LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A prospective study of pregnant patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis using validated clinical instruments.

OBJECTIVE
: To analyse the disease course of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) during and after pregnancy by validated clinical instruments for measurement of disease activity, and assess their usefulness in pregnant patients.


METHODS
Included were 10 patients with RA and 9 with AS (10 pregnancies). Clinical examination and blood/urine sampling was performed before conception, at each trimester, and weeks 6, 12, and 24 post partum. Assessment of RA was by the RA Disease Activity Index (RADAI), the 44 joint count, and the Health Assessment Questionnaire; assessment of AS by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Activity Index (BASDAI), the Dougados Functional and Articular Index, and a night pain index. Common for all patients were the patient's and physician's global assessment.


RESULTS
: Most patients with RA showed sustained or increased improvement of disease activity during pregnancy. Higher disease activity scores were found in the patients with AS with a frequent increase of disease activity in the second trimester and mitigation of symptoms in the third trimester. Analysis specifically for the patient's assessment of pain showed continuously higher pain scores in the patients with AS than in those with RA. Rank correlation showed good to moderate correlation between most clinical measurements and RADAI or BASDAI, respectively. Functional indices were confounded by physiological changes of late pregnancy.


CONCLUSION
RA can be monitored during and after pregnancy by the swollen joint count and RADAI without interference from pregnancy related symptoms, whereas usual measures of disease activity are not always applicable in pregnant patients with AS.
Effect of garlic powder on performance and lipid profile of broilers

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding garlic powder (GP) on the performance, digestibility, digestive organs, carcass cuts and lipid profile of broilers. A total of 270 day-old Cobb-500 chicks were used in the experiment. Birds were partitioned into three experimental groups of 90 birds in each. Each treatment was composed of 6 replicates with 15 birds in each. The control group was fed with a commercial starter and finisher diet. The second and third groups were supplemented with GP at the rate of 0.2% and 0.4% respectively. In the last week of experiment, 18 birds from each experimental group (3 birds per replicate) were used in a metabolic trial. At the time of termination of the experiment, the same number of birds were killed for digestive organs and carcass components measurements. Blood samples from 3 birds per replicate were collected on 3, 5 and 6 week post feeding from wing vein for blood lipid profile determination. Total cholesterol (COL), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were determined. Results of this study showed that GP had no significant effects on broilers weight gain, feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), carcass cuts, visceral organs. However, GP decreased (P < 0.05) COL, TG, LDL and increased HDL levels compared to control birds. The dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE) digestibility were improved by feeding GP. It can be concluded that GP could provide positive advantages in broilers performance.
A Model of Faking Likelihood in the Employment Interview

There has been surprisingly little research on faking in the employment interview, despite the fact that professional judgment would suggest that faking might occur in the interview. Based on a review of the literature on faking in personality tests and the literature on deception, we propose a model of faking during an employment interview and develop 19 testable propositions to guide future research. We argue that faking is a function of capacity, willingness, and opportunity to fake. Structured interviews provide less opportunity for intentional distortion; however, some components of structure may actually increase faking. Finally, job candidates distort their responses in job desirable ways.
Efficacy of curcumin in the treatment of chronic gingivitis: a pilot study.

PURPOSE
To evaluate the efficacy of curcumin mouthwash as an adjunct to scaling and root planing in the treatment of chronic gingivitis and to compare curcumin to chlorhexidine in terms of its anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty patients aged 20-40 years with generalised chronic gingivitis were included in the study. They were randomly divided into 3 groups of 10 each. In group 1, patients underwent scaling and root planing followed by chlorhexidine mouthwash (SRP/CHX Gr-1); in group 2, patients underwent scaling and root planing followed by curcumin mouthwash (SRP/CUR Gr-2); in group 3, patients underwent only scaling and root planing (SRP Gr-3). Gingival and plaque indices were recorded at baseline (day 0) and 7, 14 and 21 days. Differences between the groups were statistically analysed.


RESULTS
The clinical parameters showed improvement in all the three groups compared to baseline. When compared to the scaling and root planing group (Gr-3), both curcumin and chlorhexidine groups were found to have statistically significantly better results (P < 0.05). However, when curcumin and chlorhexidine groups were compared, the gingival (Löe and Silness) and plaque index (Silness and Löe) scores were not found to be statistically significant (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSION
Curcumin is comparable to chlorhexidine as an anti-inflammatory mouthwash. Thus, it can be considered as an effective adjunct to mechanical periodontal therapy.
Occurrence of oceanic plagiogranites in the older tectonic zone, Southwest Japan

Abstract K, Rb and Sr concentrations and Sr isotopic compositions were determined for the Dai granitic rocks of trondhjemitic composition occurring in a serpentinite mass in the Nagato tectonic zone formed in the Late Paleozoic era, and for the granitic rocks of quartz dioritic composition recently dredged from the seamount of the Kyushu-Palao Ridge. Both granitic rocks are characterized by low abundances of K and Rb, low K 2 O/Na 2 O ratios, high K/Rb ratios, low Rb/Sr ratios and low initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios. These characteristics suggest that strong similarities may exist between the Dai granitic rocks and the dredged granitic rocks, and that the Dai granitic rocks may be classified as oceanic plagiogranite. These oceanic plagiogranites may plausibly represent single-stage mantle-derived granites, possibly from the suboceanic mantle.
Effects of BAY 41–2272 on smooth muscle tone, soluble guanylyl cyclase activity and NADPH oxidase activity/expression in corpus cavernosum from wild-type, neuronal and endothelial NOS null mice

Background Nitric oxide (NO) is considered to play a critical role in the control of erectile function, by activating soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) in cavernosal smooth muscle to generate cGMP, which, in turn, promotes relaxation leading to penile erection. The pyrazolopyridine 5-cyclopropyl-2[1-(2-fluorobenzyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-3-yl]pyrimidin-4-ylamine (BAY 41–2272) sensitizes sGC to NO, lowers mean arterial pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats and increases survival in a low-NO rat model of hypertension. In vitro, BAY 41–2272 causes potent relaxation of vascular smooth muscle, rat anococcygeus muscle as well as human and rabbit corpus cavernosum (CC).
Effect of levodopa on orthostatic and postprandial hypotension in elderly Parkinsonian patients.

BACKGROUND
This study describes orthostatic and postprandial hypotension in elderly Parkinsonian patients and evaluates the effect of levodopa therapy on orthostatic and postprandial hypotension in these patients.


METHODS
Seventeen elderly patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism based on the U.K. Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank criteria (age range, 66-84 years) participated in the study. Blood pressure was continuously monitored during standardized standing and meal tests, after starting 125-mg b.i.d. doses of levodopa/benserazide (Madopar) or placebo, in a double-blind, randomized, cross-over design. Seventeen age- and sex-matched healthy subjects served as controls.


RESULTS
Orthostatic hypotension was infrequently found in Parkinsonian patients (13%) and healthy subjects (6%; p =.58, between groups), whereas postprandial hypotension was more frequent in Parkinsonian patients (82%) than in healthy subjects (41%; p <.05, between groups). Doses of levodopa/benserazide, administered 2 times per day, did not result in significantly larger blood pressure decreases after standing or eating, or in higher frequencies of orthostatic or postprandial hypotension in the Parkinsonian group. Postprandial hypotension was related to disease severity (r = -.56, p <.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Postprandial hypotension, but not orthostatic hypotension, was more common in elderly Parkinsonian patients than in healthy subjects. Therapy with 125-mg b.i.d. doses of levodopa/benserazide did not significantly aggravate orthostatic or postprandial hypotension.
Intelligent Irrigation Control System Using Wireless Sensors and Android Application

Agriculture is the major occupation in India and forms the backbone of Indian economy in which irrigation plays a crucial role for increasing the quality and quantity of crop yield. In spite of many revolutionary advancements in agriculture, there has not been a dramatic increase in agricultural performance. Lack of irrigation infrastructure and agricultural knowledge are the critical factors influencing agricultural performance. However, by using advanced agricultural equipment, the effect of these factors can be curtailed. The presented system aims at increasing the yield of crops by using an intelligent irrigation controller that makes use of wireless sensors. Sensors are used to monitor primary parameters such as soil moisture, soil pH, temperature and humidity. Irrigation decisions are taken based on the sensed data and the type of crop being grown. The system provides a mobile application in which farmers can remotely monitor and control the irrigation system. Also, the water pump is protected against damages due to voltage variations and dry running. Keywords—Android application, Bluetooth, humidity, irrigation, soil moisture, soil pH, temperature, wireless sensors.
Associations between ankle dorsiflexion range of motion and foot and ankle
strength in young adults

[Purpose] This study assessed the relationships between the ankle dorsiflexion range of motion and foot and ankle strength. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-nine healthy (young adults) volunteers participated in this study. Each participant completed tests for ankle dorsiflexion range of motion, hallux flexor strength, and ankle plantar and dorsiflexor strength. [Results] The results showed (1) a moderate correlation between ankle dorsiflexor strength and dorsiflexion range of motion and (2) a moderate correlation between ankle dorsiflexor strength and first toe flexor muscle strength. Ankle dorsiflexor strength is the main contributor ankle dorsiflexion range of motion to and first toe flexor muscle strength. [Conclusion] Ankle dorsiflexion range of motion can play an important role in determining ankle dorsiflexor strength in young adults.
Evaluation of disposable filtration systems for harvesting high cell density fed batch processes

Introduction In the underlying study we evaluated different single-use filtration systems for cell separation and harvest clarification in 1,000 L scale. A screening of different depth filters was carried out with various single-use filters from Pall, Cuno (3M), Millipore and Sartorius Stedim. In total, we included 85 depth filtrations in the screening. Out of that, two single-use filtration systems were chosen and further tested in 200 L scale. Based on these results, a single-use filtration set-up for harvesting production scale fed batch processes was determined.
Geriatric Assessment to Predict Survival and Risk of Serious Adverse Events in Elderly Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients: A Multicenter Study in China

BACKGROUND
Elderly multiple myeloma (MM) patients often tend to suffer a variety of diseases, so the treatment of choice is very difficult for the elderly myeloma patients. The overall survival (OS) time and side effects with elderly patients are unclear in China. The study tried to find out the role of geriatric assessment in the Chinese elderly MM.


METHODS
We retrospectively analyzed the data of 628 newly diagnosed patients from six hospitals from June 2011 to June 2013. A geriatric assessment had been performed to assess comorbidities, cognitive, and physical status for these patients. The primary endpoint was to evaluate different physical states of elderly patients with OS time and treatment-related side effects.


RESULTS
An additive scoring system (range: 0-5), based on age, Katz's Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and Lawton's Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) ≤5 and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was developed to identify three groups: fit (score = 0); intermediate-fitness (score = 1); and frail (score ≥2). The 3-year OS was 63% in fit patients, 63% in intermediate-fitness patients, and 49% in frail patients ≥3 hematologic adverse events (AEs) were documented in 45 (35.4%) fit, 34 (34%) intermediate-fitness, and 121 (30.2%) frail patients. The risk of a grade ≥3 hematologic AEs was not significantly increase in intermediate-fitness (hazard ratios [HR]: 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54-1.47, P = 1.000) and in frail patients (HR: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.70-1.93, P = 0.558) compared with fit ones.


CONCLUSIONS
MM occurs earlier in life and being advanced when the diagnosis is made in the mainland of China. The overall survival in frailty with International Staging System (ISS) II/III was the worst in all patients.
First report on the antibody verification of HLA-DR, HLA-DQ and HLA-DP epitopes recorded in the HLA Epitope Registry.

The International Registry of Antibody-Defined HLA Epitopes (http://www.epregistry.com.br) has been recently established as a tool to understand humoral responses to HLA mismatches. These epitopes can be structurally defined as eplets by three-dimensional molecular modeling and amino acid sequence differences between HLA antigens. A major goal is to identify HLA eplets that have been verified experimentally with informative antibodies. This report addresses class II epitopes encoded by genes in the HLA-D region. Our analysis included reviews of many publications about epitope specificity of class II reactive human and murine monoclonal antibodies and informative alloantibodies from HLA sensitized patients as well as our own antibody testing results. As of July 1, 2014, 24 HLA-DRB1/3/4/5, 15 DQB, 3 DQA and 8 DPB antibody-verified epitopes have been identified and recorded. The Registry is still a work-in-progress and will become a useful resource for HLA professionals interested in histocompatibility testing at the epitope level and investigating antibody responses to HLA mismatches in transplant patients.
Content-based image retrieval in medical applications.

OBJECTIVES
To develop a general structure for semantic image analysis that is suitable for content-based image retrieval in medical applications and an architecture for its efficient implementation.


METHODS
Stepwise content analysis of medical images results in six layers of information modeling incorporating medical expert knowledge (raw data layer, registered data layer, feature layer, scheme layer, object layer, knowledge layer). A reference database with 10,000 images categorized according to the image modality, orientation, body region, and biological system is used. By means of prototypes in each category, identification of objects and their geometrical or temporal relationships are handled in the object and the knowledge layer, respectively. A distributed system designed with only three core elements is implemented: (i) the central database holds program sources, processing scheme descriptions, images, features, and administrative information about the workstation cluster; (ii) the scheduler balances distributed computing; and (iii) the web server provides graphical user interfaces for data entry and retrieval, which can be easily adapted to a variety of applications for content-based image retrieval in medicine.


RESULTS
Leaving-one-out experiments were distributed by the scheduler and controlled via corresponding job lists offering transparency regarding the viewpoints of a distributed system and the user. The proposed architecture is suitable for content-based image retrieval in medical applications. It improves current picture archiving and communication systems that still rely on alphanumerical descriptions, which are insufficient for image retrieval of high recall and precision.
Evaluation of a HIV Voluntary Opt-Out Screening Program in a Singapore Hospital

BACKGROUND
Early diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) allows for appropriately timed interventions with improved outcomes, but HIV screening among asymptomatic persons and the general population in Singapore remains low. In 2008, Singapore's Ministry of Health implemented HIV voluntary opt-out screening (VOS) for hospitalised adults. We evaluated the outcome of VOS and surveyed reasons for its low uptake in our institution.


METHODS
We assessed the outcomes of the VOS programme from January 2010 to December 2013 at National University Hospital, a 1081-bed tertiary hospital in Singapore. We also examined reasons for opting-in and opting-out using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire in a representative sample in January 2013.


RESULTS
107,523 patients fulfilled VOS criteria and were offered HIV screening, of which 5215 (4.9%) agreed to testing. 4850 (93.1%) of those who opted-in had an HIV test done. Three (0.06%) tested positive for HIV. 238 patients (14.2%) were surveyed regarding reasons for opting-in or out of VOS. 21 (8.8%) had opted-in. Patients who opted-in were likely to be younger, more educated and reported having more regular sexual partners. Type of housing, number of casual sexual partners, sexual orientation, intravenous drug use, condom use and previous sexually transmitted infection were not associated with deciding to opt-in/out. Patients' most common reasons for opting-out were: belief that they were at low risk (50.2%), belief that they were too old (26.8%), cost (6.9%) and aversion to venepuncture (6.5%). The most common reason for opting-in was desire to know their HIV status (47.6%).


CONCLUSION
The success of an HIV-VOS program is largely determined by test uptake. Our study showed that the majority of eligible VOS patients opted-out of HIV screening. Given the considerable cost and low yield of this programme, more needs to be done to better equip patients in self-risk assessment and opting in to testing.
Factors Affecting Consumer ’ s Continuance Online Purchase Intention in Malaysia

Objective – This paper attempts to explore the continuance purchase intention among Malaysian consumers on the internet, through the conceptual framework as modified from the Technology Acceptance Model. Methodology/Technique – The research data has been collected through the use of an internet-based survey method, with a convenience sample of 300 Malaysian respondents in June 2014; whereas, data analysis is further conducted using the SPSS software, through the measurements of a simple linear regression test, mediation test and moderation test. Findings – Results show a positive relationship between perceived usefulness and trust; while the continuance intention for online purchase is positively significant to perceived usefulness. The partial mediating role of subjective norm is further identified, between perceived usefulness and continuance intention. It is also understood that both male and female perceive the usefulness of website as an important factor toward their intention to online re-purchase. Novelty – Most of the researches are conducted solely upon the factors or purchase intention, limited studies have been done to investigate the continuance purchase intention among fellow consumers. Type of Paper: Empirical
Temporal Dynamics Underlying the Modulation of Social Status on Social Attention

Fixating someone suddenly moving the eyes is known to trigger a corresponding shift of attention in the observer. This phenomenon, known as gaze-cueing effect, can be modulated as a function of the social status of the individual depicted in the cueing face. Here, in two experiments, we investigated the temporal dynamics underlying this modulation. To this end, a gaze-cueing paradigm was implemented in which centrally-placed faces depicting high- and low-status individuals suddenly shifted the eyes towards a location either spatially congruent or incongruent with that occupied by a subsequent target stimulus. Social status was manipulated by presenting fictive Curriculum Vitae before the experimental phase. In Experiment 1, in which two temporal intervals (50 ms vs. 900 ms) occurred between the direct-gaze face and the averted-gaze face onsets, a stronger gaze-cueing effect in response to high-status faces than low-status faces was observed, irrespective of the time participants were allowed for extracting social information. In Experiment 2, in which two temporal intervals (200 ms vs. 1000 ms) occurred between the averted-gaze face and target onset, a stronger gaze cueing for high-status faces was observed at the shorter interval only. Taken together, these results suggest that information regarding social status is extracted from faces rapidly (Experiment 1), and that the tendency to selectively attend to the locations gazed by high-status individuals may decay with time (Experiment 2).
Enterprise Information Systems and Strategic Flexibility

Strategic flexibility is a critical organizational competency in today's dynamic global environment. This paper explores the impact of enterprise information systems on an organization's strategic flexibility using the existing strategy and information systems literature to develop a theoretical model. Strategic flexibility is broken down into five first order constructs: operational flexibility; human capital flexibility; information flexibility; supply chain flexibility; and financial flexibility. These constructs are then used to develop a theoretical model and propositions of the impact of enterprise systems on strategic flexibility.