LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of carvedilol and metoprolol on clinical outcomes in patients with chronic heart failure in the Carvedilol Or Metoprolol European Trial (COMET): randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Beta blockers reduce mortality in patients who have chronic heart failure, systolic dysfunction, and are on background treatment with diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. We aimed to compare the effects of carvedilol and metoprolol on clinical outcome.


METHODS
In a multicentre, double-blind, and randomised parallel group trial, we assigned 1511 patients with chronic heart failure to treatment with carvedilol (target dose 25 mg twice daily) and 1518 to metoprolol (metoprolol tartrate, target dose 50 mg twice daily). Patients were required to have chronic heart failure (NYHA II-IV), previous admission for a cardiovascular reason, an ejection fraction of less than 0.35, and to have been treated optimally with diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors unless not tolerated. The primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and the composite endpoint of all-cause mortality or all-cause admission. Analysis was done by intention to treat.


FINDINGS
The mean study duration was 58 months (SD 6). The mean ejection fraction was 0.26 (0.07) and the mean age 62 years (11). The all-cause mortality was 34% (512 of 1511) for carvedilol and 40% (600 of 1518) for metoprolol (hazard ratio 0.83 [95% CI 0.74-0.93], p=0.0017). The reduction of all-cause mortality was consistent across predefined subgroups. The composite endpoint of mortality or all-cause admission occurred in 1116 (74%) of 1511 on carvedilol and in 1160 (76%) of 1518 on metoprolol (0.94 [0.86-1.02], p=0.122). Incidence of side-effects and drug withdrawals did not differ by much between the two study groups.


INTERPRETATION
Our results suggest that carvedilol extends survival compared with metoprolol.
Fiber-Optic Biosensor Employing Alexa-Fluor Conjugated Antibody for Detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Ground Beef in Four Hours

Fiber optic biosensor has a great potential to meet the need for rapid, sensitive, and real-time microbial detection systems. We developed an antibody-based fiber-optic biosensor to rapidly detect low levels of Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells in ground beef. The principle of the sensor is a sandwich immunoassay using an antibody which is specific for E. coli O157:H7. A polyclonal antibody was first immobilized on polystyrene fiber waveguides through a biotin-streptavidin reaction that served as a capture antibody. An Alexa Fluor 647 dye-labeled antibody to E. coli O157:H7 was used to detect cells and generate a specific fluorescent signal, which was acquired by launching a 635 nm laser-light from an Analyte-2000. Fluorescent molecules within several hundred nanometers of the fiber were excited by an evanescent wave, and a portion of the emission light from fluorescent dye transmitted by the fiber and collected by a photodetector at wavelengths of 670 to 710 nm quantitatively. This immunosensor was specific for E. coli O157:H7 compared with multiple other foodborne bacteria. In addition, the biosensor was able to detect as low as 10 CFU/ml pure cultured E. coli O157:H7 cells grown in culture broth. Artificially inoculated E. coli O157:H7 at concentration of 1 CFU/ml in ground beef could be detected by this method after only 4 hours of enrichment.
Proneness to decreased negative emotions in major depressive disorder when blaming others rather than oneself.

BACKGROUND
One widespread view holds that vulnerability to major depressive disorder (MDD) is linked to overall increases in negative emotionality. In contrast, cognitive attribution theories emphasize the importance of blaming oneself rather than others for negative events. Thus far, the contrasting predictions of these models have not been directly compared. Following the attributional perspective, we tested the hypothesis that people with remitted MDD show no overall bias towards negative emotions, but a selective bias towards self-blaming emotions relative to those emotions associated with blaming others.


SAMPLING AND METHODS
We compared a remitted MDD and a control group on a novel experimental test that allowed us to directly compare proneness to specific emotions associated with different types of self-blame (guilt, shame, self-contempt/disgust) and blame of others (other-indignation/anger, other-contempt/disgust) whilst controlling for negative valence and medication status, and excluding comorbidity.


RESULTS
In agreement with our hypothesis, individuals with remitted MDD exhibited an increased self-contempt bias (difference between contempt/disgust towards self and others) but no increased proneness to any other negative emotion or overall increases in perceived negative valence of stimuli. Moreover, the remitted MDD group exhibited reduced contempt/disgust towards others.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results corroborate the prediction that vulnerability to MDD is associated with an imbalance of specific self- and other-blaming emotions rather than a general increase in negative emotions. Based on the composition of our sample, we speculate that self-contempt bias may be particularly characteristic of melancholic MDD subtypes and could be useful for stratification of depression in the future.
A comparison of high vs standard tidal volumes in ventilator weaning for individuals with sub-acute spinal cord injuries: a site-specific randomized clinical trial

Study design:Prospective, randomized, controlled parallel group trial with single-blinded data analysis.Objectives:To determine the safety and efficacy of higher (20 ml kg−1 ideal body weight (IBW)) vs standard (10 ml kg−1 IBW) tidal volumes (Vt) for patients with sub-acute traumatic tetraplegia during ventilator weaning using a 14-day (minimum) weaning protocol.Setting:United States regional spinal cord injury treatment center.Methods:Thirty-three ventilator requiring inpatients were randomized to either the higher (Group 1) or the standard (Group 2) Vt protocol. Initially, all patients were ventilated at 10 ml kg−1 IBW Vt and 5 cm H2O of PEEP for 72 h. For Group 1, Vt was raised 100 ml kg−1 until reaching target Vt of 20 ml kg−1 IBW. Group 2 was maintained at Vt of 10 ml kg−1 IBW. Plateau pressures were kept at or below 30 cm H2O. Safety outcomes included incidence of adverse events.Results:Because of smaller than expected enrollment, evaluation of efficacy was not possible. Therefore, we report the safety outcomes of 33 study participants. The 16 patients in Group 1 and 17 patients in Group 2 were demographically similar at baseline, except for age. The average age was 39.3 years in Group 1 and 27.2 years in Group 2, (P=0.002). There was no difference in median days to wean: 14.5 days in Group 1 and 14 days in Group 2. The incidence of adverse pulmonary events was similar between groups.Conclusion:Higher tidal volumes can be safely utilized during weaning of patients with tetraplegia from mechanical ventilation using a 14-day weaning protocol.
Discussion on Planning of Wetland Conservative Zone in Hongzhe Late

The range, natural properties, environment quality and biodiversity of wetland in Hongzhe Lake were introduced, predominant factors that impacted on biodiversity were analysized, and construction planning was proposed. Some suggestions were also made for sustainable development.
Patients' awareness of stroke signs, symptoms, and risk factors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
We sought to determine knowledge at the time of symptom onset regarding the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of stroke in patients presenting to the emergency department with potential stroke.


METHODS
Patients admitted from the emergency department with possible stroke were identified prospectively. A standardized, structured interview with open-ended questions was performed within 48 hours of symptom onset to assess patients' knowledge base concerning stroke signs, symptoms, and risk factors.


RESULTS
Of the 174 eligible patients, 163 patients were able to respond to the interview questions. Of these 163 patients, 39% (63) did not know a single sign or symptom of stroke. Unilateral weakness (26%) and numbness (22%) were the most frequently noted symptoms. Patients aged > or = 65 years were less likely to know a sign or symptom of stroke than those aged < 65 years (percentage not knowing a single sign or symptom, 47% versus 28%, P = .016). Similarly, 43% of patients did not know a single risk factor for stroke. The elderly were less likely to know a risk factor than their younger counterparts.


CONCLUSIONS
Almost 40% of patients admitted with a possible stroke did not know the signs, symptoms, or risk factor of a stroke. Further public education is needed to increase awareness of the warning signs and risk factors of stroke.
Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assay for detection of mRNA encoding full-length human tissue kallikrein 7: prognostic relevance of KLK7 mRNA expression in breast cancer.

BACKGROUND
The human tissue kallikrein gene family (KLK1 to KLK15) encodes a group of 15 serine proteases (hK1 to hK15), several of which have been implicated in cancer-related processes.


METHODS
We established a specific quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assay for full-length KLK7 mRNA that excluded amplification of the exon 2 deletion splice variant (the latter does not encode a functional protease), and evaluated full-length KLK7 mRNA expression [normalized to human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (h-G6PDH)] in tumor tissue specimens from 155 breast cancer patients.


RESULTS
High KLK7 mRNA expression (continuous) was significantly associated with a better patient outcome according to both univariate (P = 0.005) and multivariate (P = 0.046) Cox survival analysis. Separation of patients by optimized dichotomization revealed a significantly better prognosis for patients with high KLK7 mRNA status (n = 89) compared with patients with low KLK7 mRNA status (n = 66) [univariate hazard ratio (HR) = 0.45 (P = 0.001); multivariate HR = 0.50 (P = 0.005)]. In the subgroup of patients not receiving adjuvant treatment (n = 69), KLK7 mRNA status was a significant prognosticator [univariate HR = 0.29 (P = 0.002); multivariate HR = 0.40 (P = 0.034)]. This subgroup was least influenced by postoperative treatment and thus best showed the impact of KLK7 expression on the natural course of breast cancer disease.


CONCLUSION
Expression of full-length KLK7 mRNA may represent a new prognostic marker in breast cancer disease.
An Advanced Statistical Method for Wind Power Forecasting

This paper presents an advanced statistical method for wind power forecasting based on artificial intelligence techniques. The method requires as input past power measurements and meteorological forecasts of wind speed and direction interpolated at the site of the wind farm. A self-organized map is trained to classify the forecasted local wind speed provided by the meteorological services. A unique feature of the method is that following a preliminary wind power prediction, it provides an estimation of the quality of the meteorological forecasts that is subsequently used to improve predictions. The proposed method is suitable for operational planning of power systems with increased wind power penetration, i.e., forecasting horizon of 48 h ahead and for wind farm operators trading in electricity markets. Application of the forecasting method on the power production of an actual wind farm shows the validity of the method
Italian translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the PedsQL™ 3.0 Diabetes Module questionnaire in children with type 1 diabetes and their parents

BACKGROUND
The PedsQL™3.0 Diabetes Module is a widely used instrument to measure the disease-specific health-related quality of life summary measures in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. After cultural adaptation, we confirmed reliability and validity of PedsQL™3.0 Diabetes Module in its Italian version.


METHODS
Participants were 169 Italian children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes aged 5-18 years and 100 parents. Reliability was determined by internal consistency using Cronbach's coefficient alpha, and test-retest reliability by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Validity was assessed through factor validity examined by exploratory factor analysis, and discriminant validity examined through multitrait/multi-item scaling analysis. Discriminant validity with respect to dichotomous patients' characteristics at baseline was also examined through a multivariate analysis on the summary measures using the Wilks' Lambda test.


RESULTS
Data completeness was optimal. Item internal consistency was satisfied at 89% for the child self-report scales and at 100% for the parents' proxy-report scales. Most diabetes module scales was acceptable for group comparisons. Discriminant validity was satisfied for 71% of children and adolescents and for 82% of parents. A ≥70% Cronbach's α coefficient was found for the summary measures of both reports. For the test-retest reliability, the ICC coefficients ranged from 0.66 (i.e., the Worry scale) to 0.82 for the other scales of the child self-report. The ICC coefficients were ≥0.87 for all the parents' proxy-report scales. Factor analysis showed that the PedsQL™3.0 Diabetes Module for child self-report could be summarized in 10 components, which explained the 62% of the variance. For the parent proxy-report the statistical analysis selected 9 factors, which explained about 68% of variance. The external discriminant validity of the PedsQL™3.0 Diabetes Module summary measures were compared across gender, age, time since diagnosis and HbA1c mean cut off values. Significant differences in the "Treatment adherence" scale and in the "Communication" scale were observed across age, and by time since diagnosis.


CONCLUSIONS
The results show the reliability and validity of the Italian translation of the PedsQL™3.0 Diabetes Module, supporting therefore its use as an outcome measure for diabetes cross-national clinical trials and research.
A differential series of pepper (Capsicum annuum) lines delineates fourteen physiological races of Phytophthora capsici

The study of the genetics of resistance in pepper to the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora capsici has been complicated due to a lack of use of a common set of pathogen isolates and host genotypes. We have developed a differential series for this system using eleven pepper genotypes and thirty-four isolates of the pathogen from California, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Turkey. Through differential patterns of virulence of the isolates on the hosts, we identified fourteen different physiological races of P. capsici. There appears to be no restriction of races to particular geographical locations. Isolate mating types were also determined, and both mating types were found in one field in California. The significance of the characterization of physiological races and existence of both mating types in the field to pepper growers and breeders is discussed.
View-aligned hypergraph learning for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis with incomplete multi-modality data

Effectively utilizing incomplete multi-modality data for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its prodrome (i.e., mild cognitive impairment, MCI) remains an active area of research. Several multi-view learning methods have been recently developed for AD/MCI diagnosis by using incomplete multi-modality data, with each view corresponding to a specific modality or a combination of several modalities. However, existing methods usually ignore the underlying coherence among views, which may lead to sub-optimal learning performance. In this paper, we propose a view-aligned hypergraph learning (VAHL) method to explicitly model the coherence among views. Specifically, we first divide the original data into several views based on the availability of different modalities and then construct a hypergraph in each view space based on sparse representation. A view-aligned hypergraph classification (VAHC) model is then proposed, by using a view-aligned regularizer to capture coherence among views. We further assemble the class probability scores generated from VAHC, via a multi-view label fusion method for making a final classification decision. We evaluate our method on the baseline ADNI-1 database with 807 subjects and three modalities (i.e., MRI, PET, and CSF). Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods that use incomplete multi-modality data for AD/MCI diagnosis.
Risk factors for pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections in elderly residents of long-term care facilities.

BACKGROUND
Little is known about the risk factors, outcome, and impact of pneumonia and other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in residents of long-term care facilities.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the risk factors and the effect of these infections on functional status and clinical course.


METHODS
Active surveillance for these infections was conducted for 475 residents in 5 nursing homes from July 1, 1993, through June 30, 1996. Information regarding potential risk factors for these infections, functional status, transfers to hospital, and death was also obtained.


RESULTS
Two hundred seventy-two episodes of pneumonia and other LRTIs occurred in 170 residents during 228 757 days of surveillance for an incidence of 1.2 episodes per 1000 resident-days. Multivariable analysis revealed that older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-2.6 per 10-year interval; P = .01), male sex (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5; P = .03), swallowing difficulty (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2-3.3; P = .01), and the inability to take oral medications (OR, 8.3; 95% CI, 1.4-50.3; P = .02) were significant risk factors for pneumonia; receipt of influenza vaccine (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.3-0.5; P = .01) was protective. Age (OR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.0-2.5] per 10-year interval; P = .05) and immobility (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.8-3.8; P = .01) were significant risk factors for other LRTIs, and influenza vaccination was protective (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2-0.4; P = .01). Residents with pneumonia (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.3-1.4; P = .31) or with other LRTIs (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.2-1.1; P = .43) were no more likely to have a deterioration in functional status than individuals in whom infection did not develop.


CONCLUSIONS
Swallowing difficulty and lack of influenza vaccination are important, modifiable risks for pneumonia and other LRTIs in elderly residents of long-term care facilities. Our findings challenge the commonly held belief that pneumonia leads to long-term decline in functional status in this population.
Development and validation of the insulin treatment satisfaction questionnaire.

BACKGROUND
Treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) is complex, requiring multifaceted lifestyle change or regulation and, for many, self-regulation of insulin levels in the blood. Historically, daily insulin treatment has been viewed as burdensome to patients, prompting newer formulations and improved delivery methods.


OBJECTIVE
This multicenter, clinical study was designed to develop a conceptually sound, clinically meaningful, and psychometrically valid measure of insulin treatment satisfaction, applicable to a wide range of insulin therapies.


METHODS
A 3-phase iterative process was employed to develop and validate the Insulin Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ITSQ): (1) conceptual development of items, (2) preliminary validation among patients with DM, and (3) confirmatory validation among patients with DM.


RESULTS
The ITSQ was validated with 170 patients in phase 2 and 402 patients in phase 3. Confirmatory factor analysis produced a 5-factor, 22-item instrument assessing regimen inconvenience, lifestyle flexibility, glycemic control, hypoglycemic control, and satisfaction with the insulin delivery device. Results for reliability and construct validity of the final version were consistent in both samples of patients treated with insulin, with different data collection methods. Internal consistency (using Cronbach alpha coefficient) of the subscales ranged from 0.79 to 0.91. Test-retest reliability (using Spearman rank correlation coefficients) ranged from 0.63 to 0.94. ITSQ scores showed moderate to high correlation with related measures of treatment burden. The ITSQ differentiated among insulin delivery methods, glycosylated hemoglobin values, the number of times the patient required assistance administering insulin, and insulin adherence.


CONCLUSION
In our study samples, the ITSQ appeared to be conceptually and psychometrically sound and applicable to a wide range of insulin therapies.
The use of β2-agonist therapy before hospital attendance for severe asthma exacerbations: a post-hoc analysis

Background:Patterns of inhaled β2-agonist therapy use during severe asthma exacerbations before hospital attendance are poorly understood.Aims:To assess β2-agonist use prior to hospital attendance.Methods:We undertook an exploratory post hoc analysis of data from a 6-month clinical trial of 303 patients randomised to combination budesonide/formoterol inhaler according to a Single combination inhaler as Maintenance And Reliever Therapy regimen (‘SMART’) or fixed-dose budesonide/formoterol with salbutamol as reliever (‘Standard’). Patterns of β2-agonist use for 14 days before hospital attendance with a severe asthma exacerbation were determined by electronic monitoring of inhaler use.Results:There were 22 hospital attendances in 16 patients during the study. Seven and nine hospital attendances were eligible for analysis in the SMART and Standard groups, respectively. In both regimens, β2-agonist use increased before hospital attendance, with a median (range) maximum daily number of actuations of 14 (9 to 63) budesonide/formoterol in SMART and 46 (6 to 95) salbutamol in Standard with 4 (0 to 10) budesonide/formoterol actuations on the day of maximal salbutamol use. There was delay in obtaining medical review despite high β2-agonist use, in 9/16 patients. Different patterns of use were observed, including repeated days of no inhaled corticosteroid despite marked salbutamol use, which occurred in 3/9 patients in the Standard group.Conclusions:Delay in obtaining medical review in association with high β2-agonist use is common in patients before hospital presentation with severe exacerbations of asthma. The SMART regimen reduced nonadherence with inhaled corticosteroid therapy during severe exacerbations.
A New Randomness Extraction Paradigm for Hybrid Encryption

We present a new approach to the design of IND-CCA2 secure hybrid encryption schemes in the standard model. Our approach provides an efficient generic transformation from 1-universal to 2-universal hash proof systems. The transformation involves a randomness extractor based on a 4-wise independent hash function as the key derivation function. Our methodology can be instantiated with efficient schemes based on standard intractability assumptions such as Decisional Diffie-Hellman, Quadratic Residuosity, and Paillier’s Decisional Composite Residuosity. Interestingly, our framework also allows to prove IND-CCA2 security of a hybrid version of 1991’s Damg̊ard’s ElGamal public-key encryption scheme under the DDH assumption.
Molecular genetics of pathogenic oomycetes.

Parasitic and pathogenic lifestyles have evolved repeatedly in eukaryotes ([93][1]). Several parasitic eukaryotes represent deep phylogenetic lineages, suggesting that they feature unique molecular processes for infecting their hosts. One such group is formed by the oomycetes. Traditionally, due to