RoboCup 2D Soccer Simulation League: Evaluation Challenges

We summarise the results of RoboCup 2D Soccer Simulation League in 2016 (Leipzig), including the main competition and the evaluation round. The evaluation round held in Leipzig confirmed the strength of RoboCup-2015 champion (WrightEagle, i.e. WE2015) in the League, with only eventual finalists of 2016 competition capable of defeating WE2015. An extended, post-Leipzig, round-robin tournament which included the top 8 teams of 2016, as well as WE2015, with over 1000 games played for each pair, placed WE2015 third behind the champion team (Gliders2016) and the runner-up (HELIOS2016). This establishes WE2015 as a stable benchmark for the 2D Simulation League. We then contrast two ranking methods and suggest two options for future evaluation challenges. The first one, "The Champions Simulation League", is proposed to include 6 previous champions, directly competing against each other in a round-robin tournament, with the view to systematically trace the advancements in the League. The second proposal, "The Global Challenge", is aimed to increase the realism of the environmental conditions during the simulated games, by simulating specific features of different participating countries.Comment: 12 pages, RoboCup-2017, Nagoya, Japan, July 201

Hospital characteristics and patient populations served by physician owned and non physician owned orthopedic specialty hospitals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The emergence of physician owned specialty hospitals focusing on high margin procedures has generated significant controversy. Yet, it is unclear whether physician owned specialty hospitals differ significantly from non physician owned specialty hospitals and thus merit the additional scrutiny that has been proposed. Our objective was to assess whether physician owned specialty orthopedic hospitals and non physician owned specialty orthopedic hospitals differ with respect to hospital characteristics and patient populations served.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a descriptive study using Medicare data of beneficiaries who underwent total hip replacement (THR) (N = 10,478) and total knee replacement (TKR) (N = 15,312) in 29 physician owned and 8 non physician owned specialty orthopedic hospitals during 1999–2003. We compared hospital characteristics of physician owned and non physician owned specialty hospitals including procedural volumes of major joint replacements (THR and TKR), hospital teaching status, and for profit status. We then compared demographics and prevalence of common comorbid conditions for patients treated in physician owned and non physician owned specialty hospitals. Finally, we examined whether the socio-demographic characteristics of the neighborhoods where physician owned and non physician owned specialty hospitals differed, as measured by zip code level data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Physician owned specialty hospitals performed fewer major joint replacements on Medicare beneficiaries in 2003 than non physician owed specialty hospitals (64 vs. 678, P < .001), were less likely to be affiliated with a medical school (6% vs. 43%, P = .05), and were more likely to be for profit (94% vs. 28%, P = .001). Patients who underwent major joint replacement in physician owned specialty hospitals were less likely to be black than patients in non physician owned specialty hospitals (2.5% vs. 3.1% for THR, P = .15; 1.8% vs. 6.3% for TKR, P < .001), yet physician owned specialty hospitals were located in neighborhoods with a higher proportion of black residents (8.2% vs. 6.7%, P = .76). Patients in physician owned hospitals had lower rates of most common comorbid conditions including heart failure and obesity (P < .05 for both).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Physician owned specialty orthopedic hospitals differ significantly from non physician owned specialty orthopedic hospitals and may warrant the additional scrutiny policy makers have proposed.</p

Which symptoms are linked to a delayed presentation among melanoma patients? A retrospective study

Background: The incidence of melanoma is rising. Early detection is associated with a more favourable outcome. The factors that influence the timing of a patient’s presentation for medical assessment are not fully understood. The aims of the study were to measure the nature and duration of melanoma symptoms in a group of patients diagnosed with melanoma within the preceding 18 months and to identify the symptoms and barriers associated with a delay in presentation. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 200 of the 963 melanoma patients who had participated in the Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2010 and were known to be alive 1 year later. Data were collected on symptoms, duration of symptoms prior to presentation and the reasons for not attending a doctor sooner. Results: A total of 159 patients responded to the questionnaire; 74 (47%) were men; mean age was 62 (range 24–90) years. Of the 149 patients who reported a symptom, 40 (27%) had a delayed presentation (i.e. >3 months). A mole growing bigger was the most common symptom and reporting this symptom was significantly associated with a delayed presentation (odds ratio (OR) 2.04, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.14–5.08). Patients aged ≥65 years were less likely to report a barrier to presentation and were less likely to delay than those under 40, although this was of borderline statistical significance (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.08–1.00). Conclusions: This study highlights that an enlarging mole is a significant symptom influencing the timing of presentation. Increasing public awareness of the signs of melanoma and of the importance of early presentation is desirable. Health professionals should take advantage of the opportunity to educate patients on such symptoms and signs where feasible. Further exploration of the barriers to presentation in younger people should be considered

Exploring the Role of Explicit and Implicit Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion in Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology Following Acquired Brain Injury

[EN] Objectives Acquired brain injury (ABI) can lead to the emergence of several disabilities and is commonly associated with high rates of anxiety and depression symptoms. Self-related constructs, such as self-esteem and self-compassion, might play a key role in this distressing symptomatology. Low explicit (i.e., deliberate) self-esteem is associated with anxiety and depression after ABI. However, implicit (i.e., automatic) self-esteem, explicit-implicit self-discrepancies, and self-compassion could also significantly contribute to this symptomatology. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether implicit self-esteem, explicit-implicit self-discrepancy (size and direction), and self-compassion are related to anxious and depressive symptoms after ABI in adults, beyond the contribution of explicit self-esteem. Methods The sample consisted 38 individuals with ABI who were enrolled in a long-term rehabilitation program. All participants completed the measures of explicit self-esteem, implicit self-esteem, self-compassion, anxiety, and depression. Pearson's correlations and hierarchical regression models were calculated. Results Findings showed that both self-compassion and implicit self-esteem negatively accounted for unique variance in anxiety and depression when controlling for explicit self-esteem. Neither the size nor direction of explicit-implicit self-discrepancy was significantly associated with anxious or depressive symptomatology. Conclusions The findings suggest that the consideration of self-compassion and implicit self-esteem, in addition to explicit self-esteem, contributes to understanding anxiety and depression following ABI.Lorena Desdentado is supported by a FPU doctoral scholarship (FPU18/01690) from the Spanish Ministry of Universities. 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Cerebrospinal fluid matrix metalloproteinase-9 increases during treatment of recurrent malignant gliomas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes that promote tumor invasion and angiogenesis by enzymatically remodeling the extracellular matrix. MMP-2 and MMP-9 are the most abundant forms of MMPs in malignant gliomas, while a 130 kDa MMP is thought to be MMP-9 complexed to other proteinases. This study determined whether doxycycline can block MMP activity <it>in vitro</it>. We also measured MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with recurrent malignant gliomas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To determine whether doxycycline can block MMP activity, we measured the extent of doxycyline-mediated MMP-2 and MMP-9 inhibition <it>in vitro </it>using epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) transfected U251 glioma cell lines. MMP activity was measured using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) zymography. In addition, patients underwent lumbar puncture for CSF sampling at baseline, after 6 weeks (1 cycle), and after 12 weeks (2 cycles), while being treated with a novel chemotherapy regimen of irinotecan, thalidomide, and doxycycline designed to block growth/proliferation, angiogenesis, and invasion. Irinotecan was given at 125 mg/m²/week for 4 weeks in 6-week cycles, together with continuous doxycycline at 100 mg twice daily on Day 1 and 50 mg twice daily thereafter. Daily thalidomide dose in our cohort was 400 mg. Tumor progression was monitored by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Doxycyline <it>in vitro </it>completely abolished MMP-9 activity at 500 μg/ml while there was only 30 to 50% inhibition of MMP-2 activity. Four patients respectively completed 4, 3, 1, and 2 cycles of irinotecan, thalidomide, and doxycycline. Patient enrollment was terminated after one patient developed radiologically defined pulmonary embolism, and another had probable pulmonary embolism. Although CSF MMP-2 and 130 kDa MMP levels were stable, MMP-9 level progressively increased during treatment despite stable MRI.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Doxycycline can block MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities from glioma cells <it>in vitro</it>. Increased CSF MMP-9 activity could be a biomarker of disease activity in patients with malignant gliomas, before any changes are detectable on MRI.</p

The Effect of Sensory Uncertainty Due to Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) on the Planning and Execution of Visually-Guided 3D Reaching Movements

Background: Impairment of spatiotemporal visual processing in amblyopia has been studied extensively, but its effects on visuomotor tasks have rarely been examined. Here, we investigate how visual deficits in amblyopia affect motor planning and online control of visually-guided, unconstrained reaching movements. Methods: Thirteen patients with mild amblyopia, 13 with severe amblyopia and 13 visually-normal participants were recruited. Participants reached and touched a visual target during binocular and monocular viewing. Motor planning was assessed by examining spatial variability of the trajectory at 50–100 ms after movement onset. Online control was assessed by examining the endpoint variability and by calculating the coefficient of determination (R 2) which correlates the spatial position of the limb during the movement to endpoint position. Results: Patients with amblyopia had reduced precision of the motor plan in all viewing conditions as evidenced by increased variability of the reach early in the trajectory. Endpoint precision was comparable between patients with mild amblyopia and control participants. Patients with severe amblyopia had reduced endpoint precision along azimuth and elevation during amblyopic eye viewing only, and along the depth axis in all viewing conditions. In addition, they had significantly higher R 2 values at 70 % of movement time along the elevation and depth axes during amblyopic eye viewing. Conclusion: Sensory uncertainty due to amblyopia leads to reduced precision of the motor plan. The ability to implemen

The use of opioids at the end of life: knowledge level of pharmacists and cooperation with physicians

Contains fulltext : 96464.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)PURPOSE: What is the level of knowledge of pharmacists concerning pain management and the use of opioids at the end of life, and how do they cooperate with physicians? METHODS: A written questionnaire was sent to a sample of community and hospital pharmacists in the Netherlands. The questionnaire was completed by 182 pharmacists (response rate 45%). RESULTS: Pharmacists were aware of the most basic knowledge about opioids. Among the respondents, 29% erroneously thought that life-threatening respiratory depression was a danger with pain control, and 38% erroneously believed that opioids were the preferred drug for palliative sedation. One in three responding pharmacists did not think his/her theoretical knowledge was sufficient to provide advice on pain control. Most pharmacists had working agreements with physicians on euthanasia (81%), but fewer had working agreements on palliative sedation (46%) or opioid therapy (25%). Based on the experience of most of responding pharmacists (93%), physicians were open to unsolicited advice on opioid prescriptions. The majority of community pharmacists (94%) checked opioid prescriptions most often only after dispensing, while it was not a common practice among the majority of hospital pharmacists (68%) to check prescriptions at all. CONCLUSIONS: Although the basic knowledge of most pharmacists was adequate, based on the responses to the questionnaire, there seems to be a lack of knowledge in several areas, which may hamper pharmacists in improving the quality of care when giving advice to physicians and preventing or correcting mistakes if necessary. If education is improved, a more active role of the pharmacist may improve the quality of end-of-life pharmacotherapy

Gaze-grasp coordination in obstacle avoidance: differences between binocular and monocular viewing

Most adults can skillfully avoid potential obstacles when acting in everyday cluttered scenes. We examined how gaze and hand movements are normally coordinated for obstacle avoidance and whether these are altered when binocular depth information is unavailable. Visual fixations and hand movement kinematics were simultaneously recorded, while 13 right-handed subjects reached-to-precision grasp a cylindrical household object presented alone or with a potential obstacle (wine glass) located to its left (thumb's grasp side), right or just behind it (both closer to the finger's grasp side) using binocular or monocular vision. Gaze and hand movement strategies differed significantly by view and obstacle location. With binocular vision, initial fixations were near the target's centre of mass (COM) around the time of hand movement onset, but usually shifted to end just above the thumb's grasp site at initial object contact, this mainly being made by the thumb, consistent with selecting this digit for guiding the grasp. This strategy was associated with faster binocular hand movements and improved end-point grip precision across all trials than with monocular viewing, during which subjects usually continued to fixate the target closer to its COM despite a similar prevalence of thumb-first contacts. While subjects looked directly at the obstacle at each location on a minority of trials and their overall fixations on the target were somewhat biased towards the grasp side nearest to it, these gaze behaviours were particularly marked on monocular vision-obstacle behind trials which also commonly ended in finger-first contact. Subjects avoided colliding with the wine glass under both views when on the right (finger side) of the workspace by producing slower and straighter reaches, with this and the behind obstacle location also resulting in 'safer' (i.e. narrower) peak grip apertures and longer deceleration times than when the goal object was alone or the obstacle was on its thumb side. But monocular reach paths were more variable and deceleration times were selectively prolonged on finger-side and behind obstacle trials, with this latter condition further resulting in selectively increased grip closure times and corrections. Binocular vision thus provided added advantages for collision avoidance, known to require intact dorsal cortical stream processing mechanisms, particularly when the target of the grasp and potential obstacle to it were fairly closely separated in depth. Different accounts of the altered monocular gaze behaviour converged on the conclusion that additional perceptual and/or attentional resources are likely engaged compared to when continuous binocular depth information is available. Implications for people lacking binocular stereopsis are briefly considered

The emerging modern face of mood disorders: a didactic editorial with a detailed presentation of data and definitions

The present work represents a detailed description of our current understanding and knowledge of the epidemiology, etiopathogenesis and clinical manifestations of mood disorders, their comorbidity and overlap, and the effect of variables such as gender and age. This review article is largely based on the 'Mood disorders' chapter of the Wikibooks Textbook of Psychiatry http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Textbook_of_Psychiatry/Mood_Disorders

Proteins on the catwalk: modelling the structural domains of the CCN family of proteins

The CCN family of proteins (CCN1, CCN2, CCN3, CCN4, CCN5 and CCN6) are multifunctional mosaic proteins that play keys roles in crucial areas of physiology such as angiogenesis, skeletal development tumourigenesis, cell proliferation, adhesion and survival. This expansive repertoire of functions comes through a modular structure of 4 discrete domains that act both independently and in concert. How these interactions with ligands and with neighbouring domains lead to the biological effects is still to be explored but the molecular structure of the domains is likely to play an important role in this. In this review we have highlighted some of the key features of the individual domains of CCN family of proteins based on their biological effects using a homology modelling approach