LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The burden of smoking-related ill health in the UK.

BACKGROUND
Smoking is one of the biggest avoidable causes of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom. This paper quantifies the current health and economic burden of smoking in the UK. It provides comparisons with previous studies of the burden of smoking in the UK and with the costs for other chronic disease risk factors.


METHODS
A systematic literature review to identify previous estimates of National Health Service costs attributable to smoking was undertaken. Information from the World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease Project and routinely collected mortality data were used to calculate mortality due to smoking in the UK. Population-attributable fractions for smoking-related diseases from the Global Burden of Disease Project were applied to NHS cost data to estimate direct financial costs.


RESULTS
Previous studies estimated that smoking costs the NHS about 1.4 billion to 1.7 billion pound in 1991 and has been responsible for about 100,000 deaths per annum over the past 10 years. This paper estimates that the number of deaths attributable to smoking in 2005 was 109,164 (19% of all deaths, 27% deaths in men and 11% of deaths in women). Smoking was directly responsible for 12% of disability adjusted life years lost in 2002 (15.4% in men; 8.5% in women) and the direct cost to the NHS was 5.2 billion pound in 2005-6.


CONCLUSION
Smoking is still a considerable public health burden in the UK. Accurately establishing the burden in terms of death, disability and financial costs is important for informing national public health policy.
Kinesio taping in patients with lateral epicondylitis.

BACKGROUND
Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a painful condition that affects the tendinous tissue of the lateral epicondyle of the humerus and leads to loss of function of the affected limb. Therefore it can have a major impact on the patient's social and personal life. Many treatments are recommended for lateral epicondylitis; unfortunately the evidence is limited.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of study was to investigate the effect of kinesio taping (KT) on pain, grip strength and function in patients LE.


METHODS
Thirty-one (23 females, 8 males) patients with LE were included. KT was applied twice a week for 2 weeks. Pain at rest, activity of daily living (ADL), night and palpation on lateral epicondyle was evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS 0-10 cm), and the grip strength was measured with a hand held dynamometer. The stage of the disease was evaluated by the Nirschl score and the functional status was assessed with Patient-Rated Forearm Evaluation Questionnaire (PRTEQ) score. These parameters were evaluated before, at 2 weeks and 6 weeks after treatment. Patients' satisfaction was also recorded on a Likert scale after treatment at 2 weeks and 6 weeks.


RESULTS
The average age of the patients was 43.58 ± 9.02. The dominant limb was affected in 64.5% (20) of the patients. After the application of KT on lateral epicondyle, there was a significant improvement in all parameters in terms of pain, Nirschl score, hand grip strength, patient satisfaction, and PRTEQ scores at 2 and 6 weeks.


CONCLUSIONS
Kinesio taping can be an effective treatment method in LE. This application improves pain, grip strength and functional status of the patients with LE.
Dermoscopic characterization of cutaneous lymphomas: a pilot survey.

BACKGROUND
While substantial dermoscopic analysis of melanocytic lesions has been performed, dermoscopic characterization of cutaneous lymphoid proliferations has been limited. Cutaneous lymphoma, particularly early mycosis fungoides (MF) and its variants, is often challenging to clinically and pathologically distinguish from inflammatory processes of the skin. This study aimed to survey the dermoscopic findings of cutaneous lymphomas and to discern whether any patterns might potentially serve as specific signatures.


METHODS
Fifteen patients with an established diagnosis of cutaneous lymphoma were prospectively recruited and seen in the university multidisciplinary cutaneous lymphoma program with MF, an MF- variant, CD30-positive lymphoproliferative disorder, or cutaneous B-cell lymphomas and were included in our study. Dermoscopic findings, histologic features, clinical characteristics, and demographic data were analyzed.


RESULTS
Patch stage MF was characterized by interconnected white structureless patches encircling small fine linear vessels, yielding an overall trabeculated to fenestrated pattern under dermoscopy. Corresponding histopathologic findings for these patterns included epidermotropism, atypical pleomorphic cells, and lichenoid infiltrates. Folliculotropic mycosis fungoides (FMF) was characterized by folliculocentric erosions surrounded by dotted and fine linear vessels, loss of terminal follicles, comedo-like openings, and interconnected regular-appearing structureless patches. Corresponding histopathologic findings in these FMF cases were typical of FMF. Notably, these changes were not appreciated in lymphomatoid papulosis. Primary cutaneous follicle center B cell lymphoma showed crystalline structures and vascular pseudopods.


CONCLUSIONS
Cutaneous lymphomas appear to demonstrate characteristic dermoscopic patterns, reflective of the specific lymphoma type and its corresponding histopathology, which have not been seen in inflammatory skin conditions, such as psoriasis and eczematous dermatitis.
Integer Linear Programming-Based Bit-Level Optimization for High-Speed FIR Decimation Filter Architectures

Analog-to-digital converters based on sigma-delta modulation have shown promising performance, with steadily increasing bandwidth. However, associated with the increasing bandwidth is an increasing modulator sampling rate, which becomes costly to decimate in the digital domain. Several architectures exist for the digital decimation filter, and among the more common and efficient are polyphase decomposed FIR filter structures. In this paper, we consider such filters implemented with partial product generation for the multiplications, and carry-save adders to merge the partial products. The focus is on the efficient pipelined reduction of the partial products, which is done using a bit-level optimization algorithm for the tree design. However, the method is not limited only to filter design, but may also be used in other applications where high-speed reduction of partial products is required. The presentation of the reduction method is carried out through a comparison between the main architectural choices for FIR filters: the direct-form and transposed direct-form structures. For the direct-form structure, usage of symmetry adders for linear-phase filters is investigated, and a new scheme utilizing partial symmetry adders is introduced. The optimization results are complemented with energy dissipation and cell area estimations for a 90nm CMOS process. Index Terms FIR, Polyphase, Sigma-Delta, CIC, Optimization, Integer Linear Programming, Decimation, Digital Filter, Carry-Save
The use of systems development methodologies in practice: a field study

This paper discusses the findings of a field study of experienced systems developers which investigated the usage of systems development methodologies (SDMs) in practice. Among the main findings to emerge are the following: There is a wide difference between the formalised sequence of steps and stages prescribed by a methodology, and the methodology-in-action uniquely enacted for each development project. Also, there is much evidence which suggests that developers omit certain aspects of methodologies, not from a position of ignorance, but from the more pragmatic basis that certain aspects are not relevant to the development environment they face. Thus, methodologies are tailored to the needs of the prevailing development environment, and, being documented in a single manual often, are framed at a higher level of granularity which specify broad activities and objectives, rather than specifying in a very detailed fashion the exact manner in which development should take place. Additionally, the findings clarify the apparently contradictory position in the literature as to whether developer experience is positively or negatively correlated with methodology usage. The study would suggest that experienced developers are likely to use methodologies, albeit ones which have been heavily customised to the exigenceis of the particular situation.
Amine-containing molecules and the induction of an expanded lysosomal volume phenotype: a structure-activity relationship study.

Many weakly basic amine-containing compounds have a strong propensity to become highly concentrated in lysosomes by virtue of an ion-trapping-type mechanism; the substrates for this are referred to as lysosomotropic. We have previously shown that many lysosomotropic drugs can produce a significant expansion in the apparent volume of lysosomes, which can ultimately result in an intracellular distribution-based drug-drug interaction. In this study, we have systematically evaluated the physicochemical and structural features of weakly basic molecules that correlate with their ability to induce an expanded lysosomal volume phenotype (ELVP) in cultured human fibroblasts. By quantitatively evaluating the cellular accumulation of Lysotracker Red, a fluorescent lysosomotropic probe, the volume of the lysosomal compartment was determined. We specifically explored the influence that lysosomotropism, molecular size, and amphiphilicity had on a molecule's ability to induce an ELVP. The capacity of these molecules to intercalation into biological membranes was also evaluated using a red blood cell hemolysis assay. The present results suggest that a molecule's potency in eliciting an ELVP is influenced by lysosomotropism, amphiphilicity, and its ability to intercalate into biological membranes. Despite being highly lysosomotropic, low-molecular-weight, nonaromatic amines failed to cause an ELVP at all concentrations evaluated.
Associations between overweight and obesity with bullying behaviors in school-aged children.

OBJECTIVE
The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children is rising. Childhood obesity is associated with many negative social and psychological ramifications such as peer aggression. However, the relationship between overweight and obesity status with different forms of bullying behaviors remains unclear. The purpose of this article is to examine these relationships.


METHODS
We examined associations between bullying behaviors (physical, verbal, relational, and sexual harassment) with overweight and obesity status in a representative sample of 5749 boys and girls (11-16 years old). The results were based on the Canadian records from the 2001/2002 World Health Organization Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Survey. Body mass index (BMI) and bullying behaviors were determined from self-reports.


RESULTS
With the exception of 15- to 16-year-old boys, relationships were observed between BMI category and peer victimization, such that overweight and obese youth were at greater relative odds of being victims of aggression than normal-weight youth. Strong and significant associations were seen for relational (eg, withdrawing friendship or spreading rumors or lies) and overt (eg, name-calling or teasing or hitting, kicking, or pushing) victimization but not for sexual harassment. Independent of gender, there were no associations between BMI category and bully-perpetrating in 11- to 14-year-olds. However, there were relationships between BMI category and bully-perpetrating in 15- to 16-year-old boys and girls such that the overweight and obese 15- to 16-year-olds were more likely to perpetrate bullying than their normal-weight classmates. Associations were seen for relational (boys only) and overt (both genders) forms of bully-perpetrating but not for sexual harassment.


CONCLUSIONS
Overweight and obese school-aged children are more likely to be the victims and perpetrators of bullying behaviors than their normal-weight peers. These tendencies may hinder the short- and long-term social and psychological development of overweight and obese youth.
Qué gusto me da sentir tu voz: Restarting the dialog that diaspora interrupted

Author(s): Cardenas, Yvonne | Abstract: "Peace, according to journalist Christopher Hedges (2003), is about the recovery of a narrative, a common narrative.1 This paper is an iteration of that theme. It is a narrative recounting a month-long visit to La Guinera, a neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Havana, Cuba. It is the neighborhood where several of my Cuban relatives live, and where I stayed when I went to Cuba for the first time, in August of 2001.For the past 44 years, it has served the political interests of privileged groups in both Cuba and the United States to discursively divide the nation into two antagonistic sides: those in favor of the government that came to power in 1959, and those against it. But regardless of whether one answers to these tightly bound subject positions, the pain of absence bleeds profusely, arbitrarily, rhizomatically, into the lived experiences of those who left the island, and those who have stayed. This narrative is a tracing of one such course of history in the Cuban community."
Compiler research: the next 50 years

Research and education in compiler technology is more important than ever.
The peri-operative management of anti-platelet therapy in elective, non-cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND
Cardiovascular complications are important causes of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery, with adverse cardiac outcomes estimated to occur in approximately 4% of all patients. Anti-platelet therapy withdrawal may precede up to 10% of acute cardiovascular syndromes, with withdrawal in the peri-operative setting incompletely appraised.


OBJECTIVES
The aims of our study were to determine the proportion of patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery currently prescribed anti-platelet therapy, and identify current practice in peri-operative management. In addition, the relationship between management of anti-platelet therapy and peri-operative cardiac risk was assessed.


METHODS
We evaluated consecutive patients attending elective non-cardiac surgery at a major tertiary referral centre. Clinical and biochemical data were collected and analysed on patients currently prescribed anti-platelet therapy. Peri-operative management of anti-platelet therapy was compared with estimated peri-operative cardiac risk.


RESULTS
Included were 2950 consecutive patients, with 516 (17%) prescribed anti-platelet therapy, primarily for ischaemic heart disease. Two hundred and eighty nine (56%) patients had all anti-platelet therapy ceased in the peri-operative period, including 49% of patients with ischaemic heart disease and 46% of patients with previous coronary stenting. Peri-operative cardiac risk score did not influence anti-platelet therapy management.


CONCLUSIONS
Approximately 17% of patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery are prescribed anti-platelet therapy, the predominant indication being for ischaemic heart disease. Almost half of all patients with previous coronary stenting had no anti-platelet therapy during the peri-operative period. The decision to cease anti-platelet therapy, which occurred commonly, did not appear to be guided by peri-operative cardiac risk stratification.
Electrolytic Cobalt Fill of Sub-5 nm Node Interconnect Features

Electrolytic cobalt fill of sub-5 nm node features and a proposed model for the fill mechanism supported by cyclic voltammetry is presented. The transformation of the organic plating additive from an active to a de-activated state at the bottom of the feature is suggested as the mechanism of cobalt bottom-up fill. Plating results in features with 2- and – 4 nm pre-plate openings show void-free fill.
Classification Techniques used in Speech Recognition Applications : A Review

Classification phase is one of the most active research and application areas of speech recognition. The literature is vast and growing. This paper summarizes the some of the most important developments in the classification procedures of the speech recognition applications. The state of art of the classification technique has also been presented in this paper. Different classification techniques and their parameter estimation methods, properties, advantages, disadvantages along with their application areas are discussed with each classification method. Our purpose is to provide a synthesis of the published research in the area of speech recognition and stimulate further research interests and efforts in the identified topics. This paper presents an overview of several pattern classification methods available in literature for speech recognition applications. Keywords— Classification, Classifiers, Taxonomy, Bayes decision theory, Acoustic Phonetic approach, Template matching, Dynamic Time Warping(DTW),Vector Quantization(VQ), Hidden Markov Model(HMM), Artificial Neural Network(ANN), Support Vector Machine(SVM), KNearest Neighbor(KNN), Gaussian Mixture Modeling, Clustering techniques, Evaluations, Applications.
Nutritional Evaluation and Functional Properties of Chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L . ) Flour and the Improvement of Spaghetti Produced from its

Chemical composition of chickpea raw flour proved that protein, fat and ash contents were higher than that recorded in wheat flour. However, crude fiber and total carbohydrates were detected in wheat flour at higher levels than that found in chickpea raw flour. Protein, total nitrogen, non protein nitrogen content, and in-vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) as well as mineral content, functional properties, amino acid composition and amino acid scores were affected as different chickpea flour processing (traditional, microwave and fried).Wheat flour (72 % extraction) was replaced with different processed chickpea flours (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 %.) to produce spaghetti. Chemical composition, cooking quality, color attributes and sensory evaluation of produced spaghetti were determined. Different treatment for chickpea flours tend to reduced the content of protein in all processed chickpea flours, lowered the contents of fat and ash by 7.96 % and 4.40 %, respectively. Generally, protein solubility values of all processed flours decreased in water and NaCl solution as compared with raw flour. As the replacement level in spaghetti samples with different processed chickpea flours increased, all the contents were increased except fibers and total carbohydrates contents where, values of fibers lowered with increasing the replacement level of samples with raw and fried chickpea flours. The content of minerals was high in spaghetti samples contained microwave cooking chickpea flour at different levels as compared with spaghetti samples contained traditional cooking and fried chickpea flours. The reduction in cooked weight and cooked volume was greater in spaghetti samples replaced with microwave cooked chickpea flour than samples replaced with the other different forms of chickpea flours. Cooking loss of replaced spaghetti was increased gradually with increase the level of replacement compared to the control spaghetti. Replacing wheat flour with different processed chickpea flours tend to reduced lightness and yellowness values, increased redness values of spaghetti samples from control. Spaghetti samples replaced with microwave chickpea flour at all levels had a better color values than those found in samples replaced with different processed chickpea flour. The highest values for all sensory characteristics were observed in control sample. Spaghetti samples replaced with microwave cooking flour at all levels were found to be the highest values for all evaluated sensory characteristics. [Esmat A. Abou Arab, I. M. F. Helmy and G. F. Bareh. Nutritional Evaluation and Functional Properties of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Flour and the Improvement of Spaghetti Produced from its. Journal of American Science 2010;6(10):1055-1072]. (ISSN: 1545-1003).
Efficacy of thiopurines and adalimumab in preventing Crohn's disease recurrence in high-risk patients - a POCER study analysis.

BACKGROUND
Crohn's disease recurs in the majority of patients after intestinal resection.


AIM
To compare the relative efficacy of thiopurines and anti-TNF therapy in patients at high risk of disease recurrence.


METHODS
As part of a larger study comparing post-operative management strategies, patients at high risk of recurrence (smoker, perforating disease, ≥2nd operation) were treated after resection of all macroscopic disease with 3 months metronidazole together with either azathioprine 2 mg/kg/day or mercaptopurine 1.5 mg/kg/day. Thiopurine-intolerant patients received adalimumab induction then 40 mg fortnightly. Patients underwent colonoscopy at 6 months with endoscopic recurrence assessed blind to treatment.


RESULTS
A total of 101 patients [50% male; median (IQR) age 36 (25-46) years] were included. There were no differences in disease history between thiopurine- and adalimumab-treated patients. Fifteen patients withdrew prior to 6 months, five due to symptom recurrence (of whom four were colonoscoped). Endoscopic recurrence (Rutgeerts score i2-i4) occurred in 33 of 73 (45%) thiopurine vs. 6 of 28 (21%) adalimumab-treated patients [intention-to-treat (ITT); P = 0.028] or 24 of 62 (39%) vs. 3 of 24 (13%) respectively [per-protocol analysis (PPA); P = 0.020]. Complete mucosal endoscopic normality (Rutgeerts i0) occurred in 17/73 (23%) vs. 15/28 (54%) (ITT; P = 0.003) and in 27% vs. 63% (PPA; P = 0.002). The most advanced disease (Rutgeerts i3 and i4) occurred in 8% vs. 4% (thiopurine vs. adalimumab).


CONCLUSIONS
In Crohn's disease patients at high risk of post-operative recurrence adalimumab is superior to thiopurines in preventing early disease recurrence.
Programme coverage, condom use and STI treatment among FSWs in a large-scale HIV prevention programme: results from cross-sectional surveys in 22 districts in southern India

OBJECTIVE
This paper evaluates Avahan programme's coverage of female sex workers (FSWs), focus on high-risk FSWs and intermediate outcomes.


METHODS
First round of cross-sectional survey data, Integrated Behavioral and Biological Assessments (IBBA), conducted in 22 districts, were aggregated into district categories: Solo, where Avahan was the sole service provider covering all FSWs and Major or Minor where Avahan was not the sole provider, but intended coverage was >50% or <or= 50% of FSWs respectively. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to compare exposure by district categories, vulnerability factors and intermediate outcomes associated with exposure.


RESULTS
Reported exposure, evaluated on basis of having received any of three core services, was higher in Solo (75%) compared with Minor (66%) districts. Logistic regression showed that FSWs in solo districts were more likely to be exposed (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=1.5; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.86) compared with FSWs in Minor districts. Multivariate analysis in Solo districts revealed that FSW with >or=15 clients in the past week had a higher chance of being exposed to core services (AOR=1.56; 95% CI 1.03 to 2.35). Exposure to the three services in Solo Avahan districts was significantly associated with correct knowledge on condom use (AOR=1.36; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.78), consistent condom use with occasional clients (AOR=3.17; 95% CI 2.17 to 4.63) and regular clients (AOR=2.47; 95% CI 1.86 to 3.28) and STI treatment-seeking behaviour (AOR=3.00; 95% CI 1.94 to 4.65).


CONCLUSIONS
Higher coverage of FSWs was achieved in districts where Avahan was the only intervention compared with districts having multiple and longstanding non-Avahan programmes. Exposure in Solo districts was associated with intermediate outcomes; this need to be further evaluated in comparison with non Avahan areas and substantiated through data from next IBBA.