LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Factors related to renal cortical atrophy development after glucocorticoid therapy in IgG4-related kidney disease: a retrospective multicenter study

BACKGROUND
In immunoglobulin G4-related kidney disease (IgG4-RKD), focal or diffuse renal cortical atrophy is often observed in the clinical course after glucocorticoid therapy. This study aimed to clarify the factors related to renal atrophy after glucocorticoid therapy in IgG4-RKD.


METHODS
We retrospectively evaluated clinical features including laboratory data and computed tomography (CT) findings before and after glucocorticoid therapy in 23 patients diagnosed with IgG4-RKD, all of whom were followed up for more than 24 months.


RESULTS
Seventeen patients were men, and six were women (average age 62.0 years). Average follow-up period was 54.9 months. The average estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at diagnosis was 81.7 mL/min/1.73 m2. All patients had had multiple low-density lesions on contrast-enhanced CT before glucocorticoid therapy, and showed disappearance or reduction of these lesions after it. Pre-treatment eGFR and serum IgE level in 11 patients in whom renal cortical atrophy developed 24 months after the start of glucocorticoid therapy were significantly different from those in 12 patients in whom no obvious atrophy was found at that time (68.9 ± 30.1 vs 93.5 ± 14.1 mL/min/1.73 m2, P = 0.036, and 587 ± 254 vs 284 ± 263 IU/mL, P = 0.008, respectively). Pre-treatment eGFR and serum IgE level were also significant risk factors for renal atrophy development 24 months after the start of therapy with an odds ratio of 0.520 (per 10 mL/min/1.73 m2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.273-0.993, P = 0.048) and 1.090 (per 10 IU/mL, 95% CI: 1.013-1.174, P = 0.022), respectively, in age-adjusted, sex-adjusted, serum IgG4 level-adjusted logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that eGFR of less than 71.0 mL/min/1.73 m2 and serum IgE of more than 436.5 IU/mL were the most appropriate cutoffs and yielded sensitivity of 63.6% and specificity of 100%, and sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 75.0%, respectively, in predicting renal atrophy development.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that pre-treatment renal insufficiency and serum IgE elevation predict renal atrophy development after glucocorticoid therapy in IgG4-RKD.
Determinants of Patent Citations in Biotechnology: An Analysis of Patent Influence Across the Industrial and Organizational Boundaries

The present paper extends the literature investigating key drivers leading certain patents to exert a stronger influence on the subsequent technological developments (inventions) than other ones. We investigated six key determinants, as (i) the use of scientific knowledge, (ii) the breadth of the technological base, (iii) the existence of collaboration in patent development, (iv) the number of claims, (v) the scope, and (vi) the novelty, and how the effect of these determinants varies when patent influence—as measured by the number of forward citations the patent received— is distinguished as within and across the industrial and organizational boundaries. We conducted an empirical analysis on a sample of 5,671 patents granted to 293 US biotechnology firms from 1976 to 2003. Results reveal that the contribution of the determinants to patent influence differs across the domains that are identified by the industrial and organizational boundaries. Findings, for example, show that the use of scientific knowledge negatively affects patent influence outside the biotechnology industry, while it positively contributes to make a patent more relevant for the assignee’s subsequent technological developments. In addition, the broader the scope of a patent the higher the number of citations the patent receives from subsequent non-biotechnology patents. This relationship is inverted U-shaped when considering the influence of a patent on inventions granted to other organizations than the patent’s assignee. Finally, the novelty of a patent is inverted-U related with the influence the patent exerts on the subsequent inventions granted across the industrial and organizational boundaries.
A population-based study to evaluate the effectiveness of multidisciplinary heart failure clinics and identify important service components.

BACKGROUND
Multidisciplinary heart failure (HF) clinics are efficacious in clinical trials. Our objectives were to compare real-world outcomes of patients with HF treated in HF clinics versus usual therapy and identify HF clinic features associated with improved outcomes.


METHODS AND RESULTS
The service components at all HF clinics in Ontario, Canada, were quantified using a validated instrument and categorized as high/medium/low intensity. We used propensity-scores to match HF clinic and control patients discharged alive after a HF readmission in 2006-2007. Outcomes were mortality, and both all-cause and HF readmission. Cox-proportional hazard models were used to evaluate HF clinic-level characteristics associated with improved outcomes. We identified 14 468 patients with HF, of whom 1288 were seen in HF clinics. Within 4 years of follow-up, 52.1% of patients treated at a HF clinic died versus 54.7% of control patients (P=0.02). Patients treated at HF clinics had increased readmissions (87.4% versus 86.6% for all-cause [P=0.009]; 58.7% versus 47.3% for HF related [P<0.001]). There was no difference between high, medium, or low intensity clinics in terms of mortality, all-cause, or HF readmissions. HF clinics with greater frequency of visits (>4 contacts of significant duration for 6 months) were associated with lower mortality (hazard ratio, 0.14; P<0.0001) and hospitalization (hazard ratio, 0.69; P=0.039). More intensive medication management was associated with lower all-cause (hazard ratio, 0.46; P<0.001) and HF readmission (hazard ratio, 0.42; P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
In this real-world population-based study, we found that multidisciplinary HF clinics are associated with a decrease in mortality, but an increase in readmissions.
Paratrigeminal, Paraclival, Precavernous, or All of the Above? A Circumferential Anatomical Study of the C3-C4 Transitional Segment of the Internal Carotid Artery.

BACKGROUND
Although the term paraclival carotid pervades recent skull base literature, no clear consensus exists regarding boundaries or anatomical segments.


OBJECTIVE
To reconcile various internal carotid artery (ICA) nomenclatures for transcranial and endoscopic-endonasal perspectives, we reexamined the transition between lacerum (C3) and cavernous (C4) segments using a C1-C7 segments schema. In this cadaveric study, we obtained a 360°-circumferential view integrating histological, microsurgical, endoscopic, and neuroradiological analyses of this C3-C4 region and identified a distinct transitional segment.


METHODS
In 13 adult, silicone-injected, formalin-fixed cadaveric heads (26 sides), transcranial-extradural-subtemporal and endoscopic-endonasal CT-guided dissections were performed. A quadrilateral area was noted medial to Meckel's cave between cranial nerve VI, anterolateral and posterolateral borders of the lateral-paratrigeminal aspect of the precavernous ICA, and posterior longitudinal ligament. Endoscopically, a medial-paraclival aspect was defined. Anatomical correlations were made with histological and neuroradiological slides.


RESULTS
We identified a distinct precavernous C3-C4 transitional segment. In 18 (69%) specimens, venous channels were absent at the quadrilateral area, on the paratrigeminal border of the precavernous ICA. A trigeminal membrane, seen consistently on the superior border of V2, defined the lateral aspect of the cavernous sinus floor. The medial aspect of the precavernous ICA corresponded with the paraclival ICA.


CONCLUSION
Our study revealing the juncture of 2 complementary borders of the ICA, endoscopic endonasal (paraclival) and transcranial (paratrigeminal), reconciles various nomenclature. A precavernous segment may clarify controversies about the paraclival ICA and support the concept of a "safe door" for lesions involving Meckel's cave, cavernous sinus, and petrous apex.
Effects of stepwise ablation of chronic atrial fibrillation on atrial electrical and mechanical properties.

OBJECTIVES
This study sought to evaluate the effects of stepwise catheter ablation of chronic atrial fibrillation (AF) on atrial electrical and mechanical properties.


BACKGROUND
Although stepwise catheter ablation of chronic AF is associated with acute arrhythmia termination and a favorable clinical outcome, atrial tissue damage following the procedure has not been evaluated.


METHODS
Forty patients who had previously undergone catheter ablation of chronic AF were studied. In the index procedure, termination of AF was achieved by catheter ablation alone in 36 of 40 patients (90%). Electroanatomical mapping was performed in sinus rhythm > or =1 month after the index procedure, during which the surface area of scar (bipolar voltage of <0.05 mV), low-voltage tissue (<0.5 mV), and atrial propagation were evaluated. Left atrial (LA) mechanical function was assessed by transthoracic echocardiography.


RESULTS
Electroanatomical mapping showed areas of scar and low-voltage accounting for 31% +/- 12% and 32% +/- 17% of the total LA surface area respectively, with the ablated pulmonary vein region accounting for 20% +/- 4% of the LA surface area. The area of scar outside the pulmonary vein region represented 14% +/- 12% of the LA surface area using the initial randomized ablation strategy, and 6% +/- 8% (p = 0.02) using a specific ablation strategy. Atrial conduction was diversely affected by ablation with a wide range of LA conduction times observed (range 100 to 360 ms). The LA contraction was shown in all patients by the presence of late diastolic mitral flow (37 +/- 15 cm/s) and a mean LA active emptying fraction of 18 +/- 11%. At 9 +/- 5 months of follow-up, 39 patients (98%) were in sinus rhythm.


CONCLUSIONS
Stepwise ablation achieving sinus rhythm in patients with chronic AF has a significant impact on LA electrical activity but is associated with recovery of LA function.
Uptake of Voluntary Counselling and Testing among Young People Participating in an HIV Prevention Trial: Comparison of Opt-Out and Opt-In Strategies

BACKGROUND
HIV voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) is an integral component of HIV prevention and treatment programmes. However, testing coverage in sub-Saharan Africa is still low, particularly among young people. As treatment becomes more widely available, strategies to expand VCT coverage are critically important. We compare VCT uptake using two delivery strategies (opt-in and opt-out) within the MEMA kwa Vijana trial in 20 communities in northwest Tanzania.


METHODS
We analysed data from 12,590 young persons (median (IQR) age 22 years (20-23)) to assess the effect of delivery strategy on VCT uptake. Ten communities used an opt-in approach and 10 used opt-out, balanced across intervention and control. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with uptake within each strategy.


RESULTS
VCT uptake was significantly higher with the opt-out approach (90.9% vs 60.5%, prevalence ratio = 1.51, CI = 1.41-1.62). Among females, uptake in the opt-out approach was associated with decreased knowledge of HIV acquisition, sex with a casual partner, and being HSV-2 seronegative; among males, uptake was associated with lower education and increasing lifetime partners. In contrast, uptake using the opt-in approach varied by ethnic group, religion and marital status, and increased with increasing knowledge of STI acquisition (males) or pregnancy prevention (females).


CONCLUSION
VCT uptake among young people was extremely high when offered an opt-out strategy. Sociodemographic and knowledge factors affected uptake in different ways depending on delivery strategy. Increased knowledge may increase young persons' self-efficacy, which may have a different impact on testing uptake, depending on the approach used.
Bone health in prostate cancer patients: A survivorship issue requiring intervention.

247 Background: In general, men are not routinely screened for bone health. Prostate cancer patients are at an increased risk because of treatment with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Unlike other patients diagnosed with a malignancy, they may survive a long time. Some risk factors include inadequate calcium, vitamin D deficiency, tobacco use and alcohol abuse. We implemented a pre-ADT program to mitigate the effects of ADT on bone health. This study evaluates the pre-existing risk factors and bone health by baseline DEXA scans pre-ADT initiation.


METHODS
We completed a chart review of 182 veterans referred to Radiation Oncology for curative treatment of prostate cancer from 2009 to 2013. Of those, 160 patients underwent baseline DEXA scans. Clinical variables analyzed were demographics, tobacco and alcohol use, vitamin D levels, incidence of AODM (adult onset diabetes mellitus), and calcium or vitamin D intervention. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis including Chi Square tests and odds ratios were carried out.


RESULTS
The mean age of the study participants was 66.6 years (range 47-82.8 years). Baseline DEXA scans were abnormal in 63% of patients, showing osteoporosis and/or osteopenia. Vitamin D levels were abnormal in 61% of patients- 26% of whom had normal DEXA scans. Twenty percent had a history of alcohol abuse, and 56% used tobacco; 33% had AODM. Smokers with an abnormal Vitamin D level were at increased risk of bone disease as compared to non smokers (OR 3.23, 95% CI 1.35-7.69 p<0.01). Variables significantly impacting bone health were age (OR 1.087, p=0.012, 95% CI 1.018-1.161) and Tobacco use (OR 0.424, p=0.045, 95% CI 0.183-0.980). Almost 90% of the patients in this study had intermediate risk prostate cancer with an expected cancer specific survival of 85 to 90% at 5 to 10 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Pre-ADT screening confirms the risk of underlying bone disease in this veteran population with an expectation of long term survival. Guidelines for treatment and prevention of bone disease should be implemented in all patients over age of 50. Particular attention should be paid to patients who underwent ADT. This can affect the quality of life in this group of cancer survivors.
The impact and promise of the cognitive revolution.

Opening a new era in science, psychology's cognitive revolution contradicts traditional doctrine that science has no use for consciousness to explain brain function. Subjective mental states as emergent interactive properties of brain activity become irreducible and indispensable for explaining conscious behavior and its evolution and get primacy in determining what a person is and does. Dualistic unembodied consciousness is excluded. A modified two-way model ofinterlevel causal determinism introduces new principles of downward holistic and subjective causation. Growing adoption in other disciplines suggests the two-way model may be replacing reductive physicalism as the basic explanatory paradigm of science. The practice, methods, and many proven potentials of science are little changed. However, the scientific worldview becomes radically revised in a new unifying vision of ourselves and the world with wide-ranging humanistic and ideologic as well as scientific implications.
on Home Control Automation Using GSM and Bluetooth

Home automation in essence plays a very vital role in modern era because of its flexibility in using at different places with high precision which will intern save money and time by decreasing human hard work. General idea of home automation shows the quality of human being at house. Prime focus of this technology is to control the household equipment’s like light, fan, door, AC etc. automatically. In hazardous condition, it is useful for old aged and handicapped persons. In this technology, remote, wireless controlled switches, PC, Laptop or smartphone are used for operating. In this paper we detailed a survey on home control automation using GSM and Bluetooth by considering the parameters like efficiency of working, controllers used, type of communication, the apps developed etc. and at last a comparative discussion is given which summarizes the previous literature work. Keywords— Home Automation, GSM, Bluetooth, Wireless, Controller, Android Apps
Sandstone Detrital Modes in the Paleogene Liguride Complex, Accretionary Wedge of the Southern Apennines (Italy)

ABSTRACT The Liguride Complex is an ophiolite-bearing tectonic unit related to westward subduction of the lithosphere of the Neo-Tethys Ocean beneath the European margin. The complex includes a tectonic melange (the Calabro-Lucanian Flysch Unit) containing broken formations of ophiolites and related pelagic and clastic sediments (radiolarian chert, limestone, black shale, and quartzarenite), olistoliths or "tectonic slices" of continental crest (gneiss, granite, and amphibolite), Middle Eocene to Upper Oligocene siliciclastics, and a less deformed turbidite unit (the Saraceno Formation) that caps the succession. Detrital modes of Upper Cretaceous to Lower Miocene sandstones from the Liguride Complex accretionary wedge are grouped into four distinct petrofacies that reflect the geodynamic evolution of Southern Italy. An Upper Cretaceous to Middle Eocene quartzose petrofacies (Q90F9L1) is composed of deep-water quartzarenitic and subarkosic sandstones that appear to have undergone long-distance transport by turbidity currents from the European or African foreland. A Middle Eocene to Upper Oligocene quartzofeldspathic petrofacies (Q62F21L17) was produced by mixing of sediment from ophiolitic and pelagic sedimentary sources with volcanic debris. An Upper Oligocene volcanolithic petrofacies (Q16F24L6054F10L36) is present in the turbidites of the Saraceno Formation. The accretionary-wedge sandstones of the Liguride Complex may record long-distance longitudinal transport for hundreds of kilometers from distal sources (preexisting forelands and volcanic arc) and short-distance transverse transport from local sources (accreted oceanic terranes and collisional-belt terranes), In accretionary-wedge sandstone assemblages, sediments from local and distal sources may be mixed or may record a consistent evolution from one type of transport to the other.
A diet rich in high-glucoraphanin broccoli interacts with genotype to reduce discordance in plasma metabolite profiles by modulating mitochondrial function123

BACKGROUND
Observational and experimental studies suggest that diets rich in cruciferous vegetables and glucosinolates may reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD).


OBJECTIVE
We tested the hypothesis that a 12-wk dietary intervention with high-glucoraphanin (HG) broccoli would modify biomarkers of CVD risk and plasma metabolite profiles to a greater extent than interventions with standard broccoli or peas.


DESIGN
Subjects were randomly assigned to consume 400 g standard broccoli, 400 g HG broccoli, or 400 g peas each week for 12 wk, with no other dietary restrictions. Biomarkers of CVD risk and 347 plasma metabolites were quantified before and after the intervention.


RESULTS
No significant differences in the effects of the diets on biomarkers of CVD risk were found. Multivariate analyses of plasma metabolites identified 2 discrete phenotypic responses to diet in individuals within the HG broccoli arm, differentiated by single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with the PAPOLG gene. Univariate analysis showed effects of sex (P < 0.001), PAPOLG genotype (P < 0.001), and PAPOLG genotype × diet (P < 0.001) on the plasma metabolic profile. In the HG broccoli arm, the consequence of the intervention was to reduce variation in lipid and amino acid metabolites, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, and acylcarnitines between the 2 PAPOLG genotypes.


CONCLUSIONS
The metabolic changes observed with the HG broccoli diet are consistent with a rebalancing of anaplerotic and cataplerotic reactions and enhanced integration of fatty acid β-oxidation with TCA cycle activity. These modifications may contribute to the reduction in cancer risk associated with diets that are rich in cruciferous vegetables. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01114399.
NOVEL SYMMETRICAL COUPLED-LINE DIRECTIONAL COUPLER BASED ON RESONANT-TYPE COMPOSITE RIGHT-/ LEFT-HANDED TRANSMISSION LINES

A novel kind of symmetrical backward-wave coupled-line coupler with arbitrary coupling level is proposed in this paper which is based on resonant-type composite right-/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH TLs). First, an equivalent circuit model and procedure for circuit parameters extraction are presented to reveal the inherent nature of the unit cell of the CRLH coupler. Then a CRLH TL composed of four cascaded unit cells is demonstrated to point out the way to achieve balanced condition. At last, even/odd modes analysis based on full-wave simulation is employed to explain the operating principle of the coupler. Both quasi 0-dB and 3-dB CRLH couplers are demonstrated experimentally. The quasi 0-dB backward coupling is achieved over the range from 1.69 GHz to 2.19 GHz (−3 dB bandwidth in measurement), which represents the fractional bandwidth 25.8%. The maximum coupling coefficient 0.52 dB is obtained at 1.96GHz, where the directivity and isolation is 20.8 dB and 21.3 dB, respectively. The 3-dB couplers shows an amplitude balance of 2 dB and quadrature phase balance of 90±5 degree over the fractional bandwidth of around 11.4%, from 1.99 to 2.23 GHz. Received 18 April 2013, Accepted 27 May 2013, Scheduled 30 May 2013 * Corresponding author: Yanbing Ma (mayanbing uestc@163.com). 214 Ma, Zhang, and Li
Extraction of Discriminative Patterns from Skeleton Sequences for Human Action Recognition

Emergence of novel techniques, such as the invention of MS Kinect, enables reliable extraction of human skeletons from action videos. Taking skeleton data as inputs, we propose an approach in this paper to extract the discriminative patterns for efficient human action recognition. Each action is considered to consist of a series of unit actions, each of which is represented by a pattern. Given a skeleton sequence, we first automatically extract the key-frames for unit actions, and then label them as different patterns. We further use a statistical metric to evaluate the discriminative capability of each pattern, and define the bag of reliable patterns as local features for action recognition. Experimental results show that the extracted local descriptors could provide very high accuracy in the action recognition, which demonstrate the efficiency of our method in extracting discriminative patterns.