LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Does access to a colorectal cancer screening website and/or a nurse-managed telephone help line provided to patients by their family physician increase fecal occult blood test uptake?: results from a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial

Evaluation of the effectiveness of a patient decision aid (nurse-managed telephone support line and/or colorectal cancer screening website), distributed to patients by their family physician, in improving fecal occult blood test (FOBT) colorectal cancer screening rates. A pragmatic, two arm, cluster randomized controlled trial in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (39 medical clinic clusters; 79 fee-for-service family physicians; 2,395 average risk patients). All physicians followed their standard clinical screening practice. Intervention group physicians provided a fridge magnet to patients that facilitated patient decision aid access. Primary endpoint was FOBT screening rate within four months. Multi-level logistic regression to determine effect of cluster, physician, and patient level factors on patient FOBT completion rate. ICC determined. Family physicians were randomized to control (n = 39) and intervention (n = 40) groups. Compared to controls (56.9%; n = 663/1165), patients receiving the intervention had a higher FOBT completion rate (66.6%; n = 805/1209; OR of 1.47; 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 2.03; p < 0.02). Patient aid utilization was low (1.1%; 13/1,221) and neither internet nor telephone access affected screening rates for the intervention group. FOBT screening rates differed among clinics and physicians (p < 0.0001). Patients whose physician promoted the FOBT were more likely to complete it (65%; n = 1140/1755) compared to those whose physician did not (51.1%; n = 242/470; p < 0.0001; OR of 1.54 and 95% CI of 1.23 to 1.92). Patients reporting they had done an FOBT in the past were more likely to complete the test (70.6%; n = 1141/1616; p < 0.0001; 95% CI 2.51 to 3.73) than those who had not (43%; n = 303/705). Patients 50–59 years old had lower screening rates compared to those over 60 (p < 0.0001). 75% of patients completing the test did so in 34 days. Despite minimal use of the patient aid, intervention group patients were more likely to complete the FOBT. Powerful strategies to increase colorectal cancer screening rates include a recommendation to do the test from the family physician and focusing efforts on patients age 50–59 years to ensure they complete their first FOBT. Trial registration number: clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01026753 .
Quality Models in Software Engineering Literature : An Analytical and Comparative Study

The quality of the software is critical and essenti al in different types of organizations. In some typ es of software, poor quality of the software product in s e itive systems (such as: real-time systems, contr ol systems, etc.) may lead to loss of human life, permanent injury, m ission failure, or financial loss. In software engi neering literature, there are a number of quality models in which they contain a number of quality characteris ics (or factors, as called in some models). These quality characteri stics could be used to reflect the quality of the s oftware product from the view of that characteristic. Selecting whi ch one of the quality models to use is a real chall enge. In this paper, we will discuss the contents of the followin g quality models: McCall’s quality model, Boehm’s q uality model, Dromey's quality model, FURPS quality model and ISO 9126 quality model. In addition, we will fo cus on a comparison between these quality models, and find t he key differences between them. [Journal of Americ an Science 2010; 6(3):166-175]. (ISSN: 1545-1003).
Comparing Strengths of Beliefs Explicitly

In a flat sliding gear drive formed of flat panel-shaped sliding elements (1), (2), with a first sliding element (1) connected to a motor and a second sliding element (2) connected to a variable load, the first and second sliding elements (1), (2) have interacting wedge surfaces which are curved for providing a uniform torque loading of the driving motor.
Garment-based monitoring of respiration rate using a foam pressure sensor

Comfortable body monitoring is crucial to many wearable devices. However, many traditional sensors impede wearability by their physical structure or functional requirements. This paper presents the application of a novel garment-integrated foam-based pressure sensor used for monitoring the wearer's respiration rate. The sensor was evaluated in a torso garment during a 10-minute treadmill test. Results were accurate within one breath per minute, as compared to a standard airflow breathing test.
Using an office system intervention to increase breast cancer screening

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate an innovative approach to continuing medical education, an outreach intervention designed to improve performance rates of breast cancer screening through implementation of office systems in community primary care practices. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial with primary care practices assigned to either the intervention group or control group, with the practice as the unit of analysis. SETTING: Twenty mostly rural counties in North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: Physicians and staff of 62 randomly selected family medicine and general internal medicine practices, primarily fee-for-service, half group practices and half solo practitioners. INTERVENTION: Physician investigators and facilitators met with practice physicians and staff over a period of 12 to 18 months to provide feedback on breast cancer screening performance, and to assist these primary care practices in developing office systems tailored to increase breast cancer screening. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Physician questionnaires were obtained at baseline and follow-up to assess the presence of five indicators of an office system. Three of the five indicators of office systems increased significantly more in intervention practices than in control practices, but the mean number of indicators in intervention practices at follow-up was only 2.8 out of 5. Cross-sectional reviews of randomly chosen medical records of eligible women patients aged 50 years and over were done at baseline (n=2,887) and follow-up (n=2,874) to determine whether clinical breast examinations and mammography, were performed. Results for mammography were recorded in two ways, mention of the test in the visit note and actual report of the test in the medical record. These reviews showed an increase from 39% to 51% in mention of mammography in intervention practices, compared with an increase from 41% to 44% in control practices (p=.01). There was no significant difference, however, between the two groups in change in mammograms reported (intervention group increased from 28% to 32.7%; control group increased from 30.6% to 34.0%, p=.56). There was a nonsignificant trend (p=.06) toward a greater increase in performance of clinical breast examination in intervention versus control practices. CONCLUSIONS: A moderately intensive outreach intervention to increase rates of breast cancer screening through the development of office systems was modestly successful in increasing indicators of office systems and in documenting mention of mammography, but had little impact on actual performance of breast cancer screening. At follow-up, few practices had a complete office system for breast cancer screening. Outreach approaches to assist primary care practices implement office systems are promising but need further development.
HyperLogLog : the analysis of a near-optimal cardinality estimation algorithm

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. HyperLogLog: the analysis of a near-optimal cardinality estimation algorithm Philippe Flajolet, Éric Fusy, Olivier Gandouet, Frédéric Meunier
Septal batten graft to correct cartilaginous deformities in endonasal septoplasty.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the usefulness of septal batten grafts to correct cartilaginous septal deformities in endonasal septoplasty.


DESIGN
Retrospective study.


SETTING
University medical center.


PATIENTS
Of 430 patients who underwent endonasal septoplasties from January 2006 to January 2011, 30 received septal batten grafts and were enrolled in the study. Twenty-eight patients were male and 2 were female.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Thirty consecutive patients received septal batten grafts and were followed up for more than 6 months. Patterns of septal deformity, materials used for batten graft, surgical results, symptom improvement, findings of acoustic rhinometry, and surgical complications were investigated.


RESULTS
Among the 30 patients, 5 were revision cases. Most of the deformities were characterized as moderate to severe degrees of curved or angulated deviations of the cartilaginous septum. The batten graft was performed with either septal cartilage (n = 21) or bony septum (n = 9). A straight septum was achieved in 90% of all procedures. Subjective symptoms of nasal obstruction were improved in all patients, as evaluated by the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scale. Acoustic rhinometry revealed that after surgery the mean minimal cross-sectional area changed from 0.33 cm² to 0.42 cm² (P = .02) and the nasal volume from 4.71 mL to 6.28 mL (P = .02). There were no major complications, eg, septal perforation or saddle nose, and no revision surgery was needed.


CONCLUSION
Endonasal septal batten graft is a safe, useful, and effective technique to straighten moderate to severe septal cartilage deformities that are otherwise not correctable via conventional septoplasty techniques.
Stock price prediction using financial news articles

Stock price prediction is one of the most important issues to be investigated in academic and financial researches. Data mining techniques are frequently involved in the studies aimed to achieve this problem. In this paper we investigate predicting stock prices using financial news articles. A prediction model, finding and analyzing correlation between contents of news articles and stock prices and then making predictions for future prices, was developed. We retrieve financial news articles published in last year, and we get stock prices for same period. All articles are labeled positive or negative according to their effects on stock price. So we use price changes to label the articles. While analyzing textual data, we use word couples consisting of a noun and a verb as features instead of using single words. Afterwards, support vector machines classifier is trained with labeled train articles. Finally, classes of test articles are predicted with using the model resulted from train phase. We achieve serious success rates that prove predictive power of our system.
Optical coherence tomography in diagnosing, differentiating and monitoring of choroidal nevi - 1 year observational study.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the utility of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) in diagnosing, differentiating and monitoring of choroidal nevi situated in the posterior pole and optic disc area.


MATERIAL AND METHOD
116 consecutive patients (65 women, 51 men) aged 27-95 years, with choroidal nevus were included to the research. Routine ophthalmoscopic evaluation and OCT using the Zeiss Stratus OCT as well as fundus photography were performed in each patient. The OCT was used to assess the structure of the retina overlying the choroidal nevus, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) - choriocapillaris complex, as well as the anterior portion of the choroidal lesion. In 31 patients due to suspected malignant melanoma fluorescein angiography and ultrasound were additionally performed. Follow-up OCT was done after 12 months in 51 out of 85 patients with characteristics of choroidal nevi, and after 6 and 12 months in 27 patients with "suspicious" lesion.


RESULTS
The basal dimension of the lesion ranged from 0.5 mm to 12 mm (mean 2.75mm), mean thickness was 1.25 mm. The pigmented lesion did not affect visual acuity. In 85 patients the lesion was flat or slightly elevated, without secondary changes in the retina. In 31 patients additional changes in the retina were observed - most frequently subretinal fluid. Two patients were eventually diagnosed with malignant melanoma. The follow-up OCT did not show progression in neither patients without secondary changes nor those with risk factors of malignancy.


CONCLUSION
Optical coherence tomography enables detailed evaluation of the retina overlying the pigmented lesion. Secondary changes in the retina need additional exams and strict observation. OCT could be an additional tool in the evaluation of treatment of malignant melanoma.
Etanercept treatment for children and adolescents with plaque psoriasis.

BACKGROUND
Etanercept, a soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor, has been shown to lessen disease severity in adult patients with psoriasis. We assessed the efficacy and safety of etanercept in children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.


METHODS
In this 48-week study, 211 patients with psoriasis (4 to 17 years of age) were initially randomly assigned to a double-blind trial of 12 once-weekly subcutaneous injections of placebo or 0.8 mg of etanercept per kilogram of body weight (to a maximum of 50 mg), followed by 24 weeks of once-weekly open-label etanercept. At week 36, 138 patients underwent a second randomization to placebo or etanercept to investigate the effects of withdrawal and retreatment. The primary end point was 75% or greater improvement from baseline in the psoriasis area-and-severity index (PASI 75) at week 12. Secondary end points included PASI 50, PASI 90, physician's global assessment of clear or almost clear of disease, and safety assessments.


RESULTS
At week 12, 57% of patients receiving etanercept achieved PASI 75, as compared with 11% of those receiving placebo (P<0.001). A significantly higher proportion of patients in the etanercept group than in the placebo group had PASI 50 (75% vs. 23%), PASI 90 (27% vs. 7%), and a physician's global assessment of clear or almost clear (53% vs. 13%) at week 12 (P<0.001). At week 36, after 24 weeks of open-label etanercept, rates of PASI 75 were 68% and 65% for patients initially assigned to etanercept and placebo, respectively. During the withdrawal period from week 36 to week 48, response was lost by 29 of 69 patients (42%) assigned to placebo at the second randomization. Four serious adverse events (including three infections) occurred in three patients during treatment with open-label etanercept; all resolved without sequelae.


CONCLUSIONS
Etanercept significantly reduced disease severity in children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00078819 [ClinicalTrials.gov].).
Integrating a Smartphone-Based Self-Management System into Usual Care of Advanced CKD.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Patient self-management has been shown to improve health outcomes. We developed a smartphone-based system to boost self-care by patients with CKD and integrated its use into usual CKD care. We determined its acceptability and examined changes in several clinical parameters.


DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
We recruited patients with stage 4 or 5 CKD attending outpatient renal clinics who responded to a general information newsletter about this 6-month proof-of-principle study. The smartphone application targeted four behavioral elements: monitoring BP, medication management, symptom assessment, and tracking laboratory results. Prebuilt customizable algorithms provided real-time personalized patient feedback and alerts to providers when predefined treatment thresholds were crossed or critical changes occurred. Those who died or started RRT within the first 2 months were replaced. Only participants followed for 6 months after recruitment were included in assessing changes in clinical measures.


RESULTS
In total, 47 patients (26 men; mean age =59 years old; 33% were ≥65 years old) were enrolled; 60% had never used a smartphone. User adherence was high (>80% performed ≥80% of recommended assessments) and sustained. The mean reductions in home BP readings between baseline and exit were statistically significant (systolic BP, -3.4 mmHg; 95% confidence interval, -5.0 to -1.8 and diastolic BP, -2.1 mmHg; 95% confidence interval, -2.9 to -1.2); 27% with normal clinic BP readings had newly identified masked hypertension. One hundred twenty-seven medication discrepancies were identified; 59% were medication errors that required an intervention to prevent harm. In exit interviews, patients indicated feeling more confident and in control of their condition; clinicians perceived patients to be better informed and more engaged.


CONCLUSIONS
Integrating a smartphone-based self-management system into usual care of patients with advanced CKD proved feasible and acceptable, and it appeared to be clinically useful. The results provide a strong rationale for a randomized, controlled trial.
Modelling of numerical distance relays using MATLAB

Numerical relays are the result of the application of microprocessor technology in relay industry. Numerical relays have the ability to communicate with its peers, are economical and are easy to operate, adjust and repair. Modeling of numerical relay is important to adjust and settle protection equipment in electrical facilities and to train protection personnel. Computer models of numerical relays for the study of protection systems are greatly enhanced when working along with an Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP). This paper describes distance relay model built using MATLAB environment. The behavior of the distance relay model has been verified using data about different faults generated by the Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP-ATP). Data generated by EMTP-ATP describes the voltage and current signals at the relay location both immediately before and during the fault. The signals include the dc offset and the high frequency traveling waves. The data is applied to the relay simulator, which then evaluates whether the impedance trajectory of the fault enters one or more of the operating zones. The results are presented in graphical form using an R-X diagram. The model is then verified by checking the model impedance measurement at different fault locations, and resistive faults. The paper demonstrates the benefits achieved when using a computer simulation of a relay in conjunction with a transient power system simulation.
The Recombinant BCG ΔureC::hly Vaccine Targets the AIM2 Inflammasome to Induce Autophagy and Inflammation.

BACKGROUND
The recombinant BCG ΔureC::hly (rBCG) vaccine candidate induces improved protection against tuberculosis over parental BCG (pBCG) in preclinical studies and has successfully completed a phase 2a clinical trial. However, the mechanisms responsible for the superior vaccine efficacy of rBCG are still incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the underlying biological mechanisms elicited by the rBCG vaccine candidate relevant to its protective efficacy.


METHODS
THP-1 macrophages were infected with pBCG or rBCG, and inflammasome activation and autophagy were evaluated. In addition, mice were vaccinated with pBCG or rBCG, and gene expression in the draining lymph nodes was analyzed by microarray at day 1 after vaccination.


RESULTS
BCG-derived DNA was detected in the cytosol of rBCG-infected macrophages. rBCG infection was associated with enhanced absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome activation, increased activation of caspases and production of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, as well as induction of AIM2-dependent and stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-dependent autophagy. Similarly, mice vaccinated with rBCG showed early increased expression of Il-1β, Il-18, and Tmem173 (transmembrane protein 173; also known as STING).


CONCLUSIONS
rBCG stimulates AIM2 inflammasome activation and autophagy, suggesting that these cell-autonomous functions should be exploited for improved vaccine design.
The effect of two types of sms-texts on the uptake of screening mammogram: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE
To compare the effect of two different types of short text message service (SMS-text) reminders on the uptake of screening mammogram.


METHODS
A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2010 among females aged between 40 and 75, benefiting from the Health Insurance Plan at the American University of Beirut, whose cell phone numbers were available in their electronic medical records, and who did not do a mammogram in the past 2 years. The sample (n=385) was randomly divided into two subgroups. The first subgroup (n1=192) received a general SMS-text inviting its members to do a mammogram while the second subgroup (n2=193) received an additional informative SMS-text informing them about the benefits of mammogram screening.


RESULTS
30.7% (59) of subgroup 1 and 31.6% (61) of subgroup 2 underwent a mammogram screening test during the 6 months follow up interval post-intervention (Chi-square test, p-value ≥ 0.05). There was no difference between the response rates in the two subgroups.


CONCLUSION
A brief invitation SMS-text message for screening mammogram was found to be as effective as a detailed informative one.
Evaluation, using extracted human teeth, of Ricetral as a storage medium for avulsions--an in vitro study.

The prognosis of teeth replanted following avulsion is determined by the extra-alveolar time and storage medium used. This study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of an oral rehydration solution 'Ricetral', in retaining the vitality of periodontal ligament cells when used as a storage medium for avulsed teeth prior to replantation. The study consisted of a comparative evaluation between Ricetral and two currently recommended solutions, Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) and milk. Thirty extracted teeth were dried for 30min and soaked in the respective storage media for 45min. The periodontal ligament cells were isolated by an enzyme treatment with collagenase and trypsin. The cells were evaluated for vitality by trypan blue staining and number of vital cells counted in a hemocytometer. Statistical analysis revealed that cell vitality was high with Ricetral and HBSS, but poor with milk.