LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The Nkateko health service trial to improve hypertension management in rural South Africa: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND
South Africa has a high and rising prevalence of hypertension. Many affected individuals are not using medication, and few have controlled blood pressure. Until recently, primary care clinics focused on maternal and child health and management of acute conditions, but new government initiatives have shifted the focus to chronic diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hypertension.


METHODS/DESIGN
The Nkateko trial will test the effectiveness of clinic-based lay health workers (LHWs) in supporting hypertension management. It is a pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial based in the Agincourt subdistrict of northeast South Africa, and it is underpinned by long-term health and demographic surveillance. Eight primary care facilities, with their catchment communities, are randomised to usual care or the addition of LHWs focused on chronic care. All clinics (intervention and control) will be provided with a clerk to collect information on clinic attendees and will match them to preexisting surveillance records. Intervention clinics will have LHWs working alongside nursing staff and focusing on health care for people with chronic conditions, particularly hypertension. The LHWs will be supported by an implementation manager, who will work with clinic staff to develop the most effective role for the LHWs. Control clinics will continue to provide usual care. The primary outcome will be the change between two population surveys conducted before and after the intervention in the proportion of the population with uncontrolled hypertension and a risk profile indicating at least moderate risk of cardiovascular disease. A process evaluation will be based on a realist approach using patient exit interviews, clinic observations and interviews with health professionals, LHWs and patients to document the intervention and its implementation.


DISCUSSION
There are challenges in the design of this trial. Assessing change through population surveys may reduce measurable effects; however, we feel this is appropriate because we aim to attract those who currently do not use clinics, and we hope to improve care for clinic users. Clinics were randomised at an open meeting because we were concerned that a remote process of randomisation would not be trusted by the community. We are constantly working to achieve an effective balance between the intervention and process evaluations.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN12128227 (registered 5 March 2014).
Maternal depression and socio-economic status moderate the parenting style/child obesity association.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study was to test the moderating influence of two risk factors, maternal depression and socio-economic status (SES), on the association between authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and child obesity.


DESIGN
Correlational, cross-sectional study. Parenting style was measured with the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ). Maternal depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). BMI-for-age percentile was used to categorize children by weight status (children with BMI-for-age > or = 95th percentile were classified as obese). SES was computed from parent education and occupational status using the four-factor Hollingshead index.


SETTING
Rural public schools in a mid-western state in the USA.


SUBJECTS
One hundred and seventy-six mothers of first-grade children (ninety-one boys, eighty-five girls) enrolled in rural public schools.


RESULTS
Both maternal depression and SES were found to moderate the permissive parenting style/child obesity association, but not the authoritarian/child obesity association. For depressed mothers, but not for non-depressed mothers, more permissive parenting was predictive of child obesity. Similarly more permissive parenting was predictive of child obesity among higher SES mothers, but not for lower SES mothers.


CONCLUSIONS
Maternal depression and SES interact with permissive parenting style to predict child obesity. Future research should examine the relationship among these variables using a longitudinal design.
A framework for architecture-driven migration of legacy systems to cloud-enabled software

With the widespread adoption of cloud computing, an increasing number of organizations view it as an important business strategy to evolve their legacy applications to cloud-enabled infrastructures. We present a framework, named Legacy-to-Cloud Migration Horseshoe, for supporting the migration of legacy systems to cloud computing. The framework leverages the software reengineering concepts that aim to recover the architecture from legacy source code. Then the framework exploits the software evolution concepts to support architecture-driven migration of legacy systems to cloud-based architectures. The Legacy-to-Cloud Migration Horseshoe comprises of four processes: (i) architecture migration planning, (ii) architecture recovery and consistency, (iii) architecture transformation and (iv) architecture-based development of cloud-enabled software. We aim to discover, document and apply the migration process patterns that enhance the reusability of migration processes. We also discuss the required tool support that we intend to provide through our ongoing work in this area.
A Live-User Study of Opinionated Explanations for Recommender Systems

This paper describes an approach for generating rich and compelling explanations in recommender systems, based on opinions mined from user-generated reviews. The explanations highlight the features of a recommended item that matter most to the user and also relate them to other recommendation alternatives and the user's past activities to provide a context.
A randomized, double-blind study of valsartan versus metoprolol on arterial distensibility and endothelial function in essential hypertension.

BACKGROUND
Antihypertensive drugs may have differential, pressure-independent effects on hypertension-associated alterations of arterial function. We compared the effects of a 12-week therapy with the AT(1)-receptor antagonist valsartan (Val) versus the beta-blocker metoprolol (Met) on arterial stiffness and endothelial function in mildly hypertensive patients at rest and during generalized sympathetic stimulation.


METHODS
Sixty-eight patients (37 male, 31 female, 46 +/- 6 years) were randomized to Val (80-160 mg/d) or Met (50-100 mg/d). Effects of therapy on endothelial function, brachial and carotid artery distensibility coefficients, pulse wave velocity, carotid intima-media thickness and elastic modulus were assessed at rest and during the cold pressor test.


RESULTS
Fifty-two patients were available for per protocol analysis. Blood pressure was comparably reduced in both treatment groups. Effects on endothelial function and large artery elastic wall properties did not differ significantly between the two antihypertensive treatment regimens. Trends did not differ significantly between groups for any parameter including carotid intima-media thickness and elastic modulus.


CONCLUSION
Short-term treatment with Val and Met had similar effects on large artery functional vessel wall properties in a population of mildly hypertensive patients.
The production performance benefits from JIT implementation

The intense competition in the current marketplace has forced firms to reexamine their methods of doing business. The US manufacturers have struggled with growing trade deficits and outsourced operations, while strong market competitors have emerged, using superior manufacturing practices in the form of just-in-time (JIT) and continuous process improvement. Although proponents cite the many benefits of JIT adoption, its implementation rate in the US has been relatively conservative. This study uses survey responses from executives at 95 JIT-practicing firms to better understand the benefits that firms have experienced through JIT adoption, and whether a more comprehensive implementation is worthwhile. The research results demonstrate that implementing the quality, continuous improvement, and waste reduction practices embodied in the JIT philosophy can enhance firm competitiveness. JIT implementation improves performance through lower inventory levels, reduced quality costs, and greater customer responsiveness. This study indicates that JIT is a vital manufacturing strategy to build and sustain competitive advantage. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Comparing exercise interventions to increase persistence with physical exercise and sporting activity among people with hypertension or high normal blood pressure: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND
Increasing physical activity is known to have health benefits for people with hypertension and related conditions. Current general practitioner referrals for gym-based exercise increase physical activity but meta-analyses show that while these are effective the absolute health risk reduction is small due to patients failing to maintain activity levels over time. This study assesses the effectiveness of two sports-oriented interventions that are intended to bridge the intention-behaviour gap and thus increase the likelihood of sustained increases in physical activity.


METHODS/DESIGN
Four-arm randomised controlled trial. The study tests two types of intervention that are intended to increase physical activity among currently inactive 18- to 74-year-old people with hypertension or high-normal blood pressure. This study will assess the effectiveness of a 12-week sports-oriented exercise programme, the efficacy of a web-delivered self-help tool to promote and support sports participation and healthy behaviour change and the effect of these interventions in combination. The control arm will be a standard care general practitioner referral for gym-based exercise. Participants will be allocated using block randomisation. The first author and primary analyst is blinded to participant allocation. The primary outcome measures will be time spent in physical activity assessed in metabolic equivalent minutes per week using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire 1 year after commencement of the intervention. Secondary outcomes include increased involvement in sporting activity and biomedical health outcomes including change in body mass index, and waist and hip measurement and reductions in blood pressure.


DISCUSSION
If proven to be superior to general practitioner referrals for gym-based exercise, these sports-oriented interventions would constitute low-cost alternatives. The next stage would be a full economic evaluation of the interventions.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN71952900 (7 June 2013).
The value of electrocardiography-gated multi-slice computed tomography in the evaluation of patients with chest pain.

BACKGROUND
Multi-detector spiral computed tomography with retrospective electrocardiography-gated image reconstruction allows detailed anatomic imaging of the heart, great vessels and coronary arteries in a rapid, available and non-invasive mode.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate the spectrum of findings in 32 consecutive patients with chest pain who underwent CT coronary angiogram in order to determine the clinical situations that will benefit most from this new technique.


METHODS
Thirty-two patients with chest pain were studied by MDCT using 4 x 1 mm cross-sections, at 500 msec rotation with pitch 1-1.5, intravenous non-ionic contrast agent and a retrospectively ECG-gated reconstruction algorithm. The heart anatomy was evaluated using multi-planar reconstructions in the axial, long and short heart axes planes. Coronary arteries were evaluated using dedicated coronary software and the results were compared to those of conventional coronary angiograms in 12 patients. The patients were divided into four groups according to the indication for the study: group A--patients with high probability for coronary disease; group B--patients after CCA with undetermined diagnosis; group C--patients after cardiac surgery with possible anatomic derangement; and group D--symptomatic patients after coronary artery bypass graft, before considering conventional coronary angiography.


RESULTS
Artifacts caused by coronary motion, heavy calcification and a lumen diameter smaller than 2 mm were the most frequent reasons for non-evaluable arteries. Assessment was satisfactory in 83% of all coronary segments. The overall sensitivity of 50% stenosis was 74% (85% for main vessels) with a specificity of 96%. Overall, the CTCA results were critical for management in 18 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Our preliminary experience suggests that CTCA is a reliable and promising technique for the detection of coronary artery stenosis as well as for a variety of additional cardiac and coronary structural abnormalities.
К проблеме сращивания аппарата управления с организованной преступностью в российской Федерации

Purpose: Consideration of actual problems of formation of the negative social phenomenon of criminal bureaucracy for the purpose of development of the offers directed on fight against it. Methodology: The author applied a formal-legal method and a method of theoretical modeling. Results: In article the main scientific approaches to a problem of an evolution of bureaucracy in more dangerous to society and the form state are analyzed, the main stages of an evolution of bureaucracy in criminal bureaucracy are characterized. Novelty/originality/value: Article contains representing scientific and practical importance author’s generalizations and the conclusions directed on improvement of scientific ideas of criminal bureaucracy as to a negative form of deviant behavior of civil officers.
Parallel programming in openMP

Load balancing vs Communication This is the eternal problem in parallel computing. The basic approaches to this problem include: Data partitioning-moving different parts of the data set across several nodes Task partitioning-give separate tasks to different nodes Definition of Terms node-a box usually containing processors, local memory, disks and network connection cluster-a group of nodes networked together speedup: S p = T 1 Tp efficiency: Sp p = T 1 pTp (T i is the execution time for i processors, p is the number of processors) Speedup Adding more processors does not always improve the speed a code runs. Usually, better speedup can be found by increasing the problem size, at least to a point. The non-parallel part of a code generally scales linearly with the problem size. The parallel part usually scales as problem size to some power. Generally increasing the problem size without increasing the node number helps performance. Scalability Good parallel algorithms run faster when more nodes are available. In the best case, doubling the number of nodes decreases the execution time by a factor of two. One way to consider scaling of a code is Amdahl's law 1 α + 1−α p where α is the portion of the code which cannot be parallelized and p is the number of processors. This is a simplification, but-Speedup is limited by the slowest portion of the code.
Association of Chlamydia trachomatis infection and herpes simplex virus type 2 serostatus with genital human papillomavirus infection in men: the HPV in men study.

BACKGROUND
Studies in women indicate that some sexually transmitted infections promote human papillomavirus (HPV) persistence and carcinogenesis. Little is known about this association in men; therefore, we assessed whether Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) serostatus are associated with genital HPV prevalence, an early event in HPV-related pathogenesis.


METHODS
Genital exfoliated cells, first-void urine, and blood from 3971 men recruited in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil were tested for HPV, CT, and HSV-2 antibodies, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association of CT infection and HSV-2 serostatus with 4 HPV outcomes (any, oncogenic, nononcogenic only, and multiple infections).


RESULTS
A total of 64 (1.6%) men were CT positive, and 811 (20.4%) men were HSV-2 seropositive. After adjustment for potential confounders, CT was associated with any HPV (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-4.24), oncogenic HPV (aOR, 3.10; 95% CI, 1.53-6.28), and multiple HPV (aOR, 3.43; 95% CI, 1.69-6.95) prevalence. Herpes simplex virus type 2 serostatus was associated with any HPV (aOR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.02-1.52), nononcogenic HPV only (aOR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.08-1.75), and multiple HPV (aOR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.06-1.68) prevalence. In analyses stratified by sexual behavior, CT infection was significantly associated with HPV detection among men reporting 2 or more recent sexual partners, whereas HSV-2 serostatus was significantly associated with HPV detection in men reporting 0 to 5 lifetime sexual partners.


CONCLUSION
In this population, CT infection and HSV-2 serostatus were associated with prevalent genital HPV infection. Future prospective studies should investigate whether these infections influence HPV acquisition and/or persistence.
Increased protein turnover and proteolysis is an early and primary feature of short-term experimental hyperthyroidism in healthy women.

CONTEXT
Hyperthyroidism increases energy expenditure, glucose turnover, lipolysis, and protein breakdown.


OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to test whether increased protein breakdown occurs independently of other catabolic effects in mild experimental hyperthyroidism.


DESIGN
We conducted a single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Protein dynamics of the whole body and of the forearm muscles were measured by amino acid tracer dilution technique ([(15)N]phenylalanine and [(2)H(4)]tyrosine). All subjects underwent a 3-h study in the basal state followed by a 3-h euglycemic clamp study.


SETTING
The study took place at a university clinical research unit.


PARTICIPANTS
Eight healthy women (24-46 yr old) participated.


INTERVENTION
Intervention included 6 d thyroid hormone (T(4) 50 microg and T(3) 0.67 microg/kg.d) or placebo administration.


RESULTS
Thyroid hormone administration led to mild T(3) hyperthyroidism with more than a doubling of T(3) levels and suppression of TSH. Energy expenditure and body composition was unchanged. Glucose infusion rates, forearm glucose uptake, and levels of lipid intermediates were also alike. Basal whole-body phenylalanine flux and tyrosine flux (reflecting whole-body protein breakdown) were increased (P < 0.05) as were whole-body protein synthesis rate (P = 0.05). Basal forearm rate of appearance and disappearance for phenylalanine (reflecting muscle protein breakdown and synthesis) were similar.


CONCLUSIONS
Mild short-term experimental hyperthyroidism increases whole-body protein turnover and breakdown before any measurable changes in energy expenditure or glucose and fat metabolism, suggesting that amino acid and protein metabolism is an early and primary target for thyroid hormone action in humans.
Acute and Residual Soccer Match-Related Fatigue: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND
Understanding soccer players' match-related fatigue and recovery profiles likely helps with developing conditioning programs that increase team performance and reduce injuries and illnesses. In order to improve match recovery (the return-to-play process and ergogenic interventions) it is also pivotal to determine if match simulation protocols and actual match-play lead to similar responses.


OBJECTIVES
(1) To thoroughly describe the development of fatigue during actual soccer match play and its recovery time course in terms of physiological, neuromuscular, technical, biochemical and perceptual responses, and (2) to determine similarities of recovery responses between actual competition (11 vs. 11) and match simulations.


METHODS
A first screening phase consisted of a systematic search on PubMed (MEDLINE) and SportDiscus databases until March 2016. Inclusion criteria were: longitudinal study with soccer players; match or validated protocol; duration > 45 min; and published in English.


RESULTS
A total of 77 eligible studies (n = 1105) were used to compute 1196 effect sizes (ES). Half-time assessments revealed small to large alterations in immunological parameters (e.g. leukocytes, ES = 1.9), a moderate decrement in insulin concentration (ES = - 0.9) and a small to moderate impairment in lower-limb muscle function (ES = - 0.5 to - 0.7) and physical performance measures (e.g. linear sprint, ES = - 0.3 to - 1.0). All the systematically analyzed fatigue-related markers were substantially altered at post-match. Hamstrings force production capacity (ES = - 0.7), physical performance (2-4%, ES = 0.3-0.5), creatine kinase (CK, ES = 0.4), well-being (ES = 0.2-0.4) and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS, ES = 0.6-1.3) remained substantially impaired at G + 72 h. Compared to simulation protocols, 11 vs. 11 match format (CK, ES = 1.8) induced a greater magnitude of change in muscle damage (i.e. CK, ES = 1.8 vs. 0.7), inflammatory (IL-6, ES = 2.6 vs. 1.1) and immunological markers and DOMS (ES = 1.5 vs. 0.7) than simulation protocols at post-assessments. Neuromuscular performances at post-match did not differ between protocols.


CONCLUSION
While some parameters are fully recovered (e.g. hormonal and technical), our systematic review shows that a period of 72 h post-match play is not long enough to completely restore homeostatic balance (e.g. muscle damage, physical and well-being status). The extent of the recovery period post-soccer game cannot consist of a 'one size fits all approach'. Additionally, the 'real match' (11 vs. 11 format) likely induces greater magnitudes of perceptual (DOMS) and biochemical alterations (e.g. muscle damage), while neuromuscular alterations were essentially similar. Overall, coaches must adjust the structure and content of the training sessions during the 72-h post-match intervention to effectively manage the training load within this time-frame.
Transaction level modeling: an overview

Recently, the transaction-level modeling has been widely referred to in system-level design community. However, the transaction-level models(TLMs) are not well defined and the usage of TLMs in the existing design domains, namely modeling, validation, refinement, exploration, and synthesis, is not well coordinated. This paper introduces a TLM taxonomy and compares the benefits of TLMs' use.
Communications middleware for tactical environments: Observations, experiences, and lessons learned

Tactical networking environments present significant challenges that must be overcome in order to effectively support net-centric warfare. The wireless and ad hoc nature of these networks implies unreliable connectivity, limited bandwidth, and variable latency. Past and current research has focused on physical and data link layers, routing protocols, transport protocols, and cross-layer aspects. However, significant work is needed at the upper layers to better support application requirements. In our experience, achieving effective communications in tactical environments requires taking into account application requirements and communication patterns, designing a rich interface between the application and communication layers, and realizing a communications middleware specifically adapted to tactical networks. In this article, we report on our observations from several tactical networking experiments and demonstrations and the lessons learned from deployment of the Mockets middleware to support tactical communications. We hope these experiences are useful to others designing and implementing applications and systems for tactical environments.
Animal Navigation: Path Integration, Visual Landmarks and Cognitive Maps

Animals typically have several navigational strategies available to them. Interactions between these strategies can reduce navigational errors and may lead to the emergence of new capacities.