LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Hyponatremia as a Predictor of Mortality in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

BACKGROUND AND AIM
Hyponatremia is common in patients with chronic kidney disease and is associated with increased mortality in hemodialysis patients. However, few studies have addressed this issue in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.


METHODS
This prospective observational study included a total of 441 incident patients who started PD between January 2000 and December 2005. Using time-averaged serum sodium (TA-Na) levels, we aimed to investigate whether hyponatremia can predict mortality in these patients.


RESULTS
Among the baseline parameters, serum sodium level was positively associated with serum albumin (β = 0.145; p = 0.003) and residual renal function (RRF) (β = 0.130; p = 0.018) and inversely associated with PD ultrafiltration (β = -0.114; p = 0.024) in a multivariable linear regression analysis. During a median follow-up of 34.8 months, 149 deaths were recorded. All-cause death occurred in 81 (55.9%) patients in the lowest tertile compared to 37 (25.0%) and 31 (20.9%) patients in the middle and highest tertiles, respectively. After adjusting for multiple potentially confounding covariates, increased TA-Na level was associated with a significantly decreased risk of all-cause (HR per 1 mEq/L increase, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.73-0.86; p<0.001) and infection-related (HR per 1 mEq/L increase, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.70-0.85; p<0.001) deaths.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that hyponatremia is an independent predictor of mortality in PD patients. Nevertheless, whether correcting hyponatremia improves patient survival is unknown. Future interventional studies should address this question more appropriately.
Smart-Phones Attacking Smart-Homes

The explosion in Internet-connected household devices, such as light-bulbs, smoke-alarms, power-switches, and webcams, is creating new vectors for attacking "smart-homes" at an unprecedented scale. Common perception is that smart-home IoT devices are protected from Internet attacks by the perimeter security offered by home routers. In this paper we demonstrate how an attacker can infiltrate the home network via a doctored smart-phone app. Unbeknownst to the user, this app scouts for vulnerable IoT devices within the home, reports them to an external entity, and modifies the firewall to allow the external entity to directly attack the IoT device. The ability to infiltrate smart-homes via doctored smart-phone apps demonstrates that home routers are poor protection against Internet attacks and highlights the need for increased security for IoT devices.
Outcomes of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Virus Infection: Results from Two International Cohort Studies

BACKGROUND
Data from prospectively planned cohort studies on risk of major clinical outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus are limited. In 2009, in order to assess outcomes and evaluate risk factors for progression of illness, two cohort studies were initiated: FLU 002 in outpatients and FLU 003 in hospitalized patients.


METHODS AND FINDINGS
Between October 2009 and December 2012, adults with influenza-like illness (ILI) were enrolled; outpatients were followed for 14 days and inpatients for 60 days. Disease progression was defined as hospitalization and/or death for outpatients, and hospitalization for >28 days, transfer to intensive care unit (ICU) if enrolled from general ward, and/or death for inpatients. Infection was confirmed by RT-PCR. 590 FLU 002 and 392 FLU 003 patients with influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 were enrolled from 81 sites in 17 countries at 2 days (IQR 1-3) and 6 days (IQR 4-10) following ILI onset, respectively. Disease progression was experienced by 29 (1 death) outpatients (5.1%; 95% CI: 3.4-7.2%) and 80 inpatients [death (32), hospitalization >28 days (43) or ICU transfer (20)] (21.6%; 95% CI: 17.5-26.2%). Disease progression (death) for hospitalized patients was 53.1% (26.6%) and 12.8% (3.8%), respectively, for those enrolled in the ICU and general ward. In pooled analyses for both studies, predictors of disease progression were age, longer duration of symptoms at enrollment and immunosuppression. Patients hospitalized during the pandemic period had a poorer prognosis than in subsequent seasons.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, particularly when requiring hospital admission, are at high risk for disease progression, especially if they are older, immunodeficient, or admitted late in infection. These data reinforce the need for international trials of novel treatment strategies for influenza infection and serve as a reminder of the need to monitor the severity of seasonal and pandemic influenza epidemics globally.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: FLU 002--NCT01056354, FLU 003--NCT01056185.
Sport injuries in the paediatric and adolescent patient: a growing problem

With an increasing number of paediatric and adolescent athletes presenting with injuries due to overuse, a greater demand is put on clinicians and radiologists to assess the specific type of injury. Repetitive forces applied to the immature skeleton cause a different type of injury than those seen in adults due to the differences in vulnerability of the musculoskeletal system, especially at the site of the growth cartilage. Intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors all play a role in the development of overuse injuries. MRI plays a key role in imaging overuse injuries due to its high potential for depicting cartilaginous and soft-tissue structures. Sport-specific biomechanics are described, since this knowledge is essential for adequate MRI assessment. An overview of several sport-related injuries is presented, based on anatomical location.
The association between exposure to mass media and body dissatisfaction among Spanish adolescents.

OBJECTIVES
Correlational research has found associations between magazine and television exposure and body dissatisfaction. However, this relation is not direct, and various psychological variables may moderate and/or mediate this relation, such as awareness and internalization of the thin ideals, comparing oneself with ideal body image or self-esteem, as well as the patient's body mass index (BMI). The aim of this study was to assess the association between magazine and television exposure and body dissatisfaction among Spanish adolescents by gender. A second aim was to determine the predictors of body dissatisfaction by gender.


METHODS
A cross-sectional national survey of 1,165 Spanish secondary students aged 14 to 16 years was conducted. Frequency exposure and type of TV program/magazine as well as other psychological variables, such as thin-ideal internalization and self-esteem, were associated with high levels of body dissatisfaction (BD) based on a cutoff point of 16 or above on the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) by gender. Multiple linear regressions were used to examine associations between body dissatisfaction, mass media topic exposure, BMI, and psychological variables.


RESULTS
Mass media exposure to a specific kind of content, rather than to total exposure frequency, was more associated with body dissatisfaction in females versus males. In males, five factors accounted for 35% of the total variance of body dissatisfaction and were associated with lower TV and magazine exposure to fitness topics and lower self-esteem and with greater BMI, disordered eating behaviors, and awareness of the thin ideal. For females, high body dissatisfaction was associated with greater internalization of the thin ideal, disordered eating behaviors, BMI, and lower self-esteem (54% of total variance explained).


CONCLUSION
There does not seem to be a clear association between media exposure and body dissatisfaction. Further research is necessary to enhance our understanding of how the media's role affects adolescents' awareness and internalization of the thin ideals, which may in turn lead to the development of body dissatisfaction and unhealthy weight control behaviors.
A critique of a UK standardized test of finger rewarming after cold provocation in the diagnosis and staging of hand-arm vibration syndrome.

BACKGROUND
Accurate diagnosis and staging of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is important in health surveillance of vibration-exposed workers and the substantial number of related medico-legal cases. The measurement of the rewarming rate of fingers after cold provocation to the hands (CPT) has been suggested as a useful test in diagnosing HAVS.


AIM
To investigate the diagnostic value of a standardized version of the CPT test using a 15 degrees C cold challenge for 5 min applied in the recent compensation assessment of UK miners.


METHODS
Analysis of a subset of UK miners assessed at our unit, together with data from a small repeatability study of the standardized CPT in normal subjects.


RESULTS
Rewarming time in the CPT was significantly lower in those subjects classified as vascular Stockholm stage 0 compared with Stockholm stages 1-3 combined, but did not discriminate between the stages of abnormality. Using the suggested cut-off in the CPT test, the sensitivity and specificity were calculated as 43 and 78%, respectively. Receiver operator characteristic analysis suggested that the rewarming time of highest accuracy gave a sensitivity of 66% and specificity of 59%. In 10 miners who reported unilateral hand blanching, there was no significant difference in CPT measurements between blanching and non-blanching hands. Repeat CPT measurements in normal subjects suggested mean differences of 52 and 107 s for each hand, and the Bland-Altman coefficient of repeatability was approximately 600 s for all fingers.


CONCLUSION
Single application of this standardized CPT test may have limited value in diagnosing the vascular component of HAVS in an individual.
Real-time magnetic resonance imaging-guided cryoablation of small renal tumors at 1.5 T.

OBJECTIVES
Real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided cryoablation has been investigated in open MRI systems with low magnetic fields (0.2-0.5 T). More advanced imaging techniques and faster imaging rates are possible at higher magnetic fields, which often require a closed-bore magnet design. However, there is very little experience with real-time interventions in closed-bore 1.5-T MRI units. Herein, we report our initial experience with real-time MRI-guided cryoablation of small renal tumors using a prototype balanced steady-state free precession imaging sequence in a closed-bore 1.5-T MRI system.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
From August 2008 to April 2012, 18 patients underwent MRI-guided cryoablation of small renal tumors. A 1.5-T cylindrical MRI scanner with a 125 cm × 70 cm bore and a prototype balanced steady-state free precession sequence (BEAT interactive real-time tip tracking) were used to guide the placement of 17-gauge cryoprobes in real time. Ice ball formation was monitored every 3 minutes in 1 or more imaging planes. Each ablation consisted of 2 freeze-thaw cycles. Contrast-enhanced MRI was performed after the second active thaw period. Follow-up consisted of clinical evaluation and renal protocol computed tomography (CT) or MRI performed at 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months and annually thereafter.


RESULTS
During the study period, we successfully ablated 18 tumors in 18 patients in 18 sessions. The mean tumor size was 2.2 cm (median, 2 cm; range, 1.2-4.4 cm). The number of cryoprobes used per patient was determined based on tumor size. The mean number of cryoprobes used per patient was 3 (median, 3 cryoprobes; range, 2-4 cryoprobes). Fifty-six cryoprobes, 9 biopsy needles, and 2 hydrodissection needles were successfully placed under real-time MRI guidance using BEAT interactive real-time tip tracking sequence. Hydrodissection under MRI guidance was successfully performed in 4 patients. In each patient, contrast-enhanced MRI performed after the second active thaw period revealed a sharply defined avascular zone surrounding the targeted tumor, which confirmed complete ablation of the tumor with adequate margins. Although contrast media slowly accumulated in the targeted tumor in 9 patients immediately after the procedure, follow-up imaging studies performed at a mean of 16.7 months revealed no contrast enhancement within the ablation zone in these patients. Disease-specific, metastasis-free, and local recurrence-free survival rates were all 100%.


CONCLUSIONS
Real-time placement and manipulation of cryoprobes during MRI-guided cryoablation of small renal tumors in a closed-bore, high-magnetic field scanner are feasible. Technical and clinical success rates are similar to those of patients who undergo CT-guided radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation of small renal tumors. Our findings suggest that MRI-guided ablation has several advantages over CT-guided ablation, including real-time guidance for probe placement, multiplanar imaging, exquisite soft tissue contrast, and lack of ionizing radiation.
A capacitance-to-digital converter for displacement sensing with 17b resolution and 20μs conversion time

In precision mechatronic systems, such as wafer steppers, the position of critical mechanical components must be dynamically stabilized with sub-nanometer precision. This can be achieved by a servo loop consisting of a displacement sensor and an actuator. Compared to optical interferometers, capacitive displacement sensors offer smaller size and lower cost. However, mechanical tolerances limit their electrode spacing to about 10μm [1], while the targeted resolution is below 100pmrms. This requires a capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) with more than 17b resolution. Furthermore, its latency must be low enough (20μs) to avoid compromising servo-loop stability. Lastly, it should be stable enough to maintain measurement accuracy during the intervals between system calibrations.
Effect of pencil grasp on the speed and legibility of handwriting in children.

OBJECTIVE
Pencil grasps other than the dynamic tripod may be functional for handwriting. This study examined the impact of grasp on handwriting speed and legibility.


METHOD
We videotaped 120 typically developing fourth-grade students while they performed a writing task. We categorized the grasps they used and evaluated their writing for speed and legibility using a handwriting assessment. Using linear regression analysis, we examined the relationship between grasp and handwriting.


RESULTS
We documented six categories of pencil grasp: four mature grasp patterns, one immature grasp pattern, and one alternating grasp pattern. Multiple linear regression results revealed no significant effect for mature grasp on either legibility or speed.


CONCLUSION
Pencil grasp patterns did not influence handwriting speed or legibility in this sample of typically developing children. This finding adds to the mounting body of evidence that alternative grasps may be acceptable for fast and legible handwriting.
Comparison of 3 reconstructive techniques in the surgical management of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

STUDY DESIGN
A retrospective comparative study was performed in patients with 3-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM).


OBJECTIVE
To compare the clinical outcomes, radiological parameters, and complication incidence of 3 reconstructive techniques after the anterior decompression of multilevel CSM.


SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA
There has been growing interest in combination of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF) for the treatment of multilevel CSM in recent years. However, the clinical efficacy and radiological outcomes of the hybrid decompression and fusion (HDF) have rarely been investigated.


METHODS
A total of 180 consecutive patients with 3-level CSM undergoing the anterior decompression and fusion procedures from January 2003 to July 2010 were retrospectively investigated. According to various reconstructive techniques, the patients were divided into 3 groups: HDF, ACDF, and ACCF groups. The clinical effects and improvements of cervical and segmental lordosis in each group were assessed. In addition, the fusion rate, postoperative complications, and radiographical adjacent-level changes regarding each group were also evaluated.


RESULTS
No statistical differences in clinical effects, restoration of cervical lordosis, and incidences of postoperative complications were found between the HDF and ACDF groups (P > 0.05). The ACCF group has achieved clinical effects similar to the ACDF or HDF group (P > 0.05), but it had more bleeding, lower fusion rate, and higher incidences of postoperative complications compared with the ACDF or HDF group (P < 0.05). The improvements of the cervical and segmental lordosis in the ACCF group were significantly less than the ACDF or HDF group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in radiographical adjacent-level changes among the 3 groups (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSION
The HDF can be considered an effective and safe alternative procedure compared with ACDF in the treatment of the multilevel CSM, and ACCF should be the last option.
Guild‐specific responses of bats to landscape composition and configuration in fragmented Amazonian rainforest

1. Habitat loss and fragmentation are serious threats to biodiversity, especially in the Amazon Basin, where biodiversity is greatest and deforestation is continuing at an alarming rate. Nonetheless, little is known about the responses of biotas to spatially explicit aspects of landscape structure. 2. Bats are a promising indicator group for studying consequences of forest fragmentation in the Neotropics. Therefore, populationand assemblage-level responses of bats to landscape composition and configuration were quantified at each of three focal scales (circles of 1-, 3-, and 5-km radii) at 14 sites in lowland Amazonia. 3. Responses to landscape characteristics were scale-dependent. Abundance and richness were higher in moderately fragmented forest than in continuous forest. Moreover, the abundance of each of nine frugivorous species decreased with increasing forest cover. 4. The abundance of frugivores probably responded to landscape composition (e.g. percentage forest, mean patch density) because of an increase in early successional fruits and flowers in areas with reduced canopy cover. In contrast, abundances of gleaning animalivores responded to landscape configuration (e.g. edge density), probably by exploiting low-contrast edges (i.e. closed canopy forest patches embedded in secondary forest) while foraging and travelling between higher quality resource patches. 5. Synthesis and applications. Speciesand ensemble-specific responses to aspects of landscape structure suggest that both compositional and configurational aspects need to be managed effectively in conservation planning. However, conservation decisions based on associations of biodiversity metrics (e.g. richness, diversity and rarity) with landscape structure may be problematic as they are composite characteristics that mask individual responses and potentially reflect only patterns of the dominant species or groups.
Improving Smart Conference Participation Through Socially Aware Recommendation

This paper addresses recommending presentation sessions at smart conferences to participants. We propose a venue recommendation algorithm: socially aware recommendation of venues and environments (SARVE). SARVE computes correlation and social characteristic information of conference participants. In order to model a recommendation process using distributed community detection, SARVE further integrates the current context of both the smart conference community and participants. SARVE recommends presentation sessions that may be of high interest to each participant. We evaluate SARVE using a real-world dataset. In our experiments, we compare SARVE with two related state-of-the-art methods, namely context-aware mobile recommendation services and conference navigator (recommender) model. Our experimental results show that in terms of the utilized evaluation metrics, i.e., precision, recall, and f-measure, SARVE achieves more reliable and favorable social (relations and context) recommendation results.
Enhancing Hebbian Learning to Control Brain Oscillatory Activity.

Sensorimotor rhythms (SMR, 8-15 Hz) are brain oscillations associated with successful motor performance, imagery, and imitation. Voluntary modulation of SMR can be used to control brain-machine interfaces (BMI) in the absence of any physical movements. The mechanisms underlying acquisition of such skill are unknown. Here, we provide evidence for a causal link between function of the primary motor cortex (M1), active during motor skill learning and retention, and successful acquisition of abstract skills such as control over SMR. Thirty healthy participants were trained on 5 consecutive days to control SMR oscillations. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of 3 groups that received either 20 min of anodal, cathodal, or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over M1. Learning SMR control across training days was superior in the anodal tDCS group relative to the other 2. Cathodal tDCS blocked the beneficial effects of training, as evidenced with sham tDCS. One month later, the newly acquired skill remained superior in the anodal tDCS group. Thus, application of weak electric currents of opposite polarities over M1 differentially modulates learning SMR control, pointing to this primary cortical region as a common substrate for acquisition of physical motor skills and learning to control brain oscillatory activity.
The radiation exposure of Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA) in DIEP flap planning: low dose but high impact.

Table 1 Radiation dose (and comparative background radiation exposure) associated with various imaging techniques, including plain-film x-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans and computed tomography angiography (CTA) scans. Exposure calculated with ImPACT CT Patient Dosimetry Calculator (Version 0.99w, ImPACT, St. George’s The radiation exposure of Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA) in DIEP flap planning: low dose but high impact
Effect of phase I periodontal therapy on anti-cardiolipin antibodies in patients with acute myocardial infarction associated with chronic periodontitis.

BACKGROUND
Serum anti-cardiolipin (aCL) antibodies are prevalent in patients with periodontal diseases. These increased aCL concentrations were identified to play a modulating role in cardiovascular diseases. The present study aims to explore the effect of phase I periodontal therapy on immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG aCL antibodies in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) associated with chronic periodontitis.


METHODS
A cross-sectional randomized clinical study was conducted within two groups comprising a sample size of 72 patients (n = 36 each). Group 1 had clinical features of AMI, and group 2 had clinical features of AMI associated with chronic periodontitis. After a thorough clinical and oral examination, the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment loss (AL) were recorded. Serum sample collection by venipuncture was done for estimation of serum IgM and IgG aCL concentration by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. In group 2, phase I periodontal therapy was performed, and clinical and biochemical parameters were reanalyzed after 1 month.


RESULTS
In group 2, the mean PI, GI, PD, clinical AL, and serum IgM and IgG aCL antibody levels were significantly higher than in group 1 patients. In addition, study results showed significant alterations in concentrations of serum IgM (P = 0.008) and IgG (P <0.001) aCL along with periodontal parameters after phase I periodontal therapy.


CONCLUSION
The phase I periodontal therapy altered levels of serum IgG and IgM aCL antibodies in patients with AMI associated with chronic periodontitis.