LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The inevitable drift to triple therapy in COPD: an analysis of prescribing pathways in the UK

BACKGROUND
Real-world prescription pathways leading to triple therapy (TT) (inhaled corticosteroid [ICS] plus long-acting β2-agonist bronchodilator [LABA] plus long-acting muscarinic antagonist) differ from Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease [GOLD] and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence treatment recommendations. This study sets out to identify COPD patients without asthma receiving TT, and determine the pathways taken from diagnosis to the first prescription of TT.


METHODS
This was a historical analysis of COPD patients without asthma from the Optimum Patient Care Research Database (387 primary-care practices across the UK) from 2002 to 2010. Patient disease severity was classified using GOLD 2013 criteria. Data were analyzed to determine prescribing of TT before, at, and after COPD diagnosis; the average time taken to receive TT; and the impact of lung function grade, modified Medical Research Council dyspnea score, and exacerbation history on the pathway to TT.


RESULTS
During the study period, 32% of patients received TT. Of these, 19%, 28%, 37%, and 46% of patients classified as GOLD A, B, C, and D, respectively, progressed to TT after diagnosis (P<0.001). Of all patients prescribed TT, 25% were prescribed TT within 1 year of diagnosis, irrespective of GOLD classification (P=0.065). The most common prescription pathway to TT was LABA plus ICS. It was observed that exacerbation history did influence the pathway of LABA plus ICS to TT.


CONCLUSION
Real life UK prescription data demonstrates the inappropriate prescribing of TT and confirms that starting patients on ICS plus LABA results in the inevitable drift to overuse of TT. This study highlights the need for dissemination and implementation of COPD guidelines to physicians, ensuring that patients receive the recommended therapy.
Can the University Aid Industry?

The writer believes that a distinct advance has been made within the last few years in the relations between the university and industry. It is hoped and believed that this tendency to cooperate will continue and will be of great advantage to both parties to the transaction.
Helping Patients Make Informed Choices About Probiotics: A Need for Research

Applications of probiotics in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders are gaining acceptance among patients, despite evidence that probiotics can present substantial health risks, particularly for patients who are immunocompromised or seriously ill. Patients will likely formulate their attitudes and beliefs about probiotic therapies with reference to interpretive frameworks that compare probiotics with more familiar therapeutic modalities, including complementary and alternative medicines, pharmacological therapies, and gene-transfer technologies. Each of these frameworks highlights a different set of benefit-to-risk considerations regarding probiotic usage and reinforces extreme characterizations of both the therapeutic promise and peril of probiotics. Considerable effort may be required to help patients make informed choices about probiotic therapies.
Choice decision of e-learning system: Implications from construal level theory

This study investigates user acceptance of a new e-learning system when users can choose between the old and the new systems. Drawing upon construal level theory and technology acceptance model, this study proposes that users’ construal level of an e-learning system interacts with their perceptions of the system (i.e., PEoU and PU) and affects their adoption intention. Data collected from 131 participants in a laboratory experiment show that a higher construal level strengthened the effect of PEoU but mitigated the effect of PU on participants’ attitude toward using the system, thus affecting adoption intention. Theoretical contributions and implications are discussed. 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author at: University of Science and Technology of China, School of Management, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, China. Tel.: +86 551 63606822; fax: +86 551 63600025. E-mail addresses: candyho@hkbu.edu.hk (Candy K.Y. Ho), wke@clarkson.edu (W. Ke), liuhf@ustc.edu.cn (H. Liu).
The Near East: Archaeology in the 'cradle of Civilization'

List of figures. Maps. Plates and Tables. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction 2. An Artefactual Basis for the Past 3. Digging Before Excavation 4. Practical Pioneers and Theoretical Problems 5. Harbingers in the Levant 6. The Land that Two Rivers Made 7. The Ubadaidian Inheritance 8. The Household as Enterprise 9. What we're Getting to Know and What we Need to Do. Notes. Bibliography. Index.
Image dissimilarity

In this paper we compare the performance of a number of representative instrumental models for image dissimilarity with respect to their ability to predict both image dissimilarity and image quality, as perceived by human subjects. Two sets of experimental data, one for images degraded by noise and blur, and one for JPEG-coded images, are used in the comparison. ( 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Pilot-Assisted PAPR Reduction Technique for Optical OFDM Communication Systems

This paper investigates the use of a pilot signal in reducing the electrical peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) intensity-modulated optical wireless communication system. The phase of the pilot signal is chosen based on the selected mapping (SLM) algorithm while the maximum likelihood criterion is used to estimate the pilot signal at the receiver. Bit error rate (BER) performance of the pilot-assisted optical OFDM system is identical to that of the basic optical OFDM (with no pilot and no PAPR reduction technique implemented) at the desired BER of less than 10-3 needed to establish a reliable communication link. The pilot-assisted PAPR reduction technique results in higher reduction in PAPR for high order constellations than the classical SLM. With respect to a basic OFDM system, with no pilot and no PAPR reduction technique implemented, a pilot-assisted M-QAM optical OFDM system is capable of reducing the electrical PAPR by over about 2.5 dB at a modest complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) point of 10-4 for M = 64. Greater reductions in PAPR are possible at lower values of CCDF with no degradation to the system's error performance. Clipping the time domain signal at both ends mildly (at 25 times the signal variance level) results in a PAPR reduction of about 6.3 dB at the same CCDF of 10-4 but with an error floor of about 3 ×10-5. Although it is possible to attain any desired level of electrical PAPR reduction with signal clipping, this will be at a cost of deterioration in the systems's bit error performance.
A low-fat vegan diet and a conventional diabetes diet in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled, 74-wk clinical trial.

BACKGROUND
Low-fat vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with weight loss, increased insulin sensitivity, and improved cardiovascular health.


OBJECTIVE
We compared the effects of a low-fat vegan diet and conventional diabetes diet recommendations on glycemia, weight, and plasma lipids.


DESIGN
Free-living individuals with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to a low-fat vegan diet (n = 49) or a diet following 2003 American Diabetes Association guidelines (conventional, n = 50) for 74 wk. Glycated hemoglobin (Hb A(1c)) and plasma lipids were assessed at weeks 0, 11, 22, 35, 48, 61, and 74. Weight was measured at weeks 0, 22, and 74.


RESULTS
Weight loss was significant within each diet group but not significantly different between groups (-4.4 kg in the vegan group and -3.0 kg in the conventional diet group, P = 0.25) and related significantly to Hb A(1c) changes (r = 0.50, P = 0.001). Hb A(1c) changes from baseline to 74 wk or last available values were -0.34 and -0.14 for vegan and conventional diets, respectively (P = 0.43). Hb A(1c) changes from baseline to last available value or last value before any medication adjustment were -0.40 and 0.01 for vegan and conventional diets, respectively (P = 0.03). In analyses before alterations in lipid-lowering medications, total cholesterol decreased by 20.4 and 6.8 mg/dL in the vegan and conventional diet groups, respectively (P = 0.01); LDL cholesterol decreased by 13.5 and 3.4 mg/dL in the vegan and conventional groups, respectively (P = 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
Both diets were associated with sustained reductions in weight and plasma lipid concentrations. In an analysis controlling for medication changes, a low-fat vegan diet appeared to improve glycemia and plasma lipids more than did conventional diabetes diet recommendations. Whether the observed differences provide clinical benefit for the macro- or microvascular complications of diabetes remains to be established. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00276939.
Exploring the Structure of Complex Software Designs: An Empirical Study of Open Source and Proprietary Code

Harvard Business School Working Paper Number 05-016. Working papers are distributed in draft form for purposes of comment and discussion only. They may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Copies of working papers are available from the author(s). Abstract Much recent research has pointed to the critical role of architecture in the development of a firm's products, services and technical capabilities. A common theme in these studies is the notion that specific characteristics of a product's design – for example, the degree of modularity it exhibits – can have a profound effect on among other things, its performance, the flexibility of the process used to produce it, the value captured by its producer, and the potential for value creation at the industry level. Unfortunately, this stream of work has been limited by the lack of appropriate tools, metrics and terminology for characterizing key attributes of a product's architecture in a robust fashion. As a result, there is little empirical evidence that the constructs emerging in the literature have power in predicting the phenomena with which they are associated. This paper reports data from a research project which seeks to characterize the differences in design structure between complex software products. In particular, we adopt a technique based upon Design Structure Matrices (DSMs) to map the dependencies between different elements of a design then develop metrics that allow us to compare the structures of these different DSMs. We demonstrate the power of this approach in two ways: First, we compare the design structures of two complex software products – the Linux operating system and the Mozilla web browser – that were developed via contrasting modes of organization: specifically, open source versus proprietary development. We find significant differences in their designs, consistent with an interpretation that Linux possesses a more " modular " architecture. We then track the evolution of Mozilla, paying particular attention to a major " redesign " effort that took place several months after its release as an open source product. We show that this effort resulted in a design structure that was significantly more modular than its predecessor, and indeed, more modular than that of a comparable version of Linux. Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to characterize the structure of complex product designs and draw meaningful conclusions about the precise ways in which they differ. We provide a description of a set of tools …
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Exercise Performance

Poor physical fitness is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. It has been observed that low cardiorespiratory fitness and physical inactivity predict mortality in children, in normal weight and obese men, in older men and women and in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [1–4]. Sedentary behavior has been clearly implicated as a factor leading to the development of diabetes as well as the worsening of cardiovascular (CV) outcomes of diabetes. Exercise has long been recognized as a cornerstone for the treatment of patients with T2DM [5]. Over 80 years ago, Allen and others reported that a single bout of exercise lowered the blood glucose concentration of persons with diabetes and improved glucose tolerance temporarily [5]. Since that observation, numerous studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of exercise for the person with T2DM. Paradoxically, despite extensive data indicating the importance of physical activity and exercise, 60 to 80% of adults with T2DM do not exercise sufficiently, and adherence to exercise programs is low in these patients [6]. One possible reason for this is that exercise performance is impaired even in uncomplicated T2DM [7–10]. Benefits of exercise training or even increasing the level of habitual physical activity level for persons with T2DM that have been observed range from the prevention of diabetes to the treatment and management of diabetes in addition to reducing CV morbidity and mortality. Benefits occur for both metabolic and CV parameters [11–15]. For instance, many studies have shown that the regular performance of exercise is related to increased glucose tolerance and enhanced insulin sensitivity in persons with diabetes [11–13]. Exercise training has also been seen to improve measures of CV fitness such as maximal oxygen consumption [VO2max] in persons with T2DM [14,15]. However, the effects of exercise on CV function in the person with T2DM have not been as extensively studied as its effects on metabolism. The relationship between exercise and CV function in T2DM has particular importance given the report of an association between low VO2max with higher morbidity and mortality rates [2]. This review will primarily address the effects of T2DM on CV exercise performance. Subsequently, CV consequences of exercise training for persons with diabetes are discussed.
Middle ear application of a sodium hyaluronate gel loaded with neomycin in a Guinea pig model.

OBJECTIVE
Establishing methods for topical administration of drugs to the inner ear have great clinical relevance and potential even in a relatively short perspective. To evaluate the efficacy of sodium hyaluronate (HYA) as a vehicle for drugs that could be used for treatment of inner ear disorders.


METHODS
The cochlear hair cell loss and round window membrane (RWM) morphology were investigated after topical application of neomycin and HYA into the middle ear. Sixty-five albino guinea pigs were used and divided into groups depending on the type of the treatment. Neomycin was chosen as tracer for drug release and pharmacodynamic effect. HYA loaded with 3 different concentrations of neomycin was injected to the middle ear cavity of guinea pigs. Phalloidin stained surface preparations of the organ of Corti were used to estimate hair cell loss induced by neomycin. The thickness of the midportion of the RWM was measured and compared with that of controls using light and electron microscopy. All animal procedures were pe rformed in accordance with the ethical standards of Karolinska Institutet.


RESULT
Neomycin induced a considerable hair cell loss in guinea pigs receiving a middle ear injection of HYA loaded with the drug, demonstrating that neomycin was released from the gel and delivered to the inner ear. The resulting hair cell loss showed a clear dose-dependence. Only small differences in hair cell loss were noted between animals receiving neomycin solution and animals exposed to neomycin in HYA suggesting that the vehicle neither facilitated nor hindered drug transport between the middle ear cavity and the inner ear. One week after topical application, the thickness of the RWM had increased and was dependent upon the concentration of neomycin administered to the middle ear. At 4 weeks the thickness of the RWM had returned to normal.


CONCLUSION
HYA is a safe vehicle for drugs aimed to pass into the inner ear through the RWM. Neomycin was released from HYA and transported into the inner ear as evidenced by hair cell loss.
Automated long-term recording and analysis of neural activity in behaving animals

Addressing how neural circuits underlie behavior is routinely done by measuring electrical activity from single neurons in experimental sessions. While such recordings yield snapshots of neural dynamics during specified tasks, they are ill-suited for tracking single-unit activity over longer timescales relevant for most developmental and learning processes, or for capturing neural dynamics across different behavioral states. Here we describe an automated platform for continuous long-term recordings of neural activity and behavior in freely moving rodents. An unsupervised algorithm identifies and tracks the activity of single units over weeks of recording, dramatically simplifying the analysis of large datasets. Months-long recordings from motor cortex and striatum made and analyzed with our system revealed remarkable stability in basic neuronal properties, such as firing rates and inter-spike interval distributions. Interneuronal correlations and the representation of different movements and behaviors were similarly stable. This establishes the feasibility of high-throughput long-term extracellular recordings in behaving animals.
Impact of Internet Use on Loneliness and Contact with Others Among Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Analysis

BACKGROUND
Older adults are at increased risk of experiencing loneliness and depression, particularly as they move into different types of care communities. Information and communication technology (ICT) usage may help older adults to maintain contact with social ties. However, prior research is not consistent about whether ICT use increases or decreases isolation and loneliness among older adults.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine how Internet use affects perceived social isolation and loneliness of older adults in assisted and independent living communities. We also examined the perceptions of how Internet use affects communication and social interaction.


METHODS
One wave of data from an ongoing study of ICT usage among older adults in assisted and independent living communities in Alabama was used. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between frequency of going online and isolation and loneliness (n=205) and perceptions of the effects of Internet use on communication and social interaction (n=60).


RESULTS
After controlling for the number of friends and family, physical/emotional social limitations, age, and study arm, a 1-point increase in the frequency of going online was associated with a 0.147-point decrease in loneliness scores (P=.005). Going online was not associated with perceived social isolation (P=.14). Among the measures of perception of the social effects of the Internet, each 1-point increase in the frequency of going online was associated with an increase in agreement that using the Internet had: (1) made it easier to reach people (b=0.508, P<.001), (2) contributed to the ability to stay in touch (b=0.516, P<.001), (3) made it easier to meet new people (b=0.297, P=.01, (4) increased the quantity of communication with others (b=0.306, P=.01), (5) made the respondent feel less isolated (b=0.491, P<.001), (6) helped the respondent feel more connected to friends and family (b=0.392, P=.001), and (7) increased the quality of communication with others (b=0.289, P=.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Using the Internet may be beneficial for decreasing loneliness and increasing social contact among older adults in assisted and independent living communities.
Correlation and Simple Linear Regression 1 In this tutorial

1 From the Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (K.H.Z., K.T., S.G.S.) and Department of Health Care Policy (K.H.Z.), Harvard Medical School, 180 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. Received September 10, 2001; revision requested October 31; revision received December 26; accepted January 21, 2002. Address correspondence to K.H.Z. (e-mail: zou@bwh.harvard.edu). © RSNA, 2003 Correlation and Simple Linear Regression
Effect of a Proton Pump Inhibitor or an H2-Receptor Antagonist on Prevention of Bleeding From Ulcer After Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Early Gastric Cancer: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVES:With conventional methods of endoscopic mucosal resection for early gastric cancer (EGC), proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and H2-receptor antagonists (H2RAs) have a similar effect on preventing bleeding from artificial ulcers. An objective of this study is to investigate whether a stronger acid suppressant (i.e., PPI) more effectively prevents bleeding after the recent advanced technique of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for EGC.METHODS:This was a prospective randomized controlled trial performed in a referral cancer center. A total of 143 patients with EGC who underwent ESD were randomly assigned to the treatment groups. They received either rabeprazole 20 mg (PPI group) or cimetidine 800 mg (H2RA group) on the day before ESD and continued for 8 wk. The primary end point was the incidence of bleeding that was defined as hematemesis or melena that required endoscopic hemostasis and decreased the hemoglobin count by more than 2 g/dL.RESULTS:In baseline data, the endoscopists who performed the ESD were significantly different between the groups. Finally, 66 of 73 patients in the PPI group and 64 of 70 in the H2RA group were analyzed. Bleeding occurred in four patients in the PPI group and 11 in the H2RA group (P = 0.057). Multivariate analysis revealed that treatment with the PPI significantly reduced the risk of bleeding: adjusted hazard ratio 0.47, 95% confidence interval 0.22–0.92, P = 0.028. One delayed perforation was experienced in the H2RA group.CONCLUSIONS:PPI therapy more effectively prevented delayed bleeding from the ulcer created after ESD than did H2RA treatment.