LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Defining the relationship between plasma glucose and HbA(1c): analysis of glucose profiles and HbA(1c) in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial.

OBJECTIVE
To define the relationship between HbA(1c) and plasma glucose (PG) levels in patients with type 1 diabetes using data from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT).


RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
The DCCT was a multicenter, randomized clinical trial designed to compare intensive and conventional therapies and their relative effects on the development and progression of diabetic complications in patients with type 1 diabetes. Quarterly HbA(1c) and corresponding seven-point capillary blood glucose profiles (premeal, postmeal, and bedtime) obtained in the DCCT were analyzed to define the relationship between HbA(1c) and PG. Only data from complete profiles with corresponding HbA(1c) were used (n = 26,056). Of the 1,441 subjects who participated in the study, 2 were excluded due to missing data. Mean plasma glucose (MPG) was estimated by multiplying capillary blood glucose by 1.11. Linear regression analysis weighted by the number of observations per subject was used to correlate MPG and HbA(1c).


RESULTS
Linear regression analysis, using MPG and HbA(1c) summarized by patient (n = 1,439), produced a relationship of MPG (mmol/l) = (1.98 . HbA(1c)) - 4.29 or MPG (mg/dl) = (35.6 . HbA(1c)) - 77.3, r = 0.82). Among individual time points, afternoon and evening PG (postlunch, predinner, postdinner, and bedtime) showed higher correlations with HbA(1c) than the morning time points (prebreakfast, postbreakfast, and prelunch).


CONCLUSIONS
We have defined the relationship between HbA(1c) and PG as assessed in the DCCT. Knowing this relationship can help patients with diabetes and their healthcare providers set day-to-day targets for PG to achieve specific HbA(1c) goals.
Extending the reach of hydrodynamics for relativistic heavy ion collisions

Abstract.
Recent and ongoing improvements to hydrodynamic treatments at RHIC are extending the physics reach of hydrodynamics, and improving the phenomenology. Here, the links between technological improvements and the extension of physics are emphasized.
Project and functional managers : Coopetition paradox and leadership impact

Project and functional manager: Coopetition paradox and leadership impact
Unusual association between cheilitis glandularis and actinic cheilitis

Objective: our aim is to report the simultaneous occurence of cheilitis glandularis and actinic cheilitis on the lower lip of a middle-aged female patient. Case Report: the patient presented clinical features compatible with these two lesions, confirmed by histopathological exam. Conclusion: the importance of the present case is the rare concomitant occurrence of both conditions, with special concern towards the malignancy potential related to both diseases.
A Medical Research Council randomized trial of single agent carboplatin versus etoposide and cisplatin for advanced metastatic seminoma

The UK Medical Research Council conducted this trial of carboplatin chemotherapy in advanced seminoma to compare single agent carboplatin with a standard combination of etoposide with cisplatin. The use of single agent carboplatin was expected to be associated with reduced toxicity. A total of 130 patients with advanced seminoma were randomly assigned to treatment with either single agent carboplatin (C) at a dose of 400 mg/m2 to be corrected for glomerular filtration rate outside the range 81–120 ml min–1 and to be administered on day 1 of a 21 day cycle to a total of 4 cycles or to etoposide + platinum (EP). The trial was designed as an equivalence study aiming to exclude a reduction in the 3-year progression-free survival in patients allocated to carboplatin of between 10 and 15%, requiring initially a target accrual of 250 patients (90% power significance level 5% (one-sided)). The trial closed after 130 patients had been randomized following recommendation by an independent data monitoring committee. At a median follow-up time of 4.5 years, 81% of patients had been followed up for at least 3 years and 19 patients have died. The estimated PFS rate (95% Confidence Intervals (CI)) at 3 years was 71% (60–82%) in patients allocated C and 81% (71–90%) in those allocated EP; the 95% CI for the difference in 3 year PFS was –6% to +19%. The hazard ratio of 0.64 (95% CI 0.32–1.28) favoured EP but the difference was not statistically significant (log rank chi-squared = 1.59 P = 0.21). The 3-year survival rate was 84% (75–92%) in those allocated C, and 89% (81–96%) in those allocated EP. The hazard ratio for survival was 0.85 with 95% CI, 0.35–2.10, log rank chi-squared = 0.12, P = 0.73. The trial has not demonstrated statistically significant differences in the major survival endpoints comparing single agent carboplatin with a combination of etoposide + cisplatin. This cannot be taken as an indication of equivalence since the limited size of this trial rendered it unable to exclude a 19% lower progression-free survival and survival in those treated with single agent carboplatin which would be important clinically. Standard initial chemotherapy for advanced seminoma should be based on cisplatin combinations and the role of carboplatin awaits the outcome of further studies. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.com
Predictors of severe exacerbations, poor asthma control, and β-agonist overuse for patients with asthma.

BACKGROUND
Predictors of asthma exacerbations, poor asthma control, or extreme β-agonist overuse may be of clinical utility in the management of asthma.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate characteristics that predict subsequent adverse outcomes in asthma.


METHODS
An independent 24-week, randomized controlled trial of 303 adult patients with asthma who are at risk, which compared the efficacy of SMART (single budesonide-formoterol inhaler as maintenance and reliever therapy) with a fixed-dose regimen with salbutamol as reliever ("Standard"). Inhaled medication use was measured by electronic monitoring. Baseline characteristics that were predictors of subsequent severe asthma exacerbations, poor asthma control (Asthma Control Questionnaire -5 score ≥1.5), and "extreme" β-agonist overuse (>16 budesonide-formoterol actuations/d in SMART and >32 salbutamol actuations/d in Standard) were assessed by multivariate analyses.


RESULTS
FEV₁ % predicted (rate ratio [RR] 1.14 [95% CI, 1.03-1.27] per 10% lower), more previous exacerbations (RR 1.15 [95% CI, 1.01-1.31]), Standard therapy (RR 1.62 [95% CI, 1.07-2.47]), and female sex (RR 2.18 [95% CI, 1.29-3.67]) were associated with future severe exacerbations. Asthma Control Questionnaire--5 (regression coefficient 0.20 [95% CI, 0.13-0.27] per 0.5 points higher) and age (regression coefficient 0.09 [95% CI, 0.01-0.17] per decade older) were associated with future poorly controlled asthma. Higher reliever use (RR 1.63 [95% CI, 1.36-1.95] per categorical score in Asthma Control Questionnaire question no. 6), Māori ethnicity (RR 2.20 [95% CI, 1.43-3.38]) and FEV₁ % predicted (RR 1.16 [95% CI, 1.03-1.31] per 10% lower) were associated with future extreme β-agonist overuse.


CONCLUSION
Future severe asthma exacerbations, poor asthma control, and extreme β-agonist overuse are predicted by different baseline clinical and demographic characteristics and management approaches in at-risk asthma.
Aerobic and neuromuscular training: effect on the capacity, efficiency, and fatigability of patients with traumatic brain injuries.

To assess the value of exercise training after traumatic brain injury (TBI), 14 sedentary adults with TBI performed a supervised circuit training program three times per week for 16 consecutive weeks. The program was designed to include equal volumes of both aerobic and neuromuscular training to increase the subjects' oxidative capacity and simultaneously improve their locomotor efficiency. Before and after the experimental training program, height, weight, blood pressure, skinfold thickness, grip strength, abdominal muscular endurance, and submaximal and peak rates of oxygen consumption were measured, and the index of physiological fatigue was calculated. The TBI patients manifested subnormal oxidative capacities and above-average oxygen costs locomotion. A 16-week circuit training program of moderate intensity and prolonged duration increased their oxidative capacity (p less than .01) and abdominal muscular endurance (p less than .01), but failed to reduce their oxygen cost of walking. Moderate and prolonged activity seems beneficial in the comprehensive rehabilitation of patients with TBI. The index of physiologic fatigability seems to be useful for the assessment, evaluation, and vocational placement of individuals with TBI.
A Sudoku Solver

Article describes a Sudoku solver based on the compatibility matrix method.
A Recurrent Neural Network Based Recommendation System

6 Recommendation systems play an extremely important role in e-commerce; 7 by recommending products that suit the taste of the consumers, e-commerce 8 companies can generate large profits. The most commonly used 9 recommender systems typically produce a list of recommendations through 10 collaborative or content-based filtering; neither of those approaches take 11 into account the content of the written reviews, which contain rich 12 information about user’s taste. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of 13 ten different recurrent neural network (RNN) structure on the task of generating 14 recommendations using written reviews. The RNN structures we study include 15 well know implementations such as Multi-stacked bi-directional Gated 16 Recurrent Unit (GRU) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) as well as novel 17 implementation of attention-based RNN structure. The attention-based structures 18 are not only among the best models in terms of prediction accuracy, they also 19 assign an attention weight to each word in the review; by plotting the attention 20 weight of each word we gain additional insight into the underlying mechanisms 21 involved in the prediction process. We develop and test the recommendation 22 systems using the data provided by Yelp Data Challenge. 23
Cell-penetrating peptides transport therapeutics into cells.

Nearly 30years ago, certain small, relatively nontoxic peptides were discovered to be capable of traversing the cell membrane. These cell-penetrating peptides, as they are now called, have been shown to not only be capable of crossing the cell membrane themselves but can also carry many different therapeutic agents into cells, including small molecules, plasmid DNA, siRNA, therapeutic proteins, viruses, imaging agents, and other various nanoparticles. Many cell-penetrating peptides have been derived from natural proteins, but several other cell-penetrating peptides have been developed that are either chimeric or completely synthetic. How cell-penetrating peptides are internalized into cells has been a topic of debate, with some peptides seemingly entering cells through an endocytic mechanism and others by directly penetrating the cell membrane. Although the entry mechanism is still not entirely understood, it seems to be dependent on the peptide type, the peptide concentration, the cargo the peptide transports, and the cell type tested. With new intracellular disease targets being discovered, cell-penetrating peptides offer an exciting approach for delivering drugs to these intracellular targets. There are hundreds of cell-penetrating peptides being studied for drug delivery, and ongoing studies are demonstrating their success both in vitro and in vivo.
Multiple Vehicles Detection and Tracking based on Scale-Invariant Feature Transform

To monitor road situation, the source from CCTV is more useful than any other data from GPS or loop detector because it can give the whole picture of the two-dimensional traffic situation. This paper suggests multiple vehicles detection by quad-tree segmentation and tracking method using scale invariant feature transform to improve the performance of tracking for extracting traffic parameter such as vehicle count, speed, class, and so on. The experimental result presents the proposed method is effective and robust on detection and tracking vehicle, especially in cases that a vehicle changes a lane, occlusion of vehicles is occurred, and an affine shape of vehicle is changed due to car movement.
The relationship between the level of plasma B-type natriuretic peptide and mitral stenosis

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) are both secreted primarily from the ventricle myocardium in response to the increase in volume and pressure. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the severity of mitral stenosis (MS) and the level of plasma BNP. A total of 56 patients (50 female, 6 male) were included in the study. Mitral stenosis and its related parameters were evaluated by echocardiographic methods. Patients were divided into three groups as with mild, moderate and severe MS according to their planimetric valvular area. Plasma BNP levels were measured using “Triage-B-type natriuretic peptide test” method (Biosite Diagnostics, San Diego). The relationship of BNP with mitral stenosis and other echocardiographic parameters were studied. The comparison of the 3 groups with one another revealed that the BNP level in the group with moderate MS was higher than that in the group with mild MS, however it was statistically insignificant (74.9 ± 49.7 versus 49.9 ± 40.5 pg/ml, p > 0.05). BNP level in the group with severe MS was significantly higher than that in the mild MS (144.3 ± 83.9 versus 49.9 ± 40.5 pg/ml, p < 0.001) and that in the moderate MS group (144.3 ± 83.9 versus. 74.9 ± 49.7 pg/ml, p < 0.05). When patients were taken together, as the area of the mitral valve decreased, the level of BNP underwent a corresponding increase (r:−0.48, p < 0.001). We have ascertained that the level of plasma BNP and the degree of MS are significantly correlated, and as MS becomes more serious, the plasma BNP level rises.
Efficacy of a multifactorial intervention on therapeutic adherence in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Therapeutic adherence of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is poor. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention on improving the therapeutic adherence in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with scheduled inhalation therapy.


METHODS
The study design consisted of a randomised controlled trial in a primary care setting. 146 patients diagnosed with COPD were randomly allocated into two groups using the block randomisation technique. One-year follow-ups with three visits were performed. The intervention consisted of motivational aspects related to adherence (beliefs and behaviour) in the form of group and individual interviews, cognitive aspects in the form of information about the illness and skills in the form of training in inhalation techniques. Cognitive-emotional aspects and training in inhalation techniques were reinforced during all visits of the intervention group. The main outcome measure was adherence to the medication regimen. Therapeutic adherence was determined by the percentage of patients classified as good adherent as evaluated by dose or pill count.


RESULTS
Of the 146 participants (mean age 69.8 years, 91.8% males), 41.1% reported adherence (41.9% of the control group and 40.3% of the intervention group). When multifactorial intervention was applied, the reported adherence was 32.4% for the control group and 48.6% for the intervention group, which showed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.046). Number needed to treat is 6.37. In the intervention group, cognitive aspects increased by 23.7% and skilled performance of inhalation techniques increased by 66.4%. The factors related to adherence when multifactorial intervention was applied were the number of exacerbations (OR = 0.66), visits to health centre (OR = 0.93) and devices (OR = 2.4); illness severity (OR = 0.67), beta-2-adrenergic (OR = 0.16) and xantine (OR = 0.19) treatment; activity (OR = 1.03) and impact (OR = 1.03) scales of the Saint George Respiratory Questionnaire.


CONCLUSION
Application of the multifactorial intervention designed for this study (COPD information, dose reminders, audio-visual material, motivational aspects and training in inhalation techniques) resulted in an improvement in therapeutic adherence in COPD patients with scheduled inhalation therapy.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN18841601.
EcoTrec—A Novel VANET-Based Approach to Reducing Vehicle Emissions

There are interdependent increases in vehicle numbers, vehicular traffic congestion, and carbon emissions that cause major problems worldwide. These problems include direct negative influences on people's health, adverse economic effects, negative social impacts, local environmental damage, and risk of catastrophic global climate change. There is a drastic need to develop ways to reduce these emissions and EcoTrec, presented in this paper, is one of these innovative approaches. EcoTrec is a vehicular ad hoc network-based vehicle routing solution designed to reduce vehicle carbon emissions without significantly affecting the travel times of vehicles. The vehicles exchange messages related to traffic and road conditions, such as average speed on the road, road gradient, and surface condition. This information is used to build a fuel efficiency model of the routes, based on which the vehicles are recommended to take more efficient routes. By routing vehicles more efficiently, the greenhouse emissions are reduced while also maintaining low traffic congestion levels. This paper presents results of extensive simulations, which show how EcoTrec outperforms other state-of-the-art solutions with different number of vehicles, vehicle penetration, and compliance rates, and when considering different real world road maps from Dublin and Koln.
Collaborative mobile charging for sensor networks

The limited battery capacity of sensor nodes has become the biggest impediment to wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. Two recent breakthroughs in the areas of wireless energy transfer and rechargeable lithium batteries promise the use of mobile vehicles, with high volume batteries, as mobile chargers that transfer energy to sensor nodes wirelessly. In this paper, for the first time, we envision a novel charging paradigm: collaborative mobile charging, where mobile chargers are allowed to charge each other. We investigate the problem of scheduling multiple mobile chargers, which collaboratively recharge sensors, to maximize the ratio of the amount of payload energy to overhead energy, such that every sensor will not run out of energy. We first consider the uniform case where all sensors consume energy at the same rate, and propose a scheduling algorithm, PushWait, which is proven to be optimal in this case and can cover a one-dimensional WSN of infinite length. Then, in the non-uniform case, which is conjectured to be NP-hard, we first present two observations from space and time aspects to remove some impossible scheduling choices, and we propose our heuristic algorithm, ClusterCharging(β), which clusters sensors into groups and divides a scheduling cycle into charging rounds. Its approximation ratio is also presented. Extensive evaluations confirm the efficiency of our algorithms.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of botanically derived inhibitors of 5-alpha-reductase in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

BACKGROUND
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is characterized by the structural miniaturization of androgen-sensitive hair follicles in susceptible individuals and is anatomically defined within a given pattern of the scalp. Biochemically, one contributing factor of this disorder is the conversion of testosterone (T) to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) via the enzyme 5-alpha reductase (5AR). This metabolism is also key to the onset and progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Furthermore, AGA has also been shown to be responsive to drugs and agents used to treat BPH. Of note, certain botanical compounds have previously demonstrated efficacy against BPH. Here, we report the first example of a placebo-controlled, double-blind study undertaken in order to examine the benefit of these botanical substances in the treatment of AGA.


OBJECTIVES
The goal of this study was to test botanically derived 5AR inhibitors, specifically the liposterolic extract of Serenoa repens (LSESr) and beta-sitosterol, in the treatment of AGA.


SUBJECTS
Included in this study were males between the ages of 23 and 64 years of age, in good health, with mild to moderate AGA.


RESULTS
The results of this pilot study showed a highly positive response to treatment. The blinded investigative staff assessment report showed that 60% of (6/10) study subjects dosed with the active study formulation were rated as improved at the final visit.


CONCLUSIONS
This study establishes the effectiveness of naturally occurring 5AR inhibitors against AGA for the first time, and justifies the expansion to larger trials.
Strong and electromagnetic decays for excited heavy mesons

We discuss a model for heavy mesons where the light quark (u or d) moves in the colour electric field from a heavy quark (c or b) placed in the center of the bag. We calculate energy spectra for pionic and photonic transitions from excited states. The transition amplitudes and the branching ratios between electromagnetic and pionic transitions compares favorable with the limited amount of known experimental data.
Torsional Interharmonic Interaction Study of 75 MW Direct-Driven VSDS Motor Compressor Trains for LNG Duty

In all-electric-driven liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, converter-fed synchronous motors up to a power of 100 MW are being offered. During operation of compressor trains by a variable speed drive system (VSDS), integer and noninteger harmonics are generated in the converter. Intersections of integer harmonics with relevant torsional natural frequencies of the system can generally be avoided within the operating-speed range. The intersections of the noninteger excitation frequencies with torsional natural frequencies within the operating-speed range cannot be eliminated if the train is designed to operate below and above a motor supply frequency of approximate grid frequency. The generated harmonic torque excitation may have an essential impact on the torsional behavior and the reliability of the entire train and ultimately the reliability of the whole LNG plant. TORSIONAL INTERHARMONIC INTERACTION STUDY OF 75 MW DIRECT-DRIVENVSDS MOTOR COMPRESSOR TRAINS FOR LNG DUTY
Two-dimensional ultrasonic anemometer using the directivity angle of an ultrasonic sensor

There has been continuous research on the ultrasonic sensors [L.C. Lynnworth, Y. Liu, Ultasonic flowmeters: half-century progress report 1955–2005, Ultrasonics (2006) 1371–1378]. This study used the directivity characteristic based on phase measurement, which ultrasonic sensor has. Transmitter has wide directivity, and in its range of directivity, receivers are located to measure wind direction and velocity. The velocity experiments which are the result of this production system indicate that the system error rate is 2%. The wind direction measurements also give the same result, an error of 731. This result is similar to existing anemometers. However, this new anemometer could possibly have a much higher sampling rate, operating circuit and system structure, which could be much simpler than the previous anemometer. r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Partition-Theoretic Interpretations of Certain Modular Equations of Schröter, Russell, and Ramanujan

Abstract.We show that certain modular equations studied by Schröoter, Russell, and Ramanujan yield elegant identities for colored partitions.