LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Can virtual reality offer enriched environments for rehabilitation?

Recent research on the mechanisms of neuroplasticity has led to great advances in our understanding of the adaptive capacity of the nervous system [1]. This, in turn, has led to an increasing interest in how neurological therapeutic interventions can best be delivered to drive neuroplasticity in order to shape recovery after brain injury or disease. Animal and human research has identified some of the key principles of rehabilitation for optimizing recovery in many areas, including language, behavior, cognition and sensorimotor function. For sensorimotor recovery, in particular, a major emphasis has been placed on the processes of learning and experience-dependent plasticity [2]. Brain damage alters learning processes because of changes in neuronal and non-neuronal connectivity in reaction to cell death and reorganization. Yet, evidence suggests that the principles of learning, identified in the intact nervous system, may not necessarily be the same in individuals with brain damage. Brain damage often affects cognitive processes, such as attention and executive function, as well as working memory, which are important for motor learning [3]. For example, attention modifies neural responses in the visual, auditory and somatosensory systems (e.g., [4,5]). Another principle, fundamental to sensorimotor learning in the intact nervous system, is the type of task practice (e.g., repetitive blockedor varied-task practice). Different practice paradigms influence immediate changes in motor skills and the ability to retain such changes for a period of time after the end of practice. Are the same principles described for learning in the intact nervous system applicable after brain damage? In partial answer to this question, Cirstea et al. found that individuals with chronic stroke needed to repeat a much larger number of trials of a reaching movement before improvements in movement outcomes, such as movement speed and precision, were obtained [6]. The number of repetitions needed for improvements in reaching movement to occur varied with stroke severity, such that even individuals with mild poststroke hemi paresis needed to practice twice the number of trials before movement error was reduced. For those with more severe hemiparesis, the number of repetitions was increased severalfold and learning was often incomplete. Other researchers have found that not all types and schedules of feedback may result in beneficial motor outcomes for all stroke survivors. Lesion location appears to affect the individual’s ability to make use of specific types of feedback, such as intrinsic or extrinsic feedback [7,8]. Thus, it is becoming apparent that patients with different lesion types and severity vary in their responses to different types of intervention. The question of which patients with brain damage can benefit from which Mindy F Levin
Mobile Cloud Computing : Implications and Challenges

During the last few years, there is a revolutionary development in the field of mobile computing, multimedia communication and wireless technology. Together with an explosive growth of the mobile computing and excellent promising technology of cloud computing concept, Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) has been introduced to be a potential technology for mobile services. MCC integrates the cloud computing into the mobile environment and overcomes opportunities and its issues related to this environment (e.g., heterogeneity, scalability, and availability), performance (e.g., storage, battery life, and bandwidth), and security (e.g., reliability and privacy). This paper will explain how cloud computing and mobile devices can be combined for future opportunities, implications and legal issues for developing countries.
ITEP Lectures in Particle Physics

Introduction to the Lecture Note Volume "ITEP Lectures in Particle Physics", including 25 years of personal reminiscences.
Follow-up study of the treatment outcomes at a psychiatric trauma clinic for refugees.

PURPOSE
To describe change in mental health after treatment with antidepressants and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy.


METHODS
Patients receiving treatment at the Psychiatric Trauma Clinic for Refugees in Copenhagen completed self-ratings of level of functioning, quality of life, and symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety before and after treatment. Changes in mental state and predictors of change were evaluated in a sample that all received well-described and comparable treatment.


RESULTS
85 patients with PTSD or depression were included in the analysis. Significant improvement and effect size were observed on all rating scales (p-value <0.01 and Cohen's d 45-0.68). Correlation analysis showed no association between severity of symptoms at baseline and the observed change.


CONCLUSION
Despite methodological limitations, the finding of a significant improvement on all rating scales is important considering that previous follow-up studies of comparable patient populations have not found significant change in the patients'condition after treatment.
Phase II study of bevacizumab in patients with HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma receiving antiretroviral therapy.

PURPOSE
Alternatives to cytotoxic agents are desirable for patients with HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) contributes to KS pathogenesis. We evaluated the humanized anti-VEGF-A monoclonal antibody, bevacizumab, in patients with HIV-KS.


PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patients with HIV-KS who either experienced progression while receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for at least 1 month or did not regress despite HAART for at least 4 months were administered bevacizumab 15 mg/kg intravenously on days 1 and 8 and then every 3 weeks. The primary objective was assessment of antitumor activity using modified AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) criteria for HIV-KS. HIV-uninfected patients were also eligible and observed separately.


RESULTS
Seventeen HIV-infected patients were enrolled. Fourteen patients had been receiving effective HAART for at least 6 months (median, 1 year). Thirteen patients had advanced disease (ACTG T(1)), 13 patients had received prior chemotherapy for KS, and seven patients had CD4 count less than 200 cells/μL. Median number of cycles was 10 (range, 1 to 37 cycles); median follow-up was 8.3 months (range, 3 to 36 months). Of 16 assessable patients, best tumor responses observed were complete response (CR) in three patients (19%), partial response (PR) in two patients (12%), stable disease in nine patients (56%), and progressive disease in two patients (12%). Overall response rate (CR + PR) was 31% (95% CI, 11% to 58.7%). Four of five responders had received prior chemotherapy for KS. Over 202 cycles, grade 3 to 4 adverse events at least possibly attributed to therapy included hypertension (n = 7), neutropenia (n = 5), cellulitis (n = 3), and headache (n = 2).


CONCLUSION
Bevacizumab is tolerated in patients with HIV-KS and has activity in a subset of patients.
A Novel Current-Mode Four-Quadrant CMOS Analog Multiplier / Divider

This paper presents, a new current mode four-quadrant CMOS analog multiplier/divider based on dual translinear loops. Compared with the previous works this circuit has a simpler structure resulting in lower power consumption and higher frequency response. Simulation results, performed using HSPICE with 0.25um technology, confirm performance of the proposed circuit.
Cotinine versus questionnaire: early-life environmental tobacco smoke exposure and incident asthma

BACKGROUND
The use of biomarkers has expanded considerably, as an alternative to questionnaire-based metrics of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); few studies have assessed the affect of such alternative metrics on diverse respiratory outcomes in children, and we aimed to do so.


METHODS
We evaluated various measures of birth-year ETS, in association with multiple respiratory endpoints early years of life, in the novel context of a birth cohort at high risk for asthma. We administered questionnaires to parents, both at the end of pregnancy and at one year of life, and measured cotinine in cord blood (CCot; in 275 children) and in urine (UCot; obtained at 12 months in 365 children), each by radioimmunoassay. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association of the various metrics with recurrent wheeze at age 2 and with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and asthma at age 7.


RESULTS
Self-reported 3rd trimester maternal smoking was associated with significantly increased risk for recurrent wheeze at age 2 (odds ratio 3.5 [95% confidence interval = 1.2,10.7]); the risks associated with CCot and 3rd trimester smoking in any family member were similar (OR 2.9 [1.2,7.0] and 2.6 [1.0,6.5], respectively). No metric of maternal smoking at 12 months appeared to significantly influence the risk of recurrent wheeze at age 2, and no metric of ETS at any time appeared to significantly influence risk of asthma or BHR at age 7.


CONCLUSIONS
Biomarker- and questionnaire-based assessment of ETS in early life lead to similar estimates of ETS-associated risk of recurrent wheeze and asthma.
The past and the future: Austria facing a new stage of RTD co‐operation with its neighbours

Abstract In comparison with other countries, and considering its size, Austria spends a significant amount of funds on RTD co‐operation with its neighbouring countries to the East. This eastward orientation is not specific to the science and research collaboration field, but a more general characteristic of the Austrian policy framework and political culture, with strong historical roots. The research collaboration between Austria and its neighbours builds upon a long‐standing tradition, having obtained a strong impulse in the first years of transformation in the CEECs, through the establishment of (bilateral) research programmes.
Efficacy and safety of fondaparinux versus enoxaparin in patients with acute coronary syndromes treated with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors or thienopyridines: results from the OASIS 5 (Fifth Organization to Assess Strategies in Ischemic Syndromes) trial.

OBJECTIVES
This study sought to evaluate the relative safety and efficacy of fondaparinux and enoxaparin in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) treated with glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors or thienopyridines.


BACKGROUND
The OASIS 5 (Fifth Organization to Assess Strategies in Ischemic Syndromes) trial showed that fondaparinux reduced major bleeding by 50% compared with enoxaparin while preserving similar efficacy. Whether this benefit is consistent in the presence or absence of concurrent antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors is unknown.


METHODS
Patients with ACS (n = 20,078) were randomized as a part of the OASIS 5 trial to receive either fondaparinux or enoxaparin. The use of GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors or thienopyridines was at the discretion of the treating physician. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to compare outcomes.


RESULTS
Of the 20,078 patients randomized, 3,630 patients received GP IIb/IIIa and 13,531 received thienopyridines. There was a 40% reduction in major bleeding with fondaparinux compared with enoxaparin in those treated with GP IIb/IIIa (5.2% vs. 8.3%, hazard ratio [HR]: 0.61, p < 0.001). A similar reduction was found in those treated with thienopyridines (3.4% vs. 5.4%, HR: 0.62, p < 0.001). Ischemic events were similar between the groups, resulting in a superior net clinical outcome (death, myocardial infarction, refractory ischemia, or major bleeding) favoring fondaparinux (GP IIb/IIIa subgroup 14.8% vs. 18.9%, HR: 0.77, p = 0.001 and thienopyridines subgroup 11.0% vs. 13.2%, HR: 0.82, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
In patients receiving GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors or thienopyridines, fondaparinux reduces major bleeding and improves net clinical outcome compared with enoxaparin.
Autoimmune gastropathy in type 1 diabetic patients with parietal cell antibodies: histological and clinical findings.

OBJECTIVE
Approximately 15-20% of type 1 diabetic patients exhibit parietal cell antibodies (PCAs) targeting gastric H+/K+ATPase. We examined whether iron deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, and autoimmune gastritis, which may predispose to gastric tumors, were more frequent in PCA+ than in PCA- patients.


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
Gastric biopsies from 88 consecutively recruited type 1 diabetic patients (51 men and 37 women, 47 PCA+ and 41 PCA-, aged 42 +/- 13 years) were evaluated using the updated Sydney system. Immunostaining was done for parietal cells, B- and T-cells, enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells, and Helicobacter pylori (HP). PCAs were assayed by indirect immunofluorescence, H+/K+ATPase antibodies by enzyme immunoassay, and HP by serology, urea breath test, and histology. Pentagastrin tests were performed in 42 subjects.


RESULTS
Autoimmune gastritis (AG) was present in 57% of PCA+ and 10% of PCA- cases (OR 12.5, P < 0.0001). PCA positivity (beta = 1.44; P = 0.04) and hypergastrinemia (beta = 0.01; P = 0.026), but not HP, age, diabetes duration, sex, and HLA-DQ type were risk factors for AG. Iron deficiency anemia (OR 3.9, P = 0.015), pernicious anemia (OR = 4.6, P = 0.022), and hypochlorhydria (OR = 20.0, P = 0.0002) were more frequent in AG+ individuals. HP infection was present in 47 patients but did not influence corpus histology or gastrinemia. (Pre)malignant lesions were found in 26% of PCA+ subjects: ECL cell hyperplasia in 7 AG+ patients, comprising 1 with a gastric carcinoid tumor, and corpus intestinal metaplasia in 11 AG+ patients, including 1 with linitis plastica.


CONCLUSIONS
PCA+ type 1 diabetic patients should be screened for autoimmune gastritis, iron deficiency, and pernicious anemia. Particularly hypergastrinemic PCA+ patients with autoimmune gastritis are at increased risk for (pre)malignant gastric lesions.
Monitoring vital signs using early warning scoring systems: a review of the literature.

AIM
To evaluate the need for, and the development and utility of, pen-and-paper (Modified) Early Warning Scoring (MEWS/EWS) systems for adult inpatients outside critical care and emergency departments, by reviewing published literature.


BACKGROUND
Serious adverse events can be prevented by recognizing and responding to early signs of clinical and physiological deterioration.


EVALUATION
Of 534 papers reporting MEWS/EWS systems for adult inpatients identified, 14 contained useable data on development and utility of MEWS/EWS systems. Systems without aggregate weighted scores were excluded.


KEY ISSUES
MEWS/EWS systems facilitate recognition of abnormal physiological parameters in deteriorating patients, but have limitations. There is no single validated scoring tool across diagnoses. Evidence of prospective validation of MEWS/EWS systems is limited; neither is implementation based on clinical trials. There is no evidence that implementation of Westernized MEWS/EWS systems is appropriate in resource-poor locations.


CONCLUSIONS
Better monitoring implies better care, but there is a paucity of data on the validation, implementation, evaluation and clinical testing of vital signs' monitoring systems in general wards.


IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
Recording vital signs is not enough. Patient safety continues to depend on nurses' clinical judgment of deterioration. Resources are needed to validate and evaluate MEWS/EWS systems in context.
The PETALE study: Late adverse effects and biomarkers in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors.

BACKGROUND
Childhood cancer survivorship issues represent an established public health challenge. Most late adverse effects (LAEs) have been demonstrated to be time and treatment dependent. The PETALE study is a multidisciplinary research project aiming to comprehensively characterize LAEs and identify associated predictive biomarkers in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) survivors.


METHODS
cALL survivors treated at Sainte-Justine University Health Center with Dana-Farber Cancer Institution-ALL protocols 87-01 through 2005-01 were eligible. During Phase I of the study, the participants underwent comprehensive clinical, biologic, and psychosocial investigation targeting metabolic syndrome, cardiotoxicity, bone morbidity, neurocognitive problems, and quality of life issues. Whole-exome sequencing was performed for all participants. Subjects identified with an extreme phenotype during Phase I were recalled for additional testing (Phase II).


RESULTS
Phase I included 246 survivors (recall rate 71.9%). Of those, 85 participants completed Phase II (recall rate 88.5%). Survivors agreeing to participate in Phase I (n = 251) were similar to those who refused (n = 31) in terms of relapse risk profile, radiotherapy exposure, and age at the time of study. Participants, however, tended to be slightly older at diagnosis (6.1 vs. 4.7 years old, P = 0.08), with a higher proportion of female agreeing to participate compared with males (93.2 vs. 86.5%, P = 0.07).


CONCLUSION
The PETALE study will contribute to comprehensively characterize clinical, psychosocial, biologic, and genomic features of cALL survivors using an integrated approach. Expected outcomes include LAE early detection biomarkers, long-term follow-up guidelines, and recommendations for physicians and health professionals.
Cardiac vagal control in the severity and course of depression: the importance of symptomatic heterogeneity.

BACKGROUND
Impaired cardiac vagal control (CVC), as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia, has been investigated as a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD), but prior findings are mixed with respect to whether impaired CVC predicts greater global depression severity and/or a more severe course of disorder. One possible explanation for mixed findings is that CVC abnormalities in MDD are related more closely to specific depression symptoms than to the syndrome as a whole.


METHODS
Depression severity (both global and symptom-specific indices) and electrocardiogram measures of resting CVC were obtained from 151 diagnosed MDD participants at intake, before randomization to a novel treatment for depression (acupuncture), and again after 8 and 16 weeks.


RESULTS
Resting CVC did not predict global indices of depression in cross-sectional or longitudinal analyses. In symptom-specific analyses, resting CVC was positively related to sad mood and crying and inversely related to middle and late insomnia. Improvement in late insomnia was related to increases in CVC over time.


LIMITATIONS
Relationships between CVC and MDD were studied only within the clinical range of severity. Symptom analyses were exploratory and hence did not correct for Type I error.


CONCLUSIONS
Resting CVC did not exhibit concurrent or prospective relations with overall depression severity but a few specific symptoms did. Symptomatic heterogeneity across samples may account for mixed findings within the CVC-depression literature.
A comparison of four prompt modes for route finding for community travellers with severe cognitive impairments.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
Navigational skills are fundamental to community travel and, hence, personal independence and are often disrupted in people with cognitive impairments. Navigation devices are being developed that can support community navigation by delivering directional information. Selecting an effective mode to provide route-prompts is a critical design issue. This study evaluated the differential effects on pedestrian route finding using different modes of prompting delivered via a handheld electronic device for travellers with severe cognitive impairments.


RESEARCH DESIGN
A within-subject comparison study was used to evaluate potential differences in route navigation performance when travellers received directions using four different prompt modes: (1) aerial map image, (2) point of view map image, (3) text based instructions/no image and (4) audio direction/no image.


METHODS AND PROCEDURES
Twenty travellers with severe cognitive impairments due to acquired brain injury walked four equivalent routes using four different prompting modes delivered via a wrist-worn navigation device. Navigation scores were computed that captured accuracy and confidence during navigation.


MAIN OUTCOME
Results of the repeated measures Analysis of Variance suggested that participants performed best when given prompts via speech-based audio directions. The majority of the participants also preferred this prompting mode. Findings are interpreted in the context of cognitive resource allocation theory.
THE KINETICS OF OSMOSIS

It is shown that by combining the osmotic pressure and rate of diffusion laws an equation can be derived for the kinetics of osmosis. The equation has been found to agree with experiments on the rate of osmosis for egg albumin and gelatin solutions with collodion membranes.
Enhancing the therapeutic responsiveness of photodynamic therapy with the antiangiogenic agents SU5416 and SU6668 in murine nasopharyngeal carcinoma models

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising therapeutic modality using a tumor localizing photosensitizer and light to destroy tumor cells. A major limitation of PDT is tumor recurrence, which is partly due to neovascularization. Purpose: The objective of the present study was to determine whether combination therapy with PDT and antiangiogenic agents (i.e. SU5416 and SU6668) would be more effective in controlling tumor recurrence in a mouse model of human CNE2 poorly differentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma compared with PDT or antiangiogenic agents administered alone. Methods: Athymic mice bearing CNE2 tumor xenografts received daily i.p. injections of 20 mg/kg SU5416 or 100 mg/kg SU6668 for 28 consecutive days either alone or following a single hypericin-PDT treatment. Results: Significant inhibition of CNE2 tumor growth was observed in all treatment groups. Differences in 4× tumor growth time, the number of mice with 4× tumor growth, tumor growth inhibition as well as the percent of mice surviving were not statistically significant among individual treatment groups. However, the number of mice with 4× tumor growth observed in SU6668 monotherapy and combined PDT and SU6668 treatment groups was significantly less than that in the control group (P<0.05 and 0.01, respectively). Moreover, compared with the control group, only the combined PDT and SU6668 treatment significantly extended survival of tumor-bearing host mice (P<0.05). The semiquantitative RT-PCR results showed that the expression of HIF-1α, VEGF, COX-2 and bFGF were increased in PDT-treated tumor samples collected 24 h post-PDT, suggesting that PDT-induced damage to tumor microvasculature and the resultant hypoxia upregulate the expression of certain proangiogenic factors. Conclusions: The effectiveness of PDT can be enhanced by antiangiogenic treatment with the synthetic RTK inhibitors. Of the two synthetic RTK inhibitors tested, SU6668 was more effective than SU5416 in enhancing tumor responsiveness to PDT.