LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
How much specific is the association between hymenoptera venom allergy and mastocytosis?

BACKGROUND
The preferential association of mastocytosis with hymenoptera sting reactions is well known, but there is no data on the prevalence of clonal mast cell disorders in subjects with severe systemic reactions due to foods or drugs.


METHODS
Patients with food- or drug-induced severe systemic reactions, including anaphylaxis, and increased serum tryptase were studied for the presence of mastocytosis, and compared with a population of patients with hymenoptera allergy. The aetiological role of foods or drugs was assessed according to current recommendations. Systemic reactions were graded in severity according to the procedure described by Mueller. Serum tryptase was considered increased if the level was >11.4 ng/ml. Subjects with increased tryptase had dermatological evaluation and Bone marrow(BM) aspirate-biopsy, which included histology/cytology, flow cytometry and detection of KIT mutations.


RESULTS
A total of 137 subjects (57 male, mean age 42 years) were studied. Of them, 86 proved positive for drugs and 51 for foods. Overall, out of 137 patients, only nine (6.6%) had a basal tryptase >11.4 ng/ml, and only two (1.5%) were diagnosed with mastocytosis. This was clearly different from patients with hymenoptera allergy, where 13.9% had elevated tryptase and 11.1% had a clonal mast cell disorder.


CONCLUSION
The association of clonal mast cell disorders with hymenoptera allergy seems to be more specific than that with food- or drug-induced systemic reactions.
Spectral Clustering on a Budget

Spectral clustering is a modern and well known method for performing data clustering. However, it depends on the availability of a similarity matrix, which in many applications can be non-trivial to obtain. In this paper, we focus on the problem of performing spectral clustering under a budget constraint, where there is a limit on the number of entries which can be queried from the similarity matrix. We propose two algorithms for this problem, and study them theoretically and experimentally. These algorithms allow a tradeoff between computational efficiency and actual performance, and are also relevant for the problem of speeding up standard spectral clustering.
Early development and allometric growth patterns in burbot Lota lota L.

This study analyzed the morphological development and allometric growth patterns of Lota lota L. (burbot) larvae reared under controlled laboratory conditions. From hatching to day 50, twenty larvae were sampled each [between 1 and 14 days post-hatch (DPH)] or every second day (between 14 and 50 DPH) and measured under a stereoscopic microscope using analytic software. Based on the external morphology, the different stages during early development of burbot were identified: yolk sac larva 0–8 DPH [3.92–4.37 mm total length (TL)]; preflexion larva 9–26 DPH (4.57–12.06 mm TL); flexion larva (between notochord degradation and its replacement with rays) 28–34 DPH (14.00–16.34 mm TL) and postflexion larva/juvenile 36–50 DPH (18.20–29.27 mm TL). Allometric growth patterns of some parameters (e.g., total length, head length, body length, tail length, head depth, body depth, eye diameter) were modeled by a power function and described by the growth coefficient. Organogenesis and changes of body proportions in burbot larvae were more rapid and complex during the yolk sac and preflexion phase of development as larvae developed most of their sensorial, feeding, respiratory and swimming systems and after notochord flexion, when most morphological changes were related to the progressive transformation from pelagic larva to demersal larva/juvenile.
Treatment of exogenous ochronosis with a Q-switched alexandrite (755 nm) laser.

BACKGROUND
Exogenous ochronosis is a cutaneous disorder characterized by blue-black or slate-gray hyperpigmentation resulting from the prolonged use of certain topical agents, most commonly hydroquinones. It is notoriously difficult to treat.


OBJECTIVE
To report the effectiveness of a quality-switched (QS) 755-nm alexandrite laser in treating hydroquinone-induced exogenous ochronosis.


METHODS
Hydroquinone-induced exogenous ochronosis in two patients was treated with a QS alexandrite laser. The first patient received six treatments (average fluence=7.8 J/cm(2)) at 2-month intervals. The second patient received four treatments (average fluence=6.9 J/cm(2)) at 4-month intervals. Biopsies of lesional skin were obtained before and after laser treatment for histologic evaluation.


RESULTS
Significant lightening of the pigmented skin areas was achieved in both patients without scarring or textural changes. Decreased dermal pigmentation was observed on histologic examination of treated skin specimens.


CONCLUSION
The QS alexandrite laser can effectively treat exogenous ochronosis without untoward side effects.
Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration of the Adrenal Glands: Analysis of 21 Patients

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) cytology of adrenal masses helps in etiological diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic yield of EUS-FNA of adrenal masses in cases where other imaging methods failed and/or were not feasible.


METHODS
Twenty-one consecutive patients with adrenal masses, in whom adrenal FNA was performed because conventional imaging modalities failed and/or were not feasible, were prospectively evaluated over a period of 3 years.


RESULTS
Of the 21 patients (mean age, 56±12.2 years; male:female ratio, 2:1), 12 had pyrexia of unknown origin and the other nine underwent evaluation for metastasis. The median lesion size was 2.4×1.6 cm. Ten patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis (shown by the presence of caseating granulomas [n=10] and acid-fast bacilli [n=4]). Two patients had EUS-FNA results suggestive of histoplasmosis. The other patients had metastatic lung carcinoma (n=6), hepatocellular carcinoma (n=1), and adrenal lipoma (n=1) and adrenal myelolipoma (n=1). EUS results were not suggestive of any particular etiology. No procedure-related adverse events occurred.


CONCLUSIONS
EUS-FNA is a safe and effective method for evaluating adrenal masses, and it yields diagnosis in cases where tissue diagnosis is impossible or has failed using conventional imaging modalities.
Growth effect of Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMEs ) Financing in Nigeria

The issue of sustainable growth and development has been a growing concern for policy makers and researcher in developing countries such as Nigeria. One of the problems faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators is that government does not give chance or consider them when making policy in which priority is given to large organizations. This makes financing the main constraining factor to SMEs growth and hinders their potentials for enhancing economic growth in Nigeria. Thus, constitute the focus of this study. On the basis of the identified issue and existence of few quantitative empirical studies in this regards, the study investigated the effect of SMEs financing on economic growth in Nigeria between 1980 and 2010. The study employed Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method to estimate the multiple regression model. The estimated model results revealed that SMEs output proxy by wholesale and retail trade output as a component of gross domestic product, commercial banks’ credit to SMEs and exchange rate of naira vis-à-vis U.S dollar exert positive influence on economic development proxy real gross domestic product while lending rate is found to exert negative effects on economic growth. In terms of partial significance and using t-statistic as a test of evaluation, SMEs output and commercial banks’ credit to SMEs were found to be significant factors enhancing economic growth in Nigeria at 5% critical level. Therefore, emanating from the findings, the study proffered that the central authority should create an enabling environment for SME development.
Benchmarking distributed data warehouse solutions for storing genomic variant information

Database URL
https://github.com/ZSI-Bio/variantsdwh.
Three in One

The fall of the USSR can best be understood as a combination of regime change, state decline, and territorial disintegration. Doing so allows scholars to use insights from comparative politics to adjudicate among potential explanations.
The Visual Word Form Area: Evidence from an fMRI study of implicit processing of Chinese characters

A notable controversy in neurolinguistics is whether there is a particular brain area specialized for visual word recognition within the visual ventral stream. We investigated this question via implicit processing of Chinese characters. Implicit processing of four types of stimuli--real characters, pseudo characters, artificial characters, and checkerboard--in two different sizes, were compared in 14 normal participants using functional MRI (fMRI) with a size judgment task. The results showed that when the three character types were contrasted to one another, there was significantly greater activation in the left middle fusiform gyrus during real and pseudo character processing compared to artificial characters. Moreover, individual analysis revealed that the coordinates were consistent with the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) reported for alphabetic scripts. Results also showed a consistent activation in the left middle frontal gyrus (BA 9) for real and pseudo characters. The relation between this region and the VWFA in Characters processing still needs further investigation.
Reduced mismatch negativity and increased variability of brain activity in schizophrenia

OBJECTIVES
Schizophrenia patients commonly exhibit smaller amplitudes of mismatch negativity (MMN) than in controls. It remains unclear whether this results from deficient processes indexed by MMN or 'normally' though more variable processing. The present magnetoencephalographic study addressed this question by analyzing intra-individual trial-by-trial variability and MMN amplitude.


METHODS
Twenty inpatients meeting ICD criteria for schizophrenia and 18 healthy controls participated in an auditory oddball experiment. The neuromagnetic mismatch field (MMNm) was defined as the difference waveform deviant minus standard tone response. Variability index (VI) in different frequency bands was quantified as trial-by-trial variation of stimulus-evoked responses and epoch-by-epoch variation of signal amplitude during a resting condition.


RESULTS
Patients displayed a smaller MMNm amplitude and higher VI during the oddball experiment and during the resting condition than in controls. VI and MMNm amplitude were correlated in controls, but not in patients.


CONCLUSION
Reduced MMN in schizophrenia cannot be explained by augmented variability of brain activity; deficient auditory sensory memory and stimulus related phase-locking may characterize the disorder.


SIGNIFICANCE
Understanding the contribution of diminished temporal stability of neuronal network dynamics to schizophrenia is crucial in modeling the impact of such instability on performance and thus for understanding deviant attention and memory functions.
Power Management for Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensors

Correspondence: Email: swarms@microstrain.com; tel 802 862 6629 fax 802 863 4093, www.microstrain.com. Copyright 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. This paper will be published in SPIE International Symposium on Smart Structures & Materials/NDE for Health Monitoring and Diagnostics 2005 and is made available as an electronic preprint with permission of SPIE. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. ABSTRACT
Pioglitazone improves insulin sensitivity among nondiabetic patients with a recent transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of pioglitazone compared with placebo for improving insulin sensitivity among nondiabetic patients with a recent transient ischemic attack (TIA) or nondisabling ischemic stroke and impaired insulin sensitivity.


METHODS
Eligible subjects were men and women >45 years of age who had no history of diabetes, fasting glucose <7.0 mmol/L, and impaired insulin sensitivity according to an index calculated from insulin and glucose blood levels obtained during an oral glucose tolerance test. Eligible subjects were randomized to pioglitazone 45 mg/d or placebo. After 3 months of therapy, the glucose tolerance test was repeated.


RESULTS
Between July 2000 and June 2001, we performed oral glucose tolerance tests on 75 patients with no history of diabetes, among whom 36 (50%) were found to have impaired insulin sensitivity and fasting glucose <7.0 mmol/L. Among these 36, 20 consented to the trial. Patients assigned to pioglitazone (n=10) and placebo (n=10) were similar in insulin sensitivity, age, obesity, and index event (stroke compared with TIA), but patients assigned to pioglitazone were less likely to be male (4 compared with 9). The mean proportional increase in insulin sensitivity was 62% among patients assigned to pioglitazone compared with a -1% decline among patients assigned to placebo (P=0.0006). Mean C-reactive protein concentration declined from 0.30 to 0.20 mg/L among patients assigned to pioglitazone and increased from 0.41 to 0.45 mg/L among patients assigned to placebo (P=0.06 for comparison of mean change).


CONCLUSIONS
Pioglitazone is effective for improving insulin sensitivity among patients with recent TIA or stroke and impaired insulin sensitivity.
Creatinine-or cystatin C-based equations to estimate glomerular filtration in the general population: impact on the epidemiology of chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major issue in public health. Its prevalence has been calculated using estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by the creatinine-based equations developed in the Modified Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) study. Recently, new equations based either on cystatin C (CKD-EPI Cys) or both cystatin and creatinine (CKD-EPI mix) have been proposed by the CKD-EPI consortium. The aim of this study was to measure the difference in the prevalence of stage 3 CKD, defined as an estimated GFR less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2, in a population using these four equations.


METHODS
CKD screening was performed in the Province of Liège, Belgium. On a voluntary basis, people aged over 50 years have been screened. GFR was estimated by the four equations. Stage 3 CKD was defined as a GFR less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2.


RESULTS
The population screened consisted of 4189 people (47% were men, mean age 63 ± 7y). Their mean serum creatinine and plasma cystatin C levels were 0.88 ± 0.21 mg/dL and 0.85 ± 0.17 mg/L, respectively. The prevalence of CKD in this population using the MDRD, the CKD-EPI, the CKD-EPI Cys and the CKD-EPI mix equations was 13%, 9.8%, 4.7% and 5%, respectively. The prevalence of CKD was significantly higher with the creatinine-based (MDRD and the CKD-EPI) equations compared to the new cystatin C-based equations.


CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of CKD varies strongly depending on the method used to estimate GFR. Such discrepancies are of importance and must be confirmed and explained by additional studies, notably by studies using GFR measured with a reference method.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
B70720071509.
An agent-oriented, trust-aware approach to improve the QoS in dynamic grid federations

In this paper a distributed approach aimed at improving the Quality of Service in dynamic grid federations is presented. Virtual Organizations are grouped into large-scale Federations on which the original goals and scheduling mechanisms are left unchanged, while Grid nodes can be quickly instructed to join or leave any Grid at any time. Moreover, an agent-oriented framework is designed to observe and characterize past behaviors of nodes in terms of resource sharing and consumption, as well as to determine the trust relationships occurring between each pair of nodes. By combining trust and historical behaviors into a unified convenience measure, software agents are able to evaluate the i) advantages of node’s membership with specific any Grids, and ii) whether the actual set of Grid nodes is able to meet the original goal – in terms of resource sharing and consumption – of the Virtual Organizations. The convenience measure has been exploited to design a fully decentralized, greedy procedure, aimed at controlling the Grid Formation process. Extensive simulations have shown that the coordinated and decentralized process of Grid Formation provides a powerful mean to improve the overall Quality of Service of the Grid Federation. Copyright c © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of Parental Socio-Economic Status on Students' Educational Achievements at Secondary Schools of District Malir, Karachi

Education is the lifeline for efficient and stable working of human society. Education help develop individual personality making the person knowledgeable, competent, capable and skillful. Parents with high socio-economic status often have more success in preparing their young children for school because they typically have access to a wide range of resources to promote and support status often lack the financial, social and educational supports that characterize families with high socio-economic status. Poor resources could not promote and support children’s development and school readiness. Parents may have inadequate skills for such activities as reading to and with their children and they may lack information about childhood immunizations and nutrition. Inadequate resources and limited access to available resources can negatively affect families’ decisions regarding their young children’s development and learning. As a result, children from families with low socio-economic status are less prepared than their peers from families with medium or high socio-economic status. This article attempted to find out the impact of parental socio-economic status on the student’s educational achievements at secondary schools of district Malir, Karachi.
Boundary Conduction Mode Controlled Power Factor Corrector With Line Voltage Recovery and Total Harmonic Distortion Improvement Techniques

The proposed line voltage recovery (LVR) and the total harmonic distortion improvement (THDI) technique improve power factor (PF) and total harmonic distortion (THD) over a wide line voltage range in boundary conduction mode controlled power factor corrector (PFC). The LVR detects the input line root-mean-square voltage to generate the digital equivalent code to the THDI for optimizing the THD by tuning the on-time value at different line voltages. In addition, the LVR and the THDI provide a feedforward path to reduce the ripple of the feedback voltage for further improving the THD. Therefore, the PFC controller can keep high PF and low THD over a wide line voltage. Experimental results demonstrate that the peak PF value is 0.998 and the minimum THD is 1.7% by the test circuit fabricated in a TSMC 800-V ultrahigh-voltage process with the universal line voltage range of 90-264 V.
A Review of Audio Features and Statistical Models Exploited for Voice Pattern Design

Audio fingerprinting, also named as audio hashing, has been well-known as a powerful technique to perform audio identification and synchronization. It basically involves two major steps: fingerprint (voice pattern) design and matching search. While the first step concerns the derivation of a robust and compact audio signature, the second step usually requires knowledge about database and quick-search algorithms. Though this technique offers a wide range of real-world applications, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, a comprehensive survey of existing algorithms appeared more than eight years ago. Thus, in this paper, we present a more up-to-date review and, for emphasizing on the audio signal processing aspect, we focus our state-of-the-art survey on the fingerprint design step for which various audio features and their tractable statistical models are discussed. Keywords–Voice pattern; audio identification and synchronization; spectral features; statistical models.
No difference between strontium ranelate (SR) and calcium/vitamin D on bone turnover markers in women with established osteoporosis previously treated with teriparatide: a randomized controlled trial.

UNLABELLED
Objective To evaluate the effect of strontium ranelate (SR) on bone turnover markers in women with established osteoporosis previously treated with teriparatide (TPTD--recombinant human PTH 1-34). DESIGN PATIENTS: Twenty-two postmenopausal Caucasian women (aged 65.7 +/- 1.7 years) with established osteoporosis previously treated with TPTD 20 microg daily for 18 months were randomly assigned to receive either SR (SR group, n = 11) or calcium and vitamin D (control group, n = 11).


MEASUREMENTS
Blood samples for serum N-terminal propeptide of type 1 collagen (P1NP), C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTx) and total alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were obtained from all women before (pre-TPTD) and after (post-TPTD) TPTD administration, as well as 6 months after SR or calcium/vitamin D administration (post-SR/Ca).


RESULTS
Serum P1NP, CTx and total ALP increased significantly after TPTD treatment and decreased at the end of the study in both SR and control groups, with no difference between them.


CONCLUSIONS
SR following TPTD administration acts predominantly as an antiresorptive agent with no evidence of additional osteoanabolic action. In this setting, SR is not more effective than Ca/vitamin D as far as bone turnover markers are concerned.
Durability after discontinuation of nucleos(t)ide therapy in chronic HBeAg negative hepatitis patients

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Relapse has been reported after stopping nucleos(t)ide (NUC) therapy in the majority of chronic HBeAg negative hepatitis patients. However, the ideal treatment duration of HBeAg negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is not well known. We investigated the frequency of relapse in HBeAg negative CHB patients receiving NUC therapy.


METHODS
The NUC therapy was discontinued at least 3 times undetectable level of HBV DNA leave 6 months space in 45 patients. Clinical relapse was defined as HBV DNA >2,000 IU/mL and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) >2 times of upper limit of normal range. Virological relapse was defined as HBV DNA >2,000 IU/mL.


RESULTS
Clinical relapse developed in 16 (35.6%) and 24 (53.3%) patients after stopping therapy at 6 months and 12 months off therapy, respectively. Virological relapse developed 22 (48.9%) and 33 (73.3%) patients at 6 months and 12 months off therapy. The factors such as age, gender, cirrhosis, baseline AST, ALT, HBV DNA levels, treatment duration, and consolidation duration were analyzed to investigate the predictive factors associated with 1 year sustained response. Of these factors, cirrhosis (86.1% in CHB, 22.2% in LC) was significantly associated with 1 year virological relapse rate. Baseline HBV DNA and total treatment duration tended to be associated with virological relapse.


CONCLUSIONS
Virological relapse developed in the majority (73.3%) of HBeAg negative CHB patients and clinical relapse developed in the half (53.3%) of patients at 1 year off therapy. Cirrhosis may be associated with the low rate of virological relapse.