LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Comprehensive discharge planning and home follow-up of hospitalized elders: a randomized clinical trial.

CONTEXT
Comprehensive discharge planning by advanced practice nurses has demonstrated short-term reductions in readmissions of elderly patients, but the benefits of more intensive follow-up of hospitalized elders at risk for poor outcomes after discharge has not been studied.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the effectiveness of an advanced practice nurse-centered discharge planning and home follow-up intervention for elders at risk for hospital readmissions.


DESIGN
Randomized clinical trial with follow-up at 2, 6, 12, and 24 weeks after index hospital discharge.


SETTING
Two urban, academically affiliated hospitals in Philadelphia, Pa.


PARTICIPANTS
Eligible patients were 65 years or older, hospitalized between August 1992 and March 1996, and had 1 of several medical and surgical reasons for admission.


INTERVENTION
Intervention group patients received a comprehensive discharge planning and home follow-up protocol designed specifically for elders at risk for poor outcomes after discharge and implemented by advanced practice nurses.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Readmissions, time to first readmission, acute care visits after discharge, costs, functional status, depression, and patient satisfaction.


RESULTS
A total of 363 patients (186 in the control group and 177 in the intervention group) were enrolled in the study; 70% of intervention and 74% of control subjects completed the trial. Mean age of sample was 75 years; 50% were men and 45% were black. By week 24 after the index hospital discharge, control group patients were more likely than intervention group patients to be readmitted at least once (37.1 % vs 20.3 %; P<.001). Fewer intervention group patients had multiple readmissions (6.2% vs 14.5%; P = .01) and the intervention group had fewer hospital days per patient (1.53 vs 4.09 days; P<.001). Time to first readmission was increased in the intervention group (P<.001). At 24 weeks after discharge, total Medicare reimbursements for health services were about $1.2 million in the control group vs about $0.6 million in the intervention group (P<.001). There were no significant group differences in post-discharge acute care visits, functional status, depression, or patient satisfaction.


CONCLUSIONS
An advanced practice nurse-centered discharge planning and home care intervention for at-risk hospitalized elders reduced readmissions, lengthened the time between discharge and readmission, and decreased the costs of providing health care. Thus, the intervention demonstrated great potential in promoting positive outcomes for hospitalized elders at high risk for rehospitalization while reducing costs.
Cutaneous Force Feedback as a Sensory Subtraction Technique in Haptics

A novel sensory substitution technique is presented. Kinesthetic and cutaneous force feedback are substituted by cutaneous feedback (CF) only, provided by two wearable devices able to apply forces to the index finger and the thumb, while holding a handle during a teleoperation task. The force pattern, fed back to the user while using the cutaneous devices, is similar, in terms of intensity and area of application, to the cutaneous force pattern applied to the finger pad while interacting with a haptic device providing both cutaneous and kinesthetic force feedback. The pattern generated using the cutaneous devices can be thought as a subtraction between the complete haptic feedback (HF) and the kinesthetic part of it. For this reason, we refer to this approach as sensory subtraction instead of sensory substitution. A needle insertion scenario is considered to validate the approach. The haptic device is connected to a virtual environment simulating a needle insertion task. Experiments show that the perception of inserting a needle using the cutaneous-only force feedback is nearly indistinguishable from the one felt by the user while using both cutaneous and kinesthetic feedback. As most of the sensory substitution approaches, the proposed sensory subtraction technique also has the advantage of not suffering from stability issues of teleoperation systems due, for instance, to communication delays. Moreover, experiments show that the sensory subtraction technique outperforms sensory substitution with more conventional visual feedback (VF).
ALTRAN solution to problem #8

In SIGSAM Problem #8 [1], we are interested in the power series expansion of Hn (t) defined by the recurrence relation:[EQUATION]
Factors mediating disclosure in social network sites

In this paper, we explore how privacy settings and privacy policy consumption (reading the privacy policy) affect the relationship between privacy attitudes and disclosure behaviors. We present results from a survey completed by 122 users of Facebook regarding their information disclosure practices and their attitudes about privacy. Based on our data, we develop and evaluate a model for understanding factors that affect how privacy attitudes influence disclosure and discuss implications for social network sites. Our analysis shows that the relationship between privacy attitudes and certain types of disclosures (those furthering contact) are controlled by privacy policy consumption and privacy behaviors. This provides evidence that social network sites could help mitigate concerns about disclosure by providing transparent privacy policies and privacy controls. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Mitral valve repair with Carpentier-McCarthy-Adams IMR ETlogix annuloplasty ring for ischemic mitral regurgitation: early echocardiographic results from a multi-center study.

BACKGROUND
Ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) is associated with asymmetric changes in annular and ventricular geometry. Surgical repair with standard symmetric annuloplasty rings results in a high incidence of residual or recurrent mitral regurgitation (MR). The Carpentier-McCarthy-Adams (CMA) IMR ETlogix annuloplasty ring is the first remodeling ring specifically designed to treat asymmetric leaflet tethering and annular dilatation. We used quantitative 2-dimensional echo to examine early results of mitral valve (MV) repair with the CMA IMR ETlogix annuloplasty ring in patients with IMR.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Fifty-nine patients (aged 68+/-12 years) with grade > or = 2+ IMR (graded on a scale of 0 to 4+) underwent MV repair with the CMA IMR ETlogix annuloplasty ring. We assessed the mitral annular diameter (MAD), tethering area (TA), and tenting height (TH) of the MV in 4-chamber, 2-chamber, and long axis views at mid-systole before and 3 to 10 days after surgery. After surgery, 57 of 59 (97%) patients had grade 0 or 1+ MR, whereas 2 patients had 2+ MR. MV repair with the CMA IMR ETlogix ring significantly reduced MAD, TA, and TH (P<0.001, for all 3 echo views), particularly in the long axis and 4-chamber views.


CONCLUSIONS
Surgical repair of IMR with the novel asymmetric CMA IMR ETlogix annuloplasty ring provided excellent early results with effective reduction of MR, MAD, and leaflet tethering. This novel etiology-specific strategy may result in improved outcomes in IMR patients.
[The values of serum cytokines in chronic lung disease in newborn].

INTRODUCTION
Chronic lung disease in the newborn is a complication of mechanical ventilation. The diagnosis of chronic lung disease is made in children of over 36 post-conceptual weeks' age who still require additional oxygen and who have abnormal chest x-ray findings. This study was aimed at triaging newborns at risk of developing chronic lung disease. The operating study hypothesis was that the values of insulin-like growth factor I below 30 microg/L in the 33rd post-conceptual week were associated with the development of chronic lung disease.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
The above hypothesis was verified by a cohort, prospective study, which included preterm newborns of 33 gestational weeks' age or less who were hospitalised at the Department of Neonatology of the Clinical Centre of Montenegro from Aril 2008 to July 2009. The blood sample was taken in the 33rd post-conceptual week and the insulin-like growth factor value was determined by the method of enzyme immunoassay.


RESULTS
Our study results confirmed the theory of statistically significant correlation of the length of pregnancy and birth body weight with insulin-like growth factor serum level.


DISCUSSION
We did not find any statistically significant correlation between the insulin-like growth factor serum value and chronic lung disease in the newborn. It is possible that the insulin-like growth factor has a different role at various stages of pathogenesis of diseases of prematurity.


CONCLUSION
We believe that by correcting the term for determining the levels we can get a significant correlation between low values of insulin-like growth factor -1 and chronic lung disease.
Patient related functional outcome after total wrist arthroplasty: a single center study of 206 cases.

OBJECTIVES
To prospectively evaluate patient related outcome measures after total wrist arthroplasty (TWA) using four different total wrist implants operated at a single referral center in Sweden.


METHODS
206 primary TWAs were assessed preoperatively and after one year postoperatively with respect to the following eight outcome measures: Range of motion (flexion/extension, radial/ulnar deviation, pronation/supination), hand grip strength, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), performance and satisfaction, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores at rest and in activity.


RESULTS
The Maestro TWA had a significantly greater improvement of radial/ulnar deviation than the Biax and Remotion TWAs. COPM performance and satisfaction improved more for the Maestro and Universal 2 prostheses than the Biax and Remotion.


CONCLUSIONS
All four TWAs offer reduced VAS-scores and improved COPM-scores with preserved hand grip strength and somewhat improved range of motion. The Maestro TWA performed favorably compared to the Remotion TWA. Implant design may affect patient related outcome.
Esthetic potential of single-implant provisional restorations: selection criteria of available alternatives.

UNLABELLED
Provisional implant restorations are essential tools used to optimize the esthetic outcomes for single-tooth implant restorations. This article describes three groups of available alternatives and the specific options within each group including removable prostheses (interim removable partial denture, vacuum-formed appliance), tooth-supported prostheses (bonded extracted or denture teeth, cast metal or fiber-reinforced resin-bonded fixed partial denture [FPD], wire-retained resin-bonded FPD, acrylic resin provisional FPD), and implant-supported fixed prostheses (implant-retained provisional restoration). Advantages and disadvantages as well as fabrication guidelines for each option are provided. The author proposes that the restorative dentist consider eight criteria in selecting the most appropriate type of provisional prosthesis for a specific patient situation including the esthetic potential, patient comfort, treatment time, laboratory cost, occlusal clearance, ease of removal, durability, and ease of modification. The patient's esthetic expectations are critical in determining the most suitable type of provisional restoration. Esthetically pleasing provisional restorations are part of the evolving implant continuum, making implant dentistry more appealing to practicing dentists and potential patients.


CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Provisional restorations for single implants have evolved from temporary expedients during osseous and soft tissue integration to critical therapeutic tools used to assess patient expectations, communicate with the laboratory, and optimize definitive implant treatment. The selection of the type of provisional restoration may significantly influence esthetics during the period of implant integration and soft tissue healing. However, it is unlikely that there is a direct correlation between the type of provisional restoration used and the esthetic outcome of the definitive prosthesis.
Ultrasound-guided (needle-in-plane) perineural catheter insertion: the effect of catheter-insertion distance on postoperative analgesia.

BACKGROUND
When using ultrasound guidance to place a perineural catheter for a continuous peripheral nerve block, keeping the needle in plane and nerve in short axis results in a perpendicular needle-to-nerve orientation. Many have opined that when placing a perineural catheter via the needle, the acute angle may result in the catheter bypassing the target nerve when advanced beyond the needle tip. Theoretically, greater catheter tip-to-nerve distances result in less local anesthetic-to-nerve contact during the subsequent perineural infusion, leading to inferior analgesia. Although a potential solution may appear obvious-advancing the catheter tip only to the tip of the needle, leaving the catheter tip at the target nerve-this technique has not been prospectively evaluated. We therefore hypothesized that during needle in-plane ultrasound-guided perineural catheter placement, inserting the catheter a minimum distance (0-1 cm) past the needle tip is associated with improved postoperative analgesia compared with inserting the catheter a more traditional 5 to 6 cm past the needle tip.


METHODS
Preoperatively, subjects received a popliteal-sciatic perineural catheter for foot or ankle surgery using ultrasound guidance exclusively. Subjects were randomly assigned to have a single-orifice, flexible catheter inserted either 0 to 1 cm (n = 50) or 5 to 6 cm (n = 50) past the needle tip. All subjects received a single-injection mepivacaine (40 mL of 1.5% with epinephrine) nerve block via the needle, followed by catheter insertion and a ropivacaine 0.2% infusion (basal 6 mL/hr, bolus 4 mL, 30-min lockout), through at least the day after surgery. The primary end point was the average surgical pain as measured with a 0- to 10-point numeric rating scale the day after surgery. Secondary end points included time for catheter insertion, incidence of catheter dislodgement, maximum ("worst") pain scores, opioid requirements, fluid leakage at the catheter site, and the subjective degree of an insensate extremity.


RESULTS
Average pain scores the day after surgery for subjects of the 0- to 1-cm group were a median of 2.5 (interquartile range, 0.0-5.0), compared with 2.0 (interquartile range, 0.0-4.0) for subjects of the 5- to 6-cm group (P = 0.42). Similarly, among the secondary end points, no statistically significant differences were found between the 2 treatment groups. There was a trend of more catheter dislodgements in the minimum-insertion group (5 vs 1; P = 0.20).


CONCLUSIONS
This study did not find evidence to support the hypothesis that, for popliteal-sciatic perineural catheters placed using ultrasound guidance and a needle-in-plane technique, inserting the catheter a minimum distance (0-1 cm) past the needle tip improves (or worsens) postoperative analgesia compared with inserting the catheter a more traditional distance (5-6 cm). Caution is warranted if extrapolating these results to other catheter designs, ultrasound approaches, or anatomic insertion sites.
Relationship between socioeconomic status and quality of life in older adults: a path analysis

The main objective of this study was to determine the relationship between quality of life, social functioning, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, physical function, and socioeconomic status (SES) in community-dwelling older adults. A cross-sectional design was used to examine the relationships. A sample of 193 community-dwelling older adults completed the measurements. Structural equation modeling with full information maximum likelihood in LISREL was used to evaluate the relationships between the latent variables (SES, social functioning, depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, physical function, and quality of life). The path analysis exhibited significant effects of SES on physical function, social functioning, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy (γ = 0.42–0.73), and significant effects in regard to social functioning, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy on quality of life (γ = 0.27–0.61). There was no direct effect of SES on the quality of life. The model fit indices demonstrated a reasonable fit (χ 2 = 98.3, df = 48, p < 0.001), matching the relative Chi-square criterion and the RMSEA criterion. The model explained 55.5 % of the variance of quality of life. The path analysis indicated an indirect effect of SES on the quality of life by social functioning, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy in community-dwelling older adults. Physical function did not have a direct effect on the quality of life. To improve the quality of life in older adults, additional focus is required on the socioeconomic psychosocial differences in the community-dwelling older population.
Croatian Society of Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine: national recommendations for venous blood sampling

Phlebotomy is one of the most complex medical procedures in the diagnosis, management and treatment of patients in healthcare. Since laboratory test results are the basis for a large proportion (60-80%) of medical decisions, any error in the phlebotomy process could have serious consequences. In order to minimize the possibility of errors, phlebotomy procedures should be standardised, well-documented and written instructions should be available at every workstation. Croatia is one of the few European countries that have national guidelines for phlebotomy, besides the universally used CLSI (Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute) H3-A6 Procedures for the Collection of Diagnostic Blood Specimens by Venipuncture; approved Standard-Sixth Edition (CLSI, 2007) and WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines on drawing blood: best practices in phlebotomy (WHO, 2010). However, the growing body of evidence in importance of preanalytical phase management resulted in a need for evidence based revision and expansion of existing recommendations. The Croatian Society for Medical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Working Group for the Preanalytical Phase issued this recommendation. This document is based on the CLSI guideline H3-A6, with significant differences and additional information.
A conceptual and methodological critique of internet addiction research: Towards a model of compensatory internet use

Original citation: Kardefelt-Winther, Daniel (2014) A conceptual and methodological critique of internet addiction research: towards a model of compensatory internet use. LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL Keywords: Internet addiction Compulsive internet use Problematic internet use Compensatory internet use Motivations for internet use a b s t r a c t Internet addiction is a rapidly growing field of research, receiving attention from researchers, journalists and policy makers. Despite much empirical data being collected and analyzed clear results and conclusions are surprisingly absent. This paper argues that conceptual issues and methodological shortcomings surrounding internet addiction research have made theoretical development difficult. An alternative model termed compensatory internet use is presented in an attempt to properly theorize the frequent assumption that people go online to escape real life issues or alleviate dysphoric moods and that this sometimes leads to negative outcomes. An empirical approach to studying compensatory internet use is suggested by combining the psychological literature on internet addiction with research on motivations for internet use. The theoretical argument is that by understanding how motivations mediate the relationship between psychosocial well-being and internet addiction, we can draw conclusions about how online activities may compensate for psychosocial problems. This could help explain why some people keep spending so much time online despite experiencing negative outcomes. There is also a method-ological argument suggesting that in order to accomplish this, research needs to move away from a focus on direct effects models and consider mediation and interaction effects between psychosocial well-being and motivations in the context of internet addiction. This is key to further exploring the notion of internet use as a coping strategy; a proposition often mentioned but rarely investigated. Internet addiction 1 is typically described as a state where an individual has lost control of the internet use and keeps using inter-net excessively to the point where he/she experiences problematic outcomes that negatively affects his/her life (Young & Abreu, 2011). Examples …
Efficacy of LIFT for recurrent anal fistula.

AIM
Ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract (LIFT) is a novel sphincter-preserving technique for anal fistula. This pilot study was designed to evaluate the results in patients with a recurrent fistula.


METHOD
Seventeen patients [nine men; median age 49 (range, 30-76) years] with a recurrent trans-sphincteric fistula were treated with a LIFT procedure between June 2008 and February 2011. All were followed prospectively for a median of 16 (range, 5-27) weeks with clinical examination. Fifteen followed for 13.5 (range, 8-26) months by clinical examination also had three-dimensional (3D) anal ultrasound.


RESULTS
The duration of the procedure was 35 (range, 18-70) min. One patient developed a small local haematoma and one had a subcutaneous infection, but otherwise there was no morbidity. At follow up, 11 (65%) patients had a successful closure, two (12%) had a remaining sinus and four (23%) had a persistent fistula. The incidence of persistent or recurrent fistulae at 13.5 months was six (40%) of 15 patients. No de novo faecal incontinence was reported.


CONCLUSION
LIFT is a safe procedure for patients with recurrent anal fistula, with healing at short-term and medium-term follow-up comparable with or superior to that of other sphincter-preserving techniques. Larger studies with a longer follow up are needed to define the ultimate role of LIFT in patients with recurrence.