LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The association between social support and physical activity in older adults: a systematic review

BACKGROUND
The promotion of active and healthy ageing is becoming increasingly important as the population ages. Physical activity (PA) significantly reduces all-cause mortality and contributes to the prevention of many chronic illnesses. However, the proportion of people globally who are active enough to gain these health benefits is low and decreases with age. Social support (SS) is a social determinant of health that may improve PA in older adults, but the association has not been systematically reviewed. This review had three aims: 1) Systematically review and summarise studies examining the association between SS, or loneliness, and PA in older adults; 2) clarify if specific types of SS are positively associated with PA; and 3) investigate whether the association between SS and PA differs between PA domains.


METHODS
Quantitative studies examining a relationship between SS, or loneliness, and PA levels in healthy, older adults over 60 were identified using MEDLINE, PSYCInfo, SportDiscus, CINAHL and PubMed, and through reference lists of included studies. Quality of these studies was rated.


RESULTS
This review included 27 papers, of which 22 were cross sectional studies, three were prospective/longitudinal and two were intervention studies. Overall, the study quality was moderate. Four articles examined the relation of PA with general SS, 17 with SS specific to PA (SSPA), and six with loneliness. The results suggest that there is a positive association between SSPA and PA levels in older adults, especially when it comes from family members. No clear associations were identified between general SS, SSPA from friends, or loneliness and PA levels. When measured separately, leisure time PA (LTPA) was associated with SS in a greater percentage of studies than when a number of PA domains were measured together.


CONCLUSIONS
The evidence surrounding the relationship between SS, or loneliness, and PA in older adults suggests that people with greater SS for PA are more likely to do LTPA, especially when the SS comes from family members. However, high variability in measurement methods used to assess both SS and PA in included studies made it difficult to compare studies.
Business Model Innovation: Opportunities and Barriers

Companies commercialize new ideas and technologies through their business models. While companies may have extensive investments and processes for exploring new ideas and technologies, they often have little if any ability to innovate the business models through which these inputs will pass. This matters the same idea or technology taken to market through two different business models will yield two different economic outcomes. So it makes good business sense for companies to develop the capability to innovate their business models. This paper explores the barriers to business model innovation, which previous academic research has identified as including conflicts with existing assets and business models, as well as cognition in understanding these barriers. Processes of experimentation and effectuation, and the successful leadership of organizational change must be brought to bear in order to overcome these barriers. Some examples of business model innovation are provided to underline its importance, in hopes of inspiring managers and academics to take these challenges on.
Postoperative pain control: videothoracoscopic versus conservative mini-thoracotomic approach.

OBJECTIVES
The management of postoperative pain in thoracic surgery is an open issue. The aim of this study was to compare postoperative pain after a videothoracoscopic lobectomy versus a mini-thoracotomy approach.


METHODS
Between April 2011 and January 2013 we enrolled in a prospective, non-randomized study 145 patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy with lymphadenectomy for Stage I lung cancer. In 75 cases (Group A), surgery was performed through a videothoracoscopic approach. In 70 cases (Group B), surgery was undertaken through a conservative mini-thoracotomy. Pain was assessed by visual analogue scale and lung function by spirometry and six-minute walking test (6MWT) before surgery, at 48 h and 1 month after surgery.


RESULTS
Patients were stratified by age, sex, lung function, type and duration of surgery. Length of hospital stay (median, days) was 4 for Group A and 6 for Group B (P = 0.088). The differences between mean postoperative pain values were significant at 1, 12, 24 and 48 h (6.24 vs 8.74, 5.16 vs 7.66, 4.19 vs 6.89 and 2.23 vs 5.33; P = 0.000). In Group A, mean preoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second values were 2.65 ± 0.61, and 1.83 ± 0.65 and 2.09 ± 0.65, respectively, at 48 h and 1 month (P = 0.028); in Group B, they were 2.71 ± 0.71 preoperatively and 1.33 ± 0.52 and 1.82 ± 0.63, respectively, at 48 h and 1 month. In Group A, mean preoperative 6MWT values (m) were 426.85 ± 51.18, and 371.23 ± 55.36 and 392.07 ± 56.12, respectively, at 48 h and 1 month; in Group B, they were 421.76 ± 56.65 preoperatively and 312.03 ± 48.54 and 331.83 ± 47.99, respectively, at 48 h and 1 month (P = 0.000).


CONCLUSIONS
The videothoracoscopic approach in the treatment of Stage I lung cancer reduces postoperative pain, which seems to allow a rapid functional recovery of patients.
Amino acid change in the carbohydrate response element binding protein is associated with lower triglycerides and myocardial infarction incidence depending on level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet in the PREDIMED trial.

BACKGROUND
A variant (rs3812316, C771G, and Gln241His) in the MLXIPL (Max-like protein X interacting protein-like) gene encoding the carbohydrate response element binding protein has been associated with lower triglycerides. However, its association with cardiovascular diseases and gene-diet interactions modulating these traits are unknown.


METHODS AND RESULTS
We studied 7166 participants in the PREvención with DIeta MEDiterránea trial testing a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) intervention versus a control diet for cardiovascular prevention, with a median follow-up of 4.8 years. Diet, lipids, MLXIPL polymorphisms, and cardiovascular events were assessed. Data were analyzed at baseline and longitudinally. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios for cardiovascular outcomes. The MLXIPL-rs3812316 was associated with lower baseline triglycerides (P=5.5×10(-5)) and lower hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63-0.85; P=1.4×10(-6) in G-carriers versus CC). This association was modulated by baseline adherence to MedDiet. When adherence to MedDiet was high, the protection was stronger (odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.51-0.77; P=8.6×10(-6)) than when adherence to MedDiet was low (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.70-1.09; P=0.219). Throughout the follow-up, both the MLXIPL-rs3812316 (P=3.8×10(-6)) and the MedDiet intervention (P=0.030) were significantly associated with decreased triglycerides. Likewise in G-carriers MedDiet intervention was associated with greater total cardiovascular risk reduction and specifically for myocardial infarction. In the MedDiet, but not in the control group, we observed lower myocardial infarction incidence in G-carriers versus CC (hazard ratios, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.12-0.93; P=0.036 and 0.90; 95% CI, 0.35-2.33; P=0.830, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Our novel results suggest that MedDiet enhances the triglyceride-lowering effect of the MLXIPL-rs3812316 variant and strengthens its protective effect on myocardial infarction incidence.


CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
URL: www.controlled-trials.com. Unique Identifier: ISRCTN35739639.
Association of tattooing and hepatitis C virus infection: a multicenter case-control study.

UNLABELLED
Although injection drug use (IDU) and blood transfusions prior to 1992 are well-accepted risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, many studies that evaluated tattooing as a risk factor for HCV infection did not control for a history of IDU or transfusion prior to 1992. In this large, multicenter, case-control study, we analyzed demographic and HCV risk factor exposure history data from 3,871 patients, including 1,930 with chronic HCV infection (HCV RNA-positive) and 1,941 HCV-negative (HCV antibody-negative) controls. Crude and fully adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of tattoo exposure by multivariate logistic regression in HCV-infected versus controls were determined. As expected, IDU (65.9% versus 17.8%; P < 0.001), blood transfusion prior to 1992 (22.3% versus 11.1%; P < 0.001), and history of having one or more tattoos (OR, 3.81; 95% CI, 3.23-4.49; P < 0.001) were more common in HCV-infected patients than in control subjects. After excluding all patients with a history of ever injecting drugs and those who had a blood transfusion prior to 1992, a total of 1,886 subjects remained for analysis (465 HCV-positive patients and 1,421 controls). Among these individuals without traditional risk factors, HCV-positive patients remained significantly more likely to have a history of one or more tattoos after adjustment for age, sex, and race/ethnicity (OR, 5.17; 95% CI, 3.75-7.11; P < 0.001).


CONCLUSION
Tattooing is associated with HCV infection, even among those without traditional HCV risk factors such as IDU and blood transfusion prior to 1992.
Optimal Real-Time Bidding Frameworks Discussion

This note is a complementary material for the solution of optimal real-time bidding function in paper [1], where the estimated cost is taken as the bid price, i.e., the upper bound of the true cost. Here we discuss a more general bid optimisation framework with various utility and cost functions. 1 Preliminaries Define the bidding function as b(r) which returns the bid price given the estimated clickthrough rate (CTR) r of an ad impression. Winning probability. Given the market price distribution pz(z) and the bid price b, the probability of winning the auction is
Role of vitamin D 3 in Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation — Pain and Sensory Aspects : Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Vitamin D receptors have been identified in the spinal cord, nerve roots, dorsal root ganglia and glial cells, and its genetic polymorphism association with the development of lumbar disc degeneration and herniation has been documented. Metabolic effects of active vitamin D metabolites in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells have been studied. Lumbar disc herniation is a process that involves immune and inflammatory cells and processes that are targets for immune regulatory actions of vitamin D as a neurosteroid hormone. In addition to vitamin D’s immune modulatory properties, its receptors have been identified in skeletal muscles. It also affects sensory neurons to modulate pain. In this study, we aim to study the role of vitamin D3 in discogenic pain and related sensory deficits. Additionally, we will address how post-treatment 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 level influences pain and sensory deficits severity. The cut-off value for serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 that would be efficacious in improving pain and sensory deficits in lumbar disc herniation will also be studied. Methods/Design: We will conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial. Our study population will include 380 cases with one-level and unilateral lumbar disc herniation with duration of discogenic pain less than 8 weeks. Individuals who do not have any contraindications, will be divided into three groups based on serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 level, and each group will be randomized to receive either a single-dose 300,000-IU intramuscular injection of vitamin D3 or placebo. All patients will be under conservative treatment. Pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments will be performed with the McGill Pain Questionnaire and a visual analogue scale. For the 15-day duration of this study, questionnaires will be filled out during telephone interviews every 3 days (a total of five times). The initial and final interviews will be scheduled at our clinic. After 15 days, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 levels will be measured for those who have received vitamin D3 (190 individuals). Trial registration: Iranian Registry for Clinical Trials ID: IRCT2014050317534N1 (trial registration: 5 June 2014)
INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGIES IN MECHANICAL DESIGN: QFD VS TRIZ TO DEVELOP AN INNOVATIVE PRESSURE CONTROL SYSTEM

A mechanical device to control kart’s tire pressure was developed. This valve must blow air when temperature’s tire and pressure rise with a not acceptable shape deformation and a corresponding modification of the vehicles trim. With the new solution, drivers can drive faster and more safely. Two design methods have been utilized: QFD and TRIZ. The first one, Quality Function Deployment, offers a clarification tool for organizing the information flow in a structured way, and TRIZ, Theory of Inventing Problem Solving, is an efficient tool in the discovering the solution principles. With TRIZ’s Table, technical and physical contradiction are put in evidence and eliminated to improve the robustness of the device. The two methods interact one another and offer the best path for the development of a new design.
A Logic of Blockchain Updates

Blockchains are distributed data structures that are used to achieve consensus in systems for cryptocurrencies (like Bitcoin) or smart contracts (like Ethereum). Although blockchains gained a lot of popularity recently, there are only few logic-based models for blockchains available. We introduce BCL, a dynamic logic to reason about blockchain updates, and show that BCL is sound and complete with respect to a simple blockchain model.
Career counselling in the 21 st century : South African institutions of higher education at the crossroads

The current state of career counselling1 in South African institutions of higher education in the 21st century is explored in this article in an attempt to locate current work in the field of career counselling in South Africa in the light of global trends (academic and economic) and in terms of local history and current economic climate. The article is based largely on an examination of factors that have contributed collectively and individually to the current state of affairs in career counselling in South Africa (with particular emphasis on institutions of higher education). The key aim is to create a deeper understanding of what can be done to help millions of young people in South Africa (including those who are currently excluded from sought-after fields of study and training institutions) access those opportunities that are available and, in the process, to promote equity, access and redress. Some salient aspects of 21st century career counselling, including the history of career counselling in South Africa and elsewhere, the need for a changed approach to career counselling at all levels, and the interplay between the different waves in psychology are explicated. Helping models in career counselling, the narrative approach, the global economy and the impact of global developments on career counselling are considered. It is endeavoured to deconstruct and explain the impact of these factors on what is currently happening in South Africa and determine whether South Africa has kept abreast of contemporary developments historically, epistemologically and at a more practical level.
Gravitational Structure Formation

We discuss the formation of the first structures in gravitational N-body simulations. The role of two-body interaction is found to be a crucial element and an analogy with the dynamics of the Coulomb lattice, well-studied in solid state physics, is discussed.
An Ultra-Low-Power Transformer-Feedback 60 GHz Low-Noise Amplifier in 90 nm CMOS

An ultra-low-power 60 GHz low-noise amplifier (LNA) with a 12.5 dB peak gain and a 5.4 dB minimum NF is demonstrated in a 90 nm CMOS technology. The LNA is composed of four cascaded common-source stages with the gate-source transformer feedback applied to the input stage for simultaneous noise and input matching. Also, the drain-source transformer feedback is used in the following stages for gain enhancement and interstage/output matching. This LNA consumes only 4.4 mW from a 1 V supply with a compact core area of 0.047 .
Real time vision by FPGA implemented CNNs

In order to get real time image processing for mobile robot vision, we propose to use a discrete time cellular neural network implementation by a convolutional structure on Altora FPGA using VHDL language. We obtain at least 9 times faster processing than other emulations for the same problem.
High-voltage high-frequency Marx-bank type pulse generator using integrated power semiconductor half-bridges

This paper discusses the operation of an all silicon-based solution for the conventional Marx generator circuit, which has been developed for high-frequency (kHz), high-voltage (kV) applications needing rectangular pulses. The conventional Marx generator, for high-voltage pulsed applications, uses passive power components (inductors or resistors), to supply the energy storage capacitors. This solution has the disadvantages of cost, size, power losses and limited frequency operation. In the proposed circuit, the bulky passive power elements are replaced by power semiconductor switches, increasing the performance of the classical circuit, strongly reducing costs, losses and increasing the pulse repetition frequency. Also, the proposed topology enables the use of typical half-bridge semiconductor structures, and ensures that the maximum voltage blocked by the semiconductors equals the power supply voltage (i.e. the voltage of each capacitor), even with mismatches in the synchronized switching, and in fault conditions. A laboratory prototype with five stages, 5 kW peak power, of the proposed silicon-based Marx generator circuit, was constructed using 1200 V IGBTs and diodes, operating with 1000 V d-c input voltage and 10 kHz frequency, giving 5 kV/1 A pulses, with 10 mus width and 50 ns rise time
Inferring Parametric Energy Consumption Functions at Different Software Levels: ISA vs. LLVM IR

The static estimation of the energy consumed by program executions is an important challenge, which has applications in program optimization and verification, and is instrumental in energy-aware software development. Our objective is to estimate such energy consumption in the form of functions on the input data sizes of programs. We have developed a tool for experimentation with static analysis which infers such energy functions at two levels, the instruction set architecture (ISA) and the intermediate code (LLVM IR) levels, and reflects it upwards to the higher source code level. This required the development of a translation from LLVM IR to an intermediate representation and its integration with existing components, a translation from ISA to the same representation, a resource analyzer, an ISA-level energy model, and a mapping from this model to LLVM IR. The approach has been applied to programs written in the XC language running on XCore architectures, but is general enough to be applied to other languages. Experimental results show that our LLVM IR level analysis is reasonably accurate (less than 6.4% average error vs. hardware measurements) and more powerful than analysis at the ISA level. This paper provides insights into the trade-off of precision versus analyzability at these levels.
Cost-effectiveness of heptavalent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (Prevenar) in Germany: considering a high-risk population and herd immunity effects

In Germany, the seven-valent conjugate vaccine Prevenar is recommended for use in children at high risk of pneumococcal disease. Recent data suggest that giving conjugate vaccine to all children may lead to a decline in pneumococcal disease in unvaccinated adults, a phenomenon known as herd immunity. This analysis evaluated the cost and economic consequences in Germany of vaccinating (1) children at high risk, (2) all children when considering only benefits for vaccinated individuals and (3) all children when also considering herd immunity benefits. Costs in the model included vaccination, management of meningitis, bacteraemia, pneumonia and acute otitis media, insurance payments to parents and the costs of care for long-term disabilities. The model estimated that the cost-effectiveness of vaccination would be 38,222 euros per life year gained in children at high risk and 100,636 euros per life year gained in all children when not considering herd immunity. When considering herd immunity effects, the model estimated that offering vaccination for all children would reduce adult deaths by 3,027 per year, and vaccination would be broadly cost neutral. The findings are sensitive to the effect of conjugate vaccine on the rates of pneumonia and invasive disease in the elderly. If the herd immunity effect of conjugate vaccination in Germany is similar to that observed elsewhere, offering vaccine to all children will be more attractive than the current policy of restricting vaccination to children at high risk of pneumococcal disease.
Dose to the contralateral breast from radiotherapy and risk of second primary breast cancer in the WECARE study.

PURPOSE
To quantify the risk of second primary breast cancer in the contralateral breast (CB) after radiotherapy (RT) for first breast cancer.


METHODS AND MATERIALS
The study population included participants in the Women's Environmental, Cancer, and Radiation Epidemiology study: 708 cases (women with asynchronous bilateral breast cancer) and 1399 controls (women with unilateral breast cancer) counter-matched on radiation treatment. Participants were <55 years of age at first breast cancer. Absorbed doses to quadrants of the CB were estimated. Rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariable-adjusted conditional logistic regression models.


RESULTS
Across all patients, the mean radiation dose to the specific quadrant of the CB tumor was 1.1 Gy. Women <40 years of age who received >1.0 Gy of absorbed dose to the specific quadrant of the CB had a 2.5-fold greater risk for CB cancer than unexposed women (RR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.4-4.5). No excess risk was observed in women >40 years of age. Women <40 years of age with follow-up periods >5 years had a RR of 3.0 (95% CI 1.1-8.1), and the dose response was significant (excess RR per Gy of 1.0, 95% CI 0.1-3.0).


CONCLUSIONS
Women <40 years of age who received a radiation dose >1.0 Gy to the CB had an elevated, long-term risk of developing a second primary CB cancer. The risk is inversely related to age at exposure and is dose dependent.