LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Relation of iron and red meat intake to blood pressure: cross sectional epidemiological study

OBJECTIVE
To investigate associations of dietary iron (total, haem, and non-haem), supplemental iron, and red meat with blood pressure.


DESIGN
Cross sectional epidemiological study.


SETTING
17 population samples from Japan, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States participating in the international collaborative study on macro-/micronutrients and blood pressure (INTERMAP).


PARTICIPANTS
4680 adults aged 40-59.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Average of eight blood pressure readings.


RESULTS
In multiple linear regression analyses dietary total iron and non-haem iron were consistently inversely associated with blood pressure. With adjustment for potential non-dietary and dietary confounders, dietary total iron intake higher by 4.20 mg/4.2 MJ (2 SD) was associated with -1.39 mm Hg (P<0.01) lower systolic blood pressure. Dietary non-haem iron intake higher by 4.13 mg/4.2 MJ (2 SD) was associated with -1.45 mm Hg (P<0.001) lower systolic blood pressure. Differences were smaller for diastolic blood pressure. In most models haem iron intake from food was positively, non-significantly associated with blood pressure. Iron intake from combined diet and supplements yielded smaller associations than dietary iron alone. Red meat intake was directly associated with blood pressure; 102.6 g/24 h (2 SD) higher intake was associated with 1.25 mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure. Associations between red meat and blood pressure persisted after adjustment for multiple confounders.


CONCLUSION
Non-haem iron has a possible role in the prevention and control of adverse blood pressure levels. An unfavourable effect of red meat on blood pressure was observed. These results need confirmation including in prospective studies, clinical trials, and from experimental evidence on possible mechanisms.
Discontinuation of benzodiazepine treatment: efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients with panic disorder.

OBJECTIVE
The primary disadvantage of high-potency benzodiazepine treatment for panic disorder is the difficulty of discontinuing the treatment. During treatment discontinuation, new symptoms may emerge and anxiety may return, preventing many patients from successfully discontinuing their treatment. In this controlled, randomized trial the authors investigated the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral program for patients with panic disorder who were attempting to discontinue treatment with high-potency benzodiazepines.


METHOD
Outpatients treated for panic disorder with alprazolam or clonazepam for a minimum of 6 months and expressing a desire to stop taking the medication (N = 33) were randomly assigned to one of two taper conditions: a slow taper condition alone or a slow taper condition in conjunction with 10 weeks of group cognitive-behavioral therapy.


RESULTS
The rate of successful discontinuation of benzodiazepine treatment was significantly higher for the patients receiving the cognitive-behavioral program (13 of 17; 76%) than for the patients receiving the slow taper program alone (four of 16; 25%). There was no difference in the likelihood of discontinuation success between the patients treated with alprazolam and those who received clonazepam. At the 3-month follow-up evaluation, 77% of the patients in the cognitive-behavioral program who successfully discontinued benzodiazepine treatment remained benzodiazepine free.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings support the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral interventions in aiding benzodiazepine discontinuation for patients with panic disorder.
Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevi: Selected Aspects of Diagnostics and Treatment

BACKGROUND
Treatment of giant melanocytic nevi (GMN) remains a multidisciplinary challenge. We present analysis of diagnostics, treatment, and follow- up in children with GMN to establish obligatory procedures in these patients.


MATERIAL/METHODS
In 24 children with GMN, we analyzed: localization, main nevus diameter, satellite nevi, brain MRI, catecholamines concentrations in 24-h urine collection, surgery stages number, and histological examinations. The t test was used to compare catecholamines concentrations in patient subgroups.


RESULTS
Nine children had "bathing trunk" nevus, 7 had main nevus on the back, 6 on head/neck, and 2 on neck/shoulder and neck/thorax. Brain MRI revealed neurocutaneous melanosis (NCM) in 7/24 children (29.2%), symptomatic in 1. Among urine catecholamines levels from 20 patients (33 samples), dopamine concentration was elevated in 28/33, noradrenaline in 15, adrenaline in 11, and vanillylmandelic acid in 4. In 6 NCM children, all catecholamines concentrations were higher than in patients without NCM (statistically insignificant). In all patients, histological examination of excised nevi revealed compound nevus, with neurofibromatic component in 15 and melanoma in 2. They remain without recurrence/metastases at 8- and 3-year-follow-up. There were 4/7 NCM patients with more than 1 follow-up MRI; in 1 a new melanin deposit was found and in 3 there was no progression.


CONCLUSIONS
Early excision with histological examination speeds the diagnosis of melanoma. Brain MRI is necessary to confirm/rule-out NCM. High urine dopamine concentration in GMN children, especially with NCM, is an unpublished finding that can indicate patients with more serious neurological disease. Treatment of GMN children should be tailored individually for each case with respect to all medical/psychological aspects.
Sinterability of carbide-nitride phases of titanium in high pressure conditions

Abstract Results of research in the field of sintering titanium carbonitride phases, its compactibility in high pressure (up to 8.0±0.2 GPa) and high temperature (1700±50 K) conditions. Mixed powders of TiC, TiN, or mixed phases Ti(C,N) type were tested in the order of increasing nitrogen content. All the samples reached density of 96–99% and their hardness depends on the nitrogen content and on the structure of the sintered powders. The applied sintering conditions did not cause any distinct growth of the mean grain of the sintered compact, nor any lost of nitrogen content. Electron Microprobe Analysis and X-ray diffraction studies proved, that with the above sintering parameters TiC and TiN partial homogenizing process occurs; powders of carbonitride phases are less active.
Smart homes and home health monitoring technologies for older adults: A systematic review

BACKGROUND
Around the world, populations are aging and there is a growing concern about ways that older adults can maintain their health and well-being while living in their homes.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic literature review to determine: (1) the levels of technology readiness among older adults and, (2) evidence for smart homes and home-based health-monitoring technologies that support aging in place for older adults who have complex needs.


RESULTS
We identified and analyzed 48 of 1863 relevant papers. Our analyses found that: (1) technology-readiness level for smart homes and home health monitoring technologies is low; (2) the highest level of evidence is 1b (i.e., one randomized controlled trial with a PEDro score ≥6); smart homes and home health monitoring technologies are used to monitor activities of daily living, cognitive decline and mental health, and heart conditions in older adults with complex needs; (3) there is no evidence that smart homes and home health monitoring technologies help address disability prediction and health-related quality of life, or fall prevention; and (4) there is conflicting evidence that smart homes and home health monitoring technologies help address chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


CONCLUSIONS
The level of technology readiness for smart homes and home health monitoring technologies is still low. The highest level of evidence found was in a study that supported home health technologies for use in monitoring activities of daily living, cognitive decline, mental health, and heart conditions in older adults with complex needs.
Machine Theory of Mind

Theory of mind (ToM; Premack & Woodruff, 1978) broadly refers to humans’ ability to represent the mental states of others, including their desires, beliefs, and intentions. We propose to train a machine to build such models too. We design a Theory of Mind neural network – a ToMnet – which uses meta-learning to build models of the agents it encounters, from observations of their behaviour alone. Through this process, it acquires a strong prior model for agents’ behaviour, as well as the ability to bootstrap to richer predictions about agents’ characteristics and mental states using only a small number of behavioural observations. We apply the ToMnet to agents behaving in simple gridworld environments, showing that it learns to model random, algorithmic, and deep reinforcement learning agents from varied populations, and that it passes classic ToM tasks such as the “SallyAnne” test (Wimmer & Perner, 1983; BaronCohen et al., 1985) of recognising that others can hold false beliefs about the world. We argue that this system – which autonomously learns how to model other agents in its world – is an important step forward for developing multi-agent AI systems, for building intermediating technology for machine-human interaction, and for advancing the progress on interpretable AI. Corresponding author: ncr@google.com.
Fabrication, properties, and applications of low-dimensional semiconductors

Preface. 1. Fabrication of Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Structures. 2. Fundamental Properties of Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Structures. 3. Applications of Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Structures. Index.
Post-adoption switching behavior for online service substitutes: A perspective of the push-pull-mooring framework

The post-adoption behaviors of online service users are critical performance factors for online service providers. To fill an academic gap that persists regarding bloggers’ switching behavior across online service substitutes, this empirical study investigates which factors affect bloggers who switch social network sites, in an attempt to understand specifically how push, pull, and mooring factors shape their switching intentions. The data to test the hypotheses come from an online survey of 319 bloggers, analyzed using partial least squares techniques. The results confirm positive influences of push and pull effects, a negative influence of mooring effects, and an interactive effect of push and mooring on switching intentions. The push–pull–mooring framework thus is a useful tool for comprehending the competing forces that influence the use of online service substitutes. In particular, perceptions of weak connections and writing anxiety push bloggers away, whereas relative enjoyment and usefulness pull bloggers to social network sites; switching cost and past experience also inhibit a change. These findings offer key insights and implications for the competitive strategy choices of online service providers. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Creating false memories with hybrid lists of semantic and phonological associates: Over-additive false memories produced by converging associative networks

The present experiments assessed false memories for critical items (e.g., dog) following the presentation of semantic associates (e.g., hound, puppy), phonological associates (e.g., log, dot), or hybrid lists of semantic and phonological associates (e.g., hound, dot). Experiment 1 indicated that the addition of only three phonological associates to a list of 10 semantic associates doubled the recall of non-presented critical items. Experiment 2 indicated that embedding 18 semantic associates and 18 phonological associates within a single list led to greater false recall than the sum of the false recall effects produced by lists containing 18 semantic associates or lists containing 18 phonological associates. Experiment 3 explored this over-additivity and indicated that lists of 8 semantic associates and 8 phonological associates produced greater false recall and false recognition than the average produced in lists containing 16 semantic or 16 phonological associates. These studies provide converging evidence that lists of semantic and phonological associates produce over-additive false recall and false recognition of non-presented critical items relative to pure semantic or pure phonological lists. An activationmonitoring framework is presented that provides an account of the increased false memories elicited by hybrid lists of semantic and phonological associates. Experiment 3 also showed that the experience of remembering during recognition was driven more by semantic factors, whereas the experience of knowing was driven more by phonological factors. 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio are better predictors of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children than body mass index

BACKGROUND: Visceral adipose tissue is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease risk factors and morbidity from cardiovascular diseases. Waist measurement and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) have been used as proxy measures of visceral adipose tissue, mainly in adults.OBJECTIVE: To validate body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and WHtR as predictors for the presence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children of Greek-Cypriot origin.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 1037 boys and 950 girls with mean age 11.4±0.4 y were evaluated. Dependent variables for the study were total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholestrol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure.RESULTS: When children were divided into two groups according to the 75th percentile for BMI, waist circumference and WHtR, all dependent variables had higher mean values in the highest percentile groups in WHtR groups and almost all variables in BMI and waist circumference groups. Adjusted odds ratios for predicting pathological values of cardiovascular disease risk factors were slightly higher for the highest WHtR group for predicting lipid and lipoprotein pathological values and for the highest BMI groups in predicting high blood pressure measurement. Using stepwise multiple regression analysis to explain the variance of the dependent variables, waist circumference was the most significant predictor for all variables both for boys and girls, whereas BMI had the lowest predictive value for the detection of cardiovascular disease risk factors.CONCLUSION: Waist circumference and WHtR are better predictors of cardiovascular disease risk factors in children than BMI. Further studies are necessary to determine the cutoff points for these indices for an accurate prediction of risk factors.
Combined therapy (ultrasound and interferential current) in patients with fibromyalgia: once or twice in a week?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Combined Therapy (CT) composed of ultrasound and Interferential Therapy has been reported as a cost-effective, local analgesic intervention on tender points in Fibromyalgia (FM). This study aims to investigate the difference between CT applied once a week and twice a week in patients with FM.


METHOD
Fifty patients with the diagnosis of FM were randomized into two groups (G1 = once a week treatment and G2 = twice a week treatment) with each group containing 25 patients. All eighteen tender points were assessed and treated with CT during each session, over a three-month time period. Interferential Therapy was modulated at 4,000 Hz of current carrier, 100 Hz of amplitude modulated frequency and at a bearable sensorial threshold of intensity. Pulsed ultrasound of 1 MHz at 20% of 2.5 W/cm² was used. For evaluation, the Visual Analogue Scale, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Post Sleep Inventory and the tender point count were utilized, and the examiner was blinded to the group assignments.


RESULTS
G1 and G2 showed a significant improvement in Visual Analogue Scale (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0005, respectively), Tender Points (p < 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Post Sleep Inventory (p < 0.005 and p < 0.05, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in all performed analyses.


CONCLUSION
There is no advantage in increasing the number of sessions of combined therapy in terms of reducing generalized pain, quality of life and sleep quality for patients with FM.
“Ixoroid” secondary pollen presentation and pollination by small moths in the Malagasy treeletIxora platythyrsa (Rubiaceae)

The pollination biology ofIxora platythyrsa (Rubiaceae) was studied in NW. Madagascar. The plant displayed cream-yellow, nocturnally fragrant, nectariferous, tubular and strongly protandrous flowers. These had an “ixoroid” secondary pollen presentation mechanism: prior to anthesis, anthers exhausted their pollen onto unripe stylar heads. From this position pollen of male-stage flowers later adhered to primarily the probosces of small visiting nocturnal noctuid and geometrid moths. — Pollen was subsequently raked off moths' probosces by receptive, copiously papillose stigmas of female-stage flowers. Principal pollination adaptation was probably to the noctuid moth subfam.Sarrothripinae.
When is the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve an appropriate measure of classifier performance?

The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve is a widely used measure of the performance of classification rules. This paper shows that when classifications are based solely on data describing individual objects to be classified, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve is an incoherent measure of performance, in the sense that the measure itself depends on the classifier being measured. It significantly extends earlier work by showing that this incoherence is not a consequence of a cost-based interpretation of misclassifications, but is a fundamental property of the area under the curve itself. The paper also shows that if additional information, such as the class assignments of other objects, is taken into account when making a classification, then the area under the curve is a coherent measure, although in those circumstances it makes an assumption which is seldom if ever appropriate. 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Anatomic dissociation of auditory and visual naming in the lateral temporal cortex.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Visual object naming traditionally has been used to identify cortical areas essential for naming (i.e., word retrieval), and investigators have found critical naming sites in the middle and posterior temporal region in most patients. Based on clinical observation, empirical findings, and the pathophysiology of temporal lobe epilepsy, the authors hypothesized that naming sites identified from auditory cues might also be relevant, and that within the temporal region, these sites would be anatomically distinct and located anterior to naming sites based on visual cues.


METHODS
Twenty patients requiring resective surgery involving the left (language dominant) temporal lobe underwent pre-resection language mapping using direct cortical stimulation. Visual and auditory naming were tested at lateral temporal sites extending from 1 cm from the anterior tip to the parietal operculum.


RESULTS
Auditory naming was consistently disrupted by stimulation in the anterior temporal lobe, whereas both auditory and visual naming were impaired by stimulation in the posterior temporal region.


CONCLUSIONS
This pattern may explain why word finding difficulties sometimes arise or worsen following surgical procedures in which the anterior temporal region is resected without language mapping, or when resection is based on mapping that identifies language cortex exclusively using visual tasks. These results suggest that utilization of auditory based naming tasks might improve pre-resection identification of essential language cortex during direct stimulation cortical mapping, as well as noninvasive localization of dysfunction during presurgical cognitive testing.
Prostatic kallikrein: a new major dog allergen.

BACKGROUND
Dog dander is an important cause of respiratory allergy, but the spectrum of known dog allergens appears incomplete. Two lipocalins, Can f 1 and Can f 2, and serum albumin, Can f 3, have been characterized in detail but do not fully account for the IgE antibody-binding activity of dog dander extract. Allergen activity has previously been detected in dog urine but not further characterized.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to identify, characterize, and assess the importance of allergen components in dog urine.


METHODS
Dog urine was fractionated by means of size exclusion chromatography and examined for IgE antibody binding. A protein present in one fraction displaying IgE antibody-binding activity was identified by means of N-terminal sequencing and mass spectrometry. A recombinant form of the protein was produced in Pichia pastoris. IgE antibody binding to dog allergen components among sera of 37 subjects with dog allergy was determined by means of ImmunoCAP analysis.


RESULTS
An IgE antibody-binding protein was isolated from dog urine and identified as prostatic kallikrein. A closely related or identical protein was detected in dog dander. The recombinant prostatic kallikrein displayed immunologic and biochemical properties similar to those of the natural protein and bound IgE antibodies from 26 (70%) of 37 sera of subjects with dog allergy, 14 of which reacted to none of Can f 1, Can f 2, or Can f 3. The dog allergen identified here was found to cross-react with human prostate-specific antigen, a key culprit in IgE-mediated vaginal reactions to semen.


CONCLUSION
Prostatic kallikrein is a new major dog allergen.
Introduction to Part One: The late nineteenth century interior (1870-1900)

An overview of the themes and published sources available for the study of the late-19th century interior and an introduction to three new essays within this book.
The quality and strength of evidence for etiology: example of carpal tunnel syndrome.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the quality and strength of scientific evidence supporting an etiologic relationship between a disease and a proposed risk factor using a scoring system based on the Bradford Hill criteria for causal association.


METHODS
A quantitative score based on the Bradford Hill criteria (qBHs) was used to evaluate 117 articles presenting original data regarding the etiology of carpal tunnel syndrome: 33 (28%) that evaluated biological (structural or genetic) risk factors, 51 (44%) that evaluated occupational (environment or activity-related) risk factors, and 33 (28%) that evaluated both types of risk factors.


RESULTS
The quantitative Bradford Hill scores of 2 independent observers showed very good agreement, supporting the reliability of the instrument. The average qBHs was 12.2 points (moderate association) among biological risk factors compared with 5.2 points (poor association) for occupational risk factors. The highest average qBHs was observed for genetic factors (14.2), race (11.7), and anthropometric measures of the wrist (11.3 points) with all studies finding a moderate causal association. The highest average qBHs among occupational risk factors was observed for activities requiring repetitive hand use (6.5 points among the 30 of 45 articles that reported a causal association), substantial exposure to vibration (6.3 points; 14 of 20 articles), and type of occupation (5.6 points; 38 of 53 articles), with the findings being much less consistent.


CONCLUSIONS
According to a quantitative analysis of published scientific evidence, the etiology of carpal tunnel syndrome is largely structural, genetic, and biological, with environmental and occupational factors such as repetitive hand use playing a minor and more debatable role. Speculative causal theories should be analyzed through a rigorous approach prior to wide adoption.