LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
A review of mercury exposure among artisanal small-scale gold miners in developing countries.

PURPOSE
Extraction of gold using mercury has been a way out of poverty for millions of people in developing countries. Artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has expanded during the last decades and is often carried out under primitive conditions. Thus, workers in this industry may be exposed to high levels of mercury and suffer from toxic effects from mercury exposure. The objective of this review was to provide an outline of the studies available on elemental mercury exposure among artisanal small-scale gold miners.


METHODS
Searching the PubMed and Embase databases, 26 studies with a total of 3,005 exposed subjects and 442 controls across 14 different developing countries were found. Urine mercury levels were used as biomarkers of exposure.


RESULTS
In general, the urine mercury levels were elevated and a considerable proportion of workers had urine mercury levels above existing guidelines. Exposed subjects were stratified into residents, miners, millers, smelters, and refiners, who by work task content were expected to be increasingly exposed to mercury. This group order did show a clear trend of increasing mercury levels. Mercury levels differed substantially between studies. Possible explanations include dissimilarities in gold extraction methods, use of protective devices, and selection of participants.


CONCLUSIONS
This review provides evidence that artisanal gold miners and residents of the mining sites are exposed to mercury vapour to an extent where acute and long-term toxic effects of mercury are likely. Interventions aimed at reducing exposure and emission of mercury from ASGM are needed.
Attitudes of cancer patients, family caregivers, oncologists and members of the general public toward critical interventions at the end of life of terminally ill patients.

BACKGROUND
Whereas most studies have focused on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, few have dealt comprehensively with other critical interventions administered at the end of life. We surveyed cancer patients, family caregivers, oncologists and members of the general public to determine their attitudes toward such interventions.


METHODS
We administered a questionnaire to four groups about their attitudes toward five end-of-life interventions--withdrawal of futile life-sustaining treatment, active pain control, withholding of life-sustaining measures, active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. We performed multivariable analyses to compare attitudes and to identify sociodemographic characteristics associated with the attitudes.


RESULTS
A total of 3840 individuals--1242 cancer patients, 1289 family caregivers and 303 oncologists from 17 hospitals, as well as 1006 members of the general Korean population--participated in the survey. A large majority in each of the groups supported withdrawal of futile life-sustaining treatment (87.1%-94.0%) and use of active pain control (89.0%-98.4%). A smaller majority (60.8%-76.0%) supported withholding of life-sustaining treatment. About 50% of those in the patient and general population groups supported active euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, as compared with less than 40% of the family caregivers and less than 10% of the oncologists. Higher income was significantly associated with approval of the withdrawal of futile life-sustaining treatment and the practice of active pain control. Older age, male sex and having no religion were significantly associated with approval of withholding of life-sustaining measures. Older age, male sex, having no religion and lower education level were significantly associated with approval of active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.


INTERPRETATION
Although the various participant groups shared the same attitude toward futile and ameliorative end-of-life care (the withdrawal of futile life-sustaining treatment and the use of active pain control), oncologists had a more negative attitude than those in the other groups toward the active ending of life (euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide).
Higher capecitabine AUC in elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer (SWOGS0030)

Background:The aging process is accompanied by physiological changes including reduced glomerular filtration and hepatic function, as well as changes in gastric secretions. To investigate what effect would aging have on the disposition of capecitabine and its metabolites, the pharmacokinetics between patients ⩾70 years and <60 years were compared in SWOG0030.Methods:Twenty-nine unresectable colorectal cancer patients were stratified to either ⩾70 or <60 years of age, where the disposition of capecitabine and its metabolites were compared.Results:Notable increase in capecitabine area under the curve (AUC) was accompanied by reduction in capecitabine clearance in ⩾70 years patients (P<0.05). No difference in 5’-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine, 5’-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (DFUR), and 5-fluorouracil (5FU) AUCs between the two age groups, suggesting that carboxylesterase and cytidine deaminase (CDA) activity was similar between the two age groups. These results suggest that metabolic enzymes involved in converting capecitabine metabolites are not altered by age. An elevation in capecitabine Cmax and reduction in clearance was seen in females, where capecitabine AUC was 40.3% higher in women. Elevation of DFUR Cmax (45%) and AUC (46%) (P<0.05) was also noted, suggesting that CDA activity may be higher in females.Conclusion:Increases in capecitabine Cmax and AUC was observed in patients ⩾70 years when compared with younger patients who were >60 years.
General Relativity in Electrical Engineering

In electrical engineering metamaterials have been developed that offer unprecedented control over electromagnetic fields. Here, we show that general relativity provides the theoretical tools for designing devices made of such versatile materials. Given a desired device function, the theory describes the electromagnetic properties that turn this function into fact. We consider media that facilitate space-time transformations and include negative refraction. Our theory unifies the concepts operating behind the scenes of perfect invisibility devices, perfect lenses, the optical Aharonov–Bohm effect and electromagnetic analogues of the event horizon, and may lead to further applications. New Journal of Physics 8 (2006) 247 PII: S1367-2630(06)29513-2 1367-2630/06/010247+18$30.00 © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft 2 Institute of Physics DEUTSCHE PHYSIKALISCHE GESELLSCHAFT
D.H. Lawrence : language and being

1. Introduction 2. Competing voices in the early novels 3. The 'metaphysic' of The Rainbow 4. The 'worlds' of Women in Love 5. The personal, the political and the 'Primitive': Aaron's Rod and Kangaroo 6. Sentimental primitivism in The Plumed Serpent 7. 'Love' and 'Chatter' in Lady Chatterley's Lover 8. Conclusion.
Fast Parametric Learning with Activation Memorization

For WikiText-103 we swept over LSTM hidden sizes {1024, 2048, 4096}, no. LSTM layers {1, 2}, embedding dropout {0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3}, use of layer norm (Ba et al., 2016b) {True,False}, and whether to share the input/output embedding parameters {True,False} totalling 96 parameters. A single-layer LSTM with 2048 hidden units with tied embedding parameters and an input dropout rate of 0.3 was selected, and we used this same model configuration for the other language corpora. We trained the models on 8 P100 Nvidia GPUs by splitting the batch size into 8 sub-batches, sending them to each GPU and summing the resulting gradients. The total batch size used was 512 and a sequence length of 100 was chosen. Gradients were clipped to a maximum norm value of 0.1. We did not pass the state of the LSTM between sequences during training, however the state is passed during evaluation.
Effects of open-label lisdexamfetamine dimesylate on self-reported quality of life in adults with ADHD.

OBJECTIVE
To assess improvements in quality of life measurements during the open-label portion of a trial examining duration of efficacy of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate in a simulated adult workplace environment.


METHODS
A 4-week, open-label, dose-optimization phase followed by a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled, 2-way crossover phase to evaluate safety and efficacy of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate in the adult workplace environment was conducted. Clinical assessments included the ADHD Impact Module for Adults (AIM-A) to assess the effect of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate on perception of quality of life and the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity/Improvement to assess symptom severity at baseline and improvement over time. Safety assessments included physical examination, treatment-emergent adverse events, vital signs, and electrocardiogram measurements.


RESULTS
Questions 1 and 4 of the AIM-A suggest improvement from baseline in overall quality of life at week 4 with lisdexamfetamine dimesylate treatment. Post-hoc analysis revealed no significant differences attributable to either age or sex. Overall responses to questions 2 and 3, which related to overall life goals, did not change in a majority of participants during the 4-week open-label phase of this study. For all lisdexamfetamine dimesylate doses combined, treatment-emergent adverse events occurring in ≥ 5% of participants during the dose-optimization phase were decreased appetite (36.6%), dry mouth (30.3%), headache (19.7%), insomnia (18.3%), upper respiratory tract infection (9.9%), irritability (8.5%), nausea (7.7%), anxiety (5.6%), and feeling jittery (5.6%).


CONCLUSIONS
At the end of the dose-optimization phase, lisdexamfetamine dimesylate treatment suggested quality of life improvements in adults with ADHD, with a safety profile consistent with long-acting stimulant use.
Spinal Cord Independence Measure, version III: applicability to the UK spinal cord injured population.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the validity, reliability and usefulness of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure for the UK spinal cord injury population.


DESIGN
Multi-centre cohort study.


SETTING
Four UK regional spinal cord injury centres.


SUBJECTS
Eighty-six people with spinal cord injury.


INTERVENTIONS
Spinal Cord Independence Measure and Functional Independence Measure on admission analysed using inferential statistics, and Rasch analysis of Spinal Cord Independence Measure.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, discriminant validity; Spinal Cord Independence Measure subscale match between distribution of item difficulty and patient ability measurements; reliability of patient ability measures; fit of data to Rasch model; unidimensionality of subscales; hierarchical ordering of categories within items; differential item functioning across patient groups.


RESULTS
Scale reliability (kappa coefficients range 0.491-0.835; (p < 0.001)), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.770 and 0.780 for raters), and validity (Pearson correlation; p < 0.01) were all significant. Spinal Cord Independence Measure subscales compatible with stringent Rasch requirements; mean infit indices high; distinct strata of abilities identified; most thresholds ordered; item hierarchy stable across clinical groups and centres. Misfit and differences in item hierarchy identified. Difficulties assessing central cord injuries highlighted.


CONCLUSION
Conventional statistical and Rasch analyses justify the use of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure in clinical practice and research in the UK. Cross-cultural validity may be further improved.
Expressions and clinical significances of CD133 protein and CD133 mRNA in primary lesion of gastric adenocacinoma

BACKGROUND
To study on expressions and clinical significances of CD133 protein and CD133 mRNA in primary lesion of gastric adenocarcinoma (GC).


METHODS
Expressions of CD133 protein by immunostaining (99 cases) and CD133 mRNA by semi-quantitative RT-PCR (31 cases) were detected in primary lesion and in noncancerous gastric mucosa tissue (NCGT). Correlations of CD133 protein expression with clinicopathological parameters and post-operative survival were analyzed. Relations of CD133 mRNA level with Ki-67 labeling index (LI), and lymphatic metastasis were assessed too.


RESULTS
Brown particles indicating CD133 protein positivity occurred in some parts of tumor cells and epithelium. Expressive percentage of CD133 protein positivity was significantly higher in subgroups with >5 cm diameter (P = 0.041), later TNM stage (P = 0.044), severer lymph node metastasis (P = 0.017), occurrences of lymphatic invasion (P = 0.000) and vascular invasion (P = 0.000) respectively. Severer invasion depth (P = 0.011), lymph node metastasis occurrence (P = 0.043) and later TNM stage (P = 0.049) were the independent risk factors for CD133 protein expression. Average brightness scale value (BSV) of CD133 mRNA was significantly higher in subgroups with >5 cm diameter (P = 0.041), lymph node metastasis occurrence (P = 0.004) and in lower Ki-67 LI (P = 0.02). Relative analysis revealed that BSV of CD133 mRNA related positively to metastatic lymphatic nodes ratio (P = 0.008) and metastatic lymph node number (P = 0.009), but negatively to Ki-67 LI (P = 0.009). Survival of positive subgroup of CD 133 protein was significantly poorer (P = 0.047). Lymph node metastasis occurrence (P = 0.042), later TNM stage (P = 0.046) and CD 133 protein positive expression (P = 0.046) were respectively the independent risk factors to survival.


CONCLUSION
Higher expressive level of CD133 mRNA is associated to lower Ki-67 LI and severer lymphatic metastasis. Therefore, the expressive level of CD133 mRNA can play an appropriate role to reflect the status of lymph node metastasis and proliferation of GC. CD133 protein expression is closely related with larger tumor, later TNM stage, lymphtic metastasis and survival of GC.
Applying Deep Learning to Enhance Momentum Trading Strategies in Stocks

We use an autoencoder composed of stacked restricted Boltzmann machines to extract features from the history of individual stock prices. Our model is able to discover an enhanced version of the momentum effect in stocks without extensive hand-engineering of input features and deliver an annualized return of 45.93% over the 1990-2009 test period versus 10.53% for basic momentum.
Liquid nitrogen cryotherapy in the treatment of chronic, unresponsive nodular scabies.

THERAPEUTIC CHALLENGE Nodular scabies (NS) can involve persistent intensely pruriginous nodules for months after specific treatment of scabies. This condition results from a hypersensitivity reaction to retained mite parts or antigens, which is commonly treated with topical or intralesional steroids. However, the response to this treatment is unsatisfactory in certain patients. The scrotum and the shaft of the penis are frequently affected anatomic locations. High-potency topical steroids, tacrolimus, short-course oral prednisolone (Fig 1, A and B), and even intralesional triamcinolone injections might show unsatisfactory responses in certain patients, and nodules often relapse or persist.
Supporting domain experts to construct conceptual ontologies: A holistic approach

A recent trend in ontology engineering research aims at encouraging the active participation of domain experts in the ontology creation process. Ontology construction methodologies together with appropriate tools and technologies, such as controlled natural languages, semantic wikis, intelligent user interfaces and social computing, are being proposed to enable the direct input from domain experts and to minimize the dependency on knowledge engineers at every step of ontology development. The time is ripe for consolidating methodological and technological advancements to create intuitive ontology engineering tools which can make Semantic Web technologies usable by a wide variety of people without formal knowledge engineering skills. A novel, holistic approach to facilitate the involvements of domain experts in the ontology authoring process is presented here. It integrates (i) an ontology construction methodology, (ii) the use of a controlled natural language, and (iii) appropriate tool support. The integrated approach is illustrated with the design, implementation and evaluation of ROO a unique ontology authoring tool which combines intelligent techniques to assist domain experts in constructing ontologies. The bene ts and limitations of the proposed approach are analyzed based on user studies with ROO. A broader discussion is provided pointing at issues to be taken into account when assisting the involvement of domain experts in ontology construction.
Screening-preventable cervical cancer risks: evidence from a nationwide audit in Sweden.

BACKGROUND
The effectiveness of cervical cancer screening programs differs widely in different populations. The reasons for these differences are unclear. Routine and comprehensive audits have been proposed as an ethically required component of screening. We performed a nationwide audit of the effectiveness of the Swedish cervical cancer screening program.


METHODS
We identified all invasive cervical cancer cases that were diagnosed in Sweden from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2001, and had been reported to the Swedish Cancer Registry (n = 1230 cases). We verified the diagnoses by histopathologic rereview and matched each case subject to five (population-based) age-matched control subjects who were identified from the National Population Register. The Pap smear screening histories for case and control subjects were reviewed for a 6-year period using the National Cervical Cancer Screening Register, which contains data on essentially all relevant cytological and histological diagnoses in Sweden. Odds ratios (ORs), and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs), of cervical cancer according to screening history were calculated in conditional logistic regression models. All statistical tests were two-sided.


RESULTS
Women who had not had a Pap smear within the recommended screening interval had higher risk of cervical cancer than women who had been screened (OR = 2.52, 95% CI = 2.19 to 2.91). This risk was similarly increased for all age groups (P(homogeneity) = .96). The risk for non-squamous cell cervical cancers (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.20 to 2.11) was also increased. Women who had not had a Pap smear within the recommended screening interval had a particularly high risk of advanced cancers (OR = 4.82, 95% CI = 3.61 to 6.44). Among women who had been screened within the recommended interval, those with abnormal Pap smears had a higher risk of cervical cancer than those with normal smears (OR = 7.55, 95% CI = 5.88 to 9.69) and constituted 11.5% of all women with cervical cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
Nonadherence to screening intervals was the major reason for cervical cancer morbidity. The screening program was equally effective for women of all ages and was also effective against non-squamous cancers.
Mobilization of giant piggyBac transposons in the mouse genome

The development of technologies that allow the stable delivery of large genomic DNA fragments in mammalian systems is important for genetic studies as well as for applications in gene therapy. DNA transposons have emerged as flexible and efficient molecular vehicles to mediate stable cargo transfer. However, the ability to carry DNA fragments >10 kb is limited in most DNA transposons. Here, we show that the DNA transposon piggyBac can mobilize 100-kb DNA fragments in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, making it the only known transposon with such a large cargo capacity. The integrity of the cargo is maintained during transposition, the copy number can be controlled and the inserted giant transposons express the genomic cargo. Furthermore, these 100-kb transposons can also be excised from the genome without leaving a footprint. The development of piggyBac as a large cargo vector will facilitate a wider range of genetic and genomic applications.
Optimal economic dispatch for renewable energy microgrids with hybrid storage using Model Predictive Control

The transition from the current power system to a renewable energy-based smart grid will require of smaller units for managing the random aspects between the generation sources and load demand. The introduction of energy storage systems inside microgrids brings the opportunity to decide the optimal moment to purchase or sale energy to the grid. The use of different energy storage systems gives the chance to take the advantages of each system minimizing the disadvantages.In this paper a long term scheduling optimization of a gridconnected renewable energy microgrid (μG) with hybrid energy storage is designed and evaluated. Management is performed using Model Predictive Control (MPC) to maximize the economical benefit of the microgrid while minimizing the use cost of each storage system. Several concepts as lifetime cost, degradation cost, start up/off cost and operation and maintenance (o&m) cost of the hybrid energy storage system are included. In order to model both continuous/discrete dynamics and switching between different operating conditions, the plant is modeled with the framework of Mixed Logic Dynamic (MLD). Taking into account the presence of integer variables the MPC problem is solved as MIQP (Mixed Integer Quadratic Programming).
Spectral analysis of atmospheric radar signal using higher order spectral estimation technique

Higher order spectral estimation techniques have been applied to the backscattered signals received from the troposphere and lower stratosphere by the Gadanki mesosphere–stratosphere–troposphere (MST) radar. These techniques allow identification of signals that have non-Gaussian probability distribution. To understand these processes and their effect on estimation of the atmospheric parameters, power spectrum, and bispectrum analyses have been performed on the signals received in both vertical and off-vertical directions. The results show that the backscattered echoes received in the vertical direction are significantly non-Gaussian, while those received in the off-vertical direction are inferred to have predominant Gaussian component. It is demonstrated that the bispectral analysis technique has capability for estimating the vertical wind component with greater accuracy than that derived from the commonly employed fast Fourier transform based power spectral technique.
Reasons for hospitalization in HIV-infected children in West Africa

INTRODUCTION
Current knowledge on morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children comes from data collected in specific research programmes, which may offer a different standard of care compared to routine care. We described hospitalization data within a large observational cohort of HIV-infected children in West Africa (IeDEA West Africa collaboration).


METHODS
We performed a six-month prospective multicentre survey from April to October 2010 in five HIV-specialized paediatric hospital wards in Ouagadougou, Accra, Cotonou, Dakar and Bamako. Baseline and follow-up data during hospitalization were recorded using a standardized clinical form, and extracted from hospitalization files and local databases. Event validation committees reviewed diagnoses within each centre. HIV-related events were defined according to the WHO definitions.


RESULTS
From April to October 2010, 155 HIV-infected children were hospitalized; median age was 3 years [1-8]. Among them, 90 (58%) were confirmed for HIV infection during their stay; 138 (89%) were already receiving cotrimoxazole prophylaxis and 64 children (40%) had initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART). The median length of stay was 13 days (IQR: 7-23); 25 children (16%) died during hospitalization and four (3%) were transferred out. The leading causes of hospitalization were WHO stage 3 opportunistic infections (37%), non-AIDS-defining events (28%), cachexia and other WHO stage 4 events (25%).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, most causes of hospitalizations were HIV related but one hospitalization in three was caused by a non-AIDS-defining event, mostly in children on ART. HIV-related fatality is also high despite the scaling-up of access to ART in resource-limited settings.