LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Reproductive coercion: connecting the dots between partner violence and unintended pregnancy.

Reproductive health professionals are in a critical position to reach women victimized by abusive relationships. In the general population, physical and sexual violence victimization by an intimate partner affects an estimated one in four women across the life span, with one in five adolescent girls reporting such abuse [1–3]. The prevalence of intimate partner violence reported among women utilizing sexual health services and seeking care in gynecologic and adolescent clinics is generally double these populationbased estimates [4–7]. This is not surprising, as such victimization is consistently associated with increased pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI), with abused women demonstrating disproportionately higher rates of seeking care at family planning and other health services related to sexual health, such as HIV and STI testing [8–16]. Moreover, mounting evidence that unintended pregnancy occurs more commonly in abusive relationships highlights that victimized women face compromised decision making regarding contraceptive use and family planning, including condom use [17–22]. Forced sex, fear of violence if she refuses sex and difficulties negotiating contraception and condom use in the context of an abusive relationship all contribute to increased risk for unintended pregnancy and STIs. Thus, in settings where women seek care for sexual and reproductive health services, providers are well situated to build a bridge to further services for a significant number of women affected by partner violence. We suggest that providers can actually do more than simply offering a woman victim advocacy hotline numbers, based on new research findings. In the April issue of Contraception, we highlighted a phenomenon we labeled “reproductive coercion”: explicit male behaviors to promote pregnancy (unwanted by the woman). Reproductive coercion can include “birth control sabotage” (interference with contraception) and/or “preg-
Blunted opiate modulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity in men and women who smoke.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the extent to which nicotine dependence alters endogenous opioid regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis functions. Endogenous opiates play an important role in regulating mood, pain, and drug reward. They also regulate the HPA functions. Previous work has demonstrated an abnormal HPA response to psychological stress among dependent smokers.


METHODS
Smokers and nonsmokers (total n = 48 participants) completed two sessions during which a placebo or 50 mg of naltrexone was administered, using a double-blind design. Blood and saliva samples, cardiovascular and mood measures were obtained during a resting absorption period, after exposure to two noxious stimuli, and during an extended recovery period. Thermal pain threshold and tolerance were assessed in both sessions. Participants also rated pain during a 90-second cold pressor test.


RESULTS
Opioid blockade increased adrenocorticotropin, plasma cortisol, and salivary cortisol levels; these increases were enhanced by exposure to the noxious stimuli. These responses were blunted in smokers relative to nonsmokers. Smokers tended to report less pain than nonsmokers, and women reported more pain during both pain procedures, although sex differences in pain were significant only among nonsmokers.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that nicotine dependence is associated with attenuated opioid modulation of the HPA. This dysregulation may play a role in the previously observed blunted responses to stress among dependent smokers.
Assessing EFL Student Progress in Critical Thinking with the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test.

Recent trends in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) have emphasized the importance of promoting thinking as an integral part of English language pedagogy; however, empirical research has not established that training in thinking skills can be combined effectively with EFL/ESL instruction. In this study, the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test was used to assess progress in critical thinking after a year of intensive academic English instruction for 36 Japanese students enrolled in a private two-year women's junior college in Oaska, Japan. A control group received only content-based intensive English instruction, while the treatment group received additional training in critical thinking. The treatment group scored significantly higher on the test ("p" =0.000). The results imply that critical thinking skills can indeed be taught as part of academic EFL/ESL instruction. (Contains 3 tables and 26 references.) (Author/SLD) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. * *********************************************************************** Assessing EFL Student Progress 1 Running Head: Assessing EFL Student Critical Thinking U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office f Educational Research and Improvement EDUQATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY igiev 86 I)) -D790,-a)sevt) TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ' Assessing EFL Student Progress in Critical Thinking With the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test Bruce W. Davidson Hokusei Gakuen University Rodney L. Dunham
Fault Detection of Railway Vehicle Suspension Systems Using Multiple-Model Approach

This paper demonstrates the possibility to detect suspension failures of railway vehicles using a multiple-model approach from on-board measurement data. The railway vehicle model used includes the lateral and yaw motions of the wheelsets and bogie, and the lateral motion of the vehicle body, with sensors measuring the lateral acceleration and yaw rate of the bogie, and lateral acceleration of the body. The detection algorithm is formulated based on the Interacting Multiple-Model (IMM) algorithm. The IMM method has been applied for detecting faults in vehicle suspension systems in a simulation study. The mode probabilities and states of vehicle suspension systems are estimated based on a Kalman Filter (KF). This algorithm is evaluated in simulation examples. Simulation results indicate that the algorithm effectively detects on-board faults of railway vehicle suspension systems.
Analysis of High-Performance Fast Feedthrough Logic Families in CMOS

This brief presents a new CMOS logic family using the feedthrough evaluation concept and analyzes its sensitivity against technology parameters for practical applications. The feedthrough logic (FTL) allows for a partial evaluation in a computational block before its input signals are valid, and does a quick final evaluation as soon as the inputs arrive. The FTL is well suited to arithmetic circuits where the critical path is made of a large cascade of inverting gates. Furthermore, FTL based circuits perform better in high fanout and high switching frequencies due to both lower delay and dynamic power consumption. Experimental results, for practical circuits, demonstrate that low-power FTL provides for smaller propagation time delay (4.1 times), lower energy consumption (35.6%), and similar combined delay, power consumption and active area product (0.7% worst), while providing lower sensitivity to power supply, temperature, capacitive load and process variations than the standard CMOS technologies.
The Stretta procedure for the treatment of GERD: a registry of 558 patients.

PURPOSE
To evaluate gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms, patient satisfaction, and antisecretory drug use in a large group of GERD patients treated with the Stretta procedure (endoluminal temperature-controlled radiofrequency energy for the treatment of GERD) at multiple centers since February 1999.


METHODS
All subjects provided informed consent. A health care provider from each institution administered a standardized GERD survey to patients who had undergone Stretta. Subjects provided (at baseline and follow-up) (1) GERD severity (none, mild, moderate, severe), (2) percentage of GERD symptom control, (3) satisfaction, and (4) antisecretory medication use. Outcomes were compared with the McNemar test, paired t test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test.


RESULTS
Surveys of 558 patients were evaluated (33 institutions, mean follow-up of 8 months). Most patients (76%) were dissatisfied with baseline antisecretory therapy for GERD. After treatment, onset of GERD relief was less than 2 months (68.7%) or 2 to 6 months (14.6%). The median drug requirement improved from proton pump inhibitors twice daily to antacids as needed (P < .0001). The percentage of patients with satisfactory GERD control (absent or mild) improved from 26.3% at baseline (on drugs) to 77.0% after Stretta (P < .0001). Median baseline symptom control on drugs was 50%, compared with 90% at follow-up (P < .0001). Baseline patient satisfaction on drugs was 23.2%, compared with 86.5% at follow-up (P < .0001). Subgroup analysis (<1 year vs. >1 year of follow-up) showed a superior effect on symptom control and drug use in those patients beyond 1 year of follow-up, supporting procedure durability.


CONCLUSIONS
The Stretta procedure results in significant GERD symptom control and patient satisfaction, superior to that derived from drug therapy in this study group. The treatment effect is durable beyond 1 year, and most patients were off all antisecretory drugs at follow-up. These results support the use of the Stretta procedure for patients with GERD, particularly those with inadequate control of symptoms on medical therapy.
Parsing Arabic Dialects

The Arabic language is a collection of spoken dialects with important phonological, morphological, lexical, and syntactic differences, along with a standard written language, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Since the spoken dialects are not officially written, it is very costly to obtain adequate corpora to use for training dialect NLP tools such as parsers. In this paper, we address the problem of parsing transcribed spoken Levantine Arabic (LA). We do not assume the existence of any annotated LA corpus (except for development and testing), nor of a parallel corpus LAMSA. Instead, we use explicit knowledge about the relation between LA and MSA.
Metformin and lactic acidosis in an Australian community setting: the Fremantle Diabetes Study.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of lactic acidosis in community-based patients with type 2 diabetes, with special reference to metformin therapy.


DESIGN
Substudy within a longitudinal observational study, the Fremantle Diabetes Study (FDS).


PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING
1279 patients from a postcode-defined population of 120 097 people in Western Australia.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Confirmed hospitalisation with lactic acidosis identified through the WA Data Linkage System during two periods: (1) from study entry, between 1993 and 1996, and study close in November 2001; and (2) from study entry to 30 June 2006.


RESULTS
At entry, 33.3% of patients were metformin-treated, and 23.1% of these had one or more contraindications to metformin (55.1% and 38.0%, respectively, after 5 years' follow-up). Five confirmed cases of lactic acidosis were identified during 12 466 patient-years of observation; all had at least one other potential cause, such as cardiogenic shock or renal failure. From study entry to close, the incidence was 0/100,000 patient-years in both metformin-treated and non-metformin-treated patients. Between study entry and 30 June 2006, incidence was 57/100,000 patient-years (95% CI, 12-168) in metformin-treated patients and 28/100,000 patient-years (95% CI, 3-100) in the non-metformin-treated group, an incidence rate difference of -30 (-105 to 46) (P=0.4).


CONCLUSION
The incidence of lactic acidosis in patients with type 2 diabetes is low but increases with age and duration of diabetes, as cardiovascular and renal causes become more prevalent. Metformin does not increase the risk of lactic acidosis, even when other recognised precipitants are present.
A Study on Connected Components Labeling algorithms using GPUs

Connected Components Labeling (CCL) is a wellknown problem with many applications in Image Processing. We propose in this article an optimized version of CCL for GPUs using GPGPU (General-Purpose Computing on Graphics Processing Units) techniques and the usual UnionFind algorithm to solve the CCL problem. We compare its performance with an efficient serial algorithm and with Label Equivalence, another method proposed in the literature which uses GPUs as well. Our algorithm presented a 5-10x speedup in relation to the serial algorithm and performed similar to Label Equivalence, but proved to be more predictable in the sense that its execution time is more image-independent. Keywords-Image processing; Connected Components Labeling; Connected Components Analysis; GPU; CUDA
Progestogens or progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems for uterine fibroids.

BACKGROUND
Uterine fibroids are the most common premenopausal benign uterine tumours. Fibroids can cause symptoms including heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pressure and pain. Progestogens can be administered by various routes. Intramuscular injection of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) has dual actions (stimulatory or inhibitory) on fibroid cell growth. Progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems (IUS) decrease menstrual blood loss associated with fibroids by inducing endometrial atrophy and reduction of uterine fibroid size. Currently, their effectiveness for the treatment of uterine fibroids has not been evaluated.


OBJECTIVES
To determine the effectiveness of progestogens or progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems in treating premenopausal women with uterine fibroids.


SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group Specialised Register (inception to 17 August 2012), CENTRAL (inception to 17 August 2012) and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (inception to 17 August 2012), Ovid EMBASE (1 January 2010 to 17 August 2012), Ovid PsycINFO (inception to 17 August 2012), CINAHL database, and trials registers for ongoing and registered trials.


SELECTION CRITERIA
All identified published or unpublished randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of progestogens or progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems in treating premenopausal women with uterine fibroids.


DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We assessed all potentially eligible studies identified as a result of the search strategy. Two review authors extracted data from each included study using an agreed form and assessed the risk of bias. We resolved discrepancies through discussion.


MAIN RESULTS
This review included three studies. However, data for progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems were available from only one study that compared 29 women with a levonorgestrel (LNG)-IUS versus 29 women with a combined oral contraceptive (COC) for treating uterine fibroids. There was a significant reduction of menstrual blood loss (MBL) in women receiving the LNG-IUS compared to the COC using the alkaline hematin test (mean difference (MD) 77.5%, 95% CI 71.3% to 83.67%, 58 women) and a pictorial assessment chart (PBAC) (MD 34.5%, 95% CI 14.9% to 54.1%, 58 women). The reduction in uterine fibroid size was significantly greater in the leuprorelin group at 16 weeks compared to the progestogen lynestrenol group (MD -15.93 mm, 95% CI -18.02 to -13.84 mm, 46 women). There was no RCT evaluating the effect of DMPA on uterine fibroids.


AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems appear to reduce menstrual blood loss in premenopausal women with uterine fibroids. Oral progestogens did not reduce fibroid size or fibroid- related symptoms. However, there was a methodological limitation and the one included study with data had a small sample size. This evidence is insufficient to support the use of progestogens or progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems in treating premenopausal women with uterine fibroids.
Potential Strategies to Prevent Ventilator-associated Events.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released ventilator-associated event (VAE) definitions in 2013. The new definitions were designed to track episodes of sustained respiratory deterioration in mechanically ventilated patients after a period of stability or improvement. More than 2,000 U.S. hospitals have reported their VAE rates to the CDC, but there has been little guidance to date on how to prevent VAEs. Existing ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention bundles are unlikely to be optimal insofar as pneumonia accounts for only a minority of VAEs. This review proposes a framework and potential intervention set to prevent VAEs on the basis of studies of VAE epidemiology, risk factors, and prevention. Work to date suggests that the majority of VAEs are caused by four conditions: pneumonia, fluid overload, atelectasis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Interventions that minimize ventilator exposure and target one or more of these conditions may therefore prevent VAEs. Potential strategies include avoiding intubation, minimizing sedation, paired daily spontaneous awakening and breathing trials, early exercise and mobility, low tidal volume ventilation, conservative fluid management, and conservative blood transfusion thresholds. Interventional studies have thus far affirmed that minimized sedation, paired daily spontaneous awakening and breathing trials, and conservative fluid management can reduce VAE rates and improve patient-centered outcomes. Further studies are needed to evaluate the impact of the other proposed interventions, to identify additional modifiable risk factors for VAEs, and to measure whether combining strategies into VAE prevention bundles confers additional benefits over implementing one or more of these interventions in isolation.
A framework for on-line trend extraction and fault diagnosis

Qualitative trend analysis (QTA) is a process-history-based data-driven technique that works by extracting important features (trends) from the measured signals and evaluating the trends. QTA has been widely used for process fault detection and diagnosis. Recently, Dash et al. (2001, 2003) presented an intervalhalving-based algorithm for off-line automatic trend extraction from a record of data, a fuzzy-logic based methodology for trend-matching and a fuzzy-rule-based framework for fault diagnosis (FD). In this article, an algorithm for on-line extraction of qualitative trends is proposed. A framework for on-line fault diagnosis using QTA also has been presented. Some of the issues addressed are (i) development of a robust and computationally efficient QTA-knowledge-base, (ii) fault detection, (iii) estimation of the fault occurrence time, (iv) on-line trend-matching and (v) updating the QTA-knowledge-base when a novel fault is diagnosed manually. Some results for FD of the Tennessee Eastman (TE) process using the developed framework are presented. Copyright c 2003 IFAC.
Psoriasis: emerging therapeutic strategies

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that is characterized by thickened, scaly plaques, and is estimated to affect ∼1–3% of the Caucasian population. Traditional treatments, although effective in patients with limited disease, have numerous shortcomings, including inconvenience and toxicity. These drawbacks mean that many patients experience cycles of disease clearance, in which normal quality of life alternates with active disease and poor quality of life. However, as this review discusses, recent advances have highlighted the key role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, and have provided new defined targets for therapeutic intervention, offering hope for safe and effective psoriasis treatment.
Towards an Understanding of Business Intelligence

Heading – abstract) Given the wide recognition of business intelligence (BI) over the last 20 years, we performed a literature review on the concept from a managerial perspective. We analysed 103 articles related to BI in the period 1990 to 2010. We found that BI is defined as a process, a product, and as a set of technologies, or a combination of these, which involves data, information, knowledge, decision making, related processes and technologies that support them. Our findings show that the literature focuses mostly on data and information, and less on knowledge and decision making. Moreover, in relation to the processes there is a substantial amount of literature about gathering and storing data and information, but less about analysing and using information and knowledge, and almost nothing about acting (making decisions) based on intelligence. The research literature has mainly focused on technologies and neglecting the role of the decision maker. We conclude by synthesizing a unified definition of BI and identifying possible future research streams.
A grounded theory of psychological resilience in Olympic champions

1 Objective: Although it is well-established that the ability to manage stress is a prerequisite of 2 sporting excellence, the construct of psychological resilience has yet to be systematically 3 examined in athletic performers. The study reported here sought to explore and explain the 4 relationship between psychological resilience and optimal sport performance. 5 Design and Method: Twelve Olympic champions (8 men and 4 women) from a range of sports 6 were interviewed regarding their experiences of withstanding pressure during their sporting 7 careers. A grounded theory approach was employed throughout the data collection and 8 analysis, and interview transcripts were analyzed using open, axial and selective coding. 9 Methodological rigor was established by incorporating various verification strategies into the 10 research process, and the resultant grounded theory was also judged using the quality criteria of 11 fit, work, relevance, and modifiability. 12 Results and Conclusions: Results indicate that numerous psychological factors (relating to a 13 positive personality, motivation, confidence, focus, and perceived social support) protect the 14 world’s best athletes from the potential negative effect of stressors by influencing their 15 challenge appraisal and meta-cognitions. These processes promote facilitative responses that 16 precede optimal sport performance. The emergent theory provides sport psychologists, coaches 17 and national sport organizations with an understanding of the role of resilience in athletes’ lives 18 and the attainment of optimal sport performance. 19