LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Silent cerebral infarcts occur despite regular blood transfusion therapy after first strokes in children with sickle cell disease.

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and strokes receive blood transfusion therapy for secondary stroke prevention; despite this, approximately 20% experience second overt strokes. Given this rate of second overt strokes and the clinical significance of silent cerebral infarcts, we tested the hypothesis that silent cerebral infarcts occur among children with SCD being transfused for secondary stroke prevention. A prospective cohort enrolled children with SCD and overt strokes at 7 academic centers. Magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography of the brain were scheduled approximately every 1 to 2 years; studies were reviewed by a panel of neuroradiologists. Eligibility criteria included regularly scheduled blood transfusion therapy. Forty children were included; mean pretransfusion hemoglobin S concentration was 29%. Progressive cerebral infarcts occurred in 45% (18 of 40 children) while receiving chronic blood transfusion therapy; 7 had second overt strokes and 11 had new silent cerebral infarcts. Worsening cerebral vasculopathy was associated with new cerebral infarction (overt or silent; relative risk = 12.7; 95% confidence interval, 2.65-60.5, P = .001). Children with SCD and overt strokes receiving regular blood transfusion therapy experience silent cerebral infarcts at a higher rate than previously recognized. Additional therapies are needed for secondary stroke prevention in children with SCD.
Interactive Natural Language Processing: Building on Success

Computer atural language processing (NLP), originally developed at the beginning of the Cold War1 for the mechanical translation of Soviet physics papers, is one of the first computational grails. These early efforts to analyze and model human language were characterized by a unified operational approach. They worked in batch mode, with programs reading data from files and writing results to other files. But time flew like an arrow, and eventually paper tape and punched cards gave way to teleprocessing, desktop publishing, and simulated virtual environments. As computing systems became more powerful and affordable , they also became " interactive "-and interactive NLP soon joined the list of computational grails. (See the " Historical background' side-bar for more information.) Interactivity has changed computing profoundly. Without it, there would be no such things as graphical user interfaces and the World Wide Web would be a much different experience. Interactivity has also influenced system development and user expectations. It changed NLP prominently and permanently. For example, speech processing (the analysis and modeling of human utterances) barely existed in batch-mode days. Now this inherently interactive domain is one of the hotter topics in the field. The overall goal of interactive NLP is to let humans and computers effectively and quickly communicate by using natural language. But what is it about interactivity that changes the way NLP is done? How do the theoretical and processing assumptions differ when the input stream is " live, " thus increasing the emphasis on response time and throughput? What are the trade-offs? What are the mechanisms (symbolic , statistical, connectionist, hybrid)? Finally, what are the strategies that let interactive NLP be effected or finessed? This theme issue of Computer addresses these questions. While earlier NLP systems did not operate in real time, interactive systems which must process input and generate appropriate output within a fraction of a second to a few seconds-have more modern problems and constraints. And while unrestricted NLP is still a very complex problem , many successful interactive systems are available for specific, well-defined domains of discourse.2 These systems include natural language interfaces to interactive computer systems (databases , expert systems, and operating systems); interfaces that integrate speech understanding components for a variety of domains (both speaker-dependent and speaker-independent, discrete-word applications and continuous-speech applications) ; dialogue management and story understanding systems ; and machine translation systems. An NLP system's success depends on its knowledge of the …
Interactive Cloth Simulation in Virtual Environments

Current cloth simulation systems have become powerful enough to be used interactively, and applications relevant to textile industries like virtually tailoring real garments seem to be possible in the near future. In this paper, we show that interactive cloth simulation can be improved by Virtual Reality techniques. We present the Virtual Dressmaker, an application for interactive assembly and physically based interactive simulation of cloth. In particular, the system allows to select and drag parts of the clothes during the simulation. The proposed application consists of a VR-interface client that provides nearly live-size stereo projection combined with 6DOF interaction and a server for physically based cloth simulation. In order to verify the usability of our approach, we elaborate on usability studies, which show that our application allows fast, easy, and precise interaction compared to interaction with a traditional 3D-desktop application based on 2D input devices.
Efficiency of Fuzzy C Means algorithm for Brain Tumor segmentation in MR Brain Images

Background and Objective: Image processing is a technique or set of operations to get meaningful information from an image for the usefulness and effectiveness of images. Image segmentation is an efficient technique in extracting and separating some of the features in the images. Methods: The main objective of this research work is to find the best fit of FCM algorithm over finding the axial and coronal plane of MRI brain imagesvia its accuracy and computational time.In the preprocessing, brain images of MRI have been converted from the DICOM format into standard image. Preprocessing is carried out by Gaussian filter technique to remove the noises in the images. The Fuzzy C Means (FCM) algorithm is implemented to segment the tumor affected region in the MR images. Results: By comparing the histogram values of the images (before and after segmentation) with the cluster center values by the FCM algorithm, the efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm is evaluated. Conclusion: The best fit of FCM algorithm into the axial and coronal plane is identified based on the computational time in this work.
Laparoscopic versus open colorectal surgery for colon cancer: the effect of surgical trauma on the bacterial translocation. A prospective randomized study.

BACKGROUND
Several studies suggest that surgical manipulation of the intestine and increased intra-abdominal pressure promotes bacterial translocation (BT). This prospective randomized study has investigated the effect of surgery on BT in patients undergoing elective colectomy for colon cancer by comparing the laparoscopic with the open approach.


METHODS
One hundred nineteen consecutive patients underwent colectomy for colon cancer: 59 cases underwent open resection and 60 cases underwent laparoscopic resection. For bacterial identification, tissue samples were taken from the liver, spleen, and mesenteric lymph nodes.


RESULTS
The incidence of BT increased in laparoscopic and open group after bowel mobilization (prior to ligation of the vascular pedicle), compared with the before mobilization (P < .05). There was not a statistically significant difference in BT value between the 2 groups.


CONCLUSION
BT increase was observed during the open and laparoscopic resection for colon cancer, without significant statistical difference between the 2 groups.
Application of Spreading Activation Techniques in Information Retrieval

This paper surveys the use of Spreading Activation techniques onSemantic Networks in Associative Information Retrieval. The majorSpreading Activation models are presented and their applications toIR is surveyed. A number of works in this area are criticallyanalyzed in order to study the relevance of Spreading Activation forassociative IR.
Academic procrastination of undergraduates : Low self-efficacy to self-regulate predicts higher levels of procrastination

This article reports two studies exploring the academic procrastination of 456 undergraduates. Study 1 explores the relationships among academic procrastination, self-regulation, academic self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-efficacy for self-regulation. Results reveal that although other self-variables are related to procrastination, self-efficacy for self-regulation is most predictive of procrastination tendencies. Study 2 examines academic and motivation characteristics of ‘‘negative procrastinators,’’ the undergraduates who are most adversely influenced by procrastination. The 25% of 195 participants in Study 2 who were classified as negative procrastinators had significantly lower GPAs, higher levels of daily and task procrastination, lower predicted and actual class grades, and lower self-efficacy for self-regulation. After controlling for GPA, daily procrastination and selfefficacy for self-regulation significantly predicted the negative impact of procrastination. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance that self-efficacy for self-regulation holds for procrastination research, and with suggestions for practitioners who work with students who are adversely affected by procrastination. 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Degeneration of sacroiliac joint after instrumented lumbar or lumbosacral fusion: a prospective cohort study over five-year follow-up.

STUDY DESIGN
A prospective cohort study.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the cause-effect relationship between fusion and sacroiliac joint (SIJ) degeneration after instrumented posterolateral lumbar or lumbosacral fusion.


SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA
Adjacent segment degeneration following spinal fusion has attracted considerable attention. However, little attention has been paid to the SIJ, which is one of the adjacent joints.


METHODS
This study prospectively examined 37 patients, who underwent instrumented posterolateral lumbar/lumbosacral fusion from July 1997 to October 1998. Among them, 32 patients were included in this study and defined as the fusion group (male/female: 10/22, mean age: 64 years). The fusion group was divided into 2 subgroups according to the range of fusion. Group 1 had floating fusion (fusion to L5) and included 22 patients (male/female: 7/15, mean age: 65.6 years). Group 2 had fixed fusion (fusion to S1) and included 10 patients (male/female: 3/7, mean age: 60.5 years). Thirty-four age-matched normal individuals (male/female: 18/16, mean age: 64.5 years) were recruited as a control group. SIJ degeneration was assessed by confirming the absence of degeneration in the SIJ by computed tomography scans before surgery and 2 weeks after surgery. The SIJ was evaluated again by taking computed tomography scans at 1 year and 5 years after surgery. The incidence of SIJ degeneration was evaluated and compared (fusion group vs. control group; group 1 vs. group 2). The clinical outcomes were evaluated using the Visual Analog Scales (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) before surgery and at the final follow-up.


RESULTS
The incidence of SIJ degeneration in the fusion group was 75% (24/32), which was significantly higher than that of the control Group 38.2% (13/34) (P < 0.05). The incidence of SIJ degeneration (bilateral and unilateral) and bilateral SIJ degeneration was higher in group 2 than in group 1 (P = 0.028 and 0.04, respectively). The incidence of SIJ degeneration was not associated with the number of fusion segments. At the 5-year follow-up, the patients in groups 1 and 2 reported significant improvements in the VAS and ODI scores compared with the preoperative scores. However, there was no significant difference in the decrease in VAS and ODI scores between the 2 groups (P = 0.145 and 0.278, respectively).


CONCLUSION
Instrumented posterolateral lumbar/lumbosacral fusion can be a cause of SIJ degeneration. SIJ degeneration develops more often in patients undergoing lumbosacral fusion regardless of the number of fusion segments.
Robust Multirate Control Scheme With Predictive Virtual Lanes for Lane-Keeping System of Autonomous Highway Driving

In this paper, we propose a new approach for a robust multirate lane-keeping control scheme with predictive virtual lanes. First, the multirate lane-keeping control scheme is proposed to improve the lane-keeping performance and to reduce the ripple in the yaw rate. To improve the lane-keeping performance on a curved road, the integral of the lateral offset error is added to the state feedback controller. A multirate Kalman filter (KF) has been developed to resolve the problems caused by slow lane detection due to the vision processing system. This multirate KF estimates vehicle states at a fast rate using a microprocessor. Utilizing the estimated states, the linear quadratic state feedback control operates at the same fast update rate of the microprocessor. Thus, a multirate control scheme can reduce the ripple in the yaw rate. Second, we propose a virtual lane prediction method that compensates for the momentary failure of lane detection from unexpected problems. If the camera sensor momentarily fails while obtaining lane information, the predicted virtual lane can be substituted for the lane detection using the camera sensor in the proposed control scheme. Thus, the proposed control scheme can normally operate when the lane information is momentarily unavailable. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated via experiments.
A highly secure video steganography using Hamming code (7, 4)

Due to the high speed of internet and advances in technology, people are becoming more worried about information being hacked by attackers. Recently, many algorithms of steganography and data hiding have been proposed. Steganography is a process of embedding the secret information inside the host medium (text, audio, image and video). Concurrently, many of the powerful steganographic analysis software programs have been provided to unauthorized users to retrieve the valuable secret information that was embedded in the carrier files. Some steganography algorithms can be easily detected by steganalytical detectors because of the lack of security and embedding efficiency. In this paper, we propose a secure video steganography algorithm based on the principle of linear block code. Nine uncompressed video sequences are used as cover data and a binary image logo as a secret message. The pixels' positions of both cover videos and a secret message are randomly reordered by using a private key to improve the system's security. Then the secret message is encoded by applying Hamming code (7, 4) before the embedding process to make the message even more secure. The result of the encoded message will be added to random generated values by using XOR function. After these steps that make the message secure enough, it will be ready to be embedded into the cover video frames. In addition, the embedding area in each frame is randomly selected and it will be different from other frames to improve the steganography scheme's robustness. Furthermore, the algorithm has high embedding efficiency as demonstrated by the experimental results that we have obtained. Regarding the system's quality, the Pick Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR) of stego videos are above 51 dB, which is close to the original video quality. The embedding payload is also acceptable, where in each video frame we can embed 16 Kbits and it can go up to 90 Kbits without noticeable degrading of the stego video's quality.
Intermittent claudication: an objective office-based assessment.

OBJECTIVES
We sought to compare standard lower extremity vascular laboratory treadmill exercise with the office-based active pedal plantarflexion technique.


BACKGROUND
Intermittent claudication is relatively common in elderly patients and is an important predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Noninvasive testing using resting and posttreadmill exercise ankle:brachial systolic blood pressure indices is often required to confirm the diagnosis and objectively assess the severity of lower extremity arterial occlusive disease. This is traditionally performed in a formal vascular laboratory setting.


METHODS
Fifty consecutive patients (100 lower extremities) with known or suspected intermittent claudication referred for lower extremity treadmill exercise testing were also tested with active pedal plantarflexion using a prospective, randomized crossover design. Supine ankle:brachial systolic blood pressure indices were measured immediately before and after each form of exercise.


RESULTS
There was an excellent correlation (r = 0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.93 to 0.97) between mean postexercise ankle:brachial systolic blood pressure indices for treadmill exercise and active pedal plantarflexion. There was no significant difference in outcome based on the order of testing or the severity of arterial occlusive disease. Symptoms of angina or dyspnea occurred in 11 patients (22%) with treadmill exercise versus zero patients with active pedal plantarflexion.


CONCLUSIONS
Active pedal plantarflexion is an office-based test that compares favorably with treadmill exercise for the noninvasive, safe, objective and economical assessment of lower extremity arterial occlusive disease.
Okun's Coefficient: A Comment

This paper reassesses a finding by Martin Prachowny (1993) that the value of the Okun coefficient for the United States (linking unemployment changes to output changes) is only around 0.67 rather than around the more typical value of 2.25. Using a cointegration framework, and the same data sets as Prachowny, we find, for one of the data sets, that the Okun coefficient is much closer to a value of 2.25, which supports previous research work.
Religion and spirituality along the suicidal path.

The inner experience of spiritual and religious feelings is an integral part of the everyday lives of many individuals. For over 100 years the role of religion as a deterrent to suicidal behavior has been studied in various disciplines. We attempt to systematize the existing literature investigating the relationship between religion/spirituality and suicide in this paper. After an overview of the attitudes of the dominant religions (e.g., Catholicism, Islam, and Buddhism) toward suicide, the three main theories that have speculated regarding the link between religion and suicide are presented: "integration theory" (Durkheim, 1897/1997), "religious commitment theory" (Stack, 1983a; Stark, 1983), and "network theory" (Pescosolido & Georgianna, 1989). Subsequent to this theoretical introduction, we report on studies on religion/spirituality keeping the suicidal path as a reference: from suicidal ideation to nonlethal suicidal behavior to lethal suicidal behavior. Studies presenting indications of religious beliefs as a possible risk factor for suicidal behavior are also presented. The last section reviews possible intervention strategies for suicidal patients and suicide survivors. Indications for future research, such as more studies on nonreligious forms of spirituality and the use of qualitative methodology to achieve a better and deeper understanding of the spiritual dimension of suicidal behavior and treatment, are offered.
State of the art review: the data revolution in critical care

This article is one of ten reviews selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2015 and co-published as a series in Critical Care. Other articles in the series can be found online at http://ccforum.com/series/annualupdate2015. Further information about the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine is available from http://www.springer.com/series/8901.
Clinicians guide for cue‐based transition to oral feeding in preterm infants: An easy‐to‐use clinical guide

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
This article aims to provide evidence to guide multidisciplinary clinical practitioners towards successful initiation and long-term maintenance of oral feeding in preterm infants, directed by the individual infant maturity.


METHOD
A comprehensive review of primary research, explorative work, existing guidelines, and evidence-based opinions regarding the transition to oral feeding in preterm infants was studied to compile this document.


RESULTS
Current clinical hospital practices are described and challenged and the principles of cue-based feeding are explored. "Traditional" feeding regimes use criteria, such as the infant's weight, gestational age and being free of illness, and even caregiver intuition to initiate or delay oral feeding. However, these criteria could compromise the infant and increase anxiety levels and frustration for parents and caregivers. Cue-based feeding, opposed to volume-driven feeding, lead to improved feeding success, including increased weight gain, shorter hospital stay, fewer adverse events, without increasing staff workload while simultaneously improving parents' skills regarding infant feeding. Although research is available on cue-based feeding, an easy-to-use clinical guide for practitioners could not be found. A cue-based infant feeding regime, for clinical decision making on providing opportunities to support feeding success in preterm infants, is provided in this article as a framework for clinical reasoning.


CONCLUSIONS
Cue-based feeding of preterm infants requires care providers who are trained in and sensitive to infant cues, to ensure optimal feeding success. An easy-to-use clinical guideline is presented for implementation by multidisciplinary team members. This evidence-based guideline aims to improve feeding outcomes for the newborn infant and to facilitate the tasks of nurses and caregivers.
Relative total body fat and skinfold patterning in filipino national combat sport athletes.

The purpose of this study was to assess relative total body fat and skinfold patterning in Filipino national karate and pencak silat athletes. Participants were members of the Philippine men's and women's national teams in karate (12 males, 5 females) and pencak silat (17 males and 5 females). In addition to age, the following anthropometric measurements were taken: height, body mass, triceps, subscapular, supraspinale, umbilical, anterior thigh and medial calf skinfolds. Relative total body fat was expressed as sum of six skinfolds. Sum of skinfolds and each individual skinfold were also expressed relative to Phantom height. A two-way (Sport*Gender) ANOVA was used to determine the differences between men and women in total body fat and skinfold patterning. A Bonferroni-adjusted alpha was employed for all analyses. The women had a higher proportional sum of skinfols (80.19 ± 25.31 mm vs. 51.77 ± 21.13 mm, p = 0. 001, eta(2) = 0.275). The men had a lower proportional triceps skinfolds (-1.72 ± 0.71 versus - 0.35 ± 0.75, p < 0.001). Collapsed over gender, the karate athletes (-2.18 ± 0.66) had a lower proportional anterior thigh skinfold than their pencak silat colleagues (-1.71 ± 0.74, p = 0.001). Differences in competition requirements between sports may account for some of the disparity in anthropometric measurements. Key PointsThe purpose of the present investigation was to assess relative total body fat and skinfold patterning in Filipino national karate and pencak silat athletes.The results seem to suggest that there was no difference between combat sports in fatness.Skinfold patterning was more in line with what was reported in the literature with the males recording lower extremity fat.