LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Clinical trial: the efficacy of alverine citrate/simeticone combination on abdominal pain/discomfort in irritable bowel syndrome--a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND
Alverine citrate and simeticone combination has been used for almost 20 years in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but supportive scientific evidence of efficacy was limited.


AIM
To evaluate the efficacy of alverine citrate and simeticone combination in patients with IBS-related abdominal pain/discomfort.


METHODS
A total of 412 IBS patients meeting ROME III criteria were included in this double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study if their abdominal pain/discomfort intensity was at least 60 mm on a 0-100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) during a 2-week run-in treatment-free period. Patients were randomly assigned through the use of Interactive Voice Response System to receive either alverine citrate 60 mg with simeticone 300 mg three times daily or matching placebo for 4 weeks.


RESULTS
The full analysis set included 409 patients (71.4% female: mean age: 46.2 +/- 13.9 years). At week 4, alverine citrate and simeticone group had lower VAS scores of abdominal pain/discomfort (median: 40 mm vs. 50 mm, P = 0.047) and higher responder rate (46.8% vs. 34.3%, OR = 1.3; P = 0.01) as compared with placebo group. Patient receiving alverine citrate and simeticone reported greater global symptom improvement compared with those receiving placebo (P = 0.0001). Reported adverse events were similar in both groups.


CONCLUSION
Alverine citrate/simeticone combination was significantly more effective than placebo in relieving abdominal pain/discomfort in patients with IBS.
A model of design decision making based on empirical results of interviews with software designers

Despite the impact of design decisions on software design, we have little understanding about how design decisions are made. This hinders our ability to provide design metrics, processes and training that support inherent design work. By interviewing 25 software designers and using content analysis and explanation building as our analysis technique, we provide qualitative and quantitative results that highlight aspects of rational and naturalistic decision making in software design. Our qualitative multi-case study results in a model of design decision making to answer the question: how do software designers make design decisions? We find the structure of the design problem determines the aspects of rational and naturalistic decision making used. The more structured the design decision, the less a designer considers options. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Wavelet-based Illumination Compensation for Face Recognition using Eigenface Method

Eigenface is an effective human face recognition technique. However its performance is affected to some extent by lighting conditions in capturing face images. In this paper, a new algorithm for the illumination compensation of face images based on Wavelet transform is proposed. By discarding the low frequency components of a face image and reconstructing the image using the high frequency components only, the influence of lightings on face image recognition can be greatly reduced. Experimental results on Yale face database and our own face database show that the recognition rate of the eigenface method on the lighting compensated images is increased significantly
Computer Assisted Language Learning system based on dynamic question generation and error prediction for automatic speech recognition

We have developed a new Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) system to aid students learning Japanese as a second language. The system offers students the chance to practice elementary Japanese by creating their own sentences based on visual prompts, before receiving feedback on their mistakes. It is designed to detect lexical and grammatical errors in the input sentence as well as pronunciation errors in the speech input. Questions are dynamically generated along with sentence patterns of the lesson point, to realize variety and flexibility of the lesson. Students can give their answers with either text input or speech input. To enhance speech recognition performance, a decision tree-based method is incorporated to predict possible errors made by non-native speakers for each generated sentence on the fly. Trials of the system were conducted by foreign university students, and positive feedback was reported. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Caesarean section surgical techniques: a randomised factorial trial (CAESAR).

OBJECTIVE
  In women undergoing delivery by caesarean section, do the following alternative surgical techniques affect the risk of adverse outcomes: single- versus double-layer closure of the uterine incision; closure versus nonclosure of the pelvic peritoneum; liberal versus restricted use of a subrectus sheath drain?


DESIGN
 Pragmatic, 2 × 2 × 2 factorial randomised controlled trial.


SETTING
 Hospitals in the UK and Italy providing intrapartum care.


POPULATION
 Women undergoing their first caesarean section.


METHODS
 The interventions were alternative approaches to the three aspects of the caesarean section operation. A telephone randomisation service was used. Surgeons could not be masked to allocation, but women were unaware of which allocations had been used. The analysis was by intention-to-treat, with a prespecified subgroup analysis for women 'in labour' or 'not in labour' at the time of caesarean section.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
  Maternal infectious morbidity.


RESULTS
A total of 3033 women were recruited. Overall, the risk of maternal infectious morbidity was 17%. For each pair of interventions, there were no differences between the arms of the trial for the primary outcome: single- versus double-layer closure of the uterine incision [relative risk (RR) = 1.00, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.85-1.18]; closure versus nonclosure of the pelvic peritoneum (RR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.78-1.08); liberal versus restricted use of a subrectus sheath drain (RR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.78-1.09). There were no differences in any of the secondary morbidity outcomes and no significant adverse effects of any of the techniques used.


CONCLUSIONS
These results have implications for clinical practice, particularly in relation to current guidance on the closure of the peritoneum, which suggests that nonclosure is preferable. The potential effects of these different surgical techniques on longer term outcomes, including the functional integrity of the uterine scar during subsequent pregnancies, are now becoming increasingly important for guiding clinical practice.
Efficient 3D shape matching and retrieval using a concrete radialized spherical projection representation

We present a 3D shape retrieval methodology based on the theory of spherical harmonics. Using properties of spherical harmonics, scaling and axial flipping invariance is achieved. Rotation normalization is performed by employing the continuous principal component analysis along with a novel approach which applies PCA on the face normals of the model. The 3D model is decomposed into a set of spherical functions which represents not only the intersections of the corresponding surface with rays emanating from the origin but also points in the direction of each ray which are closer to the origin than the furthest intersection point. The superior performance of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through a comparison against state-of-the-art approaches on standard databases. 2007 Pattern Recognition Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Geographic and educational factors and risk of the first peritonitis episode in Brazilian Peritoneal Dialysis study (BRAZPD) patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Peritonitis remains as the most frequent cause of peritoneal dialysis (PD) failure, impairing patient's outcome. No large multicenter study has addressed socioeconomic, educational, and geographic issues as peritonitis risk factors in countries with a large geographic area and diverse socioeconomic conditions, such as Brazil.


DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
Incident PD patients recruited from 114 dialysis centers and reporting to BRAZPD, a multicenter observational study, from December 2004 through October 2007 were included. Clinical, dialysis-related, demographic, and socioeconomic variables were analyzed. Patients were followed up until their first peritonitis. Cox proportional model was used to determine independent factors associated with peritonitis.


RESULTS
In a cumulative follow-up of 2032 patients during 22.026 patient-months, 474 (23.3%) presented a first peritonitis episode. In contrast to earlier findings, PD modality, previous hemodialysis, diabetes, gender, age, and family income were not risk predictors. Factors independently associated with increased hazard risk were lower educational level, non-white race, region where patients live, shorter distance from dialysis center, and lower number of patients per center.


CONCLUSIONS
Educational level and geographic factors as well as race and center size are associated with risk for the first peritonitis, independent of socioeconomic status, PD modality, and comorbidities.
Computer science concept inventories: past and future

Computer science concept inventories: past and future C. Taylor, D. Zingaro, L. Porter, K.C. Webb, C.B. Lee & M. Clancy a Department of Computer Science, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, USA. b Department of Math and Computer Sciences, University of Toronto, ON, Canada. c Computer Science and Eng. Dept., University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. d Department of Computer Science, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA. e Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. f EECS Computer Science Division, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Published online: 20 Oct 2014.
The use of emotions to create believable agents in a virtual environment

In the past emotions have been dismissed as a distraction to the logical, scientific thought process. More recently however, the importance of emotion in human-like intelligence and behaviour has been identified. This project aims at exploring this aspect of Artificial Intelligence by modeling the ability to display emotions in autonomous software agents within the constraints of a virtual environment. The motivation behind this is to determine whether the behaviour of these agents will cause the human participant to interact with the agent as if interacting with other humans. We have created an Agent-Cocktail Party World for this purpose and an Avatar-Cocktail Party World for the purpose of studying the psychological phenomenon of Ostracism. Our results show that the addition of an emotion-based intelligent component was able to make a statistically significant difference to the experimental condition by creating a more realistic environment in which to simulate the Punitive Ostracism condition.
Evolved pseudo-wavelet function to optimally decompose sEMG for automated classification of localized muscle fatigue.

The purpose of this study was to develop an algorithm for automated muscle fatigue detection in sports related scenarios. Surface electromyography (sEMG) of the biceps muscle was recorded from ten subjects performing semi-isometric (i.e., attempted isometric) contraction until fatigue. For training and testing purposes, the signals were labelled in two classes (Non-Fatigue and Fatigue), with the labelling being determined by a fuzzy classifier using elbow angle and its standard deviation as inputs. A genetic algorithm was used for evolving a pseudo-wavelet function for optimising the detection of muscle fatigue on any unseen sEMG signals. Tuning of the generalised evolved pseudo-wavelet function was based on the decomposition of twenty sEMG trials. After completing twenty independent pseudo-wavelet evolution runs, the best run was selected and then tested on ten previously unseen sEMG trials to measure the classification performance. Results show that an evolved pseudo-wavelet improved the classification of muscle fatigue between 7.31% and 13.15% when compared to other wavelet functions, giving an average correct classification of 88.41%.
Cost-effectiveness of critical time intervention to reduce homelessness among persons with mental illness.

OBJECTIVES
Cost-effective programs are needed to assist homeless persons with severe mental illness in their transition from shelters to community living. The authors investigated the cost-effectiveness of the critical time intervention program, a time-limited adaptation of intensive case management, which has been shown to significantly reduce recurrent homelessness among men with severe mental illness.


METHOD
S: Ninety-six study participants recruited from a psychiatric program in a men's public shelter from 1991 to 1993 were randomly assigned to the critical time intervention program or to usual services. Costs and housing outcomes for the two groups were examined over 18 months.


RESULTS
Over the study period, the critical time intervention group and the usual services group incurred mean costs of 52,374 dollars and 51,649 dollars, respectively, for acute care services, outpatient services, housing and shelter services, criminal justice services, and transfer income. During the same period, the critical time intervention group experienced significantly fewer homeless nights than the usual care group (32 nights versus 90 nights). For each willingness-to-pay value--the additional price society is willing to spend for an additional nonhomeless night--greater than 152 dollars, the critical time intervention group exhibited a significantly greater net housing stability benefit, indicating cost-effectiveness, compared with usual care.


CONCLUSION
S: Although difficult to conduct, studies of the cost-effectiveness of community mental health programs can yield rich information for policy makers and program planners. The critical time intervention program is not only an effective method to reduce recurrent homelessness among persons with severe mental illness but also represents a cost-effective alternative to the status quo.
Cytology in the diagnosis of cervical cancer in symptomatic young women: a retrospective review

BACKGROUND
Cervical cancer in young women presents a diagnostic challenge because gynaecological symptoms are common but underlying disease is rare.


AIM
To explore the potential for using cytology as a diagnostic aid for cervical cancer in young women.


DESIGN AND SETTING
Retrospective review of primary care records and cytology data from the national cervical screening database and national audit of cervical cancers.


METHOD
Four datasets of women aged 20-29 years in England were examined: primary care records and national screening data from an in-depth study of cervical cancers; cytology from the national audit of cervical cancers; whole-population cytology from the national screening database; and general-population primary care records from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. The authors explored the sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) of symptomatic cytology (earliest <12 months before diagnosis) to cervical cancer.


RESULTS
The estimated prevalence of cervical cancer among symptomatic women was between 0.4% and 0.9%. The sensitivity of moderate dyskaryosis (high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion [HSIL]) or worse in women aged 20-29 years was 90.9% to 96.2% across datasets, regardless of symptom status. The PPV was estimated to be between 10.0% and 30.0%. For women aged 20-24 years, the PPV of '?invasive squamous carcinoma' was 25.4%, and 2.0% for severe or worse cytology.


CONCLUSION
Cytology has value beyond screening, and could be used as a diagnostic aid for earlier detection of cervical cancer in young women with gynaecological symptoms by ruling in urgent referral.
Atrial fibrillation ablation using a robotic catheter remote control system: initial human experience and long-term follow-up results.

OBJECTIVES
We present the initial clinical human experience with the use of a robotic remote navigation system (Hansen Medical, Mountain View, California), to perform left and right atrial mapping and radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL).


BACKGROUND
Catheter ablation is an established curative modality for various arrhythmias. A robotic steerable sheath system (SSS) (Hansen Medical) allows better catheter stability and greater degrees of freedom of catheter movement.


METHODS
A total of 40 patients (mean age 57 years) with antiarrhythmic drug (AAD)-refractory AF (23 had also concomitant documented typical AFL) were studied. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the corresponding atrial chamber anatomy was performed with the CARTO electroanatomic mapping system (Biosense Webster, Diamond Bar, California or the EnSite NavX system (St. Jude Medical, Minneapolis, Minnesota) in combination with the Artisan catheter (Hansen Medical). In patients undergoing AF ablation, 2 transseptal punctures were performed under intracardiac ultrasound (ICE) guidance, with one of the punctures being performed using SSS. Pulmonary vein antrum isolation was performed with a 3.5-mm thermocool catheter manipulated with the use of the SSS and was verified by circular mapping. Patients were followed clinically for recurrence of arrhythmia with an event transmitter and ambulatory holter monitoring. Clinical recurrence of AF/AFL was defined as AF/AFL episodes >1 min in duration.


RESULTS
Pulmonary vein antrum isolation was performed in 40 patients, including 23 with concomitant typical AFL ablation. All pulmonary veins, including the superior vena cava, were successfully isolated. In 23 of 40 patients, cavotricuspid ablation was also performed with bidirectional block obtained. At 1-year follow-up, 34 patients (86%) and 5 patients were free from atrial arrhythmia off AADs and on AADs, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This preliminary human experience suggests that mapping and ablation of AFL and AF using this novel robotic catheter with remote control system is feasible with similar results to conventional approach.
A Joint Flexible Econometric Model System of Household Residential Location and Vehicle Fleet Composition/Usage Choices

Modeling the interaction between the built environment and travel behavior is of much interest to transportation planning professionals due to the desire to curb vehicular travel demand through modifications to built environment attributes. However, such models need to take into account self-selection effects in residential location choice, wherein households choose to reside in neighborhoods and built environments that are conducive to their lifestyle preferences and attitudes. This phenomenon, well-recognized in the literature, calls for the specification and estimation of joint models of multi-dimensional land use and travel choice processes. However, the estimation of such model systems that explicitly account for the presence of unobserved factors that jointly impact multiple choice dimensions is extremely complex and computationally intensive. This paper presents a joint GEV-based logit regression model of residential location choice, vehicle count by type choice, and vehicle usage (vehicle miles of travel) using a copulabased framework that facilitates the estimation of joint equations systems with error dependence structures within a simple and flexible closed-form analytic framework. The model system is estimated on a sample derived from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area Household Travel Survey. Estimation results show that there is significant dependency among the choice dimensions and that self-selection effects cannot be ignored when modeling land use-travel behavior interactions.
Optimization of Nutritional Constitute for Enhanced Alpha amylase Production Using by Solid State Fermentation Technology

Microbial Alpha amylase is highly demanded industrial enzyme in various sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food, textile and detergents, etc. In this study optimized alpha amylase Production by a strain of Bacillus Subtilis MAFE 118079 in solid state fermentation (SSF) was initiated and Rice bran was used substrate for alpha amylase production. Linear multiple regression analysis showed that maximum amount of amylase production is 1457.7 U/g in 48 h. process optimized enzyme titre, which was maximum (2311.1 U/g) with pH:7 when SSF was carried out at 37°C for 48 h using a substrate with 75% initial moister. Supplementation different carbon sources the soluble starch and glucose enhanced enzyme production (Which was maximum 2311.1 U/g) with 1%. And studied on the effect of different nitrogen sources results were showed a positive impact on enzyme synthesis. In different mineral sources calcium which has result in maximum enzyme production shows (1502.2 U/g) with 0.1%. The results of present study suggest that Bacillus subtilis MAFE 118079 can be used for the alpha amylase production to cover the growing need of this enzyme in detergent industrial purposes.
Risk of surgery and anesthesia for ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND
The goal of this study was to determine if the combination of surgery and anesthesia is an independent risk factor for the development of incident (first-time) ischemic stroke.


METHODS
All residents of Rochester, MN, with incident ischemic stroke from 1960 through 1984 (1,455 cases and 1,455 age- and gender-matched controls) were used to identify risk factors associated with ischemic stroke. Cases and controls undergoing surgery involving general anesthesia or central neuroaxis blockade before their stroke/index date of diagnosis were identified. A conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratio of surgery and anesthesia for ischemic stroke while adjusting for other known risk factors.


RESULTS
There were 59 cases and 17 controls having surgery within 30 days before their stroke/index date. After adjusting for previously identified risk factors, surgery within 30 days before the stroke/index date (perioperative period) was found to be an independent risk factor for stroke (P<0.001; odds ratio, 3.9; 95% confidence interval, 2.1-7.4). In an analysis that excluded matched pairs where the case and/or control underwent surgery considered "high risk" for stroke (cardiac, neurologic, or vascular procedures), "non-high-risk surgery" was also found to be an independent risk factor for perioperative stroke (P = 0.002; odds ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-5.7).


CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that there is an increased risk of ischemic stroke in the 30 days after surgery and anesthesia. This risk remains elevated even after excluding surgeries (cardiac, neurologic, and vascular surgeries) considered to be high risk for ischemic stroke.
A Novel Five-Level Voltage Source Inverter With Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulator for Medium-Voltage Applications

This paper proposes a new five-level voltage source inverter for medium-voltage high-power applications. The proposed inverter is based on the upgrade of a four-level nested neutral-point clamped converter. This inverter can operate over a wide range of voltages without the need for connecting power semiconductor in series, has high-quality output voltage and fewer components compared to other classic five-level topologies. The features and operation of the proposed converter are studied and a simple sinusoidal PWM scheme is developed to control and balance the flying capacitors to their desired values. The performance of the proposed converter is evaluated by simulation and experimental results.