LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Feasibility of a group-based self-management program among congestive heart failure patients.

OBJECTIVE
This study assessed the feasibility of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) among patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). The program emphasizes patients' central role and responsibility in managing their illness.


METHODS
Patients were randomly assigned to the program, which was led by a cardiac nurse specialist and a CHF patient. Data on performance according to protocol, adherence, and opinion about the program were collected among 186 patients and 18 leaders.


RESULTS
Eighty percent of the group sessions were carried out largely according to protocol. Three fourths of the patients attended at least 4 of the 6 sessions. Female sex and lower New York Heart Association classification predicted good attendance.


CONCLUSION
Directly after the program and at 12-month follow-up, approximately three fourths of the patients stated that they had benefited from the program. Recommendations mainly concerned spending more time on several program topics and specifying patient-selection criteria in more detail. The program was considered feasible.
Bacterial community characterization of water and intestine of the shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris in a biofloc system

Biofloc technology (BFT), a rearing method with little or no water exchange, is gaining popularity in aquaculture. In the water column, such systems develop conglomerates of microbes, algae and protozoa, together with detritus and dead organic particles. The intensive microbial community presents in these systems can be used as a pond water quality treatment system, and the microbial protein can serve as a feed additive. The current problem with BFT is the difficulty of controlling its bacterial community composition for both optimal water quality and optimal shrimp health. The main objective of the present study was to investigate microbial diversity of samples obtained from different culture environments (Biofloc technology and clear seawater) as well as from the intestines of shrimp reared in both environments through high-throughput sequencing technology. Analyses of the bacterial community identified in water from BFT and “clear seawater” (CW) systems (control) containing the shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris revealed large differences in the frequency distribution of operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Four out of the five most dominant bacterial communities were different in both culture methods. Bacteria found in great abundance in BFT have two principal characteristics: the need for an organic substrate or nitrogen sources to grow and the capacity to attach to surfaces and co-aggregate. A correlation was found between bacteria groups and physicochemical and biological parameters measured in rearing tanks. Moreover, rearing-water bacterial communities influenced the microbiota of shrimp. Indeed, the biofloc environment modified the shrimp intestine microbiota, as the low level (27 %) of similarity between intestinal bacterial communities from the two treatments. This study provides the first information describing the complex biofloc microbial community, which can help to understand the environment-microbiota-host relationship in this rearing system.
Wear mechanisms of cutting tools in high-speed cutting processes

Contemporary cutting tools used for High Speed Cutting (HSC), made on the basis of micro-grained cemented carbides with multi-layer protective coating, allow for effective machining of hardened and tempered steels of hardness over 50 HRc. The characteristic wear of such tools is affected by the fact that the cutting speed is no longer the main influential factor on wear; the wear can also be the consequence of the high-speed tool movements in the feed direction. The paper presents some original research into the wear types, as well as the phenomena in the cutting zone and their relationships to the causes and main wear mechanisms (adhesion, abrasion and diffusion) for the tools used in HSC. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Vinorelbine and prednisone in frail elderly patients with intermediate-high grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

BACKGROUND
Frail patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) are generally excluded from clinical trials and not even treated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of vinorelbine and prednisone in frail elderly patients with NHL.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
Thirty consecutive frail elderly patients were entered in a phase II study with vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 i.v. on days 1 and 8 and oral prednisone 30 mg total dose on days 1-8 for six cycles. Criteria of frailty were age > or =80 years, or age > or =70 years and three or more comorbidities of grade 3 or at least one comorbidity of grade 4 according to the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS), or not self-sufficient or the presence of one or more geriatric syndromes.


RESULTS
Of 30 evaluable patients, three (10.0%) achieved a complete response (CR), nine (30.0%) showed a partial response (PR), while 10 presented with stable disease and eight with progressive disease. The median duration of CR was 29 months (range 5-36 months), and the median duration of PR was 1 month (range 1-22 months). Three patients had grade 3 neutropenia and one had grade 4. One grade 4 neurotoxicity was observed. Three patients died because of heart failure within 28 days of therapy, and one patient died after 4 days because of rapid progression. The median overall survival was only 10 months.


CONCLUSION
Vinorelbine and prednisone is a relatively non-toxic combination with modest activity in frail patients with NHL. If initial aggressive chemotherapy has been excluded, this combination could be tried to obtain a temporary palliation.
Phenological variation within and among populations of Plathymenia reticulata in Brazilian Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest and transitional sites.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Plathymenia reticulata (Leguminosae) is a Brazilian tree that occurs in two biomes: Cerrado, a woody savanna vegetation, and the Atlantic Forest, a tropical forest. In this study, phenological patterns and their variability within and among populations located in these biomes and in transitional zones between them were assessed.


METHODS
During a 15-month period, individuals from two populations in Cerrado, two in the Atlantic Forest, and six in transitional zones (three in a cerrado-like environment and three in forest fragments) were evaluated in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The individuals were evaluated monthly according to the proportion of the canopy in each vegetative phenophase (leaf fall, leaf flush and mature leaves) and each reproductive phenophase (floral buds, flowers, immature fruits and mature fruit/seed dispersal). In order to assess the phenological variability within and among populations, habitats and biomes, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index, the Morisita-Horn similarity index and genetic population approach of partitioning diversity were used.


KEY RESULTS
Populations of P. reticulata, in general, showed similar phenology; the main differences were related to leaf fall, a process that starts months earlier in the Cerrado than in transitional sites, and even later in forest areas. Considerable synchrony was observed for reproductive phenology among populations and between biomes. Most phenological diversity was due to differences among individuals within populations.


CONCLUSION
In spite of environmental differences, P. reticulata from the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado showed similar phenological behavior with only about 10% of the total diversity being attributed to differences between biomes.
Impact of statin therapy on mortality in patients with sepsis-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) depends on ARDS severity: a prospective observational cohort study

BACKGROUND
Previous investigations have presumed a potential therapeutic effect of statin therapy in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Statins are expected to attenuate inflammation in the lungs of patients with ARDS due to their anti-inflammatory effects. Clinical investigations of the role of statin therapy have revealed contradictory results. This study aimed to investigate whether pretreatment and continuous therapy with statins in patients with sepsis-associated ARDS are associated with 28-day survival according to disease severity (mild, moderate, or severe).


METHODS
Patients with sepsis-associated ARDS from the surgical intensive care were enrolled in this prospective observational investigation. ARDS was classified into three groups (mild, moderate, and severe); 28-day mortality was recorded as the primary outcome variable and organ failure was recorded as secondary outcome variable. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores and the requirements for organ support were evaluated throughout the observational period to assess organ failure.


RESULTS
404 patients with sepsis-associated ARDS were enrolled in this investigation. The distribution of the ARDS subgroups was 13 %, 59 %, and 28 % for mild, moderate, and severe disease, respectively. Statin therapy improved 28-day survival exclusively in the patients with severe ARDS compared with patients without statin therapy (88.5 % and 62.5 %, respectively; P = 0.0193). To exclude the effects of several confounders, we performed multivariate Cox regression analysis, which showed that statin therapy remained a significant covariate for mortality (hazard ratio, 5.46; 95 % CI, 1.38-21.70; P = 0.0156). Moreover, after carrying a propensity score-matching in the severe ARDS cohort, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis confirmed the improved 28-day survival among patients with statin therapy (P = 0.0205). Patients with severe ARDS who received statin therapy had significantly more vasopressor-free days compared with those without statin therapy (13 ± 7 and 9 ± 7, respectively; P = 0.0034), and they also required less extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy and had more ECMO-free days (18 ± 9 and 15 ± 9, respectively; P = 0.0873).


CONCLUSIONS
This investigation suggests a beneficial effect of continuous statin therapy in patients with severe sepsis-associated ARDS and a history of prior statin therapy. Further study is warranted to elucidate this potential effect.
A home mobile healthcare system for wheelchair users

With more and more applications of Internet of things (IoT) technologies, the quality of life of residents is one of the most important aspects in smart cities. Specially, home healthcare monitoring for the disabled and / or the elderly has become a focus of recent researches and developments. Existing home healthcare systems have drawbacks such as simple and few functionalities, weak interaction and poor mobility. This paper presents a home mobile healthcare (mHealth) system for wheelchair users, based on the emerging IoT technologies. The paper focuses on the proposed system architecture and the design of wireless body sensor networks (WBSNs). The nodes of WBSNs include wireless heart rate and ECG sensors, wireless pressure detecting cushion, home environment sensing nodes and control actuators. A prototype system implementation shows that the proposed people-centric sensing system is efficient in monitoring human activities and in interacting with the living environment.
An efficient clustering protocol increasing wireless sensor networks life time

Due to their rapid and promising development, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been predicted to invade all domains in our daily life in the near future. However in order to reach their maturity, researchers must find solution to some difficulties which are slowing down the wide spread use of these networks. These difficulties are inherent to their constrained specificities which require adapted solutions unrelated to classical wire networks. One the activity done by WSN that consumed the most energy is the number of packets sent/received. In order to reduce this number and to ensure WSN successful operation, hierarchical clustering protocols have been developed. In this paper, we present WB-TEEN and WBM-TEEN: two hierarchical routing protocols, based on nodes clustering and improving the well known protocol Threshold sensitive Energy Efficient sensor Network protocol (TEEN). This improvement is accomplished in a way such that each cluster is nodes balanced and the total energy consumption between sensor nodes and cluster heads is minimized by using multi-hops intra-cluster communication. Simulation results (using NS2 simulator) show that the proposed protocols exhibit better performance than Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) and TEEN in terms of energy consumption and network lifetime prolongation.
28 EFFECTS OF PHENOBARBITAL ON CEREBRAL HEMODYNAMICS IN PRETERM NEONATES

We evaluated the effect of phenobarbital (pb) versus placebo (saline) on cerebral hemodynamics in eleven, clinically stable preterm neonates. The mean (+SD) post natal age at study entry was 12 (3) hours. The mean (+SD) birth weight and gestational age were 1286 (387 g) and 30.5 (3) weeks respectively. We measured cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV), using a pulsed wave Doppler monitor. Every subject was his own control. Placebo was systematically injected prior to pb (20 mg.kg −1 over 20 min). Simultaneous recording of heart rate, arterial blood pressure, TcPCO2, TcPO2, SaO2 were made before, at the end of the injection, and a 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 min after the end of each administration of either placebo or pb. Results : pb was in anticonvulsant concentrations (16 to 24 μg/ml). No significant changes ocurred in systemic hemodynamics, or in blood gases. CBFV remains stable and no different during placebo or phenobarbital administration. We conclude that a pb loading dose of 20 mg −1, has no effect on systemic and cerebral hemodynamics during steady state. The cerebral protective action of phenobarbital may not result by decreasing baseline cerebral blood flow as previously suggested.
Comparative study of STATCOM and SVC performance on Dynamic Voltage Collapse of an Electric Power System with Wind Generation

One of the major problems of voltage stability is the reactive power limit of the system. Improving the system's reactive power handling capacity via Flexible AC transmission System (FACTS) devices is a solution for prevention of voltage instability. In this paper it is studied the influence of Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOM) and Static Var Compensators (SVC) in dynamic Voltage Stability during Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT), in wind farms. The wind turbines are equipped with pitch control coupled with a Fixed Speed Induction Generator (FSIG). Due to the nature of asynchronous operation, system voltage instability of wind farms based on FSIG is largely caused by the excessive reactive power absorption by FSIG after a fault due to the large rotor slip gained during fault. Wind farm models based on FSIG and equipped with either STATCOM or SVC are developed in EUROSTAG. The Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVR) of the generating units and the turbine speed governors were modeled in detail. Different load models were used and the Under Load Tap Changers (ULTC) were also taken into account. Finally, some conclusions that provide a better understanding of the dynamic voltage stability of a system with FSIG model during LVRT, using various capacities of STATCOM and SVC are pointed out.
The character of mind

This book provides a general introduction to the philosophy of mind. The author aims to give the reader something definite and stimulating to think about, rather than to present a cautious and disinterested survey of the state of the subject.
Deferred and Income-Contingent Higher Education Fees. An empirical assessment using Belgian data

There are many arguments for shifting at least part of the higher educational cost burden from governments (or taxpayers) to individuals, particularly in Europe. But this case largely rests on the capability to offer deferred and incomecontingent payments. The two first features are critical to efficiency – students and lenders should not be deterred by excessive risk – and justice – contributions should be tailored to ex post ability to pay. Examples of instruments satisfying these criteria are income-contingent loans and human capital contracts. The central aim of this paper is to produce realistic estimates of how graduates’ and nongraduates’ lifetime income is likely to be affected by the generalisation of these instruments. Using data on Belgian income, we evaluate their effect on the distribution of lifetime net income, using higher income tax as a benchmark. The paper then considers the different ways of financing the cost of income-contingency, with a particular focus on the risk of adverse selection inherent to pooling the cost among graduates. But it shows that investing less on students opting for less profitable programs is a simple way to mitigate its severity. JEL classification: I28 (Education: Government Policy). H520 (National Government Expenditures and Education). Key works: Higher Education Finance, loans with income-forgiveness, cost of insurance, risk pooling 1 Defined as the share of direct public expenditure in educational institutions and total public subsidies to households and other private entities in total sources of funds for higher education. Introduction Human capital is crucial to economic prosperity. Although this idea is fairly old it is currently gaining a lot more of attention among decision-makers. Mass higher education seems justified for several reasons in order to favour economic growth. One of them being the current speed of technological change that makes high-skilled individuals more important than ever. Why should individuals pay more? In most European countries, public financing has been considered as the traditional approach for supporting higher education. Even if tuition fees have been introduced in various countries, they only contribute for a small amount in addition to resources provided by governments. The average subsidy rate for higher education in European countries ranges from 76% to 99% (Debande, 2003). Pressure to reform is partially related to rising demand and increased budgetary pressure. As stated by Johnstone (2004), higher education demand has never been greater. Reasons for this are manifold: occupational and social higher education degrees presumably convey, and from governments, public benefits it is presumed to bring to the social or economic well being of communities... However, unit or per-student cost of higher education is high. And the total cost is magnified by dramatically increased enrolment
Biatriospora (Ascomycota: Pleosporales) is an ecologically diverse genus including facultative marine fungi and endophytes with biotechnological potential

Biatriospora (Ascomycota: Pleosporales, Biatriosporaceae) is a genus with unexplored diversity and poorly known ecology. This work expands the Biatriospora taxonomic and ecological concept by describing four new species found as endophytes of woody plants in temperate forests of the Czech Republic and in tropical regions, including Amazonia. Ribosomal DNA sequences, together with protein-coding genes (RPB2, EF1α), growth rates and morphology, were used for species delimitation and description. Ecological data gathered by this and previous studies and the inclusion of sequences deposited in public databases show that Biatriospora contains species that are endophytes of angiosperms in temperate and tropical regions as well as species that live in marine or estuarine environments. These findings show that this genus is more diverse and has more host associations than has been described previously. The possible adaptations enabling the broad ecological range of these fungi are discussed. Due to the importance that Biatriospora species have in bioprospecting natural products, we suggest that the species introduced here warrant further investigation.
Effects of palm oil on cardiovascular risk.

A major public health concern of affluent nations is the excessive consumption of dietary fats which are now closely linked to coronary heart disease. Against this scenario, the tropical oils and palm oil in particular, have been cast as major villains in the U.S.A., despite the fact that palm oil consumption there is negligible. The unsuspecting public may not realise that the call to avoid palm oil is nothing more than a trade ploy since in recent years palm oil has been very competitive and has gained a major share of the world's edible oils and fats market. Many also lose sight of the fact that, palm oil, like other edible oils and fats, is an important component of the diet. The allegation that palm oil consumption leads to raised blood cholesterol levels and is therefore atherogenic is without scientific foundation. Examination of the chemical and fatty acid composition of palm oil or its liquid fraction should convince most nutritionists that the oil has little cholesterol-raising potential. The rationale for these are: it is considered cholesterol free. its major saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid (16:0) has recently been shown to be neutral in its cholesterolaemic effect, particularly in situations where the LDL receptors have not been down-regulated by dietary means or through a genetic effect. palm oil contains negligible amounts (less than 1.5%) of the hypercholesterolemic saturated fatty acids, namely lauric acid (12:0) and myristic acid (14:0). it has moderately rich amounts of the hypocholesterolaemic, monounsaturated oleic acid (18:1, omega-9) and adequate amounts of linoleic acid. (18:2, omega-6). It contains minor components such as the vitamin E tocotrienols which are not only powerful antioxidants but are also natural inhibitors of cholesterol synthesis. Feeding experiments in various animal species and humans also do not support the allegation that palm oil is atherogenic. On the contrary, palm oil consumption reduces blood cholesterol in comparison with the traditional sources of saturated fats such as coconut oil, dairy and animal fats. In addition, palm oil consumption may raise HDL levels and reduce platelet aggregability. As with all nutrients, there is a need to obtain a balance of different fatty acids found in fats in edible oils and other food sources. There is no single ideal source of fat that answers to the recent American Heart Association's call to reflect a 1:1:1 ratio of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in relation to the recommended dietary fat intake of 30% of calories or less.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)