LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Changes in body mass index and hemoglobin concentration in breastfeeding women living with HIV with a CD4 count over 350: Results from 4 African countries (The ANRS 12174 trial)

INTRODUCTION
Breastfeeding is recommended for infants born to HIV-infected women in low-income settings. Both breastfeeding and HIV-infection are energy demanding. Our objective was to explore how exclusive and predominant breastfeeding changes body mass index (BMI) among breastfeeding HIV1-positive women participating in the ANRS12174 trial (clinical trial no NCT0064026).


METHODS
HIV-positive women (n = 1 267) with CD4 count >350, intending to breastfeed HIV-negative infants were enrolled from Burkina Faso, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia and counselled on breastfeeding. N = 1 216 were included in the analysis. The trial compared Lamivudine and Lopinavir/Ritonavir as a peri-exposure prophylaxis. We ran a linear mixed-effect model with BMI as the dependent variable and exclusive or predominant breastfeeding duration as the key explanatory variable.


RESULTS
Any breastfeeding or exclusive/predominant) breastfeeding was initiated by 99.6% and 98.6% of the mothers respectively in the first week after birth. The median (interquartile range: IQR) duration of the group that did any breastfeeding or the group that did exclusive /predominant breastfeeding were 9.5 (7.5; 10.6) and 5.8 (5.6; 5.9)) months, respectively. The median (IQR) age, BMI, CD4 count, and HIV viral load at baseline (day 7) were 27 (23.3; 31) years, 23.7 (21.3; 27.0) kg/m2, 530 (432.5; 668.5) cells/μl and 0.1 (0.8; 13.7)1000 copies/mL, respectively. No major change in mean BMI was seen in this cohort over a 50-week period during lactation. The mean change between 26 and 50 weeks after birth was 0.7 kg/m2. Baseline mean BMI (measured on day 7 postpartum) and CD4 count were positively associated with maternal BMI change, with a mean increase of 1.0 kg/m2 (0.9; 1.0) per each additional baseline-BMI kilogram and 0.3 kg/m2 (0.2; 0.5) for each additional CD4 cell/μl, respectively.


CONCLUSION
Breastfeeding was not negatively correlated with the BMI of HIV-1 infected Sub-Saharan African mothers. However, a higher baseline BMI and a CD4 count >500 cells/μl were associated with maternal BMI during the exclusive/ predominant breastfeeding period. Considering the benefits of breast milk for the infants and the recurrent results from different studies that breastfeeding is not harmful to the HIV-1-infected mothers, this study also supports the WHO 2016 guidelines on infant feeding that mothers living with HIV should breastfeed where formula is not safe for at least 12 months and up to 24 months, given that the right treatment or prophylaxis for the infection is administered. These findings and conclusions cannot be extrapolated to women who are immune-compromised or have AIDS.
Haptic tactile interface (HTI): Design of the power supply stage

The driving electronics of an haptic tactile interface (HTI) is presented. The stability of its linear power amplifier under the capacitive load of the HTI piezoelectric actuator is analysed and ensured. As the HTI actuator is a resonant one, a topology to compensate its reactive power is presented allowing to reduce the size and the thermal heating of the power stage.
Body weight loss and weight maintenance in relation to habitual caffeine intake and green tea supplementation.

OBJECTIVE
Investigation of the effect of a green tea-caffeine mixture on weight maintenance after body weight loss in moderately obese subjects in relation to habitual caffeine intake.


RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES
A randomized placebo-controlled double blind parallel trial in 76 overweight and moderately obese subjects, (BMI, 27.5 +/- 2.7 kg/m2) matched for sex, age, BMI, height, body mass, and habitual caffeine intake was conducted. A very low energy diet intervention during 4 weeks was followed by 3 months of weight maintenance (WM); during the WM period, the subjects received a green tea-caffeine mixture (270 mg epigallocatechin gallate + 150 mg caffeine per day) or placebo.


RESULTS
Subjects lost 5.9 +/-1.8 (SD) kg (7.0 +/- 2.1%) of body weight (p < 0.001). At baseline, satiety was positively, and in women, leptin was inversely, related to subjects' habitual caffeine consumption (p < 0.01). High caffeine consumers reduced weight, fat mass, and waist circumference more than low caffeine consumers; resting energy expenditure was reduced less and respiratory quotient was reduced more during weight loss (p < 0.01). In the low caffeine consumers, during WM, green tea still reduced body weight, waist, respiratory quotient and body fat, whereas resting energy expenditure was increased compared with a restoration of these variables with placebo (p < 0.01). In the high caffeine consumers, no effects of the green tea-caffeine mixture were observed during WM.


DISCUSSION
High caffeine intake was associated with weight loss through thermogenesis and fat oxidation and with suppressed leptin in women. In habitual low caffeine consumers, the green tea-caffeine mixture improved WM, partly through thermogenesis and fat oxidation.
The Women's EMPOWER Survey: Identifying Women's Perceptions on Vulvar and Vaginal Atrophy and Its Treatment.

INTRODUCTION
Vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA) affects up to two thirds of postmenopausal women, but most symptomatic women do not receive prescription therapy.


AIM
To evaluate postmenopausal women's perceptions of VVA and treatment options for symptoms in the Women's EMPOWER survey.


METHODS
The Rose Research firm conducted an internet survey of female consumers provided by Lightspeed Global Market Insite. Women at least 45 years of age who reported symptoms of VVA and residing in the United States were recruited.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Survey results were compiled and analyzed by all women and by treatment subgroups.


RESULTS
Respondents (N = 1,858) had a median age of 58 years (range = 45-90). Only 7% currently used prescribed VVA therapies (local estrogen therapies or oral selective estrogen receptor modulators), whereas 18% were former users of prescribed VVA therapies, 25% used over-the-counter treatments, and 50% had never used any treatment. Many women (81%) were not aware of VVA or that it is a medical condition. Most never users (72%) had never discussed their symptoms with a health care professional (HCP). The main reason for women not to discuss their symptoms with an HCP was that they believed that VVA was just a natural part of aging and something to live with. When women spoke to an HCP about their symptoms, most (85%) initiated the discussion. Preferred sources of information were written material from the HCP's office (46%) or questionnaires to fill out before seeing the HCP (41%).The most negative attributes of hormonal products were perceived risk of systemic absorption, messiness of local creams, and the need to reuse an applicator. Overall, HCPs only recommended vaginal estrogen therapy to 23% and oral hormone therapies to 18% of women. When using vaginal estrogen therapy, less than half of women adhered to and complied with posology; only 33% to 51% of women were very to extremely satisfied with their efficacy.


CONCLUSION
The Women's EMPOWER survey showed that VVA continues to be an under-recognized and under-treated condition, despite recent educational initiatives. A disconnect in education, communication, and information between HCPs and their menopausal patients remains prevalent. Kingsberg S, Krychman M, Graham S, et al. The Women's EMPOWER Survey: Identifying Women's Perceptions on Vulvar and Vaginal Atrophy and Its Treatment. J Sex Med 2017;14:413-424.
Complete long-term recovery of beta-cell function in autoimmune type 1 diabetes after insulin treatment.

HISTORY AND EXAMINATION — A 13-year-old Caucasian boy (BMI 26.4 kg/m) presented with 3 weeks’ history of polyuria, polydipsia, and weight loss. His serum glucose (26.8 mmol/l), HbA1c (9.4%, normal 3.2–5.5) and fructosamine (628 mol/l, normal 205–285) levels were highly elevated (Fig. 1), and urinalysis showed glucosuria ( ) and ketonuria ( ) . He was HLA-DRB1* 0101,*0901, DRB4*01, DQA1*0101,03, and DQB1*0303,0501. Plasma Cpeptide, determined at a blood glucose of 17.0 mmol/l, was low (0.18 nmol/l). His previous history was unremarkable, and he did not take any medication. The patient received standard treatment with insulin, fluid, and electrolyte replacement and diabetes education. After an uneventful clinical course he was discharged on multiple-injection insulin therapy (total 0.9 units kg 1 day ) after 10 days. Subsequently, insulin doses were gradually reduced to 0.3 units kg 1 day , and insulin treatment was completely stopped after 11 months. Without further treatment, HbA1c and fasting glucose levels remained normal throughout the entire follow-up of currently 4.5 years. During oral glucose tolerance testing performed 48 months after diagnosis, he had normal fasting and 2-h levels of glucose (3.7 and 5.6 mmol/l, respectively), insulin (60.5 and 217.9 pmol/l, respectively), and C-peptide (0.36 and 0.99 nmol/l, respectively). His insulin sensitivity, as determined by insulin sensitivity index (composite) and homeostasis model assessment, was normal, and BMI remained unchanged. Serum autoantibodies to GAD65, insulin autoantibody-2, insulin, and islet cell antibodies were initially positive but showed a progressive decline or loss during follow-up. INVESTIGATION — T-cell antigen recognition and cytokine profiles were studied using a library of 21 preproinsulin (PPI) peptides (2). In the patient’s peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), a high cumulative interleukin (IL)-10) secretion (201 pg/ml) was observed in response to PPI peptides, with predominant recognition of PPI44–60 and PPI49–65, while interferon (IFN)secretion was undetectable. In contrast, in PBMCs from a cohort of 12 type 1 diabetic patients without long-term remission (2), there was a dominant IFNresponse but low IL-10 secretion to PPI. Analysis of CD4 T–helper cell subsets revealed that IL-10 secretion was mostly attributable to the patient’s naı̈ve/recently activated CD45RA cells, while a strong IFNresponse was observed in CD45RA cells. CD45RA T-cells have been associated with regulatory T-cell function in diabetes, potentially capable of suppressing
Search for solitons in two-Higgs extensions of the standard model

We report on the status of our search for quasi-topological solitons of various dimensions in realistic field theoretical models of condensed matter and of elementary particle physics.
Unique bioactive polyphenolic profile of guava (Psidium guajava) budding leaf tea is related to plant biochemistry of budding leaves in early dawn.

BACKGROUND
Guava leaf tea (GLT), exhibiting a diversity of medicinal bioactivities, has become a popularly consumed daily beverage. To improve the product quality, a new process was recommended to the Ser-Tou Farmers' Association (SFA), who began field production in 2005. The new process comprised simplified steps: one bud-two leaves were plucked at 3:00-6:00 am, in the early dawn period, followed by withering at ambient temperature (25-28 °C), rolling at 50 °C for 50-70 min, with or without fermentation, then drying at 45-50 °C for 70-90 min, and finally sorted.


RESULTS
The product manufactured by this new process (named herein GLTSF) exhibited higher contents (in mg g(-1), based on dry ethyl acetate fraction/methanolic extract) of polyphenolics (417.9 ± 12.3) and flavonoids (452.5 ± 32.3) containing a compositional profile much simpler than previously found: total quercetins (190.3 ± 9.1), total myricetin (3.3 ± 0.9), total catechins (36.4 ± 5.3), gallic acid (8.8 ± 0.6), ellagic acid (39.1 ± 6.4) and tannins (2.5 ± 9.1).


CONCLUSION
We have successfully developed a new process for manufacturing GLTSF with a unique polyphenolic profile. Such characteristic compositional distribution can be ascribed to the right harvesting hour in the early dawn and appropriate treatment process at low temperature, avoiding direct sunlight.
Short-term effects of atorvastatin on C-reactive protein.

AIM
To study the short-term effect of atorvastatin on C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with or at risk for coronary heart disease.


METHODS AND RESULTS
One hundred and fifty-five randomly selected patients from the SWiss Intervention Trial for lowering CHolesterol (SWITCH) were assessed for high sensitivity CRP, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides at baseline, and after 1 and 3 months of treatment with atorvastatin at various doses to reach pre-defined lipid target values. The median decrease of cholesterol was 28% after 1 month and 35% after 3 months. LDL-cholesterol was decreased by 37% and 45%, HDL-cholesterol was increased by 7% and 8%, respectively. Patients with a low CRP baseline concentration (lowest quartile <1.34 mg. l(-1)) displayed no significant change, whereas patients in the other quartiles showed a significant decrease, of 22% to 40% (P -value <0.05 to <0.001) at 1 month and of 32% to 36% after 3 months compared to baseline. The decrease in CRP lowering was thus fully established by 1 month and this response was independent of lipid and lipoprotein changes as well as atorvastatin doses.


CONCLUSION
Atorvastatin significantly decreases CRP concentrations after 4 weeks of therapy. These results may be important with respect to the early benefit of statin therapy.
Brain and effort: brain activation and effort-related working memory in healthy participants and patients with working memory deficits

UNLABELLED
Despite the interest in the neuroimaging of working memory, little is still known about the neurobiology of complex working memory in tasks that require simultaneous manipulation and storage of information. In addition to the central executive network, we assumed that the recently described salience network [involving the anterior insular cortex (AIC) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)] might be of particular importance to working memory tasks that require complex, effortful processing.


METHOD
Healthy participants (n = 26) and participants suffering from working memory problems related to the Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS) (a specific form of periodic idiopathic hypersomnia; n = 18) participated in the study. Participants were further divided into a high- and low-capacity group, according to performance on a working memory task (listening span). In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, participants were administered the reading span complex working memory task tapping cognitive effort.


PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
The fMRI-derived blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal was modulated by (1) effort in both the central executive and the salience network and (2) capacity in the salience network in that high performers evidenced a weaker BOLD signal than low performers. In the salience network there was a dichotomy between the left and the right hemisphere; the right hemisphere elicited a steeper increase of the BOLD signal as a function of increasing effort. There was also a stronger functional connectivity within the central executive network because of increased task difficulty.


CONCLUSION
The ability to allocate cognitive effort in complex working memory is contingent upon focused resources in the executive and in particular the salience network. Individual capacity during the complex working memory task is related to activity in the salience (but not the executive) network so that high-capacity participants evidence a lower signal and possibly hence a larger dynamic response.
Intimate partner violence and cancer screening among urban minority women.

PURPOSE
To evaluate the association of intimate partner violence (IPV) with breast and cervical cancer screening rates.


METHODS
We conducted retrospective chart audits of 382 adult women at 4 urban family medicine practices. Inclusion criteria were not being pregnant, no cancer history, and having a partner. Victims were defined as those who screened positive on at least one of 2 brief IPV screening tools: the HITS (Hurt, Insult, Threat, Scream) tool or Women Abuse Screening Tool (short). Logistic regression models were used to examine whether nonvictims, victims of emotional abuse, and victims of physical and/or sexual abuse were up to date for mammograms and Papanicolaou smears.


RESULTS
Prevalence of IPV was 16.5%. Compared with victims of emotional abuse only, victims of physical and/or sexual abuse aged 40 to 74 were associated with 87% decreased odds of being up to date on Papanicolaou smears (odds ratio, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.02-0.86) and 84% decreased odds of being up to date in mammography (odds ratio, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03-0.99). There was no difference in Papanicolaou smear rates among female victims and nonvictims younger than 40.


CONCLUSIONS
Because of the high prevalence of IPV, screening is essential among all women. Clinicians should ensure that victims of physical and/or sexual abuse are screened for cervical cancer and breast cancer, particularly women aged 40 or older. Cancer screening promotion programs are needed for victims of abuse.
Port-based modeling of mechatronic systems

Many engineering activities, including mechatronic design, require that a multidomain or ‘multi-physics’ system and its control system be designed as an integrated system. This contribution discusses the background and tools for a port-based approach to integrated modeling and simulation of physical systems and their controllers, with parameters that are directly related to the real-world system, thus improving insight and direct feedback on modeling decisions.
Becker's X-linked muscular dystrophy histological, enzyme-histochemical, and ultrastructural studies of two cases, originally reported by Becker

Muscle biopsies of two patients originally reported in the Göttingen family by Becker (1962) that formed the basis of separating a benign X-linked muscular dystrophy from the rapidly progressive Duchenne-type X-linked muscular dystrophy, revealed mild pathological changes in the younger patient and more advanced in the older one, consisting of increased spectra of fiber diameters, endomysial fibrosis, angulated fibers, pyknotic nuclear clumps and small groups of atrophic fibers. Essentially, both biopsies showed the same changes, but of different severity, possibly due to the differences in age and muscle biopsy sites. These changes were regarded “myopathic”, but a neurogenic component was suggested. Our observations accord well with those of a larger series (Bradley et al., 1978) where both electromyography and histopathology revealed a mixed “myopathic-neurogenic pattern” in patients with Becker-type dystrophy. Differential diagnostic aspects encompass Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, the other hereditary dystrophies and X-linked proximal spinal muscular atrophies. The precise nature of Becker-type muscular dystrophy requires morphological data on peripheral nerves, spinal roots and spinal cord anterior horn cells as well as sequential biopsy analysis to substantiate the primary site of pathology. However, on the basis of available data, it seems reasonable to suggest that the early changes of degeneration/regeneration which are accompanied by a markedly elevated CPK eventuate in the histopathologic and electromyographic patterns illustrated in these two patients with Beckertype dystrophy.
THE DIGITAL WORKFORCE AND THE WORKPLACE OF THE FUTURE

Editor’s note: This editorial is part of a series written by editors and co-authored with a senior executive, thought leader, or scholar from a different field, to explore new content areas and grand challenges with the goal of expanding the scope, interestingness, and relevance of the work presented in the Academy of Management Journal. The principle is to use the editorial notes as “stage setters” to open up fresh, new areas of inquiry for management research. GG
Is conscious perception gradual or dichotomous? A comparison of report methodologies during a visual task

In a recent article, [Sergent, C. & Dehaene, S. (2004). Is consciousness a gradual phenomenon? Evidence for an all-or-none bifurcation during the attentional blink, Psychological Science, 15(11), 720-729] claim to give experimental support to the thesis that there is a clear transition between conscious and unconscious perception. This idea is opposed to theoretical arguments that we should think of conscious perception as a continuum of clarity, with e.g., fringe conscious states [Mangan, B. (2001). Sensation's ghost-the non-sensory "fringe" of consciousness, Psyche, 7, 18]. In the experimental study described in this article, we find support for this opposite notion that we should have a parsimonious account of conscious perception. Our reported finding relates to the hypothesis that there is more than one perceptual threshold [Merikle, P.M., Smilek, D. & Eastwood, J.D. (2001). Perception without awareness: perspectives from cognitive psychology, Cognition, 79, 115-134], but goes further to argue that there are different "levels" of conscious perception.
Electrophysiological evidence of “nerve entrapment syndromes” and subclinical peripheral neuropathy in progressive systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)

We report the electrophysiological findings and the management of 5 subjects with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) and clinical evidence of nerve entrapment. Three had carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), 1 bilateral CTS and right tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS) and 1 Guyon's canal syndrome. Only 1 patient (with CTS) showed significant clinical improvement after surgical decompression; the other 4 demonstrated a slight recovery of conduction without lasting clinical relief after conventional treatment. To explain these failures we hypothesized that these entrapment syndromes were the clinical expression of underlying diffuse damage to the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The conduction values of nerves unaffected by entrapment syndromes were within normal limits, but almost all distal velocities were below the mean of controls. Such subclinical distal peripheral neuropathy was also verified in a selected sample of 17 patients with PSS, without clinical symptoms or signs of PNS involvement. In these 17 cases the mean distal sensory and motor conduction findings of the median, ulnar, sural and tibial nerves were significantly lower than those of a control group, while no significant differences were found in the more proximal tracts of the same nerves. Furthermore, 3 of the 17 patients showed classical electrophysiological evidence of TCS and TTS without any clinical symptoms. We concluded that the subjects with PSS had subclinical polyneuropathy which may become plain polyneuropathy or nerve entrapment syndromes perhaps induced by other risk factors.
An Input-Series Flyback Converter With the Coupled-Inductor-Based Passive Snubber for High-Input Voltage Multiple-Output Applications

In this paper, an input-series flyback converter with the coupled-inductor-based passive snubber is proposed, where the input-series converter is based on transformer integration, and the passive snubber is composed of inductors, capacitors, and diodes. The inductors of the snubber in various series modules are made on a common magnetic core, and the coupled-inductor scheme is adopted. With the help of the coupled inductor, active input voltage sharing of the input-series converter can also be achieved after the switches are turned off, and voltage sharing of the switch in each series module can be ensured, which overcome the shortcomings of the existing input-series flyback converter. Active voltage sharing processes caused by the coupled inductor are analyzed in detail. Furthermore, the design guideline of the passive snubber is discussed. Finally, the experimental study has been done on a 1500 Vdc/60 W laboratory-made prototype composed of three flyback series modules, and the feasibility of the proposed method and the theoretical analysis is verified by the experimental results.