LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Development of a triage protocol for patients presenting with gastrointestinal hemorrhage: a prospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION
Many patients presenting with acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage (GIH) are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for monitoring. A simple triage protocol based upon validated risk factors could decrease ICU utilization.


METHODS
Records of 188 patients admitted with GIH from the emergency department (ED) were reviewed for BLEED criteria (visualized red blood, systolic blood pressure below 100 mm Hg, elevated prothrombin time [PT], erratic mental status, and unstable comorbid disease) and complication within the first 24 hours of admission. Variables associated with early complication were reassessed in 132 patients prospectively enrolled as a validation cohort. A triage model was developed using significant predictors.


RESULTS
We studied 188 patients in the development set and 132 in the validation set. Red blood (relative risk [RR] 4.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.04, 10.07) and elevated PT (RR 3.27, 95% CI 1.53, 7.01) were significantly associated with complication in the development set. In the validation cohort, the combination of red blood or unstable comorbidity had a sensitivity of 0.73, a specificity of 0.55, a positive predictive value of 0.24, and a negative predictive value of 0.91 for complication within 24 hours. In simulation studies, a triage model using these variables could reduce ICU admissions without increasing the number of complications.


CONCLUSION
Patients presenting to the ED with GIH who have no evidence of ongoing bleeding or unstable comorbidities are at low risk for complication during hospital admission. A triage model based on these variables should be tested prospectively to optimize critical care resource utilization in this common condition.
Comparison of the effects of salbutamol and adrenaline on airway smooth muscle contractility in vitro and on bronchial reactivity in vivo.

BACKGROUND
The effect of adrenergic agonists in asthma depends on their net effect on microvascular leakage, mucosal oedema, vascular clearance of spasmogens, inhibition of cholinergic neurotransmission, and airway smooth muscle contractility. It has been postulated that adrenaline, by virtue of its alpha effects on the vasculature and cholinergic neurotransmission, may have additional useful properties in asthma compared with selective beta agonists such as salbutamol.


METHODS
The airway effects of adrenaline (a non-selective adrenoreceptor agonist) were compared with the selective beta 2 agonist salbutamol. Their airway smooth muscle relaxant potencies and effect on histamine contraction in human bronchi in vitro were compared with their effects on airway calibre and histamine reactivity in asthmatic subjects in vivo. For the in vitro studies changes in tension were measured in response to these agents in thoracotomy specimens of human airways. In vivo the effects of adrenaline and salbutamol on airway calibre and histamine reactivity were measured in eight subjects with mild to moderate asthma in a randomised crossover study.


RESULTS
Salbutamol and adrenaline had approximately equivalent airway smooth muscle relaxant potencies in vitro and bronchodilator potency in vivo. However, their effects on histamine induced contraction in vitro were significantly different from their effects on histamine reactivity in vivo. Salbutamol was less potent in vitro producing a mean (SE) 2.4 (0.15) doubling dose increase in the histamine EC20 and adrenaline a 5.2 (0.18) doubling dose increase (mean difference between salbutamol and adrenaline 2.8 doubling doses; 95% CI 1.1 to 4.5). Salbutamol had no effect on the maximal response to histamine whereas adrenaline reduced it by 54%. In contrast, salbutamol was more potent in vivo producing a mean (SE) increase in PD20 histamine of 1.84 (0.5) doubling doses whereas adrenaline was without effect increasing PD20 by only 0.06 (0.47) doubling doses (mean difference between adrenaline and salbutamol 1.78, 95% CI 0.26 to 3.29 doubling doses).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that the alpha adrenergic airway effects of non-selective adrenoreceptor agonists such as adrenaline offer no additional protection against histamine-induced broncho-constriction in vivo than beta 2 selective drugs such as salbutamol, despite adrenaline providing greater protection against histamine-induced contraction in vitro. The differences between the effects of these agents in vitro and in vivo may be related to their opposing vascular effects in vivo.
Pheochromocytoma: new concepts and future trends.

A 37-year-old white woman was referred to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for evaluation of a right suprarenal mass. BeginningS years before, she had experienced episodes of severe headache, pounding heart, and flushing, followed by facial pallor and tremulousness. Neither blood pressure nor heart rate was checked during these spells. The attacks occurred about twice monthly and lasted for 5 to 20 minutes. She noted that "bearing down" during defecation or "curling up" on her left side often precipitated these episodes. She consulted 6 physicians over the subsequent 4 years; no diagnosis was made to explain her symptoms. One year ago, she consulted a neurologist, who performed a thorough examination and obtained a magnetic resonance image of the head: no abnormalities were detected. One month before she came to the Cleveland Clinic, her private physician obtained an abdominal sonogram because he suspected an abdominal aneurysm. The study revealed a "5.2 x 5.1 cm solid, hyperechoic suprarenal mass" on the right side. Neither she or her family had a significant medical history. Physical examination revealed a blood pressure of 122/76 mm Hg: pulse, 80 beats/mm and regular: and respiratory rate, 16/mm. The rest of the examination was unremarkable. Laboratory studies revealed: normal SMA-l6 values except for a blood glucose of 133 mg/dl: normal thyroid function: serum calcium. 8.8 mg/dl; plasma norepinephrine. 1456 pg/mI: epinephrine. 259 pg/mI; 24-hr urinary metanephrine, 5728 g/24 hr: normetanephrine, 10,465 g/24 hr; and serum chromogranin A, 162 ng/ml (normal. 50 ng/ml). An abdominal CT scan revealed a right suprarenal mass measuring about 6.0 cm diameter, which demonstrated a high signal intensity on the T2-weighted image by MRI (Fig. I). The mass concentrated high
Targeting of low-dose CT screening according to the risk of lung-cancer death.

BACKGROUND
In the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) resulted in a 20% reduction in lung-cancer mortality among participants between the ages of 55 and 74 years with a minimum of 30 pack-years of smoking and no more than 15 years since quitting. It is not known whether the benefits and potential harms of such screening vary according to lung-cancer risk.


METHODS
We assessed the variation in efficacy, the number of false positive results, and the number of lung-cancer deaths prevented among 26,604 participants in the NLST who underwent low-dose CT screening, as compared with the 26,554 participants who underwent chest radiography, according to the quintile of 5-year risk of lung-cancer death (ranging from 0.15 to 0.55% in the lowest-risk group [quintile 1] to more than 2.00% in the highest-risk group [quintile 5]).


RESULTS
The number of lung-cancer deaths per 10,000 person-years that were prevented in the CT-screening group, as compared with the radiography group, increased according to risk quintile (0.2 in quintile 1, 3.5 in quintile 2, 5.1 in quintile 3, 11.0 in quintile 4, and 12.0 in quintile 5; P=0.01 for trend). Across risk quintiles, there were significant decreasing trends in the number of participants with false positive results per screening-prevented lung-cancer death (1648 in quintile 1, 181 in quintile 2, 147 in quintile 3, 64 in quintile 4, and 65 in quintile 5). The 60% of participants at highest risk for lung-cancer death (quintiles 3 through 5) accounted for 88% of the screening-prevented lung-cancer deaths and for 64% of participants with false positive results. The 20% of participants at lowest risk (quintile 1) accounted for only 1% of prevented lung-cancer deaths.


CONCLUSIONS
Screening with low-dose CT prevented the greatest number of deaths from lung cancer among participants who were at highest risk and prevented very few deaths among those at lowest risk. These findings provide empirical support for risk-based targeting of smokers for such screening. (Funded by the National Cancer Institute.).
Resistance Exercise Reduces Body Fat and Insulin During Androgen-Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To determine whether exercise could reduce biomarkers of cancer progression in prostate cancer survivors (PCSs) on androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT).


DESIGN
Randomized, controlled trial.


SETTING
Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing.


SAMPLE
51 PCSs randomized to one year of resistance and impact training or a stretching control group.


METHODS
The authors investigated changes in body composition and cancer-related biomarkers, and the influence of age and fat loss on changes in biomarkers.


MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Body composition (total fat, trunk fat, and lean mass), insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1, and sex hormone-binding globulin.


FINDINGS
In the 36 PCSs with baseline and 12-month data, total fat (p = 0.02) and trunk fat (p = 0.06) mass decreased in the training group compared to gains in controls. Loss of total and trunk fat each mediated the relationship between groups and one-year change in insulin (p < 0.05). Age moderated the insulin response to exercise where insulin reductions were smaller with increasing age (p = 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
Resistance and impact exercise may reduce body fat among PCSs undergoing ADT, in turn exerting an insulin-lowering effect.


IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Nurses should counsel PCSs to exercise to reduce the risk of obesity and associated conditions, including cancer progression.
Advanced Geometric Approach for Graphics and Visual Guided Robot Object Manipulation

This paper presents an approach to deal with standard tasks of computer animations and robotics based on Conformal Geometric Algebra. We will show that this algebra is very well suitable for applications of all kind of robot manipulator kinematics, representation and visualization and object robot manipulation. Due to its geometric intuitiveness and simplicity Conformal Geometric Algebra appears to be a promising mathematical tool for building intelligent man-machine interfaces.
CNN-Based Indoor Path Loss Modeling with Reconstruction of Input Images

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have shown surprisingly good performance in both classification and regression problems. Given a floor plan of a building and indoor measurement data of Wi-Fi received signal strength (RSS) at discrete locations, a CNN can be trained to approximate the underlying functions of path loss. In this article, we propose a novel CNN-based indoor path loss modeling approach. Based on a floor plan and measurement data, input images are generated for training a CNN, which can make predictions of the RSS of 5 GHz Wi-Fi in an indoor usage scenario. Experiment results show that CNNs can be used for indoor path loss modeling with the encouraging performance with the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 3.9404 dBm and good generalization property.
Roaming electric vehicle charging and billing: An anonymous multi-user protocol

In this paper, we propose a secure roaming electric vehicle (EV) charging protocol that helps preserve users' privacy. During a charging session, a roaming EV user uses a pseudonym of the EV (known only to the user's contracted supplier) which is anonymously signed by the user's private key. This protocol protects the user's identity privacy from other suppliers as well as the user's privacy of location from its own supplier. Further, it allows the user's contracted supplier to authenticate the EV and the user. Using two-factor authentication approach a multiuser EV charging is supported and different legitimate EV users (e.g. family members) can be held accountable for their charging sessions. With each charging session, the EV uses a different pseudonym which prevents adversaries from linking the different charging sessions of the EV. On an application level, our protocol supports fair user billing, i.e. each user pays only for his/her own energy consumption, and an open EV marketplace in which EV users can safely choose among different remote host suppliers.
Automated face recognition of rhesus macaques

BACKGROUND
Rhesus macaques are widely used in biomedical research. Automated behavior monitoring can be useful in various fields (including neuroscience), as well as having applications to animal welfare but current technology lags behind that developed for other species. One difficulty facing developers is the reliable identification of individual macaques within a group especially as pair- and group-housing of macaques becomes standard. Current published methods require either implantation or wearing of a tracking device.


NEW METHOD
I present face recognition, in combination with face detection, as a method to non-invasively identify individual rhesus macaques in videos. The face recognition method utilizes local-binary patterns in combination with a local discriminant classification algorithm.


RESULTS
A classification accuracy of between 90 and 96% was achieved for four different groups. Group size, number of training images and challenging image conditions such as high contrast all had an impact on classification accuracy. I demonstrate that these methods can be applied in real time using standard affordable hardware and a potential application to studies of social structure.


COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S)
Face recognition methods have been reported for humans and other primate species such as chimpanzees but not rhesus macaques. The classification accuracy with this method is comparable to that for chimpanzees. Face recognition has the advantage over other methods for identifying rhesus macaques such as tags and collars of being non-invasive.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first reported method for face recognition of rhesus macaques, has high classification accuracy and can be implemented in real time.
Synthetic cathinones ("bath salts").

BACKGROUND
Synthetic cathinones are popularly referred to in the media as "bath salts." Through the direct and indirect activation of the sympathetic nervous system, smoking, snorting, or injecting synthetic cathinones can result in tachycardia, hypertension, hyperthermia, myocardial infarction, and death.


OBJECTIVE
The chemical structures and names of bath salts identified by the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation are presented. Based on their common pharmacophores, we review the history, pharmacology, toxicology, detection methods, and clinical implications of synthetic cathinones. Through the integration of this information, the pharmacological basis for the management of patients using synthetic cathinones is presented.


DISCUSSION
Synthetic cathinones activate central serotonergic and dopaminergic systems contributing to acute psychosis and the peripheral activation of the sympathetic nervous system. The overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system contributes to the many toxicities reported with bath salt use. The pharmacological basis for managing these patients is targeted at attenuating the activation of these systems.


CONCLUSIONS
Treatment of patients presenting after using bath salts should be focused on reducing agitation and psychosis and supporting renal perfusion. The majority of successfully treated synthetic cathinones cases have used benzodiazepines and antipsychotics along with general supportive care.
Selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg alloy: Process optimisation and mechanical properties development

The influence of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process parameters (laser power, scan speed, scan spacing, and island size using a Concept Laser M2 system) on the porosity development in AlSi10Mg alloy builds has been investigated, using statistical design of experimental approach, correlated with the energy density model. A two-factor interaction model showed that the laser power, scan speed, and the interaction between the scan speed and scan spacing have the major influence on the porosity development in the builds. By driving the statistical method to minimise the porosity fraction, optimum process parameters were obtained. The optimum build parameters were validated, and subsequently used to build rod-shaped samples to assess the room temperature and high temperature (creep) mechanical properties. The samples produced using SLM showed better strength and elongation properties, compared to die cast Al-alloys of similar composition. Creep results showed better rupture life than cast alloy, with a good agreement with the Larson-Miller literature data for this alloy composition.
Lack of association of alcohol dependence and habitual smoking with catechol-O-methyltransferase.

OBJECTIVE
To test whether variation in the gene encoding the enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which catalyzes the breakdown of dopamine and other catecholamine neurotransmitters, is associated with the risk for alcohol dependence and habitual smoking.


METHODS
Single nucleotide polymophisms (SNPs) were genotyped in a sample of 219 multiplex alcohol-dependent families of European American descent from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Family-based tests of association were performed to evaluate the evidence of association between the 18 SNPs distributed throughout COMT, including the functional Val158Met polymorphism, and the phenotypes of alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking, and comorbid alcohol dependence and habitual smoking.


RESULTS
No significant, consistent evidence of association was found with alcohol dependence, early onset alcohol dependence, habitual smoking or the comorbid phenotype. There was no evidence that the functional Val158Met polymorphism, previously reported to be associated with these phenotypes, was associated with any of them.


CONCLUSION
Despite the substantial size of this study, we did not find evidence to support an association between alcohol dependence or habitual smoking and variation in COMT.
Modern Michelson-Morley experiments and gravitationally-induced anisotropy of c

The recent, precise Michelson-Morley experiment performed by Muller et al. suggests a tiny anisotropy of the speed of light. I propose a quantitative explanation of the observed effect based on the interpretation of gravity as a density fluctuation of the Higgs condensate.
Model-Based Speech Enhancement With Improved Spectral Envelope Estimation via Dynamics Tracking

In this work, we present a model-based approach to enhance noisy speech using an analysis-synthesis framework. Target speech is reconstructed with model parameters estimated from noisy observations. In particular, spectral envelope is estimated by tracking its temporal trajectories in order to improve the noise-distorted short-time spectral amplitude. Initially, we propose an analysis-synthesis framework for speech enhancement based on harmonic noise model (HNM). Acoustic parameters such as pitch, spectral envelope, and spectral gain are extracted from HNM analysis. Spectral envelope estimation is improved by tracking its line spectrum frequency trajectories through Kalman filtering. System identification of Kalman filter is achieved via a combined design of codebook mapping scheme and maximum-likelihood estimator with parallel training data. Complete system design and experimental validations are given in details. Through performance evaluation based on a study of spectrogram, objective measures and a subjective listening test, it is demonstrated that the proposed approach achieves significant improvement over conventional methods in various conditions. A distinct advantage of the proposed method is that it successfully tackles the “musical tones” problem.
A Prediction Model that Combines Rain Attenuation and Other Propagation Impairments Along Earth-Satellite Paths

Issue No. 2, Fall 2002 www.spacejournal.org Page 1 of 29 A Prediction Model that Combines Rain Attenuation and Other Propagation Impairments Along EarthSatellite Paths Asoka Dissanayake, Jeremy Allnutt, Fatim Haidara Abstract The rapid growth of satellite services using higher frequency bands such as the Ka-band has highlighted a need for estimating the combined effect of different propagation impairments. Many projected Ka-band services will use very small terminals and, for some, rain effects may only form a relatively small part of the total propagation link margin. It is therefore necessary to identify and predict the overall impact of every significant attenuating effect along any given path. A procedure for predicting the combined effect of rain attenuation and several other propagation impairments along earth-satellite paths is presented. Where accurate model exist for some phenomena, these have been incorporated into the prediction procedure. New models were developed, however, for rain attenuation, cloud attenuation, and low-angle fading to provide more overall accuracy, particularly at very low elevation angles (<10°). In the absence of a detailed knowledge of the occurrence probabilities of different impairments, an empirical approach is taken in estimating their combined effects. An evaluation of the procedure is made using slant-path attenuation data that have been collected with simultaneous beacon and radiometer measurements which allow a near complete account of different impairments. Results indicate that the rain attenuation element of the model provides the best average accuracy globally between 10 and 30 GHz and that the combined procedure gives prediction accuracies comparable to uncertainties associated with the year-to-year variability of path attenuation.
Chromosomal instability in ulcerative colitis is related to telomere shortening

Ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the colon, is associated with a high risk of colorectal carcinoma that is thought to develop through genomic instability. We considered that the rapid cell turnover and oxidative injury observed in ulcerative colitis might accelerate telomere shortening, thereby increasing the potential of chromosomal ends to fuse, resulting in cycles of chromatin bridge breakage and fusion and chromosomal instability associated with tumor cell progression. Here we have used quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization to compare chromosomal aberrations and telomere shortening in non-dysplastic mucosa taken from individuals affected by ulcerative colitis, either with (UC progressors) or without (UC non-progressors) dysplasia or cancer. Losses, but not gains, of chromosomal arms and centromeres are highly correlated with telomere shortening. Chromosomal losses are greater and telomeres are shorter in biopsy samples from UC progressors than in those from UC non-progressors or control individuals without ulcerative colitis. A mechanistic link between telomere shortening and chromosomal instability is supported by a higher frequency of anaphase bridges—an intermediate in the breakage and fusion of chromatin bridges—in UC progressors than in UC non-progressors or control individuals. Our study shows that telomere length is correlated with chromosomal instability in a precursor of human cancer.