LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The patient simple clinical colitis activity index (P-SCCAI) can detect ulcerative colitis (UC) disease activity in remission: a comparison of the P-SCCAI with clinician-based SCCAI and biological markers.

AIM
To develop a patient-based Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (P-SCCAI) of ulcerative colitis (UC) activity and to compare it with the clinician-based SCCAI, C-reactive protein (CRP) and Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) of UC activity. Monitoring UC activity may give patients disease control and prevent unnecessary examinations.


METHODS
Consecutive UC patients randomly completed the P-SCCAI either before or after consultation. Gastroenterologists assessed patients' UC activity on the same day. Overall agreement between SCCAI and P-SCCAI was calculated with Spearman's Rho and Mann-Whitney U test. Agreement regarding active disease versus remission and agreement at domain level were calculated by percent agreement and kappa (κ).


RESULTS
149 (response rate 84.7%) UC patients participated. P-SCCAI and SCCAI showed a large correlation (rs=0.79). The medians (IQR) of the P-SCCAI (3.78;0-15) tended to be higher than those of the SCCAI (2.86;0-13), although this difference did not reach statistical significance (z=1.71| p=0.088). In 77% of the cases the difference between clinicians' and patients' scores was not clinically different (i.e.≤2). Percentage agreement between clinicians and patients, judging UC as active or in remission, was 87%, rs=0.66, κ=0.66, indicating a substantial agreement. In general patients tended to report more physical symptoms than clinicians. C-Reactive protein (CRP) was found to have a significant association with both P-SCCAI and SCCAI (κ=0.32, κ=0.39 respectively) as was PGA (κ=0.73 for both indices).


CONCLUSIONS
The P-SCCAI is a promising tool given its substantial agreement with the SCCAI and its feasibility. Therefore, P-SCCAI can complement SCCAI in clinical care and research.
Enhanced personal contact with HIV patients improves retention in primary care: a randomized trial in 6 US HIV clinics.

BACKGROUND
The aim of the study was to determine whether enhanced personal contact with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients across time improves retention in care compared with existing standard of care (SOC) practices, and whether brief skills training improves retention beyond enhanced contact.


METHODS
The study, conducted at 6 HIV clinics in the United States, included 1838 patients with a recent history of inconsistent clinic attendance, and new patients. Each clinic randomized participants to 1 of 3 arms and continued to provide SOC practices to all enrollees: enhanced contact with interventionist (EC) (brief face-to-face meeting upon returning for care visit, interim visit call, appointment reminder calls, missed visit call); EC + skills (organization, problem solving, and communication skills); or SOC only. The intervention was delivered by project staff for 12 months following randomization. The outcomes during that 12-month period were (1) percentage of participants attending at least 1 primary care visit in 3 consecutive 4-month intervals (visit constancy), and (2) proportion of kept/scheduled primary care visits (visit adherence).


RESULTS
Log-binomial risk ratios comparing intervention arms against the SOC arm demonstrated better outcomes in both the EC and EC + skills arms (visit constancy: risk ratio [RR], 1.22 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.09-1.36] and 1.22 [95% CI, 1.09-1.36], respectively; visit adherence: RR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.05-1.11] and 1.06 [95% CI, 1.02-1.09], respectively; all Ps < .01). Intervention effects were observed in numerous patient subgroups, although they were lower in patients reporting unmet needs or illicit drug use.


CONCLUSIONS
Enhanced contact with patients improved retention in HIV primary care compared with existing SOC practices. A brief patient skill-building component did not improve retention further. Additional intervention elements may be needed for patients reporting illicit drug use or who have unmet needs.


CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION
CDCHRSA9272007.
EXCOM: An Automatic Annotation Engine for Semantic Information

In this position paper we describe the actual state of the development of an integrated set of tools (called EXCOM) for automatic semantic annotation. Annotation is generally used as an operation for marking textual segments to express some morphological and syntactic information. Establishing the semantic web on a large scale implies the widespread annotation of web documents with ontologybased knowledge markup. For this purpose, tools have been developed that allow for semi-automatic annotation of web documents with ontology-based metadata. This paper describes an automatic engine for semantic annotations based on linguistic knowledge and making use of XML technologies. We are persuaded that using linguistic information (especially the semantic organization of texts) can help retrieving information faster and better in the web. The basis aim of this engine is to construct automatically semantic metadata for texts that would allow us to search and extract data from texts annotated in that.
Lane Departure Identification for Advanced Driver Assistance

In this paper, a technique for the identification of the unwanted lane departure of a traveling vehicle on a road is proposed. A piecewise linear stretching function (PLSF) is used to improve the contrast level of the region of interest (ROI). Lane markings on the road are detected by dividing the ROI into two subregions and applying the Hough transform in each subregion independently. This segmentation approach improves the computational time required for lane detection. For lane departure identification, a distance-based departure measure is computed at each frame, and a necessary warning message is issued to the driver when such measure exceeds a threshold. The novelty of the proposed algorithm is the identification of the lane departure only using three lane-related parameters based on the Euclidean distance transform to estimate the departure measure. The use of the Euclidean distance transform in combination with the PLSF keeps the false alarm around 3% and the lane detection rate above 97% under various lighting conditions. Experimental results indicate that the proposed system can detect lane boundaries in the presence of several image artifacts, such as lighting changes, poor lane markings, and occlusions by a vehicle, and it issues an accurate lane departure warning in a short time interval. The proposed technique shows the efficiency with some real video sequences.
Ankle Brachial Index Values, Leg Symptoms, and Functional Performance Among Community‐Dwelling Older Men and Women in the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Study

BACKGROUND
The prevalence and significance of low normal and abnormal ankle brachial index (ABI) values in a community-dwelling population of sedentary, older individuals is unknown. We describe the prevalence of categories of definite peripheral artery disease (PAD), borderline ABI, low normal ABI, and no PAD and their association with lower-extremity functional performance in the LIFE Study population.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Participants age 70 to 89 in the LIFE Study underwent baseline measurement of the ABI, 400-m walk, and 4-m walking velocity. Participants were classified as follows: definite PAD (ABI <0.90), borderline PAD (ABI 0.90 to 0.99), low normal ABI (ABI 1.00 to 1.09), and no PAD (ABI 1.10 to 1.40). Of 1566 participants, 220 (14%) had definite PAD, 250 (16%) had borderline PAD, 509 (33%) had low normal ABI, and 587 (37%) had no PAD. Among those with definite PAD, 65% were asymptomatic. Adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, smoking, and comorbidities, lower ABI was associated with longer mean 400-m walk time: (definite PAD=533 seconds; borderline PAD=514 seconds; low normal ABI=503 seconds; and no PAD=498 seconds [P<0.001]). Among asymptomatic participants with and without PAD, lower ABI values were also associated with longer 400-m walk time (P<0.001) and slower walking velocity (P=0.042).


CONCLUSION
Among older community-dwelling men and women, 14% had PAD and 49% had borderline or low normal ABI values. Lower ABI values were associated with greater functional impairment, suggesting that lower extremity atherosclerosis may be a common preventable cause of functional limitations in older people.


CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION URL
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ Unique identifier: NCT01072500.
Organizational learning culture, innovative culture and innovations in South Korean firms

0957-4174/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2010.02.080 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +386 15892467; fax: E-mail addresses: miha.skerlavaj@ef.uni-lj.si (M. Šk edu (J.H. Song), ymlee@sm.ac.kr (Y. Lee). URL: http://www.mihaskerlavaj.net (M. Škerlavaj) 1 Tel.: +1 4057443613. 2 Tel.: +82 220777050. The aim of this paper is to present and test a model of innovativeness improvement based on the impact of organizational learning culture. The concept of organizational learning culture (OLC) is presented and defined as a set of norms and values about the functioning of an organization. They should support systematic, in-depth approaches aimed at achieving higher-level organizational learning. The elements of an organizational learning process that we use are information acquisition, information interpretation, and behavioral and cognitive changes. Within the competing values framework OLC covers some aspects of all four different types of cultures: group, developmental, hierarchical, and rational. Constructs comprising innovativeness are innovative culture and innovations, which are made of technical (product and service) and administrative (process) innovations. We use data from 201 Korean companies employing more than 50 people. The impact of OLC on innovations empirically tested via structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that OLC has a very strong positive direct effect on innovations as well as moderate positive indirect impact via innovative culture. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Anchor modeling - Agile information modeling in evolving data environments

Available online 13 October 2010 Maintaining and evolving data warehouses is a complex, error prone, and time consuming activity. The main reason for this state of affairs is that the environment of a data warehouse is in constant change, while the warehouse itself needs to provide a stable and consistent interface to information spanning extended periods of time. In this article, we propose an agile information modeling technique, called Anchor Modeling, that offers non-destructive extensibility mechanisms, thereby enabling robust and flexible management of changes. A key benefit of Anchor Modeling is that changes in a data warehouse environment only require extensions, not modifications, to the data warehouse. Such changes, therefore, do not require immediate modifications of existing applications, since all previous versions of the database schema are available as subsets of the current schema. Anchor Modeling decouples the evolution and application of a database, which when building a data warehouse enables shrinking of the initial project scope.While datamodels were previously made to capture every facet of a domain in a single phase of development, in Anchor Modeling fragments can be iteratively modeled and applied. We provide a formal and technology independent definition of anchor models and show how anchormodels can be realized as relational databases together with examples of schema evolution. We also investigate performance through a number of lab experiments, which indicate that under certain conditions anchor databases perform substantially better than databases constructed using traditional modeling techniques. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
IoT-Based Big Data: From Smart City towards Next Generation Super City Planning

Recently, a rapid growth in the population in urban regions demands the provision of services and infrastructure. These needs can be come up wit the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as sensors, actuators, smartphones and smart systems. This leans to building Smart City towards the next generation Super City planning. However, as thousands of IoT devices are interconnecting and communicating with each other over the Internet to establish smart systems, a huge amount of data, termed as Big Data, is being generated. It is a challenging task to integrate IoT services and to process Big Data in an efficient way when aimed at decision making for future Super City. Therefore, to meet such requirements, this paper presents an IoT-based system for next generation Super City planning using Big Data Analytics. Authors have proposed a complete system that includes various types of IoT-based smart systems like smart home, vehicular networking, weather and water system, smart parking, and surveillance objects, etc., for dada generation. An architecture is proposed that includes four tiers/layers i.e., 1) Bottom Tier-1, 2) Intermediate Tier-1, 3) Intermediate Tier 2, and 4) Top Tier that handle data generation and collections, communication, data administration and processing, and data interpretation, respectively. The system implementation model is presented from the generation and collection of data to the decision making. The proposed system is implemented using Hadoop ecosystem with MapReduce programming. The throughput and processing time results show that the proposed Super City planning system is more efficient and scalable. KeyWoRDS Big Data, Hadoop, IoT, Smart City, Super City
Effect of memantine combination therapy on symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe depressive disorder: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE
Current treatments for depressive disorders are far from optimum. This study was planned to evaluate possible antidepressant effects and safety of memantine, a selective N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist, in humans.


METHODS
Sixty-six outpatients with the diagnosis of moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder, based on DSM-V diagnostic criteria, were recruited to participate in a parallel, randomized, controlled trial. Sixty-two participants completed 6 weeks of treatment with either memantine (20 mg/day) plus sertraline (200 mg/day) or placebo plus sertraline (200 mg/day). Patients were evaluated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at baseline and at weeks 2, 4 and 6. Comparison of treatment efficacy in improving depressive symptoms between the two groups was the principal outcome measure.


RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A repeated-measures analysis demonstrated significant time × treatment interaction on HDRS score [F (2·09, 125·67) = 5·09, P = 0·007]. Significantly greater improvement was seen at all three follow-up sessions as well as significantly greater response rates at weeks 4 and 6 (P = 0·018 and P < 0·001, respectively) in the memantine group. Significantly more early improvers and more rapid response to treatment were observed in the memantine group (P = 0·001 and P < 0·001, respectively). A significant reduction was observed in HDRS score from baseline to the study endpoint in both memantine (P < 0·001, Cohen's d = 12·71) and placebo groups (P < 0·001, Cohen's d = 5·13). No serious adverse event occurred. No significantly greater remission rate was seen in the adjunctive memantine therapy.


WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION
A 6-week course of treatment with memantine as adjunct to sertraline showed a favourable safety and efficacy profile in patients with major depressive disorder. Nonetheless, larger controlled studies of longer duration are necessary to assess long-term safety, efficacy and optimal dosing.
Opportunities in Machine Learning for Healthcare

Healthcare is a natural arena for the application of machine learning, especially as modern electronic health records (EHRs) provide increasingly large amounts of data to answer clinically meaningful questions. However, clinical data and practice present unique challenges that complicate the use of common methodologies. This article serves as a primer on addressing these challenges and highlights opportunities for members of the machine learning and data science communities to contribute to this growing domain.
Serum HCG 12 days after embryo transfer in predicting pregnancy outcome.

BACKGROUND
Assisted reproduction treatment (ART) entails a risk of ectopic pregnancy and early pregnancy loss. Serum HCG has been found to be predictive of pregnancy outcome. Our aim was to assess the clinical value of a single early HCG assay in ART pregnancies taking into account the aetiology and treatment of infertility.


METHODS
During 1994-1999, we studied 774 embryo transfer cycles resulting in pregnancy defined as a serum HCG concentration of > or =5 IU/l on day 12 following embryo transfer. The treatment included IVF in 518, ICSI in 119, and frozen embryo transfer in 137 cycles. Serum HCG concentrations were measured by fluoroimmunometric assay. Pregnancies were classified as viable (live fetus at > or =22 weeks gestation) or non-viable (biochemical pregnancy, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and molar pregnancy). Data on the outcomes were retrospectively retrieved from the records.


RESULTS
The median HCG concentration was 126 IU/l in viable pregnancies and 31 IU/l in non-viable pregnancies (P < 0.0001). The median HCG concentration was 115 IU/l in singleton pregnancies and 201 IU/l in multiple pregnancies (P < 0.0001). Male factor infertility was associated with viable pregnancies (P = 0.004) and tubal factor with non-viable pregnancies (P = 0.003); the lowest HCG level (88 IU/l) was observed in subjects with both male factor infertility and ICSI treatment (P = 0.001). An HCG value of 76 IU/l emerged as the most suitable cut-off point to predict viable pregnancy. Probabilities of each type of outcome related to the HCG level are given.


CONCLUSIONS
A single HCG reading on day 12 after embryo transfer helps to plan the subsequent follow-up. Male factor infertility and ICSI are associated with relatively low HCG values in viable pregnancies.
Improving early language and literacy skills: differential effects of an oral language versus a phonology with reading intervention.

BACKGROUND
This study compares the efficacy of two school-based intervention programmes (Phonology with Reading (P + R) and Oral Language (OL)) for children with poor oral language at school entry.


METHODS
Following screening of 960 children, 152 children (mean age 4;09) were selected from 19 schools on the basis of poor vocabulary and verbal reasoning skills and randomly allocated to either the P + R programme or the OL programme. Both groups of children received 20 weeks of daily intervention alternating between small group and individual sessions, delivered by trained teaching assistants. Children in the P + R group received training in letter-sound knowledge, phonological awareness and book level reading skills. Children in the OL group received instruction in vocabulary, comprehension, inference generation and narrative skills. The children's progress was monitored at four time points: pre-, mid- and post-intervention, and after a 5-month delay, using measures of literacy, language and phonological awareness.


RESULTS
The data are clustered (children within schools) and robust confidence intervals are reported. At the end of the 20-week intervention programme, children in the P + R group showed an advantage over the OL group on literacy and phonological measures, while children in the OL group showed an advantage over the P + R group on measures of vocabulary and grammatical skills. These gains were maintained over a 5-month period.


CONCLUSIONS
Intervention programmes designed to develop oral language skills can be delivered successfully by trained teaching assistants to children at school entry. Training using P + R fostered decoding ability whereas the OL programme improved vocabulary and grammatical skills that are foundations for reading comprehension. However, at the end of the intervention, more than 50% of at-risk children remain in need of literacy support.
Neighborhood preferences of house buyers: the case of klang valley, malaysia

Purpose This paper attempts to examine the impacts of neighborhood types, as defined by a gated-guarded neighborhood with landscape compound and a freehold tenure neighborhood on residential property values in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach A weighted least squares method together with a heteroscedasticity consistent covariance matrix estimator is used to estimate the coefficients of structural, locational, and neighborhood attributes of dwellings on house prices. Findings Results show the gated-guarded neighborhood with landscape compound could increase residential property values by 18.1%. Additionally, the positive perception of a freehold property in the neighborhood could induce a price premium of 23.7%. Research limitations/ implications It is reasonable to believe that neighborhood types play a role in determining residential property values. Practical implications In order to meet the increasingly affluent and discerning house buyers, developers instead of just offering dream homes in prime locations, they should provide intangible benefits in the neighborhood that just as sought after by today’s house buyers, such as a sense of security in the landscape compound, a feeling of harmony with one’s surroundings, and an infrastructure which supports the lifestyle of house buyers. Originality/ value – House buyers in Malaysia are increasingly aware of the value of gated-guarded and freehold neighborhoods. However, there is little evidence to assess the value provided by such neighborhoods in Klang Valley, Malaysia. This paper aims to determine the responsiveness of the willingness to pay to changes in neighborhood types.
One-year outcomes of a drug abuse prevention program for older teens and emerging adults: evaluating a motivational interviewing booster component.

OBJECTIVE
The present study tested the efficacy of motivational interviewing-based booster sessions for Project Toward No Drug Abuse (TND), a 12-session school-based curriculum targeting youth at risk for drug abuse. In addition, generalization of effects to risky sexual behavior was assessed. The 1-year outcomes evaluation of the project is presented.


METHOD
A total of 24 schools were randomized to one of three conditions: standard care control (SCC), TND classroom program only (TND-only), and TND plus motivational interviewing booster (TND + MI). A total of 1186 participants completed baseline and 1-year follow-up surveys. Following the classroom program, youth in the TND + MI condition received up to 3 sessions of MI in person or by telephone. Effects were examined on 30-day cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug use, as well as measures of risky sexual behavior (number of sex partners, condom use, having sex while using drugs or alcohol).


RESULTS
Collapsed across the 2 program conditions, results showed significant reductions in alcohol use, hard drug use, and cigarette smoking relative to controls. These effects held for an overall substance use index. The MI booster component failed to achieve significant incremental effects above and beyond the TND classroom program. No effects were found on risky sexual behavior.


CONCLUSIONS
While the program effects of previous studies were replicated, the study failed to demonstrate that an adequately implemented MI booster was of incremental value at 1-year follow-up.