LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Exercise therapy, quality of life, and activities of daily living in patients with Parkinson disease: a small scale quasi-randomised trial

BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 10-week exercise therapy regimen on activities of daily living (ADL) and perceived health status in patients with Parkinson disease.


METHODS
Twenty-four Parkinson's disease patients entered into the study. Participants were allocated into the experimental (n = 12) or control group (n = 12). ADL was assessed using the Short Parkinson Evaluation Scale/Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson Disease (SPES/SCOPA) and perceived health status was measured using the Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life (PDQL) questionnaire. Patients in the experimental group received pharmacological therapy plus a 1-hour exercise therapy session 4 times a week, while patients in the control group received pharmacological therapy only. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison.


RESULTS
The mean age of participants was 59.8 (SD = 3.0) and 58.2 (SD = 3.4) years in the experimental and control groups, respectively. The median Hoehn and Yahr stage was 3.0 for both groups. There were no significant differences in all subscales and overall scores between two groups at baseline. However, after the intervention, except for the emotional functioning (P = 0.27), there were significant differences between the two groups for Parkinson symptoms, systemic symptoms, social functioning, and overall scores of the PDQL (all P values < 0.05), and the ADL (P = 0.01) indicating that quality of life was improved in the experimental group.


CONCLUSION
The findings from this small scale quasi-randomised trial showed that exercise therapy was effective in improving activities of daily living and perceived health status in patients with Parkinson's disease. Indeed, exercise therapy could be offered to patients with Parkinson disease, considering that it is low in cost and usually has no negative side effects.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN98825027.
Diabetic retinopathy is not associated with carbonic anhydrase gene polymorphisms

PURPOSE
Carbonic anhydrase is elevated in the vitreous of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). This study aimed to determine if common polymorphisms in the carbonic anhydrase (CA) gene influence susceptibility to diabetic retinopathy (DR).


METHODS
In this multicentered study, a total of 235 control subjects with no DR, 158 subjects with nonproliferative DR (NPDR), 132 with proliferative DR (PDR), and 93 with clinically significant macular edema (CSME) were recruited. Blinding DR was defined as severe NPDR, PDR or CSME. DR subjects were drawn from both type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) populations. Ten tag single nucleotide polymorphisms were selected to cover the majority of genetic diversity across the CA gene.


RESULTS
After adjustments were made for sex, disease duration, and HbA(1)c, no associations were found between any CA polymorphisms or haplotypes with any type of retinopathy in T1DM or T2DM.


CONCLUSIONS
Sequence variation in CA is not associated with the risk of developing retinopathy in T1DM or T2DM and increases the likelihood that elevated vitreous CA may be a consequence rather than cause of DR. Further genetic studies are required to have a better understanding of the pathogenesis of this debilitating diabetic complication.
Narrowband Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Networks

Narrowband Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Networks
Chapter 4 Personal Ornaments and Symbolism Among the Neanderthals

“The distinctive faculties of Man are visibly expressed in his elevated cranial domeda feature which, though much debased in certain savage races, essentially characterises the human species. But, considering that the Neanderthal skull is eminently simial, both in its general and particular characters, I feel myself constrained to believe that the thoughts and desires which once dwelt within it never soared beyond those of a brute. The Andamaner, it is indisputable, possesses but the dimmest conceptions of the existence of the Creator of the Universe: his ideas on this subject, and on his own moral obligations, place him very little above animals of marked sagacity; nevertheless, viewed in connection with the strictly human conformation of his cranium, they are such as to specifically identify him with Homo sapiens. Psychical endowments of a lower grade than those characterising the Andamaner cannot be conceived to exist: they stand next to brute benightedness. (.) Applying the above argument to the Neanderthal skull, and considering . that it more closely conforms to the brain-case of the Chimpanzee, . there seems no reason to believe otherwise than that similar darkness characterised the being to which the fossil belonged” (King, 1864; pp. 96).
Quantifying the impact of traffic-related air pollution on the indoor air quality of a naturally ventilated building.

Improper natural ventilation practices may deteriorate indoor air quality when in close proximity to roadways, although the intention is often to reduce energy consumption. In this study, we employed a CFD-based air quality model to quantify the impact of traffic-related air pollution on the indoor air quality of a naturally ventilated building. Our study found that the building envelope restricts dispersion and dilution of particulate matter. The indoor concentration in the baseline condition located 10m away from the roadway is roughly 16-21% greater than that at the edge of the roadway. The indoor flow recirculation creates a well-mixed zone with little variation in fine particle concentration (i.e., 253nm). For ultrafine particles (<100nm), a noticeable decrease in particle concentrations indoors with increasing distance from the road is observed due to Brownian and turbulent diffusion. In addition, the indoor concentration strongly depends on the distance between the roadway and building, particle size, wind condition, and window size and location. A break-even point is observed at D'~2.1 (normalized distance from the roadway by the width of the road). The indoor particle concentration is greater than that at the highway where D'<2.1, and vice versa. For new building planning, the distance from the roadway and the ambient wind condition need to be considered at the early design stage whereas the size and location of the window openings, the interior layout, and the placement of fresh air intakes are important to the indoor air quality of existing buildings adjacent to roadways.
Investigation on impact of current harmonic contents on the distribution transformer losses and remaining life

Transformers are one of the main equipments of distribution systems. Increase in transformer loss is mostly the source of the damages, and caused by increased harmonic contents, especially current harmonic. These losses will result in an increase in temperature of various parts of transformer, especially its hot-spot temperature, and this temperature increase leads to insulation life reduction. Therefore, it seems necessary to know the harmonic orders and estimate hot-spot temperature of the transformer, which can help predicting the remaining life of the transformer. In this paper, relations associated with transformer life and losses are reviewed. The equivalent losses and capacity of a typical distribution transformer have been evaluated using simulation in MATLAB/SIMULINK based on its model under harmonic condition. Then, hot-spot temperature and remaining life of the transformer are estimated. In addition, the transformer has been simulated using Finite Element Method in MAXWELL software. Finally, results are discussed and compared.
High Temperature Chemistry of Fibers and Composites

Abstract : High temperature chemical reactions can decisively affect the preparation and performance of glass and ceramic fibers and composites. Fiber tensile strength can be limited by critical defects resulting from process chemistry and processing of ceramic composites made difficult, if not impossible, by unwanted high temperature reactions. In some cases, however, advantage can be taken of high temperature reactions to form in situ composites. The foregoing points are discussed and illustrated with examples from the author's research and from the literature.
[Efficacy and safety of a single intra-articular injection of 2% hyaluronic acid plus mannitol in knee osteoarthritis over a 6-month period].

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a single intra-articular injection of 2% hyaluronic acid (HA)+mannitol in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (KOA).


MATERIAL AND METHODS
Pilot, multicentre, open, non-comparative study performed in eighty patients with painful KOA, of whom 79 completed the study. They received one injection of 2ml of 2% HA+0.5% mannitol (Day 0) and were followed-up for 6 months. On Days 0, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180, pain and joint function were assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and WOMAC index. Efficacy and safety by investigator and patient, and rescue medication, as an indirect measure of pain, were also recorded.


RESULTS
A significant reduction in joint pain, stiffness and functional disability compared with baseline was observed at every follow-up visit (P<.001). Joint function improved by 38.7% on Day 30, reaching 47.5% on Day 180. Rescue medication use decreased from 58.2% at baseline to 2.5% on Day 90, increasing in the last visits. Efficacy and safety were positively evaluated by investigators and patients. No serious adverse events were observed. Mild side effects were reported in 4 patients (local pain and swelling in the infiltration area).


DISCUSSION
There is evidence that repeated intra-articular injections of HA improve symptoms in KOA. However, studies with a single injection of HA have shown mixed results. This study demonstrates that one single intra-articular injection of non-cross-linked HA reduces joint pain and increases function in patients with KOA over a period of at least 6 months.
AC 2008-1363 : HIGH PERFORMANCE MACHINING : A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO HIGH-SPEED MACHINING

High-speed machining (HSM) has become a popular topic in CNC machining methodology in recent years. Simply defined, high-speed machining is a methodology to improve machining throughput by using higher-than-normal spindle speeds coupled with extraordinarily high feed rates without compromising the quality of the finished part. However, in practice, HSM is not a straightforward methodology to implement. In addition to the higher spindle speeds, numerous other factors like feed, chip loading, width and depth of cut, cutter path, tooling, machine construction, CNC-machine controls and CAM software all impact the HSM process. Most conventional CNC machines are equipped with a spindle with lower rpm limits (under 12,000 rpm), so the term “high performance machining” is adopted (HPM). Applying HPM methodology requires the manufacturing engineer to possess in-depth knowledge of the limits of the CNC machine and how to work around them. An initial investment into discovering the limits of any CNC machine is critical to applying HSM techniques to non-specialized CNC machines to obtain high performance machining. This paper briefly addresses the basic concepts of HSM. Then a methodology taught at Arizona State University for systematically determining the high performance machining envelope for a CNC machine is described. A studentimplemented case study of this methodology resulting in significant performance gains of machining an automotive part is presented.
A 3 DOF exoskeleton for upper limb motion assist: consideration of the effect of bi-articular muscles

We have been developing exoskeleton systems to assist the motion of physically weak persons such as elderly, disabled, and injured persons. The proposed exoskeletons are controlled basically based on the electromyogram (EMG) signals. Even though the EMG signals contain very important information, however, it is not very easy to predict the user's upper-limb motion (elbow and shoulder motion) based on the EMG signals in real-time because of the difficulty in using the EMG signals as the controller input signals. In this paper, we propose a control method for a 3DOF exoskeleton system for human upper-limb motion assist considering the effect of bi-articular muscles.
Proline induces heat tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) plants by protecting vital enzymes of carbon and antioxidative metabolism

Chickpea is a heat sensitive crop hence its potential yield is considerably reduced under high temperatures exceeding 35 °C. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of proline in countering the damage caused by heat stress to growth and to enzymes of carbon and antioxidative metabolism in chickpea. The chickpea seeds were raised without (control) and with proline (10 μM) at temperatures of 30/25 °C, 35/30 °C, 40/35 °C and 45/40 °C as day/ night (12 h/12 h) in a growth chamber. The shoot and root length at 40/35 °C decreased by 46 and 37 %, respectively over control while at 45/40 °C, a decrease of 63 and 47 %, respectively over control was observed. In the plants growing in the presence of 10 μM proline at 40/35 °C and 45/40 °C, the shoot length showed improvement of 32 and 53 %, respectively over untreated plants, while the root growth was improved by 22 and 26 %, respectively. The stress injury (as membrane damage) increased with elevation of temperatures while cellular respiration, chlorophyll content and relative leaf water content reduced as the temperature increased to 45/40 °C. The endogenous proline was elevated to 46 μmol g−1 dw at 40/35 °C but declined to 19 μmol g−1 dw in plants growing at 45/40 °C that was associated with considerable inhibition of growth at this temperature. The oxidative damage measured as malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide content increased manifolds in heat stressed plants coupled with inhibition in the activities of enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase) and levels of non-enzymatic (ascorbic acid, glutathione, proline) antioxidants. The enzymes associated with carbon fixation (RUBISCO), sucrose synthesis (sucrose phosphate synthase) and sucrose hydrolysis (invertase) were strongly inhibited at 45/40 °C. The plants growing in the presence of proline accumulated proline up to 63 μmol g−1 dw and showed less injury to membranes, had improved content of chlorophyll and water, especially at 45/40 °C. Additionally, the oxidative injury was significantly reduced coupled with elevated levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. A significant improvement was also noticed in the activities of enzymes of carbon metabolism in proline-treated plants. We report here that proline imparts partial heat tolerance to chickpea’s growth by reducing the cellular injury and protection of some vital enzymes related to carbon and oxidative metabolism and exogenous application of proline appears to have a countering effect against elevated high temperatures on chickpea.
Experimental study on micro/macro manipulator vibration control

This. work investigates issues related to vibration control in a micro/macro manipulator. This paper provides experimental results obtained by the combination of two dissimilar flexible control techniques t? a micr?/macro flexible link testbed. Inertzal dampzng and command filtering techniques are implemented Simultaneously to form a robust controller that results in minimal residual vibration due to commanded movements or external excitations. Experimental results show the effectiveness of both control techniques in their individual state as well as the. improved performance resulting from their combination. The experimental results of the combined controller clearly show the advantages of each technique.
Hospitalizations among female home-helpers in Denmark, 1981-1997.

BACKGROUND
Occupational health problems among home-helpers have been reported in a series of studies, and the need for intervention has been pointed out. To facilitate decisions regarding interventions and to establish baseline values for future evaluation of preventive efforts, the present study aimed to elucidate the disease pattern among female home-helpers in Denmark.


METHODS
Cohorts of all 20-59-year-old Danish female home-helpers in the years 1981, 1986, 1991, and 1994 were formed, to calculate age standardized hospitalization ratios (SHR) and time trends (1981-1997) for a large variety of diagnostic aggregations.


RESULTS
Significantly high SHRs were found for injuries, infectious and parasitic diseases, and for diseases of the nervous system, circulatory system, the respiratory organs, digestive system, and the musculoskeletal system. When adjusting for social group the SHRs for varicose veins, ischemic heart diseases (IHD), and musculoskeletal disorders were still significantly high while the SHR for malignant neoplasm of respiratory organs became significantly low. The time trends revealed increased relative risks for IHD and asthma, and a decreasing relative risk for duodenal ulcer.


CONCLUSIONS
Employment in the Danish home-help sector is associated with an elevated hospitalization risk due to many work-related diseases.
Measuring social norms and preferences using experimental games

Joseph Henrich et al. Sherif, M. (1937). 'An experimental approach to the study of attitudes'. Sociometry, J, 90~8. Shennan, S. L., DeFries, J. C, Gottesman, 1. I., Loehlin, J. C, Meyer, J. M., Pelias, J., Rice, J., and Waldman, I. (1997). 'Recent developments in human behavioral genetics: Past accomplishments and future directions', American Journal of Human Genetics, 60, l265~ 75. Siamwalla, A. (1978). 'Fanners and middlemen: Aspects of agricultural marketing in Thailand', Economic Bulletin for Asia and the Pacific, 39,
Nearest and reverse nearest neighbor queries for moving objects

With the continued proliferation of wireless communications and advances in positioning technologies, algorithms for efficiently answering queries about large populations of moving objects are gaining interest. This paper proposes algorithms for k nearest and reverse k nearest neighbor queries on the current and anticipated future positions of points moving continuously in the plane. The former type of query returns k objects nearest to a query object for each time point during a time interval, while the latter returns the objects that have a specified query object as one of their k closest neighbors, again for each time point during a time interval. In addition, algorithms for so-called persistent and continuous variants of these queries are provided. The algorithms are based on the indexing of object positions represented as linear functions of time. The results of empirical performance experiments are reported.
FACE: Automated digital evidence discovery and correlation

Digital forensic tools are being developed at a brisk pace in response to the ever increasing variety of forensic targets. Most tools are created for specific tasks – filesystem analysis, memory analysis, network analysis, etc. – and make little effort to interoperate with one another. This makes it difficult and extremely time-consuming for an investigator to build a wider view of the state of the system under investigation. In this work, we present FACE, a framework for automatic evidence discovery and correlation from a variety of forensic targets. Our prototype implementation demonstrates the integrated analysis and correlation of a disk image, memory image, network capture, and configuration log files. The results of this analysis are presented as a coherent view of the state of a target system, allowing investigators to quickly understand it. We also present an advanced open-source memory analysis tool, ramparser, for the automated analysis of Linux systems. a 2008 Digital Forensic Research Workshop. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Long-term monotherapy with suplatast tosilate in patients with mild atopic asthma: a pilot comparison with low-dose inhaled fluticasone.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Suplatast tosilate is a Th2 cytokine inhibitor that is effective for controlling persistent asthma. However, the long-term efficacy of suplatast is unknown. We compared the clinical efficacy of long-term monotherapy with suplatast tosilate with a low dose of inhaled steroids in patients with mild atopic asthma.


METHODS
A total of 32 patients with mild atopic asthma were randomly assigned to receive suplatast (n=15) or fluticasone (n=17). In the suplatast group, 100 mg of suplatast was given orally 3 times a day (total daily dose = 300 mg) for 2 years. In the fluticasone group, 100 pg of fluticasone was inhaled twice a day (total daily dose = 200 tg) for 2 years.


RESULTS
In the suplatast group, the improvements in peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and the changes in the symptom diary scale and frequency of beta2 stimulant inhalation were generally similar to those in the fluticasone group, and efficacy was maintained for 2 years. Improvements in inflammatory indices, such as the sputum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) level and exhaled nitric oxide concentration, were comparable in the suplatast and fluticasone groups. The improvement in airway hyperresponsiveness was also similar in the 2 groups. The peripheral blood eosinophil percent change, serum ECP level, and total IgE antibody titer improved only in the suplatast group.


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term treatment with suplatast significantly improved symptoms and inflammatory indices in patients with mild atopic asthma. Along with fluticasone, suplatast is considered a useful drug for the management of mild atopic asthma.
Carbon emission and mitigation cost comparisons between fossil fuel , nuclear and renewable energy resources for electricity generation

A study was conducted to compare the electricity generation costs of a number of current commercial technologies with technologies expected to become commercially available within the coming decade or so. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions resulting per kWh of electricity generated were evaluated. A range of fossil fuel alternatives (with and without physical carbon sequestration), were compared with the baseline case of a pulverised coal, steam cycle power plant. Nuclear, hydro, wind, bioenergy and solar generating plants were also evaluated. The objectives were to assess the comparative costs of mitigation per tonne of carbon emissions avoided, and to estimate the total amount of carbon mitigation that could result from the global electricity sector by 2010 and 2020 as a result of fuel switching, carbon dioxide sequestration and the greater uptake of renewable energy. Most technologies showed potential to reduce both generating costs and carbon emission avoidance by 2020 with the exception of solar power and carbon dioxide sequestration. The global electricity industry has potential to reduce its carbon emissions by over 15% by 2020 together with cost saving benefits compared with existing generation. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.