LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Health outcomes of continuous positive airway pressure versus oral appliance treatment for obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized controlled trial.

RATIONALE
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and mandibular advancement device (MAD) therapy are commonly used to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Differences in efficacy and compliance of these treatments are likely to influence improvements in health outcomes.


OBJECTIVES
To compare health effects after 1 month of optimal CPAP and MAD therapy in OSA.


METHODS
In this randomized crossover trial, we compared the effects of 1 month each of CPAP and MAD treatment on cardiovascular and neurobehavioral outcomes.


MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Cardiovascular (24-h blood pressure, arterial stiffness), neurobehavioral (subjective sleepiness, driving simulator performance), and quality of life (Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire, Short Form-36) were compared between treatments. Our primary outcome was 24-hour mean arterial pressure. A total of 126 patients with moderate-severe OSA (apnea hypopnea index [AHI], 25.6 [SD 12.3]) were randomly assigned to a treatment order and 108 completed the trial with both devices. CPAP was more efficacious than MAD in reducing AHI (CPAP AHI, 4.5 ± 6.6/h; MAD AHI, 11.1 ± 12.1/h; P < 0.01) but reported compliance was higher on MAD (MAD, 6.50 ± 1.3 h per night vs. CPAP, 5.20 ± 2 h per night; P < 0.00001). The 24-hour mean arterial pressure was not inferior on treatment with MAD compared with CPAP (CPAP-MAD difference, 0.2 mm Hg [95% confidence interval, -0.7 to 1.1]); however, overall, neither treatment improved blood pressure. In contrast, sleepiness, driving simulator performance, and disease-specific quality of life improved on both treatments by similar amounts, although MAD was superior to CPAP for improving four general quality-of-life domains.


CONCLUSIONS
Important health outcomes were similar after 1 month of optimal MAD and CPAP treatment in patients with moderate-severe OSA. The results may be explained by greater efficacy of CPAP being offset by inferior compliance relative to MAD, resulting in similar effectiveness. Clinical trial registered with https://www.anzctr.org.au (ACTRN 12607000289415).
Complete versus partial distal embolic protection during renal artery stenting.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether complete embolic protection is superior to partial embolic protection for preservation of kidney function during renal artery angioplasty and stenting.


BACKGROUND
Renal artery angioplasty and stenting (RAAS) is a common treatment for atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis. However, RAAS may be complicated by peri-procedural loss of kidney function.


METHODS
In total, 44 patients were randomized to embolic protection devices (EPD) use; 25 complete and 19 partial embolic protection. These patients were further randomized to receive abciximab (n = 23) or placebo (n = 21). [corrected] MDRD glomerular filtration rate (GFR), was used as the primary measure of renal function. Creatinine was measured by a modified Jaffe reaction using the IDMS-traceable assay. The primary endpoint was the percent change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 1 month following stent placement.


RESULTS
There was no difference in percent change eGFR at 1 month between complete or partial protection (-4 +/- 25 vs. +3 +/- 30, P = 0.45). Abciximab was associated with a net improvement in eGFR when compared with placebo (+0.5 +/- 27 vs. -11 +/- 20, P = 0.04). On subgroup analysis, the use of abciximab was associated with significantly improved eGFR in the partial distal embolic protection group (+14 +/- 33 vs. -17 +/- 13 %, P = 0.018) but not in the complete distal embolic protection group (+2.5 +/- 26 vs. -11 +/- 24, P = 0.42), however, there was no interaction between completeness of protection and abciximab on eGFR (P = ns). Capture of embolic material was more likely with complete protection when compared with those receiving partial protection (51% vs. 21%, P < 0.05).


CONCLUSION
Complete protection was superior to partial protection for the capture of athermanous debris during renal artery stenting. However, this was not associated with improved renal function. Importantly, Abciximab conferred a benefit for renal function that was independent of the degree of embolic protection.
Maritime welfare facilities - utilization and relevance for the compensation of shipboard stress

Background
Maritime welfare institutions enable crew members of ships to use different recreation facilities ashore during their work assignments aboard. This study analyses the shipcrew members' need and their usage behavior of maritime welfare facilities that can be visited free of charge while their ship is in port.


Methods
A medically trained scientist interviewed 316 seafarers during 22 ship voyages. In addition, interviews were performed in 8 stations of the German Seamen's Missions.


Results
Port stay of the vessels accounted for 43.6% of the entire voyage duration. 279 seafarers (88.3%) stated having had opportunities for shore leave in order to visit maritime welfare facilities. Officers less often stated possibilities for shore leave than ratings (OR 0.40; 95%CI 0.24-0.67). The main reasons for shore leave were to contact family and friends and distraction from the everyday work on board. Short stays in port, a high workload and limited opportunities for reaching the welfare facilities were main obstacles to shore leave. Furthermore, several seafarers complained about poor information on board about the facilities. Among the various welfare institutions, a "very high importance" was attributed to Seamen's Missions and religious facilities (40% of the non-European seafarers - especially from Asia - and approx. 10% of the Europeans).


Conclusion
This study reveals sufficient time periods for seafarers to leave the vessel in port, mainly depending on the number of terminals to be called at. During the vessels' port stay, a reduced workload for the shipping crew can be achieved by transferring several routine tasks to shoreside personnel. Furthermore, more attention should be paid to the accessibility of the welfare facilities and to better information about their offers. Measures should be taken to facilitate visits to maritime welfare facilities as an important refuge for seafarers.
The distance correlation t-test of independence in high dimension

AMS subject classifications: primary 62G10 secondary 62H20 Keywords: dCor dCov Multivariate independence Distance covariance Distance correlation High dimension a b s t r a c t Distance correlation is extended to the problem of testing the independence of random vectors in high dimension. Distance correlation characterizes independence and determines a test of multivariate independence for random vectors in arbitrary dimension. In this work, a modified distance correlation statistic is proposed, such that under independence the distribution of a transformation of the statistic converges to Student t, as dimension tends to infinity. Thus we obtain a distance correlation t-test for independence of random vectors in arbitrarily high dimension, applicable under standard conditions on the coordinates that ensure the validity of certain limit theorems. This new test is based on an unbiased es-timator of distance covariance, and the resulting t-test is unbiased for every sample size greater than three and all significance levels. The transformed statistic is approximately normal under independence for sample size greater than nine, providing an informative sample coefficient that is easily interpretable for high dimensional data. 1. Introduction Many applications in genomics, medicine, engineering, etc. require analysis of high dimensional data. Time series data can also be viewed as high dimensional data. Objects can be represented by their characteristics or features as vectors p. In this work, we consider the extension of distance correlation to the problem of testing independence of random vectors in arbitrarily high, not necessarily equal dimensions, so the dimension p of the feature space of a random vector is typically large. measure all types of dependence between random vectors in arbitrary, not necessarily equal dimensions. (See Section 2 for definitions.) Distance correlation takes values in [0, 1] and is equal to zero if and only if independence holds. It is more general than the classical Pearson product moment correlation, providing a scalar measure of multivariate independence that characterizes independence of random vectors. The distance covariance test of independence is consistent against all dependent alternatives with finite second moments. In practice, however, researchers are often interested in interpreting the numerical value of distance correlation, without a formal test. For example, given an array of distance correlation statistics, what can one learn about the strength of dependence relations from the dCor statistics without a formal test? This is in fact, a difficult question, but a solution is finally available for a large class of problems. The …
Effect of preoperative topical diclofenac on intraocular interleukin-12 concentration and macular edema after cataract surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy: a randomized controlled trial

AIM
To determine if preoperative treatment with a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) lowers the concentration of intraocular interleukin (IL)-12 and the incidence of postoperative macular edema in patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy undergoing cataract surgery.


METHODS
A total of 55 patients were randomized to diclofenac (n=27) or placebo (n=28). Patients receiving diclofenac started preoperative treatment with 0.1% topical diclofenac four times a day 7 days before cataract surgery and the therapy was discontinued 30 days after surgery. Patients in the control group were administered placebo 7 days preoperatively and a standard postoperative therapy with 0.1% topical dexamethasone four times a day for 30 days after surgery. All patients received postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis with tobramycin eye drops four times daily for 30 days. Seven days before the cataract surgery, on the day of surgery, and 1, 7, 30, and 90 days after surgery, central foveal thickness (CFT) was measured with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the aqueous humor was sampled at the beginning of cataract surgery for the analysis of IL-12 concentration. Due to loss to follow-up and insufficient aqueous humor samples, the data of 3 patients treated with diclofenac and 8 patients receiving placebo were not analyzed.


RESULTS
The aqueous humor IL-12 concentration was significantly lower in the diclofenac group than in the placebo group (t=-2.85, p=0.007). The diclofenac group had a significantly smaller increase in CFT after phacoemulsification (F=13.57, p<0.001).


CONCLUSION
Patients preoperatively treated with diclofenac had significantly lower intraocular levels of IL-12 and a lower increase in CFT, which indicates that a combination of preoperative and postoperative treatment with a topical NSAID may lower the incidence of postoperative macular edema in patients with diabetic retinopathy.
Minimally invasive surgery: lateral approach interbody fusion: results and review.

STUDY DESIGN
A retrospective review of patients treated at 2 institutions with anterior lumbar interbody fusion using a minimally invasive lateral retroperitoneal approach, and review of literature.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the outcomes from historical literature and from a retrospectively compiled database of patients having undergone anterior interbody fusions performed through a lateral approach.


SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA
A paucity of published literature exists describing outcomes following lateral approach fusion surgery.


METHODS
Patients treated with extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) were identified through retrospective chart review. Treatment variables included operating room (OR) time, estimated blood loss (EBL), length of hospital stay (LOS), complications, and fusion rate. A literature review, using the National Center for Biotechnology Information databases PubMed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar, yielded 14 peer-reviewed articles reporting outcomes scoring, complications, fusion status, long-term follow-up, and radiographic assessments related to XLIF. Published XLIF results were summarized and evaluated with current study data.


RESULTS
A total of 84 XLIF patients were included in the current cohort analysis. OR time, EBL, and length of hospital stay averaged 199 minutes, 155 mL, and 2.6 days, respectively, and perioperative and postoperative complication rates were 2.4% and 6.1%. Mean follow-up was 15.7 months. Sixty-eight patients showed evidence of solid arthrodesis and no subsidence on computed tomography and flexion/extension radiographs. Results were within the ranges of those in the literature. Literature review identified reports of significant improvements in clinical outcomes scores, radiographic measures, and cost effectiveness.


CONCLUSION
Current data corroborates and contributes to the existing body of literature describing XLIF outcomes. Procedures are generally performed with short OR times, minimal EBL, and few complications. Patients recover quickly, requiring minimal hospital stay, although transient hip/thigh pain and/or weakness is common. Long-term outcomes are generally favorable, with maintained improvements in patient-reported pain and function scores as well as radiographic parameters, including high rates of fusion.
Compact and wideband optical 90° hybrid based on a one-way tapered MMI coupler

We report compact and wideband 90° hybrid with a one-way tapered 4×4 MMI waveguide. The fabricated device with a device length of 198 µm exhibited a phase deviation of &#60;±5.4° over a 70-nm-wide spectral range.
An instrument for measuring health-related quality of life in patients with Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT): development and validation of Deep Venous Thrombosis Quality of Life (DVTQOL) questionnaire

BACKGROUND
Few studies have evaluated patient-reported outcomes in connection with a primary event of deep venous thrombosis, partly due to a lack of disease-specific measures. The aim here was to develop a disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQL) measure, the deep venous thrombosis quality of life questionnaire (DVTQOL), for patients with recent exposition and treatment of proximal deep venous thrombosis.


METHODS
A total of 121 consecutive outpatients (50 % males; mean age 61.2 +/- 14 years) treated with warfarin (Waran) for symptomatic proximal deep venous thrombosis were included in the study. Patients completed the SF-36, EQ-5D and the pilot version of the DVTQOL.


RESULTS
Items having: high ceiling and floor effect, items with lower factor loadings than 0.50 and items loading in several factors were removed from the pilot version of DVTQOL. In addition, overlapping and redundant items identified by the Rasch analysis were excluded. The final DVTQOL questionnaire consists of 29 items composing six dimensions depicting problems with: emotional distress; symptoms (e.g. pain, swollen ankles, cramp, bruising); limitation in physical activity; hassle with coagulation monitoring; sleep disturbance; and dietary problems. The internal consistency reliability was high (alpha value ranged from 0.79 to 0.93). The relevant domains of the SF-36 and EQ-5D significantly correlated with DVTQOL, thereby confirming its construct validity.


CONCLUSIONS
The DVTQOL is a short and user-friendly instrument with good reliability and validity. Its test-retest reliability and responsiveness to change in clinical trials, however, must be explored.
Cardiac tests in asymptomatic type 2 diabetics.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the use of noninvasive procedures for the detection of myocardial ischemia and its relation with other coexistent clinical factors in patients with asymptomatic type 2 diabetes mellitus.


SUBJECTS AND METHODS
A total of 42 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, aged 41-72 years with no clinical history suggestive of coronary heart disease, were evaluated for silent myocardial ischemia by stress cardiac exercise tolerance test (ETT), 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG), transthoracic echocardiography and stress myocardial perfusion scan using technetium-99m tetrofosmin.


RESULTS
Eleven patients (26.2%) showed an ischemic pattern on ETT, the resting ECG was suggestive of ischemia in only 2 (4.8%), echocardiography showed diastolic dysfunction in 9 (21.4%), and the stress myocardial perfusion scan was ischemic in 3 (7.3%). For subjects over the age of 57, a significant difference was found between age and ischemic ETT (p = 0.026) and diastolic dysfunction by echocardiography (p = 0.044). Patients with microalbuminuria and/or diastolic dysfunction were more likely than others to have ischemic ETT (p = 0.036 and 0.024, respectively) and patients with diastolic dysfunction had a higher prevalence of ischemic ETT. There was no relation between ischemic ETT and other major cardiac risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, sex, duration of diabetes, BMI, and glycated hemoglobin levels).


CONCLUSION
The cardiac ETT was most helpful for detecting myocardial ischemia in asymptomic type 2 diabetics. For equivocal ETT findings, echocardiography is recommended. The prevalence of myocardial ischemia was high in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Burnout Evaluation of Radiation Residents Nationwide: Results of a Survey of United States Residents.

PURPOSE
To assess rates of burnout among US radiation oncology residents and evaluate program/resident factors associated with burnout.


METHODS AND MATERIALS
A nationwide survey was distributed to residents in all US radiation oncology programs. The survey included the Maslach Burnout Index-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) as well as demographic and program-specific questions tailored to radiation oncology residents. Primary endpoints included rates of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment from MBI-HSS subscale scores. Binomial logistic models determined associations between various residency/resident characteristics and high burnout levels.


RESULTS
Overall, 232 of 733 residents (31.2%) responded, with 205 of 733 (27.9%) completing the MBI-HSS. High levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were reported in 28.3% and 17.1%, respectively; 33.1% experienced a high burnout level on at least 1 of these 2 MBI-HSS subscales. Low rates of personal accomplishment occurred in 12% of residents. Twelve residents (5.9%) reported feeling "at the end of my rope" on a weekly basis or more. On multivariable analysis there was a statistically significant inverse association between perceived adequacy of work-life balance (odds ratio 0.37; 95% confidence interval 0.17-0.83) and burnout.


CONCLUSIONS
Approximately one-third of radiation oncology residents have high levels of burnout symptoms, consistent with previous oncology literature, but lower levels than those among physicians and residents of other specialties. Particularly concerning was that more than 1 in 20 felt "at the end of my rope" on a weekly basis or more. Targeted interventions to identify symptoms of burnout among radiation oncology residents may help to prevent the negative downstream consequences of this syndrome.
Tone production, tone perception and Kammu tonogenesis

The Northern and Western dialects of the Mon-Khmer language Kammu use fundamental frequency to distinguish words, while the Eastern dialect relies on the contrastive voicing of initial consonants to distinguish words which display an F0 contrast in the other dialects. The production and perception of tones in the three dialects is investigated, using recordings and perception tests. As expected, Northern and Western Kammu speakers do use F0 to distinguish words, as seen both in their production and in perception tests, which show that they could distinguish small F0 differences. In contrast, Eastern Kammu speakers neither produce nor perceive F0 differences at the lexical level. Furthermore, the voiceless and voiced stops in Eastern Kammu cause smaller F0 perturbations in the following vowel than might be expected for a language undergoing tonogenesis. The significance of these results for tonogenesis is discussed, as well as their relevance for the notion of ‘tone language’.
On maximal antipodal spherical codes with few distances

Using linear programming techniques we derive bounds for antipodal spherical codes. The possibilities for attaining our bounds are investigated and Lloyd-type theorems are proved.
The other side of recovery: validation of the Portuguese version of the subjective experiences of psychosis scale

BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to develop and validate a Portuguese version of The Subjective Experiences of Psychosis Scale (SEPS) for use in Portuguese-speaking populations in order to provide a self-report instrument to assess and monitor dimensions of psychotic experiences, translating patient's perspective and experience in terms of recovery from psychosis.


METHODS
The sample consisted of 30 participants with psychotic disorders who had recently experienced delusions or hallucinations. The SEPS was completed along with other observer-based assessments and self-report questionnaires, such as the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Insight and Treatment Attitudes Questionnaire and the Function Assessment Short Test.


RESULTS
Two main factors representing the positive and negative components of each subscale were identified. We obtained good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the positive and negative components of all subscales. The subscales of SEPS correlated with observer-based assessments and self-report questionnaires.


CONCLUSIONS
The Portuguese version of the SEPS is a useful tool in the assessment and monitoring of psychotic symptoms.
Jean-Luc Nancy : justice, legality and world

Introduction: Justice, Legality and World, Benjamin Hutchens Part I. Justice, Incommensurability and Being 1. From the Imperative to Law, Jean-Luc Nancy 2. The Just Measure, Ian James 3. Nancy, the Event and the Law of Abandoned Being, Francois Raffoul 4. Being Just? Ontology and Incommensurability in Nancy's Notion of Justice, Christopher Watkin 5. The Logical Space of Distribution: Nancy contra Rawls, Benjamin Hutchens Part II. Legality, Body and Language 6. Lapsus Linguae: The Spirit and the Letter, James Gilbert-Walsh 7. Nancy's 'Melee': Writing, Finitude, and Imperative Ethnicity, Ana Luszczynska 8. Critical Legal Aesthetics, Benjamin S. Pryor 9. The Laws of Art: Doing Justice to the Aesthetic, Martta Heikkila 10. Singular Embodiment and the Ethics of Reproduction, Catherine Mills Part III. Justice, Politics and World 11. Nancy, Justice and Democracy, Olivier Marchart 12. Nancy, Justice and the Idea of Communism, Jason Smith 13. Being-in-common, or the Meaning of Globalization, Sean Hand 14. Nancy, Globalization and Postcolonial Humanity, Jane Hiddleston 15. Justice Before and Justice After: Nancy and Ranciere on Creation, Todd May Bibliography Index.