LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Japanese POEMS syndrome with Thalidomide (J-POST) Trial: study protocol for a phase II/III multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

INTRODUCTION
Polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome is a fatal systemic disorder associated with plasma cell dyscrasia and the overproduction of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Recently, the prognosis of POEMS was substantially improved by introduction of therapeutic intervention for myeloma. However, no randomised clinical trial has been performed because of the rarity and severity of the disease.


METHODS AND ANALYSIS
The Japanese POEMS syndrome with Thalidomide (J-POST) Trial is a phase II/III multicentre, double-blinded, randomised, controlled trial that aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a 24-week treatment with thalidomide in POEMS syndrome, with an additional 48-week open-label safety study. Adults with POEMS syndrome who have no indication for transplantation are assessed for eligibility at 12 tertiary neurology centres in Japan. Patients who satisfy the eligibility criteria are randomised (1:1) to receive thalidomide (100-300 mg daily) plus dexamethasone (12 mg/m(2) on days 1-4 of a 28-day cycle) or placebo plus dexamethasone. Both treatments were administered for 24 weeks (six cycles; randomised comparative study period). Patients who complete the randomised study period or show subacute deterioration during the randomised period participate in the subsequent 48-week open-label safety study (long-term safety period). The primary end point of the study is the reduction rate of serum VEGF levels at 24 weeks.


ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
The protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of each hospital. The trial was notified and registered at the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency, Japan (No. 22-1716). The J-POST Trial is currently ongoing and is due to finish in August 2015. The findings of this trial will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations and will also be disseminated to participants.


TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
UMIN000004179 and JMA-IIA00046.
Seborrheic Keratoses as the First Sign of Bladder Carcinoma: Case Report of Leser-Trélat Sign in a Rare Association with Urinary Tract Cancer

Introduction. Skin disorders can be the first manifestation of occult diseases. The recognition of typical paraneoplastic dermatoses may anticipate the cancer diagnosis and improve its prognosis. Although rarely observed, the sudden appearance and/or rapid increase in number and size of seborrheic keratoses can be associated with malignant neoplasms, known as the sign of Leser-Trélat. The aim of this report is to unveil a case of a patient whose recently erupted seborrheic keratoses led to investigation and consequent diagnosis of bladder cancer. Case Presentation. A 67-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit due to an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). On physical examination, multiple seborrheic keratoses on the back of the hands, elbows, and trunk were observed; the patient had a 4-month history of these lesions yet was asymptomatic. The possibility of Leser-Trélat syndrome justified the investigation for neoplasia, and a bladder carcinoma was detected by CT-scan. The patient denied previous hematuria or any other related symptoms. Many of the lesions regressed during oncologic treatment. Conclusion. Despite the critics on the validity of the sign of Leser-Trélat, our patient fulfills the description of the disease, though urinary malignancy is a rare association. That corroborates the need of further investigation when there is a possibility of paraneoplastic manifestation.
Effects of collaborative online shopping on shopping experience through social and relational perspectives

Collaborative online shopping refers to an activity in which a consumer shops at an eCommerce website with remotely located shopping partners such as friends or family. Although collaborative online shopping has increased with the pervasiveness of social networking, few studies have examined how to enhance this type of shopping experience. This study examines two potential design components, embodiment and media richness, that could enhance shoppers’ experiences. Based on theories of copresence and flow, we examined whether the implementation of these two features could increase copresence, flow, and the intention to use a collaborative online shopping website. 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Data Gloves for Sign Language Recognition System

Communication between deaf-dumb and a normal person have always been a challenging task . About 9 billion people in the world come into this category which is quite large number to be ignored. As deaf-dumb people use sign language for their communication which is difficult to understand by the normal people. This paper aims at eradicating the communication barrier between them by developing an embedded system which will translate the hand gestures into
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Dengue Fever among the Healthy Population of Highland and Lowland Communities in Central Nepal

BACKGROUND
Dengue fever (DF) is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease in the world. In this decade it has expanded to new countries and from urban to rural areas. Nepal was regarded DF free until 2004. Since then dengue virus (DENV) has rapidly expanded its range even in mountain regions of Nepal, and major outbreaks occurred in 2006 and 2010. However, no data on the local knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of DF in Nepal exist although such information is required for prevention and control measures.


METHODS
We conducted a community based cross-sectional survey in five districts of central Nepal between September 2011 and February 2012. We collected information on the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding DF using a structured questionnaire. We then statistically compared highland and lowland communities to identify possible causes of observed differences.


PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Out of 589 individuals interviewed, 77% had heard of DF. Only 12% of the sample had good knowledge of DF. Those living in the lowlands were five times more likely to possess good knowledge than highlanders (P<0.001). Despite low knowledge levels, 83% of the people had good attitude and 37% reported good practice. We found a significantly positive correlation among knowledge, attitude and practice (P<0.001). Among the socio-demographic variables, the education level of the participants was an independent predictor of practice level (P<0.05), and education level and interaction between the sex and age group of the participants were independent predictors of attitude level (P<0.05).


CONCLUSION
Despite the rapid expansion of DENV in Nepal, the knowledge of people about DF was very low. Therefore, massive awareness programmes are urgently required to protect the health of people from DF and to limit its further spread in this country.
Extremity soft tissue sarcomas presented as hematomas

Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) with extensive intra-tumoral hemorrhage is an infrequently described entity, usually misdiagnosed as intra-muscular hematoma. The outcomes in this group of patients have not been previously described. We retrospectively identified 15 patients, with initial clinical or imaging diagnosis of hematoma, or hematoma versus hemorrhagic sarcoma, although final diagnosis of high-grade STS was established in all cases. The most common location was the thigh. Three patients had a bleeding predisposition. Ten patients were referred for further evaluation with the initial diagnosis of muscle strain/hematoma, hematoma versus abscess in one, whereas four were referred for soft tissue mass evaluation. Final diagnosis was made by one biopsy in only 53% of patients. Mean time to diagnosis for patients with two biopsies was 7 months from initial presentation. Histologic diagnosis was malignant fibrous histiocytoma in ten patients. Surgical treatment included tumor resection in eleven and amputation in three patients. One patient had lung metastatic disease at presentation and eight developed lung metastases within a median time of 7 months. We suggest that an STS masquerading as hematoma should be suspected when the mechanism and the energy of the trauma do not justify the clinically detected severity of the injury, or the lesion does not follow the expected clinical course of resolution after initial conservative management. Bleeding predisposition does not exclude malignancy. The evacuation of hematomas should include pathologic examination of tissue. Prognosis is dismal due to early metastatic disease.
Optimal Deployment of Wireless Sensor Networks for Air Pollution Monitoring

Recently, air pollution monitoring emerges as a main service of smart cities because of the increasing industrialization and the massive urbanization. Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are a suitable technology for this purpose thanks to their substantial benefits including low cost and autonomy. Minimizing the deployment cost is one of the major challenges in WSN design, therefore sensors positions have to be carefully determined. In this paper, we propose two integer linear programming formulations based on real pollutants dispersion modeling to deal with the minimum cost WSN deployment for air pollution monitoring. We illustrate the concept by applying our models on real world data, namely the Nottingham City street lights. We compare the two models in terms of execution time and show that the second flow based formulation is much better. We finally conduct extensive simulations to study the impact of some parameters and derive some guidelines for efficient WSN deployment for air pollution monitoring.
Applications of neural network methods to the processing of Earth observation satellite data

The new generation of earth observation satellites carries advance sensors that gather very precise data for studying the Earth system and global climate. This paper shows that neural network methods can be successfully used for solving forward and inverse remote sensing problems, providing both accurate and fast solutions. Two examples of multi-neural network systems for the determination of cloud properties and for the retrieval of total columns of ozone using satellite data are presented. The developed algorithms based on multi-neural network are currently being used for the operational processing of European atmospheric satellite sensors and plays a key role in related satellite missions planed for the near future.
Prevalence of helminth eggs in raw vegetables consumed in Burdur, Turkey

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of intestinal helminths in raw vegetables consumed in Burdur, Turkey. The presence of helminth eggs on raw vegetables, including lettuce, parsley, green onions, cucumbers, carrots, cress, peppermint, spinach, leek, dill, and rocket from Bazaars in Burdur, Turkey was determined. A total of 111 raw vegetable samples were randomly selected from the bazaar and then were examined by a concentration method and assayed by light microscopy. Helminth eggs were detected in 7 (6.3%) of 111 raw lettuce, parsley, carrots, cress, peppermint, spinach, and rocket samples (p > 0.05). No helminth eggs were detected in leek, cucumbers, dill, and green onions. Parasitological contamination of raw vegetables sold in bazaar in Burdur may pose a health risk to consumers of such products. The importance of adequate measures throughout the farm-to-table food chain was emphasized. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Comparison of intraosseous versus central venous vascular access in adults under resuscitation in the emergency department with inaccessible peripheral veins.

INTRODUCTION
Current European Resuscitation Council (ERC) guidelines recommend intraosseous (IO) vascular access, if intravenous (IV) access is not readily available. Because central venous catheterisation (CVC) is an established alternative for in-hospital resuscitation, we compared IO access versus landmark-based CVC in adults with difficult peripheral veins.


METHODS
In this prospective observational study we investigated success rates on first attempt and procedure times of IO access versus central venous catheterisation (CVC) in adults (≥ 18 years of age) with inaccessible peripheral veins under trauma or medical resuscitation in a level I trauma centre emergency department.


RESULTS
Forty consecutive adults under resuscitation were analysed, each receiving IO access and CVC simultaneously. Success rates on first attempt were significantly higher for IO cannulation than CVC (85% versus 60%, p=0.024) and procedure times were significantly lower for IO access compared to CVC (2.0 versus 8.0 min, p<0.001). As for complications, failure of IO access was observed in 6 patients, while 2 or more attempts of CVC were necessary in 16 patients. No other relevant complications like infection, bleeding or pneumothorax were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
IO vascular access is a reliable bridging method to gain vascular access for in-hospital adult patients under resuscitation with difficult peripheral veins. Moreover, IO access is more efficacious with a higher success rate on first attempt and a lower procedure time compared to landmark-based CVC.
Ca2plus binding study on some low molecular weight elastin peptides.

Abstract The binding of Ca 2+ to some low molecular weight peptides obtained from the alkaline hydrolysis of purified elastin has been determined by titration using murexide as an indicator for free Ca 2+ . Ca 2+ binding was shown to be dependent on pH and Ca 2+ concentration and increases with increasing pH. The data strongly support the possibility that electrostatic interaction occurs between the ionized carboxylic groups of the peptide and Ca 2+ . In fact the peptide in which the carboxylic groups were previously blocked with the glycine ethyl ester did not interact with Ca 2+ .
Investigation of gender difference in thermal comfort for Chinese people

Gender difference in thermal comfort for Chinese people was investigated through two laboratory experiments. Both subjective assessment and objective measurement were taken during the experiment. Skin temperature (17 points) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured in one of the experiment. Our results show that there are gender differences in thermal comfort for Chinese people. Correlation of thermal sensation votes and air temperature and vapor pressure shows that females are more sensitive to temperature and less sensitive to humidity than males. Subjective assessment, skin temperature and HRV analysis suggest that females prefer neutral or slightly warmer condition, due to their constantly lower skin temperature and the fact that mean skin temperature is a good predictor of sensation and discomfort below neutrality. Female comfortable operative temperature (26.3°C) is higher than male comfortable operative temperature (25.3°C), although males and females have almost the same neutral temperature and that there is no gender difference in thermal sensation near neutral conditions.
Clinical usefulness of the free web-based image analysis application ImmunoRatio for assessment of Ki-67 labelling index in breast cancer

AIMS
Ki-67 is a prognostic marker in breast cancer; however, the use of the Ki-67 labelling index (LI) in clinical practice requires a consistent and easily accessible scoring method. The present study evaluated the use of the free internet-based image analysis program ImmunoRatio to score Ki-67 LI in breast cancer in comparison with manual counting.


METHODS
Ki-67 immunohistochemical detection was performed in 577 breast cancer cases, and the Ki-67 LI was determined by ImmunoRatio and manual counting.


RESULTS
The Ki-67 LI determined by ImmunoRatio correlated well with that obtained by manual counting. The concordance rate between ImmunoRatio and manual counting was excellent (κ coefficient of 0.881) at a Ki-67 LI cut-off value of 20%. Cases with high Ki-67 LI by ImmunoRatio were associated with poor overall survival, in particular in the hormone receptor positive group.


CONCLUSIONS
The web-based automated image analysis program ImmunoRatio is an attractive alternative to manual counting to determine the Ki-67 LI in breast cancer.
Virtual reality sickness questionnaire (VRSQ): Motion sickness measurement index in a virtual reality environment.

This study aims to develop a motion sickness measurement index in a virtual reality (VR) environment. The VR market is in an early stage of market formation and technological development, and thus, research on the side effects of VR devices such as simulator motion sickness is lacking. In this study, we used the simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ), which has been traditionally used for simulator motion sickness measurement. To measure the motion sickness in a VR environment, 24 users performed target selection tasks using a VR device. The SSQ was administered immediately after each task, and the order of work was determined using the Latin square design. The existing SSQ was revised to develop a VR sickness questionnaire, which is used as the measurement index in a VR environment. In addition, the target selection method and button size were found to be significant factors that affect motion sickness in a VR environment. The results of this study are expected to be used for measuring and designing simulator sickness using VR devices in future studies.
CapsGAN: Using Dynamic Routing for Generative Adversarial Networks

In this paper, we propose a novel technique for generating images in the 3D domain from images with high degree of geometrical transformations. By coalescing two popular concurrent methods that have seen rapid ascension to the machine learning zeitgeist in recent years: GANs (Goodfellow et. al.) and Capsule networks (Sabour, Hinton et. al.) we present: CapsGAN. We show that CapsGAN performs better than or equal to traditional CNN based GANs in generating images with high geometric transformations using rotated MNIST. In the process, we also show the efficacy of using capsules architecture in the GANs domain. Furthermore, we tackle the Gordian Knot in training GANs the performance control and training stability by experimenting with using Wasserstein distance (gradient clipping, penalty) and Spectral Normalization. The experimental findings of this paper should propel the application of capsules and GANs in the still exciting and nascent domain of 3D image generation, and plausibly video (frame) generation.
Short-term effects of a combined nutraceutical of insulin-sensitivity, lipid level and indexes of liver steatosis: a double-blind, randomized, cross-over clinical trial

BACKGROUND
Overweight subjects easily develop alterations of the glucose and lipid metabolism and are exposed to an increased cardiometabolic risk. This condition is potentially reversible through the improvement of dietary and behavioural habits. However, a well-assembled nutraceutical would be a useful tool to better improve the metabolic parameters associated to overweight and insulin resistance.


METHODS
To evaluate the effect of a combined nutraceutical containing berberine, chlorogenic acid and tocotrienols, we performed a double blind, cross-over designed trial versus placebo, in 40 overweight subjects with mixed hyperlipidaemia. After the first 8 weeks of treatment (or placebo), patients were asked to observe a 2-week washout period, and they were then assigned to the alternative treatment for a further period of 8 weeks. Clinical and laboratory data associated to hyperlipidaemia and insulin resistance have been obtained at the baseline, at the end of the first treatment period, after the washout, and again after the second treatment period.


RESULTS
Both groups experienced a significant improvement of anthropometric and biochemical parameters versus baseline. However, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, non-HDL cholesterol, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, GOT and Lipid Accumulation Product decreased more significantly in the nutraceutical group versus placebo.


CONCLUSIONS
This combination seems to improve a large number of metabolic and liver parameters on the short-term in overweight subjects. Further studies are needed to confirm these observations on the middle- and long-term.
Research Robots for Applications in Artificial Intelligence, Teleoperation and Entertainment

Sarcos Research Corporation, and the Center for Engineering Design at the University of Utah, have long been interested in both the fundamental and the applied aspects of robots and other computationally driven machines. We have produced substantial numbers of systems that function as products for commercial applications, and as advanced research tools specifically designed for experimental
Attitude Estimation by Multiple-Mode Kalman Filters

This letter proposes a multiple-mode Kalman filter for one-dimensional attitude estimation using low-cost accelerometer and gyroscope. The nonlinearity and time-varying parameters are partitioned into several modes; for each mode, a linear time-invariant Kalman filter is selected. Experimental results are given to verify the proposed Kalman filter
Accuracy of newly formulated fast-setting elastomeric impression materials.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Elastomeric impression materials have been reformulated to achieve a faster set. The accuracy of fast-setting elastomeric impression materials should be confirmed, particularly with respect to disinfection.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of 2 types of fast-setting impression materials when disinfected with acid glutaraldehyde.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
Impressions of the mandibular arch of a modified dentoform master model were made, from which gypsum working casts and dies were formed. Measurements of the master model and working casts included anteroposterior (AP) and cross-arch (CA) dimensions. A stainless steel circular crown preparation incorporated within the master model was measured in buccolingual (BL), mesiodistal (MD), and occlusogingival (OG) dimensions and compared to measurements from recovered gypsum dies. The impression materials examined were a fast-set vinyl polysiloxane (VPS-FS, Aquasil Ultra Fast Set), a fast-set polyether (PE-FS, Impregum Penta Soft Quick Step), and a regular-setting polyether as a control (PE, Impregum Penta). Disinfection involved immersion in 3.5% acid glutaraldehyde (Banicide Advanced) for 20 minutes, and nondisinfected impressions served as a control. Linear measurements were made with a measuring microscope. Statistical analysis utilized a 2-way and single-factor analysis of variance with pair-wise comparison of mean values when appropriate. Hypothesis testing was conducted at alpha = .05


RESULTS
No differences were shown between the disinfected and nondisinfected conditions for all locations. However, there were statistical differences among the 3 materials for AP, CA, MD, and OG dimensions. AP and CA dimensions of all working casts were larger than the master model. Impressions produced oval-shaped working dies for all impression materials. PE and PE-FS working dies were larger in all dimensions compared to the stainless steel preparation, whereas VPS-FS-generated working dies were reduced in OG and MD dimensions. Differences detected were small and may not be of clinical significance.


CONCLUSIONS
Impression material accuracy was unaffected by immersion disinfection. The working casts and dies were similar for PE and PE-FS. VPS-FS generated gypsum dies that were smaller in 2 of the 3 dimensions measured and may require additional die relief. Overall accuracy was acceptable for all 3 impression materials.