LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Test-retest reliability and validity of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in primary insomnia.

OBJECTIVE
Psychometric evaluation of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for primary insomnia.


METHODS
The study sample consisted of 80 patients with primary insomnia (DSM-IV). The length of the test-retest interval was either 2 days or several weeks. Validity analyses were calculated for PSQI data and data from sleep diaries, as well as polysomnography. To evaluate the specificity of the PSQI, insomnia patients were compared with a control group of 45 healthy subjects.


RESULTS
In primary insomnia patients, the overall PSQI global score correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was .87. Validity analyses showed high correlations between PSQI and sleep log data and lower correlations with polysomnography data. A PSQI global score > 5 resulted in a sensitivity of 98.7 and specificity of 84.4 as a marker for sleep disturbances in insomnia patients versus controls.


CONCLUSION
The PSQI has a high test-retest reliability and a good validity for patients with primary insomnia.
Analysis of The Indispensable Opposition

The Indispensable Opposition is an essay wrote by Walter Lippmann,a famous American columnist.In this essay,he puts forward a rather striking viewpoint about the freedom of speech.From a unique perspective,he explains why disagreement is indispensable to our society and what the real freedom of speech is.These opinions are thought-provoking and have practical significance.
Hypothermia in comatose survivors from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: pilot trial comparing 2 levels of target temperature.

BACKGROUND
It is recommended that comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest should be cooled to 32° to 34°C for 12 to 24 hours. However, the optimal level of cooling is unknown. The aim of this pilot study was to obtain initial data on the effect of different levels of hypothermia. We hypothesized that deeper temperatures will be associated with better survival and neurological outcome.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Patients were eligible if they had a witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest from March 2008 to August 2011. Target temperature was randomly assigned to 32°C or 34°C. Enrollment was stratified on the basis of the initial rhythm as shockable or asystole. The target temperature was maintained during 24 hours followed by 12 to 24 hours of controlled rewarming. The primary outcome was survival free from severe dependence (Barthel Index score ≥60 points) at 6 months. Thirty-six patients were enrolled in the trial (26 shockable rhythm, 10 asystole), with 18 assigned to 34°C and 18 to 32°C. Eight of 18 patients in the 32°C group (44.4%) met the primary end point compared with 2 of 18 in the 34°C group (11.1%) (log-rank P=0.12). All patients whose initial rhythm was asystole died before 6 months in both groups. Eight of 13 patients with initial shockable rhythm assigned to 32°C (61.5%) were alive free from severe dependence at 6 months compared with 2 of 13 (15.4%) assigned to 34°C (log-rank P=0.029). The incidence of complications was similar in both groups except for the incidence of clinical seizures, which was lower (1 versus 11; P=0.0002) in patients assigned to 32°C compared with 34°C. On the contrary, there was a trend toward a higher incidence of bradycardia (7 versus 2; P=0.054) in patients assigned to 32°C. Although potassium levels decreased to a greater extent in patients assigned to 32°C, the incidence of hypokalemia was similar in both groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this pilot trial suggest that a lower cooling level may be associated with a better outcome in patients surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest secondary to a shockable rhythm. The benefits observed here merit further investigation in a larger trial in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with different presenting rhythms.


CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01155622.
Investigation of the spark cycle on material removal rate in wire electrical discharge machining of advanced materials

The development of new, advanced engineering materials and the need for precise and flexible prototypes and low-volume production have made the wire electrical discharge machining (EDM) an important manufacturing process to meet such demands. This research investigates the effect of spark on-time duration and spark on-time ratio, two important EDM process parameters, on the material removal rate (MRR) and surface integrity of four types of advanced material: porous metal foams, metal bond diamond grinding wheels, sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets, and carbon–carbon bipolar plates. An experimental procedure was developed. During the wire EDM, five types of constraints on the MRR due to short circuit, wire breakage, machine slide speed limit, and spark on-time upper and lower limits are identified. An envelope of feasible EDM process parameters is generated for each work-material. Applications of such a process envelope to select process parameters for maximum MRR and for machining of micro features are discussed. Results of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis of surface integrity are presented. # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
ASIFT: A New Framework for Fully Affine Invariant Image Comparison

If a physical object has a smooth or piecewise smooth boundary, its images obtained by cameras in varying positions undergo smooth apparent deformations. These deformations are locally well approximated by affine transforms of the image plane. In consequence the solid object recognition problem has often been led back to the computation of affine invariant image local features. Such invariant features could be obtained by normalization methods, but no fully affine normalization method exists for the time being. Even scale invariance is dealt with rigorously only by the scaleinvariant feature transform (SIFT) method. By simulating zooms out and normalizing translation and rotation, SIFT is invariant to four out of the six parameters of an affine transform. The method proposed in this paper, affine-SIFT (ASIFT), simulates all image views obtainable by varying the two camera axis orientation parameters, namely, the latitude and the longitude angles, left over by the SIFT method. Then it covers the other four parameters by using the SIFT method itself. The resulting method will be mathematically proved to be fully affine invariant. Against any prognosis, simulating all views depending on the two camera orientation parameters is feasible with no dramatic computational load. A two-resolution scheme further reduces the ASIFT complexity to about twice that of SIFT. A new notion, the transition tilt, measuring the amount of distortion from one view to another, is introduced. While an absolute tilt from a frontal to a slanted view exceeding 6 is rare, much higher transition tilts are common when two slanted views of an object are compared (see Figure 1). The attainable transition tilt is measured for each affine image comparison method. The new method permits one to reliably identify features that have undergone transition tilts of large magnitude, up to 36 and higher. This fact is substantiated by many experiments which show that ASIFT significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods SIFT, maximally stable extremal region (MSER), Harris-affine, and Hessian-affine.
Gas6 and the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Axl in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND
The molecular biology of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is complex and not fully understood. We have recently found that the expression of the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl in the RCC tumors independently correlates with survival of the patients.


PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Here, we have investigated the role of Axl and its ligand Gas6, the vitamin-K dependent protein product of the growth arrest-specific gene 6, in clear cell RCC (ccRCC) derived cells. The Axl protein was highly expressed in ccRCC cells deficient in functional von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) protein, a tumor suppressor gene often inactivated in ccRCC. VHL reconstituted cells expressed decreased levels of Axl protein, but not Axl mRNA, suggesting VHL to regulate Axl expression. Gas6-mediated activation of Axl in ccRCC cells resulted in Axl phosphorylation, receptor down-regulation, decreased cell-viability and migratory capacity. No effects of the Gas6/Axl system could be detected on invasion. Moreover, in ccRCC tumor tissues, Axl was phosphorylated and Gas6 gamma-carboxylated, suggesting these molecules to be active in vivo.


SIGNIFICANCE
These results provide novel information regarding the complex function of the Gas6/Axl system in ccRCC.
Dental erosion prevalence and associated risk indicators among preschool children in Athens, Greece

The aims of the study were to investigate dental erosion prevalence, distribution and severity in Greek preschool children attending public kindergartens in the prefecture of Attica, Greece and to determine the effect of dental caries, oral hygiene level, socio-economic factors, dental behavior, erosion related medication and chronic illness. A random and stratified sample of 605 Greek preschool children was clinically examined for dental erosion using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination Index (ΒΕWE). Dental caries (dmfs) and Simplified Debris Index were also recorded. The data concerning possible risk indicators were derived by a questionnaire. Zero-inflated Poisson regression was generated to test the predictive effects of the independent variables on dental erosion. The prevalence of dental erosion was 78.8 %, and the mean and SE of BEWE index was 3.64 ± 0.15. High monthly family income was positively related to ΒΕWE cumulative scores [RR = 1.204 (1.016–1.427)], while high maternal education level [RR = 0.872 (0.771–0.986)] and poor oral hygiene level [DI-s, RR = 0.584 (0.450–0.756)] showed a negative association. Dental erosion is a common oral disease in Greek preschool children in Attica, related to oral hygiene and socio-economic factors. Programs aimed at erosion prevention should begin at an early age for all children.
Score of Adherence to 2016 European Cardiovascular Prevention Guidelines Predicts Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality in the General Population.

BACKGROUND
Guidelines on cardiovascular (CV) disease prevention promote healthy lifestyle behaviours and CV risk factor control to reduce CV risk. The effect of adherence to these guidelines on CV and all-cause mortality is not well known.


METHODS
We assessed the effect of baseline adherence to "2016 European Guidelines on CV Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice" on long-term CV and all-cause mortality in a sample recruited from the French general population. Analysis was on the basis of the Third French Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) population-based survey (recruitment period: 1994-1997). We built an adherence score to European guidelines, considering adherence to recommendations for smoking, drinking, physical activity, body mass index, blood pressure, low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, and diet at baseline. Vital status was obtained 18 years after inclusion. Statistical analysis was on the basis of multivariate Cox modelling.


RESULTS
Adherence score was assessed in 1311 apparently healthy participants aged 35-64 years (73% men). During the follow-up, 186 deaths occurred (41 were due to a CV cause). Considering CV mortality, the adjusted hazard ratio for subjects in the fourth quartile of the adherence score (worse adherence) was 3.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.62-6.01; P = 0.001), compared with subjects in the first, second, or third quartile (best adherence). Considering all-cause mortality, the adjusted hazard ratio for subjects in the fourth quartile of the adherence score was 2.27 (95% CI, 1.68-3.06; P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Better baseline adherence to European guidelines on CV disease prevention was associated with a significantly reduced long-term CV and all-cause mortality in a sample from the French general population.
Complexities in the quantitative assessment of patients with rheumatic diseases in clinical trials and clinical care.

Quantitative measurement has led to major advances in the diagnosis, prognosis and management of chronic diseases. Quantitative measures in rheumatic diseases differ from measures in many chronic diseases in several respects. There is no single "gold standard," such as blood pressure or cholesterol, in the diagnosis, management, and prognosis of any rheumatic disease. Laboratory tests are limited; for example, in rheumatoid arthritis > 40% of patients or more have a normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Formal joint counts have poor reliability and are not performed at most visits of most patients. Radiographs are rarely read quantitatively, except in formal clinical trials. The optimal quantitative measures to monitor status and assess long-term prognosis are often derived from patient self-report questionnaires. Quantitative measures may reflect disease activity, e.g., swollen joint counts or C-reactive protein (CRP), long-term damage, e.g., radiographic damage, or poor outcomes, e.g., work disability and premature death. Disease activity measures used in clinical trials are primarily surrogates for long-term outcomes. As there is no single "gold standard" measure, indices of multiple measures are used in patient assessment. Indices used in rheumatoid arthritis assess primarily disease activity, but separate indices have been developed to assess disease activity versus damage in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and vasculitis.
Ethical hacking

This course will explore the various means that an intruder has available to gain access to computer resources. We will investigate weaknesses by discussing the theoretical background, and whenever possible, actually performing the attack. We will then discuss methods to prevent/reduce the vulnerabilities. This course is targeted specifically for Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH) exam candidates, matching the CEH exam objectives with the effective and popular Cert Guide method of study.
Fourier and wavelet descriptors for shape recognition using neural networks - a comparative study

This paper presents the application of three di1erent types of neural networks to the 2-D pattern recognition on the basis of its shape. They include the multilayer perceptron (MLP), Kohonen self-organizing network and hybrid structure composed of the self-organizing layer and the MLP subnetwork connected in cascade. The recognition is based on the features extracted from the Fourier and wavelet transformations of the data, describing the shape of the pattern. Application of di1erent neural network structures associated with di1erent preprocessing of the data results in di1erent accuracy of recognition and classi9cation. The numerical experiments performed for the recognition of simulated shapes of the airplanes have shown the superiority of the wavelet preprocessing associated with the self-organizing neural network structure. The integration of the individual classi9ers based on the weighted summation of the signals from the neural networks has been proposed and checked in numerical experiments. ? 2002 Pattern Recognition Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Concept mapping assessment in a problem-based medical curriculum.

BACKGROUND
In the problem-based learning (PBL) medical curriculum at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, students construct concept maps related to each case they study in PBL tutorials.


AIM
To evaluate the interrater reliability and predictive validity of concept map scores using a structured assessment tool.


METHODS
We examined concept maps of the same cohort of students at the beginning (year 2) and end (year 4) of the pre-clerkship phase, where PBL is the main method of instruction. Concept maps were independently evaluated by five raters based on valid selection of concepts, hierarchical arrangement of concepts, integration, relationship to the context of the problem, and degree of student creativity. A 5-point Likert scale was used to evaluate each criterion. Interrater reliability of the instrument was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and predictive validity was measured by testing the correlations of concept map scores with summative examination scores.


RESULTS
The ICC of the concept map scores in year 2 was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.67-0.81) and in year 4 was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.59-0.77). Overall concept maps scores of year 4 students were significantly higher compared with year 2 students (p < 0.001, effect size = 0.5). The relationship between the students' scores in concept maps and their scores in summative examination varied from no to mild correlation.


CONCLUSION
The interrater reliability of concept map scores in this study is good to excellent. However, further studies are required to test the generalizability and validity of assessment using this tool.
Deterministic nanoassembly of a coupled quantum emitter–photonic crystal cavity system

T. van der Sar, J. Hagemeier, W. Pfaff, E.C. Heeres, S.M. Thon, H. Kim, P.M. Petroff, T.H. Oosterkamp, D. Bouwmeester, and R. Hanson Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5046, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands. Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA. Leiden Institute of Physics, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands. Department of Materials, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA. Department of ECE, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106 USA. Current address: Department of ECE, IREAP, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA. (Dated: July 5, 2011)
On the topology of the Lü attractor and related systems

Abstract We use well-established methods of knot theory to study the topological structure of the set of periodic orbits of the Lü attractor. We show that, for a specific set of parameters, the Lü attractor is topologically different from the classical Lorenz attractor, whose dynamics is formed by a double cover of the simple horseshoe. This argues against the ‘similarity’ between the Lü and Lorenz attractors, claimed, for these parameter values, by some authors on the basis of non-topological observations. However, we show that the Lü system belongs to the Lorenz-like family, since by changing the values of the parameters, the behaviour of the system follows the behaviour of all members of this family. An attractor of the Lü kind with higher order symmetry is constructed and some remarks on the Chen attractor are also presented.
“ APPLICATION OF TAGUCHI METHOD FOR DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS IN TURNING GRAY CAST IRON ”

In order to produce any product with desired quality by machining, proper selection of process parameters is essential. Taguchi‟s parameter design is an important tool for robust design, which offers a simple and systematic approach to optimize a design for performance, quality and cost. The Taguchi method of off-line quality control encompasses all stages of product /process development. However, the key element for achieving high quality at low cost is Design of Experiments (DOE). Quality achieved by means of process optimization is found by many manufacturers to be cost effective in gaining and maintaining a competitive position in the world market. This paper describes use and steps of Taguchi design of experiments and orthogonal array to find a specific range and combinations of turning parameters like cutting speed ,feed rate and depth of cut to achieve optimal values of response variables like surface finish, tool wear, material removal rate in turning of Brake drum of FG 260 gray cast iron Material.
Evaluation of Anterior Cervical Reconstruction with Titanium Mesh Cages versus Nano-Hydroxyapatite/Polyamide66 Cages after 1- or 2-Level Corpectomy for Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A Retrospective Study of 117 Patients

OBJECTIVE
To retrospectively compare the efficacy of the titanium mesh cage (TMC) and the nano-hydroxyapatite/polyamide66 cage (n-HA/PA66 cage) for 1- or 2-level anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF) to treat multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM).


METHODS
A total of 117 consecutive patients with MCSM who underwent 1- or 2-level ACCF using a TMC or an n-HA/PA66 cage were studied retrospectively at a mean follow-up of 45.28 ± 12.83 months. The patients were divided into four groups according to the level of corpectomy (1- or 2-level corpectomy) and cage type used (TMC or n-HA/PA66 cage). Clinical and radiological parameters were used to evaluate outcomes.


RESULTS
At the one-year follow-up, the fusion rate in the n-HA/PA66 group was higher, albeit non-significantly, than that in the TMC group for both 1- and 2-level ACCF, but the fusion rates of the procedures were almost equal at the final follow-up. The incidence of cage subsidence at the final follow-up was significantly higher in the TMC group than in the n-HA/PA66 group for the 1-level ACCF (24% vs. 4%, p = 0.01), and the difference was greater for the 2-level ACCF between the TMC group and the n-HA/PA66 group (38% vs. 5%, p = 0.01). Meanwhile, a much greater loss of fused height was observed in the TMC group compared with the n-HA/PA66 group for both the 1- and 2-level ACCF. All four groups demonstrated increases in C2-C7 Cobb angle and JOA scores and decreases in VAS at the final follow-up compared with preoperative values.


CONCLUSION
The lower incidence of cage subsidence, better maintenance of the height of the fused segment and similar excellent bony fusion indicate that the n-HA/PA66 cage may be a superior alternative to the TMC for cervical reconstruction after cervical corpectomy, in particular for 2-level ACCF.
Effects of climate change on crop production in Cameroon

This study involves an assessment of the potential effects of greenhouse gas climate change, as well as the direct fertilization effect of CO2 on crop yields in Cameroon. The methodology involves coupling the transient diagnostics of 2 atmosphere–ocean general circulation models, namely NASA/Goddard Institute GISS and the Hadley Centre’s HadCM3, to the CropSyst crop model to simulate current and future (2020, 2080) crop yields (bambara nut, groundnut, maize, sorghum and soybean) in 8 agricultural regions of Cameroon. For the future we estimate substantial yield increases for bambara groundnut, soybean and groundnut, and little or no change and even decreases of maize and sorghum yields, varying according to the climate scenario and the agricultural region. Maize and sorghum (both C4 crops) yields are expected to decrease by 14.6 and 39.9%, respectively, across the whole country under GISS 2080 scenarios. The results also show that the effect of temperature patterns on climate change is much more important than that of precipitation. Findings call for monitoring of climate change/variability and dissemination of information to farmers, to encourage adaptation to climate change.
Next-generation Intrusion Detection Expert System (NIDES)A Summary

What is NIDES? Intrusion detection system that performs real-time monitoring of user activity Performs 2 types of analysis(statistical and rule-based) Statistical analysis-maintains historical profile of a user and raises an alarm when observed behavior differs from established patterns of use