LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
THREE NEW COCCIDIA (APICOMPLEXA) FROM THE HOOD ISLAND LIZARD, TROPIDURUS DELANONIS, FROM THE GALAPAGOS ARCHIPELAGO

Fecal samples of 14 Conolophus subcristatus from Isla Plaza Sur and of 24 Tropidurus delanonis from Isla Espafiola and several satellite islets, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, collected during June and July 1987 were examined for coccidian oocysts. None of the samples from C. subcristatus contained oocysts, but 11 of 24 (46%) samples from T. delanonis had oocysts when examined. Two Eimeria and 1 Isospora spp. were present, which we describe here as new species. Sporulated oocysts of Eimeria tropidura n. sp. are ellipsoidal, 32.5 x 23.8 (21-38 x 19-30) im, with spheroidal to subspheroidal sporocysts, 8.2 x 7.9 (7-10 x 5-10) ,m. Sporulated oocysts of Eimeria galapagoensis n. sp. are cylindroidal, 32.8 x 14.0 (27-36 x 12-17) Am, with spheroidal sporocysts 7.5 (7.5) Aim. Sporulated oocysts of Isospora insularius n. sp. are spheroidal to subspheroidal, 24.5 x 22.3 (19-30 x 18-27) ,im, with lemon-shaped sporocysts, 16.6 x 9.3 (9-17 x 7-13) gm. Each of the 11 positive fecal samples had oocysts of only 1 coccidian species, i.e., the different coccidian species did not share individual hosts. During June and July 1987, we had the opportunity to collect fresh fecal samples from 2 species of Galapagos lizards, Conolophus subcristatus and Tropidurus delanonis. A number of the T. delanonis examined were passing coccidian oocysts that, upon closer study, represented 3 species, an isosporan and 2 eimerians that we describe here as new. MATERIALS AND METHODS During June 1987, we collected fresh fecal samples from 14 C. subcristatus from Isla Plaza Sur, and during July 1987, fresh samples were taken from 24 T. delanonis from Isla Espanola (5), Isla Gardner por Espafiola (8), Islote Osbom (7), and an unnamed islet (4) in Gardner Bay, the Galipagos Islands, Ecuador. All hosts were live-captured and fecal samples collected were placed in 2% (w/v) aqueous potassium dichromate (K2Cr207) and kept at ambient temperature. Once the samples were brought to Albuquerque in late July 1987, we followed the procedures outlined by AquinoShuster and Duszynski (1989) for storing, processing, measuring, and photographing oocysts. All measurements are in ,m with ranges in parentheses following the means. As the Galapagos Islands constitute a national park, it was not possible to keep the hosts; thus, after collecting feces from hosts, each was released.
Through French eyes: Rigaud's drawings of Chiswick

Abstract When Jacques Rigaud (c. 1681–1754) came to England, about February 1733, he was already a well-known draughtsman and print-seller whose shop in the rue Saint Jacques must have been patronized by British visitors in Paris. He was famous for his views of French cities, châteaux and gardens, most of which were engraved and published in sets; among his recent works were Les Promenades du Luxembourg (1729) and Les Maisons Royales de France (1730). According to Vertue, it was ‘at the request of Mr. Bridgman the Kings gardner’ that he made a visit to England.2 This seems quite likely, as Rigaud's most important commissions were views of gardens designed by Bridgeman or in his style. The French artist drew a few royal gardens like Hampton Court, St. James's Park and Richmond, but worked mostly for aristocratic patrons. He made at least two drawings of Claremont for the duke of Newcastle,3 and no less than 15 views of Stowe for Lord Cobham, which were later engraved by Bernard Baron.4
Study designs for PDSA quality improvement research.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to discuss strengths and weaknesses of quasi-experimental designs used in health care quality improvement research. The target groups for this article are investigators in plan-do-study-act (PDSA) quality improvement initiatives who wish to improve the rigor of their methodology and publish their work and reviewers who evaluate the quality of research proposals or published work.


SUMMARY
A primary purpose of PDSA quality improvement research is to establish a functional relationship between process changes in systems of health care and variation in outcomes. The time series design is the fundamental paradigm for demonstrating such functional relationships. The rigor of a PDSA quality improvement study design is strengthened using replication schemes and research methodology to address extraneous factors that weaken validity of observational studies.


CONCLUSION
The design of PDSA quality improvement research should follow from the purpose and context of the project. Improving the rigor of the quality improvement literature will build a stronger foundation and more convincing justification for the study and practice of quality improvement in health care.
A randomized controlled behavioral intervention trial to improve medication adherence in adult stroke patients with prescription tailored Short Messaging Service (SMS)-SMS4Stroke study

BACKGROUND
The effectiveness of mobile technology to improve medication adherence via customized Short Messaging Service (SMS) reminders for stroke has not been tested in resource poor areas. We designed a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of SMS on improving medication adherence in stroke survivors in Pakistan.


METHODS
This was a parallel group, assessor-blinded, randomized, controlled, superiority trial. Participants were centrally randomized in fixed block sizes. Adult participants on multiple medications with access to a cell phone and stroke at least 4 weeks from onset (Onset as defined by last seen normal) were eligible. The intervention group, in addition to usual care, received reminder SMS for 2 months that contained a) Personalized, prescription tailored daily medication reminder(s) b) Twice weekly health information SMS. The Health Belief Model and Social Cognitive theory were used to design the language and content of messages. Frontline SMS software was used for SMS delivery. Medication adherence was self-reported and measured on the validated Urdu version of Morisky Medication Adherence Questionnaire. Multiple linear regression was used to model the outcome against intervention and other covariates. Analysis was conducted by intention-to-treat principle.


RESULTS
Two hundred participants were enrolled. 38 participants were lost to follow-up. After 2 months, the mean medication score was 7.4 (95 % CI: 7.2-7.6) in the intervention group while 6.7 (95 % CI: 6.4-7.02) in the control group. The adjusted mean difference (Δ) was 0.54 (95 % CI: 0.22-0.85). The mean diastolic blood pressure in the intervention group was 2.6 mmHg (95 % CI; -5.5 to 0.15) lower compared to the usual care group.


CONCLUSION
A short intervention of customized SMS can improve medication adherence and effect stroke risk factors like diastolic blood pressure in stroke survivors with complex medication regimens living in resource poor areas.


TRIAL REGISTRATION
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01986023 last accessed at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01986023.
Treatment of melasma with potent topical corticosteroids.

A.J. Kanwar, MD, Department of Dermatology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160 012 (India) Melasma in a pattern of acquired hyper-melanosis seen mostly in women of child-bearing age and occasionally in males occurring on sun-exposed areas. It is often considered either as a physiological change in pregnancy, or oral contraceptives are incriminated. The condition may fade after delivery but is often persistent [1]. Distribution-wise, the lesions are centrofacial (63%), malar (21%) and mandibular (16%) [2]. On Wood’s lamp examination, melasma is classified as epidermal, dermal and compound (epidermal and dermal). Histopathologically, the pigmentation is either epidermal or dermal. This differentiation has clinical significance as epidermal pigmentation responds better to therapy whereas dermal pigmentation is usually resistant to all forms of treatment. Kligman and Willis [3] reported good response with a combination of 0.1% tretinoin, 5% hydro-quinone and 0.1% dexamethasone, but depigmentation was not attainable when any of the components was omitted; however, a double-blind study with 2% hydroquinone and 1% retinoic acid without any corticoste-roid produced an equally good response [2]. We recently treated 10 patients with melasma (7 females and 3 males) with a potent topical corticosteroid, i.e. clobetasol propionate (0.05%). The ages of the patients ranged from 20 to 40 years, and the duration of melasma was from 3 to 14 months. Of 10, 5 had centrofacial, 4 malar and 1 mandibular patterns of distribution. None of the female patients were pregnant or on oral contraceptives at the time of examination or in the preceding 6 months. Patients were instructed to apply clobetasol propionate (0.05%) cream topically initially twice daily for 4 weeks followed by once daily for another 4 weeks. In all patients fading of pigmentation was observed after 2 weeks, and it was more discernible after 4-6 weeks. Eighty to ninety percent clearance of pigmentation was observed after 6-8 weeks in 7 patients; in 3 therapy had to be stopped after 4 weeks because of local atrophy and telangiectasiae. In addition to the topical corticosteroid, patients were advised to use a sun screen. In 4 of 7 patients in whom the pigmentation had cleared, it reappeared at the same sites after about 2-3 weeks after stopping the treatment and gradually progressed to pretreatment state during the next 4–6 months of follow-up. Though Wood’s light and histopatholog-ical examination were not done to categorize the therapeutic response, initial clearance of pigmentation with clobetasol propionate was encouraging though the success was shortlived. Kligman and Willis [3], however, failed to find any beneficial effect of only topical
Multicenter experience on eversion versus conventional carotid endarterectomy in symptomatic carotid artery stenosis: observations from the Stent-Protected Angioplasty Versus Carotid Endarterectomy (SPACE-1) trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is beneficial in patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. However, randomized trials have not provided evidence concerning the optimal CEA technique, conventional or eversion.


METHODS
The outcome of 563 patients within the surgical randomization arm of the Stent-Protected Angioplasty versus Carotid Endarterectomy in Symptomatic Patients (SPACE-1) trial was analyzed by surgical technique subgroups: eversion endarterectomy versus conventional endarterectomy with patch angioplasty. The primary end point was ipsilateral stroke or death within 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcome events included perioperative adverse events and the 2-year risk of restenosis, stroke, and death.


RESULTS
Both groups were similar in terms of demographic and other baseline clinical variables. Shunt frequency was higher in the conventional CEA group (65% versus 17%; P<0.0001). The risk of ipsilateral stroke or death within 30 days after surgery was significantly greater with eversion CEA (9% versus 3%; P=0.005). There were no statistically significant differences in the rate of perioperative secondary outcome events with the exception of a significantly higher risk of intraoperative ipsilateral stroke rate in the eversion CEA group (4% versus 0.3%; P=0.0035). The 2-year risk of ipsilateral stroke occurring after 30 days was significantly higher in the conventional CEA group (2.9% versus 0%; P=0.017).


CONCLUSIONS
In patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis, conventional CEA appears to be associated with better periprocedural neurological outcome than eversion CEA. Eversion CEA, however, may be more effective for long-term prevention of ipsilateral stroke. These findings should be interpreted with caution noting the limitations of the post hoc, nonrandomized nature of the analysis.
Transmuted Lindley Distribution

In this article, we generalize the Lindley distribution using the quadratic rank transmutation map studied by Shaw et al. [8] to develop a transmuted Lindley distribution. We provide a comprehensive description of the mathematical properties of the subject distribution along with its reliability behavior. The usefulness of the transmuted Lindley distribution for modeling reliability data is illustrated using real data.
Quantum Counting

We study some extensions of Grover’s quantum searching algorithm. First, we generalize the Grover iteration in the light of a concept called amplitude amplification. Then, we show that the quadratic speedup obtained by the quantum searching algorithm over classical brute force can still be obtained for a large family of search problems for which good classical heuristics exist. Finally, as our main result, we combine ideas from Grover’s and Shor’s quantum algorithms to perform approximate counting, which can be seen as an amplitude estimation process.
Twenty-year follow-up of children with and without speech-language impairments: family, educational, occupational, and quality of life outcomes.

PURPOSE
Parents, professionals, and policy makers need information on the long-term prognosis for children with communication disorders. Our primary purpose in this report was to help fill this gap by profiling the family, educational, occupational, and quality of life outcomes of young adults at 25 years of age (N = 244) from the Ottawa Language Study, a 20-year, prospective, longitudinal study of a community sample of individuals with (n = 112) and without (n = 132) a history of early speech and/or language impairments. A secondary purpose of this report was to use data from earlier phases of the study to predict important, real-life outcomes at age 25.


METHOD
Participants were initially identified at age 5 and subsequently followed at 12, 19, and 25 years of age. Direct assessments were conducted at all 4 time periods in multiple domains (demographic, communicative, cognitive, academic, behavioral, and psychosocial).


RESULTS
At age 25, young adults with a history of language impairments showed poorer outcomes in multiple objective domains (communication, cognitive/academic, educational attainment, and occupational status) than their peers without early communication impairments and those with early speech-only impairments. However, those with language impairments did not differ in subjective perceptions of their quality of life from those in the other 2 groups. Objective outcomes at age 25 were predicted differentially by various combinations of multiple, interrelated risk factors, including poor language and reading skills, low family socioeconomic status, low performance IQ, and child behavior problems. Subjective well-being, however, was primarily associated with strong social networks of family, friends, and others.


CONCLUSION
This information on the natural history of communication disorders may be useful in answering parents' questions, anticipating challenges that children with language disorders might encounter, and planning services to address those issues.
Colistin alone or combined with sulbactam or carbapenem against A. baumannii in ventilator-associated pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION
Colistin use has increased over the last ten years because of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and microbiological efficacy of colistin alone or in combination with sulbactam or carbapenem in the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) due to multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant (XDR) A. baumannii.


METHODOLOGY
Cases treated for VAP because of MDR and XDR A. baumannii between January 2011 and January 2013 were included in the study. The primary and secondary outcome for colistin alone, colistin with sulbactam, and colistin with carbapenems were evaluated. The primary outcomes were clinical efficacy and microbiological efficacy; the secondary outcomes were nephrotoxicity, length of hospitalization, and mortality.


RESULTS
A total of 70 VAP patients were evaluated. A total of 17 patients (24.3%) were administered colistin alone, 20 patients (28.6%) were administered colistin and sulbactam, and 33 patients (47.1%) were administered colistin and carbapenem. Clinical and microbiological response rates were higher in the carbapenem combination group (63.6% and 63.6% in both) than in the sulbactam combination group, which registered 55.0% and 60.0%, respectively. However, this did not represent a significant difference statistically (p > 0.05). There was also no significant difference between colistin alone and the combination groups regarding clinical and microbiological efficacy and mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
Neither the administration of colistin alone nor colistin combined with either sulbactam or carbapenem had any noticeable advantage in the treatment of VAP in terms of clinical response, microbiological response, nephrotoxicity, length of hospitalization, and mortality.
Medical Image Retrieval and Automatic Annotation: VPA-SABANCI at ImageCLEF 2009

Advances in the medical imaging technology has lead to an exponential growth in the number of digital images that needs to be acquired, analyzed, classified, stored and retrieved in medical centers. As a result, medical image classification and retrieval has recently gained high interest in the scientific community. Despite several attempts, such as the yearly-held ImageCLEF Medical Image Annotation Competition, the proposed solutions are still far from being sufficiently accurate for real-life implementations. In this paper we summarize the technical details of our experiments for the ImageCLEF 2009 medical image annotation task. We use a direct and two hierarchical classification schemes that employ support vector machines and local binary patterns, which are recently developed low-cost texture descriptors. The direct scheme employs a single SVM to automatically annotate X-ray images. The two proposed hierarchical schemes divide the classification task into sub-problems. The first hierarchical scheme exploits ensemble SVMs trained on IRMA sub-codes. The second learns from subgroups of data defined by frequency of classes. Our experiments show that hierarchical annotation of images by training individual SVMs over each IRMA sub-code dominates its rivals in annotation accuracy with increased process time relative to the direct scheme.
A new implicit solvent model for protein-ligand docking.

A new implicit solvent model for computing the electrostatics binding free energy in protein-ligand docking is proposed. The new method is based on an adaptation of the screening coulombic potentials proposed originally by Hassan et al. (J Phys Chem B 2000;104:6490-6498). In essence, it relies on two basic assumptions; (i) solvent screening can be accounted for by means of radially dependent sigmoidal dielectric functions and; (ii) the effective atom Born radii can be expressed only as a function of the exposed atom surface. Parameters of the model other than radii and charges are generic. These were optimized for a dataset of 826 protein-ligand complexes, comprising both X-ray complexes for 23 receptors as well as decoys generated by docking computations. We show that the new model provides satisfactory results when benchmarked against reference values based on the numerical solution of the Poisson equation, with a root mean square error of 4.2 kcal/mol over a range of approximately 40 kcal/mol in electrostatics binding free energies, a cross-validated r2 of 0.81, a slope of 0.97, and an intercept of 1.06 kcal/mol. We show that the model is appropriate for ligands of different sizes, polarities, overall charge, and chemical composition. Furthermore, not only the total value of the electrostatic contribution to the binding free energy, but also its components (coulombic term, receptor desolvation, and ligand desolvation) are reasonably well reproduced. Computation times of approximately 0.030 s per pose are obtained on a single processor desktop workstation.
Randomized, double-blind trial of fluconazole versus voriconazole for prevention of invasive fungal infection after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a serious threat after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). This multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial compared fluconazole (N = 295) versus voriconazole (N = 305) for the prevention of IFI in the context of a structured fungal screening program. Patients undergoing myeloablative allogeneic HCT were randomized before HCT to receive study drugs for 100 days, or for 180 days in higher-risk patients. Serum galactomannan was assayed twice weekly for 60 days, then at least weekly until day 100. Positive galactomannan or suggestive signs triggered mandatory evaluation for IFI. The primary endpoint was freedom from IFI or death (fungal-free survival; FFS) at 180 days. Despite trends to fewer IFIs (7.3% vs 11.2%; P = .12), Aspergillus infections (9 vs 17; P = .09), and less frequent empiric antifungal therapy (24.1% vs 30.2%, P = .11) with voriconazole, FFS rates (75% vs 78%; P = .49) at 180 days were similar with fluconazole and voriconazole, respectively. Relapse-free and overall survival and the incidence of severe adverse events were also similar. This study demonstrates that in the context of intensive monitoring and structured empiric antifungal therapy, 6-month FFS and overall survival did not differ in allogeneic HCT recipients given prophylactic fluconazole or voriconazole. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00075803.
Effects of cigarette reduction on cardiovascular risk factors and subjective measures.

STUDY OBJECTIVES
To assess the effect of continued smoking and smoking reduction on cardiovascular biomarkers (eg, WBC count, cholesterol concentrations, BP, heart rate).


DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This study, conducted at the University of Minnesota, randomized smokers interested in significantly reducing cigarette use but not quitting to either start 12 weeks of smoking reduction immediately (n = 102), assisted by nicotine replacement therapy, or to a 6-week wait list (n = 49). Those starting smoking reduction were required to reduce smoking by 25% for 2 weeks, 50% for 2 weeks, and 75% during the final 2 weeks. After 6 weeks, the subjects were asked to maintain a 50% reduction or quit. Nicotine gum and, if necessary, nicotine patch were used to achieve reduction goals. The wait list group (n = 49) smoked ad libitum for 6 weeks and then reduced smoking as previously described.


MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
Cardiovascular biomarkers (eg, WBC count, cholesterol concentrations, BP, heart rate) were assessed at several time points after enrollment. During ad libitum smoking, cardiovascular biomarkers remained relatively stable with correlation coefficients across the various time measurements, ranging from 0.44 to 1.00 (p < 0.01 for all measures). Among successful nonabstinent reducers (64 of 151 subjects), significant improvements were found in many biomarkers (eg, hemoglobin, hematocrit, RBC and WBC counts, lipids, BP, heart rate, respiratory symptoms, all p < 0.0167).


CONCLUSIONS
These results show the availability of reliable and dose-sensitive biomarkers and that reduction in smoking can lead to significant but only modest changes in cardiovascular risk factors in healthy smokers. It is not known whether the reductions in cardiovascular risk factors observed after smoking reduction are also associated with reduced disease risk. Additional research is necessary to address this issue.