LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
The influence of maternal smoking on transferrin sialylation and fetal biometric parameters.

OBJECTIVES
Transferrin is a glycosylated protein responsible for transporting iron, an essential metal responsible for proper fetal development. Tobacco is a heavily used xenobiotic having a negative impact on the human body and pregnancy outcomes. Aims of this study was to examine the influence of tobacco smoking on transferrin sialic acid residues and their connection with fetal biometric parameters in women with iron-deficiency.


METHODS
The study involved 173 samples from pregnant women, smokers and non-smokers, iron deficient and not. Transferrin sialylation was determined by capillary electrophoresis. The cadmium (Cd) level was measured by atomic absorption and the sialic acid concentration by the resorcinol method.


RESULTS
Women with iron deficiencies who smoked gave birth earlier than non-smoking, non-iron-deficient women. The Cd level, but not the cotinine level, was positively correlated with transferrin sialylation in the blood of iron-deficient women who smoked; 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-sialoTf correlated negatively with fetal biometric parameters in the same group.


CONCLUSION
It has been shown the relationship between Cd from tobacco smoking and fetal biometric parameters observed only in the iron deficient group suggests an additive effect of these two factors, and indicate that mothers with anemia may be more susceptible to Cd toxicity and disturbed fetal development.
TDOA based direct positioning maximum likelihood estimator and the cramer-rao bound

The maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and its performance for the localization of a stationary emitter using a network of spatially separated passive stationary sensors is presented. The conventional approach for localization using multiple sensors is to first estimate the time differences of arrival (TDOAs) independently between pairs of sensors and then find the location of the emitter using the intersection point of the hyperbolas defined by these TDOAs. It has recently been shown that this two-step approach is suboptimal and an alternate direct position determination (DPD) approach has been proposed. In the work presented here we take the DPD approach to derive the MLE and show that the MLE outperforms the conventional two-step approach.We analyze the two commonly occurring cases of signal waveform unknown and signal waveform known with unknown transmission time. This paper covers a wide variety of transmitted signals such as narrowband or wideband, lowpass or bandpass, etc. Sampling of the received signals has a quantization-like effect on the location estimate and so a continuous time model is used instead.We derive the Fisher information matrix (FIM) and show that the proposed MLE attains the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
Do ions affect the structure of water? The case of potassium halides

Abstract We study the structural properties of aqueous solutions of potassium chloride and fluoride at ambient conditions and upon supercooling with the use of molecular dynamics. We perform the calculations at increasing concentration in a range from 0.67 mol/kg up to 3.96 mol/kg. We investigate the modifications of the hydration shells and the changes in the water structure induced by the presence of the ions. The oxygen–oxygen structure is strongly dependent on the ionic concentration while the hydrogen bonding is well preserved. The results show that increasing the ion concentration is analogous to increase pressure on pure water. The KF salt has a stronger effect on water due to the fluoride anion. F − appears also more effective as substitutional of the oxygen in the water network with possible relevant consequences on the tendency of water to transform to the high density phase.
Linear Machine Decision Trees

This article presents an algorithm for inducing multiclass decision trees with multivariate tests at internal decision nodes. Each test is constructed by training a linear machine and eliminating variables in a controlled manner. Empirical results demonstrate that the algorithm builds small accurate trees across a variety of tasks.
Autosomal dominant inheritance of central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia in black South Africans.

BACKGROUND
Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is the commonest type of primary scarring alopecia in women of African descent. Little is currently known about the disease genetics.


OBJECTIVE
We sought to investigate patterns of inheritance in CCCA and ascertain the contribution of nongenetic factors such as hair-grooming habits to the pathogenesis of the disease.


METHODS
Affected individuals with at least 1 available family member were recruited from 2005 through 2012 inclusive for pedigree analysis. CCCA was diagnosed on clinical and histopathological grounds.


RESULTS
Fourteen index African families with 31 immediate family members participated in the initial screening. The female to male ratio was 29:2 with an average age of 50.4 years. All patients displayed histologic features typical for CCCA. Pedigree analysis suggested an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. Hair-grooming habits were found to markedly influence disease expression.


LIMITATIONS
Small number of patients is a limitation.


CONCLUSION
CCCA can be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, with partial penetrance and a strong modifying effect of hairstyling and gender.
Evaluation of Type Replacement Following HPV16/18 Vaccination: Pooled Analysis of Two Randomized Trials.

Background
Current HPV vaccines do not protect against all oncogenic HPV types. Following vaccination, type replacement may occur, especially if different HPV types competitively interact during natural infection. Because of their common route of transmission, it is difficult to assess type interactions in observational studies. Our aim was to evaluate type replacement in the setting of HPV vaccine randomized controlled trials (RCTs).


Methods
Data were pooled from the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial (CVT; NCT00128661) and PATRICIA trial (NCT001226810)-two large-scale, double-blind RCTs of the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine-to compare cumulative incidence of nonprotected HPV infections across trial arms after four years. Negative rate difference estimates (rate in control minus vaccine arm) were interpreted as evidence of replacement if the associated 95% confidence interval excluded zero. All statistical tests were two-sided.


Results
After applying relevant exclusion criteria, 21 596 women were included in our analysis (HPV arm = 10 750; control arm = 10 846). Incidence rates (per 1000 infection-years) were lower in the HPV arm than in the control arm for grouped nonprotected oncogenic types (rate difference = 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.9 to 2.3) and oncogenic/nononcogenic types (rate difference = 0.2, 95% CI = -0.3 to 0.7). Focusing on individual HPV types separately, no deleterious effect was observed. In contrast, a statistically significant protective effect (positive rate difference and 95% CI excluded zero) was observed against oncogenic HPV types 35, 52, 58, and 68/73, as well as nononcogenic types 6 and 70.


Conclusion
HPV type replacement does not occur among vaccinated individuals within four years and is unlikely to occur in vaccinated populations.
The effects of a social media policy on pharmacy students' facebook security settings.

OBJECTIVE
To examine how students entering a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program used Facebook privacy settings before and after the college's social media policy was presented to them.


METHODS
The Facebook profiles of all entering first-year pharmacy students across 4 campuses of a college of pharmacy were evaluated. Ten dichotomous variables of interest were viewed and recorded for each student's Facebook account at 3 time points: before the start of the semester, after presentation of the college's social media policy, and at the end of the semester. Data on whether a profile could be found and what portions of the profile were viewable also were collected.


RESULTS
After introduction of the policy, a significant number of students increased their security settings (made information not visible to the public) related to Facebook walls, information pages, and links.


CONCLUSIONS
Making pharmacy students aware of a college's social media policy had a positive impact on their behaviors regarding online security and privacy.
Immediate-type drug hypersensitivity and associated factors in a general population.

BACKGROUND
Our aim was to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of common hypersensitivity reactions to drugs in the adult population, for which limited data are available.


METHODS
The data consisted of 1052 questionnaires obtained from adults. The questionnaires consisted of questions on immediate-type hypersensitivity reactions induced by drugs (itching, skin rash/hives, angio-oedema, shortness of breath, hypotension, and loss of consciousness). The questionnaire added knowledge on physician's diagnosis of asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and other chronic systemic diseases.


RESULTS
The prevalence of self-reported drug hypersensitivity reactions was 11.8% for all reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions to analgesics were the most common (37.2%) followed by antibiotics (24.2%). Multivariate analysis showed that female gender (Odds Ratio (OR) 95% Confidence Interval (CI) (2.00 (1.25-3.21)), physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis (3.03 (1.64-5.59)), and eczema (3.22 (1.87-5.53)) were associated with any type of drug hypersensitivity reactions. Itching was associated with allergic rhinitis (4.50 (2.06-9.81)) and eczema diagnosis (4.24 (2.14-8.64)). Skin rash/hives were associated with female gender (2.67 (1.24-5.74)), allergic rhinitis (4.57 (1.99-10.05)), and eczema (5.36 (2.65-10.84)). Angio-oedema was higher in females (5.74 (1.69-18.5)). In addition, eczema (2.87 (1.12-7.32)) and systemic hypertension (2.60(1.03-6.10)) were associated with angio-oedema. Shortness of breath was only associated with ever asthma diagnosis (6.59 (2.09-20.83)). Factors associated with loss of consciousness were female gender (5.56 (1.27-24.30)), allergic rhinitis diagnosis (4.76 (1.73-13.14)), and systemic hypertension (2.74 (1.02-7.41)).


CONCLUSION
The study showed that females and subjects with allergic diseases and hypertension were more susceptible to drug hypersensitivity reactions.
Nurses relate the contributing factors involved in medication errors.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Understanding the processes by which nurses administer medication is critical to the minimization of medication errors. This study investigates nurses' views on the factors contributing to medication errors in the hope of facilitating improvements to medication administration processes.


DESIGN AND METHODS
A focus group of nine Registered Nurses discussed medication errors with which they were familiar as a result of both their own experiences and of literature review. The group, along with other researchers, then developed a semi-structured questionnaire consisting of three parts: narrative description of the error, the nurse's background and contributing factors. After the contributing factors had been elicited and verified with eight categories and 34 conditions, additional Registered Nurses were invited to participate by recalling one of the most significant medication errors that they had experienced and identifying contributing factors from those listed on the questionnaire. Identities of the hospital, patient and participants involved in the study remain confidential.


RESULTS
Of the 72 female nurses who responded, 55 (76.4%) believed more than one factor contributed to medication errors. 'Personal neglect' (86.1%), 'heavy workload' (37.5%) and 'new staff' (37.5%) were the three main factors in the eight categories. 'Need to solve other problems while administering drugs,''advanced drug preparation without rechecking,' and 'new graduate' were the top three of the 34 conditions. Medical wards (36.1%) and intensive care units (33.3%) were the two most error-prone places. The errors common to the two were 'wrong dose' (36.1%) and 'wrong drug' (26.4%). Antibiotics (38.9%) were the most commonly misadministered drugs.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the majority of respondents considered nurse's personal neglect as the leading factor in medication errors, analysis indicated that additional factors involving the health care system, patients' conditions and doctors' prescriptions all contributed to administration errors.


RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
Identification of the main factors and conditions contributing to medication errors allows clinical nurses and administration systems to eliminate situations that promote errors and to incorporate changes that minimize them, creating a safer patient environment.
Semantic Structure Analysis of Noun Phrases using Abstract Meaning Representation

We propose a method for semantic structure analysis of noun phrases using Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR). AMR is a graph representation for the meaning of a sentence, in which noun phrases (NPs) are manually annotated with internal structure and semantic relations. We extract NPs from the AMR corpus and construct a data set of NP semantic structures. We also propose a transition-based algorithm which jointly identifies both the nodes in a semantic structure tree and semantic relations between them. Compared to the baseline, our method improves the performance of NP semantic structure analysis by 2.7 points, while further incorporating external dictionary boosts the performance by 7.1 points.
Low primary cesarean rate and high VBAC rate with good outcomes in an Amish birthing center.

PURPOSE
Recent national guidelines encourage a trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) as a means of increasing vaginal births after cesarean (VBACs) and decreasing the high US cesarean birth rate and its consequences (2010 National Institute of Health Consensus Statement and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists revised guideline). A birthing center serving Amish women in Southwestern Wisconsin offered an opportunity to look at the effects of local culture and practices that support vaginal birth and TOLAC. This study describes childbirth and perinatal outcomes during a 17-year period in LaFarge, Wisconsin.


METHODS
We undertook a retrospective analysis of the records of all women admitted to the birth center in labor. Main outcome measures include rates of cesarean deliveries, TOLAC and VBAC deliveries, and perinatal outcomes for 927 deliveries between 1993 and 2010.


RESULTS
The cesarean rate was 4% (35 of 927), the TOLAC rate was 100%, and the VBAC rate was 95% (88 of 92). There were no cases of uterine rupture and no maternal deaths. The neonatal death rate of 5.4 of 1,000 was comparable to that of Wisconsin (4.6 of 1,000) and the United States (4.5 of 1,000).


CONCLUSIONS
Both the culture of the population served and a number of factors relating to the management of labor at the birthing center have affected the rates of cesarean delivery and TOLAC. The results of the LaFarge Amish study support a low-technology approach to delivery where good outcomes are achieved with low cesarean and high VBAC rates.
Healthcare Blockchain System Using Smart Contracts for Secure Automated Remote Patient Monitoring

As Internet of Things (IoT) devices and other remote patient monitoring systems increase in popularity, security concerns about the transfer and logging of data transactions arise. In order to handle the protected health information (PHI) generated by these devices, we propose utilizing blockchain-based smart contracts to facilitate secure analysis and management of medical sensors. Using a private blockchain based on the Ethereum protocol, we created a system where the sensors communicate with a smart device that calls smart contracts and writes records of all events on the blockchain. This smart contract system would support real-time patient monitoring and medical interventions by sending notifications to patients and medical professionals, while also maintaining a secure record of who has initiated these activities. This would resolve many security vulnerabilities associated with remote patient monitoring and automate the delivery of notifications to all involved parties in a HIPAA compliant manner.
Rates of hydrothermal cooling of new oceanic upper crust derived from lithium-geospeedometry

Abstract Episodic emplacement and cooling of lavas and dikes at mid-ocean ridges leads to large fluctuations in hydrothermal fluxes and biological activity. However, the processes operating beneath the seafloor during these transient events such as permeability creation and dike cooling are poorly understood. We have developed a new approach to determine the cooling rate of the sheeted dike complex based on the extent of diffusion of lithium from plagioclase into clinopyroxene during cooling. We have calibrated this Li-geospeedometer using new high-temperature experiments to determine both the temperature dependence of the partitioning of Li between plagioclase and clinopyroxene and the diffusion coefficient for Li in clinopyroxene. Application of this method to lavas and dikes from ODP Hole 504B shows that cooling rates vary dramatically with depth in the upper oceanic crust. Extremely rapid cooling rates (> 450 °C hr − 1 ) in the upper part of the sheeted dike complex are sufficient to power hydrothermal megaplume formation within the overlying water column.
Safety and Tolerability of Transoral Bravo Capsule Placement After Transnasal Manometry Using a Validated Conversion Factor

OBJECTIVES:To prospectively calculate and validate a conversion factor in healthy volunteers that allows accurate nonsedated, transoral (TO) Bravo capsule placement after transnasal (TN) manometry, and to evaluate the ease and safety of nonendoscopic Bravo placement compared with endoscopic placement.METHODS:Part 1. Twenty-five healthy volunteers underwent sequential TN and TO esophageal manometry to measure the distance to the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). A TN to TO conversion factor was calculated from these measurements. Part 2. Twenty volunteers underwent TN manometry followed by unsedated TO Bravo capsule placement using the conversion factor calculated in part 1. TN endoscopy then measured the location of the Bravo capsule in relationship to the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ). Part 3. During an 18-month period, 370 consecutive patients referred for a Bravo procedure underwent nonendoscopic, unsedated TO placement (308 patients) or standard endoscopically assisted placement (62 patients).RESULTS:Part 1. All 25 volunteers completed TN and TO manometry; a conversion factor of 4 cm was calculated. Part 2. Using the calculated conversion factor of 4 cm, a Bravo capsule was deployed TO 5 cm above the proximal border of the LES. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) TN endoscopic distance to the capsule was 6.0 cm (±0.3 cm) above the SCJ. Part 3. A total of 333 patients completed the entire study (90%). Analysis of 48-h pH measurements did not reveal any significant differences between the two groups.CONCLUSIONS:A reliable and valid conversion factor of 4 cm following TN manometry permits accurate TO placement of the Bravo capsule without endoscopy. TO, unsedated Bravo placement is safe, well tolerated, and may minimize costs and potential risks associated with endoscopy.
A phase II trial of sorafenib in first-line metastatic urothelial cancer: a study of the PMH Phase II Consortium

Background Sorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor that blocks cell proliferation via the ERK pathway and angiogenesis via the VEGF pathway. This phase II trial was conducted to determine the efficacy and tolerability of sorafenib for the treatment of patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) who had not had prior chemotherapy for advanced disease. Patients and Methods Seventeen chemo-naïve UC patients with adequate performance status and organ function were treated with sorafenib 400 mg twice daily on a continuous basis until progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was objective tumor response rate as measured by RECIST criteria. Secondary endpoints included rate of prolonged stable disease (>3 months), time to progression, median and 1 yr survival and safety and tolerability. Results There were no objective responses. Only one patient had stable disease by RECIST criteria and remained on treatment more than 3 months. Three patients had stable disease by RECIST criteria but were on treatment less than 3 months due to progressive disease (PD) or adverse events (AE). Eight patients had PD by RECIST criteria as their best overall response. Two patients had symptomatic PD prior to cycle 2 evaluation, and three patients were inevaluable (1 death, 1 AE, 1 withdrew consent).The time to progression was 1.9 months (range 0.7–8.7 months) and median survival was 5.9 months. The most common grade 3+ toxicities were abdominal pain, back pain, hand-foot reaction and bladder infection. Conclusions Sorafenib does not show sufficient activity as a single agent in first-line metastatic urothelial cancer to warrant further investigation.
Teaching medical error disclosure to residents using patient-centered simulation training.

PURPOSE
To determine whether a standardized patient encounter and self-guided tutorial would improve first-year residents' self-efficacy for disclosing medical errors.


METHOD
In 2011, 55 first-year residents participated in a simulation in which they disclosed an error to a standardized patient playing the part of a family member. Residents completed the simulation twice, four weeks apart, and completed presession knowledge and self-efficacy (based on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education [ACGME] core competencies) assessments and repeated the self-efficacy assessment after the sessions. Residents reviewed the videos of their encounters either alone (self-debrief) or with a faculty observer (faculty debrief). Between sessions, they completed a self-paced learning tutorial. Two external faculty also rated the residents' performances using videos of the encounters.


RESULTS
Residents' self-efficacy significantly increased from a Session 1 pretest mean (standard deviation) score of 119.6 (26.6) to a Session 2 posttest score of 150.3 (24.9) for all ACGME competencies (P < .001, Cohen's d = 1.19). The external reviewers' ratings provided additional, objective support for residents' improvement on questions assessing ACGME competencies (P = .001). Comparisons of the self-efficacy of residents in the self-debrief versus faculty debrief groups yielded no significant differences on any ACGME competencies.


CONCLUSIONS
Timely, explicit, and empathetic disclosure of medical errors to patients and family is essential to maintaining trust and is an important part of patient-centered medical care. This intervention easily could be replicated in other settings and is applicable to many members of the health care team, not just to residents.
Establishing the Factors Affecting the Growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Algeria

The study presented in this paper analyzes the factors influencing the growth rate of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Algeria and explores the extent to which their success or failure depends on the wider business climate. This study also examines different internal factors that may be responsible for the unstable and limited growth ofSMEs. Our research reveals that the growth of SMEs in Algeria is hampered by several interrelated factors, which include business environmental factors that are beyond the SMEs’ control and internal factors of the SMEs. The external factors include the legal and regulatory framework, access to external financing, and human resources capacities. The internal factors comprise entrepreneurial characteristics, management capacities, marketing skills, and technological capacities.