LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of multidisciplinary therapy on symptomatology and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVES
To study the effects of a 3-month multidisciplinary intervention based on exercise and psychological therapy on symptomatology and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia.


METHODS
Seventy-five women with fibromyalgia volunteered to participate and were allocated to a 3-month (3-times/week) multidisciplinary (pool, land-based and psychological session based on the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) intervention (n=41), or to a usual care group (n=34). Sixty-five women with fibromyalgia completed the study protocol (n=33 multidisciplinary intervention, aged 51.4±7.4 years and n=32 usual care group, aged 50.0±7.3 years). The outcomes variables were Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.


RESULTS
We observed a significant interaction effect (group*time) for the FIQ total score, the subscales fatigue, stiffness, anxiety and depression, and the subscales of SF-36 physical role, bodily pain, vitality and social functioning. Post-hoc analysis revealed significant improvements in total score of FIQ (p<0.001), fatigue (p=0.001), stiffness (p<0.001), anxiety (p=0.011), depression (p=0.008), physical role (p=0.002), bodily pain (p<0.001), vitality (p<0.001) and social functioning (p<0.001) in the intervention group, whereas in the control group, there was a significant worsening in the subscale depression (p=0.006) and social functioning (p=0.019).


CONCLUSIONS
A 3-month low-moderate intensity multidisciplinary intervention improved fibromyalgia symptomatology and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia.
Optimized Trade Execution with Reinforcement Learning Optimal orderexekvering med reinforcement learning

In this thesis, we study the problem of buying or selling a given volume of a financial asset within a given time horizon to the best possible price, a problem formally known as optimized trade execution. Our approach is an empirical one. We use historical data to simulate the process of placing artificial orders in a market. This simulation enables us to model the problem as a Markov decision process (MDP). Given this MDP, we train and evaluate a set of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms all with the objective to minimize the transaction cost on unseen test data. We train and evaluate these for various instruments and problem settings, such as different trading horizons. Our first model was developed with the goal to validate results achieved by Nevmyvaka, Feng and Kearns [9], and it is thus called NFK. We extended this model into what we call Dual NFK, in an attempt to regularize the model against external price movement. Furthermore, we implemented and evaluated a classical RL algorithm, namely Sarsa(λ) with a modified reward function. Lastly, we evaluated proximal policy optimization (PPO), an actor-critic RL algorithm incorporating neural networks in order to find the optimal policy. Along with these models, we implemented five simple baseline strategies with various characteristics. These baseline strategies have partly been found in the literature and partly been developed by us, and are used to the evaluate the performance of our models. We achieve results on par with those found by Nevmyvaka, Feng and Kearns [9], but only for a few cases. Furthermore, dual NFK performed very similar to NFK, indicating that one can train one model (for both the buy and sell case) instead of two for the optimized trade execution problem. We also found that Sarsa(λ) with a modified reward function performed better than both these models, but is still outperformed by baseline strategies for many problem settings. Finally, we evaluated PPO for one problem setting and found that it outperformed even the best of the baseline strategies and models, showing promise for deep reinforcement learning methods for the problem of optimized trade execution.
Education , Poverty and Terrorism : Is There a Causal Connection ?

The paper investigates whether there is a causal link between poverty or low education and participation in terrorist activities. After presenting a discussion of theoretical issues, we review evidence on the determinants of hate crimes, which are closely related to terrorism. This literature finds that the occurrence of hate crimes is largely independent of economic conditions. Next we analyze data on support for terrorism from public opinion polls conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. These polls indicate that support for terrorism does not decrease among those with higher education and higher living standards. The core contribution of the paper is a statistical analysis of the determinants of participation in Hezbollah terrorist activities in Lebanon in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The evidence that we have assembled suggests that having a living standard above the poverty line or a secondary school or higher education is positively associated with participation in terrorism. Although our results are tentative and exploratory, they suggest that neither poverty nor education have a direct, causal impact on terrorism. The conclusion speculates on why economic conditions and education are largely unrelated to participation in, and support for, terrorism. *This paper was prepared for the World Bank’s Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics, April 2002. We thank Claude Berrebi for excellent research assistance, Eli Hurvitz, Ayoub Mustafa, Adib Nehmeh and Zeina el Khalil for providing data, and Joshua Angrist, Guido Imbens and Elie Tamer for helpful discussions.
A Randomized Linear-Work EREW PRAM Algorithm to Find a Minimum Spanning Forest

We present a randomized EREW PRAM algorithm to find a minimum spanning forest in a weighted undirected graph. On an n -vertex graph the algorithm runs in o(( log n)1+ɛ) expected time for any ɛ >0 and performs linear expected work. This is the first linear-work, polylog-time algorithm on the EREW PRAM for this problem. This also gives parallel algorithms that perform expected linear work on two general-purpose models of parallel computation—the QSM and the BSP.
Learning Analytics as a Metacognitive Tool

The use of learning analytics is entering in the field of research in education as a promising way to support learning. However, in many cases data are not transparent for the learner. In this regard, Educational institutions shouldn’t escape the need of making transparent for the learners how their personal data is being tracked and used in order to build inferences, as well as how its use is going to affect in their learning. In this contribution, we sustain that learning analytics offers opportunities to the students to reflect about learning and develop metacognitive skills. Student-centered analytics are highlighted as a useful approach for reframing learning analytics as a tool for supporting self-directed and self-regulated learning. The article also provides insights about the design of learning analytics and examples of experiences that challenge traditional implementations of learning analytics.
Harvesting High Value Foreign Currency Transactions from EMV Contactless Credit Cards Without the PIN

In this paper we present an attack, which allows fraudulent transactions to be collected from EMV contactless credit and debit cards without the knowledge of the cardholder. The attack exploits a previously unreported vulnerability in EMV protocol, which allows EMV contactless cards to approve unlimited value transactions without the cardholder's PIN when the transaction is carried out in a foreign currency. For example, we have found that Visa credit cards will approve foreign currency transactions for any amount up to ∈999,999.99 without the cardholder's PIN, this side-steps the £20 contactless transaction limit in the UK. This paper outlines our analysis methodology that identified the flaw in the EMV protocol, and presents a scenario in which fraudulent transaction details are transmitted over the Internet to a "rogue merchant" who then uses the transaction data to take money from the victim's account. In reality, the criminals would choose a value between ∈100 and ∈200, which is low enough to be within the victim's balance and not to raise suspicion, but high enough to make each attack worthwhile. The attack is novel in that it could be operated on a large scale with multiple attackers collecting fraudulent transactions for a central rogue merchant which can be located anywhere in the world where EMV payments are accepted.
Integrated Berth Allocation and Quay Crane Assignment Problem: Set partitioning models and computational results

Most of the operational problems in container terminals are strongly interconnected. In this paper, we study the integrated berth allocation and quay crane assignment problem in seaport container terminals. We will extend the current stateof-the-art by proposing novel set partitioning models. To improve the performance of the set partitioning formulations, a number of variable reduction techniques are proposed. Furthermore, we analyze the e ects of di erent discretization schemes and the impact of using a time-variant/invariant quay crane allocation policy. Computational experiments show that the proposed models signi cantly improve the benchmark solutions of the current state-of-art optimal approaches. Index terms Container terminal operations; Berth allocation problem; Quay crane assignment; Mixed integer programming; Set partitioning; Column reduction
Unemployment persistence and loss of productive capacity: A Keynesian approach

Abstract Empirical evidence suggests that the European unemployment problem is somehow connected with a capital shortage. The paper introduces a Keynesian model to deal with this issue. In this model the rate of capacity utilization plays a central role in two simultaneously operating mechanisms thus exhibiting hysteresis: price adjustment and capital accumulation. The implications for employment and unemployment are discussed. It is demonstrated that equilibrium unemployment may be caused by adverse demand shocks.
Higher blood volumes improve the sensitivity of direct PCR diagnosis of blood stream tuberculosis among HIV-positive patients: an observation study

BACKGROUND
Blood stream tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is common among HIV-positive patients, turning rapidly fatal unless detected and treated promptly. Blood culture is currently the standard test for the detection of MTB in whole blood but results take weeks; patients deteriorate markedly and often die before a diagnosis of blood stream TB is made. Rapid molecular tests on whole blood, with potential for same day diagnosis of blood stream TB usually show low sensitivity due to the problem of insufficient MTB DNA template when extraction is performed directly on low blood volumes. This study assessed the influence of blood volume on the sensitivity of a HyBeacon PCR assay-the FluoroType MTB (Hain Lifescience, Nehren, Germany) on direct detection of MTB in whole blood.


METHODS
Prospective recruitment of HIV-positive patients with clinical suspicion of blood stream TB but not on anti-TB or HIV drug treatment was done. Venous blood samples were collected and DNA extracted using the MolYsis (Molzym, Bremen, Germany) methods; for study A, from duplicate 1 ml (42 patients) and for study B (31 patients) from 9 ml EDTA blood samples. The FluoroType MTB PCR assay targeting an IS6110 sequence was performed and results compared with blood culture.


RESULTS
The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the FluoroType MTB PCR in study A was 33% and 97%, respectively. Corresponding values in study B were 71% and 96%, respectively. In both studies, one case each of blood culture-negative blood stream TB was detected with the FluoroType MTB PCR assay. The median time to positivity of blood culture was 20.1 (range 12-32) for study A and 19.9 days (range 15-30) for study B.


CONCLUSION
Larger blood volumes (9 ml) improved and gave acceptable sensitivity of direct PCR diagnosis of blood stream TB.
Marcatili E A J. Dielectric rectangular waveguide and directional coupler for integrated optics. Bell Syst. Tech. J. 48:2071-102, 1969

The transmission properties of a guide consisting of a dielectric rod of rectangular cross-section surrounded by dielectrics of smaller refractive indices are determined. This guide is the basic component in a new technology called integrated optical circuitry. The directional coupler, a particularly useful device, made of two of those guides closely spaced is also analyzed. [The SCI indicates that this paper has been cited over 145 times since 1969.]
Fragmented nature: consequences for biodiversity

We discuss how fragmentation of resources and habitat operate differently on species diversity across spatial scales, ranging from positive effects on local species coexistence to negative effect on intermediate spatial scales, to again positive effects on large spatial and temporal scales. Species with different size and mobility can be regulated by different processes at the same spatial scale, a principle that may contribute to diversity. Differences in species richness between local communities may be differentially regulated at larger spatial scales. This causal connection between local and regional processes has several practical conservation implications. We furthermore show that fractal geometry can be a valuable tool in the separation of the effects of habitat loss (percentage cover), habitat fragmentation (contiguity) and habitat (texture). Especially important may be the notion that the same effective degree of fragmentation can exist at in a very aggregated habitat (one big patch) and a very sparse, random landscape (many small, nearby patches). The geometric behaviour and covariance of these three basic parameters of spatial configuration needs further investigation. The fractal approach is tested using data on heathland habitat configuration and biodiversity in 36 Dutch landscapes of each 9 km 9 km. Fractal geometry was indeed successful in separating the patterns of habitat loss from habitat fragmentation in a subset of the landscapes, despite covariance across all landscapes. Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation both had a negative effect on diversity of heathland breeding birds, while only habitat loss seemed to affect butterfly species richness. We conclude that fractal geometry seems to be a promising approach for linking population and community processes to landscape spatial structure. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Diagnostic yield and safety of jumbo biopsy forceps in patients with subepithelial lesions of the upper and lower GI tract.

BACKGROUND
EUS-FNA often fails to make a definitive diagnosis in the evaluation of subepithelial lesions. The addition of jumbo biopsy forceps has the potential to improve diagnostic yield, but published series are limited.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the likelihood of definitive diagnosis for subepithelial lesions by using jumbo biopsy forceps during EUS examination.


DESIGN
Pooled retrospective analysis.


SETTING
6 tertiary referral centers.


PATIENTS
All patients having undergone EUS examination for a subepithelial lesion in which jumbo biopsy forceps were used for tissue acquisition.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS
Diagnostic yield of jumbo biopsy forceps use, complication rates, and comparison of diagnostic yield with that of EUS-FNA.


RESULTS
A total of 129 patients underwent EUS with jumbo biopsy forceps; 31 patients (24%) had simultaneous EUS-FNA. The lesion locations were stomach (n = 98), esophagus (n = 14), duodenum (n = 11), colon (n = 5), and jejunum (n = 1). The average lesion size was 14.9 mm ± 9.3 mm. Overall, definitive diagnosis was obtained in 87 of 129 patients (67.4%) by using either method. A definitive diagnosis was provided by jumbo biopsy forceps use in 76 of 129 patients (58.9%) and by FNA in 14 of 31 patients (45.1%) (P = .175). The results in third-layer lesions were definitive with jumbo biopsy forceps in 56 of 86 lesions (65.1%) and with FNA in 6 of 16 lesions (37.5%) (P = .047). For fourth-layer lesions, the results with jumbo biopsy forceps were definitive in 10 of 25 (40.0%) and with FNA in 8 of 14 (57.1%) (P = .330). Forty-five of 129 patients (34.9%) experienced significant bleeding after biopsy with jumbo forceps and required some form of endoscopic hemostasis.


LIMITATIONS
Retrospective study.


CONCLUSIONS
Jumbo forceps are a useful tool for the definitive diagnosis of subepithelial lesions. The greatest benefit appears to be with third-layer (submucosal) lesions. The risk of bleeding is significant.
Survey of consensus protocols on blockchain applications

Blockchain is a distributed, transparent, immutable ledger. Consensus protocol forms the core of blockchain. They decide how a blockchain works. With the advent of new possibilities in blockchain technology, researchers are keen to find a well-optimized Byzantine fault tolerant consensus protocol. Creating a global consensus protocol or tailoring a cross-platform plug and play software application for implementation of various consensus protocols are ideas of huge interest. Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) is considered to be a global consensus protocol and promises to be Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) by bringing with it the concept of quorum slices and federated byzantine fault tolerance. This consensus's working and its comparison with other protocols that were earlier proposed are analyzed here. Also, hyperledger an open-source project by Linux Foundation which includes implementing the concept of practical byzantine fault tolerance and also a platform where various other consensus protocols and blockchain applications can be deployed in a plug and play manner is also being discussed here. This paper focuses on analyzing these consensus protocols already proposed and their feasibility and efficiency in meeting the characteristics they propose to provide.
Abusive experiences and psychiatric morbidity in women primary care attenders.

BACKGROUND
Abusive experiences in childhood and adulthood increase risks of psychiatric morbidity in women and independently increase risks of further abuse over the lifetime. It is unclear which experiences are most damaging.


AIMS
To measure lifetime prevalence of abusive experiences and psychiatric morbidity, and to analyse associations in women primary care attenders.


METHOD
A cross-sectional, self-report survey of 1207 women attending 13 surgeries in the London borough of Hackney, UK. Independent associations between demographic measures, abusive experiences and psychiatric outcome were established using logistic regression.


RESULTS
Childhood sexual abuse had few associations with adult mental health measures, in contrast to physical abuse. Sexual assault in adulthood was associated with substance misuse; rape with anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder but not substance misuse. Domestic violence showed strongest associations with most mental health measures, increased for experiences in the past year.


CONCLUSIONS
Abuse in childhood and adulthood have differential effects on mental health; effects are increased by recency and severity. Women should be routinely questioned about ongoing and recent experiences as well as childhood.
Fuzzy Logic Controller Based Three-phase Shunt Active Filter for Line Harmonics Reduction

Harmonic distortion is a form of electrical noise. It is a superposition of signals, which are of multiples of fundamental frequency. Proliferation of large power electronic systems results in increased harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortion results in reduction of power quality and system stability. This paper presents fuzzy control applicable for active power filter for three-phase systems, which are comprised of nonlinear loads. The active filter is based on a three-phase inverter with six controllable switches. The AC side of the inverter is connected in parallel with the other nonlinear loads through a filter inductance. The DC side of the inverter is connected to a filter capacitor. The Fuzzy Controller (FC) is used to shape the current through the filter inductor such that the line current is in phase with and of the same shape as the input voltage. The results of the computer simulation prove that the injected harmonics are greatly reduced, system efficiency and power factor are improved.
ENIAC: the triumphs and tragedies of the world's first computer [Book Review]

Granta Books, London, 1999, £9.99, 423 pp. ISBN 1-86207-285-X. At first glance a review of a biography of a crystallographer, no matter how famous, appears to offer little to those interested in the history of computing. In fact Georgina Ferry’s excellent, and most enjoyable, biography of Nobel laureate Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin gives an unintentional insight into how changes in computing machines and techniques influenced the research of X-ray crystallographers. Computation is never a main theme of this book but the casual computing references (not all of them accurate in their detail) paint a brief but telling picture of the effect that computing machinery development had on science. Mention is made of slide rules and logarithm tables, of desk calculating machines and Fourier syntheses using BeeverLipson strips, of Hollerith machines and the analogue X-RAC, of the English Deuce and the American SWAC, and beyond. The whole spectrum of 20th-century computing is briefly covered within the context of developments in another science. The impact that changes in computing techniques had on different sciences opens up huge areas of possible research for computer historians. Books such as this illustrate just how much work there is still to be done in understanding mid-20th century computing. Mary Croarken National Maritime Museum