LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Restricted peri-operative fluid administration adjusted by serum lactate level improved outcome after major elective surgery for gastrointestinal malignancy.

BACKGROUND
Our objective was to compare the effect of a restricted intravenous fluid regimen adjusted by serum lactate level with a standard restricted regimen on complications after major elective surgery for gastrointestinal malignancy.


METHODS
This is a randomized, observer-blinded, single-center trial conducted across a time span of 13 months. A total of 299 patients were allocated to either a restricted intravenous fluid regimen with supplementary intravenous fluids given based on serum lactate level (group A) or a standard restricted regimen (group R). In group A, the serum lactate level was monitored closely postoperatively to maintain a normal pre-operative serum lactate level. Group R involved patients treated with a restricted fluid regimen in whom additional fluid and electrolytes were administered when deemed necessary based on the usual clinical criteria. The primary outcome measure was complications; the secondary measures were death and adverse effects.


RESULTS
Additional fluid supplementation was needed in some patients in both groups (group A [28%] vs group R [26%]). In group A, the time for additional fluid infusion occurred earlier in the postoperative period than group R. Patients in group A received their first supplementary fluid treatment within the first 12 h more commonly than those in group R (74% vs 37%, respectively; P < .004). The regimen adjusted by serum lactate decreased systemic postoperative complications in group A versus group R (10% vs 22%, respectively; P = .023) but not overall total complications (23% vs 33%, respectively; P = .090). In contrast, in patients who required additional fluid infusion, the difference in complications between the 2 groups was greater (overall complication, 45% vs 85%, respectively; P = .023; major complication, 16% vs 44%, respectively; P = .018; systemic complications, 19% vs 63%, respectively; P = .001). One patient died in group A and 4 died in group R (1% vs 4%, respectively; P = .206).


CONCLUSION
A fluid-restricted regimen after elective gastrointestinal operations for malignancy may lead to fluid insufficiency and low tissue perfusion in up to 28% of patients. Close monitoring of serum lactate levels with adjustment of intravenous fluid administration intraoperatively and in the early postoperative period may improve the early detection and correction of inadequate tissue perfusion, thereby decreasing the rate of complications.
A randomized trial examining the effects of parent engagement on early language and literacy: the Getting Ready intervention.

Language and literacy skills established during early childhood are critical for later school success. Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschoolers including language and literacy development, and family-school collaboration is an important contributor to school readiness. This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention designed to facilitate school readiness among disadvantaged preschool children, with a particular focus on language and literacy development. Participants included 217 children, 211 parents, and 29 Head Start teachers in 21 schools. Statistically significant differences in favor of the treatment group were observed between treatment and control participants in the rate of change over 2 academic years on teacher reports of children's language use (d=1.11), reading (d=1.25), and writing skills (d=0.93). Significant intervention effects on children's direct measures of expressive language were identified for a subgroup of cases where there were concerns about a child's development upon entry into preschool. Additionally, other child and family moderators revealed specific variables that influenced the treatment's effects.
Risk assessment model selection in construction industry

Construction industry faces a lot of inherent uncertainties and issues. As this industry is plagued by risk, risk management is an important part of the decision-making process of these companies. Risk assessment is the critical procedure of risk management. Despite many scholars and practitioners recognizing the risk assessment models in projects, insufficient attention has been paid by researchers to select the suitable risk assessment model. In general, many factors affect this problem which adheres to uncertain and imprecise data and usually several people are involved in the selection process. Using the fuzzy TOPSIS method, this study provides a rational and systematic process for developing the best model under each of the selection criteria. Decision criteria are obtained from the nominal group technique (NGT). The proposed method can discriminate successfully and clearly among risk assessment methods. The proposed approach is demonstrated using a real case involving an Iranian construction corporation. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A new fuzzy-decision based load balancing system for distributed object computing

Distributed object computing systems are widely envisioned to be the desired distributed software development paradigm due to the higher modularity and the capability of handling machine and operating system heterogeneity. Indeed, enabled by the tremendous advancements in processor and networking technologies, complex operations such as object serialization and data marshaling have become very efficient, and thus, distributed object systems are being built for many different applications. However, as the system scales up (e.g., with larger number of server and client objects, and more machines), a judicious load balancing system is required to efficiently distribute the workload (e.g., the queries, messages/objects passing) among the different servers in the system. Unfortunately, in existing distributed object middleware systems, such a load balancing facility does not exist. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a new dynamic fuzzy-decision-based load balancing system incorporated in a distributed object computing environment. Our proposed approach works by using a fuzzy logic controller which informs a client object to use the most appropriate service such that load balancing among servers is achieved. We have chosen Jini to build our experimental middleware platform, on which our proposed approach as well as other related techniques are implemented and compared. Extensive experiments are conducted to investigate the effectiveness of our fuzzy-decision-based algorithm, which is found to be consistently better than other approaches. r 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Physician satisfaction with care to cardiovascular diseases in the municipalities of Minas Gerais: Cardiosatis-TEAM Scale.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate psychometric validity and reliability properties of the CARDIOSATIS-Team scale and measure physician satisfaction before and after the implementation of the project. This scale was designed to evaluate physician satisfaction with the healthcare delivered for cardiovascular diseases in cities that participate in a telemedicine system.


METHODS
The scale was applied in 82 cities of Minas Gerais, before and after the implementation of a telecardiology system. The analysis of the psychometric properties of CARDIOSATIS-Team scale included: construct validity using factorial analysis; internal consistency reliability using Cronbach's Alpha; Pearson's correlation between items; Spearman's correlation between domains and global scale and; discriminant analysis.


RESULTS
The factor analysis of the principal components extracted two factors that explained 66.5% of the variance in satisfaction scores: healthcare delivery and diagnosis structure and satisfaction with the care delivered. Cronbach's Alfa for internal consistency reliability of the scale showed values of 0.92 for the global scale and up to 0.84 for factors. Inter-factor and inter-scale correlations were adequate, showing values of 0.59 to 0.89 and 0.73 to 0.85, respectively. The scale was able to distinguish the two moments of its application (before and after intervention), showing high satisfaction for most items measured afterwards (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
We can conclude based on the present study that the telemedicine system improved provider satisfaction and that the CARDIOSATIS-Team scale is a good tool to evaluate provider satisfaction with care delivered for CVD. Its appropriate characteristics in terms of validity and internal consistency reliability justify its utilization in other studies.
Risk Reduction Counseling for Alcohol Using Sexually Transmitted Infections Clinic Patients in Cape Town , South Africa

Results: Overall, the experimental intervention demonstrated more than a 25% increase in condom use and a 65% reduction in unprotected intercourse over the 6-month follow-up period, with risk reduction significantly greater for the experimental condition than for the control condition at both follow-ups. Alcohol use in sexual contexts [F(1,94) = 6.2; P , 0.05] and expectancies that alcohol enhances sexual experiences [F(1,94) = 8.3; P , 0.01] were also significantly lower for the experimental condition at the 3-month follow-up.
Dual Wideband Printed Monopole Antenna for WLAN/WiMAX Applications

A novel printed monopole antenna with dual widebands is presented for simultaneously satisfying wireless local area network (WLAN) and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) applications. The antenna structure consists of a rectangular monopole with a microstrip feedline for excitation and a trapezoid conductor-backed plane for band broadening. The measured 10 dB bandwidth for return loss is from 2.01 to 4.27 GHz and 5.06 to 6.79 GHz, covering all the 2.4/5.2/5.8 GHz WLAN bands and 2.5/3.5/5.5 GHz WiMAX bands
Acute kidney injury in critical ill patients affected by influenza A (H1N1) virus infection

INTRODUCTION
Little information exists about the impact of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill patients with the pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infection.


METHODS
We conducted a prospective, observational, multicenter study in 148 Spanish intensive care units (ICUs). Patients with chronic renal failure were excluded. AKI was defined according to Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) criteria.


RESULTS
A total of 661 patients were analyzed. One hundred eighteen (17.7%) patients developed AKI; of these, 37 (31.4%) of the patients with AKI were classified as AKI I, 15 (12.7%) were classified as AKI II and 66 (55.9%) were classified as AKI III, among the latter of whom 50 (75.7%) required continuous renal replacement therapy. Patients with AKI had a higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (19.2 ± 8.3 versus 12.6 ± 5.9; P < 0.001), a higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (8.7 ± 4.2 versus 4.8 ± 2.9; P < 0.001), more need for mechanical ventilation (MV) (87.3% versus 56.2%; P < 0.01, odds ratio (OR) 5.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.0 to 9.4), a greater incidence of shock (75.4% versus 38.3%; P < 0.01, OR 4.9, 95% CI, 3.1 to 7.7), a greater incidence of multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (92.4% versus 54.7%; P < 0.01, OR 10.0, 95% CI, 4.9 to 20.21) and a greater incidence of coinfection (23.7% versus 14.4%; P < 0.01, OR 1.8, 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.0). In survivors, patients with AKI remained on MV longer and ICU and hospital length of stay were longer than in patients without AKI. The overall mortality was 18.8% and was significantly higher for AKI patients (44.1% versus 13.3%; P < 0.01, OR 5.1, 95% CI, 3.3 to 7.9). Logistic regression analysis was performed with AKIN criteria, and it demonstrated that among patients with AKI, only AKI III was independently associated with higher ICU mortality (P < 0.001, OR 4.81, 95% CI 2.17 to 10.62).


CONCLUSIONS
In our cohort of patients with H1N1 virus infection, only those cases in the AKI III category were independently associated with mortality.
Evaluation of serum protein profiling by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the detection of prostate cancer: I. Assessment of platform reproducibility.

BACKGROUND
Protein expression profiling for differences indicative of early cancer has promise for improving diagnostics. This report describes the first stage of a National Cancer Institute/Early Detection Research Network-sponsored multiinstitutional evaluation and validation of this approach for detection of prostate cancer.


METHODS
Two sequential experimental phases were conducted to establish interlaboratory calibration and standardization of the surface-enhanced laser desorption (SELDI) instrumental and assay platform output. We first established whether the output from multiple calibrated Protein Biosystem II SELDI-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) instruments demonstrated acceptable interlaboratory reproducibility. This was determined by measuring mass accuracy, resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and normalized intensity of three m/z "peaks" present in a standard pooled serum sample. We next evaluated the ability of the calibrated and standardized instrumentation to accurately differentiate between selected cases of prostate cancer and control by use of an algorithm developed from data derived from a single site 2 years earlier.


RESULTS
When the described standard operating procedures were established at all laboratory sites, the across-laboratory measurements revealed a CV for mass accuracy of 0.1%, signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 40%, and normalized intensity of 15-36% for the three pooled serum peaks. This was comparable to the intralaboratory measurements of the same peaks. The instrument systems were then challenged with sera from a selected group of 14 cases and 14 controls. The classification agreement between each site and the established decision algorithm were examined by use of both raw peak intensity boosting and ranked peak intensity boosting. All six sites achieved perfect blinded classification for all samples when boosted alignment of raw intensities was used. Four of six sites achieved perfect blinded classification with ranked intensities, with one site passing the criteria of 26 of 28 correct and one site failing with 19 of 28 correct.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate that "between-laboratory" reproducibility of SELDI-TOF-MS serum profiling approaches that of "within-laboratory" reproducibility as determined by measuring discrete m/z peaks over time and across laboratories.
Detection of Debonding Between Fiber Reinforced Polymer Bar and Concrete Structure Using Piezoceramic Transducers and Wavelet Packet Analysis

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP), a composite material with high corrosion resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio, has been increasingly used in reinforced concrete structures. The effectiveness of the structures depends on the bonding behavior between FRP composites and concrete structures. Therefore, detection of the debonding between the FRP materials and the hosting concrete structure is of great importance to ensure the structural safety. This paper proposes a stress wave-based active sensing approach to monitor the debonding process of FRP bar with the hosting concrete structure. One shear-type lead zirconate titanate (PZT) patch bonded on the outer surface of the FRP bar was used as an actuator to generate stress wave. Two smart aggregates (SAs), which were fabricated by sandwiching a shear type PZT patch between two protection marble pieces, were embedded in the hosting concrete structure to detect the wave response. The occurrence of debonding between the FRP bar and the hosting concrete structure attenuates the wave propagation. An FRP bar reinforced concrete specimen was designed and fabricated in laboratory. A pullout test was conducted to simulate different degrees of debonding damage. The attenuation of the stress wave due to debonding was clearly observed from the signal received by SAs in both time and frequency domain. Furthermore, a damage index based on wavelet packet analysis was developed to evaluate the debonding status. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has potentials to detect different degrees of debonding damage of FRP bar reinforced concrete composite structures.
Gender differences in the clinical characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity in patients with antisocial personality disorder

Gender is an important variable in the study of mental health because of the actual and perceived differences between men and women. Relatively little is known how males and females differ in their manifestations of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Demographic and clinical features of 323 participants with ASPD were assessed and recorded. Women had fewer episodes of antisocial behavior involving or not involving police, higher scores on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and on Emotional Abuse and Sexual Abuse subscales of the CTQ compared to men. CTQ scores positively correlated with the number of episodes of antisocial behavior involving police in men but not in women. The percentage of patients with comorbid borderline and histrionic personality disorders was higher and the percentage of participants with cocaine use disorder was lower among women compared to men. Comorbid alcohol use disorder was frequent in both groups, while a higher percentage of women had comorbid mood disorders compared to men. Logistic regression analysis demonstrates that CTQ scores, histrionic personality disorder, and antisocial behavior involving the police drive the difference between the groups. Our findings indicate that treatment of individuals with ASPD should focus on the management of comorbid psychiatric disorders.
A COCONUT EXTRA VIRGIN OIL-RICH DIET INCREASES HDL CHOLESTEROL AND DECREASES WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AND BODY MASS IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE PATIENTS.

INTRODUCTION
saturated fat restriction has been recommended for coronary arterial disease, but the role of coconut oil (Cocos nucifera L.) extra virgin, lauric acid source in the management of lipid profile remains unclear.


OBJECTIVE
to evaluate the effect of nutritional treatment associated with the consumption of extra virgin coconut oil in anthropometric parameters and lipid profile.


METHODS
we conducted a longitudinal study of 116 adults of both sexes presenting CAD. Patients were followed in two stages: the first stage (basal-3 months), intensive nutritional treatment. In the second stage (3-6 months), the subjects were divided into two groups: diet group associated with extra virgin coconut oil consumption (GDOC) and diet group (DG). Held monthly anthropometric measurements: body mass, waist circumference (WC), neck circumference (PP), body mass index (BMI). Gauged to collected blood pressure and blood samples were fasted for 12 hours, for total cholesterol analysis and fractions apoproteins (Apo A-1 and B), glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), insulin (I). Comparing the averages at the beginning and end of the study employing the paired Student t-independent. And set the diastolic blood pressure by BMI using ANOVA. Analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical package, being significant p < 0.05.


RESULTS
the mean age of the population was 62.4 ± 7.7 years, 63.2% male, 70% elderly, 77.6% infarcted, 52.6% with angina, hypertension and dyslipidemia 100%. In the first stage the nutritional treatment reduced body weight, WC, BMI and PP and insulin concentrations, HbA1C, HOMA-IR and QUICK, without changing the other parameters. In the second stage of the study, it was observed that the GDOC maintained the reduction of body mass, BMI, WC, with a significant difference between groups for DC (-2.1 ± 2,7 cm; p < 0.01). In addition, there was an increase in HDL-C concentrations, Apo A, with significant difference in GD, only for HDL-C (3.1 ± 7.4 mg/dL; p = 0.02).


CONCLUSION
it was observed that the nutritional treatment associated with extra virgin coconut oil consumption reduced the CC and increased HDL-C levels in patients with CAD.
Modélisation et manipulation d'entrepôts de données complexes et historisées

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Modélisation et manipulation d’entrepôts de données complexes et historisées Olivier Teste
The carina as a landmark for central venous catheter placement in small children

Central venous devices are frequently used in children to monitor haemodynamic status, to administer fluids, medication, parenteral nutrition and for blood sampling. Life-threatening complications that may occur on insertion if the central venous catheter (CVC) is misplaced, are cardiac tamponade or a hydro-/haemopericardium. There is still controversy over the optimum catheter tip position in paediatric patients, whether to place the CVC tip in the superior vena cava, outside the pericardial boundaries or in the right atrium. However, the exact location of the pericardium cannot be seen on a normal chest x-ray. The carina is a radiographic marker for CVC placement, suggested on the basis of studies with conserved and fresh adult cadavers. In order to confirm this landmark for children, the present study was performed with 31 fresh cadavers of small children (mean age 12.5±3.4 months) that had been selected for autopsy in the Institute of Legal Medicine. Results clearly demonstrate that the carina was 0.5±0.04 cm above the pericardial duplication as it transversed the SVC. In no infant cadaver was the carina inferior to the pericardium. Thus, the results are analogous to those in adults and confirm that the carina is a simple anatomical-radiological landmark, superior to the pericardial reflection, that can be used to identify the placement of CVC even in newborn and small children.
Deep learning in agriculture: A survey

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2018.02.016 Received 14 July 2017; Received in revised form 7 February 2018; Accepted 10 February 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: andreas.kamilaris@irta.cat (A. Kamilaris). Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 147 (2018) 70–90 0168-1699/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T
The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30): Validation of English version in Singapore

Objective: This study aimed to validate the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30, English version 3.0) in Singaporean cancer patients. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, a heterogeneous sample of cancer patients (n = 57) self-administered a questionnaire containing the QLQ-C30, the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and assessing health and sociodemographic status. Construct validity was assessed by testing a priori hypotheses that QLQ-C30 scales would be moderately or strongly correlated with SF-36 scales measuring similar dimensions of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and that subjects reporting mild symptoms would have better HRQoL scores than those reporting severe symptoms. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s α. Results: Strength of Spearman’s correlations between the QLQ-C30 and SF-36 scales assessing similar dimensions of HRQoL ranged from 0.35 to 0.67. Subjects with mild symptoms had better scores than those with severe symptoms for all six QLQ-C30 HRQoL scales (p < 0.05 for five scales, Mann–Whitney U tests). Cronbach’s α ranged from 0.19 for the cognitive functioning scale to 0.91 for the global QoL scale. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of the EORTC QLQ-C30 in English-speaking Singaporean cancer patients.