LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Image Resolution Enhancement Using Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform

In this letter, a complex wavelet-domain image resolution enhancement algorithm based on the estimation of wavelet coefficients is proposed. The method uses a forward and inverse dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DT-CWT) to construct a high-resolution (HR) image from the given low-resolution (LR) image. The HR image is reconstructed from the LR image, together with a set of wavelet coefficients, using the inverse DT-CWT. The set of wavelet coefficients is estimated from the DT-CWT decomposition of the rough estimation of the HR image. Results are presented and discussed on very HR QuickBird data, through comparisons between state-of-the-art resolution enhancement methods.
Evaluation of coronary sinus strain in patients with dipper and nondipper hypertension.

OBJECTIVE
Hypertension has been reported to affect both the left and the right ventricular functions, but its effect on the coronary sinus has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of systemic hypertension on the cardiac venous system by evaluating the coronary sinus strain (CSS).


METHODS
One-hundred and twelve hypertensive patients without diabetes and 44 healthy individuals (the control group) were evaluated consecutively at the outpatient clinic and enrolled in the study. CSS was evaluated by echocardiography in all the participants before blood pressure evaluations. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring enabled the study population to be divided into two groups: 52 patients with dipper pattern hypertension and 60 with nondipper pattern hypertension.


RESULTS
Nondipper pattern patients had significantly lower values of CSS compared with the participants in the control group (140.8±54.2 and 193.9±48.1, P<0.001). Similarly, dipper pattern patients had significantly lower values of CSS values compared with the controls (164±68.4 and 193.9±48.1, P=0.036). On comparing the three groups, the CSS values showed a progressive decrease from normal individuals to dipper and nondipper hypertension patients. Correlation analysis indicated a positive correlation between the aortic strain and the CSS (r=0.247, P=0.002). There was a weak correlation between left ventricular mass and CSS (r=-164, P=0.041).


CONCLUSION
Our study suggests that systemic hypertension may affect the cardiac venous system as well as the arterial system, which has been reported in many papers. The effect on the venous system may be more pronounced in nondipper pattern hypertension.
The cost-effectiveness of a family meetings intervention to prevent depression and anxiety in family caregivers of patients with dementia: a randomized trial

BACKGROUND
Dementia imposes a heavy burden on health and social care systems as well as on family caregivers who provide a substantial portion of the care. Interventions that effectively support caregivers may prevent or delay patient institutionalization and hence be cost-effective. However, evidence about the cost-effectiveness of such interventions is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a family meetings intervention for family caregivers of dementia patients in comparison with usual care over a period of 12 months.


METHODS
The economic evaluation was conducted from a societal perspective alongside a randomized trial of 192 primary caregivers with community-dwelling dementia patients. Outcome measures included the Quality Adjusted Life-Years (QALY) of caregivers and patients and the incidence of depression and anxiety disorders in caregivers. Missing cost and effect data were imputed using multiple imputations. Bootstrapping was used to estimate uncertainty around the cost-differences and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). The bootstrapped cost-effect pairs were plotted on a cost-effectiveness plane and used to estimate cost-effectiveness curves.


RESULTS
No significant differences in costs and effects between the groups were found. At 12 months, total costs per patient and primary caregiver dyad were substantial: €77,832 for the intervention group and €75,201 for the usual care group (adjusted mean difference per dyad €4,149, 95% CI -13,371 to 21,956, ICER 157,534). The main cost driver was informal care (66% of total costs), followed by patients' day treatment and costs of hospital and long-term care facility admissions (23%). Based on the cost-effectiveness acceptability curves, the maximum probability that the intervention was considered cost-effective in comparison with usual care reached 0.4 for the outcome QALY per patient-caregiver dyad and 0.6 for the caregivers' incidence of depression and/or anxiety disorders regardless of the willingness to pay.


CONCLUSIONS
The annual costs of caring for a person with dementia were substantial with informal care being by far the largest contributor to the total societal costs. Based on this study, family meetings cannot be considered a cost-effective intervention strategy in comparison with usual care.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN register, ISRCTN90163486.
Evaluation of HIV-1 immunogen, an immunologic modifier, administered to patients infected with HIV having 300 to 549 x 10(6)/L CD4 cell counts: A randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT
Despite enormous improvements achieved through the use of antiretroviral therapies (ARTs), the risk for eventual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression remains high. Agents that enhance the immunologic mechanism for viral recognition might reduce disease progression.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the addition of HIV-1 Immunogen would confer added clinical efficacy to that achievable by ARTs.


DESIGN AND SETTING
Multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial beginning March 1996 and ending May 1999 conducted at 77 centers in the United States providing primary care or referral care for persons infected with HIV.


PATIENTS
Adults infected with HIV who have baseline CD4 cell counts between 300 x 10(6)/L and 549 x 10(6)/L without prior acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-defining conditions receiving stable ART (or no therapy) were screened and 2527 were randomized.


INTERVENTIONS
Ten units of HIV-1 Immunogen, derived from a Zairian HIV isolate, inactivated and formulated with incomplete Freund adjuvant, was administered intramuscularly every 12 weeks. The placebo was incomplete Freund adjuvant. Changes in ARTs were allowed.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
HIV progression-free survival; secondary end points included overall survival, changes in HIV RNA, CD4 cell counts, CD4 percentage, body weight, and immunogenicity.


RESULTS
The overall event rate was 1.8 per 100 person-years of follow-up. Fifty-three subjects developed clinical progression in each treatment group (relative risk [RR], 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66-1.42; P =.89). There were 19 and 23 deaths in the placebo and HIV-1 Immunogen groups, respectively (RR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.44-1. 48; P =.49). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups with respect to changes in HIV RNA (P =.59), CD4 percentage (P =.63), or body weight (P =.89). Subjects in the HIV-1 Immunogen group had an increase in average CD4 cell count of approximately 10 x 10(6)/L greater than the placebo group (P =.02).


CONCLUSION
HIV-1 Immunogen with unrestricted ART failed to demonstrate an increase in HIV progression-free survival. JAMA. 2000;284:2193-2202.
Fusobacterium emphysematous pyomyositis with necrotizing fasciitis of the leg presenting as compartment syndrome: a case report

BACKGROUND
Fusobacterium necrophorum is a common agent of disease in humans, but the occurrence of primary infections outside the head and neck area is extremely rare. While infection with Fusobacterium necrophorum has a rather benign course above the thorax, the organism is capable of producing very severe disease when located in unusual sites, including various forms of septic thrombophlebitis. No infections of the leg have been documented before; thus, antibiotic coverage for Fusobacterium is currently not recommended in this area.


CASE PRESENTATION
A 50-year-old homeless African-American man presented complaining of severe pain in his right lower extremity. A clinical workup was consistent with emphysematous pyomyositis and compartment syndrome; he received limb-saving surgical intervention. The offending organism was identified as Fusobacterium necrophorum, and the antibiotic coverage was adjusted accordingly.


CONCLUSIONS
Bacteria typically involved in necrotizing infections of the lower extremity include Group A ß-hemolytic Streptococcus, Clostridium perfringens, and common anaerobic bacteria (Bacteroides, Peptococcus, and Peptostreptococcus). This case report presents a case of gas gangrene of the leg caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum, the first such case reported. Fusobacterium should now be included in the differential diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis of the extremities.
Regulation of cytoplasmic division of Xenopus embryo by rho p21 and its inhibitory GDP/GTP exchange protein (rho GDI)

Evidence is accumulating that the rho family, a member of the ras p21-related small GTP-binding protein superfamily, regulates cell morphology, cell motility, and smooth muscle contraction through the actomyosin system. The actomyosin system is also known to be essential for cytoplasmic division of cells (cytokinesis). In this study, we examined the action of rho p21, its inhibitory GDP/GTP exchange protein, named rho GDI, its stimulatory GDP/GTP exchange protein, named smg GDS, and botulinum ADP-ribosyltransferase C3, known to selectively ADP-ribosylate rho p21 and to impair its function, in the cytoplasmic division using Xenopus embryos. The sperm-induced cytoplasmic division of Xenopus embryos was not affected by microinjection into the embryos of either smg GDS or the guanosine-5'-(3-O-thio)triphosphate (GTP gamma S)-bound form of rhoA p21, one member of the rho family, but completely inhibited by microinjection of rho GDI or C3. Under these conditions, nuclear division occurred normally but the furrow formation, which was induced by the contractile ring consisting of actomyosin just beneath the plasma membrane, was impaired. Comicroinjection of rho GDI with the GTP gamma S-bound form of rhoA p21 prevented the rho GDI action. Moreover, the sperm-induced cytoplasmic division of Xenopus embryos was inhibited by microinjection into the embryos of the rhoA p21 pre-ADP-ribosylated by C3 which might serve as a dominant negative inhibitor of endogenous rho p21. These results indicate that rho p21 together with its regulatory proteins regulates the cytoplasmic division through the actomyosin system.
Effective field theory with two and three nucleons

Progress in the Effective Field Theory of two and three nucleon systems is sketched, concentrating on the low energy version in which pions are integrated out as explicit degrees of freedom. Examples given are calculations of deuteron Compton scattering, three body forces and the triton, and nd partial waves.
Developing supply chain strategies based on the survey of supply chain quality and technology management

A two-stage framework is developed on supply chain quality and technology management. This is based on a survey of the perceptions of practicing managers from Hong Kong’s business corporations. The two-stage process involves empirical assessment of strategic supply chain quality and technology variables, and then using quality function deployment to deploy them to improve the competitiveness of the supply chain. This will help to achieve synergy among suppliers by focusing on the critical strategic variables to achieve sustainable competitiveness. Introduction The traditional focus of supply chains was on transaction and delivery. In today’s faster-paced markets, the focus has shifted to meet market demands correctly, rapidly, and profitably. With materials flowing downstream from suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, stores to customers, and information flowing in both directions, supply chains must maintain and sustain technology-based and quality-driven capabilities in order to minimize systemwide costs, reduce lead time and transit time, and improve customer service levels. To this end, supply chains must be managed effectively. Swaminathan et al. (1998) defined supply chain management as: . . . a network of autonomous or semiautonomous business entities collectively responsive for procurement, manufacturing and distribution activities associated with one or more families of related products. In many situations, operating activities must be carried out across functions within organizations, across company boundaries, and across national borders (Lockamy et al., 2000). Supply chain management, as a result, is a holistic and strategic approach to demand, operations, procurement, and logistics T h e r e s e a r c h r e g is te r fo r th is jo u r n a l is a v a i la b le a t http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregisters T h e c u r r e n t i s s u e a n d fu l l t e x t a r c h iv e o f t h is jo u rn a l i s a v a ila b le a t http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0265-671X.htm
Changes in penile length after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Radical prostatectomy is commonly performed for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer. Several studies have demonstrated a reduction in penile size after open radical retropubic prostatectomy. The objective of this study is to describe changes in penile length after after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP).


PATIENTS AND METHODS
We performed a randomized, open label, multicenter study in men with normal erectile function who underwent bilateral nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy. We evaluated changes in measured stretched penile length (SPL), a secondary end point of the study, in a subset of men from a single site who underwent RALRP by one surgeon. They were randomized to either intraurethral alprostadil 125 to 250 μg daily or oral sildenafil citrate 50 mg daily for 9 months. SPL was measured from pubic bone to coronal sulcus using a semirigid ruler before surgery and at 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, and 11 months.


RESULTS
A total of 127 patients were enrolled and 94 completed the 11-month follow-up. The mean patient age was 56.5 years. Baseline mean SPL (cm) before surgery was 11.77 and decreased to 11.13 at 1 month (P<0.0001). A trend toward recovery of SPL was seen at 3 and 6 months. Mean SPL was not significantly different from baseline at 9, 10, and 11 months.


CONCLUSIONS
This report describes changes in SPL over time after RALRP for prostate cancer. The expected decrease in length was observed shortly after surgery, but, by 9 months, penile length had returned to the preoperative measurement.
Clinical pathway for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: method development and five years of experience

BACKGROUND
Randomized controlled trials, evidence-based medicine, clinical guidelines, and total quality management are some of the approaches used to render science-based health care services. The clinical pathway for hospitalized patients suffering from acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is poorly established, although a clinical pathway is an integral part of total quality management.


AIM
To evaluate the outcomes of patients hospitalized with AECOPD in Japan, treated with a clinical pathway following published guidelines.


METHODS
Prospective data were collected for patients with AECOPD admitted to a general hospital over a 5-year period since 2003. The clinical pathway was designed to establish general rules for the entire treatment protocol. The clinical pathway indicates which treatments and interventions should be performed, and when. In this study, health care providers were required to check the clinical pathway sheets to determine the next step of treatment.


RESULTS
This study analyzed 276 hospitalizations in 165 patients. The clinical pathway was interrupted and defined as a dropout in 45 cases (16.3%). Nine patients died during hospitalization (3.3%). Oxygen was administered in 232 hospitalizations (84.1%). Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) treatment was administered in 110 hospitalizations (39.9%). The rate of intubation in those cases where NPPV treatment had been administered was 8.2% (9 cases out of 110). The average length of stay (LOS) was 20.3 days, and the median value was 15 days. The LOS was longer than 30 days in 34 admissions (12.3%), mainly due to complications.


CONCLUSION
AECOPD can be managed using a clinical pathway. This clinical pathway could fill the gap between guidelines and clinical practice.
Management and outcomes of latissimus dorsi and teres major injuries in professional baseball pitchers.

BACKGROUND
Very little data exist on latissimus dorsi (LD) and teres major (TM) injuries in professional baseball pitchers.


PURPOSE
This review was undertaken to report on the management and outcomes of baseball pitchers with injury to 1 or both of these muscles.


STUDY DESIGN
Case series; Level of evidence, 4.


METHODS
A retrospective review of 16 professional baseball pitchers diagnosed and treated for an LD and/or TM tear between 2002 and 2008 was performed. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the diagnosis in all cases. The mean age was 28.1 years. All were treated nonoperatively with rest, rehabilitation, and return to pitching after a throwing program. The injuries included tendon avulsions in 6 athletes and strains in 10. Length of disabled time, return to prior level of pitching, and recurrences were noted.


RESULTS
Fifteen of 16 pitchers (94%) returned to the same or higher level of play. The mean time to throwing was 35.6 days. Mean time to pitching was 61.9 days. Nine of 16 injuries (56%) were season-ending. Mean total time lost for athletes returning the same season was 82.4 days. Two of 16 pitchers (13%) sustained recurrent injuries. Prior shoulder and elbow injuries were noted in 75% (12 of 16).


CONCLUSION
Injury of the LD and/or TM can occur in pitchers. Nonoperative treatment is successful in allowing a return to high-level pitching.
Mobilization versus massage therapy in the treatment of cervicogenic headache: a clinical study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Cervicogenic headache (CGH) is a common problem associated with neck pain. In this study the effect of cervical mobilizations was compared with that of massage therapy in the management of CGH.


DESIGN
Thirty-six subjects with CGH, randomly assigned into two groups, participated in the study. The first group was treated with spinal mobilization techniques of the upper cervical spine, while the second group was treated with massage therapy of the neck region. All subjects underwent active neck range of motion, isometric and dynamic strengthening and endurance exercises in two sessions/week for 6 weeks. Pre- and post-treatment outcomes were assessed with means and standard error of the means of measured headache pain intensity, frequency and duration of headache attacks as well as via the functional Neck Disability Index (NDI) and active neck range of motion.


RESULTS
The results of the study showed significant improvement in all measured variables in each treatment group. Comparison between the two groups showed significant differences in all measured variables after intervention in favor of mobilization techniques with the exception of the functional NDI.


CONCLUSION
Upper cervical spine mobilization demonstrated more clinical benefits than massage therapy with regard to headache pain parameters and neck mobility for CGH subjects.
Last mile delivery concepts in E-Commerce an empirical approach

This paper discusses the question whether online retailers can diversify from their competitors by reaching out to new delivery concepts for last mile logistics. We choose an empirical study to ask 250 potential online consumers about their opinion and preferences of online trading and last mile delivery to show the importance of new delivery strategies in order to deal with the rising challenges of high growth rates in E-Commerce business for retailers and logistic service providers.
Bier spots: a benign vascular anomaly.

To cite: He A, Kwatra SG, Kim N, et al. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2016214761 DESCRIPTION A 26-year-old woman with a reported history of tinea versicolour presented for persistent hypopigmentation on her bilateral forearms. Detailed examination revealed multiple small (5–10 mm), irregularly shaped white macules on the extensor surfaces of the bilateral forearms overlying slightly erythaematous skin. The surrounding erythaematous skin blanched with pressure and with elevation of the upper extremities the white macules were no longer visible (figures 1 and 2). A clinical diagnosis of Bier spots was made based on the patient’s characteristic clinical features. Bier spots are completely asymptomatic and are often found on the extensor surfaces of the upper and lower extremities, although they are sometimes generalised. They are a benign physiological vascular anomaly, arising either from cutaneous vessels responding to venous hypertension or from small vessel vasoconstriction leading to tissue hypoxia. 3 Our patient had neither personal nor family history of vascular disease. Bier spots are easily diagnosed by a classic sign on physical examination: the pale macules disappear with pressure applied on the surrounding skin or by elevating the affected limbs (figure 2). However, Bier spots can be easily confused with a variety of other disorders associated with hypopigmented macules. The differential diagnosis includes vitiligo, postinflammatory hypopigmentation and tinea versicolour, which was a prior diagnosis in this case. Bier spots are often idiopathic and regress spontaneously, although there are reports of Bier spots heralding systemic diseases, such as scleroderma renal crisis, mixed cryoglobulinaemia or lymphoma. Since most Bier spots are idiopathic and transient, no treatment is required.
Evolutionary Dynamics of Strategic Behavior in a Collective-Risk Dilemma

A collective-risk social dilemma arises when a group must cooperate to reach a common target in order to avoid the risk of collective loss while each individual is tempted to free-ride on the contributions of others. In contrast to the prisoners' dilemma or public goods games, the collective-risk dilemma encompasses the risk that all individuals lose everything. These characteristics have potential relevance for dangerous climate change and other risky social dilemmas. Cooperation is costly to the individual and it only benefits all individuals if the common target is reached. An individual thus invests without guarantee that the investment is worthwhile for anyone. If there are several subsequent stages of investment, it is not clear when individuals should contribute. For example, they could invest early, thereby signaling their willingness to cooperate in the future, constantly invest their fair share, or wait and compensate missing contributions. To investigate the strategic behavior in such situations, we have simulated the evolutionary dynamics of such collective-risk dilemmas in a finite population. Contributions depend individually on the stage of the game and on the sum of contributions made so far. Every individual takes part in many games and successful behaviors spread in the population. It turns out that constant contributors, such as constant fair sharers, quickly lose out against those who initially do not contribute, but compensate this in later stages of the game. In particular for high risks, such late contributors are favored.