LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Gender on the Neural Substrates of Pitch Memory

Imaging studies have indicated that males and females differ anatomically in brain regions thought to underlie language functions. Functional studies have corroborated this difference by showing gender differences in terms of language processing with females relying on less lateralized processing strategies than males. Gender differences in musical functions might show similar differences in functional asymmetries, although no detailed study has been performed. The current study employed a pitch memory task while acquiring functional magnetic resonance images to investigate possible differences in hemispheric processing between males and females. Gender differences were found in the time course of activation (during the first four imaging time points after the end of the auditory stimulusperceptual phaseand the subsequent three imaging time points after the end of the auditory stimulusmemory phase) in both anterior and posterior perisylvian regions. Male subjects had greater lateralized activations (left > right) in anterior and posterior perisylvian regions during the perceptual as well as during the memory phase. There was a trend for males to have more cerebellar activation than females. Females showed more prominently posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex activation compared to males. Although activation patterns differed, there was no difference in the behavioral performance between both genders. These data indicate that similar to language studies, males rely more on left lateralized hemispheric processing even for basic pitch tasks.
Brief report: incidence of selected opportunistic infections among children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE
To compare incidence rates of selected opportunistic infections among children with and children without juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).


METHODS
Using U.S. national Medicaid administrative claims data from 2000 through 2005, we identified a cohort of children with JIA based on physician diagnosis codes and dispensed medications. We also identified a non-JIA comparator cohort of children diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We defined 15 types of opportunistic infection using physician diagnosis or hospital discharge codes; criteria for 7 of these types also included evidence of treatment with specific antimicrobial agents. We calculated infection incidence rates. The rates in the ADHD comparator cohort were standardized to the age, sex, and race distribution of the JIA cohort. We calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to compare infection rates.


RESULTS
The JIA cohort included 8,503 children with 13,990 person-years of followup. The ADHD comparator cohort included 360,362 children with 477,050 person-years of followup. When all opportunistic infections were considered together as a single outcome, there were 42 infections in the JIA cohort (incidence rate 300 per 100,000 person-years; IRR 2.4 [95% CI 1.7-3.3] versus ADHD). The most common opportunistic infections among children with JIA were 3 cases of Coccidioides (incidence rate 21 per 100,000 person-years; IRR 101 [95% CI 8.1-5,319] versus ADHD), 5 cases of Salmonella (incidence rate 35 per 100,000 person-years; IRR 3.8 [95% CI 1.2-9.5]), and 32 cases of herpes zoster (incidence rate 225 per 100,000 person-years; IRR 2.1 [95% CI 1.4-3.0]).


CONCLUSION
Opportunistic infections are rare among children with JIA. Nevertheless, children with JIA had a higher rate of opportunistic infections, including an increased rate of Coccidioides, Salmonella, and herpes zoster compared to children with ADHD.
Steerable miniature jumping robot

Jumping is used in nature by many small animals to locomote in cluttered environments or in rough terrain. It offers small systems the benefit of overcoming relatively large obstacles at a low energetic cost. In order to be able to perform repetitive jumps in a given direction, it is important to be able to upright after landing, steer and jump again. In this article, we review and evaluate the uprighting and steering principles of existing jumping robots and present a novel spherical robot with a mass of 14 g and a size of 18 cm that can jump up to 62 cm at a take-off angle of 75°, recover passively after landing, orient itself, and jump again. We describe its design details and fabrication methods, characterize its jumping performance, and demonstrate the remote controlled prototype repetitively moving over an obstacle course where it has to climb stairs and go through a window. (See videos 1–4 in the electronic supplementary
Screening for adverse pregnancy outcome at early gestational age.

In the past two decades second-trimester maternal serum screening for Down syndrome has been the most common strategy for prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal aneuploidies. More recently, screening for and diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities have increasingly been performed in the first trimester. With improvements and technological advances in ultrasound, it is now possible to identify many fetal anomalies at 11-13 weeks of gestation. During the same period biochemical markers in maternal serum (PAPP-A and hCGβ) combined with sonographic measurement of nuchal translucency achieve a Down syndrome detection rate of 85% with a 5% false-positive rate. We describe here the potential of first-trimester markers to screen for Down syndrome as well as other adverse outcomes such as fetal loss, pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth retardation, and preterm delivery. This early consultation may be the opportunity to help counsel patients and to screen for other adverse complications during pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia, and to manage potential adverse pregnancy outcomes.
The utility of supplemental oxygen during emergency department procedural sedation with propofol: a randomized, controlled trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE
We determine whether supplemental oxygen reduces the incidence of hypoxia by 20% compared with breathing room air in adult study patients receiving propofol for emergency department procedural sedation.


METHODS
Patients were randomized to receive either supplemental oxygen or compressed air by nasal cannula at 3 L per minute. Physicians were blinded to the gas used and end tidal CO(2) (etco(2)) data. Respiratory depression was defined a priori as oxygen saturation less than or equal to 93%, an etco(2) level of greater than or equal to 50 mm Hg, an absolute etco(2) change from baseline of greater than or equal to 10 mm Hg, or loss of the etco(2) waveform.


RESULTS
Of the 110 patients analyzed, 56 received supplemental oxygen and 54 received room air. Ten (18%) patients in the supplemental oxygen group and 15 (28%) patients in the compressed air group experienced hypoxia (P=.3, effect size=10%, 95% confidence interval -24% to 7%). Twenty-seven patients (20 supplemental oxygen; 7 room air) met etco(2) criteria for respiratory depression but did not become hypoxic. Physicians identified respiratory depression in 23 of 25 patients who developed hypoxia compared with only 1 of 27 patients who met etco(2) criteria for respiratory depression but who did not have hypoxia. One patient in the supplemental oxygen group experienced a transient arrhythmia and had a short apneic episode, both of which resolved spontaneously. The patient was admitted for observation.


CONCLUSION
Supplemental oxygen (3 L/minute) trended toward reducing hypoxia in adult study patients; however, the 10% difference observed was not statistically significant and was below our a priori 20% threshold. Blinded capnography frequently identified respiratory depression undetected by the treating physicians.
Problems , Methods , and Challenges in Comprehensive Data Cleansing

Cleansing data from impurities is an integral part of data processing and maintenance. This has lead to the development of a broad range of methods intending to enhance the accuracy and thereby the usability of existing data. This paper presents a survey of data cleansing problems, approaches, and methods. We classify the various types of anomalies occurring in data that have to be eliminated, and we define a set of quality criteria that comprehensively cleansed data has to accomplish. Based on this classification we evaluate and compare existing approaches for data cleansing with respect to the types of anomalies handled and eliminated by them. We also describe in general the different steps in data cleansing and specify the methods used within the cleansing process and give an outlook to research directions that complement the existing systems.
Acute eosinophilic pneumonia among US Military personnel deployed in or near Iraq.

CONTEXT
Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is a rare disease of unknown etiology characterized by respiratory failure, radiographic infiltrates, and eosinophilic infiltration of the lung.


OBJECTIVES
To describe a case series of AEP, illustrate the clinical features of this syndrome, and report the results of an epidemiologic investigation.


DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Epidemiologic investigation of cases of AEP identified both retrospectively and prospectively from March 2003 through March 2004 among US military personnel deployed in or near Iraq. Survivors were offered a follow-up evaluation.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Morbidity and mortality related to AEP.


RESULTS
There were 18 cases of AEP identified among 183,000 military personnel deployed in or near Iraq during the study period, yielding an AEP incidence of 9.1 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 4.3-13.3). The majority of patients (89%) were men and the median age was 22 (range, 19-47) years. All patients used tobacco, with 78% recently beginning to smoke. All but 1 reported significant exposure to fine airborne sand or dust. Known causes of pulmonary eosinophilia (eg, drug exposures or parasitic disease) were not identified. Epidemiologic investigation revealed no evidence of a common source exposure, temporal or geographic clustering, person-to-person transmission, or an association with recent vaccination. Six patients underwent bronchoalveolar lavage (median eosinophilia of 40.5%). All patients developed peripheral eosinophilia (range, 8%-42%). Mechanical ventilation was required in 67% for a median of 7 (range, 2-16) days. Two soldiers died; the remainder responded to corticosteroids and/or supportive care. Twelve individuals were reevaluated a median of 3 months after diagnosis. At that point, 3 patients reported mild dyspnea and 1 reported wheezing. All patients had finished treatment and had either normal or nearly normal spirometry results. None had recurrent eosinophilia.


CONCLUSIONS
AEP occurred at an increased rate among this deployed military population and resulted in 2 deaths. Failure to consider AEP in the differential diagnosis of respiratory failure in military personnel can result in missing this syndrome and possibly death. The etiology of AEP remains unclear, but the association with new-onset smoking suggests a possible link.
DHA status of vegetarians.

BACKGROUND
Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; DHA) is absent from vegan diets and present in limited amounts in vegetarian diets.


OBJECTIVE
To review DHA status in vegetarians and vegans.


DESIGN
To identify published studies and review their findings.


RESULTS
Dietary analyses show that vegan diets are devoid of DHA and vegetarian diets that included dairy food and eggs only provide about 0.02 g DHA/d. Vegetarian and especially vegan diets supply more linoleic acid (18:2n-6) than omnivore diets. The intake of alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) also tends to be similar or greater but depends on culinary oils used. The proportions of DHA in plasma, blood cells, breast milk, and tissues are substantially lower in vegans and vegetarians compared with omnivores. The lower proportions of DHA are accompanied by correspondingly higher proportions of the long-chain derivatives of linoleic acid, indicating that the capacity to synthesize long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids is not limited. Short-term dietary supplementation with alpha-linolenic acid increases the proportion of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) but does not increase the proportion of DHA in blood lipids. Small amounts of preformed DHA (as low as 200mg) result in a large increase in the proportion of DHA in blood lipids in vegetarians and vegans. There is no evidence of adverse effects on health or cognitive function with lower DHA intake in vegetarians.


CONCLUSIONS
Preformed DHA in the diet of omnivores explains the relatively higher proportion of this fatty acid in blood and tissue lipids compared with vegetarians. The pathophysiological significance of this difference remains to be determined.
270 Clinical Experience in Allergic Asthma Patients: Omalizumab with Immunotherapy

269 Refractory Chronic Urticaria Treated with Omalizumab Martinez Saenz, NP, Ramírez Del Pozo, ME, Lopez Tiro JJ, and Javier Gomez Vera, MD. Alergia e inmunologia clínica, Hospital Regional Lic. Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Background: Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of urticaria pruritic erythematous lesions, associated with angioedema1. It affects 0.1% of the population, it is estimated that approximately 15 to 25% of the population will have hives at some point in their lives.2 About 80% of UC patients are diagnosed as idiopathic chronic urticaria and that no cause is identified, 3 experiencing deterioration in their quality of life affecting your work, social relationships, schemes requiring multiple medications and doses higher than usual. This study proposes Omalizumab (anti-IgE humanized antibody) as a treatment for Refractory Chronic Urticaria (RCU) Object: Demonstrate Omalizumab’s effectiveness in the treatment of Refractory Chronic Urticaria. Methods: A clinical study, was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the Omalizumab’s treatment on RCU diagnosed patient, including male and female patients ages 12 to 50 diagnosed with RCU, with Scorad higher tan 30 points. We made a questionnaire to know about the patient’s family background, skin symptoms beginning, administration of drugs such sistemic steroids, inmunosupresors, calceurine inhibitors, presence of inmunotherapy and age of start. Omalizumab was administered on doses according patient’s weight and IgE levels, bimonthly or monthly according to treatment guides. Severeness level was calculated with scorad every 1 month, with IgE seric level measurement and life quality questionnaire. Results: 5 patients diagnosed with RCU were included in the group of Omalizumab and 5 patients in the control group (placebo). All patients were female. A gradual decrease on the life quality score and in Score, with a significant P under 0.05 was observed on all patients treated with omalizumab compared with patient in the group with placebo. Conclusions: Treatment with Omalizumab progressively decreases the severeness level on RCU, with a significant improvement on the patient’s life quality.
Momentum : Slow Moving Credit Ratings and Cross-Market Spillovers ∗

Using 5-year credit default swap (CDS) contracts on 1,247 U.S. firms from 2003 2011, we show a 3-month formation and 1-month holding period CDS momentum strategy yields 52 bps per month. By incorporating past CDS return signals, we further show traditional stock momentum strategies avoid abrupt losses during the crisis period and improve their performance by net 104 bps per month. Both within CDS market and across CDS-to-stock market momentum profits exist because CDS returns correctly anticipate future credit rating changes. Our results highlight the adverse effects of sluggish rating updates in creating information efficiency distortions and investment anomalies. JEL Classification: G12, G14
Hand-arm vibration syndrome in Swedish car mechanics.

AIMS
To assess the occurrence of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) in Swedish car mechanics, and the relation between HAVS and duration of exposure.


METHODS
A total of 806 mechanics answered a questionnaire on vascular and neurological symptoms, and exposure to vibrations. Mechanics with symptoms, and some mechanics without symptoms, were invited to a clinical examination, including also a timed Allen test. Vascular and neurological symptoms were classified using the Stockholm Workshop scales. The mean daily exposure (mainly using nut-runners) was 14 minutes and the mean exposure duration, 12 years. Published data have shown vibration levels in nut-runners of about 3.5 m/s(2).


RESULTS
In the questionnaire, 24% reported cold induced white finger (WF), 25% persistent numbness, and 13%, reduced grip force. The clinical examination showed a prevalence of vibration induced white finger (VWF) of about 15%, mainly in stage 2, and after 20 years, of 25%. A survival analysis showed similar results. We found that the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) model underestimates the risk of VWF. The incidence after 1975 was 19 cases per 1000 person-years. Slow refill times in the timed Allen test were common (15% had a refill time of >20 seconds), and associated with the presence of VWF. The clinical examination revealed neurological symptoms in the hands in about 25% of subjects, mainly at stage 2. After 20 years, the prevalence was 40%. The questionnaire items on WF and numbness both showed likelihood ratios of 13.


CONCLUSION
HAVS is common among Swedish car mechanics in spite of short daily exposure times. This underlines the need for preventive measures.
Reversibility of the endothelial dysfunction after CPAP therapy in OSAS patients.

BACKGROUND
The obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is a common airways disease which often involves cardiovascular structures, causing vessel inflammation as well as hypoxia, induced by difficulties in the passage of air through the upper airways. Aim of our research is to evaluate the effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) on the syndrome itself and the patients cardiovascular risk profile, practically adopting Flow-Mediated Vasodilation (FMD) technique to evaluate endothelial function.


METHODS AND RESULTS
We enrolled 63 patients (49 males and 14 female, mean age: 54 ± 10 years) subdivided into four groups: high cardiovascular risk factors, no CPAP therapy, CPAP therapy started less- and more than 3 months before. The patients underwent FMD of the brachial artery using a high resolution ultrasonograph connected to an image analysis system. The maximum recovery value was calculated as the ratio (maximum-baseline) of the change in diameter over the baseline value. Data obtained from this study demonstrate the significant reversibility of FMD in patients treated for more than 3 months with CPAP therapy (Group 4).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study shows the importance of administering CPAP therapy for more than 3 months in patients suffering from OSAS to improve EF to a level equal to high cardiovascular risk subjects probably due to a recovery from the systemic hypoxia. Besides, our work points out the importance of FMD as a "clinical" tool able to point out any improvement or regression after therapies.
Specific miRNA Disease Biomarkers in Blood, Serum and Plasma: Challenges and Prospects

Significant effort has been devoted to discovering microRNA (miRNA) disease biomarkers. In particular, miRNAs in whole blood or specific blood components are candidates for improving the diagnosis of diseases, including life-threatening pathologies. This review covers the challenges crucial for the translation of miRNAs in body fluids (circulating miRNAs) from a research setting into a clinical care scenario. First, we discuss the specificity of miRNA biomarkers for the diagnosis of a disease. While single miRNAs such as miR-20a, miR-21, miR-155, and miR-126 are frequently not disease specific, miRNA signatures that consist of a plurality of different miRNAs may help to improve differentiation between pathologies. Second, we discuss the degree of reproducibility and highlight selected validation studies. While single miRNA markers are often confirmed by independent studies, miRNA signatures are less frequently verified. Third, we address challenges to the profiling of miRNAs in high-throughput settings and we discuss the appropriateness of various analytical platforms and bioinformatics towards a clinical application of miRNAs. Finally, we shed light on the suitability of enriched miRNA sources, e.g. fractionation of body fluids for extracellular vesicles such as exosomes or blood cells, to develop miRNA signatures. With an increasing number of verified miRNA signatures and with the advance of matured medium-throughput approaches in clinical settings, specific miRNA markers are increasingly likely to contribute to human healthcare.
CARAVAN: Congestion Avoidance and Route Allocation Using Virtual Agent Negotiation

Traffic congestion becomes a cascading phenomenon when vehicles from a road segment chaotically spill on to successive road segments. Such uncontrolled dispersion of vehicles can be avoided by evenly distributing vehicles along alternative routes. This paper proposes a practical multiagent-based approach, which is designed to achieve acceptable route allocation within a short time frame and with low communication overheads. In the proposed approach, which is called Congestion Avoidance and Route Allocation using Virtual Agent Negotiation (CARAVAN), vehicle agents (VAs) in the local vicinity communicate with each other before designated decision points (junctions) along their route. Cooperative route-allocation decisions are performed at these junctions. VAs use intervehicular communication to propagate key traffic information and undertake its distributed processing. Every VA exchanges its autonomously calculated route preference information to arrive at an initial allocation of routes. The allocation is improved using a number of successive virtual negotiation “deals.” The virtual nature of these deals requires no physical communication and, thereby, reduces communication requirements. In addition to the theory and concept, this paper presents the design and implementation methodology of CARAVAN, including experimental results for synthetic and real-world road networks. Results show that when compared against the shortest path algorithm for travel time improvements, CARAVAN offers 21%-43% gain (when traffic demand is below network capacity) and 13%-17% gain (when traffic demand exceeds network capacity), demonstrating its ability to regulate overall system traffic using local coordination strategies.
The ideal romantic partner personality

Most contemporary social psychological studies on inter-personal attraction have independently explored the competing concepts of similarity and complementarity. Incorporating evolutionary principles associated with assortative mating, two studies were conducted that examined individual difference preferences using the five-factor model (FFM) of human personality as assessed by the NEO-FFI. The first study (N = 104) examined the degree to which individuals showed an absolute or relative preference in an ‘‘ideal romantic partner’’ when compared to self-rated personality. The second study (N = 161) extended this by incorporating personality ratings for self, ‘‘ideal’’ romantic partner, and ‘‘actual’’ romantic partner, and perceptions of mate value for each. Overall, findings supported both evolutionary and social psychological theories of inter-personal attraction and support both relative and absolute preferences in romantic partners. Individuals sought mates that were matches of themselves to some degree (a concept that we termed aspirational positive assortative mating) but also sought mates that were somewhat higher in Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Mate Value, but lower in Neuroticism than themselves. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.