; J15