LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Mendelsohn maneuver on measures of swallowing duration post stroke.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether intensive use of the Mendelsohn maneuver in patients post stroke could alter swallow physiology when used as a rehabilitative exercise.


METHOD
Eighteen outpatients between 6 weeks and 22 months post stroke were enrolled in this prospective study using a crossover design to compare 2 weeks of treatment with 2 weeks of no treatment. Each participant received an initial videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) and an additional VFSS at the end of each week for 1 month for a total of 5 studies. During treatment weeks, participants received 2 treatment sessions per day performing Mendelsohn maneuvers with surface electromyography for biofeedback. Measures of swallowing duration, penetration/aspiration, residue, and dysphagia severity were analyzed from VFSS to compare treatment and no-treatment weeks.


RESULTS
Significant changes occurred for measures of the duration of superior and anterior hyoid movement after 2 weeks of treatment. Improvements were observed for duration of opening of the upper esophageal sphincter (UES), but results were not statistically significant. Measures of penetration/aspiration, residue, and dysphagia severity improved throughout the study, but no differences were observed between treatment and no-treatment weeks.


CONCLUSIONS
Intensive use of the Mendselsohn maneuver in isolation altered duration of hyoid movement and UES opening in this exploratory study. Results can guide future research toward improved selection criteria and exploration of outcomes. Larger numbers of participants and variations in treatment duration and intensity will be necessary to determine the true clinical value of this treatment.
Activation of GPER Induces Differentiation and Inhibition of Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation

BACKGROUND
Vascular pathology and dysfunction are direct life-threatening outcomes resulting from atherosclerosis or vascular injury, which are primarily attributed to contractile smooth muscle cells (SMCs) dedifferentiation and proliferation by re-entering cell cycle. Increasing evidence suggests potent protective effects of G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER) activation against cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanism underlying GPER function remains poorly understood, especially if it plays a potential role in modulating coronary artery smooth muscle cells (CASMCs).


METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
The objective of our study was to understand the functional role of GPER in CASMC proliferation and differentiation in coronary arteries using from humans and swine models. We found that the GPER agonist, G-1, inhibited both human and porcine CASMC proliferation in a concentration- (10(-8) to 10(-5) M) and time-dependent manner. Flow cytometry revealed that treatment with G-1 significantly decreased the proportion of S-phase and G2/M cells in the growing cell population, suggesting that G-1 inhibits cell proliferation by slowing progression of the cell cycle. Further, G-1-induced cell cycle retardation was associated with decreased expression of cyclin B, up-regulation of cyclin D1, and concomitant induction of p21, and partially mediated by suppressed ERK1/2 and Akt pathways. In addition, G-1 induces SMC differentiation evidenced by increased α-smooth muscle actin (α-actin) and smooth muscle protein 22α (SM22α) protein expressions and inhibits CASMC migration induced by growth medium.


CONCLUSION
GPER activation inhibits CASMC proliferation by suppressing cell cycle progression via inhibition of ERK1/2 and Akt phosphorylation. GPER may constitute a novel mechanism to suppress intimal migration and/or synthetic phenotype of VSMC.
SAGE: Whitebox Fuzzing for Security Testing

SAGE has had a remarkable impact at Microsoft.
Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate Policy and Certification Practices Framework

< draft-ietf-pkix-ipki-new-rfc2527-01.txt > Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is subject to all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of 6 months and may be updated, replaced, or may become obsolete by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as work in progress. To view the entire list of current Internet-Drafts, please check the "1id-abstracts.txt" listing contained in the Internet-Drafts Shadow Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), ftp.nordu.net (Northern Europe), ftp.nis.garr.it (Southern Europe), munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ftp.ietf.org (US East Coast), or ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast). Abstract This document presents a framework to assist the writers of certificate policies or certification practice statements for participants within public key infrastructures, such as certification authorities, policy authorities, and communities of interest that wish to rely on certificates. In particular, the framework provides a comprehensive list of topics that potentially (at the writer's discretion) need to be covered in a certificate policy or a certification practice statement. This document is being submitted to the RFC Editor with a request for publication as an Informational RFC that will supercede RFC 2527 [CPF].
A Survey on Smartphones Security: Software Vulnerabilities, Malware, and Attacks

Nowadays, the usage of smartphones and their applications have become rapidly popular in people’s daily life. Over the last decade, availability of mobile money services such as mobile-payment systems and app markets have significantly increased due to the different forms of apps and connectivity provided by mobile devices, such as 3G, 4G, GPRS, and Wi-Fi, etc. In the same trend, the number of vulnerabilities targeting these services and communication networks has raised as well. Therefore, smartphones have become ideal target devices for malicious programmers. With increasing the number of vulnerabilities and attacks, there has been a corresponding ascent of the security countermeasures presented by the researchers. Due to these reasons, security of the payment systems is one of the most important issues in mobile payment systems. In this survey, we aim to provide a comprehensive and structured overview of the research on security solutions for smartphone devices. This survey reviews the state of the art on security solutions, threats, and vulnerabilities during the period of 2011-2017, by focusing on software attacks, such those to smartphone applications. We outline some countermeasures aimed at protecting smartphones against these groups of attacks, based on the detection rules, data collections and operating systems, especially focusing on open source applications. With this categorization, we want to provide an easy understanding for users and researchers to improve their knowledge about the security and privacy of smartphones. Keywords—Mobile security; malware; adware; malicious attacks
School competition and students’ entrepreneurial intentions: International evidence using historical Catholic roots of private schooling

School choice research mostly focuses on academic outcomes. Policymakers increasingly view entrepreneurial traits as a non-cognitive outcome important for economic growth. We use international PISA-2006 student-level data to estimate the effect of private-school competition on students’ entrepreneurial intentions. We exploit Catholic-Church resistance to state schooling in 19th century as a natural experiment to obtain exogenous variation in current private-school shares. Our instrumental-variable results suggest that a 10 percentagepoint higher private-school share raises students’ entrepreneurial intentions by 0.3-0.5 percentage points (11-18 percent of the international mean) even after controlling for current Catholic shares, students’ academic skills, and parents’ entrepreneurial occupation. JEL-Code: I20, L33, L26, Z12.
Is one-stage breast augmentation with mastopexy safe and effective? A review of 186 primary cases.

BACKGROUND
Although some authors have reported that 1-stage breast augmentation with mastopexy does not increase the risks of surgery, recent literature has raised the question of whether better results might be achieved by staging the procedures.


OBJECTIVE
The authors evaluated the safety and efficacy of 1-stage breast augmentation with mastopexy in their own patients by analyzing long-term complication and revision rates.


METHODS
A retrospective chart review was performed of 186 consecutive patients who underwent primary 1-stage breast augmentation with mastopexy at a single outpatient facility. Patient data recorded included age, body mass index, smoking status, degree of breast ptosis, and any preoperative asymmetry. Operation-related data recorded included type of mastopexy performed, operating surgeon, length of surgery, American Society of Anesthesiologists level, and concomitant procedures. Data on implant type, volume, and position were also collected. Complication and revision rates were recorded and calculated.


RESULTS
Ninety-six patients (44%) received saline implants; 104 (56%) received silicone implants. In most cases, textured implants were placed in submuscular pockets. The mean implant volume was 320 cc. Inverted T mastopexy was performed in 60% of cases, circumareolar in 24% of cases, and vertical or crescent accounted for most of the remainder. No severe complications occurred, although 1 patient developed a late infection that required removal of the breast implant. The most common complication was saline implant deflation (5.9%), although saline implants were used in less than half of cases. Thirty-one patients (16.7%) underwent some form of revision surgery within the average 42-month follow-up period.


CONCLUSIONS
Our review of 1-stage breast augmentation with mastopexy procedures revealed no severe complications. Although the overall revision rate of 16.7% is significant, it is comparable to rates for breast augmentation alone and is significantly lower than the 100% reoperation rate required for a staged procedure. In our experience, it is a safe and effective procedure, although one that is not easy to perform. Patients should be advised of the possibility that a second procedure may be necessary.
BLISS 2.0: a web-based tool for predicting conserved regulatory modules in distantly-related orthologous sequences

UNLABELLED
BLISS 2.0 is a web-based application for identifying conserved regulatory modules in distantly related orthologous sequences. Unlike existing approaches, it performs the cross-genome comparison at the binding site level. Experimental results on simulated and real world data indicate that BLISS 2.0 can identify conserved regulatory modules from sequences with little overall similarity at the DNA sequence level.


AVAILABILITY
http://www.blisstool.org/
Unifying multi-goal path planning for autonomous data collection

In this paper, we propose a framework for solving variants of the multi-goal path planning problem with applications to autonomous data collection. Autonomous data collection requires optimizing the trajectory of a mobile vehicle to collect data from a number of stationary sensors in a known configuration. The proposed approach utilizes the self-organizing map (SOM) architecture to provide a unified solution to multi-goal path planning problems. Our approach applies to cases where the vehicle must move within a radius of a sensor to collect data and also where some sensors can be ignored due to a lower priority. We compare our proposed approach to state-of-the-art approximate solutions to variants of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) for random deployments and in an underwater monitoring application domain. Our results demonstrate that the SOM approach outperforms combinatorial heuristic algorithms and also provides a unified approach for solving variants of the multi-goal path planning problem.
What is the best sequential treatment strategy in the treatment of depression? Adding pharmacotherapy to psychotherapy or vice versa?

BACKGROUND
Insufficient response to monotreatment for depression is a common phenomenon in clinical practice. Even so, evidence indicating how to proceed in such cases is sparse.


METHODS
This study looks at the second phase of a sequential treatment algorithm, in which 103 outpatients with moderately severe depression were initially randomized to either short-term supportive psychodynamic therapy (PDT) or antidepressants. Patients who reported less than 30% symptom improvement after 8 weeks were offered combined treatment. Outcome measures were the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), the Clinical Global Impression of Severity and Improvement, the SCL-90 depression subscale and the EuroQOL questionnaire.


RESULTS
Despite being nonresponsive, about 40% of patients preferred to continue with monotherapy. At treatment termination, patients initially randomized to PDT had improved more than those initially receiving antidepressants, as indicated by the HAM-D and the EuroQOL, independently of whether the addition was accepted or not.


CONCLUSIONS
Starting with psychotherapy may be preferable in mildly and moderately depressed outpatients. For patients who receive either PDT or antidepressants, combined therapy after early nonresponse seems to be helpful. Nevertheless, this sequential strategy is not always preferred by patients.
MARGOT: A web server for argumentation mining

Argumentation mining is a recent challenge concerning the automatic extraction of arguments from unstructured textual corpora. Argumentation mining technologies are rapidly evolving and show a clear potential for application in diverse areas such as recommender systems, policy-making and the legal domain. There is a long-recognised need for tools that enable users to browse, visualise, search, and manipulate arguments and argument structures. There is, however, a lack of widely accessible tools. In this article we describe the technology behind MARGOT, the first online argumentation mining system designed to reach out to the wider community of potential users of these new technologies. We evaluate its performance and discuss its possible application in the analysis of content from various domains. © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Expert Systems With Applications xxx (2016) xxx-xxx
Impact of frailty on outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND
Average life expectancy is rising, resulting in increasing numbers of elderly, frail individuals presenting with coronary artery disease and requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). PCI can be of value for this population, but little is known about the balance of benefit versus risk, particularly in the frail.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between frailty and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing PCI.


METHODS
Patients undergoing PCI, for either stable angina or acute coronary syndrome, were prospectively assessed for frailty using the Canadian Study of Health and Ageing Clinical Frailty Scale. Demographics, clinical and angiographic data were extracted from the hospital database. Mortality was obtained from the Office of National Statistics.


RESULTS
Frailty was assessed in 745 patients undergoing PCI. The mean age of patients was 62±12 years and 70% were males. The median frailty score was 3 (IQR 2-4). A frailty score ≥5, indicating significant frailty, was present in 81 (11%) patients. Frail patients required longer hospitalisation after PCI. Frailty was also associated with increased 30-day (HR 4.8, 95% CI 1.4 to 16.3, p=0.013) and 1 year mortality (HR 5.9, 95% CI 2.5 to 13.8, p<0.001). Frailty was a predictor of length of hospital stay and mortality, independent of age, gender and comorbidities.


CONCLUSIONS
A simple assessment of frailty can help predict mortality and the length of hospital stay, and may therefore guide healthcare providers to plan PCI and appropriate resources for frail patients.
Fractional weibull wind speed modeling for wind power production estimation

This paper describes the method of the Fractional Weibull Distribution (FWD) for modeling wind speed distributions. The Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method is used for estimating the parameters of the FWD, fitted to the wind data from a tall tower. Seasonal wind speed variations are considered in the modeling. Compared to the standard Weibull distribution estimates, the FWD estimates yield greater accuracy in wind power estimation. The discrete distributions of the probabilities of the FWDs are used for obtaining expected wind energy production, which shows a considerable reduction in errors by about tenfold. A simple Mean-Variance analysis of power production is performed for a wind farm that can have a mix of three different turbine models. The results indicate that the standard deviation of power production can be considerably reduced by choosing an appropriate mix of turbines.
Medical journals and industry ties.

The BMJ was one of the first medical journals to seek declarations of competing interests from authors. Our focus is on financial competing interests as we believe these to be the most identifiable. We do, however, understand that competing interests come in many forms and we also routinely ask authors to declare relevant non-financial competing interests. The governing principle has been that transparency is a panacea. We placed faith in this principle, but mounting experience and evidence tell us that we were only half right. Transparency remains essential, but it isn’t sufficient to eliminate bias or perception of bias. We believe this risk of bias is particularly important for clinical educational articles that are designed to guide patient care, when authors’ biases may be less visible to general medical readers. For some years we have sought to minimise as well as declare competing interests for these articles. Recently we introduced more active management of competing interests, requiring authors to complete a more detailed declaration and excluding authors with close ties. Now we have decided to go a step further, as heralded three years ago. From next year our clinical education articles will be authored by experts without financial ties to industry (box). By industry we mean companies producing drugs, devices, or tests; medical education companies; or other companies with an interest in the topic of the article. We are phasing in this policy to start with editorials, clinical reviews, and most practice series. We hope that by the end of 2016, this will have extended to the rest of our education section: our specialist state of the art reviews and diagnostics and therapeutics series. Shift in culture
Human behavior and the principle of least effort : An introduction to human ecology

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PROspective MEmory Training to improve HEart failUre Self-care (PROMETHEUS): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Cognitive impairment is seen in up to three quarters of heart failure (HF) patients and has a significant negative impact on patients' health outcomes. Prospective memory, which is defined as memory to carry out future intentions, is important for functional independence in older adults and involves application of multiple cognitive processes that are often impaired in HF patients. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of prospective memory training on patients' engagement in HF self-care and health outcomes, carer strain and quality of life.


METHODS/DESIGN
The proposed study is a randomised, controlled trial in which 200 patients diagnosed with HF, and their carers will be recruited from 3 major hospitals across Melbourne. Eligible patients with HF will be randomised to receive either: 1) The Virtual Week Training Program - a computerised prospective memory (PM) training program (intervention) or 2) non-adaptive computer-based word puzzles (active control). HF patients' baseline cognitive function will be compared to a healthy control group (n = 60) living independently in the community. Patients will undergo a comprehensive assessment of PM, neuropsychological functioning, self-care, physical, and emotional functioning. Assessments will take place at baseline, 4 weeks and 12 months following intervention. Carers will complete measures assessing quality of life, strain, perceived control in the management of the patients' HF symptoms, and ratings of the patients' level of engagement in HF self-care behaviours.


DISCUSSION
If the Virtual Week Training Program is effective in improving: 1) prospective memory; 2) self-care behaviours, and 3) wellbeing in HF patients, this study will enhance our understanding of impaired cognitive processes in HF and potentially is a mechanism to reduce healthcare costs.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry #366376; 27 May 2014. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=366376&isClinicalTrial=False .
Vision-Based Game Interface Using Human Gesture

Vision-based interfaces pose a tempting alternative to physical interfaces. Intuitive and multi-purpose, these interfaces could allow people to interact with computer naturally and effortlessly. The existing various visionbased interfaces are hard to apply in reality since it has many environmental constraints. In this paper, we introduce a vision-based game interface which is robust in varying environments. This interface consists of three main modules: body-parts localization, pose classification and gesture recognition. Firstly, body-part localization module determines the locations of body parts such as face and hands automatically. For this, we extract body parts using SCI-color model, human physical character and heuristic information. Subsequently, pose classification module classifies the positions of detected body parts in a frame into a pose according to Euclidean distance between the input positions and predefined poses. Finally, gesture recognition module extracts a sequence of poses corresponding to the gestures from the successive frames, and translates that sequence into the game commands using a HMM. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed interface, it has been tested with a popular computer game, Quake II, and the results confirm that the vision-based interface facilitates more natural and friendly communication while controlling the game.