LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Nursing the dying within a generalist caseload: a focus group study of district nurses.

BACKGROUND
Community nurses (members of UK District Nursing teams) have a key role in the provision of palliative care in the community in the UK. However, their views about delivering palliative care within their generalist workload have not been assessed.


OBJECTIVES
To explore community nurses' perceptions of their palliative care role, and their provision of such care within the context of their wider generalist workload.


DESIGN
Focus group study.


SETTING
Four Primary Care Trusts in London, UK.


PARTICIPANTS
A purposive sample of 51 community nurses.


METHODS
Nine focus groups (four to seven participants in each) were conducted between 2003 and 2004. Data were analysed using the framework approach.


RESULTS
We identified five broad themes. Community nurses felt they had a central role in the provision of palliative care to patients at home. Many felt this role was not recognised by other health care professionals and managers. Palliative care was identified as unpredictable and time-consuming within a pressurized context characterised by staff shortages and consequent lack of time. Whilst rewarding, palliative care took its toll on nurses' emotions, compounded by a perceived lack of formal support. Finally, undertaking palliative within a generalist workload created additional pressures for community nurses.


CONCLUSIONS
The integration of palliative care into routine generalist caseloads generated workload stresses in time and emotion. Community nurses felt their palliative care role and its impact on workload was not adequately acknowledged. Palliative care specific support mechanisms and ways of working may be necessary to meet patients' and professionals' expectations of effective, compassionate care at the end of life.
Fretting corrosion of tin-plated contacts

The susceptibility of tin-plated contacts to fretting corrosion is a major limitation for its use in electrical connectors. The present paper evaluates the influence of a variety of factors, such as, fretting amplitude (track length), frequency, temperature, humidity, normal load and current load on the fretting corrosion behaviour of tin-plated contacts. This paper also addresses the development of fretting corrosion maps and lubrication as a preventive strategy to increase the life-time of tin-plated contacts. The fretting corrosion tests were carried out using a fretting apparatus in which a hemispherical rider and flat contacts (tin-plated copper alloy) were mated in sphere plane geometry and subjected to fretting under gross-slip conditions. The variation in contact resistance as a function of fretting cycles and the time to reach a threshold value (100mO) of contact resistance enables a better understanding of the influence of various factors on the fretting corrosion behaviour of tin-plated contacts. Based on the change in surface profile and nature of changes in the contact zone assessed by laser scanning microscope (LSM) and surface analytical techniques, the mechanism of fretting corrosion of tin-plated contacts and fretting corrosion maps are proposed. Lubrication increases the life-time of tin-plated contacts by several folds and proved to be a useful preventive strategy. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Model abstraction for discrete event systems using neural networks and sensitivity information

Simulation is one of the most powerful tools for modeling and evaluating the performance of complex systems, however, it is computationally slow. One approach to overcome this limitation is to develop a "metamodel". In other words, generate a "surrogate" model of the original system that accurately captures the relationships between input and output, yet it is computationally more efficient than simulation. Neural networks (NN) are known to be good function approximators and thus make good metamodel candidates. During training, a NN is presented with several input/output pairs, and is expected to learn the functional relationship between inputs and outputs of the simulation model. So, a trained net can predict the output for inputs other than the ones presented during training. This ability of NNs to generalize depends on the number of training pairs used. In general, a large number of such pairs is required and, since they are obtained through simulation, the metamodel development is slow. In DES simulation it is often possible to use perturbation analysis to also obtain sensitivity information with respect to various input parameters. In this paper, we investigate the use of sensitivity information to reduce the simulation effort required for training a NN metamodel.
Notch signaling deficiency underlies age-dependent depletion of satellite cells in muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a devastating disease characterized by muscle wasting, loss of mobility and death in early adulthood. Satellite cells are muscle-resident stem cells responsible for the repair and regeneration of damaged muscles. One pathological feature of DMD is the progressive depletion of satellite cells, leading to the failure of muscle repair. Here, we attempted to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying satellite cell ablation in the dystrophin mutant mdx mouse, a well-established model for DMD. Initial muscle degeneration activates satellite cells, resulting in increased satellite cell number in young mdx mice. This is followed by rapid loss of satellite cells with age due to the reduced self-renewal ability of mdx satellite cells. In addition, satellite cell composition is altered even in young mdx mice, with significant reductions in the abundance of non-committed (Pax7+ and Myf5-) satellite cells. Using a Notch-reporter mouse, we found that the mdx satellite cells have reduced activation of Notch signaling, which has been shown to be necessary to maintain satellite cell quiescence and self-renewal. Concomitantly, the expression of Notch1, Notch3, Jag1, Hey1 and HeyL are reduced in the mdx primary myoblast. Finally, we established a mouse model to constitutively activate Notch signaling in satellite cells, and show that Notch activation is sufficient to rescue the self-renewal deficiencies of mdx satellite cells. These results demonstrate that Notch signaling is essential for maintaining the satellite cell pool and that its deficiency leads to depletion of satellite cells in DMD.
Guest Editorial: Preparing Teachers to Teach Mathematics With Technology

The challenge for mathematics teacher educators is to identify teacher preparation and professional development programs that lead toward the development of technology pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK). TPCK is an important body of knowledge for teaching mathematics that must be developed in the coursework in teaching and learning, as well as within the coursework directed at developing mathematical knowledge. Preparing teachers to teach mathematics is highlighted by its complexities. What technologies are adequate tools for learning mathematics? What about teacher attitudes and beliefs about teaching mathematics with technology? What are the barriers? These questions and more frame the challenge for the development of a research agenda for mathematics education that is directed toward assuring that all teachers and teacher candidates have opportunities to acquire the knowledge and experiences needed to incorporate technology in the context of teaching and learning mathematics. Imagine for a moment that today is September 1, 2056, and you have been charged to investigate the status of mathematics instruction in elementary, middle, and high schools. What will you find? What mathematics will be taught? How will teachers teach? How will students learn? Will the mathematical knowledge and skills that are taught be directed toward students becoming mathematically proficient? Will you see that the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ (NCTM) vision for school mathematics has been realized? Imagine a classroom, a school, or a school district where all students have access to highquality, engaging mathematics instruction. There are ambitious expectations for all, with accommodation for those who need it. Knowledgeable teachers have adequate resources to support their work and are continually growing as professionals. The curriculum is mathematically rich, offering students opportunities to learn important mathematical concepts and procedures with understanding. Technology is an essential component of the environment. (NCTM, 2000, p.3) Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 6(2) 196 Will the vision of the National Research Council (NRC, 2001) be implemented in a way that all students can become mathematically proficient, a proficiency t hat is an integration and balanced development of five key strands: conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition? Will technology play a role in the development of this mathematical proficiency? Will the technology be an integral component or tool for learning and communication within the context of mathematics, as called for by the National Education Technology Standards for Students (International Society for Technology in Education [I STE], 2000)? Will students be learning about various technologies as they learn mathematics with the technologies? Will students be actively engaged in mathematics using technologies as productivity, communication, research and problem-solving and decision-making tools?
Development and Validation of a Job Exposure Matrix for Physical Risk Factors in Low Back Pain

OBJECTIVES
The aim was to construct and validate a gender-specific job exposure matrix (JEM) for physical exposures to be used in epidemiological studies of low back pain (LBP).


MATERIALS AND METHODS
We utilized two large Finnish population surveys, one to construct the JEM and another to test matrix validity. The exposure axis of the matrix included exposures relevant to LBP (heavy physical work, heavy lifting, awkward trunk posture and whole body vibration) and exposures that increase the biomechanical load on the low back (arm elevation) or those that in combination with other known risk factors could be related to LBP (kneeling or squatting). Job titles with similar work tasks and exposures were grouped. Exposure information was based on face-to-face interviews. Validity of the matrix was explored by comparing the JEM (group-based) binary measures with individual-based measures. The predictive validity of the matrix against LBP was evaluated by comparing the associations of the group-based (JEM) exposures with those of individual-based exposures.


RESULTS
The matrix includes 348 job titles, representing 81% of all Finnish job titles in the early 2000s. The specificity of the constructed matrix was good, especially in women. The validity measured with kappa-statistic ranged from good to poor, being fair for most exposures. In men, all group-based (JEM) exposures were statistically significantly associated with one-month prevalence of LBP. In women, four out of six group-based exposures showed an association with LBP.


CONCLUSIONS
The gender-specific JEM for physical exposures showed relatively high specificity without compromising sensitivity. The matrix can therefore be considered as a valid instrument for exposure assessment in large-scale epidemiological studies, when more precise but more labour-intensive methods are not feasible. Although the matrix was based on Finnish data we foresee that it could be applicable, with some modifications, in other countries with a similar level of technology.
Do clinical decision-support reminders for medical providers improve isoniazid preventative therapy prescription rates among HIV-positive adults?: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND
This document describes a research protocol for a study designed to estimate the impact of implementing a reminder system for medical providers on the use of isoniazid preventative therapy (IPT) for adults living with HIV in western Kenya. People living with HIV have a 5% to 10% annual risk of developing active tuberculosis (TB) once infected with TB bacilli, compared to a 5% lifetime risk in HIV-negative people with latent TB infection. Moreover, people living with HIV have a 20-fold higher risk of dying from TB. A growing body of literature suggests that IPT reduces overall TB incidence and is therefore of considerable benefit to patients and the larger community. However, in 2009, of the estimated 33 million people living with HIV, only 1.7 million (5%) were screened for TB, and about 85,000 (0.2%) were offered IPT.


METHODS/DESIGN
This study will examine the use of clinical decision-support reminders to improve rates of initiation of preventative treatment in a TB/HIV co-morbid population living in a TB endemic area. This will be a pragmatic, parallel-group, cluster-randomized superiority trial with a 1:1 allocation to treatment ratio. For the trial, 20 public medical facilities that use clinical summary sheets generated from an electronic medical records system will participate as clusters. All HIV-positive adult patients who complete an initial encounter at a study cluster and at least one return encounter during the study period will be included in the study cohort. The primary endpoint will be IPT prescription at 3 months post the initial encounter. We will conduct both individual-level and cluster-level analyses. Due to the nature of the intervention, the trial will not be blinded. This study will contribute to the growing evidence base for the use of electronic health interventions in low-resource settings to promote high-quality clinical care, health system optimization and positive patient outcomes. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01934309, registered 29 August 2013.
Quantifying the Challenges in Parsing Patent Claims

In this paper, we aim to verify and quantify the challenges of patent claim processing th a t have been identified in the literature. We focus on the following three challenges th a t, judging from the numbers of mentions in papers concerning paten t analysis and paten t retrieval, are central to patent claim processing: (1) The length of sentences is much longer th an for general language use; (2) Many novel term s are introduced in paten t claims th a t are difficult to understand; (3) The syntactic structure of paten t claims is complex. We find th a t the challenges of patent claim processing th a t are related to syntactic structure are much more problem atic th an the challenges at the vocabulary level. The sentence length issue only causes problems indirectly by resulting in more structural ambiguities for longer noun phrases.
Java PathFinder, A Translator from Java to Promela

JAVA PATHFINDER [2],JPF, isa prototype translatorfrom JAVA toPROMELA, the modeling language ofthe SpIN model checker[4].JPF isa product ofa major effortby the Automated Software Engineering group at NASA Ames to make model checking technology part of the software process.Experience has shown that severe bugs can be found in finalcode using thistechnique [1],and that automated translationfrom a programming language to a modeling language likePROMELA Can help reducing the effortrequired. JPF allowsa programmer to annotate his JAVA program with assertionsand verifythem using the SpIN model checker.In addition,deadlocks can be identified.An assertioniswrittenasa calltoan assert method definedina predefined JAVA class,the Verify class.The argument to the method isa boolean JAVA expression over the state variables.The Verify classcontains additionaltemporal logicmethods which allow to statetemporal logicpropertiesabout static variables.Hence JAVA itselfisused as the specificationlanguage.An application of JPF isdescribed elsewhere in the proceedings [3]. A respectablesubsetofJAVA iscoveredby JPF, includingdynamic objectcreation,object referencesasfirstclasscitizens, inheritance,exceptions,interrupts, and perhaps most importantly:thread operations.Among major concepts not translatedare:packages, method overloadingand overriding,method recursion, strings,and floatingpoint numbers. Finally,the classlibraryisnot translated.
Pain education combined with neck- and aerobic training is more effective at relieving chronic neck pain than pain education alone--A preliminary randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of training and pain education vs pain education alone, on neck pain, neck muscle activity and postural sway in patients with chronic neck pain.


METHODS
Twenty women with chronic neck pain were randomized to receive pain education and specific training (neck-shoulder exercises, balance and aerobic training) (INV), or pain education alone (CTRL). Effect on neck pain, function and Global Perceived Effect (GPE) were measured. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded from neck flexor and extensor muscles during performance of the Cranio-Cervical Flexion Test (CCFT) and three postural control tests (two-legged: eyes open and closed, one-legged: eyes open). Sway parameters were calculated.


RESULTS
Fifteen participants (CTRL: eight; INV: seven) completed the study. Per protocol analyses showed a larger pain reduction (p = 0.002) for the INV group with tendencies for increased GPE (p = 0.06), reduced sternocleidomastoid activity during the CCFT (p = 0.09), reduced sway length (p = 0.09), and increased neck extensor activity (p = 0.02) during sway compared to the CTRL group.


CONCLUSION
Pain education and specific training reduce neck pain more than pain education alone in patients with chronic neck pain. These results provide encouragement for a larger clinical trial to corroborate these observations.
Methotrexate in Crohn's disease: long-term efficacy and toxicity

OBJECTIVE:A 16-wk, placebo-controlled trial has recently shown weekly low-dose methotrexate to be an effective treatment for patients with chronically active Crohn's disease. The long-term efficacy and safety of this antimetabolite drug, however, are not yet well established and are assessed in this study.METHODS:A total of 49 patients with Crohn's disease who were treated with methotrexate for ≥6 months were studied. All patients had been chronically treated with steroids; but at the time of initiation, only 27 were still on steroids. Of the 49 patients, 42 had previously taken azathioprine but were no longer on this drug because of intolerance or failure. Clinical remission was defined as a Harvey-Bradshaw index of <4.RESULTS:In all, 41 patients achieved complete clinical remission and were maintained on methotrexate for a median of 18 months (range, 7–59 months). In these patients the probabilities of relapse were 29%, 41%, and 48% at 1, 2, and 3 yr, respectively. A higher rate of relapse was observed in women and in patients with ileocolitis. Adverse reactions were recorded in 24 patients, requiring discontinuation of methotrexate in five. A liver biopsy was performed in 11 patients; a mild steatosis was found in five, a slight dilation of the sinusoids in one, a granulomatous hepatitis with a mild portal fibrosis in one, and a slight periportal fibrosis in one patient.CONCLUSIONS:This study suggests a long-term benefit of maintenance treatment with methotrexate in patients with chronically active Crohn's disease, with side effects that are usually only moderate.
Low-dose paclitaxel enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of GM-CSF surface-modified whole-tumor-cell vaccine in mouse model of prostate cancer

Chemotherapy combined with a tumor vaccine is an attractive approach in cancer therapy. This study was designed to investigate the optimal schedule and mechanisms of action of a novel GM-CSF (granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor) surface-modified tumor-cell vaccine in combination with paclitaxel in the treatment of mouse RM-1 prostate cancer. First, the anti-tumor efficiencies of various dosage of paclitaxel (4, 20, 40 mg/kg) in combination with the vaccine in different administration sequences were examined in the mouse RM-1 prostate cancer model. Then, the in vivo and in vitro effects of various dosage of paclitaxel on RM-1 cells, T cells, and DCs (dendritic cells) were evaluated. The results showed that: (a) the GM-CSF-surface-modified tumor-cell vaccine was more potent at inducing the uptake of tumor antigens by DCs than irradiated tumor cells plus free GM-CSF; (b) 4 mg/kg paclitaxel combined with the GM-CSF-surface-modified tumor-cell vaccine was the most effective at enhancing tumor regression in RM-1 prostate cancer mice when the vaccine was administrated 2 days after paclitaxel; and (c) administration of 4 mg/kg paclitaxel followed by the vaccine induced the highest degree of CD8+ T-cell infiltration in tumor tissue, suggesting that the induction of tumor-specific immune response had occurred. These findings suggested that the GM-CSF-surface-modified tumor-cell vaccine may have potential clinical benefit for patients with prostate cancer when it is combined with paclitaxel. Furthermore, the effect of immunochemotherapy depends on careful selection of paclitaxel dosage and the sequence of paclitaxel/vaccine administration.
Current Injected Equivalent Circuit Approach to Modeling of Switching DC-DC Converters in Discontinuous Inductor Conduction Mode

A new current injected equivalent circuit approach (CIECA) to modeling switching dc-dc converter power stages is developed, which starts with current injected approach, and results in a set of equations which describe completely input and output properties and an equivalent linear circuit model valid at small signal low frequency levels.
The evolution of epilepsy surgery between 1991 and 2011 in nine major epilepsy centers across the United States, Germany, and Australia.

OBJECTIVE
Epilepsy surgery is the most effective treatment for select patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. In this article, we aim to provide an accurate understanding of the current epidemiologic characteristics of this intervention, as this knowledge is critical for guiding educational, academic, and resource priorities.


METHODS
We profile the practice of epilepsy surgery between 1991 and 2011 in nine major epilepsy surgery centers in the United States, Germany, and Australia. Clinical, imaging, surgical, and histopathologic data were derived from the surgical databases at various centers.


RESULTS
Although five of the centers performed their highest number of surgeries for mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) in 1991, and three had their highest number of MTS surgeries in 2001, only one center achieved its peak number of MTS surgeries in 2011. The most productive year for MTS surgeries varied then by center; overall, the nine centers surveyed performed 48% (95% confidence interval [CI] -27.3% to -67.4%) fewer such surgeries in 2011 compared to either 1991 or 2001, whichever was higher. There was a parallel increase in the performance of surgery for nonlesional epilepsy. Further analysis of 5/9 centers showed a yearly increase of 0.6 ± 0.07% in the performance of invasive electroencephalography (EEG) without subsequent resections. Overall, although MTS was the main surgical substrate in 1991 and 2001 (proportion of total surgeries in study centers ranging from 33.3% to 70.2%); it occupied only 33.6% of all resections in 2011 in the context of an overall stable total surgical volume.


SIGNIFICANCE
These findings highlight the major aspects of the evolution of epilepsy surgery across the past two decades in a sample of well-established epilepsy surgery centers, and the critical current challenges of this treatment option in addressing complex epilepsy cases requiring detailed evaluations. Possible causes and implications of these findings are discussed.