LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Beta-blocker treatment of stable heart failure in primary care.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES
Beta-blocker treatment of stable heart failure in primary care. The objective was to evaluate the feasibility and tolerability of uptitrating beta-blockers in patients with stable systolic heart failure seen in primary care.


METHODS
Before and after intervention study. The study was conducted in two primary care centers in Barcelona, Spain. Consecutive samples of patients with systolic heart failure who had not received previous beta-blocker treatment were recruited between April 2004 and April 2006. Treatment was started with the lowest dose of bisoprolol or carvedilol and the dose was doubled every two weeks in the absence of contraindications. Patients were followed up for 6 months.


RESULTS
The study included 88 patients (76.1% male, 23,9% female, mean age 64.88 years). Of these, 57.1% were treated with bisoprolol and 42.9% with carvedilol. Overall, 75.0% reached the target dose, 21.7% tolerated a dose lower than the target dose, and 3.3% had the beta-blocker withdrawn (due to bradycardia in 1.1%, syncope in 1.1%, and stroke in 1.1%). Adverse events were experienced by 70.4%, the majority of which (57.95%) were resolved without changing treatment. The most common were nausea (42.04%), asthenia (35.22%), and increased dyspnea (17.04%). There were significant improvements in functional class and ejection fraction.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of adverse events were mild. Treatment was withdrawn in only a few patients and most reached the recommended target dose. Appropriately trained primary care physicians can uptitrate beta-blockers in heart failure patients without undue concern.
An opportunistic activity-sensing approach to save energy in office buildings

In this work, we recognised office worker activities that are relevant for energy-related control of appliances and building systems using sensors that are commonly installed in new or refurbished office buildings. We considered desk-related activities and people count in office rooms, structured into desk- and room-cells. Recognition was performed using finite state machines (FSMs) and probabilistic layered hidden Markov models (LHMMs).
 We evaluated our approach in a real living-lab office, including three private and multi-person office rooms. As example devices, we used different ceiling-mounted PIR sensors based on the EnOcean platform and plug-in power meters. In at least five days of study data per office room, including reference sensor data and occupant annotations, we confirmed that activities can be recognised using these sensors. For computer and desk work, an overall recognition accuracy of 95% was achieved. People count was estimated at 87% and 78% for the best-performing two office rooms. We furthermore present building simulation results that compare different control strategies. Compared to modern BEMS, our results show that 21.9% and 19.5% of electrical energy can be saved for controls based on recognised desk activity and estimated people count, respectively. These results confirm the relevance of building energy management based on activity sensing.
Transmission line extraction and recognition from natural complex background

With increasing of the use of helicopters for transmission line inspection, the image processing technology is used to inspect the status of the transmission lines. In this paper, an algorithm of transmission line automatic extraction and recognition from natural complex background in aerial images is presented. A developed Marr-Hildreth edge detecting algorithm was used to enhance the linear features of the original image, and Hough transform was used to extract the line and curve from the image, at last, the morphological analysis is used to recognize the transmission lines between the transmission lines and background objects. The experimental results show that the proposed method can successfully extract and recognize the transmission lines regardless of background complexity, and it also proves that the algorithm is effective and practical.
The reduction in blood loss with intra-articular injection of tranexamic acid in unilateral total knee arthroplasty without operative drains: a randomized controlled trial

The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intra-articular injections of tranexamic acid (TXA) on perioperative blood loss and transfusion in primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) without drainage. Primary TKA was performed on a total of 80 patients (80 knees) affected to various degrees by knee osteoarthritis. The patients were randomized to receive 500 mg of TXA in 20 mL of normal saline solution (n = 40) or an equivalent volume of normal saline solution (n = 40), applied into the joint for 5 min at the end of surgery. Data on routine blood examination, blood loss and blood transfusion after TKA were compared between the two groups. The results showed no significant difference between the two groups in intra-operative blood loss (P = 0.136). The mean postoperative visible blood loss, hidden blood loss and transfusion requests were significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.05). The values of postoperative hemoglobin and hematocrit were lower in the control group compared with those in the treatment group (P < 0.05). No deep vein thrombosis was detected through Doppler ultrasound examination. Three hour postoperative D-dimer in the control group was higher than the treatment group (P = 0.02). There was no statistically significant difference between the coagulation indicators and range of motion in the two groups. We conclude that intra-articular TXA in patients undergoing unilateral TKA could significantly reduce postoperative blood loss and blood transfusion and avoid perioperative anemia-related complications without increased risk of venous thrombosis. Level I. Therapeutic study.
Validation of the Spanish Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scales: A Comparative Validation Study

BACKGROUND
Depressive disorders are leading contributors to burden of disease in developing countries. Research aiming to improve their diagnosis and treatment is fundamental in these settings, and psychometric tools are widely used instruments to support mental health research. Our aim is to validate and compare the psychometric properties of the Spanish versions of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (ZSDS).


METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
A Spanish version of the CES-D was revised by 5 native Spanish speaking psychiatrists using as reference the English version. A locally standardized Spanish version of the ZSDS was used. These Spanish versions were administered to 70 patients with a clinical diagnosis of DSM-IV Major Depressive Episode (MDE), 63 without major depression but with clinical diagnosis of other psychiatric disorders (OPD), and 61 with no evidence of psychiatric disorders (NEP). For both scales, Cronbach's alpha (C-α) and Hierarchical McDonald Omega for polychoric variables (MD-Ω) were estimated; and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis performed. For the CES-D and ZSDS scales, C-α was 0.93 and 0.89 respectively, while MD-Ω was 0.90 and 0.75 respectively. The area under the ROC curve in MDE+OPD was 0.83 for CES-D and 0.84 for ZSDS; and in MDE+NEP was 0.98 for CES-D and 0.96 for ZSDS. Cut-off scores (co) for the highest proportions of correctly classified (cc) individuals among MDE+OPD were ≥29 for CES-D (sensitivity (ss) = 77.1/specificity (sp) = 79.4%/(cc) = 78.2%) and ≥47 for ZSDS (ss = 85.7%/sp = 71.4%/cc = 78.9%). In the MDE+NEP, co were ≥24 for the CES-D (ss = 91.4%/sp = 96.7%/cc = 93.9%) and ≥45 for the ZSDS (ss = 91.4%/sp = 91.8%/cc = 91.6%).


CONCLUSION
Spanish versions of the CES-D and ZSDS are valid instruments to detect depression in clinical settings and could be useful for both epidemiological research and primary clinical settings in settings similar as those of public hospitals in Lima, Peru.
Effect of Porosity on the Stiffness of Cast Steel

The effect of porosity on the elastic behavior of cast steel is investigated experimentally, and an approach for including porosity effects in finite element analysis (FEA) simulations is presented. Porous cast steel specimens are mechanically tested having apparent elastic moduli reduced between 17 and 61 pct. Analysis of radiographs and tomography is used to measure and reconstruct the porosity distribution in these test specimens. The porosity distribution is incorporated into FEA simulations, where elastic mechanical properties are dependent on the locally varying porosity. A relationship between elastic modulus and porosity E(/) is determined by minimizing the difference between the simulations and the measurements: E(/) 1⁄4 E0 1 /=0:5 ð Þ , where E0 is the elastic modulus of the sound material and / is the porosity volume fraction. It is found that the elastic modulus decreases nonlinearly with porosity and that the steel exhibits a critical porosity level above which it loses all stiffness. This study shows that the stiffness of porous materials depends not only on the amount of porosity, but on how it is distributed and other characteristics such as pore shape and size. By modeling the effect of the porosity distribution in the simulations, the measured strain is predicted within ±10 pct agreement.
Protective effect of Chinese herbs for supplementing qi, nourishing yin and activating blood circulation on heart function of patients with acute coronary syndrome after percutaneous coronary intervention.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of Chinese herbs for supplementing qi, nourishing yin and activating blood circulation on heart function of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).


METHODS
One hundred patients with ACS after successful PCI were randomly assigned to a Western medicine (WM) treatment group (WMG) and a combined treatment group (CMG) treated by Chinese herbs for supplementing qi, nourishing yin and activating blood circulation, besides Western medicine treatment, with 50 cases in each group. Both treatment courses were 6 months. The followup was scheduled at baseline, 6 months and 1 year after PCI, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, Chinese medicine (CM) symptom scores, blood stasis syndrome scores, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were observed, serum levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and hyper-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) were measured, an echocardiogram was conducted to examine left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), inter-ventricular septal thickness (IVST), left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), and ventricular wall motion index (VWMI).


RESULTS
Compared with the baseline, LVEF significantly increased (P<0.01), and CM symptom scores, blood stasis syndrome scores, VWMI, LVEDV, LVESV, NT-proBNP, and Hs-CRP all decreased (P<0.01) in both groups at 6 months and at 1 year after PCI. There were no significant differences in all the above parameters at 1 year vs those at 6 months after PCI (P>0.05). VWMI, LVEDV, LVESV, NT-proBNP, Hs-CRP, LVEF, and CM symptom and blood stasis syndrome scores were all improved obviously in CMG than those in WMG (P<0.05 or P<0.01) at 6 months and at 1 year after PCI. There were no significant differences in NYHA functional class between CMG and WMG at different follow-up timepoints; it was notable that value was 0.054 when comparing the cases of NYHA functional class between the two groups at 1-year follow-up. During the 1-year follow-up, 3 MACE and 11 MACE occurred in CMG and WMG, respectively; the MACE rate in CMG was lower than that in WMG (6% vs 22%, P<0.05).


CONCLUSION
Chinese herbs for supplementing qi, nourishing yin and activating blood circulation could improve heart function, reduce the CM symptom scores and blood stasis syndrome scores, and decrease the incidence of MACE in patients with ACS after successful PCI.
Lidocaine gel as an anesthetic protocol for nasogastric tube insertion in the ED.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of topical 2% lidocaine gel in reducing pain and discomfort associated with nasogastric tube insertion (NGTI) and compare lidocaine to ordinary lubricant gel in the ease in carrying out the procedure.


METHODS
This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, convenience sample trial was conducted in the emergency department of our tertiary care university-affiliated hospital. Five milliliters of 2% lidocaine gel or placebo lubricant gel were administered nasally to alert hemodynamically stable adult patients 5 minutes before undergoing a required NGTI. The main outcome measures were overall pain, nasal pain, discomfort (eg, choking, gagging, nausea, vomiting), and difficulty in performing the procedure. Standard comparative statistical analyses were used.


RESULTS
The study cohort included 62 patients (65% males). Thirty-one patients were randomized to either lidocaine or placebo groups. Patients who received lidocaine reported significantly less intense overall pain associated with NGTI compared to those who received placebo (37 ± 28 mm vs 51 ± 26 mm on 100-mm visual analog scale; P < .05). The patients receiving lidocaine also had significantly reduced nasal pain (33 ± 29 mm vs 48 ± 27 mm; P < .05) and significantly reduced sensation of gagging (25 ± 30 mm vs 39 ± 24 mm; P < .05). However, conducting the procedure was significantly more difficult in the lidocaine group (2.1 ± 0.9 vs 1.4 ± 0.7 on 5-point Likert scale; P < .05).


CONCLUSION
Lidocaine gel administered nasally 5 minutes before NGTI significantly reduces pain and gagging sensations associated with the procedure but is associated with more difficult tube insertion compared to the use of lubricant gel.
Women's opinions on the home management of early medical abortion in the UK.

BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY
This survey was undertaken to obtain the opinions of women in the UK about their home management of early medical abortion (EMA) with mifepristone and misoprostol. All eligible women undergoing EMA at any BPAS clinic during a 2-week period were invited to participate. Women were contacted by telephone 1 week after the EMA and a five-item structured questionnaire was administered. One open-ended question gave women the opportunity to freely comment. Demographics and responses were tabulated using descriptive statistics. Mulitivariable logistic regression was used to assess the influence of demographic characteristics on responses.


RESULTS
Of 249 enrolled participants, 162 were successfully surveyed (a 65% response rate). Most respondents (86%) would rather go home to complete an EMA than remain in a clinical setting. The majority (96%) found home management very or somewhat acceptable and 96% felt they could have obtained medical help easily if necessary. Most respondents (62%) would prefer home use of misoprostol as opposed to returning to the clinic to obtain and use the medication. Women were less likely to prefer home management if they were Asian (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.05-0.87) or had a gestational age >49 days (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.10-0.71).


DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Home management of EMA is acceptable to most women in the UK who have experienced it and is, for many, preferable to a clinical setting. Consideration should be given to updating the interpretation of the UK's 1967 Abortion Act to allow home administration of misoprostol.
Short contribution: Nile flow failure at the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt: Strontium isotopic and petrologic evidence

Strontium isotopic and petrologic information, obtained from sediment cores collected in the Nile delta of Egypt, indicate that paleoclimatic and Nile baseflow conditions changed considerably from about 4200 to 4000 cal yr B.P. in the Nile basin. Our study records a higher proportion of White Nile sediment transported during the annual floods at ca. 6100 cal yr B.P. than towards 4200 cal yr B.P., at which time suspended sediment from the Blue Nile formed a significantly larger fraction of the total load. This resulted from a decrease in vegetative cover and an increase in erosion rate accompanying the marked decline in rainfall. These new geoscience data indicate major changes in annual flooding and baseflow of the river Nile, marked short-term paleoclimatic-related events that may in part have led to the collapse of the Old Kingdom. 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Does green tea affect postprandial glucose, insulin and satiety in healthy subjects: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Results of epidemiological studies have suggested that consumption of green tea could lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. Intervention studies show that green tea may decrease blood glucose levels, and also increase satiety. This study was conducted to examine the postprandial effects of green tea on glucose levels, glycemic index, insulin levels and satiety in healthy individuals after the consumption of a meal including green tea.


METHODS
The study was conducted on 14 healthy volunteers, with a crossover design. Participants were randomized to either 300 ml of green tea or water. This was consumed together with a breakfast consisting of white bread and sliced turkey. Blood samples were drawn at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 minutes. Participants completed several different satiety score scales at the same times.


RESULTS
Plasma glucose levels were higher 120 min after ingestion of the meal with green tea than after the ingestion of the meal with water. No significant differences were found in serum insulin levels, or the area under the curve for glucose or insulin. Subjects reported significantly higher satiety, having a less strong desire to eat their favorite food and finding it less pleasant to eat another mouthful of the same food after drinking green tea compared to water.


CONCLUSIONS
Green tea showed no glucose or insulin-lowering effect. However, increased satiety and fullness were reported by the participants after the consumption of green tea.


TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
NCT01086189.
Hot flashes severity, complementary and alternative medicine use, and self-rated health in women with breast cancer.

CONTEXT
Hot flashes (HF) are a common distressing symptom in women with breast cancer (BC). Current pharmacologic options are moderately effective and are associated with bothersome side effects. Complementary and alternative medicine is commonly used by cancer patients. However, information on the association of hot flashes severity with such use and self-rated health is lacking.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the hot flashes severity in women with breast cancer and its association with complementary and alternative medicine use and self-rated health (SRH).


DESIGN
Longitudinal multicenter study to assess information needs of cancer outpatients.


PARTICIPANTS
Patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer who were scheduled to undergo chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.


OUTCOME MEASURES
Hot flashes severity (0 = not present and 10 = as bad as you can imagine), use of complementary and alternative medicine (yes/no), and self-rating of health (SRH) status post-treatment and six-months thereafter (1-5, higher score = better SRH).


RESULTS
The majority of women with HF (mean age = 54.4 years) were Caucasian and married, with higher education, and 93% had received surgical treatment for BC. At the end of treatment, 79% women reported experiencing HF [mean severity = 5.87, standard deviation (SD) = 2.9]; significantly more severe HF were reported by younger women with poor SRH, poor performance status, and those reporting doing spiritual practices. At follow-up, 73% had HF (mean severity = 4.86, SD = 3.0), and more severe HF were reported by younger women with poor self-rated health who had undergone chemotherapy plus radiotherapy, used vitamins, and did not exercise.


CONCLUSIONS
A high percentage of women experienced hot flashes at the end of treatment and at six-month follow-up. A significant association of hot flashes severity with spiritual practice, increased vitamin use, and reduced exercise emphasize the need for future studies to confirm the results. This can facilitate safe use of complementary and alternative medicine and favorable outcomes while managing cancer-related hot flashes.
The Persona Effect: How Substantial Is It?

Personification of interface agents has been speculated to h ave several advantages, such as a positive effect on agent credibility a nd on the perception of learning experience. However, important que stions less often addressed so far are what effect personification has on more o bjective measures, such as comprehension and recall, and furthermor e, under what circumstances this effect (if any) occurs. We performed an e mpirical study with adult participants to examine the effect of the Ppp Persona not only on subjective but also on objective measures. In addition, w e tested it both with technical and non-technical domain information. The results of the study indicate that the data from the subjective measures su pport the so calledpersona effect for the technical information but not for non-technical information. With regard to the objective measures, howeve r, neither a positive nor a negative effect could be found. Implicationsfor software development are discussed.
SELF-CONFIDENCE AND PERSONAL MOTIVATION

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Treatment of testicular cancer: influence on pituitary-gonadal axis and sexual function.

OBJECTIVES
To investigate the influence of treatment for testicular cancer on the pituitary-gonadal axis and sexual function in long-time survivors after unilateral orchiectomy.


METHODS
Blood was drawn from patients treated for testicular cancer during routine oncologic follow-up for measurement of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, sexual hormone-binding globulin, testosterone, and bioavailable testosterone. Sexual function was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function 15-item (IIEF-15) questionnaire. Patients were grouped according to treatment: group 1 followed a surveillance strategy, group 2 received two cycles of carboplatin monotherapy, and group 3 underwent cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin chemotherapy.


RESULTS
No statistically significant difference was found in the serum hormonal levels among the three groups, and all hormonal levels were within the 95% confidence range, except for follicle-stimulating hormone. The median serum testosterone level was 3.5 ng/mL in group 1, 3.9 ng/mL in group 2, and 4.2 ng/mL in group 3. In group 1, the median IIEF-15 score was 64.0, and the median Erectile Function (EF) domain score was 28. The median scores in groups 2 and 3 were 62.5 for IIEF-15 and 27.5 for EF and 65.0 for IIEF-15 and 30.0 for EF, respectively. No correlation was found between testosterone level and IIEF-15 or EF score.


CONCLUSIONS
None of the treatments investigated had a significant influence on the serum hormonal levels in long-time survivors of testicular cancer. Patients undergoing chemotherapy have no greater risk of developing a hormonal disorder than those following a surveillance strategy, and therapy for testicular cancer is not a risk factor for erectile dysfunction.