LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
HISTOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF ENDOMETRIUM IN DYSFUNCTIONAL UTERINE BLEEDING

BACKGROUND: Dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) is one of the commonest presenting symptoms in gynaecology out-patient department. The term dysfunctional uterine bleeding is used to describe abnormal uterine bleeding for which no specific cause has been found. Endometrial biopsy could be effectively used as the first diagnostic step in DUB. This study was done to evaluate histopathology of endometrium for identifying the endometrial causes of DUB and to correlate them with various age groups MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective study, undertaken in the department of pathology of P. D. U. Medical College, Rajkot, over a period of two years from July 2010 to July 2012. 150 endometrial lesions diagnosed on histopathology were selected for the final analyses. RESULTS: The most common age group presenting with DUB was 41–50 years (40.6%). The commonest pattern in these patients was proliferative endometrium. The commonest pathology was simple cystic hyperplasia (25.3%). Other patterns identified were secretory endometrium, menstrual endometrium, Pseudodecidual changes, endometrial carcinomas. Endometrial causes of DUB and age pattern was statistically significant with P value <0.05. CONCLUSION: There is an age specific association of endometrial bleeding, with highest incidence in perimenopausal age group. The incidence of proliferative pattern was high in this study. Dilatation and curettage is helpful to exclude other organic pathology, which mimic DUB like endometrial polyp, endometritis, etc. It is useful for diagnosis, to assess therapeutic response and to know the pathological incidence of organic lesions in cases of dysfunctional uterine bleeding prior to surgery.
Association of park size, distance, and features with physical activity in neighborhood parks.

OBJECTIVES
We studied whether park size, number of features in the park, and distance to a park from participants' homes were related to a park being used for physical activity.


METHODS
We collected observational data on 28 specific features from 33 parks. Adult residents in surrounding areas (n=380) completed 7-day physical activity logs that included the location of their activities. We used logistic regression to examine the relative importance of park size, features, and distance to participants' homes in predicting whether a park was used for physical activity, with control for perceived neighborhood safety and aesthetics.


RESULTS
Parks with more features were more likely to be used for physical activity; size and distance were not significant predictors. Park facilities were more important than were park amenities. Of the park facilities, trails had the strongest relationship with park use for physical activity.


CONCLUSIONS
Specific park features may have significant implications for park-based physical activity. Future research should explore these factors in diverse neighborhoods and diverse parks among both younger and older populations.
Randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of continuous glucose monitoring on HbA(1c) in insulin-treated diabetes (MITRE Study).

AIMS
To determine whether continuous glucose information provided through use of either the GlucoWatch G2 Biographer or the MiniMed continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) results in improved glycated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)) for insulin-treated adults with diabetes mellitus, relative to an attention control and standard care group.


METHODS
Four hundred and four adults taking at least two daily insulin injections and with two consecutive HbA(1c) values > or = 7.5% were recruited to this randomized controlled trial (RCT). All were trained at baseline to use the same monitor for traditional capillary glucose testing throughout the 18-month study. The CGMS group were asked to wear the device three times during the first 3 months of the trial and on another three occasions thereafter. The GlucoWatch group wore the device a minimum of four times per month and a maximum of four times per week during the first 3 months and as desired for the remainder of the trial. Trained diabetes research nurses used downloaded data to guide therapy adjustments. Proportional reduction in HbA(1c) from baseline to 18 months was the primary outcome measure.


RESULTS
Neither an intention-to-treat nor per-protocol analysis showed improvement in HbA(1c) in the device groups compared with standard care. For the intention-to-treat analysis, when the standard care group was compared with each of the other groups, this equated to differences in mean relative HbA(1c) reduction (95% confidence interval) from baseline to 18 months of 3.5% (-1.3 to 8.3; GlucoWatch), 0.7% (-4.1 to 5.5; CGMS), and -0.1% (-4.6 to 4.3; attention control).


CONCLUSIONS
The additional information provided by these devices did not result in improvements in HbA(1c) in this population.
Neuronavigation Increases the Physiologic and Behavioral Effects of Low-Frequency rTMS of Primary Motor Cortex in Healthy Subjects

Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can exert local and inter-hemispheric neuromodulatory effects on cortical excitability. These physiologic effects can translate into changes in motor behavior, and may offer valuable therapeutic interventions in recovery from stroke. Neuronavigated TMS can maximize accurate and consistent targeting of a given cortical region, but is a lot more involved that conventional TMS. We aimed to assess whether neuronavigation enhances the physiologic and behavioral effects of low-frequency rTMS. Ten healthy subjects underwent two experimental sessions during which they received 1600 pulses of either navigated or non-navigated 1 Hz rTMS at 90% of the resting motor threshold (RMT) intensity over the motor cortical representation for left first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle. We compared the effects of navigated and non-navigated rTMS on motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) to single-pulse TMS, intracortical inhibition (ICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) by paired-pulse TMS, and performance in various behavioral tasks (index finger tapping, simple reaction time and grip strength tasks). Following navigated rTMS, the amplitude of MEPs elicited from the contralateral (unstimulated) motor cortex was significantly increased, and was associated with an increase in ICF and a trend to decrease in ICI. In contrast, non-navigated rTMS elicited nonsignificant changes, most prominently ipsilateral to rTMS. Behaviorally, navigated rTMS significantly improved reaction time RT and pinch force with the hand ipsilateral to stimulation. Non-navigated rTMS lead to similar behavioral trends, although the effects did not reach significance. In summary, navigated rTMS leads to more robust modulation of the contralateral (unstimulated) hemisphere resulting in physiologic and behavioral effects. Our findings highlight the spatial specificity of inter-hemispheric TMS effects, illustrate the superiority of navigated rTMS for certain applications, and have implications for therapeutic applications of rTMS.
Marginal structural models for the estimation of the risk of Diabetes Mellitus in the presence of elevated depressive symptoms and antidepressant medication use in the Women’s Health Initiative observational and clinical trial cohorts

BACKGROUND
We evaluate the combined effect of the presence of elevated depressive symptoms and antidepressant medication use with respect to risk of type 2 diabetes among approximately 120,000 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), and compare several different statistical models appropriate for causal inference in non-randomized settings.


METHODS
Data were analyzed for 52,326 women in the Women's Health Initiative Clinical Trials (CT) Cohort and 68,169 women in the Observational Study (OS) Cohort after exclusions. We included follow-up to 2005, resulting in a median duration of 7.6 years of follow up after enrollment. Results from three multivariable Cox models were compared to those from marginal structural models that included time varying measures of antidepressant medication use, presence of elevated depressive symptoms and BMI, while adjusting for potential confounders including age, ethnicity, education, minutes of recreational physical activity per week, total energy intake, hormone therapy use, family history of diabetes and smoking status.


RESULTS
Our results are consistent with previous studies examining the relationship of antidepressant medication use and risk of type 2 diabetes. All models showed a significant increase in diabetes risk for those taking antidepressants. The Cox Proportional Hazards models using baseline covariates showed the lowest increase in risk , with hazard ratios of 1.19 (95 % CI 1.06 - 1.35) and 1.14 (95 % CI 1.01 - 1.30) in the OS and CT, respectively. Hazard ratios from marginal structural models comparing antidepressant users to non-users were 1.35 (95 % CI 1.21 - 1.51) and 1.27 (95 % CI 1.13 - 1.43) in the WHI OS and CT, respectively - however, differences among estimates from traditional Cox models and marginal structural models were not statistically significant in both cohorts. One explanation suggests that time-dependent confounding was not a substantial factor in these data, however other explanations exist. Unadjusted Cox Proportional Hazards models showed that women with elevated depressive symptoms had a significant increase in diabetes risk that remained after adjustment for confounders. However, this association missed the threshold for statistical significance in propensity score adjusted and marginal structural models.


CONCLUSIONS
Results from the multiple approaches provide further evidence of an increase in risk of type 2 diabetes for those on antidepressants.
Awareness of IT Control Frameworks in an Australian State Government: A Qualitative Case Study

IT control frameworks set out best practices for IT actions, processes and monitoring within organisations, and are believed to lead to more effective IT governance. It is difficult to assess the adoption, awareness and perception of the value of the frameworks in the Australian public sector, due to the limited academic literature available. The exploratory research reported in this paper evaluated the awareness and understanding of IT control frameworks in three public sector agencies within an Australian state government, adopting a flexible definition of IT control frameworks. Comparison was made between the level of awareness and the outcomes of recent internal and external IT audits for the agencies, where available. Qualitative data were gathered from internal documentation and nine interviews, seeking IT and business-oriented perspectives. No use of formalised IT control frameworks was found, although informal approaches were noted. Awareness and understanding of IT control frameworks in the agencies appeared limited. The agencies investigated will lack motivation to derive value from utilising IT control frameworks without increased awareness of their purpose. Further research is warranted in this area, including the investigation of effective mechanisms for raising awareness of the potential of the frameworks.
Evaluation of short-term outcomes of laparoscopic-assisted surgery for colorectal cancer in elderly patients aged over 75 years old: a multi-institutional study (YSURG1401)

BACKGROUND
The short-term outcomes of laparoscopic-assisted surgery for colorectal cancer (LAC) have not been fully evaluated in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to compare the short term surgical outcomes of LAC between the patients older than 75 years and those with non-elderly patients.


METHODS
This retrospective multi-institutional study selected patients who underwent LAC between April 2013 and March 2014 at Yokohama City University Hospital and its related general hospitals. The patients were categorized into two groups: elderly patients (>75 years of age: group A) and non-elderly patients (<75 years of age: group B). Surgical outcomes and post operative complications were compared between the two groups.


RESULTS
A total of 237 patients were evaluated in the present study. Eighty-four patients were classified into group A, and 153 into group B. Preoperative clinicopathological outcomes demonstrated no significant differences except for the ASA score. When comparing the surgical outcomes between group A and group B, the rate of conversion to open procedure (3.6% vs 5.2%, P = 0.750), median operation time (232 min vs 232 min, P = 0.320), median blood loss (20 ml vs 12 ml, P = 0.350). The differences were not significantly different in the surgical outcomes. The incidences of > grade 2 post operative surgical complications were similar between two groups ((19.0% vs 15.7%, p = 0.587). No mortality was observed in this study. The length of postoperative hospital stay was also similar (10 days vs 10 days, p = 0.350).


CONCLUSIONS
The present study suggested that LAC is safe and feasible, regardless of the age of the patient, especially for elderly patients who may be candidates for colon cancer surgery.
Comparison of thiopental, urethane, and pentobarbital in the study of experimental cardiology in rats in vivo.

BACKGROUND
Despite earlier research studying the influence of anesthetics in arrhythmia models, a lot of controversy remains. The aim was to compare the influence of three anesthetics (60 mg/kg thiopental, 1200 mg/kg urethane, 60 mg/kg pentobarbital intraperitoneally) on ventricular arrhythmias and to combine it with measured hemodynamic parameters to find the most suitable agent for such experiments.


METHOD
In the model of ischemia- and reperfusion-induced arrhythmias in Sprague-Dawley rats, after left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion (7 minutes) and reperfusion (15 minutes), the following parameters have been measured or calculated: mortality index; ventricular fibrillation and tachycardia incidence and duration; systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure; heart rate; myocardial index of oxygen consumption; and plasma creatine kinase concentration.


RESULTS
Evident depressive action of urethane on heart rate, blood pressures, and myocardial index of oxygen consumption should be reason enough to exclude it from use in such studies. Pentobarbital had no effect on arrhythmias, whereas thiopental was antiarrhythmic.


CONCLUSIONS
Pentobarbital is the most suitable anesthetic offering stable hemodynamic values during arrhythmia studies. These hemodynamic values, which were similar to physiological values in awake rats, the long arrhythmia duration during reperfusion and approximately 50% mortality index are crucial parameters for evaluating antiarrhythmic drugs.
Model-Based Analysis of Costs and Outcomes of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing for Down’s Syndrome Using Cell Free Fetal DNA in the UK National Health Service

BACKGROUND
Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for Down's syndrome (DS) using cell free fetal DNA in maternal blood has the potential to dramatically alter the way prenatal screening and diagnosis is delivered. Before NIPT can be implemented into routine practice, information is required on its costs and benefits. We investigated the costs and outcomes of NIPT for DS as contingent testing and as first-line testing compared with the current DS screening programme in the UK National Health Service.


METHODS
We used a pre-existing model to evaluate the costs and outcomes associated with NIPT compared with the current DS screening programme. The analysis was based on a hypothetical screening population of 10,000 pregnant women. Model inputs were taken from published sources. The main outcome measures were number of DS cases detected, number of procedure-related miscarriages and total cost.


RESULTS
At a screening risk cut-off of 1∶150 NIPT as contingent testing detects slightly fewer DS cases, has fewer procedure-related miscarriages, and costs the same as current DS screening (around UK£280,000) at a cost of £500 per NIPT. As first-line testing NIPT detects more DS cases, has fewer procedure-related miscarriages, and is more expensive than current screening at a cost of £50 per NIPT. When NIPT uptake increases, NIPT detects more DS cases with a small increase in procedure-related miscarriages and costs.


CONCLUSIONS
NIPT is currently available in the private sector in the UK at a price of £400-£900. If the NHS cost was at the lower end of this range then at a screening risk cut-off of 1∶150 NIPT as contingent testing would be cost neutral or cost saving compared with current DS screening. As first-line testing NIPT is likely to produce more favourable outcomes but at greater cost. Further research is needed to evaluate NIPT under real world conditions.
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly: A Meta-analytic Review of Positive and Negative Effects of Violent Video Games

Objective Video game violence has become a highly politicized issue for scientists and the general public. There is continuing concern that playing violent video games may increase the risk of aggression in players. Less often discussed is the possibility that playing violent video games may promote certain positive developments, particularly related to visuospatial cognition. The objective of the current article was to conduct a meta-analytic review of studies that examine the impact of violent video games on both aggressive behavior and visuospatial cognition in order to understand the full impact of such games. Methods A detailed literature search was used to identify peer-reviewed articles addressing violent video game effects. Effect sizes r (a common measure of effect size based on the correlational coefficient) were calculated for all included studies. Effect sizes were adjusted for observed publication bias. Results Results indicated that publication bias was a problem for studies of both aggressive behavior and visuospatial cognition. Once corrected for publication bias, studies of video game violence provided no support for the hypothesis that violent video game playing is associated with higher aggression. However playing violent video games remained related to higher visuospatial cognition (r x = 0.36). Conclusions Results from the current analysis did not support the conclusion that violent video game playing leads to aggressive behavior. However, violent video game playing was associated with higher visuospatial cognition. It may be advisable to reframe the violent video game debate in reference to potential costs and benefits of this medium.
Skeletal muscle α-actin diseases (actinopathies): pathology and mechanisms

Mutations in the skeletal muscle α-actin gene (ACTA1) cause a range of congenital myopathies characterised by muscle weakness and specific skeletal muscle structural lesions. Actin accumulations, nemaline and intranuclear bodies, fibre-type disproportion, cores, caps, dystrophic features and zebra bodies have all been seen in biopsies from patients with ACTA1 disease, with patients frequently presenting with multiple pathologies. Therefore increasingly it is considered that these entities may represent a continuum of structural abnormalities arising due to ACTA1 mutations. Recently an ACTA1 mutation has also been associated with a hypertonic clinical presentation with nemaline bodies. Whilst multiple genes are known to cause many of the pathologies associated with ACTA1 mutations, to date actin aggregates, intranuclear rods and zebra bodies have solely been attributed to ACTA1 mutations. Approximately 200 different ACTA1 mutations have been identified, with 90 % resulting in dominant disease and 10 % resulting in recessive disease. Despite extensive research into normal actin function and the functional consequences of ACTA1 mutations in cell culture, animal models and patient tissue, the mechanisms underlying muscle weakness and the formation of structural lesions remains largely unknown. Whilst precise mechanisms are being grappled with, headway is being made in terms of developing therapeutics for ACTA1 disease, with gene therapy (specifically reducing the proportion of mutant skeletal muscle α-actin protein) and pharmacological agents showing promising results in animal models and patient muscle. The use of small molecules to sensitise the contractile apparatus to Ca2+ is a promising therapeutic for patients with various neuromuscular disorders, including ACTA1 disease.
Trace Analysis of Xylene in Occupational Exposures Monitoring

Background: Determination of organic pollutants usually requires extraction of the pollutants from samples, using hazardous solvent. Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) is a solvent-free equilibrium extraction method, in which, proper calibration can allow quantitative measurements of organic pollutants at a very good sensitivity without the use of any organic solvent. Because individual VOCs are generally present in urine only at trace levels, a sensitive and accurate determination technique is essential. Methods: This study describes the optimization of headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) for xylene in spiked urine. Through this investigation, the parameters affecting the extraction and GC determination of xylene, including extraction time, temperature, desorption temperature, desorption time, salt addition, sample pH, sample volume and sample agitation were studied. Results: An optimized headspace extraction was carried out at 30°C for 6 min in presence of 0.2 gml of NaCl in the sample solution. Desorption of the xylene was carried out for 60 sec. at 250°C. The optimized procedure was also validated with three different pools of spiked urine samples and showed a good reproducibility over six consecutive days as well as six within-day experiments. In this study, the accuracy, linearity, and detection limits were also determined. Conclusion: The HS-SPME-GC-FID technique provided a relatively simple, convenient, practical procedure, which can be successfully applied for determination of xylene in spiked urine when an occupational exposure monitoring is required.
Efficacy of exercise as an adjunct treatment for clinically depressed inpatients during the initial stages of antidepressant pharmacotherapy: An open randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND
Physical exercise as adjunctive treatment for hospitalized patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) has been of increasing interest in the past few years. While preliminary findings are promising, these prior studies have been plagued by inclusion of participants at different stages of medication use at study entry. The present study evaluates the effects of a short (10-days) add-on endurance-training intervention in hospitalized MDD patients on antidepressant medication for less than two weeks.


METHOD
Thirty-five participants were randomly assigned to one of three study groups: aerobic exercise (n=14), placebo (stretching) exercise (n=11), or no intervention (control; n=10). The study outcome was the change in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) total score from baseline to the end of the study period.


RESULTS
The intent-to-treat analysis showed significant improvements in BDI-II scores for both the aerobic and the stretching groups. However, comparing pre- to post-study depression changes in these two groups, we found a large effect size in favor of aerobic exercise (Cohen's d=-1.06). No significant change in depressive symptoms was found in the control group.


LIMITATIONS
The nature of the intervention (i.e., exercise) meant blinding participants to treatments was not possible. Precise information on medication dosage was not available, and the short duration of interventions and lack of follow-up assessment were all limitations.


CONCLUSIONS
Endurance-training can be a helpful adjunct treatment for hospitalized patients with severe affective disorders in the initial stages of pharmacotherapy.
Typed Logical Variables in Haskell

We describe how to embed a simple typed functional logic programming language in Haskell. The embedding is a natural extension of the Prolog embedding by Seres and Spivey [16]. To get full static typing we need to use the Haskell extensions of quantified types and the ST-monad.