bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Resistance Training Improves Quality of Life and Associated Factors in Patients With Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Authors: Andrade Alexandro , Sieczkowska Sofia M. , Vilarino Guilherme T. 
Published: September 2018

BackgroundPatients with primary symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) have a lower quality of life than healthy people of the same age. The current treatment for FM is palliative, as there is no cure. Therefore, among strategies used to alleviate the symptoms, physical exercise has been recommended.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of a resistance training (RT) program on quality of life and associated factors in patients with FM.DesignNonrandomized clinical trial. Brazilian Clinical Trials: http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/ (no. RBR‐74pcmw).ParticipantsForty‐nine women with FM (mean age ± SD: 51.35 ± 9.34 years) allocated to an RT group (n = 26) or control group (CG; n = 23).InterventionThe intervention consisted of 4 weeks of a supervised RT program. Three, 60‐minute, training sessions per week were conducted. Participants were evaluated before and after 4 weeks of exercise intervention.Main Outcome MeasurementsThe Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire was used to assess quality of life, and secondary outcomes were assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. The Wilcoxon test was used to verify the differences after 4 weeks of intervention (12 sessions) and the Mann‐Whitney U test was used to compare the results for the RT group and CG.ResultsThe results demonstrated that 4 weeks of RT reduces the impact of FM on quality of life, depression, and anxiety (P < .05). Higher depression and anxiety scores were related to worsening quality of life. The CG did not show significant changes.ConclusionsRT reduces the impact of FM on the quality of life, and alleviates symptoms in women with FM.Level of EvidenceII [Correction added on June 21, 2019, after first online publication: Level of Evidence changed from I to II.]
The outcomes of hypoglossal nerve stimulation in the management of OSA: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Kompelli Anvesh R. , Ni Jonathan S. , Nguyen Shaun A. , Lentsch Eric J. , Neskey David M. , Meyer Ted A. 
Published: September 2018

ObjectivesObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent disease with significant health impacts. While first line therapy is CPAP, long‐term compliance is low and device misuse is common, highlighting the need for alternative therapies. Upper airway surgery is one alternative, but substantial side effects hamper efficacy. A new alternative is an implantable hypoglossal nerve stimulator (HNS). These devices utilize neuromodulation to dilate/reinforce the airway and reduce side effects associated with traditional surgery. Several recent trials investigated the efficacy of these devices. The purpose of this study was to perform meta‐analysis of available HNS studies investigating treatment of OSA to analyze objective and subjective outcomes and side effects.MethodsA comprehensive literature search of PubMed and Scopus was performed. Two independent reviewers examined clinical trials investigating HNS in treatment of sleep apnea in adults. Studies with objective and subjective endpoints in sleep were included for analysis. Adverse events from trials were also recorded.ResultsAcross 16 studies, 381 patients were analyzed. At 6 months (p = 0.008), mean SAQLI improved by 3.1 (95%CI, 2.6–3.7). At 12 months (p < 0.0001), mean AHI was reduced by 21.1 (95%CI, 16.9–25.3), mean ODI was reduced by 15.0 (95%CI, 12.7–17.4), mean ESS was reduced by 5.0 (95%CI, 4.2–5.8), mean FOSQ improved by 3.1 (95%CI, 2.6–3.4). Pain (6.2%:0.7–16.6), tongue abrasion (11.0%:1.2–28.7), and internal (3.0%:0.3–8.4)/external device (5.8%:0.3–17.4) malfunction were common adverse events.ConclusionsHNS is a safe and effective treatment for CPAP refractory OSA. Further study comparing HNS to other therapies is required.
Characterizing asymptotic randomization in abelian cellular automata
Authors: HELLOUIN DE MENIBUS B. , SALO V. , THEYSSIER G. 
Published: September 2018

Abelian cellular automata (CAs) are CAs which are group endomorphisms of the full group shift when endowing the alphabet with an abelian group structure. A CA randomizes an initial probability measure if its iterated images have weak*-convergence towards the uniform Bernoulli measure (the Haar measure in this setting). We are interested in structural phenomena, i.e., randomization for a wide class of initial measures (under some mixing hypotheses). First, we prove that an abelian CA randomizes in Cesàro mean if and only if it has no soliton, i.e., a non-zero finite configuration whose time evolution remains bounded in space. This characterization generalizes previously known sufficient conditions for abelian CAs with scalar or commuting coefficients. Second, we exhibit examples of strong randomizers, i.e., abelian CAs randomizing in simple convergence; this is the first proof of this behaviour to our knowledge. We show, however, that no CA with commuting coefficients can be strongly randomizing. Finally, we show that some abelian CAs achieve partial randomization without being randomizing: the distribution of short finite words tends to the uniform distribution up to some threshold, but this convergence fails for larger words. Again this phenomenon cannot happen for abelian CAs with commuting coefficients.
Phantom: A Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics Code for Astrophysics
Authors: Price Daniel J. , Wurster James , Tricco Terrence S. , Nixon Chris , Toupin Stéven , Pettitt Alex , Chan Conrad , Mentiplay Daniel , Laibe Guillaume , Glover Simon , Dobbs Clare , Nealon Rebecca , Liptai David , Worpel Hauke , Bonnerot Clément , Dipierro Giovanni , Ballabio Giulia , Ragusa Enrico , Federrath Christoph , Iaconi Roberto , Reichardt Thomas , Forgan Duncan , Hutchison Mark , Constantino Thomas , Ayliffe Ben , Hirsh Kieran , Lodato Giuseppe 
Published: September 2018

AbstractWe presentPhantom, a fast, parallel, modular, and low-memory smoothed particle hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics code developed over the last decade for astrophysical applications in three dimensions. The code has been developed with a focus on stellar, galactic, planetary, and high energy astrophysics, and has already been used widely for studies of accretion discs and turbulence, from the birth of planets to how black holes accrete. Here we describe and test the core algorithms as well as modules for magnetohydrodynamics, self-gravity, sink particles, dust–gas mixtures, H2chemistry, physical viscosity, external forces including numerous galactic potentials, Lense–Thirring precession, Poynting–Robertson drag, and stochastic turbulent driving.Phantomis hereby made publicly available.
Race, Partisanship, and Attitudes Toward Public Policy Commonality and Legislative Districts
Authors: Casellas Jason P. , Gillion Daniel Q. , Wallace Sophia Jordán 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThis paper utilizes original survey data to examine whether individuals believe they share views on public policy with members of their own racial or ethnic group and whether they place an importance on living in legislative districts with people from their own racial or ethnic group. We find strong evidence that Latino and African-American respondents have a sense of shared policy preferences within their own group. Our results also indicate white Republicans are very likely to view themselves as having shared policy preferences within their group. Respondents who have a strong sense of shared policy preferences with their racial group are also the most likely to think it is important to live in legislative districts with others from their own racial or ethnic group. This paper affords a deeper understanding of the extent to which voters express commonality with their racial and ethnic minority group on matters related to public policy.
Macrobenthic fauna associated with Diopatra cuprea (Onuphidae: Polychaeta) tubes on a macrotidal sandy beach of the Brazilian Amazon Coast
Authors: Santos T.M.T. , Aviz D. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractTube-building polychaetes are an important group of marine bioengineers in soft-bottom habitats, where they provide structures that potentially influence the composition of the benthic community. The present study investigated the effects of Diopatra cuprea tubes on the structure of the macrobenthic fauna found on a sandy beach of the Amazon coast. Samples were collected in June (rainy season) and September (dry season) 2012 in two different areas: (1) an area in which D. cuprea tubes were present, and (2) a control area, in which worm tubes were absent. A total of 53 taxa were found, of which 30 were associated exclusively with D. cuprea tubes. While large aggregations of D. cuprea were not found in the study area, the presence of even a single tube may have a significant influence on the environmental conditions available for other organisms, especially those adapted to consolidated or muddy substrates. The two areas presented different seasonal patterns. A significant increase in the abundance and richness of the macrofauna was observed in area 1 in the rainy season, when the density of worm tubes increased and the hydrodynamic conditions were less intense. The results of the study highlight the importance of this organism as an ecosystem engineer on the sandy beaches of the Amazon coast.
Deficient auditory predictive coding during vocalization in the psychosis risk syndrome and in early illness schizophrenia: the final expanded sample
Authors: Mathalon Daniel H , Roach Brian J , Ferri Jamie M , Loewy Rachel L , Stuart Barbara K , Perez Veronica B , Trujillo Tara H , Ford Judith M 
Published: September 2018

AbstractBackgroundDuring vocalization, efference copy/corollary discharge mechanisms suppress the auditory cortical response to self-generated sounds. Previously, we found attenuated vocalization-related auditory cortical suppression in psychosis and a similar trend in the psychosis risk syndrome. Here, we report data from the final sample of early illness schizophrenia patients (ESZ), individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR), and healthy controls (HC).MethodsEvent-related potentials (ERP) were recorded from ESZ (n = 84), CHR (n = 71), and HC (n = 103) participants during a vocalization paradigm. The N1 ERP component was elicited during production (Talk) and playback (Listen) of vocalization. Age effects on N1 suppression (Talk–Listen), Talk N1, and Listen N1 were compared across groups. N1 measures were adjusted for normal aging before testing for group differences.ResultsBoth ESZ and CHR groups showed reduced Talk–Listen N1 suppression relative to HC, but did not differ from each other. Listen N1 was reduced in ESZ, but not in CHR, relative to HC. Deficient Talk–Listen N1 suppression was associated with greater unusual thought content in CHR individuals. N1 suppression increased with age in HC (12–36 years), and while CHR individuals showed a similar age-related increase, no such relationship was evident in ESZ.ConclusionsPutative efference copy/corollary discharge-mediated auditory cortical suppression during vocalization is deficient in ESZ and precedes psychosis onset, particularly in CHR individuals with greater unusual thought content. Furthermore, this suppression increases from adolescence through early adulthood, likely reflecting the effects of normal brain maturation. This maturation effect is disrupted in ESZ, presumably due to countervailing illness effects.
Desiring God implicitly: ‘worldly union desires’ and openness to God
Authors: PERLMUTTER JULIAN 
Published: September 2018

Abstract‘Interested non-belief’ in God is now a common attitude, and one religious outlook such non-believers should take seriously is the Christian contemplative tradition. Drawing on C. S. Lewis, I identify the familiar phenomenon of ‘worldly union desire’: elicited by worldly things, and aimed at union with some beauty or goodness therein. I examine specifically Thomas Merton's contemplative outlook, arguing that by his lights worldly union desires manifest a desire for God and aid spiritual openness. Merton's picture extends any purely secular value in worldly union desire-experiences, giving union with God – and the spirituality aimed at this goal – a deep existential appeal for non-believers.
Power, other-worldliness, and the extended mind
Authors: GREEN ADAM 
Published: September 2018

AbstractIn this article, I use the extended mind literature to elucidate religious phenomena that are normally left well outside the purview of analytic philosophy of religion. I show that the extended mind literature casts light on how the potential relationships of the ordinary believer to extra-natural power dictate cross-culturally re-occurring ways of structuring religious praxis. This application of the extended mind illuminates a diverse but subtly interconnected set of religious phenomena, from the cross-cultural appeal of magic as a negative category to the role of other-worldliness in the major world religions.
Thinking in and about time: A dual systems perspective on temporal cognition
Authors: Hoerl Christoph , McCormack Teresa 
Published: September 2018

AbstractWe outline a dual systems approach to temporal cognition, which distinguishes between two cognitive systems for dealing with how things unfold over time – atemporal updating systemand atemporal reasoning system– of which the former is both phylogenetically and ontogenetically more primitive than the latter, and which are at work alongside each other in adult human cognition. We describe the main features of each of the two systems, the types of behavior the more primitive temporal updating system can support, and the respects in which it is more limited than the temporal reasoning system. We then use the distinction between the two systems to interpret findings in comparative and developmental psychology, arguing that animals operate only with a temporal updating system and that children start out doing so too, before gradually becoming capable of thinking and reasoning about time. After this, we turn to adult human cognition and suggest that our account can also shed light on a specific feature of humans’ everyday thinking about time that has been the subject of debate in the philosophy of time, which consists in a tendency to think about the nature of time itself in a way that appears ultimately self-contradictory. We conclude by considering the topic of intertemporal choice, and argue that drawing the distinction between temporal updating and temporal reasoning is also useful in the context of characterizing two distinct mechanisms for delaying gratification.
Cerebral and gaze data fusion for wheelchair navigation enhancement: case of distracted users
Authors: Lamti Hachem A. , Ben Khelifa Mohamed Moncef , Hugel Vincent 
Published: September 2018

SUMMARYThe goal of this paper is to present a new hybrid system based on the fusion of gaze data and Steady State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEP) not only to command a powered wheelchair, but also to account for users distraction levels (concentrated or distracted). For this purpose, a multi-layer perception neural network was set up in order to combine relevant gazing and blinking features from gaze sequence and brainwave features from occipital and parietal brain regions. The motivation behind this work is the shortages raised from the individual use of gaze-based and SSVEP-based wheelchair command techniques. The proposed framework is based on three main modules: a gaze module to select command and activate the flashing stimuli. An SSVEP module to validate the selected command. In parallel, a distraction level module estimates the intention of the user by mean of behavioral entropy and validates/inhibits the command accordingly. An experimental protocol was set up and the prototype was tested on five paraplegic subjects and compared with standard SSVEP and gaze-based systems. The results showed that the new framework performed better than conventional gaze-based and SSVEP-based systems. Navigation performance was assessed based on navigation time and obstacles collisions.
QUALITY ASSURANCE OF REGISTRIES FOR HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Authors: Mandeville Kate L. , Valentic Maja , Ivankovic Damir , Pristas Ivan , Long Jae , Patrick Hannah E. 
Published: September 2018

Objectives:The aim of this study was to identify guidelines and assessment tools used by health technology agencies for quality assurance of registries and investigate the current use of registry data by HTA organizations worldwide.Methods:As part of a European Network for Health Technology Assessment Joint Action work package, we undertook a literature search and sent a questionnaire to all partner organizations on the work package and all organizations listed in the International Society for Pharmaco-economics and Outcomes Research directory.Results:We identified thirteen relevant documents relating to quality assurance of registries. We received fifty-five responses from organizations representing twenty-one different countries, a response rate of 40.5 percent (43/110). Many agencies, particularly in Europe, are already drawing on a range of registries to provide data for their HTA. Less than half, however, use criteria or standards to assess the quality of registry data. Nearly all criteria or standards in use have been internally defined by organizations rather than referring to those produced by an external body. A comparison of internal and external standards identified consistency in several quality dimensions, which can be used as a starting point for the development of a standardized tool.Conclusion:The use of registry data is more prevalent than expected, strengthening the need for a standardized registry quality assessment tool. A user-friendly tool developed in conjunction with stakeholders will support the consistent application of approved quality standards, and reassure critics who have traditionally considered registry data to be unreliable.
DIFFERENTIATION OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES BETWEEN FIVE DISEASE AREAS: RESULTS FROM AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF PATIENTS
Authors: Efthymiadou Olina , Mossman Jean , Kanavos Panos 
Published: September 2018

Objectives:Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data generated by generic, preference-based instruments (i.e., EQ-5D) are highly demanded in health policy decision making, because they allow for direct comparisons of HRQoL outcomes between disease areas. We aimed to quantify HRQoL outcomes in breast cancer (BC), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), rare cancers (RC), and rare disease (RD) patients and understand the patterns that differentiate HRQoL outcomes between these disease areas, and more specifically between rare and more common disease population groups.Methods:An international, Web survey of patients measured HRQoL (EQ-5D-5L), self-perceived health (EQ-5D-5L Visual Analogue Scale), and additional QoL dimensions, such as patient disability level.Results:We received 675 completed responses. Average utility loss was 53.5 percent, 32.5 percent, and 33.3 percent for RD, RA, and MS patients, respectively, in contrast to 18.6 percent for BC and RC patients. Statistically significant differences (p < .05) were observed between disease groups in all EQ-5D-5L domain outcomes, apart from that of “Anxiety/Depression.” Severe and/or extreme problems were reported in performing usual activities for RD and RC (34 percent and 13 percent of overall problems reported respectively), mobility for MS (18 percent), pain/discomfort for RA (13 percent), and anxiety/depression for BC (7 percent) patients.Conclusions:We demonstrated significant differences in the dimensions that drive HRQoL outcomes between rare and more common diseases and showcased that the same EQ-5D utility may reflect very different severities depending on the patient population under investigation. Future research should examine whether outcomes in other, critical HRQoL domains not included in generic measures also highlight significant differences across disease areas.
The slow dynamics of mycoplasma infections in a tortoise host reveal heterogeneity pertinent to pathogen transmission and monitoring
Authors: Aiello C. M. , Esque T. C. , Nussear K. E. , Emblidge P. G. , Hudson P. J. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe epidemiology of infectious diseases depends on many characteristics of disease progression, as well as the consistency of these processes across hosts. Longitudinal studies of infection can thus inform disease monitoring and management, but can be challenging in wildlife, particularly for long-lived hosts and persistent infections. Numerous tortoise species of conservation concern can be infected by pathogenic mycoplasmas that cause a chronic upper respiratory tract disease (URTD). Yet, a lack of detailed data describing tortoise responses to mycoplasma infections obscures our understanding of URTDs role in host ecology. We therefore monitoredMycoplasma agassiziiinfections in 14 captive desert tortoises and characterised clinical signs of disease, infection intensity, pathogen shedding and antibody production for nearly 4 years after initial exposure to donor hosts. Persistent infections established in all exposed tortoises within 10 weeks, but hosts appeared to vary in resistance, which affected the patterns of pathogen shedding and apparent disease. Delays in host immune response and changes to clinical signs and infection intensity over time resulted in inconsistencies between diagnostic tools and changes in diagnostic accuracy throughout the study. We discuss the implications these results have for URTD epidemiology and past and future research assessing disease prevalence and dynamics in tortoise populations.
Soybean PI 675847 A as a new source of salt tolerance
Authors: Quach Truyen Ngoc , Nguyen Lan-Anh Thi , Nguyen Nga Thi , Nguyen Cuc Thi , Dam Thang Quang , Dinh Linh Thu , Nguyen Hoan Tri 
Published: September 2018

AbstractSoil salinity is a major limitation to legume production in many areas of the world. Identification of the genetic source of salt tolerance is critical in soybean breeding for improving soybean production in salt-affected regions. Vietnam has unique sources of soybean germplasm and varieties are grown in the area where exposure to salinity is frequent. However, there is little research on the identification of salt tolerant sources in the Vietnamese gene pool. The present study compared 18 Vietnamese soybean cultivars for their differences in salt tolerance. Under a range of NaCl stress from 0 to 200 mM NaCl, there was a large variation in salt tolerance among the 18 soybean lines evaluated. The soybean accession PI 675847 A (Vietnamese variety DT2008), was identified as a useful source of salt tolerance. During vegetative growth, PI 675847 A had lower leaf scorch scores, higher cell membrane stability, better photosynthesis and biomass accumulation under NaCl stress than the other 17 strains evaluated. In addition, PI 675847 A maintained better growth and seed yield in salt-affected soils compared with the sensitive lines. Analyses of ion contents in plant leaves under saline conditions showed that PI 675847 A was able to limit uptake and transport of Na+ and Cl−. Because of its higher productivity under saline conditions, PI 675847 A will be a useful germplasm source in soybean improvement programs for salt tolerance.