LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Low prealbumin is strongly associated with adverse outcome in heart failure.

OBJECTIVE
Prealbumin is one of the best indicators of nutritional status. We previously showed that prealbumin predicted in-hospital mortality in heart failure (HF) patients. We evaluated if a low discharge prealbumin after admission with acute HF would predict morbidity and mortality.


METHODS
We conducted a prospective observational study. Patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of HF were studied. Follow-up was up to 6 months. Endpoints analysed were: all-cause and HF-death; all-cause and worsening HF hospitalisation. Patients with discharge prealbumin ≤15.0 mg/dL and those with prealbumin >15 mg/dL were compared. A Cox-regression analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic impact of low prealbumin.


RESULTS
We studied 514 patients. Mean age was 78 years and 45.7% were male. During follow-up, 101 patients died (78 for HF) and 209 patients were hospital readmitted (140 for worsening HF). Median prealbumin was 20.1 (15.3-25.3) mg/dL. Patients with lower prealbumin were more often women, older aged and with non-ischaemic HF; they had lower albumin, haemoglobin and total cholesterol; and higher glomerular filtration rate, C-reactive protein, B-type natriuretic peptide and length of hospital stay. Lower prealbumin associated with less β-blocker and statin use. Patients with discharge prealbumin ≤15 mg/dL had a multivariate adjusted HR of 6-month all-cause and HF death of 1.67 (1.00 to 2.80) and 2.12 (1.19 to 3.79) respectively and of all-cause and HF readmission of 1.47 (1.01 to 2.14) and 1.58 (1.01 to 2.47).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with discharge prealbumin ≤15 mg/dL have an higher risk of 6 months morbidity and mortality. The unbalance between protein-energy demands and its availability predicts ominous HF outcome.
Novel pharmacological targets for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Dopamine deficiency, caused by the degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons, is the cause of the major clinical motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. These symptoms can be treated successfully with a range of drugs that include levodopa, inhibitors of the enzymatic breakdown of levodopa and dopamine agonists delivered by oral, subcutaneous, transcutaneous, intravenous or intra-duodenal routes. However, Parkinson's disease involves degeneration of non-dopaminergic neurons and the treatment of the resulting predominantly non-motor features remains a challenge. This review describes the important recent advances that underlie the development of novel dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic drugs for Parkinson's disease, and also for the motor complications that arise from the use of existing therapies.
DeepFam: deep learning based alignment-free method for protein family modeling and prediction

Motivation
A large number of newly sequenced proteins are generated by the next-generation sequencing technologies and the biochemical function assignment of the proteins is an important task. However, biological experiments are too expensive to characterize such a large number of protein sequences, thus protein function prediction is primarily done by computational modeling methods, such as profile Hidden Markov Model (pHMM) and k-mer based methods. Nevertheless, existing methods have some limitations; k-mer based methods are not accurate enough to assign protein functions and pHMM is not fast enough to handle large number of protein sequences from numerous genome projects. Therefore, a more accurate and faster protein function prediction method is needed.


Results
In this paper, we introduce DeepFam, an alignment-free method that can extract functional information directly from sequences without the need of multiple sequence alignments. In extensive experiments using the Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs) and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) dataset, DeepFam achieved better performance in terms of accuracy and runtime for predicting functions of proteins compared to the state-of-the-art methods, both alignment-free and alignment-based methods. Additionally, we showed that DeepFam has a power of capturing conserved regions to model protein families. In fact, DeepFam was able to detect conserved regions documented in the Prosite database while predicting functions of proteins. Our deep learning method will be useful in characterizing functions of the ever increasing protein sequences.


Availability and implementation
Codes are available at https://bhi-kimlab.github.io/DeepFam.
Building Information Modeling and Its Application in the State of Kuwait

Recent advances of Building Information Modeling (BIM) especially in the Middle East have increased remarkably. Dubai has been taking a lead on this by making it mandatory for BIM to be adopted for all projects that involve complex architecture designs. This is because BIM is a dynamic process that assists all stakeholders in monitoring the project status throughout different project phases with great transparency. It focuses on utilizing information technology to improve collaboration among project participants during the entire life cycle of the project from the initial design, to the supply chain, resource allocation, construction and all productivity requirements. In view of this trend, the paper examines the extent of applying BIM in the State of Kuwait, by exploring practitioners’ perspectives on BIM, especially their perspectives on main barriers and main advantages. To this end structured interviews were carried out based on questionnaires and with a range of different construction professionals. The results revealed that practitioners perceive improved communication and mitigated project risks by encouraged collaboration between project participants. However, it was also observed that the full implementation of BIM in the State of Kuwait requires concerted efforts to make clients demanding BIM, counteract resistance to change among construction professionals and offer more training for design team members. This paper forms part of an on-going research effort on BIM and its application in the State of Kuwait and it is on this basis that further research on the topic is proposed. Keywords—Building Information Modeling, BIM, construction industry, Kuwait.
On Modeling Software Architecture Recovery as Graph Matching

This paper presents a graph matching model for the software architecture recovery problem. Because of their expressiveness, the graphs have been widely used for representing both the software system and its high-level view, known as the conceptual architecture. Modeling the recovery process as graph matching is an attempt to identify a sub-optimal transformation from a pattern graph, representing the high-level view of the system, onto a subgraph of the software system graph. A successful match yields a restructured system that conforms with the given graph pattern. A failed match indicates the points where the system violates specific constraints. The pattern graph generation and the incrementality of the recovery process are the important issues to be addressed. The approach is evaluated through case studies using a prototype toolkit that implements the proposed interactive recovery environment.
Comparison of titanium-nitride-oxide-coated stents with zotarolimus-eluting stents for coronary revascularization a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES
This study sought to compare the efficacy of passive stent coating with titanium-nitride-oxide (TiNO) with drug-eluting stents releasing zotarolimus (ZES) (Endeavor, Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota).


BACKGROUND
Stent coating with TiNO has been shown to reduce restenosis compared with bare-metal stents in experimental and clinical studies.


METHODS
In an assessor-blind noninferiority study, 302 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention were randomized to treatment with TiNO or ZES. The primary endpoint was in-stent late loss at 6 to 8 months, and analysis was by intention to treat.


RESULTS
Both groups were well balanced with respect to baseline clinical and angiographic characteristics. The TiNO group failed to reach the pre-specified noninferiority margin for the primary endpoint (in-stent late loss: 0.64 ± 0.61 mm vs. 0.47 ± 0.48 mm, difference: 0.16, upper 1-sided 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26; p(noninferiority) = 0.54), and subsequent superiority testing was in favor of ZES (p(superiority) = 0.02). In-segment binary restenosis was lower with ZES (11.1%) than with TiNO (20.5%; p(superiority) = 0.04). A stratified analysis of the primary endpoint found particularly pronounced differences between stents among diabetic versus nondiabetic patients (0.90 ± 0.69 mm vs. 0.39 ± 0.38 mm; p(interaction) = 0.04). Clinical outcomes showed a similar rate of death (0.7% vs. 0.7%; p = 1.00), myocardial infarction (5.3% vs. 6.7%; p = 0.60), and major adverse cardiac events (21.1% vs. 18.0%, hazard ratio: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.71 to 2.00; p = 0.50) at 1 year. There were no differences in rates of definite or probable stent thrombosis (0.7% vs. 0%; p = 0.51) at 1 year.


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with TiNO, ZES was superior with regard to late loss and binary restenosis. The concept of passive stent coating with TiNO remains inferior to drug-eluting stent technology in reducing restenosis. ([TIDE] Randomized Trial Comparing Titan Stent With Zotarolimus-Eluting Stent: NCT00492908).
Political culture and cultural politics in early modern England : essays presented to David Underdown

Introduction - political culture and cultural politics in early modern England, Susan Amussen and Mark Kishlansky. Part 1 The culture of politics: the unweariableness of Mr Pym - influence and eloquence in the Long Parliament, J.S. Morrill the faith of Joseph Hall, Peter Lake honour, rhetoric and political culture - the Earl of Huntingdon and his enemies, Richard Cust the Wentworth forest riot - property rights and political culture in restoration England, Molly McClain in the midst of ceremony - cathedral and community in 17th century Wells, Carl B. Estabrook gender and politics in Leveller literature, Ann Hughes "If I did say so, I lyed" - Elizabeth Cellier and the construction of credibility in the Popish plot crisis, Rachel Weil. Part 2 The politics of culture: "The part of a Christian Man" - the cultural politics of manhood in early modern England, Susan Amussen companionate marriage versus male friendship - anxiety for the lineal family in Jacobean drama, Lisa Jardine remembering Marston Moor - the culture of politics, Maija Jansson underground verse and the transformation of early Stuart political culture, Thomas Cogswell wit in a roundhead - the dilemma of Marchamont Nedham, Blair Worden turning frogs into princes - Aesop's fables and the political culture of early modern England, Mark Kishlansky.
Performance of creatinine and cystatin C-based glomerular filtration rate estimating equations in a European HIV-positive cohort.

OBJECTIVE
To validate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimating equations in white HIV-infected patients based on serum creatinine and/or serum cystatin C.


DESIGN
Single-center, cross-sectional evaluation of the predictive performance of GFR estimators.


METHODS
GFR was measured by iohexol plasma clearance. Serum creatinine (Scr) and serum cystatin C (Scyst) were measured by traceable and standardized methods. We evaluated the performance of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and the Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations. We also studied the performance of the cystatin C-based equation (CKD-EPI Scyst) and the combined cystatin and creatinine-based equation (CKD-EPI combined), as recently proposed by the CKD-EPI group.


RESULTS
Two hundred and three participants (18% of women) were included. Mean age was 49 ± 10 years. Mean measured GFR (mGFR) was 95 ± 24 ml/min per 1.73 m². CKD-EPI and CKD-EPI combined significantly outperformed the MDRD equation. The percentage of estimating results within 30% of mGFR was 75, 82 and 81% for the MDRD, CKD-EPI and CKD-EPI combined equation, respectively. Results favoring the CKD-EPI and CKD-EPI combined equation were especially observed for patients with mGFR over 90 ml/min per 1.73 m².


CONCLUSION
In our European HIV cohort, we confirmed that the creatinine-based CKD-EPI equation should replace the MDRD study equation. However, global performance of this equation remains worse than the performance observed in the general population. This lesser performance is particularly relevant in patients with measured GFR under and around 60 ml/min per 1.73 m². Moreover, the specific interest of Scyst-based equations is not confirmed in this population.
Global cancer transitions according to the Human Development Index (2008-2030): a population-based study.

BACKGROUND
Cancer is set to become a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the coming decades in every region of the world. We aimed to assess the changing patterns of cancer according to varying levels of human development.


METHODS
We used four levels (low, medium, high, and very high) of the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite indicator of life expectancy, education, and gross domestic product per head, to highlight cancer-specific patterns in 2008 (on the basis of GLOBOCAN estimates) and trends 1988-2002 (on the basis of the series in Cancer Incidence in Five Continents), and to produce future burden scenario for 2030 according to projected demographic changes alone and trends-based changes for selected cancer sites.


FINDINGS
In the highest HDI regions in 2008, cancers of the female breast, lung, colorectum, and prostate accounted for half the overall cancer burden, whereas in medium HDI regions, cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, and liver were also common, and together these seven cancers comprised 62% of the total cancer burden in medium to very high HDI areas. In low HDI regions, cervical cancer was more common than both breast cancer and liver cancer. Nine different cancers were the most commonly diagnosed in men across 184 countries, with cancers of the prostate, lung, and liver being the most common. Breast and cervical cancers were the most common in women. In medium HDI and high HDI settings, decreases in cervical and stomach cancer incidence seem to be offset by increases in the incidence of cancers of the female breast, prostate, and colorectum. If the cancer-specific and sex-specific trends estimated in this study continue, we predict an increase in the incidence of all-cancer cases from 12·7 million new cases in 2008 to 22·2 million by 2030.


INTERPRETATION
Our findings suggest that rapid societal and economic transition in many countries means that any reductions in infection-related cancers are offset by an increasing number of new cases that are more associated with reproductive, dietary, and hormonal factors. Targeted interventions can lead to a decrease in the projected increases in cancer burden through effective primary prevention strategies, alongside the implementation of vaccination, early detection, and effective treatment programmes.


FUNDING
None.
Electric vehicle travel optimization-customer satisfaction despite resource constraints

Consumers and producers of mobility products have been co-creating a mobile world - all within the limits of political regulation and infrastructure realities. With the advent of electric vehicles, the existing mobile world requires adaptation: Producers need to create new ecosystems and mobility concepts ([1], [2]), infrastructure requires adaptation ([1]) and lastly consumers might revisit their expectations. Particularly challenging is the market introduction phase of electric vehicles. Neither have the potentials of the infrastructure and the electric vehicles been fully exploited, nor have consumers become accustomed to electric vehicles and shaped their expectations accordingly. Making electric vehicles a success story requires the satisfaction of customer expectations in the face of both electric vehicle and infrastructure realities. This paper suggests an optimization approach which maximizes customer satisfaction for existing electric vehicle and infrastructure realities. For various degrees-of-freedom (DoF) of the mobility system, the improvement potential is analysed with respect to consumption, charging time, cost and travel time. Moreover, the optimization complexity is analysed, which scales with the number of DoF. The approach enables market entry of electric vehicles and provides the means for future e-navigation and e-travel-planning.
Prehospital Naloxone Administration as a Public Health Surveillance Tool: A Retrospective Validation Study.

BACKGROUND
Abuse or unintended overdose (OD) of opiates and heroin may result in prehospital and emergency department (ED) care. Prehospital naloxone use has been suggested as a surrogate marker of community opiate ODs. The study objective was to verify externally whether prehospital naloxone use is a surrogate marker of community opiate ODs by comparing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) naloxone administration records to an independent database of ED visits for opiate and heroin ODs in the same community.


METHODS
A retrospective chart review of prehospital and ED data from July 2009 through June 2013 was conducted. Prehospital naloxone administration data obtained from the electronic medical records (EMRs) of a large private EMS provider serving a metropolitan area were considered a surrogate marker for suspected opiate OD. Comparison data were obtained from the regional trauma/psychiatric ED that receives the majority of the OD patients. The ED maintains a de-identified database of narcotic-related visits for surveillance of narcotic use in the metropolitan area. The ED database was queried for ODs associated with opiates or heroin. Cross-correlation analysis was used to test if prehospital naloxone administration was independent of ED visits for opiate/heroin ODs.


RESULTS
Naloxone was administered during 1,812 prehospital patient encounters, and 1,294 ED visits for opiate/heroin ODs were identified. The distribution of patients in the prehospital and ED datasets did not differ by gender, but it did differ by race and age. The frequency of naloxone administration by prehospital providers varied directly with the frequency of ED visits for opiate/heroin ODs. A monthly increase of two ED visits for opiate-related ODs was associated with an increase in one prehospital naloxone administration (cross-correlation coefficient [CCF]=0.44; P=.0021). A monthly increase of 100 ED visits for heroin-related ODs was associated with an increase in 94 prehospital naloxone administrations (CCF=0.46; P=.0012).


CONCLUSIONS
Frequency of naloxone administration by EMS providers in the prehospital setting varied directly with frequency of opiate/heroin OD-related ED visits. The data correlated both for short-term frequency and longer term trends of use. However, there was a marked difference in demographic data suggesting neither data source alone should be relied upon to determine which populations are at risk within the community.
Interfacial reaction of silver ultra-thin film deposited on interpenetrating polymer network substrate by liquor-phase reduction

Abstract The interfacial reaction, metal transformations, and nonmetal bond types of silver ultra-thin film deposited on polyurethane (PU) based interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) substrate by the liquor-phase reduction at room temperatures were studied by atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The IPN substrate was prepared by dip-pulling precursors onto a silicon wafer or a glass plate, followed by solidification at room temperature. The interpenetrate structures of IPN with two crosslinked networks restricted the aggregation of silver during the reduction and deposition. The devised –OH terminal group in PU simplified the determination of reactive site in IPN and reinforced the adhesion between IPN and silver through interfacial reaction. The XPS results, which matched well with the ATR-FTIR results, verified the chemical reactive site of PU in IPN with silver in the oxide state.
Bytecode fault injection for Java software

Developers using third party software components need to test them to satisfy quality requirements. In the past, researchers have proposed fault injection testing approaches in which the component state is perturbed and the resulting effects on the rest of the system are observed. Non-availability of source code in third-party components makes it harder to perform source code level fault injection. Even if Java decompilers are used, they do not work well with obfuscated bytecode. We propose a technique that injects faults in Java software by manipulating the bytecode. Existing test suites are assessed according to their ability to detect the injected faults and improved accordingly. We present a case study using an open source Java component that demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of our approach. We also evaluate the usability of our approach on obfuscated bytecode. 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The ecology and impact of chytridiomycosis: an emerging disease of amphibians.

Emerging infectious diseases are increasingly recognized as key threats to wildlife. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the causative agent of chytridiomycosis, has been implicated in widespread amphibian declines and is currently the largest infectious disease threat to biodiversity. Here, we review the causes of Bd emergence, its impact on amphibian populations and the ecology of Bd transmission. We describe studies to answer outstanding issues, including the origin of the pathogen, the effect of Bd relative to other causes of population declines, the modes of Bd dispersal, and factors influencing the intensity of its transmission. Chytridiomycosis is an archetypal emerging disease, with a broad host range and significant impacts on host populations and, as such, poses a crucial challenge for wildlife managers and an urgent conservation concern.