LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative clinical pharmacology practice for optimal use of antibiotics during the neonatal period.

INTRODUCTION
For safe and effective neonatal antibiotic therapy, knowledge of the pharmacokinetic parameters of antibacterial agents in neonates is a prerequisite. Fast maturational changes during the neonatal period influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters and their variability. Consequently, the need for applying quantitative clinical pharmacology and determining optimal drug dosing regimens in neonates has become increasingly recognized.


AREAS COVERED
Modern quantitative approaches, such as pharmacometrics, are increasingly utilized to characterize, understand and predict the pharmacokinetics of a drug and its effect, and to quantify the variability in the neonatal population. Individual factors, called covariates in modeling, are integrated in such approaches to explain inter-individual pharmacokinetic variability. Pharmacometrics has been shown to be a relevant tool to evaluate, optimize and individualize drug dosing regimens.


EXPERT OPINION
Challenges for optimal use of antibiotics in neonates can largely be overcome with quantitative clinical pharmacology practice. Clinicians should be aware that there is a next step to support the clinical decision-making based on clinical characteristics and therapeutic drug monitoring, through Bayesian-based modeling and simulation methods. Pharmacometric modeling and simulation approaches permit us to characterize population average, inter-subject and intra-subject variability of pharmacokinetic parameters such as clearance and volume of distribution, and to identify and quantify key factors that influence the pharmacokinetic behavior of antibiotics during the neonatal period.
Implementation of IoT (Internet of Things) and Image processing in smart agriculture

Internet of Things and Image processing have been so far been applied for various applications independently. Their individual application in the field of agriculture exists and has achieved certain degree of success, however the combination of both these technology so far is non-existent. This paper describes an approach to combine IoT and image processing in order to determine the environmental factor or man-made factor (pesticides/fertilizers) which is specifically hindering the growth of the plant. Using an IoT sensing network which takes the readings of the crucial environmental factors and the image of the leaf lattice, it is processed under MATLAB software by the help of histogram analysis to arrive at conclusive results.
Plasma Septin9 versus Fecal Immunochemical Testing for Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Prospective Multicenter Study

BACKGROUND
Screening improves outcomes related to colorectal cancer (CRC); however, suboptimal participation for available screening tests limits the full benefits of screening. Non-invasive screening using a blood based assay may potentially help reach the unscreened population.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the performance of a new Septin9 DNA methylation based blood test with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) for CRC screening.


DESIGN
In this trial, fecal and blood samples were obtained from enrolled patients. To compare test sensitivity for CRC, patients with screening identified colorectal cancer (n = 102) were enrolled and provided samples prior to surgery. To compare test specificity patients were enrolled prospectively (n = 199) and provided samples prior to bowel preparation for screening colonoscopy.


MEASUREMENTS
Plasma and fecal samples were analyzed using the Epi proColon and OC Fit-Check tests respectively.


RESULTS
For all samples, sensitivity for CRC detection was 73.3% (95% CI 63.9-80.9%) and 68.0% (95% CI 58.2-76.5%) for Septin9 and FIT, respectively. Specificity of the Epi proColon test was 81.5% (95% CI 75.5-86.3%) compared with 97.4% (95% CI 94.1-98.9%) for FIT. For paired samples, the sensitivity of the Epi proColon test (72.2% -95% CI 62.5-80.1%) was shown to be statistically non-inferior to FIT (68.0%-95% CI 58.2-76.5%). When test results for Epi proColon and FIT were combined, CRC detection was 88.7% at a specificity of 78.8%.


CONCLUSIONS
At a sensitivity of 72%, the Epi proColon test is non- inferior to FIT for CRC detection, although at a lower specificity. With negative predictive values of 99.8%, both methods are identical in confirming the absence of CRC.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01580540.
The challenges confronting clinicians in rural acute care settings: a participatory research project.

INTRODUCTION
In Australia, as in many other developed countries, the current healthcare environment is characterised by increasing differentiation and patient acuity, aging of patients and workforce, staff shortages and a varied professional skills mix, and this is particularly so in rural areas. Rural healthcare clinicians are confronted with a broad range of challenges in their daily practice. Within this context, the challenges faced by rural acute care clinicians were explored and innovative strategies suggested. This article reports the findings of a study that explored these challenges across disciplines in acute healthcare facilities in rural New South Wales (NSW), Australia.


METHODS
A mixed method approach, involving a consultative, participatory 3 stage data collection process was employed to engage with a range of healthcare clinicians from rural acute care facilities in NSW. Participants were invited to complete a survey, followed by focus group discussions and finally facilitated workshops using nominal group technique.


RESULTS
The survey findings identified the respondents' top ranked challenges. These were organised into four categories: (1) workforce issues; (2) access, equity and opportunity; (3) resources; and (4) contextual issues. Participants in the focus groups were provided with a summary of the survey findings to prompt discussion about the challenges identified and impact of these on their professional and personal lives. The results of the final workshop stage of the study used nominal group process to focus the discussion on identifying strategies to address identified challenges.


CONCLUSIONS
This study builds on research conducted in a large metropolitan tertiary referral hospital. While it was found that rural clinicians share some of the challenges identified by their metropolitan counterparts, some identified challenges and solutions were unique to the rural context and require the innovative solutions suggested by the participants. This article provides insight into the working world of rural healthcare clinicians and offers practical solutions to some of the identified issues. The findings of this study may assist rurally based healthcare services to attract and retain clinical staff.
Intrusion Detection Systems

Along with its numerous benefits, the Internet also created numerous ways to compromise the security and stability of the systems connected to it. In 2003, 137529 incidents were reported to CERT/CC © while in 1999, there were 9859 reported incidents (CERT/CC©, 2003). Operations, which are primarily designed to protect the availability, confidentiality and integrity of critical network information systems, are considered to be within the scope of security management. Security management operations protect computer networks against denial-of-service attacks, unauthorized disclosure of information, and the modification or destruction of data. Moreover, the automated detection and immediate reporting of these events are required in order to provide the basis for a timely response to attacks (Bass, 2000). Security management plays an important, albeit often neglected, role in network management tasks.
Constrained Multi-Objective Optimization of a Condenser Coil Using Evolutionary Algorithms

Air cooled cross-flow heat exchangers are an integral part of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. The design and selection of a particular heat exchanger depends on its performance and the associated economic parameters, which in turn depend on individual components that make up the heat exchanger. A multiobjective genetic algorithm is applied to the optimization of an air cooled condensing unit . The primary optimization objectives are the performance of the condenser coil and the cost. This study illustrates how genetic optimization algorithms can be a powerful tool to develop optimal designs for air cooled condensers. At the end of the optimization run, the decision maker is presented with a set of Pareto optimal solutions from which the decision maker can choose appropriate solutions. Optimization setup and results are discussed and conclusions drawn.
Who's misbehaving? Perceptions of unprofessional social media use by medical students and faculty.

BACKGROUND
Social media use by physicians offers potential benefits but may also be associated with professionalism problems. The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine and compare characteristics of social media use by medical students and faculty; 2) to explore the scope of self- and peer-posting of unprofessional online content; and 3) to determine what actions were taken when unprofessional content was viewed.


METHODS
An anonymous, web-based survey was sent to medical students and faculty in October, 2013 at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York.


RESULTS
Three-quarters of medical students reported using social media "very frequently" (several times a day), whereas less than one-third of faculty did so (p < .001). Medical students reported using privacy settings more often than faculty (96.5 % v. 78.1 %, p < .001). Most medical students (94.2 %) and faculty (94.1 %) reported "never" or "occasionally" monitoring their online presence (p = 0.94). Medical students reported self-posting of profanity, depiction of intoxication, and sexually suggestive material more often than faculty (p < .001). Medical students and faculty both reported peer-posting of unprofessional content significantly more often than self-posting. There was no association between year of medical school and posting of unprofessional content.


CONCLUSION
Medical students reported spending more time using social media and posting unprofessional content more often than did faculty.
Dose-Dependent Thresholds of 10-ns Electric Pulse Induced Plasma Membrane Disruption and Cytotoxicity in Multiple Cell Lines

In this study, we determined the LD(50) (50% lethal dose) for cell death, and the ED(50) (50% of cell population staining positive) for propidium (Pr) iodide uptake, and phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization for several commonly studied cell lines (HeLa, Jurkat, U937, CHO-K1, and GH3) exposed to 10-ns electric pulses (EP). We found that the LD(50) varied substantially across the cell lines studied, increasing from 51 J/g for Jurkat to 1861 J/g for HeLa. PS externalized at doses equal or lower than that required for death in all cell lines ranging from 51 J/g in Jurkat, to 199 J/g in CHO-K1. Pr uptake occurred at doses lower than required for death in three of the cell lines: 656 J/g for CHO-K1, 634 J/g for HeLa, and 142 J/g for GH3. Both Jurkat and U937 had a LD(50) lower than the ED(50) for Pr uptake at 780 J/g and 1274 J/g, respectively. The mechanism responsible for these differences was explored by evaluating cell size, calcium concentration in the exposure medium, and effect of trypsin treatment prior to exposure. None of the studied parameters correlated with the observed results suggesting that cellular susceptibility to injury and death by 10-ns EP was largely determined by cell physiology. In contrast to previous studies, our findings suggest that permeabilization of internal membranes may not necessarily be responsible for cell death by 10-ns EP. Additionally, a mixture of Jurkat and HeLa cells was exposed to 10-ns EP at a dose of 280 J/g. Death was observed only in Jurkat cells suggesting that 10-ns EP may selectively kill cells within a heterogeneous tissue.
Increase of NKG2D ligands and sensitivity to NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity of tumor cells by heat shock and ionizing radiation

In this study, we have investigated if current cancer therapeutic modalities including hyperthermia and ionizing radiation can increase the expression of NKG2D ligands in human cancer cell lines. The expressions of NKG2D ligands were induced by both heat shock and ionizing radiation in various cell lines including KM12, NCI-H23, HeLa and A375 cells with peaks at 2 h and 9 h after treatment, respectively, although inducibility of each NKG2D ligand was various depending on cell lines. During the induction of NKG2D ligands, heat shock protein 70 was induced by heat shock but not by ionizing radiation. These results were followed by increased susceptibilities to NK cell-mediated cytolysis after treatment with heat shock and ionizing radiation. These results suggest that heat shock and ionizing radiation induce NKG2D ligands and consequently might lead to increased NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity in various cancer cells.
Deciphering the Mechanism of Action of Wrightia tinctoria for Psoriasis Based on Systems Pharmacology Approach.

OBJECTIVE
Psoriasis is a chronic immune-mediated disorder of the skin. The disease manifests itself with red or silvery scaly plaques distributing over the lower back, scalp, and extensor aspects of limbs. Several medications are available for the treatment of psoriasis; however, high rates of remission and side-effects still persist as a major concern. Siddha, one of the traditional systems of Indian medicine offers cure to many dermatological conditions, including psoriasis. The oil prepared from the leaves of Wrightia tinctoria is prescribed by many healers for the treatment of psoriasis. This work aims to decipher the mechanism of action of the W. tinctoria in curing psoriasis and its associated comorbidities.


DESIGN
The work integrates various pharmacology approaches such as drug-likeness evaluation, oral bioavailability predictions, and network pharmacology approaches to understand the roles of various bioactive components of the herb.


RESULTS
This work identified 67 compounds of W. tinctoria interacting with 238 protein targets. The compounds were found to act through synergistic mechanism in reviving the disrupted process in the diseased state.


CONCLUSION
The results of this work not only shed light on the pharmacological action of the herb but also validate the usage of safe herbal drugs.
Optical coherence tomography assessment of incidence, morphological characteristics, and spontaneous healing course of edge dissections following percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation in patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND
Stenting-induced edge dissections (ED) can be assessed in detail by optical coherence tomography (OCT). This study sought to investigate the incidence, morphological characteristics, and spontaneous healing course of OCT-identified EDs following drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation in a non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patient-population.


METHODS
Acute vessel wall injury at the 5-mm stent adjacent distal and proximal reference segments was assessed by post-procedure OCT and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in n=97 NSTEMI-patients (n=97 lesions). Six months OCT follow-up was available in 82 patients (including 35 untreated post-procedure EDs).


RESULTS
The overall incidence of post-procedure OCT-detected ED was 38 per 97 patients (39.2%), and 47 per 182 stent edges (25.8%). None of the EDs were angiographically visualizable, while 10 (21.3%) were visible on concomitant IVUS-analysis. Morphologically, there was a significant difference in plaque type present at ED-edges vs. non-ED-edges when assessed with OCT; (1) lipid-rich and calcified plaques: 80.9% vs. 57.0%, (2) fibrous plaques: 17.0% vs. 26.7%, and (3) normal coronary vessels: 2.1% vs. 16.3%, p<0.01. Plaqueburden, assessed by IVUS, was substantially larger at ED-containing borders: 54.5±10.0% vs. 43.7±11.6%, p=0.01. Three dissections (8.6%) were incompletely healed at 6-month OCT follow-up. None of the EDs caused cardiac events during the 6-month follow-up, however, 1 ED-patient had target lesion revascularization with PCI and DES-implantation in extension of the scheduled OCT-control.


CONCLUSIONS
OCT-detected EDs were frequent after stent implantation due to NSTEMI, and the majority of these EDs healed without leading to an adverse prognosis at 6months.
Comparison of artifact correction methods for infant EEG applied to extraction of event-related potential signals

OBJECTIVE
EEG recording is useful for neurological and cognitive assessment, but acquiring reliable data in infants and special populations has the challenges of limited recording time, high-amplitude background activity, and movement-related artifacts. This study objectively evaluated our previously proposed ERP analysis techniques.


METHODS
We compared three artifact removal techniques: Conventional Trial Rejection (CTR), Independent Channel Rejection (ICR; He et al., 2007), and Artifact Blocking (AB; Mourad et al., 2007). We embedded a synthesized auditory ERP signal into real EEG activity recorded from 4-month-old infants. We then compared the ability of the three techniques to extract that signal from the noise.


RESULTS
Examination of correlation coefficients, variance in the gain across sensors, and residual power revealed that ICR and AB were significantly more successful than CTR at accurately extracting the signal. Overall performance of ICR and AB was comparable, although the AB algorithm introduced less spatial distortion than ICR.


CONCLUSIONS
ICR and AB are improvements over CTR in cases where the signal-to-noise ratio is low.


SIGNIFICANCE
Both ICR and AB are improvements over standard techniques. AB can be applied to both continuous and epoched EEG.
Quantitative assessment of inferior oblique muscle overaction using photographs of the cardinal positions of gaze.

PURPOSE
To report a novel method for measuring the degree of inferior oblique muscle overaction and to investigate the correlation with other factors.


DESIGN
Cross-sectional diagnostic study.


METHODS
One hundred and forty-two eyes (120 patients) were enrolled in this study. Subjects underwent a full orthoptic examination and photographs were obtained in the cardinal positions of gaze. The images were processed using Photoshop and analyzed using the ImageJ program to measure the degree of inferior oblique muscle overaction. Reproducibility or interobserver variability was assessed by Bland-Altman plots and by calculation of the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The correlation between the degree of inferior oblique muscle overaction and the associated factors was estimated with linear regression analysis.


RESULTS
The mean angle of inferior oblique muscle overaction was 17.8 ± 10.1 degrees (range, 1.8-54.1 degrees). The 95% limit of agreement of interobserver variability for the degree of inferior oblique muscle overaction was ±1.76 degrees, and ICC was 0.98. The angle of inferior oblique muscle overaction showed significant correlation with the clinical grading scale (R = 0.549, P < .001) and with hypertropia in the adducted position (R = 0.300, P = .001). The mean angles of inferior oblique muscle overaction classified into grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 according to the clinical grading scale were 10.5 ± 9.1 degrees, 16.8 ± 7.8 degrees, 24.3 ± 8.8 degrees, and 40.0 ± 12.2 degrees, respectively (P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
We describe a new method for measuring the degree of inferior oblique muscle overaction using photographs of the cardinal positions. It has the potential to be a diagnostic tool that measures inferior oblique muscle overaction with minimal observer dependency.
The project workplace for organizational learning development

This paper conceptually examines how and why projects and project teams may be conceived as highly generative episodic individual and team learning places that can serve as vehicles or agents to promote organizational learning. It draws on and dissects a broad and relevant literature concerning situated learning, organizational learning, learning spaces and project management. The arguments presented signal a movement towards a project workplace becoming more organizationally acknowledged and supported as a learning intense entity wherein, learning is a more conspicuous, deliberate and systematic social activity by project participants. This paper challenges conventional and limited organizational perceptions about project teams and their practices and discloses their extended value contributions to organizational learning development. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. and IPMA. All rights reserved.
Triple combination therapy with amlodipine, valsartan, and hydrochlorothiazide vs dual combination therapy with amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide for stage 2 hypertensive patients

OBJECTIVE
This post hoc analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of triple therapy with amlodipine/valsartan+hydrochlorothiazide (Aml/Val+HCTZ) vs dual therapy with Aml+HCTZ in stage 2 hypertensive patients.


METHODS
The analysis included patients from an eight-week, multicenter, double-blind study, randomized to Aml/Val 10/160 mg or Aml 10 mg groups, who received add-on HCTZ 12.5 mg at week 4 if mean sitting systolic blood pressure (msSBP) was >130 mmHg.


RESULTS
Of the patients receiving Aml/Val+HCTZ and Aml+HCTZ, 98% (N = 133/136) and 96% (N = 200/208) completed the study, respectively. Baseline characteristics were similar across groups (Caucasians, 80.2%; diabetics, 14.8%; age, 58.6 years [28.2% ≥ 65 years]; body mass index, 31 kg/m(2); mean sitting blood pressure (msBP), 171.5/95.5 mmHg [18% msSBP ≥ 180 mmHg]). Aml/Val+HCTZ provided significantly greater msBP reductions from baseline to week 8 than Aml+HCTZ (30.5/13.8 vs 24.3/8.3 mmHg, P < 0.0001). The incremental msBP reduction (week 4 to 8) with HCTZ added to Aml/Val was greater than when added to Aml (6.9/3.5 vs 3.1/1.0 mmHg, P < 0.01). Treatments were well tolerated with similar overall incidence of adverse events (Aml/Val+HCTZ: 33.8%, Aml+HCTZ: 33.2%).


CONCLUSION
Aml/Val+HCTZ provided significantly greater BP reductions than Aml+HCTZ in patients with stage 2 hypertension. Aml/Val+HCTZ triple therapy may be a suitable option for patients requiring more than two agents to reach target BP.
Reliability and validity of bilateral ankle accelerometer algorithms for activity recognition and walking speed after stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Outcome measures of mobility for large stroke trials are limited to timed walks for short distances in a laboratory, step counters and ordinal scales of disability and quality of life. Continuous monitoring and outcome measurements of the type and quantity of activity in the community would provide direct data about daily performance, including compliance with exercise and skills practice during routine care and clinical trials.


METHODS
Twelve adults with impaired ambulation from hemiparetic stroke and 6 healthy controls wore triaxial accelerometers on their ankles. Walking speed for repeated outdoor walks was determined by machine-learning algorithms and compared to a stopwatch calculation of speed for distances not known to the algorithm. The reliability of recognizing walking, exercise, and cycling by the algorithms was compared to activity logs.


RESULTS
A high correlation was found between stopwatch-measured outdoor walking speed and algorithm-calculated speed (Pearson coefficient, 0.98; P=0.001) and for repeated measures of algorithm-derived walking speed (P=0.01). Bouts of walking >5 steps, variations in walking speed, cycling, stair climbing, and leg exercises were correctly identified during a day in the community. Compared to healthy subjects, those with stroke were, as expected, more sedentary and slower, and their gait revealed high paretic-to-unaffected leg swing ratios.


CONCLUSIONS
Test-retest reliability and concurrent and construct validity are high for activity pattern-recognition Bayesian algorithms developed from inertial sensors. This ratio scale data can provide real-world monitoring and outcome measurements of lower extremity activities and walking speed for stroke and rehabilitation studies.