LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Impacts of education level and employment status on health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients.

AIM
To evaluate the impacts of education level and employment status on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in multiple sclerosis patients.


METHODS
This study included 100 multiple sclerosis patients treated at the Department of Neurology, Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo. Inclusion criteria were the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score between 1.0 and 6.5, age between 18 and 65 years, stable disease on enrollment. Quality of life (QoL) was evaluated by the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire (MSQoL-54). Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for comparisons. Linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate prediction value of educational level and employment status in predicting MSQOL-54 physical and mental composite scores.


RESULTS
Full employment status had positive impact on physical health (54.85 vs. 37.90; p les than 0.001) and mental health (59.55 vs. 45.90; p les than 0.001) composite scores. Employment status retained its independent predictability for both physical (r(2)=0.105) and mental (r(2)=0.076) composite scores in linear regression analysis. Patients with college degree had slightly higher median value of physical (49.36 vs. 45.30) and mental health composite score (66.74 vs. 55.62) comparing to others, without statistically significant difference.


CONCLUSION
Employment proved to be an important factor in predicting quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients. Higher education level may determine better QOL but without significant predictive value. Sustained employment and development of vocational rehabilitation programs for MS patients living in the country with high unemployment level is an important factor in improving both physical and mental health outcomes in MS patients.
Uric acid: association with rate of renal function decline and time until start of dialysis in incident pre-dialysis patients

BACKGROUND
In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) hyperuricemia is common. Evidence that hyperuricemia might also play a causal role in vascular disease, hypertension and progression of CKD is accumulating. Therefore, we studied the association between baseline uric acid (UA) levels and the rate of decline in renal function and time until start of dialysis in pre-dialysis patients.


METHODS
Data from the PREPARE-2 study were used. The PREPARE-2 study is an observational prospective cohort study including incident pre-dialysis patients with CKD stages IV-V in the years between 2004 and 2011. Patients were followed for a median of 14.9 months until start of dialysis, kidney transplantation, death, or censoring. Main outcomes were the change in the rate of decline in renal function (measured as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)) estimated using linear mixed models, and time until start of dialysis estimated using Cox proportional hazards models.


RESULTS
In this analysis 131 patients were included with a baseline UA level (mean (standard deviation (SD)) of 8.0 (1.79) mg/dl) and a mean decline in renal function of -1.61 (95% confidence interval (CI), -2.01; -1.22) ml/min/1.73 m2/year. The change in decline in GFR associated with a unit increase in UA at baseline was -0.14 (95% CI -0.61;0.33, p=0.55) ml/min/1.73 m2/year. Adjusted for demography, comorbidities, diet, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, lipids, proteinuria, diuretic and/or allopurinol usage the change in decline in eGFR did not change. The hazard ratio (HR) for starting dialysis for each mg/dl increase in UA at baseline was 1.08 (95% CI, 0.94;1.24, p=0.27). After adjustment for the same confounders the HR became significant at 1.26 (95% CI, 1.06;1.49, p=0.01), indicating an earlier start of dialysis with higher levels of UA.


CONCLUSION
Although high UA levels are not associated with an accelerated decline in renal function, a high serum UA level in incident pre-dialysis patient is a risk factor for an earlier start of dialysis.
Cognitive effects of calligraphy therapy for older people: a randomized controlled trial in Hong Kong

BACKGROUND
This pilot study investigated the effects of calligraphy therapy on cognitive function in older Hong Kong Chinese people with mild cognitive impairment.


METHODS
A single-blind, randomized controlled trial was carried out in a sample of 31 adults aged 65 years or older with mild cognitive impairment. They were randomly assigned to receive either intensive calligraphy training led by a trained research assistant for eight weeks (calligraphy group, n = 14) or no calligraphy treatment (control group, n = 17). Participants' cognitive function was assessed by the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (CMMSE) before and after calligraphy treatment. Repeated measures analysis of variance and paired samples t-tests were used to analyze the data.


RESULTS
A significant interaction effect of time and intervention was detected [F (1, 29) = 9.11, P = 0.005, η(2) = 0.24]. The calligraphy group was found to have a prominent increase in CMMSE global score, and scores in the cognitive areas of orientation, attention, and calculation after two months (ΔM = 2.36, P < 0.01), whereas their counterparts in the control group experienced a decline in CMMSE score (ΔM = -0.41, P < 0.05).


CONCLUSION
Calligraphy therapy was effective for enhancing cognitive function in older people with mild cognitive impairment and should be incorporated as part of routine programs in both community and residential care settings.
A Multilevel Converter With a Floating Bridge for Open-End Winding Motor Drive Applications

This paper presents a three-phase open-end winding induction motor drive. The drive consists of a three-phase induction machine with open stator phase windings and dual-bridge inverter supplied from a single dc voltage source. To achieve multilevel output voltage waveforms, a floating capacitor bank is used for the second of the dual bridges. The capacitor voltage is regulated using redundant switching states at half of the main dc-link voltage. This particular voltage ratio (2:1) is used to create a multilevel output voltage waveform with three levels. A modified modulation scheme is used to improve the waveform quality of this dual inverter. This paper also compares the losses in the dual-inverter system in contrast with a single-sided three-level neutral point clamped converter. Finally, detailed simulation and experimental results are presented for the motor drive operating as an open-loop v /f controlled motor drive and as a closed-loop field-oriented motor controller.
Information technology maturity stages and enterprise benchmarking: an empirical study

Purpose – Recently, many enterprises are using a variety of methods and techniques to examine and improve their current maturity level of information technology (IT). Although IT evaluation studies based on IT maturity stages have been conducted widely, the stages theory has not been confirmed through statistical testing. IT evaluation activities can present managerial implications to an enterprise by determining where it stands within the stages theory. The purpose of this paper is to test empirically and repeatedly the once-defined maturity model in order to make its validity more powerful. Design/methodology/approach – To define IT maturity stages and benchmarks with statistical testing, evaluation fields and factors of the L&K Model are referred to. Data were gathered by a questionnaire survey and interviews, in which 312 enterprises in South Korea participated. Consequently, IT maturity stages are defined and significant benchmarks of each stage are validated through ANOVA and post hoc comparison methods. Findings – The results of the study indicate the meanings and benchmarks of newly defined five stages of IT maturity: initiation, recognition, diffusion, control, and integration. Practical implications – The aim of this study is not only to apply an advanced methodology to study empirically how IT maturity level of an enterprise is improved, but also to suggest practical guidelines for actions to improve it. Originality/value – The five stages model is totally enhanced and reformulated from the previous stages theories. First, well-combined and comprehensive evaluation factors are used to critically appraise the evolutionistic characteristic of IT in enterprises. Second, the definition and benchmarks of the five stages model are confirmed through statistical testing with sufficient sample size (n 1⁄4 312).
Sleep-wake disturbance in patients with brain tumors.

Sleep-wake disturbances are defined as perceived or actual alterations in sleep that result in impaired daytime functioning. Unlike other cancers, there is limited information about sleep-wake disturbances in adults with primary brain tumors throughout the illness trajectory. Sleep-wake disturbance is among the most severe and common symptoms reported by primary brain-tumor patients, particularly those undergoing radiation therapy. As with other cancers and neurologic illness, sleep-wake disturbance may also be clustered or related to other symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and cognitive impairment. There is increasing evidence for a genetic basis of normal sleep and sleep regulation in healthy adults. Specific mutations and single nucleotide variants have been reported to be associated with both fatigue and sleep-wake disorders, and both inflammation and alterations in circadian rhythms have been postulated to have a potential role. Guidelines for assessment and interventions have been developed, with cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise, and sleep hygiene demonstrating benefit in patients with other solid tumors. Further research is needed to identify risk and appropriate treatment in the brain-tumor patient population.
Effect of MMX® mesalamine coadministration on the pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin XR, metronidazole, and sulfamethoxazole: results from four randomized clinical trials

BACKGROUND
MMX(®) mesalamine is a once daily oral 5-aminosalicylic acid formulation, effective in induction and maintenance of ulcerative colitis remission. Patients on long-term mesalamine maintenance may occasionally require concomitant antibiotic treatment for unrelated infections.


AIM
To evaluate the potential for pharmacokinetic interactions between MMX mesalamine and amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin extended release (XR), metronidazole, or sulfamethoxazole in four open-label, randomized, placebo-controlled, two-period crossover studies.


METHODS
In all four studies, healthy adults received placebo once daily or MMX mesalamine 4.8 g once daily on days 1-4 in one of two treatment sequences. In studies 1 and 2, subjects also received a single dose of amoxicillin 500 mg (N=62) or ciprofloxacin XR 500 mg (N=30) on day 4. In studies 3 and 4, subjects received metronidazole 750 mg twice daily on days 1-3 and once on day 4 (N=30); or sulfamethoxazole 800 mg/trimethoprim 160 mg twice daily on days 1-3 and once on day 4 (N=44).


RESULTS
MMX mesalamine had no significant effects on systemic exposure to amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, or metronidazole; the 90% confidence intervals (CIs) around the geometric mean ratios (antibiotic + MMX mesalamine: antibiotic + placebo) for maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) fell within the predefined equivalence range (0.80-1.25). Sulfamethoxazole exposure increased by a statistically significant amount when coadministered with MMX mesalamine; however, increased exposure (by 12% in Cmax at steady state; by 15% in AUC at steady state) was not considered clinically significant, as the 90% CIs for each point estimate fell entirely within the predefined equivalence range. Adverse events in all studies were generally mild.


CONCLUSION
MMX mesalamine may be coadministered with amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, or sulfamethoxazole, without affecting pharmacokinetics or safety of these antibiotics.


CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIERS
NCT01442688, NCT01402947, NCT01418365, and NCT01469637.
A phase I dose-escalation study of danusertib (PHA-739358) administered as a 24-hour infusion with and without granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in a 14-day cycle in patients with advanced solid tumors.

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the i.v. pan-aurora kinase inhibitor PHA-739358, danusertib, in patients with advanced solid tumors.


EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
In part 1, patients received escalating doses of danusertib (24-hour infusion every 14 days) without filgrastim (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, G-CSF). Febrile neutropenia was the dose-limiting toxicity without G-CSF. Further dose escalation was done in part 2 with G-CSF. Blood samples were collected for danusertib pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Skin biopsies were collected to assess histone H3 phosphorylation (pH3).


RESULTS
Fifty-six patients were treated, 40 in part 1 and 16 in part 2. Febrile neutropenia was the dose-limiting toxicity in part 1 without G-CSF. Most other adverse events were grade 1 to 2, occurring at doses >or=360 mg/m(2) with similar incidence in parts 1 and 2. The maximum tolerated dose without G-CSF is 500 mg/m(2). The recommended phase 2 dose in part 2 with G-CSF is 750 mg/m(2). Danusertib showed dose-proportional pharmacokinetics in parts 1 and 2 with a median half-life of 18 to 26 hours. pH3 modulation in skin biopsies was observed at >or=500 mg/m(2). One patient with refractory small cell lung cancer (1,000 mg/m(2) with G-CSF) had an objective response lasting 23 weeks. One patient with refractory ovarian cancer had 27% tumor regression and 30% CA125 decline.


CONCLUSIONS
Danusertib was well tolerated with target inhibition in skin at >or=500 mg/m(2). Preliminary evidence of antitumor activity, including a partial response and several occurrences of prolonged stable disease, was seen across a variety of advanced refractory cancers. Phase II studies are ongoing.
A nurses ’ guide to the critical reading of research

Objective A sound theoretical foundation to guide practice is enhanced by the ability of nurses to critique research. This article provides a structured route to questioning the methodology of nursing research. Primary Argument Nurses may find critiquing a research paper a particularly daunting experience when faced with their first paper. Knowing what questions the nurse should be asking is perhaps difficult to determine when there may be unfamiliar research terms to grasp. Nurses may benefit from a structured approach which helps them understand the sequence of the text and the subsequent value of a research paper. Conclusion A framework is provided within this article to assist in the analysis of a research paper in a systematic, logical order. The questions presented in the framework may lead the nurse to conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods presented in a research article. The framework does not intend to separate quantitative or qualitative paradigms but to assist the nurse in making broad observations about the nature of the research.
The structure and dynamics of multilayer networks

In the past years, network theory has successfully characterized the interaction among the constituents of a variety of complex systems, ranging from biological to technological, and social systems. However, up until recently, attention was almost exclusively given to networks in which all components were treated on equivalent footing, while neglecting all the extra information about the temporalor context-related properties of the interactions under study. Only in the last years, taking advantage of the enhanced resolution in real data sets, network scientists have directed their interest to the multiplex character of real-world systems, and explicitly considered the time-varying and multilayer nature of networks. We offer here a comprehensive review on both structural and dynamical organization of graphs made of diverse relationships (layers) between its constituents, and cover several relevant issues, from a full redefinition of the basic structural measures, to understanding how the multilayer nature of the network affects processes and dynamics. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: stefano.boccaletti@gmail.com (S. Boccaletti). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2014.07.001 0370-1573/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 2 S. Boccaletti et al. / Physics Reports 544 (2014) 1–122
A randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of providing self-help information to people with symptoms of acute stress disorder following a traumatic injury.

BACKGROUND
Patients attending accident and emergency (A&E) may develop long-term psychological difficulties. Psycho-education has been suggested to reduce the risk of post-injury disorders.


AIMS
We tested the efficacy of providing self-help information to a high-risk sample.


METHODS
A&E attenders were screened for acute stress disorder and randomised to two groups: patients (n=116) receiving a self-help booklet and those who did not (n=111). A sample of 'low' scorers was also included (n=120); they did not receive a booklet. Psychological assessments were completed at baseline (within 1 month post-injury) and 3 and 6 months post-injury.


RESULTS
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression decreased (p<0.001) across time but there were no group differences in these measures or quality of life. However, subjective ratings of the usefulness of the self-help booklet were very high.


CONCLUSIONS
This trial failed to support the efficacy of providing self-help information, as a preventative strategy to ameliorate PTSD.
From Body Dissatisfaction to Obesity: How Virtual Reality May Improve Obesity Prevention and Treatment in Adolescents

Different studies, including longitudinal studies, suggest a link between body dissatisfaction, unhealthful weight-control behaviors and obesity in both male and female adolescents. Here we suggest that body dissatisfaction in obese adolescents may be driven by an allocentric negative body image that is no more updated by contrasting egocentric representations driven by perception. In other words, subjects are locked to an allocentric negative representation of their body (allocentric lock hypothesis - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2011.10.039) that their sensory inputs are no more able to update even after the dramatic body changes following a successful diet. More, the possible role of virtual reality in the prevention and treatment of obesity in adolescence is presented and discussed.
Emotion Recognition from Facial Expressions using Multilevel HMM (

In this paper we have shown emotion recognition through EEG processing. Based on the literature work, we have made the best selection of the techniques available so far. This paper is easy to perceive, understand, and interpret the proposed method and the techniques like signal preprocessing, feature extraction and, signal classification in BCI. Our aim in this paper is to come up with an efficient and reliable emotion recognition system. Keywords— Computer-Interface, Signal Processing, Feature Extraction, EEG signals.
Complications associated with labial salivary gland biopsy in the investigation of connective tissue disorders.

Parotid gland biopsy has been advocated in preference to labial gland biopsy in the investigation of Sjogren's syndrome on the grounds that the organ affected in the disease process should be the choice for biopsy.' A technique for biopsying the parotid gland has been described and said to carry a low risk of fistula formation or damage to important anatomical structures.' Biopsy of the palatal minor salivary glands has also been described in the investigation of Sjogren's syndrome, other connective tissue diseases, and sarcoidosis2' but can result in pain and occasional haemorrhage. Biopsy of the minor salivary glands of the lower lip has therefore now been used for many years as the histological changes there appear to correlate with those in the parotid and submandibular glands7-9 and it is a relatively minor and safe procedure. More recently, reservations have been expressed about the specificity of labial gland biopsies'0 " as lymphocytic foci have been demonstrated in other autoimmune disease, age dependent focal sialadenitis has been demonstrated in normal subjects,'2 13 and labial gland biopsy has been found occasionally to be negative in Sjogren's syndrome.'4 Labial salivary gland biopsy is not totally atraumatic and patients seen by us, having had biopsies at our centre or others, have sometimes disliked the postoperative sequelae. Further, attention was drawn by one of our patients to lip numbness after biopsy, though the risk of damage to branches ofthe mental nerve supplying sensation to the lower lip should be negligible as the procedure requires a single linear mucosal incision well away from the plane of the nerve. This study, therefore, aimed at establishing the incidence of lower lip anaesthesia or other complications following labial gland biopsies carried out for investigation of Sjogren's syndrome.
Rain Attenuation Modeling in the 10-100 GHz Frequency Using DROP Size Distributions for Different Climatic Zones in Tropical India

Rain drop size distributions (DSD) are measured with disdrometers at five different climatic locations in the Indian tropical region. The distribution of drop size is assumed to be lognormal to model the rain attenuation in the frequency range of 10–100 GHz. The rain attenuation is estimated assuming single scattering of spherical rain drops. Different attenuation characteristics are observed for different regions due to the dependency of DSD on climatic conditions. A comparison shows that significant differences between ITU-R model and DSD derived values occur at high frequency and at high rain rates for different regions. At frequencies below 30 GHz, the ITU-R model matches well with the DSD generated values up to 30 mm/h rain rate but differ above that. The results will be helpful in understanding the pattern of rain attenuation variation and designing the systems at EHF bands in the tropical region.