LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Bilevel programming: A survey

This paper provides an introductory survey of a class of optimization problems known as bilevel programming. We motivate this class through a simple application, and then proceed with the general formulation of bilevel programs. We consider various cases (linear, linear-quadratic, nonlinear), describe their main properties and give an overview of solution approaches.
Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerance of a New Injection Technique for High- and Low-Molecular-Weight Hyaluronic Acid Hybrid Complexes

OBJECTIVE
Facial aging is characterized by skin laxity and loss of skin elasticity. Hyaluronic acid, a biological component of the extracellular matrix, whose level decreases during aging, plays structural, rheological, and physiological roles in the skin. Hyaluronic acid may possess different molecular weights: low-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid (from 50 kDa) and high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid (just up to 2 million kDa). This monocentric, retrospective, observational study investigates the efficacy, security, and tolerability of a new injective low- and high-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid for facial skin rejuvenation.


METHODS
Eleven women received once a month, for 2 months, 2 mL of the product in the subcutaneous layer of the right and left malar/submalar areas. Facial skin echography, facial skin hydration, elasticity, and transepidermal water loss were assessed before (T 0), after 1 month (T 1), and after 3 months of treatment (T 2). The injective features of the product, physician subjective satisfaction, and patient satisfaction were also reported.


RESULTS
Facial face hydration, elasticity, and transepidermal water loss values significantly improved at T 1 and T 2 (P < .01). Patients were very satisfied at the end of the treatment, and the compound's profit evaluated by the physician was optimal in the absence of local side effects.


CONCLUSIONS
This treatment represents a good treatment option to restore vitality and turgidity of skin presenting the signs of aging in the absence of intolerance symptoms.
My Personal Mobile Language Learning Environment: An Exploration and Classification of Language Learning Possibilities Using the iPhone

Mobile devices can motivate learners through moving language learning from predominantly classroom–based contexts into contexts that are free from time and space. The increasing development of new applications can offer valuable support to the language learning process and can provide a basis for a new self regulated and personal approach to learning. A key challenge for language teachers is to actively explore the potential of mobile technologies in their own learning so that they can support students in using them. The aim of this paper is first to describe the basic theoretical framework of Mobile Learning and Personal Learning Environments. Secondly, it intends to assist language teachers and learners in building their own Mobile Personal Learning Environment providing a useful classification of iPhone applications with a description and examples. The paper concludes with the proposal of ideas for practical, personal language learning scenarios, piloted in an Italian language learning context. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2467-2.ch017
Pain in the lumbar, thoracic or cervical regions: do age and gender matter? A population-based study of 34,902 Danish twins 20–71 years of age

BACKGROUND
It is unclear to what extent spinal pain varies between genders and in relation to age. It was the purpose of this study to describe the self-reported prevalence of 1) pain ever and pain in the past year in each of the three spinal regions, 2) the duration of such pain over the past year, 3) pain radiating from these areas, and 4) pain in one, two or three areas. In addition, 5) to investigate if spinal pain reporting is affected by gender and 6) to see if it increases gradually with increasing age.


METHOD
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2002 on 34,902 twin individuals, aged 20 to 71 years, representative of the general Danish population. Identical questions on pain were asked for the lumbar, thoracic and cervical regions.


RESULTS
Low back pain was most common, followed by neck pain with thoracic pain being least common. Pain for at least 30 days in the past year was reported by 12%, 10%, and 4%, respectively. The one-yr prevalence estimates of radiating pain were 22% (leg), 16% (arm), and 5% (chest). Pain in one area only last year was reported by 20%, followed by two (13%) and three areas (8%).Women were always more likely to report pain and they were also more likely to have had pain for longer periods. Lumbar and cervical pain peaked somewhat around the middle years but the curves were flatter for thoracic pain. Similar patterns were noted for radiating pain. Older people did not have pain in a larger number of areas but their pain lasted longer.


CONCLUSION
Pain reported for and from the lumbar and cervical spines was found to be relatively common whereas pain in the thoracic spine and pain radiating into the chest was much less common. Women were, generally, more likely to report pain than men. The prevalence estimates changed surprisingly little over age and were certainly not more common in the oldest groups, although the pain was reported as more long-lasting in the older group.
Low-density extraction solvent-based solvent terminated dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of carbamate pesticides in water samples.

A simple and fast method of low-density extraction solvent-based solvent terminated dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (ST-DLLME) was developed for the highly sensitive determination of carbamate pesticides in the water samples by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MSMS). After dispersing, the obtained emulsion cleared into two phases quickly when an aliquot of acetonitrile was introduced as a chemical demulsifier into the aqueous bulk. Therefore, the developed procedure does not need centrifugation to achieve phase separation. It was convenient for the usage of low-density extraction solvents in DLLME. Under the optimized conditions, the limits of detection for all target carbamate pesticides were in range of 0.001-0.50 ng mL(-1) and the precisions were in the range of 2.3-6.8% (RSDs, 2 ng mL(-1), n=5). The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of real water samples and good spiked recoveries over the range of 94.5-104% were obtained.
Invited commentary: an assessment of maternal intergenerational factors in pregnancy outcome.

Two articles in this issue (1,2) address an important but often-overlooked area of investigation: maternal intergenerational factors in reproductive problems, or "...those factors, conditions, exposures, and environments experienced by one generation that relate to the health, growth, and development of the next generation" (3, p. 27). Coutinho et al. (1) linked infants' birth certificates to mothers' birth certificates in Illinois. They found a consistent decreasing trend in the proportion of infants with low birth weight (<2,500 g) by maternal birth weight for both whites and African Americans and, conversely, an increasing trend for mean infant birth weight. However, at some of the lowest levels of mother's birth weight, the proportions of infant low birth weight were not the highest, nor were infant mean birth weights the lowest. This pattern, in which the lowest-birth-weight mothers did not have the smallest infants, has been seen by other investigators (4-6). One possible explanation is that these mothers had been preterm but healthy and had not been in utero long enough to achieve their genetic potential for prenatal growth. Coutinho et al.'s finding that mother's birth weight was more strongly associated with infant birth weight than was paternal birth weight (1) also sheds light on the relative contributions of genes and environment to low birth weight. In general, it appears, as Coutinho et al. also show, that maternal growth factors—birth weight and adult stature—have stronger relations with fetal growth than do paternal growth factors (7-9).
Fluoroscopically-guided injections to treat "kissing spine" disease.

BACKGROUND
Any spine structure that is innervated by afferent nociceptive nerve fibers is a potential pain generator. In the lumbar spine, the most studied pain generators include: sacroiliac joints, the zygapophysial joints, the intervertebral discs, myofascial structures. Anomalous lumbosacral articulations, the spinous processes, and lumbar spine osteophytes are less commonly reported.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the diagnostic and therapeutic features of "kissing spine" disease or Baastrup's Sign with particular attention to MRI findings and fluoroscopically-guided injection therapy.


DESIGN
A series of 3 patients with axial low back pain presented with exam findings and MRI changes suggestive of pain emanating from adjacent spinous processes that appeared to be in direct contact or very closely opposed. This has been described in the literature as "kissing spine" disease or Baastrup's sign. Fluoroscopically-guided injections were performed and the responses were studied.


RESULTS
The 3 patients had MRI findings consisting of inflammation and/or edema in the spinous processes and surrounding soft tissues. Fluoroscopically-guided injections provided pain relief in all 3 patients. One patient with recurrent pain eventually underwent successful surgical resection of the involved spinous processes.


CONCLUSION
Painful adjacent and closely opposed spinous processes can be a source of axial low back pain. We have described MRI features and the responses to fluoroscopically-guided injections in 3 patients with this condition.
Non-linear field emission characteristics of copper oxide nanorod mesh: Geometrical interpretation of a structurally heterogeneous emitter

Abstract A variety of structurally heterogeneous nanostructured systems are known to exhibit nonlinear field emission characteristics (Fowler-Nordheim Plot). This behavior has earlier been ascribed to various reasons such as the emitter morphology or the state of aggregation of the individual components constituting the nanostructure. Here, we consider a random mesh of Cu 2 O nanorods as a model system, and investigate – both experimentally and analytically – the field emission from the sidewalls of this multi-layered nano-mesh. We show that the strongly non-linear emission characteristics (that is observed experimentally) can be simply and accurately simulated by summing over the emission from the successive layers of a model, multi-layer structure. The successive monolayers are shown to “turn on” at different values of applied voltage, naturally leading to a field-dependent enhancement factor.
START (screening tool to alert doctors to the right treatment)--an evidence-based screening tool to detect prescribing omissions in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND
Inappropriate prescribing encompasses acts of commission i.e. giving drugs that are contraindicated or unsuitable, and acts of omission i.e. failure to prescribe drugs when indicated due to ignorance of evidence base or other irrational basis e.g. ageism. There are considerable published data on the prevalence of inappropriate prescribing; however, there are no recent published data on the prevalence of acts of omission. The aim of this study was to calculate the prevalence of acts of prescribing omission in a population of consecutively hospitalised elderly people.


METHODS
A screening tool (screening tool to alert doctors to the right treatment acronym, START), devised from evidence-based prescribing indicators and arranged according to physiological systems was prepared and validated for identifying prescribing omissions in older adults. Data on active medical problems and prescribed medicines were collected in 600 consecutive elderly patients admitted from the community with acute illness to a teaching hospital. On identification of an omitted medication, the patient's medical records were studied to look for a valid reason for the prescribing omission.


RESULTS
Using the START list, we found one or more prescribing omissions in 57.9% of patients. In order of prevalence, the most common prescribing omissions were: statins in atherosclerotic disease (26%), warfarin in chronic atrial fibrillation (9.5%), anti-platelet therapy in arterial disease (7.3%) and calcium/vitamin D supplementation in symptomatic osteoporosis (6%).


CONCLUSION
Failure to prescribe appropriate medicines is a highly prevalent problem among older people presenting to hospital with acute illness. A validated screening tool (START) is one method of systematically identifying appropriate omitted medicines in clinical practice.
Document overlap detection system for distributed digital libraries

In this paper we introduce the MatchDetectReveal(MDR) system, which is capable of identifying overlapping and plagiarised documents. Each component of the system is briefly described. The matching-engine component uses a modified suffix tree representation, which is able to identify the exact overlapping chunks and its performance is also presented.
Interaction of ethical, market and regulatory issues in the energy industry

Summary form only given. This paper explores the interplay of ethical, market and regulatory issues underlying the transition experiences, and discusses the need to identify and develop best practices to enhance the ethical business environment in the important energy industry. It also encourages the IEEE Power Engineering Society and other professional engineering societies to play an active role in rebuilding confidence in the integrity of the energy industry and solicit suggestions about how federal regulators can help.
Tenofovir discontinuation could predispose to urolithiasis in atazanavir-treated patients.

Urolithiasis has been recognized as a potential complication of antiretroviral therapy. Protease inhibitors are the drugs most commonly involved: indinavir can cause renal colic in about 8% of patients and lopinavir/ritonavir has been associated with seven cases of nephrolithiasis. The occurrence of renal colic during treatment with atazanavir is a rare, but reported event. Here we describe the case of a 43 years-old male patient enrolled in a pilot study evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of treatment simplification to a dual therapy with atazanavir/ritonavir plus lamivudine in HIV-positive patients with optimal virological response (AtLaS study). The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and national and institutional standards and was approved by local ethic committee; signed informed consent was collected from all participants. At baseline, the patient, treated with atazanavir/ ritonavir þ tenofovir þ lamivudine for 4 years, with a CD4 count of 718 cells/mL and an HIV-RNA < 50 copies/mL, without hepatitis B or C co-infection, discontinued tenofovir according to the study design. Eight weeks thereafter he was hospitalized for severe right flank pain and fever. Serum blood exams revealed increased creatinine (1.6 mg/dL) with normal calcium, phosphate and uric acid levels. Urinanalysis showed a pH of 6.5, with no calcium, phosphate and uric acid abnormalities. The same day a spontaneous urinary stone emission occurred. A renal TC scan performed 3 days later revealed a right pyelic dilatation without any other stone. Two stones, weighting 5.9 and 13.6 mg respectively, were analyzed. They were dissolved in 250 mL of 20% H2SO4 and the supernatants were injected in an HPLC-UV apparatus for atazanavir measurement, as previously described. Drug concentrations in the two stones were 3.72 and 3.33 mg/mL. The estimated total amount of atazanavir was 0.93 and 1.08 mg respectively, which corresponded to a percent compositionof atazanavir ranging from7.9% to15.8% (Fig. 1). Four and 12 weeks after tenofovir discontinuation, atazanavir plasma levels increased from 3.84 to 3.89 and 6.27 mg/mL, respectively (all samples collected 9 h after drug intake).
The impact of standard chemotherapy on miRNA signature in plasma in AML patients.

AIM
In our pilot study, we used plasma samples as liquid biopsy to search for miRNA signatures in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at diagnosis and in remission achieved after standard chemotherapy before planned transplantation.


MATERIAL AND METHODS
We examined 10 plasma samples from healthy volunteers and 8 paired samples from patients with AML at diagnosis and in remission using TaqMan MicroRNA Arrays. The results were validated using single-target qPCR reactions run in triplicates.


RESULTS
We selected 6 miRNAs with expressions significantly sensitive to therapy: miR-199b-5p, miR-301b, miR-326, miR-361-5p, miR-625 and miR-655. All selected miRNAs were not or very weakly expressed in healthy individuals. They were abundant in plasma in patients at diagnosis but their levels decreased after chemotherapy.


CONCLUSION
We detected a therapy sensitive miRNA signature in plasma of patients with AML.
Impact of haemoglobin and erythropoietin dose changes on mortality: a secondary analysis of results from a randomized anaemia management trial.

BACKGROUND
Anaemia is a common complication of chronic kidney disease. A number of studies have identified an adverse association between haemoglobin (Hgb) variability and mortality. To date, no study has evaluated the impact of Hgb variability on mortality in the setting of a uniform Hgb target and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) dosing strategy.


METHODS
One hundred and fifty-four haemodialysis (HD) patients from a previous randomized anaemia management study were followed up for up to 6 years. The impact of Hgb variability and ESA dosing parameters on subsequent mortality risk were evaluated.


RESULTS
More rapid rises in Hgb (Hgb deflect(pos)) and ESA dose increases were independently associated with mortality in multivariate analysis, whereas more rapid Hgb declines (Hgb deflect(neg)) and ESA dose decreases were not. Each gram per litre per week increase in Hgb deflect(pos) was associated with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.23 (1.03-1.48), while for every 1000-unit increase in ESA dose, the adjusted HR was 1.12 (1.01-1.24). Factors associated with positive Hgb deflections included frequency and magnitude of ESA dose changes, baseline Hgb, patient weight and presence of an HD catheter.


CONCLUSIONS
Rapid Hgb rises and greater average Eprex dose increases were independently associated with a higher mortality risk in HD patients after adjustment for baseline Hgb and Eprex dose. A randomized controlled trial evaluating different ESA dosing strategies in response to individual patient ESA responsiveness is needed.
Organization of Hospital Nursing and 30-Day Readmissions in Medicare Patients Undergoing Surgery.

BACKGROUND
Growing scrutiny of readmissions has placed hospitals at the center of readmission prevention. Little is known, however, about hospital nursing—a critical organizational component of hospital service system—in relation to readmissions.


OBJECTIVES
To determine the relationships between hospital nursing factors—nurse work environment, nurse staffing, and nurse education—and 30-day readmissions among Medicare patients undergoing general, orthopedic, and vascular surgery.


METHOD AND DESIGN
We linked Medicare patient discharge data, multistate nurse survey data, and American Hospital Association Annual Survey data. Our sample included 220,914 Medicare surgical patients and 25,082 nurses from 528 hospitals in 4 states (California, Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania). Risk-adjusted robust logistic regressions were used for analyses.


RESULTS
The average 30-day readmission rate was 10% in our sample (general surgery: 11%; orthopedic surgery: 8%; vascular surgery: 12%). Readmission rates varied widely across surgical procedures and could be as high as 26% (upper limb and toe amputation for circulatory system disorders). Each additional patient per nurse increased the odds of readmission by 3% (OR=1.03; 95% CI, 1.00-1.05). Patients cared in hospitals with better nurse work environments had lower odds of readmission (OR=0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99). Administrative support to nursing practice (OR=0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.99) and nurse-physician relations (OR=0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99) were 2 main attributes of the work environment that were associated with readmissions.


CONCLUSIONS
Better nurse staffing and work environment were significantly associated with 30-day readmission, and can be considered as system-level interventions to reduce readmissions and associated financial penalties.
Physiotherapy approaches in the treatment of ataxic multiple sclerosis: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE
This study was planned to investigate the efficacy of neuromuscular rehabilitation and Johnstone Pressure Splints in the patients who had ataxic multiple sclerosis.


METHODS
Twenty-six outpatients with multiple sclerosis were the subjects of the study. The control group (n = 13) was given neuromuscular rehabilitation, whereas the study group (n = 13) was treated with Johnstone Pressure Splints in addition.


RESULTS
In pre- and posttreatment data, significant differences were found in sensation, anterior balance, gait parameters, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (p < 0.05). An important difference was observed in walking-on-two-lines data within the groups (p < 0.05). There also was a statistically significant difference in pendular movements and dysdiadakokinesia (p < 0.05). When the posttreatment values were compared, there was no significant difference between sensation, anterior balance, gait parameters, equilibrium and nonequilibrium coordination tests, Expanded Disability Status Scale, cortical onset latency, and central conduction time of somatosensory evoked potentials and motor evoked potentials (p > 0.05). Comparison of values revealed an important difference in cortical onset-P37 peak amplitude of somatosensory evoked potentials (right limbs) in favor of the study group (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
According to our study, it was determined that physiotherapy approaches were effective to decrease the ataxia. We conclude that the combination of suitable physiotherapy techniques is effective multiple sclerosis rehabilitation.
A longitudinal study of prisoners on remand: psychiatric prevalence, incidence and psychopathology in solitary vs. non-solitary confinement.

OBJECTIVE
To compare two levels of stress (solitary confinement (SC) and non-SC) among remand prisoners as to incidence of psychiatric disorders in relation to prevalent disorders.


METHOD
Longitudinal repeated assessments were carried out from the start and during the remand phase of imprisonment. Both interview-based and self-reported measures were applied to 133 remand prisoners in SC and 95 remand prisoners in non-SC randomly selected in a parallel study design.


RESULTS
Incidence of psychiatric disorders developed in the prison was significantly higher in SC prisoners (28%) than in non-SC prisoners (15%). Most disorders were adjustment disorders, with depressive disorders coming next. Incident psychotic disorders were rare. The difference regarding incidence was primarily explained by level of stress (i.e. prison form) rather than confounding factors. Quantitative measures of psychopathology (Hamilton Scales and General Health Questionnaire) were significantly higher in subjects with prevalent and incident disorders compared to non-disordered subjects.


CONCLUSION
Different levels of stress give rise to different incidence of psychiatric morbidity among remand prisoners. The surplus of incident disorders among SC prisoners is related to SC, which may act as a mental health hazard.