LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Psychophysiological Responses to Stress after Stress Management Training in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

BACKGROUND
Stress management interventions may prove useful in preventing the detrimental effects of stress on health. This study assessed the effects of a stress management intervention on the psychophysiological response to stress in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).


METHODS
Seventy-four patients with RA, who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that received short-term stress management training, performed a standardized psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) 1 week after the stress management training and at a 9-week follow-up. Psychological and physical functioning, and the acute psychophysiological response to the stress test were assessed.


RESULTS
Patients in the intervention group showed significantly lower psychological distress levels of anxiety after the training than did the controls. While there were no between-group differences in stress-induced tension levels, and autonomic (α-amylase) or endocrine (cortisol) responses to the stress test 1 week after the intervention, levels of stress-induced tension and cortisol were significantly lower in the intervention group at the 9-week follow-up. Overall, the response to the intervention was particularly evident in a subgroup of patients with a psychological risk profile.


CONCLUSION
A relatively short stress management intervention can improve psychological functioning and influences the psychophysiological response to stress in patients with RA, particularly those psychologically at risk. These findings might help understand how stress can affect health and the role of individual differences in stress responsiveness.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
TrialRegister.nl NTR1193.
Screening for psychologic distress in ambulatory cancer patients.

BACKGROUND
Based on evidence that psychologic distress often goes unrecognized although it is common among cancer patients, clinical practice guidelines recommend routine screening for distress. For this study, the authors sought to determine whether the single-item Distress Thermometer (DT) compared favorably with longer measures currently used to screen for distress.


METHODS
Patients (n = 380) who were recruited from 5 sites completed the DT and identified the presence or absence of 34 problems using a standardized list. Participants also completed the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and an 18-item version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18), both of which have established cutoff scores for identifying clinically significant distress.


RESULTS
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses of DT scores yielded area under the curve estimates relative to the HADS cutoff score (0.80) and the BSI-18 cutoff scores (0.78) indicative of good overall accuracy. ROC analyses also showed that a DT cutoff score of 4 had optimal sensitivity and specificity relative to both the HADS and BSI-18 cutoff scores. Additional analyses indicated that, compared with patients who had DT scores < 4, patients who had DT scores > or = 4 were more likely to be women, have a poorer performance status, and report practical, family, emotional, and physical problems (P < or = 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Findings confirm that the single-item DT compares favorably with longer measures used to screen for distress. A DT cutoff score of 4 yielded optimal sensitivity and specificity in a general cancer population relative to established cutoff scores on longer measures. The use of this cutoff score identified patients with a range of problems that were likely to reflect psychologic distress.
Developing limits for driving under cannabis.

OBJECTIVE
Development of a rational and enforceable basis for controlling the impact of cannabis use on traffic safety.


METHODS
An international working group of experts on issues related to drug use and traffic safety evaluated evidence from experimental and epidemiological research and discussed potential approaches to developing per se limits for cannabis.


RESULTS
In analogy to alcohol, finite (non-zero) per se limits for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in blood appear to be the most effective approach to separating drivers who are impaired by cannabis use from those who are no longer under the influence. Limited epidemiological studies indicate that serum concentrations of THC below 10 ng/ml are not associated with an elevated accident risk. A comparison of meta-analyses of experimental studies on the impairment of driving-relevant skills by alcohol or cannabis suggests that a THC concentration in the serum of 7-10 ng/ml is correlated with an impairment comparable to that caused by a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05%. Thus, a suitable numerical limit for THC in serum may fall in that range.


CONCLUSIONS
This analysis offers an empirical basis for a per se limit for THC that allows identification of drivers impaired by cannabis. The limited epidemiological data render this limit preliminary.
User acceptance of smart home services: an extension of the theory of planned behavior

Purpose: This study develops a comprehensive research model that can explain potential customers’ behavioral intentions to adopt and use smart home services. Methodology: This study proposes and validates a new theoretical model that extends the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Partial least squares analysis (PLS) is employed to test the research model and corresponding hypotheses on data collected from 216 survey samples. Findings: Mobility, security/privacy risk, and trust in the service provider are important factors affecting the adoption of smart home services. Practical implications: To increase potential users’ adoption rate, service providers should focus on developing mobility-related services that enable people to access smart home services while on the move using mobile devices via control and monitoring functions. Originality/Value: This study is the first empirical attempt to examine user acceptance of smart home services, as most of the prior literature has concerned technical features.
Prognostic and predictive value of long non-coding RNA GAS5 and mircoRNA-221 in colorectal cancer and their effects on colorectal cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion.

BACKGROUND
LncRNA and microRNA play an important role in the development of human cancers; they can act as a tumor suppressor gene or an oncogene. LncRNA GAS5, originating from the separation from tumor suppressor gene cDNA subtractive library, is considered as an oncogene in several kinds of cancers. The expression of miR-221 affects tumorigenesis, invasion and metastasis in multiple types of human cancers. However, there's very little information on the role LncRNA GAS5 and miR-221 play in CRC. Therefore, we conducted this study in order to analyze the association of GAS5 and miR-221 with the prognosis of CRC and preliminary study was done on proliferation, metastasis and invasion of CRC cells. In the present study, we demonstrate the predictive value of long non-coding RNA GAS5 (lncRNA GAS5) and mircoRNA-221 (miR-221) in the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and their effects on CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion.


METHODS
One hundred and fifty-eight cases with CRC patients and 173 cases of healthy subjects that with no abnormalities, who've been diagnosed through colonoscopy between January 2012 and January 2014 were selected for the study. After the clinicopathological data of the subjects, tissue, plasma and exosomes were collected, lncRNA GAS5 and miR-221 expressions in tissues, plasma and exosomes were measured by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The diagnostic values of lncRNA GAS5 and miR-221 expression in tissues, plasma and exosomes in patients with CRC were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Lentiviral vector was constructed for the overexpression of lncRNA GAS5, and SW480 cell line was used for the transfection of the experiment and assigned into an empty vector and GAS5 groups. The cell proliferation, migration and invasion were tested using a cell counting kit-8 assay and Transwell assay respectively.


RESULTS
The results revealed that LncRNA GAS5 was upregulated while the miR-221 was downregulated in the tissues, plasma and exosomes of patients with CRC. The results of ROC showed that the expressions of both lncRNA GAS5 and miR-221 in the tissues, plasma and exosomes had diagnostic value in CRC. While the LncRNA GAS5 expression in tissues, plasma and exosomes were associated with the tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, Dukes stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM), local recurrence rate and distant metastasis rate, the MiR-221 expression in tissues, plasma and exosomes were associated with tumor size, TNM stage, Dukes stage, LNM, local recurrence rate and distant metastasis rate. LncRNA GAS5 and miR-221 expression in tissues, plasma and exosomes were found to be independent prognostic factors for CRC. Following the overexpression of GAS5, the GAS5 expressions was up-regulated and miR-221 expression was down-regulated; the rate of cell proliferation, migration and invasion were decreased.
Locomotive mechanism design and fabrication of biomimetic micro robot using shape memory alloy

Recently, micro robots have been applied in various industrial areas. Some of them are requested to be able to move in small space or rough environment that people cannot reach. It is necessary to have a capability to move at even overturned and adapt simple mechanism to fabricate it easily with small size. In this paper, a novel bio-mimetic micro robot with simple mechanism using shape memory alloy (SMA) is introduced to generate earthworm-like locomotive motion. There have been many kinds of mobile micro robot using the SMA. However, these actuators generally require electric cable for power supply, which might have an adverse effect on the mobility of the micro robot The proposed micro robot system is composed of an actuator with SMA spring and silicone bellows, wireless control system, wireless power supply (battery) and body frames. The robot is also analyzed to customize required specifications. After the design and experiment, we find out that the micro robot can move a wireless free motion and be fabricated easily. Like an earthworm, the robot can travel on uneven, slippery and flexible environment.
Understanding perception of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among general practitioners, physicians, and pulmonologists in India: Results from a face-to-face survey

BACKGROUND
Challenges exist in the diagnosis, management and follow-up of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in India. Lack of awareness of the disease, its symptoms and its implications may significantly contribute in preventing individuals with symptoms from seeking advice from their primary care physicians or eliminating risk factors. This cross-sectional survey aimed to explore the attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of doctors (general practitioners [GPs], physicians and pulmonologists) related to COPD recognition, diagnosis, and treatment in India.


METHODS
Data was collated from 91 randomly selected GPs, physicians and pulmonologists through a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews, in 8 cities of India.


RESULTS
The response rate to the survey was 68% (61 out of 91). Majority of the doctors (90% of GPs-physicians and 82% of pulmonologists) reported that patients with COPD visit them at moderate to severe stages of the disease. 44% of the GPs and physicians reported that they had never performed spirometry to make a diagnosis of COPD. About 35% of doctors reported that COPD occurred only in smokers. The most common reported barriers to the treatment of COPD were difficulty in explaining COPD to the patients, poor patient compliance to the prescribed treatment and the inability of patients to give up smoking. Most doctors agreed that compliance with treatment is a major concern in patients with COPD due to an ageing population, existence of limited therapeutic options and presence of comorbidities.


CONCLUSION
The results of this cross-sectional survey of doctors in India, highlighted the need for increasing the awareness about COPD at both doctor and patients level to overcome the prevalent under-diagnosis and under-treatment in COPD.
Improving RFID System To Read Tags Efficiently

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) is slated to become a standard for tagging various products. As more and more products become RFID enabled, fast tag identification mechanisms will become important. Various tag identification (or anti-collision) algorithms have been proposed for RFID systems. This work focuses on methods to improve tag read efficiency in RFID Systems. We propose an Intelligent Query Tree (IQT) Protocol for tag identification that exploits specific prefix patterns in the tags and makes the identification process more efficient. IQT is a memoryless protocol that identifies RFID tags more efficiently in scenarios where tag IDs have some common prefix (e.g., common vendor ID or product ID). IQT is most suitable for readers deployed in exclusive showrooms, and shipment points of big malls, where the products may come from same manufacturers and may have same product type. We provide the worst case complexity analysis of IQT and show the performance improvement of this protocol over traditional Query Tree protocol in different scenarios. For other cases we show the improvement using simulation results.
Response to First-Line Ritonavir-Boosted Protease Inhibitors (PI/r)-Based Regimens in HIV Positive Patients Presenting to Care with Low CD4 Counts: Data from the Icona Foundation Cohort

BACKGROUND
There are no data comparing the response to PI/r-based regimens in people presenting for care with low CD4 counts or AIDS (LC).


AIM
To compare the response to LPV/r-, DRV/r- or ATV/r-based cART regimens in LC initiating cART from ART-naive.


METHODS
We included people enrolled in Icona with either CD4 counts ≤350 cells/mm3 (low CD4-LC) or CD4 counts ≤200 cells/mm3 (very low CD4-VLC) and/or AIDS, starting their first PI/r-based regimen after 2008. Initial regimens were compared by intention-to-treat: i) time to viral failure (VF) (first of 2 consecutive VL>200 copies/mL after≥6 months); II) time to PI/r discontinuation/switching for any cause (TD) and for toxicity (TDT); III) treatment failure (TF) (VF or TD). Kaplan-Meier and Cox analyses were used.


RESULTS
1,362 LC patients were included (DRV/r 607; ATV/r 552; LPV/r 203); 813 VLC. In a median of 18 months (IQR:7-35), the 1-year probability of VF and TF were 2.8% (1.9-3.8) and 21.1% (18.7-23.4). In the adjusted analysis, patients initiating ATV/r had a 53% lower chance, and those initiating DRV/r a 61% lower chance of TD, as compared to LPV/r; the risk of TF was more likely in people starting LPV/r. Results were similar among VLC; in this subgroup LPV/r including regimens demonstrated a lower chance of VF.


CONCLUSIONS
We confirmed in LC a low chance of virological failure by 1 year, with small differences according to PI/r. However, larger differences were observed when comparing longer-term endpoints such as treatment failure. These results are important for people presenting late for care.
A Generic Process Algebra

Abstract The three classical process algebra CCS, CSP and ACP present several differences in their respective technical machinery. This is due, not only to the difference in their operators, but also to the terminology and “way of thinking” of the community which has been (and still is) working with them. In this paper we will first discuss such differences and try to clarify the different usage of terminology and concepts. Then, as a result of this discussion, we define a generic process algebra where each basic mechanism of the three process algebras is expressed by an operator and which can be used as an underlying common language. We show an example of the advantages of adopting such a language instead of one of the three more specialized algebras: producing a complete axiomatization of finite-state behaviours.
Compassion in palliative care: a review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Compassion has been recognized as a key aspect of high-quality healthcare, particularly in palliative care. This article provides a general review of the current understanding of compassion in palliative care and summarizes emergent compassionate initiatives in palliative care at three interdependent levels: compassion for patients, compassion in healthcare professionals, and compassionate communities at the end of life.


RECENT FINDINGS
Compassion is a constructive response to suffering that enhances treatment outcomes, fosters the dignity of the recipient, and provides self-care for the giver. Patients and healthcare professionals value compassion and perceive a general lack of compassion in healthcare systems. Compassion for patients and for professionals' self-care can be trained and implemented top-down (institutional policies) and bottom-up (compassion training). 'Compassionate communities' is an important emerging movement that complements regular healthcare and social services with a community-level approach to offer compassionate care for people at the end of life.


SUMMARY
Compassion can be enhanced through diverse methodologies at the organizational, professional, and community levels. This enhancement of compassion has the potential to improve quality of palliative care treatments, enhance healthcare providers' satisfaction, and reduce healthcare costs.
Cylindrical Magnets and Coils: Fields, Forces, and Inductances

This paper presents a synthesis of analytical calculations of magnetic parameters (field, force, torque, stiffness) in cylindrical magnets and coils. By using the equivalence between the amperian current model and the coulombian model of a magnet, we show that a thin coil or a cylindrical magnet axially magnetized have the same mathematical model. Consequently, we present first the analytical expressions of the magnetic field produced by either a thin coil or a ring permanent magnet whose polarization is axial, thus completing similar calculations already published in the scientific literature. Then, this paper deals with the analytical calculation of the force and the stiffness between thin coils or ring permanent magnets axially magnetized. Such configurations can also be modeled with the same mathematical approach. Finally, this paper presents an analytical model of the mutual inductance between two thin coils in air. Throughout this paper, we emphasize why the equivalence between the coulombian and the amperian current models is useful for studying thin coils or ring permanent magnets. All our analytical expressions are based on elliptic integrals but do not require further numerical treatments. These expressions can be implemented in Mathematica or Matlab and are available online. All our models have been compared to previous analytical and semianalytical models. In addition, these models have been compared to the finite-element method. The computational cost of our analytical model is very low, and we find a very good agreement between our analytical model and the other approaches presented in this paper.
A near-infrared image based face recognition system

In this paper, we present a near infrared (NIR) image based face recognition system. Firstly, we describe a design of NIR image capture device which minimizes influence of environmental lighting on face images. Both face and facial feature localization and face recognition are performed using local features with AdaBoost learning. An evaluation in real-world user scenario shows that the system achieves excellent accuracy, speed and usability
Workflow Scheduling Algorithms for Grid Computing

Workflow scheduling is one of the key issues in the management of workflow execution. Scheduling is a process that maps and manages execution of interdependent tasks on distributed resources. It introduces allocating suitable resources to workflow tasks so that the execution can be completed to satisfy objective functions specified by users. Proper scheduling can have significant impact on the performance of the system. In this chapter, we investigate existing workflow scheduling algorithms developed and deployed by various Grid projects.
Bridging models across the software lifecycle

Numerous notations, methodologies, and tools exist to support software system modeling. While individual models help to clarify certain system aspects, the large number and heterogeneity of models may ultimately hamper the ability of stakeholders to communicate about a system. A major reason for this is the discontinuity of information across different models. In this paper, we present an approach for dealing with that discontinuity. We introduce a set of “connectors” to bridge models, both within and across the “upstream” activities in the software development lifecycle (specifically, requirements, architecture, and design). While the details of these connectors are dependent upon the source and destination models, they share a number of underlying characteristics. These characteristics can be used as a starting point in providing a general understanding of software model connectors. We illustrate our approach by applying it to a system we have designed and implemented in collaboration with a third-party organization.
Modifications in parent feeding practices and child diet during family-based behavioral treatment improve child zBMI

OBJECTIVE
To examine associations between modifications in parent feeding practices, child diet, and child weight status after treatment and to evaluate dietary mediators.


METHODS
Children classified as overweight or obese and 7-11 years old (N = 170) completed a 16-session family-based behavioral weight loss treatment (FBT) program. Anthropometrics (standardized body mass index (zBMI)), Child Feeding Questionnaire, and 24-hr dietary recalls were collected at baseline and post-FBT. Linear regression predicted child zBMI change. Single and multiple mediation tested child dietary modifications as mediators between change in parent feeding practices and child zBMI.


RESULTS
Restrictive parent feeding practices significantly decreased during FBT. Reductions in parent restriction, child weight concern, child's total energy intake, and percent energy from fat, and increases in parent perceived responsibility, and child percent energy from protein, predicted reductions in child zBMI. Change in child total energy intake mediated the relation between parent restriction and child zBMI change after accounting for covariates and additional dietary mediators.


CONCLUSIONS
FBT is associated with a decrease in parental restriction, which is associated with reductions in child relative weight, which was mediated by a decrease in child energy intake. Teaching parents to reduce children's energy intake without being overly restrictive may improve child weight.